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bookdevouringmisfit's review against another edition
3.0
THREE STARS FOR ALL THE HOT SEX. THAT IS ALL
hiddennook's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars are for maya only. I dislike majority of ms. dane's books.
heyjudy's review against another edition
4.0
~3.5/5
This was a collection of two stories, one from each author.
Exile by Maya Banks:
I enjoyed this story. The sex was very hot, although there was a lot of it, some of which wasn’t exactly needed. Also, it wasn’t BDSM, even though the synopsis says it is. Instead, it included a foursome, which wasn’t always a foursome, sometimes less, but was a love square, kind of.
I liked Talia, the main character, and understood her reasoning for what she was doing, and her feelings on how the men were treating her. I did like the men, as well, although I don’t think any of them left too big of an impression on me.
My biggest problem with the story was how the main man, Xander, handled the situation. He tried to be up front about what he wanted, and for the most part he was, but he didn’t handle or think about Talia’s feelings on it all. He didn’t really talk to her about it first, before inviting her on vacation. And then, near the end of the book, when he had to leave, his decision on what to do about her was dumb. He could have just talked to her, explained what was happening, and made plans to get her later. Instead, he just sent her off, which only made everything more complicated and messed up, and hurted Talia in the process.
The ending, however, was good. I feel like Talia gave in a little too easily, but I’ll get over that.
Sway by Lauren Dane:
I really enjoyed this story. As opposed to the first story, this one did not have nearly as much sex, but more sex wouldn’t have worked as well with the story, and the sex it did have was very good. This one included BDSM themes, and that was nice.
Levi is in his early forties, whereas Daisy is in her twenties, but for some reason they have a very strong attraction to one another. I felt that their relationship worked, and I liked it. I also really liked that they were realistic and didn’t say ‘I love you’ really early on, or plan on marrying and moving in together by the end of the story. I appreciated that.
I also liked that, while the romance was the main plot, there were also a lot of scenes with Daisy’s friends, and some with her family, and some with Levi and his family and friends. Usually, in erotica based stories, especially short stories, you don’t see a lot of other characters, but this one had a lot of scenes with other ones. It’s possible that I would have liked more sexy scenes, more romantic ones, but I still appreciated the variety.
This story is the first in the Delicious series, and I plan on picking up the others in it, or just more books by Dane, because this one was good, and leaves me optimistic to the fact that I will probably enjoy her other books.
This review is also available on my blog, among many others.
This was a collection of two stories, one from each author.
Exile by Maya Banks:
I enjoyed this story. The sex was very hot, although there was a lot of it, some of which wasn’t exactly needed. Also, it wasn’t BDSM, even though the synopsis says it is. Instead, it included a foursome, which wasn’t always a foursome, sometimes less, but was a love square, kind of.
I liked Talia, the main character, and understood her reasoning for what she was doing, and her feelings on how the men were treating her. I did like the men, as well, although I don’t think any of them left too big of an impression on me.
My biggest problem with the story was how the main man, Xander, handled the situation. He tried to be up front about what he wanted, and for the most part he was, but he didn’t handle or think about Talia’s feelings on it all. He didn’t really talk to her about it first, before inviting her on vacation. And then, near the end of the book, when he had to leave, his decision on what to do about her was dumb. He could have just talked to her, explained what was happening, and made plans to get her later. Instead, he just sent her off, which only made everything more complicated and messed up, and hurted Talia in the process.
The ending, however, was good. I feel like Talia gave in a little too easily, but I’ll get over that.
Sway by Lauren Dane:
I really enjoyed this story. As opposed to the first story, this one did not have nearly as much sex, but more sex wouldn’t have worked as well with the story, and the sex it did have was very good. This one included BDSM themes, and that was nice.
Levi is in his early forties, whereas Daisy is in her twenties, but for some reason they have a very strong attraction to one another. I felt that their relationship worked, and I liked it. I also really liked that they were realistic and didn’t say ‘I love you’ really early on, or plan on marrying and moving in together by the end of the story. I appreciated that.
I also liked that, while the romance was the main plot, there were also a lot of scenes with Daisy’s friends, and some with her family, and some with Levi and his family and friends. Usually, in erotica based stories, especially short stories, you don’t see a lot of other characters, but this one had a lot of scenes with other ones. It’s possible that I would have liked more sexy scenes, more romantic ones, but I still appreciated the variety.
This story is the first in the Delicious series, and I plan on picking up the others in it, or just more books by Dane, because this one was good, and leaves me optimistic to the fact that I will probably enjoy her other books.
This review is also available on my blog, among many others.
bookloverchelle's review against another edition
4.0
This was probably one of my favorite Lauren Dane novellas. Her last book in the Brown series introduced us to a new group of characters and her novella, Sway, builds on this group of friends. I absolutely adored Daisy and Levi. They had amazing chemistry, they were honest with their intentions and their feelings, and they had great fun together. I loved that Ms. Dane was able to cram so much in her story from humor and passion to a believable love story. I probably only could have loved it more is if it was a full length novel because I would have loved to explore their relationship more. The nice part is that Ms. Dane has introduced her Delicious series and we’ll be able to see snippets of Daisy and Levi in the future books in the series.
