Spin Out (Deputy Joe Book 2) by James Buchanan

 

Spin Out is the second book in the Deputy Joe series. I have no idea if there will be more books, but I'd love to see a book written about one of Joe's out of town friends. Yummm.

I enjoyed the first book, but I believe I may have enjoyed the second book even more.

Here's the blurb:

Right guy. Wrong time. Deputy Joe Peterson understood the risks when he got involved with ex-con Kabe Varghese. He didn't, however, see fit to warn Kabe. Now, in the middle of searching for the killer of a local boy, he has to contend with his career and his relationship spinning out of control. Solving the case may be easier than repairing broken trust.

I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say Kabe does have quite a backbone, and he's more than capable of standing up for himself. I wanted to shake some sense into Joe a few times, which did kind of annoy me, but it all worked out eventually.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: 1 of 3.
• Dominance and Submission: 2 of 3.
• Sadism and Masochism: 1 of 3 . 
• Extra Point: No

As for the writing elements: The plot was once again well constructed, pacing had a few issues this time but nothing major. Prose and dialogue are hard to comment on, as the regional dialect is written in and it started to wear on me a bit in this book. Character development was once again exceptionally well done.

• Book Rating: Spin Out: 8 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 4 of 10
• Heat Level: 3 of 5

The Deputy Joe novels:

• Hard Fall
• Spin Out 

Hard Fall (Deputy Joe Book 1) by James Buchanan

 

I enjoyed the Taking the Odds books by James Buchanan, and figured I'd give Hard Fall a chance.

Law enforcement plays big into this author's books, and that's no different here. The difference is instead of two cops coming together, we get a cop and a felon coming together. It works out, but it certainly adds a lot of drama.

I loved the wilderness scenes. I live in the southeast, nestled between several mountain ranges, and I've spent more than my fair share of time on a mountain. The climbing scenes were authentic, the emotions felt real, and the BDSM wasn't really BDSM, but still worked for me.

Here's the blurb:

Deputy Joe Peterson is Mormon and in the closet. Then ex-con Kabe Varghese lands in town on parole. When a tourist falls off the mountain, Joe finds he needs the help of this cliff climbing adrenaline junky to solve the case. Will Kabe tear him apart or does Joe need to fall hard before he can start living?

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline:1 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: 2 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism:1 of 3
• Extra Point:No

As for the writing elements: The plot was well structured and interesting, pacing was fine, the prose and dialogue had a few issues but was mostly okay, and character development was stellar.

• Book Rating: Hard Fall: 8 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 4 of 10
• Heat Level: 3 of 5

Hard Fall is a well done M/m book with elements of BDSM, without it actually being BDSM. There is light bondage, heavy spanking, and Deputy Joe just kind of runs things because that's his personality.

Faerie Bound by Jenna Castille

 

Faerie Bound gives us the story of an Alpha Werewolf with a bit of a problem. Not only is he gay, but he's a sexual submissive.

He's a good Alpha, strong and caring and protective. He's also enough of a bad ass that he can win challenges. So his pack has accepted that he's gay. But he knows they would never understand him submitting to another.

Here's the blurb:

Garrick has spent the better part of his life making his Las Vegas lupin pack the strongest of all the post-war human-born paranormal groups. Now he wants something for himself—a mate. But how will his pack respond if they discover their Alpha is a closeted sexual submissive?

Not the typical faerie prince, Faolan is disobedient, lives in exile and has more piercings than a punk band. He’s also a sexual dominant longing for someone to call his own.

What are a lovelorn faerie and wolf to do? Turn to a paranormal dating service, of course. When Divine Intervention pairs Garrick and Faolan, it’s a match made in BDSM heaven, the resulting explosion a conflagration of passion the likes of which neither has ever known. Of course, the reactions to a wolf/faerie union are just as heated…

While I think calling it a "conflagration of passion" might be a bit of an overstatement, I was convinced that the pairing worked. I was a bit disappointed that we only saw the very beginnings of the relationship. We saw the beginnings of submission, and I wanted to see the pair get comfortable with their life together.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: 0 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: 2 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: 1 of 3 
• Extra Point: Yes

As for the writing elements, the plot is excellent, pacing has a few issues but nothing major, prose and dialogue were fine, character development was very well done, and world-building was well thought out and intriguing.

