Marked by Lauren Dane, Vivian Arend, and Kit Rocha

Marked - Kit Rocha book by 2/10/14 blog

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Published: 2/10/14

Reviewed by Anne

305 ebook pages

I'm going to break this down into the 3 stories and review them separately.  As a whole I give the anthology an A.  It's rare to have all the stories in a collection work for me like these did!  I highly recommend it, and the authors' note in my ARC says that the ebook will be on sale for $2.99 until the end of February, when the price will go up to $4.99.  This book is a steal at $2.99!   I came away with 2 new series I want to follow and a great installment to Beyond, which I already loved.

Beyond Temptation by Kit Rocha

Grade: B+

Genre: Dystopian
Series: Beyond 3.5

Note: I really think you need to read this series in order to get the most out of it.  If you haven't read it yet, go back to the start and read Beyond Shame - you won't regret it!

So, Noah is not from Sector Four, but he's doing some work that brings him under Dallas' radar and he's being brought into the gang.  He's also looking forward to and dreading seeing Emma, little sister to his best friend.  They haven't seen or talked to each other in years, and there's some history between them.  Emma always had a crush on him, and he had feelings for her, but he's got some secrets hidden that he doesn't want her to know about.  He's also having some issues seeing her as the strong and independent woman she is now, since his memories are full of her as a naive and innocent girl.

It's a short story, so the main source of conflict is Noah's big secret.  I don't enjoy secrets.  The best thing about this one was the way Emma handled it when she found out.  She's a strong woman and one who is offended at people trying to protect her by keeping secrets.  That was awesome!  Sector Four women in general are awesome, though!  

In other good news, Noah is a red head and likes dirty sex.  It turns out Emma does, too, and we get a lot of it.  This wasn't my favorite in the Beyond series, but it still rates a B+.  They are all just so good!

Rocky Ride by Vivan Arend

Grade: B+

Genre: Contemporary, small town
Series: Thompson & Sons #1

Anna is a straitlaced cop with a good reputation.  Mitch is a mechanic with a biker look to him.  They've been meeting on the down low for sex, but he wants to push her for an actual relationship.  Their small town has some small minds that see biker and think criminal.  Mitch has to convince Anna to give their relationship a chance.

This story starts out with one of the hottest opening scenes I've read in a long time.  It's a great start to a solid story.  Watching Anna relax and let her guard down made for a good read.  I got very frustrated at the choices Mitch was making toward the end of the story, but then Arend redeemed herself by having Anna really call Mitch out for his choices!  

The weak point in the story was the prejudice against bikers, or rough looking tattooed guys.  I haven't ever really considered that as a big deal - but maybe I just don't understand?  In any case, I just went with it and it worked.

The sex was hot, the heroine was independent and strong.  I loved it!

All That Remains by Lauren Dane

Grade: A

Genre: Dystopian, Triad*, futuristic
Series: Metamorphosis #1

Set in a post-plague future, which Dane describes on her website as not dystopian (and I agree) Summer meets a new man in her village, Charlie.  Summer isn't too surprised when Charlie mentions he has a partner (in the physical sense) but she's shocked when she meets him and it's Hatch, her first love.  Summer and Hatch may still have feelings for each other, but there's a lot of history between them and it's not all good.  The three of them have a lot to work through if they want to make a commitment to each other.

This story was all the best of the Lauren Dane Brown Siblings/Delicious books I love, set in an interesting future where women are only a small portion of the population and very valued.  Summer is another strong woman who is sure of herself and doesn't need a man (or men) to complete her.  She's not ashamed of her sexuality - that was refreshing to read!  

Really my only complaint about this story was the overuse of the phrase "raining honey" which pulled me out of the story every time it came up.  Other than that, everything worked for me and I can't wait to read more!

*Note - I used to mark any book with a 3 person (or more scene) as a "ménage" book.  I'm now using ménage for an uncommitted encounter(s) and triad for a story about the committed relationship between 3 people.