ARC Review: Manwhore +1 by Katy Evans

Manwhore +1 is the continuation of Malcolm Saint and Rachel Livingston's story by Katy Evans. This book picks up right where we left off with Manwhore after the cliffhanger, and it should not be read unless you have already read Manwhore. This is not a book that you can read by itself. When I had first started Manwhore, I had no idea that it would end with a cliffhanger, so I have been dying to get my hands on this book! I needed more of Malcolm, and I needed to know what would happen! 

Malcolm Saint was an assignment for Rachel Livingston. It was her job to get answers from him, and to find out as much about him as possible. The more she revealed of him though, the more she revealed of herself. Rachel found herself falling for the one man that all of Chicago wanted but was unable to get for longer than a few nights. But when everything went bad between them, Malcolm's trust in Rachel was shattered. Now after weeks of not speaking, they are finally in contact again and Rachel is surprised to find that Malcolm wants something from her. But what Malcolm is asking for is the last thing that she expected. But Rachel wants more than Malcolm seems to be willing to give, and she is determined to prove to him that he can trust her with his heart. But can Malcolm more past what happened and let her in again? 

I really loved Malcolm in this book. He was obviously wary of Rachel and her feelings for him, and yet you could tell that he still cared for her. Things had gone badly for them before, but their feelings had never been the issue. Both Rachel and Malcolm were falling for each other for the first time, and they had no idea what it really meant to be in love with someone else. I liked seeing them work on rebuilding the trust and hot they were able to move forward after everything that had happened. There were times that Rachel drove me a bit nuts, even though I understood where she was coming from. She wanted answers and promises, and yet she wasn't thinking about why it was taking Malcolm time to give that to her. He needed to see that she was there for good and that he was it for her, before he could give himself to her again. But I loved seeing him open himself back up, and there were so many times that he won me over here. I just couldn't get enough of him! 

Overall, this was a good addition to the series and I was glad that Malcolm and Rachel were able to deal with everything that had happened in the first book. I love these two together and I never stopped rooting for them to work things out. These two are such a perfect fit together, and I really can't imagine anyone else being it for either of them. They were a lot of fun to see and were super sexy together as well. This book was really well written as all of Katy's stories are, and I can't wait to read the next in this series. Katy Evans is a great writer, and this series is definitely one of my favorites.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: My Obsession by Cassie Ryan

My Obsession is Brent and Sandra’s story. Sandra arrives at Brent’s dungeon in Arizona after she flees her life in New York where her last Dom took Sh!t way too far because of a screw loose issue. As in, dude has a few screws loose. Brent recognizes Sandra right away as his high school dream girl. Back in the high school years Brent was nerdy and scrawny. Sandra was an early developer and was very popular but she expressed no interest in Brent. For some reason, Brent doesn’t tell Sandra that he recognizes her from high school and instead spends the majority of the book agonizing over what he thinks her reaction to him not telling her might be. I dunno, I really didn’t get that whole thing at all. Sandra instantly has a connection with “Master Brent” and he becomes her Dom.

There are several really good sex scenes in this book with some BDSM elements for those of you who enjoy that sort of thing. I’m all about the steam so when things are as smoky as they were in this book, I can generally ignore other issues. But, for the sake of argument, let’s pretend I’m a normal reader and I actually care about the story. If that were the case, there would be some issues. The very first issue is the amount of description of the rules surrounding the Dom/sub relationship and the set up of the club in the book. There were just way too many pages of logistical information including everything from the use of safe words, to specific devices even down to describing “aftercare.” In the book Brent is supposed to be educating Sandra on the way the whole D/s thing really works but in the process, we get the run down on the manual too and it was just too much for me. If you are really curious about the D/s inner workings it might be cool for you but I just wanted them to stop talking about it and friggin do it.

The other thing in this book that really troubled me is that I know nothing about Brent or why he wanted Sandra- NOTHING. I get that she was the girl he adored from afar in high school but I didn’t get why he wanted her in the present beyond the fact that she was pretty and he was sexually attracted to her. Similarly, I don’t know what, beyond physical attraction, Sandra saw in Brent. Honestly, I just have no idea who Brent was. There is information in the book about Sandra’s background and it was mildly interesting but I didn’t understand why Brent would have found it compelling. When Brent meets Sandra she doesn’t have a job or much of a life at all, she’s pretty much starting over. So beyond living out some teen dream, I never comprehended their reasons for being together and that made me distinctly unhappy.

Perhaps because we don’t get a good picture of why this couple is together, I didn’t really feel the chemistry between them. That’s a weird thing considering how much sex there was in this book and how hot the descriptions are. We get all that fire but no smoke, if that makes sense. So the sex was enough to keep me entertained and turning the pages but at the end of the day I didn’t really care about Sandra, Brent or their relationship. This is not a bad book, the writing is good, it mostly moves at a good pace and there are some interesting parts. I’m not telling you to pass on this one, I’m just going to limit my recommendation to readers who like all the kinky stuff and don’t care as much about the romance aspect of the book.

**ARC copy provided by Publisher**

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Guest Post with Author Cassie Ryan and Giveaway

Meet Cassie Ryan author of My Obsession.

Cassie Ryan (aka Tina Gerow) started her career writing steamy paranormal romance under another pen name. However, when one of her critique partners suggested she try her hand at contemporary romance, she gave it a shot—and Cassie Ryan was officially born. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and besides being a write-a-holic, is a frequent speaker on several writing and motivational topics.

