Sugar Honey Iced Tea

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how this book found its place on my pile. Even worse than that - what was I thinking when I decided to give it a go? Completely beyond me.Sadly, "me giving it a go" happened three months ago - while I was off & unaware of the blurb that says it all. Not the luckiest day of my life, that's for sure.Anyway - The Wedding Deal is... you know, somewhat a classic - he wants a contract marriage (and kids), she needs (a lot of) money, blackmail, trouble, yadda, yadda, yadda.Now, if you check the blurb, there's this quote“Because marriage is something that too many rush into with no real thought of what they actually want......I want a woman who understands my lifestyle...who will produce for me the children I want, and if all fails will not take away most of my business......or my children”that brings me straight to my first HUGE issue.Yes. THE DOTS. How many of those could a person possibly need? Six? Seven? Ten? A gazillion??? The form of an ellipsis most people use is a pre-composed triple-dot glyph (...) OR a row of three periods or full stops (. . .). THREE! Not six. Not seven. Not eight. Three.Do you have any idea how distracting it is to look at all those dots almost each and every time you try to read a dialogue? Those are not dramatic pauses. They're more like minutes of silence - in the middle of a sentence. Every sentence. Honestly, if I had the sad misfortune to ever meet a person who speaks that way, I'd just leave. In....... the...... middle....... of...... his....... sentence. The dots middle.Another thing that made me want to bang my head against the wall is all the giggling/chuckling and/or grinning. At least once per page.It was seriously getting on my nerves. And I mean seriously.Most of you already know that my OCD does not allow leaving a book unfinished. It's a major pain in the a$$. But, by the time I hit 50% mark, my OCD & I agreed this needs to stop.That's when some major skimming commenced. I was so happily skimming, skimming, skimming... and came to the very end. Well, what do you know! Here's a quote:“Maybe.... John tried bullying Maggie.......but she is as tough as he is” chuckling she had continued. Yep. Haven't missed a thing. It makes me feel so sad.

"It has been the best six months of my entire life.""Funnily enough, Clark, mine too."First of all, this is the most misleading cover ever!I'm not sure if this book should be considered romantic.I do know it's moving, heartbreaking, emotional, engaging, fabulous and should not be missed.Despite the way it ended (or rather because of the way it ended), it's just... incredible.Maybe I'll consider writing a longer review once I recover from all the crying/sobbing/bawling my eyes out. Maybe.Make sure to read it... just keep antidepressants handy. And tissues. Lots and lots of tissues.

What can I say? Loved it! I'll do a proper review once I find the time to go back and reread it... or some parts, at least.Oh, and here's one precious moment.“Chace shook his head, not at odds with how he felt about Tatum Jackson and Tyrell Walker, two of the biggest badasses he knew, demonstrating signs they were pussy whipped and didn’t give a shit.” What a sight, huh? Just...

*sigh*I blame the blurb. It all sounded so... good. Nice. Great way to spend an hour reading. Whatever.Here, take a look:"Loving your best friend is hard . . . especially when he's marrying someone else.On the surface, Steve Campbell seems to have it all: a beautiful home, a snazzy car, and a dream job as one of the country’s top 3-D optics researchers. But underneath, he’s restless and dissatisfied, tired of empty encounters with leggy lab assistants and endless evenings alone.A chance meeting with a handsome escort lifts Steve’s spirits and opens his eyes to his long-repressed attraction to men—and his love for his best friend and business partner, Connor Morrison.Connor might’ve loved Steve like that once, but now it’s too late for their happily ever after; Connor’s about to ask his boyfriend to marry him. Fortunately, it's never too late to learn about yourself, and maybe Steve can find a happy ending on his own."So, what's the problem?Basically, this is not a romance. It's more like an attempt of closing your overstuffed suitcase. You know? At some point, you'll just try to shove it all in, and won't even mind the wrinkled mess you made.Steve is hetero. Or not. He seems that way, but there's that thing about his friend Connor, who's gay, in a relationship and happy, that bothers him. He's awkward, confused and still kind of suffers from all those teenage insecurities.First thing that bothered me was the feeling I started reading this from the middle. I can't describe it any better. It started kind of fast, and it never slowed down. I know, it's a short story, there's no room to stretch, but still...What I liked in this story is Dylan. He's a male escort that Steve meets by accident one night, and later spends some time with. Dylan was great. I liked him from the moment he showed up, and he was really a bright spot.The rest of the story, honestly, left me kind of confused. So, Steve is hetero, but he's in love with his best friend. He thinks he's hetero, because he hasn't had sex with a man since college. He thinks he's hetero...?Anyway, you've gotta admit, you'd think Steve will confess everything to Connor, Connor would leave his boy Wes, and they'd live happily ever after.Or - Steve will realize he's in love with Dylan (who looks quite a lot like Connor), Dylan would realize the same, leave the escort business, and they'd live happily ever after.Wrong on both counts.Steve admitted his feelings to Connor. They talked a bit, and that was that.Then, Steve decided not to continue seeing Dylan, and...Well, let's just say I'm not too fond of ending the story with our hero Steve filling out an online dating profile. That's not my favorite epilogue of all, for sure. I (sadly) had no idea there's a book that comes before this one - Priceless - about Connor and his (now) fiance Wes. Maybe reading that would've helped me with this one. Now, we'll never know.The ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Loved it!I can't wait to read Wyatt's story.And I so hope Nova will get his own HEA. Review to come...

