BDSM ROMANCE How One Man Recruited and T...

Master John places an ad on the internet for a sub. Curi answers her ad. Master John is looking for someone to train but she must be special. He thinks he may have found her in Curi. I liked these characters. I enjoyed this story. As Curi is learning I learned also. Master John explained everything he was doing to her as they moved through their play. He also explained the difference between actual pain and the anticipation of pain. Curi asked questions. She wanted to please him. There is wonderful chemistry between Master John and Curi. Well done!

Freight Trained - Sarah Curtis This is the story of Abby, a shy and socially awkward school teacher, and Cole a former Rodeo star turned rancher.

"I don't deserve you, but damn if I'm not going to keep you anyway."



I enjoyed this one. It was sweet with no OW/OM drama. Cole was a likable character that didn't come across like a man-whore. I LOVED his dirty talking (reminded me of a KA hero) Abby was sweet and thankfully NOT over the top annoying (a problem I had with the heroines in this author's other books) The stalker storyline wasn't that strong. It was pretty well advertised from first introduction who it was going to be. Plus it just felt underdeveloped and put in the book just to add a little angst and drama. Overall though this was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

SIDE NOTE: I LOATHE "Little Mouse" as an endearment. It isn't sweet, it isn't cute, it isn't lovable. It's DEMEANING! Especially when it is used on a person who is shy and has social interaction issues (as did the heroine in this book) Every time Cole uttered it, I wanted Abby to tell him to go shove it up his ass.

Oh, this was really good!


It was a sweet GFY, actually believable in pace, time and development. I loved how Brendon and Jared both had to grow and jump through some hoops in order to make it work.

Brendon, overweight and in a rut, gets trained and coached by Jared, the fit but emotionally completely unattached trainer. It was sweet, it was sexy and it was full to the brim with all the feelz. The solution might have been a little too easy, maybe? I'm not sure, but that's really just a minor niggle.

What I liked was how the author really tried to get it right. Getting Brendon to be fitter and sexier was never all there was to his training. He also built up his confidence, he felt better and surer about his body; and it showed in the way he handled and carried himself in everyday life. It was all done in a way that didn't scream: "You can only be happy if your slim and beautiful!". That was something I was concerned about going in, because I see some dangers in this line of thinking. But like I said, the author got it right in a way that made it all work for me in the end. Really good, not too heavy, but intense and emotional nontheless. Definitely recommended.

4.5 stars!  HOUSE TRAINED    LAKE UNION   @Jackie Bouchard
This book started out hilarious with Alex overhearing her husband of over 18 years in the shower talking to his penis. He thinks she's left the house for work. Then it got down to the serious business the next day she gets the real shocking news. Barry has an 18 year old daughter with his ex girlfriend, Jade, which he never knew about until three days ago. Alex and Barry had decided a long time ago that they did not like kids and would be okay without having any. This definitely puts a damper on their life plans. They invite Maria to dinner the next night and she shows up on the door step with a 15 month old daughter, Ruthie, which surprise, neither Alex nor Barry knew about.

It's interesting how quickly Ruthie starts tugging on Barry and Alex's heartstrings and the challenges they now face having a small child in their home. There are lots of antics involved in the decision of what will happen with Wren and her daughter and then there's the ex girlfriend trying to mooch back into the new family nest. There's also the little matter that Alex's business is about to bankrupt them and oh yeah, their house burns down and they loose everything. And a little surprise comes out of that in which both Alex and Barry handle very well.

This is a very good story, while there are a lot of troubles, it does actually leave you in a feel good mood. I actually want to see more of this family and see just what does happen to Barry, Alex, Wren, Ruthie and Maria. And I think the evil side of me wants to see a little more comeuppance for Jade. She wasn't public stoned in the center of town or live on TV yet, so there's that. HA!!

Actually I truly enjoyed this book and was very entertained. I seriously do want a sequel. I just can't go with "and they lived happily every after" in my mind. There's got to be some more dirt dished out to several people and I NEED to read about it!!!

Thanks Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with this free e-galley in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book!!

 

The first line had me, it was laugh out loud hilarious. I expected a humorous light romantic tale after that. The story was about life’s lessons, dreams found, the damage of secrets, and ultimately trust. It was more serious than that first line hinted at. I think that threw me off balance. I spent the first part of the book searching for the few funny bits and disappointed when it dragged me into the “preach it” zone instead. (more on that later) I wasn’t completely disappointed the last 30% of the story was somewhat interesting, many issues came up and were handled well, a long relationship was the semi-solid base that held up to the storm. Sweet HEA ending.
The preaching: They are a childless couple by choice. She has a sister with children a mother who wants her to have children, and a lot of really rude women around her who can’t deal with the fact that she doesn’t want any. Great, I love to see a character that steps out of the love=children box. They have a dog instead, a rescue dog yippee another great addition. The problem for me was that the first 50% of the story she (Alex) spend talking about her choice, feeling put aside by it, rehashing it with her family, dealing with strangers regards. It was too much, it felt preachy to me and I just wanted to move on enough already but no, it ended up being a major issue through most of the book. I was so thankful when she finally had something more to deal with, and still she went back to justifying her choice many times. I really didn’t care if she had kids or not. This was obviously not the book for me.
The relationship between her and her husband was beautiful and strong. I think that was what the author planned it to read like. I saw it as weak, filled with lies, mistrust and didn’t find enough love to cheer them on. She hid her truth, her feelings he was a distant and distracted. Alex seemed to take on the doormat quality too easily letting people cross the line when it felt wrong because she wanted to be nice. One massive wake up call would have had me sliced and diced, while this character just went mellow and controlled. If she had held her ground, kicked and fussed a bit, been stronger in her beliefs, not consider herself a consolation prize (UGG) I could have cheered for this woman.
The end was sweet but not worth the time I put into reading the book. The title was so misleading I thought it was the dog being house trained but no it was something else and didn’t justify being the title. It did not work for my taste and I will pass on any future books.