Tag: Shelley Munro

Guest Review: The Bottom Line by Shelley Munro

Posted March 20, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Tracy’s review of The Bottom Line by Shelley Munro

Spicing up her sex life sounds exciting-until the fantasy hits the fan.

When Maggie Drummond buys an erotic romance novel by mistake, she gets more than an unexpected eyeful. She gets an introduction to a world that arouses her to a fever pitch. Spanking.

Her boyfriend isn’t interested in pushing his vanilla-flavored sexual boundaries. Then there’s Connor Grey, who haunts her fantasies like a magical genie. As a source of masculine advice for her and her female friends, he’s off limits. The only safe place to explore her fetish is her anonymous blog.

Maggie picked up what she thought was a romance novel that ended up being an erotic novel that included spanking. The more she thought about it the more she wanted to try it as it made her so hot just reading about it. She does tons of research about methods, positions and even what to wear to make the experience hotter. She starts a personal blog where she can anonymously write about her secret fantasy but does end up telling 3 of her best friends about the blog.

Maggie wants to explore this new and exciting aspect of sex but truthfully she can’t even imagine it happening with her current boyfriend. She’s been thinking that he’s really not the man for her but after a dinner out with his co-workers she’s positive that it’s time and breaks up with him. When her friend Connor suggests that they begin a friends-with-benefits relationship Maggie is all for it but unfortunately she’s still completely focused on spanking and doesn’t quite know how to broach the subject with Connor.

Connor has had it bad for Maggie for a while but he’s not been able to crack the “only friends” outer shell that Maggie has surrounding her. His suggestion of the friends-with-benefits relationship to Maggie is him getting his foot in the door that he thinks and hopes will lead to more. Maggie never gets the nerve up to talk to Connor about the spanking but he finally takes the leap and takes matters into his own hands, literally. He discovers that Maggie’s not the only one that finds spanking incredibly erotic.

I’m not quite sure where to start with the book. I’ve told you the basics but there is so much happening in this book that it’s hard to talk about all of it. In fact, I believe that was once of my issues with the book is that I felt it had too much going on. We have Maggie’s spanking obsession, Maggie and Connor’s relationship, Maggie and her ex’s issues, the blog Maggie runs and all that encompasses, Maggie and Connor’s friends, Christina, Julia and Susan who Maggie and Connor are lying to in order continue their relationship and those friends’ relationship issues as well. I think because there was so much going on that not everything could be thoroughly explored or explained and I felt the book suffered because of it. I also didn’t care for the fact that we got to know some things about Christina, Susan and Julia but there were no resolutions for these issues and I was left hanging. Was the author setting things up for a series of books on these characters? She didn’t make these three women very likable so I’m not sure I care to read more about them but I would have liked to have matters come to a conclusion.

The book did have some smoking hot sex scenes – both in person and of the cybersex kind and as an erotic read this book scored higher in that department. Ms. Munro definitely knows how to get the motors running and she does it very well.

Rating: 3 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Samhain Publishing. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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What I Read Last Week

Posted March 14, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 5 Comments

Good Morning!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a great week last week.
There were some horrible events that happened in the world last week. Japan and all of the tragedies there just hurt my heart.  Also, fellow blogger, Fatin, whose husband was killed this past week which is just so wrong. I will be keeping Japan and Fatin and her 4 children in my thoughts and prayers.
So what did I read this week?
I started off the week with the upcoming new release by Kristan Higgins called My One and Only. It was the story of a woman who meets her ex-husband after 12 years and finally admits to herself that she never stopped loving him. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5
One of my Tracy’s TBR Challenge reads for the week (yes, there was more than 1!) was The Perfect Waltz by Anne Gracie. This was the story of Sebastian who decides that he needs to take a wife and he has a specific type of woman in mind that can help him take care of his two young sisters. When his man finds a woman in London that fits the bill he heads off to court her. While there, however, he sees and eventually meets Hope Merridew and though he knows he should have nothing to do with her he can’t help the feelings that she stirs in him. It was a charming story and I loved seeing Sebastian and his sisters breaking free from their shells. A lovely romance. 4 out of 5
Next up was a book for The Book Binge called The Bottom Line by Shelley Munro. This was about Maggie who had picked up an erotic novel by mistake but was now completely obsesses with the thought of being spanked after having read about it in the book. She starts a friends with benefits relationship with one of her male friends but she’s not sure how to ask him to spank her. For Connor he started the FwB because he wants to be with Maggie for good and this was how he thought he could get his foot in the door. It was cute but I had some issues with it. I’ll let you know when my review posts so you’ll be able to read more of my thoughts. 3 out of 5
Another Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Captive Heart by Anne Kane. This was a short about a dragon shifter who finds his mate but his mate had been bound to an evil dragon shifter not that long ago and wanted nothing to do with dragons. I had some issues with the story. First Haydn was determined to bring Cassie over to his way of thinking – which he did…in 1 night. Not even 24 hours but A night – too fast for me. Maybe if she had just accepted the mate thing they hadn’t pulled out the “I love you’s” it might have been ok – but probably not. Then Cassie was a big woman, which I have no problem with except when it’s said over and over and over. We know, thank you. It was stated so many times I was starting to think of the woman as Big Mama. lol Not good. 2 out of 5
Next was another Book Binge read called A Duke’s Desire by Liz Cole. This was a historical short but it was more sex than story. And the man in the story was incredibly raunchy. Just not my thing. I’ll let you know when my review posts. 2 out of 5
Yet another Tracy’s TBR Challenge read was Country Boys: Wild Gay Erotica edited by Richard Labonté and oh my lordy was it good. I really liked all of the stories except 2 of them and even though were alright – just not my kind of stories. If you want to read some great man-loving about some country boys this is a great book to pick up. 4.5 out of 5
After that was a novella called A Lady’s Wish by Katharine Ashe. This is a lovely story about a couple who met one day at a fair but through different events never met again…until 9 years later. It’s a story that falls between books 1 and 2 of Ashe’s historical series Rogues of the Sea. I didn’t read book 1 but you don’t need to in order to read this one – total standalone. You can read my mini review here. 4.5 out of 5
And last on the list was my read for the monthly TBR Challenge After the Kiss by Suzanne Enoch. My review for this one will post on Wednesday so keep your eyes peeled. lol
My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:
Happy Reading!

