MARKED

TITLE: MARKED

AUTHORS: Lauren Dane, Vivian Arend

                & Kit Rocha

Pages: 412

Date: 08/02/2014

Grade: 4.5

Details: No. 3.5 Beyond

            No. 1 Thompson & Sons

            No. 1 Metamorphosis

            Received from Kit Rocha

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lauren Dane takes you into a brand new world in ALL THAT REMAINS. Summer Killian falls fast and hard when Charlie arrives in Paradise Village. But the heat turns all the way up when she learns Charlie is also with Hatch - the man she loved three years before. While she's not sure she's cut out for a triad, neither man is going to give her up.

Take a ROCKY RIDE with New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Vivian Arend as she leads you back to the Six Pack Ranch. Anna Coleman might be the law around Rocky Mountain House, but bad boy Mitch Thompson knows that under the stiff RCMP uniform is a woman with a passion for speed and pleasure that matches his own, and he’s not giving up until she’s his.

Kit Rocha returns to Sector Four in BEYOND TEMPTATION. A promise to a dying friend backfires when Noah Lennox finds that the girl he was supposed to rescue is all grown up--and wearing O'Kane ink. He wants to protect her from the secrets of their past, but she wants him. And an O'Kane woman always gets what she wants.”

My thoughts

Reviewing and rating anthologies is hard. I don’t think it is possible to find a collection of stories by different authors and enjoy them all to the same extent. This book came close though. While I wasn’t equally in love with all three novellas there is little to separate them and all of them managed to push my buttons just that way.

I suppose comparing the three stories wouldn’t be fair anyway. I have been a fan of Kit Rocha’s ‘Beyond’ series for a while now and have managed to fall head over heels for the O’Kane’s and Sector Four. Vivian Arend and Lauren Dane on the other hand, are both new to me authors although I’ve got a feeling that is a state of affairs that’s to change in the not too distant future.

I’ll give a short review as well as an individual rating for each of the three novellas below. As far as the book as a whole is concerned I’ll limit myself to saying that the stories are well written, the characters interesting and the scenes incredibly hot. All three of these novellas will leave you with an appetite for more.

Beyond Temptation by Kit Rocha (5)

Four years ago Noah Lennox promised his dying friend that he would keep his younger sister safe. And for a long time he thought he’d succeeded in doing just that. Recently Noah has discovered that rather than living away from the Sectors in safety Emma, the girl he was supposed to protect, is living in Sector Four, fully integrated in the O’Kane clan. He tells himself he only wants to make sure she’s safe, but when Noah and Emma are reunited it is impossible to deny the attraction between them. The feelings have always been there, but now that Emma is all grown up, they’ve become impossible to suppress.

Emma knows what she wants and it is Noah, it has always been Noah.

Noah knows he isn’t good enough for Emma but can’t deny the pull she has on him and is powerless against her persuasion.

“(...) giving him everything he’d never dreamt of allowing himself to want.”

When a secret Noah has been keeping for years is revealed, Emma turns away from him although it breaks her heart. But, while Noah knows that Emma no longer needs him to keep her safe, he can’t make himself stay away from her.

“There was no part of him he hadn’t yielded to her, heart and soul, past and future.”

Emma is a real O’Kane woman. She loves men but doesn’t need them. She’ll take Noah back, but only on her own terms, only in a partnership of equals.

“Laughter, love, and a lover who didn’t need to be her savior, didn’t need her helpless and at his mercy. Everything she’d ever wanted, in the one man she’d always craved.”

I may have said this before, but I guess there’s no harm in saying it again; I love the ‘Beyond’ stories. I fell in love with the post-apocalyptic setting and the O’Kane’s in ‘Beyond Shame’ and that feeling has only grown stronger with each subsequent story. There is something wonderful about a series in which strong men and women find their own balance on their own terms while living according to a high standard of honour. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with dominant, tattooed bad-boys and the women who know just how to handle them. This novella, like all its prequels was a hot erotic romance set in a dark and thrilling world where danger lurks around every corner. These stories take the reader on an exhilarating ride, always leaving us both satisfied and hungry for more.

