Contemporary Authors

• Hate to Want You: Forbidden Hearts - 2017 Avon, https://smile.amazon.com/Hate-Want-You-Forbidden-Hearts/dp/0062566733/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_1_twi_mas_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-1
• Hurts to Love You: Forbidden Hearts - 2018 Avon , https://smile.amazon.com/Hurts-Love-You-Forbidden-Hearts/dp/0062566768/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_2_twi_mas_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-2
• Wrong to Need You: Forbidden Hearts - 2017 Avon, https://smile.amazon.com/Wrong-Need-You-Forbidden-Hearts/dp/006256675X/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_3_twi_mas_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-3
• Serving Pleasure (Pleasure Series) (Volume 2 - 2015 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, https://smile.amazon.com/Serving-Pleasure-2-Alisha-Rai/dp/1518710107/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_4_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-4
• A Gentleman in the Street - 2015 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform , https://smile.amazon.com/Gentleman-Street-Alisha-Rai/dp/1514616955/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_5_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-5
• Glutton for Pleasure (The Pleasure Series) (Volume 1) - 2015 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, https://smile.amazon.com/Glutton-Pleasure-1-Alisha-Rai/dp/1514147181/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_6_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-6
• Cabin Fever - 2010 Samhain Publishing , https://smile.amazon.com/Cabin-Fever-Alisha-Rai/dp/1605047694/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_8_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-8
• Be My Fantasy (The Fantasy Series) (Volume 1) - 2017 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, https://smile.amazon.com/Be-My-Fantasy-1/dp/1548839310/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_9_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-9
• Risk & Reward: Book Two of the Billionaire Bedroom Games Series - 2013 Amazon Digital Services LLC , https://smile.amazon.com/Risk-Reward-Billionaire-Bedroom-Games-ebook/dp/B00EBY0ZKQ/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_10_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-10
• Stay My Fantasy (The Fantasy Series Book 2) - 2016 Amazon Digital Services LLC, https://smile.amazon.com/Stay-My-Fantasy-Book-ebook/dp/B01H2PFGYK/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_11_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-11
• Waiting For Her (The Karimi Siblings Book 2) - 2015 Amazon Digital Services LLC, https://smile.amazon.com/Waiting-Her-Karimi-Siblings-Book-ebook/dp/B012X78XSS/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_12_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897327&sr=1-12
• Bet On Me: Book Three of the Billionaire Bedroom Games Series - 2014 Amazon Digital Services LLC , https://smile.amazon.com/Bet-Me-Three-Billionaire-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B00JK2PXXS/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_13_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897458&sr=1-13
• Falling For Him (The Karimi Siblings Book 1) - 2015 Amazon Digital Services LLC , https://smile.amazon.com/Falling-Him-Karimi-Siblings-Book-ebook/dp/B00WTWI44G/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_14_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897458&sr=1-14
• Never Have I Ever - 2016 Amazon Digital Services LLC , https://smile.amazon.com/Never-Have-Ever-Alisha-Rai-ebook/dp/B01M14O41Z/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_15_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897458&sr=1-15
• Night Whispers (ShadowLands) - 2013 Samhain Publishing , https://smile.amazon.com/Night-Whispers-ShadowLands-Alisha-Rai/dp/1619215039/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_17_twi_pap_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897458&sr=1-17
• Play With Me (Bedroom Games) (Volume 1) - 2015 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, https://smile.amazon.com/Play-Me-Bedroom-Games-1/dp/1514755858/ref=la_B0059W5FCC_1_16_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529897458&sr=1-16

• Alisha Rai - http://www.alisharai.com/about-the-author/

  About the Author

  Alisha RaiAlisha Rai writes award-winning emotionally complex contemporary romance novels and is frequently sought as a speaker on a range of topics covering romance and media.

  She is the first author to have an indie-published book appear on Washington Post’s annual Best Books list. Her books have also been named Best Books of the Year by NPR, Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, Kirkus, Bustle, and Cosmopolitan Magazine and her novels have won the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for erotic and contemporary romance. When she’s not writing, Alisha is traveling and tweeting.

  For inquiries, comments, etc., please contact Alisha directly via email or @ her on Twitter.

• Shondaland - https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/books/a13123520/alisha-rai-writing-sex-consent-women-of-color-romance/

  Getting Steamy with Author Alisha Rai

  The romance novelist talks sex positivity, consent, and the ever-importance of inclusion in publishing.
  By Jessica Luther
  Nov 6, 2017
  Alisha Rai / Avon Books

  Alisha Rai knew from a young age, back when she was still writing "Nancy Drew" and "Hardy Boys" fanfic, that she wanted to be a romance novelist. Since then, the lawyer-by-day has published more than a dozen books, often featuring non-white heroes and heroines — a rarity in romance novels. Rai herself is a woman of color, another striking rarity in this blockbuster genre. According to a recent report by the Ripped Bodice, the sole romance-only book store in the U.S., "for every 100 books published by leading romance publishers in 2016, only 7.8 were written by people of color."

  One of the things that I really like to see in the romances I read... is a woman getting what she wants, whatever that means.

  It was Rai's 2014 "A Gentleman in the Street" that put her on the map for many romance readers — this reader included. Her incredibly sexy books are also beautiful character studies that, as her website tagline suggests, bring "all the heat, all the heart." Her latest, the "Forbidden" series, is a gripping family saga told across three books. The first, "Hate to Want You," which came out in August, follows Nicholas and Livvy, a couple who grew up together and then fell in love until a big family fallout drove them apart and Livvy moved away. "Hate To Want You" starts with Livvy's dramatic return. "Wrong to Need You," the second book in the trilogy, is out later this month.

  I recently caught up with Rai — as both a fan and a friend — to talk about what she loves in romance novels, how she writes all those sexy scenes and characters, and how consent, sexiness, and race intersect in her work.

  Jessica Luther: How did you go from being an attorney to also writing romance novels?

  Alisha Rai: I started [writing] when I was 13 years old, and it was just always a part of my life. I wanted to write a romance from the time I was 18. I think I always knew this is what I wanted to do.

  I went to law school, it was fun, and I really loved it. Even if I got millions and millions of dollars, I don't know if I would ever quit law, because I really do love it. I feel better having my brain in two different areas, to have the creative part and also the logical, rational part.

  For me, what sex positivity means is that people should just do what feels good for them.

  JL: What makes a romance novel good?

  AR: One of the things that I really like to see in the romances I read — if we're talking about particularly heterosexual romances — is a woman getting what she wants, whatever that means. If that's career, if that's family, whatever. If it’s good sex that you want, you get good sex. Marriage, if you want marriage. If you want to be really good at your job, you should be able to be really good at your job and not have somebody knock you down for that.

  And then, tied in with a happily ever after, the hope that everyone can be loved no matter what it is about them that makes them think maybe they shouldn't be happy.
  "Wrong to Need You," "Serving Pleasure," and "Glutton for Pleasure."
  Alisha Rai

  JL: Your books are very sexy. How do you know as an author that your hero or heroine is sexy? How do you make sexy characters?

  AR: I think sex positivity is really important, as a person and as an author. And I think a lot of people interpret that to mean "Women should have lots of sex." But for me, what sex positivity means is that people should just do what feels good for them. And as long as it's consensual and you're adults and all of those caveats apply, if you're honoring your own desire, that's good, and that's positive. And if that means abstaining from sex, that's fine. If that means having lots as one, that's fine too.

  When I write the scenes, in my head, if both characters aren't finding it sexy, it's not sexy to me. I don't want to write it, and I don't think it'll be sexy to readers.

  I think "Gentleman" [on the Street] is probably my sexiest book, and I've had people say to me "Oh, I would never, I don't read books with multiple partners, it's over the top, but ['Gentleman'] was really hot." And I was like, "well, good." It means even if you don't normally read that, or if you don't normally or personally find any of that sexy, that means I did my job. I went deep enough in the character point of view that you picked up on their sexiness, and that helps you find the book hot, too.
  "Hate to Want You," "A Gentleman in the Street," and "Stay My Fantasy."
  Alisha Rai

  JL: On that note, how do you bring consent into how you write sexy scenes?

  AR: When I'm writing, I'm very conscious of whose point of view I'm in, and who's holding the power. And if it's a man and a woman and the man is in the dominant position in whatever way, I'll write it from her point of view, just to show that her head's fully engaged and she's consenting. I think it's important from a craft perspective to make it very clear in whatever way you can that [both characters] are digging it.

  JL: You're a woman of color, and you often write characters of color, but we live in a society that very often equates sexiness with whiteness. White people are given a much broader spectrum of sexy, and certainly the romance genre itself has deficits when it comes to both authors and characters of color. Does all of this have an impact on how you think about sexiness and consent with your characters?

  AR: I've actually talked about this with my friends — the ones that are women of color — and we talked about how sex positivity and sexiness can vary from culture to culture, and how it can mean different things for different women (men as well, but we're talking specifically about women) depending what your background is and how you were raised and various other things.

  At some point readers will think, Maybe women of color are just like white women.

  My first book ever was “Glutton for Pleasure” and it [had] a ménage [à trois]. The heroine in that is Indian-American, and I remember I used to get quite a few emails and reviews. [Readers] would say things like "I don't buy this because an Indian woman would never have a ménage." Invariably the person saying it would not be Indian. And they'd review other ménages that had white women and be like, "five stars." That was like their main complaint with mine, that was their only issue.

  So I thought that was interesting. What does that mean that you're uncomfortable seeing a woman of another color owning her sexuality, but you applaud it when it's a white woman? And the emails and reviews and letters I've gotten from Indian-American women, they're always like, "Thanks for writing this. It's the first time I've read a sexy book with an Indian-American heroine." We don't have a ton of them because there's not a ton of us writing. And that sort of trickled through my other books: "Oh thank you for writing this, because we don't really have this."
  "Bet On Me," "Risk & Reward," and "Play with Me."
  Alisha Rai

  JL: Do you just not think about the haters as you are crafting stories?

  AR: I can't predict what pre-conceived emotions people have about different ethnicities, but I know for a fact that someone from whatever ethnicity I'm writing, or whatever race I'm writing, is reading my book. I know that somebody who sees themselves in my characters is reading my book somewhere in the world. So my priority is to not hurt them and to give them a voice.

  I know that somebody who sees themselves in my characters is reading my book somewhere in the world.

  I'm glad even if somebody tells me they don't believe someone from that culture could have sex with two men or have an orgy or whatever. It's important [that] they read the book, and maybe they'll read another one with something similar in it, and at some point they'll think, "Maybe women of color are just like white women. Maybe they come in all different sizes and shapes and wants and needs and whatever makes them happy might be different from woman to woman and maybe everything I have been fed is sort of a lie."

  It’s important for them to see different viewpoints and different things that challenge whatever they're thinking. Even if that means that I get some emails in my inbox. I'm hearty enough that I can withstand that if it means that I'm putting out material that makes people question things in a good way.

