Tag: erotic romance

Erotica, Romance

My Review: Crosstown Crush (Sins in the City #1): by Cara McKenna

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Publish Date: September 1st, 2015
Number of Pages: 336 Pages
Publisher: Signet
Genre(s): Erotica, Romance

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

After I happened upon this book totally by accident, I can say that this is definitely a smutty & erotic story worth checking out for those who are curious about what exactly is explored by the main characters…

I was doing a mini experiment with this title and decided to give it a try without looking into it on Goodreads, Amazon, literally nothing besides just reading the blurb and starting it based off just that. Honestly, it’s been wayyyyyyy too long since I’ve done that and I feel like I should do it more often; I might enjoy a lot more titles and not end up passing on a lot of them based off their Goodreads average rating or being scared off from others’ reviews. It makes me think of how many books I’d actually passed up on because of that, and it turns out I would’ve really enjoyed them?

So back to this book, but sex and a particular kink are the main focus of the story. I mean, that makes total sense when it comes to books within this genre, and one thing to remember is that with so much emphasis on the graphic sex scenes comes less actual plot and in-depth character development. Sometimes you do get all that in the story, but it can’t always be expected. What is expected is incredibly detailed sex scenes that really heat things up! This book is a dirty one and might even be too much for some readers! I enjoyed it because it was all about exploration of something that is taboo and forbidden and looked down on by a lot of people, plus I think it also depends on your personal views of marriage and how far a couple can go with their sex lives both as a couple but also as individuals.

So I’m kind of assuming a lot by this point, but I’m sure you know what’s going on in the book, so I’m just going to sort of go off about the “other man” in this whole relationship because he was by far my favorite character! I go into more detail about him later on in my review, but I thought the chemistry between him and the wife was so much hotter and undeniable than even her and her actual husband! There was definitely some major sparks happening there, and of course plenty of passionate, forbidden sex that was happening between them all!

The ending left a little more to be desired in my honest opinion, but again, I go more into detail on that below. I guess I can say that it was satisfying enough, but maybe not for those who read this and are leaning more towards the third man in this whole setup.

This erotic novel kind of hit different with its content and focus on cuckholding, which is when the husband is cheated on, but there’s also a lot more to it I think… This book doesn’t really give you a lesson in the topic and taboo subject matter, but it certainly paints it all in an interesting picture. Of course in this book it was all kind of hot, but would it be the same in your own sex life? What if instead of seeing red with rage and getting jealous, what if it was a huge turn on to have your significant other whispering in your ear all the torrid and dirty things they did with someone else? Maybe it leads to roleplaying and/or bringing a third party into the mix all for the sake of experimentation and fulfilling a dark and forbidden fantasy? I know that definitely doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I feel like exploring the idea through fiction might be a safer way to do so? It’s tricky because how accurate can it be? How much research did the author do? Is this just another 50 Shades of Grey mess? It certainly raises a ton of questions the more you think about it, but I’m going to leave it all up to you, the reader, to make up your mind on the topic. I appreciate you either way!

Each of the three characters has their own fantasies/fetishes that they admit to at some point in the story, some earlier than others. As the three of them explore themselves and their whole sexual dynamic, it actually gets kind of complex with how their feelings change and develop as they get to know more about each other, but the one thing that makes us unique gets in the way: human emotion. It certainly can lead to complications, especially with such a fragile and unique dynamic that the characters find themselves in with this book. Lines get crossed, as to be expected, but how exactly do they deal with it all? Thats the big question to ask that makes me say you need to read it for yourself to find out!

(or just keep reading on where I’m kind of giving a vague spoiler on the ending…fair warning).

What It’s About:

The official blurb:

The first in a new series from the “wicked-hot”* author of Hard Time and Give It All explores the fantasies of a daring married couple—and those of a stranger invited to play along in their scandalous little games… When he’s working, Mike Heyer is all business—every inch the alpha male, with the hard, capable body to back up his persona. But at home he can be a different man entirely, harboring appetites only his wife gets to glimpse…

When Samira first learned of her husband’s fantasies, she was reluctant, even alarmed. But after witnessing the way they set him on fire, she yielded, and happily indulged. As their games have intensified, so has the rush. And now so has the risk—they’re poised to take Mike’s indecent desires to the next level, by opening their bed to a sexy, brazen stranger. A man seeming custom-made to grant every last one of Mike and Samira’s sinful wishes.

Welcoming someone new into their lives was always a dangerous proposition, but the couple imagined if anything was at stake, it was their privacy…not their hearts.