I enjoyed the story, the characters, and most of the scenes. I liked the way the sub plots were wrapped up, and look forward to reading more stories that take place in this world. However, I wasn't pleased with the way the main plot, the relationship, was wrapped up. There were a few loose strings that I wanted to see taken care of before the end of the book.  The story was closer to a 9 of 10, but I took a point off because we didn't get to see the couple settle into their relationship. I didn't feel they had really worked out the terms of their D/s yet, how things were going to work on a daily basis. We never saw them even living together. I do look forward to future books, but I have a feeling future books in this world will probably involve other characters finding their HEA, so this may be the last we get of things from Garret and Faolan's viewpoints.

• Book Rating: Faerie Bound: 8 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 4 of 10
• Heat Level: 3 of 5

All in all, Faerie Bound is an enjoyable story that is well written with a good plot and subplots. I wasn't pleased that it ended too soon, but it won't stop me from reading the next book in this series, Elf Struck, when it is released.

Cruel to be Kind by Stephanie Vaughan

 

Before beginning the review of Cruel To Be Kind, can we all just pause for a moment to admire the cover? I'm not wired as a Domme, but the idea of topping this particular guy does something for me. To have all of that power at your beck and call? Wow.

Here's the blurb:

Steve Eriksson is a regular guy. He likes basketball and beer. He works hard in his family's construction and restoration business. Steve’s normal life is about to change. Because he's about to meet Megan.

Professional chef Megan Mussina returns to her home town looking for some peace and quiet. A place to put her life back in order after the disaster of a relationship gone publicly wrong. A new man in her life is the last thing she wants. Until she meets Steve.

From the first they share an overpowering physical attraction. Steve is just the sort of powerful, successful submissive man Megan never knew she needed. And Megan knows the one thing Steve never knew he craved. Sometimes, you've got to be Cruel to be Kind.

I love the way Megan seduces Steve into it, the way she takes control, and the care she has for him as she pushes his boundaries. She isn't really cruel, she seduces him with her power, but not with cruelty. It's a catchy title, but not the way she really treats him.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: 1 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: He's new to this, so it's the very beginnings of D/s for him. 2 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: None. 0 of 3 
• Extra Point: Yes. The book is about Steve submitting to a woman for the first time, and realizing that while he's not sure about what Megan is doing, that he needs it.

As for the writing elements -- the plot is a good one, pacing was fine, prose and dialogue were well done, and character development was nicely done and much appreciated. 

• Book Rating: Cruel to be Kind: 9 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 4 of 10
• Heat Level: 4 of 5

My biggest complaint? Cruel To Be Kind ended too soon. I wanted to see how far she was going to take him. I wanted to experience a much more intense scene. That's not to say it was a bad ending, it was a perfectly good ending. I enjoyed the characters and story though, so I greedily wanted more.

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Little Fishes By Syd McGinley (A Healing Heart Sip)

 

I've enjoyed the Dr. Fell series, and these two characters are sort of an off shoot of that series. Tommy and Dr. Tanaka aren't quite the typical BDSM couple. In some ways they are, but Dr. Tanaka seems to follow the Zen philosophy in everything he does - and that includes how he Tops.

Little Fishes is about meeting your lover's family, and about the surprises you sometimes encounter, things you learn about your partner that they haven't shared with you.

Little Fishes is not focused on sex, but on the relationship.

Here is the blurb:

Dr. Katashi Tanaka may be in hot water when he takes his boy, Tommy, to meet his family. His little sister, Mariko, is irrepressible and sure to gossip with Tommy, and his mother may be the only person alive who can oblige Dr. Tanaka to do anything. Tommy learns some secrets about his stern owner that may ruin not just their spa getaway but their whole relationship.

I don't believe the "entire relationship" is ever in danger, the blurb is trying to add more drama than there actually is. There is plenty of drama, no need to add more in the blurb.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline:  There is one scene, no bondage, a touch of discipline, and some talk of later discipline.  1 of 3.
• Dominance and Submission: Yes, we see that Tommy is completed devoted to Tanaka. 3 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: No, not in this particular story. 0 of 3
• Extra Point: No

I want to be clear that this couple has done some extreme things in previous stories, but this particular story happens to be more about the relationship than the sex or the scenes.

As for the writing elements, the plot was wonderful for such a short story, prose and dialogue were fine, and character development was very well done not only for Tommy and Dr. Tanaka, but for the rest of the Tanaka family as well.

• Story Rating:Little Fishes: 9 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 4 of 10
• Heat Level: 1 of 5

You can buy Little Fishes from the Torquere site, and since this is part of their Healing Hearts series, all proceeds go to Doctors without Borders.   

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Punished by Brynn Paulin

 

Punished is yet another office romance. Another secretary who doesn't have a clue her boss is kinky, and another boss who has no clue his secretary is kinky, until fate intervenes to show them. In this case fate takes the form of said secretary paying at a club to be spanked, and her boss being the one being paid to spank her.

Here's the blurb:

Prim Natalia Cooper lives life on the straight and narrow, never veering into naughty territory. But she wants to. One night, years ago, her boyfriend gave her a few swats on the rear as part of their sex play and she loved it. She wants more. But he’s long gone and she hasn’t been spanked since. When she learns of a club where she can get exactly what she needs—anonymously—she’s so turned on and ready she can hardly bear it.

For Ethan Tavish, The Dungeon has served as a place to exert his dominance without making lasting commitments. He can hardly believe his eyes when he enters the play area to find his secretary, Natalia, bent over the spanking bench in a schoolgirl uniform. They’re both masked, but he’d recognize her anywhere. In an instant, he has a plan to give them what they both want…and perhaps a whole lot more.

My problems with the story:

• Ethan starts things at work, which is unprofessional and disrespectful. He had no way of knowing how she would feel about him, personally. He should have asked her out for dinner, or asked her to have a coffee with him, and talked to her about it that way. Until they communicated things and reached a level of consensuality, some agreed upon power exchange, then he had no right ordering her around. 
• The "conflict" was a bit contrived, and then was extended out longer than it should have been because of miscommunication. Conflict due to miscommunication is a personal pet peeve of mine, especially when it's from snapping shut a cellphone because you don't want to hear the rest of what the person has to say. 
• I've spoken before about people who meet and agree to marry after only a few dates - another pet peeve. 
• Oh, and to start out with a belt at full strength the second time you spank someone, in an office where people will hear if you make a noise with your voice... come on, belts make noise when they strike flesh -- that scene was so wrong for so many reasons. 
• And finally, they never discussed pregnancy or STD's and no condom was used.

What I liked: Natalia didn't try to deny what turned her on. Once she realized what she wanted, she accepted it and didn't fight with herself about it. She was also honest with Ethan when he asked her questions. I liked that Ethan was a nice guy who could be rough when the situation called for it, and that he made sure of her safeword before he got rough with her. 

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: Yes, but nothing major. 1 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: Yes. 2 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: Sort of, but it's all spanking and a bit of rough sex, I'm not sure it was actual S&M as much as a spanking fetish on both parts. Not that there's anything wrong with a spanking fetish, I don't want to give that impression. I'm just pointing out that a spanking fetish doesn't necessarily point to S&M.  1 of 3.
• Extra Point: No

As for the writing elements, the plot was kind of a tired old plot for me. And very predictable. Punished was a short story so the pacing was mostly fine. Prose and dialogue were okay. Character development was sufficient for a short story.

• Book Rating:Punished:  5 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level:  4 of 10
• Heat Level: 2 of 5

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Vampire Mistress (Vampire Queen Book 5) by Joey W. Hill

 

I chose not to read Vampire Mistress when it first came out because I was aware that Vampire Mistress would give us the first half of a story that would be completed in Vampire Trinity. I waited for Vampire Trinity to come out, so I could read the entire story once I started it.

Unfortunately, I'm not attached enough to these characters that I feel the need to read Vampire Trinity right away. I have an ARC of Venom that arrived this morning, and I'm going to read it, and possibly a few other books, before I begin Vampire Trinity.

