Tough Love: A Spanking Story - Ava Sterl...

Kate is looking for domestic discipline when she goes and buys lingerie.  Colin returns from his conference to learn that Kate disobeyed him on shopping.  He disciplines her and rewards her.

I liked Kate and Colin.  I liked the way the story described the physical setting of Kate's home and what she could feel with her five senses.  I also liked that I could feel her psychological feelings of the anticipation of the discipline as well as the discipline itself.  Well done.

The Talented Mr. Rivers gives me everything I expect when I pick up a HelenKay book.  There is an intense, hot, steamy connection between the main characters, dangerous action that threatens the MCs, a few twists and turns and a fun and clever supporting cast.  Oh, and some fun banter too.

I had one problem with this book and I know it's probably just me and I can't figure out why, but I had SUCH a problem with the names of the main characters.  Hunter, the bodyguard/agent/tough guy and Will, the younger of the two, the college grad, the almost studious one, the youngest, supposedly oblivious sibling of a vicious crime family.  I kept getting their names mixed up.  I'd read Will and be surprised that it was Hunter and vice versa.  It was very annoying and lasted through the whole book.  I've never come across this specific problem before.  *LOL*

Sexy, steamy suspense is what HelenKay does and it's so much fun to read.  Her characters are always wonderfully larger than life and always flawed in some way or another.  :)  Except for Seth, I've not seen a single flaw in him yet.  Maybe in the next book, his story, Guarding Mr. Fine.

In addition to bringing you the review.....

The Best-Selling Author, HelenKay Dimon has generously shared an EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT with us for you!  

Her latest novel in the Tough Love series, Guarding Mr. Fine will be out on February 14, 2017.  You can learn more about this great book by reading the excerpt given below.

About the book:

In this steamy novel of seduction and international intrigue, two brave men are stripped of their defenses—and exposed to dangers and desires that simmer below the surface.
 
As an agent with the CIA’s special activities division, Seth Lang lives for risk—and yet he’s stuck playing bodyguard to the U.S. consul general in Munich. Although Seth’s last assignment nearly killed him, babysitting some desk jockey in a suit sounds way too easy. But when he lays eyes on the new top man, tactical expert Rick Fine, Seth’s thrilled to see just how hard this job is going to get. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Quiet has a body worth guarding—and he requires hands-on attention day and night.
 
Dispatched to a German consulate to expose the murder of his predecessor, Rick finds himself in an extremely vulnerable position. He needs a man like Seth—in so many ways. This mission will inevitably plunge them both into jeopardy, but each new threat only brings them closer. Rick just hopes that he can keep his deepest, darkest secret hidden—or else risk imperiling a relationship they’re both fighting for their lives to protect.
 
Fall in love with the men of HelenKay Dimon’s thrilling novels:

MR. AND MR. SMITH | THE TALENTED MR. RIVERS | GUARDING MR. FINE

Seth waited until the door clicked shut. This guy could act cool if he wanted, but
seeing each other now, undercover and at work, had to shake him. Seth refused to believe it didn’t. “So, what do I call you? Richard . . . Dick?”

For a second, he didn’t answer. He walked around his desk and sat in his big
leather chair. Made quite a show of it, too. “How about boss or Mr. Fine. Even sir.”

Ego, good. Seth handled ego bullshit all the time. “I meant in private.”

“So did I.”

Seth stepped up to the opposite side of the desk. He didn’t bother sitting. Looming
over Blue Eyes worked better. “So, Your Highness—”

“If you insist on being insolent, use Rick.”

“Big, fancy words.” Seth decided not to mention how the last time they were
together they spoke mostly in grunts.

“I can spell them for you, if you like.”

Yeah, Seth wasn’t going to play this game. Rick acted detached and in control.
That tended to bring out the worst in Seth. Since they had to work together and had
enough unexpected baggage piled between them, he wasn’t looking for more.

He came around to Rick’s side of the desk and leaned his hip against the edge.
The move put them about a foot apart. “Why don’t I spell out some things, Rick?”

Rick’s gaze moved over Seth, but he didn’t push his chair back. No, he held his
ground. “As if I could stop you.”

Okay, Seth had to give the guy credit for that. Still . . . “Do you often break
protocol, abandon your security and head to a bar for raunchy sex with strangers?”

“Raunchy?”

Seth breezed right by that. It was either that or think about the sex, which could
lead them down a path guaranteed to make them miss the meeting. “I should probably
have a heads-up if that’s your thing since I’m the one who’s supposed to be guarding you, at least temporarily. I’d prefer if you didn’t get taken out on my watch.”

Rick folded his hands in front of him. “Your watch or not, I’d prefer if that never
happened.”

“That’s hard to tell right now.” Seth tried to ruffle him but Rick refused to be
baited. That was an impressive skill.

“Keep up the attitude and I can have you taken off my private detail.”

That was adorable. “Or you could answer the question, Rick.”

“I was in Berlin before my assignment here started. I went out for drinks with
some people from the embassy. They left and you walked in.” Rick held up his hands.
“No rules were broken, except for maybe a few personal ones.”

“Uh-huh. Let’s get to the point, shall we?” Seth shifted. Moved back just far
enough so he could stare down and make his point. “Anyone could have come after you. I could have attacked you, kidnapped you. Slit your throat. You need to be smarter and I think you know that.”

