Wow ! Just Wow! Where to start ? I was on pins and needles the entire time reading this story. Omg ! was this story really good it kept me on edge the entire time I was reading it.The subject matter was dark and intense and the plot engaging and suspenseful and full of twists and turns and emotional pain and was this story and emotional one.I don't know what to say other than that this story drew you right in from the very beginning and kept you there to the very bitter end.This story definitely one that touched on the readers emotions as you felt the pain of these two main characters and their struggles.

Cosima was a character who was beautiful and loving and strong and determined and lost and trying to find her a path in a new life that she created for herself but, one thing she has never been able to conquer is her feelings for her master/husband Alexander and it is only something he can provide for her and her happiness depends on it.

Alexander was one dark and dangerous man but, he was also smart and cunning and Cosmia is the only person who has ever made him feel anything close to being human and he will do everything and anything to protect her and own her body and soul to the bitter end. If I am being honest this man scared that crap out of me.

Overall we loved the story from being to end.The story had amazing characters and there was never a dull moment.The story was very dark and intense and not one for the faint of heart and one for only the open minded because it is very dark and the bdsm to the extreme that is full of pleasure and pain and only one a master and slave will ever understand the depths of emotions and pleasures this kind of relationship brings but, it is one that both parties need to embrace the dark in order to be happy. Cosmia life will be always be controlled by Alexander and his dominate nature and as she is carving out a new life for herself through sheer work determination she needs to make a choice to place herself fully in the hands of the dark and dangerous lord because once she does she will be forever owned and nothing but death with ever separate them again.....

One Enthralling read and Miss Darling is a master storyteller for sure and we have thoroughly enjoyed everything we and read from her so far and this story yet, again an was and amazing read for us !

We loved Blue and Darby's story.I have to say this story started out with a bang and a whopping surprise.The story was heart felt and was about creating life and getting to experience your one true wish in life before your times up and by experiencing that wish that you made come true you are breathing life into another that was cold calculated and lonely.

I loved seeing Darby change and grow through this story.We loved seeing him love with his whole heart and  we loved seeing that he had a caring and compassionate side to him because we only saw the brutally honest a hole who was dark and dangerous and only let a select few into his life and circle and the rest of the time acted like a douche.

Favorite character would have to be Blue we loved her from the onset of the story.We loved her vibrant personality and her infectious laughter as she brought life to the story and was a whole lot of fun but, one thing is for sure she is also dealing with heartbreak and regret herself having more in common with Darby then either of them know.

Darby and Blue had some major chemistry and some would say there where fireworks between them which would be true because this couple burned together brightly in and out of bed.

Overall we loved the story from beginning to end.We loved seeing a man who was a workaholic fall in love not once but twice throughout this story.We loved being on this emotional journey with Blue and Darby as the story one minute had you crying the next laughing out loud but, the best part was that you found someone to love you flaws and in spite of them.What Darby considers flaws is what attracts Blue because Blue craves your dark and dangerous and possessive side of Darby and presents a challenge and life will never be dull which is what Blue craves in the first place but, in return she may except your dominance but she will never be tamed .... 
"We loved it and its characters!"

Recommended read to all and we are loving this series!

Note: This is Book 3 in the series and the books really need to be read in order to get the plot.

So far, I have been luke warm about this series but finally here in Book 3 the story is growing on me. I finally have the setting down. Yay! Some distant major event dropped humanity down a few notches and we now have domed cities and dirigibles and women have very few rights. Jacqui finds these restrictions chaffing and she uses her talents to step outside those rules. And that is the main reason I like Jacqui. I find she’s a bit of a twit from time to time yet her character keeps drawing me back into this tale.

The plot picks up shortly after the events of Book 2. There’s a major inquest into the explosion that took out a dirigible and killed several people including a friend of Jacqui’s. More than one of the major families is under suspicion, including the Spadros. Even as the families pull into tight, defensive groups, Jacqui still has her own motivations and sometimes is a bit oblivious to the political dangers she’s straying into.

