ON THE RUN by Michael Mandrake: Blog Tour with Guest Post and Excerpt

I’m delighted to welcome Michael Mandrake to The Way She Reads today to tell us all about On The Run. Enjoy the quest post, information about the book and the series it’s part of, as well as an excerpt.

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For me, writing stories is fun, especially when you have inspiration to draw from, and in my case that could be anything. Current events, something that happened in my life, a picture or two I found on the net, sports, music lyrics, you get the picture. So, I’m saying basically ANYTHING could inspire me to write something and for this story, On the Run, it was a news report.

Since I love baseball, I pay special attention to the ongoing stories about players using steroids or performance enhancing drugs. If you’re familiar with Barry Bonds, you know he broke the home run record over a decade ago, and later it was revealed he might’ve been using steroids at the time.

So, you may ask, how did this become a story? Well, over a year ago, Yankees star Alex Rodriguez was caught and suspended by major league baseball for using performance enhancers or better known as PED’s. A report on 60 minutes came out about his supplier and how he was possibly targeted by Alex Rodriguez and threatened if he came forward about his involvement. Naturally, my brain started crafting a story based on that, and before I knew it, I was taking notes and researching for the story.

Now, months later, it’s about to be released and I’m stoked about people reading this tale. It’s a story of catch and chase with some m/m romance and a saucy female sidekick. I’d like to think James Bond with a gay main character and le gasp, he just happens to be a black englishman. This story starts a collection of books I call PROTEKT where all the characters are good guys and gals who get the job done, playing by their own rules.

I hope you’ll check it out. It’s up for pre-order and releases October 6^th.

Thanks for listening to me ramble.

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Book One of the PROTEKT SERIES

Living a double life is very dangerous…

Even more so when higher authorities and military agencies are envious of the position you hold and the money you make.

In the life of a PROTEKT agent, intelligence is key and the knowledge of guns must be second nature. Their sole mission—to get the job done swiftly with little mistakes. They’re paid well to handle all situations and hired to do things their own way, often disregarding the laws. Chief Wes gives them this freedom because being ruthless is usually required to finish the job.

When the world’s governments have run out of options, they request the assistance of PROTEKT to handle the situations no one else is able to solve. Only one thing could stand in the way of the agents success—his or her own desires for permanent companionship.

Tagline: Who would’ve thought that a British hit man would fall in lust at first sight with an American felon? This desire could become deadly for both.

Blurb

Aiden Moriarty is a Florida ‘herbalist’ who developed a performance enhancing drug many athletes have used. One of them is baseball star Ivan Salerno, who was caught using the drugs and is now on the brink of getting suspended. Because of Ivan’s connections with a rogue mob boss, Aiden is taken into a witness protection program, working along with baseball higher ups until he testifies.

The mob boss, Augustine Ora, has hired former British military officer and his best hitman, Devlin ‘Brit’ Crawford, to do the job. Ora has instructed Devlin to go to Miami, kidnap Aiden and take him to the local airport to be transported to Havana ,Cuba, to be executed by Ora’s top officers.

However, when Devlin receives the email, the pictures of the blue-eyed felon catch his eye and he is moved to go in a different direction. Instead of delivering Aiden to the airport, he has thoughts of taking him away and saving him from Ora’s wrath.

This move puts him, Aiden, as well as his assistant Miranda Ashley in huge danger. Will Devlin keep Aiden safe despite the odds or will he fail, causing Ora and his men come after him?

Links

Pride Publishing               Amazon                 Barnes and Noble

Excerpt

“Um.” Aiden cleared his throat, hoping Miranda didn’t have a quick trigger finger. “I know it’s a risk what you’re doing—a huge one—but I can make it worth your while. I really can. And, uh, after the talk we had in the car—”

“You were thinking we could have something, hmm?”

Aiden swallowed hard and looked down at his feet. He clasped his hands together as if he was praying for something. “We could if you don’t deliver me to Ora.”

