In anticipation of Kit Rocha's next book in the Beyond Series, Beyond Pain, I decided to reread Beyond Control. I first read this book in March of 2013, but clearly couldn't put coherent sentences together to write a review at the time. So much happened in this one. 

Synopsis:

Alexa Parrino escaped a life of servitude and survived danger on the streets to become one of the most trusted, influential people in Sector Four, where the O’Kanes rule with a hedonistic but iron fist. Lex has been at the top for years, and there’s almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the gang…and for its leader. Lie, steal, kill—but she bows to no one, not even Dallas O’Kane.

He’ll settle for nothing less.

Dallas fought long and hard to carve a slice of order out of the chaos of the sectors. Dangers both large and small threaten his people, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. His liquor business is flourishing, and new opportunities fuel his ambition. Lex could help him expand his empire, something he wants almost as much as he wants her. And no one says no to the king of Sector Four.

Falling into bed is easy, but their sexual games are anything but casual. Attraction quickly turns to obsession, and their careful dance of heady dominance and sweet submission uncovers a need so deep, so strong, it could crush them both.

I FLOVE THIS SERIES!

Beyond Control is way more intense than Beyond Shame and that's a good thing. As much as I loved Book 1, which was a great intro to this world, I was glad the authors ratcheted everything up a notch. Or five.

We get more of everything here. We learn more about the politics of the various sectors and we get inside the heads of the leaders of Sector Four.

The tension between Dallas and Lex is palpable. They've been 'together' for years. Lex is the undisputed female leader of the O'Kane gang, but Dallas has never done anything to make it formal. He wants to, more than anything, but worries about the target she has on her back already. If he were to truly make her his Queen, that target would only get bigger. And we saw what happened when she got shot in Book 1. He nearly lost his mind.

Add to that the thought of her being with anyone else drives him absolutely insane. But he has never stopped her and has no plans to. He thinks taking that away from her, demanding it of her, is something Lex would never agree to. A little too late does he realize that Lex would give anything if Dallas would take the control she so badly wants to give him. Even if only for a little while. At the same time though, she wants to be seen as his equal in all things.

They both know that things need to change between them but they are both too proud and stubborn to come out and tell each other what that change should be.

LET THE ANGST FEST BEGIN!

Stubborn. So Stubborn. He wants to collar her, claim her so no one can ever have her again. She wants to be collared. To be his and only his. But neither will admit it to each other or anyone else. Although I'm pretty sure the whole damn tribe knows how they feel and what they truly want and need. 

When Lex does something in a moment of anger and complete frustration at the stalemate that has become their relationship, Dallas retaliates the only way he can. He collars her. In front of everyone.

Not that he didn't want this. He's been waiting for this moment, wanting it, for years. Now that they have what they want, will they be able to keep it and each other without getting stabby?

This book was freakin' fabulous. Lex and Dallas are so smart, so clever. They are so good together. They know who they are and know they each have a part to play in the running of their sector and politically as its' leaders. I loved getting inside their heads to watch them slip on their masks.

And while I loved the story of Dallas and Lex, I cannot wait for Ace, Cruz and Rachel. We get a Cruz POV that makes me wonder what his darkness is all about and if Rachel is really safe with him. Does he want her because he wants her or because Ace wants her? Or is there something else at play here... I'll just say there is a cage fight at the end of this book that will leave you wondering many things.

Also, when Rachel was getting her tatoo I was in tears. The same with Six' chapter. Two very different women who are trying desperately to keep it together. There was so much emotion in their two short chapters. It says a lot about the writing of these books that we get so many well-rounded characters who we are dying to know more about. 

Well done Kit Rocha!

5 FLAMING STARS OF PURE HOTNESS! 

Just because I didn't mention the smexy times in my review doesn't mean they didn't happen. 

Definitely the hottest book I've read in a LONG time.

Beneath the Burn Review and Author Interview

Book Description:

They meet by chance. The timing is wrong.

Three years later, she finds him again, but their separation was poisoned with narcotics and bloodied by enslavement.

Her freedom gambled away, Charlee Grosky escapes the international businessman who held her captive. But his power reaches beyond her protective barriers and threatens everyone she has come to love.

Jay Mayard wears his tortured secrets under his rock god facade. Drugs are his release, even as he seeks to be the man forged of the steel only she can see.

In a celebrity world filled with paparazzi, groupies, and drugs, Jay and Charlee must face their worst fears. When the battle is over, what will be left...Beneath The Burn.

Genre: Romantic/Erotic Thriller

Content warning: Includes graphic rape, sex, anal, bondage, and violence. Age 18+ only.