What I Liked:

  1. Bern! He was a total highlight of this book, and I find it so ironic considering he’s the third party person whose brought into this unique pairing. He’s charming, he’s confident, down to earth, cheeky, and so intune with his sexuality and what all happens, he was fun to read in this story. I liked him almost immediately and wouldn’t mind if he was a real person if I ever bumped into him. He also has a dog who he obviously cares a lot about which is also a major plus, but also how he totally is down to go with the flow and change up the roleplaying almost quicker than either Sam or Mike. He has an exhibitionist in him and he’s not afraid to take charge and put his emotions out on his sleeve, I think anyone who reads this will absolutely adore him!
  2. The Smut! With the added thrill of the forbidden and taboo, the sex was absolutely so well done in this book. So much dirty talk and hot actions were said and done to heat up the pages and make you blush a couple times, plus these scenes take up a rather hefty amount of the book itself. Any fans of smut will absolutely love this book for this fact alone.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Ending… So this goes into spoiler territory, so read on at our own risk or skip to the conclusion……….but I wasn’t thrilled about the ending. It felt rushed and wrapped up a little too nicely, which always seems to be a problem I have with contemporary romance titles I swear! Well the main reason I wasn’t all that happy with it is because it honestly felt like it gave Bern the short end of the straw. So basically Sam ends up wanting both men in her life and being in a relationship with Bern while staying married to Mike, so they basically share her. Well, Mike shares her and pretty much chaperones anything that happens with Bern and Sam….It may have ended the book fine, but I was thinking about how it could come to be later on in their lives, like it doesn’t seem like it’d work long-term for them. To be fair, it was implied that Mike lessoned his strictness a little bit over time, but I just feel like Bern is going to resent how he doesn’t get enough over time… I just saw it going south, plus it’s not like throuples are really a big socially acceptable thing in this day and age. I’m not even sure if you can call it a throuple because Mike and Bern don’t really go too far with each other; there’s some exploration with that, but it’s more about them sharing Sam with little interaction between themselves…I don’t know, I just wasn’t thrilled with how it all wrapped together in the end.

Conclusion:

Certainly a HAWT erotica novel that fans of the genre should absolutely consider getting their hands on! It explores the dynamic of a man and wife and their adventurous sex life and how far they’re willing to go in order to live out some of their most forbidden and dark sexual fantasies. Those curious about it all have the chance to really enjoy this title, and meet the other man Bern, who was a total delight for this book!

This is also the first in a series, and while the couple in the next book isn’t anyone you meet in this book, I wonder if these characters make other appearances at all? I guess I’ll have to read on in order to find out!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica

My Review: Priest (Priest #1): by Sierra Simone

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Publish Date: June 18th, 2015
Number of Pages: 354 Pages
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing
Genre(s): Erotica

Total Star Rating: 2.75 Stars

I’ll admit that I was just in such a mood to read a smutty, erotic book when this book popped up into the bookstore one day. I’ve been reminiscing about books/series like the Crossfire series, the Beautiful Bastard series, and even the New Camelot Trilogy (that’s written by this very same author), and I just wanted to read something along the lines of those kinds of books again; it feels like it’s been awhile since I really have! I’ve been enjoying some new adult romance books by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy, and while those are incredibly fun, they’re not entirely in the same ballpark as the other series I’ve just mentioned. I just need some mindless smut, you know? Literally, sometimes a reader like me just needs pornography in the written word format, there’s nothing else to it!

The premise of this book immediately drew me in because I absolutely adored Sierra Simone’s New Camelot Trilogy, and I thought I’d hit another goldmine with this story, which is about a Catholic Priest breaking his sacred, religious vows with a woman. several times. As someone who loves to explore the darker and forbidden side like these sort of things, at least in literature, how can you not be immediately curious? Sure, figures in the church like the main character haven’t been cast in the best light over the years, but luckily this wasn’t as horrific of a tale like say, The Keepers (A Netflix true-crime documentary).

This book wasn’t terrible, but I can also say I was not as satisfied with the story overall as I was with her other trilogy I loved. I go more into detail about that further down in my review, but I can say I still thought it was pretty good book; the story wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped, but the sex scenes were still hot as hell and entertaining enough to that degree. It was more one of those kinds of reads that are mindless fun; you enjoy it more if you don’t really think about all the things wrong with it too much. I felt the exact same way with stories like 50 Shades of Grey and 365 Days; super hot stuff, but the forbidden factors don’t appeal to everyone, like if you sign a contract to be someone’s submissive, you get kidnapped by the mob, or in this case with a Catholic Priest falling for a woman and having a secret, torrid affair with her.

