BOOK REVIEW: Caught in the Middle by Kira Barker

From Goodreads: 

For years now, resident surgeon Erin Slater has been focused on her career. Sexual frustration has her on edge, and it seems like a wet dream come true when her best friend Jack and his roommate Simon offer to help her scratch that itch. Their afternoon of debauchery leaves her yearning for more, particularly to explore her submissive side – a craving that Simon, an experienced Dom himself, is only too happy to satisfy. But there’s also Jack, who she’s closer to than anyone else in the world. When emotions factor into the equation, things get complicated, forcing Erin to make a decision which man she will choose – but why can’t she have both?

Dive into this vivid tale of friendship, lust, love, bondage, dominance, and submission. Intended for mature audiences.

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R.E. Hargrave's Review:

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Long time friends turned lovers: this is the heart of Caught in the Middle. While it sounds simple, Barker’s delivery is anything but. Instead, it's an erotic tale packed with emotional surprises and plenty of plot. Oh, and there’s the bonus twist of there being not two, but three parties involved in said transitioning relationship.

When Erin lets down her walls after a particularly trying week of residency, she finds herself caught between two very different, but lovable, men: Simon and Jack. It doesn’t take Erin long to realize that both can offer her something she wants, and needs. 

With Jack she has a past; years of friendship has resulted in them learning each other to the core and building a trust and respect that can only be gained with time. But Simon is her present as he begins introducing her to the finer points of BDSM, letting her into his secret world. She thrives on the therapeutic outlet it becomes in dealing with her struggles as a young, single woman, pulling long hours~and paying off enormous debts~in pursuit of her medical career. 

What starts as a frolic of physical release quickly escalates, blurring lines. Erin is unprepared when her need and respect of the two men shifts, and romantic feelings begin creeping in . . . for both Simon and Jack. 

With so many nuances and lifestyle adjustments, bumps in the road are expected, but I was floored with how smooth, how seamlessly the story shifted between scenes and moved forward. Well-written and well-edited, always a plus in my book, Caught in the Middle had me laughing, getting angry, longing for my own session, and even crying.

This story has it all. It portrays the BDSM lifestyle with class and grace, yet has no shortage of gratuitous sex for the erotica lover. The philosophical angle~exploring the mental, social, and emotional dynamics while this trio progresses~is insightful, letting the reader enjoy the story and, in my case, be left rooting for Simon, Jack, and Erin to make it.

Kira Barker’s debut novel is engaging and brilliant, and has left me anticipating the next installment in the We Kinky Three series.

*Content warning: story does include m/m scenes, m/f/m scenes, and assorted bondage and discipline scenes. If these aren't your thing, this story may not be for you. If you're curious or open-minded, please give it a shot!

**I was gifted a copy of the book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: Death Wish by Cherime MacFarlane

From Goodreads:

Growing up the only child of an alcoholic mother, Colin didn’t get much love. In the small community he grew up in everyone knew his situation and the boy turned increasingly inward. The only thing that kills the pain is going higher, further and faster. ‘So dare me why don’t you.’ 

One other child sees the hurt. One boy, Paul, a little older brings Colin into his home. They become friends for life. 

Paul finds a girl, just released from foster care. He brings her home to the business and his partner Colin. Colin finds himself in love with his only friend’s wife. For two years Colin hides all from Maria Elena. But Paul knows because Paul knows Colin. 

Colin and Maria lose Paul. Maria chooses alcohol to kill her pain. Colin is faced with losing everything if he can’t get her sober. But what to do about the ache he has been living with for two years? 

A long road trip from Alaska to Bellingham, Washington is necessary. It is a lot of miles. Anything can happen on the Cassiar Highway, the short cut from the Alcan to the Yellowhead Highway in Canada.

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R.E. Hargrave's Review

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This was my first time reading Ms. MacFarlane and I'm glad I got the chance. She writes with a detailed gusto that makes it so you can't help but get pulled into the story and the outcome of the characters. 

