I just want to make things clear right off the bat.

This is not a traditional romance, and most people would probably say that this is not a romance at all. There is so much in this book that just blows past my comfort zones. If I were grading this book based on how comfortable it made me feel, it would probably be right around zero stars. There's no way to talk about this without including spoilers, so I'm going to spoiler tag liberally.

I am recommending this book, but I should be very, very clear and let you all know that if you read this, expect pain. Lots of it.

The main female protagonist of this book has sex with a great many people during the course of the book, both male and female, including an underage boy, although she didn't know he was underage at the time--but she also didn't ask--and I am so not okay with anything about that scene and it makes me feel sick just thinking about it and the main male protagonist is married (although he and his wife are separated, and his wife had an affair with another man). This is not a book for people who can't handle criticism of the Catholic church. It's also not a book for people who can't handle nuance about things that should not be nuanced. There are parts of this book that left me very uncomfortable--and which I am still very uncomfortable about. If you are looking for a comfort read, or something that's going to leave you with a happy glow at the end, this is not that book.

If you're looking for erotica for the pure sexual thrill, this book isn't it, either. At least, what I mean by this is: while there is a good amount of sex in the book, it's not that kind of sex--takes over the page and leaves no room for anything else. And I'm saying a lot about what this book isn't, and not a whole lot about what it is.

This is a book about notorious erotica writer, Nora Sutherlin, who is writing a book. She's pawned off on editor Zach Easton, who is notorious in his own right--as a no-holds barred editor who kicks his authors' asses there and back again. Zach--a lit fic editor--isn't pleased to be handed an author who writes "one-handed reads" and basically thinks that he'll intimidate her until she decides she can't work with him. And that plan lasts about two seconds after he meets her, and realizes that she can't be intimidated.

Zach is married. His wife, Grace, had an affair, and rather than trying to figure out what he could do to try to fix the relationship, he fled England (where they'd lived together) for New York. They haven't divorced, but he expects to see the paperwork any day. It's clear from the beginning that he's not over her, and doesn't know how to be over her: he's just numb, and going through the motions.

That brings us to Nora. Nora is an extremely complicated character. She was in a long-term submissive relationship with another man named Soren who was brutal--but they both loved it. She left him many years ago, but is still in love with him--in a complicated, painful way, such that she still visits him on their anniversary, and he considers their relationship not over, but temporarily on hold. This man also happens to be a catholic priest. Who fell in love with Nora when she was fifteen--although their relationship wasn't consummated until she was twenty. I am so not okay with that--even with the waiting until consummation--because they had a relationship of trust and he was not only her confessor, he was put in charge of her by the state for a while after she had a brush with the law. Have I mentioned how not okay I am with that?

In any event, Nora is now separated from Soren, and she has, living in her house, an unpaid intern named Wesley. I'm also not okay with Wesley-the-unpaid-intern, or her laughing comment that sexual harassment is part of the job description: I am so not good with that. Especially since Nora met Wesley because she was teaching a class and he was a student--this hits every one of my HELL TO THE NO buttons. Nora and Wesley have never had sex, but there is definitely tension between them.

And that's where the story starts. Add in more partners for Nora than I can count on one hand, and honestly, if you handed me a synopsis for this book to me, I would say that I would never, ever want to read anything it. EVER.

But.

This isn't the kind of erotica that gets you hot and bothered. (I mean, it might do that; I don't know.) It's the kind that punches you in the stomach and then kisses you on the cheek. The very fact that there is so much that I am not okay with in this book is part of the reason I enjoyed it. This book made me feel everything. It was beautifully written--not just the language, but the emotional arc.

It was impossible to feel sorry for Nora, who had once been submissive to a sadist, because she was so incandescently unbreakable. Conversely, it was impossible not to feel for Zach, who loved his wife desperately and had no idea what to do about the fact that he was losing her. And then there was Wesley. And Michael. And I don't know what to do with any of these extremely damaged characters but hold my breath and hope that they don't hurt themselves any more than they have to.

At this point in my reading and writing career, books that can pull me outside myself--that can make me stop criticizing and thinking and just grab hold of my heart--are so unly and valuable that I don't know what else to do with them. It was extremely, extremely painful to read.

As for the ending... Nora ends the book miserable, sacrificing her relationship with Wesley, the one pure thing she has, for his sake. Zach ends up back with his wife, which struck me as absolutely the right thing for me. Is this a happy ending? Well, both characters end in committed relationships, but not with each other. And as for Nora... I still don't know how I feel. Tiffany sent me the second book and we learn so much more about Soren in that one, all of which is even more spoilery than just a spoiler tag can cover. I still don't him, even knowing more about him, and I'm extremely uncomfortable with the way that he's portrayed. I have serious issues with Soren, and I wish more people would read this book so I could talk about it.

It hurt me so hard to read this book. I was completely not okay with...just about everything in it. And I still loved it.

There's a line that Miranda Darling uses about Smite in Unraveled: "He was all blade, no handle. If she held him close, she'd risk getting cut." That's kind of how I feel about this book: all blade, no handle. I wouldn't want to read a book this every day, or even every week. But once in a while, I can handle the pain.

There's a line near the beginning of the book that goes this: "Nora said nothing as he joined her, only turned her head and gazed out at the night. She seemed to be trying to stare down the city. He had a feeling the city would blink first."

That's kind of how I felt about this book-- it was trying to stare me down. And there's no question. I blinked.342 s Aestas Book Blog1,059 75.2k Read

::: FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED :::

Romance is sex plus love.
Erotica is sex plus fear.
WOW!!! So, I finally worked up the courage to read this book that I have literally owned since mid-2012. I’ve been equally curious about and yet kinda scared to read it this whole time, unsure if it was something I'd … but I’m honestly so glad that I read it because OMG… it was GOOD!!! The writing was amazing! The story though was very, verrryyy different than a lot of what I read. It's an erotic BDSM world and while there was definitely strong love, it was NOT at all a traditional romance. It was taboo and shocking at times, raw but extremely honest, very intricate and complex… It took me waaaay the hell out of my usual “reading comfort zone” but the characters, the writing, and the depth of the story have all hooked on this series and I will be starting the second book after writing this review because I NEED MORE!!! :D

The story is infinitely complex but it begins with Zach, an editor at a major publishing house, who is given almost no choice but to work with a mysterious woman named Nora Sutherlin, an erotica writer whose books have been outselling his prize winning literary fiction novels. He's beyond reluctant to have anything to do with her. What she writes is the furthest thing from the kind of books he's passionate about and he wants nothing to do with her until he reads the first words of her book...

