[Excerpt] Princess by Kelly D. Smith

Oh, this is awkward.I hope he doesn’t notice me. I bowed my head, brushing my hair into my face.

I moved forward as someone went to the counter to place their order. Oh noo…I could feel it coming. My nose itched and I sniffled before letting out a series of quiet sneezes. Please don’t turn around, please don’t turn around. And he did.

Turning to face me, a smile spread across his lips and his eyes lit up. “Well hello.”

“Hi.” I smiled, pushing the hair out of my face. The entire world stopped for a fraction of a second and my heart skipped a beat. “How are you doing?”

“Pretty good, yourself?”

“Good…just, on my way home from work.”

“Ahh right, you said you worked at a bar, right?” I nodded. “Did you finish that book yet?”

“No, I’m still stuck on the Celtic mythology part. I haven’t had much time for reading.”

Someone stepped away from the counter and he moved forward to place his order. He stopped halfway to the counter and turned back to me. “Could I buy you a coffee, Becky?”

“Um…sure.” I followed him up to the counter as he placed his order. The women turned to look at me. “Could I get a small hot chocolate please.”

She rang our total up and he pulled out a twenty-dollar bill.

“So.” He turned to me. “I don’t mean to drag you into this but I’m guessing your friend isn’t going to call me back, is she?”

I opened my mouth, figuring out how I was supposed to reply. “Well…she isn’t really my friend, we just kinda…live together with a bunch of other people, mostly because I am broke and can’t afford to live anywhere else.” I gave a forced laugh. “But, I think you are right… If you haven’t heard from her by now she is either playing hard to get or not going to call you back.” A blush rose to my face as the waiter brought us our drinks.

“Thank you.” He smiled as we picked them up and headed for the door. “I was thinking, you seem like you would like to go to a fundraiser at a museum, there’s one tomorrow night and I’m dateless…Would you like to come with me? There will be a great exhibit open on Greek goddesses” The last part was added as an afterthought.

“I…” Um yes please! But I don’t have anything to wear, and it’s not like I can afford to go out and get a new outfit. Not that I was going to tell him that. “I would love to.” I’ll find something. I decided.

“Awesome.” He beamed, holding the door open for me. “It’s formal. I’ll pick you up?”

“That sounds great and, um, thanks for the hot chocolate.”

“Anytime. I’ll be there at five-thirty. The fundraiser starts at six.” He turned in the opposite direction of where I was going and headed off.

I stood there for a second as I processed everything that had just happened. I think I just got a date. I grinned, taking a sip of my hot chocolate. Butterflies filled my stomach and I started trying to piece together what I would wear.

* * * *

I looked myself over in the mirror, tugging at the knee-length black dress. The lace sleeves fell to my wrists, my silver cuff on top of the right one. My short red hair was tied up in a bun at the very top of my head.

With long lashes, my best attempt at a smoky eye, and glossy lips, I decided it would have to be good enough.

A smile spread over my lips. I look pretty damn good for this being an $8 dress and makeup from 3 years ago.

I jumped as someone knocked on the front door. I rushed to get it

“Who is that?” Hayley asked as I rushed past her and Carly.

“A…friend,” I called before pulling the door open.

He was a couple inches taller than me, his hair was dark brown, and it looked like he shaved down to his scalp. He had dark brown eyes and most of his lower face was covered in a thin layer of beard hair. He looked me up and down before smiling. “Hey.”

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Through his Lense by Anna Bayes

3 out of 5 stars

Newly divorced and rediscovering her place in the world, Fiona found a strange solace in taking photos of herself. Next step: she hired a professional photographer to take her portraits. Modelling for him felt empowering. Would this be only a one-time thing or would she have the courage to pursue a relationship with Nathan, the photographer whose green eyes captivate and disarm her?

Where to start… well, I guess let's jump right into it! This story actually did that too! We jump right into a masturbation scene. 

Its a short book, and in my opinion it's an erotica. There are some romantic elements to it but this is the kinda book you read for the sex. 

