Archives for December 31, 2016

** Review ** THE BILLIONAIRE’S VIRGIN Jackie Ashenden

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

** Review **  THE BILLIONAIRE’S VIRGIN  Jackie AshendenThe Billionaire's Virgin by Jackie Ashenden
Series: The Billionaire Fairy Tales
Published by Swerve on January 10, 2017
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three-stars

Book #1 in the intensely sexy Billionaire Fairytales by Jackie Ashenden where sometimes dark and tortured, sometimes bad boy and charming, but always dominant and sexy billionaires steal their heroines' breath away.

Xavier De Santis: Charming. Disgraced. Playboy.

The headlines are always shouting about the excesses of the so-called Prince Charming of the De Santis family. Problem is, Xavier is everything they say he is.

But now he’s gone too far, and he has has been ordered to clean up his image. Volunteering at a homeless shelter, Xavier sees a bright light amidst all the bleakness. An angel whose luminous face and tragic beauty call to him in ways he can’t explain.

Mia: Homeless. Vulnerable. Virgin.

When the shelter Mia calls home closes, she is left with nowhere to go. Nowhere except the luxurious, glorious palace of a home where Xavier De Santis has invited her to stay. This too-handsome billionaire is dark, dangerous…and also too good to be true.

Surely Mia can indulge in her fantasies and escape the hardness of her daily life for just one night?

As one night turns into two, Mia knows that eventually, the magic will end. She can't keep the beautiful clothes. She can't keep the soft bed. And most of all, she can't keep the hard, handsome man who makes her crave his touch with every breath she takes.

Mia doesn't belong in his world. But as Xavier tempts his rags-to-riches heroine with exquisite pleasure and heady desire, Mia may have no choice but to surrender to him completely.

Jackie Ashenden’s novels have been described as “Dark, explosive, and gritty, with a splash of dominance.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review on In Bed with the Billionaire) and The Billionaire’s Virgin delivers even more of that delicious combination.

Don’t miss the next book in the series: The Billionaire Beast.


A different take  on a billionaire story!  I enjoyed reading this book, but was left feeling like there was some depth missing.  I could relate to the characters, and liked them getting together, but I felt like we could have gotten more in touch with them had their stories been told in a different way.  Like instead of having them talk to themselves in their head all the time about their scars from their past, actually dig into it a bit more.  Instead of his money handing her the papers she wants about her past, actually have had them embark on the search for answers, etc.

Xavier De Santis is a fun-loving billionaire playboy who has just gotten away with this last exploit in his father’s eyes!  Ordered to clean up his act or else, he steps up to volunteer at the homeless shelter his dad sends him to.  He hates the mundane repetitiveness of serving the hopeless and downtrodden, but one night someone catches his eye.  She will barely look at him and has no reaction what-so-ever to his smile … but she intrigues him!

Mia has been on the streets long enough to know that no one is ever what they seem, so she keeps her head down and minds her own business.  She doesn’t want the attention that Xavier seems to want to give her, but one night when they run into each other outside the shelter to find it’s closed, she has to fight back her fear and pride to accept his offer of a place to stay for the night.  When one night turns into two, and two into three, neither one can ignore the attraction and draw they feel for each other.  Will he be able to get her to let her guard down enough to let him into her life?

 

three-stars

** Review ** SURRENDER Lisa Renee Jones

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

** Review **  SURRENDER  Lisa Renee JonesSurrender by Lisa Renee Jones
Series: Careless Whispers
Published by Pocket Star on January 9, 2017
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four-half-stars

Passion burns fiercely hot between Ella Ferguson and Kayden Wilkens, the man who held secrets and lies in his hands, and then allowed them to fall into hers. But even though he has become her anchor--helping her recover from amnesia after finding her unconscious in an alley, and allowing her into his secret world--all is not what it seems. Kayden still has secrets, and pieces of Ella's past are still shrouded in the darkness of her mind, while the powerful man who hunts her will not stop until she is his. In this final, explosive novel in the Careless Whispers series, Ella discovers that while her life with Kayden didn't begin in that dark alley...it could easily end there.

With the stunning conclusion of the attention grabbing Careless Whisper series, Lisa Renee Jones brings us Book 3, SURRENDER.  You do need to have read book 1 and book 2 to fully comprehend this story.  It’s been a riveting read, and the conclusion was intense!

We’ve been on a roller coaster ride of discovery with Ella Ferguson in this entire series.  She was found unconscious in an alley by Kayden Wilkens with a horrible case of amnesia back in Book 1 and has fought tooth and nail to remember who she was and what danger she was blocking out of her memory.  She and Kayden have developed an intense love for one another, and as she goes deeper into his secret world, she finds pieces of herself that she thought were gone forever.

This book brings answers to some of our questions, as well as a peek into Ella’s friendship with Sara as Sara and Chris from Inside Out make an appearance.

four-half-stars