Before I went and reviewed this title, I went back and read my review for the previous book, “Triple Threat”, to see what I said and to see if anythinBefore I went and reviewed this title, I went back and read my review for the previous book, “Triple Threat”, to see what I said and to see if anything I disliked in the first book had been redeemed in this extremely satisfying duet conclusion.
Lo and behold, something had!
In my review for “Triple Threat” I said, “Am I loving the triplets? Yes I am. I’m also absolutely living for Della, our FMC’s (Landry) little sister. I have the appropriate amount of rage and hate for Alexander, Landry’s father. Who am I not loving? Sadly, it’s Landry.” I went on to say that Landry had promise and I wanted to see if the second book would redeem her in my eyes.
Let’s update!
Do I still love Scout, Sparrow, and Sully? Heck yes I do! If anything, I grew to love them even more in this book. By the end I was enamored with them. Especially Scout, which I should’ve predicted because I always end up liking the psychotic ones best. Am I still living for Della? ABSOLUTELY. I love that brat. My rage and hate for Alexander grew by leaps and bounds, which is apropos. HOO BOY do I hate Winston. Last of all, I really grew to love Ty.
And Landry? Our damsel in distress? Was she redeemed in my eyes? Yes! Absolutely. She was the source of my frustration and ire in the first book, but I came around to not only like her a whole lot, but to appreciate her character a great deal. I still think she’s the weak link in the chain of characters in this duet (which keeps the duet from being perfect), but I am no longer frustrated by her or mad at her.
This whole duet is a wild, hot, fun ride. I highly recommend you read the two books back-to-back or else you might be a little lost when you eventually pick up the second book, but otherwise it’s a worthwhile investment in your reading time. And writing muses bless multiple birth heroes. ...more
Before we begin, I need to know that you know who John Waters is. Do these movie titles ring a bell? Hairspray? Pink Flamingos? Pecker? Cry-Baby? SeriBefore we begin, I need to know that you know who John Waters is. Do these movie titles ring a bell? Hairspray? Pink Flamingos? Pecker? Cry-Baby? Serial Mom? This is an entertainer who wears many hats who once had his lead actress eat dog poo on film and it made both of them famous beyond compare (that movie, “Pink Flamingos”, is one of the films in the historic registry with the Library of Congress). This is a 100% gay man who loves to make fun of the gay community because he believes they have more rules than his own mother does. Most of all (and possibly closest in relation to this book), Waters says of almost everything he creates, “I pride myself on the fact that my work has no socially redeeming value.”
“Liarmouth” really and truly has absolutely no socially redeeming value to it whatsoever. And you know what? Just as with everything else John Waters has created: who the heck cares? It’s campy, ironic, sarcastic, derisive, spit-take worthy funny, causes snickers and constant mumbles of “I just can’t with this right now”, and caused me to deliberately stop reading so I could go and tell someone what was going on in this book I was reading right now.
This book is like John Waters built a huge campy theme park where you enter at one point, and there’s pre-planned routes where you go through one ride or one scene before it spits you out and you barely have time to recover before it’s your turn for the next one and here you go again! Are you ready for what comes next? Who knows! Who cares! You’re going whether you want to or not! Are you going to feel like someone spiked your drink? Maybe? Are you going to feel like you fell down some kind of weird rabbit hole? Quite possibly! But you’re sure as heck not going to stop reading because you’re caught in this snare: there’s no way you’re not going to keep reading, because you need to find out what in the ever-living heck happens to all these absolutely horrid people at the end of this book. You’re in until the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
This series, from beginning to end, has been such a joy to read: Petit four-sized treats of dirty, spicy romance that have titillated and delighted meThis series, from beginning to end, has been such a joy to read: Petit four-sized treats of dirty, spicy romance that have titillated and delighted me ever since I started reviewing these titles about midway through the series. But I’m not here to review the series. I’m here to review the last installment in the Master Class series: Choose. This is Juliette’s tenth lesson… and it was a long time coming.
As with all the Master Class novellas, going into the plot at all is just kind of a spoiler from the outset, but if you read the previous installment you know it ended with Juliette flying off with her fiance to Paris while Malcolm being just minutes too late to stop their plane. And that’s where Choose picks up… just as the plane to Paris is lifting into the air.
I don’t care that Paris is, as in most books, over-romanticized. That’s a trivial matter here. What counts here is the push and pull within Juliette as she is caught between what she was born for and what she truly wants. The man she was trained to serve or the man that taught her everything she knows? The man who bought her or the man that took her as she was and shaped her into the woman she has become? Duty or love? Expectations of her or what she truly desires? Deep down, what does she know she can’t live without?
Bridges once burned are mended. Certain characters show their true colors. Sacrifices are made. And HEAs? Guaranteed....more
I signed up to read this title based on a very short description alone, owing to the fact I’m new to E. M. Lindsey’s work. I don’t quite remember whatI signed up to read this title based on a very short description alone, owing to the fact I’m new to E. M. Lindsey’s work. I don’t quite remember what that description was, in its entirety, but I’m always both happy and eager to have the opportunity to read and review the first book in a new LGBTQ+ romance series. After reading this book, I’m even happier to have grabbed the opportunity, because whatever the description for this book was, it definitely wasn’t even close to preparing me for what this book actually is, and for how touching it turned out to be among the hotess.