“Aw, isn’t that so cute, D? The American is begging you to spare him. He’s so adorable. Don’t let that overweight sonofabitch win, yeah? You need someone and hell, you’ve been saying how much you’ve wanted to get away from Ora for a while.”

“True, very true. See, Aiden? It’s not really all about you. My bird is right when she says I need a chap in my life. However, my reason for keeping you away is more about being a rebel. I haven’t been happy with the way Ora does things for quite a while. Additionally, I’d like to see that cheater Salerno go down in flames, because I don’t really like cheaters.”

“Neither do I,” Aiden responded.

“But you helped these men get ahead with drugs so, obviously, you take no real issue with it.”

“Yeah I do.” Aiden laughed nervously. “I just wanted to do something different and make some cash.That’s all. Hey, if you keep me alive, you can help me expose him and Engel, too. I’ve got no doubt the guy may be working for Ora—or even Salerno.”

“You might be right there, but the question still remains…” The man walked closer to Aiden, still mostly naked. He dragged his finger over Aiden’s forehead and twirled one of his curls around the tip. “Is the cause to bring a cheater down and have a good-looking American on my arm worth my life and the money Ora has offered me?”

Aiden’s eyes met his kidnapper’s deep brown gaze. His breath caught in his chest while he got lost in the man’s heated stare. His heart thumped against his ribs and his cock, already hard, strained in his underwear.He stuttered, “I-I’d say, yeah.”

He raked Aiden’s hair away from his eyes. “Of course you would.”He flashed a pearly white smile and swiped his tongue over his lips.

Dear God!

Watching Brit’s sexy gesture, Aiden’s erection grew more. If this man didn’t have a pistol pointed at his temple, he’d grab Brit and plunge his tongue down his throat.

“Miranda, let the man take a bath and get ready to move. We’ll be going to Miami very soon.”

Just that statement caused Aiden’s erection to deflate, and his heart sank. The thought of his impending doom made his gut twist in ways he couldn’t explain.

Miranda clicked her teeth and frowned. “But, D?”

“Now, Miranda. No buts, right? This is my life on the line for someone I don’t even know. Like I said, I can get a real nice bang at home for what he’s paying me. And you never know—something real might come out of that, hmm?”

DIRTY DEEDS

TITLE: DIRTY DEEDS

AUTHOR: S.E. JAKES

Pages: 79

Date: 28/01/2014

Grade: 4+

Details: Received from Riptide Publishing

            Through Love Romances and More

            Reviews

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The blurb:

“Two seasoned operatives finally meet their match: each other. 

Cillian works for the mysterious Special Branch 20: an organization that runs black ops commissioned by the British government. His specialty is deep undercover assignments with virtually no support. He’s been alone for so long that he no longer knows anything else. 

Mal’s also used to being alone. Wanted in several states and even more countries, he’s not allowed in the vicinity of any of his former Navy SEAL teammates. And his current assignment is to track Cillian in order to discover the spook’s endgame. Except he’s no longer sure which one of them is getting played. 

Cillian isn’t about to let the mission that’s consumed him for the past several years crumble because an outsider is poking around where he doesn’t belong. But Mal forces his way through Cillian’s defences—and into his heart—exposing a devastating betrayal that could destroy them both.”

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My thoughts:

The first word I see when I open this book is ‘Amsterdam’; a great start considering I lived there for over 30 years. I have to admit that even though the city isn’t described in any detail and I couldn’t tell you exactly where the story plays out, the fact that it’s set there did give this book an extra edge.

Not that this story wasn’t edgy enough without the added interest. In fact, I think the word edgy was invented to describe books like this. Mal and Cillian, two undercover agents, are both chasing the same man be it for different and personal reasons.

While Mal knows who Cillian is and more or less what he is up to, Cillian has no idea who or what Mal is. When contact between the two men is established it takes place almost exclusively through Instant Messaging. It is also highly sexual in nature, with both of them vying for domination over the other while secretly graving the potential of submission.

Mal may have some advantages over Cillian because he knows more about his opponent than Cillian knows about him, neither of them knows enough to prevent shocking revelations. Revelations that come after the men have found a need for each other they can neither explain nor deny, no matter how much they might want to. Revelations that will shock the reader and create an urgent need for the next book in what appears to be a trilogy.

