4.5 stars

4.5 stars

Looking for another dominant billionaire BDSM trilogy?? Here it is!!

“It was hard to remember we weren’t supposed to feel anything for each other when he looked at me like I was more important than his next breath.” 

As a flight attendant in the first class section, Bianca is used to supermodels and movie stars, but she is not prepared for the intensity of billionaire hotel owner James Cavendish. From the first time their eyes meet, they share a connection. An instant, intense attraction.  And by the end of that flight I was fanning myself and couldn’t wait to watch their relationship develop.

“I knew James could take me to some dark place, but I would find pleasure there, and I wanted that.”

I loved that this story wasn’t just about the sex. Don’t get me wrong, there is sex. Lots of kinky, graphic, BDSM sex. But it was more than that. Both Bianca and James each had horrific, scarring back stories that came out over the course of the book, there was a plot, character developments and some very sweet, tender moments.

I loved that James was without a doubt an Alpha Dominant, and even a little bit of a sadist in the bedroom, but he was also quite the gentleman with a warm heart. There was this scene near the beginning, before they officially enterred a relationship, where she was pissed drunk on a night that he really wanted to sleep with her, and instead he took her back to her hotel, carefully washed the make up off her face and tucked her into bed. Seriously, sweet much?? 🙂

He was possessive and even controlling, but entirely reasonable. I never once felt like he crossed the line. Not at all an asshole. He had complete control of himself and went through a great deal of trouble to keep it that way.

I loved that he always had Bianca’s feelings in mind. Always making sure that she was okay with everything he was doing every step of the way. He was constantly checking up on her and managed to be both controlling and bossy without ever throwing off stalker-y or overly obsessive vibes.

But please don’t think that just because he was a gentleman that this book lacked heat. Quite the opposite actually. Just think semi-public plane sex, a whole 4th floor “playground” (with multiple rooms), and… on their first time together, which was also her FIRST time, there were restraints, nipple clamps, riding crops, some kind of bed ramp I’d never heard of used. But that didn’t stop him from being tender, caring and sweet to her before and after, but during it… whooooahhh HEAT!!

“He leaned down to my ear. “I’m going to ruin you,” he breathed. “I’ll be your first, and I’ll fuck you so thoroughly that I’ll be your last too. You won’t want any other man after I’ve gotten my hands on you.”

“Will you be my submissive?” he whispered in my ear.”

I really liked how he was always trying to figure her out. To not push her away and to be respectful of her. But I couldn’t figure him out. He was obviously crazy about her but there were so many unanswered questions…

I liked that he knew exactly who and what he was and wasn’t ashamed or shy about he but that he took extra precautions to balance himself. It wasn’t even a question of being hot / cold or anything. He just knew what he liked and exercised self-control to ensure that she enjoyed herself every step of the way. He was well behaved, charming, and caring despite being kinky and hardcore in the bedroom. No crazy here.

“I want to kiss every part of your body that I left hurting today… I would hate myself if I went too far with you… I know its all consensual, but the fact is, I like to hurt women during sex… My strongest impulse is to control and to dominate, but make no mistake, I’m a sadist. It doesn’t exactly make me a good guy.” 

He likes to hurt, but there was nothing super extreme in this book. Intense spanking was as far as it went… and it wasn’t always only like that. His tender side and the fact that he liked to cuddle and could control himself provided a nice balance. I’m not into spanking but nothing that he did raised any of my alarm bells.

Bianca was a reasonable, never annoying heroine and I have to say I liked her a lot. And I absolutely adored her relationship with her gay best friend Stephen. The two of them were closer than siblings and shared the kind of deep connection from having gone through something horrific together and survived. And Stephen pretty much skyrocketed to my list of “top best friends” ever in this scene towards the end where he was defending Bianca. I felt like cheering. I really hope he gets a HEA by the end of the series.

