Wanderlust by Skye Warren

Can love come from pain?

Evie always dreamed of seeing the world, but her first night at a motel turns into a nightmare. Hunter is a rugged trucker willing to do anything to keep her—including kidnapping. As they cross the country in his rig, Evie plots her escape, but she may find what she's been looking for right beside her.

Wanderlust is a dark erotic novel which explores dubious consent, captivity, and power play. Not intended for those uncomfortable with the subject matter or under eighteen.

4.75 Stars

And I was helpless to resist, too weak to fight the mounting pleasure, too relieved to find myself spread and held and wanted, oh finally, someone did want me, and even if it was perverted and dirty, at least it was new. 

I don’t know what it is about Skye Warren’s books, but they are like crack to me. So when I was presented with an opportunity to receive this ARC, I was all over it. I dropped everything I was doing, including my current read, just to dive into this story. I am a huge fan of Dark Erotica, especially by Skye. Be warned though, they’re not for everyone. Her stories often include a lot of scenes that might make some uncomfortable: Dubious consent, kidnapping, captivity and psychological tug of war. It will definitely stretch your comfort level. I don’t know what it says about me, but I love books that do just that. 

I was an animal bred in captivity, unprepared for the harshness of the wild. 

Evie has led a very sheltered life. She is beautiful and knows first hand what it is to be lusted after, even by her own mother’s boyfriend. The world was too scary according to her mother. She would constantly worry that she wouldn’t know how to protect herself from the ravening men who would attack Evie as soon as she left home. Unfortunately, Evie has had enough. She wants to see things, especially Niagara Falls for which she has seen a lot of in her stolen library book. She’s finally going to risk it and head for the Falls, but as soon as she makes a stop at a dodgy hotel, her plans have gone completely awry. There she meets a handsome trucker named Hunter, a man who doesn’t take no for an answer. 

There was only one good reason I could think of why a man who looked as good as he did would force a woman – because he preferred it that way. 

As soon as Hunter sees Evie, he knew he must have her. Her beauty and innocence lured him in. After forcing his way into her life, he knew immediately that one night with her was not enough. He kidnaps her and takes her along in his semi. He is often rough and forceful with her, but almost immediately after taking her like that, he does a one-eighty and treats her with an almost reverent-like manner, almost like he’s atoning for his treatment of her. It’s his back and forth behavior that makes Evie, and my, head spin. Something in Hunter’s past has brought him to this point in his life, both fighting his domineering, possessive side to his softer and tender side. Let the mind fuck begin. 

There was something there, something large and scary lurking under the water. Every once in a while it would surface with a flip of my stomach, like when a man would speak to me with a certain authority, give me an order…

I didn’t like it, or maybe I liked it too much. 

Hunter is playing one big mind fuck on Evie’s emotions. She shouldn’t want this, but yet she can’t figure out why she would. She’s starting to find similarities between her and Hunter. Both have been sheltered in some ways and both needing that comfort they find in one another. She’s had ample opportunities to escape, only to find herself back within Hunter’s arms. In some perverse way, she is starting to trust him. He wants her more than anything, but is he redeemable? Can he ultimately atone for what he’s done to her? Can she forgive him? 

Not all those who wander are lost. 

I’ll say it once, I’ll say it again: I love Skye Warren’s stories. I admit my comfort level was once again tested, but that’s what makes her stories so appealing to me. My curiosity for the dark, twisted and perverse tales will always compel me to read these stories. There’s just something unique about them, almost like escapism. You pray it never happens to you, but yet your curiosity tugs at you to find out what happens. My curiosity will always win. Thank you again, Skye, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I anxiously await your next book. 

Going Under by S. Walden

Brooke Wright has only two goals her senior year at Charity Run High School: stay out of trouble and learn to forgive herself for the past. Forgiveness proves elusive, and trouble finds her anyway when she discovers a secret club at school connected to the death of her best friend. She learns that swim team members participate in a “Fantasy Slut League,” scoring points for their sexual acts with unsuspecting girls.

Brooke, wracked with guilt over her friend’s death, decides to infiltrate the league by becoming one of the “unsuspecting girls,” and exact revenge on the boys who stole away her best friend. An unexpected romance complicates her plans, and her dogged pursuit of justice turns her reckless as she underestimates just how far the boys will go to keep their sex club a secret.

(This is a New Adult fiction book with mature themes. It contains graphic sex and language and a description of sexual violence.)