This was a very well written story. The tension starts on the first page and doesn’t let up for a moment. In fact, that tension had only gotten stronger by the time I read the last word in this novella. And it is a tension that exists on all levels of this story. It is never completely clear who knows what. There is the mystery as to who is killing Cillian’s informers. And then there is the sexual tension between these two men; a tension so hot it steams of the page both during their online encounters and when they’re together.

These two men are very similar and more than a match for each other. They also seem to be made for each other, if only they weren’t on opposite sides of the same mission. I can’t wait to see how the rest of this story is going to unfold and can only hope it won’t be too long until ‘Dirty Lies’ comes out.

After I requested this book for review but before I read it I discovered this book ties into previous titles by this author – The Hell or High Water series – which I haven’t read. Don’t let that stop you from picking up this book right now. At no point while reading this novella did I feel as if I was missing vital information. In fact, if I hadn’t seen somebody else mention this fact in a review, I would never have guessed there were earlier, connected books.

I also didn’t realise this wasn’t a stand-alone title when I requested it. The way this story ends makes that fact perfectly clear though. The author leaves us with an unexpected and shocking cliff-hanger, but it wasn’t one that bothered me (and trust me I’m not a fan of cliff-hangers in general).

Although I’m more than ready to find out what happens next and can’t wait for the sequels, I have to say the story ended with perfect timing. My curiosity is well and truly awakened and my mind is running riot, trying to come up with all the possible future scenarios. Somehow I feel that whatever my mind may conjure up for me, S.E. Jakes will still manage to surprise me.

WARRIOR'S CROSS

TITLE: WARRIOR’S CROSS

AUTHOR: ABIGAIL ROUX & MADELEINE URBAN

Pages: 316

Date: 31/10/2013

Grade: 4

Details: Cut & Run detour

Own/Kindle

The Blurb:

“Cameron Jacobs is an open book. He considers himself a common waiter with normal friends, boring hobbies, harmless dogs, and nothing even resembling a secret... except a crush on a tall, dark, devastatingly handsome man who dines alone at his restaurant on Tuesday nights. All it takes is one passionate night with Julian Cross to turn Cameron’s world on its head.

Julian's love and devotion are all Cameron could have hoped for and more. But when his ordinary life meets and clashes with Julian's extraordinary lifestyle, Cameron discovers that trust and fear can go hand in hand, and love is just a step away from danger.”

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After I finished reading “Divide & Conquer”, the fourth title in the “Cut & Run” series I was told that I needed to read this book before moving on to “Armed & Dangerous”. Because the advice came from people who had already read all the available books in this series, because the authors gave the same advice and because I’m slightly obsessive about reading series’ in the right order, I obediently read “Warrior’s Cross” next.

Of course I have no way of knowing how beneficial this little detour will turn out to be when I read the next “Cut & Run” title, although I think it is a safe bet that the two characters from this book will make an appearance in “Armed & Dangerous”. And I really hope they do because while I didn’t dislike this book, I really didn’t like it enough to interrupt my reading of the Ty and Zane stories unless for very good reasons.

This book; what to say about it? I liked the premise of the story and I liked the interactions between Cameron and Julian. I enjoyed Cameron’s infatuation with the mysterious man who visits the restaurant where he works almost every Tuesday.

“Him. He of the tall, dark and handsome variety, who stuck in Cameron’s head like some sort of brooding fantasy.”

I loved the way Julian and Cameron were, with each other; the way Julian refused to let Cameron put himself down:

“That’s what you do, (…). That’s not who you are” – Julian to Cameron

Loved the way Cameron made it possible for Julian to show sides of himself nobody else got to see.

But, there were other things in this book that didn’t quite work for me. While I enjoyed the interactions between Cameron and Julian I don’t think I got to know or understand them. Cameron was too naive and innocent to be believable and Julian seemed to switch personas with such regularity that I never got any idea who he really was. Even when the book ended I still wasn’t convinced he was the man Cameron was in love with.