  Jessica Luther is an independent journalist and avid romance reader living in Austin, Texas. She is the author of "Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape."
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Print Marked Items
Rai, Alisha: HURTS TO LOVE YOU
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2018): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Rai, Alisha HURTS TO LOVE YOU Avon/HarperCollins (Adult Fiction) $7.99 3, 27 ISBN: 978-0-06-256676-8
A playboy tattoo artist and a beautiful heiress help one another look beneath the labels to find true love.
The third and final installment of Rai's (Wrong to Need You, 2017, etc.) Forbidden Hearts series focuses on Evangeline Chandler, a sheltered heiress with "a princess problem" who yearns to escape the shadow of her family's dynasty and forge her own path as an entrepreneur. Conducting market research by working in disguise as an on-demand private driver has the added benefit of putting Eve in regular proximity to her hard-partying crush, Gabriel Hunter. Gabe is attracted to Eve, but as the tattoo studio-owning son of the Chandlers' housekeeper, he doesn't think he has a chance. When a scheduling mishap puts them together, alone, in the days before a big family wedding, Eve and Gabe get the mental and physical space they need to work on their issues and get to know each other. While their sexual attraction generates heat, their emotions drive the romance. In particular, Eve must come to terms with the impact of her father's emotional abuse. And there's a big secret buried beneath Gabe's public image as a hard-partying playboy. Eve learns Gabe is "a three-dimensional human. Not a perfect flawless cutout she could impose a crush on," and he learns the same about her, making each more, not less, irresistible. Since both protagonists' character arcs involve family sagas that have unfurled over the prior two books in the series, Rai has to walk the line between giving too much and too little backstory. Sometimes the romance plot, sexy as it is, suffers.
A heartfelt, satisfying conclusion to the saga of the Kanes and Chandlers, with a sweet, if slightly shortchanged, romance.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Rai, Alisha: HURTS TO LOVE YOU." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018. Book Review Index Plus,
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http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528959911/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=7e548b66. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A528959911
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Hurts to Love You: Forbidden Hearts, Book 3
Publishers Weekly.
265.6 (Feb. 5, 2018): p48. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Hurts to Love You: Forbidden Hearts, Book 3 Alisha Rai. Avon, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-256676-8
The only thing more romantic than a wedding is the long-awaited consummation of love between two favorite characters in a series, and the enjoyable third installment to Rai's Forbidden Hearts contemporary series serves up both. When the formerly feuding Kane and Chandler clans reunite for a luxurious wedding between Liwy Kane and Nicholas Chandler, Eve, the youngest Chandler sibling, faces several days in the same place as her long-time crush, tattoo artist Gabe Hunter. Little does she know that he's been secretly lusting after her for years. But as the adopted son of the Kane family's hired help, Gabe has never felt worthy of the heiress. It's fun to watch timid Eve come out of her shell and risk exposing her true feelings in the days leading up to the wedding. True to Rai's style, family secrets and surprises add complexity to this strong story about how wealth and privilege can do as much to destroy happiness as to facilitate it. Agent: Steven Axelrod, Axelrod Agency. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Hurts to Love You: Forbidden Hearts, Book 3." Publishers Weekly, 5 Feb. 2018, p. 48. Book
Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526810406/GPS?u=schlager& sid=GPS&xid=8d8130aa. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A526810406
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Wrong to Need You
Amy Alessio
Booklist.
114.4 (Oct. 15, 2017): p30. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Wrong to Need You. By Alisha Rai. Nov. 2017.384p. Avon, paper, $7.99 (9780062566751); e-book (9780062566744).
Jackson hasn't answered years of heartfelt e-mails from his sister-in-law, Sadie, nor did he come home for the birth of his nephew, or for his brother's funeral. That's how hurt he still is from family betrayal in his youth. But now he returns to see his sister and to be with the woman he loves. Sadie is uncomfortable having her former friend around, even though he takes over cooking at her cafe and makes her life easier. She's attracted to Jackson, and his quiet intensity is breaking through the armor of her independence. Jackson confronts his past so that he and Sadie can create a future. Rising-star Rai's (Hate to Want You, 2017) excellent contemporary small- town Forbidden Heart series radiates intelligence and chemistry. The background of family drama adds dimension to the tender love story. Sadie's sister Jai's rebellion against her family's medical-school expectations is a fascinating subplot. Another excellent addition to the popular second-chance romance genre.--Amy Alessio
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Alessio, Amy. "Wrong to Need You." Booklist, 15 Oct. 2017, p. 30. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A512776126/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=d34148f2. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A512776126
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Rai, Alisha: HATE TO WANT YOU
Kirkus Reviews.
(Aug. 1, 2017): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Rai, Alisha HATE TO WANT YOU Avon/HarperCollins (Adult Fiction) $7.99 7, 25 ISBN: 978-0-06-256673-7
After a decade of birthday hookups, a man and woman whose magical love was destroyed by their warring families face their pasts and rediscover one another. First in a series.When tragedy and betrayal ripped apart their families, Nicholas Chandler and Livvy Kane's romance was collateral damage. Nicholas stayed in New York to run the family business while Livvy fled, living a nomadic lifestyle as a tattoo artist. Unable to completely sever their physical connection, they continued to meet once a year for a night of passion in what Livvy calls a "repetitive cycle of pain and desire." But when Livvy returns home to care for her ailing mother, neither disapproving relatives nor the pain of reopening old wounds can keep them away from each other. Rai (Night Whispers, 2013, etc.) approaches her characters with sharpness and sensitivity, deftly establishing Nicholas and Livvy's deep connection in the opening pages. Nicholas' disciplined compartmentalization of his life requires shutting out feelings that would force him to reconsider his choices, while Livvy's tendency to collect unruly emotional baggage is literally written on her skin. Rai is at the forefront of a new wave of romance writers for whom themes of racial and ethnic identity, gender and sexuality, and mental health are not extras but integral to the romance plot because they are necessary for building characters and their worlds. Livvy's experience of depression in particular is authentically portrayed: "Guilt and sadness and darkness were like a fine overlay on her entire life, a veil with the power to tarnish anything good that came her way." A tremendously intriguing cast of secondary characters across three generations includes the couple's siblings, whose stories readers will clamor for. Without ever losing focus on Nicholas and Livvy, Rai shows how porous and mutable the lines between the past and the present, the personal and the familial, the body and the soul really are. A sexy, emotionally intense romance wrapped in a fascinating family saga, this is the complete package: hot, heartbreaking, and supremely satisfying.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Rai, Alisha: HATE TO WANT YOU." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2017. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499572827/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=5e386e12. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A499572827
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Rai, Alisha: WRONG TO NEED YOU
Kirkus Reviews.
(Aug. 15, 2017): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Rai, Alisha WRONG TO NEED YOU Avon/HarperCollins (Adult Fiction) $7.99 11, 28 ISBN: 978-0-06-256675-1
A young widow juggling single motherhood and a small business faces her past and creates a new future when her ex-brother-in-law returns after a decade's absence.The second book in Rai's (Hate to Want You, 2017) Forbidden Hearts series brings Jackson Kane back to the upstate New York town that turned on his family and accused him of arson. Traveling only with what he can stash on his motorcycle, Jackson has become a pop-up chef of international renown, but he can't outrun the pull of his family or the strong feelings he has always had for his brother's widow, Sadia Ahmed. Sadia, the product of a family of physicians, struggles to keep her late husband Paul's cafe afloat while defending her choices to her disapproving but loving parents: "I've tried to be perfect. I've worked really hard at it, and never really quite succeeded...I never get to be...average old me." She may never be able to forgive Jackson, her closest childhood friend, for staying away when she desperately needed support. When Jackson shows up at the bar where Sadia pulls extra shifts to support her young son, her anger and hurt are palpable. But she reluctantly accepts Jackson's offer of help in the cafe while processing her anger and intense attraction to him. Jackson must come to terms with the role his own family played in the tragedy that unfolded years ago. An intensely introverted man who "never turned down a socially acceptable exit," he must find the line between self-preservation and selfishness. He cannot appreciate Sadia's pain until he allows himself to feel his own. A potentially awkward romance between former in-laws is handled with sensitivity, as Rai manages to weave Sadia's marriage into the narrative of her relationship with Jackson in a way that detracts from neither. Another emotional, passionate, and psychologically complex love story in a gripping series that follows the fates of two warring families.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Rai, Alisha: WRONG TO NEED YOU." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2017. Book Review Index
Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500365032/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=34dce2fd. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A500365032
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Rai, Alisha. Hot as Hades
Melanie C. Duncan
Xpress Reviews.
(Sept. 23, 2011): From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2011 Library Journals, LLC http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews- first_look_at_new.html.csp
Full Text:
Rai, Alisha. Hot as Hades. Samhain. Oct. 2011. 84p. eISBN 9781609286286. EPUB $3.50. FANTASY ROMANCE
The Greek myth about Hades and Persephone forms the basis for Rai's latest steamy endeavor. Brooding Hades sits on his throne contemplating the injustice of being considered the worst of the gods simply for ruling the Underworld when his solitude is interrupted by a naked woman dropping out of nowhere to land on his lap. And she's not just any woman, but a goddess who is unknown to Hades and who is rather surprised at her sudden trip to the land of the dead. As expected, the chemistry between Hades and Persephone, aka Sephie, is explosive, and Rai provides a few twists on the myth both to modernize it and remove the incestuous aspect of Hades being Persephone's uncle in the original version. This Sephie is no one's victim, and bad boy Hades is one goddess's dream.
Verdict Rai's (Cabin Fever) revamped myth is a short, sexy romp through the Underworld with a powerful goddess and a misunderstood god. It will appeal to fans of Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Dark- Hunter" and "Dream-Hunter" series, which also reimagine deities of various pantheons.--Melanie C. Duncan, Shurling Lib., Macon, GA
Duncan, Melanie C.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Duncan, Melanie C. "Rai, Alisha. Hot as Hades." Xpress Reviews, 23 Sept. 2011. Book Review
Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A269432788/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=b9af3a39. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A269432788
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Rai, Alisha. Night Whispers
Jennifer Harris
Xpress Reviews.
(Oct. 26, 2012): From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2012 Library Journals, LLC http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews- first_look_at_new.html.csp
Full Text:
Rai, Alisha. Night Whispers. Samhain. Nov. 2012. 345p. eISBN 9781609285449. EPUB $5.50. POSTAPOCALYPTIC ROMANCE
When the Illness infected humans, turning them into the cannibalistic zombie/vampire hybrids called Shadows, the world collapsed into chaos. Jules was lucky to survive and now roams what used to be the West Coast of the United States, looking for survivors and keeping in touch with what remains of the government through her handler, James. Scarred by his past, James hasn't left his underground bunker on the East Coast in years, watching out for his agents by monitoring their vitals and locations through his technology. Although they've never met in person, James and Jules develop a close bond that promises to become something more when Jules suddenly goes missing. James must brave the outside world to rescue his charge and, more importantly, his love.
Verdict Steamy scenes featuring charmingly human characters, witty dialog, and excellent world- building will have any romance reader cheering for Jules and James. The book's unique premise of a long-distance relationship connected by technology and threatened by danger works wonderfully and will appeal to sf lovers, too.--Jennifer Harris, Mercyhurst Univ. Lib., Erie, PA
Harris, Jennifer
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Harris, Jennifer. "Rai, Alisha. Night Whispers." Xpress Reviews, 26 Oct. 2012. Book Review
Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A308600020/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=1bf96182. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A308600020
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"Rai, Alisha: HURTS TO LOVE YOU." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528959911/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=7e548b66. Accessed 24 June 2018. "Hurts to Love You: Forbidden Hearts, Book 3." Publishers Weekly, 5 Feb. 2018, p. 48. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526810406/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=8d8130aa. Accessed 24 June 2018. Alessio, Amy. "Wrong to Need You." Booklist, 15 Oct. 2017, p. 30. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A512776126/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=d34148f2. Accessed 24 June 2018. "Rai, Alisha: HATE TO WANT YOU." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2017. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499572827/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=5e386e12. Accessed 24 June 2018. "Rai, Alisha: WRONG TO NEED YOU." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2017. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500365032/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=34dce2fd. Accessed 24 June 2018. Duncan, Melanie C. "Rai, Alisha. Hot as Hades." Xpress Reviews, 23 Sept. 2011. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A269432788/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=b9af3a39. Accessed 24 June 2018. Harris, Jennifer. "Rai, Alisha. Night Whispers." Xpress Reviews, 26 Oct. 2012. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A308600020/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=1bf96182. Accessed 24 June 2018.

• Scandalicious
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  Word count: 890

  Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai
  “Rai crafts a superb story with her Forbidden Hearts series... ”

  by Scandal
  The Deets Genre: contemporary | Series: Forbidden Hearts #3 | Publisher: Avon | Source: ARC | GoodReads
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  US

  I’ve been talking about Alisha Rai’s Forbidden Hearts series since it started. You can find my reviews of the first two books here: HATE TO WANT YOU and WRONG TO NEED YOU. I stand by my statement in the last review, Jackson Kane is still my favorite hero because that dude is so incredibly broken and yet, still so beautifully strong. HURTS TO LOVE YOU deftly ties up loose ends of the Forbidden Hearts series, some loose ends I didn’t even realize needed tying up! We’ve followed these feuding families with elders so busy hiding truths and meddling in their children’s lives for three books now and Rai gives us a lovely resolution, complete with a sentimental epilogue that might just pull a tear or two out of you.

  HURTS TO LOVE YOU is Eve Chandler and Gabriel Hunter’s story. Eve is the youngest Chandler, the princess of the town. Wealthy beyond belief, Eve is the epitome of the cliche that money can’t buy you happiness. Her father is a piece of work. We’ve watched him emotionally abuse everyone around him throughout the course of this series, of course, the baby of the family, Eve gets the brunt of his disdain and it is truly difficult to watch. What’s not hard to watch is Eve getting her footing and going her own way. She’s incredibly smart and has the Chandler determination inherent in the men of her family. I love that Rai openly speaks of Eve’s personal therapy journey, I think it’s important to show that sometimes you just need some help and guidance through the rough spots, no stigma attached at all. As for the romance part of this tale, Eve has been crushing on Gabriel Hunter since she hit puberty. He’s older, and a friend of her older brother’s, so he’s also off limits. To Gabriel’s credit, he has never, until very recently, noticed Eve as anything more than the kid he’s known since she was born. There’s nothing creepy at all with the age difference so don’t let it ick you out. It’s not even that big of a difference, especially when you consider Eve is mature well beyond her years. I think it’s about a 10-year-ish difference, Gabriel is 35.

  Gabriel Hunter is the adopted son of a housekeeper. There is a huge secret surrounding his parentage, a secret so well kept, we as readers weren’t really privy to it until this book! Gabriel grew up surrounded by wealth and was afforded similar privileges but always knew his place as the housekeeper’s son. He’s enlisted to help Eve with the planning of Livvy and Nico’s wedding and it’s there that Gabriel starts to recognize Eve as the beautiful, intelligent, strong woman she is. Let me tell you, the struggle is real for Gabriel. Years of knowing his place in this hierarchy makes him think he is somehow less than Eve, couple that with their age difference and he is not happy with his out of control imagination and libido. Just a glimpse of her bare arm gives him plenty of ammo for the spank bank later own! When a series of unfortunate events lands them at the wedding destination days before the rest of the crowd, well, chemistry happens all over the place! Eve has to do a lot of convincing to win him over to her way of thinking about their relationship potential, Gabriel is a really good guy and he knows the value of family and friends, probably better than most.

  Gabriel and Eve both end up facing some extreme challenges in a very public manner. Again, Eve’s dad is a dick but the true meaning of family shines through in the end. It’s amazing how much character growth we get for both Gabriel and Eve when so many other things are happening in this story. They never get lost as secondary in this book that is very busy getting us to a much larger HEA than just these two. I will say, for me the ending was a touch rushed, I would’ve liked to linger a little more but the epilogue goes a long way to make me set my upset aside. Again, keep reading that epilogue, it even explains why Eve’s dad is such an evil bastard, not that you’ll ever forgive him of his transgression but it is nice to understand why someone can be so fucking terrible! It was a twist I definitely did not see coming. In fact, kudos to Alisha Rai, I didn’t see any of the twists playing out the way she wrote them! Rai crafts a superb story with her Forbidden Hearts series, it’s going on my faves list for sure.

  Smooches,

  Scandal
  Tags: 4 stars, Alisha Rai, Contemporary, final book in series, Forbidden Hearts series, friend's little sister, POC

• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
  http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/hurts-love-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 621

  Lightning Review
  Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai

  by Elyse · Mar 24, 2018 at 6:29 pm · Leave a comment
  Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai
  B+
  Hurts to Love You

  by Alisha Rai

  The final book in the Forbidden Hearts series offers a deliciously awkward romance, but is bogged down a bit by the resolution of plotlines started in the prior two books. It’s still a very enjoyable read, but it’s weaker than the previous two novels because the sheer number of loose ends that need to be resolved detracted from the romance. Also, the series should be read in order.

  Eve, the youngest member of the Chandler clan, has been nursing a crush on Gabriel Hunter, a friend of the Kane family. Years ago he politely rejected her, and shy Eve took it to heart. Now they’re stuck together (partially by Eve’s planning) in a luxurious family lakehouse for a wedding.

  Gabe has some serious pants feelings for Eve, too, but he’s been hiding them. This romance is straight up “two dorks who want each other but don’t act on it because they think it’s unrequited” which is so much my catnip. The sexual tension here is amazing.

  We also finally get the full story of all of the Chandler/Kane secrets that the series has been built upon. It’s a lot of reveals and one scene felt to me like those old mysteries where everyone is assembled in the library and the detective says, “I’ve called you all here today because one of you is the murderer” but it did wrap up all the loose ends.

  I also loved that Eve is working hard on herself, and struggling to heal the scars left by her father’s emotional abuse. She has a best friend who is amazing and a prime example of women being supportive and helping other women heal. In terms of growth, Eve comes much farther in this book than Gabe.

  Hurts to Love You is definitely worth the read, but you will want to read the other two books in the series first. It’s a very sexy end to the trilogy, but it wasn’t quite as stellar as the first two books.

  – Elyse

  Being bad never felt so good, in the third novel in Alisha Rai’s sexy Forbidden Hearts series!

  Well-behaved women don’t lust after men who love to misbehave.

  Heiress Evangeline Chandler knows how to keep a secret . . . like her life-long crush on the tattooed hottie who just happens to be her big brother’s friend. She’s a Chandler, after all, and Chandlers don’t hook up with the help. Then again, they also don’t disobey their fathers and quit their respectable jobs, so good-girl rules may no longer apply.