Death Wish opens with two people who are handling the loss of the same man in different ways. Colin was Paul's best friend; Maria Elena, Paul's wife. The twist is that Colin has been in love with Maria Elena since the day Paul brought her home, and now he must deal with his friend's dying wish for him to "take care of her," while all she wants to do is hide in a bottle.

MacFarlane will take you on an imagery-filled road trip through Alaska while she sits these two down to face their demons, old and new. Sweet moments, sexy times (which make this book for mature readers), and tears await ... 

I'm looking forward to getting a chance to check out some of MacFarlane's other works, as she has many to choose from!

*I was gifted a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: Roulette: Love is a Losing Game by Sam JD Hunt

From Goodreads:

"You might call me a Dominant or a Top, but really I’m just a very successful woman in my 30s looking for sexy role-play without the complications of a relationship. I need control. Love has never been on my agenda. Until, of course, one day the much younger Thomas Hunt came into my life. He broke down my walls and taught me to let go; he made me feel alive for the first time. I might even be capable of loving him if lies and betrayals don’t tear us apart first." Samantha Drake

Roulette: Love Is A Losing Game is the first book in The Thomas Hunt Submissive Series. Set in Las Vegas, it’s a contemporary love story that incorporates light BDSM themes with modern, steamy role-play.

The modern, sizzling sexual content and language used in this book is intended for mature audiences only.

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R.E. Hargrave's Review

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A budding romance. Intrigue. Kinky sex. Murder.

Welcome to Las Vegas, and the life of Samantha Drake: lawyer by day, Domme by night. Except that Vegas is the city that never sleeps and it doesn’t take long for her two worlds to begin blending. 

With her defenses locked up tighter than Fort Knox, Sam faces her biggest challenge when she decides to let Thomas Hunt inside her armor. Little by little, she starts relinquishing control to her playful young submissive as he takes his fledgling steps into “Domhood.” What she isn’t prepared for, is exactly what that means or how to separate her growing romantic feelings from the possessive, domineering ones.

When things start going wrong in her professional life, it’s unclear who Sam can really turn to for help. Does she follow her heart, or her head? It seems every decision she makes leads to pain for someone else. Only time will tell when her own life ends up on the line.

Roulette will sweep you up and take you an adventure across the pages. Don’t trust anyone, and be prepared to be left chomping at the bit for more when you reach the end. The next installment in this series is due out in September I believe, and I can’t wait to see where Hunt takes us next.

BOOK REVIEW: Testing the Submissive by Al Daltrey

From Goodreads:  

Abby stood nervously before her Master in the classic submissive pose: fully nude, legs apart, wrists placed behind her back; deeply ashamed of her evident arousal. Worse, she had to recount in exact detail the proceedings of her last whipping. The whipping had been severe; as was the case with most of the clients she was commissioned to serve. Most of these clients were men, some were women, on occasion a couple, or even a group. Nevertheless her body reacted like that of a wanton whore as she retold of the sadistic punishments and extreme sexual use inflicted upon her body.

How far would her Master push her with these ‘tests’? How far would Abigail go? How many times could she stand before him blushing; yet with that unmistakable tingle? Their relationship was surely headed for a collision course. Or was it?

This story contains STRONG BDSM. While fully consensual, it includes submission, dominance, sadism and masochism. Please do NOT buy or read this if you are offended by graphic sexual descriptions including sexual violence. All characters are aged 25+, and it is recommended for an adult audience ONLY (aged 21+). This story is pure fiction and the author does not condone any violent behavior.

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R.E. Hargrave's Review

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Told from Abigail’s POV, Testing the Submissive is the graphically explicit story of a woman recounting how the pull of darker desires affected the consequences of her life. This is Abby’s journey as an employee of a private network catering to high-paying clients with out-of-the-ordinary sexual fetishes. 

