Sunday, 24 March 2013

BOOK REVIEW: Magic At Work by Sotia Lazu

BOOK REVIEW of Magic At Work by Sotia Lazu
 
 

This book was gifted to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Having read others of the author’s work, I at least knew I was going to get a good, hot story. Pleased to say, it was more than good.
 

She thought he hated her. He thought she was too good for him. Fate proved them both wrong.

On a slow day at work, Lexi Adams discovers an on-line erotic romance novel. Intrigued by the similarities she shares with the heroine, she starts reading and becomes enamored with the leading man. The problem is, she’s only able to access the novel on her work computer.

Ric Ackart, head of the IT department, suspects she's slacking off and decides to find out what she does in front of her computer screen all day. His surprise at what takes up her time is overshadowed by the fact that the novel's leading man shares his face and the name he used years ago.

 Now Ric is forced to come to terms with his feelings for her--but Lexi isn't willing to share more than her body...
 

Now we’ve all slacked at work, delved into fanfictions or ebooks on a minimised browser while pretending to work. Don’t deny it. Lexi is no different. She’s just a normal girl who is led into fantasies, stuck in a boring office with nothing to do but mundane work. Who doesn’t want an abrasive, kinda rude Brit as eye candy? I found I do. But she doesn’t.

The concept of this story is a wonderful weave of sex, confusion, UST and stubbornness. I love the play on a novel within a novel to bring the two main characters into a sexual intimacy early on ie someone is being naughty after hours and she hasn’t the sense to check for any co-workers. Luckily, he’s a gentleman. Sort of.

As with previous stories, I found this to be descriptive, well written and intriguing, the author’s ability to capture emotion and conflict flowing easily through subtle characterisation.

I have to say, I got hooked. It was very easy to finish in one sitting, happily growling at the characters when they wallowed in misunderstandings and wanting to bang their heads together or lock them in a room together. Emotions are complex and the heroine has more reason to confuse her own feelings than most.

She is smart, snarky and wasted on a job she could do in her sleep. Not the typical bimbo, she sometimes plays into that in order to make her defenses more meaningful, though the hero never really thinks she’s a bimbo, she just thinks he does. She’s insecure, she’s been burned and she doesn’t believe in love. She believes in sex. She needs to be shook up.

 Enter Nice-but-definitely-naughty IT guy Ric and let the sparks fly. He’s a hacker nerd and reformed bad-boy with a British accent and all the manners and passion to drive her wild.

Why are all the sexy infuriating Brit’s in the US? British Girl right here wants one.

The author manages to get you on both of their sides, I didn’t have a favourite, I wanted to smack sense into them both in equal measures. Written from both POV, led it to be infuriating and sympathetic. It was easy to be frustrated and understanding of both characters and their motivations for words and actions, which brought the story together nicely.

They are both so stubborn and he has some form of multi personality disorder, but I liked it.

Throw in heap loads of unknown exhibitionism, naughty office relief and kinky encounters and you have a hot sex filled love story that makes you believe in magic and soulmates.

A charming, funny read with a lot of misunderstandings, meddling parents and nosey friends.

 An absolute recommend.

 I awarded it 4.5 Throbbing Hearts and a heat rating of Sinfully Hot!

 




Disclaimer: Author gifted copy

Available at Amazon


Saturday, 23 March 2013

BOOK REVIEW: Enslaved by R C Murphy





BOOK REVIEW of Enslaved by R C Murphy




This was a book I picked up on a free day after it being recommended by a friend and following the author on twitter.
 

I had no expectations, even though I’d read its reviews and some of the author’s other works. I had mixed feelings about it, to say the least.
 

The gods are flawed . . . and they make awful parents.
 

Deryck knows first-hand the cruelty of the gods. Three thousand years after his birth, he is still trapped, forced to service humans as an Incubus—unable to choose whom he sleeps with, and living a life completely devoid of love. There is no out for him. No hope. Or so he thought.
 

Shayla McIntire spent five years getting her life back on track after the accident claiming her husband’s life. She is content to a nice, boring, subdued life free of the abuse she suffered before. Her friends are worried. They want her to find the man of her dreams and move on.
 

Little do they know, the Powers That Be have decided the man of Shayla’s dreams for her. There’s just one hitch, he’s enslaved to the gods and it will take power she doesn’t know she has to free him. Deryck isn’t the only one hoping Shayla will free him, though.
 


