3.5 - 4 stars

Copy received via Random House and Netgalley for honest review.

Claimed is a light, fun BDSM read that was a great way to fill in a few hours.

Just out of a long relationship, Presley is drawn into the BDSM lifestyle by her friend Cora. She has always had a very vanilla sex life, and lives vicariously through the erotic books she reads.

Cora introduces Presley to Master Dmitri, owner of Club Sin and dungeon master.

From their first meeting their lives change for the better.

Dmitri learns to care for, maybe even love again. Presley realises all the time she wasted with her ex Steven (ugh, horrible man!!) and opens herself up to what she has been missing and what she can learn from the lifestyle she is getting more and more into.

What I liked about this book is that is was not just about the dungeon and the BDSM, it was more about the relationship between dom and sub, and how their relationship grows as the trust between the pair increases.

Is there dungeons involved? Yes. Are there BDSM scenes - hell yes. Sexy, dominant alpha males - yep.

Was a sweet romance between D/s and a great way to fill in an afternoon.

ARC Received from Harlequin Enterprises Australia via NetGalley for honest review

It's Love, Dude is a sweet romance about opposites attracting.

Pro surfer Zane Carlton returns to home town in Western Australia for a promo visit, and meets shy but beautiful assistant to a politician, Molly Georgiou.

Everyone believes Zane's bad boy personal that is perpetuated by the media, but is this really him? Can Molly break that down and get to know the real man?

Brought together through his grandfather and a little known endangered animal (hey, I am Australian and I had never heard of a woylie!! But have since Googled and they are adorable), attraction blossoms into long distance romance and maybe love?

Outside forces try to break them up, but will their feelings be strong enough to survive long periods of separation.

I loved the secondary characters - Grandpa Tom is ornery and mouthy, Mrs Li is in a world of her own.

This is a well written, enjoyable story. I enjoyed that I could picture some of the places that are written about, got the glitz of the Gold Coast down pat - though may have been a bit too kind to it!!

This is the first I have read of Jenny Schwarz, but I will definitely check out more.

3.5 stars

ARC Received from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley for honest review

So sweet it will give you a toothache.

Every year, Amanda Wright goes to the Watermelon Festival in her small southern town, and this year is no exception.

Out for a day of cakes and sweet tea, this year is a little different.

With her elderly grandmother and her 5 year old son in town, she is not up for the ferris wheels and kissing booths and puppy dogs, but this is what her day is becoming about.

The new DJ in town has taken over from her deceased grandfather, and she is enamoured with his voice, not that she has ever met him.

Things conspire to bring Amanda and the new DJ together.

I really liked Amanda from the get go, a war widow looking after her fun but dementia-suffering grandma. She is a strong lady who is just trying to do what is best for her family.

The only thing about it is that just as things were starting to get really interesting - BAM, the end.

Would have liked this to go a little further into Amanda and Grant's story.

Copy received from publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

After the Kiss is a sweet contemporary romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Julie is the "dating" expert at Stiletto magazine, and a New York 'celebrity'. Along with her friends Grace and Riley, they are they relationship experts that millions of women look up to.

Mitchell is 'Wall Street Guy' - all boring (but well tailored) suits and glasses.

When Julie is given her new assignment - how to go from first date to serious - she picks out Mitchell as her target. Little knowing Mitchell has his own plans.

Mitchell is one for serious relationships, but often sticks in them longer than he should. His friends bet him that he cannot date a girl without wanting to marry her. His target - Julie.

Now the fun and games begin. But what happens when Julie and Mitchell start to develop real feelings for each other? For this you have to read for yourself.!

After the Kiss has a Sex and the City meets How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days vibe to it that I really enjoyed.

Lauren Layne has written a fun and witty take on the dating world, and I want to go and read more of work.

ARC received for an honest review

Where to start with this one? Finding You is a gut wrenching story that is still with me days after finishing it.

We start with Neva, her brother Tate and his best friend Logan all attending the same college. It is 10 years since Neva and Tate's lives were touched by tragedy, something Neva is still trying to deal with to this day.

Logan is the football superstar, big man on campus and the ultimate man-whore. He can have any girl he wants - hell, they throw themselves at him. But it is not enough.

Enter Angel Walker. Rock God, body to die for, sexy as sin. What better way to spend your time than falling for this guy?

There was something from the beginning that did not sit right about Angel to me, and as the story progressed I realised what I thought was not so far off the mark.

The only ones who know of Neva's demons are Tate, Logan and her best friend Low. Can she open herself up and let someone else in . Logan has been there since she was 10 years old. But lately she has been wanting more with him, and she is confused as a girl can be.

I don't want to spoil anything by telling too much, but Finding You had lots of "OMG" and "did that just happen" moments.

And then it happened. Aaarrgh!! we were cliffhangered!

ARC Received for honest reveiw.


I read Her straight after reading Him, so if you are not one for the same story from different POV's you might want to leave a couple of weeks between reading the two. For me, I love Him so much I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into Her.


