The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden (Coincidence #1) by Jessica Sorensen

There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.

Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe.

For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.

Now he can’t stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved.

4.5-4.75 Stars

In the existence of our lives, there is a single coincidence that brings us together and for a moment, our hearts beat as one. 

I was so looking forward to reading this book. The book I was reading prior to this tore me up and when I was looking for my next read, I wanted something I could swoon over and make me feel all ooey-gooey. Does that make sense? lol. When I saw that this had come out, I was all over it thinking, “yes! this is exactly what I was looking for!” **Fist pump!** I mean look at all the potential this book just oozed: The cover is gorgeous. The storyline sounded like something right up my alley; it’s rated as Mature YA, which I just love. So when I picked this up, I was not disappointed whatsoever. I was absolutely absorbed in Callie and Kayden’s story. I could not put this down. 

There is something about someone trusting you enough with their secrets that makes it easier to trust them. It’s like they’re opening their heart and in return yours should open up to them, too. 

Callie and Kayden. Where do I begin to describe this story? Both characters are severely traumatized. Callie projected her hurt outwardly with her shyness, her chopped hair, dark baggy clothes and dark eyeliner. She was considered a freak in high school. She wasn’t always like this, but what happened to her when she was only twelve, dramatically changed her. She was never the same. 

From the outside, Kayden’s life seemed perfect. He’s handsome, star football player and was very popular. But what others didn’t see was that he came from a very abusive household. No one knew that his father was beating him and his brothers. Because he and brothers were encouraged to play sports, the bruises and broken bones were easy to hide. To cope, Kayden has a tendency to self inflict pain; he has the cuts and scars to prove the hurt. On the night of his graduation party, Kayden was on the receiving end of his father’s anger. What he didn’t expect was for someone to intervene the beating. 

“That’s you, Callie, you’re the only person that’s ever made me feel happy about anything. That night you saved me, you changed something in me – you made me want to live.” 

Ever since the night Callie intervened, Kayden wanted to thank her and ask her a million questions. He never had the chance until he literally ran into her in college, although he didn’t recognize her at first. She changed. Callie and her BFF, Seth (who I ADORE by the way), have made a list of things to do in order to make their lives better. Outwardly, Callie is slowly changing; her hair, her clothes…she was trying to move on from her past. College was fresh start. However, inside she was still struggling to let people get close to her, even touching made her uncomfortable. Kayden wanted to get to know her. Why is she so skittish? Why did she save him that day? Why is he so drawn to her? 

I want nothing more than to be with her and protect her, like no one ever did for me. I want to make sure nothing bad happens to her. 

**Possible spoilers below**

**SIGH** So here I am, cruising through this beautiful story. I am loving Every. Single. Moment. these two share. I’m in pure utter bliss. Seriously. Then all of a sudden…BAM! The ending came and I was left with my heart thudding, and my mouth agape. Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me. With. This. Shit.Seriously. What the fuck just happened!?!? **Bangs head on wall** I kinda knew this was coming, but I was hoping my intuition was wrong. Nope. I was right all along. Fuck. My. Life. All I have to say is that cliffhangers suck major ass. Well there’s no denying I really liked this story, just hated the abrupt ending. Luckily for me, there is a sequel and it’s due out at the end of February. Thank GOD! Now I can breathe a little better.

Mogul (Groupie #3) by Ginger Voight

In the final book of Ginger Voight's Groupie Trilogy, Andy and Vanni have returned to Los Angeles to happily prepare for the birth of their child. A reformed Ladies' Man, Giovanni Carnevale now embarks on a fairy tale life of monogamy with the woman he loves, but the ghosts of his past still continue to haunt their newfound happiness.

The Wilke family wants to see him pay for the damage he has done to their precious Baylee, who still lies in a vegetative state. For her brother, Donny, money will never be enough to make up for what Vanni has done, but that is where the Wilke family first seeks their revenge. They demand millions of dollars in restitution, which forces Vanni to reevaluate his career path and participation in his band, Dreaming in Blue.