"I don't want to write this book any more than you want to read it."

And he's hooked... and so was I. And the story began to unfold. At this point, I'm torn. It would be hugely misleading to tell you that this is "what the story is about" and yet if I told you much more detail, it would take the thrill out of the story. Suffice it to say that there's large cast of male characters around Nora.

There's Wesley -- her nineteen-year-old virgin intern who cares so deeply for this woman who is in almost every way his complete opposite. (Gah! I loved him so much!! *whispers* I think he's my favorite!) To be honest, I think the hottest sex scenes were the ones that happened-but-didn't-happen with him.

There's Søren -- the oh-so-mysterious, lethally Dominant priest who has been in Nora's life since she was fifteen. I find him both scary and fascinating... for me (at this point), I feel he represents "too far" in this world. I know that so many of you are on #TeamSøren but I'm still kinda eyeing him warily. I him but he kinda scares me a little because he's just so extreme!!! I'm drawn to the strength of his character though and to the power that he almost intrinsically commands... I think I'll warm up to him as I read.

(hehe, I'd pay good money to watch Barrons and Søren duke it out. Just sayin' ;) #AlphaShowdown)

There's Kingsley -- Søren's best friend, who runs the Club. We didn't see that much about him this book but we saw enough to intrigue me and I know he becomes a major player in the later books...

And of course there's Zach -- the editor whose life is turned upside down after meeting Nora, who is still hopelessly in love with his estranged wife... and who is also hiding a secret from his past.

Oh and there's Griffin -- he's another Dominant who we only saw him briefly but I really him!

Nora is the heart of the story though and is, without a doubt, one of the most intriguing female characters I've ever read. An erotica writer and a Dominant, who was once a submissive. She's mysterious and yet forthcoming, so very clever, funny and charming, but sultry and dangerous, and yet also vulnerable. I love the strength of her character and I can't wait to learn more about her as the series goes on.

There's a lot of depth to the themes in the book. I don't want to spoil anything by even hinting at it but I'll just say that this is a lot more than an erotic novel. I found the beliefs and values held by the characters were very eye opening and would love to learn more about them in the books to come.

The story is erotic. Intensely sexual. There's strong love, but no romance. It's amazing the way the author separates these elements. Most books easily separate sex from romance. But separating love from romance while sex is still in the mix is a whole other level of intricacy. -- If you're a romance reader and planning to read this book, you'll have to throw all the "rules" and expectations out the window. It's just so wildly different that you can't put it into that box. You just have to accept it as it is because....

This book doesn't play by the rules, it makes it own.

I find the BDSM world really intriguing. The author did such an amazing job of educating the reader by "showing rather than telling" an understanding of the way that world works through the scenes.

You should know that Nora does have sex with multiple people during the course of this book. They are not random sexcapades and always served some sort of purpose. It kind of goes against what I usually to read about but I found that once I just opened my mind and accepted the world, I was fine with it.

There are a lot of layers to the story that you have to really be paying attention to so that you don't miss -- the way the scenes Nora writes in her manuscript but then deletes are ones that really happened in her past with Søren. It was so clever and secretive -- hiding these secrets of her past in plain sight.

For an erotic book, it's also surprisingly tasteful. Never gratuitous. The writing is just PURE GOLD. In fact, I'd say this is one of my most highlighted books ever -- 72 favorites quotes selected!

I strongly recommend reading these books in order. There's a real beauty, polish, and purpose to the way the story is unfolding. I usually am the kind of reader who wants to know the answers to certain things in advance but I've decided to just accept whatever comes and I'm reading these completely blind!

I want to stress that I do not consider these books "dark" really... there is nothing non-consensual in them. Even the most brutal, shocking, or extreme things that happen, do so because of choice, not force. There's a huge difference between someone tying some random person up and beating them, and someone willing submitting trust to someone else to give them the beating that they want. The sub has all the power -- they have a safe word they can use at anytime. While I most certainly understand that this world and this type of story won't be for everyone, I also want to assure you that it's definitely not random brutality.

I'm really glad that I have 7/8 of the books in the series already available. It's such a rare treat to be able to really binge on a series so finding one that is this well written is just a bookworm's dream!

On to book #2!!

Rating: This is just the start of the series so I'm going to hold off on rating it until I've read a bit more. But right now, I have the feeling that this will end up being a 5-star series for me!
________________________________________

SERIES READING ORDER:
Book #1: The Siren
Book #2: The Angel
Book #3: The Prince
Book #4: The Mistress
Book #5: The Saint
Book #6: The King
Book #7: The Virgin
Book #8: The Queen
________________________________________

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
Note: I've "hidden" these in a spoiler tag but they are NOT spoilers. I only hid them because there are a lot and I thought it would be annoying to just have them out there. Have a look if you want, it's perfectly safe :)

“I’ve got a crisp new Benjamin for the first person who can give me a good synonym for ‘thrust’, noun form. Go,” she said…
“Push, lunge, shove, attack, force, jab,” he rattled off the words.
“His slow, relentless jabs sent her reeling…” she said. “Sounds a commentary on a boxing match. Goddamit, why are there no good synonyms for thrust?”

________________________

“Why my personal life is of such fascination to you, I cannot fathom.”
“I’m a cat. You’re a shiny object.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“I am, aren’t I? Somebody should spank me.” She sighed.

________________________

"He saved up her pain, counted it currency and the more pain she endured, the more pleasure she could buy with it… His mouth was at her ear now. With words intimate and secret he whispered his love for her… She was always his, would forever be his.”

________________________

“If you come back to me,” he said, making a rare concession, “will you run or will you crawl?’
She had pressed her whole body into him at that moment. Resting her head on his strong shoulder, she watched as a tear forged a river down his long and muscled back.
“I’ll fly."

________________________

“Every day you battle an enemy I cannot fight with you or for you.”
“But what if the enemy you think I fight isn’t the enemy at all?” he asked, reaching out to take her face in his hand… “What if this enemy is only me?”
She didn’t flinch at what she saw. He had taught her that, as well.
“Then I will save you from yourself."