So, I've finally decided to dip my toes into PNR world, and see what all the fuss is about. I have to admit, I've rather enjoyed myself. Both reading this book, and sharing the experience, since my sweet friend Erika did a buddy read with me. Seriously, we had so much fun...As you may already know, Erika was there not only as a willing reader, but as my voice of reason as well. Since I have *cough* certain *cough* friends here, who are territorial when it comes to B, she had to make sure I would keep that in mind throughout this reading.Well, there's nothing to worry about. Crispin Phillip Arthur Russell III... er, Bones is all yours. He's not on my "boyfriend" list.Sadly.What do I think about the book?Let me tell you - Halfway to the Grave is fun. Witty. There's one great, British, hot hero with a wonderful sense of humor. There's also one OTT conflicted, sometimes cute and mostly lethal heroine. Yep. That would be Cat. Or Kitten. The two of them together are hilarious. Now, I know this is a series and all, but that ending just made me go . Yes, I get it, it's not Harlequin. You don't always get a HEA, but it still made me mad.Will I continue reading this series? Oh, yes. Which makes this book just good/great/fun enough. Mission accomplished. I want to read more. I want to know more. And, I'll probably enjoy every page of it.p.s. I know posting pictures is not exactly my thing, but I couldn't resist this one:

Basically, this is not a review. It's been a while since I read this story, and there's no way I'd be able to write a proper one.It's more like a shout-out.

 

My dear m/m-loving friends, don't you dare miss this! You must meet Grey & Sirus. You're (probably) gonna love Sirus from the very start, but you'll get to love Grey too. He's just... a bit insecure. Promise.

And I bet you'll end up enjoying their story. It's hot. Intense. Sensual. Raw. NSFW. It's all that it should be.

 

Seriously, just ignore that (somewhat) crappy cover, and give it a go. You know you wanna!

It's really hard for me to rate this book.There were things I loved about it.There were moments when I seriously did not want to continue reading.And, then, there was that epilogue...Nowhere Ranch is a story about Roe Davis, simple farmer guy, who left home when he was twenty because his family couldn't accept the fact he's gay. After a lot of struggle, he ends up at Nowhere Ranch, and all is good... until he finds out that the owner Travis Loving is gay too.I won't bore you with details, or try to retell the story. I'll stick to the good/bad things about it instead.The whole story is first person POV - Roe's - and that is what I loved from the very beginning. No fancy words. No glitter. Simple, honest, disturbing look in the wounded and haunted soul of a guy who only wanted to be who he is.Once his relationship with Travis started, you could see so much clearer just how desperate Roe actually is. And their relationship (or the sex part, at least) is not for the faint of hearts. Trust me.Which leads me close to the 50% mark. I was seriously thinking it would be best not to finish this book, after all. As much as I loved it at the beginning, it was just... too much.There was a lot of sex. Dark, edgy, hard core sex. I did not mind that. But, I started wondering what's the point. Is anything else gonna happen here, or are they just going to keep doing it 'til they end up in ER?The good news is - something else happened.The bad news is - I didn't like the "something else".When Haley first showed up, she was cute. She was great for Roe. You can't not love Haley...Until Haley is so all over the place, it feels like she's the main character.Those last 20% or so? No. Didn't work for me. It was so OTT, I couldn't believe it.And the end? Talk about sugar. I was numb from all that sweetness. It was so wrong for this story. I did not want to see a realistic, painful life suddenly inexplicably transformed and BAM! they lived happily ever after.It just feels wrong.Sorry.So much potential...