As the summary disclaimer warns, this book is not for the faint of heart.  

Consent. Daltrey's tale drives home the importance of it. Without it, it’s abuse; with it . . .  you find people like Abigail who are aroused by deep, thorough beatings. For them, the more severe the pain, the more heightened their need becomes. If they want to make extra money while they have their own physical needs met, is that so wrong? And isn’t it better that obscure clients with specific tastes seek out a service like the Network, getting their own “fix” with a willing partner who is a masochist. A pain slut. A "whipping bitch."

The Network is an elite group of business partners who ensure that each of their employees, i.e. whores like Abigail, have a sponsor. This person is responsible for handling the security and financial aspects of the pre-arranged sessions. Additionally, the sponsor conducts a very intimate interrogation following each appointment to ensure the employee is not hurt, provide aftercare, and most importantly, that they are still conscientiously willing to go on the jobs.

Enter Lewis, Abigail’s sponsor. 

He sees her sooner than she realizes and fights his own inner control in his need to have her. Lewis watches. He tests, sending Abigail on progressively more challenging assignments~ones that take weeks instead of days to recover from; for all the bruises to fade. Will there ever be a client he deems too harsh to send her to? Will the time come when he stops tap-dancing and claims Abigail as his own?

Testing the Submissive is a page turner, in its own fascinating way. Some readers may be appalled by what lies in the pages, others may find their own inner 'bitch' waking up. Minor editing issues and just a tad too much sex in place of the development of the romantic story line held me back from giving this five stars, but I would not hesitate in recommending this to anyone with an open mind.

DOUBLE BOOK REVIEW: Jason Luke's Master series

From Goodreads: 

It's the interview like no other.
It's the interview of a lifetime.
It's THE Interview with a Master.
When Jonah Noble reveals details of his life within the world of BDSM, the tale he tells is intensely erotic, profoundly sensual, and brutally honest.
This is His world. His way.
There is only one question the man will not answer…
(BDSM erotica from a man's POV, written by a man. Contains some explicit language)

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From Goodreads:

How high a price will one man pay to know love?
For Jonah Noble, life has always been his world - his way. But now, confronted with his own mortality, and staring certain death in the face, he realises his one regret...
Will Leticia be his last chance? He knows she has feelings for him, but can he ever feel the same strength of emotion for her?
Can Jonah make the leap of faith that will put his heart in danger?
It's his world. His way. But now his life is on the line...

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R.E. Hargrave's Review

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Beyond five stars. Why? Because since delving into the world of Jonah Noble, I’ve been in a daze. I haven’t decided yet if its a good thing I waited to read Interview with a Master, timing it so I could overdose on Luke’s prose with the release of In Love with a Master within hours of reaching Interview’s end, or not. I battled sleep until about five a.m. the night I took on Interview, before I had to concede and give my eyes a break. A short nap and I was back at it. This is a hauntingly beautiful read that I have no doubts I will revisit time and again.

In the limited time I had to wait for the sequel to go live, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d just read. In trying to put my thoughts together knowing I would be penning this review, I could only grasp at words: titillating, profound, daring, erotic, educational, heartwrenching . . . brilliant. 

The storyline, which spans both installments, is fairly simple; the magic of these books is in Luke’s hypnotic yet bold way of stringing words together which lure the reader in . . . like a fly to a web. And once you’re stuck, well, if you just submit to the experience, you won’t be disappointed. You may even like it. If not for the fact that I’m already submersed in the BDSM lifestyle, these books would have me wanting to know more. The cold honesty of the text resonates with my inner submissive without question.

Through Jonah Noble’s candid reflections and erotic demands, be prepared to be swept up in a rush of anticipation, desire, and heartache. You will probably get mad, its likely you’ll cry, but I promise these books, along with Jonah and Leticia, will stay with you for quite some time.

