My name is Jade Lennon and I stand still for money.

The night I saw Shane Arthur watching me everything changed. A man in a suit always catches my eye, but it was the way he looked at me that was different. Like he knew me or something. He didn’t know me, especially not in my costume. My sobriety rests on staying away from men, but there was something about him that made me throw caution to the wind.

After all, I was never going to see him again, right?

Wrong.

Standing still isn’t the only way I make my money. I also bartend at a concert hall. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Shane was going to show up there. Not only that, but he’s the most recent addition to the orchestra. So now on a daily basis I have to resist one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever met and he plays the violin. For me that’s one hell of a deadly cocktail.

He wants me to teach him how to live. I’m not sure how much a twenty-six year old recovering alcoholic who works in a bar and moonlights as a living statue can teach a world class concert violinist, but I’m sure going to try.

Still Life with Strings is a story of music, art, sex, magical realism, and romance that you will never forget.

Not suitable for readers under 18 years. Contains strong language and scenes of a sexual nature

To be a muse is to be a wonder in someone else’s eyes, flaws and all.

This was my first book by L.H. Cosway, and I can definitely tell you it won’t be my last. The author has an incredible talent in allowing her words on a written page to build a vivid and living visual in your head as you’re reading it. I think that may have been may favorite part of the book.

Jade is a street performer and a bartender in a concert hall. A recovering alcoholic, she uses music and art as her way to escape. One night while she’s standing still on a busy street in her blue lady concert she finds a beautiful man in a suit watching her…and everything changes.

It was just an ordinary night.
He did’t think anything extraordinary would happen.
Until it did.
Turning a corner onto the bustling night time street, he saw her all in blue.

Shane Arthur is a talented violinist that plays at the concert hall where Jade works. He’s instantly drawn to the beautiful girl in the all blue costume and they share a stolen moment of passion within the shadows of the nigh time street.

In this moment we’re base and animalistic. No reservations, no pretenses, just two people seeking relief and some small piece of a human connection.

What I truly loved about the story was that Shane wasn’t some asshole player. Nope. He was a lost soul that was equal parts endearing and sweet, yet had an incredibly sexy side to him as well.

When I look at him, I see a heart that was badly broken and is only just sewing itself back together.

What begins as a friendship, soon begins to develop into something much more.
Jade isn’t looking for a relationship. She has her hands full without a man taking care of her younger siblings. And the only relationships she’s known were when she was drinking. But little by little Shane and his sweet and unobtrusive ways begin to chip away all the reasons she thought she had not to get involved with him.

Usually with a heroine like this, I’d find myself getting frustrated. Shane made his intentions very clear about what he wants, and plays no games. Jade was the one that wasn’t looking to get involved. BUT, something about Jade just really worked for me. She was endearing and strong with not of that wishy washy, ‘I want to but I can’t’ back and forth. I truly understood her struggle and my heart felt for her.

The author wrote a beautiful story about 2 broken people that are connected in more ways than they even realize. The subtle twists and revelations in the story were fantastic. But this is also a difficult review for me to write since considering all the elements of the book, I should have loved it. But there was also something missing for me the whole time. I’m not even sure what it was exactly. But it was just missing a certain spark, a little something that would bring up to a solid 4 star read for me.

That’s not to say I didn’t like it, because I really did. And I will happily read any of the author’s past and future books because her writing style really captured me.

***ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review***

The Amazon bestselling Impossible Series continues!

A woman shattered…

He took me and broke me.

I am plaything, a possession.

If I did ever have a name, I don’t remember it now.

Slaves don’t have names.

Salvation found in obsession…

He stole me away from the man who tormented me. He saved me and took me into his care. 

His touch keeps me sane.

His control keeps me grounded in reality.

He demands that I reclaim my humanity, my autonomy.

He forces me to piece the shards of myself back together.

I am utterly devoted to my savior, but his brand of rescue might leave me more broken than ever.

