Still catching up on some (short) reviews: Knight or Daye by Jude Mason

Jude Mason
Knight or Daye
Total E-Bound Publishing, 2009

Genre & Keywords: Gay, M/M/M, Menage, Bdsm

Rating: êêê
Heat level: ¹¹

The Back Blurb:
A love lost, then found. Can Knight rescue his love or will Daye prevail?
Jeremy Knight lives with, and is in love with, Sam, a man who hides his submissive nature until, one fine evening, he asks Jeremy to dominate him. Jeremy is shocked, but does go along with his lover's request. It goes well - perhaps too well - overwhelming Jeremy. He leaves, gets wildly drunk and decides he can't abide the behaviour. Returning home, he tells Sam, who pushes his sub side down, for a while. He finally can't take it and leaves.
Devastated, Jeremy does some soul searching and discovers that perhaps Sam's desires weren't all that horrible. His own dominant side shows itself and he does as much research as he can to find himself.
Then he must find Sam. A cop friend of Jeremy's sees Sam in the company of 'someone of interest' to the police - Nathanial Daye, a very wealthy man who owns and sells people. The only trouble is they've never been able to prove it. When Jeremy decides to get into the picture, he winds up as the newest 'boy' in Nathanial's house. He finds Sam, who has fallen for another slave named Peter.
Can Jeremy rekindle the love Sam had for him? How will Peter fit into the picture? Can Jeremy find a way to rescue them all? Or will Daye win?

I like a book that opens in mid action and Knight or Daye has a strong opening that sucked me right into the story:

Jeremy Knight stood outside of his lover’s door, his hands clenched at his sides, thinking about knocking, but not quite sure he was ready. […]
He looked back at the door. “Could use some TLC,” he mumbled and shifted from one foot to the other. The thong pulled tight up the crack of his ass. He squirmed, trying to readjust the strap without actually using his hands. It didn’t work. He knew it wouldn’t.
He looked at the door again and took a deep breath. It was now or never. Standing there any longer wasn’t going to help his indecisiveness. He raised his hand and knocked. Stepping back, he waited and his heart raced. He crossed his hands in front of himself, gripping one wrist. Head lowered, he eased his feet apart, shoulder width.
His decision was making itself known.
Jeremy watched the rise and fall of his chest, and worked on his patience. His hands grew slippery with sweat. His jeans felt too tight, his tank even tighter. The boots weighed a ton when he moved his feet. He clenched his fist then straightened his fingers, stretching them, trying to distract himself. Jumbled thoughts and desires plagued him. His c**k pulsed, and he wanted to sooth the dull ache he’d been trying to ignore for the last hour.
Footsteps approached from inside.
Should he bolt, flee for his freedom?

The back blurb is pretty misleading though. We actually step into the story where the blurb ends. Everything that’s written in the blurb, except for the last few sentences, has occurred already and is not part of the story, it’s only mentioned shortly. By the time I figured this out I was already pulled into a lot of action, involving a mean Dom and slave trader (Nathaniel), Jeremy’s lost and submissive ex boyfriend (Sam) and Sam’s newfound friend and fellow submissive (Peter), who were all thrown into the mix with Jeremy to have a hot bondage sex scene at Nathaniel’s house. Jeremy went there as the new boy toy of Master Nathaniel to find and win back Sam. Well, he finds him very quickly and things are forgiven and solved between them even faster.

Then the suspense is increased with a notch or two by introducing the mean side of Nathaniel, who keeps the men in captivity and intends to sell Peter as a slave. I don’t want to give the whole plot away but let me say that there’s a lot going on in this short story (of ca. 40 pages). And not everything was as easy to believe as I wanted to. To be honest, the characters appeared to be not much more than chess-pieces on a board in a play of fast chess, only there for the sake of action. Granted, the play was hot and sexy! It’s just that I didn’t feel the love or the romance or the affection, only the attraction.

If you pick up this story as a quick hot read than you won’t be disappointed and it will be worth 3 or 3.5 stars, if you want a heart wrenching romance than you won’t be satisfied and probably won’t rate it with more than 2.5 stars.

Mondays Hot Couple & Catching up on some (short) reviews

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Here's today's Hot Couple! I've read a few more books than I've reviewed lately, so I'm trying to catch up by doing a few quickies on a couple of those books, to start with the anthology When Good Things Happen To Bad Boys. Other short stories and novella's will be up next...

Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, HelenKay Dimon
When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys
Kensington Publishing Corp, 2006

Genre & Keywords: Contemporary, Anthology
Rating: êêê
Heat level: ¹¹


This is a bundle with three stories (about 100 pages each) and I’ll just give you my quick thoughts on each story. The anthology as a whole was okay, enjoyable at times. I like reading them every now and then because they give me a quick sample of some new to me authors.

The Back Blurb:
"Playing Doctor" by Lori Foster:
Attitude makes a huge difference in bed. It could be Axel Dean's motto. The sexy physician likes his women with sensual moxie, and Libby Preston definitely seems to fit that bill. There's that naughty grin. That hot bod. Her eager kisses and cheeky insults. Her...admitted virginity. Whoa. Okay, cue cold shower. Axel may not be an honorable man, but he has his limits. Except Libby won't take no for an answer. She's determined to have someone show her what she's been missing, and suddenly, Axel can't bear to think of Libby playing doctor with anyone else...

My Thoughts:
This was a fun read! From the beginning Axel and Libby hit it off. Their attraction was tangible and sizzled from the pages. When Libby admitted to be a virgin Axel backed out of their sexy encounter. They meet again under hilarious circumstances which were a wee bit too coincidental imo. Then their relationship evolves into a sweet and tender one and that part was very well written. I made it the best story of this bundle for me.

The Back Blurb:
"Lady Of The Lake" by Erin McCarthy:
Pro baseball player Dylan Diaz is pretty sure he's going to hell. When you rescue a drowning woman from a lake your first thought should be, "Are you okay?" not, "Can I make mad, passionate love to you?" But the minute sputtering kindergarten teacher Violet Caruthers is on Dylan's boat, that's all he can think about. Maybe it's the potent combo of a nun's personality inside a stripper's body. Maybe it's the way she drives him crazy with desire and laughter. Or maybe, Dylan's finally found what's been missing in his life, and he's not about to let go...

My Thoughts:
In the first story we had a virgin and in this second one a woman who desperately wants to get pregnant. Both not my favorite type of heroines. Especially Violet is on top of that not easy to like. She’s insecure about her appearance while she apparently has a stripper’s body! I got annoyed by the amount of times her big breast were described or mentioned. I don’t want to know! I want to know all about the hero’s gorgeous bod, yes, but not too much about the heroine’s! I’m I asking too much? Anyway, the story was build around a few too many unbelievable coincidences but it was a quick and sexy read which gave me a few enjoyable but not very memorable hours.



The Back Blurb:
"Hardhats And Silk Stockings" by HelenKay Dimon:
Hannah Bridges is the most infuriating woman architect Whit Thomas has ever met - and the sexiest. If he could just get the tough contractor to stop proving herself at every turn, they might have time to discuss more important things, like his hands on her...blue prints. What Hannah needs is a night of pure bliss that's all about her: no regrets, no control, no limits. Now, in a private room where pleasure is the only goal, Hannah is about to receive a delicious education in total ecstasy...
My Thoughts:
This story had me laughing a few times. Some scenes are really embarrassing for the hero and it makes him loveable. The plot is wafer-thin but it has a really nice setting for some hot scenes. There’s an old house and a private room with sex toys and the h/h are assigned to renovate the house when one night they get locked in the private room. You can imagine what that means for their love-hate feelings for each other. Of course, everything ends well but not before they have to overcome some obstacles. Enjoyable read for the time being as well!

I Heart Me Some Boyz Kissing Boyz

I have this deadline for an article for a Dutch magazine that I'm supposed to write today. The article is about literary New York and I have to finish it before tomorrow... But the thing with me and deadlines is that I can't help myself for pushing them *groan*. So this afternoon, instead of writing and finishing the article, I got lost in the wonderful world of YouTube, which always provides me with the greatest of distractions when I have to make a deadline... *sigh*

I stumbled on these wonderful vids of boys kissing boys and - just so I can get over with the postponing and get back to my article - I share two of the best here with you. The second one has a slow start but stay tuned cos the second half is worth it! It's a little bit like the last M/M book I've read, The One That Got Away by Madeleine Urban & Rhianna Aile: wonderful build up and than ultimately satisfying and hot... This was one of the best reads of 2009 for me (I'll try to write a review later)!
Get your fan and cold drink before you hit the play button. Enjoy!

