Tacet A Mortuis (The Elite Kings Club #3): 2 Stars

Author: Amo Jones
Length: 302 pgs.
Buddy read with my girl Elaine!

After finishing this last night I browsed the ratings, sure I’d find some likeminded people, but 4 stars? 5 stars? Really people??

I’m guessing the people who gave this book 5 stars are die hard Amo Jones fans who automatically give out this rating despite the actual content of the book, or under the age of 18 in which case this book probably isn’t appropriate for you anyway. Firstly, where was the editing before this was published?? The grammar is awful in many places and there are misplaced apostrophes scattered throughout the book. It’s one thing to write a book about teenagers and put their own lingo in quotes when a teenage character is speaking, but for most of the book Amo Jones’ prose reflects this immaturity as well.

Secondly, WTF is up with all the SONGS named throughout the book? Like another reviewer said, I don’t share the same musical tastes with Amo Jones so if she was trying to infuse a specific meaning or feeling into the book by using these song names that was lost on me because I had no idea what the fuck the song was. And if you’re a writer and you’re using song titles to make the reader feel a certain ambiance, that’s a cop out anyway.

I forgave the childish writing and rap artist name-dropping in the previous 2 books because the content was edge-of-your-seat. The questions piled up and we were led to believe we’d get some answers with Tacet. Unfortunately about 70% of this book is Bishop & Maddie going back and forth in their “relationship”, having sex, fighting, making joint playlists that show the reader how much they love each other, etc. etc., pure teenage bullshit. Then there’s 15% of Maddie acting like a whore, going to parties in the sluttiest clothes possible, getting wasted, almost hooking up with other Kings, etc. Any time we do come close to finding out anything, Maddie says that she “can’t handle this right now” and goes back to fucking Bishop or complaining to Tatum. Even when she finds out that someone close to her knows something about Tillie, who went missing suddenly in book 2, she doesn’t follow up on it because it’s not the right time and that person is dealing with too much for her to press the subject further. Ok, I hope if I ever go missing that my friends are a little more dedicated to my well being than that.

Thirdly…(Fourthly?) where is the flow and organization in this book? I swear, at one point Maddie called Tatum over (whom she started calling Tate in this book because they’re superclose and stuff) to her house, Tate shows up with a bunch of junk food which they start eating, I turn to the next page and it’s the next day – NO indication that they went to bed, that there was any time passing whatsoever. I figured it out on my own cuz I have a decent sized brain, but kinda seems like Amo was sleep deprived the day she wrote that part because it doesn’t make ANY sense. There are other cases of this as well, read for yourself and highlight away.

Amo also decided to switch POVs in this book, which-whatever, but I don’t really need to read from Bishop’s POV how much he really loves Maddie and would “fucking kill for her”, then switch back to Maddie’s POV and Bishop is ignoring her again. I don’t see the point or advantage in giving us these changing perspectives. There’s also no indication as to WHOSE POV we are reading from when the chapter changes – no character name at the chapter header or anything, and it’s all first person so it’s not until you start getting into a conversation with other characters that you know whose perspective you’ve switched to. Great decision making there.

We’re pretty much strung along for the ENTIRE book, given little bits and pieces of ridiculous information that I guess is supposed to explain some of the questions in the first 2 books but really only incite more curiosity, which is never satisfied because Maddie can only handle certain amounts of information before her tiny teenage brain wants to explode. Then in the last 15% shit goes off the rails and everything is finished and wrapped up super quickly. Which begs the question - so maybe I’m not remembering something from the first two books but are we really supposed to believe that Katsia is the only reason why Swans are being killed? I don’t recall this ever being hinted at or stated previously, and supposedly they can’t get rid of Katsia because she’s the last of her blood line, but you’re telling me that all the Elite Kings and members of the Circle have no say in the murder of baby girls born into the Elite Kings lineage because of Katsia? Hmmm….what a very simple solution that turned out to be for a very complicated seeming, built-up-over-three-books problem. Kinda seems like one of those examples of authors writing themselves into a corner and then having to figure out how to easily get out of it. Before starting another series, might I suggest going back to the basics of English lit and creating an outline.

I did like the violent vision Daemon has at the end of the book which involves the death of many main characters. Thanks to “Trickery” for the best scene in the book, even if it didn’t turn out to be real. And speaking of Daemon, it’s funny to me how close Maddie claims to be to him even though she’s only really known him for a few weeks. Sure, he’s her twin brother, who was raised as a brainwashed assassin and only speaks Latin and who SHOT her, but apparently they’re so close that other characters have heard “stories about their bond.” Ha! What a joke. Maddie “bonds” irreversibly and unquestionably with apparently everyone, even if they’ve done unspeakable things to her in her past. The Kings all want her, even if they find out they’re related to her by blood. She says Tatum is her BFF, but also Tillie, but especially Tatum even though Tate’s head over heels for Nate, whom Maddie nearly sleeps with. And speaking of Nate, did anyone else start laughing at the scene where (in front of her PARENTS) he steals a tear from her cheek and sucks it into his mouth??

So basically:
Maddie is a whore who will fuck anyone, including her own stepbrother who she loves like a brother, except for when she wants to fuck him. (Can someone over the age of 18 please give Maddie a non-sexual spanking and send her to her room please? Girl needs to be grounded FOR LIFE)

Maddie and Bishop are a fucked up couple who shouldn’t be together, but will continue to mentally and emotionally abuse each other until they run out of songs to add to their joint playlist.

EVERYONE is involved in this conspiracy, even random guys at school and librarians.

I can’t even go on with this nonsense.

And let’s not even start on the “deleted” scene at the end which is basically just the author satisfying her pornographic appetite, whaaaaaaat the actual fuck did we need that for. I’m all for erotica but please. Such a strange addition to the conclusion..

I give it 2 stars for stringing me along to the finish line because I cared at least enough to get some answers. What a MESS!! And that ending – pathetic attempt to keep people invested in the series. Will not continue. Other reviewers say this is supposed to be 13 books long??

Sold to the Sheikh (Club Volare #1): 3 Stars

Author: Chloe Cox
Length: 5 hrs 12 mins
I borrowed the audiobook for Sold to the Sheikh via Kindle Unlimited. It was on the shorter side so I figured it wouldn't be a waste of too much time if I didn't care for it. It’s the first in the Club Volare series, and starts off pretty routinely for what I’ve read in this genre. An innocent(ish) female-in this case Stella Spencer, who gets a job at Club Volare after going through a divorce-meets a wealthy Dom who decides to introduce her to the world of BDSM. In this book, that Dom is Sheikh Bashir, and he decides to fork over $50,000 to spend the weekend with Stella, choosing her over any other willing BDSM participant because of something he sees in her eyes when they first meet, etc etc.

Continuing with the formula, the female MC is at first uncomfortable and embarrassed about everything, before the Dom slowly brings down her walls and converts her to a BDSM lover. And they all live happily ever after.

I knew what I was getting into with this book. I wasn’t expecting mind-blowing excitement or surprises, and my expectations were pretty much met. I admit however that Stella began to grow on me about an hour or so into the book. She was ditched by her husband and still carries the pain of his rejection, as well as memories of a painful childhood. She’s a sweet character and I liked her.

Sheikh Bashir is a pretty typically written Dom. He promises Stella that he’ll have her begging by the end of the weekend. He pushes her boundaries and forces her to do things she’d never do under normal circumstances. He does his research on Stella and makes a few grand gestures based on what he learns. He isn’t cruel or Alpha-like. He comes across more determined and protective. He also has a personal history that keeps him from giving his heart to anyone.

You can pretty much guess how the book ends but it was a decent read. The Audible narrator did a great job, it’s not easy to find a good erotica narrator and she’s definitely one of the better ones. The writer gave sufficient backstories to both characters and I liked the two of them together. I think the worst I can say about the book is that it’s just not overly memorable.

The blurb for the third book Disciplined by the Dom sounds pretty interesting so I think I might continue with the series if I need to bust out of a reading/listening slump.

Pure Healing (Pure/ Dark Ones #1): 4 Stars

Author: Aja James
Length: 248 pgs.
Pure Healing is an elegantly written dark fantasy novel about a vampire-like race called the Pure Ones. They’re different from vampires in many ways however; there’s no feeding off humans in dark alleys or anything like that here. The Pure Ones are a more refined group of beings, and the tale of their origin is just one of the many unique elements that add to the book’s world building.

The world building is what I really enjoyed here. Even the ages-old vampires were given an interesting twist that sets them apart from other books in this genre, with a truly creepy genre-blurring villian in their midst. I loved reading about how everything came to be, how each character got to where they are now. Everyone has a story, a gift, and a specific purpose in the organization that serves their race.

The story alternates between viewpoints so we get a little bit of everyone’s perspectives, even the villain’s. I see other reviews comparing it to Black Dagger Brotherhood but for me, Pure Ones was better. I found that it just resonated more with me and elicited more of an emotional reaction than the three BDB books I’ve read, especially at one point towards the end when one of the characters tearfully begs another to stay. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t sobbing at that part.

There is action here, but there’s also foreshadowing and build-up to the next installment in the series, with a certain character giving me the heebie-jeebies so I just know something is going to happen there unless my instincts are way off. Must. Keep. Reading!

If you are looking for a superficial, quick urban fantasy read with a cross-species instalove storyline (so, like, any other vampire story), this is probably not the book for you. If you want a carefully thought out, layered fantasy novel with seamless prose, I would recommend Pure Ones.

The Pawn (Endgame #1): 4 Stars

Author: Skye Warren
Length: 314 pgs.
The Pawn is the first book in Skye Warren’s Endgame series, and it’s available for free on Amazon. I picked it up after seeing good reviews of other books in the series and later added the audible narration for $1.99. Most of the time I get to my audiobooks much quicker than my kindle books, so if I’ve had the book for a while and the narration is cheap I’ll add it on.

After mulling over a few options from my Kindle Unlimited library when trying to decide which audiobook to start two days ago, I scrolled through my cloud and saw this title in my library. It was pretty short at 5 hours and 49 minutes, so I started it on my drive home from work. I was immediately hooked!

We’re introduce to the book’s heroine, Avery James. Everything in her life seems perfect – her father is rich and important, her future is secure, she has a doting boyfriend, Justin. Time quickly shoots forward and we find Avery begging for financial assistance from a notorious “businessman”, Damon Scott. We learn that Avery’s father was found guilty of fraud and they lost everything except for their house. Additionally, her father was severely beaten by a group of men who we assume were striking back after finding out that he stole their money. So now Avery spends her days trying to keep the bill collectors at bay, make ends meet, and take care of her father, who’s bedridden and needs assistance with the normal activities of daily living. It’s quite the social fall from grace and Avery has no one to turn to, her mother having died when she was younger.

Damon Scott and and his cohort, Damien Miller, decide to “help” Avery by auctioning off her virginity. She’ll make enough-hopefully-to save her childhood home and of course, Scott and Miller take a percentage. She’ll live for one month with the man who purchases her, and be subject to their every whim. It’s not a question of if she’ll lose her virginity but when and to whom. Unfortunately this may not be the super solution Avery hopes it will be.

I won’t spoil the rest but I enjoyed going down this twisted rabbit hole with Avery. The only thing I’ll say is that the book leaves off on a MAJOR cliffhanger. The next book in the series is The Knight and I can see how smart it is to have the first book available for free download. I definitely got sucked in to this one. Won’t be jumping into #2 right away but will definitely keep my eyes peeled for other Skye Warren book deals and keep it on my TBR.

Her Highland Master (The Dungeon Fantasy Club #1): 3 Stars

Author: Anya Summers
Length: 202 pgs.
I picked this book up as an Amazon freebie (still is), apparently it’s the first of a series and I pick up pretty much anything that’s free with “Highlander” in the title. This isn’t historical romance though-which is obvious from the blurb, and I was reminded of that when I was going through the freebies I load onto my kindle at heart-stopping rates. It still sounded worth a read though (despite its apparent lack of blood-soaked kilt-wearing Highland warriors) and at the short length there wasn’t much to lose. One of my Goodreads group friends assigned it to me for a March Buddy Pick so I was happy to get to it.

The story begins with Zoey, an American on a solo vacation, crashing her rental car in a Scottish storm. She makes her way to a nearby mansion and is welcomed by the handsome butler, Jared. She soon meets Declan, who owns the mansion which is actually a BDSM retreat. Since it’s just over novella length, the story moves very quickly, with Zoey agreeing to act as the sub to Declan's dom for a week in exchange for somewhere to stay after she loses her hotel reservation (okayyyy, so he did tell her she could stay without being his sub, but what’s the fun in that).

Steaminess ensues once Zoey wanders into a forbidden dungeon floor, and there’s no lack of erotica here. I mean they only have a week to pack all this in so Declan takes advantage of the time constraints, and Zoey finds out she quite enjoys Declan’s lifestyle.

My favorite parts involved both Declan and Jared. If you know what I mean.



And we get treated to that situation more than once.



Ultimately, there is a misunderstanding which creates some conflict, but of course that’s all resolved because Zoey and Declan are in instalove. It’s not very believable but is that really the point here?

Her Highland Master is a fun little freebie involving hot Scottish dudes, and at 202 pages won’t take up too much of your time.

BRB, going to crash my rental car in the Highlands.

My Fierce Highlander: 2.5 stars

Author: Vonda Sinclair
Length: 245 pgs.

I picked this book up as a freebie on Amazon and added the audiobook companion for $1.99.

This book was decently written, it was just…boring.

The story begins with the heroine, the English Lady Gwyneth, finding an unconscious man from a rival Highlander clan following a skirmish on her own clan’s land. The ruler of her clan, a distant relative named Donal MacIrwin, is cruel to his own people and she has no loyalty to him. She finds a peace treaty in the unconscious Scot’s pocket and decides to save his life so she hauls him back to her home where she and her friend Moira live along with Gwyneth’s young son Rory. Her own husband died in a previous battle, so she is a widow. However Gwyneth’s history is a little complicated – she apparently became pregnant by an English Lord out of wedlock, which was quite the scandal. When said Lord shuns her, she’s banished by her father to the Highlands where she’s married off and her new husband raises Rory as his own. Sounds sweet and all that, except the new husband is abusive and married her for his own conniving reasons. So it’s not that tragic that he’s dead by the time we start our story.

When the unconscious Highlander awakens we learn that he’s Laird Alistair MacGrath, head of the rival clan. He and his men were ambushed after attempting to broker a peace meeting with the MacIrvins– hence, the presence of a peace treaty in his pocket.

Anycrap, Alistair and Gwyneth have an immediate chemistry according to their internal dialogue, but he takes off in the middle of the night for his own clan’s land. The MacIrwins see him escaping and trace Alistair back to Gwyneth’s cottage where they burn it down and murder Moira. Gwyneth and Rory run for their lives and end up on Alistair’s land, where he takes them in. Many people in Alistair’s clan aren’t too happy about this.

The next 50% of the story is Alistair and Gwyneth internal monologuing about their feelings for each other, with a few skirmishes thrown in to cause more conflict between the clans, and a side plot in which Rory’s real father concocts a scheme to steal his son from Gwyneth as he’s no longer able to produce an heir for whatever reason. But mostly we get to listen to Gwyneth’s excuses why she can’t be with Alistair, despite having amazing sex with him on more than one occasion. There’s only so many times you can listen to her shame and anxiety about being socially shunned for hooking up with another dude out of wedlock. I understand this is historical romance, and a very different time for sexuality, but Gwyneth comes across like a total limp noodle who has to poop on everyone’s party. Even when Alistair asks her to marry him she whines and acts conflicted, saying she wants Rory to have a good life outside of the Highlands, and blah blah blah. Then she hooks up with Alistair yet again, and we get to hear about her post-coital guilt, again.

Gwyneth is a very tiresome character, and the slowly-built side plot combined with a hasty resolution that still somehow manages to seem drawn out made this feel like the book that would never end. At under 250 pages it should have been a quick read, but by the time I had less than 20 pages to go I was near ready to tear my hair out.

Maybe a feistier, more interesting main female character and better executed climax and resolution would have made this book a little more exciting. But as it was, 2.5 stars is all I can give.

Enthrall Her (Enthrall #2): 5 Stars

Author: Vanessa Fewings
Length: 364 pgs.

I received a free copy of this book for an Author of the Month Read & Review, I LOVED the first book and was eager to see what happened next.

Enthrall Her is like a delicious treat. It gives you everything you want, and things you didn’t know you wanted. Some things I didn’t even know existed until seeing them through the main character Mia’s eyes.

This book is even better than its predecessor in my opinion, not just because Mia has embraced her own power but because it gives us so much more Cameron. We met him in Enthrall and it’s obvious at that point that he and Mia have undeniable chemistry. However, it’s Richard who she falls in love with, and Enthrall tells the story of overcoming their own personal obstacles to build a relationship together. But nothing that Mia feels for Richard can erase the fact that she’s inexplicably drawn to Cameron. And who can blame her? He oozes sensuality, power, masculinity. He’s the ultimate alpha.

In this second installment in the series it’s decided between Richard and Cameron that Cameron will use his special set of skills to train Mia as a submissive. He also vows to unlock her suppressed childhood pain to help her overcome inner conflict. She’s to stay for two weeks at Chrysalis – where she was strictly forbidden from going in book one– and return to Richard when it’s all over. But a lot can happen in two weeks.

I absolutely love Vanessa Ewing’s writing style. It was so easy to read for ages without coming up for air. The dialogue flows seamlessly. She manages to write Mia as an inherently sweet person without making her seem naïve. In this book Mia has a stronger voice and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself more often (one scene involving her, Cameron, Shay, and a water hose had me laughing out loud).

Cameron is also a well thought out character with his own inner conflict going on. He can’t deny his feelings for Mia, but he tries to mask them with dominance and sternness because Richard is his best friend. Over their time together, however, it’s hard not to forget about Richard and root for Cameron and Mia, who at times seem much more suited. But maybe it’s just the fact that the spotlight is on these two this time around that has me saying that. The readers may find themselves just as confused as Mia in this aspect. In fact when her “training” is over, even Richard is confused. He realizes this agreement he made with Cameron may have backfired and his regret is palpable when we see him understand that Mia is slipping through his fingers.

The erotica here is mind-blowing and fun. I was just as curious as Mia to find out what actually goes on in Chrysalis. Enthrall Her does not disappoint in this aspect. It’s like unwrapping a decadent piece of chocolate…every little piece is a tiny explosion.

I admit, I fell hard for Cameron in this book and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t rooting for him. I’m excited to see where the third book will take everyone and can’t wait to read it!

Demon Lover (Fairytale Fantasies #2): 3 Stars

Author: Marie Treanor
Length: 232 pgs.
I borrowed this book via Kindle Unlimited.

This was a cute little read. I give it a solid three stars. It puts an interesting twist on the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale in which he turns straw into gold. However in this story his name isn’t actually Rumpelstiltskin but Ragnorak-if you know his true name, Svartan if you don’t.

Ragnorak comes to Gwyneth’s aid after her father’s boastful words put her in front of the king, who thinks she’s able to spin straw into gold. She’s locked up for 3 nights in order to do this, and as the story goes Ragnorak shows up after she pleads with God for assistance.

There’s instant chemistry but of course, on the third night Ragnorak asks for Gwyneth to promise him her firstborn in order to turn the straw into gold one last time. Desperate, she agrees – and months later Ragnorak returns to take her new daughter, Brea, back with him to his underground realm of Elohim. Only in this story, Gwyneth is given and accepts an offer of accompanying Brea.

Over the course of the story Ragnorak and Gwyneth of course fall in love and make an erotic deal which Gwyneth at first hopes will get her out of Elohim and back to the outside world. As days go by, however, she begins to fall for Ragnorak, and finds that he treats her and Brea much better than the King ever did.

I liked reading about Ragnorak’s underground world. I found Gwyneth to be likable and I enjoyed seeing them fall in love, albeit delayed for a bit due to the fact that both are playing their cards close to their chest. I did like that they threw in the storyline of Ragnorak’s secret ties to the King and his attempt to make a deal with King Midas. It was good to see some outside conflict after reading about Gwyneth and Ragnorak hanging out underground for a while. Unfortunately the downside was that there was nothing going on that really grabbed me, gave me that feeling of I NEED TO KEEP READING. But it wasn't unenjoyable, just a little middle of the line.

A short, fun 3 star read if you like fairytales and erotica.

The Broken Puppet (Elite Kings Club #2): 3.5 Stars

Author: Amo Jones
Length: 274 pgs.

3.5 stars

This book picks up immediately where Silver Swan left off, and I enjoyed that aspect of it as most sequels automatically jump forward months at a time and simply give us a quick wrap up of what’s been going on (although to be fair it does jump forward a bit, AFTER it picks up from where #1 left off).

Madison and her friend Tara use their power as rich kids to generate fake IDS/passports to leave the country and flee to New Zealand. They only last a few months before being tracked down by the Elite Kings, and they’re dragged back home. Bishop is still his mean old self that he was in the first book, and although Jones writes him as being more affectionate towards Madison as the book goes on, there’s still a lot of scenes where he chokes Madison, or physically forces her to do something or accompany him somewhere.

As for the mystery surrounding the Kings, we do get some answers to questions that were asked in Silver Swan. Some new mysteries are introduced however, and it’s hard to mention them in a review without giving too much away. Madison discovers she has more than one family member that she never new existed. She learns more about her heritage. She also starts having flashbacks of childhood torment at the hands of a man only known as Lucan who called her “Silver”. It’s all very creepy as memories that Madison’s subconsciously been suppressing for years slowly come to the surface.

There’s a lot of action in this book – someone is shot, someone who’s dead apparently really isn’t, more than one character goes missing, etc. We find out why a certain King has been treating Madison as if he hates her. It definitely gets crazy but these kids still take the time to party and hook up while it’s happening. The book’s storyline pushes the boundaries of reality-which I think I said in my review of Silver Swan- but there truly is never a dull moment or one in which you don’t feel like Madison is in imminent danger. Who can she really trust? What do the Kings plan to do with her? Why is her dad such a selfish asshole (seriously, he spends about 5 minutes checking on Madison after she’s injured at one point in the book, before saying “we better go” and leaving with her stepmother)?

Unfortunately these questions are never answered due to the giant CLIFFHANGER this book ends on. Imagine my mental pain and anguish when I learned that the third book won’t be released until May 2018!! (I have already pre-ordered it lol). I’d be lying if I said that Amo Jones hasn’t completely piqued my curiosity and left me dying to find out the rest of the story.

Enthrall: 4 Stars

Author: Vanessa Fewings
Length: 277 pgs.
This book is FREE on Amazon.

I loved this story! I devoured it in about 48 hours.

It opens with our heroine, Mia, at a job interview for a secretarial position at a BDSM club called Enthrall. She bombs the interview but soon learns she actually go the job and her adventure begins. Mia’s 21 years old and a virgin, completely naïve to anything BDSM (she wanted the job for its awesome salary, to help pay off her stepmother’s medical bills). This can be annoying if you have read a lot of books in this genre and don’t feel like watching another naïve doe witness kinky sexual activity with bug-eyed shock but fortunately, Mia’s not like that. In fact when she’s fired from her job within the first few days she does something extreme to try to get it back. She learns quickly that she enjoys having her boundaries pushed and is up for many things she’s never experienced or even heard of. She may start off her journey as a virgin but her naivety is quickly replaced with a growing sense of sexual adventure.

The biggest reason I liked this book so much were the male leads- we have not one, but two captivating, interesting men who enhance the story tremendously. Readers of this genre know that the male characters are usually only there to say something cheeky or smartass to try to get the female character to jump into bed with them. In Enthrall, both men Richard and Cameron are fully developed with backstories and with dialogue to back it up. Additionally, Cameron is a psychiatrist and one of my favorite parts of the books is where he psychoanalyzes Mia to the point where he unlocks her secret childhood pain and helps her see herself in a new light. This was written so believably that I wonder what research Ms. Fewings did in the psychiatry field to make this scene so authentic. You won’t find any two-dimensional men as the main characters here and that is what made me love this book so much and be able to immerse myself in it.

I also loved the author’s writing style as everything seemed to flow seamlessly and it was effortless for me to get through page after page. It was the perfect combination of BDSM/erotica, drama, romance, coming of age (in a sense) and mystery (as we don’t know everyone’s secrets at first). It had much more depth than I anticipated.

Richard and Mia are quickly set up as the soon-to-be-couple which is a good match, but I also enjoyed the way that chemistry developed between Cameron and Mia even as Cameron encouraged her relationship with his best friend Richard. I have a sense that there is much more there to be explored and based on the summary of the second book, Enthrall Her, (which I cannot WAIT to read!!) this will soon be addressed.

Can’t wait to continue the series.

Where Darkness Falls: 3 stars

Author: Bella Jewel
Length: 257 pgs.
What to say, what to say….

Well, to start off I did like this book. I just didn’t like it as much-nearly as much- as its predecessor, Enslaved by the Ocean. I’m a sucker for pirates and sea adventures so I snatched up the kindle book and accompanying audio for $3. This book picks up right where Enslaved leaves off, when the heroine Jess is kidnapped by a pirate Dimitri right off the ship where she lives. I prepared for another adventure on the open waters to begin. So imagine my disappointment when Dimitri immediately takes Jess to California where they dock his ship. That’s right…they spend about 5 minutes in the beginning on the actual pirate ship before heading to L.A. So basically this was a story about a docked pirate who, due to a years-long misunderstanding, is using Jess to get back at his longtime enemy Hendrix.

I did like the back and forth between Jess and Dimitri; you know they’re going to fall for each other you’re just not sure how or when. They did bond over some similar traumatic events they’d both experienced, but not until later in the book when Jess was forced due to some outside circumstances to share her past with him.

I was disappointed that there was no real sense of danger at all until the end of the book when some very unlikely events bring Jess back into the hands of a man who terrorized her as a child. But even when she’s first kidnapped by Dimitri, there’s really no fear that she’s not safe. Nothing bad really happens around her, the “pirates” seem more like a rowdy group of friends hanging out. It’s basically a lot of talking, getting to know each other, eventual removal of the clothes and what not, until Jess is re-kidnapped by someone else and thrown into an underground women’s wrestling league.

You read that correctly, lol. I enjoyed the nice little twist there and how Dimitri was suddenly replaced by an actual bad guy who does bad things. Once Jess’s life was in actual danger things got exciting. But that was at maybe 75-80% through the book and was pretty much just a means to propel us towards the inevitable HEA.

So while I liked this book, I’d have to stick with Enslaved by the Ocean as my favorite of the series, since it takes place on the actual ocean with actual pirates whom we don’t know and can’t trust. Dimitri is a character who’s mentioned in the first book and just never holds that level of threatening unfamiliarity as the book’s mysterious male MC. I liked Jess as the heroine and they were a good pair at the end but it just wasn’t as fun as the first book.

Silver Swan (Elite Kings Club #1): 3.5 Stars

Author: Amo Jones
Length: 261 pgs.
I picked this book up as a freebie during a price drop and after seeing a friend give it 4 stars I couldn’t wait to read it! I was not disappointed. I could not put this book down and flew threw it in about 2 days.

I wasn’t sure initially what I wanted to rate it. Some of the writing had grammatical errors and a few passages read as amateurish. And I’m not the grammar police but I can’t help but take note of those things in a published book. But the content and the storyline made me overlook those small mistakes.

Let’s focus on the storyline for a minute. It revolves around Madison Montgomery, who is well known among her peers due to the fact that her mother shot and killed her father’s mistress before turning the gun on herself. So it’s just Madison and her dad, who’s pretty much absentee due to his line of work.. However her dad’s just gotten remarried, so they move to a new city and Madison joins an elite prep school where she instantly befriends a girl named Tatum. Tatum is likable and funny, and they quickly add another girl to their group that they meet by the name of Tillie. I loved the dynamic between these three girls. Their dialogue was youthful and true to their age most of the time with the lingo they would use (can you tell I’m older than them based on the fact that I just used the word lingo?) My only issue with their triad was that the similarity between Tatum & Tillie’s names confused me at times. That’s probably just me though…

Madison quickly learns she has a new stepbrother, Nate, and he and his 9 friends make up what is known as the Elite Kings Club. There’s a lot of hearsay about what actually goes on with these guys and they’re not the nicest guys. The way they size up Madison and eye her evilly-especially the ringleader Bishop-gave me the chills. Tatum immediately warns Madison to be careful, and once she finds out Nate is Madison’s stepbrother she reiterates this warning. In fact Madison’s warned many times throughout the book to watch her back.

Shit hits the fan instantly between Maddy and the Kings. This is probably why people refer to this book as being insane. Right away she’s lured to a remote location, taken hostage and asked seemingly random questions. Maddy has no idea why she’s being asked these questions, but the whole ordeal definitely made me feel unsettled and anxious as to what was going to happen next. You know there is definitely more to the Kings that meets the eye.

Nate goes back and forth between being a sleezeball creepo trying to scare Maddy, and being an overly affectionate step brother. His protective attitude towards Maddy I didn’t really buy considering that they’d only just met but I let that slide. The thing about Silver Swan is that you have to suspend the rules of a typical teenage reality in order to accept what’s being laid out in front of you. Because the way the Kings behave, and the things they do to Maddy to terrorize, assault and stalk her, would not go unanswered or excused in the real world. (At least I hope they wouldn’t.)

Maddy finds herself drawn into a erotic cat and mouse game with Bishop. He is admittedly delicious to read but he is a bad, bad guy. He is not nice to Maddy at all, and he tells her straight up that he hates her. By his actions and the way he treats her for the first 2/3 of the book, we have no reason to disbelieve him. This is where I started to feel conflicted about this book. I LOVED the events that unfolded. I loved all the action and confrontations and scheming and the naughty nature of the Kings. I did. But the relationship between Maddy and Bishop- while Amo Jones gives us some delicious encounters that seem beyond the reach of actual teenage behavior-to me seemed definitely mentally and emotionally abusive.

I’m not on any ethical or moral committee and I’m definitely not a saint, but the fact that Maddy made no attempt to preserve her dignity and self-respect by defending herself or standing up to Bishop at any point, really bothered me (and as I’m totally into super dark erotica no one is more surprised by this than me)! But the whole Maddy/Bishop thing went beyond dark erotica. It was hate sex. Literally, Bishop tells her he hates her as he’s f#*^ing her. And Maddy chalks this all up to him being a bad boy, or mysterious, or blah blah blah. Not once does she say you know what, I don’t deserve to be spoken to like this. In fact she actually blows off a really sweet guy in order to continue degrading herself with Bishop.

She’s also the first to defend Nate, even after a scene in the woods where the Kings attack her AGAIN. She says that despite all he’s done, she knows Nate wouldn’t hurt her. Oh, really? Because I thought that’s EXACTLY what they were doing to you in the woods. WTF Maddy.

Despite all the above, I DID like Maddy. She was funny, strong (just not when it comes to men apparently), self-assured, a loyal friend, and gun savvy. On the downside, she is INSANELY naïve- when her friends make offhanded yet obvious comments that are meant to warn her about one thing or another, she shrugs them off or moves on to a different subject. It seems like clues are being thrown at her left and right that she is either in danger or that things are not what they seem, and she ignores them or makes excuses.

And it does seem like everyone else knows what’s going on aside from Maddy. I’m not saying this is really the case, but throughout the entire book you can’t really be sure who is actually trustworthy and that adds to the whole sense of foreboding and unease.

Speaking of unease, I have to give Amo Jones credit for creating this completely disconcerting atmosphere. You constantly feel as though the main character is in danger, you’re just never really sure why or from who exactly. And because of that you HAVE to keep reading. I’ve already purchased book #2, Broken Puppet for $2.99 and I’ve started reading other books since finishing this one a few days ago, but I think I may actually have to set those aside for the moment so that I can continue on this journey with Maddy and get my questions answered!!

So overall it was an addicting and exciting read, the only downsides for me being the struggle with the Bishop/Maddie dynamic that I’m still trying to understand-and the fact that he became a softer version of himself towards the end of the book which was hard to swallow as being a realistic transformation, after being built up as a robotic asshole for most of the book-and the bits of writing that bothered me here and there. But those are small issues that won’t keep me from continuing the series.

Owned (Decadence After Dark #1): 3 Stars

Author: M. Never
Length: 237 pages
Hmmmm so I just finished this book about 2 minutes ago and I'm trying to figure out what rating I want to give it. I think I'll go with 3 stars and here's why.

Based on the synopsis anyone going starting this book should be aware it's pretty dark: the main female character, Ellie, is kept isolated, chained up, collared and forced into submission by the alpha, Kayne. And thanks to the spelling of his name, I kept reading it as "Kanye" for the entire book, even after I realized on the third or so page that it was pronounced CAIN. But the damage had been done so he remained Kanye for the duration.

I haven't read a ton of BDSM so I liked seeing all the little chains and gadgets that Cain (sorry, Kayne) liked to use. It was always something new and kept my interest. Kanye/Kayne at least knew what he was doing in that department and I loved seeing him open Ellie up to things she hadn't even known existed.

We're told that Kayne has his reasons for holding Ellie against her will, but the explanation that comes at the end of the book lacks practicality and doesn't make him at all sympathetic. So maybe that could've been thought out a little more.

The external storyline involving Javier and the drug trade was not as interesting (although Javier made a formidable rival). It was almost like an afterthought in order to take us outside of the room where Ellie and Kayne would do their thing. There was a shocker at the end involving Javier that really caught me off-guard, and I thought, oh wow I am definitely going to have to read the second book if this is where it's headed! But that excitement was squashed a few paragraphs later when the complication was wrapped up tidily. That was a slight bummer; if things had gone in a different direction there I would've continued the series.

I did enjoy the book, but I guess I'm not personally invested in Ellie & Kayne's storyline enough to find out what ultimately happens between them. This was a fun, quick read though for anyone looking for dark erotica or BDSM.

Enslaved By the Ocean: 4 Stars

Author: Bella Jewel
Length: 223 pgs.
Audiobook Length: 6 hours 55 minutes


This was another freebie I picked up and I added audible narration for $1.99. Pirates just fascinate me – adventures on the open seas, battles with other pirates, making captives walk the plank, forever wandering with no home other than their ship. I usually snatch up anything having to do with pirates when it’s free.

This was a delicious, naughty adventure I enjoyed despite the horrible audiobook narrator. She was such an off choice for this book. Despite that I still liked the story. It revolves around Indigo, a woman who decides to travel by boat with her best friend Eric from America to England to escape an abusive ex who’s being let out of prison. She’s the one who actually put him in prison, so she has reason to be fearful. On their way, their ship wrecks and their guide is killed. She and Eric float for days before being found by a ship of pirates.

Eric is imprisoned by their “rescuers” and Indigo is meant to be given to a different pirate to settle a debt between him and this ship’s captain, Hendrix. Hendrix and Indigo have sparks immediately, though he’s closed off because he’s, well, a pirate and doesn’t want any attachments. He can’t deny he’s attracted to her however, and things soon start to happen between them.

The erotic bits were so much fun. Hendrix and Indigo have such chemistry that I couldn’t wait for them to get together. And there’s just something about a bad boy that makes it that much more enjoyable, especially when they start opening up little by little. You can’t get much ‘badder’ than a pirate.

The plot goes a little wonky at times: Indigo has a run-in with her abusive ex, her best friend Eric is a limp noodle cockblocker (going so far as to SLAP her at one time which has NO repercussions for him!?), and a storyline about her father who abandoned her as a child comes back at the end in an unlikely way. But I can overlook all that. This is a book simply meant to give you those enjoyable tingles while weaving a tale of pirates and sea adventure, and it was a fun read for me. With this genre my requirements are usually simple – does it make me tingle? Is it fun? Is the dude schmexy? Is the girl likable enough not to make me want to tear my hair out (or hers)? If I can answer all those with a yes then it’s 4 stars from me.

Onto the next book in the series!