Cold-Blooded Beautiful by Christine Zolendz

Book Title: Cold-Blooded Beautiful
Author: Christine Zolends
Series: Beautiful #2
Genres: Dark, Erotica, Contemporary, BDSM
Book Links: Goodreads, Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 Stars

What happens when your past comes back to haunt you?  

Imagine having a secret whispered in your ear, a secret that once revealed, changes everything in your life that you thought to be true.  

What would you do if you learned that everything you had was just a lie, a lie that could end everything you ever worked for and destroy everyone you ever cared about? 

What happens when all your secrets come spilling forth and your past catches up to you? 

Will it consume you? 

Will it destroy you? 

Six months ago Kade Grayson helped Doctor Samantha Matthews hide from a violent past, one that she wants to keep hidden from everyone. Deep in her heart, she hides her secrets, too afraid to hurt the only people she has left to trust. 

What happens when she is forced to face her past?  

Will love be enough to save her?  

Because her deadly game of Hide and Seek is at its end.

MY THOUGHTS:

“She brought me back from the dead. I never realized how ugly my insides were until she showed me what beauty really was.”

Cold-Blooded Beautiful picks up where the previous book left off. After faking Sam's death, she and Kade are now on the run to build a healthy, normal relationship. Both Kade and Sam has a dark and fucked-up past, but Kade has been going to therapy, and Sam is still hiding from the demons that haunt her. She thinks she can live a normal life now that her father and husband know that she's dead. But what happens when her past comes for her and takes her away from her happiness?

Not everyone can run away from their demons. Especially when it's just behind you, waiting for you to turn around and meet him face to face. Again.

Then, I saw the man behind the flowers, standing larger than life, in that darkness full of shadows and emptiness. David. 

This book was an emotional trainwreck. Heartbreaking, tear-inducing, and very suspenseful that you would dare not to put it down. The events were so intense that I refused to do household chores and get out of my room for a day. I really enjoyed both books, but I must say that this one pulled me in even more. I love the angst and suspense, and definitely love the author's writing style, even her attempt to make some dialogues ridiculously funny. 

The only thing that I'd complain about is that some parts of this book were still lacking details. And Kade, God, I swear that guy needs a lot more therapy. He cried a lot in this book, and broke a lot of stuff more. I hate it when a hero throws a fit like a freaking twelve year old. But thank God he didn't do some crazy stuff like sleeping with other women when he thought that Sam left him. And I loved how madly obsessed he was with Sam. And as always, I loved Sam's insanely good sense of humor even when she was confined at the hospital. One of my favorite heroines. Ever.

Now, if you think Brutally Beautiful is dark, wait 'til you read this book. It's far more intense, brutal, and darker than you'd imagine.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christine Zolendz resides in New York City, and is the author of five novels. Her first series, a paranormal romance (heavy on the romance and light on the paranormal) was published in 2012-2013 and includes Fall From Grace, Saving Grace, and Scars and Songs. Her newest series, published in 2014, includes the dark romance Brutally Beautiful and Cold-Blooded Beautiful.

STALK CHristine:

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Brutally Beautiful by Christine Zolendz

Book Title: Brutally Beautiful
Author: Christine Zolends
Series: Beautiful #1
Genres: Dark, Erotica, Contemporary, BDSM
Book Links: Goodreads, Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 Stars

With blood still on her hands, Samantha Matthews is on the run, running from dark secrets and a man she prays to God will never find her. Running and hiding, just to stay alive. She had no choice but to run, to leave, to hide and forget about her life before. When Samantha believes she's gained enough distance from her past and her demons, she stops running, hoping to find her future in the heavily wooded area of the Adirondack Mountains, a place she never expected to encounter a man with secrets as dark and as sordid as hers.  

Kade Grayson is hiding, not from the demons after him, but from himself and from the entire outside world, wishing every day he could have just died. Arrogant and domineering, he’s tormented and terrorized by his past, seeing nothing good for his future. With the ghosts of his past still haunting him, he has exiled himself to a life of solitude, only living for his words and through his stories. 

Until her. 

