Tag: Kim Dare

Review: O Come All Ye Kinky edited by Sarah Frantz

Posted December 12, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Christmas is a time of love and joy, and the New Year is a time of renewal. But they are also times of stress and strife, family drama, pressure and heartache—a potent mix of high expectations and conflicted emotions. Add in power exchange relationships, kinky gift swaps, and unconventional love in a sometimes unforgiving world, and you have a formula for a sizzling anthology of stories that tug at your heart. 

Tree Topper by Jane Davitt 

Stan and Martin have been seeing each other for 6 months and love each other but it’s just not working for Martin. He wants to dominate Stan and Stan is a born submissive but every time he tries something new with Stan it seems that Stan shies away. In the meantime Stan is getting more and more mouthy and disrespectful to Martin and of course Martin feels that everything is his fault as he just doesn’t have any Dom experience.

When it comes down to finally breaking down and communicating about what’s up Martin and Stand discover that it’s a little bit of problem on both sides of the fence. They work out a plan that will work for both of them and they’re both thrilled. Especially when Christmas presents bring lots of fun toys to play with.

This is a cute story of two men working their way through their D/s issues. I loved how they finally just sat down and worked it out and left nothing to chance. The play after Christmas was fun and I loved seeing Martin use his imagination with a little wrapping paper and tape.

Rating: 3 out of 5 

Twas The Night by Ava March

Percival and Michael have been having sex for a few months and they’ve both been having a great time. They have to be discreet as sodomy is against the law but they manage quite well. Michael, however much he likes Percy, and he does, has no idea what Percy likes when it comes to sex. Yes, Michael can tell that he likes to be dominated but he wants specifics. On this Christmas day he gives himself a present from Percy and that’s to have Percy tell him exactly what he wants. For Percy this is damned difficult. He’s only acknowledged his desire for men for a year and his guilt and shame at wanting to submit eats at him. He manages to let Michael break through his walls and the end result is fantastic.

I’m not normally a fan of m/m historicals but as this takes place mostly in a house I couldn’t help but like it. Michael is a kind, caring lover and I loved that about him. Yes, he is in command when he and Percy are together but he’s not cruel in any way. Watching Percy come out of his shell a bit and knowing that he will continue to grow in the relationship just made me smile. This was a great story I liked a lot.

Rating: 4 out of 5 

Fireworks by Katie Porter

In this story we meet Emma and Rachel who have been in a D/s long-distance relationship for 2 years. But it’s all over after New Years Eve as Rachel is moving to Tokyo for a year. Emma is crushed but wants this night to say goodbye.

Rachel is emotionally cut off. She’s been disappointed in people her whole life and though she’s the one who has always left when someone is disappointed in her she feels that everyone leaves her. She would love to have Emma go with her to Tokyo but she KNOWS that Emma will just end up hating her and abandon her in the end. Or will she? Rache’s fear of rejection might have her making all the wrong decisions in the end.

The f/f story brought a couple of feelings to the surface while I was reading. My heart ached for Emma because I knew she loved Rachel and wanted to be with her and a bit for Rachel as well as I could tell that she had had a hard time in life emotionally. That being said the sex was not my cup of tea. Rachel definitely dominated Emma and Emma loved it, got off on it, flew to unknown places in her own psyche because of it. I personally just didn’t care for the hair pulling, face slapping and Rachel’s attitude in general as it just read as more cruel than sexual. The name calling wasn’t something I enjoyed either. I wouldn’t like it in m/m or m/f either so I think that’s pretty standard with me. Those are my own preferences though so someone who likes that might enjoy this story more than I did. I’m happy to say that the big emotional scene was left to the end so I ended the story on a high note.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Candy Caning by LA Witt 

Nate and Stephen are doing their Christmas shopping but neither is really have a great time at it. Nate and Stephen, especially Stephen, like Christmas less and less each year. This because every year they spend Christmas Eve with Nate’s family and Nate’s mom’s is highly critical of both of them, especially Stephen. He can do no right, say no right and he’s certainly not good enough for Nate. Of course if Stephen wasn’t there then she’s be digging into Nate. Basically she’s just a critical woman.

Neither one of them is looking forward to that banner day but when they come across a very large, very thick candy cane while doing their Christmas shopping all thoughts of his mother flee his head because he has thoughts of candy caning floating in his head. Though Stephen mentioned it might be something to think about nothing is set in stone, or peppermint.

This was a great little short story. There really wasn’t a lot to it except that you could sense the depth of emotion from both Stephen and Nate and I love that about Witt’s writing. The sex scene – with yes, the cane, is very hot and kinky and oh so good.

Rating: 4 out of 5 

Submissive Angel by Joey W. Hill

Six months earlier Robert found Ange beat up in the alley behind Robert’s vintage toy shop. He gave Ange a room and a job…and his heart. Robert knew from minute one that Ange was the submissive for him but he never made his move. Now it’s Christmas and Robert can’t hold back any longer. He heads to the toy shop, as Ange has a room in back, and finds Ange dancing. Ange of course has been waiting months for Robert and is very excited to have his master finally do what he’s been waiting for.

