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Paranormal, BDSM, F/F - novel
TBR Reviewer: Luta Wolf

Layna made a promise five years ago. A promise that she feels compelled not to break. Never mind that when she made it she never intended to keep it. Though her best friend is truly terrified for her and that the cards foretell death, Layna knows she must face the past in order to ever truly be free from it.
 
This book is heartbreakingly well written. I was emerged in details immediately and found myself lost completely in it’s haunting beauty. The author did a more than admirable job of pulling me into the dark dismal story-line of the occult. She did her research well as everything was accurate in concern with the good and bad practices among the occult. I didn’t feel the need to roll my eyes once.
 
The characters are anything but mainstream, too in-depth and dimensional for that. While she does have characters that are clearly light and dark, she mostly leaves it to the reader to decide.

Brandon really is bad news. He is the bad boy that all good girls should stay far away from. He knows this about himself, hence why he pushes Layna away. There in lies his redeeming quality and why as the reader you’ll find yourself rooting Layna on despite the fact that your thinking she is ten kinds of stupid for wanting him.

So here we are with me giving nothing but complimentary comments and yet it’s only a four star. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and have every intention of re-reading it again. However with that said, I can’t really recommend this read to a majority and would actually advice some readers too stay far away. Setting aside the fact that this has some serious graphic BDSM with lots of pain, most emotionally impacted readers won’t be able to read this either. While I appreciate the amount of work it took for the author to inspire such emotions as
fear, anticipation, suspense, despair, agony, and much more. She didn’t put the same amount of work into pulling us the readers out of those emotions. Your left with and almost melancholy feeling despite the book ending well. Really though for those that think they can handle it, Painted Love is worth the read.

“I suppose I shall leave you alone,” she said coolly, and, teeth clenched, she turned to leave.
 
“You will stay.” 
 
Her breath hitched and excitement slithered down her spine at the command in his husky voice. On the other side of the door, a growing crowd mumbled in the gallery.

“Come here.”
 
She wanted to hop across the room like an eager puppy, but she forced herself to slink casually to him. She didn’t want to appear as eager for his touch as she actually was. She met his piercing eyes through a veil of mascaraed lashes. 
 
“You’re beautiful.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She nearly moaned at his touch as heat rushed from his fingers to her sex. Her growing arousal was nearly uncontrollable.
 
She grabbed his hand and pressed her lips to his fleshy palm. “Let me please you.” His scent, his touch, the dark, heated look in his eyes, it was a toxic cocktail, and she was drunk with it. 

He smiled fiendishly at her plea. His evil grin sent electric currents zinging through her whole body. Pure devilry sparkled in his dark eyes.

 “On the floor. On your knees.” He jerked her hand and threw her to the floor.  

She scrambled to the floor and hiked up her dress. So much for trying not to appear eager. She watched him over her shoulder hungrily as he knelt gracefully behind her and unzipped his trousers. She arched her back and gyrated her hips in the air. Her lust turned to necessity. 

He tugged her damp panties aside and brushed her wet lips with his finger. She shivered. He grabbed both her hips and slid his hard shaft into her. She bit her bottom lip and stifled a moan. He pumped her furiously in a desperate race to completion. Every thrust sent shocks of pleasure through her body and created sparkles behind her shut eyes. 

Somehow, between the pulses of heat that throbbed through her, she was able to remember the door had no lock. On the other side of that door was a growing crowd of people, and at any moment, anyone could walk in and find them rutting like animals in the middle of the floor. The wantonness of it added to the thrill. She came hard, clenching around his shaft and grunting back a wail.
 
He pulled her hips back and buried his cock deep in her. She shuddered and balled her hands into fists as her orgasm peaked, then slowly subsided.
 
Her breath had not yet slowed when she remembered she was supposed to be pleasing him, not the other way around. 
 
He pushed her off of him and sat in the nearest chair. “Finish me,” he ordered hoarsely.

CONTEST: Ms. Duncan is giving away an ecopy to one lucky winner! Comment below to enter. Contest ends Feb. 14th.

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F/F - Novel
TBR reviewer: B.H.

