ARC Review: Downtown Devil by Cara McKenna

Downtown Devil is the second book in the Sins in the City trilogy by Cara McKenna. Each book is a standalone menage story. If menage stories are not your thing or bother you, this series is one you will want to skip. I have to say though that if you are looking for some seriously hot books, these have a ton of heat! There were things that I both liked and disliked with the first book in this series, Crosstown Crush, but I have to say that I ended up enjoying Downtown Devil more than I had CC. I am really looking forward to seeing what Cara McKenna has in store with the next in the series, Midtown Masters. 

Clare is turning thirty and is starting to feel restless with her life. She works at a call center while trying to pursue her passion for photography. When finally getting a break, Clare must find subjects to model for cohesive collection in order to show at a local gallery. When she meets Mica at the local coffee shop, she approaches him to see if he would be interested in being one of her models. But what starts as getting a few shots for her collection quickly turns to more when they spend a steamy night together. The more time they spend together, the more Clare begins to wonder what the future could possibly be for them. But when things start to change with Clare, Mica and his best friend Vaughn, Clare finds herself in a situation she never expected. 

I really liked these characters. I liked Clare's passion for photography and how she took something that could have offended her and turned into something beautiful. Showcasing the differences between people and their ethnicities was something that she celebrated and I loved that! I also loved that when presented with the opportunity to explore her desires and step outside her comfort zone, she welcomed it even while being a bit nervous. It was great to see a heroine embrace that and not be judged for it. I liked Mica and he was beyond sexy and charming. He also frustrated me at times, but over the course of the story it was easy to see that his past affected him greatly. I loved Vaughn though right from the second he was introduced. He was sexy as well as sweet, and I loved how he was with Clare right away. The three of them together were so smoking hot, but I knew that in the long term there was no way that they could all be together. I will admit I definitely had my opinions throughout this story about what I wanted to happen, but it was great to see things play out here and I felt that it happened naturally. 

I won't say how things turned out and spoil the story, because this one was so good and I think it needs to just be read. Things progressed in a genuine way here and I really liked the way things happened. There were times that I felt like the sex scenes did take over the story a bit. While we did get some dialogue and character development, I felt like that part of this story did suffer from the amount of sex that was happening. Don't get me wrong, the story was still good, it just didn't have the amount of depth it could have had considering some of the backstory with each Mica and Vaughn. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, and I definitely recommend Downtown Devil as well as Crosstown Crush. This series is different, and I really like that Cara McKenna is exploring some desires that aren't always common, even in erotica books.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Burn It Up by Cara McKenna

I have to start with the good news. Cara McKenna is an extremely talented writer. This is my second book by her and my second book in this series. In both books I read I was extremely impressed by Cara’s ability to build characters with such attention to detail that you actually feel like you know the characters. More good news, you will not be bored in a Cara McKenna book, you will get sucked in to the story and whether you love it or hate it, you will be entertained and you will want to keep reading.

Now, all that being said, I have to admit that I loved the rhythm and writing of this book but I didn’t love the actual story. I think the main reason for my less than enthusiastic feelings about this book was Abilene, the heroine. When you meet her in the book she has an infant, an ex who is locked up but getting out and a lot of mystery surrounding her past and what happened with her baby daddy. Abilene is kind of a contradiction. On the one hand, she seems confident in who she is but underneath it she’s much more self conscious and much less self assured.

The hero in the book is Casey. I like Casey. His relationship with Abilene is his first venture into being a responsible standup guy. In his past life he was a criminal or criminalish but he has gone straight in an attempt to be the man that Abilene and her baby need. Where things really went left for me in this book was in Abilene’s reaction to finding out the truth about Casey’s past. Two things you need to know, first, Casey TELLS the truth about his past. Abilene doesn’t discover it on accident or something like that, Casey comes clean. The other thing you need to know is that when you find out about Abilene’s effed up past and the ish that she has done you are going to be screaming bish please. Nobody in Abilene’s position should EVER have anything to say about the past of another person. You especially can’t have anything to say about the person who is supporting you through basically being impoverished.

Abilene’s past is completely crazy and filled with religious fuckery. The story there is twisted as hell but it did add to the overall entertainment value of the book. Abilene, both her past and present, were just too much for me and I think I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I could have. There was also a lot of straining of the bounds of reality in this book. I can take some of that in limited doses but it got to be team too much in this book. This is a good book in a very general sense but the plot just wasn’t for me. Burn It Up can be read as a standalone but if you’re interested in really getting into this series, start from the beginning, it will give you much better context.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Crosstown Crush by Cara McKenna

I'll be honest, I have been trying to get my thoughts together on this book since I finished reading it. I feel conflicted, as I really liked a lot of this book but yet I still had issues with it as well. Crosstown Crush is the first book in the Sins in the City series from Cara McKenna, and I think part of the problem for me is that I have no idea what the future holds for this series. Though this is stated as the first book of the series, there is no information available as to what the second book will be about. So it is really hard for me to accurately give my opinion when I have no idea if this is the end for these characters or if there will be more for them. I will say that this book doesn't end with a cliffhanger, so while it does end with a happy for now there is room for more. Readers should know that as well as the fact that this book isn't going to be for everyone. If you have any problems with some M/M action or a married couple bringing someone else into their relationship, this book probably isn't one for you.

