The Master by Kresley Cole
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: February 2015

 

Catarina Marin needs money now. Enough money to start again on the other side of the country. A random sighting of her estranged husband has her on edge and ready to run. Forced to live under the radar and deal with aplenty of people willing to exploit her, she decides to escort to make some quick cash. Her first "client" is a “drop dead gorgeous” Russian billionaire with mafiya connections. The one problem is she is not the girl he requested from the agency. She doesn't even work for the agency and fulfilled her friend's booking.

Cat only has the most basic idea about escorting and would really be doing anything other than catering to snotty rich dude. Max did not get the woman he booked but decides to go outside his comfort zone.  When Max thinks Cat is trying to trap him, he goes full mafiya on her. Now that she has a husband hunting her and a billionaire mad at her, we get a little more of Cat's back story and see how she ended up in her current situation.  We also learn more about Max and his family and why he reacts to her the way he does.  Gradually, we see them growing on each other and realizing that they have feelings for each other.

The Master was an enjoyable read. It gets sexually explicit very fast. Even though the book is called The Master, it isn't really any bondage or BDSM - basically it's not a 50 shades clone.  Compared to the pacing of the rest of the book, the ending seemed a little rushed. Granted the main male character being a billionaire helped the action along as he would have money to get all the loose ends tied up quickly.

Just a note, this is actually the second book in The Game Maker series and has spoilers of the first book in the series. You might want to read the first book to avoid being spoiled and have a full scope of the series.  Although based on the snippet in the book, the first book seems like a pretty good story of its own.

This review copy was provided by the publisher.

Review: Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

Title: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
Publisher:The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Published: September 13, 2011
ASIN: B005N0PJJO


When we last left Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, they were reeling from the ruin of their relationship, if that's what you call it.  Luckily, that issue is resolved fairly quickly into Fifty Shades Darker.  Our lovebirds quickly get back into the swing of things.

Christian starts to open up to Anastasia realizing that he may have to relax some of his boundaries to keep her around.  Anastasia veers between trying not to be disturbed by Christian's desires while still maintaining her own boundaries.  The issue starts to come to a head when one of Christian's past lovers starts stalking them and eventually confronts Anastasia.  The crises causes Anastasia's doubts about her ability to satisfy Christian to resurface.  As she continues to be confronted by evidence of his past, she is plagued by worry about their future in light of Christian's needs.  Add the introduction of  "Mrs. Robinson" and this girl is dealing with tons of drama due to her relationship with Christian.  When she realizes Christian is extending himself to meet her halfway, she makes some concessions of her own that make him very happy!

That E. L. James was able to continue this story in an interesting way is a testament to her skill as a writer.   It would have been easy to make this book a rerun of the first book but by furthering the character's back stories and continuing to deepen her characters and their relationships to each other, E. L. was able to add to the original story. And it just as steamy as the first book.  If you liked Fifty Shades of Grey, you will like Fifty Shades Darker.

*This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion*

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

 

Title: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
Publisher:The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Published: May 25, 2011
ASIN: B0052U59F4

    When Anastasia Steele agrees to interview industrialist Christian Grey, she does not expect to have her life turned upside down.  She feels intense attraction to Christian but tries to ignore it since he couldn't be attracted to her, could he? Christian tracks her down making it more than clear that the feeling is mutual.  Yet Christian starts to withdraw from her with warnings of his dark proclivities.  Add to that Anastasia's best friend Katherine can't stand Christian and some competition from some of Anastasia's male friends Anastasia recoils at first but is drawn in by her increasingly intense relationship with Christian. When Anastasia realizes the depths of Christian's secret world, she attempts to find a way to please Christian while still maintaining her sense of self. 

  The cover is so innocent looking, but don't be fooled. This is erotica; there a several explicit sex scenes including BDSM, so if that's not your kind of party avoid this book.  E. L. James did a great job giving life to her characters.  I didn't agree with everything they did, but their actions seemed true to them.  It was fun to spend the whole book wondering will he? will she? Luckily, this is to be a trilogy, so we get to see whether Christian and Anastasia are able to maintain their connection.

**This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.                                     **

Check out my interview with E.L. James below the jump.