Review: Asking for More by Lilah Pace

Series: Asking for It #2.5
Format: Ebook
Rating: 5 Stars
How I Got It: Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotica
Publisher: InterMix

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

Finally sure of each other's strength and love, Jonah and Vivienne continue to explore their darkest fantasies together. However, what should be a night of ecstasy takes a dangerous turn, injuring Vivienne. She shrugs off the incident, but Jonah is haunted by it, particularly by the fear that others may believe he abuses her, or even glimpse the truth of their erotic obsession.

Then Jonah receives a call from his younger sister, Rebecca, who's dealing with trouble of her own in South America. When Vivienne travels with him to aid Rebecca, she learns yet more about his tortured history—and Jonah opens up to Vivienne as never before.

Can Vivienne help Jonah cast off the shadows of his past forever? 

 
Review

I feel like a horrible person for not knowing this was a thing. So, a few minutes after I found out, I bought and read it. And I really enjoyed it. It's a novella and really just a big epilogue which the Lord knows I'm a fan of.

Honestly, it was just really nice to spend time with these characters again. I kind of forgot how much I love them. And there's still an exploration about how fantasies surround non-consensual sex work in a relationship.

This isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's a nice fairly cute read. There are still some dark elements, but the overall tone is fairly light.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books You'd Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed You A Fully Loaded Gift Card

Top 10 Tuesday was created by the Broke and the Bookish. You can find more information here.

Damn this is a topic! There are so many books I want that I don't already own. So, how to narrow it down-Books that would add to my TBR? Books that I've read and just don't own?

Fortunately, I already have a list of the books I want to buy soon so I pulled from that. And I only did ones that are already released. It's primarily romance and new adult, because that's what I'm really into right now.

It's been a long time since I did a Top 10 Tuesday, but in case you were wondering, I put these in no particular order.

So, here's my list.

1) Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton

2) His Royal Secret by Lilah Pace

3) Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

4) Broken Prince by Erin Watt

5) Up in Flames by Abbi Glines

6) The Power by Jennifer L. Armentrout

7) Irresistibly Yours by Lauren Layne

8) Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

9) Bittersweet by Sarina Bowen

10) Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Review: Begging for It by Lilah Pace

Series: Asking for It Book #2

Format: Ebook

Rating: 5 Stars

How I Got It: Purchased

Genre: Erotica, Romance, Contemporary, Trigger Warnings

Publisher: Berkley

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

Some secrets should only be shared in the dark.

Jonah and Vivienne’s erotic bond—living out raw scenarios of captivity and force—began as no-strings sex between strangers who shared the same desires. Now the intimacy between them is turning into love, but it’s a love built on fantasies so extreme that exploring them makes guilt inescapable. But the risks they're taking are far more dangerous than they'd imagined.

A stalker is terrorizing the city, and one of Jonah’s ex-lovers names him as a potential suspect to the police. Standing by a man under suspicion could cost Vivienne everything. But when Jonah’s stepfather takes advantage of the scandal to seize control of the Marks family fortune, Vivienne is drawn into her lover’s broken family and twisted past. Only then will she learn how dark the truth really is...  

Review

This was a great companion to the first book, but I did like the first one a little bit more. I actually didn’t know where this was going to go and I’m pleased with what Lilah Pace did. So much of the story is about Vivienne and Jonah facing the challenges of having a relationship.

She continued to explore rape fantasies and the effect they have on the people involved. I also continue to enjoy Vivienne’s interactions with her therapist. And she had a lot of growth and acceptance of herself.

Jonah did annoy me a little bit. Sometimes he got a little too I have to protect you from myself and I’m not a huge fan of that type of behavior. Seeing his family/siblings was very fun and showed different parts of his character.

I guess I don’t have much to say. The first book had a huge impact on me and I had so much to say. But this one didn’t have the same effect. I do recommend the series if you don’t mind sexual content and the depiction of acted out non-consensual sex. There are definitely some serious trigger warnings on this one.

Thanks for reading!

Book Review: Asking for It by Lilah Pace

Series: Asking for It Book #1

Format: Ebook

Rating: 5 Stars

How I Got It: Purchased

I just finished this and I feel like I won’t be able to move onto another book unless I get my thoughts out. I went into this unsure if I would like it or not, but with an open-minded. Some things did make me uncomfortable, but I still greatly enjoyed it.

The book is very clear that this contains rape and fantasies that surrounding lack of consent. But in case you found this review without seeing that: please be WARNED.

I know some people don’t like that Vivienne is a rape victim who has rape fantasies, because they wonder why can’t someone just have a kink? I get that opinion, but I find it refreshing to have a female victim of sexual assault that doesn’t just shut out all men. Everyone is different and no way of coping is particularly wrong.

This book is told in first person. I’ve been clear that I’m not a fan, but it completely works. I think it’s because so much of this story is psychological and the reason I liked it so much is how deeply I was able to get in her head. And I like her as a character. She’s funny and I appreciate her outlook on life.

And the side characters are developed perfectly. They are fully formed people and create a new family for Vivienne. I recently read a review of Pitch Perfect 2 (on Smart Bitches Trashy Books)-I think it was by Redheaded Girl. She talked about it being about a found family. To me, that’s what this story has and I’m realizing I love that kind of story.

Let’s discuss the sex. There is a lot of it and it is very descriptive. I feel like sex can often serve as a characterization tool and that’s very true here. In a lot of ways I learned more about these characters because of how they acted and reacted during different sexual situations. Especially when it comes to Jonah-I had some real epiphanies about him during these scenes.

And Ms. Pace was incredibly respectful. I never questioned if Vivienne was fully consensual and that is probably the most important thing for this story to work. She also makes Vivienne and Jonah have 

open/honest conversations about what they do and do not want. You know, like healthy adults should have.

This book is not for everyone. And if you would even come close to being triggered by this material I would stay away. But if you can read this kind of content I suggest at least giving it a try.

I’m very excited for the next book. Like, I can’t wait. And I want to know who Lilah Pace is so I can read more books by her.

Thanks for reading!