Book Review: Sanctum by Lexi Blake

Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Masters and Mercenaries #4.5, Shades of Naughty
Audience: +18
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment, LLC
Release Date: November 14th 2016
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: Author
Blurb (from Goodreads):

A contract broken…

Ryan Church and Jill Paxon enjoyed their life as Master and submissive until the day Ryan's entire world crumbled. No longer able to fulfill his end of the contract, Ryan did what he thought was best for Jill. He let her go.

An unexpected reunion…

Eighteen months later, Ryan is working for Ian Taggart as the Dom in Residence at the elite BDSM club Sanctum when his former submissive walks through the door looking for a job. Jill has changed, but his desire for her is still insatiable. Jill, shattered by his past rejection, can't trust Ryan, but she needs the job. Back in the community where she once felt safe and secure, she longs for the life she lost and the man she loved.

A last chance for love…

Ryan is presented with an opportunity to restore his wealth and name, but it could cost him his last chance at rebuilding a life with the woman he loves. When the secrets Jill has carefully hidden from Ryan are exposed, a terrible twist of fate might take her out of his life forever.

A Masters and Mercenaries Novella by Lexi Blake

*Dislaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

Sanctum is not only a story about second chances, but also a story about how important communication and honesty are in both vanilla and D/s relationships.

Ryan is a guy who has had a bit of bad luck in his life, and he's the type of guy that can't do things half-way. His way of dealing with things falling apart around him is to make sure that, even though it isn't his fault, it ALL falls apart, even the thing he cares about the most. Which doesn't really make sense in the beginning, but then I realized that he has a pretty unique interpretation of what it means to be a Dom and a sub.

Jill gave me the impression of a woman who tried really hard to keep the man she loved next to her, even hide her own personality in order to do that. Which is part of the reason why, ultimately, their relationship would have ended no matter what. And I loved the fact that Ryan addresses that and shares his feelings about her behavior during their first time together.

Ryan and Jill both made mistakes in their relationship, and I like that the story showed that clearly and pretty brutally. Like I said, Ryan is a guy that has a pretty unique view of what being a Dom is, and it certainly is the main reason why ultimately his relationship with Jill ends. At the same time though, Jill also makes some mistakes based on her past and that gives her a strange interpretation of what a sub should be like, and instead of being completely honest she gives Ryan the best version of herself without any of the bad moments. It's basically a painful experience to see being talked about by both characters, but it's also really important and eye-opening. It's rare that I get to read about how the BDSM contract works in relation to the simple human interactions, and I found it fascinating. Blake did a really great job at showing how both Ryan and Jillian broke that contract by doing little things, the things most common in traditional, vanilla relationships - hiding stuff, not being honest, not saying what they truly wanted and so on.

At the same time, maybe also because of my background in psychology, I was fascinated by the way Blake showed how one action can be viewed differently by different people, so much so that they end up being seen as two opposite actions. And it wasn't necessarily due to the difference between the male and the female minds, but more because of the misinterpretation of the roles these two people had in their relationship. And I liked the fact that this was talked about, and Blake did a great job addressing that.

All in all, this was a short, but really complex story, that is a great addition to the series and definitely a nice way to take a break from the usual strong, fast pace full of danger at any turn.

Book Review: Ripper by Lexi Blake

Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Hunter #1, Thieves #6
Audience: +18
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment LLC
Release Date: January 20th 2015
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):

A New Heroine Rises...

Kelsey Atwood is a private detective with a problem. She came from a family of hunters, growing up on the wrong side of the supernatural world. Tracking down bail jumpers and deadbeat dads may not make her a lot of friends, but it’s a lot safer than the life she turned her back on. She was hoping to escape from the nightmares of her past, but her latest case has brought them right back to her door.

A young woman has gone missing, and she didn’t go willingly. When Kelsey discovers that the girl is actually a shifter, she knows she should drop the case and walk away. But this shifter was a sweet kid, and she’s in serious trouble. More females are missing and the evidence points to a legendary killer. Bodies are piling up, and her case is becoming center stage for a conflict that could shatter the fragile peace between wolves and vampires.

As the hunt intensifies, she finds herself trapped between two men—Gray, a magnetic half-demon lawman, and the ancient vampire Marcus Vorenus. Both men call to her, but when a shocking secret about Kelsey’s family is revealed, it could ruin them all. To stop the killer, she will have to embrace the truth about who—and what—she truly is.

