Title: Beneath This Mask (Beneath #1)
Author: Meghan March
Pages: 232
Publisher: Meghan March, LLC
Source: ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads: HERE
Summary: My name is Charlotte Agoston, and I’m a runner. Not the ‘let’s go for a jog and slap a 26.2 sticker on your bumper’ kind of runner; I’m the kind of runner who takes off when her father is staring down the barrel of a guilty verdict that carries a 175-year sentence for perpetrating the largest fraud in the history of the world. That’s right. Bernie Madoff was an amateur compared to Alistair Agoston.

Faced with living under a cloud of suspicion and constant questioning by the FBI, I ran. I’m making a new life in New Orleans as Charlie Stone. I traded my future in New York high finance for tattoos, booze, a few friends who don’t ask questions, and one giant mutt named Huckleberry Finn. Everything is simple and uncomplicated until Simon Duchesne—former hotshot Navy fighter pilot, NOLA’s favorite son, city councilman, and rumored congressional hopeful—walks into my life.

The flashing cameras he attracts threaten to expose everything I’m hiding, but I can’t seem to stay away. Why are the most dangerous ideas always the most seductive?

In trying to get lost, I found myself. And then I found Simon. He loves me, and he doesn’t even know my real name. I’m going to break his heart, but mine will shatter right along with it. This is our story.

Will we be strong enough to face the consequences of revealing what’s beneath this mask?

I really, really, really liked this book. I read it so fast that it didn't feel like I was reading at all. This is the first book from March that I have read, and I was so glad I had the chance to review her book. Beneath This Mask is cleverly written, intelligent, gripping, sexy, and well thought out. The plot and character development was great, the pacing was good, and the background of New Orleans was very nicely painted. 

Charlotte Agoston is on the run. She's running from her former life in New York City. She lands in New Orleans and quickly reinvents herself. No longer is she the carefully coiffed socialite of the past, but a hard to crack tatted-up chick who knows a thing or two about hard work and to keep her life as private and unassuming as possible. She needs to be evasive or else she risks the FBI and the world knowing who she really is and where she's been hiding in plain sight since her father was sent to prison for stealing more money than God. 

Sounds good, right? I thought so. Now throw in a hot young Southern named Simon with his own demons and BOOM, fireworks. Simon Duchesne is from a well-known family in New Orleans. His father was once a political figure, and Simon is being groomed to take his place. Except Simon isn't so sure that's the life he wants to lead. He's suffering from PTSD from his time in the armed forces and he's trying to figure out what he wants in life. And when he lays eyes on Charlotte or Charlie Stone as she calls herself now, he's done for. She's the polar opposite of what is good for his career and he couldn't care less. She's it for him. But can her save her from her past? YIKES!!! You'll have to read! 

The chemistry between Simon and Charlie is undeniable. They explode off the page as you read. Simon is charming and Charlie is quirky and aloof. They have a good balance. Both of them are flawed and both need to heal. They work well together in Beneath This Mask. The side characters are equally as complex. Con, the tattoo shop owner and Charlie's old fling, is a mixed bag of sex appeal and charm. I really want to read his story. There's got to be something good going on there. Also Yve is equally cool to read as Con. Will they be getting together in book two of the series? 

Overall, like I said to start, I really, really, really liked this book. There wasn't much I could find wrong in it. In fact, not much at all. If you like romance, you love a good storyline, and strong writing, Beneath This Mask by Meghan March is right up your alley. 

Backing me into a corner, he trapped me in the circle of his arms, much like he had earlier at the gate. I reached up and laid my palms against his chest, tracing the compass inked on his pectoral muscle with my index finger. Our skin didn’t touch anywhere else, but mine prickled with the need to feel him against me. I leaned closer, but he grasped my shoulders, effectively holding me back.

I looked up questioningly.

 “You left me a message, then slammed a gate in my face, then you strip in front of me, and invite me to go skinny dipping. I can’t keep up with you. I need to know what the hell is going on here before it goes any further.”