While this was a very sweet story it just didn’t work for me all that well. Something about Ange rubbed me the wrong way. He was almost too sweet and while it was a nice story I just couldn’t get into it as much as the previous stories.

3 out of 5 

Open Return by Elyan Smith 

Zach is back from a 15 year absence. He had contacted his foster parents and “friends” just a couple of times after he took off without a goodbye or a backward glance all those years ago. When he heads into his small home town in Illinois his foster parents are having a Christmas party and his old lovers, Laura and Scott, are there as well. Zach has to deal with his feelings as he returns to his somewhat close minded town and people who will always see him as Hannah and not Zach. He also is anxious to get back to Laura and Scott, who are now married with kids, and what they had to offer in the bedroom.

While this was a decent story I was kind of lost to the point of it all. Besides reconnecting with old lovers and showing us a sex scene that was very bdsm extra lite, I was that connected with the characters. Laura and Scott weren’t delved into at all and Zach…well, Zach confused me. He just seemed so up in the air about what he wanted in life. He had a great job in Australia but would give it all up to be with Laura and Scott, who didn’t seem all that completely into him? IDK, I just didn’t understand his thinking. I think the story was too short to fully realize all the emotion that Zach was feeling and I wish the story would have been longer.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Ring Out the Old and In the New by Alexa Snow 

It’s Christmas by Evan isn’t feeling the holiday spirit, as much as his partner tries to get him to. Evan, some months earlier was mugged on the tube and his face scarred. After being stared at his whole life for his beauty now he fears he will be stared at because of his monstrous face. Russell is also trying to help Evan as he hasn’t left the house – he just doesn’t feel safe.

This was a cute story. It was Russell gently taking care of his sub, Evan, and making him feel safe that was the basis of the story. Russell uses his domination to help Evan feel safe and know that he is loved, no matter what he looks like. Nothing too kinky involved but yet very sweet.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 

His Very Last Chance by Kim Dare

Drew is freaking out. His Dom, Kingsley, overheard him saying something that was taken the wrong way and now he’s afraid that Kingsley is going to end their relationship. What Kingsley really wants is to let Drew know that he couldn’t be more wrong about him and that he loves Drew.

Another cute story with some bondage and wax play. Kingsley was trying to show Drew how he felt about him. I didn’t really feel all that much emotion in the story, except Drew’s fear that he’ll be pushed aside, but I really enjoyed the scene in the end.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5


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What I Read Last Week

Posted February 21, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 16 Comments

And here we are again…another week has gone by.  How do they do that so fast? lol

It was a crazy week again this week.  My oldest daughter is going through some stuff and it’s stressful to say the least. But hey, we’re all hanging in and that’s wonderful! 🙂

This week was the week of the haircut for me.  I got my hair cut on Tuesday and loved it…until I started doing it myself (it always looks better when the stylist does it!) and then I realized that it really wasn’t cut like I wanted it. It was a great cut, just not what I was looking for.  So I went and got another hair cut (I know, no hair cut for 6 months and then 2 in one week…shocking!) and I love it!  I think I got the weight of a small child cut off of my head with all of the many inches that were cut off the back and the thinning of my hair. I wish it had all been at once so that I could have donated it all, but unfortunately since it was done in stages I couldn’t. 🙁  

First there was the “before” picture and if you ask me the back looks like some sort of animal pelt.  How did I walk around with that much hair? lol It was just damned BIG! Of course since I usually put it up into a ponytail about 4 hours of wearing it down each day I didn’t notice it that much.  For as crazy as it was down it turned into quite a nice tail. lol  I didn’t get a picture of the in between cuts – sorry.

Here is the final result.  She went a little short on my bangs but since they grow super fast I have no other complaints at all.

I need to work on styling it but it’s all good! So enough about my hair – on to what I read this past week:

I started off reading Duck! by Kim Dare for my TBR Challenge Review (through Wendy the Super Librarian) and it was really good!  I posted my review already so if you’re interested you can read it here.  4.25 out of 5

Next up was Seducing the Governess by Margo Maguire.  This was my first read by this author and I really liked the book.  This review also posted already so you can read it here if you’d like. 4 out of 5

Next up was Immortal Champion by Lisa Hendrix. I read this one for The Book Binge but it’s a series that I’ve been following since the first book (this is book 3). I really like the mix of medieval romance with the addition of magic and paranormal aspects mixed in.  This was Gunnar’s story and though it was heart wrenching at times it was really good. You can read my review here at TBB. 4.25 out of 5

Next was another book for The Book Binge called Cottage by the Stream by Gail Wolfe.  A woman heads to Scotland because she is hiding from a man who’s stalking her and out to kill her.  She ends up being thrown into a world of fey, Star-Children, Watchers and Druid’s. I really liked the premise of this book but it didn’t end up working for me.  2 out of 5