I have to say that for the first 85% or so, this book was sitting at a solid, happy 4+ star rating. I didn’t have any complaints about it really, I liked the characters and the story but it didn’t fully have that extra ‘spark’ but then something happened and my heart just leaped into overdrive and suddenly I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. So, because of that, I’m bumping the rating up to a 4.5.

Ooooh and I just wanted to point out the the chapter titles were a really neat idea! When you read it you’ll see but it was the perfect way of letting you anticipate the next part of the story

We do get some answers in this book, but when I finished it and my first thought was ‘I need book two NOW’ so that’s where I’m off to now…

If it makes a difference, this book would probably be at the top of my “What To Read After Fifty Shades and Bared To You list”.

• Click here for my spoiler-free review of MILE HIGH (Up In The Air #2)
• Click here for my spoiler-free review of GROUNDED (Up In The Air #3)

** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1: IN FLIGHT
Buy on Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My review

Book #2: MILE HIGH
Buy on Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My review

Book #3: GROUNDED
Buy on Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My review

4.5+ stars (maybe 5? I’m still debating).

Woah. I think I loved this book.

It was a completely unconventional erotic romance. Raw, but not gritty. Real, introspective, dark and sexy, painful and yet not in a rip-your-heart-out way, very erotic, heavy and just so “different” than anything else I’ve read so far. 

It a very well written, character-driven book that touches on themes of guilt, self worth, trust, survival. And a sort of love.

I started this one because I wanted something ‘different’. Don’t get me wrong, I live for my romance books that you see me review all the time but every once in a while you want something a little outside the box. Something that kind of jars your senses and makes you sit up and pay close attention because its ‘new ground’… this book gave me that. Still, after having finished it, I’m not sure where to classify it and I’m fine with that… and I like knowing I have Megan Hart’s writing to turn to to add more change-ups to my to-read list.

So don’t go into this expecting your classic romance story. You have to be open minded and I think that if you know that from the start, it will help you better appreciate the story. But, that being said it is a romance. For sure. All the way. Just not your regular guy-meets-girl, they fall in love, they sleep together, declare love and live happily ever after romance. Its heavier. More raw. Real.

Elle meets Dan in a candy store. Unlike all the other men in her past, he doesn’t compliment her, ask her name, make a move, or try to sleep with her. He just shows her a good time for the afternoon and then walks away.

“So, you’re a good girl.”…
“Depends on your definition of good .”…
“Are you flirting with me?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Do you want to do what I want?” My pulse pounded at his question, murdered directly into my ear.“

She can’t get him out of her head.

“I’d met men who made me laugh, who made me sigh, even a few, very few, who’d made me come. Until now I had never met one I couldn’t forget.”

The next time he pops into her life, she is again drawn to him. They are at a club and he gets her off on the dance floor. And she lets him. He seems to treasure her but not try to claim her.

“The next time I watch you come,” he said, “I want to be inside you.”
Then he got up from the table and left me there, alone.

Elle’s life has made her disenchanted with men and she doesn’t believe that Dan is any different from. She doesn’t date. Only has sex. Never anything more. Almost the same way guys typically go through women – not really caring emotionally about who they screw, just using it as a means to an end. She doesn’t want to fall in love and doesn’t want to be loved. She has closed her self off from all intimany. The only thing she will accept is raw sex. No strings.

“I believe Dan and I were drawn together… I believe I was empty and waiting to be filled, and Dan was there to do it. And I believe it could have been someone else, that we are not bound for one person in the universe, and another time or another man might have found a way to fill me. I believe that, but I am glad it was Dan who did. Dan had opened my eyes, but only because they were ready to open.”

So Dan goes about showing her slowly that she can be cared for. Not pushing what he wants on her but willing to give whatever she’ll accept. Showing her through his actions rather than his words how serious he is at the same time of being respectful of her feelings.

And eventually Elle realizes that, at some point, she has to choose between having the wall she’s built around herself or taking a real chance on the man she can’t stop thinking about.

