Yes Master ~ a review of Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas

Disclaimer: please forgive me for this admittedly shite attempt at a review for this book, I am still finding it hard to form actual words at this point.







Summary from Goodreads:

Emily Vargas has been taken captive. As part of his conditioning methods, her captor refuses to speak to her, knowing how much she craves human contact. He's far too beautiful to be a monster. Combined with his lack of violence toward her, this has her walking a fine line at the edge of sanity. Told in the first person from Emily's perspective, Comfort Food explores what happens when all expectations of pleasure and pain are turned upside down, as whips become comfort and chicken soup becomes punishment.

Author Disclaimer:

This is not a story about consensual BDSM. This is a story about “actual” slavery. If
reading an erotic story without safewords makes you uncomfortable, this is not the
book for you. This is a work of fiction, and the author does not endorse or condone any behavior done to another human being without their consent.


I also love this dedication at the beginning: To silence. Not always the enemy of communication.



this book floored me. absolutely floored me. I've never read anything like it. I've read my share of BDSM (so I thought) but nothing this hardcore. there was nothing pretty or fluffy about it, just full on D/s M/s. it was simultaneously terrifying & wonderful. I cringed but couldn't look away. in fact, as I type this I have a headache because I don't think I blinked the entire time I was reading it.

the interaction between Emily & Master was horrible & sexy & vile & yet had a softness to part of it that should be ridiculous given the type of story it is. the co-dependency between the two of them by the end cannot be denied. I give kudos to Bear for reading it & not having anyone to OMG to because I was IM'ing her like crazy with things like, 'I think I need to have my head examined. I'm finding this so hot.' to which she replied (perfectly, of course) 'he has you, doesn't he?' oh yes, he did.

Master had me at 'Shhhh' or honestly even earlier, the first time he took Emily into the good room. Emily herself amazed me in her ability to analyze & reason out exactly what was going on with her own thoughts & emotions as well as Master's AND that she remained sane enough to not drive herself psycho.

I would probably be far more likely to think myself into insanity or a stroke in a similar situation. I'm too much of a mouthy, fighty, stubborn, bossy bitch. then again, one never knows what one will do in any given situation unless one is experiencing it. the human mind is a fascinating thing.

I loved Kitty Thomas' writing style, the words just had a lovely ebb & flow to them. I'm not a huge fan of first person narrative but it didn't bother me in the slightest with this, if anything I think it made it feel even more personal. the scenes written in third person provide more of an outside perspective, slightly voyeuristic.

there are no negatives to this book. it is different & frightening, taking you far from your normal comfort zone. morals must be left at the door & still you will struggle with your sense of right & wrong. it will stay with you long after you've finished reading it & for me, nothing is better than a book that will make you question ideas, beliefs, thoughts. could possibly also have you frantically IM'ing your friends who have also read Comfort Food with things like, 'I need to go to confession & I'm not even Catholic!' and 'I need a shrink. and a priest. I need an old priest & a young priest.'

Bottom line:
this is NOT for everyone. for some people, it will offend every fiber of their being. it will disturb you, make you think naughty things. things that you probably don't think you should be thinking. you will cringe & want to cover your eyes but won't be able to look away. it will activate your feminist side. totally screw how you look at the things you think people do to one another behind closed doors. it will make you question things you think you know about how you view certain situations, especially in a right or wrong capacity. you think you know, but you have no idea.



I loved this book. absolutely loved it. I expect it will keep fucking my head up for a good long time. that's just fine with me.

Party in the Eververse---it's Download Dante Day!!

The Download Dante Party!

Released Today!

You Burn Me: A Tale of the Eververse




A priestess of The Morrigan, Xxieda Rolla is a woman who has known success in her business, fulfillment in her family life and is only missing one thing: the love of the man that would have her for always. Sent to Shadow Heights New York by her goddess to find him, she meets the ever tasty, ever surly Dante Barratt. Sparks fly, and so does Amaretto Latte.

Dante, a dealer of rare and illegal commodities, and a very tempestuous fire demon might want the woman who's brown eyes haunt him, but knows better then to get involved with someone who just screams purity. Shes hot, and successful in ways he never could be, and knows a man that just gave away his soul like he did didn't deserve a woman like that.

After a chance encounter on a dark street corner, and an earth shattering kiss, Both are powerless to deny the chemistry between them... until Xxieda tells him her secret: shes a virgin.

