[Linking Up] Feature & Follow #14

Q: Happy Mardi Gras! If they were throwing the HOTTEST books off of a Mardi Gras float -- what would you do to have them throw to you…?

I'd go with George R. R. Martin's box set of Game of Thrones. 

Along with Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments! =)

Gimmeee those babyyyy!!

[Book Review] Release Me

Title: Release Me
Author: J. Kenner
Date Published: January 1, 2013
Genre: Erotica, Romance, Adult Fiction
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

About the Book:

For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You comes an erotic, emotionally charged romance between a powerful man who’s never heard “no” and a fiery woman who says “yes” on her own terms.

He was the one man I couldn’t avoid. And the one man I couldn’t resist.

Damien Stark could have his way with any woman. He was sexy, confident, and commanding: Anything he wanted, he got. And what he wanted was me. 

Our attraction was unmistakable, almost beyond control, but as much as I ached to be his, I feared the pressures of his demands. Submitting to Damien meant I had to bare the darkest truth about my past—and risk breaking us apart. 

But Damien was haunted, too. And as our passion came to obsess us both, his secrets threatened to destroy him—and us—forever. 

Release Me is an erotic romance intended for mature audiences. (From Goodreads) 

Review:
I honestly don’t know where to start in reviewing this book because I was mind-blown.

I’m still grappling for words but let me start with this: Move over Christian Grey, Damien Stark has come to play!

Story-wise, this book utilizes the exact same formula as E. L. James’ Fifty Shades, but only it’s well-written, well-paced and the characters are more relatable. This book is exactly what fans of Fifty Shades should seek out if ever they need a fix for their erotica addiction.

Character-wise, Damien Stark is no Christian Grey, but of course, there are similarities: they’re both filthy rich, both dominant, both possessive and both go after what they want with wild abandon.

As for Nikki Fairchild, well, she is a far cry from Anastasia Steele. I personally like Nikki better than Anastasia because she’s a perfect mix of courage and vulnerability, whereas Anastasia is just, I don’t know… confused?

What I liked about this book is that the romance between Damien and Nikki is believable. We see the undeniable attraction between them but they don’t do the deed immediately like rabbits gone sexually rabid. There is a rising action leading to the actual thing, and that makes everything believable.

Also, I really appreciate Nikki’s well-fleshed-out inner conflict and reservations about her dealings with Damien. Like I said, she’s a perfect mix of courage and vulnerability.

I will not comment on the sex scenes in this book. Yes, they are hot, as most erotic sex scenes are, but like I said, I will not comment on them because I always find myself desensitized to sex scenes after reading an erotica. I usually just skim over them and move on to the next scene.

All in all, I really liked reading this book. I think it’s better than Fifty Shades. Also, at the end part of the book, it gives little tip-offs about what could be potential problems in having a possessive billionaire as a boyfriend, which I think, is a source of conflict for the next installment of the book.

I highly recommend this book to fans of erotic romances and even for readers looking for their Fifty Shades fix!

[Book Review] Puppet Shows

Title: Puppet Shows
Author: Michael Frissore
Date Published: November 22, 2012
Genre: Humor
Source: ARC from Author
Rating: 4/5

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon


About the Book:

A kindly organ grinder and his performing monkey adopt a young boy after his father spontaneously combusts; a barber living inside a whiskey bottle confronts the neighborhood nuisance who wields a dead squirrel like a pair of nunchucks; and an unruly gang of sock puppets are born in a basement dojo. Welcome to Puppet Shows, thirteen outlandish stories from a writer Tucson Weekly called "a very funny weirdo." (from Goodreads)

Review:
When it comes to the bizarrely humorous, Michael Frissore's Puppet Shows is serious. No kidding!

I started reading this book with a serious state of mind. On the first story alone, I was immediately dumbfounded and seriously lost. After reading the first story, I asked myself, "What the hell just happened? What the hell did I just read?" (O.o)

In all fairness, while the description of the book gave a little hint about its contents, I wasn't fully prepared for the insanity that is confined in this little treat. So then, after reading the first story, I loosened up a little and decided to open up to the bizarre. I found myself quirkily smirking and grinning involuntarily afterwards.

The stories in this book are all randomly odd and bizarre. There is no whatsoever logic in it and strangely enough, you don't really need logic while reading this book. This in itself is what sets this book apart from all others. It ventures into the weird, the funny and sometimes, the gruesomely insane.

Imagination-wise, well, I had a blast imagining all the stories actually happening! I mean, there's that organ grinder marrying his performing monkey. There's also a mental facility run by overly eccentric people. And come on, suicide by a nail clipper is just awesome!

Oh, and what I liked best about this book is that sarcasm leaps out from its pages much like how wet paint naturally drips down a wall. It's hard to portray sarcasm especially in written form, but surprisingly enough, this book really had sarcasm pat down! I especially love Q.Q's lines and the randomly woolly mammoth!

Also, I admire the fact that this book is a non-conformist. In the publishing world, it's hard to find a book that hinges humor on purely insanity because it has limited audience and the author can't even get any assurance that people will like it. For me, this book is like a brave foray into a well-defined territory in an attempt to bring something different, and indeed, this book really brings something entirely different!

I highly recommend it for people who would like to read something very different from usual. Just do read this book with an open mind and a wild imagination. I promise you'll be okay, and you won't regret it.