What It’s About:

This story revolves around 29-years old Tyler Anselm Bell, who’s also a priest in his small town. He has an incredibly personal reason for turning to the church since his past is questionable, but one day he has a run in with a sensuous voice in the confessional booth. He’s a man who’s sworn to walk the straight and narrow, to guide those who seek forgiveness and retribution, but meeting Poppy Danforth makes him question everything.

Poppy has moved into the small town, and meets Tyler during a private confession session, and despite them both trying to keep it professional, they can’t deny the sparks that fly between them, and of course, begin to have a torrid and secret affair.

What begins as a relationship that’s doomed from the start, their secret is constantly threatened to be exposed along with both seeking their true purpose in life as well as whether their relationship is strong enough to withstand all that it’s up against…but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to be having electric sex all while trying to figure it out!

What I Liked:

  1. It’s Certainly Taboo! I’m not someone who’s all that religious, and I would have to be an idiot to actually recommend this title to someone who’s heavily involved with the catholic church, and this book really brings up a controversial idea of what if a catholic priest falls in love? With the story involving someone involved in the Catholic church, where tradition and strict guidelines is the reputation, this story certainly falls on the forbidden and taboo subject matter that will definitely appeal to those who are looking for a spicy book that will make them ashamed to be caught reading in public! Sierra Simone really seems to be an author that loves to explore the forbidden and darker themed erotic fiction!
  2. The Sex Scenes Absolutely Sizzle! Just like when I read The New Camelot Trilogy by this author, I can say this book also has some seriously hot love scenes that fans of erotica, and even further justifies me recommending this author to anyone who’s looking for something to read within the erotic fiction genre. It’s even hotter when some of the scenes within this story take place right inside the church, even up on the dais

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Few Perspectives Told from Poppy’s POV…You don’t really get inside the head of the female main character except for a few quick instances with the author giving you a brief glimpse, but they’re horribly written and horribly edited because they’re, like, all run on sentences and also just feel very randomly put in. They could’ve been more consistently placed within the story in order to maybe feel more effective too.
  2. The Build Up…I get that it’s erotica and sex is the main focus of the story, but I swear that even some porno’s had a much better bridge into the lust and all that than this story. It’s like the first time the main character even hears her voice is when he’s having trouble controlling himself and his raging hard ons, and in reality, if you’re a pastor/priest/anyone heavily involved with the church, shouldn’t you have a little better self control than that? I think the story would’ve been a little stronger if there was a little more restraint at first, and hell, it would’ve been a well drawn out slow burn that readers would appreciate more!
  3. Poppy Danforth in General…I just was SO not sold on her in general…the author brings up her privileged upbringing and her college degrees, and constantly reminds us of how smart she is, but honestly I wasn’t buying it based off the choices the character made and just how she presented herself in general. Also, a classic case of show don’t tell would’ve made this aspect of the whole book a lot better too. Don’t tell us she’s smart, show us through her dialogue, her characterization, or even just the decisions she makes!

Conclusion:

Another sensuous, wicked, provocative piece of erotic fiction from Sierra Simone, but I have to say I wasn’t as sold on this title when compared to her New Camelot Trilogy that I really enjoyed! I think this story was actually one of her earlier works, so I can definitely see that being why I felt like this book wasn’t as strong of a story. The characters weren’t as memorable, but I can say how once again the author really explores the dark and forbidden side of human sexual attraction; this time with a Catholic Church Priest falling in love with a woman.

I recommend this book to those that enjoy these beachy, easy to read erotic tales that have absolutely scorching sex scenes with maybe not the greatest plot…I think fans of such things like 50 Shades of Grey and 365 Days on Netflix will enjoy this book the most!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, Fantasy, LGBT

My Review: Silk and Steel (Silk and Steel #1): by Ariana Nash

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*Kindle Edition*

Publish Date: January 18th, 2019

Number of Pages: 380 Pages

Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing

Genre(s): Fantasy, LGBT

Total Star Rating: 4 Stars

Warning & Reader Advisory:

Silk & Steel is not a “romance”.

