Review: Friend-Zoned by Belle Aurora

Friend-Zoned by Belle Aurora

Series: Friend-Zoned #1
Genre: Romance
Release Date: month 1, 2013
Summary:

Nikolai Leokov never thought he'd fall in love with the only girl he's ever befriended.

Valentina Tomic has issues with commitment after the ultimate betrayal.

When Tina decides to make broody Nik's day better, she never thought she would end up friends with the hard man.

Nik has never had a woman be so affectionate to him without expecting something in return.

Nik and Tina cordially invite you to read Friend-zoned.

A story of friendship, humour and love.

Rating:


Review: 

So I think I am quite hopeless when it comes to romance. Honestly. I tried. BUT I just don't... I dunno.. get it? Well, I get what the author tried to do, and frankly I think loads of people will find it funny and amazing. I however didn't. So yeah, I guess I am a hopeless case.
Thing is I expect this to be cute and fluffy and fun. Which it was in parts, other parts were kinda painful for me. 

As example the writing style, was ok. And there were parts that I am aware are supposed to be funny. BUT they just made me roll my eyes. The book is written in Nik and Tina's point of view, but they were extremely similar. So similar that I sometimes wasn't sure which one of the two it was.
The story-line was ok. There were some great ideas. I loved the whole friend-zoned idea. BUT then Aurora crammed in every single cliche there is, and like halfway through I felt like stopping. The only reason I went on, was that I really liked the beginning of the book and I had hope that it got better. It didn't get much better, but also not worse. 

The smut is not bad. Though the fist O was a bit creepy if you ask me. LOL

The cliche overload is a huge let down. He is rich, handsome and damaged. She is rich, beautiful and damaged. They have both commitment issues, dark pasts... but they oh so perfectly behave with each other. There are shitty exes on both sides, danger from their pasts. They nearly break up twice..... I am gonna stop now, but trust me there is much much more!

The characters were alright. Sweet and fun and so so so cliche. But honestly I didn't mind that. They make a sweet group of friends. It's the main reason I gave it 2 Stars actually and definitely what makes this an ok book. 

My biggest issues with the book besides the length and the overload of clichés it was really soppy at times.
as example:
I never thought of it like that before. I guess I hold the same power over Nik as he has over me. Love is sacred. A gift from one person to another. Love binds people together, no matter how different they might be
I know I am supposed to be move by this...but it makes me roll my eyes, I felt preached to. Let me not even start on all the crying or the other overly emotional behavior. It was definitely not my cup of tea. I do however think allot of girls out there will be really moved out by it... so yeah I guess I am a hopeless case when it comes to romance. It is official now.

I had no intention to read the next book of the series...then is saw its about Asher and Nat. Aaaaaand I might just.
Because I am still holding some hope that maybe just maybe that one will be less emo & cliché dumping and perhaps I am not completely a lost case when it comes to romance?

(click on the name for more reviews of this geek)

 

Review: Fire Inside by Kirsten Ashley

Fire Inside by Kirsten Ashley

Publisher: Forever
Series: Chaos 2
Pages: Pages (Hardcover)
Genre: Romance
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Summary:
Lanie Heron isn’t looking for love—no surprise, considering her last serious relationship nearly got her killed. So when Lanie propositions Hop Kincaid, all she wants is one wild night with the hot-as-hell biker who patrols with the Chaos Motorcycle Club...

For Hop, Lanie has always been untouchable. She’s too polished and too classy for his tastes. But when she gives Hop the once-over with her bedroom eyes and offers him a night in paradise, he can’t say no. And he doesn’t regret it when he finds that Lanie is the best thing that’s ever happened to him—in or out of bed. Now the trick will be to convince her of that.

Rating:


Review: 

I'm sorry to say it, but Fire Inside didn't do it for me.

It isn't that it was bad. It's just that there was nothing new and no story line to make the book interesting. To make things worse I couldn't connect with Lanie or Hope and their "I'm coming to try to reconcile but I'm living you" dance almost made this one a DNF.