Caught between his head and his heart, can Dante accept the fact that Fate sometimes gives us exactly what we really need, not what we think we want?


you really must check out Dante, the smokin' hot fire demon who the authors say is best represented by James Purefoy, SQUEE!

nom nom nom








Authors Note: This is a novella and answer to the question several readers have had of "What happened to Dante?" after his little cameo in Sugar and Sin.

And guess what? the book is Amazingly priced at 99 cents! that's right, a full 45k novella for only 99 cents! You know you wanna read about Dante and the woman that turns his world upside down, and now you can, for CHEAP!

And how would YOU like to win 3 Ebooks from our backlist, YOUR CHOICE? Its simple! You have three chances to win:

1. Send your snail mail address to: stella@stellaandaudra.com with "Dante's contest" in the subject

2. Follow our Blog (http://stellaandaudra.blogspot.com) And let us know you have

3. Buy 'You Burn Me' and answer the question: "Who do we thank first and foremost in the dedication? Send your answer to stella@stellaandaudra.com with "Dante's book answer" in the subject.

Winner will receive 3 books from our backlist in e book form.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





xoxo
jay

in which my readingFAIL was broken, also known as the glorious delight that is Lover Mine

ATTENTION: this will not be your typical review. #1-I'm not a typical girl #2-I'm not a pro blogger like some of the girls I follow. this will be a heartfelt gushfest over Lover Mine by JR Ward. there will be swooning, squealing panties & general squeeing over how much I absolutely love this book and will be marrying it in Vegas in the immediate future. so if you desire something beyond my squishy-headed ramblings, I hereby direct you to these lovely ladies: Mandi at Smexybooks
Fiction Vixen
katiebabs

also BEWARE OF SPOILERS!! if you have not read the book, please don't spoil it for yourself. you will love it so much more if it is a surprise, I promise you.




oh John Matthew, I am more in love with you than ever and I would never have thought that possible. yeah, just had to throw that out there.


Oh my aching heart moments:

so many of these in general with this book. a lot from John Matthew and Xhex but a ton from Blay and Qhuinn had me bawling like a baby. this was definitely a book to have a box of tissues on hand for, one just won't cut it...unless of course you have no soul, but that's a personal issue, I'm sure.

John Matthew: 'the sob that breached his throat actually made a sound.'

Xhex: the whole time she was stuck with Lash was basically pure heartbreak for me

John Matthew signing into Xhex's palm 'L.O.V.E.U.4.E.V.E.R.'

Blay (to Qhuinn): '"I love you," Blay whispered so quietly that the sound of the rushing water drowned out the words.' (Qhuinn never hears this)

Qhuinn: 'sure as shit felt like he'd been shot in the heart.'

Qhuinn (thinking): 'I miss you. I miss you so fucking bad it hurts, but I don't know how to find you even though you're right in front of me.'

Qhuinn again: 'because of course, "take care of you" was what Qhuinn always said when he was letting someone go.'

OWWWWWWWW, my heart hurts *sniffle*


holy screaming panties moments:

John Matthew and Xhex getting down, holy holy shit it is red hot, burning, need a carton of cigarettes, go stick your head in the freezer HOT.

page 305 where John Matthew licks his fingers! *WHEEZE*

Qhuinn has a tongue ring *DROOL* as if I wasn't totally hot for him already with those nipple rings of his.

Qhuay kissage, although brief. RAWR. in the book, Blay thinks to himself that Qhuinn is 'sex in every breath, every beat, every move.' ummm yeah, nuff said.


anybody have a lighter? *bats lashes in Vishous' direction*


rambling, gush-filled summary:


Lover Mine was so much more than I expected. I was hopeful, of course, but also very nervous after Lover Avenged which I liked but was a difficult read, IMO as well as being light on the romance. thank all the gods that Ward returned to the romance in this book in a big BIG way. the story could not have been done justice otherwise. one of the reasons I love her books so much is her ability to combine the action & the romance so they mesh perfectly.
as to the comments of others regarding this book, the ghost thing was meh & minor compared to my complete satisfaction with the rest of it. I love the Brothers, their slang & fancy product whore ways are just part of them to me. I liked that we got to see the other Brothers & while I would have liked to see more of them, I felt happy with what we were given (except some V action with his table wouldn't have been remiss IMO) *AHEM* s'all I'm sayin'.

Lash, you got better than you deserved, you cocksucking rat bastard.


other things that made me happy:

Lassiter crying at JM & Xhex's mating

it being acknowledged that Butch is V's

the whole mating scene in general-- JM & Tohr getting right with each other, Xhex wearing Wellsie's dress, finding out No'One is her mother, John Matthew signing to Xhex 'come to me. come down to me, my female.' *tears & swooning*



my heart is so full from this book. the anguish and the joy, the pain and heartbreak, but most of all, the love. JR Ward does John Matthew and Xhex's lover superbly in Lover Mine. I couldn't have asked for anything more....





my favorite quote from the book:

John Matthew (mouthing to Xhex):

'I would hold you up. I will ever hold you up and hold you dear, lover mine.'