If you're an innocent lurker passing by here and if you're easily offended by gay love and boys kissing boys, please don't watch!!

The 100+ Reading Challenge

I decided yesterday to join the 100+ Reading Challenge hosted by J. Kaye. It will be my fourth challenge for 2010, besides the Erotic Romance, the Contemporary Romance and the M/M Romance challenges I joined earlier. The 100+ challenge will be a good way for me to keep track of all the books I read for the different challenges and list them in one view. And it will be a real challenge of course to read that many books!

I'm actually looking for one more challenge for 2010 that will help me to read more of the paranormal romance genre... Do you have any suggestions for a good one?
The 2010 DIK Book Reading Challenge is on my radar too, but it gives me too much opportunity to skip the paranormal romances and I really want to challenge myself with that genre... Doesn't mean I won't do the DIK challenge as well though...

The rules for the 100+ Reading Challenge are:
1. The goal is to read 100 or more books. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
2. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, Manga, Graphic Novels, Library books, Novellas, Young Reader, Nonfiction – as long as the book has an ISBN or equivalent or can be purchased as such, the book counts.
What doesn't count: Individual short stories or individual books in the Bible.
3. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.
4. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.
5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Books started before the 1st do not count.
6. You can sign up at J. Kaye's Book Blog.


My list:

JANUARY
1. Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels Finished, 5 stars
2. Cuffed and Dangerous by Bronwyn Green Finished, 4 stars
3. Mind F*cked by Mia Watts, Finished, 4 stars
4. Beth's Acceptance by Teal Ceagh, Finished, 4 stars
5. Blind Faith by Claire Thompson, Finished, 4 stars
6. Hard to Hold (Hold trilogy, #1) by Stephanie Tyler Finished, 3 stars
7. The Broken H by J.L. Langley, Finished, 4 stars

FEBRUARY
8. This Side of Heaven by Fallon Blake, Finished, 4.5 stars
9. Seeing You by Dakota Flint, Finished, 4 stars
10. Upwardly Mobile by Clare London, Finished, 3.5 stars
11. Fatal Shadows (Adrien English Mystery Series #1) by Josh Lanyon, Finished, 4 stars
12. A Dangerous Thing (Adrien English Mystery Series #2) by Josh Lanyon, Finished, 4.5 stars
13. Racing Hearts (A Calculated Risk\An Outside Chance\This Time Around) by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Nancy Warren, Dorien Kelly, Finished, 2.5-3 stars
14. Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy, Finished, 5 stars
15. Magnus by Jambrea Jo Jones, Finished, 3 stars
16. The Runaway Man by Jambrea Jo Jones, Finished, 3.5 stars
17. Snowed In by Rhianne Aile & Madeleine Urban, Finished, 4.5 stars

MARCH
18. Midnight Dalliance by S.J. Frost, Finished, 3.5 stars
19. Conquest by S.J. Frost, Finished, 4 stars
20. Catch Me If You Can by L.B. Gregg, Finished, 4 stars
21. The Darkest Fire (Lords of the Underworld, #0.5, Prequel) by Gena Showalter, Finished, 2 stars
22. The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1) by Gena Showalter, Finished, 4 stars
23. Issue of Trust by Lorie O'Clare, Finished, 3.5 stars
24. Rope Dreams by Eliza Gayle, Finished, 3 stars
25. Somebody Killed His Editor (Holmes & Moriarity, #1) by Josh Lanyon, Finished, 4 stars
26. More by Sloan Parker, Finished, 5 stars
27. Freeze Frame (Faerily Imperfect, #3) by Mia Watts, Finished, 4 stars

