Review: The Hostage Bargain - Annika Martin (From MAKE ME)

Take a trip to the dark side with 12 books by some of the hottest names in edgy romance, including USA Today Bestselling authors CJ Roberts, Eliza Gayle, and Aleatha Romig!


Pam Godwin: Beneath the BurnSkye Warren: WanderlustClaire Thompson: EnslavedCari Silverwood: Take Me, Break MeAnnabel Joseph: Comfort ObjectAleatha Romig: Consequences Shoshanna Evers: The Man Who Holds The WhipAnnika Martin: The Hostage Bargain Jasmine Haynes: Take Your PleasureEliza Gayle: Play With MePepper Winters: Tears of TessCJ Roberts: Captive in the Dark

These e-books would cost over $40 if purchased separately. This set will only be available for a limited time, so order your copy now!

 Title: The Hostage bargain
Series: Taken Hostage By Hunky Bank Robbers #1
Author: Annika Martin
Published: April 2012, also in MAKE ME
Format: Self Purchase in MAKE ME boxed set

When small town girl Melinda Prescott is taken hostage by three hot bank robbers, she quickly discovers that a life of bank heists, luxury hotels, and kinky menages is way more exciting than working on the family farm. She should be scared of her dominating, fierce captors…but there’s something wicked inside her that’s craving to obey their every dark desire.

Melinda eagerly throws in with her three smoldering fugitives…and soon realizes that these are no ordinary bank robbers—and that bad guys aren’t always who they seem. But will her delicious captors overcome their own demons enough to let her in? And can these underdogs fight an evil conspiracy that’s larger than all of them?

Warning: This book contains a sexy bank-robbers-and-their-captive sandwich, light bondage, spanking, teasing hints of domination, and a little play-time in a hot tub. Oh, and some all-too-delicious alpha heroes who bend the heroine to their will.

So this weekend I cracked into MAKE ME, which is by far one of the very best boxed sets I’ve seen. Of course, any follower of mine knows I’ve already 5 starred and favorited Wanderlust from Skye Warren. Well, this weekend I read The Hostage Bargain by Annika Martin.

Fictional Candy loves them Bad Boys of Romance!

Woohoo!!  I've not been part of a hop in so long, it feels good to be back in one!  And what one would be better than the Bad Boys of Romance?  This one totally has my name written all over it!  Today's hop is hosted by:
Herding Cats & Burning Sheep
author Blue Remy
and
Rantings of a Reading Addict!
So make sure you stop by and see all of them.

For my stop, I'm giving away a choice of 3 books - all with some of my favorite Bad Boys.  BUT there is also a MASSIVE (oh yes, I do mean MASSIVE) tour wide giveaway.  Yikes!  That one blows my mind!

So the 3 books I'm offering up are your choice, from BN or Amazon
Click the links to view my reviews of them!

Wanderlust - Skye Warren
Holy Cow.  I can not stop thinking about this book.  Even weeks later.  That's how I know it's perfect!

Down To You -- M Leighton
This book was ridiculously hot.  I loved it.  And come on, it has bad boys right in the series name (Bad Boys).  So it obviously fits in with the theme.  

Decadent Deceptions - Keta Diablo
This book was superb!  I don't normally go for historical, and this one had me in hook, line and sinker!  And Morgan is some definite Bad Boy material!

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Quote-Tastic - Wanderlust by Skye Warren

Welcome to Quote-Tastic!  This meme runs every Monday and is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.  So far it has been oh-so-much fun!  
Maybe you've heard me say this, maybe you haven't - but a good kiss in a book will win me over more than almost anything.  Seriously.  More than the action, more than the sex, more than anything - I just need that ONE moment to make me do a dreamy sigh and wish I was in their place.  That is what will get me every time.  
Last week I reviewed Wanderlust by Skye Warren.  You can read that post HERE.  It was a five star read for me.  And while there were tons and oodles of moments I loved in that book, there was this one that I'm going to post today.  Evie and Hunter are at a waterfall, and they are having a tender moment where the reality of their situation is forgotten for just a moment, and they are able to just be. 