Rocky Ride by Vivian Arend (4+)

I liked this stories in which two friends with benefits slowly come to the realisation that they want to be more to each other.

Anna Coleman is a cop who’s worked hard to arrive where she is and is very reluctant to do anything that might jeopardise her position in the department. Being seen to be dating Mitch Thompson might put her career prospects in serious danger. In fact she has one colleague who goes out of his way to tell her how inappropriate such a relationship would be.

Mitch Thompson has a bit of a reputation as a local bad boy; with his tattoos, and a penchant for bikes he exhumes danger more than ‘perfect husband material’ but Anna can’t deny that the chemistry between them is scorching.

After two months of causal but very inventive sex, Mitch is ready to take his affair with Anna to the next level but:

“Mitch Thompson had fallen hopelessly in love with the worst possible woman in town – one fighting tooth and nail against letting her real nature free.”

When Mitch convinces Anna to give a relationship a try it raises a few eye-brows but doesn’t appear to cause the problems Anna has been anticipating. And there’s no denying the two of them are good together. However when Mitch is faced with the idea that her relationship with him might cause Anna to miss out on a huge career opportunity he takes a decision that might cause him to lose everything he wants before he’s even gotten close to it.

This was a rather sweet story. I wasn’t entirely convinced by Anna’s issues as far as the risk to her career was concerned but did like the way she got her revenge. The chemistry between these two characters was scorching hot.

“I want to savour you. I want to taste every inch of you until you’re mine all over again.” – Mitch

Some exchanges between Mitch and Anna are funny;

“I’d never turn down the offer to take you for a ride.”

While there is also room for moments of wonderful tenderness:

“You can keep your fire hidden from everyone else, as long as you promise to always let it burn with me.”

In short this was a sexy and sweet story that delivers everything you might look for in an erotic romance with abundance.

All That Remains by Lauren Dane (4.5)

Centuries from now the world has gone through radical changes. A plague has killed a large proportion of humanity and those who remain live in an environment drastically altered by climate change and a society in which men vastly outnumber women.

In a small settlement called Paradise, Summer has created a satisfying life for herself. She has a job she loves, is close to the sister she wants to keep an eye on and happy with her circumstances. When she meets Charlie it is a case of lust at first sight. The only kink in what would have been a hot and carefree entanglement is Hatch; Charlie’s partner and the man who loved and left Summer.

The attraction between Hatch and Summer is as strong as it has always been, but Summer can’t bring herself to trust him or to risk being hurt by him again. If these three are going to establish a successful relationship Hatch will have to do a lot of grovelling, Summer will need to forgive and trust again and Charlie will need all his mediating skills.

“I’m not sure I’d be able to find my way back to Hatch without you.” – Summer to Charlie.

I really liked the setting in this story. I like the idea of relationships taking the form of Triads and Quarts to compensate for the surplus of men and I loved that the author took the time to illustrate that those relationships need a different form of management and compromise in order to succeed.

The interactions between the three characters were fascinating; individual traits result in sparkling interactions. Because Summer, Hatch and Charlie are different and complement each other it was easy to believe in this relationship and root for a happy ending.

I’m glad this is the first instalment in a series and look forward to reading more stories set in this place called Paradise.

BEYOND PAIN

TITLE: BEYOND PAIN

AUTHOR KIT ROCHA

Date: 25/08/2013

Grade: 5

Details: No. 3 Beyond

Own / Kindle

From the author’s website:

A woman with no future…

Live fast, die young–anything else is a fantasy for Six. She’s endured the worst the sectors had to throw at her, but falling in with Dallas O’Kane’s Sector Four gang lands her in a whole new world of danger. They’re completely open about everything, including their sexuality–but she hasn’t survived this long by making herself vulnerable. Especially not to men as dominant as Brendan Donnelly.

A man without a past…

Bren is a killer, trained in Eden and thrown to the sectors. His one outlet is pain, in the cage and in the bedroom, and emotion is a luxury he can’t afford–until he meets Six. Protecting her soothes him, but it isn’t enough. Her hunger for touch sparks a journey of erotic discovery where anything goes–voyeurism, flogging, rough sex. He has only one rule: he won’t share her.