That is one of the things that still tickles at me. Supposedly Jacqui has been trained since the age of 12 to be a good Spadros spouse. Yet she still lacks some basics, like not knowing some Italian, who to invite to dinner without starting a war between families, etc. Perhaps she had bad teachers? But I tend to think that Jacqui can be a little dense in regards to such things. I can’t help but think that this part of her character could have been cleaned up a bit, sharpened, made clear.

Tony Spadros keeps earning my respect. He finally has some big reveals about his wife and her secret activities and contacts. I really wanted Jacqui and Tony to join forces and become a cohesive team to take on the world, but that didn’t happen. Instead Jacqui is still hung up on Joseph who is just as caught up in her. Joseph is still a stick figure. I wish we had more about his character. After 3 books, we still know little about him other than he has strong feelings for Jacqui.

The story ramps up as things start to fall apart for Jacqui. Most of her secrets have been pried out of the closet. Her list of allies and friends is dwindling. Her choices are narrowing. Even with that, she’s still holding onto her core values. The story does end on a cliff hanger. The fate of the main characters is all up in the air. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Machelle Williams continues to improve. Her pacing is better in this book. The character voices are all distinct and her male character voices are masculine. She makes a good Jacqui Spadros. There were no issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Patricia Loofbourrow. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

I weirdly liked this book. Even though the main character was a bit much for me and totally self-absorbed at times, I liked it. Probably because the author does a kick-ass job describing DC and the food the main character is making. She also included recipes in the back I want to try sometime soon as well.

"The Girls' Guide to Love and Supper Clubs" has Hannah Sugarman at a cross-roads in her professional/personal life. She works at a think tank she really hates and has a boyfriend she really loves. She really would love to quit her job and just cook full-time, but disappointing her parents (both professors) and her boyfriend is something she's not quite ready to do. When her relationship with her boyfriend crashes and burns, Hannah is forced to move out and needs a way to make some money. When her work friend Rachel suggest that they do an underground supper club, Hannah thinks she may have a way to feed her need to cook and save some money. Things would be great except she's hosting the supper club in her landlord's home without his knowledge. And he's running for a council seat in Dupont Circle with one of his mission's to wipe out the restaurants or other entities running around serving food and liquor without a license. 

As I said above, Hannah bugged me. I think the reason why is that I didn't get a sense she was trying hard at all. If she didn't want to work at the think tank then quit. Doing a terrible job wasn't winning me any favors. Same issue with her passive aggressively cooking when she's angry at her boyfriend. Or when she talks crap about her boyfriend's parents while they are eating dinner, or talks crap about a new love's interest's mom's cinnamon buns. So yeah, Hannah talks a lot of crap. I wanted to feel for her, but honestly most of the issues/problems are a result of her doing whatever and actually being shocked when she's called out. 

The other characters are sketched out pretty well. You get a sense of Hannah's work nemesis and her boyfriend. I loved Hannah and Rachel together, but found it sad when Hannah called Rachel her only DC friend when Rachel rightfully calls her out for being self absorbed. Hannah's landlord was great and I started to wish for a book told from his POV. 

The writing was good I have to say. Dana Bate does a good job of describing the food that Hannah is making, but also why Hannah is making certain things and what her food is trying to evoke with regards to eating/memories. The flow was off a bit though. Things get bogged down around the 80 percent mark (IMHO) and then I found myself skimming just a bit to get to the end. 

The setting of D.C. was written very well here. Bate has obviously been to the nation's capitol and doesn't just describe random places and have her character get from to and fro in 10 minutes (not even with the Metro people). She describes Georgetown, the farmer's market (I miss them right now), Dupont Circle, Chinatown (which is the world's saddest Chinatown), the Army Navy Memorial, and a whole host of other places that I have been. I really enjoyed this book so much since there's not a lot about DC I am in love with these days. This book brought it all back though.

The ending was a bit abrupt. I wish that Hannah had more closure (yeah I hate that word) with her boyfriend and that we could have skipped a head a bit. Still I give it four stars for holding my interest and making me laugh out loud several times.