“I do not like that I let circumstances rob me of the ability to have a normal relationship with a man, to have friends, to be happy. I do not like it, but I had felt myself powerless against it.
I didn’t want to feel powerless anymore.” 

Why is it that if a guy sleeps with a lot of women, its accepted, but women who do the same are looked down on as sluts and whores? How is that fair? Its an interesting concept though because Elle  is clearly neither of those, but still has slept with 78 men in her life.

Elle was very… real. Neither fake nor fantasy perfect. Just… real. She was a complex, damaged woman with a lot of pain and emotional scarring in her past. But I like that she didn’t feel completely broken. Damaged yes, but not broken. She had found a way to cope. To move on with her life. I loved that Dan helped her bring down some of her walls, but at the same time, I totally understood why those walls were there.

“Sex is not wrong. Sex is not dirty. Not even sex in a public place with a man you barely know. Its not. Sex is a gift, a built-in human pleasure, something to enjoy and cherish and utlizie. Sex rejuvinates. Sex replenishes…. Sex is not. I am not dirty. I’m not.”

And omg Dan was just perfect. But not in a ‘too perfect’ way. His patience with her melted my heart. But I just fell in love with him. With how was willing to just take her as she was. To hold back and give her what she needed to feel safe. Not caged, but safe. To make her trust him…. If he had done it any differently, he would have lost her in a heart beat.

It was like he knew she couldn’t be tied down, but he was always there to catch her when she fell.

I loved that their relationship (or arrangement, or whatever you want to call it) wasn’t rushed. No insta-love here. It was about building trust. A connection. Until finally it naturally developed into something deeper as Dan helped bring Elle out of her shell and taught her to feel safe again.

The book was very well written. Very introspective. Kind of just pulls you right into Elle’s head. Into her thoughts. You see her move through her life as well as hear her pause to contemplate things along the way. It was a seamless blend of the two. I honestly started highlight a bit in this one chapter near the beginning and had to stop when I realized I pretty much had a solid page and a half I wanted to quote. You’ll just have to read it for yourself to see what I mean. There is really no fluff in this book. No excess drama. The story was utterly non-perfect and I loved it.

“Sometimes grief is a comfort we grant ourselves because its less terrifying than trying for joy. Nobody wants to admit it. We’d all declare we want to be happy, if we could. So why, then, is pain the one thing we most often hold on to? Why are slights and griefs the memories on which we choose to dwell? Is it because joy doesn’t last but grief does?”

And boy is it EROTIC!!!! The sex in this books is OFF. THE. CHARTS. HOT. I really mean it!!!! Graphic. Erotic. Sensual, Kinky… A part of me felt like I should have had a problem with some of the things that happened, but oddly enough, in the context of the story, I felt that everything was just right.

I’ve heard mixed reactions to the ending and so I was very curious about it. I think the best way to describe it is ‘perfectly fitting for the story’. Its a happy ending, and yes, they are together, but at the same time, it wasn’t “riding-off-into-the-sunset-with-hearts-and-rainbows-and-fluffy-unicorns perfect”.  Like the rest of the book, it just felt very real.

It’s not the kind of book I’d reread over and over again but I loved that I read it.

I think what I’m left with is the thought of what a talented writer Megan Hart is. She has a really beautiful writing style and I’m very much looking forward to reading more of her books.

• Buy DIRTY on Kindle 
• Buy DIRTY in Paperback 

To the best of my understanding, Megan Hart’s books aren’t necessarily a series, but there is an order to them. Here it is:

CASTING:

Dan –> Click here
Elle –> Click here

4.5 stars

“Tattooed. Pierced. Shaved head, though right now he wore a black baseball cap pulled low over his eyes…”

And yes, ladies, its THAT kind of piercing! *winks*

Do I have your attention yet?? 😀

I loved this book!!!! The banter was pure gold, the story was sweet, the sex was scorching HOT HOT HOT and the characters were lovable.

