Book Review: Sacred Sins by CD Reiss

You know what they say about family. 
Blood is thicker than water. 
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. 
A house divided cannot stand. 

Margie is the keeper of her family’s secrets. 
Six sisters and one brother. 
Billions in assets. 
Generations of malfeasance. 
And one heartbreaking secret three people keep. 

Margie. 
Her father, Declan. 
And Drew—the man she loves. 

You know what they say about secrets.  
Three can keep them if two are Drazens. 

There's never been a Drazen who went down without a fight. 
And there's never been one who didn't fight for love.

Sacred Sins is book 2 in The Sin Duet.  Forget everything you thought you knew.  This book takes the Drazen family secrets to the next level. 

Sacred Sins is written concurrently to the Submission Series (mostly). This is Margie Drazen's story, her choices, her reasons and the unexpected truth. Margie had made a deal with the devil and took on the Drazen criminal empire while sacrificing herself. She's protective, loyal and a formidable adversary. Margie become the queen of the Drazen empire while giving up her freedom and happiness. Until man she loved had returned ready to fight for her happiness and freedom.

The story continues with unexpected twist and turns. New revelations had me spinning. Lost love and sacrifices that changed three lives come spiraling to a emotional ending.  5 Stars

Book Review: Broken Edge by CD Reiss

You think you'd go far for love?
Think again.
---------
She really knows how to push a man.
She finds the cracks and she goes right for them. She'll travel across the world just to break me apart, piece by piece, until every last secret is exposed and every weakness revealed.
I swear to God, I love her so much I'll let her do it.
I'll let her do anything.
But when she hurts herself to protect me?
That's a line in the sand.

Broken Edge is the third installment in The Edge series. This series must be read in order. 

Unconditional love: is known as affection without any limitations, or love without conditions. This term is sometimes associated with other terms such as true altruism or complete love. 

Placebo: a harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect.

Broken Edge defines unconditional love with the intensely powerful connection between Greyson and Caden. I love Greyson's balls. When she makes a decision she sticks to it. She has a need to put Caden first, his health, his welfare and his sanity. She pursues him. Following him into a war of his demons. 

Broken Edge gripped me and wouldn't release it's hold until the last word. The author, in her usual trickery, gives us a placebo at the end of Part Two. However the effects soon wear off, ending in an emotional cliffhanger. Why?!?! I am already preparing my mental state for the final book in the series. 5 Stars

Book Review: On The Edge by CD Reiss

"In Iraq, I promised you a bed of rose petals." He grabbed my hand under the table, tightening his grip as if he were falling from a precipice and our connection was the only thing saving him from certain death. 
"They were beautiful."
"You smell like apples. Roses were wrong." There was nothing soft about his tone, but his quiet words were for me alone. "I want everything to be right for you." 
"Caden, look at me."
I caught his gaze and held it. He was confident. Arrogant. Sure he had a place in the world. And under that was the man who needed me to be that place. 
"If I could…" He smiled and shook his head at a silly thought he wanted to dismiss but couldn't-a contradiction in keeping with the whole man I married. "If I could write my love in the sky, it wouldn't be big enough. I'd run out of room. I'd fall out of the air trying to say it all."
He was saying it all.
Every day.
And he was falling out of the sky to do it.

On The Edge is book two in this epic series of love and war. It is a complex story that is divided into day and night, cold and warm, two halves of a single whole. The story is intensely provocative. Leaving me wanting more. 

Disassociation
Fear
Pain
Dutiful 
Honorable
Emotional
Romantic
Love

On The Edge reveals the truth about dark shadows of book 1. Caden is one part of a whole. Greyson is put to the test, she doesn't back down but fights for her husband, their marriage and their future. 

The ending is a cliffhanger, as expected. The unsettling feeling has my eye twitching. This series is a mind altering trip to the edge where we are left for now in anticipation for the next book. 5 Stars

Book Review: Rough Edge by CD Reiss

Who do you love?

The decent man you married?
The surgeon shattered during the war?
The emotionless Dominant who appears in his eyes more and more often?

All of them?

Even when he breaks you?
Even when he makes you beg?
Is there no pain or pleasure he cannot deliver?

What will you sacrifice to heal him?
Will he sacrifice his sanity to protect you from the exquisite torture of his cruel hands?

This is more than a marriage.
It’s a crack at the edges of the mind and heart.
It’s a promise written in the heavens and a wound splitting the sky.
Love may be the death of both of you.

Holy crap, CD Reiss is back with a vengeance! Rough Edge is book one in the four book series. This is CD Reiss at her best, dark and twisted. If you are fan of the Songs of Submission series, this is one up. One up the intensity, one up the sanity, one up the rough edge. I may have been a little blown away. 