An undeniable attraction, turns into hate and then ultimately obsession, an obsession that grows into a powerful story of love and redemption. 

Will the bond they have begun to build between them grow stronger than the tragedies that have scarred both of their lives? Or will they allow their demons to consume them?

QUICK REVIEW:

"I'm falling in love with you, and I'm going to let you destroy me."

This was a pretty great read. I was curious right from the very first page, until curiosity got the better of me and all I know was that I suddenly couldn't put the book down. Brutally Beautiful is the first book I've read by this author and immediately I was captivated by her compelling and very polished writing style. The characters were very unconventional, not the usual or average MCs you would read in a book, but they weren't difficult to like at all. This book was messed up, but I loved and enjoyed it. By 90% of the book and I was like what the hell is going on. I need more details and answers because that ending did not do any justice to how good this book was!

Brutally Beautiful is a dark erotic romance novel which can't be read as standalone, Obviously, you'll need the next book!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christine Zolendz resides in New York City, and is the author of five novels. Her first series, a paranormal romance (heavy on the romance and light on the paranormal) was published in 2012-2013 and includes Fall From Grace, Saving Grace, and Scars and Songs. Her newest series, published in 2014, includes the dark romance Brutally Beautiful and Cold-Blooded Beautiful.

STALK CHristine:

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Flawed (Butcher, #1) by Francette Phal

Book Title: Flawed

Author: Francette Phal

Series: Butcher #1

Genres: Dark, Erotica, Contemporary, Romance, BDSM

Book Links: Goodreads Amazon

My Rating: ★★★★★ 5 Stars!

"You are this beautiful thing I want to destroy."
Blood. That's the only memory he carries from a childhood he does not remember. And now it is all he knows. Blood is his life.
Knox Bishop has done a lot of horrible things, all at the command of the man who holds his leash. It's a matter of loyalty for him. Allegiance to the man who saved his life when he was a child. So he goes where he is needed and does what he is told. He tortures. He kills. He kills. He tortures. It is an unrelenting cycle that he constantly craves and can never quite satisfy.
Until her.
Eighteen year old Lacey Barnes distributes her assets to fund her dreams. Medical school is the end game and she is determined to get there by any means necessary. But a family member's careless mistake derails her plans and now she must pay a price in order to save him. 
She goes to Knox willingly offering him the only valuable thing she has. Herself. In doing so he allows her into his world, a world she quickly realizes is void of any light and hope for escape is utterly elusive. But escape is something she finds that she no longer wants. 
"He lays a path of pleasure laced agony for me to follow and I do. Stupidly I follow him down the blinding darkness of his euphoric hell."

MY THOUGHTS:

One thing I learned from Flawed: Never read a book this fucking awesome if the second book isn't out yet! But, hell,

I was so engaged in reading this that I couldn't even blink much less breathe for a second. It's raw and gritty and dark throughout the book! The hero and heroine are so messed up and flawed and I was invested in them!

Lacey isn't your average heroine. At eighteen years old, she's already been through hell. Having a mother who's addicted to drugs and a brother who does nothing but fuck up, her life is pretty much messed up. She sells herself no matter how much she abhors it, but sex is her job, the only way she knows how to live and achieve her goals. And her family and her dreams are at the top of her priorities. At some point, things in her life seem to turn much worse when she learns that her brother owes a huge debt to those who work for the Khitrova family, in which she then meets the dark and brooding Knox Bishop, where she offers herself to pay off her brother's debt.

He's immense, intense, and lethal. His eyes... God, his eyes are the most frightening and beautiful thing I've ever seen. There is no escaping them. No escaping him.

Knox is someone you would dare not cross path with. Working for the Khitrova family, he kills for a living without remorse and tortures the victims he prey on. He is every bit fucked up, a psychopath who craves putting his knife on someone else's body and ripping their organs out until there's nothing left. The constant hunger to kill someone has consumed his entire being, until he meets Lacey Barnes, sister of the man who owes a huge debt to the Khitrova family. One look at her and he decides that he wants her, and plans to have her no matter the consequences.