To ensure he has enough money to make up for his mistakes as well as provide for his baby, Vanni takes on the job as judge for a new reality talent show called "Fierce." Here he champions an unlikely contestant, proving to his detractors that he truly is a man of substance - more than anyone could have imagined. This includes producer Graham Baxter.

Graham tries to move on, but when he discovers that Andy is pregnant he cannot stop dreaming of what might have been. Maggie watches on helplessly, as hopelessly in love with him as he is with someone else. She considers moving on before he shatters what is left of her heart. It takes a couple of matchmakers (and a fairy godfather named Jorge) from "Love Plus One" to show Graham a side of Maggie he's never seen before. 

The biggest threat to Vanni and Andy's Happily Ever After is grifter Holly Neal, who returns to Los Angeles claiming to carry Vanni's baby. Graham and Andy suspect she is up to her old tricks, but Vanni knows truly turning over a new leaf means he has to do right by all the people he has wronged - including a child he may have conceived with another woman.

In the end, it is Andy and their baby who may pay the biggest price of all for his sins, when Baylee's unexpected death finally sends her psychotic brother over the edge.

Everything blows literally to pieces, forcing Vanni - and Graham - to risk it all for the sake of love.

Author Ginger Voight continues her popular GROUPIE saga with book three, amping up Rubenesque romance with steamy sensuality, and pulling the curtains off of celebrity royalty.

Four Stars

**If you have not read the first two books, Groupie and Rock Star, please stop here and read them first. The following review may contain spoilers.**

It was what he always thought a honeymoon would be like. He just needed to find the one woman he’d ever want to marry. Now he knew with all certainty that woman was Andy. 

First off, a huge, massive THANK YOU to the fabulous Ginger Voight for allowing little ole me to Beta Read this. It was an honor and privilege, let me tell you. I was dying after reading book two, Rock Star. So much happened in that book and I had TONS of unanswered questions at the end. I was so excited to get my hands on this and finally gain some much needed closure and happiness. This was me after I finished reading Mogul:

UPDATE 12.09.12

Relaxing. Calming. **Exhale** Yep. I'm a happy and content girl. **smirks** Talk about a crazy ending! 

This wasn’t as angsty as the first two books, but it was still an emotionally charged read. No character is perfect and everyone had their own little flaw; it seemed that I wanted to slap everyone sometime or another. lol. 

He sighed again as he glanced down at Andy as she slept in his arms. He’d been such a dick for so long. Why couldn’t he just keep it in his pants and be a grown-up? 

My biggest source of happiness was seeing the transformation of Vanni. Ladies, he FINALLY grew up. Thank God! Womanizing, selfish and egotistical Vanni was gone. He finally had Andy and he was not about to fuck it up. Never again!! It was torture to read his downward spiral in book two and to see him finally take responsibility for his actions and still protect Andy was such a breath of fresh air. I loved committed and loving Vanni. However, the subject of Holly and their baby was still a question we desperately needed an answer to. Is the baby really Vanni’s? How did Andy take the news?

This wasn’t just some guy sharing her bed. This was the love of her life, her unexpected soul mate. 

Oh Andy, Andy, Andy…her HEA with Vanni is within her reach, but man, his past constantly hounds her. The drama with Holly is nothing compared to what she faces in this book. Someone is out for revenge on Vanni and has their sights on Andy. There is so much backstabbing, lying and deceit surrounding Vanni that it’s hard to know who to trust anymore. Vanni tries his best to be there for her and their baby, but he’s an honorable man and wants to help Holly. Gahh! Don’t even get me started on how I felt about him and Holly. Ugh. He has nothing but good intentions, but really, Vanni?! All I can say is that I totally side with Andy. No wonder she still runs to Graham for comfort.

“But what’s more my business, is how your selfish, entitled, egomaniacal behavior affects someone I love. See, that’s more than business. That’s personal.”

“She’s not yours to protect,” Vanni reminded quietly.

“She is if you refuse to,” Graham replied. 

