Tag: Sweet Series

Guest Review: Sweet Possession by Maya Banks

Posted June 29, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 5 Comments

Publisher: Berkley, Penguin

Lori’s review of Sweet Possession (Sweet series #5) by Maya Banks

She’s a singer who lives for the spotlight—and can’t resist her adoring fans…

Outrageous and out-of-control, Lyric Jones is a spoiled pop star who lives hard and fast, always outrunning her past and the nightmares that haunt her. She’s used to getting what she wants—groupies included—because she can’t stand to be alone. So in bed, it’s the more the merrier, even if it means closing off the deepest part of herself…

He’s a hands-on bodyguard—and a one-woman man.

There is nothing Connor Malone wants to do less than babysit the celebratty songstress while she’s on vacation. But part of him relishes taming Lyric and showing her what it’s like to be possessed—body and soul—by one man. And though Lyric’s crazy antics nearly drive Connor to the edge, his quiet intensity penetrates her defenses, leaving them both vulnerable to the secrets that could topple Lyric from the stage.

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Connor is the last of his friends to remain single. He has sat back and watched and laughed as every one of them has fallen like a rock for their wives. When he gets assigned to be Lyric Jones’ bodyguard, he wants nothing to do with the rock star. It’s dislike at first sight for them both, except for the huge spark between them.

Lyric doesn’t understand why she needs a bodyguard when she already has two of them. Her record company is insistent that there are threats being made against her, and they want to protect her.

Once these two are stuck together, the sparks fly and they begin to see a little deeper into each other.

Oh, how I loved this book. This book brings all the friends together from the previous “Sweet” books. I love the camaraderie and that the girls all immediately accept Lyric into their group, and that the guys all tease each other like crazy, and that each of the women has every one of those guys by the balls. And that they all know it. It’s very reminiscent of the families and close friends that Lauren Dane weaves through her stories as well, and I loved it. Think Brown family with more saucy and irreverence.

As for Connor and Lyric, what a wonderful, sweet love story. And holy cow. I think Connor is my favorite hero of the year. Tender and gentle, but still possessive and alpha through and through. *swoons* I loved how he took care of Lyric and understood her and was willing to wait for her to come to terms with her past.

“I’m the man who loves you more than anyone else will ever love you. I’m the man who wants to be with you and will do everything I can to keep you from every being hurt again.”

“I want inside you, Lyric,” he whispered. “I love your mouth, but I want you in my arms, your body wrapped around mine while I dive so deep that we lose ourselves in each other.” *sniffle*”

I’m not sure if the rest of the security team will get their own stories, but I sure hope that Banks is writing Kane’s story. How awesome was he!

I was totally in my happy place. A growly, hot hero and lots of tender sex, plus hilarious hijinks with girlfriends.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Series:

You can read more from Lori at I Just Finished Reading…

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

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Tagged: 5.0 Reviews, Berkley, Berkley Trade, Contemporary, Guest Reviews, Lori's Reviews, Maya Banks, Reviews, Sweet Series

Review: Sweet Temptation by Maya Banks

Posted June 30, 2010 by Casee in Reviews | 5 Comments

Casee‘s review of Sweet Temptation (Sweet Series, Book 4) by Maya Banks.

He was a by-the-book cop who broke the rules in the bedroom…

Micah Hudson has painful secrets he’s run hard from. He has new friends, a new life, but he’s about to be confronted with the one person who reminds him of all he’s tried to forget–Angelina, the sister of his oldest friend David. She knows everything about his past, including how he and David fell in love with the same woman, and how they decided the best way to prevent her from tearing them apart was to share her between them. But then a terrible accident left Micah alone…

She was willing to do anything to make him see the woman she’d become…

Micah lost the two people who meant the most in the world to him. Angelina lost her only family. And she kept her deepest secret close to her heart. Her love for Micah. No longer willing to wait, she decides it’s time to go after him and bring him to his knees. She knows his secrets, his desires, his kinks and fetishes, and she’ll use whatever it takes to reel him in. Behind the easygoing, loves women exterior lies a man with dark needs and passions. She can give him what he wants. But will he decide she’s what he needs?

I am usually a fan of Maya Banks’ work. This one didn’t do it for me, folks. Subliminally I must have known that because this has been in my TBR pile for months. That really speaks for itself since I have really enjoyed this series.

In Sweet Temptation, Angelina goes to Texas to get her man. Not necessarily her man, just the man that she’s always wanted. The man that was married to a woman that he shared with Angelina’s brother. They had been killed several years earlier and Micah comes to visit their graves once a year. Then he goes to Heidi’s House of Pain to get whipped. I have to admit, whipping isn’t my thing. I suppose I just don’t see the appeal.

