Tag: KB Alan

Sunday Spotlight: Coming Home by KB Alan

Posted October 11, 2020 by Holly in Features, Giveaways | 3 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Sunday Spotlight: Coming Home by KB AlanComing Home by KB Alan
Series: Fully Invested #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: September 25, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 224
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Rose never expected to return to Wildlife Ridge after she graduated high school, but here she is, sixteen years later. She wants to spend some time focusing on her new life as an entrepreneur, away from the big city rat race, and her quiet hometown in the mountains seems like the perfect place to do that. She’s excited to spend some time with her parents and has barely given a passing thought to seeing Ethan again. Really. Hardly at all.
Ethan hasn’t seen Rose on her infrequent visits home. He’s never forgiven himself for cancelling out on taking her to prom at the last minute. His life hasn’t panned out the way he expected, but he loves his town, and he’s hopeful she’ll love it enough to stick around for awhile, give Wildlife Ridge a second chance. And maybe give him a chance to make it up to her after all this time.

Excerpt

Ethan paused at the entrance to apartment 212. The door was wide open, likely for the cool blast of late-winter air. Music played, loudly but not too loudly, and the charming voice singing along had him pausing before he knocked on the doorjamb.

He’d wondered if he’d feel anything when he saw Rose again. High school was a lifetime ago, and he’d started to think some serious thoughts about her back in the day. But they’d been children, really. And he’d disappointed her, let her down. Story of his life. She’d grown up, he saw now. In all the right ways.

She did a little wiggle as she unwrapped some kind of figurine and placed it on the shelves in front of her, and he tried not to watch her ass. But he didn’t try very hard. Even though her back was to him, he knew it was Rose. They’d known each other since kindergarten, after all. In a small town like Wildlife Ridge, it was impossible not to know someone your own age. They’d played together as children, but they’d never been especially close. Not until those last couple of months.

She was not sporting a California-girl tan, might even be paler than he remembered her. Apparently she hadn’t turned into a beach bum during her life out in LA. Her previously long hair had been cut and shaped into a wavy brown mass that bounced on her shoulders and invited him to tug. He wanted her to turn around so he could see it framing her face.

Another voice joined hers in song, and he watched a long-legged Black woman dance her way down the hall to join Rose. They grabbed hands and circled around the room for a moment before Rose’s eyes landed on him and she came to an abrupt halt.

He let his hand, knuckles still pointed towards the doorjamb, fall as she blinked at him from behind her glasses. That was another change. She’d almost always worn her contacts, once they got to junior high school.

“Hey,” he said, sounding lame to his own ears. “Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to bring you this, and make sure you have everything you need.” He held up a spider plant. “Welcome to Salmon Springs apartment building.”

She dusted her hands along her thighs and came to him, reaching for the plant. “Wow, that’s so sweet, thanks. It’s good to see you, Ethan.”

“Rose. It’s been a long time.”

“This is one of my best friends, Naomi Washington. Naomi, Ethan Woodford.”

The woman who approached him was all city. At least, that’s what he chose to attribute the air of no-nonsense confidence to. He supposed she’d heard about him and was prepared to be unimpressed.

“Ma’am,” he said, as he offered his hand.

She blinked at him, apparently astonished. Then she looked to Rose. “Did he just insult me to my face?”

Rose’s lips twitched and she adjusted her glasses higher up her nose. “No. He was being sincerely polite.”

Naomi stared at her friend for a moment, then returned her attention to him. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He shook her hand, forcing back a grin. Yeah, she was all city.

“Naomi’s helping me move. She took a little vacation to drive out with me.”

“How was the drive?” he asked, leaning back against the doorjamb.

“We broke it up into two days, but with the big push yesterday. Spent the night just inside Colorado. It wasn’t too bad.”

He nodded. “Be sure and let me know if I can help out with anything. I’ve got my toolbox, in case you haven’t unpacked that yet.” He nearly shook his head at how stupid that sounded. Her parents owned a hardware store, for crying out loud, surely she’d have access to whatever she needed.

She raised her eyebrows. “Thanks, will do.”

He nodded, backed up. “You have my cell, just call or text if you need anything. It was nice to meet you, Naomi.”

They said their goodbyes and he retreated, shaking his head in disgust at himself as he walked down the hallway. It wasn’t like he didn’t interact with women all the time, but somehow seeing Rose had set him back about a decade and a half. No, that wasn’t true. When he was in high school, he hadn’t had any trouble talking to girls. As the quarterback, he’d been one of the most popular guys around.

A lifetime ago.

Fully Invested

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

Sunday Spotlight: October 2020

Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About KB Alan

KB Alan Headshot

KB Alan lives the single life in Southern California. She acknowledges that she should probably turn off the computer and leave the house once in a while in order to find her own happily ever after, but for now she’s content to delude herself with the theory that Mr. Right is bound to come knocking on her door through no real effort of her own. Please refrain from pointing out the many flaws in this system. Other comments, however, are happily received.