Okay, it's official - I'm about to give BDB a try, and I'll (finally! *gasp*) start reading it next week!So, consider this a fair warning, you lovely friends of mine who mercilessly pimped this series - if I don't like it, I'll blame you all for making me read it! Hear me?Oh, and in that case you should prepare for a serious rant! *batting eyelashes*

"When two people want each other to be happy so much they're willing to break their own heart to let the other go, it's kismet. Two idiots canceling one another out."Love that one!And... yep, review to come.

“People tell their children there are no monsters in the world. They tell them that because they believe it, or they want the child to feel safe. But there are monsters, Luke, all the more frightening because they look like people.” ~ Honest IllusionsThis quote has been haunting me for fifteen years already. And every now and again I find another moment where it fits. Unfortunately."And while there’s so much wisdom that I don’t know, I know that evil doesn’t happen for a cosmic reason, a ‘balance of good’ bullshit. Evil happens because it can, because circumstances allow it to take place. And you build your own sanctuary against it to keep yourself sane, to keep yourself fighting it."I guess I'll have to get back to this review once I clear my mind a bit. It's an overwhelming story, that's for sure.

“A thousand tiny imperfections can make a perfect life.”They call her the Ice Queen.Mistress Marguerite is a legend at The Zone - the exclusive BDSM club. She always wears white. Never chooses the same sub twice. No intimacies. No touching. No direct eye contact. With her almost white hair and pale blue eyes, she seems like she is made of ice. And she's all about control.Tyler Winterman is Marguerite's male counterpart. One of the most powerful male Doms, and part owner of The Zone. Though it is obvious their relationship should be based strictly on mutual admiration, Tyler's been fascinated with Marguerite for years.The Zone has a stipulation, that requires all of their Doms to go through mentoring program - they need to spend a certain amount of hours as subs, in order to learn about BDSM from a different perspective. Due to a computer error, Marguerite lacks that, but she is required to do it finally. And, who would be better in the role of her mentor than Tyler?Tyler, on the other hand, strongly believes she is a switch, under all that Ice Queen facade, and plans to do his very best to make her realize it, and admit it.Marguerite's last performance in The Zone, before the weekend she'll spend with Tyler, is amazing. Or amazingly disturbing.“We judge one another all the time, don’t we?” That sensual voice came through the speakers. Marguerite was pacing around Brendan. “But when we do that, we’re just projecting our perspective on someone and not really seeing them.” She crouched, so close to Brendan their noses almost touched. He looked dazed by his lust, mesmerized by her. “When I look into your eyes now, I see beneath the surface, everything you’ve built or constructed. Minds don’t know each other. Only souls. That’s where I’m going, Brendan. Straight to your soul. I see who you are and you see me. We know each other.”..."The look in her eyes said it all. This was her swan song here. She was snubbing her nose at him and The Zone requirement, leaving them the memory of a Mistress who was a force of nature to herself. A Goddess laughing at man’s pitiful attempts to teach her what she already knew, possibly had created herself. The message was clear.Fuck you."But, once their weekend starts, nothing is like it should be. No simple D/s dynamics. No obvious moves. Everything is so much more than expected, it's clear there's something exceptional between them. Just out of reach.They are both highly damaged souls. They both have demons that are hard to fight. They both need the upper hand. And, still, they are so good for each other."Her breath expulsed on a near sob as he touched her thigh. Stroked. Drew a… He drew a heart. Once, twice and then again. Then wrote, one letter at a time, big unmistakable. Upon her flesh. B…R…E…A…T…H…E.""People are…themselves, their real selves in sex. Particularly BDSM. Can’t hide evil, good…weakness or strength. When you strip a sub down, you know who they are. They can try but they can’t hide it—not if the top is good. It all comes out…""He looked down at the guns. A Desert Eagle and a Sig Sauer nine millimeter, and he'd killed with both of them. "When you take a man's life that's between you, God and that man's soul. It's a personal conversation you work out your entire life. I can't talk about it because there are no words for it."What really fascinated me, yet again, is the ability - the skill this author has - to transform a dark, edgy BDSM story into an emotional, spiritual and psychological whirlpool.It is beyond intense. It is rough. It leaves you shaken. It's a sensory provocation from the beginning to the very end. But you can't not love it.Tyler is a wonderful man, and truly an amazing Dom. Careful. Emotional. Insightful. He'll go all the way, stop at nothing, to give everything he has and do his best. I love him for that."She was a Mistress who needed a Master. Who needed him."This is only part one of Marguerite and Tyler's story. And, I'm glad. Because these two deserve more.Be sure not to miss this.p.s. As I suspect many of you do, I use music either to enhance a specific mood, or to create it. While I’m reading, a song comes to my mind. It can be something in a story that reminds me of a certain melody, lyrics that are perfect for some particular moment, or simply the tone of a story that draws me to a song I like. That’s how most of the books I’ve read got their own unofficial soundtracks.This time around, I've been listening to this song.