I am now sniffling again. pass the Kleenex.



not much was talked about in the way of set up for Payne and Manny's book which is up next but perhaps a bit of foreshadowing for the future here in the last lines of the book?

'Fate was not easy...but it got things right. Eventually, everything that came to pass was exactly how it was meant to be.'


I adore this book, I have no doubt it will end up being the best of the year for me. it is absolutely the best in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. to have grown with John Matthew from the scared, skinny boy he was when we first see him to the strong, proud, wonderfully kind male of worth he is now has been a journey that has completely overwhelmed my heart. I couldn't love him more. it has been a very long time for me since a book gave me such a feeling of joy and happiness. I am so thankful for that.


thus endth my swoony gushing ramble. hopefully it didn't have too many of you reaching of a barf bag but if it did...I DON'T CARE =D cause this is all about MY love for Lover Mine.

just in case you haven't had enough gushing, head over to my PIC Sparkly Bearsy's Lover Mine review



smoochies and love
Jay

Build Your Own Book Boyfriend

my partner in crime & fellow Gutter Girl sparkly bearsy Tagged me to Build my own Book Boyfriend! I am indecisive as hell AND man crazy so I dunno how this will go, my poor head may explode but I'll give it my best shot!

*****************

How do you play?

* Fill out the quiz bellow, post a picture of sexy man and tag five (5) other book addicts to do the same.
* Don't forget to pop to their blogs as let them know they have been tagged!
* Once tagged... you have do do the same, grab the button, answer the questions, and keep it rolling! But don't forget the picture of the sexy man! It doesn't have to match your fantasy man, just a little eye candy for the rest of us.
* And don't forget to go back to the Gutter Girls blog and share your book boyfriend post =)



*****************


1- Hair colour and style
I'm with bear on this one, I love me a dark haired man. to be fair, I like any hot man but I usually don't go for blonds. Alexander Skarsgard is a big exception to that rule though *PURR* I prefer him to have hair that's long enough for me to get my hands into it & yank yank yank away but I don't mind short hair (a la Chase) or shaved bald.


2- Eye colour and facial features
oooo I'm a sucker for beautiful eyes & a great smile. that's the 1st thing I notice on a guy. with dark hair, my preferred eye color would be green or blue but I'm not picky, as long as they're beautiful. also long eyelashes are attractive. a strong jaw & nice cheekbones with stubble is hot. but he must must must have a nice white smile & good teeth. bad teeth is a sign to run screaming in the other direction. to top all that off, a pair of lush, kissable, bite-able lips, mmmmmmmmm.



3- Height and body type
I have NEVER had a tall man so for god's sake, he's gotta be 6' or more! anything between 6'0" & 6'6" is fab. he should be built too, nothing too muscular though, I don't like that nasty veiny Gold's Gym musclehead look. just nicely defined. I wouldn't say no to some nipple rings either *RAWR* abs that make me wanna run for my unmentionables so I can scrub them (or something else *AHEM*) all over that washboard. he must have nice arms & a muscular back, YUM. the V, it is imperative that he have the V (aka the sex muscle) on each side of his hips pointing right down to where you wanna be (you know what I mean, sistas.) not too hairy but a nice smattering a la Gerard Butler with a treasure trail *LICK* a fine ass I can't keep my hands off of, I'm talkin' a hand on each cheek, grabbin' that shit, oh YEAH. also nice legs, not skinny chicken legs & well-kept feet. nasty feet are a turn off!



4- Visible age
I don't mind a bit younger or older than me, as long as he's mature (sadly, age does not determine maturity) 25-42.



5- Bangability ie: kinky/bi/size
he's gotta be able to go long & hard, 1 minute men need not apply, sorry! kinky, YES & bi, YES, some manlove mixed in would be a definite WIN. size should be just right, not too big, not too small--nice length & girth & well manscaped. but he's gotta be experienced & know how to work it (gotta know how to work the tongue too!)



6- Human or other
yikes, I have to pick just one? I want 'em all! human, vamp, Were, shifter, fae, Barrons *DROOL* hehe, give them to me NOW! I guess I'll go with bear's answer & say shifter cause he can turn into anything I want. *high fives bt*



7- Paranormal skills
I wouldn't say no to magic, he can poof me whatever I want (MONIES!) super fast, super strong & teleportation is a must! I wouldn't mind if he could fly.



