Tag: Menage a trois

Throwback Thursday Guest Review: Healing Seduction by Jory Strong

Posted December 3, 2020 by Ames in Reviews | 1 Comment

Throwback Thursday Guest Review: Healing Seduction by Jory StrongReviewer: Ames
Healing Seduction by Jory Strong
Series: Crime Tells #4.5
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Publication Date: January 22, 2010
Genres: Erotica
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

For years Lucca and Quade have shared women and enjoyed games of sexual dominance. While she was married, Kiera was off-limits, even in their fantasies. Now that she’s single, guilt and loyalty keep them from acting on their desire.

At twenty-six, Kiera has been a widow for almost as long as she was a wife. Before pain and loss stripped her bare and changed her, she’d never craved the things Lucca and Quade want in the bedroom. Now she does. She knows they love her. But for them to have a future together, she needs to break through their emotional barriers.

Unknown to them, she’s got a plan. And if it works, Quade and Lucca won’t be able to resist her healing seduction.
Note: Set in the Crime Tells world, with brief cameos from Lyric (Lyric’s Cop), and Calista and Benito (Calista’s Men).

This review was originally published on February 13, 2010

I’ve never read Jory Strong before, but I think I’m going to have to check out her backlist.

Healing Seduction is short story length but it definitely packs the heat in, especially if you like threesomes with a little bit of BDSM involved. Nothing crazy, but just a little bit of dominance in the bedroom, some spanking. LOL

Kiera has been widowed for two years now and she decides enough time has passed. She’s ready to move on with her life, and there’s no one she’d rather do that with than her friends, Lucca and Quade. The problem? These men had also been friends with her husband, and there is definitely some guilty feelings on their part. But will their love for Kiera overcome the guilt?

First of all, Kiera doesn’t know how Quade and Lucca feel about her. So she decides (with the help of her friend) to set up a date with two different guys to see if Lucca and Quade would react to the sight of her between two guys. Well Lucca goes nuts with jealousy and tells her if she wants to know what its like with two guys, he and Quade will be the two to show her, no one else.

Lucca showed just the right amount of jealousy! Healing Seduction had just the right amount of emotion and sex to tie things up in a nice little bow. Knowing that these 3 people knew each other for quite a while makes the length of this story believable.

One little thing – there was some head jumping going on. This could get confusing, especially between Quade and Lucca. But that’s my only beef!

Healing Seduction gets a 4 out 5 (B) from me. Plenty of heat!

four-stars


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Guest Review: Brokenhearted Beauty by Heather Rainier

Posted March 3, 2016 by Judith in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Brokenhearted Beauty by Heather RainierReviewer: Judith
Brokenhearted Beauty by Heather Rainier
Series: Divine Creek Ranch #19
Also in this series: Bunny and the Beast
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Publication Date: October 29th 2014
Genres: Erotica
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five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Brokenhearted and grieving, Leah Woodworth's heart is filled with regret for never confessing her love to Patterson Elder. His loss haunts her dreams and she can't set eyes on his brothers, James and Vincent without seeing his face. Having denied her attraction to them until it was too late, how can they possibly still want her?

James and Vincent were sure Leah was the one from the moment they met her. Patterson had always shared that belief, taking every chance to convince her that she was meant to be theirs. With Patterson gone, James and Vincent are deep in their own mourning and at a loss as to why Leah avoids them. When she is offered an opportunity that may take her permanently out of Divine, they realize time has run out and seize what may be the last chance they have to make her theirs forever. ** A Siren Erotic Romance

[Siren Menage Everlasting: Erotic Cowboy Menage a Trois Romance, M/F/M, HEA]

This is the 19th book in the Divine Creek Ranch series and Ms Rainier has nailed it again!  This story is built on happenings just previous to it and is also an emotional commentary on what it means to lose someone that is greatly loved due to their own foolishness.  Thus Leah lost the man she had come to love when he died from head trauma in a motorcycle accident because he wasn’t wearing his helmet.  The ripple effect of that horrible loss for Leah is what drives this story.  It is emotional, sad, riveting, and will keep the reader engaged as the story unfolds.  One of the saddest outcomes of Patterson’s death is Leah’s belief that her relationship with his brothers is now also never going to happen.  This is indeed a menage love story but throughout the tale there is woven the whole reality of what it means to work through the grieving process and heal from the loss of someone who could have survived if they had simply taken the time to be careful.  The hopelessness of that is a clear ingredient in Leah’s story.

