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The Romance Reviews

Thursday, 31 July 2014

#ThursdayTasters


Every Thursday a group of talented writers share a sample of their awesome writing hereCheck them out!


This week I thought I'd share another taste from my wip...



"What exactly are we looking for?" Cole led the way down to the basement, using the flashlight to guide their path. 

Ed could adopt his animal side to better see in the dark, he was sure Cole could too, but the yellow glow saved them the effort of shifting.
"The main electric supply, the distribution board, the isolator switch – anywhere there could be a fault. I don't smell anything burning so it's probably just a blown fuse or something." Ed could barely make out the panel beyond Cole's massive frame. When he came to a standstill in the corner of the room, Ed almost collided with him.
"Well, if there'd been a fire the sprinklers would've come on." Cole swung the torch around and Ed had to shield his eyes.
"Can you quit trying to blind me?"
"Sorry." Cole tilted the flashlight up so it underlit his handsome, smiling face.
"I just need to get at the box behind your shoulder." There wasn't room to swap places, so Ed had to squeeze past the muscle mountain. For one heart stopping moment, the only sound was the heart of the hotel whirring around them.
Thigh brushed against thigh. Hot breath mingled with hot breath as they came face to face.
So this was the animal magnetism that everyone found so irresistible? Ed was beginning to get it as he was pulled into that vortex of insta-lust, keen to find out what all the fuss was about.
It was a simultaneous decision to act on the attraction as they launched at each other. There was no tenderness or finesse as their mouths clashed together. This was a blatant display of naked passion.
Cole dropped the flashlight on the floor and clamped his hand around the back of Ed's neck, drawing him deeper into the savage kiss. They wrapped their tongues around each other in exploration, and Ed soon developed a taste for the exotic hunk of masculinity fighting him for dominance. He was hard in seconds, Cole too, as steel pressed against steel in the dark.
So much for the dull weekend he'd anticipated. Less than twenty-four hours in and he was already on his way to conquest number two. 

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

#MWTease - First Floor: Cosmetics


This is my first #MWTease, so as it's release week for me, I'm sharing a snippet from the second book in The Department Store series.



Take one younger man, add some illicit outdoor sex, and Maggie Fenton is inclined to forget she’s the oldest cosmetics girl at Kelsey’s Department Store.

Blurb

From the outside, it looks as though Maggie Fenton has it all. The glamorous head of the cosmetics department lives a life of luxury, but money definitely hasn’t bought her happiness. In reality, she’s married to a serial cheat who has made her life a misery for over a decade. With her husband chasing younger women, and her teenage co-workers’ catty comments ringing in her ears, Maggie’s resigned herself to being on the scrap heap. Until Jonah Hamilton puts temptation in her way and reminds her she’s still a red-blooded woman.

Commitment is a four letter word as far as Jonah is concerned. He has no intention of settling down when he has the whole world at his feet. The only reason he takes a summer job at Kelsey’s is to fund his travels. Well, that, and the sexy older woman he can’t help flirting with over the makeup counter. Maggie soon becomes a good friend and someone who shows him how good love can be.

The chemistry between them is undeniable but is a fling enough to satisfy their desires, or is it simply the start of something bigger?