**SIGH** I love Graham. I just love him. I still wonder what it would’ve been like if Andy had chosen Graham over Vanni. It’s no contest, Graham has always been the better man. As much as I loved Vanni’s transformation, Graham had remained the same, honorable and loving man I grew to adore. He’s the safe and obvious choice, but I guess we can’t chose who we love. At least Graham found happiness, too, in this book. :) 

I’m sad that the drama is over, but happy with how everything turned out. The adventure and the torture were well worth it. It was such a great ride. This is a definite must read for those who have followed the series: It provided the closure we all needed. Well done, Gin! Well done :)

Comfort Object (Comfort #1) by Annabel Joseph

Nell, an out-of-work professional submissive, is desperate to find a job when she meets handsome film star Jeremy Gray at the restaurant where she works. He says he needs a personal assistant, but the work contract he shows her details not organizational duties, but sexual ones. Jobless and homeless, Nell agrees to work for him anyway, on the promise that he will pay for her to finish her college degree when her stint as his "assistant" is complete. The start of their formal Dom/sub relationship is rocky, but they soon fall into a mutually satisfying, highly sexual routine. They play vanilla boyfriend and girlfriend in public, while Jeremy uses Nell as his kinky comfort object behind the scenes. Then a stalker threatens their secret lifestyle, and their contract may not be strong enough to hold them together. This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, strong BDSM theme and content including spanking, dubious consent, exhibitionism, menage (m/f/m), group sex.

4.5-4.75 Stars

“Go on,” Jeremy breathed.

I shrugged. “Well it was work, you know? Ultimately the scene was between her and her dom. I was kind of beside the point.”

“Just the facilitator.”

“No, not at all. He was the facilitator. I was only the prop. I was always the prop, the thing people used to get off.” 

HOLY FUCK! I missed my kinky stories. I never realized how much I missed them until I picked this up. I was scrolling through all my Kindle books and saw this. I’ve had my eye on this book for ages, but for some reason I finally decided to read it. This story had me wrapped around its finger. I was so absorbed in this story; the whole world around me complete disappeared. I kid you not. Yes, the premise of the book is completely unrealistic, but who gives a fuck, right? lol. I mean, isn’t that why we read? To get away and fantasize? Oh yea. This had kinky fantasy written all over it and I just loved it. 

The applicant understands that she will act as submissive and/or sexual slave to give comfort and relaxation in private, and function as a loving and affectionate girlfriend in public, and under no circumstances will behave in any way that exhibits or suggests her submissive status in public. 

Nell is a professional submissive. She earns good money and loves the work. One day, a very gorgeous man employs her for her services, but unfortunately club rules prohibit any fluid exchange with the staff. So what does Mr. Gorgeous do? He proposes Nell for an after hour play. Their additional play and fuck after work hours was more then both had bargained for. Yes, they had fun, but Mr. Gorgeous outs her extra curricular activities and gets her fired from the club. Little does Nell know but Mr. Gorgeous actually works for Jeremy Gray, a very famous actor with a taste for the kinky side of sex. Jeremy is looking for a new submissive to do as he pleases. Ever heard of the saying, “I want a lady on the street, but a freak in the bed?” Yup. That pretty much sums up what Jeremy wants. Mr. Gorgeous was just sampling the goods Nell had to offer and recommended her to Jeremy. He is immediately intrigued by Nell. She has everything he wants in a submissive woman. Nell is livid when she finds out who outted her and why. So what if Jeremy was famous, sexy and dominating, she wants nothing to do with his proposal. Unfortunately he doesn’t take “no” for an answer and he practically makes it so she has no choice but to accept. 

He was good at everything. He could deal with anything. And I finally realized that sex was his drug. Sex was the thing that kept him ticking. Sex was his heroin, and I was the dealer. We were constantly getting “high.” 