I cannot say enough about how Ms Rainier has grown and matured in her writing and story telling abilities.  She manages to put her readers on the front row looking into the lives and feelings of her characters while assuring us that what is taking place is happening to people who are ordinary folks who are experiencing love and acceptance in surprising ways and extraordinary configurations.  The phenomenon of polyamory is growing in the United States and is now spoken about freely by many.  It is certainly not legally accepted but as has been demonstrated in many novels, there are ways to work around the legal ramifications.  James and Vincent were totally on board with Leah being their woman collectively even before Patterson’s death.  They have never wavered in their belief that she is theirs.  But all is not smooth sailing for these three and their story will pull at readers’ hearts and their tear ducts as well.  The sensitive and caring way Ms Rainier tells their story and puts this context together is, in large part, why this story works and why all of us who really like this series keep coming back for more.

This story has been around for a while but it is worth reading and enjoying.  It you haven’t met the folks of Divine, Texas, you are in for a treat.  Like all good romance fiction, this book will entertain as well as feed the imagination.  It is a splendid entertain as well as feed the imagination.

I give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

five-stars


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Guest Review: Eventide of the Bear by Cherise Sinclair

Posted February 22, 2016 by Judith in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Eventide of the Bear by Cherise SinclairReviewer: Judith
Eventide of the Beat by Cherise Sinclair
Series: The Wild Hunt Legacy #3

Publication Date: January 26th 2016
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five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

All her life, Emma longed for someone to love. Instead, disaster sees the brand-new bard banished from her people for long lonely years. Injured saving a child, the werebear has to steal food from humans, breaking shifter Law. The territory’s Cosantir and his lethal grizzly warrior catch her in the act. To her surprise, she’s healed and welcomed. Obviously, they don’t know her past. But oh, she can’t resist being around other shifters—especially the captivatingly powerful warrior. Maybe she can stay…just a little while.

As a grizzly warrior, Ben is ordered to house the pretty werebear until she heals. His littermate abandoned him, his home is empty, and he’s been alone for a long time. Intelligent and sweet and lushly curved, Emma is a delight…even if she is oddly reticent about her past. Although having sworn off females, he’s sorely tempted by this one. Damned if he doesn’t want to keep her, secrets or not.

Females were trouble. Years past, one split Ryder from his littermate. Now the panther shifter is returning to Ben, bringing his cub with him, a four-year-old he stole from the abusive female. To Ryder’s annoyance, his brother is sheltering a wounded bear. A female. Even worse, she’s beautiful and gentle and loving—damned if he’s going to fall for that act again. But when the dark of the moon arrives and death reigns supreme, he’ll discover that not all females are alike.

In a world filled with hellhounds and pixies, can three lonely shifters and one silent cub create a new family together?

Ms Sinclair is mostly known for her Shadowlands and Masters of the Mountain series.  However, those who like her writing in any genre have come to appreciate her paranormal Wild Hunt Legacy series in which she has created an entire society where shifters of varying breeds live together under the guidance and direction of Cosantirs, individuals gifted by the gods with the power to bring order out of chaos.  There is an entire vocabulary that has been created and the stories are fascinating as readers observe how shifters order their lives and live in small, out-of-the-way communities that even have human citizens.  Once of the greatest dangers to these communities is the presence of hellhounds, mystical demon/shifter creatures who live off their kills, especially magical beings like shifters.  And it is in doing battle with one of these to save the life of a child that our heroine comes in contact with a shifter community after years of being banished over a clear misunderstanding.  Lonely, hurting, close to death in many ways, Emma welcomes the acceptance of the Cold Creek community and the care and kindness of Ben, a bear shifter who fights hellhounds but lives a lonely existence after being abandoned. Throw in Ryder, a panther shifter who has taken possession of his daughter, a child he never knew about, and who is a long-time friend of Ben.  Now the Cold Creek household contains three adult shifters with great emotional burdens and troubled pasts and a child who has been mistreated, ignored and abused by her natural mother.

It is the unusual mix of personalities, histories, and emotional burdens that drives this story.  Emma is attracted to both Ben and Ryder but is sure that she is unworthy of either of them.  After all she had been shunned from her home community so there is possibly no hope of any kind of relationship with either of them when the full story of her immediate past comes out.  Yet Emma is a woman of deep kindness and loves with no hesitation.  She is one of those persons who gives without measure and especially when Ryder’s child needs her.  The back stories of these characters weaves in and out of their immediate context and the reader recognizes that something of a crisis nature has to happen in order for these three to resolve their relationship impasse.

Ms Sinclair is best known for her stories that involve the BDSM community as she is herself involved in that lifestyle.  Yet whatever the genre of her tales, there is the underlying goal of bringing her characters to the point of recognizing their own worth, of coming to full maturity where they are interacting with partners/lovers with respect and mutual desire for genuine caring and loving.  The attraction of this series for me is experiencing a society that embraces all kinds of shifters in communities that also include some humans.  Not that the human society knows about and accepts paranormal creatures.  Such is not the case.  But the community of Cold Creek and others in the story point out that it is possible to merge both human and paranormal societies in special circumstances.  Were we so good at pulling that off in real life.