Courtesy of The Mind of Gray's Tumbler

On the other hand, I regularly come across books in which the reasons two characters, who obviously love each other and feel they have to stay apart, seem somewhat contrived. Whatever you might say about this story, Cam’s reasons for thinking he might be better off without Julian, no matter how much he loves him, make perfect sense. But, when did love ever have anything to do with sense?

“He could very easily love this man. That was far scarier than any gun or ambiguous job.”

I’m not entirely sure what I’m trying to say here. I enjoyed the book. It was a fast, easy and intriguing read. I enjoyed the interactions between Cameron and Julian – the love story. I was probably disappointed because Cameron and Julian are no Ty and Zane. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m ready to be reunited with Ty and Zane.

“I want to know you.”- Cameron to Julian

REVEALING US

TITLE: REVEALING US

AUTHOR: LISA RENEE JONES

Pages: 320

Date: 10/09/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 3 Inside Out

            ARC received from the author

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The Blurb:

“No in-between…

He has become her life, her heart, her very soul. But he is dark and damaged, and his secrets are many. Sara will risk everything for him. He, in turn, will dare to expose his deepest needs, his most erotic desires. And in the fury of passion he will reveal all that torments him, all that he can never escape. To love him, Sara must embrace the darkest part of him, and become his shelter in a storm that will be his ultimate salvation.”

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Before I start my review let me just say that this book is part of a series, and should not be read out of order if you want to fully enjoy it. See below for a graphic of the full series, including reading order, which I copied from Lisa Renee Jones’ Facebook page.

“There is no right way, remember? There’s only our way.”

 And so we reach the final part of Sara and Chris’ tempestuous journey. With the mystery that was Rebecca’s disappearance solved and all of Sara’s past and secrets out in the open the time has arrived to deal with the darkness that still hides deep inside the man she loves. And because the root of Chris’ issues lies in Paris, that is where Sara travels with him.

Sara has come through a lot over the past two books but is slowly starting to accept and trust that Chris is the man she loves and exactly what she needs in her life.

“He has always been the answer to the question of what was missing from my life, even before I met him.”

However, that doesn’t mean the rest of the journey is going to be smooth sailing for her. Almost everything and everybody she encounters after arriving in Paris seems to conspire to make her life hard and tear her away from Chris. It starts with her passport being stolen while she’s still in the airport and goes downhill from there when she meets people from Chris’ past. Matters aren’t helped by the fact that she doesn’t speak a word of French and Chris is still holding back on sharing his secrets with her. And there is the still unsolved mystery of Ella’s disappearance. But, whenever those worries slip into the background everything between her and Chris is just about perfect.

“And the answer to your question is, I’m perfect. You’re here.”

With everything that is going on around her, and all the unanswered questions she still faces, Sara’s insecurities are never far from the surface. But whenever they threaten to overpower her and make her doubt the future she’s seen glimpses of but still can’t bring herself to fully believe in, Chris is there to reassure her.

“It’s just you and me, baby, and I’m not like anyone else who’s ever been in your life. There’s nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of with me, ever. You can embrace who you really are, and we can be whoever we want to be together.”

And Sara truly believes that Chris is nothing like anybody else in her life, past or present. She won’t be able to fully believe in a future for the two of them though, until Chris decides that she is the one he can share his secrets with; until he too realises that together they can leave the past where it belongs and start facing the future. She needs Chris to believe his own words when he says:

“We attack the problems. They don’t attack us. And we do it together.”

Chris and Sara may have faced troubled times and still be up against deep rooted issues on Chris’ part and lingering insecurities on Sara’s, but they are slowly coming to the conclusion that together they may be able to face it all and come to their own happy ending.

“There is no right way, remember? There’s only our way.”

It is a nice added bonus that although we found out what happened to Rebecca at the end of “Being Me”, we do get some more of her journal in this book. This appears to bring Rebecca’s story full circle, although I guess we can never be completely sure that is actually the case.

