ARC Review: Cherished by Maya Banks and Lauren Dane

Cherished

by Maya Banks and Lauren Dane

(Delicious # 1)

Book Overview

Both these stories are contemporary BDSM erotic romances.  As a whole I enjoyed the book, but definitely one more than the other.  Ms. Dane is kicking off a new series with Sway.  I'm not sure if Maya Banks will continue writing a series after Exiled or if it's a standalone.

Exiled by Maya Banks - 3 Stars

I was extremely excited to read this story, then I started reading and... well, I wasn't so excited anymore.  From the very beginning I felt like I couldn't connect to this story.  Briefly, the premise is of a girl that used to work in a palace.  The prince of said palace took a liking to her after seeing her just a few times and talking to her in passing only once.  When politics go to hell in the country and his family is forced to leave, he finds refuge in a beautiful island but he has his "people" make an arrangement with the girl that she will get an education and treatment for her sick mother in France, but when Prince Alexander wants, he will collect on that debt.  That right there annoyed the crap out of me!  So then yes he collects, but he has the nerve to collect by having her have sex with not only him but 3 other guys.  Yes count them... FOUR men.  Then the story gets going and there is a lot of sex, some that I should've been getting into, but I just couldn't.  I don't know if the dynamic of the m/m/m/m/f was not working for me as it should, or the fact of how it all came to be bothered me.  I can't put my finger on it.  I did enjoy some scenes and parts of this book, but overall I struggled reading this story and took me forever to finish it.

Sway by Lauren Dane - 4 Stars

I am soooooo excited that we are getting a spin-off of the Brown Siblings!  I love how the characters are always artsy, tattooed, pierced and just not your average Joe or Mary.  The Delicious series will basically follow the women that we met during Never Enough, Gillian's friends.  First up is Daisy.  She's a beautiful latina, she's a part time dance instructor and a full time artist who works alongside her grandmother in their own shop.  She's not the typical woman you would think a well to do man would want to bring home to meet the parents.  She's outspoken, she has a lot of tattoos, and some piercings in interesting places.  She's also young.  All this is going through Levi's head when he meets Daisy and faith keeps putting her in his path.  Their attraction was instant!  They accidentally meet at a dance class and sparks start flying in all directions.  Levi has a bit of a dark and repressed past.  Things he had to deal with from his ex-wife and his family.  And then there's the issue of him being older than her.  There are many things I liked about this story.  Obviously the connection between the characters made the whole "couple" believable.  They were obviously perfect for each and incredibly compatible.  I also LOVED Daisy.  I fell in love with all of Gillian's friends in Never Enough and I can honestly say I still adore them.  Daisy is no exception.  She takes life by the balls and does what she wants.  And instead of overthinking the whys she shouldn't be with Levi she kept moving forward and doing what her heart told her to.  I also really liked that she didn't jump into bed with him right away.  The respect she has for herself sets her apart from every other woman Levi has known before.  What got a little on my nerves was Levi.  Yes, his attitude made sense for who he was and what he'd been through in his life.  That doesn't mean I had to like it.  Other than that he was extremely hot, especially when he let go of his preconceptions and let his wild side free. ;)  As a reader of the Brown Siblings series I loved all the cameos and I think I see a setup for one of the girls in this upcoming series with maybe one of Levi's brothers.  It might happen.  I am definitely excited to read TART.

*ARC provided by publisher

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