APRIL
28. Only Yours by J.R. Patrick, Finished, 3.5 stars
29. Dangerous Distraction by Mia Watts, Finished, 3.75 stars
30. Two Steps Up by Sean Kennedy, Finished, 3.5 stars
31. Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf, Finished, 3.75 stars
32. Oleander House (Bay City Paranormal Investigation #1) by Ally Blue, Finished, 4 stars
33. What Hides Inside (Bay City Paranormal Investigation #2) by Ally Blue, Finished, 4 stars
34. Ratchet (Deviations, #2.5) by Chris Owen & Jodi Payne, Finished, 3 stars
35. Pineapples & Chocolate by E.M. Lynley, Finished, 3 stars
36. Twilight (Bay City Paranormal Investigation #3) by Ally Blue, Finished, 3.5 stars
37. Closer (Bay City Paranormal Investigation #4) by Ally Blue, Finished, 4 stars
38. An Inner Darkness (Bay City Paranormal Investigation #5) by Ally Blue, Finished, 4.5 stars
39. Where The Heart Is (Bay City Paranormal Investigation #6) by Ally Blue, Finished, 4 stars
40. Happy Ending (Men of Smithfield, #2) by L.B. Gregg, Finished, 3.5 stars
41. Icing On The Cake by Shayla Kersten, Finished, 4 stars
42. Perfect Man by Shawn Lane, Finished, 4 stars
43. Another Chance by Shawn Lane, Finished, 4.5 stars
44. Trust by Shawn Lane,Finished, 4.5 stars
45. Heart and Soul (Assignment, #4) by Evangeline Anderson, Finished, 3 stars
46. Turquoise and Leather (Collared, #1) by Kim Dare, Finished, 3.5 stars
47. Centrefold by Kris Norris, Finished, 3 stars

MAY
48. Night Shift by Jenna Byrnes, Finished, 3.5 stars
49. JackMagic by Jillian Snyder, Finished, 4 stars
50. Bound by Deception (Bound, #1) by Ava March, Finished, 4.5 stars
51. Bound to Him (Bound, #2) by Ava March, Finished, 5 stars
52. Deliberately Unbound (Bound, #3, Free story) by Ava March, Finished, 3.5 stars
53. Cheating Chance (Taking the Odds, #1) by James Buchanan, Finished, 4.5 stars
54. Inland Empire (Taking the Odds, #2) by James Buchanan, Finished, 5+ stars
(plus - not counting for this Challenge - a few Taking the Odds free reads and stories from anthologies:
Squirrel Run (c) 2008Spree (c) 2007
Measure Up (c) 2008
Technique from Toy Box: Handcuffs (2007)
A Little Trust from Toy Box: Rope (2008)
55. Give and Take by Anne Brooke, Finished, 3.5 stars
56. An Australian Christmas In New York by Sean Kennedy, Finished, 3.5 stars
57. Start From The Beginning by Chrissy Munder, Finished, 3.75 stars
58. Out of My Mind by M.L. Rhodes, Finished, 4.5 stars
59. Broken Bones, Mended Hearts by William Cooper, Finished, 3.75 stars
60. Toy Box: Handcuffs by James Buchanan, Lorne Rodman, Chris Owen, Jodi Payne, Finished, 3.5 stars
61. Somatesthesia by Ann Sommerville, Finished, 3.75 stars
62. Positive Possibilities by Shayla Kersten, Finished, 4 stars
63. Gaps in Your Soul by Shayla Kersten, Finished, 4 stars
64. Mark's Toy Box by Laine Williams, Finished, 4 stars
65. Under Control (Lessons in Mastery, #1) by Laine Williams, Finished, 4 stars
66. Under Restraint (Lessons in Mastery, #2) by Laine Williams, Finished, 4 stars
67. Under Fire (Lessons in Mastery, #3) by Laine Williams, Finished, 4 stars
68. Hidden Hands (Hands, #3) by Shayla Kersten, Finished, 4 stars
69. Heaven (Heaven Sent, #1) by Jet Mykles, Finished, 4 stars
70. Never Let Go (Always, #1) by M.L. Rhodes, Finished, 4 stars
71. Hearts & Bones (Always, #2) by M.L. Rhodes, Finished, 4 stars
72. On Fire (On Fire, #1) by Drew Zachary, Finished, 4 stars
73. Black Wade: The Wild Side of Love by Franze & Andaerle, Finished, 4 stars
74. On Fire II: Still Burning (On Fire, #2) by Drew Zachary, Finished, 4 stars
75. More Than Just a Good Book by Sloan Parker, Finished, 5 stars
76. Timing by Mary Calmes, Finished, 4 stars
77. Sub for Hire by Claire Thompson, Finished, 4 stars
78. Swap Meet by Lolita Lopez, Finished, 4 stars
79. Past Lies by Shayla Kersten, Finished, 5 stars
80. The Cost of Eternity (Eternity, #1) by Shayla Kersten, Finished, 4 stars