(click on the name for more reviews of this geek)

 

Review: The Airship Captain's Daughter by Sapphire Del Rey

The Airship Captain's Daughter by Sapphire Del Rey

Genre: Steampunk *Adult*
Release Date: June 6, 2013
Summary:


Once a daughter of privilege, Moira Drake now lives and works at the Somerfield Blimp Port with her adoptive father, Captain Teague, running an air ferry service for the wealthy class of English society. It's not a bad life, precisely, but Moira yearns for more. She craves action and adventure. She also, unsurprisingly, craves sex, as she's still a virgin, even at her advanced age. However, she also knows that to invite one of the local men into her bed is a dangerous proposition, as once they discover her secret, they'll want to marry her, ending her dreams of freedom forever.
Captain Zac Relfi, a member of the American Air Command, has orders to "deflower" Moira before the Queen and members of The Old Peerage use Moira and her precious virginity to retain control over a steam-powered populace growing tired of the old ways. Using force at first, Zac soon discovers that the need for adventure that lives in Moira is more than enough to match his own. And when her legs are wrapped around his waist, he finds that all he wants is more of her hot, slick, naked body beneath his.
All people depicted in this work of fiction, which features adult sexual acts, are over 18 years of age.

Rating:


Review: 

I love Steampunk and I thought a little fun hot Steampunk would just be the right thing to read today, I expected M.Brooks kinda steamy airship fun. Instead I got basically just a sex scene. Set in Steampunk Victorian times- the world building bits and pieces were the best part of the novella btw. BUT the sex scene? First the woman got basically raped, then forced to oral and after that got some unwanted butt sex. REALLY?! So let's say we think some women like it rough, NO still means FREAKN NO!!!
But on top of that to add insult to injury the language is horrifying. The choice words that Del Rey has for vagina are just simply disgusting.
So not what I bargained for when I started this.  
Definitely one of the worst things I ever read!

(click on the name for more reviews of this geek)

 

Review: This Is Who I Am by Cherise Sinclair

This is Who I am  by Cherise Sinclair

Publisher:  Loose Id, LLC
Series: Masters of Shadowlands #7
Pages: 369 Pages (ebook)
Genre: Erotica *ADULT*
Release Date: May 27, 2013
Summary:

When trying to save a woman from slavers, Sam screwed up. Royally. Now Linda wants nothing to do with him. Or with BDSM. She won’t even admit she’s a masochist. As a dominant and sadist, he can give her what she needs, and when an opportunity arises, he slips into her life, intending to make amends. She’s everything he knew she would be…except for her bullheaded determination to be ‘normal’.

Now the horrible time is past, Linda just wants to return to her small conservative town, pick up her quiet life, and be normal. But how can someone who likes pain be ‘normal’? To her dismay, when someone spray-paints her home with obscenities, Sam shows up to rescue her. Again. Doesn’t he understand that the last thing she needs in her life is a sadist? He’s amused by her objections. But his dry sense of humor can’t disguise that he’s tough as nails and dominant and stubborn. He’s not going to let her drive him off this time. Soon she realizes she wants him to stay.

When he takes her to the Shadowlands, she feels as if she’s found a home…until she hears a voice from out of her nightmares.

Rating:


Review: 

He gave her a contemplative stare as if he’d never had a woman tease him. Then again, who in their right mind would tease a sadist?

Amongst the BDSM themed books the sadist/masochist couples are part of the ones I like the least. I’m sorry, but I can’t find a sadist appealing so if I can help it I tend to avoid BDSM books with sadist heroes.

That being said, even though I knew that Sam and Linda fell in that category I couldn’t wait to read “This is Who I Am”. For three reasons. The first one is although Sam is a sadist, since book 5 I couldn’t help but like him. The second reason is because in book 6, wanting to help Linda, Sam ended up messing up big time. He knows something went wrong but doesn’t know what and feel bad about it. The last reason is because in this book the identity of the mole in the Shadowlands Club was to be revealed (this particular sadist was creepy).

And then he’d made a mistake; to this day, he wasn’t sure exactly what. He had ideas, but hell, he could be totally off base.

“I’m not sure what I did.” Where were all the arguments he’d come up with over the past months? “But I did something wrong. I’m sorry, girl.”