Speaking of the sex... I have to admit that I loved the idea of this book. A girl goes to a photographer to celebrate her new divorce with a photo shoot? Only to fall for the photographer? Perfect!

But... there was just something about this book. While I had a hard time putting it down I also had a hard time feeling invested in it. The characters didn't feel real to me, and most of all this wasn't a very erotic book for the amount of sex it had in it. I saw quite a few opportunities where there could be been a little *hem* detail where there wasn't. 

To put it frankly this book just wasn't doin it for me. 

None the less it is a cute, light read, which is why I'm giving it a 3 star review. Not bad but not amazing.

Excerpt: Test Your Metal

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Once the shaggy looking roadies had finished setting up, the lights went down and the entire place took a deep breath. The drummer came out first and sat behind his kit in silence. Then the bassist and two guitarists did the same. All the while, we looked on in awe. Three crashes of the cymbal smashed the silence and the horde of bodies surged forwards. Dry ice ebbed from the stage that was not even a metre from us. The other members of the band joined in forming the backing to “In my Veins.” That’s when he walked out, blue beams highlighted his perfect body as he began to belt out the lyrics. I couldn’t believe how many people in the room loved these men as much as we did. Every word he sang was accompanied by a thousand or so other voices. I thought I was going to melt.

The sweat that dripped from his perfectly smooth brow and plastered his glossy black locks to his face only enhanced the visual sexuality of the man who was screaming into the microphone. He was even more beautiful in real life. His hazel eyes glittered like nuggets of gold in the beams of the LED lasers. The girls and I screamed when partway through the show Brad peeled his soaking wet T-shirt from his muscled torso and flung it carelessly into the mob. Within minutes, the garment had been shredded to bits by a million grabbing hands (unfortunately, I wasn’t near enough to swipe a piece) and the American just laughed at the sight, flashing his pearly teeth.

“Oh you like that, do you?” He taunted us. “What, you want a piece of this?” He slid a long slender hand over one of his distended powder pink nipples and down the glistening valley in the middle of his rock hard abdomen stopping with a black-nailed thumb hooked into his buckle.

Having come onto the stage bare footed, he now stood in just his patent leather trousers which left little to the imagination. Slug low, they revealed a tattoo of purple and black flames licking up towards his naval from beneath the impossibly tight waistband. The gyrating of his hips sent shivers down my spine and straight to my groin area. An ear splitting guitar solo filled the room from Nicole’s preferred guy and Brad used that time to vault down of the stage and over to us, the public. He high fived some fans jovially on his journey along the front row.

My heart beat wildly when he came towards me. Random hands, like claws, brushed past every part of me trying to grab at him. Those soulful brass eyes were looking directly at me. Suddenly, he hopped up onto the silvery railing so his body was now in line with mine; the cold hard steel was the only thing hiding my straining cock from the pretty boy I was now chest to chest with. It was quite possibly one of the most surreal moments of my life. It was like a dream only the elbows that were now jabbing furiously in my back were really quite painful.

He smelt of fresh perspiration and whisky. I watched astonished as he didn’t even flinch as fingers from all directions dug into his tight shoulders and bulging biceps, leaving scratches and bruises almost immediately. Without warning, his arm that wasn’t grasping the gate snaked around the back of my neck and he took a handful of my hair.

He pulled my face towards his and pressed his burning forehead against mine. The microphone was between our mouths and he was singing again, singing to me, the intensity of his stare nearly enough to cause me faint. The throng of mainly females around me became even more frenzied, shrieks piercing my ear drums. I almost whimpered when the front man let me loose with a light shove against my chest and hurdled back to join his band.

Interview: Cary Grossman‏

Why don't you tell us about your latest work? 

    My latest novel is called Honey. It's what people would refer to as a "steamy" love story about a 19-year-old young starlet named Honey Clarke, who gets involved with Benjamin Scream, a middle-aged rock star infamous for very explicit lyrics. Because of his reputation, Honey expects a very wild physical relationship with Scream, and is eager to experience that. And she hopes that by fulfilling anything Scream could possibly desire, she can hold on to him. 

