Reviews by SoCalReader

I've liked all the books in this series but this one unfortunately, not so much. It just felt very...superficial. There was insta-love between the characters, which happened in the previous books too, but for some reason didn't ring true in this one. I liked the heroes, especially Khamen, but they were never fully fleshed out as individuals. Eve was OK but her sarcasm seemed out of place given her (initial) frightening situation, and was actually a bit annoying. For example, one moment she was near death, the next she was cracking jokes. Overall, not the best book of the series.

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Love this series and was so excited for another installment. This story though was just OK for me. Joni had a pretty bad past with relationships, but I still had a hard time connecting with her. Maybe because she'd been thru SO much, that it was almost TOO much---dead mom, crazy dad, abusive, lying boyfriend... Too many things to properly unpack emotionally or in depth. The author tried, but it still felt a little superficial. I liked the heroes, but they were interchangeable, without distinct, individual personalities. Also, the pivotal scene where the heroine and heroes shared their pasts.... It was so over the top I was shaking my head. Suddenly every character had a past traumatic event to share--it was total overkill. Finally, the heroine's TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) actions near the end had me shaking my head AGAIN. I love this series but this was unfortunately not the best installment.

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Good book. Very HOT! The story starts off with the trio having been in a ménage relationship for the past 4 yrs. Despite that, I was still able to get a good feel for each characters' personalities. I felt for Evan especially, as he struggle with his career, sexuality, and expectations of his family. I do wish we had seen how the trio initially met and their ensuing relationship before now. Perhaps a prequel for this book? I really liked the characters and felt like we only got a brief glimps into their lives.

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I feel like I was missing something as I read this book. Like I walked into the middle of a story instead of at the beginning. There was a whole backstory that was alluded to. Lots of emotion and regret between Allister and Ellie was referenced, but that was all in the backstory. When they meet again 2 yrs later after Ellie is attacked, everyone basically pick up where they left off. And that's that. If was totally anticlimactic considering all the buildup of Ellie's abuse & escape, her interrogation, etc. No confrontation, no deep explanations, no real anger. It was weird to me. There was a lot of dialogue--mostly banter between all the men. Take out the banter and there wasn't much story there. Speaking of banter, a little of Markie went a LONG way. I could have used less if his (not very) witty observations and more actual story. Finally, I'm not sure WHY Bradley, Ryan & Derek were even included as they played no role in the story except to have sex with Ellie. I will say, I'm intrigued by Serena and Draegan though. Overall, this story had a great premise, but purpose.

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Good book. I liked the way Jordanna's blindness was handled, with no quick or instant fixes. I am super intrigued with the introduction of Aiden. Perhaps he will be part of a new series? On thing I didn't quite get was the story of Gabriel's estrangement from his family. I've read all the books in the series but didn't go back to refresh my memory. Was this estrangement mentioned in previous books? It just seemed to be thrown in as a device to get Jordanna at the right place and time to coincidentally meet her mates. The reason for Gabe not seeing his family in years was only addressed briefly (and easily with no issues) so I didn't understand the point of it. Since it wasn't delved into deeply, and didn't provide any emotional revelations, I feel like it could've been left out. Other than that curiosity, this was an enjoyable book.