I sagged back against the edge of the pool, letting the concrete lip dig into my spine. So much for my hastily constructed plan. An experienced seductress I was not. He must have read the defeat in my expression because he said, “I’m not saying I’m not interested. Hell, I’m buck ass naked, and I can’t exactly hide that I want you. But I need to know ... why now? What changed?”

I stared down at the water, wishing fleetingly that the pool lights were on so I’d know for certain that he still did, in fact, want me. But given the leap I’d taken by stripping naked in front of him, I suppose I owed him at least some sort of an explanation.

“I decided that, for tonight, I didn’t care that you’re you and I’m me. I decided to take a risk and see what happened.” My answer was vague and without substance, but I hoped it would be enough. Heat pulsed between my legs and my nipples beaded almost painfully. I wanted him. Now.

But he didn’t relent. “It doesn’t matter who I am or who you are. Tonight or any other night. We’re just people.”

I held in a snort. Barely. He wouldn’t be in this pool if he knew who I really was. I was poison to someone like him. To everyone.

Simon tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “If I fuck you tonight, are you going to throw me out on my ass as soon as we’re done and never call me again?”

I bit my lip. Damn. He should be a freaking interrogator instead of a politician. But I wasn’t going to lie to him. At least not about this. “Probably.”

He released my chin and backed away. “Then, no.” He shook his head. “This isn’t happening. Not tonight.” He turned and made his way to the stairs. I caught a flash of his pale, muscular ass as he climbed out of the pool. I looked down at the water, hot humiliation filling me. What the hell am I doing? I sank farther beneath the surface, up to my chin. I needed to be covered. I heard the rustle of clothes and wondered how he was drying off without a towel. But I didn’t look up to assuage my curiosity. I’d given in to curiosity once already tonight, and this was where it landed me. In a pool of my own shame.

He cleared his throat, and I finally looked up. He was wearing his tux pants, and the shirt was partially buttoned. He held his soaked white undershirt in his hand. One question answered.

His hazel eyes drilled into me. “You have my number. Call me when you want more than a quick fuck.”

And then he was gone.

Meghan March is a Michigan native who has spent a good portion of her life buried in a book. Case in point: she read the entire romance section of her small town public library by age fourteen. Even after growing up (sort of) and getting a law degree, she never lost her passion for a great story, twisty plot, epic romance, and amazing characters. When she’s not writing, she’s probably reading, target shooting, drooling over fast cars, playing with her crazy mutt, or hanging with her very own sexy bad boy.
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Title: Offside
Author: Shay Savage
Pages: 495
Publisher: Shay Savage, LLC
Source: ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. 
Goodreads: HERE
Summary: 
I have to be the best. I am the best. I’m quick. I’m strong. I’m smart. I’m the star keeper of my high school soccer team, and I’ve got major leagues scouting me. As their captain, my teammates will do anything I say – on or off the field. Girls practically beg to be added to my list of conquests. As long as I manage to go pro for the best team in the world, I won’t have to worry about my father’s wrath.

I’m Thomas Malone, and I’ve seen to it that the world revolves around me.

There’s a new girl at school, and it’s just a matter of time before she gives in to my charm. This one’s just a little more stubborn than most – she won’t even tell me her name! She’s smart, too. Maybe too smart. I can’t let her in. I can’t let anybody in. I’m not too worried, but even I have to admit she’s interfering with my focus on the goal.
Dad’s not going to be happy about that.

Did I mention I love Shakespeare? Yeah, I know. I’m a walking contradiction. According to the Bard, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Somehow, I got all three.

Now how is anyone supposed to live up to that?

God, I can't tell you how much of a fan I have become of Shay Savage in the last year. I read her Evan Arden series, the caveman book Transcendence, and the Surviving Raine series (Which I will be reviewing Bastion's Storm soon). All of these books were fantastic! I love Savage's writing style and her grasp on male POV is really unrivaled with any other female indie author around. When I was asked to review Offside, I jumped at the chance. I mean, I think I squealed. And I wasn't let down by this book either. 