Some of Joey W. Hill's books work for me in just about every way possible (Rough Canvas, for instance). Others just don't. And there were some word choices this time that jolted me out of the story, things like "not ungently", where I have to do the math and remember that a double negative cancels itself out so she saying it was done gently. This showed up several times in the form of "not un_____ly", and each time it annoyed me and pulled me out of the story.

Here's the blurb, then I'll talk about what worked for me and what did not.

Sometimes desire can work three ways...

In May 2010, Joey W. Hill returns to the dark and seductive landscape of her Vampire Queen novels as a desperate woman finds herself trapped between the desires of two men, each with his own mission of the night.

Gideon Green is a hardcore vampire hunter. But in the past year, his only family, his little brother, became a vampire queen’s servant – and then a vampire himself, giving Gideon a different view of the vampire world. Since Gideon’s sole purpose for over a decade has been killing vampires, the violence that has scarred his soul now haunts his conscience.

Then he crosses paths with a sexy BDSM night club owner, Mistress Anwyn. Their connection is immediate and intense, but she has a silent partner--the vampire Daegan Rei. When Anwyn is viciously attacked and turned by a rogue vampire, Gideon and Daegan join to protect her through a dangerous transition. As the bonds between the three of them draw tighter, Gideon faces an unbelievable truth...that the path to meaning in his life may be found in surrendering to the desires and needs of two vampires.

I think I'm going to start off here by talking about the writing elements:

The pacing was terrible. Way more telling than showing, and so much contemplation and inward searching I was tempted to start glossing over those paragraphs. I think there was possibly more contemplation and psych type stuff than there was action or dialogue. One of Ms. Hills strengths is her ability to show emotions, and have her characters deal with a whole lot of crap and then come out okay on the other side. But it wasn't there for me with Vampire Mistress. Based on the reviews on Amazon I think I'm in the minority, but... there it is. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it, and there were times I almost set it aside to read something else.

The dialogue was good, no problems with that. Like I said, it was the inner searching stuff that had problems, and there was just so much of it. But prose was... a bit too wordy at times. I know authors are supposed to really describe everything, and give us all five senses as much as they can. But some of the descriptions were overdone for me.

Character development, for Joey W. Hill, wasn't all that good. I usually fall in love with her characters, and I did not. I like them, but not enough to feel the need to pick up the next book right now. For another author I would have said character development was okay but not great.

World-building is pretty consistent with other books in this series, and it's well done.

The plot was, well, it was predictable. It's a good plot, and a nice way to have a BDSM menage with a male Dom, female switch, and male sub/slave. The characters are strong, each with their own issues to deal with (of course), and they mesh nicely with the story.

I feel like I've talked only about what I didn't like, so I'll point out what I did like: the world building, the conflict expressed between vampire and the vampire's humanity, the camaraderie that Gideon and Daegan find when they begin to find the things they have in common instead of focusing on their differences. I loved that the first time this really happens, for something other than Anwyn, was when they were talking about weapons.


BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: Yes, though not all of the bondage is done with a BDSM purpose. We see the promise of some discipline towards the end, but until that scene it's not really a part of the story. I'm wavering between a 1 and 2, but I think it's a  2 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: Yes, but it's complicated. And the submission isn't given (for most of the story) because the person wants to submit, but because... well, I don't want to give spoilers, but he submits (or rather, believes he submits) for reasons other than that of a man who wants to submit, so I can't give it a 3. The Dominance is certainly there, but the submission parts need some work. 2 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: Not really.  0 of 3
• Extra Point: No

I'm going to have to give Vampire Mistress a 7 of 10. I plan to read Vampire Trinity at some point, and I hope that it makes me feel better about Vampire Mistress than I feel at this time.

There are a couple of really nice (i.e. hot) scenes, but overall the Heat Level is only a 2 of 5 for me.  All in all, I was really looking forward to Gideon's story, and I find myself disappointed by what I've read of it so far. I have been such a fan of Joey W. Hill that it pains me to give a bad review, but I've gotta be honest. So...

• Book Rating:Vampire Mistress: 7 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 4 of 10
• Heat Level: 2 of 5

1. The Vampire Queen's Servant
2. The Mark of the Vampire Queen
3. A Vampire's Claim
4. Beloved Vampire
5. Vampire Mistress
6. Vampire Trinity

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