When Dani meets the delicate beauty that is Carmen she knows instantly that she wants her—in her life and in her bed. But can Miss. Commitment-phobic look beyond the sex to see the woman beneath?

To Carmen, the wildly beautiful Dani is a new and exciting friend. What she hadn't
counted on is the simmering desire she feels when in Dani's presence. As her
relationship with her boyfriend sours, Carmen begins to wonder if there is more
to Dani than she realizes.

Should she give in to this, the most forbidden of desires?

This will be my first f/f novel. I’ve read novellas and short stories a while ago
but I’m interested to see how the genre has progressed. 

Other than it being two women the story is pretty straight forward and common. At
least, that’s what I thought at first. I would have lost a million dollars on
that bet. Ms. Yeakle clearly knows her stuff and is talented enough to write it
with class. 

Her writing has effortless flow. The characters were very well written and I could
clearly see them walking past me in real life. Now for the f/f intimacy –
smoking hot but with a touch of sensual sizzle that really brings the scenes
together. I am very impressed by how smoothly this read. The budding
relationship between Dani and Carmen was beautifully written. Well except for
the whole peanut butter on toast thing...that’s just a very strange combination,
lol. 

The only issue I have is the editing. The run-on sentences to start with. I hate
them, they drive me absolutely freakin’mad and there’s a lot of them in here.
There's a comma overload! Normally, this wouldn’t hurt the overall rating but it sticks out like a sore thumb when reading and really hinders the story.

With those issues, I thought for sure Forbidden Desires would get a 4. I kept reading and the characters became deeper. They seemed to leap from the page and unfold around me. I wanted to know what would happen between Dani and Carmen. I wanted David to get lost and realize what a wonderful woman he’d been ignoring. This book became a romance that bloomed like a rose in the winter. 

If you’ve never read a f/f novel give this a try. If you have, read this! Forbidden Desires is well worth your time.

Carmen stepped out of the dressing room in the long silky skirt and peasant top Dani picked out for her. Dani sat on the bench people used to try on shoes and smiled wickedly as she imagined how the dark purple material would feel against her legs when she took Carmen dancing.

 “What do you think?” Carmen stood staring at herself in the mirror, waiting for Dani’s opinion.

“I think you look great.” Dani moved to pull the shirt down off her shoulders.

“There, that’s better. You look good in purple.”

 “Really?” Carmen turned and stuck her butt out, brushing it against Dani’s pelvis. “You sure it doesn’t make my ass look huge?”

 Dani smacked Carmen lightly on the rump and stepped back. “Go take that off and try on the black dress.” She thought of pushing Carmen inside the dressing room and having her way with her. Too many thoughts of that nature were filling her mind, so she moved quickly to sit back on the bench to put distance between them. The black dress would show way more skin, and Dani knew she needed to stay put. Touching her again, even playfully, would only increase the arousal she was already feeling.

 When the dressing room door opened and Carmen stepped out in the tiny baby doll dress with matching black stilettos, Dani was rendered speechless. She looked amazing. The length of the dress paired with the height of the heels made her short legs look longer, and Dani’s eyes moved slowly up them to where the bottom hem of the dress lay against her upper thigh.

“Wow.” Keeping still on the bench, Dani looked her in the eye. “That’s the one.”

“You don’t think it’s too short?” Carmen pulled at the dress, attempting to move it further down her legs. Dani could tell the length made her a bit uncomfortable, but the dress simply suited her.

“No, I think it’s sexy.” Carmen walked over and turned so Dani could see the back which was fully open except the thin ribbon crisscrossing along her skin. “What are you doing?”

 Carmen sat beside her on the bench, close enough their bodies were touching, and crossed her legs. “Seeing how much it rides up when I sit down.”

 Dani was enjoying their time together, but it was making her crazy to touch without being able to really feel. “Go in and take that off. I’ll have them bag it up for you while you change.”

Dani glanced back at the dressing room as she made her way to the cashier. Something was different about Carmen. She didn’t seem as shy and she was definitely flirting. Dani didn’t want to read into it too much, but it was exciting to think that Carmen was interested in taking their friendship to the next level.

Ms. Yeakle is giving away an ecopy to one lucky winner! To enter comment below. Contest ends October 7th.