What I've Been Reading: Dungeon Games

1001DarkNights

Dungeon Games (Masters & Mercenaries 6.5)Lexi Blake

Obsessed

Derek Brighton has become one of Dallas’s finest detectives through a combination of discipline and obsession. Once he has a target in his sights, nothing can stop him. When he isn’t solving homicides, he applies the same intensity to his playtime at Sanctum, a secretive BDSM club. Unfortunately, no amount of beautiful submissives can fill the hole that one woman left in his heart.

Unhinged

Karina Mills has a reputation for being reckless, and her clients appreciate her results. As a private investigator, she pursues her cases with nothing holding her back. In her personal life, Karina yearns for something different. Playing at Sanctum has been a safe way to find peace, but the one Dom who could truly master her heart is out of reach.

Enflamed

On the hunt for a killer, Derek enters a shadowy underworld only to find the woman he aches for is working the same case. Karina is searching for a missing girl and won’t stop until she finds her. To get close to their prime suspect, they need to pose as a couple. But as their operation goes under the covers, unlikely partners become passionate lovers while the killer prepares to strike.

~ ~ * ~ ~

If you've read any of the Masters and Mercenaries books, you know who Derek is. He's a Dom and police detective with a tough-as-nails exterior. Normally I wouldn't be pointing you toward a book so far into a series because, let's face it, who knows if the six books ahead of this one will be ones you'll enjoy? But this little tasty treat is a perfect introduction into Lexi's M&M world and a great way to decide if you'd like to read more.

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of the 1001 Dark Nights covers. I can't ever figure out which author they belong to because they all look the same, and then I get kinda pissed because I miss an addition to a series I love, which is what happened with this book. But I'm so glad I finally figured it out despite the cover!

Derek is such a gem. As tough as he is, the quirks Lexi adds into his life are interesting. His ex-wife, for instance, is a shark, and the way he thinks about her and interacts with her are funny as hell. He's also a dumbass when it comes to certain things -- yes, you read that right. He has a lot of preconceptions about Karina that put him off on the wrong foot. I'll admit, I kinda enjoyed seeing the big, bad Dom being proven wrong. And when he finally gets it right? Good GOD, he scorches up the pages!

Karina has been described in other books (only peripherally) as "that crazy PI." She's not really crazy. Like many of Lexi's heroines, she's not "put together" and perfect. She's relatable, and her history is heartbreaking. A widow, Karina has held herself back from intimacy because of her past, because she doesn't feel she can ever fully expose herself to someone else. Sharing her secrets with Derek, especially, is impossible, despite the way the two of them sizzle whenever they're in a room together.

I'll let you pick up the book and read all about the way Derek and Karina finally come together, but suffice it to say, they make one helluva couple. You DO NOT have to read any of the other books in this series to understand this one. That's right -- you can waltz right into these pages without a moment of misunderstanding. We get some nice glimpses of the other characters in the series, but only in a peripheral way. I warn you, though...once you start with Masters & Mercenaries, no matter where, you WILL want to read the rest. Trust me!

~ Ella

What I've Been Reading: Lexi Blake

I have a confession: I don't read a lot of new books. Not because I don't want to, but because I have so little time to read. I don't want to waste what little time I have to read trying a new book/new author I might or might not like. So I often go on recommendations before trying out a new-to-me author. And in this case, I'm so glad I did. Dani Wade, my sister, is responsible for my current obsession. Her "Oh my God, you have to read this!" came a couple of months ago after she tried out the first of Lexi Blake's Masters and Mercenaries series, The Dom Who Loved Me. I was fully sick of the books I'd reread fifty bazillion times, and so I gave in. I downloaded the book onto my Kindle...and I was hooked. Immediately.

The series currently has 4.5 books (four full books and a novella), with the fifth book, Ian's story (CAN'T WAIT!!!), due out in October. My favorite so far has been book three, A Dom Is Forever. Liam is just so deliciously lickable. ;) Not only does he have an Irish accent, but he loves curvy women (and we love him). His heroine, Avery, isn't physically perfect or flashy, but he can't get enough of her anyway -- and the way he instinctively takes care of her makes him even more sexy. Here's the description from Lexi's website:

A Dom Is Forever – Out Now!

A Man with a Past…

Liam O’Donnell fled his native Ireland years ago after one of his missions ended in tragedy and he was accused of killing several of his fellow agents. Shrouded in mystery, Liam can’t remember that fateful night. He came to the United States in disgrace, seeking redemption for crimes he may or may not have committed. But the hunt for an international terrorist leads him to London and right back into the world he left behind.

A Woman Looking for a Future…

Avery Charles followed her boss to London, eager to help the philanthropist with his many charities. When she meets a mysterious man who promises to show her London’s fetish scene, she can’t help but indulge in her darkest fantasies. Liam becomes her Dom, her protector, her lover. She opens her heart and her home to him, only to discover he’s a man on a mission and she’s just a means to an end.

When Avery’s boss leads them to the traitorous Mr. Black, Liam must put together the puzzle of his past or Avery might not have a future…

The thing that I love about this series -- and all of my favorite BDSM writers' books -- is the emotion that swamps every page. This is not erotica, not sex or "play" for sex's sake. This is pure erotic romance at its heart. Avery struggles with a past full of pain and sorrow and guilt. She has pushed herself to live when she'd rather die, and we see that struggle. We share her realization that she still holds herself back, and we take those first few steps of opening herself to Liam with her. Liam's past is full of secrets, and for a man who wants to be an untouchable island, the emotion he feels but doesn't want to acknowledge pulls us irrevocably toward him. He is truly the "strong, silent type" overcome by the love of the woman who is his match in every way -- in the bedroom and out.

I can't say enough about Lexi Blake's writing. If you want sexy, steamy, emotional, sometimes wrenching stories with plenty of twists and turns (oh, and handcuffs and rope :) ), you have to check out this series. I'm lucky enough that I get to hear Lexi speak this coming weekend at a nearby RWA workshop, and I can't wait to tell her in person exactly how much I enjoy her work. She's definitely on my keeper shelf!