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3 stars. So much potential. The Good: 1) I really liked Patty! She was feisty and wasn't afraid of her sexuality. No "I'm on birth control to regulate my cycle" BS that's in so many other books. Kudos to the author for a realistic, normal, portrayal of a modern woman. So refreshing to not see the typical virginal, naive heroine. 2) I liked the concept of the book and the heroes. The Not So Good: 1) I feel like I was missing something in the story. I know this is part of a series, so maybe we learned a lot about the characters in previous books? Anyway, Patty had a crush on the men for a few months but there was no indication the men felt anything for her. When a security issue occurs at the bar, Markham takes Patty home and next thing you know, they're having sex and professing that they want to stay together forever. Umm.. What? I had to do a double take. It felt like it came out of nowhere! 2) Story inconsistencies. In the beginning, we see Patty's car vandalized and she specifically DOESN'T mention that strange stuff was also being left at her house. Later, when the men find her place broken into, they never ask her if she been having other issues (aside from the vandalizing). Everyone then just acts like she's been the target of whatever is going on at the bar all along. But, she still never told them about her prior incidents. Shouldn't they wonder why/be surprised that she would be the target? They weren't. 3) They NEVER suspected her old boyfriend. They knew he was an ass, but unless I missed it, no one ever thought her most recent ex might be behind the stalking. That was insane. He was the most OBVIOUS culprit. There was never a scene where they all sit down and discuss potential suspects. 4) Too much ots repetition. Loved Patty but her CONSTANTLY asking the men to keep her forever, be with her forever, stay with her always etc. etc. was a bit much. As strong as she was, she came off so needy in those moments---and unfortunately there were a lot of them. Plus, they'd literally JUST gotten together. For any of them, including the men to be asking for forever was just...weird to me. 5) We never really got to know Connor. So, I liked this book, and the characters, but the story itself had a lot of holes that I really I wanted the author to fill. That's why overall, I have to give it 3 stars.

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Really good book as usual, from Dixie Lynn Dwyer. The Good: 1) I really liked all the characters. I liked that the men had somewhat different personalities and definitely different professions. It was nice to see that 2 of the men weren't SWAT/law enforcement. It was a nice mix. 2) Lacey was great too. I really felt for her and all the pain shed suffered. I appreciated the was the men were patient and Lacey was cautious. I did have a few quibbles though. The Not As Good: 1) Some of the editing was off. I noticed a few times that characters were were called by the wrong names (e.g. Lacey instead of Suzette). 2) I liked Suzette from Book 1 but I didn't like that the 1st few chapters seemed to focus on her more than Lacey. I mean, the first scene of this book was a love scene between Suzette and her men! I literally had to put the book down and re-read the blurb to make sure I wasn't crazy and this really was Book 2 amd not Book 1 of the series! Again, I liked Suzette but felt like she had her book already and I was more interested in getting to know Lacey amd her men. Lacey & Suzette were best friends so I got it, bit would have preferred Suzette be more of a peripheral character. To be fair, she did fade to the background later in the book thankfully. 3). The wrap up with the villain/s and the ending seemed a little rushed. Despite those few iissues, enjoyed this book a lot. This author rarely disappoints.

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Good, but the ending was a bit abrupt.

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Good book. I enjoyed Andy and Blaze and the wat their relationship developed slowly. I did think that Blaze being practically cured for her self destructive behavior in ONE BDSM session was unbelievable and unrealistic. That part of the story could have been better but aside from that, I liked to book.

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Love this author. This book OK but I didn't buy the fact that the men were novices at BDSM. It didn't ring true when the men immediately started spanking, tell her she couldn't orgasm without their permission, holding her arms captive, etc. all without knowing anything about BDSM. Hmmm, seemed strange. It would have been more believable if their 1st time as a trio had been more vanilla or if Megan had asked the men to restrain her I stead of the guys initiating it. Overall, an OK story that seemed a bit sushed.

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Eh, this book was OK but just too unrealistic for me. A married 25 yr old virgin? Aren't romance books (especially erotic ones) past this point by now? This "mandatory" virgin business? Or the women who only take birth control to "regulate their cycle". Which was not in this book but is another we'll lame story device. RME. I mean, seriously. So what if Megan fell for a loser and manipulator and married him? And I mean married him in a biblical sense. She obviously regretted it almost immediately. Isn't that enough? Not sure why the author had to go thru unrealistic hoops to keep Megan a virgin. I feel like I'd have more respect for the book and Megan's character if she wasn't so totally beleaguered, virginal, and perfectly pure. Like she's been preserved in amber just waiting for Eric and Scott to free her...sexually, financially, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love a good fantasy and I can totally suspend disbelief. It's not like this isn't the 1st unrealistic story point I've ever read. It's just this book was based on so many unbelievable plot points---offering Megan an asst position to end their suit against her, the 20k wardrobe allowance, the virgin thing, the convenient reason Kip married/didn't have sex with her (you could see that a mile away), etc. Too much for me.