________________________

“What’s this book about?"
“It’s kind of a love story. Not my usual boy-meets-girl, boy-beats-girl story. My two characters love each other but they don’t belong together.

________________________

“I didn’t have the strength to stop you from leaving.”
“You did,” she said. “But you loved me too much to use it.”

________________________

“Søren has loved me since the day we met. He’s loved me since I was fifteen years old. He’s loved me without fear, without guilt, without failing and without flinching every day of my life… He’s the only man who never hurt me.”

________________________

“Although two people can love each other deeply, sometimes love alone doesn’t cut it. We can only sacrifice so much of ourselves in a relationship before there’s nothing left to love or be loved.”

________________________

“He beats you and you let him. And if this is love then he shouldn’t love you anymore."

________________________

“Don’t feel bad, Zach,” Wesley said when he was done laughing. “Nora made me help her with a scene once. I ended up hog-tied on the living-room floor for half an hour.”
Now it was Zach’s turn to laugh. Was there any woman in the world quite Nora? He was so glad she existed; even more glad there was only one of her.”

________________________

“Søren isn’t some boyfriend you have a fight with and then kiss and make up. He’s the invading army you surrender to before it burns your village down.”
“He sounds even more dangerous than you are.”
“He is. By far. He’s also the best man I’ve ever known.”

________________________

“Nora — Forgive me for copyediting, but it must be said — you have raped the semicolon yet again. Stop it. It wasn’t asking for it no matter how it was dressed. If you don’t know how to use punctuation then do away with it all together, write Faulkner and we’ll pretend it’s on purpose.”
Bite me, Easton, Nora said to herself as she corrected the sexually compromised semicolon in chapter eighteen. Seriously, bite me.
“Nora — Aristotle said character is plot. Aristotle is dead and can’t hurt you. I’m alive and I can. Plot is plot. Find one and keep it.”
You want to try to hurt me, Zach? I’d love to see you try.

________________________

“I can’t win with you, can I?”
Nora laughed.
“Of course not. The only way to win this game is to surrender.”

________________________

‘Nora’s not just some smut writer with a wild sex life. She’s the motherfucking queen of the Underground. And Kingsley Edge, is obviously, our king.”
“And him? What is he?” Zach didn’t even want to say Søren's name.
“He’s whatever’s higher than a king and queen.”
“An emperor?” Zach guessed.
Griffin smirked. “A god.”

________________________

“You merely think you know her. It’s one of her best tricks. She flirts, she teases, she confeses everything but reveals nothing. It’s the oldest magician’s trick — smoke and mirrors, misdirection.”

________________________

“Are you sure he’s on God’s side?” Zach asked.
Nora laughed. “Very sure. And believe me, God’s releived that he is."

________________________

“Broken love is the most dangerous love. It will slice you open with every touch.”

_______________________________________

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book-1-of-my-fav-series favorites191 s ~ Becs ~708 2,201


5 deliciously dark stars

This is not a romance novel……

This is not even your garden variety erotica. What it is, is a deep exploration of the emotions and sexuality of two people who have broken up from the apparent loves of their lives.

I found the style of writing very atmospheric. I felt I had stepped into an alternate reality where the real world was just a hand’s reach away but separated from me by thick bank of fog. There’s an insular almost echoey quality to it. The world around me faded to grey, everything fell away and all that was left was the words on a page. It captivated me.

Nora is a best-selling erotica writer who is intent on moving her work to a well-respected publishing house and insists on their most respected editor – a hard-nosed, stuffed-shirt of an Englishman, Zach. He, at first, turns his nose up at working with her but takes the job as his boss feels she can bring a libidinous cachet to his staid publishing house.

So, the story revolved around Zach picking her work to pieces with brutal attention to detail. I wonder what pressure Tiffany Reisz herself felt under here when every word is under scrutiny and the quality of the prose is up for constant assessment.

Zach has recently separated from his wife and left her in England. Nora has left the sadist Master she was submissive to for thirteen years. The reason why will shock you. Søren, Nora’s ex – I had deep issues with. She’s clearly still in love with him and his influence over her remains as strong as ever. Zach is also clearly still in love with his ex wife, Grace. Their respective breakups cast a hefty shadow over both of their lives and their choices giving a faintly depressive aspect to the narrative.

Nora is a very complex character, reckless and wild, fascinating and beautiful, dark and dangerous and, unbeknown to Zach, Nora is not just a sub, a domme or even a switch. No, Nora supports her opulent lifestyle by working as a professional Dominatrix. I really didn’t want that for her. The submissive somewhere deep in me feels only profound sadness for the perceived loneliness of the Dominatrix.

Nora has another very important relationship in her life. She has a young ‘intern’ living with her, Wesley. I loved Wesley. He was wise beyond his years, a virgin and deeply, deeply in love with Nora. She also loves him but I don’t believe she’s in love with him. I was so desperate for her not to take their relationship that little bit further and totally destroy it.

It’s an amazingly emotional journey – mostly I felt just deep sadness for their characters and their inability to find happiness and their destructive relationships. As Zach picked apart her novel, asking Nora to remove most of the sex scenes, we’re left with the question – if you remove the sex from BDSM, is all that remains just emotional violence? It really leaves you thinking.

It’s not a book littered with hardcore sex – sure, there is sex but I’ve read books with way more. And the ending –at least there is to be a sequel, The Angel. I feel very strongly that this story is not done, deeply unsure about the decisions the main protagonists made at the end. I need more.

It says on Tiffany Reisz’s website – This ain’t your Momma’s Thornbirds. She ain’t wrong.

For more of my , please visit my Sinfully Sexy Book Blogbdsm-kink contemporary-romance dark-angsty ...more166 s Anachronist148 80

Synopsis:
New York. Nora Sutherlin, a successful erotica writer, is trying to sell her latest novel to a respectable publishing house. She thinks it is her best and the most personal book so far and she hopes it will establish her position as a serious, professional writer. The publishers are willing to buy it, and pay her a six-number advance fee, but under one condition: she will revise it with their editor. Nora agrees; in fact she wants the best editor they have because this time she wants to do it right. She is allotted Zach/Zechariah Easton, a former Oxford lecturer straight from the British Isles, a real professional but hardly a fan of erotica. The fate of her book, and her career, depends on him.