Micah first sees Angelina at The House. He doesn’t know who she is, but he knows he wants her. When he finds out who is behind the mask, he’s furious. Angelina was his best friend’s sister, a kid that he had no right to lust after. Yet another thing that bothered me. I could understand why Micah had to remind himself that she was David’s little sister. However, that got old considering the things that Micah subsequently did with Angelina.

Which brings me to the final part that I didn’t like. I’m all for a good ménage. What I’m not into reading is a man that brings home three of his friends and orders her to do anything they way. In a ménage, all three parties are engaged. In this situation, Micah just watches happily and Angelina does whatever the men want. That was weird to me.

What I did like about this book was getting to know more about Connor. I imagine his book will be next. I really liked how he stood up for Angelina in the same way that he stands up for Faith. Love Damon and Serena. I still don’t like Julie, but I liked her more in this book than I have in any other (even her own).

3 out of 5.

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

The series:

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Tagged: 3.0 Reviews, Berkley, Casee's Reviews, Contemporary Erotica, Maya Banks, Reviews, Sweet Series

Guest Review: Sweet Seduction by Maya Banks

Posted November 17, 2009 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 3 Comments

Publisher: Berkley, Penguin

Lori‘s review of Sweet Seduction (Sweet series, Book 3) by Maya Banks

He was the stuff erotic dreams are made of

Salon owner Julie Stanford wanted Nathan Tucker ever since she gave him his first massage. Getting paid to feel every inch of his body, stripped, oiled, and spread out in front of her? Stuff dreams are made of. But the sexy lug was oblivious to the signals she was sending—until she finished off his final rub-down with something extra. In fact, the best extra he ever had. Unfortunately, he came around too late. Now Julie’s moving on…

She was everything he’d dreamed of

The woman was driving him crazy. She lit fire to his insides then ran like a scalded cat. And now she’s going to someone else to have all her fantasies fulfilled? Over his dead body… He’s more than willing to give her what she wants, and as soon as he pins the little minx down, he’d show her his own brand of sweet seduction.

This is the 3rd book in the “Sweet” series from Banks. I haven’t read the other 2, but I have read several other books from Banks, and have enjoyed them all. This book had several of the things that I really like in my contemps: great friendships between the men and between the women (and between the men and women), loads of humor, great sex, the alpha male brought to his knees by his woman.

Nathan and Julie have been hot for each other for a long time. Julie finally gets tired of Nathan not making a move and decides to call it a day. She decides to embark on a sexual journey, and that drives Nathan absolutely bat-shit crazy.

Where the book sparkles is the relationships between Julie, Faith, and Serena and between Nathan, Micah, and Connor (and to some extent Gray and Damon). I always enjoy reading about true girlfriends and also the dynamic between guy friends. The other thing that I enjoyed in this book is that there is true camaraderie between the two groups – the guys and girls are all friends, and true affection shines through. Banks also excels when showing the relationship one-on-one between Julie and Nathan. When they open up together and really talk through their issues, it was great. The sex between them was open and honest. I really liked that.

What I didn’t care for was the inherent dishonesty on Nathan’s part by choosing to keep his and Micah’s role in Julie’s threesome a secret. Granted, she insisted upon anonymity, but I thought that lent an air of dishonesty to their relationship that I wouldn’t have been able to overcome. OTOH, I understood that Nathan couldn’t bear to know that Julie was having sex with anyone other than himself.

Which brings me to my last question about this book (and several others I’ve read that involve ménage). I often wonder how a relationship can’t be forever altered when one person is constantly regretting sharing the other. Nathan is always thinking “Mine” and wishing he wasn’t sharing Julie with Micah, while at the same time knowing that there was no one else he would ever trust in the situation. How can that not affect a relationship in the long-term? Just food for thought, because I see this cropping up more and more in books that contain ménage, and if it’s a fully consensual one, where all 3 parties are completely on board, then I’m down with a great ménage scene. Yum. But if one of the parties has reservations? Hmmm…… how can that not come back to haunt you later on? What do you think about that? Have you noticed this trend?

Anyway, ménage aside, I did love the dialogue, the interactions, the friendships, and the sex in this book. I found both Nathan and Julie to be vulnerable and sweet, although Julie did get on my nerves for being so stubborn after a while. And Banks has the perfect contemporary voice – her characters walk and talk like real people. You can imagine hanging out, sharing a beer, and laughing your ass off with them. I didn’t feel as though I was unable to follow this book by not having read the first two. It stands alone, IMO, but would be enhanced by reading the others. I’ll pick them up anyway, simply because I enjoyed this one, and want to read Faith and Serena’s stories.

3.75 out of 5

The Series:

Coming April, 2010:

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

Read more from Lori at Living in the House of Testosterone and I Just Finished Reading…