Naughty Bits (Part II): The Training Session by Joey W. Hill 
Series: Naughty Bits, book #2 
Genres: BDSM Romance 
Published by Intermix 
Published on May 20, 2014 
Format: eARC 
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The Training Session starts the training of Madison with Logan as the dominant. They go slowly into a session with Troy as the submissive and Madison as Logan’s assistant. Fascinated by every decision, Madison finds herself being drawn into the training session. The session is strictly for Troy, but Logan is also showing Madison how each decision is made with the submissive in mind. Trust is paramount.

Slowly Logan weaves Madison into the scene making her long for this to be real. Leaving her hungry for more, but also hesitant to open herself up.

As Naughty Bits has its new Grand Re-Opening, Madison learns to relax and think with the customer in mind. With each new experience she gains more confidence in herself as well in the need to help others find happiness in their sexuality. So when Logan asks her on a date, she leaps at the chance with the condition that they not have sex. Don’t forget that Logan is kind of old fashion in some ways.

When Logan comes over to Madison’s place for the date, it turns into another training session with Logan showing he can be trusted to keep his word. Madison retreats into her head and Logan goes to get her. The two ebb and flow in their scene that had power impact on both the characters and myself.

While the scenes aren’t deeply intense, they are sensually intense, making you sit on the edge of your seat. Reading became a compulsion of the senses that I didn’t want to let go. I put my trust in Joey W. Hill and I was rewarded with a story that blew me away. And now I have to wait once again for the next installment, dang it!

Denies Me by Megan Hart 
Series: Every Part of You, Serial #4 
Genres: Contemporary Romance 
Published by St. Martin's Griffin 
Published on March 18, 2014 
Pages: 32 
Format: eARC 
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The Delight

A budding relationship starts only to be torn apart, leaving two people in shambles. There is true emotion from happy to heartbreaking. Will the mistakes made compromise them beyond redemption? This is one of my favorite parts of this serial!

At the end of Taunt Me, Elliott is starting to get more possessive of Simone. He didn’t want to date or make her is girlfriend, but when he finds out she might have played with her friend, he decides he has to start dating her. Simone on the other hand hasn’t gone on dates. She knows what she wants and she doesn’t play games to find it. While dating the sex takes a back burner and Simone starts to lose her heart to Elliott. Things seem to be finally going somewhere.

In this story we learn more about Elliott and Molly. Molly is Elliott’s step mother in a way. Elliott’s father was married to Molly but had affairs on her producing Elliott. But Molly took him in and took care of him. Molly is now dying in a nursing home but Elliott still visits her often even if she can’t remember him. Well, this was on episode of going back in time and revealing the family secrets.

Then BOM! Something happens that causes Elliott to pull away from Simone once again. What kind of man hurts a woman and enjoys it? Elliott brutally denies her sending her running to Aidan for pain to forget the love she has developed for Elliott.

This is at points brutal in the understanding of how Simone needs pain to alliviate a broken heart and at other points gentle as Elliott starts to date Simone. It is such a contrasting part of the story arc and I found myself falling in love with this part of the story for it’s honesty in emotion.

Taunts Me by Megan Hart 
Series: Every Part of You, Serial #3 
Genres: Contemporary Romance 
Published by St. Martin's Griffin 
Published on March 4, 2014 
Pages: 45 
Format: eARC 
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Rating:  

The Delight

Ms. Hart draws out the characters of these two and leaves them to deal with the aftermath of their actions. To accept pain, to give pain, but to cherish? Sometimes it just isn’t going to happen that way…or will it?

Wow another explosive installment in the Every Part of You serials by Megan Hart! Now Elliott has broken it off with Simone. He still likes her, but doesn’t like what he is doing to her even if it fulfills the sadist in himself. How can you hurt a woman you like? It just isn’t done.

So when they meet at a party, Simone acts as if he doesn’t exist and this confuses Elliott on why he cares. He confronts her and realizes he isn’t ready to let her go. So he takes her to his home and sets up some elaborate rules that basically make the fuck buddies. He calls the rules guidelines, but these guidelines keep him in check and calm him into thinking he is doing the right thing. He’s lived too long alone and set in his ways.

So he won’t date, only wants to fuck. Likes his house in an orderly fashion. Won’t share a toothbrush (ok I get this one).  Won’t buy flowers, doesn’t want long term and really isn’t too sure what he really wants or what to do with the feelings he has for Simone.

Now Simone also doesn’t want a boyfriend, although she is more open to it than he is. She wants the pain with her pleasure but not the submission to his Dominance. He will hurt her, he tells her, but not in a physical way. He admits he will hurt her emotionally and wants to give her the out now. She assures him she is a big girl.