Will Nora be able to sell her book? Will Zach cooperate with her? What will she and her editor learn during their cooperation? Nora thought she knew everything about being pushed to your limits. But in a world where passion is pain, nothing is ever that simple.

My impressions:

Overall I think the author was trying too hard to make this story original. With so many BDSM novels on the market, representing every possible flavour, from mild romance to hard-core porn, it is a daunting task, I am sure of it. Still trying too hard is more often than not a bad strategy – even worse than not trying at all. It might make you write bad things and masquerade them as good. Perhaps it was supposed to be ‘the’ feature marking this book as something different than your ordinary Harlequin fare, something dashing and new. I saw many positive which described this novel as such but in my case it was a failure.

First let me tell you that presenting sexual relationship between an adult and a minor as a form of entertainment is child pornography, full stop. Nothing can be considered a sufficient explanation or justification of including such things in an erotica novel, not even the consensual character of the intercourse. Be warned- this book crosses the decency borderline in more than one way. I don’t think here only about a scene in which Nora deflowers a fifteen-year-old boy to make him ‘understand’ his S&M sexuality; I think here mainly about her twisted, unreal and completely outrageous treatment of Wesley, her poor intern boy, so much in love with her that he, a Christian virgin, wants to live under the same roof with a working Dominatrix. Puppy love can be understood, psychological and physical abuse of a minor - not. And not even try to tell me ( Nora told Wes) that a handjob is not a sexual act because it is.

Now something which stuck out as completely weird and immature from the beginning to the very end- the appearance of the characters. Everybody and anybody in this novel is ridiculously good-looking. Nora is a beautiful petite brunette with the right curves to muscles ratio. Zach, her editor is a blue-eyed, dark-haired wonder of a man, over six feet tall and built a young god (or at least a professional tennis player – those strong arms and flat stomach). Wesley, Nora’s live-in assistant, is a handsome epitome of an American kid from Kentucky – brown eyes, a thatch of blond hair, tanned skin and the mandatory six-pack belly. Søren, oh dear… he is even taller than Zach, obviously he had to be the tallest, at least according to his creator he was a kind of god almighty in miniature after all. Should I also mention his arctic-blue eyes, platinum-blond hair and, generally excellent physique more appropriate for a Michelangelo sculpture than for a priest? Of course the beauty pageant doesn’t end with the main characters. After a while that overindulgence in handsomeness became a pet-hate of mine; by the way I am sure Kirkegaard, a fierce critic of idealists, is turning in his grave. Laughing hard. Now do these types remind you of something? When was the last time you saw so many good-looking people in one place? In a movie? Soap opera perchance? In a glossy magazine? A tv add? Not on a real street of course? Exactly my thoughts…

Now let me pass to the characterization itself. People in this novel all have one main flaw – too many ‘buts’ attached. It often happens when an author wants to twist the ball too much. Let me illustrate that affliction by describing Nora, the main female lead, in more detail. Her nom-de-plume is Nora Sutherlin BUT her real name is Eleanor Schreiber (from German ‘schreiben’ meaning "to write" so we can be sure she chose her career right). She is an author of very adult, very kinky books BUT she adores children’s novels. She looks pretty young (being petite and all) and she has a way with children BUT she is also rather blunt with her language and one of the most feared Dommes around. She is into BDSM big time BUT deep down she is a very caring, compassionate woman ( her relationship with Wesley is the proof). She has a live-in toy boy called an assistant BUT it is not as it seems, they don’t have sex as he is a male virgin and a Methodist. She has a lot of sex appeal and she loves bed games and indecent lingerie BUT deep down she is just that lost, poor sweetie with bad experiences, looking for real love in all the wrong places (cue in the violin in the background)… I could continue that list for a while and please, don’t even let me start describing Soren, the badass Catholic priest. While I am more than pleased to tollerate a character with two-three buts, exceeding that number is not a good idea and in the case of most of characters I encountered here it was DEFINITELY NOT a good idea. Too many buts don’t equate very complex, freshly original creations. Heroes with such an affliction feel spurious to me at best.

Now the style. The book was well-written but it seemed, from time to time, that the editor took a nap or went out to buy some coffee and got assaulted by a brain thief who dumbed him/her down. As a result a man (Zach) is getting an erection just because he can stroke a red Aston Martin, the car of the infamous James Bond. , really stroking, from bumber to bumper. And pressing the horn. Oh dear, is this boy really fortyish ? Then I found such a lovely sentence: ” (…) the dawn of her body meeting the horizon of his.” Editor – we have an emergency! Similar emergencies can be found in many sexual intercourse scenes. They were strangely bland and mechanical, sometimes even painfully so – I don’t know why but such was my personal perception.

The cherry on the top of the cake should be left at the very end, right? Here it is. One name. Søren. A Catholic priest, a Jesuit to boot, who is also a BDSM god and the former Master of Nora. An extremely gifted sadist who can make you love the pain. He didn’t work for me. Not even for one second. Now one simple question. How come? How it was even possible? Although I can easily imagine Catholic sadists or even sado-masochists as they follow their proclivities masquerading them as acts of devotion (all these crucifixes around, poenitentiam agite, flogging, hair shirts etc) I really was astounded by the fact that Søren, a simple parson, managed to hide his double life (and a lover) so long from his brothers and sisters. Ok, mainly from his brothers. Imagine it or not but Catholic priests are not merely ornamental, they do have a lot of duties to perform and they rarely work alone, not in one of big city parishes anyway. They surely wouldn’t have time to hang around kinky clubs and carry on romances, no matter in what form. Not to mention the fact that somebody would notice, sooner or later. I don’t say priests never engage in such activities because of course it can happen. I am saying it is never as offhand and casual as presented here and take it from a girl born and raised in a Catholic country. Simply unreal. And the great looks of Søren would make it even more impossible because he would be watched and judged constantly by his eager parishioners, easier to remember and recognize. You can trick one man for a long time and you can trick plenty of people for a short time – but never both.

Final verdict:

I really cannot recommend this book to anyone with clear conscience. I don’t say it because I am a religious prude or because I am against smearing the Catholic Church or BDSM. I say so mainly because it is bad literature masquerading as something new, ground-breaking and exciting using the oldest trick possible - sex.
they-suck-section we-deserve-anihilation113 s Eda**718 439


** 4-4,5 "jeg elsker dig" STARS **

”If you come back to me,” he said, “will you run or will you crawl?”