Just enjoy this.

I leaned forward and kissed him - right on his nose. A little silly maybe, but he didn't laugh. He looked startled at first, then his eyes darkened. He held me still, steadily kicking to keep us afloat. But he made no move t pull away or to initiate another kiss. Just holding steady for my exploration, if I wished to continue, and I did.

His eyelids, his forehead, the rough cheeks and much softer lips. I stayed there, sending small kisses along his mouth, from one corner to the other and then back again. It was a thank you for bringing me here, for convincing me to do this. More than that, the jump had given me permission to do this thing I'd wanted, to kiss a beautiful man who held me. One who seemed to want me but was unable to express it except in the harshest of ways.

"What next?" I whispered, expecting him to do something obscene and maybe painful. For the first time, I thought I'd welcome it. It was crazy, but so was this.

His lips curved knowingly, as if he guessed the direction of my thoughts.

He raised his eyebrow. "Wanna jump again?"

Amazon - Wanderlust

Please note this is an Amazon Associates link.  All purchases made through this link help support this blog. 

So what do you think?  Can you get lost in a moment and think, "This is it, this is what I've been waiting for!" This book was so good, I urge you all to read it.  It's a bit dark, a bit sexy, a bit dangerous, and all together wonderful.  

So how about you?  Did you join in on Quote-Tastic this week?  Leave me your links and I will come visit you!

Quote-Tastic - Wanderlust by Skye Warren

Welcome to Quote-Tastic!  This meme runs every Monday and is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.  So far it has been oh-so-much fun!  
Maybe you've heard me say this, maybe you haven't - but a good kiss in a book will win me over more than almost anything.  Seriously.  More than the action, more than the sex, more than anything - I just need that ONE moment to make me do a dreamy sigh and wish I was in their place.  That is what will get me every time.  
Last week I reviewed Wanderlust by Skye Warren.  You can read that post HERE.  It was a five star read for me.  And while there were tons and oodles of moments I loved in that book, there was this one that I'm going to post today.  Evie and Hunter are at a waterfall, and they are having a tender moment where the reality of their situation is forgotten for just a moment, and they are able to just be. 

Just enjoy this.

I leaned forward and kissed him - right on his nose. A little silly maybe, but he didn't laugh. He looked startled at first, then his eyes darkened. He held me still, steadily kicking to keep us afloat. But he made no move t pull away or to initiate another kiss. Just holding steady for my exploration, if I wished to continue, and I did.

His eyelids, his forehead, the rough cheeks and much softer lips. I stayed there, sending small kisses along his mouth, from one corner to the other and then back again. It was a thank you for bringing me here, for convincing me to do this. More than that, the jump had given me permission to do this thing I'd wanted, to kiss a beautiful man who held me. One who seemed to want me but was unable to express it except in the harshest of ways.

"What next?" I whispered, expecting him to do something obscene and maybe painful. For the first time, I thought I'd welcome it. It was crazy, but so was this.

His lips curved knowingly, as if he guessed the direction of my thoughts.

He raised his eyebrow. "Wanna jump again?"

Amazon - Wanderlust

Please note this is an Amazon Associates link.  All purchases made through this link help support this blog. 

So what do you think?  Can you get lost in a moment and think, "This is it, this is what I've been waiting for!" This book was so good, I urge you all to read it.  It's a bit dark, a bit sexy, a bit dangerous, and all together wonderful.  

So how about you?  Did you join in on Quote-Tastic this week?  Leave me your links and I will come visit you!

Review: Wanderlust by Skye Warren

Title: Wanderlust
Series: No
Author: Skye Warren
Published: April 2013, Smashwords
Format: Ebook provided for review

Can love come from pain?