Dr. Greyson Frazier, MD has finished her final tour as a Major in the army to return to her husband, Caden St. John, heart surgeon and former Captain. Greyson's world was turned around after leaving the army, not only did she have to get used to civilian life and to her new home in New York but she has to get used to being married. As it turns out there's more to her husband than meets the eye. 

The story holds dark secrets. Secrets that have me on edge. I can't wait for the next book. The Queen is back and turning our worlds upside down. 5 Stars.

Book Review: Prince Roman by CD Reiss

From NY Times Bestselling author, CD Reiss, love comes in the most ordinary and most forbidden places.

Rules for my new job:
1) Do not have sex with a man in the office (again).
2) Do not break Rule #1

I’m playing it cool, clean, and professional…until I meet Roman Bianchi. He’s not an insecure nerd or an ego-hole like the other kings of Silicon Valley. He’s charming and handsome. He’s fun, funny, and smart.

He’s also in the office across the hall.

Two broken rules waiting to happen.
I can’t lose this job over some guy.
But Roman’s not just some guy. Under that suit and cocky smile, he’s a prince.

Prince Roman is a forbidden office romance. It's a bit short, just when I was becoming emotionally invested the story slams into the climax and it's over.

We've met Raven Crosby in King of Code. She's moved on to a new company with a cutting-edge non-fraternization policy. She's delighted by the policy that will force her to keep her skirt on. However on the very first day of work she finds herself tempted by one Mr. Roman Bianchi. 

Roman Bianchi has a job to do. This is his opportunity to advance his career. What he hadn't expected was Raven Crosby. Now he's out to protect her. But can he protect her while following the rules?

Over all I enjoyed this quickie. I like Roman, he knows what he wants and goes for it. At the end he lays it all on the line for love. 4 Stars

Book Review: King of Code by CD Reiss

From New York Times Bestselling author, CD Reiss, comes a sexy tale of secrets, intrigue, betrayal, and a love worth crossing a continent for.
Taylor Harden is a man on the edge.
The edge of fame. The edge of untold wealth.
The edge of utter humiliation.
He built an unhackable system, and in front of everyone, it’s hacked.
His reputation goes from king to goat in a split second. Boom. Like that.
Some dude in Barrington, USA (AKA Nowhere) has locked down Taylor’s code, and if he doesn’t get it back, he’s going to be wearing a monkey suit for the rest of his life.
Except, this guy? This hacker from Nowhere? He’s not a guy.

Harper Watson’s all woman. And she has a plan for Taylor, his code, and his body. 

 

King of Code is an intriguing story filled with secrets, doubts, betrayal and a bit of craziness.

"she was a hacker, a terrorist, my captor, and she was withholding information I needed."

Taylor Harden created an infallible system that he was willing to bet could not be hacked.

Harper Barrington who also goes by Harper Watson locked down Taylor's system which led him to her. She led him to her town that was suffering economically. Harper feels responsible for her town's downfall. Now that she has Taylor's attention she has demands that she wants fulfilled before giving him the codes he needs to release his system. 

The story is told in Taylor's POV leaving you constantly speculating. It's a real page turner.  However Taylor is not my favorite hero. At times he comes off uncomfortably aggressive. He's cocky with an enormous ego. From the start he lacked respect for women. He didn't hire women, or think highly of them. When it came to the hacker who breached his system he couldn't fathom it could be a woman. Harper gave him a lesson in humility. 4 Stars

Book Review: BombShell by CD Reiss

Hollywood bad boy Brad Sinclair always gets his way, whether it’s the role he wants or the bikini-clad model he has to have. But when a bombshell gets dropped in his lap in the form of a dimpled five-year-old from a forgotten relationship, he knows his life is about to change forever.

Cara DuMont isn’t exactly thrilled when she gets assigned to be the nanny for the latest box-office king. She has one rule: no celebrity fathers, especially single ones with devilish good looks and rock-hard abs.

But as soon as Cara meets Brad and his adorable little girl, she knows she’s in for a world of trouble. Because there’s something about the way Brad looks at her that makes her believe that some rules are meant to be broken…

Bombshell is a multifaceted story of struggle and courage. The characters are complex and unique. Their relationships will pull at your heart strings.

Brad Sinclair is living the life. He’s a good old southern boy who has made it big as a Hollywood actor. He had been enjoying his party boy lifestyle until he was dropped with a bombshell. A very cute orphaned five year old bombshell that was his child. His struggle was real. He had a movie in the works and needed help.