Offside is a high school drama/romance between Thomas Malone, an arrogant, womanizing playboy who is the soccer star of the school and Nicole Skye, an introvert daughter of the town's sheriff. Recipe for drama llamas! And very up my alley.

If you like high school stories with lots of graphic sexual scenes, drug use, drinking, bad language, and angst then you'll love this book. Even if you don't like all that stuff, you'll still like this book. It's all about how Savage weaves the story that really pulls it together and makes a very readable book for many audiences. 

I will say that the book is very lengthy. If you have a hard time focusing on a book that's more than 250 pages, this may not be for you. I found at times that I was skimming pages because I felt that some scenes weren't needed in a whole. But that's just my opinion. 

I found it really hard to love Thomas as much as I wanted. Nicole, as well. Both characters didn't really warm up to me until halfway into the book, but once they did, I couldn't put the book down. They complimented each other so nicely and the love affair between the two worked. Even with Nicole constantly pushing Thomas away, it was understandable. 

While I'm not going into the story as a whole because I want you to read it and support the author, I will say that if you followed Offside as a fanfiction, there isn't much that I think had been changed. There are many canon aspects from Twilight that were present in the book. Why doesn't Savage changes these things before she published? Who knows, but I feel that it's been so long since the fanfiction, people just don't care and neither does the publishers of Twilight. I just wish Savage would have made it more of her own and left the Twi stuff out. But whatevs, it is what it is and I still enjoyed it. 

Shay Savage lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, two children, and a variety of household pets. She is an accomplished public speaker, and holds the rank of Distinguished Toastmaster from Toastmasters International. When not writing, she enjoys science fiction movies, masquerading as a zombie, is a HUGE Star Wars fan, and member of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers. When the geek fun runs out, she also loves soccer in any and all forms - especially the Columbus Crew, Arsenal and Bayern Munich - and anxiously awaits the 2014 World Cup. Savage holds a degree in psychology, and she brings a lot of that knowledge into the characters within her stories.

Title: Uncivilized
Author: Sawyer Bennett
Page: 326
Publisher: Big Dog Books, LLC
Tour Company: AToMR 
Source: ARC was given by the author and the tour company in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads: HERE 
Summary: Putting a woman on her knees before me is what really makes my cock hard. I fuck with dominant force and absolute control. I demand complete surrender from my conquests. Savage man, loner, warrior… I am dangerous at my core. I have lived amidst the untamed wild of the rainforest, in a society that reveres me and where every woman falls before me in subjugation.

Now I’ve been discovered. Forced to return to a world that I have forgotten about and to a culture that is only vaguely familiar to my senses.

Dr. Moira Reed is an anthropologist who has been hired to help me transition back into modern society. It’s her job to smooth away my rough edges… to teach me how to navigate properly through this new life of mine. She wants to tame me.

She’ll never win.

I am wild, free and raw, and the only thing I want from the beautiful Moira Reed is to fuck her into submission.

She wants it, I am certain.

I will give it to her soon.

Yes, very soon, I will become the teacher and she will become my student. And when I am finished showing her body pleasure like no other, she’ll know what it feels like to be claimed by an uncivilized man.

The concept of Uncivilized by Sawyer Bennett is great: a modern day take on Tarzan and Jane with a lot of sex. Talk about a winning combination here. Except, everything about Zach coming into the modern world was less about him coming into the modern world and more about how much sex he could have with Moira in all kinds of different dominating ways. Don't get me wrong, this book is an erotic romance from the get-go, so the substance of the story can be taken a little more lightly. I'm not going to harp on the fact that for a man who has lived in a practically savage world for 18 years can speak fluent english and remember so much from his form life that it allows him to function normally in modern day society is believable. But hey, it's a erotic romance there's room for creative license, I guess. I will say though that Uncivilized is a hard to put down book. I was very intrigued from the beginning to the end. Even if I knew what would happen (because erotic romance has a formula and this book didn't stray from that formula) I wasn't bored with it. 

