Rapture (Bound to be Naughty) by Angelique Voisen - Review

Dear readers, this review is a reflection not of the author's enviable talent but of my feelings for the direction the narration takes - The connotation of 'Naughty' in this situation, is not, I feel, a strong enough word for the stories serious nature - Neither frivolous nor teasing, nor flirtatious, this story is a work that is soul-deep - so be warned!

If you crave the bitter aftertaste of reality; raw, seductive domination and submission then Angelique has certainly captured that tenor in her book 'Rapture'.  Pulling no punches, she lays it out for you in this soul-destroying tale of two men, drawn together by fate, addiction, dark desire, lust and selfishness.

Like a shallow flying low over a pond, the time line dipped in and out of the narration, giving thoughts and glimpses – microcosms of events – that bounced me forward, and yet did not gift me with the sense of real time passing.

This was a brave attempt to deal with something unappealing, to bring human darkness to light and offer it understanding.  Domination, sexual slavery, gangs, drug addiction; I wanted so much to like it, but I just couldn’t.

A monstrous man, even by his own assessment, Kade Michaels looks upon a young man heading for destruction, slavery, drug addiction, and saves him from the brutal hands of his Master, only to then enslave him himself, not by degradation, dehumanisation, brutality; but by manipulation.  At first glance I thought, Chase you are so lucky – no more cage, no more beating, no more raping, so your situation must be better.  But Kade was right in his assessment, his form of captivity was much worse because it forced the young man to accept his slavery, almost love it, need it, fail to see he needed his freedom and that if someone loved you – really loved you - they wouldn’t keep that freedom from you by creating a false sense of dependence.  The only admirable thing Kade managed was helping Chase through withdrawal.  However, he was far from philanthropic.  Possessive, selfish, Kade did it with nothing but his own self-serving desires in mind.

There was little redeemable about Kade Michaels, and everything too appalling about Chase.  I know Chase's situation was unconscionable and his reaction predictable, it is how the human mind protects itself, how it survives and in all honesty the story probably played out as it would in real life, but for me it was just too unjust, hopeless and ultimately sad.

You might protest that in the end Kade changed, love for Chase giving him back his humanity.  I can't agree.  If the circumstances had not deteriorated to the point they did, and Kade not been so desperate, would he have had the power and decency to actually do what was right? 

An excellent premise with so much potential, Angelique hit the nail of futility directly on the head, she is a talented author, but for me it was in the end neither uplifting nor edifying.  There was no true redemption of either of the characters - not really - and for my personal enjoyment that is something that I must have.  Life is sad enough as it is.

««

Sydney Whyte

Rating Chart

«……………….A no goer

««……………Alright, but not a re-read

«««………..Liked it

««««…….Loved it

Suspicion: Kingdom of Ara episode two by Nicholas Bella - Review

Oh my God! The plot thickens!  Such intriguing twists and turns, and my loyalties are being tested.  Of course I’m all for vamp victory, they are my first love; smart, sexy, impassioned and lethal.  But the developments in this book between Deacon and Elijah have touched me in a way that though Deacon is a scheming bastard I don’t want anything to happen that may destroy them.  Josef’s pain speaks to me too; his righteousness and desire to have what he feels is his, has me nodding my head in perfect understanding.  What to think?  What to do?  For the first time in my life I found myself impatient for the sexcapades to be over – I know, unbelievable!  (Don’t worry, I’ll savour them later; second, third and fourth reads are always on the cards with a Bella book.)  But presently my anxiety levels are just spiking off the charts.  Nicholas Bella’s ability to bring me into New Haven’s multiple worlds is incredible.  When I’m with Deacon, I’m with Deacon and whole-heartedly on his side; the same for Josef, the same for Noel and definitely for Theodan.  Seriously this episode has sent me into a spin…  I know I have to but I just can’t wait to know!

¬¬¬¬¬

Sydney Whyte

Rating Chart
¬……………….A no goer
¬¬……………Alright, but not a re-read
¬¬¬………..Liked it
¬¬¬¬…….Loved it
¬¬¬¬¬…Amaze-balls – ticks all the boxes!!!