Oh... My... God!

What a story...While I was reading Master of the Mountain, all those hints about Jake made me grab this book and read it right away. And, I'm sooo glad I have.Logan is haunted by nightmares, but Jake is haunted by his own guilt, for two years already. After uncollaring his slave Mimi, she committed suicide. That's when Jake swore against commitment and long-term relationships and started using his one-night-only rule. Well... until Kallie showed up, at least. With her, one-night-only happened on several occasions.Mimi was all for TPE type of relationship, and nothing less, which is the very reason Jake decided to let her go. He couldn't do it. Not that I blame him, though. TPE is definitely not my thing, mostly because I love heroines who are strong and feisty, even if they are subs.Kallie is full of her own fears and insecurities, and once those clash with Jake's you can't help but think they'll never manage to figure it all out. Not with Jake coming, running and coming all the time.And, then there's the watcher...Master of the Abyss is a wonderful story. I loved to see Rebecca and Logan again, and especially loved how she managed to push both Logan and Jake out of their isolation. They seem completely human for a change.I loved Kallie and Jake. The way they are together, and how good they are for each other.But,what I loved most of all was that both Kallie and Jake got the chance to let go of their fears, free themselves from the past and have a fresh - scar free - beginning. That was precious.

Hello, Nora.How are you, darling? Doing good?I have to admit, I've enjoyed this glimpse in your past.You've managed to surprise me... yet again. Somehow, you always do.And, let me tell you this - I really like Daniel. Another lost soul, trying to find his way. There seem to be too many of those. Or, maybe, some are just a bit more lost than others?You have such a good way with words. As good as with a crop. Oh, you'll figure out what I'm talking about. Just you wait.I do like Daniel. But... not as much as I like Wesley. Oh, you haven't met Wesley yet. But you will. I'm still hoping the two of you will manage to work something out. He's such a sweetie. There are a lot of ladies here that love him. You can't not love him... you can only try.And, the surprise... well, I can't bring myself to believe you'd considered - even for a second - leaving S... him. It was quite a shock.You didn't. Of course you didn't. Will you, though? Ever? I wonder...Can't wait to hear from you again.And... take care.* A word of advice - even though the events in this story are happening some ten years before The Siren, I'd suggest you read The Siren first.It's easier to understand Nora, you'll feel much better connection with the story, and that way you'll get the shock we've all experienced, rather than know (almost) everything in advance.