So let's get to it: The plot of the story. Moira is an anthropologist on a mission, if you will, for a rich businessman to find his lost godson Zach in the Amazonian rainforest. Zach had been missing for the last 18 years after his missionary parents died from diseases leaving him stranded with the indigenous people of Brazil. Right there, I was hooked. It's a story that's been done before but I liked the amount of detail that Bennett had when writing about Zach's tribe. Especially the dynamics of dominance and how men and women were viewed in their eyes. It was interesting. 

Moira finds a very reluctant Zach and brings him back to the US. Her job is to help him assimilate back into society. Except she didn't really have to do too much. He pretty much remembered everything on his own or Googled it. I mean, he Googled everything. There wasn't much of a transition either. He wasn't a fish out of water or anything. I think that if he was more of a fish out of water in this book, the imagery of him not coming to terms with him staying in the US would have been greater. Ultimately causing more of dire need to stay or go back home. 

The sex scenes or love relationship between Moira and Zach was strong but solely based on sex and or Zach dominating Moira. I wondered what they actually saw different in each other for a while until we learn that Zach loves an assertive woman to an extent and that's the appeal of Moira. Zach on the other hand, I didn't get exactly what Moira was falling in love with besides him sexually. He treated her like a submissive pretty much and didn't really engage with her on a mental level. He was like, drop those close and turn around, pretty much all through the book. 

But it's a erotic romance, it doesn't need to be all developed and wrapped up in a neat bow. It's supposed to full of sex and hot and full of sex and then hot some more. So this book didn't disappoint on that aspect. I just wish on a baser level Bennett would have wrote more about his transition and less about sex. Is that wrong for me to think that?

USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett, is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

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Storms can't last forever…can they?

For five long years, Rae Ryan has lived in a storm over which she has no control. Little by little, everything has been taken away from her—her job, her relationship, her best friend and her home. Plagued by nightmares and a terrible family secret, she carries her scars as much on the inside as she does on the outside.

Hart Booker, another disappointment from her past, returns to Bar Harbor and shelters her from the rain. He reminds Rae that forgiveness is possible, happiness can be found on the other side of darkness, and beauty rests beneath her scars. But a sinister figure lingering in the background seems determined to pull Rae back into a past she’s been trying to outrun. Can she survive the storm and become part of the light she so desperately desires? Or is she destined to remain
Pulled Within?

 “I don’t want my smell just here,” he said, kissing down my chest and stopping at the first closed button. His lips sat directly between my breasts. “I want it here, too.” The tip of his finger touched the middle of my thigh. “And here.” It moved closer to where my legs met. “And here.” Then it continued to slide up until it stopped on my clit. He only gave me the edge of his finger, and with hardly any pressure. It was enough to stop my breathing. “I want this spot to always smell like I’ve been here.” My back arched as he licked across my collarbone. “And I don’t think I can wait any longer to taste it.”

I didn’t think I could, either. Without the counter behind me, my body would have melted into the floor. He owned it now - every drop of moisture, every thought, every breath that came from my lips.

“Let me have it, Rae.” His lips were pushing the shirt aside while he worked his way over to my nipple. “Let my tongue make you come.”

I moaned into the air, and my eyes closed. I’d already given him control, but his words confirmed how deeply he was able to reach within me and the intensity of everything that swirled together now. “I’m yours.”

His breath caressed my neck and wrapped around the base of my chin. “Fuck…I’m going to devour you.”

 

A New Englander at heart, Marni Mann, now a Floridian is inspired by the sandy beaches and hot pink sunsets of Sarasota. She taps a mainstream appeal and shakes worldwide taboos, taking her readers on a dark and breathtaking journey. When she’s not nose deep in her laptop, she’s scouring for chocolate, traveling, reading, or walking her four-legged children. 

