Whatcha Reading? (89)

A new Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently (or just finished) reading and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Mar 6th - 11th:

Beyond Solitude by Kit Rocha

Kindle | NOOK
Goodreads

Novella
Rating = 4 Stars

• Yep, still catching up on this series
• Derek does a lot of the paperwork and whatnot for Sector 4
• O'Kane but keeps himself kind of distant from everyone
• Was in a crash that nearly killed him, and he literally dragged himself back home b/c he didn't fully accept that the O'Kanes WOULD have came for him
• Still has lingering pain/limp from it
• Mia is sent to be an assistant to Derek and help in his office
• She's a rescue from Sector 2
• She was, well, basically one of the trained whores, but she was one that was meant to be more of a "Please the man in public" than private; hadn't yet sold her virginity to her shitty patron before she escaped to Sector 4
• Sector 4 is so different to her, where the women have the power, where sexuality is open and free and doesn't have strings or involve money
• Doesn't focus as much on the overall series plot, more so on these two and their own things
• Mia, for example, still needs to get out from her contract with Sector 2's leader, in order to be truly safe and free
• Also, work to become a true O'Kane, not just have the fringe benefits
• Captivating, quick, and sexy (like always -- it's Rocha after all!)
• Loved that Mia and Derek are not into all the orgies and multiple partner fun that makes up Sector 4
• Don't get me wrong, I love that part about the O'Kanes, but I also love seeing variety in the couples because that's not going to be every person's kink there
• This isn't the first such couple in the series, btw

Find all my tweeted quotes HERE!

Favorite Quote:

Ford looked down at her, his gaze fixed on her lips. “Do you need it, Mia?” 

A question with a dozen meanings. Did she need his cock, did she need the sweet freedom of sexual submission, did she need this relationship and whatever it could be, did she need him? A dozen meanings, and only one answer. “Yes.”

Guarding Mr. Fine by HelenKay Dimon

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads

eARC -- Came out last month
Rating = 3 Stars

• Seth
• Bi
• Hero of color -- he's part Chinese
• Works in the CIA's special activities division
• Previous mission went to shit, lost men, almost lost his own life
• Latest mission is being a bodyguard . . . or is it?
• Rick
• Supposed to be a foreign counsel to Germany but he's really working *somewhere* in/with the CIA
• Still not 100% clear how -- not entirely a desk job like Seth/others assume, but not in the field, either
• Tactical expert of some sort
• Rick is there to find out if the recently killed counsel he's replacing really committed suicide or if his death is connected to weapon deals going on in the area
• Seth and Rick first meet in a club in Germany, don't exchange names or anything, and hook up
• Surprise! First day on the job and Seth realizes the man he's been sent to protect is the very man he fucked the previous night
• Neither had the picture/particulars going into this mission because the higher ups suspect a mole
• Good suspense and plot -- I quite liked all that
• Good smartass comments and banter
• The chemistry/sex was pretty good
• Sometimes the sex scenes didn't flow as easily as I would have liked -- can't pinpoint what it was in the writing, but it was enough to pull me out a bit and make me reread a passage or two
• This also happened a few times in other scenes re: writing style
• HATED that Rick kept the Big Secret from Seth until literally a few pages from the end
• ESPECIALLY this very important secret which affected Seth's past
• Because of that, it was wrapped up far too quick and neat, basically a "Well I hate that you didn't say anything, but I'll forgive you and then WE WON'T SPEAK ABOUT IT and just move on because love". Ugh
• Overall, I did like it, hovering between 3 and 3 1/2 Stars
• Quick and entertaining
• Mostly the secret withholding tanked it for me
• Will try another from Dimon
• Alec is getting a book next and I'm curious to see that -- he's quite the mysterious man with all kinds of power with the government. I must know his secrets. Just hope his secrets are handled more thoroughly than these ones were!

Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Audio
Goodreads

Audiobook from Overdrive
Narrators = Emma Taylor
Narration rating = 3 1/2 Stars
Rating = 4 1/2 Stars

• Godric
• One of the current Ghosts of St. Giles
• Widower, who loved his late wife dearly
• Margaret
• She fell in love with a suitor, Rodger, became pregnant, but he was killed shortly after
• Supposedly by the Ghost -- wrong, so who really did it?
• Her brother made a deal with Godric to marry her, even though Godric vowed never to remarry after his wife died
• The two lived separate lives after their marriage (and her miscarriage), never consummate
• Two years later: She's come to London to finally change that -- she wants a baby
• She also wants to find Rodger's killer
• Godric is hesitant to do this, but eventually agrees -- he'll bed her, and help look for the murderer, but the minute she's pregnant, she's to return to the country and forget about justice
• Two of the sex scenes were seriously hot -- hotter than I remember past Hoyt novels (um, yes please!)
• Loved watching them navigating having a marriage and falling for each other
• As always enjoyed the story going on outside the romance
• Had a few minor issues with things but that didn't take away from my overall enjoyment
• Narrator changed from the previous books (WHY?!) and I did not care for this one at all
• She would put pauses in at the most awkward places, draw words out when they didn't need to be, etc.

So Wrong It Must Be Right by Nicole Healm

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads

eARC -- Releases 3/21
Rating = 4 Stars

• Hero is a farmer
• Heroine is part of the Gallagher family, whose business legacy is infamous in the area; she's after the DOO position that should be hers . . . if her uncle wasn't a dick
• To gain his approval, she sets out to make Carter sell his land to them
• Carter basically tells her and her family to fuck off, it's his
• For nearly a year, she's been having anonymous email sexts with a man she found on Tumblr
• Suddenly realizes that the pictures on his Tumblr are of the very farm she just left --  Carter is C, the man she's been playing out fantasies with for months!
• She goes over and confronts him about it -- and asks for one night, just one real night together
• . . . Of course they can't stop at just once
• I had a few small issues -- more in my review

Review should go up next week!

Hot Licks by A.M. Arthur

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads

eARC -- Released last month!
Rating = 4 Stars

• Benji -- Ace (or possible demi -- he's still figuring things out)
• Joshua -- Bi
• Van -- Pan
• Benji and Joshua have been in an open relationship for 3 years, broke it off recently, but don't want to give it up entirely, so they try again
• Van is attracted to both, but doesn't do complications -- and jumping in with a couple, especially one that's not truly stable in their relationship again, is a bad idea . . . 
• Benji is the one with all the power here -- he wants to try a threesome, and then a triad, because he can't deny that there's something there -- for all of them
• Joshua and Van are very much supportive of Benji and his limits, never push him, always wait for his decision
• Quite hot together
• Bonus, never any of the confusing "Wait, who is doing what again?" that some triad scenes can have when not done well
• Thought the three fit well together as a triad, enjoyed their journey
• Wasn't overly fond of the angst/tragedy backstories
• Van's was more than enough (and the worst) and having Benji and Joshua's (smaller) black moments seemed like overkill for the story
• That being said, it still worked out better than book 2, which did not work for me at all
• Solid, enjoyable, and hot -- a well done first M/M/M from Arthur

Currently Listening To:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Audio
Goodreads
Finally! 
It's sooo perfect and 
the narrator is LOVELY

Currently Reading:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads
Another old ARC
Almost done!
4 Stars

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads
Brief break from ARCs, going
for an older TBR instead

So what are YOU currently reading? 

Enjoy!


Until Next Time,



  *TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!