Amazon |  Barnes&Noble  |  Smashwords | Kobo

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My Review:

Beneath the Burn is a terrific erotic thriller with plenty of action, a chilling villain and an awesome tattoo. There’s great chemistry between Jay and Charlee and it didn't take many pages to care about what happened to them. This is a dark and sexy thriller with one of the most memorable opening sequences I have read in a long while. It’s gritty and graphic and made me immediately intrigued with the main characters.

The secondary characters are great too. Nathan was just super, and I loved him and his dedication to Charlee. She probably wouldn’t have made it against the truly sadistic villain that is chasing her without him.

I really liked Beneath the Burn. It’s got a great mix of action and introspection, very nice pacing, and characters that are interesting and original. Great job with the erotic content, too. It was creepy when it needed to be, sexy and romantic when it needed to be.   That's not easy to do.

Great cover too! 

5 of 5 flames

                     BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO THE END FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

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Interview with Pam Godwin, author of Beneath the Burn

First, a little something about Pam...

Pam Godwin lives in Missouri with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band. Now, she resides in her hometown, earning her living as a portfolio research analyst, and living her yearning as a writer.

Java, tobacco, and dark romance novels are her favorite indulgences, and might be considered more unhealthy than her aversion to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes.

Follow Pam on Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pam's Website

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My Interview with Pam...

Your previous book, Dead of Eve, is a paranormal. What made you want to switch genres to write Beneath the Burn?

After two years writing DOE, I needed a break from the characters. Apparently, I needed a break from the genre as well. The two books are incomparable to each other.

What sort of research did you do when writing Beneath the Burn? What did you find most interesting during your research process, even if it didn't make it into the book?

I look up everything from what crop fields smell like in Texas in July to the statuary rape laws by state. The bulk of my research, however, focused on national defense technologies, the side effects of various street drugs, and the psychology behind BDSM. I also read The Bodyguard Manual by Leroy Thompson. Did you know that professional bodyguards have checklists for every location and every potential event? Airport, hotel and restaurant check-lists, city files, and VIP Appearance site surveys. Crazy job. Almost made me want to pursue it as a new profession. Almost.

I see you married the vocalist of your favorite rock band. How did that influence your writing of Beneath the Burn?

The years I trailed my husband's band inspired a number of scenes in the book, as well as most of the terminology and slang used. Representing groupies in an unsavory light was difficult because I was one myself for so long. To be honest, I've never met a hateful or jealous groupie. Nevertheless, keeping excitable fan hands off my man prompted enough drama to limn the pages of a book.

What books have most influenced you?

Anita Blake is the one of most influential characters I’ve read. She's such a sympathetic, relatable badass, but when the series gave up plot in favor of pointless sex-sex-and-more-sex, disappointment spurred me to start writing. My favorite books, The Kushiel Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey, inspire me through its passionate prose and unforgettable characterization.

Can you tell us a foul-mouthed parrot story?

My African Grey parrot knows around 2000 words, every English swear word, and can mimic any natural/electronic sound and vocal tone to unnerving perfection. One night, the battery runs low in one of my home fire detectors. It gives a high pitch beep every five seconds. I follow the sound. Pinpoint the alarm. Change the battery. Good to go. Next night, the beep screeches again. I follow the sound. Same alarm? What the hell? I change the battery. The high-pitch beeping continues. I change the battery in the next detector. Beeps blare on and I'm out of batteries. After a midnight run to the store and battery changes in all ten detectors in the house, the alarm continues to scream. By now, you've figured out why. Sadly, it took me several hours to remember the douchebagadry of my mimicking parrot--I say this with the utmost affection now that I no longer want to strangle his chicken neck at three in the morning.

What's up next for you?

Blood of Eve (Book 2 in The Eve Trilogy). I’m squirming to get back to the horror and heroes that make up Evie’s apocalyptic adventures.

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40 winners will win an ebook copy of Beneath the burn by Pam Godwin

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Review: Escaping Reality (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #1)

4 Flames for Escaping Reality (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #1)

by Lisa Renee Jones (Goodreads Author)

Synopsis

Infinite possibilities….
Infinite passion…..
Infinite danger….

His touch spirals through me, warm and sweet, wicked and hot. I shouldn’t trust him. I shouldn’t tell him my secrets. But how do I not when he is the reason I breathe? He is what I need.

At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loves to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she’s finally dared to believe she is forgotten–even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets down her guard down, the ghost’s of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run.

On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take “no” as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give? And what if there is more to Liam than meets the eyes?

What I thought 

4 Flames

Amy is on the run when she meets Liam, a super-hot billionaire with a past (where have I seen that before) and in spite of knowing she shouldn’t, she lets him into her life. She’s got a shady employer, and even shadier “handler”. There are so many questions, its no wonder she has blackouts. Everyone she meets is suspicious in some way.

Most everything in this book is laying the groundwork for book two, and it ends in a decent cliffhanger. Some elements of the story have been exposed, but its clear there is more to come. Who is trustworthy is the big question. I can honestly say after finishing the first book I still don’t know and I like that.