With Mike Heyer's job as a law enforcement agent, he is used to always being an alpha male in charge. But when he leaves work, he finds himself looking for a way to relieve the stress and give up some of his control. At first he was scared to share his deepest desires with his wife, but he knew that he was on the verge of losing her if he didn't. When Mike opened up to Samira they grew even closer, and now years later they both get off on his specific kink. But Mike and Samira both know that pretending that Samira has been cheating on him is no longer enough and that they both fantasize about taking the next step and actually bringing someone else into their lives. So when Samira goes online and finds Bern, who gets off on being watched, it looks as though their fantasy has come true. With all three finding the situation pleasurable, it looks as though everyone wins. But what happens when the situation continues and they realize that Bern might be getting into their hearts as well as their bed. 

So here is where things start to get tricky for me. Mike and Sam are the heart of this story, as they are the married couple looking for more. But Bern is the one that I felt the most connected to. I have to say that I absolutely loved him and he was the highlight of this story for me. Luckily we were given his POV as well as that of Sam and Mike, because I really felt like he was the star here. I felt more of a connection between him and Sam than I did between Sam and Mike, which I felt was not what should have been happening. But Sam had so much chemistry with Bern that I just didn't see between her and Mike. It was clear that she loved and cared for Mike, but they were comfortable and familiar, lacking the spark and intense passion that was between her and Bern. I felt pretty indifferent towards Mike. I didn't love or hate him, but honestly I just didn't really care one way or the other. I found myself actually rooting for Sam and Bern, rather than for her and her husband. I should point out that this book was freaking hot though. Being that this book is mainly about sexual desires and kinks, there was a lot of sex and it was explosive. Unfortunately there wasn't much depth or development though as sex was the majority of this story. 

So besides my issues with the characters (besides Bern!), I felt like the conflict was predictable. It was exactly what I had been expecting, and wasn't hard to see coming from a mile away. I think that the way it was dealt with was also predictable and the ending somewhat rushed. I wanted to see more about how things turned out down the line for all these characters and what happened for them after the fallout. I'll be quite honest and say that I really wanted the three of them to be together or for Sam to end up with Bern. I just loved him so much and felt like he had such a strong connection to Sam. I felt badly for him more than once, and I was worried about what would happen to him down the line. Since there is no information to be found about the next book, I have no idea what will happen for any of these characters. I am hoping that the next book will be about these three, or at least Bern, rather than a book about a whole new set of characters. I feel like the ending here was a happy for now, rather than a satisfying conclusion. If you are a fan of Cara McKenna's, you will really enjoy the heat and steam which she is so good at. But if you are looking for something deep and well developed, that is not what you will find here as sex and kink are the focus. I did enjoy much of this story though, and I found the cuckolding kink to be interesting as I wasn't familiar with it before this book. I thought that Cara McKenna did a great job of introducing that lifestyle and those desires to readers who may not have heard of it before.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Drive it Deep by Cara McKenna

Drive it Deep will drive you crazy when you realize it is a prequel to Raina's story where she winds up with someone else. Let the church say WTF??

This is the story of Miah and Raina. Miah and Raina have been friends for years and years without any outbreaks of lust and/or freakyness. However, when Raina's father passes away, Miah starts to see her in a different light which quickly leads to seeing her butt naked.

Drive it Deep is all about reconciling who you presently are with what you could be or could want in the future...without the benefit of a crystal ball. I really felt the conflict in this story from Raina's perspective. None of us really knows where to draw the bright line in relationships between what we know for sure we don't want and where we need to compromise for the sake of love. In this book Raina sees herself as maintaining her identity by refusing to compromise. Even though I have mixed feelings about Raina's stubbornness, it's a good point of reference for all of us. Everyone has to find the boundary between reasonable compromise and absolute deal breakers and it's not easy to do when faced with love and great sex (especially the great sex, lol).

This is my first book by Cara McKenna and I was perfectly content until I realized that this book does not have a part 2 but is instead a PREQUEL to another book with Raina where she gets a HEA with SOMEBODY ELSE. Have you ever eaten a really good hamburger and then someone told you it was horse meat? Me either but I imagine that if I did, I would be having the same experience I am having right now. I just assumed this book was part 1 and that in part 2 Miah and Raina would work it out. I canNOT believe that there is another book but just no Miah. WHAT THEE EFF???

Cara McKenna is a great storyteller and prior to RIGHT NOW I liked this book because I just knew Miah and Raina would end up together. I really wish I had known that this was a prequel and not a part 1 because I would not have read it. Life is cruel enough without reading books with no HEA. That's like sex without an orgasm...ok, I'm being melodramatic but really I am just in a state of shock at the moment. Before 5 minutes ago I was going to say this book had compelling characters with their own brand of perfection and flaw and good parallel story lines (the town, the deputy, Vince, Miah's family).

I was also going to say that the story draws you in and evokes deep thoughts. But now I'm going to say read this story only if you don't care about HEAs. The only reason I put up with Raina's shenanigans throughout the book is because I figured she and Miah would have an HEA somewhere down the line but APPARENTLY NOT. For me HEAs are like kids for Raina in the book, deal breakers. If I don't get my HEA, I am not a happy camper and people, I am NOT happy right now.

What have we learned today boys and girls? Pay attention to blurbs and investigate any book that is a part of series. Make sure you know what part you are reading.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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My Favorite Book Boyfriend with Ruthie Knox and Giveaway

Ruthie Knox graduated from Grinnell College as an English and history double major and went on to earn a Ph.D. in modern British history that she’s put to remarkably little use. She debuted as a romance novelist with Ride with Me—probably the only existing cross-country bicycling love story yet to be penned—and followed it up with About Last Night, which features a sizzling British banker hero with the unlikely name of Neville. Other publications include Room at the Inn (a Christmas novella) and How To Misbehave, book 1 in the Camelot series. She moonlights as a mother, Tweets incessantly, and bakes a mean focaccia.

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