Cara DuMont is a professional nanny with a new assignment for a low key family. That’s until she finds herself in the bathroom with a very upset little girl. Nicole Garcia lost her mother and has been placed with her very surprised father. She hasn’t stopped crying since being placed with Brad until she meets Cara.

Brad needs Cara. Cara doesn’t want to nanny for an A-list celebrity. Sometimes life has other plans and so does Nicole.

Brad needs Cara.

Brad wants Cara.

Brad claims Cara.

Brad has secrets, one he knows and one that was swept away in his past. Secrets rarely stay hidden when there’s a villainess involved.

Brad is a fighter. He was able to move past his obstacles becoming a successful actor. However he still fears his truth. Now he has to deal with his career and a child. He’s looking for a connection and it’s Cara who helps him find it. I loved this story. The characters are real, so are their struggles, their fears and their passion. 5 Family First Stars!

Book Review: SEPARATION GAMES by CD Reiss

The stunning conclusion to the New York Times Bestseller.

These are the unbreakable rules in the game.
Stay collected. Compartmentalize. Think your next move through. Never let your heart dictate your tactics.

The heart is impulsive.
The heart makes bad decisions.
The heart doesn’t see the long game.

Because the heart may have decided to get Adam back, but when the endgame comes, the heart’s going to be the first thing to break.

Separation Games is sexy as hell! There's plenty of angst, emotional upheaval and fortitude. It makes me want to get on my knees and give homage to the author who ignites my passion for reading. Marriage Games ended in a painful cliffhanger as Diane and Adam's change of circumstance left me brooding. It's now up to Diane to divide and conquer.

Plain and simple
Diane wants Adam now that she's discovered his proclivities. 
Adam can't love a submissive.
Diane can't love old (Manhattan) Adam. 

"The problem is this. When you dominate me, I'm in love. But when I submit, your love dies."

The dilemma is not a simple fix. The first half of the story is told from Diane's POV. She fights for Adam but continually hits road blocks. Adam connects truths from his past that have led to his current state of resistance. Diane pushes until she breaks. My heart breaks along with her.

The second half of the story is told in Adam's POV. It's about perseverance, forgiveness and acceptance. Plus plenty of steamy D/s to tempt your soul. Although the use of Legos as a torture device is sadistic and pure evil. The ending is beautiful and freeing. 5 'the goddess of the hunt' stars.
 

Review: HardBall by CD Reiss

Perfect ass.

Perfect arms.

Perfect swagger.

They call Dash Wallace the Diamond King.

He’s the hottest commodity in baseball and in the bedroom.

When he runs the bases, every woman’s eyes are glued to his stunning body and a smile that puts the night lights to shame.

I’m no queen. I’m a regular girl with a regular job. I just watch him on TV and from the bleachers, season after season.

Girls like me grab a guy like that one in a million times.

My number just came up, and he is as spectacular in bed as he is on the field.

But there’s not a woman in the world who can distract Dash Wallace from the game. Not for a moment. Not even me.

Until the night I do. And everything changes.

HardBall completely tugged at my heartstrings. Its funny, touching and goes beyond an unexpected romance. There are many facades to HardBall. It's not just another romance, it's a story of pushing past fears and idiosyncrasies, to discover what waits for you on the other side. It deals with contemporary social issues that give the story depth beyond it's intended genre. Yes, there are also plenty of hot scenes and comical relief that keep you turning the pages. CD Reiss outdid herself in taking contemporary romance and giving it multiple layers. 

"I was a public school librarian with a reading habit, and he was a mysterious and gorgeous athlete with the grace of the wind."     

Dash Wallace is a Sexy, Three Golden Gloves, Dodger Shortstop, who plays for the LA Dodgers. He's a bit of a mystery, he doesn't like to been on TV and he stays out of the tabloids. He also keeps hook-ups at his port-of-calls and doesn't move beyond simple flings. He's created a bubble of idiosyncrasies to keep his good luck intact. 

Vivian Foster is a dedicated librarian at a underprivileged public school. She lives at home with her step-father who is unable to work to do sever arthritis. She suffers from low self esteem from her past relationship. 

A trip to Dodger Stadium, a missing glove and a intense attraction bring together the most unsuspecting pair. 

I really enjoyed HardBall, I couldn't put it down. Literally, I walked into a wall while reading. I love the chemistry between Dash and Vivian. Vivian puts her heart on the line because she has a strong sense of responsibility, for her Step-Father, her job and for Dash. She will bend over backwards for the loves of her life. Dash has challenges that effect him deeply. He's found ways to cope but change comes at a cost. Vivian brings Dash just that a change and a new challenge. CD Reiss doesn't miss a step, the characters are well developed and evoke all the right emotions. 5++ Stars!