This is a really fine read and one that Ms Sinclair’s fans have waited for.  It is also a great place to begin reading her work.  Each of her books are stand alone stories but in this series the first two books help to get the reader started appreciating the unique society in which these stories take place.  Readers will love Emma and feel her sense of unworthiness because of her unloving and critical mother.  Ben and Ryder are lovable in their own way, especially as readers experience Ryder’s growing joy at being a dad.  This is one of those books paranormal romance fans will find it difficult to put down.  I know I did.  Do yourself a favor and get this one.  It’s a keeper.

I give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

five-stars


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Guest Review: All Bite, No Growl by Jenika Snow

Posted July 15, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: All Bite, No Growl by Jenika SnowReviewer: Tracy
All Bite, No Growl by Jenika Snow
Series: Out for You
Also in this series: The Changing Years
Publisher: All Romance eBooks
Publication Date: June 1, 2015
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two-half-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Forget the foreplay. For the truly committed, it’s all bite.

Willow has loved Devon and Case for as long as she can remember, but as lion shifters they will eventually find their mates. When she allows herself to be with her two lions after a drunken party, she fears she’s ruined a lifelong friendship and flees before morning.

Devon and Case have been inseparable since they could walk, but they can’t tell anyone that they are mates. The pride of shifters they belong to won’t accept a same-sex mating. There’s no way they’ll accept their love for Willow?

When a shocking revelation brings Willow’s world crashing down, she has no choice but to tell Devon and Case how she feels. Will they be able to accept what fate has thrown at them? Do they want to?

Tracy’s review of All Bite, No Growl (Out for You series) by Jenika Snow

Case, Devon and Willow have all been best friends since they were five years old. Now they’re 18 and life is changing. They are all lion shifters and can recognize their mate as early as age 16. With Case and Devon they found out really early but never told anyone. They act like best friends in public but never share their real feelings for each other.

One night after Willow had had too much alcohol at a party she spends the night at Case’s house (his parents are out of town) and wakes up in the middle of the night to get a drink. When she hears grunts and groans she investigates and finds Case and Devon making love. She knows it’s an invasion of their privacy but she’s so turned on by the two men she can’t pull herself away. The men, of course, know she’s there and soon invite her to join them. She’s been in love with the two men for years and as much as she wants to be in bed with them she knows it will change their friendship. She finally agrees and much sexin ensues. Case and Devon love her and want to be with her as well but after that night Willow feels like she’s intruding.

Willow’s family issues and Case and Devon’s decision to come out to their lion council take them away from each other. When they reunite they find that not only do they want to be together, fate wants them together as well.

This was a cute story but one that unfortunately I did have some issues with. The story itself was interesting and showed a lovely bond between the three main characters. Unfortunately, as the story was so short, we didn’t get to learn too much about any of them. With Case and Devon it was all about their being together (before Willow came into the picture) and coming out. With Willow we got to know her family a little bit but not much else. I wish we could have gotten just a touch more info on all of them.

There were also quite a few editing problems in this one and it threw me out of the story every time – especially when Case was, at one point, referred to as Sam. Crazy.

Overall a cute yet sexy short story.

Rating: 2.5/3 out of 5

This title is available from ARe. You can buy it here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

two-half-stars


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Guest Review: Lucy’s Revenge by Heather Rainier

Posted March 23, 2014 by Judith in Reviews | 0 Comments

me-hr-dcr-lucysrevenge-fullJudith’s review of Lucy’s Revenge (Divine Creek Ranch #15) by Heather Rainier

Lucy Carter is striving to succeed as a self-employed licensed massage therapist and to bolster her flagging self-confidence. The ménage of her fantasies, featuring her best friends, seems to be on the back burner.

Single dad Patrick Owen has been refined in the fires of betrayal. Now he knows exactly what he wants—Lucy Carter—and he’s ready to claim her along his best friend.

Beekeeper Beck O’Malley’s heart has been shattered, and he withdraws from the world until Lucy heals his heart. He’s held the spirited woman at arm’s length, until he can no longer fight his attraction to her. Unfortunately, Beck and Lucy clash nearly as often as they kiss, and his possessiveness sets her on edge even as she falls deeper in love with him.

When Lucy is drawn into a life-threatening crisis, all of their differences and struggles are brought into perspective. But by then will it be too late?

