Friday, May 15, 2015

Bites & Nibbles--Some Quickie Reviews--Yield to Me by Sarah Castille, Chasing Danger by Katie Reus, Scandalously Yours by Cara Elliott


Amateur MMA fighter, Marcy Foster is determined to win the state championship. But dark secrets and a broken trust mean there's one submission she just can’t master. Fortunately Club Excelsior has hired a coach who knows all the right moves.

Sexy, confident and commanding, fight consultant Jax demands control, both in and out of the ring. But once he has Marcy against the ropes, Jax knows he’s in too deep. He has the dominance to give her what she needs, but once he unleashes her hidden passions, there's no going back.

Under Jax's skilled hands, Marcy submits to her deepest desires. But when her personal and professional worlds collide, she is forced to face a brutal truth — yielding to her darkest needs may be the one thing that costs her the fight...and her heart..

Type: Contemporary, Novella     Heat: 3 out of 5      Rating: 2 out of 5
Yield to Me (Club Excelsior #1)
Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | Goodreads

First, I've just got to pant a little over that cover. Holy cow but Yield to Me is fucking gorgeous! Total #Covergasm. And the set up was fantastic with Marcy being a female MMA fighter in training--you just don't see that often--and Jax coming in to consult on issues she was having with submission during fights. A little BDSM thrown in as Marcy's submissive nature is brought out to play and explored. All good things. Unfortunately, the novella wasn't quite for me. I've been wanting to try Castille for a while now. Everything about her books so screams Anna! You must read me!! lol But I ended up not feeling much about this one overall. Kind of neutral. There was no reader-spark for me. The romance was light, the focus a little too heavy on the sports/training, and despite the characters being fairly interesting I just didn't feel a connection with them. I was just reading this one and not engaging with it and what was happening which made the novella feel much longer than it was. The sex was scorching hot though. Yums! I do want to try one of Castille's full length novels. Novellas are notoriously tricky so hopefully the full lengths will click with me a bit better.

Have you read Castille? What did you think?
Do you have a favorite MMA series?

 
Chief Nursing Officer Hannah Young is accustomed to working under pressure, but even she’s still reeling in the aftermath of a horrific terrorist attack on Miami. And things only get worse after a knife wielding maniac tries to kill her. Desperate for help, Hannah must turn to the one man she never thought she’d see again.

After spending an intensely passionate night with Hannah, NSA Agent and former Delta Force operative Dax Costas fell off the face of the earth. He got called away for a two week mission with no way to contact her. Now he can’t get the smart, sexy woman out of his head. She might be angry at him, but when it appears she has a stalker, Dax moves her under his roof and into his protection.

Unfortunately, whoever wants Hannah dead will stop at nothing. And if Dax can’t identify the perpetrator in time, it could be too late to discover if there is more between him and Hannah than just heated passion…

Type: Romantic Suspense         Heat: 3 out of 5         Rating: 4 out of 5
Chasing Danger (Deadly Ops #2.5)
Amazon | All Romance | Goodreads
Oh yeah. Chasing Danger was a tasty spot of rom-suspense. A little romance, a little danger, awesome characters. It was a good time as Dax tries to make it up to Hannah after disappearing for weeks with no notice--right after they first hooked up--and ends up winning her heart and saving her life. 

These two were great. Dax is sexy and solid and Hannah was my favorite type of heroine in a rom-suspense...reasonable! That might not sound like a big deal but omg it SO is. Her life is in danger and she knows it. And she's level headed about needing help and staying safe instead of fighting it and being stubborn. And that made me absolutely adore her. The romance is quick since they knew each other and had a connection already but they fit together nicely and had great chemistry. The sex was hot and steamy and countered the suspense perfectly. 

All in all, a nicely done novella that got my heart pumping on multiple fronts. Reus did a fantastic job of creating a fun and sexy bite sized romance. 

*Just wanted to note that this is marked as 90 pages. Not sure that's quite accurate. It took me about an hour to read and I'm not quite that fast. It's 8 chapters and ends at about the 78% mark. Still was a fun read but shorter than expected especially for the price.

The eldest of the three Sloane sisters, Olivia is unafraid to question the boundaries of Society-even if it does frequently land her in trouble. Disdaining the glittery world of balls and courtship, Olivia prefers to spend her time writing fiery political essays under a pseudonym for London's leading newspaper. But when her columns attract the attention of the oh-so-proper Earl of Wrexham, Olivia suddenly finds herself dancing on the razor's edge of scandal. With the help of her sisters, she tries to stay one step ahead of trouble . . .

However, after a series of madcap misadventures, Wrexham, a former military hero who is fighting for social reform in Parliament, discovers Olivia's secret. To her surprise, he proposes a temporary alliance to help win passage of his bill. Passion flares between them, but when a political enemy kidnaps the earl's young son, they must make some dangerous decisions . . . and trust that love will conquer all.

Type: Historical Romance     Heat: 2.5 out of 5     Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Scandalously Yours (Hellions of High Street #1)
Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads
A prim and proper young Miss...Olivia is not. And I adored her. Scandalously Yours was a lovely romance with a bold, opinionated heroine, a starchy hero and his precocious son that easily had me smiling as the two found love, romance and fought for something they were passionate about--the rights of men coming home from war.

Right off the bat I was loving John and Olivia because of their passion for helping military men. They're pragmatic and neither think much of romance and finding love. They've more important things to do--John with Parliament and Olivia with a newspaper column she writes under a pseudonym. It was kind of fun watching the improper friendship and romance sneak up on the two of them while they wound up working together on a speech John was presenting to his peers about reform. I loved that these two both bucked tradition and what Society felt was proper. They're opinionated and definitely unique to their time.

There's a bit of action when his opposition tries to force his hand, there's laughter as his son tries to find the perfect wife for his dad and new mom for himself, It was sweet and a little heartbreaking at the same time. There's passion and discovery and a lovely romance that snuck up on the two. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her sisters fall in love. The three are delightfully unique and bold and sure to be a good time.

  


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