Samantha Kane

The Courage to Love is a M/M/F erotic romance ostensibly set in the Regency era. Jason Randall, an earl of some sort, and Anthony Richards are veterans of the Napoleonic wars and formed an especially close friendship while serving together. With the war over, they return to London to propose marriage to Katherine Collier, a widow of a comrade of theirs. Kate, however, was forced to become a mistress after her husband's death, with traumatic results, and refuses to give up her hard earned show more independence easily.

The book has so many flaws, I wonder whether I read the same book as those who gave it five stars.

The most glaring flaw is a lack of sexual tension. Maybe it's a matter of opinion, but erotic romance should not merely be a romance with crudely worded, frequent sex scenes. It should be a romance where the sex plays an integral part in the conflict that drives the plot. I still want to see tension built up. A book where 80% of the action is sex builds no tension and leaves nothing to the imagination. Every itch was immediately scratched.

For a book with as much sex as this one has, it was incredibly unerotic. The language was appalling. It wasn't the obscenity that got me, it was the absurd purple prose. If I never see "rampant erection," "nether lips" or see vaginal lubrication referred to as "cream" again, it would be too soon. Newsflash erotic fiction authors: if a woman's vaginal moisture is opaque and whitish enough to be compared to dairy products, it means the poor girl has some sort of infection. Yeast infections are not sexy.

For a regency the language and attitudes were absurdly modern. Kate and her 16 year old niece Veronica have an absurdly modern relationship where Veronica is privy to, and accepting of, her aunt's sexual hijinks. The dialog sounds like something you'd hear on the streets of today and she makes a mess of the English title system. It is very much a wallpaper historical.

In the end, I finished the book only as a compulsion. The increasingly boring sex scenes got skimmed and I failed to make any emotional connection to the players. I was as invested in the characters' feeling as I would be in a porn star's, which is to say, not at all. show less

Calling the Play by Samantha Kane
Book #2: Birmingham Rebels Series
Source: Purchase
My Rating: 5/5 stars
My Review:

Like damn-near everyone else playing for the Birmingham Rebels, Ty Oakes is on his last chance. Make no mistake, he’s a solid player, but when he’s all up in his own head, his game suffers. Lately, Ty has been all kinds of up in his head and if he doesn’t get it together, he’s going to be out of a job. As far as Ty’s concerned, the best way to get out of his own head is show more to get into someone else . . . . . bar and a hook up it is.

When Ty walks into the admittedly sketchy as hell bar, he sure doesn’t expect to become involved in a high-speed car chase with a super-hot, foul-mouthed cop. What he expects even less is the spectacularly hot sex he and Randi have and her totally guy-like attitude toward the no-strings-attached thing. In fact, though Ty had been looking for a hook-up, he is surprised by his connection to Randi and instantly realizes he wants more than a one-night stand with her. He just has to convince Randi a relationship is a thing she can do.

Brian Mason has known Ty Oakes since college. Since he was a college trainer, Brian has built a reputation as the man who can get into a player’s head and get he and his game back on track. Brian’s first success story (and huge personal failure) was Ty and now that they’re both with the Birmingham Rebels, Brian is hoping to set a lot of thing straight. First up on the list, convincing Ty he was so very wrong to let him go all those years ago. Yeah, they were an item, along with Brian’s ex-wife, and everyone on campus knew of their love of sharing a woman. Though Brian isn’t hopeful they can recreate such an arrangement twice in a lifetime, he is hopeful they can recreate what they had as a pair. What Brian doesn’t count on is Randi and his attraction to her.

Randi isn’t just interested in Brian and Ty, she is completely turned on by the idea of the two and three of them together. What she can’t wrap her brain around is a proper relationship where feelings and emotions are involved. Randi has never had a proper, grown up relationship and the thought of such a thing freak her out so much, she runs. Though Ty has sadly come to accept he is not worth the effort of a long-term relationship, Brian isn’t so easily dissuaded. With both feet and a heart wide open, Brian dives in and cleverly brings he, Ty, and Randi together as a real couple. The ride is wildly sexy and there are certainly some bumps in the road along the way, but every obstacle is worth the end result.

