Book Review - Guilty Pleaures by Kitty Thomas

Guilty Pleasures by Kitty Thomas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Disclaimer: I am a fan girl when it comes to Kitty Thomas.

Guilty Pleasures is aptly named; it was a pure pleasure to read and my guilt comes from not reading it sooner.

Vivian is a bored wife, unable to have a satisfying relationship inside or outside of the bedroom with her husband Michael.


"She wasn’t even sure it was this fault anymore. She wasn’t sure it was anyone’s fault."


Vivian is sent on a journey of discovery not one of self discovery from the start because it was not her choice but ultimately the choice is made.

From the first meeting with Dr. Smith you realize that Vivian is missing something, a something she isn’t aware of or even knows she wants. It’s a good thing she goes to therapy then right?


“Mrs. Delany?”
“Yes?”
"You’re going to lose all your inhibitions.”


When Vivian walks in to Dome she gets introduced to her deepest desires and her deepest fears mixed together in the form of one man, Anton. The world that he shows her is one she doesn’t want but one she cannot stay away from.

Guilty Pleasures is not a book I can review without giving away its secrets and they must stay a secret for the reader’s enjoyment. Being inside Vivian's head you are with her every step of the way, every submission and every fear or want conquered though it may seem unreal.


"The more she explored, the more she felt like Alice down the rabbit hole. A stoned caterpillar wouldn’t have shocked her at this point, and she would have gladly requested some of whatever he was smoking."


The end of this book was absolutely perfect and one I was hoping for. The epilogue ties up everything nicely and gives you the closure you need. Kitty Thomas has a way with words and I just love how she uses them to end a story. The evoke the emotion from all that you just read and echo in your head after you are through.


"The moment the blindfold came off, things got complicated, as he’d known they would. But either way, he would always have that moment. Where it was real. It made the entire fucked-up thing doing all over again."






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Book Review - Need by Sherri Hayes

Need by Sherri Hayes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received this book to review from Netgalley and Smith Publicity --
The Writer's Coffee Shop. Thank you for the opportunity.


"I could be Anna again."


Need begins where Slave left off. Confused Brianna is told my Stephan that yes, he bought her but she is not his slave. That if she wants to leave she can...

We get deeper into the story between Stephan and Brianna and their relationship begins to grow and flourish under the new roles. Brianna is still unsure who she is but is changing day by day. Stephen is beyond saintly with his patience with her and her issues but he is a man in love and as a hopeless romantic I would expect nothing less.

I liked the introduction of Cal Ross into the story. He gives a few more layers to Brianna and who she was before; Anna. Seeing him at the banquet was a shock and I worried that it would be counter productive for Anna but Stephen of course was able to handle it.

Having Brianna able to talk to both Lily and Logan was wonderful. Knowing that Logan was not a part of the lifestyle but changed for Lily was comforting to me as the reader knowing it should and would help Brianna knowing why he did it.

Stephen and his punishment this book had me a bit miffed but knowing what else he could have done I settled down and accepted that he knows better than I what will work with Brianna. I will say the way he shows her things that Ian did that were cruel can be pleasurable if done the right way was beautiful. The cane, the leash and most of sex was handled so well. The lifestyle he lives as a dominant is not one of harm, pain yes but for pleasure.

The book ends on a HUGE cliffhanger and I cannot believe the next book isn't out until next year! Yikes! I will be waiting anxiously for the story to continue and get some answers about Ian!



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Book Review - Tender Mercies by Kitty Thomas

Tender Mercies by Kitty Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Take the risk or stay where you are. Make a choice now Grace."

Those words haunt me. Grace was looking for something that she couldn't get in her every day life, something that a secluded island with special rules and lack of boundaries could give her. The choice she makes seals her fate.

"He'd broken her of the habit of seeing herself as a person in the first two weeks."