If choking and gagging over a piece of pie could help you find true love, would you do it? Melody Dylan is a waitress. She ended up working in a diner in Garnet, after she'd run away from her abusive ex-husband, who's still after her. Although broken from the past, she's still sweet and caring soul, so when she sees a guy eating alone on Thanksgiving, she decides to buy him a piece of pie. Pumpkin pie.The guy turns out to be Clay "Powerhouse" Powers - UFC heavyweight champion. Yes, UFC as in Ultimate Fighting Championship. And, Clay hates pumpkin pie. Not that he'd admit it, so he decides to choke and gag, but eat it no matter what.“I wanted to say thank you,” he said, trying very hard to put emotion in his usually gruff voice. “No one’s ever done this for me.”“Bought you a piece of pie?”“No.” He felt his cheeks heat, and he looked to the pie in an effort to hide. “Nobody’s just nice to me, for free, without, you know, expecting something for it.”Clay is rough, tough, intimidating and seriously lacking in social skills. He loves the sport, but hates groupies and all the media circus that surrounds him. It's easier to ignore it all. He's a loner. Except for Wyatt - the Sheriff - and his sister Jules, who are his best friends and kind of adopted family, he pretty much doesn't have anyone else. Which was fine with him... until he met Melody.What is it with those tough and rough guys going sweet, that makes you melt into a puddle? Clay is six-five, all muscle, and watching him semi-stalking Melody, coming to diner on her shifts, doing everything he can to be as close as possible... it's so sweet. He wants to woo her, but has no idea how to do it. He wants to make it special between them, but the only way is just to go with it, and hope they'll figure it all out when that time comes.They are just so different, and both broken and vulnerable in their own ways. The couple that would least likely have any chance of getting together. And, still...“How’d this happen?” Melody asked in a stunned whisper. She never expected to fall in love and certainly not this swiftly or with this much finality. “We just met.”“I don’t believe that,” Clay argued as he turned her palm over in his and traced the lines of it with the pad of his finger. “I’m pretty sure we’ve known each other forever. Seeing you the first time was like coming home, and there ain’t been anything to happen since that’s disabused me of the notion.”This is such a sweet story. It's a quick read, but it leaves you feeling all nice and fluffy. Two broken souls finding each other, doing everything they can to mend all the wounds from the past, and - let me tell you - all that hot, soul-baring sex is nothing to sneeze at, either.Clay is a wonderful guy, but I loved Melody for not letting her past stop her from giving him/them a chance, and for trusting and loving so completely and openly. They are so great together. Perfect for each other.Next story in this series is about Jules and her Romeo. Can't wait to read how different their third act will be.p.s. The rest of the quotes is (as ever) in the spoiler section. Enjoy!“Mel.”“Hmm?”“Don’t leave me again, okay?” Clay whispered in a voice choked with emotion as he pulled her tighter against him and tilted his head to rest his cheek on top of her head. “’Cause that ’bout killed me.”“Go ahead.” Clay’s voice turned low and gravelly with sex. “Use it; fuck it. It belongs to you; own it.”Melody’s gaze became molten, the pink sheen of morning painting itself over her flushed skin. She licked her lips, looking awed. “Is that true?”“Yes,” he assured her without hesitation. “I thought I was broken too, that I’d never trust women, but I had it all wrong. I wasn’t broken at all. I was just waiting for you. It’s always been yours; even before we met, it belonged to you.”“That was nice,” Melody finally whispered into the glow of early morning filtering in past the open windows.“Yeah,” he agreed, already half asleep to hide from the headache. “Thank you.”Melody stroked his hair in response, lulling him to sleep as effortlessly as she’d pulled him to passion. She gave so willing of herself. Everything she had to offer was his for the taking, and it didn’t feel like a robbery. Everything he had to give was hers too. Clay could lie here, and he didn’t have to say anything.She already knew.Melody was starting to wish she’d gone to the Clay Powers’s school of social graces. There was a wicked side of her that wanted to know what it was like to slam a door in people’s faces, with a clipped Time to fuck off.“Do you really believe in soul mates?”“I do now.”“On a scale of one to ten—one being a normal human reaction and ten being the stupidest fucking thing you could possibly do—jumping at a guy who’s got a gun and a vendetta against you for doing his ex-wife has gotta be a twenty-nine.”“This really happened, didn’t it?” Wyatt asked, shaking his head as he watched Melody eat off Clay’s plate. “You two are gonna end up getting married and having a buncha babies and living happily ever after. I could puke.”