I’m not a huge fan of high-angst. It’s just, well, my whole life revolves around high angst. I really don’t need to read about it. It just bores me in books. If I want to angst, I can look around me and angst plenty. If I wanna cry, I can take in the state of my own life. The characters in this book have definitely been hurt and raked over the coal by life, but their at a point in their lives when they’ve gotten help for their issues or have learned to live with them, so any personal issues they might have are not exactly a non-issue, but they’re something both MCs know how to treat or cope with, to a certain point. To me, this was a smart move on Lindsey’s part, because it made MC1 look even more competent and sexier than he already was, and it made MC2 even more sweet for how much he had been through in his life and how much he continued to try and find ways to engage with the world around him in the face of his mental illness.
I had hoped we’d get more steam in this book, or at least spicier steam, but there simply didn’t seem to be room in the book for that with all that character development that needed to be done involving the supporting cast that will lay some of the groundwork for the rest of the series. I also felt the last 10% of the book was really rushed and led to a rather abrupt ending. We got all this lovely relationship development for the first 90% of the book, and then it seemed there was this pressing need to cram as much last-minute activity and emotional wrap-up as possible into that last 10%. It could’ve either been longer or handled more gracefully. That doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to the rest of the series, though. ...more
**spoiler alert** This book was simultaneously everything I could have asked for and just not enough.
The beginning? *chef’s kiss* Absolutely perfect.**spoiler alert** This book was simultaneously everything I could have asked for and just not enough.
The beginning? *chef’s kiss* Absolutely perfect. The angst, the genuine heartbreak, the total unsteadiness of everyone in the Triad. Everything is in shambles and all anyone knows is that they are out for blood but don’t know exactly who they want it from or how to go about getting it since most of their assets have essentially been destroyed. They have manpower but nowhere to point it.
Now… I have some slightly ambivalent feelings with the way the situation was resolved between Scarlett and Motshan after the events at the end of “Liars” (if you know, you know). I don’t know how anyone, especially Scarlett, could make heads or tails in any competent manner after that night or trust their memories, but I also don’t know how much weight they carry for me in the long run in terms of rating the book. It’s like, “Yeah, this whole plot point has some holes in it I don’t like and are bothering me, but it’s all in service to something greater in the plot so maybe look at it that way”. Plus, Motshan isn’t a big enough personality to compete with either Scar or the boys anyway.
Now, we get to my favorite part of the whole book that doesn’t involve nookie of some kind: the ENTIRE middle section. The whole 30% or so section that might as well have sprung from the forehead of Frances Ford Coppola like Athena did from the forehead of Zeus. This huge, sprawling, epic action sequence was not only inspired–it was the la petite morte for all us reverse-harem mafia romance readers who love our heroes and heroines blood-soaked, violent, and utterly psychotic. What I wouldn’t have given to be a Go-Pro on Scarlett’s dress!
The largest downer in the book came after this point in the book. After the events of that day wrap up we don’t get to see the wrap-up of events between the two gangs, we get time devoted to a subplot romance I couldn’t have given a toss about, and we get a lot of waiting around. It’s just too much down time and too much discussion about babies. Nothing turns me off more than constant talk from men about when they can get to knocking a woman up.
What did I enjoy in the later 15-20%? Um, hello, Sebastian and Tristan! I don’t care if it felt a little forced. Sword-crossing is always okay in my book. And the sex. Lots of varied, spicy scenes.
Dana has concluded this trilogy in a challenging year, but she has done it with aplomb. I still remember “Scars” was one of the first RH mafia romances I read when I started reading these sorts of books last year, and I feel in love with the down-and-dirty Scarlett: the mafia princess who ran away from that life when she found out what her evil father had in store for her and decided to go somewhere else and make a life for herself. Years later, she’s made a life of her own with men who love her and her own power to wield. She may have never truly gotten away from the mafia life, but the mafia life she has she runs on her terms. ...more
I don’t think I’m the only Onley James fan that has been greedy to get their hands on the books that would introduce us to the story behind the MulvanI don’t think I’m the only Onley James fan that has been greedy to get their hands on the books that would introduce us to the story behind the Mulvaney murder twins, Asa and Avi. This is Asa’s story, and in it we first get what I know I’m always dying to know at the beginning of a Necessary Evils book: how Thomas Mulvaney was introduced to the twins. And it’s an interesting story, as always.
This book has a lot of funny moments, a few sweet moments, a lot of HOT moments, and the spice is top-notch spicy-spice. The plot, while a little winding, is both tragic and intensely interesting. I don’t want to spoil too much, so I’m trying to steer clear of saying too much! I will say, though, that we get to see much more of Calliope’s hacking skills in this book than we have in any of the others, and that was pretty awesome.