  Gabriel Hunter hides the pain of his past behind a smile, but he can’t hide his sudden attraction to his friend’s sheltered little sister. Eve is far too sweet to accept anything less than forever and there’s no chance of a future between the son of a housekeeper and the town’s resident princess.

  When a wedding party forces Eve and Gabe into tight quarters, keeping their hands off each other will be as hard as keeping their clothes on. The need that draws them together is stronger than the forces that should shove them apart . . . but their sparks may not survive the explosion when long-buried secrets are finally unearthed.
  Romance, Contemporary Romance

• Dear Author
  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-plus-reviews/review-hate-to-want-you-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 1135

  REVIEW: Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai

  JanineA- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Recommended ReadsCEO / Contemporary / Erotic-Romance / family feuds / POC / psychological insights / Reunited Couple / star-crossed lovers / Tattoo Artist2 Comments
  Recommended Read

  Dear Ms. Rai,

  Every year since the decade-old rift between their once close-families opened up, Nicholas Chandler and Livvy Oka-Kane have met in secret on Livvy’s birthday, each time in a different location, to spend one night together. Every year but the last, when Livvy did not text Nicholas the coordinates for their meeting, as she usually does.

  Now Livvy has returned to their hometown of Rockville for the first time in a decade, to care for her mom, who has a broken hip. When Nicholas learns that Livvy is back, he goes to the tattoo parlor where she works, to find out her reasons for coming home. As usual, Nicholas and Livvy spark off each other. Anger, heartache and heat have marked all their reunions.

  It wasn’t always this way. Once, their families were close. Their grandfathers, Sam Oka and John Chandler, had started the successful store chain C&O together. The Oka-Kane and Chandler fortunes were intertwined, and Livvy and Nicholas were a young golden couple, their lives filled with promise—until the day Livvy’s father, Robert, and Nicholas’s mother, Maria, died in a car crash.

  In the aftermath, Brendan Chandler, Nicholas’s dad, blamed Robert for the accident and persuaded Livvy’s mother, Tani, to sell him her half of the company for far less than it was worth. Livvy’s brothers, Jackson and Paul, saw this as theft. When the company’s flagship store, now called Chandler’s, was burned, Livvy’s twin brother Jackson was blamed by the Chandlers.

  Despite all the bad blood between their families and their long-ago breakup after the accident, Nicholas and Livvy have never been able to forget or let go of each other. They might have had other, short-lived relationships, but when the time came for their annual reunion, they’d always be single.

  Livvy’s presence in Rockville changes things. When they run into each other again, after interference from a family member who wants to keep them apart, they end up in bed together once more. And with every subsequent encounter, each learns more of who the other has become in the years since their separation.

  Each is initially convinced the other is bad for him/her, unhealthy. But is it what they feel for each other that is bad for them, or the obstacles that keep them apart? Can their families ever understand and support their desire to be together, or will they only come between Livvy and Nicholas if they learn about their secret relationship?

  Hate to Want You is a composite of romance genre elements I have never seen brought together in one book. There’s the passionate push-pull between Nicholas and Livvy and the emotional toll their secret encounters take on them. There’s the sex, which is hot indeed. There’s the progressive sentiment behind a conflict at Chandler’s, Nicholas’s workplace—protestors are taking issue with products made by prisoners for no pay. There’s the family scandal and drama, which reminded me of soap operas and family sagas. Last but absolutely not least, there’s the thoughtful examination of family dynamics and mental illness.

  The main characters are both lovely. Livvy has a tough shell, but a soft, very vulnerable interior. As the book progresses more and more layers to that vulnerability are revealed, without diminishing her strength. She has been running away for years, but now she has the opportunity to face all that she ran from, and she emerges as a woman who is learning to ask for what she needs.

  Nicholas might not have run away like Livvy, but instead he gave up, sacrificed their relationship, because he didn’t feel there was a choice. He was young when that happened, and now he is older, better able to stand up for himself and for his relationship with Livvy. Unlike her, he has suppressed his emotions and his needs, so when he finally starts to express them to show Livvy he cares, it’s like watching a creaky tin man come to full-blooded life.

  The cast of characters is diverse: Livvy is half-Japanese American, half-Hawaiian, as is her twin brother Jackson; mom Tani is Japanese-American (there is a great mention of her late father’s imprisonment in internment camps during World War II), aunt Maile is Hawaiian, and Livvy’s sister-in-law and best friend Sadia is Pakistani-American and Muslim.

  Sadia, Jackson and Nicholas’s sister Eve are worthy of their own stories, while Livvy’s aunt Maile and Nicholas’s grandfather John are heroic figures in their own way, but I also really appreciated Tani, for her struggles with depression and the way her full dimensions only gradually emerged over the course of the story.

  Livvy has faced a similar struggle, one that we readers get to see her deal with. She counters negative self-talk with affirmations like “I deserve compassion.” I appreciated this aspect of the novel—in my experience it’s rare to see mental illness portrayed not just in terms of how it affects a character, but also in terms of how people with mental illness can use strategies like these to cope with their illness.

  I have just a few criticisms. First, the balance between the family saga elements and the psychological exploration is sometimes uneasy, particulaly when it comes to the scheming villain, who felt flat compared to the other characters in this book. I am hopeful that we’ll come to understand him a bit better in upcoming books, though. Second, some of the dialogue contained self-analysis that was too on the nose, especially for those characters who are not, as far as the reader knows, in therapy.

  On a more minor note, Tani’s process of healing from her broken hip was glossed over a bit. Also, in one of the sex scenes it’s mentioned that there’s no condom in use, but shortly after the sex is over, Nicholas disposes of that non-existent condom.

  Overall, though, there’s much to appreciate and enjoy in this book, from the passion and yearning between Livvy and Nicholas to the way they must learn to navigate not only external obstacles, but also internal ones. Hate to Want You is not only compelling, sexy and romantic, but also different and fresh. B+/A-.

  Sincerely,

  Janine

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• Dear Author
  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-plus-reviews/review-wrong-to-need-you-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 1287

  REVIEW: Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai

  JanineB+ Reviews / Recommended Readsbartender / Chef / Contemporary / Erotic-Romance / family feuds / family-reunion / POC / single mother6 Comments
  Recommended Read

  Dear Ms. Rai,

  Last year, I read and enjoyed Hate to Want You, the first book in your Forbidden Hearts series. This review is of the second book in the same series, Wrong to Need You.

  Jackson Kane has been in love with Sadia Ahmed, his sister-in-law, since they were both kids. In their teen years, Sadia, unaware of his feelings, started dating his older brother, Paul. Then, shortly after graduation, Jackson was accused of a crime he hadn’t committed—throwing a Molotov cocktail into the window of the C&O, a grocery store in a chain that had once half-belonged to his family, the Oka-Kanes, before one of the Chandlers, the family who co-owned it with them, pressured Jackson’s grieving mother to sell her shares.

  Though the sole witness to the crime recanted, Jackson left town and has only returned recently, after a ten-year absence, and then solely to contact his sister, Livvie. Livvie is now out of town, having recently reunited with her star-crossed love, Nicholas Chandler. In her absence, Jackson gives in to an urge and goes to the bar where Sadia moonlights as a bartender.

  Sadia not only works at the bar, she also occasionally picks up someone to hook up with there. When she spots Jackson, his face hidden by a cap, she doesn’t realize who he is but thinks he’s hot enough to flirt with. But partway through their reunion, she realizes who she’s talking to, and then she is immediately angry. For years she’s written emails to Jackson, not one of which he has replied to. Not even when her son and his nephew, Kareem, now six years old, was born. Not even when his brother passed away.

  Jackson has good reasons for missing Paul’s funeral (he was in a French jail at the time, having been arrested for protesting) and even better reasons for staying away. But Sadia is unaware of either, and when it comes to the latter, Jackson doesn’t want her to find out.

  After they part company, Jackson checks out Kane’s, the café his paternal grandparents once owned and which Paul bought back and ran prior to his death. Kane’s is now Sadia’s responsibility, but the stove needs fixing and there’s a “Help Wanted” notice in the window, seeking a chef. Though Sadia doesn’t know it, Jackson’s cooking is renowned—he cooks at pop-up restaurants the world over. Aware that he owes Sadia, Jackson decides that if she needs help, he will pitch in until Sadia can find another chef.

  The next day, Sadia arrives to find Jackson cooking at the café, and though one of her employees quits in a huff due to the Molotov cocktail incident, Sadia keeps Jackson on. She does need his help—and as family, he has a right to work at the café. The compensation negotiations nearly grind to a halt until Sadia offers Jackson the use of the apartment above her house in lieu of payment.

  Their proximity both at the café and at home leads Sadia to begin to lower her defenses and introduce Jackson to his nephew, Kareem. Jackson is ashamed of all the years he missed out on with Kareem, and relieved that his alienation from Paul in no way affect how he feels about Sadia’s son.

  Sitting on the house steps one night, Jackson opens up to Sadia, defusing her anger at him, and they share a kiss. But immediately afterward Sadia panics. It is wrong to need Jackson, when he is Paul’s brother. It is wrong to need him, when she could so easily come to depend on his quiet strength.

  Wrong to Need You is a touching book. Both hero and heroine are vulnerable—Jackson because as an introvert who likes to cook, he has always been on the outside looking in, as well as due to a painful secret in his past, and Sadia because of Jackson’s seeming desertion, and because she views herself as the underachiever of her family.

  Sadia is one of five sisters, and the other four are two doctors and two medical students. Jia, one of Sadia’s younger sisters, needs Sadia’s support with the others to make a career change, but Sadia is stretched so thin and feels so vulnerable to her older sisters’ judgement that sticking up for Jia isn’t easy.

  Then there is Jackson’s strained relationship with his mother, Tani—the only person in Rockville who knows the secret he is guarding, or so he thinks. All this made for a poignant, emotional reading experience, and that was before the truth Jackson is hiding is revealed.

  Wrong to Need You shares some strengths with Hate to Want You: just as Livvie and Nicholas’s separation was grounded in good reasons, so is Jackson’s decision to keep away. Yearning and sensitivity are well-portrayed in both books. And the upstate New York setting feels real in both books, too.

  In some ways, Wrong to Need You is even better than its predecessor—the family saga elements in the overarching series plot are more believable, and there’s a lot less of the on-the-nose psychological dialogue. But it doesn’t have the “tin man” and star-crossed lovers trope that I loved in Hate to Want You.

  There’s a welcome realness to the characters in this novel. No one is a superhero, or a superkid. Kareem is a lovely child, but he’s not depicted in a saccharine way. Parenting and holding two jobs, as Sadia does, is portrayed as exhausting. Instead of perfection, the book allows a refreshing messiness to intrude.

  There are also plenty of diverse characters; Sadia is Pakistani-American as well as bisexual (though she doesn’t seem to have had any long-term relationships with women), Jackson’s background half-Hawaiian and half-Japanese. A couple of Sadia’s sisters wear hijabs, and there are no stereotypes, or at least I didn’t notice any, in the way Sadia, Jackson, Kareem, and their families are portrayed.

  The sex in the book has a BDSM flavor to it, with Sadia taking the dominant role in bed—another refreshing thing. There is also an early make out scene that involves consensual voyeurism. For me only the first of these was truly hot, because there was a lot of stake in terms of Jackson and Sadia’s future interactions at that point in the book. The later sex scenes came after things felt more resolved between them, and were therefore less engaging to me.

  One minor—very minor—criticism involves a big spoiler:

  Spoiler: Show

  I have just one other criticism to make and that’s that although this is technically a standalone, this series has an overarching, family saga-ish plot about the relationship between the Kanes and the Chandlers (I’ve been wondering whether those names are an homage to All My Children). If a reader starts with this book, she’ll be starting from the middle of that part of the storyline. So it’s perhaps not the best starting place for the series, but Wrong to Need You is otherwise a very good read. B+.

  Sincerely,

  Janine

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• Dear Author
  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-minus-reviews/review-a-gentleman-in-the-street-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 770

  REVIEW: A Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai

  JaneB- ReviewsErotic-Romance5 Comments

  A Gentleman in the Street Alisha Rai

  Dear Ms. Rai:

  I loved the core of this story about a woman who pushed every provocative button in a somber man’s buttoned up vest. Both Jacob and Akira were real and different characters. Jacob was an author of thriller books who had raised his younger siblings even before the death of his derelict father. Akira is his stepsister, billionaire developer and heiress of the now defunct Mori hotel chain.

  For years, sparks have flown between the two of them with Akira playing up the forbidden step sibling connection and Jacob looking at her repressively. She calls him Brother Jacob to tweak him doubly–marking him as an ascetic and a relative with one nickname. The two are at cross purposes. Akira torments Jacob because she believes he is disgusted by her. Her response to anyone who disapproves of her is to play into that persona to the nth degree. So every party that Jacob attends, Akira makes a point to find a man and drag him off in front of Jacob. Jacob does his part by glaring at them.

  But then Akira’s mother dies and she contacts Jacob in search of a special gift that she believes was in her mother’s possession. Mei, Akira’s mother, never liked her daughter and took a gift meant for Akira and hid it away. During the encounter, Akira vamps it up but she makes a mistake. She touches Jacob and it sets off a series of events, much like a Rube Goldberg machine where one action results in another action.

  Jacob finds the box and returns it to Akira with a plea. He proposes that they spend ten nights together, getting to know one another. Jacob is abjectly apologetic that Akira believed he disapproved of her or that worse, he thought she was disgusting. It was the exact opposite. Jacob was shamed by his response to Akira and locked into his position as guardian of his younger siblings.

  Akira is just as much a prisoner. Her father is the Bruce Jenner type, an aging rich hotelier married to a much younger woman who has several terrible and spoiled children who all appear on a reality TV show. She hates both of her parents, even her dead mother, but longed for their approval. But Akira’s pride drives her to be successful, to be outrageous. Akira is wealthy and successful. She’s beautiful and sexually proactive. But how much of her persona was the result of doing everything she could to piss her mother off? I didn’t know who the true Akira was and I wasn’t sure if Akira knew either. I did find the billionaire heiress to be a refreshing change from all the other billionaire characters appearing in romances.

  The erotic part of the romance comes in the orgiastic scenes. Akira attempts to drive Jacob away by showing him all her perversions. She likes sex with pain. She likes exhibitionism and voyeurism. She likes group play. There’s nothing about sex that exists that Akira doesn’t like and she believes that her desires will inevitably disgust Jacob.

  I always struggle with group sex scenes, not just in this book but in others because there’s a lack of intimacy in it and I like my love stories intimate. I think this is an “It’s not you, it’s me” problem. Group sex seems to be too much like a party so it’s fun but it’s not emotionally close. At times it seems that the two are lost in the moment and other times it came off calculating and a little unemotional.

  The non sex scenes were the most interesting. Both felt the hard breath of their despised parents hot on their necks, pushing them toward the adults they’d become. So maybe Akira’s sexual predilections were formed by her rebellion against her mother but so what? Isn’t everyone the result of their environment to some extent?