Evie always dreamed of seeing the world, but her first night at a motel turns into a nightmare. Hunter is a rugged trucker willing to do anything to keep her—including kidnapping. As they cross the country in his rig, Evie plots her escape, but she may find what she's been looking for right beside her.

Wanderlust is a dark erotic novel which explores dubious consent, captivity, and power play. Not intended for those uncomfortable with the subject matter or under eighteen.

I was going to review this book next week, but I couldn’t wait anymore. I have to share it, and my thoughts about it, with you! Wanderlust is the third book I’ve reviewed by Skye Warren, and it deals with captivity. Hear Me and Trust In Me both dealt with captivity also, but all three books deal with it in wildly different ways. Before I even began this book I was excited. I know that Skye is a fantastic writer, and the concept of this book really sounded like an enthralling storyline. When I read a book from Skye, I feel like she is able to totally immerse me in the story. I lose track of time. I am Mia from Trust In Me, I am the slave from Hear Me, and now? I am Evie.

And its Evie who begins this book, and she is twenty years old. She lives at home with her mother who is basically a shut in. But not only is her mother a shut in, she is verbally and emotionally abusive to Evie at times. Her fear of being alone makes her act horribly to Evie, to keep her near, I suspect. But Evie wants more than living in that house can offer her, and so one day she decides, “This is IT.” And then she leaves. She has a destination, and somewhat of a plan.

I like Evie. She is naïve and brave and hungry to see what life is going to throw at her. She doesn’t let her mother’s fears control her, not any more. She doesn’t let horrible events from her past control her, not any more. So on her first night out, she gets a hotel room, crosses over the lot and goes to the diner. And it’s not long before she meets Hunter, Hunter Bryant. As the waitress says, nobody says no to Hunter Bryant.

How do I explain Hunter? Trucker, thirty years old, rugged and sexy cowboy. Damaged, and not exactly making the best decisions at this point.  He's got a colorful history that comes out throughout the book, and it totally endears him to me.  He takes Evie, and then they are off in his truck.

Their time together turns into a road trip, and they grow and learn more about each other. They end up acting more like a couple rather than a kidnapper and his captive, save for the sex. They are having sex regularly, but it’s not the tender touch of a couple falling in love. It’s rough and hard and screams of anger, and it’s wildly exciting. I couldn’t believe how hot it was at times. This book can definitely speak to that secret side of your darkest desires.  Wanderlust isn’t for the everyday romance reader. But if you like things a little dark, and a little …well, wrong, then you will love this book!  But don't be mistaken, this also isn't all hearts and roses.  Evie is still dealing with her internal struggle about actually being kidnapped, its not something she has just swept under the rug, as it were. Escaping is still a goal, even if she does her best to enjoy her time while she's there.

“I had traded one prison for another, this one mobile but absolute. Inescapable even as it sliced through the countryside. Neither my mother’s home nor this eighteen-wheeler were gilded, but I preferred the view in this cage.”

This story gave time to the characters to grow. Hunter is a criminal, yes. But there is a vulnerability to him. I don’t know if I should be excited, but I was. I wanted them to fall in love, I wanted them to be together. I fell for both of these characters. I fell in love with the damn truck! Every experience they had together, whether positive or negative kept me glued to my Kindle like it was my lifetime. I started this book in the evening, and a couple chapters in I decided I wasn’t going to bed until I finished it, and that’s exactly what happened. I have a feeling that if you like Skye Warren, this book will be at the top of your favorites. It’s definitely a five star read for me, and hey, now I get to use my new graphic for the first time!

So have you read Wanderlust? What did you think? Or is it on your TBR? Tell me what you thought of other books by Skye!

Find Skye Online

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Previous Posts On Fictional Candy

Review - Trust In Me

Review (And Guest Post/Excerpt) - Hear Me

Please note this is an Amazon Associates link.  All purchases made through this link help support this blog. 

Review: Wanderlust by Skye Warren

Title: Wanderlust
Series: No
Author: Skye Warren
Published: April 2013, Smashwords
Format: Ebook provided for review

Can love come from pain?

