ARC Review: UNDER CONTRACT by Jeffe Kennedy

Under Contract

by Jeffe Kennedy

Falling Under series, Book #3

About the Book: 

Ryan Black has admired Celestina Sala from afar for years, her lush body and sensual nature calling to the dominant in him. For just as many years, Celestina was off-limits—married, proud and self-sufficient. But all that has changed, and now Celestina is in debt and in need…and available. Ryan proposes a contract: he'll pay off her debt if she gives herself to him in bed, yielding control in exchange for the pain and pleasure he'll bring them both.

There are words for women who take money for sex, and none of them are nice ones. Celestina never thought she'd have to sink this low, but giving up control sounds more enticing than ever before. And suddenly it's not about having to give in to Ryan. It's about wanting to.

But when Ryan's dark past comes to light, they may both be in over their heads. The terms of his contract say her body is his…but her heart may be another story.

One thing is for sure—now that Ryan has Celestina, he can never let her go. 

Jeffe Kennedy is one of those authors who has a fantastic social media presence and is very interactive with her fans.  I’ve enjoyed following her across multiple platforms.  Yet, I had never read any of her books, until now.  With an opportunity to read this ARC, I jumped at the chance.  And I am very glad I did. 

Under Contract is a revelation. On the surface, it seems like an unethical offer – money for kinky sex.  Or from a purely business perspective, this is merely a transaction -  a simple exchange of goods and services, right?  Celestina is in deep financial trouble and Ryan has the means to get her out of it.  In the beginning I was appalled at the proposition.  Who, but a prostitute, would accept that kind of offer?  It would be easy to pass judgement on Tina and I did.  Until I learned more about her situation and what is at stake.  I could certainly understand her desire to take care of her nieces after their mother and her twin died.  I could understand all the elements that drew her to this proposal.  It is one the author’s strengths that she is able to make Tina sympathetic and even heroic.  

Surviving a brutal childhood, Ryan ran away and re-created himself to be the millionaire businessman he is today. I’m not a huge fan of the rich businessman taking advantage of a vulnerable woman storyline.  Luckily, this one goes well beyond that mostly because Ryan is a self-made man.  With his wealth and resources, he can (and does) hide most of his insecurities, except with Tina.  I enjoyed how he made himself vulnerable to her. It gave him just enough chink in the armor to make him infinitely likeable.  

Jeffe Kennedy offers keen emotional insight into her characters but they are inside their heads a lot.  Sometime this inner dialogue and self-examination slows down the story a bit.  It takes a while to get to the turning point.  We inch our way through from the business arrangement to the grow of emotions and finally to a place where there is complete honesty with one another.  There are moments of heartbreak as both must come to terms with their past.  Ultimately, I found the ending hugely satisfying. 

IN A NUTSHELL:
I’m thrilled to have discovered Jeffe Kennedy’s work.  This book is an adventurous, entertaining, and heart-felt read.  I highly recommend this book. 

Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. 

BLOG TOUR, REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY: "Yield: A Legal Affairs Story" by Sawyer Bennett

Yield:  A Legal Affairs Story

(Book #3 of Cal and Macy’s Story)

By: Sawyer Bennett

Release Date: May 5, 2015

Yield is the final book the Legal Affairs trilogy of Cal and Macy’s story. 

Clash and Grind, Books #1 and #2, are now available for purchase.

**Due to sexual content and heavy subject matter of an abusive nature, this book may not be suitable for all audiences. 

Yield (verb): to surrender or submit (oneself) to another Macy Carrington is broken. The strong, beautiful woman that I’ve unwittingly fallen in love with is all kinds of broken from a secret that she has carried for far too long. A secret so dark, she has gone to great lengths to protect it. A secret that I’m terrified will one day rip her away from me. The only time Macy frees herself from the darkness is when she is naked and in my arms. When I am deep inside her body, there is nothing she fears. When she wraps herself around me, she is at peace. If she would only yield to me completely, I know I can set her free.