The lengths Jeremy went through to get her to say yes is a bit much, but I quickly got over it. I wanted to live vicariously through Nell and travel the world with Jeremy as his personal assistant/sex slave. And Oh. My. God. The stuff Jeremy’s into is kinky. Take Christian Grey and multiply it by like a hundred. Yea. He holds nothing back: Anal, oral, vaginal, orgasm control/denial, m/f, m/f/m, m/f/m/f, f/f. Various toys including, nipple clamps, anal plugs, canes, floggers, whips…oh fuck it…you get the idea. The weird thing is that all the sexual play wasn’t over powering. There was a lot of it, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t bothered by it like most of BDSM, erotica books sometimes do. I just loved this story. It was an erotic escape that I thoroughly loved. Highly recommend. 

Vice, Virtue & Video (Vice & Virtue #2) by Bianca Giovanni

Lola Caraway is an intelligent but inexperienced college grad living two doors down from her long-time best friend, porn superstar James Laird, in California. Though their worlds are different, the two lead normal lives until a sadistic producer sets her sights on Lola and James learns the difference between kinky fun and real danger before he's forced to face his true feelings for his best friend

4.5 Stars

I've never needed love before in my life, just a good time, but I need her to love me because I'm so fuckin' crazy in love with her.

This was such a impromptu read. I was surfing Smashwords, looking for some good freebies to feed my Kindle when I come across this series. Before reading this, you must read the three previous short stories first. I downloaded all three, plus this one, for free and I'm so happy I did. The short stories, though enjoyable and very fast reads, was nothing compared to this. I felt like I got to know the characters first and was able to connect with them better. By the time I got to this full novel, I was primed and ready for these two to finally hook up.

My whole persona is being stripped away and I feel totally raw and exposed standing here in front of her and praying that she really does love me. 

James is a famous porn actor and his best friend, Lola, is as innocent as they come. They've been best friends since they were little, but never pursued anything more at risk of ruining their friendship. Nothing was ever going to come in between them, not even after some of their lustful moments. James was always a ladies' man, while at the same time, always threatened any guy who came after Lola. He’s very protective of her and feels like no man will ever deserve her, least of all himself. His career never bothered him or Lola; after all they’re just friends and have been supportive of one another from day one. Their friendship means everything to them, but they've been denying their true feelings for a long time. How much longer can they resist? 

"I've never been in love before and I have no idea what you're supposed to do and how you're supposed to handle things. This emotion has been a really weird one for me because I'm used to getting physical, but I'm not used to anything real - anything that feels all intimate and deep like this. I need you so bad, Lo. Not having you around, not being able to see your face...it's been like torture for me. You're like the air in my lungs and I need you to survive." ~ James 

I really enjoyed this story. It was so sweet. I loved reading about their long term friendship blooming into more. They tip-toed around and experimented enough with each other to know they had chemistry and when they finally got together…the world seemed so much better :) I still can’t believe this was free read. I love that feeling of picking up a new and unknown book and find something totally awesome. I really hope the author decides to write more about these two. 

Rock Star (Groupie #2) by Ginger Voight

"Rock Star" is the highly anticipated sequel to Ginger Voight's Rock and Roll Rubenesque saga, which began with the sizzling debut of "Groupie." For those who have been anxious to see what has become of Andy, Vanni and Graham... buckle your seat belts. You're in for a thrilling new ride right through the dark underbelly of fame. 

In the second book in the series, readers get insight into the mind of the romantic hero, Giovanni Carnevale, as he reaches the pinnacle of success as a world wide rock star. Everyone wants a piece of him, but all he wants is the one thing he can't have. He's angry and he's entitled, with ample opportunity to make really bad decisions. The combination proves explosive.

Andy must watch from the sidelines as her beloved Vanni falls victim to grifters, scandals and alcoholism thanks to this self-destructive behavior. Things come to an emotional head when his estranged father comes on the scene just when Vanni thinks things can't get any worse.

Darkness shadows Graham Baxter as he begins his journey as a paraplegic. The powerful mogul bitterly handles this new vulnerability by lashing out at the people who could help him the most. He needs Andy more than ever, pulling her in yet another hopeless direction. Andy is put in the impossible situation of keeping the most important promise she has ever made, or saving the man that she can't help but love.