Still, because of the MC's preferences I was prepared to not enjoy this book as much as the other, so this book was a really really good surprise. I don’t know how she did it but somehow Cherise Sinclair managed to write the story in such a way that their relationship was just beautiful and right.

With Sam, she’d felt safe. Safe enough to let go, to let pain transform into pleasure, to let herself slide into her happy place. His strength, his voice, even his brutal honesty was reassuring. So was the way he’d hold her afterward with surprisingly tender hands, caring for her as if she... meant... something.

I think that one of the things that allowed this achievement is that during the different BDSM scenes, instead of focusing on too much technical details or the pain side, Cherise Sinclair focused on the pleasure felt by Linda.

Glorious, erotic rawness. Unsure if she hurt or felt wonderful, she whimpered.
Delight filled his eyes.
[...] The pain was —as Goldilocks said—just right.

Another thing that helped is that not only none of them is in the humiliation stuff but after her abduction Linda is determined to be threated with respect and Sam is there to help her recover her self-esteem and confidence. I really liked the game they played where she was to receive “good” punishment if she misbehaved and “bad” ones if she was polite and compliant.

After donning the suit coat she’d fetched, he gave her an approving smile. “Miss Madison, I’m Sam Davies, the CEO of Pain International.” He held his hand out. (LOL!)

Sam is a really thoughtful and watchful Dom (inside and outside the club), Linda is a strong and loving woman and together they were beautiful. I think the fact that they are both mature added a dimension to their story.

Expecting to see amusement in his gaze, she saw only concern. It didn’t matter. She rose to her feet, rattled when he did the same. But he was the kind of man who’d observe that old-fashioned courtesy. A gentleman sadist.

"May have less muscles, but women got more guts than most men."

Of course this book being part of the Masters of the Shadowlands series, there was also funny moments. And I absolutely can’t wait for Sally, Galen and Vance story!!!

"Those two. They’ve got tag teaming down to a science. And they make me feel stupid. I never feel stupid. I need a drink."

(click on the name for more reviews of this geek)

 

Review: Down London Road by Samantha Young

Down London Road by Samantha Young

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Series: On Dublin Street #2
Pages: Pages (Hardcover)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult
Release Date: May 6, 2013
Summary:

Johanna Walker is used to taking charge. But she’s about to meet someone who will make her lose control....

It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother, she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may not—fly.

But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs first. Cam is just as obsessed with getting to know Jo, but her walls are too solid to let him get close enough to even try.

Then Cam moves into the flat below Jo’s, and their blistering connection becomes impossible to ignore. Especially since Cam is determined to uncover all of Jo’s secrets …even if it means taking apart her defenses piece by piece

Rating:


Review: 

As much as I really liked “On Dublin Street” I couldn’t enjoy “Down London Road”. The writing wasn’t bad but the first part of the book was plain boring, and the second on top of being boring was filled with a succession of dramas and clichés, all things I don't love in a book. It‘s sad to say but I couldn’t connect with or care for the main characters.

I didn’t understand why the author chose Jo as heroine to this sequel because “On Dublin Street” made her all but lovable and her transformation from the bimbo gold digger full of insecurities to the woman in love and happy in her head and body in such short time didn’t convince me at all.

A thing that really didn’t work for me is the kind of love triangle. I really don’t care reading a romance book where for half of the story the hero and heroine are both involved with someone else. More over, I really don’t care reading about
(view spoiler on GR)

 Then, they both ditched their boyfriend/girlfriend and here comes the succession of dramas: (view spoiler on GR) *rolls eyes*

Also, in my humble opinion, the mother’s situation could have been better exploited, here it felt more like a drama alibi than anything else.

And the bimbo gold digger who can’t help but fall in love with a man out of job, cliché much? *rolls eyes*

A thing that never fails to annoy the hell out of me while reading a series is when you have a given character that suddenly has a totally new personality. What happened to Joss? I’m sorry but for the life of me I couldn’t reconcile her character in this book from the one in her book. And in my opinion, the explanations for her change of personality are just lame.

The things I liked in this book are Cole and Hanna characters as well as some comebacks, unfortunately their were too few.