Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Review: MAID FOR IT by Lucy Rodgers

Maid for It
by Lucy Rodgers
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Source: Review copy from Author

In fear for her life after witnessing a powerful drug lord gun down two rivals, Gabriela Marquez flees Sinaloa for the safety of the United States. No sooner does she arrive, however, than she’s arrested and threatened with immediate deportation unless she agrees to work for Maid for It, a company providing specialty housekeeping services to high-end clients. Gabi soon realizes the “specialty” services she must provide will be of a sexual nature. She should refuse, but she can’t risk deportation. Prostitution is preferable to death.

Her first assignment is in the home of Benjamin Hardcastle, a wealthy and reclusive computer security expert. He’s also Maid for It‘s most exacting client. Determined to please the heretofore unpleasable Mr. Hardcastle, Gabi keeps her past a secret. If he discovers the truth—that she’s been coerced into the role of sexual slave—he’ll send her away.

But what begins as a unwelcome obligation becomes an awakening to the incredible pleasures of domination, bondage, and submission. As Gabi discovers she truly is “made for it,” her secret looms larger, threatening her survival in an entirely unexpected way.

Maid for It was a quick, steamy, erotic read. There was some dubious consent involved so be aware. Gabriela Marquez has left her small town in Mexico. She is an eye witness to a murder involving a major drug cartel and her family fears for her life. They hire a pollero to get her over the border into the United States. Unfortunately, Gabi’s safe house is raided by immigration officials and she finds herself in danger of deportation unless she agrees to work for Maid for It, a specialty housekeeping company that caters to wealthy clientele. Her job interview consists of performing a blow job on her boss in the backseat of his limousine. 

Her first job is working for Benjamin Hardcastle, a reclusive cyber security expert. Gabi soon discovers why most of the maids have not lasted more than two days as his employee. Benjamin is looking for more than a recreational sex toy. He wants a permanent willing and submissive sex slave.

After arriving at Benjamin’s mansion, Gabi is given a tour of the house by the butler and begins her housekeeping duties. Her introduction to Benjamin comes two days later. And what a steamy introduction it is. Benjamin walks into the bathroom completely nude while Gabi is on her hands and knees cleaning the floor. He wastes no time getting acquainted with his new merchandise.

The relationship progresses rather quickly. The love scenes are pretty erotic and intense. I really liked Gabi’s character a lot. She was a survivor and did what she felt she had to do to stay alive. I felt her fear and hoped that Benjamin wouldn’t be too hard on her. I wasn’t a huge fan of Benjamin in the beginning, as he was a hard Master and wasn’t always as merciful as I felt he should be. But I did warm up to him as he started to let his feelings for Gabi show. The sex scenes in Maid for It were well written and ultra smutty (have a towel ready)! Benjamin did soften towards Gabi in the end and I really enjoyed their happily ever after. I look forward to reading more from Lucy Rodgers. Maid for It gets 3.5 dragons.



Monday, August 29, 2011

Review and Giveaway: DECADENT DREAMS by Ty Langston


Decadent Dreams
by Ty Langston
Publisher: Lazy Day Publishing
Release Date: July 26, 2011

Source: Review copy from Author

Beth Mason seemingly has it all. A successful bakery/café called Decadent Dreams, good friends, and a nice home in Stamford, New York.
After her previous boyfriend dumped her six months before for not spending enough time with him, Beth decided that she had been through enough and wanted more in a relationship. Throwing herself back into the dating scene, Beth decided to go onto an online dating website called, ‘A Foreign Affair.’
Enjoying the different types of men from all over the world that ‘A Foreign Affair’ catered to, Beth became struck by a handsome man from Belarus named Yuri who was the former manager of the famed Rhapsody night club. After realizing that they had a lot in common, the two struck up a close, intense relationship.
Yuri, who’s been depressed since his nightclub burned to the ground and watching his best friend’s parents both die from a terminal illness, decided to take Beth up on an invite and join her for a fun-filled weekend in New York City.
With both of them full of emotions, will the weekend be just what they needed or more than they bargained for?

Beth Mason is a successful chef who owns her own bakery called Decadent Dreams. Her business takes up so much of her time that she decides to join A Foreign Affair, an international online dating service. She soon meets Yuri a former manager of a popular night club. Unfortunately the club burns down leaving him unemployed. Beth finally gets the courage to invite Yuri to New York City for a weekend visit. They had become close friends through emails and web chats and Beth felt confident that their connection would grow stronger once they met in person. 

I liked both Beth and Yuri. Beth was a really strong, heroine who knew what she wanted and went for it. Yuri was a little conflicted about letting Beth pay for his trip to New York but once he got there his worries disappeared. I thought the relationship seemed a little unbelievable but I tried to go with it. This novella was packed with a lot of sex scenes. As Yuri and Beth only had the weekend to connect, they took full advantage of their limited time together and did it every waking moment. They mostly stayed in the hotel room and only ventured outside once to go dancing but that only lasted a few minutes before they locked themselves in a bathroom and went at it again.  I can’t believe I’m saying this but I thought there were just too many sex scenes and not enough romance. Decadent Dreams was a pretty steamy read and the characters were likable. 



You can find Ty below:
Purchase Links:
Giveaway Time:

Thanks to Ty Langston, one lucky winner will receive an e-copy of Decadent Dreams. Open Internationally.

To Enter:
Leave a comment with your email address.
Entry deadline: Sunday, September 4th 2011 at 11:59pm (PT)


Winner will be announced and emailed soon after and will have 48 hours to respond.

Please be sure to visit the other blogs on the tour.


Schedule of Events
8-28 Author Chat ((More Info to come)) *Giveaway


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Review: THE FALLEN: DEMON by Kristina Douglas

The Fallen: Demon
by Kristina Douglas
Publisher: Pocket
Release Date: May 31, 2011
Series: The Fallen, Book 2


Once the Fallen’s fearless ruler, a grieving Azazel must find the legendary siren meant to take his lost lover’s place . . . and kill her. 

He’s a devil of an angel.
Azazel should have extinguished the deadly Lilith when he had the chance. Now, faced with a prophecy that will force him to betray the memory of his one true love and wed the Demon Queen, he cannot end her life until she leads him to Lucifer. Finding the First is the Fallen’s only hope for protecting mankind from Uriel’s destruction, but Azazel knows that ignoring his simmering desire for the Lilith will be almost as impossible.

She’s an angel of a demon.
Rachel Fitzpatrick wonders how Azazel could confuse her with an evil seductress. She’s never even been interested in sex! At least not before she set eyes on her breathtaking captor. And now she can’t think about anything else—besides escape.

Angels and demons don’t mix.
Rachel stirs a carnal need in Azazel that he never thought he’d feel again. Falling for a demon—even if she has no idea she’s the Lilith—means surrendering his very soul. But if he lets her go, he risks abandoning his heart, his dangerous lover, and possibly all of humanity, to Uriel’s deadly wrath.

The Fallen: Demon is Kristina Douglas’ second book in The Fallen series. It starts seven years after the end of the first novel and is the fallen angel, Azazel’s story. Azazel is the former leader of the Fallen and he was the second archangel to fall from Heaven after Lucifer. After the death of his beloved wife, Sarah, he leaves Raziel in charge of the others and their home in Sheol. The dark and brooding Azazel decides to go after the demon, Lilith and kill her to stop an ancient prophecy from coming to pass. The prophecy states that he will fall in love and wed the Lilith and they will rule hell together. The legend of the Lilith says that she is a succubus demon who seduces men and kills infants. He stalks the Lilith throughout several of her human identities. He finally reveals himself to her during her incarnation as Rachel Fitzpatrick. She has no memory of being a demon. All she knows is that she can never stay in one place for very long and that she cannot go anywhere near infants. 

We are introduced to the Dark City in this novel and most of the story takes place in this dreary place that is described as “people living in black and white in a Technicolor universe” like in the movie, Pleasantville. All of the people, scenery, and even the food is this odd gray color and Rachel and Azazel are the only things in vibrant color. The people and situations are not what they seem. There is a shocking betrayal followed by torture and unfortunately Rachel suffers the consequences. 

The love story was similar to Raziel in that the hero denies for most of the book that he is in love with the heroine and that she is his chosen mate. Azazel was really cold and mean towards Rachel but that was only because of what he thought Rachel was. Azazel has a couple of opportunities to have Rachel killed but rescues her both times. He denies any romantic feelings for her and explains his lust for Rachel as the Lilith trying to seduce him. It took some time but he finally gave in and accepted the fact that Rachel was his chosen one. I enjoyed Rachel’s feisty attitude and her snarky banter with Azazel despite the danger to her life. Although she is kidnapped by Azazel twice, Rachel falls for him and finds herself craving his touch and affection.
    “Are you going to bite me before or after sex?”
    His bright blue eyes met mine. “During,” he said and put his hand between my legs.
    I arched off the bed, surprised and aroused by his touch.
    “Why are you wet, demon?” he whispered. “You’re not supposed to be liking this.”
    “I’m not a demon any longer.”
    “No,” he said. “Only to me. You have become my own personal demon. You haunt me, tempt me, drive me mad with wanting you. I have chosen you, because I cannot imagine ever wanting anyone else ever again. You possess me, obsess me; you’re everywhere inside me and I cannot get rid of you. And worst of all, I don’t want to.”
    I was breathless, staring at him. “For a declaration of love, that leaves a lot to be desired.”
    “I don’t love you. I won’t love you,” he said, and his gently moving fingers found the center of my pleasure and I jerked, sliding down on the bed.
“But by the time I’m done with you, you won’t notice the difference.”