It would be smart of me to live her alone. Her brother will live to see another day. But her...
I release a sharp breath and jam my fingers through my damp hair. And then I smirk. Her fate has been decided. She will not be so lucky. Not this time.

To be honest, it was kind of scary to be in Knox's head. You will see in his perspectives just how fucked up of a man he was. He's definitely an anti hero, but there is something in him that just basically draws me in, and I hate to love this man despite his flaws. When Lacey comes to him to offer herself to pay off her brother's debt, I was screaming at her and telling her to run and never look back! But another part of my messed up mind wants her to go to him.

These two are so complex and flawed that you will deeply feel the depths their characters. I love Lacey's strength. She may not have the easiest life, but she's a survivor and I adore her for it. It surprised me to know at first that she's only eighteen. I mean, aren't eighteen-year-olds supposed to have sleepovers and pajama parties at night? Not have a guy on top of you grunting his own pleasure in a cheap motel? But, as I said, Lacey isn't your average heroine. And that makes me love her even more.

Knox, as Lacey has described, is dark, lethal and intense. He's thirty-two or thirty-three years old, years older than our heroine. He stalks and follows Lacey, desperate to know everything about her as if she was his next target. I just love his stalkerish behavior. Sometimes, it bordered on obsession. He was very possessive too, seeing red when a guy friend touches Lacey in school, or threatening a maniac teacher who harassed her. No matter how scary it was to be in his head, I love it just as equally. The things Knox did in this book were beyond horrifying. It was gut-wrenching that I'm surprised I did not puke my guts out. If you do not know what Sadomasochism is, I think Knox and Lacey's relationship is one to describe it. Knox is a sadist, and Lacey was his equal: the lightness to his dark, this beautiful willing thing he wanted to destroy.

She's a part of me now, her touch, her smell, every single beat of her heart, and all that she is has been permanently etched within the dark recess of my soul. Everything I do now is for her, to protect her.
She is the only one that sustains me. The only person in this world I cannot do without. She is the one person I will not share. She is mine. 

One of the things I loved about this book was that the author did not hold back anything. The scenes were dark and intense all the way, which ends in a major cliff hanger, leaving us in a state of desperation thinking what's about to happen next. I hope the next book will be due soon.  I don't think I will be sleeping soundly tonight, or the many days that will follow, for that matter. *sighs* Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. But beware: some scenes contain explicit descriptions of non-consensual sex, S&M, degradation, human-trafficking and graphic violence.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Francette lives in Massachusetts with her amazingly supportive husband of ten years and her darling two year old son. Reading amazing books has led her to writing and she's dabbled in fan-fiction before self-publishing her own works. She's constantly thinking up new stories to write and does her best work when music is playing in the background. Romance is where she's most comfortable but she hopes to one day venture in mystery novels. She has a weakness for coffee ice cream, tropical fruits and a good glass of wine.

STALK FRANCETTE PHAL:

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Sinister Kisses (SKALS, #1) by Adriana Noir

Book Title: Sinister Kisses
Author: Adriana Noir
Series: SKALS #1
Genres: Dark, Erotica, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Book Links: Goodreads Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 Stars

After a chance encounter in the woods leaves her shaken and reeling, the last thing Taylor McAvay wanted to do was accept an invitation to dinner. Then again, after seeing what Sebastian Baas was capable of, she felt she had little choice. The guy did just save her life, and the feel of his partner’s assault rifle pressed against her cheek still lingered in her mind.

What she discovers surprises her. Beneath the armor and fatigues, is a smart, attentive, and sophisticated man. Unable to resist, Taylor finds herself drawn in by the Special Agent’s charm. Everything about Sebastian, from his imposing presence to his hypnotic eyes, pulls her under his spell. When a drive by shooting leaves her apartment riddled with bullets, she falls under his command as well—not to mention the shadow of a lethal, underground organization known as SKALS. 

Her lover has a dark and dangerous side he tries to keep hidden, but when a series of events sends their lives spiraling out of control, she realizes there is much more to him than meets the eye. Whether she wants to leave or not doesn't matter. Taylor soon learns, when it comes to Sebastian and SKALS, there is no escape.