8- Interests
besides my riveting & fabulous self (gag! LOL) =P he has to have his own interests, it's boring otherwise. an intelligent, well-read man is SO attractive. he MUST have a great sense of humor & be funny, that is critical. being into hot cars, sports & motorcycles is fine. being interested in fashion usually equals being well-dressed so that's a win too. oooo & he should be able to cook, cause having a man who can cook for you is SEXY!


9- Habitat
he'll have many places around the world, in different cities & countries. a secluded farm way out in the country, a house on the beach, a big flat in the city, plenty of places to whisk me & my itchy traveling foot, restless spirit & my (sometimes)short attention span away to.



10 Special skills
to know what I want even when I don't, to make me laugh when I wanna cry & to love me for me, even when I'm a gigantic moody pain in the ass.



My candy offering is....





now if any of you see this Book Boyfriend, send him to me IMMEDIATELY!! =D


love n smoochies

jay

Over the Top blog awards

I've been lazy with my blog lately, I must try to do better in the future =P





I was given this award by the shinylicious sparklybearsy MWAH! thankies darling xoxo




Rules:


1. Thank and post URL to the blog that gave the award.
2. Pass the award along to 4 brilliantly over the top blogs (blogs you love!) Alert them so they know to receive the award.
3 Copy and paste this quiz... Change the answers, ONE word only. (2 are acceptable!)



1. Where is your cell phone?

~couch


2. Your hair?

~curly


3. Your mother?

~the best!


4. Your father?

~difficult


5. Your favorite food?

~steamed crabs


6. Your dream last night?

~didn't


7. Your favorite drink?

~milk


8. Your dream/goal?

~rich bitch!


9. What room are you in?

~living room


10. Your hobby?

~reading


11. Your fear?

~clowns


12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?

~rich & happy


13. Where were you last night?

~home


14. Something that you aren't?

~doormat


15. Muffins?

~yes please


16. Wish list item?

~EVERYTHING!


17. Where did you grow up?

~Pennsylvania


18. Last thing you did?

~shopped


19. What are you wearing?

~jammies


20. Your TV?

~huge


21. Your pets?

~spoiled


22. Friends?

~the greatest


23. Your life?

~meh


24. Your mood?

~Christmasy


25. Missing someone?

~always


26. Vehicle?

~Honda Civic


27. Something you're not wearing?

~bra


28. Your favorite store?

~many!


29. Your favorite color?

~blue


30. When was the last time you laughed?

~hour-ish


31. Last time you cried?

~couple weeks


32. Your best friend?

~which one?




I tag the following fantastic ladies & their blogs:




Marissa @ dream mistress



kindle vixen @ kindle vixen



sexy rexy @ rex robot reviews



princess bookie @ princess bookie




love your blogs, ladies =D

Kick Ass Blog Awards

o_O I've won an award. SQUEE! I've still not been told if it's chocolate or if I can eat it yet, but I remain hopeful. big sloppy kissies to my PIC
sparklybearsy (via the lovely Parajunkee) for giving it to me *evil grin* the award I mean =D





The rules of this award are as follows:

Pass it on to 5 blogs you think are kick ass and explain why. Here are my choices:


Fiction Vixen whose name I, for some unknown reason, always seem to typo as Fixion Vixen =P I've no idea why. I love her cheeky reading pinup & dammit, reading IS sexy. she totally cracks me up. plus, I think she wants to touch me....what do you mean no? her latest blog says....oh, well never mind then. ;)


katiebabs witty, snarky AND she's a red-head. color me happy ;) her WTFckery posts have me down right howling laughing, don't read them while eating or drinking. never mind how I know this.


Kris her phobia treatment is the fucking deal. for reals. mouthwatering pics, deliciously amusing, fabulous quotes AND has food on her page. there is no bad here.


Leontine for lovely comprehensive reviews, yummy delicious shirtless menz AND the hunk of the week. if only those unbutton pants were just one measly inch lower *AHEM*



Cecile who wouldn't love a blog that proclaims itself to be Hussy Heaven & has Sex On a Stick men? plus it took me 10 mins to peel myself away from the hot man-candy on her page =P

my 1st meme, period AND it's M/M! WOOT for the manlove

I was tagged for this by the lovely Fiction Vixen =P she had much faith in me, as I am a new blogger & had no idea what a meme was (HEE! thanks to Mandi @ Smexybooks for the answer)


Rules:
1. Answer all the questions below in either the comments here or post it on your own site. If you post it on your own site you have to come back and give the link here so I can mosey on over and see if you have a sticky beak. ~does that mean being nosy? cause I could totally go somewhere dirty with that. just sayin'.