This series is a DARK FANTASY intended for mature readers. While Silk & Steel is a love story, it is not for everyone. It is not categorized on Amazon, and not sold as m/m romance. It DOES feature a strong m/m LOVE STORY that develops over three books.
Silk & Steel features a gay dragon shifter, a bisexual elf, and adult themes. There is triggering content that some readers may find distressing, including implied incest, abuse, violence, dubious consent, and on-page sex. None of these instances are gratuitous. There is heterosexual sex and gay sex. The intense and star-crossed relationship between the two male leads develops over three books.

…When a blurb has this included within describing what the story is about, it really raises your eyebrows at what you may or may not be getting into! Now, the question for you is this: are you someone who immediately turns away from something like this, or does it pique your interest even further? Based off the fact that this is another one of my reviews, I bet you can guess what my answer was.

For anyone who’s looking for a dark fantasy to read, I would definitely say to take this warning extremely seriously, because while I was only more curious about this book, I can recognize that the content within this story can be extremely triggering for more sensitive readers, and this story is NOT for everyone! Yes, there is a M/M love story storyline that is what initially drew me in, but it’s a small aspect that intertwines with a lot of emotional torment, rape, assault, torture, and even implied incest that’s a lot of heavy material to take in all within one book! Seriously, this book goes further with it than even HBO’s Game of Thrones or even Spartacus from STARZ.

Besides all that carnality and absolutely vicious material, what really surprised me was an actually epic war/battling kingdoms style plot that developed. Don’t ask me to name any of the kingdoms back to you, but basically it’s a Fantasy world that Elves, Humans, and Dragon-Shifters. The Elves and Humans have been taken over and oppressed by the Draconic empire, but there are small groups of rebels from both races that are gathering supplies in order to make a stand against the dragons.

Besides sex & violence, the themes of trauma, acceptance & belonging, and even forbidden love make for an actually gripping and action packed tale between two unlikely enemies-turned-lovers: an Elf assassin named Eroan, and a lonely Dragon Prince named Lysander.

Eroan is courageous, stubborn, noble, natural born leader for his tribe. He’s a warrior through-and-through, but his troupe of assassins get captured by the dragons and he becomes the only survivor, and thus becomes a prisoner, which is where he meets Lysander, the younger Dragon Prince.

Lysander is a character your heart will break for because of all the pain he’s had to deal with in his lifetime. His mother and brother have tried to kill him several times because they consider him “broken” for his sexuality, and think he’s weak because he’s not a heartless murderer like they are. Luckily, they’ve been unsuccessful and Lysander has become the greatest warrior under his mother’s rule. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop them from still believing he’s a useless waste of space. He’s been an outcast and the runt of the litter for all he’s known, but lately he’s been absolutely sick of it, and there’s a fire threatening to explode before you know it, no pun intended.

I would agree with the author when she says it’s not a romance title. There’s attraction and sexual acts that happen, but there’s so much pain, suffering, and violence occurring all around that romance feels like too soft of a word to describe it. The love story that’s developing between those two main characters grows in an intriguing way in the sense that they feel a kindred connection to each other that grows to a reluctant mutual respect, and of course, pure lust that may or may not being blooming into deeper feelings of love. There’s still some unsettling instances of rape and death surrounding it all, so it’s not rainbows and unicorns and happily ever afters, far from it.

The world-building was so-so with not much description in the cities/kingdoms and major landmarks, but luckily there wasn’t much mentioned in that regard to kind of save it. There’s some history with the three types of people that’s revealed in a way that’s not info-dumped. I was majorly confused by the point when one character runs into a certain group, it happens around the 60-75% of the book; it felt so randomly placed into the story and was a strange wave within the pacing, but hopefully it gets explained better in the next book. There’s a surprising amount of sub-categories within even just the Dragon empire, and it features different species that make appearances in the story. There’s major dissent that is evident within both the Dragons and even the Elves, which is surprising since you usually figure Elves are all entirely on the same page.

There are plenty of questions that popped up while reading, but I have to remember this is only the first book in a series, so hopefully that means so much more gets revealed as I keep reading on!

What It’s About:

The Official Blurb:

The Dragon Queen’s reign is one of darkness and death. Humans have vanished under the rubble of their world and if the queen has her way, elves will be next.

Eroan, one of the last elven assassins, lives for one purpose: kill the queen.

He would have succeeded if not for her last line of defense: Prince Lysander. Now, captured and forced into the queen’s harem, Eroan sees another opportunity. Why kill just the queen when he can kill them all? It would be simple, if not for the troubled and alluring prince. A warrior, a killer, and something else…, something Eroan finds himself inexplicably drawn to.