*Disclaimer: I received this ebook from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

I love Lexi Blake's Masters and Mercenaries books, and when I saw she also had a paranormal series I knew I had to try it out. I am super happy I got my courage on and tried it out, because I had a ton of fun reading it.

This felt like a classic story within the urban fantasy genre, with Kelsey a PI being hired for a job she's not really willing to take on. I loved seeing her struggle with the idea of going back to the supernatural world. I also liked her work ethics. Once she was in she was all in, and she did her job spectacularly, which isn't always a given. But she was professional and no matter her personal feelings about going back to the world she swore never to return to, she didn't let her fears, doubts or feelings affect the way she did her job, and that was really important to me.

Gray is a guy who didn't really convince me, really. He felt too possessive, too "in love" with Kelsey, and I kept thinking I didn't really like him all that much. And his relationship with Kelsey felt fake and too. But, as I have come to expect from Blake, she explained it all in the end of the book and I had a kind of "Ah-ha!" moment. At the same time I realized that I had to give Gray props, because he did kind of warned Kelsey and the reader that something fishy might happen.

Then you have Marcus. Marcus is one very strange vampire. He didn't feel all that put together as he wanted Kelsey to believe, and throughout the book we see him kind of having weird reactions to certain things and situations. I assume a lot of this is explained in the original series, so I won't judge him too harshly.

The pacing is perfect and I managed to read this book pretty fast. I loved how we also got to understand Kelsey's past and her reasons for not wanting to have to deal with the supernatural world. I do wonder if she'll finally get to tie up the loose ends of her childhood, if she will ever get revenge on what the man who raised her did.

I loved reading this book and I most definitely loved the difference between this book and the Masters & Mercenaries series that I love and adore. Because they are different, not just in the obvious genre department, but also in the feel of the story. Which is awesome. I also loved that this book proved that I could trust Blake to make sense and to steer the story in such a way that makes sense in the end. Definitely read this book if you're an urban fantasy/paranormal lover.

Book Review: Wolf At The Door by Hailey Edwards

Author: Hailey Edwards
Series: Lorimar Pack #2
Audience: +18
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 25th 2017
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: Own Copy
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Prison is no one's idea of a good time, and it's even worse for Dell. Confinement has her inner wolf snarling as she paces their cell, and there's no end in sight. Just as she reaches her breaking point, the pack liaison shows up with an offer she can’t refuse. Dell’s freedom in exchange for going to Faerie and recapturing the fae prince responsible for her current digs.

But this fool's errand won't be a solo mission. Isaac Cahill has lost Dell twice, and he’ll be damned if she slips through his fingers again. This time, he’s not letting her out of his sight. Even if it means earning more than a few love bites from his pissed off she-wolf.

What they discover on their perilous quest is that war is closer than anyone imagined. As trusted allies fall and dangerous new threats emerge, Dell discovers one defining truth. Isaac is hers, and she'll fight to the death for him. And, at the rate this war is coming, she might not have long to wait.

The story of Dell and the Lorimar pack continues in this heart-pounding story and I couldn't help but love it.

Wolf At The Door takes Dell and her friends to Faerie. It was a really fascinating journey, to be honest. The thing I loved most was that it was not as magical as I initially thought. The story has a ton of twists and turns, both on Faerie and on the earth plane, and I loved where the story went. I have to admit that this was my first visit to Faerie, because I'm reading these books out of order *hides in shame*. But I loved seeing the fae world through Dell's eyes. It was an intriguing experience, seeing it through the eyes of a non-fae creature, because she wasn't as enamored by that world as I would imagine an earth fae would be. She was able to question certain things, and not let them compel her to ignore the danger around her, while at the same time not recognize the danger in other details.

Dell still has a lot of growing to do, and a lot of baggage that she needs to deal with, but she's slowly getting there. As with the previous book in the series, I loved seeing the difference between Dell's human and wolf sides. Not only was it a intriguing aspect of the story, it helped understand Dell more. I know I said this before, but the way Edwards created the warg mythology in her books is really unique and I like the fact that the human side and the wolf side are two separate entities in these stories.

The pace was awesome, as expected, and there were a lot of surprises during this book. A few things I did not anticipate happened, and I quite enjoyed that. I don't want to give away too many spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. But just know that I loved this book and that I am very anxious to see what happens next.