Kenna's Reverie by Claire Granger

Claire Granger delivers in Kenna’s Reverie

     The opening statement of the blurb for Kenna's I am going to disagree with the blurb and say that Kenna is not your typical single mom. At 27, she is the adoptive mom of five (yes, five) boys. She doesn’t sweat the small stuff and she handles the chaos around her beautifully and with a killer sense of humor. She understands her children’s issues and builds on their strengths while allowing them and even celebrating them just as they are. She is the kind of mom any kid would LOVE to have. In that sense, Kenna is far from your "pretty typical mom". Kenna’s also more than just a mom. As a woman, Kenna is like a lot of romance readers. As a full time romance book blogger, she has read more than her share of stories about sexy alpha males and true love. Kenna is content with the single life but she still wants what most women want. She wants her own sexy alpha male with a dirty mouth, healthy sex drive with a side of kink and a kind heart. For her, that man is a fantasy – until she meets him.

     Jax likes to keep things simple. He is not interested in relationships or kids, until he meets her.

     This novella is a quick read but it packs a comedic and sexy punch. The witty inner dialogue and banter are enough to make you laugh out loud. This book is at the top of my list when I need a quick read with lots of laughs. The steam factor is present but not graphic or vulgar. There is no forced drama but there are some touching moments between the adults and children. Speaking of the children, they are quite interesting and are worthy of their own books. Gage and Conner left quite the impression that there is more to them than meets the eye and I am hoping we will learn more about them in this series. There is a heck of a cliff hanger, so I am looking forward to the second book.

Landslide by NJ Cole #CoffeeWithClaire

This is a collaborated review with Claire from Claire in RVA.

     Landslide is the story of Maxwell Joseph and Makenzie. Maxwell is a 35 year old state Senator of California. He likes variety; power and age play with women much younger than him. Mackenzie is a 19 year old college student, only daughter of Maxwell’s advisor and has lusted after the Senator since she was a young girl. Can Makenzie seduce Max? Is hot sex enough? Is a relationship even possible or are they doomed from the start. As always, I am not telling.

   This book is heavy on age play, which has always been a hard limit for me. I chose it because I wanted to see if I could push my own boundaries and walk away from reading it with a smile on my face, glad to have read it. You know what? I could and I totally did. It takes a great deal of skill as an author to write something that is taboo to a lot of people in a way that helps the reader understand it better and accept it. It takes even more skill to write such a book in a way that makes a reluctant reader want to strike the act from their hard limit list. N.J. Cole did just that for me.

     Landslide was off the charts hot! Cole’s sex scenes were so scorching that I may or may not have had to put the book down long enough to “take care of business” before continuing. However, as hot as it was, it also had some feels. As strong and confident as Mackenzie was, she had her moments of insecurity and doubt – as most women do. Maxwell had his own struggle with what he wanted and what he thought he could have. Those moments were just as well written as the sex and it was those moments that gave me what I call “the magic” I love so much in erotic romance.

     There were a couple of things I didn't like. It happened right around the 75% mark in the book. You know, that "big bad" (There is my Buffy reference) couples face that makes them question the relationship? Yeah, that part frustrated me. I wasn't fond of the nature of the conflict but it is common enough in romance and on some level, in real life. When faced with a challenge to his relationship with Mackenzie, Maxwell didn't handle it the way I felt an alpha-male should or would. This seemed to be intentional, as though it was a way for Max to show that he would put Mackenzie's good reputation above his own desire to have her in his life. Still, it felt a little forced to me.

     I recommend Landslide to those who like their sex a bit on the filthy side and aren’t opposed to age play. If you are on the fence about wider age gaps and age play, but are willing to give it a try – this may be a great introduction. If these are permanent hard-limits for you, skip Landslide.