Tag Archive | BDSM

Not Safe for Work by L.A. Witt (5 Stars)

Dec17

As a huge fan of kissing, this story was made for me! Two middle-aged men, who knew what they wanted in life, fall in love, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Jon McNeil builds models to scale for an architectural firm, but it’s a job that is quickly getting replaced by technology. Rick Pierce is a wealthy property developer who is trying to improve the city. Although they’ve been working with each other, they don’t really get a chance to talk to each other. Jon’s bosses don’t allow him to talk to their biggest client. That all changes when they discover they’re both on the same website searching for the right partner.

I enjoyed learning about Jon’s job. There was just enough detail to keep it interesting and add to the story without overwhelming it. There was a nice edge to the relationship since they had to keep it under wraps. Jon was afraid he would lose his job or cause problems for Rick. It was realistic and gave the story a bit of drama.

Jon oozed sex appeal in and out of the bedroom. Their scenes together were both hot and romantic. The feelings they had for each other seemed sincere. They were always thinking of each other and struggled to stay focused on their jobs. Even though it wasn’t their first love affair, they both knew they finally found the “one”. There’s plenty of kink to go with it, including bondage, pinwheel use, and hot wax, but the multiple romantic kissing scenes were the highlight.

The epilogue was perfect and had me in tears. Jon’s ex-wife and college students play a role in the story and give a back-drop for some of his actions. It was all positive, which was nice. Outside of the evil owners of Jon’s firm, which were a bit over the top, the story was pretty realistic.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, when you find the right person, you do everything you can to keep them.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Rated: XXXmas by Lisa Henry, J.A. Rock, E.F. Mulder (3 Stars)

Dec7

Fall On Your Knees by Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock

What happens to a couple when playing with a third person starts to mean more to both of them?

The story was mostly very kinky sex with lots of pain involved. Asa and Javier have been in a long-term committed relationship. They are both Doms, and they regularly bring a third person, a sub, into their night of fun. Asa has been crushing on Drew, his coworker, for the last six months and wants to invite him to play. You can already see the potential for some serious issues with the relationship happening. Fortunately, that aspect was not a major focus and limited the angst of the story.

My biggest issue with the plot was that it tried to be more than just a kinky story, but it wasn’t able to sell me on the new relationship. Drew really didn’t know Javier or Asa very well, and even though they all acknowledged that fact, it still didn’t feel right. There weren’t enough conversations for it to be believable, leading me not to buy into the relationship progression. The BDSM aspects included bondage, a molasses enema, and using a pinwheel, cane and wooden spoon to inflict pain.

This writing team is excellent, and if these elements work for you, then this should definitely be an enjoyable story.

Shepherd, Wise Man, and the Little Drummer Boy by E.F. Mulder

Shep, Rusty, and C.J. are about to make some decisions that will change their lives. They’ve all lived through some tough times, but together they can face all of their challenges and make a better life for themselves.

The characters all seemed like nice guys, and I thought they got along great. C.J. captured my heart with his cheerful and optimistic view on life even though he was in the midst of fighting cancer and learning to live without a few of his limbs. I would have liked to have gotten to know the characters better through dialogue instead of being told what was happening.

There were also too many other characters in the story. They added very little value but took away from the main relationship. I never developed strong feelings for Shep or Rusty and had a hard time understanding why they all fell in love with each other. I also really struggled with the sex scenes. Part of it related to the descriptions which didn’t feel sexy. The other part was the result of the missing emotional connection.

In the end, these three seemed happy together, and it certainly seem believable that they would find some way to make it work. Allowing themselves to rely on each other opened the door to love.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Celebrate (Avian Shifters #1.5) by Kim Dare (5 Stars)

Nov4

A lovely glimpse into the lives of Ori and Raynard one year later. Every day with Raynard is a day of happiness for Ori. Ori is so sweet and powerful, and yet he still lacks self-confidence. Fortunately, Raynard knows how to remind Ori of just how much he’s loved.

 

Book Blurb

Axel’s Pup (Werewolves & Dragons #1) By Kim Dare (5 Stars)

Sep20

5 Stars! Perfect from beginning to end, this was an extremely engaging and beautiful love story that I found impossible to put down.

Axel Carmichael owns a pub and leads a motorcycle gang. The gang is his family, and he’s generally a happy person. He’s also an amazing Dom, and he’s fortunate enough to find the perfect sub in Bayden. Bayden Wolf is completely focused on the single goal of making enough money to take care of his mom and grandfather. The fastest way to make the money he needs is by winning fights and getting paid for sex. As a wolf shifter, he heals quickly from physical damage, but the psychological damage these activities has caused is a different story. Fortunately, the love and support of Axel will eventually help him heal.

The focus of the story is on Axel trying to help Bayden heal and learn to respect himself. I enjoyed the dialogue between Axel and Bayden and felt it really helped to make the characters and their relationship believable. The aspects related to the wolf shifter world were extremely interesting. There was rampant discrimination against the wolf shifters and it was heart-breaking reading about how it affected their lives. The same type of discrimination continues to take place in the real world making it even harder to read about. Seeing the direct impact it had on Bayden’s life, including his battered-down emotional outlook, was very challenging. Axel recognized this and spent the necessary time trying to truly understand the world Bayden lived in. It was just one of the many ways that Axel showed his love for Bayden. Bayden thought it was an acceptable part of his life to fight and have sex for money as long as he felt he was controlling the situation. It was very hard to watch Bayden endure, among other things, sadistic knife play without the use of a safe word. Watching Bayden heal under Axel’s guidance was touching. Bayden’s desire to truly and completely submit to Axel was the best gift he could give Axel.

The majority of the story was spent in Axel’s pub but they also spent time riding their bikes and visiting Bayden’s family. The interactions with the other friends and family helped to further develop the world and the characters.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the steamy sex scenes between these two people who cared about each other so much. There was bondage, spanking, caning, and some breath play. Although Bayden performed sexual acts with other people at the beginning of the story, it was only related to his need to earn money.

You have to wonder when you read a story of this length if there is going to be unnecessary filler, endless narrative and wasted pages. You definitely won’t find that in Axel’s Pup. No doubt, it’s a hefty book, but I was so consumed by the story that the pages flew by. Every word and scene contributed to the building of the relationship and the deeper understanding of the characters. It will be in my top reads for 2015! I’m thrilled that this is the beginning of a series which means I might get a chance to see these two characters again.

I highly recommend this Dom/sub love story with its richly developed characters and interesting shifter world.

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb