Romance Between the Pages' Weekly Podcast Interview with Julie Kenner!!!

Ever wondered about the personalities behind your favorite books? Victoria Danann's new podcast with Riley J. Ford has an incredible lineup of authors booked through the spring. No question is out of bounds. Check it out!

This Week's Best-Selling Author...

Julie Kenner!

J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.

Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.

JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A five time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy). Her Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (as Julie Kenner) is currently in development with AwesomenessTV/Awestruck.

Her books have sold over three million copies and are published in over twenty languages.

In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.

Listen on Itunes (Subscribe so you never miss an episode! It’s FREE!)

Laura’s Review of Wanted (Most Wanted, #1) by J. Kenner

 

Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey, Bared to You, and Release Me comes an all-new erotic series of three enigmatic and powerful men, and the striking women who can bring them to their knees.

He is everything I crave, all I desperately want—and he is everything I can’t have.

Evan Black embodies my every fantasy. He is brilliant, fierce, and devastatingly handsome. But he is also headstrong, dangerous, and burdened with secrets.

My family warned me to stay away, that I could never handle Evan’s dark dealings or scarred past. Maybe I should have listened. Maybe I should have run. But our desire is undeniable, and some temptations you just can’t fight.

And from the moment we touch—the passion between us consuming us both—I know that I will never be the same.

Wanted is an erotic romance intended for mature audiences.

What I Loved

        

        Right away this story captivated me because we meet Angie right after she’s lost her Uncle Jahn and needs to decide what she wants to do with her life and her sorrow just grips your heart.  From the very beginning it’s easy to understand how catastrophic this loss was not only for her but Jahn’s close friends as well.  One of them just happens to be Angie’s long time crush Evan Black. 

From the very beginning Evan exudes this strong sensual confidence that makes you want to rip all his clothes off and see what he’s hiding underneath!  I loved the back and forth between him and Angie at the beginning because it wasn’t too much to be annoying, but just enough to build the sexual tension between them. The attraction between Angie and Even is unmistakable and I loved that as the story went on the relationship builds to not only love but a partnership as well.  The love scenes were boiling and I loved literally every single one of them.  Not only was this story filled with sex and passion but also a little suspense and some heart breaking decisions that just added to my overall adoration of this entire plot.

Not So Much

          I really did enjoy reading this book and I love J. Kenner so this is going to short! I did feel like some scenes needed more follow through or more detail.  Especially towards the end, where everything gets wrapped up nicely but one of the scenes went from happiness to depression in less than a paragraph.  One minute Angie was in Chicago the next she was in California and it all just made my head spin a little. 

To Sum It All Up!

          Overall this was an awesome story. I absolutely love J. Kenner because she knows how to throw some curveballs into the plot to keep the reader completely enthralled.  I read Heated before I read this one and even though this is a series, they are standalones so I didn’t feel lost or missing out whatsoever.

         I think the main characters were written beautifully, both very complex with tons of depth making you more invested in their feelings and happiness.  I think the plot was really good and that is because a strong foundation was laid out for the story to build from.  There aren’t not words to describe just how much I love Evan Black, he is one sexy kinky man that knows when to put his heart on the line.  Angie although isn’t as experienced as Evan doesn’t come off as helpless or weak.  She’s a strong female lead that just needs to find her happiness.  I am truly addicted to J. Kenner and will read anything she puts out!

Laura’s Review of Heated (Most Wanted, #2) by J. Kenner

If you have read and enjoyed Protecting You (The Boston Fitzpatricks, #1) by S. Donahue, Damaged (Damaged, #1) by H.M. Ward, and Down to You (The Bad Boys, #1) by M. Leighton then you will LOVE this book!

***ARC Generously provided by Net Galley***

Basic Summary

        I knew better than to risk my heart.  But fierce passion comes at a high price.

      I grew up believing in right and wrong, good and evil, black and white. I knew better than to trust. And then I met Tyler Sharp.

      Bold, charming, and dangerously sexy, Tyler always gets what he wants. But his smile can be deceiving, his dealings sordid, and his ambitions ruthless. I thought I was the one woman strong enough to resist him, but our need for each other was too urgent to deny.

       One look and I was in trouble. One touch and I was hooked. One night and I became his. And now that I've fallen, there’s no going back.

Buy Links

Amazon US / Amazon UK  / Amazon CA

Add to Goodreads

First Impressions

                
         So far I really like this book, it starts off right away putting you in the thick of it giving you the low down pretty quickly and setting up how this story will probably go.  You very quickly get a very hot sexy scene (thank you very much for that J. Kenner) which definitely lays the foundation down for what is to come between Tyler and Sloane which I thoroughly enjoyed.  But the book is a little repetitive at times and it’s kind of getting on my nerves.  That not to say that I’m not intrigued because trust me I AM.  I am reading this as a standalone which is fine, you don’t have to read in order of the series which I really appreciate when authors do that but its intriguing me just enough to want to read the first book in this series which I also enjoy because even though this is the second book I now want to finish this one and read the first one immediately.

What I Loved

             

   I love that this book just jumped right into the sexiness that is Tyler Sharpe and pretty quickly delivered a hot steamy sex scene that takes place in the backroom of a strip club.  How a book begins at a fancy engagement (filled with lots of hot foreplay) and ends up at the backroom of a strip you will just have to read to find out. 

      I absolutely love Tyler Sharpe and I was immediately intrigued with this man and couldn’t put this book down because I wanted more.  I loved that I just wanted to dissect who this man is, what makes him tick, what turns him on, and what doesn’t.  He just amazes me more and more as the book goes on and of course I am now fully in love with this man! 

Not So Much

                
          This book was very repetitive at times, there are so many times I could listen to Sloane explain why she’s listening to Tyler or why she’s following his commands.  We get it, you’re attracted to him on a chemical level and that has nothing to do with your job.  I didn’t need that explained me time and time again.  Also, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this, there was one sex scene that dragged on too long.  It really wasn’t an entire sex scene, most of it (which was the problem) was foreplay but it just went on way too long.  I paid attention took up over 10% of the book and I actually wanted it to just end already and move the story along.  It lost my interest at one point and I no longer cared what happened next. 

This Book Was…

                
             Great!  I really enjoyed the premise, I appreciate that the female lead is very strong willed and has her shit together.  I like that Sloane can be stubborn when she needs to be but at the same time isn’t annoying about it and really just delays the inevitable.  I love how attracted she is to Tyler but absolutely hate it at the same time.

            I like that a bit of a mystery was wrapped up in this hot sexy love story because it added to the suspense of the story.  I just wanted Sloan and Tyler together so badly and I truly wasn’t sure for a long time how this story was going to end.  The book was a bit slow at times for me and repetitive at others but overall I really enjoyed this one.  J. Kenner blew me away with The Stark Trilogy and she has definitely done that again with this one! 

Laura’s Review: The Stark Trilogy by J. Kenner

This is my Damien Stark

Basic Summary:  Hot rich guy (Damien Stark), meets girl (Nikki Fairchild) with low self-esteem but he still falls hard for this beautiful woman.  They get hot and heavy and pretty serious very quickly.  He is a wonderful Dom, and tries to train Nikki Fairchild to be his willing sub.  So yes its 50 Shades of Grey all over again, and Damian Stark can DEFINITELY give Christina Grey a run for his money.  Damien Stark is hot hot hot, a very rich self-made man who as a young man was a tennis pro but decided to become the next Bill Gates after his tennis career falls apart.  He is known for his business skills, his temper, and for the many women he has by his side.  That is until he meets Nikki Fairchild, and offers her a million dollars to be a subject of a painting he wants and to be his as well.  Hot sex scenes, crazy drama, heart break, and mysteries are the themes in this series. 

Good Quote:   “He is Jason and Hercules and Perseus-a figure so strong and beautiful and heroic that the blood of the gods must flow through him, because how else could a being so fine exist in this world?

Side Note:  I chose Cory Bond for Damien Stark because if I have to see David Gandy as one more book boyfriend I’m going to scream! I get it, he’s hot and I will not argue that point but I like variety in my imagination!!!

What I love about this book:  Since it all started with 50 for me, this series is very similar to that so how could I not love it!!! Great sex scenes of course, very detailed when there needs to be.  The way J. Kenner describes Damien’s new Malibu mansion you can picture the opulence and beauty of his masterpiece very well.  The details in this book are just right, giving you the ability to imagine the scenes precisely but leaving you the ability to create your own paradise in your head. J. Kenner is able to bring across to the reader the emotions the environment around the characters creates by describing the main backdrop of the book which is Los Angeles perfectly. You recognize what is going through Nikki’s mind as she walks into Damien’s office and his apartment, as well as all his other properties through the beautiful balance of detail.  The author is also able to do this when she describes the aura that surrounds Damien everywhere he goes, and the feelings Damien has for Nikki each time he sees her. 

          Another thing I love about this series is the many things that set this book a part from 50 shades.  There is a murder trial amongst all this sex and love that really grabs your attention in the third book.  Damien like Christian has a jaded past and at first is pretty closed off making you beg to crack what makes these men tick.  Nikki I feel like is less timid than Ana Steele which I appreciate.  I love books with strong female leads, and Nikki Fairchild is a very strong lady.  I also like how Nikki herself has a jaded past, that involves a dead sister, a bad ex-boyfriend, cutting, and an emotionally abusive parent.  It gives a new dimension to the main character that Ana Steele lacks.  There is also a very appealing element of BDSM in the book, Damien is a very seductive Dom but their relationship is not defined as Dom/sub and it doesn’t really revolve around that.  Damien is a very resourceful man though and one sex scene involves him using the window drapes for tying Nikki to the bed (HOT). 

          Also I enjoy Nikki Fairchild as a character because she isn’t a timid virgin, these book are unrealistic enough without having the main female character be a virgin.   Nikki doesn’t come off as this innocent wide eyed girl viewing the real world for very first time.  She is an ex-beauty queen, current technology nerd and has her own attitudes and beliefs and a past of her own.  Damien is not her first lover, but of course like most of the series he is her last.  She is not someone who doubts her abilities too much, and although she has her own physical issues she doesn’t constantly whine throughout the book about how much better Damien could be doing than her.  That was one thing that annoyed me about Ana Steele, after a while I wanted to be like “WE GET IT!!! You don’t get why Christian picked you! Well we do so move on!!!” 

          This book has deceit, heartbreak, a stalker ex-girlfriend, the other guy, a whimsical best friend and of course DRAMA!!!! The last book definitely had me on the edge of my seat, book one ends sadly, book two ends with resolve and book three gives you a nice conclusion.

Cons:  Most of the series is too similar to 50 shades, which for me reading so many of these types of series gets tiring after a while.  Doesn’t mean I don’t love Damien, and if I had to rank them I might put him at number  3, Christian being number one because he’s the first, and James Cavendish because he’s a seriously hot Dom.  I know it’s hard for authors to make a series like this that involves a rich beautiful man stand out from the rest when there is so many of them to choose from, but I’m still waiting for that magic series that can really pull away from Fifty Shades of Grey but deliver the same emotions I felt when I first read those books.  Also I would've liked maybe an epilogue in this book a look into their future; I felt that the series kind of ended abruptly.  Also, if you read this series because you like BDSM a themed book then this series isn’t for you, it’s in the background of the book but that’s about it.  There are some fun scenes involving Damien’s bag of tricks but like I said BDSM is not laid out in the book like it is in Fifty Shades of Grey or the Up in the Air series.