Laura’s Review of Tell Me (One Night of Sole Regret, #6) by Olivia Cunning

If you love Music of the Heart (Runaway Train, #1) by Katie Ashley, Consumed (Devoured, #2) by Emily Snow, Effortless (Thoughtless, #2) by S.C. Stephens then you will LOVE this novella!!!!

Basic Summary

   He had planned a perfect weekend for her…

                Gabriel “Force” Banner has been unable to get a certain sexy accountant out of his head.  Sole Regret’s inventive drummer has created big plans to keep sweet Melanie entertained all weekend long.  Unfortunately, Melanie arrives for their rendezvous with a bit of baggage that just might ruin their fun.

   She didn't mean to make things difficult…

                Melanie wouldn't blame Gabe if he left her at the airport with her bit of baggage, but he’s determined to make their limited time together work.  When they leave behind the bustle of New Orleans and the rock’n’roll scene to visit his serene oasis outside of Austin, Texas, their romantic weekend seems to be back on track.  But life has a way of butting in at the worst possible times.

                Can they learn how to support each other in the face of adversity or will reality destroy their budding relationship before it even takes flight?

What I Love About This Novella

                Well first of all if Gabe can invent all these awesome sex toys then why I can’t buy these suckers online or in a sex toy store?  Someone needs to start putting his invention to the test because they sound super fun!  Who wouldn't love a totally hot scientist that just so happens to be rock star with a killer Mohawk and soft heart?  Other than Shade, Gabe Banner is my favorite band member in Sole Regret.  He’s freaking awesome and there isn't anything I don’t love about him.  He has that great soul that is totally deep, and it’s so cute how he still sees himself as that nerdy band geek he was in high school, even if he has millions of fans. 

                I like Melanie a lot because she’s like the normal girl that just so happens to meet a rock star and then they fall for each other.  Like that’s just my dream come true right there in one sentence.  Why doesn’t this kind of stuff happen in real life?  I like Melanie a lot and I love that she is such a great girlfriend but even at the end of the book Nikki, her best friend, really got on my nerves.  If Olivia Cunning wrote Nikki to be this annoying presence in Melanie’s life than she succeeded!  What Nikki does do though is bring out the best qualities of Melanie in a lot of ways, showing how amazing a character she is.  There were times when I felt Melanie was just a sucker for Nikki’s manipulation but I get it, and I appreciate Nikki being Melanie’s foil in this series.  

Cons

             Like I said before Nikki is really freaking annoying, I wanted to slap her across the face at certain points in this story.  If one of my friends tried to ruin my romantic weekend with a new boyfriend she might still be my friend after it, but she would have a hand print on her face for quite some time!  I hope that if their story continues into another novella either Nikki will not be present or she will be less annoying, because truly a person can only take so much.
  

                Also I just love Gabe Banner he’s freaking perfect.  But here’s the thing, he’s too perfect.  I had to keep reminding myself that they have only know each other a week and this is only the second time they have seen each other because Gabe and Melanie were just laying it a little too think.  I get these are novellas and the whole point of One Night of Sole Regret means you get just one night in the beginning but damn, Gabe was so sweet at times my teeth hurt!  I like more jaded characters and Gabe doesn't deliver that for me, but that’s okay I have Adam to give me more of a dramatic past.  I can’t wait to get to his story next!

Overall

                I absolutely love this series, I love that Olivia Cunning has mixed it up a bit giving each band member more than one novella and in turn giving us more than one night.  It’s a new take on series and the greatest part about novellas is that you can revisit characters without making the series seem too long and stretched out.  I see at the end of the book that the More Than One night revolves around this weekend, so we get to see what all the other band members were doing while Gabe and Melanie were cuddling together in his log cabin. 

                The pace of the book was really good, not too fast which can happen some times in novellas because there is so much story to tell in a smaller length.  I didn't have that impression at all while reading this so that was awesome.  The character development was great, I felt like even if you hadn't read Try Me (One Night of Sole Regret, #1) which was the beginning of their story you wouldn't be lost and still understood their personalities.   Great background details as well, it makes me want to discover an A frame log cabin hidden in the wood somewhere with a hot man on some weekend.   There was a lot of action in this story that definitely had me on edge a couple of times, and I was scared at a certain point I wouldn't get the closure I was looking for at the end.  But Gabe and Melanie pulled it together for me at the very end and I thank them that.  Can’t wait to dive into Adam and Madison’s story next! 

Laura’s Review of Tie Me (One Night with Sole Regret, #5) by Olivia Cunning

If you love Release Me by J. Kenner, Come Monday by Mari Carr, and The Dom’s Dungeon by Cherise Sinclair then you will love this book!!!!

Basic Summary:   His heat is tied to his past…

                When Sole Regret’s rhythm guitarist, Kellen Jamison, vowed to be faithful to his fiancé and love her forever, he meant it.  He never expected to lose her to cancer so early in life.  He’s certain he’ll never love again, but destiny has another plan for him.