Connect with Marni Mann:

Website: http://marnismann.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5400988.Marni_Mann

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarniMannAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marnimann

It’s September when good girl Via Sorenson stumbles into a Seattle strip club, drunk and alone on her twenty-first birthday. Matt and Nick—best friends, bandmates, and bouncers—do their best to shield her from their sadistic cocaine-trafficking boss, Carlos. They don’t realize her daddy issues come with a forty-million-dollar trust fund and a legacy she would do anything to escape. 

She is actually Violetta Rabbotino, who had been all over the news ten years earlier when her father, an acclaimed abstract artist, came home in a rage, murdered her mother, then turned the gun on himself. Young Violetta was spared, hidden behind the family Christmas tree, veiled by the mysticism of its pretty lights whose unadulterated love captivated and calmed her.

Now, desperate to shed her role as orphaned victim, Via stage dives into a one-hundred-day adventure with Matt and Nick, the bassist and drummer of popular nineties cover band Obliviot. The rock-and-roll lifestyle is the perfect distraction—until she is rattled by true love. As Christmas looms closer, her notorious past becomes undeniable. How will she ever untangle herself from her twisted string of pretty lights?

Ina Zajac is an award-winning journalist, avid people watcher, and lover of quirk and contrast. Her writing is heavily influenced by her fascination with music, art, and her hometown of Seattle.

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Title: The Position
Author:  Dahlia Salvatore
Pages: 186
Publisher: Entice by Booktrope
Source: ARC was given by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Dylan Farrow puts on his pants every morning one leg at a time, just like everyone else at the Kerrigan Advertising Agency. He handles high-pressure projects with a fast turnaround. He's prized for his keen intellect and admirable performance. But how did he get where he is today-to the level of Junior Executive of Design Production?

Well, that involves how he takes his pants off... and for whom... 

Hoping to break through the glass ceiling under which she's been trapped for years, Valerie Caplan picks up her life and moves to Seattle. After hearing about the position of Senior Executive of Design Production from an art director at Kerrigan, she decides to apply. When she lands the big interview, she never thinks for a minute that she'll have any serious competition. She assumes that she has the job in the bag...until she discovers that the only competition has something she doesn't have-the willingness to go outside the office to impress Danica Stewart, their uptight female boss.

The Position by Dahlia Salvatore is a very erotic romance that captures the reader. I will say that I was pretty engrossed into the book once I got started. There were certain elements that this genre is known for that Salvatore did well: sexual tension, unlikely situations, dominant sexual encounters, biting character wit, and a clever balance of longing and angst. What it lacked, for me, was a male lead I could fall for along with the female protagonist. I just didn't really see what Valerie saw in Dylan Farrow. He was arrogant without any redeeming amount fortitude to make up for it until the end, and we spent a good chunk of the book reading him have sex with other characters besides Valerie. I didn't see a budding relationship of Valerie and Dylan as being forefront outside of their sexual chemistry until the arc of the book. But once we did see that Dylan was a compassionate man and things changed for his character which endeared him. I guess I would have loved to see it sooner in the book so when the arc came. We would have felt him become more desperate not to lose Valerie or his job. The desperation of his character would be if it was written there...but that element wasn't very prominent. 

Let's rewind a little bit and talk about the book and not how I felt about it. Valerie Caplan has just moved to town and is in search of a job in advertising. She left her home, her old job, and her family in order to broaden her horizons. Dylan Farrow, already a big-shot ad man, slept his way to the top and is ruthless in getting what he wants using his body. He has a reputation and doesn't mind it. He knows what he wants in life and how to get without excuses. When Valerie applies for a position with the ad agency, it's the same job that Dylan is up for promotion. The catch: The new boss, Danica Stewart challenges them to work together on a lingerie campaign in order to judge who is more deserving of the job. 

Throw in sexual tension, a pair of co-workers who are competitive with that love/hate vibe, and a plot twist about the boss, and it's the makings of a juicy book. 