My next read was Not Knowing Jack by KA Mitchell.  This was an incredibly intense book that I certainly wasn’t prepared for what I got.  The book follows Jack and Tony who’ve been together for a little over a year but they never really talk and thoroughly get to know each other during that time.  Jack has some huge secrets and when they come back and start to bite him in the ass Tony isn’t pleased to have been left in the dark.  I knew from the blurb that the relationship between the two men is tested but, wow, that was intense.  You really have to read it to understand and I don’t want to give any spoilers but it was really good.  I wanted to smack Jack around a couple of times – ok, a lot – but in the end it was good to see the men work it all out. (That’s not a spoiler!  I mean, come on…it’s a romance – you know full well there’s gonna be an HEA!) 4 out of 5

For my Tracy’s TBR challenge read this week I picked up the Burning Up anthology by Nalini Singh, Meljean Brook, Virginia Kantra and Angela Knight.  I only ended up reading all the way through the Singh and the Brook stories and they were wonderful!  The Knight…I just couldn’t get into it though I normally like her writing.  The Kantra I read a few pages but just wasn’t feeling it.  I had read 1 book from the Children of the Sea series and it really wasn’t my thing so I passed on that one.  Anyway…for what I read – the Singh and Brook…5 out of 5!

Another Tracy’s TBR challenge read was Must Love Hellhounds by Meljean Brook, Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews.  I had read the Brook story back in Oct. of 2009 but hadn’t read the rest of the stories.  I really liked the Singh story – getting to see how Sara and Deacon got together in her Guild Hunter series.  The Brook of course was great again and though I don’t read that Andrews series the story was good.  I liked the Harris (my first read by her) but it was probably my least favorite of the bunch.  Overall with it’s highs and lows I’ll give it 4 out of 5.

My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:
Moon Burning by Lucy Monroe
Immortal Champion by Lisa Hendrix

Happy Reading!


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TBR Challenge Review: Duck! by Kim Dare

Posted February 16, 2011 by Tracy in Reviews | 9 Comments

When I saw this month’s theme of “Ugly Ducklings (Heroes and/or heroines who aren’t “pretty”)” I truly didn’t think that I’d have a problem finding a book to read in my TBR. Well guess what? I did. I looked hither and yon and it took me a while and a few emails to friends to get suggestions but I finally came up with the book. Yay! There are a ton of books that I’ve read in the past that have had plain jane/john characters or scarred heroes that would have been perfect for this – unfortunately it wasn’t a re-read challenge! lol

So my pick for this month was Duck! by Kim Dare…my first read by this author. It’s a pretty literal ugly duckling story and while Ori isn’t exactly ugly as a human he isn’t exactly pretty either. The more I think about ugly duckling theme the more I realized that to me any one of us could be considered an ugly duckling as each of us have our own views on what’s beautiful or rather who’s beautiful. A man I find attractive might not be attractive to my friend. It’s all a matter of finding someone who you find beautiful on the inside and that makes them beautiful on the outside.
Raised among humans, Ori Jones only discovered he was an avian shifter six months ago. Unable to complete a full shift until he reaches his avian maturity, he still can’t be sure of his exact species.

But with species comes rank, and rank is everything to the avians. When a partial shift allows the elders to announce that they believe Ori to be a rather ugly little duckling, he drops straight to the bottom rung of their hierarchy.

Life isn’t easy for Ori until he comes to the attention of a high ranking hawk shifter. Then the only question is, is Ori really a duck—and what will his new master think when the truth eventually comes out?
Ori’s working in the nest. This is, from what I gather, a type of club for avian’s but I think it also houses different avian’s in varying degrees of rank and maturity. Ori completed a partial shift a while back and from what the elders saw they guessed he was going to be a rather ugly duckling.
One night in the restaurant Ori is being tormented by a group of crows when the harassment is put to an end by a hawk shifter. The hawk, Raynard, takes matters into his own hands and decides that he will take Ori to be his servant in his house. Ori is at Raynard’s house for a time and is making headway into cleaning up the dust and disorganization (Raynard had inherited his uncle’s house and it was in sad shape) when Raynard decides to make Ori his submissive. Raynard doesn’t make that decision lightly and since Ori is starting to have feelings for his boss and he really is a submissive he’s more than willing to be whoever he needs to be in order to remain close to Raynard.
Their relationship was a quiet, intense and loving thing. Ori really gloried in pleasing his master and his master loved him. But then Ori goes before the elders for his first full shift and things change. Ori comes out of his shift and his master is gone, people are touching him and they keep calling him “sire”. Ori wants nothing more than to put his submissive’s collar back on and go home with Raynard but his life has to change based on his shift. But can Ori and Raynard ever get back what they had?
This was such a good book. I’m not normally one to read books with BDSM involved (although I have read several that have been really good) but this one was so loving I was completely drawn in to Raynard’s thoughts whenever that aspect of the relationship was being written about. Raynard’s care for Ori and yes, the love that came through, was very compelling and I couldn’t put the book down!
Now I think I would have liked to have seen more explanation as to the role that Ori was supposed to play after his first full shift. Obviously we get some indication about how things should be and how he’s revered for his species through hints and actions, but I really didn’t have a clue as to what was expected or him after the shift. Ori didn’t have a clue either and I think both of us would have liked more information on that! lol
In the end Raynard and Ori loved each other for who they were and their relationship really spoke to me of everlasting devotion – I just loved that! This was a really great book that I will definitely be reading again.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5


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