MY THOUGHTS:

When twenty year old Taylor McAvay along with her cousin went to the woods to play airsoft, the last thing she expected was to hear real gunshots. And most definitely, a rifle to her face and a threat to blow hear head off were the last things she wanted. She knew she was in a very dangerous situation that can cost her life, until a man with curly blond hair and the most piercing green eyes she had ever seen saved her from being killed by his ruthless partner, only to ask her to go with him to dinner. But what Taylor didn't know, was that a chance encounter in the woods would lead her fate into the hands of the dark and dangerous Sebastian Baas—a man who would do anything to have her, a man who was more ruthless and sinister and showed no guilt or remorse, and a man capable of being a monster.

Once she accepted, one thing was for sure: there was no going back, and she could never escape the strong grip Sebastian has around her neck for he wouldn't let her go—ever.

"Death is the only thing that could ever tear us apart, even that would fail. It's you and me, Taylor. Nothing else matters."

I wasn't supposed to be reading this book—for the nth time—again, but I accidentally swiped it while scrolling through my reader and damn, once I started reading this even though I have read it a hundred times, I just couldn't stop. I was that hooked! Yes, I admit some parts were boring, but it wasn't a big deal to me. I love this series so much that it's my favorite re-reads of all time and I always find myself coming back for more.

And I have never done a casting for a particular book. Ever. This one's my first.

Please be warned that Sinister Kisses isn't your average romance, as the author says. Sebastian and Taylor's relationship ain't no rainbows and flowers. Their's were darkness that it borders on obsession and hovers over the thin line between dominance and submission. Please also note that this book does not have any aspects of bondage or any kind of play done in the bdsm field. Basically, Sebastian's hunger for complete dominance and Taylor's submission to his every desires are mostly what their relationship is about.

The first book of SKALS series is divided into two parts. In part 1, Sebastian met Taylor in the woods with his partner, Josh, pointing a rifle to her face, accusing her of being a lookout. But then the most unthinkable thing happened. Sebastian saved her from being killed by his partner and proceeded to ask her to dinner. And that's when he began pursuing her. Their relationship blossomed into something more and both agreed to meet each other again. From going out to dinner to bringing Taylor in his home, things between them pretty much started to get intimate. Since then, Sebastian's relentless pursuit of Taylor only showed how overly possessive he can be when it came to the girl he only has his eyes for.

"Sebastian's a very possessive man. He doesn't share, and he will take out anything he sees as a threat. ~ Josh

Basically, in part 1, we get to see how Sebastian and Taylor's relationship progresses. Though their relationship was like a whirlwind, to say the least. I wish we get to see more of the build-up between these two. And when an incident happened in Taylor's apartment that almost put her into danger, Sebastian manipulated Taylor into moving in with him.

"Let you? Taylor, I want you to stay. I didn't bring you home to spend a night or two just so you could turn around and leave. Stay with me. I'll give you whatever you want or need. I will take care of you." ~ Seb

At this point, everything seemed to happen so fast: from the steamy hot sex, to the declaration of their love for each other, and to planning their future together and having kids along the way. Sounds like a fairy tale, right? A beautiful romance where the Prince and Princess live happily every after.

Well, that's where we're wrong. Nothing about this book is a fairy tale. And the problem is, Sebastian ain't no Prince. Not even remotely close. There was just too much darkness in him. His character was so unpredictable that he can go from sweet to rough in a blink of a second. One moment, he and Taylor were laughing, cuddling together and having sweet moments. And then the next, he had his powerful grip around her throat. He was like a ticking time bomb ready to explode in any minute. His temper was so thin that one wrong move or answer and you'll see just how dark he can be. I don't know why, but I love his character. Call me crazy, but Sebastian is and always will be my favorite anti-hero of all time. 

I love his twisted mind and how messed up his thoughts are all the time. He may be scary, intense, lethal, domineering, controlling, abusive, and psychotic but in some sick way, he loves Taylor with all his might even though he manipulates and controls her to always be at his mercy. Years training at SKALS may have made him this way, to be heartless and to show no guilt or remorse in everything he does. But then he loved Taylor, anyway. And I like how overprotective he was of her.

