Saturday, September 2, 2017

Mini Reviews ~ August 2017

Sometimes, I don't have the time or inclination to do a full review for a title. This will typically apply to books that are short stories, part of a mini-series, some novellas, etc. Instead of abandoning these reviews, I will be giving mini reviews. Check them out!


Title: Role Play
Author: A.R. Von
Genre/Age: Romance/Erotica
Series: None
Publisher: Dream Z Dragons Publishing
Format: ebook via Reading Alley
Rating: DNF
LinksGoodreads
Review: This is a menage story featuring a couple and the man's stepbrother. While I usually love a stepbrother story and menages have definitely grown on me, this book didn't work for me.

The writing was amateur with words and thoughts constantly repeated. The story itself was interesting with changes of scenery and varied sexual encounters. But that just wasn't enough to keep me reading when the internal dialogue was extremely wordy and the actual dialogue was stiff and unrealistic. I quit at 60%. If this were to receive another round with a good editor, I might consider trying again.



Title: Naughty Boss
Author: Whitney G.
Genre/Age: Romance/Erotica
Series: Steamy Coffee Collection (Book One)
Publisher: WGW Books LLC
Format: ebook via Freebie
Rating: ✺✺✺✺.5
LinksGoodreads
Review: This was one naughty book.

When a woman's inappropriate work email accidentally winds up in her jerk boss' inbox, things get spicy. But while she intends to find another job, he decides he wants to keep her around. And so begins a tug-of-war between two hot-headed people.

Even though I found the boss to be over the top at times, I still enjoyed this novella in the end. There were a lot of dirty scenes but also some really hilarious email exchanges between our couple. I love that she knew her worth and wouldn't bow down to his demands, but there were a few times when it felt forced. Still, it was a fun read and I intend to check out more in this series. 4.5 suns!




Title: Wicked Designs
Author: Lauren Smith
Genre/Age: Historical Romance/Adult
Series: A League of Rogues (Book One)
Publisher: Self-published
Format: ebook via Newsletter Freebie
Rating: ✺✺✺
LinksGoodreads
Review: Can being kidnapped actually save you?

A woman is abducted by a duke out of revenge on her uncle. Yep, you read that right. And she doesn't just have one man to contend with but his entire group of rogue friends who need to keep her contained and content. But our damsel soon discovers that the threat outside of the mansion walls might be bigger than the one on the inside. Even though that one puts her heart at risk too.

This is not a fluffy love story. If you can't tell from the book's description, the hero isn't exactly a knight in shining armor. He's brash and domineering, even a little rough sometimes. But the heroine is no weak woman either. She's calculating and sarcastic. The pair opposite in many ways but I think that's what helps them to fit.

The plot of the story is busy with villains, revenge, romance, and a lot of sensual tension between our couple. I liked the whole dynamic between the men in the league and each one had a moment to shine for me. I can't wait to read more of their stories. Ashton, especially! Four suns!



Title: Shaalon
Author: Ashlynn Monroe
Genre/Age: Sci-Fi Romance/Erotica
Series: Married to the Aliens (Book Three)
Publisher: Changeling Press
Format: ebook via The Romance Review
Rating: ✺✺✺
LinksGoodreads
Review: Meeting your soul mate in a prison cell? Yikes!

You read that right. Our two main characters in this short story meet after being thrown into a dungeon cell. Shaalon is guilty of trying to protect a pregnant woman from an unjust punishment. When she is sacrificed to an alien warrior, she has no idea that her life is about to change in a completely different way.

Cayylen has come to terms with his impending execution. When he made the flippant request to be given the daughter of his enemy as his last hurrah, so to speak, he had no idea that a woman would actually be delivered to him. She isn't the enemy's child that he asked for but she's something even better. This woman is his fated mate. Now he just has to find a way to keep the pair of them alive long enough to make their union official.

This isn't very long and because of that, we're tossed right into the action. And by action, I mostly mean the erotica portion of the story. Since it's the third short story of the series, there is a bit of world history skipped over here. While I was never confused by the alien war going on, I do recommend reading these in order so it's easier to follow along.

The characters were decently developed even though I would have preferred this to be novella length so we could really get to know them. You do have to suspend some belief here if you want to accept the way our pair suddenly connect. I enjoyed it when I didn't pay attention to the fact that Shaalon is way too agreeable and easily dominated. Cayylen wasn't a bad character though. I think that's why I was able to like this so much. I do think I'll read more of the series because I want to see how the other couples mentioned came together. Four suns!  

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