I’m rather stingy with my top ratings. The book has to be memorable and the story has to be unique in some way. With the proliferation and popularity of erotica, there are a lot of books out there – unfortunately, many of the narratives are familiar.  Therefore, it is interesting to me, that the reason I love Yield is because it is an old-fashioned love story underneath the erotica. 

Because this is a short serial, each book brings us one step closer to understanding Macy’s ambivalence. I love how this story unravels.  Sawyer Bennett keeps us on the edge of our seats, and at the same time, makes us fall further in love with Cal.  I love Cal.  He is a seriously good guy. His selflessness is so attractive. It’s one of the best qualities in a book boyfriend. He’s also very tenacious.  He refuses to allow Macy to push him away and instead, makes himself indispensable in her life.  I wonder if Cal was a Boy Scout as a kid.

As a grown man, Cal has a healthy libido.  Cal and Macy both do.  This is a balanced couple in the bedroom. Macy is sexually uninhibited: 

“I love that she is makes her move when she wants and isn’t afraid to voice her needs. . . . I’m in an almost constant state of arousal around her, yet she assuages my needs in overabundance, keeping me well satisfied and happy.”

But despite Macy’s confidence in many other areas of her life, she also carries a certain level of sadness and insecurity that holds her back from fully giving herself to Cal.  Her past has damaged her to the point where she is currently surviving, not living.  But it is Cal that gives her hope, gives her a lifeline, gives her the courage to take a chance: 
“…[Y]our life isn’t about just merely enduring anymore.  It’s changed. You’ve changed. You’ve left survival far behind, and our life now is about thriving.”  Despite some Macy’s dark past, this story is about stepping out to take a chance.   

IN A NUTSHELL:

With genuine emotion and seamless writing, Sawyer Bennett brings a old fashioned love story with a modern edge of erotica.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Sawyer Bennett is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. Her husband works for a Fortune 100 company which lets him fly all over the world while she stays at home with their daughter and three big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate. Sawyer is the author of several contemporary romances including the popular Off Series, the Legal Affairs Series, the Last Call Series and the Cold Fury hockey series.

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BLOG TOUR, REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: "Grind: A Legal Affairs Story" by Sawyer Bennet

Are you hooked yet?  Don't worry, you will be. 

Grind: A Legal Affairs Story

(Book #2 of Cal and Macy’s Story)

Sawyer Bennett

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Grind is the second book in this Legal Affairs trilogy (Cal and Macy’s Story) and is releasing on 4/21/15. Clash was released on 4/7/15 and Yield will be released on 5/5/15. Grind and Yield are full length novels, while Clash is a novella.  

About the book: 

Grind (verb): to weaken or destroy gradually Macy Carrington is not the woman I once thought her to be. What she does not allow her heart to feel, she gives with her body. The sex between us is explosive and depraved. I’ve done things with her that would never have crossed my wildest imagination, and I can’t ever seem to get enough. But now I want more from her. I want to figure out her dark secret, expose it and then help her to heal from it. I know, without a doubt, that Macy is capable of love, and I will grind her down until I make her accept the truth of it. Grind (verb): to wear down, polish, or sharpen by friction Cal Carson is not the man I once thought him to be. Strong, determined, sexy as hell and a beast in the bedroom. He is every woman’s fantasy. He is my fantasy. But no matter how hard Cal tries to grind me down, my heart and secrets are mine and mine alone.   

Buy the Book: 

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Just when I thought we were getting somewhere, then boom!  It’s over! I totally got sucked into this story.  To recap, Cal and Macy have been frienemies for a long time.  All they have in common is their relationship with Mac and now, cosmic sex. Cal, Mr. I-want-it-all, wants something more. Macy, with her mysterious past, will not take this relationship further.  What happened in her past that makes her so protective and give her such low self-esteem?   Is this story really just about the sex?  Of course, not! (Although do not dismiss the ground-shaking encounters these two have.) This is a Sawyer Bennett book. I love how she grows the relationship between these two characters. 