The hotness, and by that I mean hotter-than-hell-melt-your-panties-need-a-cold-shower-fanning-self-oh-my-god-H-O-T-N-E-S-S starts right in the first scene and only escalates from there. Seriously, talking about sizzling chemistry! I’m getting flushed just thinking about it!

This book should be read near an AC vent, with several drool buckets handy. I mean holyyyyyyyy!!!!

This is the story of Macy (Candace’s best friend) and Seth (or Ghost as his friends call him). We were first introduced to them in Rock Me (which should absolutely be read FIRST!!) and are finally treated to their full book. Macy and Ghost come from two completely different worlds – they lead different lives, listen to different music, have different preferences… Its cautious country girl meets tattooed, pierced, musician/tattoo artist bad boy.

“He was part of a world so separate from her own it would be impossible to bridge the chasm between them. He was heavy metal. She was all country, all the time. He wouldn’t belong at a rodeo, and she wouldn’t belong at one of his wild concerts where they probably sacrificed live chickens or bit the heads off bats onstage.”

But despite their outward differences, they are intensely attracted to each other and have both burned in the past making them a little wary of relationships despite both wanting to find their forever person.

“I’ll give you all the dates you want. But that cooling-off thing? I can’t promise you that.”

I loved that despite the intense scorching hotness, this book wasn’t just a hot ride. It had depth and a really wonderful plot and I loved that they each has issues to work through before they could fully make it work together. Their past relationship experiences had made them quite jaded and they were quite open with each other in the beginning – going into the relationship without taking anything for granted.

“I don’t know what to say,” he breathed into her hair, squeezing the air from her. “Fuck. Just wait for me.”
That was all he needed to say.
“I will.”

And for those of you Brian fans, you’ll be happy to know that we get a continuation of his and Candace’s romance in this book. Their characters were heavily featured not just as side characters but we also even got to see them work through some issues and figure out their happily-ever-after together even further. It was quite a treat 🙂

Brian and Seth also have a very close brother-like bond that was highlighted a lot. They are true best friends – always having each others’ back, helping each other, teasing, telling it straight… it was a wonderful addition to the story.

“I’m hitting the sack”
“Are you twenty-nine or sixty-nine?”
The devilish dimples appeared. “Twenty-nine with a sixty-nine waiting at home”

I can’t even begin to compare Brian and Ghost. I won’t even try. Both guys are absolutely swoony, gorgeous, tough-yet-soft, sweet, caring, and hotter-than-hot and yet, in many ways, different. Oh, and let’s not forget that they are pierced. And yes, its down there. *drools*. I can’t choose! I love them both. I’m so glad this was never a love triangle series because, if so, I’d never in a million years have been able to make a decision.

Around the 75% mark though starts a whole bit of drama starts small but quickly becomes quite a big issue. Secrets, a serious lack of communication stemming from hurt and assumptions being made without talking things through. And I guess I found it a little frustrating how long it dragged out, but I did like that it forced them to being their true feelings out and learn not to hide from each other, because if they didn’t, they both knew they’d lose what they had.

“I’m going to fix this, Macy. I don’t care if we have to start all over again. I’ll put the work in to rebuild it…. It’s what I do, you know. I get rusted-out old heaps of junk back on the road, I turn scars into art. Maybe I get once-broken cowgirls back on the horse. I’ll do the same for us, if you’ll let me.”

There was definitely a HEA at the end but I guess my only real complaint was that I wanted a little more. I don’t know… maybe a few extra chapters?

Overall though, I totally loved it! If you want a romantic, scorching read that has depth to the story and isn’t only about the sex, then you’ll love this one!

Here’s the complete reading order for this Ross Sibling series (click the links to buy them)

• UNLEASHED  (review)
• ROCK ME (review)  <— if you are new to the series, start with this one instead of Unleashed. In my opinion, its the stronger story and there is nothing in Unleashed that is vital to Rock Me.
• LEAVE ME BREATHLESS

CASTING

• Ok guys, this is the guy who I see as Seth. Isn’t he PERFECT??? –> Click here