And as for Taylor, I seriously have no words for this woman. She's this girl-next-door type of girl: young, innocent, sweet, and full of light. But she's doormat in every sense of way. She's weak, couldn't stand up on her own, cries all the time and always beg for forgiveness. For some reason I understand her. If I was in her position, maybe I also wouldn't be able to go against Sebastian. I just wish that she was strong enough when faced in a situation with Seb and that she won't cry all the time. I don't know how she could stand being with Sebastian with his overly controlling and abusive nature, but somehow, she did. But that doesn't mean that she knew everything about Sebastian, especially about SKALS. 

Taylor was the one unblemished thing in his life. She didn't look at him like everyone else. She knew a side of him no one else ever would. He'd tried so hard to keep her and his work separate. No matter how good things were between them, he couldn't help but wonder if she would still love him if she knew the things he had done.

At some point near the second half of the book, this was where the intense part of the story began. Sebastian almost killed a man in front of his teammates for touching Taylor at a Christmas party in their home.  This particular scene, I believe, was where Sebastian showed what he's truly capable of doing when it comes to the woman he loves. But then again, SKALS would never let what happened miss. And Marx, the director of SKALS, will do anything in his might to recondition Sebastian and his teammates to where their priorities truly belong to, even if it means killing his brother, his brother's pregnant life, and his nephew. 

The 2nd part of the book consists of how Sebastian and Taylor will keep their relationship tight and will prove how far their love for each other would go with Sebastian's obsessive desire for her, the dark looming shadows of SKALS just behind them, and the watchful eyes of Marx.

Excerpt

"Do you want to leave, Taylor?" he asked softly.

She winced, trembling as the cold press of steel kissed her temple. "N-nooo p-pleaaasee. Please, Sebastian."

"Shh," he soothed, stroking the back of her head. "Listen to me carefully, sweetheart, because I am only going to say this once. This... this is the only way you are ever going to get to leave me."

She sobbed, choking back a scream as his lips settled above the gun, kissing the side of her head.

"Do you understand me?"

Her chest jerked with rapid inhales. She was panting, her breath coming a hundred miles a minute. Slamming her eyes shut, Taylor nodded. God help her, she was going to pee—and then he really would kill her. Her body snapped into rigid tension as she felt him smile into her hair.

"Good girl," he whispered.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Adriana Noir is an avid fan of dark fiction, taboo subjects, and tortured anti-heroes. She also tends to write about these things. Most of the time she can be found plugging away at the computer, guzzling coffee and energy drinks, or mumbling to herself as she sorts out the twisted plots and character conversations in her head. She's also been known to binge read or slip into Netflix comas whenever time allows. Adriana has a weakness for all things Australian. Tim Tams and red licorice are her kryptonite. She's also mildly obsessed with the Cheshire Cat. When Adriana isn't reading or writing, she's usually spending time with her family, sharpening her culinary skills, or interacting on Facebook.

STALK ADRIANA:

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Her Master's Teacher by Lily White

Book Title: Her Master's Teacher
Author: Lily White
Series: Masters #2
Genres: Dark, Erotica, BDSM
Book Links: Goodreads Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★ 5 Stars!

She caught my attention the first day I was seated in her class. 

Her dark red hair fell in waves down her back and her alabaster skin appeared to sparkle under the lights of the lecture hall.

I'd admired her from a distance, never speaking or doing anything to draw attention to myself. 

Each day that I spent watching her in this room, I noticed how her eyes would flick up to me. She was wary of me - frightened - and she had reason to be.  

Allow me to introduce myself… 

My name is Holland Strong and at 21 years old, I'm the youngest Master within a society of wealthy and influential men.

Claire Elliot is my psychology professor in college - that is, at least, until I make her my first courtesan. 

She believes she knows everything about how the mind works… 

…and I believe I can prove her wrong.

MY THOUGHTS:

Seriously, WTF did I just read?!?!?!??!?!?!

This book right here is the most ultimate mindfuck I've ever read about. Mere words can't even do justice to how freaking brilliant this is. If I could give a book more than 5 stars, I'd give this one a hundred. I think I need a few days or maybe even weeks to recover from this mindfuckery. I was... shit. I was

Meet Holland...