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Love Tymber Dalton and this story was cute but....kinda "eh" for me. This one didn't have the depth and emotional force that I'm used to from her. It was mostly lighthearted and nice, which I wasn't expecting based on the blurb. There was an easily resolved misunderstanding between the heroes and heroine, and the "threat" from the ex was was also easily put to rest in one scene at the end. I liked Rebecca, Toby and Logan a lot, I just wish the story had more action/intensity to complement the lighthearted moments. Finally, I have to say, the heat level is mislabeled--it is not sextreme IMO but more like scorching at the most. A very safe, sweet, innocous story, but not a very hot one.

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I just love this series and wish Ms. Van would write more Club Dominance books. Of all of her series, I thing this has been her best. IMO her best work is when she writes contemporary books with a suspense and/or BDSM angle (Please Save Me, Club Dominance, etc.). I hope she returns to that soon!

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I bought this specifically to read the follow up to Sully, Clarisse, and Mac's's story from Safe Harbor. Loved it! It was so nice reading about them again and seeing how happy their life is. Strangely enough, I didn't know any of the other characters in the rest of the book. It was interesting to read follow ups to original books I haven't read. With the exception of only 1 (Sir and Pet) I got the gist of every story, and I really enjoyed them. It definitely made me want to look into getting the original books featuring Tony & Shayla, John & Abbey, and Chris, Landry & Tilly. Thanks to the author for giving us a chance to re-visit characters we loved once again!

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Book 3 in the Locks & Chains series. Of the 3 books so far in the series I'd rank them as 1) Mia's Masters 2) Punishing Petra 3) Grace's Submission. I enjoyed Petra, Kyle, and Caleb. They each had very distinct personalities and of course the sex scenes were very hot. I do think Petra and Kyle's characters were more defined though and their romance was sweet and well developed. Caleb was super sexy, and he started out with a bang, but then his character took a back seat for much of the book, which was a little disappointing. There was an imbalance between the trio. Also, I do wish there was more action/drama. There was no real storyline except the trio dating. No overt conflicts, villains, or story twists. I would've liked something more to keep the story moving. Overall, a good book and I hope the author continues the series. I see she hasn't written a new book in at least 1.5 yrs which is a shame. I so want to see what happens with Sophie and Craig!

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Disappointed. There was so much that was good about this book, but also so much that I didn't care for. I loved book 2 of this series (Mia's Masters) but this one...not so much. The Good: I LOVED Jason & Michael's relationship. Their friendship really rang true. I loved how they accepted each other, even when their relationship changed. Their struggle to understand and accept themselves was wonderful. The Bad: I didnt fully buy the men's relationship with Grace. I oh, I believed they loved her and she loved them. I didn't believe her "epiphanies" about being a slave. Grace can't give up control, so the men whip her and suddenly after that ONE session, she is cured of her control issues. She has body issues, so the men make her stay naked in public at the club ONCE, and she is now cured or her body issues. It was just too easy and miracle cure-ish. Then the "big misunderstanding" toward the end..... I just wasn't satisfied with the resolution. I mean, of course I wanted a HEA, but I felt like even with Grace turning the tables on the men, it was still all about the men, when the focus should've been on Grace. I totally understood what the author was trying to do and convey about domination and submission, but the execution didn't fully work for me unfortunately. Loved the heroes, liked Grace, but needed the slave/Master dynamic to be more compelling and understandable, particularly from Grace's POV.

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Loved this book! In fact I've loved the entire Creek Valley series. This was a beautiful story of three people who found what they were looking for all their lives, together. Normally I'm a bit weary of books that don't have an overt plot driving it---a villain, a mystery, etc. But this story didn't need any of that external stuff. Just watching their relationship form and grow and change was enoug because it was full of angst and love and emotion. I love this author. There are times she can be a little hit or miss IMO, but when she hits, and everything comes together, it's WONDERFUL. I know Ms Crescent writes a ton of books/series, but I hope she eventually returns to the Creek Valley series because I'd love to see Callie's story with the twin brothers! I highly recommend this series.

