Passion & Venom by S. Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I LOVE LOVE LOVE Dark romance (as you may know if you read my reviews and such) and I have to say, Passion & Venom was just a perfect example of this genre to me!


Make no mistake; This is a DARK READ! There is (view spoiler)[ rape (not by H), murder, graphic violence, and gore (hide spoiler)]. It is 100% a dark and gritty Mafia Romance and I loved it from start to finish!

This story is told from the heroine, Gianna Nicotera's, POV and each chapter records basically 1 day's events. I generally always prefer Dual POV to single POV. However, having only Gianna's perspective in this story really heightens the intrigue in our Hero, Draco.
PLOT:
Passion & Venom is a Mafia Romance set in Mexico (We think) and is centered around the kidnapping of Gianna Nicotera. She is the daughter of Leon Nicotera who was a feared and respected Italian Mobster. Her story begins with her wedding to a man named "Trigger Tony".. Shortly after her wedding, she is kidnapped with her husband is murdered right in front of her. She ends up in the hands of a group of brutal men working for a very Dangerous man known as, El Jefe or Draco Mollina.
From the moment we meet Draco we see that he is a brutal and controlling man. He is every bit the violent cartel leader he is made out to be; dolling out violent punishments when he sees fit, demanding respect from everyone around him. However, Draco is very much intrigued by his new captive and you can tell from the beginning that he treats her differently than he would any other in her place.
As Gianna longs to gain her freedom and Draco attempts to tame his new "guest", we find there are dangers beyond that of the tall, dark and deadly Mr. Mollina. And those dangers might just be closer than one would think...

IN REFLECTION
First of all - The characters -
Gianna has to be one of my favorite heroines that I have ever read. She is so strong, fearless, smart, tenacious, brave, and kind. She is just a super badass and I can not wait to read the rest of her through this trilogy.
El Jefe aka Draco Mollina was such a great dark romance anti-hero. There have been some reviews saying the found him to be too 'bad' or too dark even for a dark romance, but I totally disagree.
OBVIOUSLY, I DON'T CONDONE ANY OF THE BEHAVIOR IN THIS BOOK That being said...

Was he a controlling prick with a violent disposition and sociopathic tendencies? Yes.
Was he rude and cruel and hurtful? Yes.
However, even with all Draco does to our heroine, he never beats or hurts her in anger ((view spoiler)[aside from the spanking with the belt thing, but that's a grey area for me with this genre (hide spoiler)]), never allows his men to touch her (in fact he said:
"From this moment on, she will not be talked to and she will definitely not be touched. If I find out that any of you touched her in anyway, I will be sure to break your fucking hands off and stuff every single one of your grubby fingers down your fucking throats.” The men are dead silent as they stare at him. 'Is that fucking clear?")
He lets her have some freedom from the house, he gives her gifts, and shows her as much kindness as a man like him is capable of in the given situation.
I don't know. In my opinion, he just wasn't THAT dark to where I was turned off. I have read Heros who were much much worse than Draco and still loved them in the end.

ON TO BOOK 2!



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Loving Mr. Cane by Shanora Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



READING ORDER:
#1 - Wanting Mr. Cane
#2 - Breaking Mr. Cane
#3 - Loving Mr. Cane
#4 - Being Mrs. Cane (novella)

NOTE- If you have not read books 1 and 2

ALERT ALERT - SPOILERS AHEAD!! PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED WORSE THAN A ROTTEN TOMATO!!

That series was one hell of a roller coaster!!

Before we get started I want to say - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Say there will be a Frankie and Clay book?!?!? Step-Brother types are MY FAVORITE!!! And I Loved Frankie!!

We start off with Kandy in the hospital after Kelly the Psycho Bitch attached her in Cane's home. While she is still alive which is a relief we find out some really sad news. Meanwhile, Cane is in custody at the police station for questioning about the incident with Kandy and Kelly. They assume he had something to do with what happened. He is released because they have no evidence against him, but when he goes to see Kandy she tells him she doesn't want to see him anymore and she decides that she needs time away from Cane to try to see if their relationship is really worth all the trouble it has caused for her.
Needless to say, Cane is pretty much broken following this. Kandy is the love of his life and he knows he will never stop loving her. Kandy knows that she will never stop loving Cane, but can't decide if he is worth the danger and heartache that come with him.