I resemble innocence, even though I am anything but...
Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Holland Strong and at 21 years old, I'm the youngest man training to be a Master within a society of wealthy and influential men.
Claire Elliot is my psychology professor in college; that is, at least, until I make her my first courtesan.
She believes she knows everything about how the mind works and I believe I can prove her wrong.
This journey will be a test of intellectual superiority and Claire will be the ultimate challenge...

And meet Claire...

I silently scolded myself for any of the emotions I'd allowed to slowly consume me regarding this particular student. He was just another beautiful face within a sea of people I was hired to teach.
He was not a man I could allow myself to admire.
He was not a man I could allow myself to want.
But most of it all, he was not a man about whom I needed to worry.
He was a student. I was his teacher.
It was as simple as that.

I honestly believe that Holland was one of the biggest surprises there was in this book. Aiden also played a major role in this book, being the devil himself, and so did Rebecca. I absolutely adored Claire's character. But Holland... I thought I knew him all along, but then, it turned out his character was unlike anything I'd ever thought he was. I thought I knew what was going on, I thought I had a clue on how this book would end, but Lily White is Lily White. She did a spectacular job in playing with her reader's mind and toying with our emotions. I was a victim who fell over the invisible trap she had put within the confines of her masterpieces. I was as much as a victim as Claire was. This author never fails to blow my mind and make my heart constrict. The twists and turns... the ultimate mindfuck... I admit it was one of the most heart-stopping events I've ever encountered in a certain book. Lily White wakes the darkness that resides within the very depths of my mind and soul and I love her for it. Damn you again, Lily White. I think I'll never get tired of saying those words for you, Ms. author, have captivated me with your brilliant skills and talent as a Dark Erotic writer. 

If you loved Her Master's Courtesan, you'll for no doubt love this one! Though I loved this book better than the first one. Now I'm anxious and definitely excited in reading about the other masters! I hope the next book in this series comes out soon (if there is a next one).

Her Master's Teacher is the second book to Lily White's Masters series and can be read as standalone.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lily White is a dark writer who likes to dabble on the taboo side of eroticism. Most of the time she can be found wandering around aimlessly while her mind is stuck in some twisted power play between two characters in her head. You may recognize her in public by the confused expression, random mumbling, and occasional giggle while thinking up a scene. Lily's favorite things in life are reading, thinking about reading, buying books for reading....and writing. Her other secret pleasure is meeting with her plot editor in public to discuss her books and watching the shocked expressions of the people around her that don't realize she's talking about a book. When Lily is not reading, writing, wandering or freaking out innocent bystanders, she's sleeping.

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OTHER BOOKS BY LILY WHITE:

Target This
Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo

I’m not sure what I was thinking that day. It was a normal Thursday, nothing new or exciting had occurred in the morning. I’d risen from bed, taken a shower and brushed my teeth. I’d then jumped on the 8:05 bus that ran a short distance between my house and the county library where I worked. The ride took its usual 15 minutes before it left me standing fresh faced in front of a building of gothic construction that was my favorite place in the world. After straightening my knee length skirt, I pushed open the door that led into the interior of the library.It was at that moment that my world would change – impossibly and forever. It was a fateful movement of wood that collided with the shoulder of a man that would alter my very existence. It wasn’t fear that I felt at that moment – more like the feeling of being watched. It was the feeling of knowing that danger lurks - the sensation of the hair standing on end at the back of your neck.Looking back on a moment that happened so many months ago, I now realize that I should have listened to that feeling.As I would later find out, the man standing in front of me referred to himself as Master Lucas……and I was his next target.