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As usual, another good book by the author but I did have some issues thigh this one. I liked the fact that Frankie was cautious and it too a while for the men to win her over. Very realistic. I didn't like that there were way to many characters. Aside from the heroes and heroine, there were the gangsters, the dirty cops in town and the ones in Chicago, the best friend and all of her men, the bar owners, good detectives, the FBI or whomever, the multiple friends, etc, etc. The fact that the heroine's ex was named Kevin and her friend's ex was named Keith.....two K's----I kept mixing them up while I was reading. There were SO many people to keep track of, that I started skimming in a few places so I could just get back to the main characters. I liked Frankie's friend Cassidy but thought Casidy's drama with her ex was unnecessary. I was hoping it was going to sow the seeds for Cassidy's own book. Instead, it was just a side story that seemed to have its own HEA which kind of annoyed me. It took up a LOT of time in this book, which I'm OK with IF it's setting up future stories. But it if it's not going to do that, I'd rather the author not waste that time she could be devoting to the main characters. JMO. Plus I was hoping Cassidy was for Lure and Charlie since, the 3 of them got the most airtime aside from the heroes and heroine. I haven't read all the previous books so maybe they've already been tagged for someone else. Sigh...just the fact that I'm talking about them instead of the book's headliners, should tell you that's a problem. Anyway, overall, I liked the book, I just think it should have been more focused.

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Love this author, didn't love this book. I really liked Logan and Farron but Celeste......not so much. She was petulant and a little too whiny for my taste. While I understood that Logan and Farron were her mates and some of her actions were uncontrollable instinct, she never took responsibility for her actions and their consequences IMO. She completley changed Logan's life, and Farron basically had to take responsibility for HER actions. She seemed felt very selfish and it annoyed me. I couldn't connect with her and that unfortunately marred the story for me. It's a shame, because as I said, I really, really liked Farron and Logan. I especially liked Logan's attitude (his reactions were very realistic) and Farron's vulnerability, particularly for an Alpha, which was interesting and different. I think this this could've been a great book, had I liked the heroine more.

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Really, really liked this story! I loved Max and Dom---the darkness in Max and the caring nature in Dom. Aubrey was good as well. She'd had a tough life but was strong and smart and willing to give herself up in place of her men. I've never read this author before and am very impressed. I especially liked the darker undertones in the story; it added a nice, somethat menacing edge. I was well on my way to giving it 5 stars but I was a bit disappointed in the way the threat to Aubrey and the entire city was resolved. The set up was sooo engrossing but then it was wrapped up in like, 2 scenes. Without giving any big plot points away it was too convenient to me that all of a sudden Max could hire a wizard and Aubrey somehow just knew what to do to trap the enemy. That pivotal moment was the catalyst that changed the trio's relationship, and because that was weak, it lessened the impact of Max, Dom and Aubrey finally coming together. It was....a little anticlimactic. Despite my issues near the end of the book, the author mostly redeemed herself with the crazy, kick ass cliffhanger ending (not involving this book's main characters). Wow, way to keep us on the hook for the next book!! Loved it. Anyway, this was my 1st book from Ms. Fern and I an eager to check out more!

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Good book. I am enjoying this series, and I like that previous characters were mentioned, but only in passing. You don't need to have read the first book as this one is a totally separate story. Even the characters here are of a different species than in book 1. I loved Grae and Ash and I appreciated the fact that Talia was cautious about getting into a relationship with the men. My biggest criticism would be the ending. It was very rushed and everything wrapped up too neatly and quickly IMO. In particular, I was really interested and intrigued by Dhover and Misha. To me, they could have been the basis for a great sequel. Unfortunately, they were used to help wrap up Ash, Grae and Talia's story.