   But Scream has had a good deal of heartbreak, and he's terrified by how important Honey becomes to him in such a short time. And so he sabotages the relationship even though he knows he loves her. 

What inspired it? 

    Just an overactive imagination for romance, I guess. 

Is there something you are currently working on? 

    Yes, a story of a novelist who begins to suspect that the young woman he's with may in fact be his high school sweetheart, a girl who was murdered many years before.  

Is there a topic you would like to write about but haven't gotten around to yet?  

    While my reading tastes vary, I like to write romance. Its a subject that never gets old, and judging from how many are written each year, I'm not alone in this opinion. 

When did you finally feel like you could call yourself an author? 

     When I published my first novel, Chopin's Ghost. 

Other than writing, what are your favorite things to do? 

    I like to play guitar and look at the planets through my telescope, but writing takes up most of my time nowadays. 

Are there any websites where readers can connect with you? 

    Not yet, but I'm sure that will change soon. In the meantime, anyone who wants to connect with me can reach me at carygrossman@aol.com 

Narcissist by Suzi Slade

4.5 out of 5 Stars

This book was all about two young men trying to make it in the world of music. So yes. Sex, drugs & rock and roll.

This was a good book, it was a pretty fast read for me and over all I really liked it. I wasn't drawn to the main character, he kind of seemed like an asshole to me, but I did like the love interest a lot. Their relationship really confused me though. It was like the were best friend and then then a second later they wanted to kill each other, then they were fucking. Although it was confusing I know people whose relationships are kind of like that!

When it came to side characters I didn't see much of them really. Although there were a good amount of them and what I saw I liked, I just wish I'd seen more from them and really gotten to know them.

This probably would have been a five star review if it was written from Floyd's point of view honestly. He just seemed so much more likeable to me.

So pretty much there were 2-3 things I didn't like about this book.

1. Was the way it was told. It just wasn't the story telling I like and felt a little bit too tell-y then show-y.

2. Was the ending. It just felt like there was no lead up to it and it felt a little rushed, and finally:
3. This kinda falls into 2 because it has to do with the ending. I just couldn't get past the fact that one of the main characters sleeps with a guy, falls in love with him and ends out dating his mum? It just didn't wok for me.

That being said, if you're looking for a gay-rockstar-badboy romance things might be right up your alley.

Also, for anyone who is into older music and gay romance, you might enjoy it too! 

Binding the Shadows by Jenn Bennett

5 out of 5 stars

So, anyone who reads the blog knows that I have loved Kindling the Moon and Summoning the Night which are the first two books in this series.

I was so excited to start this book, so let's jump right into the review!

The first thing I want to say is that I ADORE their relationship. The honestly, the sexual attraction, the love that they have for each other and the way that they make it their own little thing- their own little family.

That is the biggest thing I love about this book.

This book seemed a little slow at points, I'm not really sure why maybe things were just too drawn out or there was too much filler? But none the less I couldn't put the book down. As always Jen Bennette hooked me.

The story was fun and I'm so attached to all the characters that I can't wait to read more.

To me this book is a little more on the fantasy side then a lot of other romance that I've read and I love that about it! I like that

The only thing I didn't like about this? There was a cliff hanger…. I hate cliff hangers! At least I hate cliff hangers if the next book isn't out yet.  But, I can't even bring myself to knock half a star off for that. I'll be reading the next as soon as it comes in the mail!

Really, go read this entire series right now! 

Sea Breeze by Jennifer Senhaji

4.5 out of 5 stars

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review of this story. 

Just like this story I'm going to keep the review short and sweet. This has honestly been one of my favorite books that I've been given by an author for a review. The story is short but sweet. There's no high conflict, not a lot of drama and no major events that take place in this book- so if that is something you're looking for I wouldn't recommend this to you.
But, it is a cute story that focuses on the romance as well as the vacation aspect of the story, because of that I really enjoyed it! 
I love romances that happen during travel.