In this book we get to meet El Jefe aka Draco Mollina (can't wait to start his book!!) and his 2 guards/associates and delve more into Cane then ever before. We find out all about his past and learn more about how he started his business.

I really loved this series with the exception of 1 thing really.
Kandy
She made me want to strangle her like half the time! Things I hated about her:
- She was SO WISHY WASHY and cowardly! She would go back and forth between 'I love him so much and can't live without him' to 'Well, he has so many flaws and he is not worth it' - If she loved him as much as she claims to then she would even ask herself if he was 'worth it'. She would KNOW IT! He had told her many times that he had done bad things in his past and she said she didn't care and love him anyway. Fast-foward to us finding out a tiny bit about his past and suddenly he is "not a good person" and I am too scared to love him... just ugh... hate it.

- She blamed him after Kelly hurt her!!! WTF Kandy!!!
"My parents were out there, willing to do literally anything for me, and I’d chosen Cane over them, not even realizing what all he was capable of or all he had in store."
I hated her at that point.

All in all though, I loved the series and will definitely be reading more from this Author!





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Breaking Mr. Cane by Shanora Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The second installment of the Mr. Cane Saga

5 Stars AGAIN!

"When you’re with someone you love, they are your escape from the madness of the real world. With you, I have broken many rules and many morals and many standards and sometimes that wears me down…but I’ll be damned if it stops me from having you.”

*ALERT* SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT READ BOOK 1 *ALERT*

#1 - Wanting Mr. Cane
#2 - Breaking Mr. Cane
#3 - Loving Mr. Cane
#4 - Being Mrs. Cane (Novella)

We start Breaking Mr. Cane where we left off with a miserable Cane in the hospital because Derick attacked after finding out about their elicit affair. Kelly the Psycho Bitch now is glued to Cane's side using his past as a way to keep him from basically erasing her off the face of the planet. Kandy is devastated, but accepted that her and Cane's affair was never going to be a long lived relationship due to a multitude of reasons. Seeing as she was leaving across the country for college in just a few short days anyway, she has decided to basically let her parent's assume her and Cane made a mistake by getting together and try to move on in college. Cane doesn't want to hold Kandy back from her college experience and although it kills him he basically leaves her alone to experience college life.
Kandy makes some friends and even meets a guy, (view spoiler)[Does not date him or have sex with him (hide spoiler)] but she can't seem to move past the tall, dark, tattooed man who holds her heart.
We learn a lot more about Cane and his family in this book and we also learn Much more about Kelly (not that I care about her because I just want her to die. Not sure I have ever wanted a character killed off more than this bitch.)

IN REFLECTION:
This was a really great continuation of the Cane and Kandy adventure. Much more drama happening for both characters even outside of their relationship to each other. Introduction of some new secondary characters and villains. More hotness between our MC's.
I have to say, I understand why Derick was so pissed with his friend for his relationship with his daughter. Any dad would freak the fuck out. I just don't understand why Kandy didn't try to defend her relationship with Cane more to her parents. She supposedly loves this guy more than anything and yet she pretty much just lets her parents assume it was a fling that she consented to and even initiated. Why would you want your parents to think that you basically destroyed your dad's closest friendship just so you could get some D... of course they are pissed.

ALSO, Is it normal for a school to punish a student for having a relationship with a person who is older than college age??!! I mean WTF?? I totally did not understand that part. I could understand if he was married or a teacher or something, but a college student being in a relationship with an single, older man is so bad that your school reputation will suffer....




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Wanting Mr. Cane

Wanting Mr. Cane by Shanora Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of my favorite 'TABOO' Reads yet!

5 Forbidden Stars!!



“Doesn’t matter what kind of shit we go through, you’ll always be mine, Kandy. Doesn’t matter how fucked up the situation is, or how wrong it fucking feels…you are mine.” I let my lips touch the shell of her ear. “Don’t you ever forget that, you understand?”

“If you really want me,” he continued, “kneel for me. Right now.”

“You’ll do anything for me, won’t you?” “Yes,” I vowed. “Good, because you’ll be doing a lot more for me tonight, little one.”