Her heart is tied to her work…

                Grammy-winning classical composer and piano virtuoso, Dawn O’Reilly is overwhelmed with music-writing deadlines, a fickle muse, and high expectations.  She doesn't have time to find love, but chance seeks to interfere with carefully devised plans.

They’re bound to be entangled…

                From the instant Kellen hears Dawn’s latest musical composition, his spirits rise.  The stirring melody and the remarkable woman responsible for its creation are impossible to resist.  His attraction is undeniable; her passion unquenchable.  Kellen teaches Dawn there’s freedom in bondage, while her sensuality drives him to unleash his tightly controlled self-restraint.  Will the rose Kellen uses to secure Dawn’s body be the force that binds them together or ultimately sever all ties between them?

What I Love About This Book:  I loved Kellen and couldn't wait to get to his story.  He seems to be the most vulnerable of the band to me because he’s been in love before and lost it all, so there was something very sad about him.  Which if you’re a girl a sad hot guy is very hard to resist. 

Also after reading Touch Me (One Night with Sole Regret, #4) and Share Me (One Night with Sole Regret, #0.5) I really wanted to know what Kellen was thinking when it came to his relationship with Owen.  I know how Owen felt about Kellen kind of retreating from their sexual ritual with women and themselves so I was interested to find out Kellen’s side to the story.  I’m glad I finally got to the bottom of it and have settled if either of them is gay, or bisexual, or if there was more there. I won’t tell you the answer to that, you’ll just find out for yourselves.  

I really like Dawn, she definitely grew up in privilege but it’s a spoiled brat, doesn't act like and really have any prejudices about people or situations in life, there's no actions her looking down her nose at Kellen or anyone.  She doesn't have a grudge against men in genera like many female characters do, and she’s very talented when it comes to music.  She’s a strong female lead, and she takes control of a scene beautifully.  I love that she got in Kellen’s face about her feelings of Sara and his promises to her as well because someone needed to. 

Cons:  I really dig this series and I have a hard time wondering why these weren't made into an actual book series rather than short stories.  Olivia Cunning has another series involving a rock band, and this one would equally as awesome.  Because it is a short story, a lot of details that could lead to more attachment and better character development are missing. Although I have to say for a short story she does really well with giving her characters depth and drawing you in.  I just hate how these stories end so abruptly, I know there are more of these stories and that the series continues on with more short stories involving Kellen and Dawn and I just can’t wait!!

Overall:  Great story, awesome sex scene and who doesn't love sex on top of a piano?   I've been kind of fascinated with shibari so it was great to read about a story that delves into the psychology behind it more than most books I've read that involves the art of rope and knots.  It was a great short story, very hot and very sensual.  It was great for Kellen to finally be able to let go little by little of Sara and embrace some sort of happiness again.  It was also great to see Kellen and Owen resolves some of their underlying issues that have been between them the past couple of months.  I love that Dawn was able to get in Kellen’s face at the end and rip him a new one for acting like a total dick.  Who doesn't a love a woman who can so beautifully point out when a man is being an asshole?  

Laura’s Review of Hot Ticket (Sinners on Tour, #3) by Olivia Cunning

If you love Rock My Bed by Michelle A. Valentine, Music of the Heart by Katie Ashley, and Consumed by Emily Snow then you will love this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Basic Summary:  There are things in bassist Jace Seymour’s past that he is unwilling to share with anyone.  To cover his guilt and anguish, he seeks dominatrix Mistress V (Aggie) to temporarily placate his inner turmoil.

            Aggie doesn’t have much use for men-besides the power rush she gets when they’re begging for mercy at her feet-but Jace isn’t like her usual clients.  His cool defiance and unexpected dominance in the bedroom drives her to distraction and quickly steals her heart.

            When circumstances threaten Jace’s position in Sinners, Aggie must help him regain his rightful place in the band while showing him that time and love can heal all wounds.

What I Love About This Book:  Olivia Cunning doesn't beat around the bush in her love stories and I absolutely love it!! By the time your about 30% through the book you have already read probably about a dozen hot and heavy sex scenes and it’s hard to choose which one is your favorite.  For in this book it might just be the hottttttt sex on top of Jace’s motorcycle.  Who wouldn't to have sex with a hunk of hot metal below them?

   

       Jace has always kind of the mysterious one of the bunch, and it’s so great to finally get to his story.  From reading Brian’s story in the very first book I always thought that Jace was a Dom, but reality when it comes to BDSM he’s more submissive when it comes to pain, and Dominant when it comes to pleasure so in many ways he’s a switch.  Much like his beautiful girlfriend Aggie who loves to cause men pain with her bull whip but doesn’t mind Jace tying her up and bringing her to the brink of orgasm for a couple hours. Jace’s story is sooooo sad and it makes him very vulnerable in a lot of ways and that just makes him as a character more lovable and makes this story very enthralling. 

Cons:  At first I felt like this story was kind choppy and didn’t have a very good flow to it.  The chapters kind of skipped big chunks of time and for me that kind of stilted the flow of the story.  I felt like because there was skipping time in between some of the earlier chapters there were details skipped over that to me would’ve added to the story.  To me, I would’ve liked to have seen more Jace missing Aggie when he was on tour or back in LA waiting for Trey to heal.  I know Sed’s story kind of fills in some of those holes of time but that’s from Sed’s and Jessica’s POV not Jace’s.  Same goes for Aggie, her mom pissed me off the minute she came onto the scene but I would've liked to seen more detail of Aggie’s life while Jace was away.

 For some reason the publishers released the stories in this series in the wrong order and I had to keep reminding myself of that when I read the parts that involved Trey and Eric.  I get it but I would've liked it better if they were released in order instead of book 5, Double Time, before Hot Ticket.  Loving this series so much I couldn't wait for book 3 to come out so I had to read Double Time but now I kind of regret seeing how their futures have come to fruition in book 5 then going back and reading book 3. 

Overall: I love this story, and I love how Jace and Aggie interact with each other.  There were so many times when I was reading this story, where I was waiting for Aggie to have a more typical reaction to Jace being an asshole by yelling at him or storming away but instead she would let it roll off her and still be there for him.  I loved that about Aggie I liked that this female character doesn’t take Jace’s shit when deflecting his emotions, and just stayed there and waited for him to share or pushed him to open up. 

            I loved the ending, a great dramatic scene towards the end of the book that I know plays out into Wicked Beat, book four of this series with Eric’s story.  I loved that Jace finally was able to accepted his place in the band and that we get to see Sed’s and Brian’s relationship continue even though they aren’t the main characters in the continuing books.  This story was definitely a heart clincher, and I am totally in love Jace and the rest of the Sinners!!

Laura’s Review of Touch Me (One Night with Sole Regret #4) by Olivia Cunning

If you loved Rock My Bed by Michelle A. Valentine, Music of the Heart by Katie Ashley, and Wethering the Storm by Samantha Towle, then you will love this book!!!!!

Basic Summary:  He went there looking for a sure bet…..

            Sole Regret’s bassist, Owen Mitchell, is convinced that romance is for chumps.  He’s only looking for a good time, and when he spots an attractive, older woman emitting men-suck vibes at a brand new sex club, he’s sure he’s found it.

She went there hoping to get over her ex-husband….

            Successful business woman, Caitlyn Hanson, is still infuriated and hurt over sex her ex-husband’s affair with a much younger woman.  She’s only looking to scrub his claim from her body by offering it to the first attractive man who shows her interest, and the young, hot stud, who just sat down at her table, will do quite nicely.

They never meant to get personal….

            Caitlyn knows she’s not supposed to get attached to Owen just because he gives her body pleasure unlike any she’s ever know, but it’s her first-one-night stand and she can’t seem to keep her heart out of the equation. For once, Owen finds himself in the same conundrum.  He likes Caitlyn too much to keep his heart at a safe distance, but will mistake from Owen’s past drive her away forever?

What I Love About This Book: Sex scenes involving rock stars was never as hot as when Olivia Cunning writes it.  All her books are awesome, and the sex scenes in them are freaking unbelievable!! Touch Me is great because not only does it deal with a player like some of the rest of the books in this series but Owen is also very kind hearted and vulnerable too.  Owen grew up a chubby kid who got laughed at and has his heart broken wayyyyyyyy too much through his formative years so there is no way he is going to let that happen again.  Right away this makes you fall head over heels in love with Owen Mitchell and that feeling never goes away throughout the entire story.  Caitlyn is coming off a tremendous loss after find her husband mid-thrust on his desk in his office with a 19 year old student.  What does she decide to do to get over her scummy husband?  She goes to a sex club, now I’ve been dumped and heartbroken tons of times and never once was I like “you know would help?  Going to a sex club!” but that’s just me and then the story wouldn’t work.   The initial sex scene was amazeballs, and I love any story that involves shibari, because I’ve seen pictures of it and that shit looks too complicated and therefore intrigues me.  I like the relationship between Owen and Kellen as well; there is a lot of tension between them whether it be sexual or otherwise. 

Cons: I’m not a huge fan of short stories, I am always left with wanting more and they tend to lack a lot of detail because they are shortened and can’t include everything.  I also wish that the issues with Owen and Kellen were addressed in this story, and I certainly hope they are taken care of by the next book since the next one in this series is from Kellen’s POV.

            Also for me Caitlyn could’ve been a more likable character than she was, I don’t have tons of sympathy for a woman who is cheated on by her husband with a younger woman, when years before you were the younger woman and your husband was married to someone else.  If that little tidbit was not a part of her story I think I would’ve really liked her a lot more.

Overall:  Never has sex been so hot with rock stars before Olivia Cunning, she just dives right in there and the results are awesome!  This is a great short story, and Owen is definitely a likable character and because of that it makes you spend through this story and leaving you needing more by the time it comes to end. There are a lot of funny moments in this story along with a lot of hot sexy moments as well.  I see that Owen and Caitlyn’s story continues into two other short stories and I can’t wait to get to them! 

Kari's Fun Collage Pic!!

I made this collage a while ago!! I put in a bunch of my favorite books!!! What books would you have added if you were making your own?