This was a light read. Cute, sexy and perfect for a day on the beach or a just relaxing outside this summer.

Interview with Julia Rose

Today I would like to welcome Julia Rose to the blog! Readers, she's going to talk a little bit about her work, and what she's working on next- have fun and let's get started!

Why don't you tell us about your latest work?

My latest work is a little series called “The Affair.” So far I have written three novellas in the series: Secret Affair, Forbidden Affair and Taboo Affair.

It features two adults who are faced with the realization that they aren’t receiving any intimacy in their respective marriages.  They turn to each other and… well… you can guess what happens.

What inspired it?

My own secret desires.  Marriage is tough!  Being married to someone who has changed so much throughout your relationship is even tougher.  Some days I just wish I could run away with someone else.  That, of course, wouldn’t happen.  I love my husband very much!

Is there something you are currently working on?

Well, ha! I just finished up a little short story featuring a chef and a rather -dominating- female food critic.  It’s titled, Punishing the Chef, and it is another novella featuring my male sous chef, Rob Dresden, who my readers met in the novella, “Order Up.”

Is there a topic you would like to write about but haven't gotten around to yet?

Definitely!  I’d like to experiment with writing an adult breastfeeding novella, more sci-fi, monster erotica that has a really dark undertone, and maybe, just maybe some more group sex stories.  There are so many topics to choose from in erotica, the possibilities are endless! 

I’ve only started writing erotica for publishing recently.  Prior to writing novellas I would role play online and things can get pretty steamy there.  I have also written little sexy stories for lovers in the past.  It’s something that I’ve been doing since I was young and I enjoy making other people feel pleasure with the written word.

When did you finally feel like you could call yourself an author?

I still don’t feel like I can call myself an author! Especially since my genre of choice is erotica.  I’m not exactly screaming my occupation from the rooftops. (What would my Christian neighbors think?)

But I think the defining moment for me was when I finished up my first actual book (published under another pen name).  Holding a physical copy of something you wrote that came straight from a printing press is spirit lifting. 

Other than writing, what are your favorite things to do?

Other than writing I’m kind of a TV junkie, a dance-a-holic, a wannabe health nut who likes to grow her own veggies (or tries to anyway) and a karaoke queen.

Are there any websites where readers can connect with you?

Absolutely! 

My blog is http://juliarosebooks.wordpress.com/

You can tweet to me at http://www.twitter.com/EroticaRose

You can also find me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1031948.Julia_Rose

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog Julia! 

Princess by Kelly D.Smith

3 out of 5 stars

                                                

Oh this is awkward. I hope he doesn't notice me. I bowed my head, brushing my hair into my face.

                                                         So, Princess is a millionaire romance that fallows Becky and John.

Becky meets John when her gold-digging roommate tried to go out with him, apparently the roommate doesn't like him because she never calls him back and then Becky runs into John at a coffee shop. He asked her to come to an event with him and she agrees.

And that's how it all begins.

The is a romance book and to be perfectly honest, it's the kind of romance you read if you want something light and fluffy.

The characters are good, though Becky seems to have a hard time controlling the water works. That being said I did like Becky as a character. She cried a lot but she did work hard, even though she probably could have gotten away with having John buy her everything and she was a… I don't want to say "strong" character but she was… Ah! I know. She was independent.

As a hero John was fun. I wouldn't say I loved him but he was a good hero and more than anything I felt like he was encouraging of Becky as opposed to some hero's I've read that are possessive, alpha male, etc. Just not my thing

The side characters were fun and it was a light read that I could finish in a day. Although I didn't love this book I didn't put it down until I was done.

There were a few dumb moments like *Spoiler* Becky thinking that John is with another woman, but it gets sorted out quickly so I was willing to look over it.

This was a typical romance novel. There was drama, there was spicy sex and there was love. If that's your kind f thing than I suggest this as something short and fun.