BOOK REVIEW: DOM Wars Round 1 & 2 by Lucian Bane

From Goodreads:

Lucian Bane’s inner Dom is out of control and hungry for things he can’t name. When he signs up for Dom Wars, he meets Tara who is naive to the BDSM world. Her reckless dominance and puritan heart fascinate him. But when he discovers the pain in her past, it unleashes his true Dom within. 

Lucian and Tara make it to round two in the DOM WARS. The challenges now revolve around trust, and while Tara's inhibitions in the world of BDSM are slowly being crushed by Lucian's passion, her deep rooted fears become the real obstacle he must dominate.

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R.E. Hargrave's Review

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Are you ready to sizzle? Then let’s get the pesky negatives out of the way so we can get to the good stuff!

What I didn’t like:

• Mr. Bane has an unhealthy obsession with the ellipsis. (Any of the authors I edit for would’ve been flogged by me over the sheer amount ;) )
• There were some minor issues with formatting, i.e., extra indents and such, which were distracting while reading.
• The pacing of the story, in particular the budding romance between Lucian Bane and Tara Reese felt rushed. Given that the DOM Wars series is a serial--multiple, short installments--it would’ve seemed more plausible to have the ILYs wait until at least Round 2. The sex scenes also seemed hurried; just as they get take-your-breath-away-steamy, they’re over. (Patience and buildup are a virtue, Mr. Bane) I can’t attest to whether or not the intimate moments seem over before they’ve begun because, like most of Mr. Bane’s readers from what I’m gathering through social media, I found myself unable to stop reading once I started. There is something about this series that draws you in.

Which leads me to what I love about this series so far . . .

The writing is raw and real, the underlying emotional impact forgiving the usual ‘rules of structure' while the concept of an extended ‘top Dom’ contest with a variety of challenges is brilliant and unique. Each test not only takes Lucian and Tara further on their romantic journey, but serves to educate the reader about the true nature of BDSM . . . IN LAYMAN’S TERMS. The Lifestyle is not all sex and mindgames, and I find it refreshing to come across authors who can get it right.

Bravo, Mr. Bane, and thank you for helping to get the truth out to the public.

Though I dove into DOM Wars after downloading it on a recent free sale weekend, I’ve already gone back and purchased Round 3. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this complex pair, or what future tasks they have to undertake. To you, the reader, I’m fondly borrowing Lucian’s phrase: It’s time to Dom the f**k up and start reading. Round 5 is coming June 20th so you'll want to be up to speed!

BOOK REVIEW: Monster in his Eyes by J.M. Darhower

From Goodreads: 

Ignazio Vitale is not a good man.

I suspect it, the first time I see him, sense the air of danger that surrounds the man. He has a way of commanding attention, of taking control, of knowing what I'm thinking before I even do.

It's alarming and alluring. It's dark and deadly. It's everything I've ever wanted but the last thing I truly need. Obsession.

It doesn't take him long to draw me into his web, charming me into his bed and trapping me in his life, a life I know nothing about until it's too late. He has secrets, secrets I can't fathom, secrets that make it so I can't walk away, no matter how much I beg him to let me go. I see it sometimes in his eyes, a darkness that's both terrifying and thrilling. He's a monster, wrapped up in a pretty package, and what I find when I unmask him changes everything.

I want to hate him.

Sometimes, I do.

But it doesn't stop me from loving him, too.

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R.E. Hargrave's Review:

* * * * *

Ignazio Vitale to those that fear him, but Naz to the one person who should fear him most: Karissa Reed. Except she doesn’t, she’s fallen under his spell instead.

J.M. Darhower will take you on a breath stealing ride that is both emotional and tangible. You won’t want to put the book down. Told from Karissa’s POV, the reader gets to experience falling hard and fast for the enigmatic and older hero~or is he the villain? Not all things are as they seem, and this heart pounding first installment ends with you wondering just how there can be a happy ending for either one of these ill-fated lovers, but rooting for it to happen.

An excellent read.

*Thank you to the author who gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.*