And hot, oh my, are Sara and Chris hot together. I love the way the intimacy between these two characters is described on these pages. The need they feel for each other is palatable, the way their bodies react to each other is, well, stimulating is the only polite word I can think of. While Chris is trying to put his past need for pain behind him, Sara is carefully discovering the pleasures of submitting in the bedroom to this man who knows exactly how to give her what she needs and wants, even if it scares her almost as much as it excites her.

“That’s part of the high, Sara. The adrenaline rushing through your body. The unknown soon to be discovered.”

What we have here is an adrenaline filled love story; an exhilarating combination of thrills and passion, danger and love, dark and light. This is the sort of book you’ll want to finish as soon as you’ve started it because the constant need to know what is happening and why is as demanding as the need to find out if Chris and Sara will find a way to make a future together. This is an intoxicating emotional roller-coaster of a book that will keep you hooked.

But…

By now it may be clear that I loved this book. Which begs the question why I rated it 4.5 rather than 5 stars. All I can say – without resorting to spoilers - is that the final book in a trilogy should not end on a massive cliff-hanger. I don’t mind a teaser, and I actually quite like it when some questions aren’t completely answered, leaving some of the resolution up to the reader’s imagination. I do however have an issue with the way this book ended. I am, by now, a big enough fan of Lisa Renee Jones to want to read whatever she may publish next. And I can’t imagine being the only one of her readers facing this addiction. I don’t like that she feels the need to try and tie me to a next book or series by throwing an unexpected and unwelcome cliff-hanger at me. Do not get me wrong, I will read that next book. That, however, does not mean that I like the way in which I will have been brought to it. This is, of course, a very personal dislike and does not reflect on the quality of the writing. In fact, I’m sure there are a lot of readers out there who had the opposite reaction when they saw the cliff-hanger, exactly because it does promise us more to 
come.

CUT & RUN

TITLE: CUT & RUN

AUTHOR: MADELEINE URBAN & ABIGAIL ROUX

Pages: 376

Date: 27/08/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 1 Cut & Run

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case.

Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He's cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he's paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it's hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic cliché: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.

Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again – this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work together before they become two more notches in the murderer's knife.”

Let me start with saying that I need a new series to fall in love with like I need a hole in the head. And yet, I allowed friends to convince me that I should really read this book. And I did in the full knowledge that if I did like “Cut & Run” there would be at least another six books I want to read. And - since I have friends with good taste - I find myself loving the story and the characters in it and frantically looking for ways I can convince myself that buying the sequels is actually a necessity rather than a luxury and therefore not only allowed but required.

And boy did I love this book. From the moment I picked it up I was hooked. Ty Grady and Zane Garrett had my attention from the moment they appeared on the page. Even while they were hating each other and exchanging one rude remark for another the chemistry between Ty and Zane is palpable while at the same time they made me smile and at times laugh out loud. Once the hate turns into something else – something neither of them is willing to name or fully acknowledge – the story really kicks off. And that is just the romantic part of this story. The suspense part is equally fascinating and addictive. The combination of the reluctant attraction between these two men and the constant threat they’re facing makes this an adrenaline filled read, near impossible to put down.

Usually when I read “Romantic Suspense” I get impatient with either the romantic or the suspenseful part of the story because I just want to know how the other part is going to conclude. Not so in this book. I was just as eager to find out who is trying to kill Zane and Ty as I was to see their volatile relationship develop.

What I really admired in this book is that the authors didn’t go for miracle solutions for either the relationship or the mystery. This relationship between two men who each have enough issues to break a person down completely, was never going to be smooth or easy and, thankfully, the authors didn’t give the story some unconvincing twist to facilitate an unrealistic happily ever after. And the same can be said for the mystery Ty and Zane are trying to solve. While they did stumble on part of the solution by accident, it happened in a convincing way and didn’t come with a sudden transformation from “completely clueless” to “full insight”. 