Excerpt

Jonah blinked as Maggie disappeared out of the door faster than an alcoholic to a free bar. Her husband had really done a number on her for her to have such low confidence. Her self-esteem was so fragile, one joke had shattered it to smithereens. He couldn’t let her leave like that, thinking such despicable thoughts about herself. And him.
He left the rest of his pint to give chase. He didn’t know why it mattered so much that someone he hardly knew was upset, but he didn’t want to part with her on bad terms.
I’m such a dick.
He dodged through the crowd, cursing himself. Any other sober, conscious of other people’s feelings dumbass would’ve realized she needed that reassurance her husband couldn’t give her. Instead, he’d laughed, convinced that the funny, warm, gorgeous woman with him would realize how daft she was being. Perhaps he’d been too cautious about letting his true thoughts about her be known.
All he’d done was to confirm her suspicions that she was nothing more than a has-been, when, in his experience, she was the most grounded, deeper than a fish pond, natural goddess he’d met in a long time.
He barged the heavy wooden doors open to see the smokers gathered outside in the last of the evening sun. With no sign of Maggie, he knew he’d blown it. Away from the cloud of smoke clogging his lungs, he scanned up and down Great Victoria Street. Among the student crowd, the young professionals and the theater-goers, he spotted her hot-footing it away, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
Shit!
He sprinted after her, not really caring who he knocked out of his path, but apologizing anyway. “Excuse me. Sorry. Move!”
Her steps slowed as she approached the traffic lights, giving him time to cover the distance between them. Before she could put her foot out onto the road, he grabbed her elbow and yanked her back.
“What the hell?” She stiffened, probably ready to batter her assailant with the handbag she was gripping like a deadly weapon. Only when she saw his face did she stop resisting.
With grim determination, he pulled her back the way she had come, not saying a word.
“Jonah? What’s going on? I need to go home.” The tone of her voice varied from loud, outright panic to quiet resignation. It only succeeded in driving him on in his quest.
When they reached the pub again, he dodged down the alleyway at the side. They didn’t need an audience. He pushed Maggie up against the wall, careful not to hurt her, but with enough force to stop her running again. He caged her between his body and the brick building. As she worried her bottom lip with her teeth, Jonah leaned down to catch it and draw it back out. She was soft and pliant, and her gentle scent intoxicated him further.
With a point to prove, he kissed her hard, plunging his tongue into her mouth to taste her sweetness and claim it for himself. Ordinarily, such an audacious move might’ve deserved a slap or a knee to the balls. Either would’ve been worth it. Instead, she went limp beneath him, submitting immediately.
Whoa!
He stepped back. “That is how you make me feel. How you should be kissed.”
Christ, the way she had responded to it made it a double sin that someone didn’t do that to her frequently.
Maggie stared back at him, her brow furrowed and her kiss-swollen lips parted and waiting. Beer or no beer, a certain part of his anatomy sat up to say hello.
Both he and Maggie stared silently at one another. Deep down Jonah knew he should be the one to walk away this time. He’d made his point. She was attractive and he fancied her. She could file that away for future reference the next time her husband went MIA. Jonah lingered on her moist lips a while longer.
“Do it again,” he could have sworn she said.

The cosmetics department is now open! First Floor: Cosmetics is available for early download at Totally Bound.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the #MWTease participants!



Monday, 21 July 2014

Secrets Uncovered with Raven McAllan - #NewRelease #Giveaway


Diomhair—secret.
What happens there stays there.
Well, unless I write about it, but hey you won't mind will you?
I hope not because Secrets Uncovered is book two of six planned, all about a BDSM Club in a renovated Scottish Castle.
Writing about normal people and their hopes and needs is great fun. Being with them as they work through their problems and try to understand what they and each other want can be stressful, and boy can it give me hours of angst. However, as I'm character driven eventually we come to an understanding, and work through it.
Kath and Jeff gave me more than a few moments when I wondered if we'd ever get to a happy for now, let alone a happily ever after. They had such different opinions about something that loomed large in their lives. To whit, just what was okay to do when Kath was pregnant.
And oh boy did their ideas differ, except in one way of course. They both wanted what was best for the baby. However what was best, shall we say, caused a massive difference of opinion.
I guess it was inevitable. A Dom and a sub. A man and a woman. And both strong personalities.
Eventually they get things sort of sorted, but that's not their only problems.
Life at Diomhair is never peaceful. But it is fun… and at times tense… and, well you'll need to read it yourself…



Here's the blurb…
Convincing a Dom that pregnancy doesn’t mean the end of all play can take some doing. Kath is horny and determined, but what does Jeff think?

Pregnancy should be the happiest time of your life. What’s a sub to do, however, when her Dom won’t touch her? Kath can’t understand why Jeff is being so difficult. After all, she’s pregnant, not ill, and she’ll combust with sexual frustration if she can’t seduce Jeff into play.
Jeff can’t help but worry over Kath’s health. It doesn’t matter what anyone, including the doctor, says about sex being okay, his mind tells him otherwise. It’s his duty to protect his sub, even if he’s giving himself blue balls in the process. He’ll do anything to keep her and their baby safe.
With the two of them at an impasse, tension runs high, especially when the future of Diomhair is threatened by an unknown enemy.
As they pull together to secure their home, and their workplace, can they also resolve their personal problems, or does pregnancy spell the end of their Dom/sub relationship?