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Guest Review: Bound by Sunlight by KB Alan

Posted June 5, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Genres: Paranormal Romance
Judith’s review of Bound by Sunlight by KB Alan

Kyriana Price has spent nearly a year trapped at her evil day job. And she does mean evil! Her boss is a mage bent on power who lets nothing stand in the way of his quest to gain more. When she sees Connul Graysn wielding a flogger at a BDSM club, she formulates an escape that will require his considerable skills as a mage and as a Dom. Going to another mage for help might not be the best plan, but it’s the only one she’s got, and at this point, she’s willing to try just about anything.

The last thing Connul expects when he finds an intruder in his house is that he’ll soon have her chained in his bedroom, her lovely body marked by his paddle. But she’s begging for his help—how can a gentleman refuse? As they learn to trust each other, he begins to realize the only thing he’s not willing to do for Kyriana is let her go.

Right up front I need to confess that I was not initially willing to either read or review this novella simply because I’m not “into” BDSM as a lifestyle or even as a literary genre. It is a category of fiction that I have steadfastly avoided. However, when I was sent this novella ebook I decided to read it anyway – there’s a first time for everything. I must also confess that I was surprised. It was not nearly as offensive as I had imagined. You see, I just don’t get the “making someone hurt in order to have pleasure” even though I know that there are literally millions of people who find this sort of stimulation captivating and possibly even necessary to whom they are. But as this was also a fantasy/paranormal kind of book as well, I was interested in that part of the story perhaps more than the BDSM components.

Kyrianna Price is a lovely woman who needed a job and signed up with a temp agency. Now this agency was probably a set up for an evil mage who was looking for mental and emotional “tools” or slaves to use again the mages whom he perceived were standing in his way to accessing real power. A truly evil controlling spell was put in her mind so that she would, whenever commanded to do so, obey without question. Not to obey was to be in severe pain. So when Kyrianna was commanded to break into Connul Graysn’s home and steal The Orb, she did just that. However, knowing that only a powerful mage like Connul coming from a famous and powerful family of mages, would have the power, if given access, to overcome and remove the spell her evil boss had placed in her mind. Instead of stealing The Orb as commanded, Kyrianna begs Connul to place her in one of his submissive scenarios in order to establish a relationship with her, access her mind, and ultimately set her free.

Now this is truly an over simplification of a very complicated plot, but one that I think the writer constructed thoughtfully and which was developed well even in this shorter literary form. The BDSM in this novella is, as I understand it, very basic and at a beginning level. It is almost like BDSM 101 and most readers, unless completely opposed to such scenarios will not have too much trouble with it. The behind-the-scenes reality in this story is the determination of this seemingly soft and pliable young woman who really has nerves of steel and who finally acts on a plan to free herself from mental bondage and evil. She has to face Connul, convince him of the truth of her assertions, and then give herself over to his sexual domination. In spite of fulfilling the submissive role, she still finds herself in so many ways—gaining strength in her own self-worth, growing as a person and becoming comfortable in her own skin. She finds the strength to stand up to Connul, asserting the right to make her own life decisions. She is quite surprising overall.

As a Dom, Connul is a powerful mage but a gentle tutor. He is truly the BDSM master, one who is thought to be so good that to be accepted as one of his submissives is considered an honor. Even in the most intense dom/sub relationship he insisted that the submissive have a “safe” word that could be said at any time the person felt they could not continue. Connul immediately recognizes Kyrianna’s strengths but also recognizes that she has systematically been “put down” and made to feel inadequate. He works very hard, even in the Dom/submissive relationship, to build her self-esteem and to bring her to a greater understanding of her personal power. Giving herself to him is not the act of a weak person; rather, it is the choice of one who knows her own power and acts on that knowledge. There are times when Kyrianna is the dominate force in her relationship with Connul.

All in all, I have to admit that I was won over at least to the gentle regard, affection, and ultimately the love that grew between Kyrianna and Connul, the interesting and sometimes humorous relationship between Connul and his two mage siblings, and the truly loving relationship that is possible in a BDSM context. I was not persuaded that this kind of activity does not hold the possibility of serious injury and abuse. That’s the part that really turns me off. But in this story there is none of that. It is a love story in the truest sense of the word. I think novellas are still somewhat problematic for dealing with such a complicated plot and there were parts of the story that I thought were really a kind of literary “fast forward” rather than the development at a normal pace one would encounter in a full length novel. But the author is to be applauded for giving it a very good try and, for the most part, did a fine job.

I give this novella a rating of 3.75 out of 5.



You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.


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