Taken from The Original Gray's Tumbler

I loved that we get this story from both Ty and Zane’s point of view. We can see both men struggle with each other and with themselves. I liked that while both men had heterosexual relationships in their pasts, there was no belly-aching over this attraction to each other. While both of them had great difficulty sharing their feelings with the other, or even acknowledging them to themselves, they just went with their attraction and turned it into something beautiful and very erotic. And, I can’t help feeling that the dynamics between these two men will only get more intriguing and a lot hotter as the stories continue.

So, it may be clear from what I wrote above that I loved this book. Then why, I hear you ask, did I “only” grade it 4.5? There are a few reasons.

First of all I had the killer pegged from the moment he entered the story. I was hoping it would turn out to be somebody else but I turned out to be right. And while you might think I’d relish the fact that I got it right in one go, I am in fact always a bit disappointed when the big reveal doesn’t surprise me.

Secondly, I wasn’t entirely convinced by the sudden change in character Ty and Zane went through in the middle of the book. It certainly was intriguing but really didn’t make a whole lot of sense even if more or less plausible reasons were provided.

My last and main reason though is that I have been reliably informed that the books in this series only get better. Rating this book 4.5 rather than 5 means that I will be able to raise the score if it turns out that I indeed end up loving these books and these characters more with every subsequent title.

Of course, falling in love with a series of books this much leaves me in a bit of a quandary. As much as I would love to read the next six books back to back I’ve committed to too many reviews to give in to that urge. While I fully expect to read these books in rather quick succession in the near future, those prior commitments force me to take it slow. That is not altogether bad though; I know myself well enough to realise that I’m going to be heartbroken when I finish reading the last available title. So maybe I should be grateful that I don’t have a choice but to take it slowly. After all, every successful relationship requires patience.

THE PLEASURES OF SUMMER and A TOUCH OF SUMMER

TITLE: THE PLEASURES OF SUMMER

AUTHOR: EVIE HUNTER

Pages: 433

Date: 15/06/2013

Grade: 4+

Details: no. 2 Pleasures

               Received from Penguin

               Through Nudge

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Summer O’Sullivan. It is a name and face most people know from the scandalous headlines in the tabloids. With one broken engagement behind her, the daughter of a self-made and very rich airline owner is known for her outrageous exploits and scandalous adventures. But, it would appear that she is in danger and when her father has to travel from London to America for a month and Summer refuses to spend that time with her grandmother in Ireland, he decides to hire a body-guard to keep her safe. To say that Summer is less than impressed with this idea would be an understatement and she manages to get rid of several hired minders within little or no time.

Enter Flynn Grant, a former Army Ranger with little patience for spoiled little rich girls. Summer’s tricks won’t work with him. He may not like the job, but since he has been hired to keep this girl safe that is exactly what he will do. And what is more, he will do it on his terms; Summer will just have to get used to following orders.

Unsurprisingly it is a major culture clash when these two characters meet, but despite the anger and exasperation they ignite in each other there is no denying the attraction between Summer and Flynn. When Summer goes a bit too far while satisfying her curiosity it is only Flynn’s timely arrival that prevents her from ending up in a situation she was completely unprepared for. Flynn however is furious and this anger combined with the attraction he has been feeling leads to a night that more than answers Summer’s curious questions and gives them both something to think about.

A month in a remote Scottish hiding-place takes Summer completely out of her comfort-zone and gives both her and Flynn the opportunity to discover sides of each other that they never expected. Flynn may be on a mission and getting intimate with his principle may be against all his rules but when the attraction is this strong and the location this isolated it is almost impossible not to give in to the sexual tension.

When the threat against Summer finally catches up with her it will take a heroic effort from Flynn as well as everything she has learned in her month in the middle of nowhere to ensure her survival. But even that may not be enough to ensure their happily ever after.

I enjoyed this book. It is well written and Summer and Flynn are exciting characters to read about. Not to mention that the attraction between them and the way they handle it make this one steamy read. But, this is much more than a work of erotic fiction. There is a real sense of danger all through this story. The erotic scenes alternate nicely with those that explore the rest of Summer and Flynn’s relationship and the thriller-like aspects of this book.