Trapped in a life he despises, Lysander knows his time is running out.

If the queen doesn’t kill him for his failures, her enemies will. There’s nothing left to live for, until an elf assassin almost kills him. A stubborn, prideful, fool of an elf who doesn’t know when to quit. An elf who sparks a violent, forbidden desire in Lysander.

If Lysander can’t save himself, maybe he can save the elf and maybe, just maybe… one stubborn elf will be enough to bring down the queen before she kills them all.

Duty demands they fight for their people. Love has other plans...

What I Liked:

  1. The Lust/Love between Lysander and Eroan! It’s definitely not a romance, per say, but the attraction that builds between these two characters is certainly a noteworthy aspect of this story. It’s pretty erotic in some areas, heartbreaking in others, but one scene in particular stood out a lot to me. Basically, to the other characters, Eroan is about to be assaulted and raped by Lysander, who is not happy about it. He actually has feelings for the captured Elf, and being forced upon the Queen’s captive is the last thing he wants. He leans in and whispers an apology only Eroan can hear, but surprise…..Eroan whispers back “Don’t be.” It may be incredibly creepy or perverted of me, but I found that kind of hot! I mean, at least it was consensual!
  2. Dragon-Shifters! I’d never read a book with these types of characters. I absolutely love any stories with dragons/wyverns/dragon-riders/etc. so to have humans who can change into the flying, fire-breathing beasts was something new for me that I really enjoyed!
  3. MVP Character: Lysander! By far my favorite character so far, my heart goes out for him and all that he experiences just in this first book. Anyone else would’ve given up with all that he’s been through, but still he rises above it all and becomes a better person because of it. He’s never felt like he’s belonged, and has been called broken and useless by his own family, who by the way, has tried to kill him on several occasions as a quick reminder! Seriously hoping the author throws him a couples bones this next book because Lysander deserves some happiness in my opinion!

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Human World…What a random introduction into this story, and it wasn’t really explained as to how it is the way that it is. I know that justification doesn’t make a whole lot of sense without more context, but I don’t want to spoil it for readers. All I will say is it happens at about the 60-75% mark in the story.
  2. Homophobia…Poor Lysander deals with it from his mother and even older brother amongst the Dragons. Luckily, they’re the only people that really show any of it, everyone literally could care less about that sort of thing, but anyone who’s in the queer community who’s had a hard home life like that growing up knows how hard and traumatizing that can be!

Conclusion:

Overall, I was actually really surprised at how much I liked this title! Besides all the sex, violence, and torture, the plot actually got pretty intense in the sense of it feeling very similar to an epic battle happening in a show like Game of Thrones! There are some dark occurrences with rape and assault and torture, but if you’re someone who watched GoT in its entirety, it’s not necessarily anything you haven’t seen before, this story is just higher up on the gay male/male romance factor. With that said, it’s not like anyone can really say they enjoyed those moments, but it’s understandable that some readers would rather avoid that triggering content. It’s not for everyone, so definitely take the author’s warning within the blurb!

I’d recommend this title to anyone who likes M/M romance, and if you really liked The Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat; I think they have a very similar vibe in the first book introducing a very ominous vibe with a lot of violence and sex involved to shock readers but then turns into an epic tale to keep your attention!

This book was one that had me up extremely late—like 3 or 4 in the morning—and has a dramatic cliffhanger of an ending, so much that I groaned into my pillow and immediately purchased a copy of the next book in this series to get on that ASAP! the forbidden/star crossed lovers aspect of the story with the two male main characters is tearing me apart because the author constantly throws things in their way to keep each other just out of reach, and ugh………….it’s torture for me too!

I do have some other titles I need to read first because I have a reader friend/coworker named Erika who I make deals with to have us read books that we pick for each other. If she wants me to read a certain book, I make sure she knows I have a title for her too so we can get what we both want out of it and to be able to talk about yet ANOTHER book we’ve both read. If you don’t have a reading buddy like that, I highly recommend it because one of the worst things a reader can suffer from is being absolutely obsessed with a book/series but having no one to talk about it with in person!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, New Adult Romance

My Review: Pretty Reckless (All Saints High #1): by L.J. Shen

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Publish Date: August 21st, 2019

Number of Pages: 360 Pages

Publisher: Self Published

Genre(s): New Adult Romance

Total Star Rating: 3.25 Stars

This title was constantly being tossed around as a popular recent release amongst the growing New Adult Romance genre that I’ve really come to love, so of course it was only a matter of time until I decided to give it a try. The blurb/synopsis has it revealed that it’s another addition to the “enemies-to-lovers” story trope, and after finishing this book, I can say it is a great example of just that.