Evie always dreamed of seeing the world, but her first night at a motel turns into a nightmare. Hunter is a rugged trucker willing to do anything to keep her—including kidnapping. As they cross the country in his rig, Evie plots her escape, but she may find what she's been looking for right beside her.

Wanderlust is a dark erotic novel which explores dubious consent, captivity, and power play. Not intended for those uncomfortable with the subject matter or under eighteen.

I was going to review this book next week, but I couldn’t wait anymore. I have to share it, and my thoughts about it, with you! Wanderlust is the third book I’ve reviewed by Skye Warren, and it deals with captivity. Hear Me and Trust In Me both dealt with captivity also, but all three books deal with it in wildly different ways. Before I even began this book I was excited. I know that Skye is a fantastic writer, and the concept of this book really sounded like an enthralling storyline. When I read a book from Skye, I feel like she is able to totally immerse me in the story. I lose track of time. I am Mia from Trust In Me, I am the slave from Hear Me, and now? I am Evie.

And its Evie who begins this book, and she is twenty years old. She lives at home with her mother who is basically a shut in. But not only is her mother a shut in, she is verbally and emotionally abusive to Evie at times. Her fear of being alone makes her act horribly to Evie, to keep her near, I suspect. But Evie wants more than living in that house can offer her, and so one day she decides, “This is IT.” And then she leaves. She has a destination, and somewhat of a plan.

I like Evie. She is naïve and brave and hungry to see what life is going to throw at her. She doesn’t let her mother’s fears control her, not any more. She doesn’t let horrible events from her past control her, not any more. So on her first night out, she gets a hotel room, crosses over the lot and goes to the diner. And it’s not long before she meets Hunter, Hunter Bryant. As the waitress says, nobody says no to Hunter Bryant.

How do I explain Hunter? Trucker, thirty years old, rugged and sexy cowboy. Damaged, and not exactly making the best decisions at this point.  He's got a colorful history that comes out throughout the book, and it totally endears him to me.  He takes Evie, and then they are off in his truck.

Their time together turns into a road trip, and they grow and learn more about each other. They end up acting more like a couple rather than a kidnapper and his captive, save for the sex. They are having sex regularly, but it’s not the tender touch of a couple falling in love. It’s rough and hard and screams of anger, and it’s wildly exciting. I couldn’t believe how hot it was at times. This book can definitely speak to that secret side of your darkest desires.  Wanderlust isn’t for the everyday romance reader. But if you like things a little dark, and a little …well, wrong, then you will love this book!  But don't be mistaken, this also isn't all hearts and roses.  Evie is still dealing with her internal struggle about actually being kidnapped, its not something she has just swept under the rug, as it were. Escaping is still a goal, even if she does her best to enjoy her time while she's there.

“I had traded one prison for another, this one mobile but absolute. Inescapable even as it sliced through the countryside. Neither my mother’s home nor this eighteen-wheeler were gilded, but I preferred the view in this cage.”

This story gave time to the characters to grow. Hunter is a criminal, yes. But there is a vulnerability to him. I don’t know if I should be excited, but I was. I wanted them to fall in love, I wanted them to be together. I fell for both of these characters. I fell in love with the damn truck! Every experience they had together, whether positive or negative kept me glued to my Kindle like it was my lifetime. I started this book in the evening, and a couple chapters in I decided I wasn’t going to bed until I finished it, and that’s exactly what happened. I have a feeling that if you like Skye Warren, this book will be at the top of your favorites. It’s definitely a five star read for me, and hey, now I get to use my new graphic for the first time!

So have you read Wanderlust? What did you think? Or is it on your TBR? Tell me what you thought of other books by Skye!

Find Skye Online

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Previous Posts On Fictional Candy

Review - Trust In Me

Review (And Guest Post/Excerpt) - Hear Me

Please note this is an Amazon Associates link.  All purchases made through this link help support this blog.