Review: The Choice

Review: The ChoiceThe Choice (Doms of Her Life: Heavenly Rising 1) by Isabella LaPearl, Jenna Jacob, Shayla Black
Published by Dream Words, LLC on March 27th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Erotica
Goodreads
five-stars

“It’s going to get messy, emotional, and complicated. I hope you’re ready for that.”

FINAL DECISION: Hot, hot, hot. Just the beginning of the story between Beck, Seth and Heavenly, but definitely a great start. (Readers should be aware that this book ends on the cliffhanger, and there will be more books about this threesome).

THE STORY: Heavenly Young has a complicated life. She is a new nursing student, she is caring for her ill father and she is taking any job she can to make ends meet. Things become even more complicated when she catches the eyes of two dominate alpha men — both of whom want her but cannot stand one another. Dr. Ken Beckman is a surgeon who also happens to be a sadist. Having a relationship with an innocent and sweet woman is against all his rules, but Beck can’t stop himself from obsessing over Heavenly. Seth Cooper, private eye, takes one look at the sweet Heavenly and wants her in bed. But Seth finds himself drawn in by the woman he begins to know. Torn between two men who want her to make a choice between them, Heavenly cannot bring herself to choose.

OPINION: I really enjoyed this one. After reading the first trio romance by these authors, I knew to expect the cliffhanger and thus I wasn’t disappointed by the ending and the loose ends. And I think I love this couple more than Raine, Liam and Macen (DOMS OF HER LIFE) because the two men here are so funny in their competition with one another. This book feels lighter and more amusing and while there is clearly drama to come, I’m hoping that some of the humor remains.

Heavenly was slightly annoying to me as this book began. Too naive, too willing to lie to hide things that aren’t particularly worth hiding, but as the book continues I begin to see the woman who will be emerging as the series continues. (I also have to admit that her naivete made for some amusing situations). I think at some point, she is going to pull her two men by the ears (or another unmentionable part) and force them to her will.

Beck and Sean are similar men in many ways. They both clearly have some darkness in their pasts that are going to arise as the series continues, but here I found the guys funny and sweetly baffled by Heavenly. These guys are also intensely competitive and nowhere set up for the idea of a long term menage relationship. In many ways, this first book is about “the choice” that these men have to make.

I appreciated that this book allows the relationships to build in a slow fashion. Everyone is introduced and we really get the chance to see what Heavenly sees in each of these guys and also see these men begin to build a friendship with one another.

The book is hot, but I didn’t find the sex to be the focus here. It really was about relationship. The highlight was the heat and the humor. Even the cliffhanger was a gentle one so I can look forward to the next book instead of cursing the ending.

WORTH MENTIONING: This is a mmf menage with the focus on the woman in the story. The two men are not involved with one another.

CONNECTED BOOKS: THE CHOICE is the first book in the Doms of Her Life: Heavenly Rising series. This series is, however, connected with the Doms of Her Life series and partially takes place concurrent with that series. You can read this one without having read that series, but there are overlapping characters. And this menage is even introduced in that series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via the author in order to prepare a review. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

 

five-stars

Review: The Bold and the Dominant

Review: The Bold and the DominantThe Bold and the Dominant (The Doms of Her Life, #3) by Shayla Black, Jenna Jacob, Isabella LaPearl
Series: The Doms of Her Life #3
on February 10th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Erotica
Pages: 366
Goodreads
four-half-stars

FINAL DECISION:  This book continues the saga of the trio trying to work out how their relationship will work.  There are a lot of external threat to their happiness in this one which was good, but not as emotional as book 2.

THE STORY:  After the events of book 2, things should be perfect between the trio.  Macen and Liam have agreed to share Raine in a menage relationship.  But just when things are going well, Liam’s ex-wife returns and is intent on causing trouble for Liam and his new relationship.  Danger in the form of Raine’s father also threatens the trio as they continue to try and work through all the pitfalls of developing a stable and loving relationship between them.

