We are so excited to be bringing you the release of EXQUISITE TASTE by J.D. Hollyfield. If you love your romance with a side of naughty humor, then this is the book for you–be sure to grab your copy today!
About EXQUISITE TASTE
He was a dare she couldn’t walk away from.
She was a game he was determined to win.
Jensen Stone was thriving in her first year of college. So thirsty for success she could already taste the achievements on her lips. Nothing would get in the way of her dreams, not even the social pressures of pledging. Until one night, she finds herself in the lion’s den of sorority row, accepting a dare she knew she couldn’t complete.
Damien Cross was bored. He no longer craved the dominance and control he had swirling in the palms of his powerful hands. He was determined to walk away from the empire he’d spent the last ten years building. What he didn’t factor in was the unexpected distraction. He might be angry at her inconvenient timing, but the urge to break the new toy dangling in front of him was all consuming. It wouldn’t hurt to play one last time.
One night. His rules.
Will she obey his demands to fulfill a dare?
Or will she realize his dark tastes are anything but exquisite?
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I caress the bare flesh of her neck with my thumb, my voice dropping an octave. “Tell me, what would you do if I pushed you against this door, pressed my lips here…” I press into the spot just below her ear. “And stroke my tongue exactly where your pulse is beating erratically?”
I take a slow step toward her, closing the gap between us, and she retreats one step back. “You know what that means?” I press harder over her vein. “The way your heart rate has picked up? The way all five senses yell danger, yet your endorphins are letting off a hormonal sensor that screams curiosity even louder. You’re not one of those girls, but the fact that you haven’t bothered to fight me off yet tells me you may want to be.”
Her lips part and I get the sudden desire to shove my tongue inside her mouth. I take another step forward and get the pleasure of her body pressed against mine. I smile at her loss of confidence as she gasps, realizing her mistake. She shuffles back, and I follow step for step until her back hits the door and I have her cornered. My head dips and goose bumps rise over her skin beneath my fingertips as my warm breath coasts along her flesh.
“I’ve had my hand around your neck for over a minute and a half now,” I whisper against her earlobe. “You haven’t even screamed for help, nor tried to fight me off. Haven’t even shown a bit of defiance for someone who isn’t into ‘sick petting shit.’” I end with my mouth a hairsbreadth from her neck, her pulse so erratic, I almost feel the vibrations on my lips. Her breath quickens. If I wanted to take this farther, she’d let me. No questions asked.
But she’s far from what I need.
Jensen tilts her head slightly to the side, allowing me better access to her neck, and I release her. She stumbles back and falls limp against the door at my brute action, but I don’t bother to help steady her. “As I said, no.” I take a step to the side. “Goodnight, Ms. Jensen.” I reach for the door, enjoying the fire that ignites in her emerald green eyes.
“You…asshole.”
My grip tightens around the handle as my dick rages with need. Twice, she’s had the nerve to speak to me with such a tongue. Her mouth pisses me off, but the thought of punishing her for it turns me red hot.
I need her gone.
I throw the door open, and she jumps. “That I may be, pet, but I’m an asshole who has no room for the plain likes of you. Just as you said, your unlikeliness to survive one night in this club is the reason why applying would be nonsense. Go home, back to your pampered life. Return to whoever allowed you to borrow their dress, which looks horrendous on you, and forget about your silly dare. You’ve wasted enough of my time. Out.”
My words are harsh, but they do the job. I’ve driven her mute. If she’s smart, she’ll stay that way and leave my office. At least read the cold look on my face. No one, even a child like herself, insults me in my own club.
“You can try to offend me all you want, I don’t give a shit. Trust me, you aren’t anything to call home about either.”
I laugh. “I’m deeply wounded, but I haven’t gotten to where I am by being nothing to call home about.”
“Well, you disgust me.” She crosses her arms over her chest, making her breasts more appealing.
“Noted. Out you go.” I place my hand on her back to help her out, but it gets shoved off.
“Do not touch me.”
Strike three. My hand twitches, fighting off the need to grace her ass with a good smack. Teach her a lesson for being so disobedient. “You’re really testing my patience,” I grit out between clenched teeth. “I suggest you leave before I have you escorted out by your hair.”
Her mouth drops instantly. It wasn’t my intention to speak that harshly, but my temper is at its breaking point. If I don’t get her out of my sight, I can’t be responsible for what I might do.
“You know what? With pleasure.” She turns and steps outside my office, spinning back. “Have fun burning in hell, son of Satan.”
“I most certainly will, Ms. Jensen.”
And then my vision of her is cut off by the door slamming in her face. My heart rate picks up, my hands at a small jitter. Lifting my palms, I wipe the stress from my face and walk back to the mirrored window. After a few moments, I see her storm through the crowd, then turn and lift her middle finger to the window. I laugh at her courageousness—which is so unlike me. No one has attempted to speak to me like that in a very long time.
Not three minutes later, a knock sounds as the door opens. “Damien, the girl’s being put in a cab.”
“Good.” I turn away from the window and head toward my desk. “I want to know the location of where she’s dropped off. Then I want to know everything about her.”
“Damien—” Fredrick hesitates, trying to argue, but I cut him off.
“Everything.”
Another book, where I am right down the middle with the rating and for various reasons. But please, in no way, take that as a bad thing.
I love the premise for Exquisite Taste – a young college student, Jensen, enters a sex club on a dare and ends up in the hands of the sex club owner, Damien, eventually landing herself in even deeper water.
Without going into details, or giving you more than what the blurb does, I will just say that Jensen spikes Damien’s curiosity in ways he never expected. And Jensen’s own curiosity and her reactions to certain things, has her looking at things differently.
So here is where I am right down the middle with this one. I loved the added humor that helped with the banter and interactions between Damien and Jensen – it helped with the age barrier and kept the characters more real. There were scenes that I felt were played out perfectly and others that felt too unreal due to Jensen’s naivety with BDSM.
J.D. does a great job of blending the erotic elements with the humor and the suspense. It kept the story moving along and I think helped keeping entertaining. You get the bare minimums on background story on both Damien and Jensen with the focus more on the present; Jensen is learning her true desires while Damien is quickly finding out what he truly wants in life. Then there is the quick ending and how everything comes together – everything just felt rushed in the end.
Overall, this was an ok read, for me. It wasn’t be a top read, but it wasn’t a bad read. I just wasn’t overly wow’d by it or the characters. I think this would be a good book for those who want to dip their toes into BDSM but not get fully into all the aspects and the erotic parts of it.
I have no doubt others will enjoy this book much more than I did. I always consider a 3 star book still a good book to read. I love J.D. and her writing and will continue to read more of her work – I love her story lines and the fact they are never dull.
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About J.D. HOLLYFIELD
J.D. Hollyfield is a creative designer by day and superhero by night. When she’s not cooking, event planning, or spending time with her family, she’s relaxing with her nose stuck in a book. With her love for romance, and her head full of book boyfriends, she was inspired to test her creative abilities and bring her own stories to life. Living in the Midwest, she’s currently at work on blowing the minds of readers, with the additions of her new books and series, along with her charm, humor and HEA’s.
J.D. Hollyfield dabbles in all genres, from romantic comedy, contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, fantasy and erotica! Want to know more! Follow her on all platforms!
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From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kendall Ryan comes a new story in her Whiskey Kisses series…
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.
