EXCERPT: Yours to Take by Joely Sue Burkhart
I tire of reading erotic very quickly. Mostly because it seems to be the same story over and over again. More fucking than content or emotion. I’d like some story with my sex, please. I’m very happy – happy! – to tell you Joely Sue Burkhart does that and more.
Yours to Take is a story of loving and giving unconditionally, of self-discovery, of forgiveness, and, yes, of enjoying the pleasures of the flesh with a bite of pain and roughness. But this is also a story of characters you want to know more about, you want to see them work differences out, you want them to be together and enjoy each other. The sex is an integral part of that, but it’s not the end-all be-all.
There are very few authors who do this successfully. Only two immediately come to mind when I think about that. But now there’s three. Though Ms. Burkhart may be the new kid on the block as far as my erotic reading goes, she’s a very welcome addition.
Summary:
The day one of her old clients gunned down a cop, former defense attorney Vicki Connagher lost everything—her passion for justice, and her lover, Detective Elias Reyes. The dead cop’s partner.
Even though she’s following her dream to start her own fashion line, it’s tough with heartache as her only companion. Until she brings Jesse, a wandering street artist, in from a freak Texas snowstorm. His submissive flirting brings out dominant tendencies she never knew she possessed, yet she hesitates to let him take her as far and as hard as she wants to go.
Some homeless junkie in Vicki’s house? Not on Elias’s watch. Pride kept him away, but as long as Jesse is staying in Vicki’s downstairs shop, he’s staying with Vicki. On the couch, but it’s a start.
As the days go by, the three work out an uneasy alliance. But Vicki’s joy at having Elias back in her life is tempered with a growing desire to have it all. Elias in her bed, and Jesse under her command. The only question remaining is if her tough alpha cop is willing to embrace all that she is…
Now meet some very complex and intriguing characters…
GUEST BLOG: How Publishing is like BDSM by Joely Sue Burkhart
Like any good sub, the writer does her very best work. Then she submits.
REVIEW: Yours to Take by Joely Sue Burkhart
Sandy M’s review of Yours to Take (The Connaghers, Book 3) by Joely Sue Burkhart
Erotic Romance published by Samhain 8 May 12
I don’t know about all of you, but when it comes to erotic romance, I read a lot of so-so books before I find a few gems that are truly worth the reading time. Sort of like kissing a lot of frogs before you find that prince. What I’ve found is the majority of erotic reads aren’t balanced between the hot and steamy sex and an intriguing and emotional story. So when I come across that author who hits all of those – and more – elements out of the park, she’s going to be one I’m on the lookout for in the future. Joely Sue Burkhart is the first in quite a long time to be in that very sparsely populated category for me.
REVIEW: Karma by Carly Phillips
C2’s review of Karma (Serendipity, Book 3) by Carly Phillips
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 1 May 12
Can two people whose lives have centered on guilt find a way to move forward with their lives and find happiness together? The third book in Carly Phillips’ Serendipity series gives us the answer.
EXCERPT: Where There’s Smoke by Karen Kelley
A wanna-be demon who needs her last soul to finally acquire demon status and an angel cowboy whose mission is to save the demon’s soul, to give her another chance at life. What they don’t count on is the heat…the smoke…the fire when they touch, kiss, love.
Destiny and Chance are at cross purposes at this point in their lives, but the heat between them is all encompassing. They can’t fight it. Destiny doesn’t want to. And Chance finally realizes he can’t.
So is there a way out for them in the end? Is it possible for a demon and an angel to find happily ever after?
Summary:
When sexy wannabe-demon, Destiny Carter, is kicked out of Hell, she lands in Ft. Worth, Texas with one week to corrupt a soul. Or else. She slips into a slinky red dress, and heads straight for the delicious, corruptible looking cowboy at the bar.
But Chance Bellew has his own agenda-saving souls. He’s not your typical angel. He’s a nephilim, to be exact. Centuries ago, angels came down from Heaven and mated with mortal women. When the women bore children, a new race was created. Immortals with powers—demigods, nephilim.
But the children don’t live by the same rules as mortals, or that of the typical, robe-wearing, bright light-surrounding-them angels. Hell, most of the time the nephilim are breaking the rules, and making up new ones as they go. As long as they don’t cross over to the dark side, everyone pretty much stays out of their way.
But sometimes a demon-in-training, who looks like Destiny, comes along and all Hell breaks loose.
Here’s a little taste…
GUEST BLOG: Living the Hell Out of Life by Karen Kelley
Destiny Carter was six years old when she had the first inkling that her life wouldn’t be a fairy tale. That was the day her mother left her in a grocery store and never came back. Destiny was right, her life went downhill from there. Bad foster homes, bad boyfriends, and really, really bad choices.
Then she died and went to Hell.
Until she was kicked out.
Hi Everyone! And waving to Sybil! I hope you enjoyed the opening of my current release, Where There’s Smoke.
REVIEW: Where There’s Smoke by Karen Kelley
Sandy M’s review of Where There’s Smoke by Karen Kelley
Paranormal Erotic Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 May 12
This is actually my first Karen Kelley book. I like the premise of the story, so thought it would be a good book to review. While I like the handsome and immortal cowboy hero – who wouldn’t want a cowboy for forever? – and the sex is hot and steamin’, there’s a couple of pet peeves that kept me on edge in between the sexy voice and grins that cowboy tosses around and the play of heaven against hell, stealing souls, and trying to do the right thing.
REVIEW: Angel’s End by Cindy Holby
Sandy M’s review of Angel’s End (Angel’s End Series, Book 1) by Cindy Holby
Western Historical Inspirational Romance published by Berkley 1 May 12
I’ve been in a cowboy mood for a while now, so every book that comes my way that has a cowboy hero, I’ve been more than happy to delve right in. So far, I’ve been lucky with the outcome of each, though a couple have fallen short of the mark. This story in Cindy Holby’s new series is a definite winner, full of emotion with an unlikely romance in the Old West, a time when you did what you had to to survive. She portrays that era perfectly, all with love and prayers, which was usually what all those who lived back then had to count on in their everyday life.
REVIEW: The Cowboy’s Secret Son byTrish Milburn
Dinca’s review of The Cowboy’s Secret Son by Trish Milburn
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin American Romance 2 Jan 12
From Hell to Heaven in 224 pages. This book is a perfect example of fear dictating your decisions. The heroine is so strong to pull herself up from nothing and remake herself, all out of fear.
REVIEW: The Would-Be Mommy by Jacqueline Diamond
Dinca’s review of The Would-Be Mommy by Jacqueline Diamond
Contemporary Romance Published by Harlequin American Romance 1 Feb 10
The Would-Be Mommy is the first book in the Safe Harbor Medical series. It’s all about falling in love. First with the adorable baby girl, who is dropped off at the Safe Harbor Medical Center due to a mistake in the news, and then with the reporter, Ian Martin, covering the story.