  And it’s always entertaining to see a buttoned up, gruff character unravel. Jacob’s epiphany that it was okay for him to be a sexual creature was delightful. The slightly shaken up billionaire plot line is worth the read despite some of the problems I had with the love scenes. B-

  Best regards,

  Jane

• Dear Author
  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-minus-reviews/review-play-with-me-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 438

  REVIEW: Play With Me by Alisha Rai

  JaneB- ReviewsContemporary / Erotic-Romance / self-published4 Comments

  Dear Ms. Rai:

  This was a 33,000 word novella featuring two high school + college lovers who separated and then reignited their romance. Tatiana Belikov always tried to meet the expectations of her adopted parents except when it came to one thing, her boyfriend. Wyatt Caine was a bad boy with poor prospects who worked multiple jobs to get ahead. However, differences led to a break up and the two haven’t seen each other for several years. (The timeline was really fuzzy for me in this book).

  Play With Me (Bedroom Games #1) by Alisha Rai
  Tatiana has broken away from her intended path, dropped out of college, and developed a strong following for her custom made jewelry. She is so successful, in fact, that she wants to bail out her biological brother with whom she has reconnected. She finds out that her brother embezzled quite a bit of money from his casino owning boss, one Wyatt Caine.

  If she’s honest with herself, Tatiana seeks out Wyatt not just to save her brother but to see Wyatt again. Her feelings for him simmer hotly under a thinly covered surface. Wyatt is no different. In the years since they have been apart, Wyatt has become a wealthy owner of an exclusive casino. He offers to dispose of her brother’s debt in exchange for a sexual favor. Tatiana refuses (thank god, because that would have been so cliched). Instead, they agree that they will explore their mutual sexual attraction in a 24 hour period.

  The story is an erotic romance but the eroticism was baked into the storyline. It’s their version of courtship. That said, the 33,000 words was a real limitation in developing the romance and exploring what went wrong in the past. I think I’m simply supposed to believe that because these two were older and wiser their relationship worked. But given that they had dated for so long previously (like some 7 years), I needed to know why they broke up, what happened and why it is different now. There is little emotional exploration other than what turns each other on. Their sexual attraction, however, had never been an issue before. It was the stuff outside the bedroom that was the problem. This novella appears to be the first in a series so perhaps other entries will explore the emotional component better.

  That said, it is a steamy and fast read. B-

  Best regards,

  Jane

• Dear Author
  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-reviews/review-hot-as-hades-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 584

  REVIEW: Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai

  DA_JanuaryB ReviewsErotic-Romance / greek mythology / novella / Samhain-publishing13 Comments

  Dear Ms. Rai,

  You are a new author to me. I am familiar with your name, as I have seen many good reviews of your work. So when I saw that your next book was the Persephone myth retold as an erotic romance storyline, and because the price was right, I purchased. I’m happy to say I was pleased with my purchase.

  Hot as Hades Alisha RaiHot As Hades opens up with Persephone dropping onto Hades’s lap in the Underworld. She’s naked and has no clue why she is there, and he’s quite happy that she’s naked and in his lap until he finds out that she is Demeter’s daughter. Then he’s angry at her presence and that he was lusting after her. Persephone is attracted to Hades, but she’s just as confused at how she showed up in the Underworld. It turns out that both of them are being manipulated – Zeus has transported Persephone into the Underworld to hide her for her own good. Now she and Hades must fight their growing attraction to each other.

  Seeing as this is an erotic romance, they don’t fight very hard. They soon become lovers and it builds into a more romantic relationship. Persephone is very much not a victim in this story. While she is outclassed power-wise, she has strengths of her own and is quick to give her opinion to Hades. Even though he’s quite blustery, he doesn’t scare her or intimidate her. She has interest in everything the Underworld has to offer, and doesn’t shy away from the uglier aspects of the kingdom. Hades appreciates Persephone’s strong personality, as most people are frightened of him. And when they decide to have sex, it’s Persephone that instigates the physical relationship.

  There were parts of this story that were very amusing. Hades had several funny lines, while Persephone was more of a straight (wo)man.

  She beamed as she pushed back her chair and stood. “You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  He was fairly certain that “fellatio” was not the answer she was looking for.

  I liked that this was a very lighthearted and modern flavored romance between the two gods. The way their powers and immortality worked was not explained much, nor the time frame. Both characters spoke with very modern slang and the clothing and settings were modern at times. It was difficult for me to parse the setting, and after a bit I gave up and just enjoyed the ride.

  There was one sour note for me that was brought up in the story – Persephone as Demeter’s (adopted) daughter. Demeter is also Hades’s sister. This makes Hades the love interest and uncle both. While the characters bring this up repeatedly in the beginning and the reader is reminded there is no blood relation between the two or a prior familial relationship, it made me uncomfortable each time it was brought up. I couldn’t help but think that if this was a contemporary romance, we’d be venturing into Jerry Springer territory.

  Overall, a nice, fun, sexy brief read with only one false step. B for me.

  All best,

• Dear Author
  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-reviews/review-never-have-i-ever-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 757

  REVIEW: Never Have I Ever by Alisha Rai

  JaneB ReviewsErotic-Romance / Paranormal / shapeshifters / Threesome9 Comments

  Dear Ms. Rai:

  I don’t know about anyone else, but I read the Author promo thread every month and your blurb intrigued me. I bought it over at Amazon for the princely sum of $3.60. To give you a little history, I really enjoyed the first menage you wrote and published with Samhain but I confess that the follow up books have only generated a lukewarm response in me.

  Never Have I Ever Series: Reynolds Pack Book 1 By: Alisha RaiThe difficulty in writing erotic romance, I believe, is straddling the line between sexy and ridiculous. Often erotic romances relies heavily on bedroom shenanigans, strange were creatures, and crazy club scenes (if I never ever read another sex club scene, I would die a happy girl). While this story has a menage scene in it, I felt like it worked within the overall scheme of the story without being gimmicky.

  Ana and Taylor have only been married one year when Ana receives an anonymous email with a set of photographs showing Taylor engaged in sexual activities as a young man that he’s never once intimated enjoying to Ana. In fact, their sexual interaction is very vanilla, hot and passionate, but definitely not as outre as depicted in the pictures. Taylor’s secrets makes Ana wonder about the stability of their marriage and Ana decides to test Taylor and his commitment to the marriage during a vacation they have planned.

  Taylor, however, doesn’t want to let go with Ana. He’s spent 10 years turning his back on his kinky side, and more importantly, his otherness and he is afraid if he shows any of this to Ana, he will lose her. Taylor acknowledges that his life is pretty mundane – the job, the hours, the suburban home, but it is all worth it because it netted him Ana.

  When Taylor and Ana get to the vacation cabin, Taylor immediately starts regretting his choice of location. The cabin is one he hasn’t visited in the past 10 years and it seems to the strain the bounds of his civility, of the mask he has so carefully constructed to obtain his heart’s choice: Ana. He is certain that his past, his secrets are too dark for her. But even beyond his desire for Ana is his own fear of his desires, of the things he did when he was younger, when he was other.

  Ana knows, however, that their marriage cannot withstand the secrets (only she doesn’t know the extent of the secrets). Ana pushes Taylor and Taylor lets go, inch by inch, which allows for some very sexy scenes as Ana takes baby steps to exploring her own sexuality to pushing Taylor to admit his own. The sex scenes all move the emotional arc farther. You use the scenes to challenge each characters’ complacency and move the emotional relationship deeper. It’s not just sex for sex’s sake.

  But even the play at dominance doesn’t get to the heart of what Ana has seen in the pictures and she knows that Taylor is still holding back from her. The title of the story is based on the game “Never Have I Ever” and the way that Ana uses the game, as a last ditch effort to get the truth out of Taylor, wasn’t cheesy or contrived.

  This book contains some BDSM and a threesome but beyond that there was a good emotional arc about Taylor learning to let go and accept himself, different desires and all because Ana loves him in all the expressions of his desire and Taylor is thrilled to find that Ana’s desire for edgier sex matches his own.

  What is problematic in this story is the inclusion of Taylor’s otherness. I liked, on the one hand, how Taylor’s otherness was blunted as a result of his mixed race but more than one reader mentioned that the insertion of a paranormal element was unnecessary and distracting. I didn’t mind it but I agree that it didn’t seem to be well integrated into the storyline and the use of the paranormal aspect to explain Taylor’s sexual proclivities didn’t extend to Ana. Still, this is a very good erotic romance. B

  Best regards,

  Jane

• Dear Author
  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-c-reviews/review-glutton-for-pleasure-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 965

  REVIEW: Glutton for Pleasure by Alisha Rai

  JaneBook Reviews / C Reviews Category / C+ ReviewsChef / multicultural / Samhain-publishing / Threesome / twins12 Comments

  Dear Ms. Rai:

  coverThis is the first book of yours that I have read. I picked it because it featured a non caucasion protagonist; it had to do with cooking; and there were two hot guys in the story. I had mixed emotions at the end of the story. On the one hand I loved that the heroine, Devi Malik, read like an authentic person of color. I appreciated the committed threesome. I felt, though, that there wasn’t as much character and relationship building as was needed to completely sell me on the romance.

  Devi Malik is the chef at her family restaurant that she runs with her two older sisters. Every Tuesday night for a month, one customer has come in and ordered her special, “a special twist on a thick lamb curry.” Devi’s curiosity at who Mr. Tuesday Special was fanned by her sister, the front of the house, gushing about Mr. Tuesday Special’s good looks, great tipping habits, and “overall perfection.” Devi peeked at him one night and agreed that her sister, Rana, was absolutely right in her assessment of him as perfection.

  Mr. Tuesday Special came in on a Saturday and asked to meet the chef. In the ensuing panic, Devi burns herself, ruins a dish, and becomes generally discombobulated but she does want to meet him and so pulls herself together.

  Jace Callahan stopped in one day to The Palace, got drunk off the food and then caught sight of the chef, Devi, and was determined to have her. And having her meant getting his brother on board because Jace and Marcus weren’t just twins. They shared women on a frequent basis because it was physically satisfying, but more importantly, emotionally necessary. Jace believes for some reason not fully articulated that Devi could be the one for them and brings Marcus to meet her. (This part is a bit elusive for me. I didn’t know if Devi had some special pheremone she released that signalled she was made for two men or whether she plated the lamb in such a way that Jace had an inkling she was accepting of that kind of relationship or what).

  Devi has no idea that Jace is a) attracted to her or b) interested in a menage. Her sister, Rana, practically has to draw diagrams with stick figures and maps to explain that Jace wants her bad and that Jace and Marcus are known to share women. It wasn’t Rana’s idea that Jace and Marcus would jump Devi’s bones, but she isn’t opposed to seeing her sister spread her wings sexually after Devi’s been so withdrawn since the end of Devi’s last relationship.

  Devi isn’t traumatized by her last breakup like Rani believes. Instead she’s just disillusioned. She wants the grand passion but can’t seem to find it and the idea of hooking up with two men ready to lavish their attention on her is enticing and worth the risk.

  Marcus isn’t the relationship type. He believes he’s content with the random and casual hookups but he has sensed Jace’s impatience and dissatisfaction with that lifestyle. The truth is that Jace is tired of casual relationships. He’s determined to woo Devi for both Marcus and himself and by the time she’s won, Marcus will not be able to let her go. Or so Jace hopes.

  The setup, while slightly unbelievable, worked for me. Where the story stumbled was in the execution of the plot. Devi, Marcus, and Jace immediately embark on a physical relationship. There’s little that the three know about each other but that doesn’t stop the hookup. I think the instant physical connection was emblematic for most of the story which revolved primarily around the sex.

  Then there’s the exaggerated characters of Jace and Marcus. Jace is the neat one who likes clothes, cuddling, and cute things. Marcus is the one who has the harder edge; hates shopping, domesticity, and the even the mention of love. At times, Jace seems to be almost effeminate. Marcus and Jace come from a horrific childhood and of course, this is their excuse for having to have one woman to complete the threesome.

  The initial chapters of the book showed detailed cooking by Devi and I wish more of that had been carried throughout the book. Perhaps it could have been metaphorical for her growing feelings for the two men or maybe symbolic of their relationship but after the first scene, cooking and food became more of a sexual prop than anything else.

  What was wonderful were the descriptions of Devi, told mostly through the eyes of Jace and Marcus, that were wholly in keeping with her ethnicity. Her flesh was golden and her nipples were brown. (as opposed to the rosy nipples and the pale white skin we are so often reading about). Jace and Marcus’ view of Devi was that she was this lush goddess, pillowy and full and perfect for them in her round, brown beauty. It was easy to understand their attraction for her and vice versa. The sex scenes were spicy and well done. I just wished that more attention was spent to fleshing out the three as individuals instead of characters in a menage. C+

  Best regards

  Jane

  This book can be purchased in ebook format from Samhain.
  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-c-reviews/review-glutton-for-pleasure-by-alisha-rai/

• All About Romance
  https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/hurts-love-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 1666

  Pandora's Box
  Hurts to Love You

  Alisha Rai

  Buy This Book

  Heiress Evangeline Chandler is over being a respectable daughter. She’s been driving for a ride service at night, refuses to work for her father’s charitable foundation, and she has a crush on tattoo artist Gabriel Hunter. Eve has been keep her feelings for Gabe a secret for years, but when her brother’s wedding party brings them into close quarters, her secret might come out.

  Gabe has a secret of his own. He’s been lusting after the perfect baby Chandler for awhile, even though he knows they aren’t right for each other. He’s willing to torture himself to spend time around her for Nico and Livvy’s wedding, but he isn’t willing to reveal all of the truth about himself, especially when he knows he isn’t the type of guy to give Eve the relationship she deserves.

  The previous books in Alisha Rai’s Forbidden Hearts series received high praise, so how does book the third and final book, Hurts to Love You, measure up? AAR staffers Caroline Russomanno and Haley Kral read it and are here to share their thoughts.

  What were you hoping for in this book? Did you get it?

  HK: The first two books in this series were stand-outs because they both had a flawed, diverse, interesting cast of characters. I liked the amount of angst that came from their circumstances. Livvy and Nico had a Romeo and Juliet type quality and Sadia and Jackson were in-laws. While I thought Evelyn and Gabe were as well developed as their predecessors, their story didn’t have the emotional wallop I was expecting.

  CR: I agree. Each book in the series has its own secrets, and to begin with, you can believe them. By the third book with a Big Secret, it starts to feel soapy. Nothing against soaps, but if I wanted to watch soaps, that’s what I’d do. Instead, I read romances, and this level of coincidence and secrecy in my genre feels contrived.

  HK: I think you worded that exactly how it was in my mind. This Big Secret doesn’t feel as organic as the others. Although it is of great importance to the character concerned, it didn’t feel as important to me, the reader. I think because, and I’m trying hard not to spoil anything, I thought things would easily be worked out once everyone involved knew the truth.

  CR: Absolutely. The defense of that secret was totally unnecessary.

  Where does this rank alongside the other books in the Forbidden Hearts series?

  HK: This will probably be my least favorite of the three. However, it was still a really good read.

  CR: Well, the first book (Hate to Want You) didn’t work for me at all. It drives me crazy when people make each other miserable but can’t stop having sex. I didn’t even finish that one, so obviously that’s my least favorite. While I liked Jackson and Sadia’s plot best, I think Eve and Gabe are tied with them as far as which characters I liked the most. And for all that Livvy and Nico had the most explicit premise, I thought Gabe and Eve had the hottest sex.

  HK: I actually loved the first book, although I admit, I’m a big fan of characters who have been pining for each other for ages. I’m okay with them making each other a bit miserable in the process. I thought the first sex scene between Gabe and Eve in this book was very hot, though it took quite a while to get to it. I was really ready for there to be at least a kiss or something. However, I feel like Sadia and Jackson had the sexiest book. What was it that you liked more about Gabe and Eve’s sexy times?

  CR: I liked the first sex scene especially, because it was narrated so effectively from Gabe’s point of view. The author does a great job of putting me into his thoughts and showing me how utterly and completely turned on by Eve he is, how he notices and loves every detail of her appearance and actions. Imagining a hero experiencing you that way is pretty intoxicating. Also, he’s an explicit dirty talker, which is always fun (and a nice change from the super-shy, quiet Jackson).

  Of course, in order to get to that first scene, we have to wade through an utterly predictable sequence. The second Eve got on a horse, I thought, “Well, there’s going to be unexpected weather, and her horse is going to disappear, and Gabe will come looking, and there’s probably going to be an empty cabin of some sort about.” And lo and behold…

  HK: Oh I know! I was thinking as I read that I had seen this scenario in every historical with a horse and a storm.

  This book finds Eve being deceitful in order to spend more time around Gabe. Was that a turnoff for you? Or did you think it was acceptable under the circumstances?

  CR: I was definitely uncomfortable with it. It would be terrifying if gender-reversed. Men and women aren’t the same, and my standards are different, but stalking his favorite haunts to be sure the car service algorithm picked her is entering bunny boiler territory.

  HK: It didn’t bother me so much while I was reading, but I get what you mean. Of course, I may have have gone to some strange lengths to talk to a guy, so I could understand Eve’s choices a little, but I stopped at internet stalking rather than hanging out behind his favorite bar…

  That said, since Rai went that direction I thought there would be something more to the Anne/Eve thing. It was a thread that was there throughout the book and then just dropped off.

  CR: Yes, it was definitely not adequately resolved.

  What was your opinion of Gabe and Eve as characters? Anything you liked or didn’t like?

  HK: Eve was a little kooky. I was okay with that for the most part, but it kind of surprised me. I guess she does show up to confront Livvy in a kind of bold way, but from that I expected her to be more brazen than part strange and part shy.

  Gabe didn’t feel as fully rounded as Nico or Jackson, at least to me. Nico was kind of the classic, rich, alpha we see in romance all the time. Jackson was adorably shy and awkward. Gabe had his artistic side but the characterization didn’t jump out as strongly to me.

  CR: Gabe was somewhat bland, that’s true. I did like Eve’s neurotic-ness – it felt original.

  Beyond that, the whole “superlative characters” thing got out of hand. You have a family of supermarket kajillionaires – okay, that’s the setting. But it just stretches credulity that every rich person but Sadia connected to the Chandler’s/ Oka-Kane family is a world-class marvel under forty. Livvy is a destination-quality tattoo artist, and miraculously, so is Gabe. Add in Jackson’s global culinary career, Sadia’s YouTube millionaire sister, and Gabe’s sister, the Silicon Valley billionaire, and my disbelief is no longer willingly suspended.

  And Eve of COURSE wants to finance her amazing tech idea to challenge Ryde (read: Uber/Lyft) without any family buy-in, which is just stupid. Plus, her original app idea is… ride sharing? There’s no new feature, just something vague about better people, but everybody acts like she had some brilliant, disruptive plan? Very odd.

  This connects back to my complaint about the predictability of the cabin sex scene and your point about the purposelessness of the secret Gabe is keeping: the book’s plot is simply lacking. Gabe is one of those heroes who doesn’t do relationships because he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t do relationships, a circular problem that makes for an unsatisfying source of plot tension. Gabe’s secret will keep them apart, except readers know it won’t.

  HK: I think all of that was why this novel was ultimately lacking. Sadia and Jackson seemed more like real people. She was a single mom who needed to work to pay off debt and support her son. Jackson had the restaurateur fame, but in the book he’s helping her out so that is secondary; but Hurts to Love You was all about staying at the super expensive house, butler on call, and throwing in more and more reasons that people were super rich and successful. It stumbled in the realism department.

  Final Thoughts. How would you rate this book? Do you have any last opinions you haven’t included already?

  HK: I think I’ve said everything I thought about Hurts to Love You. I kind of enjoyed Eve being odd, but I wished the book had been more down to earth and less about secrets and the super wealthy. I would probably rate this a C+ or B- because I really enjoy Rai’s voice and the story was still very sexy.

  CR: I’m in the same place as you. Plot was lame, characters were meh, writing was very good, sex scenes were great. I’ll say B- because I would still go back and read it again – or at least parts of it!
  Buy it at: A/BN/iB/K

• All About Romance
  https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/wrong-to-need-you-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 718

  Desert Isle Keeper
  Wrong to Need You

  Alisha Rai

  Buy This Book

  In Wrong to Need You, the second installment of Alisha Rai’s Forbidden Hearts trilogy, we pick up almost immediately after the first book left off, except our focus shifts to Sadia and Jackson. Sadia, a single mother and widow of a man she doesn’t really miss, is desperately trying to keep her dead husband’s café afloat. Jackson is the aforementioned dead dude’s brother. You can see where this gets complicated.

  Sadia’s had a front row seat to the feud between the Kanes and the Chandlers that drives this series; she was married to Paul Kane and is best friends with Livvy Kane (heroine of Hate To Want You). She’s quietly stayed on the sidelines as she’s had enough to deal with, but as the feud affects the whole town, her life and business are affected too. Mixed into this quietly stressful life is Sadia’s Pakistani-American family, who clearly adore her but at the same time have no idea what to do with her; and that liminal space is not easy to navigate. The main distress, for the record, is Sadia’s bisexuality, for which she refuses to apologize and which flummoxes her mother.

  Jackson was accused of a crime he didn’t commit ten years ago (tied to the great feud) and fled the town without a glance back. He’s pined for Sadia – his true best friend – for years but wasn’t going to get between her and his brother. In the intervening years, he’s become a successful chef – which is convenient, since his brother’s café is in desperate need of one. On the surface, his introversion and quiet stubbornness about working in the café could lead readers to believe he’s shy or aloof, but neither are true.

  Still waters run deep with this couple. They both contain many emotional layers they only reveal to each other (for example, Sadia has a nearly inexhaustible libido and a penchant for being in charge) and do so while simultaneously holding as much back as they possibly can. The ‘forbidden’ nature of their relationship is at the core of the book – they both feel an attraction they cannot and do not want to deny, but are also aware of how taboo the situation is – but that doesn’t overwhelm the story. This book is both another piece of the larger puzzle that Ms. Rai is revealing and a deep meditation on adult relationships between two people who have been through some shit in their lives.

  As an aside, while I really loved getting to know Jackson and Sadia and who they were growing to be together, my absolute favorite parts of the story are Sadia’s interactions with her sisters. These conversations nearly climbed off the page and walked around me, that’s how real they felt. I would recommend this book for those alone and in some ways, I see the romance as a bonus to the beauty of getting to know these two people and their worlds.

  I try so hard not to judge people’s book choices – because we all love what we love – but there is a part of me that wants to assert that if you like contemporary romance with complicated, mature people having complicated, mature relationships (with seriously hot sexytimes) and you are not reading Forbidden Hearts, you are simply doing it wrong. This series is a masterwork and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
  Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K
  Buy Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai:
  Buy from Amazon.com Get it on iBooks Nook Kobo
  Book Details
  Reviewer: Kristen Donnelly
  Review Date: November 20, 2017
  Publication Date: 11/2017
  Grade: A
  Sensuality Warm
  Book Type: Contemporary Romance
  Review Tags: Forbidden Hearts series
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• All About Romance
  https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/hate-to-want-you-by-alicia-rai/
  Word count: 731

  Desert Isle Keeper
  Hate to Want You

  Alisha Rai

  Buy This Book

  Y’all, this book. THIS BOOK. I started it at around 8pm one evening and that was a damn mistake because the next thing I knew it was 1am and I had tears in my eyes. This was one of my most anticipated July reads and hooooo boy did it live up to, nay, exceed my expectations. If you like complicated characters with grounded backstories and hopeful futures (with some seriously hot sexytimes thrown in) you want Hate to Want You. Trust me.

  Nicholas Chandler and Olivia Kane have known each other since forever. The heirs apparent to two intertwined and prominent families, Nick and Livvy appeared destined to be together. However, in a very Montague/Capulet-like manner, the Chandlers and the Kanes had a very public breakup and thus, so did Nick and Livvy. Publicly, the two hate each other. Privately? Different matter entirely.

  Once a year, since the start of the great feud, the two of them have been meeting up for one night of torrid sex. They swear there are no feelings involved – how can there be? The Chandlers destroyed the Kane family, so how could Livvy ever possibly have feelings for their golden boy? And for his part, how could Nick love someone who despises his family so wholly? No, what they have is just sex. Very, very fulfilling and very hot sex.

  The kind of sex that means the two are essentially ruined for anyone else. The kind of sex that means the ties around their hearts that once existed are nurtured in ways that prove they were never really severed. The kind of sex that means the love did not die and instead matured.

  Livvy is also one of those heroines I think is going to stick with me. She’s strong yet vulnerable in ways that crawled right under my skin. How she and Nick finally come clean with each other and finally admit what we’ve known all along is also an exchange that will stay with me. No spoilers, of course, so that you can enjoy it for yourself.

  Beyond Nick and Livvy, Ms. Rai has built this world fully. I was engrossed in the feud; its origins, its ramifications. We’re dropped into the middle of its story, as though these characters had lives before we met them and will continue to do so after the book ends. The balance between letting us explore a world for ourselves and having to have some things explained is a tough one that few contemporary authors get right. But Ms. Rai has nailed it here; I was drawn in by the trust she placed in me to figure it out and to fall in love with all these characters along the way. These folks are complicated, and lovely, and awful, and real. They come from different cultures and have created new ones along the way.

  Additionally, as the kick-off to a new series, this is pitch perfect. I understand the world without having been patronized or having had it explained to death, and I’m enthralled enough that I cannot wait for the next installment.

  Ms. Rai is one of the true experts of romance that borders on erotica combined with the arcs of traditional romance. There’s a hero’s journey in Hate to Want You, as well as a heroine’s, and they have some obstacles to overcome before they earn their happily ever after. Earn it they do, dear readers, and you want to find out how. Trust me.
  Buy Now: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
  Buy Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai:
  Buy from Amazon.com Get it on iBooks Nook Kobo
  Book Details
  Reviewer: Kristen Donnelly
  Review Date: July 6, 2017
  Publication Date: 07/2017
  Grade: A
  Sensuality Hot
  Book Type: Contemporary Romance
  Review Tags: Forbidden Hearts series
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• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2017/07/review-hate-to-want-you-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 923

  Review: Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai

  July 25, 2017 By Mandi 2 Comments

  Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai (Forbidden Hearts #1)
  Released: July 25, 2017
  Contemporary Romance
  Avon

  Reviewed by Mandi

  Favorite Quote: “You never told me why you decided your car is a woman.”

  “Because no man could ever handle my ass for this long.”

  Alisha Rai has a new series and it’s angst-filled from page one. I enjoyed it. I’ve seen it mentioned that this book is like Romeo and Juliet, except with a happy ending. And that is right on target. We have two enemy families, tragedy, resentment, and secret love.

  Nicholas Chandler and Livvy Kane grew up together, and their families co-owned a large grocery store chain. Nicholas and Livvy fall in love, but tragedy strikes. Nicholas’s mother and Livvy’s father were killed in a car crash. No one knows why Nicholas’s mother and Livvy’s father were in a car together, heading towards a lake house…but this tragedy sets the families on path for a big feud. Blame is thrown at one another. Nicholas’s father buys out the Kane family’s shares at an extremely low price and more hatred is fueled. A feud brews and when Nicholas’s father demands that Nicholas can no longer see Livvy, or he will bankrupt everyone Nicholas holds dear, he decides to leave Livvy to keep her family safe. And she is devastated.

  Livvy starts traveling the country, working in various tattoo shops along the way. But once a year – just one day a year – she texts Nicholas coordinates telling him where to meet her. He flys to her, they have sex, and he leaves. This happens except in the tenth year, she doesn’t text. Nicholas doesn’t know what to do with himself not being able to see her.

  When Livvy’s mom breaks her hip, she goes home to stay with her for a while. Nicholas shows up shortly after – and this is where the book begins and oh boy, do we get some sexual tension with a good dose of angst thrown in.

  That same spark tingled to life as he walked toward her now, But then she noted how his steps were hesitant, reluctant, and that spark died a swift, fierce death.

  Because he didn’t want to walk toward her. He might crave her body, but that was all he wanted. And he hated himself for it, the same way she hated herself for being unable to control her feelings for him.

  I’ve put an entire book’s worth of intense family dynamics into one paragraph above so I’ve glossed over a million things. But – Alisha Rai does a fabulous job of letting the reader have a very intimate look not only into the lives of Nicholas and Livvy, but their families. Their living parents, their siblings. While it took me a minute to get everyone straight, by the end of the book, I felt like I knew them so well. I feel like she writes this book on a very emotionally intense level – and keeps it there the entire book. Livvy is so, so guarded. She has built up a wall around herself, and does not let anyone in. Not her mother (who has her own wall) not Nicholas, not her brother. Wait – let me mention her brother, Jackson. He left after his father died and no one has seen or heard from him. But then he shows up out of the blue. And he is mysterious, and gruff, and a man of few words. And if Alisha Rai does not let us in his pants …errr…writes him a book, I will weep.

  Anyway! Back to the story, Livvy is all tough persona, but crumbling on the inside. She has endured much tragedy in her life, and has had to endure it alone. She fears she will break if she has to give all to Nicholas again. But oh Nicholas. Mr. organized, broody, intense man. He loves running his grocery empire, but his father and him butt heads, a lot. No one has gotten over the death of his mother. His younger sister walks around timid and shy (she also needs a book!). Nicholas has anger but even more – he has a longing for Livvy that made me swoon.