2. You have to tag two other people once you’re done and pester them relentlessly until they do the meme too.


3. Instead of a meme image thing you have to post a cookie, preferably a twofer. It is an m/m meme after all. ~m'kay, I don't have the foggiest clue how these are supposed to go but I assume I'm to post a pic of a hot man, preferably two hot men. this I can handle.

here it is:


oh yeah, you know you want some of that ;)



Questions:

1. How long have you been reading GLBTQ fiction? ~ummm, about 3-4 years. more seriously for the last 2-3 years. I blame JR Ward, she writes some smoking hot manlove (unfortunately not more than kissage & implied hotness so far) & made me really crave more of it.


2. What was the first book you read in this genre? ~geez, I honestly have no idea. I've read quite a few books that have had bi/same sex/multiple partner love scenes in. I read the Beauty trilogy by Anne Rice while I was still in high school (which was WAY too early) & the pony play freaked me out so bad, I honestly can't remember if it had anything GLBTQ in it.


3. Are you 'out' as a reader? ~oh sure, I have no qualms about it *flies banner proudly*



4. Ebooks, print or both? ~both are fine, the thing that annoys me is the cost. why the hell should erotica be so much more expensive than regular fiction? *sulks* I could buy more if it were cheaper. a lot of my erotica is in ebook form though.



5. Do you buy direct from publishers or from secondary sellers? ~ummm, I'm not sure. maybe from the publishers?



6. Prove you're a Book Slut. How many books would you say you buy a week? ~it depends if I want to eat that week or not =P at least one or two, although 2 weeks ago it was 17, so it really depends how slutty I'm feeling *snicker*



7. Are you a cover, blurb or excerpt buyer? ~all 3, I admit that a bad cover can turn me off to a book but I've gotten better about getting past that...I think


8. Yeah, you read reviews, but do you actually take notice of them? ~a review is always someone's opinion so you have to take it with a grain of salt. it's best to find someone who has similar taste & check out what they like. I enjoy getting recs from ppl also. the fab book bitches on twitter are about to make me broke with all the recs =P I take more stock of book reviews than I do movie reviews, which I pay very little attention to.


9. Who's your fave publisher? ~if I like a book, I like it, I don't give 2 shits who the publisher is.



10. What about authors? Your top two only!! ~oh ummm, argh! I don't know! pass. can I pass?



11. Is there a sub-genre you particularly dis/like? ~not so far



12. Short or long?? *rolls eyes* And, no, I'm not talking about cocks. ~BOO! well why AREN'T you talking about cocks? cocks are fun! long, definitely ;) *evil laugh* no really, I mean it, long. I like some plot along with my hot sex. although, there is something to be said for a quickie =D



13. Anything turn you off about m/m or is all just glorious smut to you? ~as with anything I read, it MUST be well-written. any hack can just throw together some smutty sentences, it has to have feeling & I guess a sort of purpose behind it. the great thing about M/M is that I don't have to worry about the use of the dreaded C* word *shudders* and no, I'm not talking about cock.



14. Finish this sentence. You know it's m/m twu wuv when... ~you want him to stay & cuddle AND you give him cab fare to go home in the morning so he doesn't have to do the walk of shame in his assless leather pants.


15. What trope or theme are you heartily sick of in m/m romance? ~I don't know that I've read enough M/M to know what theme to be sick of yet.



16. If you could choose any 3 characters for an m/m/m who would they be? ~mmmm just random characters from any stories? that's SIMPLE. V, Butch, Qhuinn & Blay from JR Ward's BDB. yes, I'm aware that I just listed 4 characters. I care not =P if you have a prob with that, change the Qhuinn & Blay to Qhuay. problem solved =D



17. What new GLBTQ release are you most hanging out for right now? ~if they do get their own book, Qhuinn & Blay


18. What GLBTQ book has completely blown you away this year? ~hmmm, I don't know that one has blown me out of the water this year. I must rectify this by reading more.


19. What do you think we'll see more of in m/m romance in 2010? ~probably more paranormals, vamps n weres n demons, oh my =)



20. Don't you agree that author Josh Lanyon should kill off arsehole character Jake Riordan? ~I have no idea, I've never read Josh Lanyon. =P yet another new author to add to the list *wallet screams* how big of an arsehole is he? is he hot? hehehe


sparklybearsy & smokinhotbooks tag! you're it!!




MWAH!
jay