4.5 Stars

It’s the lesson you, as the reader, decide to learn; not the one I’m shoving down your throat. ~ S. Walden 

This author has some major cojones; like huge, massive ones. Ms. Walden has some serious writing skills to tell a story such as this. This book is difficult to digest. I’m still trying to process everything. On the surface, this story is about a girl’s struggle to find forgiveness. Sounds simple, right? Not even close. There’s so much more going on underneath the surface, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m going to be blunt: This is not for everyone. If you are sensitive to stories involving rape, do not read this book. Parts of this book are disturbing and a little frightening. However, at the end of the day, the story did end happily; or at least as happy as one can be under the circumstances. 

Fuck the world. Do what you feel is right. 

Brooklyn, a.k.a. Brooke, is not an easy heroine to like. As a matter of fact, I kinda felt disgusted with her, especially at the beginning. The way she betrayed her best friend, Beth, seemed unforgivable. Beth was a victim, both of rape and of Brooke’s betrayal. She was beyond depressed. When Beth takes her own life, Brooke’s life was shattered even more. She felt responsible. 

When she moves back in with her father, she ends up at the same high school as Beth. Moving to another H.S. in her Senior year was difficult enough, but unfortunately, she also comes face-to-face with Beth’s rapist, Cal. Immediately after their initial meeting, she finds her purpose: To make Cal pay for what he did to Beth. The more she dives head first into her role as avenger, she discovers more about Cal and his swim friends. They have this secret club called the “Fantasy Slut League.” Disgusting is what it is. This league of disturbing boys make a game of performing sexual acts with unsuspecting girls for points. It’s just so sick to think about it. What she doesn’t expect was to meet Ryan, a boy she first meets at Beth’s funeral. Instant attraction.

Instant. Physical. Chemical. Primal. 

Ryan is wonderful. He’s sexy, smart and has an inner geek that just melts my heart. I LOVE RYAN. However, no matter how perfect he must be, Ryan is hiding something. For someone as perfect as him, why is he considered an outsider, a loner? Though she questions it, she never really dives into finding out why. It's not until towards the end do we find out his secret.

I thought my entire world shifted. My entire purpose. I no longer cared about revenge and guilt and victims. I cared about being with a boy who was nice to me, who treated me like I was the most important person in his life. 

Ryan is everything Brooke wants, but feels like she doesn’t deserve. Since Beth’s death, Brooke doesn’t feel like she deserves happiness. For this reason, I felt very torn with Brooke’s character. Her martyr tendencies became annoying. Believe it or not, but I do want Brooke happy. Even after what she did to Beth, I felt that she did deserve it. The things Brooke does in this story will frustrate the hell out of you. She constantly puts herself in danger trying to do the greater good. However, when Cal and his friends start to put two and two together, the level of danger she’s in goes to a whole new level of fucked up. 

Throughout the entire ordeal he was silently telling me one thing: “Don’t fuck with me. Don’t fuck with my friends.” 

OMG. I don’t want to get into it, but there’s a scene in this story that I had to skim through because it was too disturbing. I couldn’t believe what was happening. My heart was racing and I was severely disturbed. I just couldn’t deal with it. Like I said in the beginning, this author has cojones. The way she wrote this story was crazy. She really knows how to tell a story and wasn’t afraid to make the reader feel. I can’t outright say that I enjoyed this story; it’s hard to enjoy such a dark ride, but I admit I was immersed in it. For that alone, it deserves the praise. 

The Love Game (Game #1) by Emma Hart

His challenge? Make her fall in love with him.

Her challenge? Play the player.

Until life changes the rules of the game.

Maddie Stevens hated Braden Carter on sight. Arrogant, egotistical, and the playboy of the University of California, Berkeley, he's everything her brother Pearce has taught her to despise. So why, when the girls challenge her to play the player, doesn't she say no? She doesn't know either.

Braden wanted fiery little Maddie the second he laid eyes on her - and he'd do anything to have her, hence why he's agreed to make her fall in love with him. After all, it's the only way he'll get what he wants. Sex.

But, as Braden discovers, there's more to the girl from Brooklyn than he ever imagined - and he can't help but care about the broken girl behind those pretty green eyes.

Maddie finds Braden isn't just a walking erection - he actually has feelings. He can be sweet, funny and his good looks don't exactly hurt. That means trouble - but when her brother Pearce turns up in Berkeley begging for her help, she realises Braden and Pearce aren't so alike anymore.

And maybe, just maybe, they're exactly what each other needs

Four Stars

“Maddie Stevens. Your mission, should you choose to accept it.” She grins and puts her hand out. “Is to play the player at his own game. Do you accept?”