This is the 15th story that features the intrepid lovers of Divine, TX and highlights the romantic relationship between Lucy Carter, sister to reknown tatoo artist Seth Carter, Beck O’Malley, whose long-term relationship with Chloe Rhodes is over, and Patrick Owen, ex-husband to the vigilante female who was bent on destroying the boutique Discretions and whose mania caused her to open fire on citizens in the town’s department store in front of her toddler son.  Now all three of these individuals find that their personal journeys have brought them to a common place but as in all of life’s realities, “the road to true love seldom runs smooth.”

These three people are wounded warriors from the “love wars.”  Lucy has been castigated and demeaned until she no longer sees the true beauty she possesses in her physical self or her inner spirit.  She has yearned for a relationship with Patrick and Beck, knowing full well that a menage is not uncommon in Divine but has been the subject of much narrow-minded judgmentalism in the past.  Yet she knows where her heart is leading her even though Beck, one of the men to whom she is attracted, seemingly has rejected her because of her plus size.   His “. . . you’re more woman than I can handle”remark  has pretty much crushed any hopes she might have had.  Patrick, Beck’s best friend and a different sort of man altogether, keeps encouraging her not to lose heart, not to allow Beck’s evident emotional turmoil discourage her hopes for the future.  And perhaps Patrick saw that down deep Lucy was the kind of woman who saw the best in people.  It was only herself she found hard to love.

If ever there was a patient man it was Patrick Owen.  He had gone far beyond anyone’s expectation in trying to be a good husband to his former wife in spite of her narrow-minded views that drove her to extremist activism.  He loves his son, Patrick Junior, even though he knows that the boy isn’t his biological son.  Lucy couldn’t have fallen in love with a better man–one that patiently worked to help Beck through his dark days and who never failed to encourage Lucy to grow beyond her insecurities.

Beck was a man whose spirit longed to be loved and accepted, who so hoped that Chloe was the woman who would complete his life and guard his heart.  Yet when she chose to refuse his marriage proposal and then left Divine soon after, his heart was crushed.  As if that weren’t enough, Chloe’s phone call on Valentine’s Day that she was engaged to two other men in Lusty, TX was just about the end for him.  Somehow Lucy’s insistence on remaining in his life, as a friend if nothing else, began to penetrate Beck’s deep sense of loss and it was her persistent friendship that eventually turned to attraction and then to love.  If ever there was evidence of the healing power of loving friendship, it was apparent in the way Lucy helped Beck regain his willingness to look toward the future with hope.

This is a story about a woman who slowly but surely came into her own, whose heart opened fully and freely to two very different men and to a little boy who came to love her dearly.    Patrick Junior, or PJ as he came to be called, loved the idea of a new mommy who really loved him and of having two daddies.  Lucy was willing to go to the mat to protect him and to insist that the love they shared was just as legitimate as any other expression of an authentic love relationship.  It is a story about the coming together of three hurting and wounded people who were willing to ultimately be who they were and live in a committed relationship for the sake of their love for one another as well as providing a sure and secure home for PJ.  It was wonderful to see each of them gaining new strength as they were supported and grounded in each other.

As always, Ms Rainier has that way to telling a story that constantly affirms the notion that genuine and authentic love is expressed in many ways and lived out in many configurations.  Her story telling abilities continue to grow and expand, and as the citizens of Divine, TX come alive in her stories we readers are the benefactors.  She has now ventured out into the Land of Lusty . . . Lusty, TX, that is, and the characters who enter as private detectives and the partial story of Chloe Rhodes’ connection to Divine is a part of the Lusty, TX series by Morgan Ashbury writing as Cara Covington.  (Those tales are super good, too.)  Those of us who have continued to be delighted with the Divine Creek Ranch Series are always waiting for the next story with bated breath and are never disappointed by the rich and multi-layered plots and story lines that Ms Rainier creates.  Perhaps my own personal joy in this as in all the other novels in this series is that I see a gifted writer using her gifts and blossoming in the doing.  Now that she is partnering with Ms Ashbury there are even greater benefits for us readers.  (I just finished the latest Lusty, TX story and was delighted to see some of the Divine folks there.)

All in all, this is just one fine piece of writing and is the kind of novel I love to read to the extent that I am always worried that it will end too soon.  I know that Heather keeps on expanding her word count, but hey! that’s perfectly alright with readers like me.  I especially appreciate her giving these three characters their own story, people who might have gotten “lost in the crowd” but whose relationship with one another has been and will continue to be the source of their greatest joy and in many ways their salvation.

I hope you Divine, TX fans will definitely read this latest book and if you are just joining in the Divine fan club, be sure to go back and start from the beginning.  Even some of us long-time fans have gone back and started over again.  I can say without any embarrassment that I have read all the books in this series at least twice.  Such good reading!  I happily give this novel a rating of 5 out of 5.

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

This title is available from Siren Publishing. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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