I liked that there was so much more to Summer’s character than the flighty, spoiled young heiress we meet in the first few chapters. It was wonderful to see her grow into herself and really develop. Flynn goes through some changes as well, although his are less pronounced. I also enjoyed the brief reference to Jack Winter and Abbie Marshall from “The Pleasures of Winter”. Although these books are definitely stand-alone stories the mention of Jack and Abbie’s upcoming wedding brings a little bit of continuity to this series of books without creating the need to read them in order.

And this is one hot read. With Flynn being a Dominant with a lot of experience when it comes to BDSM and Summer being curious about the life-style, there is a lot of room for a good dose of steamy action. As it is I would call this BDSM-light. There is some bondage and quite a bit of spanking but it never gets so heavy that it might leave the reader uncomfortable. Having said that, I have to admit that I was surprised as well as intrigued by the alternative uses that were found for both Alka-Seltzer and tiger balm in this story. Who knew?

There were a few things in this book I was less than charmed with.  First of all, I had the identity of the threat to Summer identified as soon as they made their first appearance in the story. Also, I did get a bit fed up with the way in which both Summer and Flynn kept on going backwards and forwards as far as their feelings were concerned. And finally, I wasn’t convinced that this book needed the addition of Flynn’s former submissive and her upcoming marriage to his brother. Having said that, these were minor issues for me and didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book. Because this is a fun, tension filled and a very sexy romance, sure to give its reader hours of entertainment.

A TOUCH OF SUMMER

Size: 218KB

Date: 15/06/2013

Grade: 4+

Details:  no. 2.5 Pleasures

             Companion read to “The Pleasures of Summer”

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Chronologically, this story is set in the middle of “The Pleasures of Summer” and takes place during the time Summer and Flynn spend in the Scottish highlands.

Finding themselves in the middle of nowhere with little to keep them occupied except the sexual attraction between them – an attraction Flynn is determined not to give in to – Summer and her bodyguard desperately need a diversion. An opportunity arises when it transpires that some of Flynn’s colleagues are involved in war-games with other groups of special forces on a deserted Island off the Scottish coast. While Flynn sees this weekend as a welcome diversion for the two of them, Summer treats it as a second opportunity to launch operation “Defeat the bodyguard”.

“Consequences. She liked the sound of those. The ones following her escapade in London had been spectacular, to say the least.”

But, best laid plains being what they are, their days away with the army don’t work out quite the way either Flynn or Summer has hoped. While Flynn discovers that even participating in war-games won’t kill his attraction to Summer, she finds out that maybe getting rid of Flynn isn’t her first priority after all.

This was a short but very nice addition to The Pleasures of Summer. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a discarded chapter, published as a short story, although I may well be wrong about that. Having said that, this story could easily be read on its own strength. I’m not sure I’d advise anyone to do that though. I’m convinced this story is more enjoyable if you are familiar with what has happened to get these characters to this place. On the other hand, if you need convincing before purchasing “The Pleasures of Summer”, do read this story; it will leave you yearning for more. And more is exactly what the main book will give you.

BEING ME

TITLE: BEING ME

AUTHOR: LISA RENEE JONES

Pages: 336

Date: 11/06/2013

Grade: 5-

Details: Inside Out Trilogy no. 2

             Received from the author/publisher

              Through NetGalley

Own / Kindle

From the author’s website:

“Fascinated by the dark fantasies in the journals she’s discovered, and the two men who have now found a place in her life, Sara McMillan finds herself torn between her new life and her past. Now, more than ever, Sara identifies with the missing journal writer, Rebecca, and is certain that something sinister has happened.

In the arms of the sexy, tormented artist Chris Merit, Sara seeks answers about Rebecca and ends up discovering things about herself she never knew existed. Chris forces Sara to reconsider who she is and what she truly wants from life, but his dark desires threaten to tear them apart. Her boss, Mark Compton, offers her the shelter to understand just what those needs mean to her, and what they might have meant to Rebecca—but can she trust him to lead her to a final conclusion to Rebecca’s story?”

