Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Welcome to the erotic world of courtesans - Deeper in Sin


Welcome to the erotic world of courtesans! 
Sharon Page - Deeper in Sin



Sophie Ashley found herself in a dreadful situation.  She desperately needs to find a protector so that she is able to provide for her young son, her close friend and her children.  Thrown out by her adoptive parents for having a child out of wedlock and pursued by a nasty lord that is trying to force her into becoming his mistress, Sophie finds herself in London.  She is seeking entrance to the world of the famous London’s Cyprians. 

With determination she knows she can gain access.  She has prepared herself and has gathered information from a journal that she carries.  It is written by her mother, a courtesan, and it details and chronicles her rise and love affairs with many powerful men in London.  With the journal as her guide, Sophie gathers courage and successfully gains access to a lavish Cyprian Ball.  There she meets our hero, Fitzwilliam MontCleif, the Duke of Caradon – and known as Cary to his close friends.

Cary rescues Sophie from a sticky situation during the ball and in doing so sparks hope in Sophie that he may agree to become her protector.  Little does Sophie know that our handsome duke carries with him some very heavy emotional damage that prevents him from offering more than just friendship.  But Sophie does not give up and makes it her mission to try to help him through. 

With a murder-mystery story backdrop we find these two lovers moving through the decadent world of lust and sin, looking for answers to solve the mystery. 

Sophie is very innocent, but is very open to what she sees around her, and wants to be able to please Cary.  Not only because she is falling for him but also so that she can help him emotionally.  At times she seemed to be a bit too eager and not very sure of herself.  She did go forward into any situation readily; but at times it felt that she was missing that courage that you find from a strong heroine.  She makes it up in her sweetness and love for her hero and you could not help but pluck along to see the book through.

Cary is a strong hero.  He is handsome and courageous, and you could not help but feel so bad for what he is going through.  The effects of war and childhood tragedies where finally weighing down on him.  Finding Sophie to soothe his soul is just what he needs. 

This is an erotic novel, and there are some pretty spicy scenes stored within, but nothing too shocking.  Overall it was satisfying.

I would give this novel Four Stars.  The murder/mystery story caught my interest and did surprise me at the end.  The heroine was a little disappointing, but the hero made up for it.

*ARC provided by author/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for checking out my blog!
Roxana


www.romanceandalloftheabove.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Hope, Love and Courage - Highland Knight of Rapture



Highland Knight of Rapture is the 4th book in a series, and while I have not read the other books I think this book reads well as a stand alone.


Recently I have been doing a lot of spicy reading and felt that I needed a little cooling off.  I was happy to be given the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review and I am happy to report that this book does not disappoint.

The book starts off with our heroine, Lady Helen, delivering a beautiful baby girl.  Her husband and Laird is not happy with the delivery after 5 years of marriage as he wanted a heir.  He is despicable man, with no love, respect and not the slight care for our poor Helen.  Enraged he starts publicly acknowledging his mistress in front of his lady wife and Clan.  Poor Helen, a beautiful and timid lady, tries very hard to please her husband.  Accepting that arrange marriages to forge alliances are the norm, she tries very hard to please her boorish husband and accept her fate. 

Sir Eoin MacGregor, an old friend of Lady Helen and close friend of her brother, arrives at the castle to offer support with the feud against the McDonald.  He remembers Lady Helen very fondly and has secretly loved her all these years.  He is stunned to witness her mistreatment and what she is going through.  He decides to help his beautiful lady so that she can have the happiness that she and her daughter deserve.

I must say, I stayed up all night turning the pages in my Kindle.  This story was very engaging.  You couldn’t stop but feel for Helen and the awful circumstances she was going through, and just sigh at how resigned she was to her fate.  She knew her duty and what was expected of her by her family and clan.  The only joy in her daily life was her new born daughter.

Our hero was such a sweetheart!  Eoin struggled in the beginning with figuring out how to help her, knowing that she was married but not accepting it in his heart.  Someone he was able to offer Helen courage and patiently helped her make some very tough decisions.  They are very frightening decisions for her that would affect so many around her..

While not a very steamy read, it did have its moments, and actually I think that if it would have gotten too hot a read it may have taken away from the story.  I really enjoyed this book and will look to read the other in the series.   