In Bren’s arms, Six is finally free to let go. But his obsession with the man who made him a monster could destroy the fragile connection they’ve forged, and cost him the one thing that makes him feel human–her love.

God, did I love this book. This is my third venture into the sectors, my third visit with Dallas O’Kane and his people and with every single book I get drawn deeper into that dystopian world. With every subsequent title I grow more attached to the people in Sector Four. Every time I finish one of these books the need to get my hands on the next installment grows more desperate. And, it has to be said, this book is my favourite so far.

I mean, what’s not to love? Two broken people - beaten so hard by life that they should be on their knees, begging for mercy and yearning for death - finding each other and the strength to love and trust although every instinct tells them not to expose themselves to hurt once again.

Take Six. A girl who hasn’t heard her given name for so long that she’s all but forgotten it. A girl who has been used, abused, abandoned and betrayed so often in her young life that it is a miracle she is willing to even consider trusting some one again.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a home before.”

But, despite her history, despite every instinct telling her that it isn’t safe to trust anyone, she is willing to try. Because of Brendan.

Bren – sigh – at least as broken as Six, he goes out of his way to make her feel at home in Sector Four and safe with him. He wants her, desperately, but refuses to push her:

“I wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want, but it doesn’t stop there. I wouldn’t do anything you weren’t sure about, either.” (Bren)

And it is the fact that Bren doesn’t ask, never mind force, her to do anything she might be uncomfortable with that makes it possible for Six to start trusting him. He seems to instinctively recognize her fears and needs and acts accordingly, always careful not to push her further than she is comfortable with.

“But he handled the bomb the way he handled her, every movement gentle, every touch precise, as if he knew all the ways she could shatter into dangerous pieces.”

But Six is not a weak damsel in distress. She may be uncomfortable with emotions, she may find it impossible to believe that people could accept her just for what she is, without judging her past, that doesn’t mean she is a whimpering mess. She is a strong woman, determined to make herself stronger. And Bren helps her get there, just by believing in her.

And Brendan understands Six well enough to not ask her for anything she can’t give him. All he wants from her is whatever she is willing to give him.

When his past pushes itself between Bren and Six, both of them need to reflect. And both of them need to listen not only to their hearts but also to the words of their friends in order not to lose that which has so carefully been established.

“Trust is the prize and the fight’s not about winning it or keeping it. It’s about deserving it, and that’s a fight a man’s got to have with himself. Every fucking day.” (Dallas to Bren)

I’ve read other series of books; series centered on a group of people in which each book concentrates on a certain relationship. When they’re done well, series like that are a pure delight because they give the reader the opportunity to keep any eye on past and future main characters, on how the world the story is set in develops; it means that the reader really does get the opportunity to get an answer to the question that so often springs to mind when a book is over – “I wonder what will happen next”. But most series will only give the reader glimpses of the other characters. They will surface as familiar names, be given a token paragraph and disappear again to make room for the stars of the current installment. What I LOVE about these books is that the authors take it further. Yes, each of the Beyond titles concentrates on one developing relationship but the older stories continue, the characters from previous books continue to develop and play a real role and those who will feature in future books have had their stories started in earlier titles. Kit Rocha has dropped her readers into a world that becomes more established, more real, with every subsequent title. You never stop learning more about this world and these characters, old and new, and that, for me, is the ultimate reading experience; total immergence.

The story is perfect. We get the against the odds love story, the angst experienced by both characters. There is a real and realistic dilemma almost tearing them apart. Add to that a dark but convincing world, true loyalty and friendship, strong women and tons of hot sex and you know you’ve found yourself one of those reads that will stay with you for a long, long time. But, most importantly for me, these books don’t have protracted drama. They don’t need it. There are no easy solutions either, though. This is a story set in a dystopian, fantastical world that feels more real than the setting in the average contemporary novel does. Bring on “Beyond Jealousy”; especially after that very enticing taster at the end of this book.

“He had her. Beautiful, dangerous, flawed, lonely Brendan Donnelly had her, and she was going to give him everything.”