Quinton Cane is a 35 year old CEO, bazillionaire who owns a Wine and Chocolates company called Tempt. Kandy is a 18 year old fresh out of high school softball star with beauty and a 1 year ride to Notre Dame. These two know each other because Kandy's dad, Derick the police man, is best friends with Cane. Kandy has had a crush on Cane ever since she first laid eyes on him at 9 years old even though she didn't know it was a crush at the time.
Cane has never looked at Kandy in anyway other than his best friends daughter. Until one night when Kandy decides to force him to change his perspective. Cane basically feels that he owes everything to Derrick and he really is his best and only real friend, so to say that his feelings for Kandy is a complication is an glaring understatement.
And if the whole - forbidden relationship, could loose my BFF forever - thing isn't enough drama for you? Enter Kelly! Cane's - not really girlfriend but more like fuck buddy - You will have to read to find out about her, she's fun. Wow!

IN REFLECTION:
First of all, I have to start off with just a little thing that I disliked and that was.... Kandy??? Really???... I mean, I may be the lone survivor over here on lonely island with this opinion, but Kandy is a stripper name. I get the story of the nurse, why they chose it and all that jazz, but I just... ugh.. that name...

ANYWAY!! Beyond that (and obviously, I LOVED the story regardless because I 5 Stared it!) This was seriously one of my ABSOLUTE FAV TABOO Reads! It is hard for some authors to get to a story behind the actual Taboo plot line and take it in a more complex direction. Most of the time, the major point of the story is the forbidden nature of the relationship and the other aspects get thrown in the background until they need a problem to present itself to create some drama at 80%.

I really enjoyed how this Shanora weaves the story so that you are extremely intrigued with not only the main relationship between Kandy and Cane but also Canes relationship with Kelly, his past, and the secondary characters.
Before I started this I was thinking, "How on earth is this author going to give me a 'Dad's Best Friend' story that will hold my interest and not fizzle out in the span of 4 BOOKS!"
SHE TOTALLY DID IT!! I was obsessed!

LOTS of angst in this one, so prepare yourself!! So Good though!!

Things you might want to know, BUT DON'T DO IT if you're not interested in spoilers!! - (view spoiler)[ - There is NO underage sex in this and the H NEVER lusted after the h until AFTER she turns 18 (not until she came onto him actually)
- There IS OW drama, via Kelly, but there are no OW detailed scenes nor any mention of Cane and Kelly having sex in during the span of the book.
- Cliffhanger into next book
- Also, I FREAKING KNEW IT! The second I read that Frankie's "brother" was only related basically by adoption when she was like 6 AND that he was hot, I said "I sense a step-sibling TABOO relationship on the horizon!" I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT!!






(hide spoiler)]

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Review: Falling for the Babysitter

Falling for the Babysitter by Penny Wylder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: An Innocent Obsession

An Innocent Obsession by Jessa Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 super smutastic stars!

If you are in the market of an OTT .... well EVERYTHING, spectacularly smutty, 1 hour read then this is your book!

I actually did like this book and appreciated it for what it was. You can't compare these types of books to any thought provoking works of literature or mystery thriller full of plot twists and intrigue... it's complete and total smut. So enjoy it for what it is!
Lets be honest... The blurb tells you about a young girl who has been fantasizing/obsessing about an older man since she was a young girl, then gets to finally meet him when explosive chemistry occurs AND it's only 48 pages....
You ain't fooling nobody...

But I like my Smut just as much as the next girl, so count me on board!

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Review: Drink Me Up

Drink Me Up by Penny Wylder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I always like Penny Wilder for a cute, short, light on the angst quickie.

Dring Me Up definitely hits those marks spot on. I liked this book for the light read that it is meant to be. I need a couple shorties to keep up with my 2019 goal! Which I am very disappointingly behind on right now!!
Damn house remodel is really sucking up all my free reading time!

I blame HGTV for making me think I have the ability, time, and energy to be Joanna Gains...

Spoiler alert....

I'm totally not

BUT I Digress...
Cute book with cute characters and a sweet Hero. I thought for being in the Enemies to Lovers category, the MC's got the lovers part a bit too fast. I enjoy the push and pull and tension of the enemies part a lot and feel like the longer the bickering and opposition goes on the more explosive and engaging it is for the reader when they finally come together... no pun intended...



OK TIMBERLAKE SORRY! Bad joke!

All in all, Good book to pass the time with until your ready for your next mind-melter :)

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