“I'll fly.”


I deserve a good spanking for keeping this book on my TBR list for this long.

( Don’t be an idiot me. Drop everything else you’re reading and start this. If you feel a good spanking is just what you need…well, in that case, carry on my dear! ?(^o^)? )

It’s a weird feeling, reading this book.

It’s you lose all your ties with the real world going on around you and step into another dimension. You’re sucked into this world of pain and love. You become a captive to the words on the pages and you surrender willingly. Eagerly.

I’ve never read anything this… I am completely awestruck. It’s not just the superb writing style and the lyricism of the sentences, it’s not just the expertise of the diversity of the characters created, it’s not just the way the story is woven together oh-so-perfectly: It’s the combination of all these things.

I don’t think I’ll be able to rate other books I read very fairly after this. I mean, how can I not compare them all to this perfection right here?

It was intriguing and cringe-worthy. It was shocking and exhausting. It was heart-wrenching and confusing. It was erotic and guilt-tripping.

And yeah, it was UNIQUE. Very different and imaginative. I think Tiffany Reisz deserves a million trophies for her work.



As for the story...my lips are sealed. If you want to properly experience this book, you gotta go in blind. You'll thank me later.



So why only 4 STARS if Eda d this book THAT much?

To answer that question, I'd have to talk a bit about the characters. So here it goes:

First of all, there are characters Griffin Fiske , Kingsley Edge and Michael aka "Angel" that I would LOVE to learn more about! They all promise wicked sexiness and fun...



Zachary Easton ... *yawn* Well, I remember calling him "Nora's boring as sh*t editor" at some point in our Whatsapp group that I share with my buddies Supreet, Jasmine and Flo, so yeah, I think that pretty much sums up all my thoughts about him.



I loved his safeword though. Very touching.

Wesley Railey ... This boy... This innocent, caring, strong, STUPID boy. I can't lie, he did cause me to roll my eyes a few times with his extreme naivety. He has a very big and tender heart, beating for the wrong person. It's not his fault. (We'll get to the part where I tell you whose fault it is!) It IS his fault though, that he keeps forgiving and forgetting. His optimism and patience is infuriating! Yet, in my opinion, he is the most lovable character in the bunch and I can't help but feel soft towards him.



Søren Stearns ... Sh*t, how am I supposed to explain how I feel about that man to you guys? Søren is...well, he is simply just...Søren. There are no adjectives that would properly depict him. I wouldn't be doing justice to him if I started calling him perfect or dreamy.

All I can say is that the second I finished the first paragraph about this man, I felt just Sméagol did when he found The Ring...



I know that there are some things about him that are hard to swallow...but damn if I didn't cry at every single scene of him and Nora! How can I not look past all his flaws, when this man makes me shed tears with just a slight curve of his lips WRITTEN ON A PAGE?!



And lastly, my reason for the one less star rating, f*cking Nora Sutherlin .

Would you guys unfriend me if I confessed that I hate her with every fiber of my body ?

And just so you know, I adored her at the beginning of the book. Her witty and sarcastic come-backs, her self-confidence and her comfort with her sexuality earned my appreciation. She was un any other female MC I ever read. I d the originality.

You know what caused her to fall from heaven to the deepest corners of hell in my head?



She is the most selfish person I've ever had the privilege of reading about.

With Zack... She claims she did all of what she did to "help him get rid of his guilt".



She clearly wanted him as her BOYTOY#1357. She is perfectly aware of with whom poor Zack is still in love with; I mean she is 33 years old for God's sake, and she has experienced a very powerful love herself, so she MUST HAVE known, right?

With Søren... She keeps sending mixed messages, telling him she is still in love with him and then telling him she's never coming back.



I think she is subconsciously doing half the things she's doing to punish him for all those...dark years. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's pretty obvious who she belongs to and whatever she does in the meantime...she will end up at the arms she has abandoned 5 years ago.

Personally, I don't even want her to end up with him. My Søren deserves someone that doesn't treat him a freakin' B plan!



And with Wes ... This is the worst part. I wanted to slam Nora's face into a wall at least 10 times for the way she kept stringing that poor boy along!

Remember the first rule of the the Eighth Circle, Nora, dear?

“Rule #1: Hurt, but do not harm.”
Nora knows about Wes' feelings for her. She knows that this game means much more to him than her. She knows that he will end up "harmed".

But she pushes their friendship a little bit further everyday. More and more. I can understand that she is fascinated by his "innocence" and is merely trying to absorb some of it. But she is ruining a 19-year-old boy who trusts her with EVERYTHING, while doing it.

I can not forgive her for all the inconsiderate things she has done when Wes was concerned.



Oh and the ending... Nora's so-called "selfless" act...

BAHAHAHAHA that's not selfless at all people! She is STILL just thinking about herself! Using something so symbolic of the love she is sharing with Søren, to "save" Wes? Taking advantage of Søren's yearning for her to come back? Pushing away Wes because she still can't trust herself with him?

Nora, dear...



My job here is done.

Off for some more Søren.

”You could have kept me, you do know that, don't you?”

“I would that you had kept me.”
////////////////

A special thanks to my lovely ladies Supreet, Jasmine and Flo for an awesome BR, and also for patiently reading all my rants, along with the unmannerly and obscene names I used for Nora Sutherlin. Especially you, Jas. I know you love her, bestie.

////////////////
favourites104 s Shile (Hazard's Version) on-hiatus1,116 921

“Nora…you will be the death of me,” Zach said.

Me:


I managed to sample this book until the end and freaking love it!!

5+++++++ stars

Wow! Wow! Wow! This is how you write Erotic - BDSM.



So many have already been written about how awesome this book is, i agree with all of them. Nothing more to add here than a little bit of gushing.

Nora is everything i want to be when i grow up. What an amazing character. She is fierce, sarcastic, funny, vulnerable and just damn right awesome. I freaking loved her.

“Sophocles’s House of Patricide and Incest,” Nora answered. “How may I blind you?”
Zach bit the inside of his cheek to keep her from hearing him laugh.



Zach, Hmmmm! i d him, then i didn't, then i d him again.