How can I ever become truly whole again if I can’t learn to let him go and take control of my own life? 

Do I have a hope of finding freedom when he refuses to release my heart?

Or is this new form of captivity just what I need to survive?

WARNING: Given the nature of this story, this book contains graphic violence and references to sexual assault, which some readers may find upsetting. It also contains sizzling scenes of (consensual) BDSM!

NOTE: Knight is part of the Impossible series, but it can be read as a standalone story without spoiling the other books.

3.5 Stars

Your name, girl.

Tell me. Now.”

Fear flashed across her features.

“F-fucktoy,” she whispered tremulously.”

This book was very different from anything I’ve ever read in the past and I struggled with my rating because of it. I’m a big fan of Dark Romance and BDSM and I’ve read plenty of it, but this was a mix of a few things and yet…not.

Knight starts off with Smith’s POV during the FBI raid of a BDSM club. Being a Dominant himself, it’s not something that’s out of his normal routine, but what Smith finds there manages to test even his carefully mastered control and anger. Because among the the faceless bodies in that place, he sees her. A woman that is clearly a sub, but even more clear a victim…but of what, he doesn’t know yet.

I didn’t have a name. If I did ever have a name, I didn’t remember it now. I was a slave, and slaves don’t have names.

The rest of the book gets told in her POV.

She knows herself only as slave. A woman so broken, she’s shattered, all at the hands of a monster that has put her through hell. Slave has suffered atrocities that are so painful, just the mere memory has the power to bring her to her knees. She doesn’t know the woman that she once was, she doesn’t remember her…nor does she want to. She’s no longer that woman. She’s buried that in the recess of her mind never to be accessed again.

I’ll be honest, the first 30% of so was very slow. It was difficult to read, and not because it was bad. Julia Sykes’ writing is captivating, and I enjoyed the way she painted a very vivid and painfully dark experience that Slave suffered. Slave is as broken as they come. Broken down to a mere shell of who she once was, she was as fragile as glass.

Smith knows that no medicine can help Slave in the state that she’s in. As a Dom, he knows the control and rules that she so desperately needs and clings to in order to maintain her fragile grasp on reality. So he takes it upon himself to give her that.

Julia Sykes did a fantastic job painting a very realistic picture of a woman that is beyond damaged. I understood her almost obsession and utter devotion to Smith.

I also enjoyed the progression that she goes through from Slave to a semblance of the woman she once was.

Although I wouldn’t call this a dark book, the things that Slave goes through were horrendous and not easy to digest. You have to prepare yourself since it’s no light read. However, it’s also not an action packed and high paced one. The progression is slow moving and slow building, which ultimately makes the story, yet also makes it difficult to get into right away.

Although slower paced that what I’d normally read, it managed to constantly keep me on my toes not knowing what would happen next. Julia manages to throw in some BAM moments that kept me guessing and on pins and needles almost afraid to see what would come next.

The overuse of endearments like “sweetheart” and “girl” did grate on me at times, but nothing that diminished my enjoyment. The love story is not an orthodox one, that’s for sure. What begins as as a clingy obsession turns into something much more eventually.

I really loved the way that the author build the heroine back up throughout the book. She goes from slave to her true identity in a very realistic way. This was not something that happened overnight and you feel that emotion and pain right along with her.

I can’t say that this is something I ever see myself going back to, but I did enjoy it. And I will definitely be continuing with the series as I’m invested in the story and very curious to see what the next book brings. Particularly with the “Mentor” still not caught.

Mainly told in Slave’s POV, the prologue and epilogue we do also get Smith.

**ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review**

New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Eden continues her dark and sexy “Mine” romantic suspense series with…MINE TO CRAVE.

HE TAKES WHAT HE WANTS.