OPINION:  This book is about Liam and Raine’s ghosts.  Liam is still struggling with his jealousy in the relationship and with his ex-wife.  The best part of this series is that everyone is not immediately hunky-dory with the threesome.  To this point, Liam has struggled the most.  He clearly has issues with believing that he is not enough for Raine.  Much of this appears to stem from his ex-wife’s infidelity.  This book through its drama (and there is a lot of plot dramatics here), allows Liam to exorcise his demons and fully commit to the relationship.

Raine also must have a final confrontation with the demons of her past.  I liked how this was resolved and I especially liked that Raine, rather than either of the two men, is the active participant in resolving her past.

In this book, Macen is the rock.  (Can I confess that he is my favorite?)  He is the steady one throughout the book which allows the other two to return to the relationship through his determination and strength.

This is a complex story.  These characters are engaged in long journey to resolve their past and build a future together.

The ending of this book hints that Macen’s challenges are just beginning and I look forward to the conclusion of the trio’s story in the next book.

I like the secondary characters as well and hope that there are stories in the future featuring the sadist Beck and fellow dom Seth.  This book also has most external action than the other two books in the series.

WORTH MENTIONING:  This book ends on a wow cliffhanger.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  THE BOLD AND THE DOMINANT is the third book in the Doms of Her Life series.  This is a serial that tells the story of the relationship between Raine, Macen and Liam.  This series should be read in order because the story builds on the prior books in the series.

STAR RATING:  I give this book 4.5 stars.

four-half-stars

Review: One Dom to Love

Review: One Dom to LoveOne Dom to Love (The Doms of Her Life, #1) by Shayla Black, Jenna Jacob, Isabella LaPearl
Series: The Doms of Her Life #1
Published by Dream Words on December 4th 2012
Genres: Contemporary, Erotica
Pages: 237
Goodreads
four-stars

FINAL DECISION:  This book is a battle.  Two men competing for one woman.  I usually don’t like these types of stories, but this one worked because the emotions felt genuine.  Certainly not for everyone, but without a doubt, deeply emotional.  Readers should be aware that this is continuing series and the issues are not resolved here.

THE STORY:  Raine Kendall has loved Alpha Dom Macen Hammerman for years, but Macen has never treated Raine as anything but a child.  Determined to make him change his mind, Raine shows him that she is all woman.  Macen knows that he can never claim the naturally submissive and yet feisty Raine because she will destroy her.  When Macen breaks Raine’s heart again, she turns to Macen’s best friend and fellow Dom Liam O’Neill.  Liam wants Raine and treats her well, but Raine still loves Macen.  Macen isn’t ready to surrender Raine even as he fights claiming her.

OPINION:  This book introduces the conflict between the main characters.  This book is the beginning of a serial about Raine, Macen and Liam.  I knew this going in so I wasn’t disappointed that things were not resolved in this book.  This book is only the opening act.

Raine has loved Macen for years.  A woman used to being abandoned, she desperately wants to be loved.  While she has submissive tendencies, she is also mouthy and has her own wants and desires that she will not give up.  Her character is central to this story because both men are sniffing around her and also because the reader has to believe that she can have a relationship with both these men.

Macen is a haunted man.  He doesn’t want to bring Raine into his world and yet he refuses to let her go. We learn that his wife died and Macen believes it is because of his lifestyle.  He wants to save Raine by keeping his distance.  In this book, he is tormented by the possibility of losing Raine. His desperation made me sympathetic to him even when I would otherwise think he is jerk for the way he treats Raine.

Liam seems like the sweeter guy, but he can also be a jerk.  We don’t learn much about his in this book and his demons although he does reveal that he does not take infidelity well because of his own past.

I really liked that these characters have a tangled relationship.  Love, hate, desperation, lust.  I have read books before where the woman is involved with two men, but those books are usually ones where the men desire a menage.  These two guys are competing against one another and Raine is caught between.  That brings more angst and uncertainty to the book, but I enjoyed the conflict (which is not resolved).

WORTH MENTIONING:  Content warning for those who want a one woman one man romance.  Raine is involved with two different men in this book.  There is also public sex, BDSM and lots of sexual activity.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  ONE DOM TO LOVE is the first book in the Doms of Her Life series.  This is a continuing story about the menage rather than four separate stories.

STAR RATING:  I give this book 4 stars.

four-stars