'Rulers of Darkness' Box Set by Amanda J Greene

Being currently on a box set/anthology bender, I thought I’d give Amanda J Greene’s ‘Rulers of Darkness’ a little attention.  It promised to offer some much loved dark and lusty vampire fare - Vampire kings, dark knights, wicked witches; and fair maidens destined to fall into their fateful clutches.

I have to confess, for my taste, these three books smacked a little too ‘Mills & Boon’ for a ripping vampire yarn. - Am I showing my age?  Should that be ‘Harlequin’ I should have said there?  Anyway you get the picture… - Shades of Pemberley littered the first chapters of the first instalment ‘Caressed by Moonlight’ where our hapless heroine, Victoria, falls under the dark and dangerous Dorian’s spell.  Not until they are heading back to his homeland does the vampire lurking beneath Dorian’s lusty but trustworthy (I’m not really sure these descriptions really go hand in hand but, oh well) demeanour revealing his dark and hungry nature.

Book two ‘Caressed by Night’ had our darling, virginal-at-26 heroine, Kerstyn Ingmar, who just happens to live in Vegas and sometimes frequents clubs, but still can’t get past the third date with any man (honestly, third date! Vegas! Clubs! Men! Virginal? Really?).  I know, I know the Madonna complex still rules in the romance world apparently) meeting the only surviving of the original Vampire Kings, the dark, powerful, and tormented Dimitri Arsov, and becomes unwittingly involved in his plans to exact his revenge on an enemy who had many years previous tried to kill him and usurp his rule.

'Caressed by a Crimson Moon’s' recently returned to sanity, (but not really - that damned demon kept wanting to rear its foul and dangerously murderous, ugly head) King Hadrian has many deep and dark secrets that only his ward Eva Maldonado can seem to quieten.  Inexplicably drawn together, this couple instantly burned with an undeniable passion for each other that threatened to send both of them over the edge.

There was enough pain, guilt, murder, intrigue, manipulation, lust, desire, tension, sex, fate ,love; tormented heroes and determined (although virginal – did I mention that?) heroines to sate any appetite, I could forgive the fact that the books suffered from both a lack of editing and some obvious formatting issues.  The attempt in book one to create the formality of 1815’s London fell a little flat when casual colloquialism invaded some of the dialogue and characters' contemplation, and then appeared to be completely abandoned (apart from a few jarring patches of dialogue) further through the book – but I applaud the effort, I’m sure it’s not an easy thing to maintain flowery elocution when you no longer actually live with it all around you.

Written in third person - which is my usual preference - these books had the reader exposed to multiple points of view within each chapter, within each paragraph even.  I’m not sure whether I felt this detracted from the narrative or not because it gave almost instant access to the thoughts of the various characters in question at any given time, but I think it did beggar the mystery and tension that that lack of knowledge can often create in a reader.

Despite these niggles I did enjoy these rollicking yarns spun by Amanda and look forward to reading ‘Caressed by Shadows’ book four of the Rulers of Darkness series.

«««

Sydney Whyte

Rating Chart

«……………….A no goer

««……………Alright, but not a re-read

«««………..Liked it

««««…….Loved it

«««««…Amaze-balls – ticks all the boxes!!!

Curtis by Nicole Edwards

This is the first in her new Coyote Ridge series and a follow on from Alluring Indulgence, and it is by far my favourite, ever, novel written by Nicole Edwards.

It made me smile, sigh, get angry, cry so hard the words blurred before me so much so that I had to take a moment and I didn’t want to.

Curtis’ and Lorrie’s story was beautiful and poignant, heart-wrenching and heart-warming.  It made me believe in love and loss and pulling together.  It made me feel the importance of family, of respecting each other, of being close.  This couple didn’t have sex, they made love because that was the depths of their feeling, their commitment to each other.

This novel expressed the fear of loss so great you couldn’t go on, a closeness in a relationship, that the loss of one would be a devastation so all-encompassing life would cease to have meaning.

Nicole Edwards has outdone herself.  This is an outstanding read and one that I will revisit often.

«««««1/2 (off the charts!!!)

Sydney Whyte

Rating Chart

«……………….A no goer

««……………Alright, but not a re-read

«««………..Liked it

««««…….Loved it

«««««…Amaze-balls – ticks all the boxes!!!

Rough Rhythm (a Made in Jersey Novella) by Tessa Bailey

My monthly 1001 Dark Nights fix!

To me the characters, the words, flowed like a rhythm in themselves.  The feeling created was almost palpable and left me greedy for more.  Tessa Bailey is an amazing author.

There is a warning with this story.  Rough Rhythm contains fantasies of non-consensual sex between two consenting people.  While on the one hand I understand the rape fantasy, I just can’t imagine acting it out in reality even with a consenting partner, someone I trust to never hurt me.  It is a big ask of any person, to become so vulnerable to them, to allow yourself to become a 'victim', and for them to know the difference between true violence, and giving you what you need – domination. 

I can understand James’ confusion, his mistaking his actions as those of a violent man rather than a dominant one, and running from it.  

Even after having finished the book I still have to admit I don’t really understand Lita.  Her acting out for those four years just to get a reaction from James smacked of immaturity, but then she was very young.  But I loved how she pursued him, her strength and determination.  How she knew herself, and what she wanted.  She wanted him – the truth of him, and how deeply they affected each other.  I loved them in their loss and pain, in their heartache and confusion, and their eventual enlightenment and passion.

««««1/2

Sydney Whyte

Rating Chart

«……………….A no goer

««……………Alright, but not a re-read

«««………..Liked it

««««…….Loved it

«««««…Amaze-balls – ticks all the boxes!!!

Still a Scorcher...

SUMMER’S STILL A SCORCHER IN CANTERBURY...

Chill it whatever way you can!

New Year's Resolution #1 - Part two

Gosh, February came and went far too quickly and my sis and I almost failed in one of the easiest New Year's resolutions ever made.  Ever!  

No diets or promises to exercise more, no life changing decisions that in reality turned out to be completely unrealistic.  Those kind statistically fated to hammer our enthusiasm and resolve into dust.  Nope.  We chose to drink more.  Yes more, not less.  We thought to diversify our palate.  Indulge once a month in an experiment with homemade cocktails, to follow the recipes on her 2016 cocktail calendar...  And then February just speed past and slipped through our fingers before our busy lives let us get all the ingredients (and our new bullet) together.  I mean, who makes a resolution to actually drink more, and then doesn't do it?

But okay, we only missed by two days and we're going to make it up with March's cocktail on my birthday... 

so anyway here it is:-

February's flavour of the month.

MANGO DAIQUIRI

50mls golden rum

Fresh lemon juice, splash

1 pitted frozen mango

Ice cubes, handful

Put it in your blender and blat!

Before I go any further, I'd just like to say, I can count on the fingers of one hand how many different cocktails I've ever had in my life so really while not being a cocktail virgin per se, I'm actually still pretty much of a one and this was my first ever experience with a daiquiri of any nature, mango or otherwise.  With my sister being of a similar disposition, we had little to no idea what to expect.

All I can say is:-

"Good grief! Talk about Amateur."

Our first attempt left us wondering if we were inventing a new alcoholic sorbet.  We had to 'eat' it with a spoon.  Deciding we needed to further experiment we made a 'watered-down' version and attained drinkable success, if success is called an alcoholic slushy.  Maybe that's what a daiquiri is supposed to be.  Something we could have done with on Saturday when our usually temperate weather in Christchurch decided to take a hike and hit us with a 34 degrees C day, enough to make us poor Cantabrian's wilt when we're not used to anything much over 22 degrees, and that's at the height of summer.

I have to confess, and you'll certainly be able to see by the photo that we didn't follow the recipe exactly.  Due to my sister's aversion to mango as a fruit, we opted to use frozen strawberries.  Even so I expected it to be sweeter.  I guess we just looked at the picture and thought 'sweet like juice'.  Shakes head... It's not.  I know this could be considered sacrilege, but next time I think a dash of lemonade instead of pure lemon juice might just go down a treat.

It worked anyway despite the strawberry flavour.  Tongues loosened quickly while sipping slowly on our Rum Slushy and that's all you can ask for isn't it?  A cool sip and frivolous conversation interspersed with little bouts of giggling.  An enjoyable evening was had by all.

The heart, you might ask?  Just because...