I will say that even though the character development lacked some for me, the plot twists at the end intrigued me. The editing was okay. The author uses SHOUTY CAPS to use emphasis on exclamation. My dear, you don't have to do that. It's a way of telling your readers instead of showing them the anger. 

Also, don't worry readers, the book ends in a happy ever after so you can get some sleep after reading it. I do look forward to other books this author has coming our way and will keep you updated. 

I'm a thirty-two-year-old female author living in Seattle, Washington. I'm married to the love of my life and have been for ten years. I come from Coos Bay, Oregon and moved to Seattle six years ago. I love it here and don't see us going anywhere anytime soon.

I've been heavily influenced by contemporary writers like J.K. Rowling, Mary Balogh, Christina Dodd, Stephanie Laurens, Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, Stephen King, and many many others. Indie authors who've influenced me (and these are just a few) are Jasinda Wilder, Michelle Hughes, Kristin Flynn, Katie Mac, Dawn Robertson, Ada Slow, Melissa Brodky, Brandelyn Harris, Brandy Dorsch, and Brandy Jellum

Title: Losing Control (Kerr Chronicles #1)
Author: Jen Frederick
Pages: 280
Publisher: Pear Tree LLC
Source: ARC given in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads: HERE
Summary: I’d do anything to keep my mother alive. 

Anything, including ask Ian Kerr for help. I don’t know much about him, except that he has more money than some small countries. And he’s willing to spend it on me. Just one catch: there’s a string attached, and not just the one I feel pulling me into his arms and his bed. There’s also the plan for revenge he wants my help with. 

I have read almost all of Frederick books now, and I can tell clearly the maturity that Frederick has delivered and developed in Losing Control compared to her past books. (The Woodlands series) It's a mark of a growing author, one that learns as they go, refines their talent, and cares about the product they put out for their readers. As an editor, the book was very, very clean which made me very happy to read. Whenever I'm reading arcs I can't always get into a story without mentally editing the book while I go, this book I didn't have to do that. It was a breath of fresh air. I completely and thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience. 

Okay, so I love reading books that are based in New York City. I'm not sure if Frederick (she's kinda elusive with her bio) is from New York or just very familiar with the city, but she seemed to have a very firm grasp of writing the city and using it as another character in her book. So her research was either very well done or she's a native. Either way, bravo! She showed the city so well and didn't have to tell us too much. I was right there in the city with the characters and loving the vibe they felt in their home. 

The story itself, while not something too new, is about an mysterious alpha-esque billionaire man (Ian Kerr) falling in love and pursuing a headstrong, down and out female who is trying to resist his advances but ultimately falls for him when tragedy strikes, throwing them even closer together. What made this different? The characters seemed more real, they had more cracks in their armor. Not that I could relate to them, but I could sympathize with them which in turn made them more endearing. 

Victoria (Tiny) Corielli is a desperate woman. She's broke, her job as a bike messenger is hanging by a thread, she's under a mountain of debt, her learning impairment disables her to an extent, she works for her sleazy stepbrother for extra cash, and her mother just was diagnosed with a recurrence of her cancer. Her life couldn't get much worse or chaotic. But then a knight in shining armor, Ian Kerr, falls into her life on the sidewalk of New York City. They both are entranced but both reluctant to submit to emotion. Naturally.

Ian Kerr is a billionaire business man with all the means in the world at his fingertips. His past is broken and he's seeking revenge for wrongs done to his family. When an unexpected delivery by Tiny takes her to his place, it's very clear that things are going to heat up. But it's not just all sexy times. There is a story here and it's a good one. 

I won't get into the story too much. It's a little more complex than how I just described, but that's up to you to find out. And I suggest you do. Frederick really brought her readers a compelling love story with some hot sauce sprinkled all over it. I really just like her writing. It's very worth my time to just get lost all day in her books, and I think it's worth you time as well. 

Taking Control review coming soon!