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Guest Review: Tiger By The Tail by Shelley Munro

Posted October 28, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 2 Comments

Judith‘s review of Tiger By The Tail (Middlemarch Mates series, Book 9) by Shelley Munro

Tiger shifter Hari Daya takes one look at Ambar Patel’s photo and is smitten. Further research heightens his fascination. An arranged marriage would work, except the lady isn’t buying and tells him to take a hike.

Ambar is already involved with human Jake Quinn. Casual pleasure and loving works best for her since she dreams of traveling the world and delving into new experiences. The fisson of heat and desire she feels for Hari is unacceptable. There will be no tiger mate for her.

Jake Quinn has no idea either his lover or his new friend are shifters, but there sure is something weird going on in his head. As much as he enjoys sex with Ambar, he is thinking about Hari, too. Suddenly there’s kissing and togetherness way past his comfort zone. The slide into sinful pleasure with both Hari and Ambar is easy–it’s the relationship dynamics that give them headaches and make them wonder if they’re making a huge mistake.

Shelley Munro is a world traveler, living outside her country of origin and allowing other worlds and cultures to broaden her understanding of life on this planet. Such personal exploration shows as she writes about customs and traditions that are unique to the people of India. What is equally interesting in this story and which is true in real life is that those traditions seem to be just as strong and just as binding even if the family is not living in India.

So it is with Ambar Patel and her brother. Her parents were determined that she will be obedient to their insistence on an arranged marriage with a man from a “good family” and someone who fulfilled their expectations for a son-in-law. Even though her parents were now dead, her brother had maintained connections with the marriage brokers in India and now a potential spouse had presented himself. No way, not Ambar!! She is a woman of the modern world with her own dreams and plans for the future. Her relationship with human Jake Quinn is another example that she likes being in a sexual relationship, but it is no-strings, casual, and may or may not be long-term. There was one really big problem: tiger shifter Hari Daya’s inner animal had already identified Ambar as his mate. And Hari has willingly sought her out, traveling half-way around the world to find her. Ambar’s tiger, however, doesn’t seem to have a similar response to Hari, at least not one she is willing to take seriously and she cuts him off at the knees thirty seconds after he introduces himself.

This is a rather complicated story that takes in the consistent rebellion Ambar stages against her family and cutural traditons. But she is not alone. Her brother is gay and he has broken with his tradition in taking a permanent partner and living openly in a committed relationship.

This story involves a number of issues that affect individuals who are seeking to free themselves from old-world ways and move into a more modern way of living and relating. It also involves the relationships between humans and shifters, the loving and caring in gay relationships and the unusual dynamics that result in a menage. It is also the story of one young woman’s journey to find her true place in the world and how she can fulfill her dreams without setting aside her love interests and people who are important to her. Hari and Jake’s relationship was a surprise to both of them and they both struggled with that a lot. Jake had to come to terms with the fact that both Ambar and Hari were tiger shifters. And all three had to manage the “speed bumps” in what it meant for all of them by being in a threesome.

This is not an easy read–I don’t think it was intended to be. It is complicated because human relationships are complicated. Feelings, emotions are messy and as a result life is messy. So there is that sense of messiness in this novel. However, it doesn’t detract from the issues nor does it turn the reader aside from the novel, at least it didn’t me. I was fascinated as how these three individuals would work this all out and deal with the relentless determination Ambar had to “see the world” and find the adventures she so desires.