Throughout reading, I found myself rolling my eyes a couple times at how gritty and overly sexualized the author made her cast of characters: the popular girls who are all frenemies who can’t help but say cutting remarks between pasted on smiles, the boys are all edgy and sexy while doing drugs, bragging about their badassery and sexual appetites while getting into fights while also having some random chick still wrapped around them, even how sophomores are hanging out with seniors and have an air of mystery with how good of a fighter they are… I don’t know, maybe it’s because I grew up in a midwestern suburb and didn’t party at all in high school, but this setting was a bit ridiculous for me to say the least. I will say it got better when the story finally started to narrow in on Daria and Penn, the two main characters, once the sparks began to fly between them. While the setup was over the top, I can say the author excelled at the romance and the rising sexual tension.

While the lust and romance was the major highlight of the book, even that was a bit over-the-top and eroticized–not sure if that’s actually a word, but whatever–with Daria and Penn fighting their animosity for each other with their growing feelings. There were some pretty erotic moments that occurred, and yes… fully aware I was dull in high school, but I’m pretty sure no one who’s 16-18 has done a few things that happens in this book, but I also can’t deny that it’s all still pretty hot book smut to read if you’re into that sort of thing.

I was pretty drawn into the story as the tension rose and the plot thickened, and I’m not even talking about the stupid & petty high school BS. There’s actually quite a lot going on, like domestic abuse, bullying, sexual assault, and just violence in general. There are some major triggers in Pretty Reckless for certain readers that they should be aware of before they decide to read this book. The author does also weave into the storyline of self acceptance and awareness that the two love interests help teach each other… you know, when they’re not getting hot and heavy after seducing each other to the point of eruption. Another issue may be the implied cheating that occurs with multiple characters who may or may not be in relationships already… the line is pretty blurry on that, but I can’t detract that there’s a vast amount of casual sex happening/implied throughout.

One thing that I’m still a little…. meh about is that while this is the start of a series, there are a lot of instances that imply inside reference to previous events with other books. This is the first book I’ve read by L.J. Shen, but this All Saints High series is a continuation/spin off/etc. of her other series, Sinners of Saint. While I do believe you can read and enjoy this book without having read any of her previous work, I did find myself wondering about when a past instance or person was mentioned or referenced. This was especially true with Daria’s parents, Jaime and Mel, and their neighbor, Dean. Actually, it turns out all the kids in this series are the kids of the main characters of the previous books. If I care enough as I keep reading on, maybe I’ll make it a point to go back and see how deep this all really goes.

Despite what can be contrived as mostly negative feedback on the book, I did really become encapsulated by it, and read it deep into the night instead of getting a good night’s sleep because I did feel the need to see what would happen next. Like I said, the romance was scorching even though it was a bit overdone for high school students, I liked the scorching chemistry between Daria and Penn, and the lessons they both taught each other throughout in order to give their relationship really deep meaning and more than just a sexy fling.

What It’s About:

This story stars Daria Followhill and Penn Scully, two teenagers who come from completely opposite backgrounds and live two totally different lives, but both ruin Penn’s twin sister’s life without fully realizing it. Daria and Penn’s sister, Via, don’t get along at Daria’s mother’s ballet studio, and jealousy gets the best of Daria when she finds out that her mother helped Via get accepted into an elite school for dance, so she takes the acceptance letter and runs outside, and that is when her and Penn meet for the first time.

They believed a new friendship was formed with the possibility of more over the torn pages of a letter, but Penn had no idea what he’d done and because of his actions, Via ends up running away and disappearing, to which Penn puts all the blame on Daria. The new friendship quickly descends into pure hatred and they become sworn enemies.