Soren! Soren! Soren! is my daddy in another life. I Looooveeee him.



Kingsley, Le sigh, my French man.



Michael, what an amazing beautiful Angel, Lawd forgive me! i fell in love.



Wes! Poor, Poor baby.

The writing is amazing, i laughed my ass off, i was shocked beyond words. It is all fucked up, and i freaking devoured every word and every taboo thing.

GAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!

Thank you Jan for re-reading this and taunting me with your updates, i couldn't get it out of my head until i started sampling. And thank you for holding my hand.



Onto book 2!!2020 absolute-favorites-2020 bdsm ...more89 s Jasmine269 687

????? 10 I'M IN THE EIGHTH CIRCLE HEAVEN STARS!!!! ?????



I'm gonna skip the usual pleasantries or my little doodles because this book deserves a one of a kind review from me. An attempt to write a proper coherent one would be a 10-pages review on how much I want to make babies with this book and everyone in it. And let's face it, no one wants to read that unless it's written by Nora Sutherlin or Tiffany Reisz.



This book, this series and all that is Tiffany Reisz; it deserves a class on its own. It deserves the highest of highs because there is just NOTHING that comes close to this. Reading this was falling in love all over again and falling HARD. I went on a blind date and it was love at first sight. What can I say about Nora? Utterly captivating, alluring, bold and snarky.

At 4%, I knew I'd love her.
At 20%, I fell hard for her.
By the halfway mark, I would let her whip me any way she wanted because she got me on a tight leash.
Cut it short; I just wanted to make babies with her, there I said it.

Have I mentioned Nora is a lady? Let's face it, I'd go lesbian for her.

I've read books that I adored the heroines. Heroines that I wanna be best friends with. But Nora Sutherlin is in a whole other league. She is THE heroine. The one that I'd to be. She owns the character and she owns it so f@cking well. In the words of Søren:

“Eleanor, there are suicide bombers on the Gaza Strip who are less dangerous than you are.”
I know I said I'd go lesbian for Nora but damnit I'd totally go bi with the s of Wesley, Søren and Kinglsey. You guys must be wondering, "Jasmine, have you lost your mind?!" No I swear I've not because Tiffany Reisz writes her woman and men WITH EQUAL PERFECTION. I have the hots for not one, not two but all THREE of them. I don't know if there is a Team Søren/Wesley/King but I AM IN ALL.



And lastly, Tiffany Reisz writing is no other. I know when I say I adore an author's writing usually, an adjective exquisite or brilliant or amazingly beautiful comes to my mind easily. But with TR, there is no adjective that I can think of that puts justice to what she writes. I'm thinking of other-worldly or along the lines of 'out of this universe' because the whole time I read it, I kept asking myself "What planet does this lady come from and how does she write this?!".

The writing style is seriously beyond phenomenal and it astounds me on so many levels. It's filled with contradictions that leave you in such a deep and profound state. I was sent into a trance by the seduction skills of her writing. I absorbed every word this lady gave me and she gave me a one way ticket to the 8th circle heaven. It's really nothing I've read before, it's not even mindfuckery, it's not magic but TR's writing is just another league on its own.

Honestly I'd to stay inside TR's head and build a colony there.



I realize I said pretty much NOTHING about this book and its plot but that's my point. It's about going in blind and let the writing take you by the hand. The writing alone will do its job in seducing you and send you spiraling into a pleasure no other.

“Let me show you what life is lived in the moment. No past, no future, just the one perfect moment you’re standing in and there’s no guilt and there’s no shame and there’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of…”
There are books I , some I love and few that I really, really love but this one gets a shelf on its own for books I'd married if I could. This series should have a genre on its own, it transcends normalcy and the traditionalist romance/erotica/BDSM reads. This one sets new standards and for all those reasons alone, my love for this book and its characters is insurmountable. Honestly I'd give this more than 10 stars because it's. just. EPIC. My mind is consumed in its entirety.

PS: Now all you ladies are allowed to kick me for not reading this sooner. Because God knows what I've been missing out on all my life before this book came along.

PPS: I am supposed to BR this with my lovely ladies but so sorry I got way ahead of myself! Nora wouldn't let me go!! And to Allison, I'm NOT sorry that you started re-reading this because of me ;D 10-spanking-stars books-i-d-have-babies-with buddy-reads ...more83 s Mo1,378 2


FIVE SINFUL STARS

I am not sure what constitutes a SPOILER in a review. I don’t think I have included any in this but if you haven’t read the book, maybe you want to avoid this review. If any of you who do read the REVIEW think there is anything SPOILERISH here can you let me know as I usually try to write my SPOILER FREE.

I sort of had high expectations going into this book when I saw all the five star . I avoided reading them. I have been burned before with my high expectations so was a bit wary. I started it and thought “It’s OK.” Continued with it, eventually it came to the stage where I could not put it down. I stayed up until 2.30 this morning reading and still had not finished it.

Is it a love story? Not really.
Is it an erotic story? Not really.

I am not sure how I would describe it. One woman, three men or even four, if we count Kingsley, who is a major part of her life.

I read some of the after finishing it and not many mentioned the whole Catholic/Religious aspect of the novel. I found that fascinating. Maybe the fact that I was born and raised a Catholic helped me read it with a different perspective.

NORA



From all the rumors he’d heard, he expected some sort of Amazonian in red leather wielding a riding crop. Instead, he found a pale, petite, beauty with wavy black hair barely contained in a loose knot at her nape. And no red leather in sight at all ….

ZACH



“So, you’re kind of an asshole. No offence.”
“And you appear to be two or three words I don’t feel quite comfortable saying aloud.”


WES

OK, I know in the book he has blonde hair but every time I read about him all I could picture was this cutie.



He’d driven that day in his beat-up yellow VW bug and they’d listened to weird music the whole way there. …. “Who is this?” she asked …. “The Decembrists.”
“The Killers.” ….. “Ever heard of them?”

Now, Nora, I have at least a decade on you and EVEN I have heard of these two bands. In fact I have seen them both in concert – The KILLERS, twice! (OK, showing off now, next thing she will wrangle THE BOSS into the conversation). Must be the joys of having teenage children to keep me up to date with all things musical.


Wow her description of Ciseri’s Ecco Homo.