So, my mixed feelings.
I have to say that the writing is good. Descriptive, humorous, eloquent. Apart from a few spelling mistakes -how I would have loved to know how a ‘fist date’ went- and inconsistencies -the heroine’s eyes went from blue, to grey, to green on numerous occasions- there was nothing in regards to the writing that detracted from the story. I would say that with tighter editing and a better, human (as opposed to Word) spell checker, it would be solid.
 
The world is easy to follow, a fun play on the myths of many pantheons and the ultimate servitude of their half breed offspring, the incubi. It’s a take on it I haven’t seen before. The sex slave and incubus angle has been done but the author brings a new element to it.
 
Onto the lovebirds. This is where I really had trouble deciding how to rate this.
The heroine is a food fetishist, I’m sure, she’s constantly eating, and then complaining that her ass is fat or her friends look better than her. I wanted to shake her so many times. She gets herself stuck in this vicious cycle of self-loathing and low confidence that circles around her past and how she has been treated and how she sees herself. But she’s real. We all have these problems, flaws. It’s the whining that makes her a little less likeable. Her humour and snark saved her from being completely irritating and I was rooting for her to get with the guy because she deserved something good. That one person that makes you feel like you’re the most beautiful thing in the world. What woman doesn’t want that?
So, does the hero sweep her off her feet?
Kind of.
He isn’t the traditional alpha male. Oh, he’s hot, he’s got the bod for it. Just not the inner ‘Grrrr’ I like in my men. He was a demi-god outside and an awkward, gangly teenage boy on the inside. You’d never think he’d been having sex with millions of women his entire life. He’s adorable though. He falls in insta-love with her and tries everything human to woo her. He’s a perfect gentleman and I really admired his sweetness.
There isn’t so much sex, not until the very end. Then it’s sweet and slightly awkward. It lacked the passion one expects in a romance. His solo scene did more for me than their sex together.
 
All in all, a cute chick-flicky type easy-going read. Something to pass the time in the bath or on a journey.
 
Worth the read if you want to get lost in a world for a quick minute.  

 

I awarded it 3.5 Throbbing Hearts and a heat rating of Saintly Sweet.
 

 


Disclaimer: Author bought Amazon copy
 
Available at Amazon






Wednesday, 13 March 2013

The Cutest Sin Ever

 
Isn't he adorable? This was a Facebook find sent to me by a friend and I had to share. I named him Lucifer.

 
 

Monday, 11 March 2013

BOOK REVIEW: The Kiss by Sotia Lazu

BOOK REVIEW of The Kiss by Sotia Lazu

 

 

This was a free book I picked up on a recommendation from Goodreads.

I wasn’t disappointed.

This book is short, sweet, hot and a bit of a mystery, which I loved.

Eliza is out on a first date, when the lights go out and someone other than the man she's out with takes advantage of the dark to kiss her more passionately than she’s ever been kissed before.

Since the mystery kisser has to be one of the men sitting nearest to her, Eliza is now determined to kiss as many frogs as she needs to until she finds her prince.

Needless to say, this kiss leads Eliza to narrow down the field of would-be kissers and embark on a few dates that were surprisingly relatable. In other words: BAD. But for amusingly different reasons. I enjoyed all the characters, who were, for a short story, well developed, individual personalities that were real. It was well written, easy to read, and I stayed in the bath even after the water went cold because I wanted to finish it. The mystery is set up well, but the kisser revealed a little too early for me to feel all the tension I would have liked. A bit more ambiguity or vague implications surrounding the identity would have made it all the more enjoyable. Draw it out a bit more and I would have loved it.
The hero was brilliant, complicated, human, mistake-riddled, but so believable. We’ve all been stupid in love and for love and this guy encompasses all that. He’s also pretty hot, and knows how to treat a girl right in the bedroom. Major plus.
The sex was sexy, which it should be, fun and easy and smoking. The author knows how to write passionate kisses and complex characters and lusty scenes that make you want to read more.

Definitely worth purchasing and I look forward to reading more from this author.

I awarded it 4 Throbbing Hearts and heat rating of 4 Sinfully Hot 
 
 

Disclaimer: Author bought Amazon copy

Available at Amazon

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Because this killed me.

So.

I have friends. And one of them sent me this. Seriously, the best way to read 50 Shades of Grey and enjoy it.