Four years later, life makes another unexpected twist, and Penn ends up living with Daria and her family to make up for how they didn’t help with his sister’s disappearance, and tensions are high with them wanting to make each other’s lives a living hell…

What I liked:

  1. Everyone Is An Asshole! I know, this is a weird one to put under what I liked, but I did think it made the story that much more interesting to have all the characters be so morally grey and not entirely likeable. Some characters did have some more redeemable qualities than others as the story developed.
  2. Daria’s Struggle! Her inner conflict really resonated with me on a personal level, because I’ve definitely been where she’s been. Maybe not fully to the degree of what she faces with her friends and mother, but I do get her feelings of being unwanted, unloved and irrelevant in other people’s lives, therefore making one absolutely unlovable in general, either with family or a romantic relationship. She wants the love and attention that any normal human being wants, but pushes away when it’s shown because of the past hurt and pain she’s felt, and she wants to protect herself from feeling that amount of pain again. Even more so when the person has hurt her so many times throughout, but they don’t see where the issue even stems from, nor do they try to learn in order to understand Daria better. Like I said, I really understood where she was coming from, and hopefully I have someone like Penn to help me move past it like he did for Daria.
  3. The Romance! It was scorching and filled with plenty of juicy angst; I will give the author some major kudos on writing some steamy moments in the story. I still say quite a bit of it was pretty over-the-top for two kids in high school, but it was still enjoyable at least.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. Too Many Pop Culture References…This was something that was pointed out in my writing too, so now I really take notice to it, but there was a lot of current pop culture references made in this book. While for right now they all work well, the author weaved them into the story with much hilarity, what about in five years from now? Will they still be relevant, or will this just make the story feel very dated as time moves on?
  2. The Extra-ness…The story does have overly sexualized, stereotypical characters as a backdrop which initially made wanting to keep reading something I absolutely didn’t want to do. The exaggerated focus on fighting, violence, sex, and drugs was just a bit overly dramatic and unrealistic, and didn’t convince me as much as the All for the Game books have done, but at least the romance made it all worth it.

Conclusion:

A sexy enemies-to-lovers New Adult Romance that started off with an unrealistic base, but developed into an incredibly binge-worthy read! The romance was absolutely electric: from the initial seductive teasing and arguing, to the love scenes and then to the eventual admissions of their true feelings for each other.

I’d definitely recommend this title for those who are fans of the genre who like the morally grey main characters, or for those that have possibly read books by Penelope Douglas. Pretty Reckless heavily reminded me of Punk 57, which I enjoyed as well!

I think I will read on, as the next book in this series will feature Knight, who was one of my more favorable characters of the bunch, we’ll see what happens next!

Trigger Warnings: assault, sexual assault, cheating on significant other, bullying, violence, domestic abuse

Thanks For Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, Romance

My Review: American King (New Camelot Trilogy #3): by Sierra Simone

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: November 13th, 2017
Number of Pages: 485 Pages
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, Erotica

***Warning!! This post may contain spoilers for the previous titles in this trilogy yet! Continue reading at your own risk, you’ve officially been warned!***

To read my review for Book #1 – American Queen – Click HERE

To read my review for Book #2 – American Prince – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

So, this is it…the final chapter of this surprisingly addictive trilogy that I discovered this year and finally got to reading, and so far it has been one of my favorites to mark down by far! It is for sure one of the most well written stories that I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and that even goes for any sort of fiction, not just romance/erotica. Sierra Simone has definitely gained a fan in me with how she’s made such a tantalizing story affect me so.

I’m glad I didn’t have to wait too long to get into this third title because the ending of the last one was rough…I mean, I was almost in shock. I was pacing my room, it was about 3 am, and my heartbeat couldn’t slow down for the life of me. It seriously hit me right in the feels, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. Any story that can get to you like that has to be amazing, it just affects you so strongly. All the twists and turns, the shocking revelations, the heartache, the sacrifices, the love, and the characters that will stick with me for quite some time.

I loved this trilogy for multiple reasons: the weaving of the story going back into the past and staying in current times, the chemistry between the characters, it’s look on the darker side of attraction, the scandals, the secrets, the moral integrity of the characters, how we slowly unravel more and more behind the characters as the story develops, the beautifully written words, the smoldering sex scenes, and how its a modern retelling of the classic Arthurian tale in Camelot. Of course, some things got switched around and there are a few things added and taken out, but more or less the same. I also wanted to mention how the author wasn’t afraid to go there, as in she went to a forbidden place that people would look at as a perversion of the story; a kinkier, weirder side towards it with absolutely no shame, but honestly I appreciated that she was willing to go to a place not too many authors can go within the genre. It makes it stand out more and makes it feel like I’d found a buried treasure that hardly anyone else knew about.