On the side, her ex-boyfriend, but still friend, Aidan, is in a new relationship and wants Simone to meet her. Now Aidan is more into Dominance and submission along with the S/M. This is mostly why Aidan and Simone never worked. She just couldn’t submit the way he needed her two. Simone gets insight into their relationship and before the evening is over, she is involved in a scene where we aren’t quite sure how far it went.

On a high from the scene she goes to Elliott at 2 in the morning, wanting the pain and pleasure. While he is confused he quickly gets on board, using more force than he ever has. But it all comes to a head ::snickers:: when he finds out she got all aroused at her friend Aiden’s and he wants answers that his “guidelines” don’t all him to have.

So what will happen next? Will Elliott finally make something more out of fuck buddies? Or will he break it off with her again? I guess we have to wait for the next installment.

Are fuck buddies worth the effort? Do they ever lead anywhere or do they just end? 
How can your keep your emotions out of a relationship built strictly on sex and pain?

Resists Me by Megan Hart 
Series: Every Part of You, Serial #2 
Genres: Contemporary Romance, S&M 
Published by St. Martin's Griffin 
Published on February 18, 2014 
Pages: 57 
Format: eARC 
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Rating:  

Resists Me picks up with Simone wanting more of Elliott. She dresses sexy and takes him to a goth night club to dance, seduce and hopefully get into her bed. She is a woman who knows what she wants, isn’t scared of her dark desires and goes after Elliott for what she wants. When Elliott won’t dance with her, she goes it alone until a man approaches her and Elliott can’t stop himself from claiming her on the dance floor.

We start to really understand some of the personalities traits of these two. Simone is a bold woman who knows what she wants after years of trying, playing and experimenting. Her ex and fuck buddy, Aidan, is in a new relationship. While she is someone hurt and jealous, she knows she can’t be what he needs, wants and desires. But what she wants in a man is illusive to her, but she senses Elliott might harbor the same desires.

Elliott is a stuck up prick. I will be honest. At this point we don’t know all the story as to why he is that way except of a hint of an abusive father, neglectful mother and someone named Molly who became his mother. He doesn’t understand his feelings for Simone, the draw she has on him. He wants to spank her, pinch her, bite her, but then feels the guilt that men shouldn’t harm women.

They flirt with limit settings, but neither really cross the line to have that discussion. But as soon as their sexual encounter is over, Elliott leaves without a word. Simone lets him go but confronts him the next day in his office with food and coffee. She won’t let things go unsaid and lays it all on the table for him. She likes pain with her sex and he likes what he does to her, but he is ashamed of what he has done and he breaks off any relationship with her.

You get to see a little bit of each of them and learn their stories as this relationship starts to unfold. I really adored Simone. She knows herself, what she wants and where she is going. She isn’t afraid of her desires, whereas Elliott ran from them and generally just made me want to kick his ass the entire story.

Let’s be clear this isn’t a BDSM or D/s relationship. This is strictly pain to bring pleasure by pinching, biting, squeezing and short spanks to the ass.

Do you think a life with abusive parents forms a 42 year old
man who can’t accept the desire to consensually hurt another person?

Tempts Me by Megan Hart 
Series: Every Part of You, Serial #1 
Genres: Contemporary Romance 
Published by St. Martin's Griffin 
Published on February 4, 2014 
Pages: 45 
Format: eARC 
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Rating:  

Simone Kahan’s is a little bit of a voyeur, watching Elliott Anderson from her office window. Each new bimbo comes and goes, all blonde, and never more than twice. Watching him have sex is the highlight of her long evenings until one evening Elliott spanks his tryst and they have words. The spanking calls to the darker side of Simone’s lust. When they meet up in the elevator, Simone entices Elliott to take her to a party, where she both intrigues him and repels him.

Elliott never gives into his darker side. He only goes out with women once or twice and they are all pretty much blonde bimbos. Simone is different with her dark pixie haircut and glittering blue eyes. When the evening ends with a harsh kiss, Elliott runs from what he has vowed he can’t have.

This was a short introduction in the Every Part of You serialized series of five books. It is a brief brushing of the senses that make you want to continue to the next book without delay to see where this goes. There are not big revelations in this one, but just enough hints to make you desire more, to look deeper, to find the dark spaces that reside in these two hearts.

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of serials. If I wasn’t reviewing them I probably would not have bought this book at $1.99. If the prices come down or they bundle the five books into a reasonable price, I might be more inclined to purchase it myself.

I am marking the first part of this serial as contemporary, but each installment has a little different focus and I will elaborate when we get there.

 What are your thoughts on serial romances? Short stories hard to get into?