And a wee tease…

“Boy have I enjoyed myself, but, ohh, now my feet ache, and I’m dying for a cuppa. You should see what I’ve bought.” Kath kicked her shoes off and dropped several carrier bags on the floor. “That new shop is enough to set any woman drooling, pregnant or not. And I got some kick ass flats like you said. Though I have earmarked some fuck me heels for after Bump arrives, and you should see…” Her voice trailed off as he stood with his arms folded and grinned at her. “I distrust that grin, Jeff Sutherland. What have you been up to?”
“Is that anyway to great your Master, pet?”
Her eyes widened as she took in what they called his Dom attire. The soft leather trousers she stroked like they were alive and his tight back T-shirt she almost drooled over. He’d deliberately left them in the wardrobe of late, feeling it would be unfair to remind both of them what they couldn’t have. Now in his new mindset—partly due, he admitted, to a strong talking to from David, but more from a need and a desire to reassert their way of life—Jeff realised how much he wanted to wear them and see her reaction once more. Kath had said her response to those clothes was almost Pavlovian. He wore. She drooled. He said jump, she said how high? They were, she admitted, her trigger. Now, her grin almost split her face before she dipped her head.
“No, Sir.”
“Exactly, pet. I’ve been somewhat remiss lately, and I have to remedy that. I don’t want my pet to think I’ve forgotten her.” He slid back into their dynamic like a knife through softened butter. It seemed so right, and so perfect. Now all he had to do was convince Kath to be happy with the changes he’d decided on. “I’ve thought things over, and we’re going to rewrite some of our protocols. Remember, you can traffic light me, but for now I’m going to ask you to listen to what I want before you comment. All right?” Jeff held his breath. If it wasn’t, there was no way he could force anything on her. Force in any form had never formed part of their dynamics, not even in role-play. It wasn’t them, and never would be.
Kath looked from him to the cushioned chair he’d added to the room. He'd placed it in front of the chair he himself preferred to sit in, right over the spot Kath usually liked to curl up on and cuddle his legs. Then she looked across the room to where he’d put a new sofa. Jeff didn’t dare think of the strings he’d pulled or the favours he now owed so he could have it in place and waiting for Kath’s return.
“Yes, Sir. Green, Sir.” She grinned, then looked down in a hurry.
“That’s my good pet. Now as you get less…” He chuckled. “I’m not sure how to put this any way subtly, so I’ll just say, less svelte-like and more uncomfortable, it wouldn’t be practical to kneel as we have done before. So our new protocol involves this chair.” He took her arm and helped her sit. A soft smile played over Kath’s face, but she didn’t say a word. When they did play like this, she always waited to speak. “Instead of kneeling, pet, you’ll sit on here and face me. Then I’d like…” He hesitated. This could be sticky. He didn’t want Kath to think she mattered less than their baby. “I’d like for you to accept me touching our child. To feel the swell of your stomach, the flutters and kicks as you get bigger, and rest my head on you so I can engage with you both, I guess is the best way to put it. However, your greeting to me will be equally as important. I want, while it’s still comfortable, for you to dip your head and accept my kiss on your neck. Then, eventually, once it’s time, we’ll move on to our normal greetings. The new sofa is for our evening together. We’ll have none of the sitting at my feet. I don’t think either of us would find it a turn on if I had to haul you up like…”
“Using a JCB?” Kath giggled. “No, Sir. I’d be honoured to sit next to you.  Oh, sorry. Mind engaged and mouth opened.” She wriggled her butt, in a way he well knew meant ‘spank me’.
“Behave. The punishment won’t be physical, not now. Maybe I need a book? To write your misbehaviour in.” She nodded eagerly, and Jeff had to laugh. Kath in this mood was incorrigible and nigh on irresistible. “Colour?”
“Green and green. And may I say the day I can start touching you in our greeting again can’t come soon enough, Sir.”
She’s up to something. The look on Kath’s face was so innocent he distrusted it.
“That’s a maybe. However it isn’t yet. Not until we pass the three months. So behave.” He lifted her chin in a light grip. “Understand, pet?”
She sighed. “Only too well, Sir. By God you’re infrangible when you want to be.”
“I’m a Dom. It goes with the territory.”

You can buy Secrets Uncovered here…

For a chance to win a copy of the first book in the series, Secrets Shared, just tell me, where you think is the prefect place for a BDSM club and why. I'll chose a winner from the comments at random.