The first two books within the trilogy absolutely knocked me on my ass (the second one with all that we learned about Embry most of all), and this one didn’t disappoint either, but I had some cautions simply because the character I liked the least out of the trio, Ash Colchester, was going to be the main focus. It’s not that I hated Ash or anything like that, I just wasn’t all into the fact that I found him to be so manipulative towards Greer and Embry, and I’m not too informed into the dom/sub lifestyle, but anyone who enjoys the physical actions of whipping and striking that much for sexual pleasure just doesn’t sit right with me. Sure, he’s a big war hero, and he’s done amazingly brave things, is extremely honorable, and was then president because of it all, but somehow the idea about how he hides his true self until behind closed doors kind of rubbed me the wrong way.

What It’s About:

Continuing off the events of the previous title, Ash and Embry are now turned from President and Vice into running competitors, as Embry has separated himself in order to be able to make sure the people he loves most are safe, even if that means going to war. Ash thinks differently, and wants to do everything that he can in order to avoid war at all costs. Still, that doesn’t stop the two from meeting up at each other’s hotel rooms once the debates and/or interviews are done for the day…

While running against the man he loves and further pushing himself away from him and his wife, Embry is still being blackmailed by Abilene, who roped him into marriage and having his unborn child. Greer and Ash tackle the issues of trying to move forward without Embry at their side, all the while urging him to return. There’s more pain and more suffering that occurs which leads the three of them to continue to turn towards each other for comfort and pleasure, even as everything slowly continues to unravel.

Ash finally gets his moment in the spotlight, and between events in the past and present, new light is shed on him and his character as we discover how he came to be, and what exactly his thoughts and opinions were during other key moments from the other two books in this tantalizing story!

What I Liked:

  1. It Made Me Like Ash More As A Character! While he’s still not my favorite person in these books, having some more information about him and his inner struggles throughout the story made me be able to relate to him a little bit more. From a confused young man fresh out of college just on the cusp of knowing who he was (along with his sexual identity), to becoming the most powerful man in the country; he had some depths that made me see where he was coming from a little better. One thing I could truly admire about him was the lengths he’d go to show his love for Greer and Embry, no matter how much it hurt him. If he had to, he’d always choose pain if nothing else.
  2. The Romance is Still Alive! So despite Greer and Ash having to deal with the fact that Embry is no longer with them in the public’s eye, that doesn’t stop the three of them from staying together behind the scenes. It felt like not much had changed in that sense, which was a relief, because at the end of it I just want them to be happy.
  3. The Relationships! The book felt like it explored more on each of the three’s personal relationship between each other, what was needed to be done in order for each of them to grow, and how the separate relationships intertwined into their whole relationship as the trio. It explored Embry’s relationship with Ash, along with his relationship with Greer, and of course, Ash’s relationship with Greer. Each have their private, one on one moments with each other in order for their bond to become stronger and fight against all that threaten to tear them apart. The author perfectly balanced all sides of the MMF relationship, not just emphasizing one or the other.
  4. The Author’s Personal take on the Arthurian Tale! So I was able to enjoy the story without much outside knowledge of King Arthur, but the story is a close resemblance to the classic tale, just a more modern take on it with plenty of things switched around to freshen it up. The author made her own corrections towards the story this one is based on answered some questions that popped up: Why should Arthur be betrayed by the two he loves most? Why should all of them end up broken and alone? She also explains all this in an afterword at the end of the story to talk to us about all of it!
  5. An Actual Plot Along with Sex Scenes! Like an romance/erotica story, theres sex scenes…a lot of sex scenes. What’s good about the ones in here are they aren’t just randomly placed throughout and they do add to the story. It helps that there is a well written story to go off of as base to give these scenes more meaning too! Some stories hardly have a plot with sex scenes throughout to hide the fact, but luckily these titles had both.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The “Magical Twist”…By the name of the trilogy, along with having a wise mentor-like character named Merlin…It wasn’t so surprising to see the story take on a little reveal like in this story. That doesn’t mean I liked it though, it just makes for a cheesier plot twist that the story didn’t exactly need, but maybe it has to do with the fact that this entire trilogy was an ode to the classic tale with King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, and Guinevere.
  2. At First, the Ending…When I first read the ending, I was a little disappointed because it felt like the author resorted to playing it safe and trying to make everyone happy and to have a happy ending. BUT, upon reading the afterword Sierra wrote to the readers, my initial opinion changed, and felt like she fairly justified her decision on it.

Conclusion:

Another great addition to quite possibly my favorite book(s) read in 2019! It had everything a good story needs, and while I’m sad the story is over, it doesn’t take away from the amazing journey it took me on! A perfect recommendation for anyone who loves to read well written erotic fiction with compelling and complex characters, angsty situations with lots of scorching tension, and plenty of surprises to keep you guessing!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell