Sinful Book Reviews

In this volume of Midnight Secretary, Kaya is having trouble managing her time between her reassignment to another office and her time spent as Kyohei’s “special secretary.” She spends her days working hard to get the new office’s secretaries trained, and her nights seeing to Kyohei’s needs. When she catches her new boss’s eye, things begin to go South.

What’s great about this volume is that I finally got to see Kyohei struggling with what’s growing between Kaya and him. He’s starting to care for her, but that’s leaving him feeling conflicted. He doesn’t like his dependence on her blood. He certainly doesn’t like feeling jealous when he notices her boss’s interest in her. I think his reactions are a bit overdramatic, but I guess it’s understandable considering he’s always felt independent and even superior to humans. It’s just nice to see him emote. Kaya has let herself fall for Kyohei completely, no matter how much she tries to hide behind it as a job. She likes being his lover, and when she’s deprived of that for a time, she misses it much more than she ever would have anticipated. I’ve read this in other reviews on this series: this is straight up paranormal romance for women. So, if you like paranormal romance and you want to read some manga, this is a good series. There are some definite misogynistic themes, but I’ve found that easy to overlook. Sometimes, it’s all about knowing and understanding what you’re reading.

In case you didn’t figure it out from the synopsis, the main characters in this manga are gay men. I’ll go ahead a give a couple of little warnings for those interested in manga. This one has a whole lot of sexual references, but it’s not terribly graphic or anything. There’s also a good bit of language, which makes sense since it’s about the mafia and all.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this series. The first three volumes didn’t impress me too much. They were funny, but kind of weird. It seemed like they were more about sex than anything else, but there were a couple of little things that kept me reading. One was Mookyul’s relationship with the chairman, who he claims is a father figure, but has really been molesting him since he was a child. Well, I guess it’s really never confirmed that he was molesting him as a child. I suppose that could have started when he got older, but still. He was supposed to be his guardian, not his lover. It was just sickening and I wanted to see how it got resolved. The other thing that hooked me was the past encounter between Mookyul and Ewon. Ewon’s words when they were in middle school really changed Mookyul’s life. I thought after all that the series might get a little deeper, so I kept reading. And I was right!

The last three volumes were exciting and fast-paced. With the mafia involved in the plot, things got really intense and out of hand at times, but it only brought more excitement into the story. I really loved the last volume, in particular. There was a lot more depth to it than the others. There was a emotional look into Ewon’s past and how it shaped him into the hardworking person he is. By the end, I felt like it was worth enduring some of the less appealing parts of the manga to finish the story. Though there was more sex than I normally come across in the manga I read, it wasn’t graphic. It was mostly some drawings of them in bed under the covers or just discussion about sex. The humor was good. There wasn’t too much of it, but it made me giggle whenever it did pop up. The art was really great. It’s very crisp and sharp, but I liked it. I liked watching Mookyul’s character soften and Ewon’s character tear down the walls around his heart.

C.J. Ellison had a pretty good idea, she just didn’t know how to execute it. The plot was the only thing that kept me interested in reading this book. I wanted to know how things would work out between the companies and what it would mean for Tony and Heather. I thought she did a good job executing that part of the plot. Apart from that, I have a lot of complaints.

My number one complaint, and one that became a clear problem early on, was the lack of good editing. Yes, there were picky things like the fact that Heather and Tony’s pasts were underdeveloped. She thinks about her parents deaths a few times and tells Tony about it. He, in turn, tells her about his deadbeat father. That’s where it stops. Just a short conversation mentioning those two issues, but no real development. It’s a shame because that could have added much more depth their characters, and the whole book. That obviously bothered me, but mostly the problems were grammatical errors and dialogue that seemed unrealistic and out of place. Who actually calls someone a “two-timing rat bastard” in real life? No one. I actually found it astonishing that the book had been edited at all. I was under the impression that it was self-published. It’s kind of maddening that stuff like this got past and editor… who is paid to catch these things. 

My second problem was with Heather herself. Heather is one of those girls who’s had bad luck with men and lets that define who she is. It just depressed me. She was always doubting Tony when it was clear that he was crazy about her. The man waited outside her apartment building for a chance to talk to her on more than one occasion. Does he need to hold a neon sign that says “I’m into you” or something? She spent the majority of the book being self-conscious about everything, and not just involving their relationship. It just made me sad because it came off like all she needed was a nice guy and new pair of shoes to feel good about herself. That’s just not a good message. In fact, if you’re as self-conscious as Heather, you should probably work that out yourself before you start dating. The point is, I couldn’t like her, no matter how hard I tried. 

Their romantic development was okay. It felt a little rushed, but that’s just part of reading romance sometimes. I think Heather just ruined it for me. Romance is the best-selling genre in the world, so I have no doubt there is an audience for this book, it’s just not me. 

Give me cowboys and cute kids any day. That’s something I can get behind. In fact, the cowboy ranch thing is the whole reason I wanted to read this book in the first place. It’s been a while since I’ve read a “cowboy romance” and I always love them.

If there’s one thing that will get me invested in a romance quick, it’s cute kids. I don’t know what it is, but adorable kids in romances make me so giddy. I think it allows the man to show a kind of sensitivity that you don’t really get to see otherwise. I especially loved that Jake was the single parent in this one. I could tell that his daughter was his whole life, and he would do anything for her. He has that same kind of fierce protectiveness for Sophie too. I guess that’s the other thing I really loved about this romance. Jake is definitely an alpha male. He claims what’s his and he does everything he can to protect it. I loved him.

I was pleased with the character depth too. Jake is a single father trying to balance life with his daughter, his ranch, and being a lawyer. He’s also still a little damaged from the death of his wife. On top of that, he’s a gorgeous cowboy. What more could you want? Sophie is very unsure of what she wants in her future. She’s spent her life listening to what others tell her she needs to do instead of what she really wants. Her mother and step father weren’t very attentive parents, and her colleague/potential lover is just as pushy. She’s really likable and I loved her interactions with Jake’s family and the community. Another point in favor of this book is the pacing of their relationship. It’s perfect! It felt natural and that can be hard to come by in romance.

The one and only downside I found was Sophie’s relationship with her colleague Preston. I expected a little more from that, but it was a kind of underdeveloped. It wasn’t a huge deal, just something I noticed. A couple of coming romances have already been set up within Jake’s family so I’ll be excited to read the next book. If you like small town romances, I definitely recommend this one.

I know I’m in the minority with this opinion, but this book was just okay for me. After all the rave reviews I read, I was expecting something dark and suspenseful, but also sexy. I ended up being kind of disappointed. There wasn’t even any good kink when the synopsis pretty much promises that. I’ll try to point out some good things along the way, but I fear most of this review will be complaints.

First, there’s Sara. She starts off as a pretty good character, aside from her woes as a poor person. Welcome to the life that most people lead, Sara. I don’t feel sorry for you. I like that she puts her foot down on certain things. She gets a little swoony with Chris, which was annoying because she seemed so strong-willed before he came into the pictured. Ladies, we are not at the mercy of our vagina's  Hold your ground and don’t let the hot man manipulate you. I liked Chris, for the most part. He’s not perfect, by any means, but he is gorgeous and rich. That’s all it takes to be a hero in erotic romance, these days. In all seriousness, he seems like a genuine guy. He’s a little moody and he’s a little broken, but those make the best heroes. Mark, on the other hand, is a bastard. I think. He acts like a bastard most of the time, but it’s hard to say for sure because there are so many questions that still need answers!

I think the thing that made me feel so apathetic about this book is that I was bored most of the time. It begins on a strong note. Sara finds these journals and goes looking for answers about the girl who wrote them. It had direction and purpose. Then, she gets involved with Chris, and what felt like the major plot line is suddenly forgotten. Rebecca becomes an afterthought. Then it’s just every detail of what Sara does at the art gallery and the coffee shop and lunch. It was just boring. The only parts that weren’t boring were when she was reading Rebecca’s journals and when she and Chris were having sex. That’s just not a good thing. While I do enjoy great sex scenes in my romance, I also want to feel something for the characters. Right now, Chris is the only one I’m even remotely interested in. 

If there’s something Jones did well, it was ending on such an excruciating cliff hanger. Now, I either have to read spoilers or read the next book. I’m kind of leaning toward reading the next book since I did like Chris and I’d love to learn more about him. Maybe the next book will give me answers!

If you haven’t had a chance to meet the men of Maverick Montana, you really need to get acquainted with them. This is the second book in this series, and it’s wonderful. It picks up a little before the end of the last book (since Sophie was holding her baby at the end of the last book, and she’s pregnant in this one).  This one follows Quinn and Juliet, whose romance was set up in the last book. 

The good thing about a series like this is some of the romances can be set up early on. There was no insta-love for Juliet and Quinn because they already knew each other. It makes the whole relationship believable, or as believable as a relationship with a hot, dominant, Native-American rancher who’s also the sheriff can be. You get what I mean, though, right? What I really loved about these two was the power play. Quinn is dominant, which makes me all kinds of happy. He’s only a little kinky, but he likes to be in control and I love that about him. He and Juliet burn up the sheets pretty well. 

The other element I love about this series is the suspense. Juliet has secrets that are discovered throughout the book. Someone from her past comes back to haunt her. I’m not sure what it is about romantic suspense that I like, but I really enjoy it. It works well this time around because Quinn is the sheriff so he’s very involved in what’s going on with Juliet’s past. I think the suspense and cowboy/rancher stories work well together too. 

Okay, I’m ready for Dawn and Hawk to get together. I hope they’re next!

So, I have a bit of a thing for BDSM romance. Whenever I come across one somewhere, I just HAVE to read it. Of course, when Crystal offered this one up to guest review, I was all, “PICK ME!” I’ve seen Ms. Payne’s books around on other blogs, but I just hadn’t gotten around to reading them. Now, thanks to supporting characters in this story, I need to go back and read book one.

If there’s one word I could use to describe this book, it’s unbalanced. What I mean is that the beginning was slow and hard to get into, but the second half had me staying up late to finish. The thing I don’t like about unbalanced books is that I have a really hard time rating them. It’s usually not so bad if the second half of a book is the part I liked. That usually makes things pan out in the book’s favor. Still, I cannot ignore the fact that I was a combination of confused and bored at the beginning. 

My first problem is that things escalate between Rose and Mark WAY too fast. This is an insta-love story if I’ve ever read one. On the flip side of that, D/s relationships are very intense and require a lot of trust. If insta-love really happens to people, I’m putting my bets on people who have intense relationships like this. On the flip-flip side, I would not be letting some dude I met two days ago tie me up. It worked out fine for Rose, but what if Mark was a total psycho. She had no way of knowing he wasn’t, because she barely knew him! What I’m really trying to say is, Ladies, get your kink on all you want. Just be careful. Get to know someone before you’re alone with them in a room, tied to a bedpost.

My other two problems weren’t that big of a deal. At first, I was a little disconnected to the characters. They felt underdeveloped, but I think Payne fixed that in the second half of the book. I ended up really liking them. I also found Payne’s writing distracting, occasionally. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but sometimes I got pulled out of the story by unnecessary, flowery writing. I think that’s just a matter of taste on my part, though. 

The good thing is, I ended up enjoying the story. I got into it enough that I had to stay up a little later than usual to finish it. That’s always a good sign. I ended up really liking Mark and Rose. I especially loved watching Rose develop into a stronger person. I REALLY loved their hot-as-hell sex scenes. Seriously, I probably need to go cool off. When Mark gets all domineering and merciless, I get all “Yes, sir. Me next?”

So, overall, an enjoyable read. I’ll be moving on to book three, Star of Wonder, and then going back to read book one. 

I received this book for free from Brilliance Audio in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Double Bound was released by Brilliance Audio at the same time as Strings Attached, so I requested them both. While I wasn’t exactly impressed with Strings Attached, I did like Arthur, so I decided to listen to Double Bound anyway.

Double Bound is Arthur’s story. It begins with brief flashes of his life prior to Jeremy’s arrival in Belena Beach, but quickly returns to the present. As he, Jeremy, and Carlo travel to Brazil to work out a deal with some luxury hotels, Arthur starts to confront his own feelings for Jeremy. There’s not much time to worry about feelings when they all find themselves in trouble in an unfamiliar country.

An immediate problem I had with this book was the way the expository information was presented. I think it was important to understand Arthur’s background, but I think it would have been better had it been fleshed out throughout the novel, instead of introduced in weird little sections at the beginning. Despite that, I liked learning more about Arthur and really getting to the core of why he acts the way he does sometimes. When it got to the core conflict of the story, I became a little disinterested. Honestly, I was more interested in the romantic subplot, and that’s a problem. The mystery-esque suspense story just wasn’t doing it for me. I knew where things were going the whole time. Sometimes that doesn’t bother me, but I like being surprised by suspense stories, and I never felt that. The story was okay for me, but I can’t think of many things to give high praise. One thing I do appreciate about both Double Bound and Strings Attached is the relationship between Jeremy and Carlo. It’s so rare that I read a book with an interracial couple. Most of time if I do, it feels forced or like it’s a tool to teach a lesson. Their relationship never felt that way. It felt natural and I wish I could come across more books (or TV or movies) that achieve that because it’s reality. I get sick of watching and reading about white people hanging out with other white people. That’s an entirely different subject though.

I think Luke Daniels is an excellent voice actor. He gives fully-voiced performances with character voices that very recognizable. He did a few Mexican and Brazilian accents, and I thought they sounded pretty authentic. He has great syntax and pacing, and he does a good job getting emotionally invested in the performance. My problem is that I didn’t like his voice for this book. I can’t explain why, I just didn’t, and that cost the narration a better rating. The production was great, though I wasn’t crazy about the music choice for the title and credits. Still, I’m always impressed by the quality audiobooks Brilliance produces. They’re one of my favorite audiobook publishers.

I was interested to find that some people had shelved this as M/M Romance on Goodreads. For those of you who don’t know, that stands for male-on-male. I can kind of see why someone might do that. There is a romantic subplot, and there are relatively explicit sexual scenes (though not many). Still, when choosing genres, I try to look for “the main point.” This book really isn’t about Arthur falling in love with someone. That’s a part of the story, but it’s not what everything revolves around. Also, in my experience, M/M Romance is MUCH more explicit than this book. All that said, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to anyone under the age of 18.

I received this book for free from MediaLab in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I received Sleeping Moon in the mail along with my requested copy of Blue Morning. Since I didn’t request it, and I had some other manga to read first, I’ve let it sit on the shelf for a bit. I’m a little bummed I didn’t pick it up before the second volume expired on Edelweiss though, because I really enjoyed it. I feel like I’ve had good luck with manga lately, and I have to say that SuBLime is putting out some quality stuff.

Sleeping Moon follows Akihiko Sakaki as he travels to his family’s ancestral home looking for a way to end the curse that has put all the male descendants of the Sakaki family into an early grave. There are strange things happening at the family home that he can’t explain, and one night he finds himself 100 years in the past, talking with one of ancestors.

There’s a lot going on in this manga, but that only made me more interested in reading it through to the end. I really love the main plot. No, family curses are nothing new, and neither is time travel. Still, I like the way Miyamoto used them in this story. The time travel is less science-fiction and more of a magical mystery. Akihiko travels in his sleeps and he’s unsure why he can travel some nights and not others. I’m sure that’s something that will be discovered as the series continues. He and his ancestor, Eitarou, are both working to solve the mystery of the curse and decide they’ll work together. There’s also Ren, Akihiko’s young cousin, who’s having a hard time keeping his hands to himself. Their dynamic is what really sets the stage for Akihiko’s relationship with Eitarou. The two look very similar in the face, and it causes Akihiko to have some very confusing feelings. I liked both Akihiko and Eitarou, but I’m not sold on Ren yet. It’s mostly because he brought in the old yaoi trope of overbearing seduction that borders on sexual harassment. I think this is such a great and original manga (within its genre) otherwise, so I hope that kind of things doesn’t continue and they’re relationship is developed a little more. Something I’m always sure to look for in manga now is clarity. Sometimes I find myself hopelessly confused when reading manga. I think at this point it has less to do with cultural differences and than poor translation. This manga never confused me. Everything was perfectly clear, and that’s important to me in a manga with fantasy elements. The art was great, sometimes downright beautiful. I’m noticing a trend in the quality and definition of art in manga intended for more mature readers. I’m not sure why that is, but I like it. Honestly, Ren and Akihiko’s relationship development was the only thing I found lacking in the manga. I’m very interested in the story and I can’t wait to read the next volume.

So, I wasn't quite sold on the first book, though it did peak my interest. I really enjoyed the second book. There was a lot of suspense that kept it moving. I was just disappointed by this one. There was way too much emotional turmoil. And the neverending talk of Chris's big secret got tired really fast. I was sort of hoping his secret would be something horribly unforgivable. At least that would have made the story interesting. Instead, it was constant bickering followed by constant sex, sometimes both at the same time. I'm going to pass on anything else to do with this story and these characters. Maybe. Unless there's more about Mark because I found him really interesting.

Let’s be honest; when it comes to BDSM-related book, I’m not too hard to please. Still, there are a few authors who just do it for me. There’s something in the way they write about domination and submission that hits all the right points on my BDSM romance checklist (Note: this checklist only exists in my head). Angel Payne is one such author. I got my first taste of her when I read Permanent Marker. I really enjoyed that book, but I think Payne’s grown a little since then. 

This is the second book in a series, so I had lived with Zeke and Rayna a bit already. I didn’t really know them, though. It was a treat to finally get into their heads, especially Zeke’s. In the previous book, Garrett was “the reluctant Dom.” Now, Zeke is the kind of Dom I love to read about: the kind who’s dominant down to his soul. He beat himself up a little too much, and I wasn’t a big fan of that. Sometimes those Doms can be unbearably stubborn. Rayna was a bit of a surprise. She was so quiet and delicate in the previous book. Now, her bratty colors shine through. I mean, there had to be some spunk under that red hair, right? I loved her. She’d been through a hell of a lot in the previous book. It was nice to see her stand up for what she wanted. I love it when I really love a heroine. That’s the best, because I have a tendency to be really critical of them.

I really had no idea where the plot was going in this book because everything seemed settled in the previous one. I really can’t say much about it in the review because that would be a major spoiler. Let’s just say I was surprised, and I have to give Payne some major props for being unpredictable. It makes the story so much more interesting. I like her style and the way I can just experience her stories instead predicting the normal romance formula or trying to figure out the suspense elements. She does a really great job balancing the romance and the suspense. I can’t wait for the next book, but I have to… because it doesn’t come out until next year. 

One quick note that might be slightly spoilery: I was a little bummed out by Luna’s lot. I was hoping she would get her own book later. Maybe that will still happen? *crosses fingers*

This one was just okay for me. I got through it, which is good since I gave up on the last romance I was reading. I used to be extremely easy to please when it came to romance. I guess, like with any other type of book, the more I read the more I’ll start to expect from books. I just expected more from this, and I think the problem is essentially that it was too short. 

I had a very difficult time connecting to the characters in this one. Jennie and Brae aren’t bad characters. They’re likable and sweet. It kind of ends there for me, though. There’s no real depth to them. I never really felt any emotional investment in them. Generally, that’s what locks me into a book. I never got locked into this one because I was disconnected enough to set it aside whenever I got distracted. 

The other element that was missing was the feeling of urgency that any kind of romantic suspense should have. The suspense plot was there. I mean, Jennie was getting death threats from the beginning. That’s serious and scary. The problem was that I never felt scared. I was never convinced. Suspense plots depend on that urgency to work. 

I’m definitely a little disappointed, but I don’t want to give off the impression that the book is bad. The fact that I finished it is a clear sign that it was worth reading. I rarely finish books I dislike, and I definitely don’t have time to do that now. I think a lot of readers will enjoy this book. Honestly, my reaction might be a combination of the points above and my mood. Maybe I just wasn’t feeling it, and that’s why I didn’t connect. I say give it a try for yourself. Maybe you’ll love everything about it.

It was so nice to see some of these guys a little younger. Alexander and Thomas are college age in this short. All of this occurs years and then months before the rest of the series. I think what was most interesting about part of this story taking place when the guys were younger is the issue of Thomas feeling uncertain, maybe even terrified, of his attraction to men. I think I actually would have enjoyed a longer, more fleshed out version of this.

Alexander (or Sasha to Thomas) was sweet and eager as a young boy. He adored Thomas and always looked forward to their times together. Thomas, on the other hand, was very afraid of who he was and what he was feeling for Sasha. When it skips over several years, Sasha has turned a little bitter. I think the eagerness is still there, but his heartbreak over Thomas has never healed correctly. Thomas is simply set on winning Sasha back.

It’s a quick read, but I think March does a good job getting the depth of the story in there. It’s difficult to write in authentic depth to shorts like this. She also doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the sexytimes. Sasha and Thomas burn up the sheets just like the other men in this series. And now I can say that I highly recommend this whole series to any MM lovers out there.

Note: If you’re confused by the Sasha nickname, you are not alone. I had no idea what that was about. There was just a mention of Thomas calling Alexander than because he’s of Russian descent. Apparently, Sasha is a Russian nickname for their equivalent of Alexander. After I found that out, I just found the nickname cute.

What a great conclusion to this series. I do still need to go back and read the prequel about Norton and Bennett. That’ll be a quick read since it’s much shorter than the others in the series. But back to this book. I still think Ben and Cavin are my favorite couple of the group, but Linus and Rob were pretty great. Unlike the other couples, these two grew up together. They went through the confusion of their attraction for other boys together (well, I guess Linus’s attraction). Rob never spent much time thinking about other boys. He was too focused on Linus and his duty to get married one day to let his eye wander. I think their relationship as best friends and occasional lovers as boys is what makes them so much more sexually developed and experienced than the other guys in the group.

Again, I really enjoyed their awareness of their friends’ preferences. Rob has a talk with Norton about his relationship with Bennett and how they make it work. Linus is happy about the sudden disappearance of Julian (which occurs as a plot point for the previous book). Linus also slyly asks Ben about his preferences. It would be sort of cool to have a little epilogue short with all the happy couples spending time together. Honestly, they could all feel safe and free to be themselves around each other.

This series just makes me happy. And the sexytimes are nice. There are a couple of other MM series by Ava March, so be on lookout for my reviews of those at some point. I like her style, so I’ll definitely be reading them. In the meantime, read these books if you like MM.

This was a fun little story. Any Original Sinners action I can get is always fun. I bought them all at once and read them one right after the other. They were actually a fun way to spend my nights. I would usually read one of them around bed time every night for a week. I’m usually not a huge fan of serials so this was a really great way to spend my week. I might consider doing something like this with other serials: waiting until they’re all out and buying them at the same time so I can read one per night before bed. It’s much easier to review them as one since it’s an ongoing story and I read them all one right after the other. What I appreciated most was the exploration of how misunderstood kink can be. Lance was in a bad situation because of his sexual preferences. I have a feeling this kind of thing happens to a lot of kinky people.

I loved Lance. He was very different from a lot of the other male subs that Reisz has introduced. He really does have that “white knight” kind of attitude about women and especially dominate women. He also has one special characteristic that makes me immediately love men in books, but it’s a spoiler. I’ll put it behind a spoiler tag for those of you who don’t mind. He has a daughter, and he loves her fiercely. For some reason, I find fathers so sexy in books. I’m not sure what it is. I think it might be because they are a little more sensitive.

As always, Ms. Reisz does not disappoint. Her writing, pacing, and crafting are what keep me coming back for more. Even these shorter stories are always written so well. She’s just one of my favorites. She also never disappoints when it comes to sexytimes. She writes some of the sexiest scenes I’ve read. This book is no different, and it offers a look at some kinks we haven’t experienced much in her previous works (e.g. foot fetishes).

If you’re a fan of Tiffany Reisz and the Original Sinners, this is a must read. If you’ve never tried her books before, this might be a fun way to get familiar with her characters and try her out.

We could use more reviewers at our blog. It's all romance and erotica. Any sub-genre that you prefer. You can cross-post here and on Goodreads. Please check out the link above and fill out the form if you're interested. Also, please reblog so others who are interested can fill out the form. 

Thanks!