Happy Reading,

Love R x



 Raven Bio…


Well what can I say?

I'm growing old disgracefully and loving it.
Dh and I live on the edge of a Scottish forest, and rattle around in a house much too big for us.
Our kids have grown up and flown the nest, but roll back up when they want to take a deep breath and smell the daisies so to speak.
I write in my study, which overlooks the garden and the lane. I'm often seen procrastinating, by checking out the wild life, looking—only looking—at the ironing basket and assuring tourists that indeed, I'm not the bed and breakfast. That would mean cooking fried eggs without breaking the yolks, and disturbing the dust bunnies as they procreate under the beds. Not to be thought of.
Being able to do what I love, and knowing people get pleasure from my writing is fantastic. Long may it last.





Saturday, 19 July 2014

#SexySnippets - First Floor: Cosmetics


It's release week, so I'm sharing another Sexy Snippet from book two of The Department Store series. 

First Floor: Cosmetics is available on early download now from Totally Bound.


Take one younger man, add some illicit outdoor sex, and Maggie Fenton is inclined to forget she’s the oldest cosmetics girl at Kelsey’s Department Store.

'Their tongues lashed together, vying for dominance in the dance, as Maggie expressed her growing confidence. It suited Jonah fine.
Then, as quickly as she had heated up, she cooled off and pulled away. He would’ve complained, but she was busy tugging his shirt out from his trousers.
“Maggie—” It was a feeble attempt to stop her—he didn’t know why he bothered. No man in his right mind would rebuff a sexy woman undoing his fly.'



Don't forget to check out the rest of the #SexySnippets over on The Nuthouse Scribblers blog!

Friday, 18 July 2014

Release Day! - The Department Store #2

Take one younger man, add some illicit outdoor sex, and Maggie Fenton is inclined to forget she’s the oldest cosmetics girl at Kelsey’s Department Store.


It's release day! *Bounces* The cosmetics department is now open! Available for early download at Totally Bound.

Blurb

From the outside, it looks as though Maggie Fenton has it all. The glamorous head of the cosmetics department lives a life of luxury, but money definitely hasn’t bought her happiness. In reality, she’s married to a serial cheat who has made her life a misery for over a decade. With her husband chasing younger women, and her teenage co-workers’ catty comments ringing in her ears, Maggie’s resigned herself to being on the scrap heap. Until Jonah Hamilton puts temptation in her way and reminds her she’s still a red-blooded woman.

Commitment is a four letter word as far as Jonah is concerned. He has no intention of settling down when he has the whole world at his feet. The only reason he takes a summer job at Kelsey’s is to fund his travels. Well, that, and the sexy older woman he can’t help flirting with over the makeup counter. Maggie soon becomes a good friend and someone who shows him how good love can be.

The chemistry between them is undeniable but is a fling enough to satisfy their desires, or is it simply the start of something bigger?