We met and fell in love with Will and Sarah in Him (Sarah's POV). Now with Her we get Will's POV, and fall even more in love with him.

Her runs parallel to Her, from when Will and Sarah first met to present day. What do we get? We get lots and lots of sexy Will strutting his stuff, that's what we get!

I loved that we got into teenage Will's head as he deals with his feelings for Sarah, and how he coped when she up and left him 7 years without a word - I may have cried a little bit reading this.

I would have liked to have learnt more about his mother and his homelife, since she played such an integral part in what happened all those years ago, but I guess knowing she is a grade A bitch is enough, and at the end of the day there was not really room for more in the story. Still don't like the mother at all - though she may have redeemed herself a little in the end - a very little.

I didn't think I could despise Jessica (Will's ex) any more than I did in Him, but reading her from Will's POV proved me wrong. There was not a thing at all I liked about her and really did like her even less the second time around.

We get some super sexy love scenes - hell anything with Will is gonna be sexy anyway, he could read the phone book and it woulda been hot! And oh my, what a romantic he can be too!

We also get more of Sawyer - she is just a pocket rocket that I would want in my corner in a fight any day! She is feisty, mouthy and ballsy. And as loyal as you can get. Can't wait to read more about her and Jared's relationship.

And it was interesting to learn about Will's relationship with Sarah's parents and especially with her brother Brian. Brian is kinda caught in the middle as his friendship with Will deepens. He could have been a very different man to who he turned out to be when it came to these two, but he is wonderful.

I thoroughly enjoyed Her, and look forward to reading more of Carey Heywoods' work

ARC Received for honest review

Rebecca has always felt that little bit left out. At 6 foot tall, guys are intimidated by her, and to protect herself from being hurt she uses her sharp wit to cut them down before they can hurt her. She has always seen herself as plain Jane, so why would anyone else see her differently.

One night she is dragged by her sister - her slutty sister - to a preseason party for the local football team. She would rather be anywhere else than here at this drunken, debaucherous party.

When one of drunk players tries to assault her, a knight in shining armour steps in to protect her. A sexy, hot, football playing knight.

Killian, football superstar, has been intrigued by the girl with the "Legs" all night, and now is his time to finally meet her - albeit under not so great circumstances.

Killian and Becca are not your average couple, and I loved that about them. I loved how Rebecca put it all on the line to Killian, and he did not run for the hills but admitted he felt the same.

Their relationship, once it gets going at least, gets pretty hot and heavy pretty damn quick.

They also have their ups and downs like any relationship, though Killian tries to make Rebecca's transition into the WAGs of the team as easy as possible. But the life of a star athlete's girlfriend is not an easy one, and at times Rebecca wonders if it is all worth it. Killian can be difficult to live with, and there were a few times throughout the book that I seriously wanted to slap the crap out of him!

I adored most of the secondary characters, especially Rebecca's two best friends. Her gay male best friend is hilarious, esp when he is in the same scenes as Killian. Her female best friend is the girl we all want as a friends. A shoulder to cry on, our fiercest supporter.

I was not a fan of the sister. Ugh, what a bitch. Locker room groupie, out for whoever is the richest/most successful sportsman who will take her. The way she treats Rebecca was horrible.

Play has it all. I laughed, I sobbed, there was no all-encompassing tragedy that they had to get through.

I also loved that the main players did not fall instantly in love and into bed - even though he might have wanted it to be just that. Rebecca made him work for her love, deserve her heart. He had to work for forgiveness when he stuffed up, no quick apologies and make up sex here!

Holly Roberts has written a well rounded, well written book that I thorougly enjoyed from beginning to end (though as an Australian I just don't get the football uniforms - nothing about all that padding is at all sexy to me lol!)

ARC received for honest review

What do you wish for for your birthday? Clothes? Money? Concert tickets?

Newly divorced, very disheartened and not to mention horny, for her 30th birthday Mari has given herself the ultimate wish list.

She has met a man, Luca, online, and they have agreed on a no holds barred, no strings attached, casual sex relationship, and have both created a list of things they want to do to each other.

She gets sidetracked on the way to their first rendezvous, to a surprise party her family and friends are holding for her. Inadvertantly, after intercepting a text message from Luca, Mari's brother invites him to the party.

when she sees him at her party, Mari is floored. He is much more gorgeous, much sexier than she ever thought possible, and the sexual attraction between the two is palpable.

But how is she going to explain him to her mother?

Mari is gunshy after her failed marriage, and this is why this arrangement is perfect for her. But what will she do when Luca tells her he wants more?

Luca is just damn hot... and he knows what to do with his toys - ben wah balls anyone???

Mari and Luca just sizzle up the pages - I just wish there were more of them! Birthday Wishes is a short, fast paced, sexy and fun read and I know we don't have long to wait for more, but at the end I was all "oh. it's over already?"

If you need something quick to read inbetween your full length novels, make sure you give Birthday Wishes a read!