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1st time reading this author. I liked the concept and overall world building. There is a lot of promise there. The tone of the story though, confusing. The story started out very seriously, with Max and is warriors escaping his traitorous uncle, Max's kingdom destroyed and he and his knaves regrouping for revenge. It was all very dramatic and compelling and I was hooked early on. But then the story got way off track IMO. The urgency and drama disappeared once the men got temporary asylum. The tone did a 180 turn. There was a lot of joking around and comical moments. It felt very strange & out of place given the their circumstances. The sex was hot and I really liked the love the men showed for each other. However a lot of the sex scenes, while hot, were tinged with humor and anatomical jokes which....really? In such a serious situation? Eh, I was expecting more....life & death, lust & desperation I guess, instead I'd jokes. Another example of weird tone: Max saves the life of his friend's child, who is dying. In order to save the child, Max tells the mother she must use some of her own life force to save the child and it would mean she would'nt be able to have more children. She agrees: the child is saved. Pretty dramatic & emotional right? So why then, 2 pages later (in the same scene!) is the mother is joking and giggling, like nothing ever happened? I had to do a double take. Very inconsistent. Finally, and I have to say this b/c it keeps popping up in a lot of Siren books lately, the OVERUSE of exclamation marks. It's like the characters are always SHOUTING. The overuse started around the middle of the book and got progressively worse. I feel bad blaming the author since this should've been corrected in Editing. And since the problem was progressive, that, to me could be a sign of lazy editing. Anyway, I know it seems I had a lot of complaints, but I will say, despite the flaws, I did like many aspects of the story, definitely liked the characters, and I would try Book 2. I feel like there is a lot of potential here, and with some tightening of the story and tone (and less exclamations) this series could be very good series.

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Eh, I was excited to read this book after reading the excerpts. Unfortunately the excerpts were the best parts of the book. This is the only book I've read in the series and while there were clearly scenes that referred to previous books and characters, I wasn't too confused. I think the issue for me was the story was just kind of boring. Ethan, Griffin and Aceline, once the met, almost immediately fell into bed and into a relationship. Not necessarily love but at 1st sight, but there wasn't much drama WITHIN their relationship. They just sort of fell into it. Not much self examination by anyof the characters. I mean, the heroes were supposed to deliver Aceline to their families, but decided to keep her---going against their family and risking thei lives. OK, great, but we never got to see the evolution of WHY they made the decision. They fell in love, but the author never had the heroes examine their feelings and say to themselves, "Hey, I love this woman". Everyone's feelings, until just before the end, were very vague and unexpressed. Also, the heroes are a couple, but unless I missed it, they never had sex with each other, only as a threesome. I found that really annoying and not hot. The heroes had supposedly been a couple for years, fought to be together---but none of that passion was ever shown. It made the story unbelievable and disappointing. I feel like there was a ton of potential here, but it just wasn't realized.

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Eh. I just couldn't get into this book. Like Book 1 in the series, this (Book 2) felt very rough and very simplistic. I love Becca Van books. This one though, felt like it was an older book that was reissued and not revised. I could be wrong. But the Blood Exchange series doesn't have the same tight narrative, emotional writing and character development that is in other series from Ms. Van (Passion Victoria, Club Dominance, Elite Dragoons, etc.). Although the Passions series (some at least) were published previously but they work well, so who knows. As for the characters, Callie was OK, but I didn't connect to her emotionally. She accepted the fact they were vampires fairly easily and consented to move in with them almost instantly as well. It felt too easy and simplistic. The heroes were just OK as well. Their backstory was interesting but personalities interchangeable. Not much drama eitherexcept for some dreamwalking. Overall, the story and emotions just weren't very deep unfortunately. Like I said, I've loved her other books and series....maybe vampires are not her best subject?

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Great book. I loved how patient and caring the brothers were with Shelby. Normally I would get a little annoyed at a heroine who kept trying to conceal her feeling etc. but it made total sense here. I actually really liked that Shelby was cautious with her emotions held back. It felt realistic after all she'd been thru. Great job by the author.

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