Excerpt

Jonah blinked as Maggie disappeared out of the door faster than an alcoholic to a free bar. Her husband had really done a number on her for her to have such low confidence. Her self-esteem was so fragile, one joke had shattered it to smithereens. He couldn’t let her leave like that, thinking such despicable thoughts about herself. And him.
He left the rest of his pint to give chase. He didn’t know why it mattered so much that someone he hardly knew was upset, but he didn’t want to part with her on bad terms.
I’m such a dick.
He dodged through the crowd, cursing himself. Any other sober, conscious of other people’s feelings dumbass would’ve realized she needed that reassurance her husband couldn’t give her. Instead, he’d laughed, convinced that the funny, warm, gorgeous woman with him would realize how daft she was being. Perhaps he’d been too cautious about letting his true thoughts about her be known.
All he’d done was to confirm her suspicions that she was nothing more than a has-been, when, in his experience, she was the most grounded, deeper than a fish pond, natural goddess he’d met in a long time.
He barged the heavy wooden doors open to see the smokers gathered outside in the last of the evening sun. With no sign of Maggie, he knew he’d blown it. Away from the cloud of smoke clogging his lungs, he scanned up and down Great Victoria Street. Among the student crowd, the young professionals and the theater-goers, he spotted her hot-footing it away, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
Shit!
He sprinted after her, not really caring who he knocked out of his path, but apologizing anyway. “Excuse me. Sorry. Move!”
Her steps slowed as she approached the traffic lights, giving him time to cover the distance between them. Before she could put her foot out onto the road, he grabbed her elbow and yanked her back.
“What the hell?” She stiffened, probably ready to batter her assailant with the handbag she was gripping like a deadly weapon. Only when she saw his face did she stop resisting.
With grim determination, he pulled her back the way she had come, not saying a word.
“Jonah? What’s going on? I need to go home.” The tone of her voice varied from loud, outright panic to quiet resignation. It only succeeded in driving him on in his quest.
When they reached the pub again, he dodged down the alleyway at the side. They didn’t need an audience. He pushed Maggie up against the wall, careful not to hurt her, but with enough force to stop her running again. He caged her between his body and the brick building. As she worried her bottom lip with her teeth, Jonah leaned down to catch it and draw it back out. She was soft and pliant, and her gentle scent intoxicated him further.
With a point to prove, he kissed her hard, plunging his tongue into her mouth to taste her sweetness and claim it for himself. Ordinarily, such an audacious move might’ve deserved a slap or a knee to the balls. Either would’ve been worth it. Instead, she went limp beneath him, submitting immediately.
Whoa!
He stepped back. “That is how you make me feel. How you should be kissed.”
Christ, the way she had responded to it made it a double sin that someone didn’t do that to her frequently.
Maggie stared back at him, her brow furrowed and her kiss-swollen lips parted and waiting. Beer or no beer, a certain part of his anatomy sat up to say hello.
Both he and Maggie stared silently at one another. Deep down Jonah knew he should be the one to walk away this time. He’d made his point. She was attractive and he fancied her. She could file that away for future reference the next time her husband went MIA. Jonah lingered on her moist lips a while longer.
“Do it again,” he could have sworn she said.

Thursday, 17 July 2014

Labour of Love - #FlasherFictionFriday

Every week, an amazing group of writers get inspired by a picture. Each has 100 words, no more, no less, to come up with their version which they do so well. Please click here to find the others and show them some love by reading. As always comments are much appreciated.


Labour of Love

This was it. Five years together and Sharon was sure Kyle was finally going to propose. When he woke up and handed her the anniversary present, her heart sank. The gift box was too big even for the size of diamond she had in mind. She faked a smile as she lifted the lid to find bits of coloured paper inside.

"It took me years to do this. Legend has it that one thousand origami cranes will bring a long and prosperous marriage. Will you marry me?"

"Of course!"

Who needed diamonds when a girl had such a devoted partner?

#ThursdayTasters - WIP


Every Thursday a group of talented writers share a sample of their awesome writing hereCheck them out!

This week I thought I'd share a taster from my current wip, provisionally titled Shifter Pride. It's my first foray into menage...maybe...





Ed was so protective of Ange it bordered on possessiveness but he wouldn't see her hurt for the world. With Reuben's advice to back off, and the PDA from Ange and Cole reverting back to hand holding, the red mist drifted away.
                He relaxed his hands until he had ten fingers again instead of two fists capable of mass destruction. "I could still take him if it came to it."
"Sure." Reuben's knowing nod contradicted his words.
Ed sniffed the air trying to distinguish the scent among the others. "Cat?"
"Panther." The grin spread into a beaming smile showcasing even white teeth and a deep set dimple.
This would be so much easier to make a move if they were two guys in a bar instead of part of this debacle. Although, one night stands didn't work so well when you were both locked up in the same hotel for the weekend. The best he could hope for was a like-minded soul who didn't want anymore complication than he did.
"I could still take him," Ed mumbled.
Reuben got the impression he was no longer talking about Cole judging by the husky rasp of his voice. Heat burned the palm of his hand still resting on Ed's chest. The defined lines of the pecs beneath his fingertips made him itch to see more. Even if Ed should have a large 'Danger' sign slapped across his forehead.
He was exactly what Reuben didn't need – a hothead who thought with his fists. So why was he trembling with anticipation, not fear?
They locked eyes, and for Reuben, all background noise faded away. All he could hear was the thump of his own heart. Ed's chest rose and fell a little faster under his touch. The tightening in Reuben's balls was there even before Ed took his hand and pulled him toward the far side of the room.

Reuben swallowed hard. He knew what was coming, and God help him, he couldn't resist. He was just asking for trouble and it had definitely found him in the form of a sexy red fox.