“I was never in danger.”

He was either clueless or possessed stone-cold insides. Seth suddenly wanted to
know which. “What kind of response is that?”

“An honest one.”

“You’re not taking your safety seriously.” And that could get them both killed.
Seth liked to play hard but on the job he expected his orders to be followed and his rules to be obeyed.

“I assure you, I am.”

“Maybe act like it.”

Rick balanced an elbow on the armrest of his chair and eyed Seth. “Admittedly,
this whole tough alpha thing you’re doing right now is hot. Clearly it appeals to me since I dropped my pants without even getting your name the last time we met, but here in this building, there is one rule.”

Danger or no, Seth had to admit he liked the verbal sparring. Rick didn’t back
down. Seth found that hotter than he wanted to admit. “Enlighten me.”

“I’m in charge. You show some respect or you’re on a plane to Yemen.”

Nice try. “That was a great speech.”

“Good.”

“No, really.” Seth stood up because he figured he’d made his point with the closeup-
and-threatening thing. “Not that I give a shit about anything you said because—and let
me be clear so that there’s no misunderstanding here—I do not work for you.”

Rick made a humming sound. “Did you quit already?”

In case you missed it, here is my link to the KBS! review:

**CLICK HERE**

This is book # 3 in the Tough Love series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  The series is actually fast paced and amazing.  For reader enjoyment and understanding, I recommend reading these in order.

Rick and Seth have worked together before.  Only one of them knows it.  Now they are in Germany trying to keep a murderer from striking again.

Seth tries hard to never mix business with pleasure.  Guarding a sexy man can be done with keeping his hands to himself.  Right?

This was a great installment to the series.  Has a very good pace and the characters are very real.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading about these two.  I give this book a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This ARC copy was given by Netgalley and its publisher in exchange for an honest review only.

*** 3 Caramela stars ***

Audio edition, narrated by Iggy Toma.
11 hours 13 minutes.

Overall: 3
Performance: 5
Story: 3

This story worked just okay for me.

I couldn't connect with Steve, and his "sex without pain is like food without taste" way. I don't judge him for it. I like my kink. I just felt he dragged Chenco into it. I seemed is was Steve's way or the highway. I feel Chenco agreed to try it out because:

Look on the bright side. You'll be getting sex.

Chenco wanted to have sex with Steve, but to get it he had to do the contract since Steve doesn't do sex without pain which equals contract. I don't feel this is a base for an equal relationship, you know? At least not at first. When the do try it out, though, Chenco discovers he likes "Steve's way", so they really are a (kinky) match. Steve is a considerate Dom, and builds up the scenes with bdsm newbie, Chenco. I felt he listened and took care of Chenco, though. Steve really is a good guy.

Steve is Mitch and Randy's friend. Chenco is Mitch's half brother. And oh man, what a complete douchebag of a father they shared. I felt the story focused too much on Chenco and Steve hooking up rather than Mitch getting to know his halfbrother. Yes, there are a few brother bonding scenes between them, but not enough in my opinion.

Chenco is a sweet guy, but what I really loved about him was his alter ego Caramela and what she brought to the story!

I loved Heidi's description of Chenco/Caramela and them being two halves of a whole! I also loved the way the others included both Chenco and Caramela in strides.

I loved seeing Sam & Mitch, and Randy & Ethan again. They really stole the show in each scene they were in, and they were very present in their own way in the story. I do feel I saw more of Sam, Randy and Ethan, than Mitch. Which I found strange since Chenco is Mitch's half brother. When Sam, Mitch, Randy and/or Ethan were present, I felt the story righted itself. I loved each part where they were present, but it also made me miss them. Miss them being the main characters. There's my main problem with this book too, them not being the center of the story. I would much rather read just about them, to be perfectly honest.

I did not like the side story with Steve's friend (?) Gordy at all. I understand he was a big part of Steve, and his history. Steve's feeling of responsibility for Gordy however was just stupid. Gordy was CLEARLY mentally ill (or worse), and it wasn't healthy for neither of them to have gone on with their relationship/dependability for so long. I don't like it when a main character does stupid things in "the name of " responsibility when it really isn't the case. And trying to "fix" him with BDSM through Crabtree was just... *facepalm* Didn't like it at all. Speaking of Crabtree, still after three books now, I still can't decide if I like him or not. LOL

Steve and Chenco's kink slowly developed and escalated, but did not get out of control. There was a very brief watersport scene, at the end of one of their scenes. By brief I mean, it was almost just mentioned mentioned in passing. Which was alright with me since it's not my kink. They did however play with

towards the end of the book. The ultimate show of trust? The scene including these was long and detailed. I'm on the fence about them. I handle them weekly at work, so they don't really scare me, but that don't mean I like getting them myself. I can understand the head rush, power and trust it shows to do this sort of play, though. Heidi did write a great scene, and handled it beautifully. I just don't want someone doing it to me, and not really read about it either.

In short. Seeing Sam, Mitch, Randy and Ethan again, and getting to know Caramela, was the highlight of this book.

The narration is superb as always from Iggy Toma. He brings the characters to life.