JUNE
81. Car Wash by Shawn Lane, Finished, 3 stars
82. Captured by Julia Rachel Barrett, Finished, 4 stars
83. Bi Now, Gay Later by Kim Dare, Finished, 3.5 stars
84. Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone, Finished, 5 stars
85. Under My Skin by M.L. Rhodes, Finished, 3.75 stars
86. Under My Skin II by M.L. Rhodes, Finished, 4 stars
87. Bad Brad by Cheryl Dragon, Finished, 2.75 stars
88. Jungle Heat by Bonnie Dee, Finished, 4.5 stars
89. Bad Boys, Bad Boys (Boys in Blue, #1) by Mia Watts, Finished, 3.5 stars
90. Love & Loyalty (Faith & Fidelity, #2) by Tere Michaels, Finished, 4 stars
91. Three Wrong Turns in the Desert by Neil Plakcy, Finished, 4 stars
92. Bring The Heat by M.L. Rhodes, Finished, 3.5 stars
93. Duty & Devotion (Faith & Fidelity, #3) by Tere Michaels, Finished, 4.25 stars
94. I Fell in Love with a Zombie by Sean Kennedy, Finished, 3.75 stars
95. Reasonable Doubt (Boys in Blue, #2) by Mia Watts, Finished, 4.5 stars
96. Caught Running by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux, Finished, 4.75 stars
97. Pool Hall Green by Sara Bell, Finished, 3 stars
98. A Detour Home by Devon Rhodes, Finished, 4 stars
99. Love Mode Vol. 1 by Yuki Shimizu, Finished, 3.5 stars
100. Pack of Lies by Vanessa Vaughn, Finished, 4 stars

JULY
101. Double Shot Cappuccino by Stephani Hecht, Finished, 4 stars
etc.

100+/100+ books. 100% done!

COMPLETED!!

The rest of my 2010 Reading list can be found here.

You can also check my list on my 100+ Reading Challenge shelf in my GoodReads library.

Reading List - December 2009 & My New Years Resolutions

I'm not a big believer in New Year's resolutions. They never seem to stick, so I usually don’t make a list...
I intend to have lots of fun though, read as much erotrom as I can (a few challenges I joined will help me keep track of my reading) and talk about my smut a lot – here on my blog in many posts and with you in the comment sections of mine and your blogs; on Goodreads, Twitter and in the Yahoo groups or what other platforms I’ll discover in 2010; with some of you via email or in real life (IRL). For example I’m going to ‘do a Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’ with Leontine (from Leontine’s Book Realm), my new found fellow Dutch friend! And for all of you who like to come here for the visuals ;) I’m definitely planning on continuing the eye candy treats at my place!

That being said, I wish you all a wonderful 2010 with lot of good reads and other great stuff that make you happy!


Now, before I forget, my last reading list of 2009. In December I've read the following 15 romances:

Aile & Urban, The One That Got Away, êêêêê, ¹¹¹
Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux, Warrior’s Cross, êêêêê, ¹½
Chris Owen & Jodi Payne, Deviations: Domination, êêêê½, ¹¹½
Adrianna Dane, Sully’s Heart, êêê½, ¹¹½
Ashley Ladd, The Perfect Gift, êêêê, ¹¹½
Jude Mason, Knight or Daye, êêê, ¹¹
Lori Foster & Erin McCarthy & Helenkay Dimon, When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys, êêê, ¹¹
Jenna Byrnes, Nothing But Trouble, êêê½, ¹¹
Jenna Byrnes, Valentine’s Trouble, êêê, ¹¹
L.B. Gregg, Gobsmacked [Men of Smithfield, #1], êêêê, ¹¹
Skylar Kade, Maison Domine, êêê, ¹¹
Ava Grey, Skin Game, êêêê½, ¹½
Evangeline Anderson, Fireworks, êêêê, ¹¹½
Evangeline Anderson, I'll Be Hot for Christmas, êêê, ¹¹
Cat Johnson, Fireworks,êêê, ¹¹

I haven't done many reviews the past month. I'll try to do them soon, but I might just leave some of them be, and make a fresh start this new year...