I will say this: If you haven’t read the Necessary Evils novella “Damaged” (featuring Calliope’s son Dimitri and his co-worker, Arlo), you might be a little lost toward the beginning of the book, so it may be a good idea to find a way to get ahold of that novella (which isn’t for sale anywhere, as it is a free download) before you read “Headcase” in order to ensure you aren’t totally lost going in.
All in all, it’s another win for Onley and another win for us readers, who get another excellent entry into the annals of the Mulvaney Family saga.
And now we all just have to wait with baited breath for Avi’s book!...more
I’m a huge fan of teacher/student romances. I can’t help it. I’m an unabashed fan. And this book definitely hit that sweet spot for me. The banter wasI’m a huge fan of teacher/student romances. I can’t help it. I’m an unabashed fan. And this book definitely hit that sweet spot for me. The banter was witty, sharp, and as snappy as I’ve come to expect from Ella and Brooke, and the spice (as always) didn’t fail to turn the temperature up.
The only thing that brought me down a little bit was how abruptly the dynamic switched from push/pull to surrender. I thought it could’ve been a bit smoother of a transition, but otherwise, it’s another Ella & Brooke stunner. ...more
I find myself thanking Sara Cate yet again for writing such an impeccable BDSM romance novel, and for also taking on this book and its dynamic. The woI find myself thanking Sara Cate yet again for writing such an impeccable BDSM romance novel, and for also taking on this book and its dynamic. The world of romance novels, especially when it comes to BDSM, has always heavily been skewed toward the male being the dominant partner within the dynamic so this book feels like inhaling a huge breath of fresh air. I also enjoy how this book came last in the series because it not only feels like the last link in a chain of kinks that grows progressively more intense throughout the series but also because it brings the cast of characters from the series full circle and closes the loop. Everything fully rounds out after having explored several kinks and dynamics over four books, and that’s something rare and special in the romance novel world.
I somehow knew Maggie’s book was going to involve being about her being a Domme and having kept everything about herself quiet and private, but I didn’t anticipate they whys and hows of who Maggie really was, and I found myself truly enjoying getting to know the previous enigma that was SPC’s quietest owner. I also really appreciated Maggie’s struggles with trying to fit in with her fellow co-owners of SPC and their significant others and how she found her way to stand up for herself at the same time as she found her strength and confidence in the bedroom.
I really and truly appreciated how much research, care, and sensitivity Sara Cate has put into these books, and that’s especially true in the case of this book where some humiliation, degradation, and sadism is put into play. A character actually uses their safe word in this book, and the issue is handled properly and with great care (yes, I would know from both the bottom and the top). This whole series could be used as a prime example of “How to Write Proper BDSM Romance and Everyone Should Throw 50 Shades in the Trash”.
As a side note: I’m glad they opened their new location in Phoenix, because every BDSM club that’s ever opened in Sacramento has eventually been shut down by either high rent prices or by the city. I should know. ...more
And Sara Cate hits it out of the ballpark yet again with the third installment in her Salacious Players Club series, a best friends-to-lovers polyamorAnd Sara Cate hits it out of the ballpark yet again with the third installment in her Salacious Players Club series, a best friends-to-lovers polyamorous romance between a married couple and their lothario best friend. Part of the book takes place during a road trip across the US, touring different clubs like the SPC, and then the rest takes place back in the city where the SPC books call home. This book features some of my favorite safety word-worthy things and is absolutely, positively sizzling hot. Believe me, there was some serious lip biting and wiggling going on.
As per usual with this series, Sara has done a great job at showing us the vulnerable and sometimes outright damaged side to the founding members of the SPC, writing these characters with a sense of compassion and understanding that some readers might be tempted to take for granted. I certainly don’t, though, because while not everyone who participates in the same lifestyle as the characters in these books do is vulnerable or damaged by their lives or upbringing, the fact remains there are some people who do find respite in the scene. And that’s okay.
Also, as with the other two books in the series, Sara has certainly done her due diligence when it comes to writing her safety word-worthy scenes. Her research is impeccable, but we all know that research is nothing if you can’t take that research and put it into prose people will want to read. Sara does that better than most romance writers out there. It’s hot and it’s accurate. I love it. And I love her for making that possible.
This book may be my favorite out of the series so far. That’s saying something, considering how much I’ve loved each entry before it.
Thanks to the author for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
My review is solely for Sara Cate's novella "Sweet Blasphemy" that's included in this anthology.
Why does Sara Cate seem to know all my weak spots? I dMy review is solely for Sara Cate's novella "Sweet Blasphemy" that's included in this anthology.
Why does Sara Cate seem to know all my weak spots? I don’t know. All I know is that she’s brilliant at it.
This novella was a whole lot wrong, a whole lot right, and a whole lot of yes please and thank you. To see these two characters absolutely split apart at the seams in the presence of one another, their desire and devotion to one another eclipsing their faith after being reunited after some years apart is both romantic and a pressure cooker full of steam. A great read. ...more
So, so hot. A little far-fetched, but we don't read these for a reality check, do we?So, so hot. A little far-fetched, but we don't read these for a reality check, do we?...more
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