I inhale deeply, every bit of my mind screaming at me to say no and run. Play the player. “Accepted.” 

So this book was brought to my attention yesterday and as soon as I read the description, I wanted to read it. I don’t know. This was exactly the type of book I was looking for: A little angst, a strong heroine and a player that needed to be taken down a peg or two. Yep. I was all over this. 

For some reason, this story kinda reminded me of that movieHow to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Granted, I was not a big fan of that movie, but the basic plot is pretty similar: Both the H/h were playing each other. Like the movie, we know how it all ends, but unlike the movie, the actual story itself is actually entertaining. Seeing these two fight their feelings made this book hard to put down. 

“Challenge accepted, boys,” I say, resting my arms behind my head. “One month from now, Maddie Stevens will be in love with me and in my bed. You can count on that shit.” ~Braden 

Braden will do anything to get Maddie into his bed. He wants her. Badly. Even desperate enough to make a wager with his friends: To get Maddie to fall in love with him, get in her knickers and dump her. It’s a done deal, right? I mean no woman can resist such a player. Braden can be such an asshat. However, Maddie has her own plans. 

Braden personifies everything Maddie hates: He’s arrogant, smug and a big time womanizer. She left all that behind when she moved from Brooklyn to Berkeley. When her friends come up with a plan to teach the infamous Braden a lesson, to be humped and dumped, Maddie reluctantly agrees. Her mission: To get Braden to fall in love with her, sleep with him, then dump him…all within a month.

What these two didn’t plan was actually falling for each other. Oh trust me, they fought their feelings with all their might, but you knew what was going to happen. But when both find out each other’s motives, can their fake relationship survive?

“I’m not possessive over you, Maddie,” he says into my ear. “I’m protective, and there’s a difference. I’d never try to control you or tell you what you can and can’t do, but I know every guy i this frat house wants to be me right now. And you know why? It’s because you’re so fucking beautiful.” My breath catches in my throat. “They all want you, but I have you, and there’s not a chance I’m gonna risk one of them taking you from me, all right? So yes, Angel, yes, you are fucking mine!” 

And there it is! The main reason why I enjoyed this book: Possessive and jealous Braden. You guys know how much I love these types of Heroes. Now don’t get your panties in a twist, Braden isn’t really over the top, but it was just enough to quench my appetite. 

However, there were a few drawbacks to this story. One, the constant repetitiveness. No, I can’t feel this way / This is starting to feel like more than a bet / I’m scared of my feelings I’m developing…so on and so forth. Second, I kinda wanted more of an ending. The story just ended a little too abruptly. An actual epilogue would’ve been nice. So there you have it. Aside from those two negatives, the story is pretty good and it was hard to pass up. Enjoy! 

Flat-Out Matt (Flat-Out Love #1.5) by Jessica Park

Matt is a junior at MIT. He’s geeky, he's witty, he's brilliant.

And he’s also very, very stupid.

When beautiful, cool, insightful Julie moves in with Matt’s family, why (oh why!) does he pretend to be his absent brother Finn for her alleged benefit? 

It seems harmless enough until her short-term stay becomes permanent. And until it snowballs into heart-squeezing insanity. And until he falls in love with Julie, and Julie falls in love with Finn. 

But … Matt is the right one for her. If only he can make Julie see it. Without telling her the truth, without shattering them all. Particularly his fragile sister Celeste, who may need Julie the most.

You saw Matt through Julie’s eyes in FLAT-OUT LOVE. Now go deeper into Matt’s world in this FLAT-OUT MATT novella. Live his side of the story, break when his heart breaks, and fall for the unlikely hero all over again.

Take an emotional skydive for two prequel chapters and seven Flat-Out Love chapters retold from his perspective, and then land with a brand-new steamy finale chapter from Julie.

I LOVE YOU MATT

4.75-5 Stars

**DISCLAIMER: First off, if you have not read Flat-Out Love, there’s something seriously wrong with you. GO And read it NOW! Secondly, this is not a stand-alone story. It will NOT make any sense, you will get spoiled and you will not appreciate the awesomeness of this novella.**

How you find love means nothing. It’s what you do with it when you see it that does. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jessica, for writing this kick ass novella. I read Flat-Out-Love back in October 2011 and that story is still one of my all time favorites. I will never forget that story. Ever. And now to get this novella in Matt’s POV? OMG! I was in heaven. Pure freaking heaven. God, how I missed my Matty. It was such a treat to get our favorite chapters from FOL in his POV. Though two prequel chapters created more depth and emotion to the story, my heart ached for Matt in those two chapters. To read about him and Finn, how close they were, planning their future adventures -- sigh…just bittersweet. And to read about how hard Matt fought to keep some sanity when taking care of Celeste, plus the introduction of Flat Finn…Fuck! It made me love Matt even more. 