~ Rachel & Azazel
As with the first book I totally fell in love with the Fallen angel’s wings. I love how they unfurl their wings and envelope their mates after making love to them. I really love Kristina Douglas’ world of The Fallen. I thought the details and the flow of the book were outstanding. I enjoyed both protagonists and the dialogue and the suspense kept me interested throughout the novel. This book can be read as a standalone but I would recommend reading the first one just to get a better understanding about the Fallen angel’s history. This was a fabulous follow up to the first novel and I am looking forward to book three. The Fallen: Demon gets 4.5 dragons.



My review of the first book in this series, The Fallen: Raziel, can be read here.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Winners of Summer Giveaway Hop & Copy of Celestial Seduction


Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaways. Congratulations to the winners!


Summer Giveaway Hop Winner of $15 worth of books from the Book Depository is:

Ruth Hill


Winner of Celestial Seduction by Jessica E. Subject is:

 edysicecreamlover18


Winners have been notified by email and have 48 hours to respond.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday: The Renfield Syndrome


The Renfield Syndrome
 by J.A. Saare
Release Date: August 23, 2011

Vampires, and werewolves, and demons, oh my.

Rhiannon thought facing off against a deranged child vampire was the most dangerous task she would ever have to undertake, but she’s about to discover making a deal with a demon is far, far worse. Sent forward into another reality, one in which vampires are now dominating nearly extinct humans, she realizes the sooner she returns to her vampire lover, Disco, the better.

Unfortunately, time changes a lot of things; including those most trusted around her. When she’s faced with a loss and betrayal unlike any she has ever known, her focus shifts from severing the debt between the demon that wants to kill her, to exacting a revenge that will bring forth consequences she never could have fathomed. By reaching out to the darkness lingering within her, she’ll find the strength to push forward despite the circumstances that would see her dead and buried.

After all, when it’s all said and done, all that she has left to lose is her soul.

This is the second installment in the Rhiannon's Law series. I can't wait to see if Rhiannon can find her way back to Gabriel (Disco).

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to showcase the books we can’t wait to get our hands on.


Monday, August 1, 2011

Review and Giveaway: CELESTIAL SEDUCTION by Jessica E. Subject

Celsetial Seduction
by Jessica E. Subject

Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Release Date: July 1, 2011
Series: 1NightStand
Source: Review copy from Author

At the end of his obligated commitment to the Space Service, Frey Berger decides to stay on Earth to further experience human emotions rather than return to Ginnun where his intended has already mated with another. Looking for real love and someone to accept him for what he is, Frey enlists in Madame Evangeline’s popular dating service. Although he does not understand the concept of a one-night stand, he hopes to find his perfect mate.

Carrie Cooper’s husband divorced her for someone who could provide him with children, leaving her with little self-confidence and no desire to let a man hurt her again. Her best friend convinces her to join a dating service, claiming Carrie needs to get laid, while not winding up with a broken heart since her date requires no commitment after the night is over.

Although several misunderstandings nearly derail them before the date has even begun, Carrie and Frey end up becoming closer than they ever believed possible. Still, Frey will need to convince Carrie that her perfect mate isn’t human at all, and that one night can lead to a forever love. 

Celestial Seduction was a really quick read that I finished during one of my lunch breaks. Frey has refused to return to his home planet. He has decided that he wants to find his true love on Earth. He signs up for a dating service and waits several months before finally arranging a date with Carrie who he feels may be a potential mate for him. When the two finally meet the relationship takes off quickly.

I thought this was a sweet love story. Frey comes from a planet that does not allow its inhabitants to show affection towards one another. His desire is to find a woman that he can have an affectionate life long relationship with. Carrie is still trying to recover from a divorce that has left her with low self-esteem. She has no expectations for this one-night stand and because of this was able to be open to Frey’s confession and demonstration of his alien nature.

I’m not a sci-fi fan so the alien aspect of this story kind of made me squirm. But I thought the story was well written. Jessica Subject did a good job conveying the emotions and vulnerabilities of both Carrie and Frey and I enjoyed their story. Celestial Seduction would appeal to romance junkies that enjoy sci-fi elements and alien heroes.

Thanks to Jessica Subject, one lucky winner will receive a copy of Celestial Seduction. Open Internationally.
To Enter:
Leave a comment with your email address.
Entry deadline: Monday, August 8th 2011 at 11:59pm (PT)


Winner will be announced and emailed soon after and will have 48 hours to respond.

Please visit the other blogs on the tour.



SCHEDULE OF TOUR












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