  Throughout the book these two clash – romantically and then push each other away. Trying to trust, and break down family walls and expose all the secrets they have held on to for so long.

  Do you like books that end with the hero performing a grand gesture? Oh do we get that. And even better, the words he says at the end made me smile. My only complaint is that I wish we had an epilogue! These two end with what I consider maybe not a fragile bond – but they have had to work so hard in the book to get to a happy place, and we don’t see that happy place until the very end. I wanted to see them a few months down the line. How are they coping with all the stress of their families???

  Divine angst, intense emotions, and a sexy romance. Well done.

  Grade: B+

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  Word count: 675

  Review: Serving Pleasure by Alisha Rai

  July 8, 2015 By Mandi 2 Comments

  serving pleasureServing Pleasure by Alisha Rai
  Released: June 16, 2015
  Contemporary Romance
  Self Published

  Reviewed by Mandi

  Serving Pleasure is a very strong romance – I’ve been so impressed with Alisha Rai’s stories recently. I hope she writes more and more.

  Micah Hale was a successful artist in London, but after a vicious attack where he almost died, he lost his energy and passion. He moves to the US for a fresh start, but becomes a hermit. Rarely leaving his house or socializing, he has tried to get his painting back on track. We’ll come back to Micah in a minute.

  Rana’s family owns a restaurant and she takes turns working in it with her sisters. Rana has dated a lot and has decided, with a push from her controlling mother, to really focus on dating lawyers and doctors and to not sleep around anymore. Pressure from her family is one area Rana has a hard time with. Rana’s one guilty pleasure in life is to sneak peeks at her hottie neighbor through his window. She doesn’t know his name or much about him, except he rarely leaves his house and he paints at all hours of the night. She becomes very obsessed with spying on him. Although he is a stranger to her, she starts to make up his personality in her head. She calls him her “muffin” because she is trying to stay away from hottie guys who her parents would frown upon, and muffins are her guilty pleasure.

  One night she catches him sans clothing and pleasuring himself.

  But he was naked. Fully, delightfully naked.

  He held a towel in his hand and used it to finish blotting his wide chest before he tossed it into the bathroom.

  Even knowing he leaves wet towels on the floor doesn’t diminish his sex appeal.

  Feeling extremely guilty that she watched his – she tells herself she will no longer ogle him through his window. But when she sees him leaving in his car, she follows him and ends up at his art show. Unknown to Rana, Micah knows she has been watching him, and put on the pleasuring show for her enjoyment. When he sees her at his art show, he makes a move to take her back to his place. Let the sexy times begin!

  While this book has really great sexual tension and very, very hot sex scenes, it also features a really strong and sexy heroine. I love Rana. She is confident and independent, yet lets her mother’s disappointment seep into her blood and she lets her sisters boss her around. When it comes to family, she is vulnerable. When she is with Micah though, she is not ashamed of anything. He worships her body and she lets him.

  He walked toward her until his chest was a few inches from hers. She wanted to breathe harder so her nipples could brush against him.

  Damn. She’d had sex with this man? Go her.

  Micah is very intense and serious. Rarely smiles or laughs, it has been very hard for him to move past the trauma of his attack. He scoffs at the idea of a therapist and would rather live alone and closed off to the world. Rana is a tornado of energy that storms into his life and he starts to crave her. She reawakens his sexual desires. She makes him food. She models for him and allows Micah to remember how fun life can be.

  And this book is damn sexy. I’ll prove it in one sentence:

  “Make me suck it,” she whispered.

  Highly recommend this book.

  Grade: B+

  Goodreads l Author Website

  Kindle l Nook

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2014/12/review-a-gentleman-in-the-street-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 1092

  Review: A Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai

  December 3, 2014 By Mandi 10 Comments

  gentlemanstreetA Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai
  Released: November 24, 2014
  Erotic Romance
  Self Published

  Reviewed by Mandi

  Favorite Quote: “When do you sleep?”

  She glanced deliberately at her watch. “Sometime between fucking and ruling the world.”

  This is one dirty book, with a very strong heroine and a grumpy, more serious hero. Thumbs up to this combination!

  Akira Mori is very, very rich. She owns nightclubs and bars and is a brilliant business woman. She is known for her orgy filled house parties and wild lifestyle. Jacob Campbell is an author. He doesn’t have many friends and spends his time hiding in a cabin writing, and taking care of his seventeen year old sister. So how do these two meet? Well…. fourteen years ago, Jacob’s father married Akira’s mother. The marriage only lasted a year, but Jacob and his siblings became pretty close with Akira’s mother. Unfortunately, Akira and her mother have never gotten along, so this bond that Jacob has with her now deceased mother, has always eluded Akira. Her relationship with Jacob and his siblings has always been rocky too. However, Akira was close with her grandmother, and when she learns her grandmother’s heirloom has been passed down to Jacob, Akira tracks him down to ask for it back.

  Ever since Akira and Jacob met, all those years ago, there has been something between them. Both would never admit it, but they are both addicted to the other. Jacob watched as his father became addicted to women and other things, and refuses to travel that path with Akira. Instead, he becomes distant with her, rude, and not treating her well when she is around, knowing if he ever let his guard down for one second, he would be lost in her. Akira isn’t rude to him, but a tease and a flirt. Calling him “Brother Jacob” in reference to their parent’s brief marriage together.

  “My father was married to your mother for three minutes over fourteen years ago. Doesn’t make me your brother.”

  What a logical man. She delighted in twisted logic. “A year, brother. They were married a year. But can you put a time limit on the bonds of family?”

  Anything to get under his skin, or put on an act that all she care about is getting men (or women) in her bed. But Jacob has thoughts of his own when she tries to annoy him…

  Teasing and flirting with him was a game to her, a way to prick his temper. He’d watched her employ the same strategies on other people for years.

  Let her think he was an uptight prig. She didn’t know that every time she called him “brother” he wanted to put her over his knee and paddle that delicious bottom before he demonstrated all unbrotherly thoughts in his head.

  These two have that “I hate you, but oh my god I love you so much” deep vibe going on. It’s so hot. And the tension that Alisha Rai writes into this story is done so well. Both Jacob and Akira didn’t have the best childhood or parents. Jacob has raised his two brothers (who are now adults and are very close and own their own landscaping business – I really hope they each get a book! They amuse me) and his younger sister, who is currently seventeen. He is a popular author, and weaving his way through raising a teenage girl and all the issues that come with that. When Akira pops back into his life, looking for her grandmother’s heirloom, the tension inside of him is almost too much to take. It felt like if he reached out and just touched her with his finger tip, he would explode. Just wait for when they actually do act on their attraction.

  His lips slammed down on hers and cut off her words.

  For a split second, she could only sit, stunned, as his mouth moved on hers. What. The. Fuck.

  Had she ever been kissed like this? Had he ever kissed like this? Because he kissed like he hadn’t tasted a woman in forty years, like she was the last woman on earth. He kissed like there would be no beginning or end without her.

  Fucking. Hot.

  Alisha Rai writes some very, very hot scenes. There is a scene where Jacob watches while someone else has sex with Akira. Let’s have a peek:

  A drop of sweat rolled down Jacob’s temple. He ought to be outraged. Or disgusted. Maybe writhing with jealousy. His cock shouldn’t be so hard it ached as he watched another man suck on the woman he lusted after. It shouldn’t grow harder at the thought of watching the other man fuck the woman he wanted to fuck.

  There is also a big house party orgy scene (maybe a little over the top…but still sexy) and other times where they come so passionately together.

  Akira is such a strong woman. While she feels vulnerable at times because of her poor relationship with her mother, and a horrible ongoing relationship with her douchebag father, she isn’t naive. She isn’t such a successful business woman without being very smart. She can be called names, or people can assume untrue things about her, and she can handle herself. She isn’t all smooth going with Jacob – her intense attraction to him is almost too much for her to take, but it’s fun to watch her try to keep her cool around him ad then eventually feel strong enough to totally be herself. Her shields are always up to high and tight to protect herself from those darn emotional feelings, when she drops them it’s rewarding.

  While there is great sex in this book, what I really loved is the courtship. Jacob courts and woos Akira with flowers and thoughtful gifts. He takes his time with his romantic gestures. It’ sweet and softened his serious edges.

  Definitely recommend this one.

  Rating: B+

  Goodreads l Author Website

  Kindle l Nook

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2014/05/review-bet-on-me-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 391

  Review: Bet On Me by Alisha Rai

  May 12, 2014 By Mandi 5 Comments

  betonmeBet On Me by Alisha Rai (Bedroom Games #3)
  Released: April 8, 2014
  Erotic Contemporary
  Self Published

  Reviewed by Mandi

  I’ve enjoyed the heck out of this erotic trilogy and I’m sad to see it end, but it is a very satisfying ending. I highly recommend you read this series in order – they are all novella-length books, so they are quick reads.

  One thing that really stands out about Wyatt and Tatiana in this series is how mature they are. They have fears, and are scared of commitment and other things affecting their lives, but they never whine and do rash things without telling the other. They communicate so well and for that I thank the author. There is still some conflict and a very engaging story, without any of that forced drama.

  In Bet On Me, we see Wyatt and Tatiana ready to move onto that final step of saying I love you and getting married. Wyatt is a nice mix of a cold alpha but with a warm side to him. And Tatiana doesn’t take any sass from him and always speaks her mind. I really enjoy her. Wyatt still has some issues to work out with his father who treated him poorly as a child after his mother died. A man who became a raging alcoholic and an absent father, Wyatt has never forgiven him nor has let go of that anger. He feels vulnerable about it, scared to open up his past to Tatiana. This and another big revelation is explored in this book.

  And let’s not forget this is an erotic trilogy. We see Tatiana and Wyatt’s voyeurism side come out as well as some sexy times in a limo. These two are kinky and they are proud of it. I love that about them.

  There is also a lengthy epilogue that is a great way to end this one. If you are in the mood for a fun, erotic series with a great hero and heroine, try this one.

  Rating: B

  Previous reviews of this series.

  Goodreads l Author Website

  Kindle l Nook

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2013/08/review-and-giveaway-risk-reward-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 434

  Review and Giveaway: Risk & Reward by Alisha Rai

  August 6, 2013 By Mandi 30 Comments

  riskandreward

  Risk & Reward by Alisha Rai (Bedroom Games #2)
  Erotic Contemporary
  Released: August 6, 2013
  Self Published

  Reviewed by Mandi

  Earlier this year I read Play With Me by Alisha Rai, book one in this series and liked it a lot. It starts the story of Wyatt and Tatiana, who once were deeply in love as teenagers, but their relationship ended. Years later, Wyatt has gone from having nothing to owning his own casino in Las Vegas. Tatiana decided not to pursue science like her parents, instead she makes her own jewelry. After being reunited in book one, they realize their passion is still there and now they want to make their relationship work. Risk & Reward shows us the struggle Wyatt and Tatiana have to openly communicate and to get along with her family. Oh – and it has really, really dirty sex y’all.

  I really enjoy this author’s voice. First, I’m so glad we get at least three books with this couple, yet it’s not the normal ‘end on a cliffhanger’ deal. By the end of book one, these two are basically in love. It’s now just the merging of their lives and making sure they don’t make the same mistakes they made when they were younger. Wyatt is a colder, dominant alpha and what makes him work so well for me is Tatiana. She loves to submit to him, but she also loves to tease him and I adore that about her. She is tough and doesn’t let Wyatt get away with a lot of things. She also embraces her sexuality and loves to explore and play naughty games with him. I thinks she is a well done heroine.

  This is an erotic contemporary, and this author can write the dirty dirty. In a limo, in the hallway of the hotel, or just in the bedroom, the romance scenes in this one are hot.

  I think I liked this book even more than book one and I can’t wait for Bet Me, book three.

  Rating: B+

  Goodreads l Kindle l Nook

  Giveaway: Alisha Rai is offering up three copies of Risk & Reward today. If you are chosen as a winner, and you have yet to read book one, Play With Me, I’ll gift you a copy as well.

  Open to all – I’ll choose winners tomorrow.

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2013/04/review-and-giveaway-play-with-me-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 789

  Review and Giveaway: Play With Me by Alisha Rai

  April 22, 2013 By Mandi 31 Comments

  playwithme

  Play With Me by Alisha Rai (Bedroom Games #1)
  Erotic Contemporary Romance
  April 2, 2013
  Self Published

  Reviewed by Mandi

  This scene summarizes the romance quite well in this book:

  Before she could marshal her thoughts to answer, he slapped her nipple again.

  She cried out, and he paused. “Hurt?”

  “Yes.”

  Wyatt returned to working the nipples with his fingers, both soothing and inflaming the sting. “Too much?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Shut up and spank my tits, Caine.”

  Ha! I love this heroine. Tatiana and Wyatt were high school sweethearts. Well, sweetheart might be too tame a term. These two dated for years, and experimented with many sexual games. They found out they loved it hard and dirty, role play and BDSM too. But their relationship turned rocky and ended and they haven’t seen or spoken to each other for ten years. Tatiana was adopted as an infant, and has just recently met her biological half-brother. When she learns that her brother made a mistake in the past, and stole money from his employer, she decides to try to help him out. She is stunned to find out his employer is Wyatt, who now owns a casino in Las Vegas. She nervously flies out to meet with Wyatt and try to work out a deal. Of course as soon as they see each other, sparks fly, the old attraction builds again and she finds herself doing something naughty in his office. Which then filters over to his penthouse.

  This novella is very sexy and dirty. It’s basically just the one night of them having sex and relearning each other, although there will be at least one more novella featuring these two. This one surprised me because at the start, it has the basic set-up of big, rich, alpha hero who commands everyone to bow down to him. And the anxious heroine who doesn’t know how if she will be accepted by him. But what I really liked about how this story unfolds is that the heroine has a quick wit and once she gets over the initial nervousness of seeing Wyatt again, she is ready to play and she has a ton of confidence. Like after she gives Wyatt a blow job:

  “Not bad. Your technique has improved over the years.”

  Bitch, please.

  Although this book is basically one day/night of just sex, it’s very dirty sex. Wyatt and Tatiana like it rough and daring.

  “There. No one will even know you took a bath in my come.” He dropped his voice. “Though that might be fun, too. For people to see what a dirty little slut you are?”

  That would be fun. She imagined what his employees, his guests, might think if they saw her all messed up, clearly heading up to his bed.

  “You like that,” It was a statement, not a question.

  “Maybe.”

  He smirked. “Duly noted.

  Man, I love a good smirk. I like that we get Wyatt’s point of view in this book because while he is all bossy and alpha, he is a bit vulnerable and we get to see that while inside his head. He may be all in control in the bedroom, but internally he is being swept away just as Tatiana is. We get some backstory when they were teenagers exploring their sexuality, but I’m not sure we get a good enough explanation as to why they broke up or just how they were as young adults. We are told Wyatt had to work for money, wasn’t a focused student etc. I kind of wanted to understand them better in their earlier years. It was hard to reconcile that Wyatt to adult Wyatt.