BEYOND CONTROL

TITLE: BEYOND CONTROL

AUTHOR: KIT ROCHA

Pages: 400

Date: 24/03/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: No. 2 Beyond

Own/Kindle

The official blurb:

She refuses to be owned.

Alexa Parrino escaped a life of servitude and survived danger on the streets to become one of the most trusted, influential people in Sector Four, where the O’Kanes rule with a hedonistic but iron fist. Lex has been at the top for years, and there’s almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the gang…and for its leader. Lie, steal, kill—but she bows to no one, not even Dallas O’Kane.

He’ll settle for nothing less.

Dallas fought long and hard to carve a slice of order out of the chaos of the sectors. Dangers both large and small threaten his people, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. His liquor business is flourishing, and new opportunities fuel his ambition. Lex could help him expand his empire, something he wants almost as much as he wants her. And no one says no to the king of Sector Four.

Falling into bed is easy, but their sexual games are anything but casual. Attraction quickly turns to obsession, and their careful dance of heady dominance and sweet submission uncovers a need so deep, so strong, it could crush them both.”

In my review for “Beyond Shame” I expressed my desire to find out more about the other characters mentioned in that book and especially about Dallas O’Kane and Lex. This book proves that sometimes wishes do come true because this is the story of Dallas, the King of Sector Four and Lex the fiercely independent girl who is drawn to him but refuses to submit to another person ever again. Having fled Sector Two and her destiny as a paid submissive to rich men, Lex has gone through too much to even consider anything less than honesty and equality in a relationship. Dallas, on the other hand, wants nothing less than Lex’s complete submission to him; he wants her to be the queen ruling next to him but on his terms. Terms that may just demand too much from Lex, no matter how attracted she is to the leader of the O’Kane’s.

And so commences a game of push and pull. And a very intense and sexy game it is. This is life in the Sectors, where sex is a way of life as well as a form of currency and both Lex, with her extensive training, and Dallas know exactly which buttons to push to get the desired reaction.

A lasting relationship requires more than mind blowing sex though, but finding the middle ground between that which each of them wants and that which they are willing and able to give may just prove to be one step too far for both of them. Failure however could have devastating effects for Lex and Dallas as well as Sector Four as a whole.

Once again Kit Rocha managed to pleasantly surprise me with her book. As much as I liked Beyond Shame, I loved this book more. Dallas and Lex are fully fleshed and credible characters. It is very easy to understand where each of them is coming from and the problems and heartbreak they face as a result of that. This is not the sort of book where one character appears to constantly undermine the relationship while the other just keeps on giving. These two characters are equals in every aspect of the story and that makes the story all the more captivating.

Sex plays a major part in this book because it is the way of life in the world this story is set in. And while nothing is left to the reader’s imagination and some may find the descriptions too graphic or violent, the authors are very careful to ensure that the scenes described are consensual. In fact they go out of their way to spell out that while women may submit to the men in these stories, they are never abused or taken advantage of. And as much as the book seems to be all about sex, there are some very touching romantic moments as well:

“I’ve always loved you. (…) I’ve always wanted you. They don’t have a word for how much I need you. Everything good I am, everything good I’ve ever done…it’s all you.”

More sector politics and other relationships are starting to take (further) shape in this book. It is clear that more books will be required to resolve the organisation of the Sectors as well as to bring the various other couples together. I’m especially glad that the authors give us brief glimpses of other characters while concentrating on the two main ones. In some series of books it seems as if the various couples take turns; one story doesn’t start until a previous one is concluded. Of course in real life these things happen simultaneously and it is nice that these books reflect that. My curiosity has been stimulated by glimpses of what is to come as well as satisfied by a further look at the relationship between Noelle and Jasper. On the other hand, this also means that now I can’t wait to see what will happen next to Six and Bren or Ace and Rachel. But with the next book expected to come out in autumn I guess I can wait…just about.

I also want to point out that the authors have made a bonus story “Beyond Denial” about Ace available on their website. Ideally this story should be read after reading the first two books but for those who would like a taste of Kit Rocha’s writing it provides a perfect sample.

This is a very sexy, captivating and satisfying dystopian series; a well plotted and superbly written story that will have you frantically turning the pages and thinking about the characters long after you turn the last page.