Early in this story, Cal and Macy attend a sex club. This section is developed so well.  The developments are a little unexpected. I like the fallout and repercussions, not just for the sexual escapades, but also the feelings that rise to the surface from it. The risks that they take and the reasons behind it creates an emotional bond. It becomes the foundation for something more. 

It’s both humorous and sweet to see Cal court Macy.  I love the funny moments of their inverted relationship where the first date comes after the sex.  

After finishing this read, it took me a minute to figure out what I liked so much about this book.  I knew I liked Cal, but it didn’t strike me until later why.  Cal is NORMAL!  He is not damaged.  He has a naughty side, but nothing abnormal.  Cal is emotionally accessible and that makes him my new favorite hero.  

In A Nutshell:

Turning a corner, this edition moves from the sensational sex to the sensational sex plus building the relationship phase.  I loved it and I’m totally hooked. Cannot wait until Yield!

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Sawyer Bennett is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. Her husband works for a Fortune 100 company which lets him fly all over the world while she stays at home with their daughter and three big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate. Sawyer is the author of several contemporary romances including the popular Off Series, the Legal Affairs Series, the Last Call Series and the Cold Fury hockey series.  

Connect with Sawyer:

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Sign up for Sawyer’s newsletter HERE. 

  Enter to win a $50 gift card (Amazon, B&N, or iBooks) 
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SUNNY- BLOG TOUR AND REVIEW: "Uncivilized" by Sawyer Bennett

Uncivilized 

By Sawyer Bennett

Putting a woman on her knees before me is what really makes my cock hard. I fuck with dominant force and absolute control. I demand complete surrender from my conquests.

Savage man, loner, warrior… I am dangerous at my core. I have lived amidst the untamed wild of the rainforest, in a society that reveres me and where every woman falls before me in subjugation.

Now I’ve been discovered. Forced to return to a world that I have forgotten about and to a culture that is only vaguely familiar to my senses.

Dr. Moira Reed is an anthropologist who has been hired to help me transition back into modern society. It’s her job to smooth away my rough edges… to teach me how to navigate properly through this new life of mine. She wants to tame me.

She’ll never win.

I am wild, free and raw, and the only thing I want from the beautiful Moira Reed is to fuck her into submission.

She wants it, I am certain.

I will give it to her soon.

Yes, very soon, I will become the teacher and she will become my student. And when I am finished showing her body pleasure like no other, she’ll know what it feels like to be claimed by an uncivilized man.

Sawyer Bennett pushes the sexual envelope; going to places she has not gone before in her books.  I appreciate her stretch. But at the heart of this story is still quintessential Sawyer Bennett. The characters are warm and giving, essentially nice people regardless of where there are raised.

Although this book is called “uncivilized”, it is not a story about a “savage”, but rather about people being primal.  Zacharias Easton, son of missionaries, is orphaned with a native tribe in the Amazon at a young age.  When his über rich godfather finds out that he is still alive, he hires Dr. Moira Reed to help acclimate him to the modern world.  Dr. Reed is an anthropologist who specializes in studying how native people integrate to civilization. Moira, even with her professional detachment as a shield, is immediately attracted to Zach.  Growing up without a lot of boundaries, he is earthy and vital.  His is not constrained by modern rules. And yet, because he did spend his early years growing up in the States, he knows the language and is reconnecting with people at a fundamental level.  In his character, we get to experience Zach’s fish-out-of-water experience without a language barrier. We get to live through the eyes of someone who has at least a framework to interpret his experiences. 

This is not only a story of acclimation, but also sexual exploration – and Zach isn’t the only one exploring. Moira ventures into new territory as well. Zach gives her the opportunity to stretch her own boundaries, challenge the social constraints, and live a little!

Given the title and the promotion of this book, I expected it to be edgier with over the top dominant characters. I really quite relieved it is not because then it would not be a Sawyer Bennett book.  Is it sexual? Yes. Is it erotic? Yes. Is it emotional? Yes.  It is  a love story with a primal touch.

If you’ve been thinking about trying erotica–light, you will want to read this book. It is more sexual than your average romance, but without all the meanness and angst of some other erotica. 

Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. 

USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett, is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

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