  But maybe things will flesh out more in the second book. This one doesn’t end with an I love you, but it does end with them wanting to date each other which I liked. I love a non-rushed I love you. Will definitely be picking up the second book. This novella is really fun and super sexy.

  Rating: B

  Goodreads l Author Website l Series Listing

  Kindle l Nook

  Today, Alisha Rai is giving away two e-books of Play With Me. To enter, just leave a comment. I’ll pick two random winners tomorrow. Open to all.

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2012/11/review-night-whispers-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 1085

  Review: Night Whispers by Alisha Rai

  November 7, 2012 By Mandi 3 Comments

  nightwhispers

  Night Whispers by Alisha Rai (ShadowLands #1)
  Paranormal Romance
  Released: November 6, 2012
  Samhain

  Reviewed by Mandi

  Favorite Quote: “And I do know you, love. I know you better than anyone. Maybe even you.”

  Before I start, let me just say – don’t let the cover fool you. Yes this book has a very kick ass heroine who faces down baddies, but this book has a very sweet, adorable tone to it. I don’t feel like the cover portrays that well. Anyway! I usually shy away from books with zombies, or Shadows as they are called in this book. It’s sometimes hard to reconcile ‘romance’ with ‘end of the world blood sucking creatures.’ But, when the author offered this for review and used the keywords beta-hermit-hero, I couldn’t resist. I love me a good beta hero, and I absolutely adored James in this book.

  After an illness spreads across the world, creating zombie like shadow creatures that come out and hunt at night, biting to spread the disease, the United States (or what is left of it) goes into hiding. Half stay in the west, retreating into Cheyenne, the other half stay out east going underground into a place called Raven Rock. Communication was open between these two stations until a huge explosion occurred at Raven Rock. In this explosion, James was injured and now carries the scars. Pre-illness, he was an analyst so he is very tech savvy. He rigs a communication network up, that allows him to speak (two-way) with his agents that are spread out around the country. While James is great at working with his agents, he hasn’t left Rock Raven for two years. The idea of going out into the world terrifies him. These agents help find humans and bring them to safety. Enter our heroine.

  Jules is a former gang member and drug abuser. When the illness occurred, she left her holed up home to find another high. Instead she almost gets attacked by the Shadows. A stranger by the name Erik finds her and together they learn how to survive. However, after the west loses contact with the east, Erik disappears and Jules feels loyalty to help find him. She gets a clue that he may be at Cheyenne station, and takes off. James is worried that she is out alone, but being across the country the only thing he can do is talk in her ear and try to keep a signal of where she is. Over the past year, they have become very good friends and even flirt, although Jules has no idea what James looks like he only has seen her if she happens to walk in front of a mirror or a reflection (due to a collar Jules wears that has a video camera on it).

  Just as James was concerned, Jules does run into danger, and when communication is cut off with her, he must decide if he is strong enough to leave his underground haven and go rescue her.

  Night Whispers had everything I want in a book – a really strong heroine, a shyer bashful hero, and a great storyline with plenty of action to keep the book moving along. It took me a bit to comprehend the world and what exactly was happening and who was where and the why of it all. But as I got further into the story it all fell into place.

  Jules and James have this unique relationship where they are intimately connected, as Jules wears this collar that allows communication between the two of them, and James is able to turn on a video that allows him to see her surroundings. But they have never physically met and for the most part, don’t know what the other looks like. But they cautiously flirt and they would do anything for the other one. Jules describes James as - “He was a thinker, her guy.” Always analyzing situations thoroughly before suggesting action. He is warm, smart, and a calm voice in Jules’s ear. While the world is dark and dangerous, their romance and relationship is very light and surprising. As a gift, Jules decides to show James a real, printed book (as they are rare in the world they live in). So as she is across the country with just her video monitor on, she breaks into an old university library, and shows him a real book.

  “Touch them for me.” James’s whisper started a tingle in her abdomen that was as worrisome as heart flutters.

  She wore combat boots and carried a big knife, for fuck’s sake. She had no time for flutters and tingles. You should remember that before giving sappy presents.

  She propped her blade against the bookshelf and wiped her hands on her pants before running her finger along the spines of the closest leather-bound volumes. They appeared elegant with gold embossed writing. In contrast, her hand looked stubby and mannish with its bitten-off nails and scars.

  “Pick one up. Please.”

  She licked her suddenly dry lips and pulled a book off the shelf. His breathing stuttered before accelerating. It took a rare man to have an orgasm over books.

  Are you seeing why I love James? They are an unlikely pair, wild, former druggie Jules who runs head-first into danger and has no problems killing shadows and living on the edge. And James who is hidden underground, fearful, not self confident. But he really does love her and his character is put to the test when she gets in danger. You can’t help but root for them and their happy ever after, which ended up working well for me.

  Even if dystopian worlds make you hesitate, I encourage you to try this one. The Shadows, while a threat, do not take center stage in this book. As I said earlier, it took me awhile to comprehend this world, but stick with it. The romance is a sweet one you don’t want to miss.

  Rating: B

  Recent Reviews:
  The Book Pushers – B+
  Goodreads

  Author’s Website l Series Listing

  Kindle l Nook l Samhain

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2011/10/review-hot-as-hades-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 618

  Review: Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai

  October 13, 2011 By Mandi 6 Comments

  Hot as Hades

  Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai
  Erotic Paranormal Romance
  October 11, 2011
  Novella, E-Book
  Samhain

  Reviewed by Mandi

  When the goddess Persephone lands naked on the Lord of the Underworld’s lap, they are both confused. Persephone was just getting out of her river bath when boom! She was transported to the underworld. Hades has no idea who this naked woman is, although happy she is naked and on his lap but suspicious as to why she is there. After grilling her (and okay, maybe fondling her a bit) he realizes she is truly clueless as well. He decides he is going to send her back, but when he tries nothing happens.

  Persephone finally admits who her mother is, who happens to be Hades’ sister – which totally grosses him out that he was fondling his nieces boobies. But wait! Persephone was adopted – so boobie fondling can proceed much to Hades’s excitement!

  When they realize it is Hades’ brother Zeus, who has sent Persephone down underground and she can’t leave for awhile, Hades is put out. But as they live together he starts to like her for more than just her luscious curves.

  Hot as Hades is a short, erotic, cute book. I fell in love with Hades early on. He is cranky and bad ass, but not so bad ass as everyone thinks. He does have a softer side – but he dares not let anyone see it. He is intrigued by Persephone – first by her good looks, but then by her eagerness to learn new things, and the happiness she spreads around him. But he still keeps that somewhat cocky, bad dude edge with him throughout the book. Plus they have such cute banter:

  “I’m not romanticizing anything, I’m simply thanking you for giving me sanctuary and apologizing for my shameful earlier behavior.”

  “I could still kill you, you know.” He sounded like a whining, petulant child.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Her face was sober, but he knew he wasn’t imagining the laughter in her tone. “I promise I’ll keep out of your way while I’m here.”

  “Good. You…do that.”

  “I will.”

  “Good.”

  “You already said that.”

  Hades stared at her, feeling stupid. He fucking hated to feel stupid. He also hated to not have the last word. “Just….stay. In your room.” He turned and stalked out of the room before he could make a greater fool of himself.

  She didn’t stay.

  This book definitely has its erotic sex scene moments, and I think the emphasis is more on that than a lovey-dovey romance. I felt much more romantic feelings coming from Hades actually, than I did from Persephone. From her it felt more of an exploration of a physical relationship with a really hot man, than true cemented love. She was more independent and it didn’t feel like the end of the world with the thought of leaving him.

  If you are in the mood for a quick, erotic lighthearted paranormal romance, definitely give this one a try.

  Rating: B

  Recent Reviews:
  The Bookpushers – A-, B+
  Fiction Vixen – B-
  Pearl’s World of Romance – 8/10
  Goodreads

  Author’s Website

  Kindle l Nook l Samhain

  ** Review first appeared at USA Today’s Happy Ever After Blog**

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2010/12/review-never-have-i-ever-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 595

  Review: Never Have I Ever by Alisha Rai

  December 18, 2010 By Mandi 3 Comments

  Never Have I Ever (Reynolds Pack, #1)

  Never Have I Ever by Alisha Rai (Reynolds Pack #1)
  Erotic Paranormal
  December 14, 2010
  E-Book
  Samhain

  Reviewed by Mandi

  Favorite Quote: He crooked his finger at Ana. “Come here, little one.”

  Taylor and Ana have been married for two years and are both content and happy, at least on the surface. They truly love each other and have no big complaints about their life – that is until Ana receives a very interesting email. One that shows old pictures of Taylor participating in some very kinky sexual activities.

  Ana starts to wonder if maybe their vanilla lifestyle isn’t meeting all of Taylor’s needs. Without Taylor knowing she has received this email, she suggests they go away to a cabin where she plans to step out of her safe zone and try some new things in the bedroom with Taylor.

  They don’t even make it to the bedroom though. Ana starts pleasuring herself in the car on the way up. Taylor can’t believe his little innocent wife is doing something so – hot! At the cabin Ana starts experimenting and Taylor can’t get enough of his new little minx. When Taylor’s good friend Eli comes up, and a secret is unloaded, Taylor and Ana have to take a hard look at their relationship.

  Never Have I Ever is a dirty, dirty book. Let’s face it – how many sex scenes have I read this year? And I am able to say that Alisha Rai writes very erotic, well done scenes that definitely deliver the heat that a lot of erotic books lack. I loved all the romance and I love Taylor. He is such a dominant, sexually hungry man. When Ana gives him the green light – whoa. He can barely contain himself. It is hot.

  However, there are a few things that I didn’t love. While I loved Taylor’s “new” behavior in bed, it is also hard to buy into it. They have been married for two years, and he never once asked for something more dirty, or lost control? Has he really been satisfied with his missionary, vanilla lifestyle? He goes from that to tying her up and spanking her with a ping pong paddle. I get the whole point of the trip is to explore new things, but it seems odd this never came up in the past.

  Ana seems to jump from worrywart, meek girl to this sex fiend in a very short time. I think their journey to their new revelations in the bedroom should have played out in a longer fashion. There is also a paranormal revelation towards the end which is definitely hinted at throughout the story. It doesn’t play a huge part in this book though. Eli, Taylor’s friend plays a big role in this book, and even joins in on the sexy time. I like him and I really hope we get his story.

  So – Hot sex – check. Hot alpha male – check. Ping Pong addle spanking – check. Sex wearing a ski mask – check.

  Although I had a few problems with the story line, Alisha Rai can really write erotic scenes. I definitely look forward to more!

  Rating: C+

  Recent Reviews:
  Fiction Vixen –3.5/5
  Mama Kitty – 4/5
  Goodreads

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2010/06/reviews-veiled-desire-and-veiled.html
  Word count: 1058

  Reviews: Veiled Desire and Veiled Seduction by Alisha Rai

  June 14, 2010 By Mandi 15 Comments

  Veiled Desire

  Veiled Desire by Alisha Rai
  February 2, 2010
  Contemporary Romance
  Novella, E-Book
  Samhain

  Mason and Leyla are neighbors that have known each other since childhood. When their parents all died in a car accident, Mason pretty much moved in with Leyla and her brother Sasha. She was the strong one who got them through difficult times. Now, as adults they have stayed close but things are about to change. Leyla can see into Mason’s house from her patio, and what she sees is Mason strutting around in his undies..and oh what a body he has. As she guiltily watches him, he calls her and totally embarrassed, she pretends not to be at home. But as they talk on the phone, she can’t help but still peek at him and notices certain parts of him getting bigger. She suddenly realizes the attraction might be on both sides. With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, Mason and Leyla decide to take that next step – and smexiness ensues!

  When presented with an erotic novella, I always get nervous. I need more than just sex – I need that emotional connection that a novella doesn’t always give time to provide. BUT – Alisha Rai does an amazing job building up the emotions. These two have known each other for so long, and they are both attracted to each other, the next step is a relationship. Mason is so sweet – and such a dirty talker in bed! A great combination. He sneaks in Leyla’s house and leaves her cake and flowers, and is such a gentleman and becomes nervous when it is time to broach the subject of dating. But when he convinces her he doesn’t see her as his mom, and she convinces him she doesn’t see him as a brother, let the nakey time begin! Get him in bed and he is ALL about the dirty talking. It’s been awhile since I have read sex scenes that have been this well done.

  “One day, I want to spend just an hour or two sucking your breasts. Will you let me do that?”

  And

  “Get on your hands and knees. And brace yourself. This is going to get a little rough.”

  I rolled my eyes a bit with Leyla’s overprotective brother Sasha. When he finds out his beloved sister is dating his best friend, he goes way over the top. But, just as I was ready to throttle him, Sasha comes up with a list of rules for Mason to follow and it made me laugh out loud. One of the rules being:

  Four, if I ever hurt her or make her cry, you will give me a gun, and I must shoot myself. Five, if I fail to shoot myself, I give you permission to do it on my behalf.”

  Veiled Desire is an erotic novella that has great dialogue, warm characters, and romance that will leave you turning the fan on high. I definitely recommend.

  Rating: 4/5

  Veiled Seduction (Veiled #2)

  Veiled Seduction by Alisha Rai
  Contemporary Romance
  June 1, 2010
  Novella, E-Book
  Samhain

  Sasha has just become the hero of the town. After a man opened fire on a school playground, police offer Sasha happened to be in the right place at the right time. He gunned down the shooter, risking his life but saving so many. Rushed to the hospital for a bullet wound to the leg, Maira, the ER doctor freaks out when she is informed her good friend has been admitted. As Sasha lay under heavy sedation, Maira lets out all her hidden emotions of love she has been holding in secretly towards Sasha.

  After he is home, and very hounded by neighbors and the media, Maira sneaks in to give him some food and makes the bold decision that she wants to take their friendship to the next level. Her way of telling him is to just take her shirt off. Sasha is stunned, and with so many women throwing themselves at him because he is a hero, he thinks Maira is just following suit. He treats her badly, and Maira leaves, devastated.

  After meeting with his sister and her husband, and getting some sense knocked into him, he realizes Maira was sincere in her affections. Now he must win her back – apologizing and romance are in the plan.

  I knew Sasha would be quite a different hero than Mason in her first book. He is more surly, quiet, and overall a harder hero to break out of his shell. I was taken aback by how he treats Maira when he misunderstands her intentions in the beginning. He definitely redeems himself in the book, almost too much, making a plan that includes only kissing her and truly winning her affection, rather than just basing it on sex. He holds Maira up on a pedestal, frightened he will scare her away if he goes too far too fast.

  Maira is a virgin, but not a delicate flower. She wants the strong sexy Sasha – BAD. I didn’t quite feel as strong of an emotional connection between these two as in her first book, but they still had their very sexy moments. Alisha Rai puts such naughty sex scenes in this book – I love it. We even get a very explicit scene between Mason and Leyla from Veiled Desire. I loved revisiting those characters.