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ARC Review: Unlikely Allies by C.C. Koen

Unlikely Allies is a standalone contemporary romance from C.C. Koen, and I have to admit that I was excited to read this book based on it being one and done alone. It seems like everything I have read lately is a series, and sometimes I am just looking for a good story that is complete with no cliffhangers etc. I loved the blurb on this one, and was prepared for a cute story with a ton of sweetness. While there was a lot to enjoy here, I did have some things that didn't work for me and kept this one from being great. 

Maggie Tyson is looking to start over after everything that her ex-husband put her through. Her only priority is to provide for her daughter and live her life according to the rules she has put in place. Unfortunately for Maggie, her daughter Cecily doesn't seem to adhere to them which is how she winds up meeting Rick Stone. Rick is a bachelor and likes his conquests to come with no strings, yet when Cecily comes barging into his office he finds himself drawn to her and her mother. But with him vowing never to get married or have a family, and Maggie looking to avoid bad boys at all costs, can they find a way to work things out? 

I really liked Rick with Cece. I love that she called him by his middle name Max (like his father had before he passed) and that they had such a special relationship right away. I truly feel as though this story was more about these two than anything else. They were beyond adorable, and I couldn't get enough of them. That being said though, I didn't feel as though there was enough of Maggie and Rick. Rick for some reason had issues with getting to close to women and with someday settling down, and quite honestly it didn't make a bit of sense to me. He had grown up with a great mother and father who loved him and each other, and there was no big issue that would have caused him to turn away from relationships to me besides the fact that his father died. I just didn't get it. I also didn't see the connection between Rick and Maggie, and by the time that I started to see anything it was too little too late. Most of Rick's interactions were with her daughter rather than her. Because this book was so much about Max and Cecily, it was hard to really get to know Maggie or like her. I didn't feel like I could relate to her and this story didn't even seem to be hers.

Besides this story being about Max and Cecily, I also felt like it was very slow at times and didn't hold my interest. There were a lot of extra characters that sort of stole the show a little bit, and it seemed to focus more on them when I felt like extra time should have been devoted to developing the romantic relationship between Rick and Maggie. As much as I liked the secondary characters, this wasn't their story and I felt like it took precious pages away from the real story. I wanted to see something happening romantically, and I really didn't see any kind of development at all until well over half way through. At that point I just wasn't feeling it and I wasn't invested in them working things out beyond the fact that I wanted them together because of Max and Cecily. The reason that I kept reading and gave this book as many stars as I did was because of their relationship alone. Had it not been for how cute and sweet those two were, I am not sure that I would have finished this story. While I have read and enjoyed books from C.C. Koen before, this one was disappointing and wasn't what I had been expecting.

**ARC Provided by Xpresso Book Tours**

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ARC Review: Sinfully Mine by Kendall Ryan

Sinfully Mine is the second book in the Lessons with the Dom series by Kendall Ryan. This book is a standalone story featuring characters interconnected to the first book, The Gentleman Mentor. Sinfully Mine centers around Hale's little sister Macey and his best friend Reece. I was really curious to get to know Reece better after meeting him in the first book, and I can never help myself when it comes to this trope! That being said, this book was not as good in my opinion as the first in the series and there were a few things that I had issues with. 

The last thing Reece Jackson expects is for his best friend's little sister to show up at the sex club he owns looking for him. He hasn't seen Macey Hale in years, but she has always been forbidden. Things between them were complicated before, but he kept them from going all the way. Now with Macey back and on the verge of starting her life over after her ex cheated on her, she is looking for someone to fulfill his desires. Though Reece knows he should be the last one to help her out, he would rather it be him than someone else. So he proposes a deal for three lessons with no strings attached, and at the end of their time together they will go their separate ways. But Reece and Macey are unable to avoid the feelings they get when around each other again, and it is only a matter of time before they find themselves falling for one another once again. 

One of my biggest issues with this book was Reece. I wanted to love him so much, and yet for most of the book he did nothing but piss me off. I didn't understand why he was so closed off. He was the one that broke things off years before, and he was the one determined to help Macey out now. Yet he acted as though she had broken his heart and he was out to punish her for it. He treated her horribly and was an absolute jerk to her. For someone owning a sex club and living a BDSM lifestyle, the fact that he never gave her aftercare was impossible for me to get over. Aftercare is extremely important, and besides brief guilt here or there, he really seemed to show no remorse over how he treated her. How could he possibly ease someone into the lifestyle (his best friend's little sister who he supposedly cared about no less!) and not provide even a little bit kindness and care when he was finished. Macey was one of those characters for me that while I liked her, I just didn't really connect with. I was rooting for her and Reece and I wanted for her to be happy. Yet there was something that kept me from being able to relate to her. She had moments where she would challenge Reece and stand up to him, and others when she seemed to lose all fight and would just give in. She was a bit wishy washy I guess is what I had problems with. These two did have chemistry, but honestly I just wasn't feeling their connection with everything that happened or didn't happen as the case may be. 

Overall, I have to say I was a bit disappointed with this installment. I am a huge fan of Kendall Ryan's, and I absolutely loved Hale and Brielle's book. But Reece made it pretty impossible to ever really get into this book and by the time he started to come around it was a bit too little too late. It's a bit unfortunate as I was really looking forward to this story after loving The Gentleman Mentor so much. I think that some readers will really enjoy this book, and it wasn't all bad. It just wasn't what I had been expecting or hoping for, and I felt like this one wasn't up to the standards that I have come to know from Kendall Ryan.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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