From the moment that billionaire casino owner Drake Archer sees Jasmine Bennett, he’s obsessed. Consumed by desire for the mysterious redhead, Drake will do anything necessary to claim her. Yet as desire rages between them, danger is stalking ever closer. Drake’s past isn’t dead, and the ex-Special Forces agent will soon have to face the ghosts he left behind. 

SHE’S HIDING SECRETS.

Jasmine isn’t who she pretends to be. She’s a woman on a mission—and she’s supposed to be stealing secrets from the mysterious Drake. Falling for him isn’t on her agenda, but when lust and love tangle together, all the rules get broken. 

AN ENEMY IS CLOSING IN…

When Drake learns of Jasmine’s betrayal…all hell breaks loose. He knows that he should turn his back on her, but it’s too late for him. He can’t let her go, but he can teach her a lesson. No one betrays him…not without paying a heavy price. Drake will destroy all of the enemies on his trail, he’ll bury his past, and he’ll teach Jasmine to want only him…just as much as he craves her.

He was more than obsessed. He was lost in her. And if he didn’t stay away, while he could, he knew that Jasmine would never be free of him.

I’ve been waiting for Drake’s book since first meeting him in Mine to Keep. Nothing better than a broken, brooding alpha male that suffered the ultimate betrayal. I couldn’t wait to meet the woman that would bring him to his knees. Maybe the problem was that I set my hopes too high? I’m not sure. But for whatever reason, this book didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Like the rest of the Mine series, this book carries that possessive to the extent of obsession theme. The problem is that I didn’t understand the connection between Drake and Jasmine in the beginning.

Draka had almost lost his life TWICE due to a betrayal by a woman he trusted in the past. And that betrayal almost cost him everything. The man he is now is hard, cold, and doesn’t trust anyone. A successful owner of a casino, all Drake wants from his evenings is to find a woman so he can lose himself between her thighs for the night and move on to the next one. Until he spots her…

Jasmine is at Drake’s casino on a mission. As sexy as the man might be, she can’t afford to get distracted from her job. She needs to steal information and move on. But her mission suddenly takes a detour the second she gets into his office.

Here’s where things got a little muddy for me. Drake catches Jasmine in the act of trying to steal from him. He knows that she isn’t who she says he is, and he’s determined to get to the bottom of it. But he’s also feeling an incredible sexual pull towards the woman, no matter her duplicitous behavior.

When Drake discovers that nothing was in fact stolen, he lets Jasmine go. But he’s also determined to get answers to his question about what information she was after and who she’s working for. He follows her, saves her from an attacker, and then forces her home with him. Did I mention that he also still wants to sleep with her and protect her?

The woman just broke into your files, you saw her on cameras trying to steal from you, yet you allow her into your home? What proceeded to happen was a game of “I want you, but I don’t trust you. I’ll take you, but I still don’t trust you”. Drake pushes, so Jasmine pulls back. Then Jasmine pushes and Drake pulls back. I’ll admit I was somewhere between thinking it’s hot and being annoyed. I can’t decide which I was more.

As per usual Cynthia Eden fashion this book was fast paced, action filled, and steamy. Drake and Jazmine may have not have had the best communication, but the sexual chemistry between them was scorching.

The one thing that I loved about Cynthia’s previous books is this constant state of WTF is going on that you have reading her books. You think the story is headed one way then BAM, she throws the mother of all plot twists your way. That wasn’t the case here. You know pretty much right away who the bad guy is and why he’s after them. There’s not much guess work there aside from wondering how all these people are related.

Who is Jasmine really? What is Victor’s connection to Jasmine? How will they escape when the killer has them in their sight? But there was none of that plot twist that you don’t see coming, unless you count the whole Noah revelation.

I enjoyed this new addition to the Mine series, but it wasn’t my favorite. I still got my Cynthia Eden fix, so I can’t complain. I guess I just wanted a little bit more. Luckily there’s another book planned, and I can’t wait to find out who’s next. [I’d love a book for Saxon or Victor (hide spoiler)]

***ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**