Release Me ~ J Kenner

Release Me by J. Kenner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 smutastic stars!

Yes. This is another story about an impossibly gorgeous bazillionare who becomes obsessed with a mysterious & more than slightly broken young woman. Yes. There are countless books out there focusing on the same or a similar theme. What makes this one different? What makes this one stand out among the countless other books attempting to jump on the Fifty Shades of Grey & Bared to You bandwagon? It's very simple. The writing.

J Kenner is a good author. I mean, really good. Her writing style captured my attention immediately, and while I initially thought this book was a bit slow to get into, once I did...whoa boy, there was no way I was going to stop reading until the end.



Nikki is not your everyday heroine. She has similarities to Eva from Bared to You. But Nikki's demons are more about anxiety and lack of control over her own life. Her character felt very real to me, and I could totally understand her insecurities. And because of that I wasn't constantly yelling at her in my head about holding herself back from Damien for so long. Because the reasons that she did...made sense.



Damien Stark....oh Lordy, where do I begin?
At first I thought he was an asshat. A sexy asshat, but an asshat nonetheless. But I quickly warmed up to his demanding & possessive demeanor. Yes some of his behavior bordered on stalkerish, but damn if i wasn't able to overlook the bad in order to see all the good qualities simmering underneath the hard surface. He truly cared about Nikki. Right from the beginning. And the way he helped her fight her demons was so sweet and beautiful that I dare anyone to read this book and not feel your heart melt for him at some point.



Now...let's get down to business.
The sex?!

Off. The. Charts.
Once again, J Kenner is a damn good author. She writes some amazingly hot sex scenes. Even when the 2 main characters aren't even in the same location. I'm a big fan of dirty talk in books, and seriously? Damien has to be one of my all time favorites in that department.

"Dinner is just the beginning. I want to touch you," he says, his voice low and commanding. "I want to run my hands over every inch of you. I want you wet for me. I want to finish what we started, Ms Fairchild. I want to make you come."

"Pleasure? We're going to blow the roof off pleasure. I'm going to make you beg for it. I'm going to claim you. I'm going to tease you. I'm going to torment you. And you're going to come for me like you've never come in your life."



*eyes glaze over*
Um...uh...what? Where was I?! *cough*

Annnnnyway... this book may sound like a lot of others out there. But, this one as well as another one of my recent favorites The Pleasures of Winter, stand out among a sea of wanna-be FSOG clones. One of the main differences happen to be that both blow that little book out of the water. They are both far more well written, the characters are much more real and endearing and yes...even the sex is hotter. ;)

So, give this one (and TPOW) a try and strap yourselves in for one hell of an erotic roller coaster ride!

The Pleasures of Winter ~ Evie Hunter

The Pleasures of Winter by Evie Hunter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

6 blisteringly hot stars!



Here's my confession:
It was the the last day of 2012, and I was looking for a quick, fun read to tide me over until a book I had pre-ordered was released the following day. The reviews for The Pleasures of Winter were all over the place, but I decided to give it a shot anyway after watching an entertaining interview with the 2 Irish authors who co-wrote the book under the name "Evie Hunter".

All I can say is, holy yowza, batman!

Yes, this book falls firmly into the "What to read after Fifty Shades of Grey" category, but in my opinion...and pay attention to me here, people...This book blows Fifty Shades out of the water.

That's right, I said it.


Meet Jack Winter.


A Hollywood badass, who's life growing up in Ireland is as murky as a London fog. Enter hard-nosed journalist Abbie, who manages to awaken the 'darker' (aka kinkier) side of Jack's personality. One that he is desperately trying to keep hidden as he attempts to land the movie role of a lifetime.

Throw in a plane crash, a danger-filled trek through a jungle, enough sexual chemistry to light up Manhattan for a week & some mighty interesting new ways to use ice chips and ginger root, and you have a recipe for one helluva sexy ride!



Jack Winter...oh, let me count the ways in which I love thee.
Simply put, Jack is everything I wish Christian Grey had been, and so much more. All wrapped up in a cross between Colin Farrel & Hugh Jackman looking package. I mean, seriously? How the hell could you go wrong with that?

The D/s relationship here is sooo much more believable and intense than in FSOG. Jack and Abbie's BDSM lifestyle, while still more 'vanilla' than most (*cough* or so I have been told.), is much more realistic than the uber-watered down version found in FSOG and most of it's clones.

Jack picked her up and set her on her feet. He pulled her against his chest, using one hand to tilt her head back. "Did I hurt you?"
"No, you didn't hurt me."
A wicked grin dispelled his serious expression.
"Would you like me to?"


Now, as to the aforementioned chemistry between Jack and Abbie?! Off. The. Charts. I have read my fair share of erotica in 2012 (probably a lot more than my fair share to be honest lol), but I can honestly say, the scenes between these two were probably some of my all time favorites. These Irish gals know how to write some intense love scenes, let me tell you! And not just the actual sex scenes, but the flirty banter as well. One of my absolute favorite parts of this book were the IM discussions. It starts off as Abbie wanting to talk to a Dominant to try and understand her submissive side, and these 'D/s counseling sessions' are incredibly fun and sexy...even before Abbie finds out that she has in fact been chatting with Jack the whole time. All of these scenes make the reader well aware of the fact that when these two finally do hook up....look out!





Yes, the whole b-story involving the drug lords she was digging into for an article and their pesky habit of trying to kill her was a bit silly and unnecessary. But you know what? I don't really care. Because there were so many other things that I absolutely loved about this book that it's easy to overlook something minor like that. Where as in a book I enjoyed a lot less, it probably would have had me rolling my eyes into the back of my head. But here? Eh...whatever.

So, as you might have guessed...I unabashedly adored this book. While I do enjoy finding an awesome stand-alone book, I have to admit...i kind of wish I had more kinky adventures with Mr Winter to look forward to. ;)

**Side Note**
There is a super-short novella (that is more like an extra scene) called
A Touch of Winter which should be read after this book. It's hot & sweet and i recommend it as well. :)

Some of my favorite highlights:

"I'm Jack Winter. I've been sleeping with Abbie for the last four night. Who are you?"

"Bad girl." Jack withdrew his fingers and pressed them to his mouth. "Hot, sweet little Abbie. I can see that you're going to need a lesson about who's in charge here."

"Oh, Ms Marshall. You are a sight for sore eyes". Jack's Irish accent made her nipples peak. "I'm going to taste every inch of you."

"I am not your girl."
"oh baby, you will always be my girl."

"Abbie, if you come in, you know what will happen? Tonight won't be feathers and velvet. It's going to be leather and bruises and hard fucking. If that's not what you want, go away now. Come back tomorrow."
"Jack," her voice shook. "I want that, too."

"I'm yours? In your dreams."
"He grabbed her and pulled her tightly against his chest. "In my dreams," he agreed, his voice dropping to a growl. "And in every waking minute too."


At heart she was a vanilla and feathers girl, and he was leather and steel.