Reading this novella brought back so many wonderful memories of how I felt while reading FOL. Oh, and that last extra/bonuschapter with Matt and Julie was…OMG…I don’t even know what to say. I melted, I swooned, and I smiled with knowing smirk. I’m just giddy after that last chapter. Pure. Fucking. Bliss. I wish there was more, but I'll take what I can get. Again, thank you, Jessica for writing this novella. I am forever grateful!

Music of the Heart (Runaway Train #1) by Katie Ashley

For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple—join her brothers’ band on the last leg of their summer tour and decide if she’s finally ready for the limelight by becoming its fourth member. Of course, she never imagined stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupie’s, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn't in his bed on purpose.

Jake Slater never imagined the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when after betting Abby she wouldn’t last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake’s personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He’s never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, or most importantly make music with.

As the week starts comes to a close, neither Abby nor Jake is ready to let go. Can a sweetheart Country songstress and a bad boy of Rock N Roll actually have a future together?

Four Solid Stars

“I don’t think a girl has ever talked to me like you just did.” A shudder rippled through him. “Damn, that was hot.”

I shoved him against the kitchen counter. “You’re impossible!”

“And you’re everything I could ever want.” 

I am content. I am satisfied. My rocker fix has been fulfilled. I was clicking away at my TBR shelf when I noticed that this book just came out. Of course I jumped all over it. First off, look at the cover: Very sexy! Then when I read the description, I was hooked even more. A straight laced preacher’s daughter stepped onto the wrong tour bus, thinking it was her brothers’ Christian band, but ended up falling in bed with the notorious lead singer of the rock band Runway Train, Jake Slater. 

“I’ve only managed to do the drummer and the bassist so far, but I’m thinking I could get a threesome going and knock the others. Maybe I’ll gang-bang with the roadies when we stop for dinner!” 

Most heroines annoy me, but I immediately took a liking to Abby after that above quote. LOL. She didn’t take any shit from any of the guys in the band, especially from Jake. Hence why she didn’t leave their tour bus for a week. A bet was made between her and Jake: That Abby, and all her Christian glory, couldn’t last a week with them on the tour bus. Abby took that challenge and went with it. She quickly won over the other members of the band, though she did have to fight off some advances, but she didn’t mind. To her, they were harmless. It was Jake she was worried about. 

It’s a wonder I don’t need a chiropractor from your emotional whiplash. 

OMG. Just to warn you, as much as I loved Jake, he pissed me off a lot in the book. Even though he only knew Abby for a couple days, she was starting to get under his skin. Everything about her called to him: Her voice, her looks, her attitude – She was hisAngel. So of course what do guys do when they’re confused? Think with their dicks and end up doing stupid stuff to make her run away. I swear, Abby was a saint to forgive Jake with some of his antics. Time and time again, Abby forgave and left Jake so confused as to why this Angel had such a pull on him. 

“You just have an amazing, tender heart, baby. Because of that, you’re always going to feel more and hurt more than other people.” ~Abby 

Jake might be a badass rock star, but underneath all that, he is an emotional wreck. First off, he’s a Mama’s boy through and through. His mother is battling Cancer and he doesn’t really have any good coping mechanisms. He uses women as a temporary fix, but now that Abby has come into his life, he knows there’s so much more than a temporary fix. He has a good heart and Abby has her work cut out for her if they decide to try and make more out of their situation. 

“¡Agrrale el culo, chica!”

Abby’s eyes narrowed before she shouted, “Callete, cabron!” 

“What did he just say?” I questioned with a grin.

“Grab his ass, girl,” she replied.

“And what did you say to him?”

She grinned. “I told him to shut up and called him an asshole.” 

I think most readers will like this story, but in regards to the steam, well, bring your patience because our Abby makes our Jake work for it. Though their relationship happened fairly quickly, it was not short on drama, especially in the beginning when Jake was being an asshat. As much as I loved Abby and Jake, his band mates were freaking awesome, too, especially AJ. Yea, that’s him up there shouting Spanish obscenities. LOL. He made me smile numerous times. I cannot wait to see what he’s up to in book two. Highly enjoyed this story.