“That’s why I believe, Zach,” Nora continued.
“Because of all gods, Jesus alone understands. He understands the purpose of pain and shame and humiliation.”
“What is the purpose?” Zach asked, truly wanting to know.
Nora’s eyes returned to the two women in the foreground clinging to each other in sympathy and horror.
“For salvation, of course. For love.”




I knew there was a reason I d you, Zach, me boy! A drop of the craythur will always help.

Zach reached inside his trench coat and brought out a brown paper bag. From it he pulled a bottle of Irish whiskey and set it in front of her on her desk.




Pain is a gift from God. It imparts understanding, wisdom. Pain is life. And here we give pain as freely as we give pleasure.

“... was trained as a Jesuit. They’re an infamous militant religious order. Otherwise knows as ‘God’s Marines’. They used to eat Protestant heretics … but these days they’re known more for their rather liberal stance on abortion homosexuality and … priestly celibacy.”

…..That brought back to me a memory from childhood – well I suppose I was around 16 at the time, living in a village in the West of Ireland. Mass every Sunday, Confessions once a month, although maybe not at that stage. Every year we had what was called the “Mission” where external priests would come and say Mass, give Sermons for a week … sometimes twice a day. The Church was always packed. I remember one such Priest, he seemed young, his Sermons were always enthralling, the younger generation felt they could see where he was coming from. He was a Jesuit! It sort of helped that he was good looking – or so I thought at the time but I was comparing him to some fairly old, decrepit Priests that had been in our Parish over the years. I still remember his name…. Fr. Flannery!




SØREN

Where the fuck do I start with you? I fucking hated you, I fucking loved you, I wanted you … did I say I hated you? Cannot wait to read more about him.


The book follows the relationship that Nora has with all the men over a couple of months, where she is trying to write a “proper” book, not the sort of guttersnipe rubbish that Zach seems to think she usually writes.



It is a painful journey, for all parties, not just Nora. They all have their demons. They all have their future to sort out.


…. And we had Gracie, sweet, Gracie, with the red hair and freckles….



“My parents honeymooned in Calais.”

OMG, that sent shivers of dread through me. TIFFANY REISZ, have you ever been to Calais? Sometimes stay there the night before we take the boat or train to the UK from Belgium on our way to Ireland. My children HATE me for it…. Calais doesn’t really have any redeeming features – sorry to any French friends. It is basically a Port – nothing more. Maybe back in the day it might have exotic for those from the UK to take the short trip across the Channel to France and come back and tell their friends that they honeymooned “in France.”

And no, Zach I do not want to hear your Irish accent….


How do you choose your safe word? Zach had asked. Pick anything. The street you grew up on, your favorite food, the middle name of the long-lost love of your life ….

…… Now, I get it.


"How easily you forgive, Eleanor. How freely you absolve the sins of others. Tell me, little one, when the time comes, how will you absolve yours?"








I an no Holy Roller – I don’t go to Mass every week. I have brought my children up in the Catholic faith, they made their First Communion and Confirmation. I won’t force them to be practicing Catholics, that is their decision, at the end of the day. I hope I don’t come across as Preaching here. I feel I should be on a pulpit or at the Sermon on the Mount with all the religious references I have made….



My husband, or “Himself” as I affectionately call him, has shunned the Catholic Church, what with all the scandals that have emerged, especially in Ireland…. I remember a scandal years ago in Ireland where a Bishop fathered a child with an “American” woman. He was shunted off to South America until his retirement. At least what he did was natural and normal, he wasn’t fucking molesting boys and girls…. OK, time to get off my rant now.





St. John, the Apostle, the Patron Saint of Writers….. his feast day is my Birthday, December 27th, ah, the things you remember from your childhood.



No idea where this series is going, what characters will be in the next few books, well apart from the delightful Nora that is.

Himself often says to me “Why don’t you read a REAL book?” Ok, he has a PHd in English Literature but what the heck does he know? I know these sorts of books will not be nominated for the Pulitzer or Booker Prizes but they are very REAL books, they deal with important issues, the prose was beautiful, the characters believable. So you know what Himself can do with his REAL books? Yeah, girls, use your imaginations. I only hope that when and if I get to the Pearly Gates, St. Peter won’t be standing there and asking the question “Maura, can we get a look at your Kindle, we need to see what your literature preferences are before you can proceed” – I think if he caught a glimpse of the sort of stuff I LOVE, he would be sending me down the other end….. and my four aunts, who are NUNs and my three uncles who are PRIESTs would be saying Novenas for my tortured soul.

So now, Mo, that’s Three Hail Mary’s and Two Our Father’s for your penance today.. Onwards and upwards to read THE ANGEL.



"IF YOU COME BACK TO ME, WILL YOU RUN OR WILL YOU CRAWL?"

I’LL
FLY



80 s Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers1,022 352

Not entirely sure what to say about this book. But I'll begin by noting:

THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE.

It's psychological drama. The sex in this book is not at all "hot." It's about power and dominance and submission and making a point and all the other stuff but never about LOVE.

Given that this is not a romance (which makes it a book I don't typically read), and it's not about love, (which makes the writing have to work that much harder for me to it), it wasn't bad.

There were moments when it was riveting. For about 40% of it. But then it got kinda boring. And there was a whole 2 weeks in between me starting the book and finishing it. I was never tempted to come back to it all the while, which says something.

Nora/ Eleanor is in love with Soren, a Catholic priest. They have a Dom-sub thing going, and he beats her and has rough sex with her but loves her more than anyone else.

She's been broken up with him for years. But they can't help but circle each other they always do. And he still takes "liberties" with her whenever they're together. It's he's an owner who lets his little bitch dog sniff at other people, but she'd always be his bitch.

(Wow, reading Book 2, and boy did I peg their relationship! Glad I didn't miss the point...)

Nora writes erotica and wants to get published by a big firm, so she gets herself the best editor. Zach. Who is separated from his wife but still married. His wife Grace has apparently moved on before he's fully left her with a guy named Ian. But Zach has been celibate for over a year.

Until, of course, the seductive, playful, dangerous Nora. They do end up having sex, BTW. And it even becomes a means through which Zach gets back with his wife, who never stopped loving him and he never stopped loving her.

The worst of all this drama happened to the innocent virgin, hung--a-horse young god named Wesley, who is Nora's best friend and assistant and lives with her. He's in love with her too. He's the angel to Soren's devil. They are both blond and hung.