Hard Roads
Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon

This life isn’t one that I chose for myself. Years spent as a daughter in the Dominion MC left me washed up and struggling to breathe. Life was never flowers and sunshine. It was gravel and dust, the trails of dirt left behind when the brothers tore out, floating up from the ground to hover in front of an angry, red sun.I could never have imagined that a life sitting at rock bottom could get any worse, but it did. Life is funny like that.Just when you think things can’t get any more bleak, a shade is drawn leaving you staggering and blind – lost in a world of heartache and sorrow.I met J.D. Brooks on the road and he swept me off my feet. Literally. But not in the way you might think.He was both an angel and a demon. He was the most vicious storm that ever darkened my life.He was also my salvation.Stripped from the hands that always held me back, I was released into a nightmare that would threaten everything I thought I knew about the crap hand I’d been dealt.I thought I could never hate a man more than the one who stole me from the life I’d known. And in our time together, he would teach me one important lesson:That in the end, it doesn’t matter how our paths intersect, because when it comes down to the basic truth of our lives... ..we’re all stuck traveling down hard roads.

Asylum
Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo

Words are funny things.Their meaning, the pictures they paint in the minds of those that hear them: they’re not always the same and to me at least, that makes them meaningless.Take for instance the phrase ‘black widow’. Those words conjure the image of a spider, an eight-legged creature with the red imprint of an hourglass on its abdomen.However, instead of speaking of an arachnid, of the resident of a spindly and dew-laden web, the people who whisper those words are talking about something much different.They’re talking about me.From what I’m told, I’m called the Black Widow because no man I’ve ever loved has survived.Yet, I have no memory of any of it.My new home leads me to the definition of another vague and meaningless word.It’s a place where I’m supposed to seek refuge.A place of retreat and security.It’s a place where I’m supposed to be kept safe because I’m sick.But the definition for this place is wrong and the word becomes meaningless when you’re tucked away and made silent by drugs and pretty white jackets.My name is Alexandra Sutton and this is the story of what happened when I was imprisoned inside an Asylum. 

Boy Next Door by Emma Clark

Book Title: Boy Next Door
Author: Emma Clark
Genres: Dark, Erotica, Contemporary, BDSM
Book Links: Goodreads Amazon Smashwords
My Rating: ★★★★★ 5 Stars!

"I'd glimpsed the human behind the monster. Now I couldn't go back." 

At a busy coffee shop near Houston, Mia meets tall, dark, hot Brandon Levine. 

Brandon's jade-colored eyes captivate her. His smile beguiles her. But what secrets is he hiding behind those eyes and dazzling smile? 

Soon she'll discover Brandon's insidious motives, and truths that will shock her. 

And just wait till she meets his brother Tyler. 

BND: This isn't role-play. This is the real deal.

MY THOUGHTS:

5 "Insanely Sick Fucked Up Twisted Demented Mind Fuck" stars.

Holy. Fuck. I need a minute to calm my nerves. Okay. I don't even know what possessed me to like this. I didn't connect much with the characters (since the heroine was fucking dumb and stupid and the hero as well as his fucking brother and stupid fuck of a father were a freaking psychopath with severe mental issues), the time setting was a bit off (considering how fast one scene jumped to another), and there were some messed-up scenes that I found myself grimacing at times. I understand that a lot of people didn't like the book. But it worked for me. Call me crazy but I loved this book. I loved the extreme dark elements and how it almost made my heart burst. To those who'll read this in the future, READ THE DAMN BLURB for your own sake. Do not read this if you're averse to kidnapping, rape, impregnation, dubious consent, a psychopath with severe mental illness, abuse, incest, and a lot more. You certainly won't find sunshine and roses here.

"The combination of 'Stockholm Syndrome' and 'cognitive dissonance' produces a victim who firmly believes the relationship is not only acceptable, but also desperately needed for their survival."~ Love and Stockholm SyndromeJoseph M. Carver, Ph.D

"I'd glimpsed the human behind the monster. Now I couldn't go back." 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Emma Clark writes novels, novellas and short stories. Most of her books feature the anti-hero, who is feared, loathed and loved.But now she is diving into the world of Graphic Novels, and she hopes her fans understand this. She is a very "visual" type of writer and, for her, it's more of an immersive experience using images with stories. She is also an artist, not just a writer. Being artistic is just as important to her as writing text. Emma's Genres are: erotica, dark erotica, erotic romance, paranormal romance.Friendly Warning: Some of her work involves offensive themes such as non-con and dub-con. 

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