So open your literary hand and grab on. This book is about tiger shifters, and thus the title. But I think there is a double entendre here–as in, life is a whirlwind, just like grabbing a “tiger by the tail.” I think romance readers will enjoy this book, especially those that are willing to wade into a messy, complicated, but ultimately satisfying love story.

I give this book a rating of 4 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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Guest Review: The Spurned Viscountess by Shelley Monro

Posted October 4, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 2 Comments

Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn’t expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her. Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry–not when he is plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.

Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close–and tempted into passionate kisses–Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife.

In the early 18th century, England was as caught up in the prejudice again extra-sensory perception as were the American colonies. Witch sightings and rumors of all kinds of weird happenings often plagued persons who exhibited any small ability or talent deemed extraordinary. For someone like Rosalind who not only received visions of the future but who could read some minds as well when she touched those persons, her life was continually in danger. Any little slip of the tongue could give her fore-knowledge away and put her in harms way. Thus, the long-standing marriage contract to Viscount Hastings was a welcome haven for her and one she was absolutely bound and determined to fulfill. That her betrothed looked upon her with distaste and declared his aversion to their marriage may have wounded and saddened her. But she was a woman of her times and knew that most aristocratic unions were loveless. Her hope for friendship seemed even doomed when, to her dismay, her new husband remained behind closed and locked connecting doors on their wedding night. And so it continued for a matter of months.

What Rosalind was unaware of was the fact that Lucien, whose first name was George, didn’t even remember his father or his home. He remembered only his few years on the European continent, his life in Italy with his wife Francesca, his happiness with her as they awaited the birth of their first child, and the attack by briggands which killed her and snuffed out the life of their baby. At the time of his marriage to Rosalind, he was still deep in his grief and anger over Francesca’s death and he had no intention of remaining in England after he found the criminal who had murdered her. He told Rosalind that only unhappiness, loneliness, and eventual divorce faced her in the future. Rosalind was undeterred.

This is a very interesting–actually riveting historical novel that deals with the matter of society’s reaction to ESP and to those who can see beyond the present. It is also about lust for power, jeolousy, revenge, and murder. Add in the presence of smuggling, pirates, criminal oppression of good people, and you have a novel that is bracing, interesting, edgy, and keeps the reader enthralled until the very last word. There is raw evil present in this book along with the power of unbridled good which is the only force that can withstand it. Ms Munro has written her story in such a way that it is vitually impossible to read this novel without having an emotional response that is capable of putting one right in the middle of the goings on.

I love a good historical novel so I was anxious to read this book. What I found was so much more–mystery, a world beyond the usual, and characters that are believable and strong. Rosalind and Lucien are wonderful characters, the kind I would have loved to have known in real life–and that is one of my highest compliments. So historical romance fans, don’t let this one get past you. It is a great offering from a very accomplished writer, and worthy of our time and consideration.

I give it a rating of 4.75 out of 5.

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

This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here in e-format.

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Guest Review: Blue Lady by Shelley Munro

Posted September 2, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments


Judith’s review of Blue Lady (Book 10 in the Middlemarch Mates series) by Shelley Munro.

Saber and Emily are longtime mates. Happiness has been theirs until the tragic loss of their unborn baby daughter. Saber is desperate. Emily has shut him out, wallowing in depression. They inhabit the same house but his loving mate has withdrawn, and he wants his happy, matchmaking woman back.

It’s time to up the ante. Armed with a bag of sex toys from his wild twin brothers and a tropical island setting, Saber is determined to seduce his mate to his way of thinking, to drive the blues away, and he won’t take no for an answer.

In her Middlemarch Mates series, Shelley Munro has written a series of very cute and erotic tales about love and romance, the problems in relationships, and the clash between humans and shifters, all set in exotic settings in the South Pacific or the land down under. In this short story Saber is a feline shifter and this is Emily’s second marriage. Their unborn child was killed when Emily was injured in a home invasion event, and now she and Saber are at a very difficult impasse in their marriage. Saber doesn’t know how to get through the walls of silence and depression surrounding his wife. Emily is full of fear that Saber will abandon her and their marriage because she didn’t protect their unborn child.

This short little tale highlights the difficulties all couples face when they lose a child for any reason. In this story there is a cause and a clear placing for blame. Even so, these two seem intent on self-accusation, especially Emily, who was emotionally abused in her first marriage and begins to wonder if her first husband was really right about her failings. This “quickie”is very erotic and yet it is a love story full of genuine caring and the efforts of one spouse to re-connect with the other. It demonstrates the hurt and destruction people do to themselves when they fail to share fully in their mutual grief and close themselves off from the support and healing their love can bring them both.

So I recommend this little story as being fun to read and instructive in its own cute and erotic way. The story itself is a “marriage” of entertainment and insight into the human condition. I give this short story a rating of 3.75 out of 5.

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

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

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