There isn’t really anything new here plot-wise, but what I liked about this book was the writing, especially Amy’s inner thoughts as she is struggling with the consequences of falling for Liam. Some of what she has to say was almost poetic for me.

I’m not sure how I feel about Liam. He’s hot in the bedroom, and he knows how to use his domineering personality to get what he wants. Amy is right to be suspicious of him. And then there’s the hot neighbor, Jared, who reminds her of someone from her past, and seems to turn up just at the right or wrong time. Who’s the good guy? I’m not sure.

Liam does seem to fall in love rather quickly and we’ve seen the billionaire Dom in other titles, but I liked Amy and my interest in what happens to her overrode my annoyance at the overused character type.

So, overall, if you like your erotic romance with a bit of mystery, you might like this. I will definitely be looking for book 2 of this series. 







Amazon



Thanks to Julie Patra Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.  

Official FRIGID Trailer and Contest from Jennifer L. Armentrout

FRIGID Trailer

Don't forget to enter the super contest from Jennifer L. Armentrout 

More about Frigid

For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn’t anything new. They’d been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the ‘man’ in man-whore. He’s never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn’t want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she’s perfect and she’s everything. But the feelings he has for her, he’s always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they’re stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor’easter, there’s nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

Amazon            B&N

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.
 
She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Synopsis:

In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.


5 Flames for Losing Hope

 I wasn’t very far into this when I realized how much I love Colleen Hoover’s writing. Even though I knew the story from reading Hopeless, I was sucked right into this. And while Hopeless has all the major reveals, Losing Hope takes us deep into Holder’s feelings. If Holder captured your heart in Hopeless, he will definitely seal the deal with this read.

I loved the creative use of the journal. I thought it was a great way to show Holder’s grief and guilt over his sister and his falling in love with Sky. It really worked for me. It was an important part of Holder’s closure.

I’m always nervous about reading a separate book from another POV since its tricky to find the right formula between new and known material. I think there was a nice mix here. I didn’t find myself wanting at the end.

I enjoyed this book. It made me want to go and re-read Hopeless.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced reading copy, in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars for Gwynneth Ever After

Synopsis:

Gwyn Jacobs doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Ever since her ex-husband walked out, leaving her alone with three small children, Gwyn has been mother, father, and bread-winner all rolled into one. Her own scarred heart aside, she refuses to open up her children’s lives to the possibility of another heartbreak, and so she has an unbending policy of no dating and no unattached men in their lives.

Until her very own fairy tale falls into her lap...and the hero won’t take no for an answer.

What I thought about Gwynneth Ever After


Oh, I liked this! Gwynneth Ever After is a sweet little fairy tale, only instead of an evil stepmother, there's lots of real life baggage. Babysitters and limited funds, broken cars and precious children with chickenpox. Gwyn Jacobs takes it all in strike. Oh, and she's got her own architectural firm she runs from her home too. Frankly, I wasn't sure how she did all of it.

Gareth Connor is a successful actor. His baggage includes a failed marriage, an uncooperative ex-wife, and tons of paparazzi. When Gareth and Gwyn meet one afternoon by accident, they are both drawn to each other in spite of their different worlds and the fact that Gareth is only visiting for a few weeks.

They fall for each other in spite of themselves, and it takes lots of work to make it work for them. I loved how Gareth came to Gwyn's rescue, and the fact it wasn't by throwing around his money or position was absolutely lovely. I think I may have fallen in love with him myself.

Gwyn has a hard time accepting what is happening to her and her family as a result of Gareth's presence, and I really could sympathize with her situation. Having to do what's best for the children isn't always easy.

The supporting characters were a great addition to the story. Sandy as Gwyn's friend, Gareth's cousin Eric and Amy were awesome additions to the story. I absolutely loved that Amy comes to Gareth's aid at the end, along with help from an unlikely source. That little scene put a huge smile on my face. And no, I'm not saying who Amy is because I don't want to spoil it!

I was actually in the midst of another book when I accidentally opened this on my reader and read the first few pages. I was hooked and ended up putting the other book aside and finishing this in a day. It's not overly long or complex, but I loved it for its simplicity and realism.

This is a sweet happily-ever-after that is a lovely one-day read. The story and writing is engaging and lets you fall right into Gareth's and Gwyn's situation without effort. Very glad I took the time to read this.

Arc courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

ORIGIN Cover Release

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.
 
Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?
The book will be releasing on 8/27/2013 by the Entangled Teen line.

 

ORIGIN Links:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13644052-origin

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Lux-Series-Entangled-Teen/dp/1622660757/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/origin-jennifer-armentrout/1114855732

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JLArmentrout

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout

Website: http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/