She ends up making him leave, because she realizes that he'd have to become someone he's not to be with her. Deep down, she's "twisted" - she loves being owned and beaten. She loves Soren. And while Wesley makes her feel herself, Soren makes her feel his.

And in the end, Nora doesn't want to be "herself" she wants to be dominated and "his."

This was a pretty long book to go through all that gymnastics above. Pretty sure I'm not going to read more in this series.

Writing was intelligent and good, but I find the story simply didn't resonate with me. I guess this simply isn't my genre.bdsm contem-new-adult-romance dark ...more72 s Amy | Foxy Blogs1,581 1,029

**PRICE DROP**
75% off - $1.99-> http://amzn.to/1zwNv2a
11/5/2014

Wow! I don't even know where to beginning. I just finished and I feel this->



This book was NOTHING I expected. I had no idea where the story was taking me and when I got to the end I sat there dumbfounded. I wanted to yell-



The author's writing skills are amazing. The writing was intellectual and the characters were so intriguing.



SERIES:

Must be read in order. Big cliffhanger in book 3. Series is complete.

85th book of 20132013-5-stars 2013-books68 s Val ?? Shameless Handmaiden ??1,916 32.4k

WORTH ALL THE FUSS!

I'm super late to jump on this train, so anything I could even fathom to say about this book (and series, I'm sure) has already been said with more eloquence, wit, and gifs than I ever could.

So I will just say that this book was AWESOME. I am officially a huge Tiffany Reisz fan and looking forward to spending my upcoming weekend dedicating myself to absolutely DEVOURING the rest of this series. 5-stars bdsm-or-dsdl religious-elements67 s Heather K (dentist in my spare time)3,966 6,034



After finishing 13 hours of audiobook, I feel a strange sense of loss now that I'm done with this book. "The Siren" crushed and destroyed all of my expectations. It was nothing I had anticipated.

It is NOT:

Erotica
A traditional romance novel
Cliche-ridden

Let me break it down for you. This book is Tiffany Reisz writing a novel about an author writing an erotic novel. Confused yet? I was. I was expecting a down and dirty explicit BDSM erotic romance. That is not at all what I got. Though the content is taboo (it can't get much more taboo, honestly, without the addition of incest), there is very little on page sex. What sex content is shown is surprisingly, shockingly tasteful.

Much of the actual book mirrors what Nora (the erotic author and main character) is going through in the writing of her novel. The sex scenes serve only to further the plot line ( Nora's editor told her to do)- nothing is gratuitous. In fact, this story is edited to perfection. It is really and truly flawless in its execution.

What I d best about this book is that it is the overlapping plot lines that sort of seamlessly come together in the end. There is Zach, the editor having serious marital issues, Nora and her torrid relationship with Soren and Wes, Nora and her writing process, and the whole BDSM dynamic that colors each relationship (for good or for bad). The different story lines don't interfere with one another but rather help progress each other.

Nora is a complicated and compelling character that will stick with me for a long time. I found her to be utterly fascinating. However, that brings me to why my rating is 4 stars instead of 5 stars. I felt very detached from Nora. I was not emotionally invested in her or rest of the characters. Mentally, I was so intrigued and loved the story, but it was more from a clinical point of view. I never grew teary eyed or screamed or got nervous- it was all in my head and not in my heart, I'm afraid. I adored the story but it wasn't an emotional read for me.

A word about the audio version of this book: I loved, loved the narrator for this one. His Zach and Grace voices were flawless, as was his Soren voice. I even forgive him the iffy Nora voice and the HORRIBLE Wes accent because he did such a perfect job narrating the rest of the story. My favorite narrator on any audiobook thus far. audiobook favorites-2013 full-of-angst ...more61 s Pavlina Read more sleep less blog 2,434 5,107

"Writing erotica is fucking someone for the first time.You aren't sure exactly what he wants yet so you try to give him everything he could possibly want.Everything and enything..."

Nora is a successful erotica writer..She has been picked up by Royal House Publishing for her next book..She needs guidance along the way and she wants nothing but the best editor..Zach.He agrees to edit the book with one condition that she re-writes the book.She has six weeks to turn out the book.This book is deeper and more emotional and its based on her personal life..

Nora is sexy as hell and funny!We see how strong her character is in facing her decisions,not only in her relationships but also when facing her most complicated challenges..




Three men desire her..Wesley,Soren and Zach



Zach when he meets Nora he quickly falls for her..She is un anything that he has ever seen before.. she draws him deeper into the dangerous world in which she lives and opens his eyes to pleasures and pains he'd never imagined.




Soren was the most difficult character for me..I didn’t him.Some of you may have an issue with what Soren is..But I won't tell you..You must to read it ;))


He didn’t play with anyone else and he didn’t want anyone else...


Wesley <3 <3 He is so cute!!!

He is one of my favorite characters in this book!!He is a determined virgin who lives under the same roof with sexy Nora!He really cares about Nora..and we see it throughout book.My heart hurts for him so much in the end :/I really want him to be happy..

""I'll try.I'll try to be what you need me to be.I know I'm not you but I can try.It's worth it if I can be with you."



An amazing book!!If you think you can handle BDSM then read it RIGHT NOW!!!


For more you can check mine and Kristinas's blog. :D

my link text

favorite-boys favorites favorites-2013 ...more61 s Lana ??DG Romance??2,120 13.1k


"Writing erotica is fucking someone for the first time. You aren't sure exactly what he wants yet so you try to give him everything he could possibly want. Everything and anything...You hit every nerve and eventually you'll hit the nerve. Have I hit any nerves yet?"


This is NOT a romance novel. It is NOT sunshine and rainbows, pretty and light, sweet and romantic.

It's dark, painful, erotic, beautifully sadistic, captivating, and un anything I've read before.

I'll start by saying that had I not immediately read, The Angel, right after this, I might not have felt the same about it. I think reading the next book helped put a lot of things that were tough to swallow in perspective for me. This is definitely not your mama's romance novel. There are parts I read that were incredibly tough to swallow, but I loved every darkly erotic page of it.

Nora Sutherlin is a famous erotica writer, but she is determined for her new book to be different, more personal, but she needs help.

Zachary Easton is known as "The London Fog" in the edi
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