Reviews by Shelly Browne

I’m a fan of this publisher, but the author is someone that I’ve not read in the past. Considering there’s quite a few of her books through this publisher I decided to take a chance on this story; it doesn’t hurt that I’m a fan of the category and it’s a relatively quick read. This is the first in the Creek Valley series where ménage and the like are not uncommon. Fresh out of a marriage with an abusive husband, Heidi is finally free to pursue some measure of happiness. Deciding to move back to her hometown of Creek Valley where she felt comfortable and safe Heidi temporarily moves in with her childhood friend Landon and his lover/Dom, Gavin. Although Heidi has been away for ten years, Landon has been a faithful friend and kept in touch with her over time. It doesn’t hurt that he’s always had a thing for her. Can these three make a go of things or will past actions, hurtful words and Heidi’s ex put a stop to their happiness? Heidi is a full figured woman who despite the ending result of her previous marriage is an admitted submissive. Regardless of the non-excusable verbal and physical abuse she suffered in her marriage she admittedly enjoyed the dominance of her husband – telling her what to do, what to wear kind of thing. So it wasn’t a shock that she didn’t blink an eye when Landon confessed to the D/s lifestyle that he prefers with Gavin. She did have problems dealing with the budding relationship between the three of them but they were more self-directed about what she could offer the guys. I did have a problem with was the timing of everything and a couple other things – but before I get ahead of myself I’ll tell you some of the good stuff Landon is a relatively nice guy, he’s always always had a thing for Heidi and during his time with Gavin he’s always let it be known that he still loves her and if he ever gets the chance with her he’ll take it. I thought that was an honest approach and I appreciated that the author didn’t have Heidi and Landon re-meet and then have the miraculous, can’t live without each other falling in love. There were moments that I wanted to bash Landon’s head in but in the end he prevailed and my likability of him was restored. Gavin, the Dom in the relationship came across a little…I don’t know…spoiled and temperamental is all I can think of. There’s a sensitive moment between he and Landon that I couldn’t believe his reaction as a grown ass man and a Dom no less. But that’s okay because I don’t have to like them all the time, right? Here’s what I wasn’t so keen on – Gavin’s quick concession to a relationship with Heidi. He’d met her less that one day when that happened. And even though he grew up in the same town he didn’t remember Heidi so why so soon – because of Landon? No way – I’m gonna need more convincing than that. Another bother for me was a sex scene when Heidi noticed that Gavin’s not wearing a condom and ‘she scared to ask him why and what it actually meant’. COME on, seriously she’s that big of a doormat she’s not concern with the High V, STDs or pregnancy. That’s just dumb. Don’t take my small rant to mean I didn’t like it because I liked it enough to want to read the next story in the series as I thought this was a nice introduction. If you’re a fan of Oaks Bliss series this might tickle your fancy. Happy reading folks! Rating: B-

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Author: Rayna Stone Title: Full Measure Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a trois romance Although this is a short story there’s a lot that happens. Katherine ‘Kat’ Haynes has relocated to Holly Oaks, Colorado a small community where you can let your freak flag fly. Business owner Mac Dunna and attorney Jay Reynolds are lovers, partners, and town locals who happen to be in a D/s relationship. Broke and down on her luck Kat is looking for a place to settle and call her own - that’s how she ends up with Holly Oaks not knowing anyone. She finds a job at the local veterinary clinic where she meets two gorgeous slabs of manliciousness by the names of Drs. Ryan Stromfield and James Gainer. Once she’s introduced to her two boys though, she’s in it to win it and boy does she ever! Mac and Jay have been discussing a third, a woman, for their family because although they’ve settled down with each other, they still find the ladies lovely. Once they meet their ‘Kitten’ they know that she’s the one and it’s all up hill from there. There’s a scene with Kat going into a club where she’s meeting the guys for their first D/s date, the doorman is a behemoth of a man and poor Kat has this hilarious out loud internal dialogue: “…I just never saw a man so big. I don’t mean big as in fat, I mean big as in, “Wow, you must work out a lot,’ which is actually a compliment. Not that big people are stupid and you wouldn’t know a compliment. Oh, God, please shut me up. But not with the whip! I’ve heard about gags. Maybe a gag? Fuck! I’m serious here, Sir, Master, big man with a whip. I’m too nervous to stop. If you don’t shove a gag in my mouth, it will only get worse!” This trio quickly jumps into to it – especially introducing Kat to the D/s lifestyle. I didn’t quite get how Kat was so quick to know so much about the lifestyle with her only exposure being through erotica novels. I also thought that they started spouting the ‘I love you’ a little too fast, about a week after meeting. But because I was really in their corner as a trio it was still a completely awesome story. The bad guy was a little too convenient for my taste but still not a distraction for my enjoyment. Oh snap, I almost forgot to tell you about the sex scenes. Holy sweet pink baby Jesus! All I’m saying is get a BIG glass of water handy. I’m hoping that this is a first in a series about Holly Oaks because I wanna know what happened to Domme Kelly, the good Drs Ryan and James, and of course Kent the Titan. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to other stories from this author. Happy reading folks! Rating: B