Give Highland Knight of Rapture a try and it will not disappoint!

Thank you for stopping by!
Roxana

I received this book as an ARC from Net Galley for my honest review.



Sunday, July 26, 2015

Ecstasy Claimed - The Guardians of the Realms Series Book 2





This is the second book in the “Guardians of the Realms” series.  First let me say that these books are not for the faint hearted.  If you enjoy your romances spicy, with very hot alpha males, and strong females, these are the books for you!  I am certainly pretty happy that I have found Setta Jay!

In the first book, Ecstasy Unbound, we were introduced to Gregoire.  One of the guardians of the realm, he has spent his time in fighting for the security of the Realm.  He is a bad boy that has been having his fun while waiting for his mate, Alyssa, to reach maturity for him to be able to come forth and claim her. 

Alyssa has been waiting for her unknown mate to finally come forward and claim her.  Knowing that she has a mate walking around has made her feel pretty abandoned and embarrassed.  After all the years of waiting, her embarrassment has turned to anger and she decides it’s time to stop waiting around and go live her life like she wants to, with no mate to worry about. 

Taking off on vacation with her good friend, Rain, they decide to take advantage of all the upgrades available, including the special extra curriculum activities.  Gregoire gets wind of this and is not about to have someone else introducing his mate to what he can certainly provide himself!  So the adventure begins with these two.  Gregoire trying to win over his mate and Alyssa fighting from falling for this gorgeous alpha male that she is trying very hard to still be angry at for all the pain and embarrassment he caused her. 

It’s a good solid book.  The story is engaging and it can be a good stand alone book as well, but it certainly does not hurt to read the first one. 


Thank you for stopping by and checking out my latest read!
Roxana


I received this book as an ARC from Net Galley for my honest review.



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Thursday, July 9, 2015

Ecstasy Unbound (The Guardians of the Realms Series Book 1)



Ecstasy Unbound (The Guardians of the Realms Series Book 1)
by Setta Jay (Author page can be found in this LINK)

Welcome to the world of The Guardian’s of the Realms, a group of immortal warriors in charge of watching over and protecting the four realms of this world: the Realm of Pure Souls, the Realm of Corrupt, the Realm of Humanity, and the Tetartos Realm.






In this first book of this series we are introduced to Uri, immortal warrior, and Alexandra (aka Alex) demi-goddess.  They have been circling each other for years, watching and following from a distance.  Building their obsession and lusting after each other.

Alex finally reaches out to Uri for help in saving one of her brothers, Erik.  When these two finally come face to face their sexual pull is incredible and unbeknownst to both of them their meeting starts the mating frenzy.  This comes as a complete surprise to Alex, Uri and the other immortal warriors.  To have immortal warrior and demi-goddess be destined to be mated is unique.   Their coming together is pretty explosive and sure to have you fanning yourself a couple of times! 

I really liked Alex.  She is a smart, strong heroine.  After the initial shock wore of she very naturally welcomed Uri as her mate.  Even with him being one “hot” alpha male, she was able to hold her own and bring out the softer side in him…not to mention the hard part!


Uri is to die for!  SUPER HOT!!! He certainly is a hot, dominant alpha male, oozing sexiness.  I love that he is very overprotective of Alex.  He is also very open to her desires and not only his. 

I enjoyed how this story flowed.  The beginning was a bit slow, but once I got passed the introduction of the book I was hooked.  There is a lot going on in this book, and I would think that it’s because it’s the first book of the series.  Many characters are introduced and some of the situations explained for you to be able to get a better feel of the story line and why our hero and heroine find themselves in their current situation.  With this all going on I believe the author did a great job and making it come together and flow through out the book. 

I must admit that at the end of the book I went back to the 1st chapter to re-read the birth of our immortal warriors just so that I was able to connect more of the pieces together.  This book reminded me of the JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, with the super sexy heroes and strong heroines. 


The sex/love scenes are very spicy and some sexual situations may be extreme for some. It is best to keep an open mind about the sex scenes. These males are very open, and more sexual in nature. There is a club scene at the beginning of the book that will have you taking a couple of deep breaths.  Pretty scorching! 

I should note that there is one rape scene that may be uncomfortable for some readers.


I am glad I found this book and look forward to reading the others in the series.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my latest read!

Roxana


*ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review.