Author Ginger Voight turns up the scandals, secrets, passion and heartbreak to 11 in a very Jackie Collins type of way. Flawed characters face excess and all the pitfalls that entails. They fight as hard as they can to hold onto anything real in the fake world of celebrity.

Four Stars

**Do not read the following until you’ve read book one, Groupie. There are minor spoilers below.**

He was her drug. He always had been. And until that very moment neither of them realized that she was his as well. He couldn’t get enough. He could never get enough. 

It took me TWO attempts to read this. Two. Why? Well the first time I started to read this, it was immediately after reading Groupie (book #1). If you read my review, you know it was angst on steroids! I knew I shouldn’t have immediately jumped to this book, but I really couldn’t help it. I’m a masochist and I wanted to continue the torture. Unfortunately at 25% into this book, I had enough and wrote:

“Ok. That's it. I just uttered my safe word. I couldn't take the pain anymore. I'm broken, but I am determined to finish this crazy ass story, only after book three, The Mogul, comes out in February. **sigh** I feel slightly better, but my iPad is telling me to SUCK IT UP and FINISH THIS SHIT ALREADY. FUCK!!” 

So it took me 20 days to return to this book. I figured I’d suck it up and take it like an adult. I read this pretty fast, too. I figured it’s like ripping off a band aid, you know, to lessen the pain, but unfortunately the story still stung like a bitch. 

He snarled as he thought of Graham. Lucky bastard. He had money. He had power. He’d already had two other wives. And now he had Andy too. 

After what transpired at the end of book one, Vanni was one hot mess. He couldn’t cope with what happened and started to spiral out of control. The beginning of the book was a tough pill for me to swallow. Watching Vanni lose it was very difficult to read. (Hence why I stopped reading at first.) When I emailed the fabulous Ginger Voight to vent out my frustration, she basically told me that after Vanni’s treatment of Andy in most of book one, he wasn’t ready to be worthy of Andy…yet. He had to hit rock bottom first. She explained it further by saying:

“Vanni's about to get totally bitch-slapped through fate. It'll level him to the point he'll realize he's been a complete dumbass, but it'll come at a huge cost to him with something that will spill over into the next book with explosive consequences. BUT, the plus side of that is that he'll realize he needs Andy on a fundamental level beyond just a romantic partner. He'll realize he's alone in this world without her. It's an eye-opening moment for him."

This helped me tremendously when powering through this story. Especially when Andy kept see-sawing back and forth between he and Graham. 

“Tell me you love me,” he begged as he slipped between her legs under her skirt.

“I love you,” she muttered in an incoherent whisper.

“Tell me you don’t love him,” he persisted…

“Tell me,” he pleaded…

“You do love him,” he finally said. “Don’t you?” She didn’t answer. “Don’t you!”

As much as I love the concept of two 

strong, sexy Alpha males fighting over me, I would NOT want to be in Andy’s shoes. She is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She’s in love with two completely different men, for two completely different reasons. As much as I adored Vanni, he was mostly an ass to Andy in book one. As for Graham, I fell in love with him and was devastated at what happened to him. This book once ripped me apart, just like book one did. My heart was all over the place. Each man claimed that they needed Andy, but the answer to who needed Andy more was never really quite answered. It was so difficult to not feel for the other. My heart just broke. 

“But unfortunately the road to hell really is paved with good intentions.” 

We meet a couple new characters in this book, too. We meet Maggie, the nurse helping Graham with his rehabilitation. She was awesome, plus it helps that she’s a nurse like me. What’s not to like? Then there’s Leo…yea, he’s just a total sleaze ball. And then there’s Holly. Ugh! My bitch-radar immediately went off when we meet her. She was too good, but I knew there was a side to her that I knew I wasn’t going to like. Makes me wonder what’s up her sleeve in the next book. 

Just remember, this a very tough series to read, but I give mad props to Ginger for writing a story that will make you swoon one minute and then make you scream “bloody murder” the next. It’s that emotional. I wonder what book three, The Mogul, has in store? Hmmm…can’t wait to find out :)