The Bottom Line: Here’s the thing about the Birmingham Rebels series, if you simply accept the unusually high rate of threesomes as totally normal to this fictional world, you’re going to get a great deal more enjoyment out of these reads. I liked Calling the Play even more than Broken Play, and it’s because of the somewhat unusual nature of the people who populate this world. It is clear from the beginning of book one, that the men and women who populate this world are on their last chance, they are the men and women their world doesn’t know what else to do with, but just can’t seem to let go of either. The men and women of the Birmingham Rebels are interesting and outspoken, sexy and a bit wild, and determined to live their lives according to their own wishes and desires. I, for one, am damn glad they have decided to do so. show less

Broken Play by Samantha Kane
Book #1: Birmingham Rebels Series
Source: Purchase
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
My Review:

Everyone in the NFL, hell, the world, knows the Birmingham Rebels is the last stop before a player is done. Birmingham is a new franchise with two terrible years behind them and a rag tag bunch of players who have done everything from offend the entire NFL to be arrested for a variety of offenses. Yeah, these boys know they have one shot left and if they can’t get their shit show more together, even their last chance is going to be gone.

Everyone in the NFL knows where Cass Zielinski goes, Beau Perez goes. Cass is a dominant man with a love of threesomes. His preferred partners are Beau and a woman of their choosing. Thanks to a leaked sex tape, the whole world knows their preferences which is just one of the reasons they have both ended up in Birmingham. Though they now keep a lowish profile, Cass and Beau can’t deny their sexual desires and they’re both ready for something more permanent than a one-night stand. Additionally, though neither is ready to admit it aloud, they also want more with one another.

Birmingham is more than a last stop for players, it’s also the end of the road for some of the staff. Marian Treadwell survived a near-gang rape early in her coaching career and since that night, she has denied her desires. After all, it was her desire for a threesome that got her into trouble in the first place. Marian sees Birmingham as a fresh start, but from the moment she meets them, Beau and Cass threaten her resolve. They are both massive, strong men, who take their place on the team seriously, and their interest in her even more seriously. Beau is the “softer” of the two men and often must rein Cass in where Marian is concerned. It is Beau who breaks down Marian’s barriers and where Beau goes, Cass goes.

Beau and Cass are clear in their intentions toward Marian, but they know she is keeping a huge secret that is keeping her from giving herself fully to them. Additionally, Beau and Cass need to clear the air about their feelings and intentions toward one another. For everyone to get what they want, extreme measures need to taken and Cass and Beau have just the right idea to help everyone (and a few select others!) involved. It’s a wild idea, but it all goes well, at least three members of the Birmingham Rebels will have a bit more stability in their lives and that’s something the team desperately needs.

The Bottom Line: Holy Hannah was I surprised by this book!! I loved this book and have no shame in saying so 😊 Broken Play has a little bit of everything: misfits, romance, some good kink, and a cast of supporting characters that is going to carry this series for a good long while. Beau and Cass are solid characters with just enough darkness in their respective pasts to make them quite interesting. Marian is much the same which makes her a good match for Beau and Cass. The plot is infused with sex, sexual innuendo, and sexual tension, but it all makes sense to the plot. The characters are fully-developed with backstories that are interesting and twisted which makes them all the more fun to read. The dialogue is strong and carries the story and enhances each of the characters. The plot moves swiftly which makes this a quick read. The only small complaint I have about this read is how abruptly it ends, an issue I hope is worked out in future installments of the series. show less

Scandalous charm!

Lately there has been quite a swathe of regency romances that are taking on issues to do with the treatment of women at that time. Particularly to do with wives as property and no rights, leaving them open for domestic abuse.
This novel is another such using this background for the story's thrust.
Eleanor Enderby flees from her abusive husband not once, but three times. In her latest attempt she hides out for three months before landing on her sister's doorstep dressed as a show more youth. She arrives at the same time as Sir Hilary St.John, a suave man about town and entirely eligible parti.
Hil actually spends his time covering up for the Prince Regent when necessary, helping out the Bow Street Runners and at times and taking on investigative requests when interested enough in the problem to seek out the information needed. Eleanor and Hil's attraction is immediate. The relationship that develops between them is not approved of by society. Indeed it fast approaches scandalous and is mentioned in the gossip rags.
However, there is more immediate danger afoot. Eleanor's husband declares her dead and produces a body as proof. He remarries. Is Eleanor safe or will her dreadful, abusive husband find her? What then?
I really liked the lead characters. Hil is a delightful and intelligent leading man. Eleanor is a determined soul looking to make herself anew. I love their frequent quoting of sonnets and ridiculous little by-plays with each other. Their very passionate relationship is decidedly a centrepiece of the story and we are often silent witnesses in the boudoir. I should take a leaf out of Hil's loyal staff's book and not comment.
An intoxicating and enjoyable read.

A NetGalley ARC show less