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Love Slave picks up immediately after Love Slave for Two: Family Matters leaves off. ***I think you should be able to read this as a standalone but you might get more out of it if you read the series. On to the good stuff, Nevaeh “Nevvie” and her husbands, Tyler and Thomas along with their two sons Michael and Adam, and Tyler’s father Andrew decide to go on a family vacation to Yellowstone. Oh, by the way did I mention that it’s in an RV. That’s a recipe for either disaster or hilarity. During the vacation, there’s a lot that happens – some good and some not so good. What I liked about this story was the return of many characters from the previous installments along with some new ones. We finally get to Nevvie’s parents both biological and adopted, some new siblings and of course the return of Alex. I think Alex will have a bigger role during the next installment (after reading the author’s website – there’s plan for a follow up). There’s a few full-on laugh out loud moments including an emptying of the waste tank that goes horribly wrong. If you’ve ever had this happen to you, it ain’t funny then but it does make a good story (or so I’m told). What I didn’t like about this installment in the series was Nevvie’s complete decision-making independence from the other partners in the marriage. There were a couple of decisions that would directly affect her family but she only told her husbands after her decision was made. I guess like the saying goes – ‘it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission’. Another thing that also rubbed me the wrong way was the ‘snarky’ comments/remarks which all seemed to have been targeted towards Tyler. There was too many ‘duh’s that got thrown about - I really didn’t see the necessity for dummying down the dialogue like that; and I didn’t like the way that Tyler’s character seem to not only be the recipient of Nevvie’s anger but that he internalized all bad things happening as being his fault. I expected more from him. Tommy’s character was really passive too, and my impression was that somehow Nevvie had become the alpha in this polyandrous marriage. The sex scenes between these three were plentiful and steamy. There were a couple that I thought were put in just for the sake of having a sex scene but hey, who am I to argue with some steamy man-on-man lovin’. Overall, while I enjoyed this book I just didn’t love it but I would definitely recommend it if you like plot with your erotica. I’m desperately hoping that the next one focuses a little bit more on Peg (Thomas’s mom) and Andrew. Happy Reading Folks! Rating: B

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BDSM club owners and Former Force Recon Ty Hollis and Nate Marquez have decided after six years together that they're in need of a third in the relationship. Not attracted to other men, they know for them the only option would be a female. I was excited about reading this story as it’s a new writer and the blurb caught my interest. This is a very short story (43K works) and unfortunately for me it felt short. Ty and Nate meet Ashton after she comes to their home looking for her friend and roommate, Sophie. Sophie it turns out is a submissive that Ty and Nate trained at their club. Not understanding or knowing about the lifestyle, Ashton is very distrustful of the two Doms. I was confused as to why Ashton didn’t know more about the lifestyle considering that she and Sophie were supposed to be very close. I was hoping that could have been used as a great way to tell me how the Doms will train her. Instead what I got was that she was trained – oh no no no, I wanna read it don’t just tell me it happened. I didn’t really see how after the second day together the trio began professing their love for one another. Don’t get me wrong folks, I think that falling in love quickly is not only possible but also plausible when it’s conveyed to reader well; but I just didn’t believe it for these three. Like I said before, I don’t want to be told it’s already happened I really wanna read how it happens (that’s what I paid for). I can’t say that I ever really care for these three; I thought that I could but I just didn’t know enough of the whys and could neither relate nor understand them at all. Even though Ty and Nate profess to love Ashton, I don’t know what they loved about her and I don’t know what she loved about them. Most disappointing were the sex scenes between the trio, there was more focus on the intimacy between the Nate and Ty than between Nate, Ty and Ashton. I’m still trying to figure out why this story feels like I’m missing another story line between Mike, Keith and Sophie, I looked and couldn’t find one. Maybe I’ll have better luck on the next one by this author. Happy Reading Folks!

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4.5 stars.

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Rachel and Eli were great together. And let's not leave off the other cast members from the first novel, it was awesome reading and laughing with those characters again. I had a bit of a problem with Rachel's jealousy but I didn't tarnish the read at all.

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Great follow up with Emi, the twins and Aaron.

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