Stolen Flame (Seven Chambers #1) by D.W. Marshall

Synopsis from Amazon:

Vivian is excited about this weekend. Why wouldn't she be? She is finally turning twenty-one, and she knows for-a-fact that Liam, the man of her dreams is in love with her too. On the eve of her birthday, her world comes crashing down when she is taken from her home. 

Now, instead of spending her birthday in Liam-heaven, she learns that she will be forced to take part in The Chamber, a lavish sex club for the world's richest and most powerful men. She finds early on that she will not suffer her sentence alone. With the budding sisterhood of the six other women taken at the same time, along with an unexpected ally, Vivian will discover an inner strength and love that she never knew existed. 

Stolen Flame is part of a series, and while each book is interconnected, each book in the series can stand alone. Due to the adult content and themes, this book is not intended for persons under the age of 18.

My review:

After reading the description of this book I thought I’d find it difficult to read. I am uncomfortable with any subject around torture and slavery. But this was a little different.

I found the story interesting and well written. It was easy to follow and characters likable. Yes there were a lot of sex scenes, but they were in the right places and flowed well within the story, they didn’t feel like the author just tried to be as dirty as possible, they actually belonged.

I think the reason that I found it easy to read was that Vivian’s imprisonment didn’t feel like slavery. On one hand she was kidnapped and held in a sex club for a year, but got some pretty good enjoyment out of it too and she also got to meet Dominic - her safety latch, her rescuer, her light.

They belonged together right from the start and it was lovely to read how their love blossomed.

On the other hand and hence the 4 stars – the story just isn’t believable. The whole set up of The Chamber I get and I understand that places like that do most likely exist. But surely no woman would behave as easily as these seven girls have in The Chamber. And if a guy falls in love with someone as strongly as Dominic has, how could you sit there and watch as she’d being used by so many others?

Overall though I have enjoyed the book and would love to read the next installment.

Thank you to Netgalley for access to this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

My rating: 4/5

Dark and Stormy Knight (The Knights of Avalon #2) by Nina Mason

Synopsis from Amazon:

Aspiring screenwriter Gwyn Morland is ready for her big break. That means securing the film rights to elusive author Lady Ruthven’s acclaimed novel—which means traveling to Scotland. It’s a trip timid Gwyn isn’t prepared for, and her fears seem justified when her tour bus careens over a cliff outside of Castle Glenarvon. But the plot thickens when Gwyn is rescued from the brink of death by a handsome and mysterious stranger…

Leith MacQuill is not only the writer behind Lady Ruthven’s novel, but a shape-shifting faery knight bearing a tragic curse: the woman he gives his heart to will die. Saving Gwyn proves to be a dangerous choice when he finds himself falling for her the longer she stays in the castle. Not even his usual BDSM role-playing games are enough to thwart the intense desire they feel for each other. But to stay together, Gwyn and Leith must embark on a dangerous mission into Avalon, the realm of the faeries. Will their love be strong enough to conquer the curse? Or will Gwyn’s new life be stolen from her before it’s even begun?

My review:

I haven't read any of the books from this series so this for me was a standalone novel and it read well like that.

At first I loathed Leith's character and couldn't get to like him. He was arrogant, cruel and some of his thoughts painted him in quite a selfish picture. But as Gwyn managed to get Leith to admit his true feelings and the history behind his curse came to light I understood why he was like that. He protects himself and anyone crossing his path by being unreachable.

After reading the first few chapters I decided I liked the book, it was a nice enough romance, with some pretty hot scenes in it, but I couldn't quite see where it was going. When Gwyn decides that she is willing to die for Leigh and sets of on a mission to get him rid off the curse the book suddenly got very interesting.

The worlds of druids and the fairy Queen Morgan were fascinating and certainly pictured magical beings in completely different way to our traditional fairy tales. It was a nice point of view and very well written, the imagination went rife and I applaud the author for making this much more then another romance novel.

I will look out for more booked from this author in hope they are as good as this one.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this lovely book in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 4/5

Tempted (The Wicked Woodleys #3) by Jess Michaels

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The youngest son of the Woodley clan, Gabriel has been obsessed with bringing his missing twin sister home since she disappeared over two years ago. His drive has forced him to block out all else, including any feelings he may have for the beautiful Juliet Gray. But when she is brought to London by Gabriel’s mother, avoiding the desire she inspires becomes impossible. 

Juliet never wanted to come to London in the first place, especially since she knows she won’t be able to avoid Gabriel, who has been both confusing and drawing her from the moment they met. But to give her father a chance at happiness, she’ll stay in town. When Gabriel asks for her help in finding his sister, explosive secrets will be spilled and long suppressed longings will overflow. But will their search bring them love or expose them to a danger that could destroy all they’ve built?

My review:

I haven't read any of the books from this series so this for me was a standalone novel, which was fine.

I enjoyed the story, it was the sort of book you read to relax, in times when you don't want to think too hard about the plot. It was quick, no fluffy descriptions, just straight to the point which kept it going along quite nicely.

I liked the characters of Lady Woodley and Jed Gray and it was nice to read more into their story of love and separation as they were both quite realistically written into the story.

On the other hand I could not quite get along with both Gabriel and Juliet. Juliet supposedly had one previous love encounter when she fell in love with a man with a title. But the way she was behaving around Gabriel and the way she talked and offered herself up to him just didn't sit with her story. She came across very confident in all things intimate, which is not a bad thing but it didn't go with her history.

And Gabriel just annoyed me. He is a thinker and scientist, but I found the parts where he would tell Juliet how he studied her pleasure and anatomy quite cringe worthy. I felt that this kind of talk wasn't necessary.

Overall it was a enjoyable quick read and I would definitely read more book written by Jess Michaels.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this lovely book in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 3/5