Maya Banks wrote what I would consider a cross between a dirty pleasure of one of her Desire books to the naughtiness of one of her Sweet books (or almost any of her books). There was a lot of spice and steam from her characters, I’m not sure if I was fully sold on the love story. But if you’re looking for hot and spicy smexy scenes, Ms. Banks delivers. And then some.
Maya Banks wrote what I would consider a cross between a dirty pleasure of one of her Desire books to the naughtiness of one of her Sweet books (or almost any of her books). There was a lot of spice and steam from her characters, I’m not sure if I was fully sold on the love story. But if you’re looking for hot and spicy smexy scenes, Ms. Banks delivers. And then some.
aimeelio's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book of two novellas, each about 150 pages. There is a Maya Banks story, and a Lauren Dane story.
Let's start with the Maya Banks. I'm going to say right off the bat that this was a royalty book and I don't like royalty books. The prince / princess fantasy has never appealed to me. This one was no different. Add to that the sharing of the woman between four guys and I really want out. That being said, I did read the whole thing, and it was erotic undoubtedly. If i could separate this story from the whole book, I would likely give it 2 or 2.5 stars.
The other book, Sway, by Lauren Dane is being released as Delicious #1. Delicious appears to be a spin-off of the Brown Siblings series, which i loved. Please note: this has tons of hot steamy, rather kinky sex. The premise is 40 year old divorced lawyer hooks up with a smart, funky artist with a retro vibe. She is only 24. Chemistry, and light bdsm ensues. I loved this story. For what it is, kind of urban erotica, it's perfect. I liked Daisy, and I liked Levi. I knew it would work out for them, and I was glad when it all came together. (it was predictable) I love that characters from the Brown series (Adrian, Gillian and Gillian's group of friends), made appearances. Since they have a dinner club called Delicious, I can take a guess what will come up in subsequent stories. (Lauren, if you read this, Jonah, please!) In my opinion, Lauren Dane is one of the best authors out there working in this genre. if it were a stand-alone book, it would have gotten 4.5 stars from me.
Happy reading! :-)
Let's start with the Maya Banks. I'm going to say right off the bat that this was a royalty book and I don't like royalty books. The prince / princess fantasy has never appealed to me. This one was no different. Add to that the sharing of the woman between four guys and I really want out. That being said, I did read the whole thing, and it was erotic undoubtedly. If i could separate this story from the whole book, I would likely give it 2 or 2.5 stars.
The other book, Sway, by Lauren Dane is being released as Delicious #1. Delicious appears to be a spin-off of the Brown Siblings series, which i loved. Please note: this has tons of hot steamy, rather kinky sex. The premise is 40 year old divorced lawyer hooks up with a smart, funky artist with a retro vibe. She is only 24. Chemistry, and light bdsm ensues. I loved this story. For what it is, kind of urban erotica, it's perfect. I liked Daisy, and I liked Levi. I knew it would work out for them, and I was glad when it all came together. (it was predictable) I love that characters from the Brown series (Adrian, Gillian and Gillian's group of friends), made appearances. Since they have a dinner club called Delicious, I can take a guess what will come up in subsequent stories. (Lauren, if you read this, Jonah, please!) In my opinion, Lauren Dane is one of the best authors out there working in this genre. if it were a stand-alone book, it would have gotten 4.5 stars from me.
Happy reading! :-)
thebookeer's review against another edition
3.0
"Cherished" includes two steamy stories. The first one is about young Talia, who is recruited to be the fulfiller of the royal prince's erotic fantasies. However, they fall in love with each other and as war is approaching, this kind of secret relationship could be a danger. The second story is about a 24-year-old dance instructor and painter Daisy and 40-year-old lawyer Levi, who find each other hot despite the big age gap. However, since Levi comes from a respected family, his family has some expectations toward his future partner.
This book is definitely out of my comfort zone because I have never read erotica ever before. However, I liked throwing myself in the cold water and discovering something new for myself. The book was porn-like, with absolutely nothing left behind the curtains. Yet, I wasn't left completely embarrassed after reading this book, so I might look into exploring the genre again (but perhaps something less hardcore).
This book is definitely out of my comfort zone because I have never read erotica ever before. However, I liked throwing myself in the cold water and discovering something new for myself. The book was porn-like, with absolutely nothing left behind the curtains. Yet, I wasn't left completely embarrassed after reading this book, so I might look into exploring the genre again (but perhaps something less hardcore).
tawanda_fgt's review against another edition
5.0
Who doesn't love Maya Banks and Lauren Dane? Cherished was a fabulous mini anthology. While Exiled delivered in true Banks fashion. It was definitely Sway that did it for me. I loved the story, the smut, the nonsensical realness that Dane is so good at. I can't wait for more from the Delicious series! A must read for those who want a fun, sexy read!!!
tsukikomew's review against another edition
4.0
I only read "Sway" by Lauren Dane at this point and let me say...YUM.
I liked "Tart" but the novella that started it all is so much more amazing!
I liked "Tart" but the novella that started it all is so much more amazing!
holly_suds55's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5