This story starts exactly where “If I Were You” ended. Sara is on her own in the storage unit, looking for new clues as to where the missing Rebecca might be when the lights go out and she hears sounds she can’t identify as well as footsteps getting closer… And so the reader is immediately back in the middle tension that pushes the Inside Out story along. And boy, is there a lot of tension; there is the continuing mystery of where Rebecca is and what may have happened to her, the added worry about Sara’s friend and colleague Ella who can’t be reached and, of course, Sara’s difficult relationship with the two dominant men in her life: Chris, her lover and Mark, her boss.

If I’m honest I have to admit that at times all that tension was almost a bit too much. I mean, I did love all the individual story-lines. I was intrigued with the mystery surrounding Rebecca and fascinated by the push and pull between Sara and Chris.

“Sara, he murmurs when I answer, and my name is a soft rasp of silky male perfection that radiates through me and settles in the deep hollow of my soul only he seems to fill.”

The added mystery involving Ella failed to convince me in this book, but I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that this particular thread will come into full bloom in “Revealing Us”, the third book.

Sara and Chris; if it is possible for two people to fully belong together yet at the same time be completely wrong for each other, than it is these two characters. Stories about characters who refuse to share their secrets with each other yet profess to need and love each other always tend to upset me, simply because I can’t imagine wanting to be with anyone I didn’t trust enough to share my past with or didn’t trust me enough to share theirs. If ever there was a red flag when it comes to relationships… 

“…Chris, a man I know will consume me, perhaps destroy me, but right now he feels as if he is saving me.”

On the other hand, I can’t deny that their wish to be together despite their better judgment telling them to stay apart, regardless of the emotional risks involved did make this story almost unputdownable.  And since Chris and Sara seem to end every single conflict between them in a sexual way, the constant tension between them did make this a scorcher of a read.

“Because if you want me to fuck you, I’ll fuck you until you can’t remember your damn name and you never forget mine.” 

It is not as if these two don’t feel a pressing need to be together. They both want to believe that the other is all they need. That they can overcome past issues and future difficulties through the strength of their feelings for each other.

 “If I need to get lost, I’ll get lost in you.” (Chris)

But time and again life throws obstacles in their way, showing them that no matter how much they love each other and regardless of how desperately they want and need to be together, it is quite possible that love may not be enough.

 “I’ve always known we were two puzzle pieces that fit together in a hollow that is our pain.”

But what if those hollows are just too big?

When Sara is forced into a situation where she has to share her shameful past with Chris she finds the disclosure doesn’t send him running. With Chris she thinks she can be herself and still be good enough:

“I don’t try to be someone else with Chris, as I have with other men in my life. I’m rediscovering myself, or perhaps finding myself for the first time every.”

But her hope that he will in turn open up to her and allow her to share his pain and secrets, is not fulfilled. Chris remains convinced that she won’t be able to deal with all that he has been and still is. Whether or not Sara will ever be able to convince him that she can, remains to be seen.

But, while the future of the relationship between these two is still open-ended, some other mysteries are solved in this book. We do find out who Rebecca’s mysterious Master is and what has happened to her. Of course that is something I can’t reveal here without spoiling the story but I will say it came as a bit of a shock to me. We also find out more about Sara’s past and get a much better insight into who Chris is. All of this was very satisfying and although there were one or two shocking surprises, it all made perfect sense in the context of the story so far.

Overall I have to say that I greatly enjoyed reading this book. Yes, I did get a bit exasperated with Sara switching from being convinced she could handle Chris and their relationship because she loves him to being sure that they could never be together because of all the dark secrets, about every other page, but that continued tension was also one of the reasons I kept on turning the pages. This book is one, endless, emotional roller-coaster sweeping the reader up on a ride filled with highs and lows that will keep them engrossed until the very last page and then leave them begging for more.

So now there is one more installment in Rebecca’s Lost Journals – “The Master Undone” - to look forward to in August and the final book in the trilogy – “Revealing Us” – coming out in September. And although I’m grateful that I won’t have to wait a year for the conclusion of this story and can’t wait to see how all of this will end, a small part of me is sorry that this particular reading journey will end within about three months.