This was my second book my Kitty Thomas and I fell in love with it. So different from Comfort Food as this is a story and you get that feeling from the start. Oh the start! Can I say I opened this to just get a peek and was in tears from the prologue. I fell in love with Asher Collins right then and there. He does not disappoint. He is not a romantic hero by any means yet he does have his own morals.

"The entire point of owning a slave, as opposed to a piece of furniture, was that they were a human being with thoughts and feelings and wants and needs. At least in his way of thinking."

This book pushes boundaries but I have come to expect that in only two reads from the author. She drags you to the edge, pushes you off then right before you smack into the pavement yanks you back up. The challenge to see things from a different perspective is always there; you may not agree but to "not understand what it meant or why it was okay for a man to treat a woman that way when the whole world said otherwise," is just one reason this story drew me in. This world seems full of violence and hate yet this quote repeats in my head when I think that way; "You could never truly own something that hated you."

Tender Mercies is not a romance novel. It is a book about sexual slavery. Though the slavery is consensual to a point, it is not romantic, pretty or something that is easy to handle. That being said it is again a beautifully written dark tale on a very taboo subject.

Once again, this book comes with a DISCLAIMER and it is there to serve a purpose. Read it and be self aware of the contents.

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Book Review - Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas

Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Monsters aren't supposed to be beautiful. It's the rule."

Yeah, I am giving this 5 stars, I don't think I could give it any less. I am still in a state of shock and awe having just finished this book. I think the world that Kitty Thomas has dragged me in was dark, twisted, ultimately fucked up (no better way to say it) but at the same dare I say "magical" and beautiful for lack of a better word. I think I may have a tinge of Stockholm Syndrome for the story.

Comfort Food comes with a disclaimer, I suggest you read it and take it seriously.

I don't know if saying I liked this book makes me just as twisted as the story itself. It wasn't an easy read at all for the subject matter but it wasn't a book I could put down either. Once again my intellect, morals and ethics are challenged and I am made to question just what is normal and acceptable.

”Today I found something beautiful and decided to break it. I wanted to see it shatter in my hand and crumble at my feet. Her name is Emily Vargas. She’s bright and educated and stunning. Articulate. She’ll want someone to talk to her.”

Emily let her guard down, forgot what she was supposed to do and what not to do and gets kidnapped. She wakes up in darkness, blindfolded, bound to a chair and meets her captor who will not speak to her though she craves the connection. I unintentionally went method reading with this book and read it in silence. Her captor does not speak but Emily learns the language of communication she needs for survival. Is this what most of us would do? How would you know?

"Could this weak, helpless creature really be me? I'd spent the past five years giving speeches on empowerment and self-improvement and here I was, reduced to this and so quickly."

"To distract myself, to move myself out of this plane of existence and into another, one where I was free. The cell was a perfect stage, plenty of room to piroutte and tour jete across it."

The ballet dancing was almost the most disturbing part of this book for me. It had the feel of a Twilight Zone episode and made me feel as if Emily was in a music box; a figurine on a post twirling around and around as long as it was wound and the music played.

The transition from the first person to the third during anything physical was interesting. It is as if weren't happening to her and later the therapist echoes the same thoughts. I had the feeling that we were in fact reading Emily's journal that she kept mixed with the censored one for the therapist as the actual story. There were times where I had to put the book down and remind myself this was not an actual reenactment but a work of fiction. I must give kudos to the author for delivering that mind trip.

There was so much to this book that it is hard to verbalize or review without giving it all away. I walked on the dark side and thank goodness the light was there when I was done.

While the story was twisted from the beginning, the end had my jaw on the floor.

"I know you'll never be able to understand me making this choice. I know you'll all believe it was a sick mind that led me to it, that no person in their right mind would do what I've done. Maybe that's the truth of it. Or maybe I'm just stronger than you."

Comfort Food is not an easy read, nor is it a romance. The disclaimer is a true warning. If you read it and feel a sense of dread and uneasiness, do not read it. If you like the challenge and the depth of the psyche that can make a person do what Master and Emily both do, read it.



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