  I’m very impressed with Alisha Rai. I’ve already bought her back list and I look forward to anything she writes in the future. Really sexy, fun books.

  Rating: 3.5/5

  Recent Reviews:
  Fiction Vixen – 4/5
  Related

  Smexy Deals!!April 19, 2016In "Smexy Deals!"

  Review: Hot as Hades by Alisha RaiOctober 13, 2011In "Alisha Rai"

  Review and Giveaway: Risk & Reward by Alisha RaiAugust 6, 2013In "Alisha Rai"

  Filed Under: Alisha Rai, B Review, C Review, Contemporary Romance, Erotic, Four Stars, Samhain, Three and a Half Star

• Smexy Books
  http://smexybooks.com/2017/11/review-wrong-to-need-you-by-alisha-rai.html
  Word count: 1152

  Review: Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai

  November 29, 2017 By Mandi Leave a Comment

  Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai (Forbidden Hearts #2)
  Released: November 28, 2017
  Contemporary Romance
  Avon

  Reviewed by Mandi

  Sadia pressed her hand over her heart, hating the swirl of emotion in there.

  I think I did the same thing, while reading this book, Sadia. Alisa Rai has definitely tuned into the angsty market. If you like forbidden love, some guilt thrown in and overall fretting about choices you have made in your life, this is the book for you.

  Blurb: He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with his brother’s widow…

  Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Jackson Kane fled his home, his name, and his family. Ten years later, he’s come back to town: older, wiser, richer, tougher—and still helpless to turn away the one woman he could never stop loving, even after she married his brother.

  Sadia Ahmed can’t deal with the feelings her mysterious former brother-in-law stirs, but she also can’t turn down his offer of help with the cafe she’s inherited. While he heats up her kitchen, she slowly discovers that the boy she adored has grown into a man she’s simply unable to resist.

  An affair is unthinkable, but their desire is undeniable. As secrets and lies are stripped away, Sadia and Jackson must decide if they’re strong enough to face the past…and step into a future together.

  If you read book one, Hate to Want You, this book has a similar feel. We revisit the same family drama and the overall tone is very much the same. I wouldn’t call them dark – but maybe complex? And not to use angst again – but a lot of angst. They read well as stand alones, although there is a family connection between the characters. And for some reason I have a hard time keeping the in-laws and grandparents straight…but maybe that’s just me.

  Sadia’s husband died and she is working two jobs and raising their young son. She has a lot of help from her sisters and has moved past the grief stage. Her husband and her were basically staying married just for their son, so he wasn’t the love of her life. When she sees a very sexy man sitting in the bar she tends, she makes him a special drink and uses all her charm and flirtation as she walks over to him.

  As she grew closer to the man in the booth, he shifted, his arms bunching and releasing. On another guy, she might suspect that he’d bought his red Henley a size too small. On him, she wondered if he could even find a size that fit him. Getting dressed was probably a daily battle of him versus fabric.

  That was a battle she would pay to see.

  She gets the shock of her life when he lifts his head and it’s her former lover, Jackson. AKA brother of her deceased husband. AKA the man she loved with all her heart as a teenager. AKA OMG.

  There is a lot of dark, and deep family drama with Sadia, Jackson, her late husband and other sisters and parents. Bad things happened, feelings were hurt, relationships became estranged. If you read book one, you know all about it. If you haven’t, you learn again in this one. It’s a lot to get into so I’m just leaving it as general drama. Jackson got blamed for something bad, left town and has been traveling ever since, setting up pop-up kitchens and showing off his chef skills around the world. When he left, Sadia started writing him emails…almost like a diary or a daily journal – and Jackson never responded. But he read every word. It takes events that happen in book one, to finally bring Jackson home.

  “Why don’t I calm down? Because what’s there to be upset by? You only disappeared from the face of the earth for ten years. Ignored every single e-mail I sent you. Ignored your nephew’s birth, your sister and mother’s pain, your own brother’s funeral.”

  […] She wasn’t saying anything but the truth. Only a monster would have ignored every word she’d written to him over the past decade. Only the most uncaring of people wouldn’t have at least called her when her husband – his brother – had died.

  That’s what he was, what he’d aspired to be. Alive, but unfeeling. His heart beat, his blood pounded, his organs functioned. That was it. That was enough.

  Do you feel the pain?? Do you feel the ANGST??

  He offers to help Sadia out in the cafe she owns, and he stays in her spare room above her garage. He gets to know her son. He rekindles the flame they had when they were younger. And they move past the guilt, and the bad memories and all the reasons they shouldn’t be together – and start a passionate relationship they can’t deny.

  He bit at her lips, pulled them deep. He felt like a kid jumping from couch cushion to couch cushion, unable to touch the floor. If he touched the floor, lava would get him. If he stopped kissing her, he’s start thinking. Or she’d start thinking. Either way, they’d both stop feeling.

  He never wanted to stop feeling this, not in a million years. He’d waited so long for it. His whole life, or so it felt. He stroked his thumb over the arch of her throat.

  It takes time for Sadia to come to terms with Jackson back in her life. It’s not necessarily guilt that he is her late husband’s brother, but the fact Jackson abandoned her during so many of her major life events. Will he leave again? Does she let her son get close to him? What about the secrets and blame that he his holding onto from his past? Alisha Rai doesn’t rush their relationship. It slowly unfolds and builds up as she learns to trust him.

  There is a lot of lovely family time too – and even the young son is written well for his age.

  If you liked book one, you will definitely like this one too. Next up is Eve (sister of Nick from book one) and Gabe (the housekeeper’s son growing up)….I’m ready!

  Grade: B+

  Goodreads l Kindle l Nook

• Harlequin Junkie
  http://harlequinjunkie.com/review-hate-to-want-you-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 619

  REVIEW: Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai

  Posted August 16th, 2017 by Sara @HarlequinJunkie in Blog, Contemporary Romance, Review / 4 comments

  Hate to Want You (Forbidden Hearts #1) by Alisha Rai HOT HOT HOT! That is what you get in Hate to Want You (Forbidden Hearts #1) by Alisha Rai. The chemistry between these characters is way off the charts. I swear anytime they were together, they set off the smoke alarms. This is the first book in the Forbidden Hearts series, and I am already waiting for book 2. This is the story of Livvy and Nicholas.

  For years Livvy and Nicholas have had a secret arrangement, they would meet for one night, have hot passionate sex and go their separate ways. No one could know, especially not their families. They were engaged once, but that ended when his mother and her father died together in a car crash, add to that her twin brother was accused of burning down one of the family stores and the spelled the end of their relationship. Or did it?

  This year, Livvy did not text Nicholas with the meeting location and it drove him right out of his every loving mind. But when she heads back to town to help her mother recover from a hip surgery, it might be the perfect time for Nicholas and Livvy to get each other out of their systems once and for all. Or will it?

  As they form a new pack, spend time together, take it out, and …..other activities, they fall deeper and deeper. When Nicholas has to make a decision to fight for Livvy, to fight for their love, it will take everything he can throw at it to convince Livvy that he will never walk away from her again, that he will fight for them for the rest of his life.

  I loved the connection between Livvy and Nicholas. They really had chemistry, and when Livvy came clean about her depression, Nicholas was supportive, loving and wanted nothing more than to prove to her that he didn’t care about that. He loved her, really loved her. When Nicholas came clean about the real reason that he was forced to walk away from Livvy all those years ago, Livvy was hurt that he did not trust her enough to tell her back then, but she understood. She agreed that he was left with no choice. But when they decided that their love was worth the risk, was worth fighting for, the HEA for these two was super sweet.

  Book Info:

  Publication: Published July 25th 2017 | Avon | Forbidden Hearts #1

  One night. No one will know.

  That was the deal. Every year, Livvy Kane and Nicholas Chandler would share one perfect night of illicit pleasure. The forbidden hours let them forget the tragedy that haunted their pasts-and the last names that made them enemies.

  Until the night she didn’t show up.

  Now Nicholas has an empire to run. He doesn’t have time for distractions and Livvy’s sudden reappearance in town is a major distraction. She’s the one woman he shouldn’t want…so why can’t he forget how right she feels in his bed?

  Livvy didn’t come home for Nicholas, but fate seems determined to remind her of his presence–and their past. Although the passion between them might have once run hot and deep, not even love can overcome the scandal that divided their families.

  Being together might be against all the rules…but being apart is impossible.

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• Fresh Fiction
  http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=65327
  Word count: 626

  Hurts to Love You
  Alisha Rai

  Reviewed by Make Kay
  Posted March 18, 2018

  Romance Contemporary | Romance Erotica Sensual

  HURTS TO LOVE YOU is book three in the angsty goodness of Alisha Rai's Forbidden Hearts series. I have always enjoyed Rai's writing, but she has outdone herself with this latest contemporary series. I adore a good angst-ridden romance, and this series serves up heartbreak and emotional drama interwoven with raunchy fun and satisfying falls into dreamy romance. Each of these Forbidden Hearts books has made me heave a deep sigh of satisfaction as true love overcomes truly hurtful circumstances and crushed emotions.

  This is a book about family and the many ways that they can hurt you. It's also a book about loving one's family, including family-by-choice as well as family-by-blood. Forgiveness and growth are shown by many characters, and the emotional maturity of so many of Rai's characters is fantastically beautiful.

  The Kanes and the Chandlers used to be partners in a successful grocery store chain. However, tragedy and treachery separated the families, who have been staunch enemies since. Starting in book one, HATE TO WANT YOU, Livvy Kane and Nicholas Chandler fell in love and brought the families partially back together in an uneasy coalition. Now in HURTS TO LOVE YOU, heiress Evangeline (Eve) Chandler and Gabe Hunter, the adopted son of the Kanes' hired help, come together against the backdrop of Livvy and Nicholas' impending wedding. Both Eve and Gabe have lots of family issues to surmount before they can climb triumphantly up to the peak of their love. The accompanying cast of characters is robust and adds such much juicy complexity to the story.

  Not quite as angsty as books one and two, HURTS TO LOVE YOU still delivers plenty of shivery highs of lust and love as well as the lows of emotional torment of Eve and Gabe, together and separately. I love how Eve comes into her own in this book. I also adore the explicit sex consent and the sex-positive writing. Rai's HURTS TO LOVE YOU is a book for my Keeper shelf, right next to the first two in the series.
  Learn more about Hurts to Love You
  SUMMARY

  Being bad never felt so good, in the third novel in Alisha Rai’s sexy Forbidden Hearts series

  Well-behaved women don’t lust after men who love to misbehave.

  Heiress Evangeline Chandler knows how to keep a secret...like her life-long crush on the tattooed hottie who just happens to be her big brother’s friend. She’s a Chandler, after all, and Chandlers don’t hook up with the help. Then again, they also don’t disobey their fathers and quit their respectable jobs, so good-girl rules may no longer apply.

  Gabriel Hunter hides the pain of his past behind a smile, but he can’t hide his sudden attraction to his friend’s sheltered little sister. Eve is far too sweet to accept anything less than forever and there’s no chance of a future between the son of a housekeeper and the town’s resident princess.

  When a wedding party forces Eve and Gabe into tight quarters, keeping their hands off each other will be as hard as keeping their clothes on. The need that draws them together is stronger than the forces that should shove them apart...but their sparks may not survive the explosion when long-buried secrets are finally unearthed.
  What do you think about this review?
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• The Bookpushers
  http://thebookpushers.com/2011/10/10/joint-review-hot-as-hades-by-alisha-rai/
  Word count: 1628

  Joint Review – Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai

  October 10, 2011 By E_booklover 5 Comments

  Hot as Hades Cover
  Publisher: Samhain
  Publish Date: 11 Oct 11
  How we got this book: From the Author

  “It’s not easy being Hades. Constantly guarding his world against other meddling and ambitious deities is stressful work. So when a naked goddess falls directly into his lap, along with the news that he has to shelter her for the indefinite future, he is less than thrilled. Particularly since he can’t help but lust after the beautiful female.
  The Underworld isn’t the first place Persephone would pick for a vacation—who in their right mind would choose a dark palace over sunshine and flowers? Yet from Hades’s first touch, the dark, sexy ruler fascinates her and has her thinking a fling might be just the thing to while away her confinement.
  But trust each other? Not a chance. Until the day comes that Persephone must leave…and they realize that trusting each other is the only way they’ll ever meet again.
  Warning: Contains an arrogant god, a stubborn goddess, horny deity nookie and enough supernatural friction to set the Underworld on fire.”

  This blurb came from the author’s website here.

  1. Thoughts on the Hero

  Lou – I loved Hades so much. He was sarcastic, he was immature, and he had a temper, but he was oh so funny. Alisha really made a wonderful character and hero out of him. I liked that he had a hidden soft side, but he also had a very very smexy side. The first scene when Sephie first met Hades was very erotic, and Alisha never fails to deliver on creating smexy scenes full of passion. Hades also had a big-ass responsibility to the Underworld, and whilst Alisha toned down Hades’ character, what he actually did was never swept under the carpet.

  MinnChica – I loved Hades… He was funny and snarky and had this sweet side to him that made me want to give him a naked hug. =) I loved that he still wanted to retain his big, bad nasty reputation with everyone, except when it came to Persephone. With her he wanted to be just a man. It was sweet and endearing and made me fall in love with him that much more. Plus, the fact that he wanted to train her, teach her, help her grow her powers. *melt*

  E – Hades was hilarious! He totally fit the image of the college frat boy who has been forcibly removed from his fellow boys and any fun environments so therefore decided to sulk. Yes he takes his job seriously but he doesn’t get to have fun so when he ends up with a lapful of a warm, wet (from her bath), naked woman that is bound to give him a shock. Hades even being the Lord of the Underworld has a line he will not cross which I think is what gives him the underlying ability to become the hero. He possesses a rather intriguing tattoo and a very funny dog. I really enjoyed watching him grow throughout the book and demonstrate that there was a lot more to him then the overly amorous frat boy he appears to be in the beginning. I also enjoyed reading his thoughts as he was trying to deal with Persephone and what her presence meant to his world.

  2. Thoughts on the Heroine

  Lou – Whilst I liked Sephie, I thought she was a weaker character compared to Hades in personality, and I felt she sort of paled in comparison to him. Whilst she stood up to him, and could be quite stubborn, I personally thought that she was almost like the secondary character to Hades. I would have liked to have seem more of her POV. I think the strongest part of the story was her interactions with Hades on a sexual level, which again was incredibly well done.

  MinnChica – I too thought that Persephone took a back seat to Hades. He was so larger than life and came to life so quickly that she didn’t stand out as much to me. At the same time, I loved that she was both his opposite and perfect match rolled up into one. She was the light to his dark, the sweet to his tart, and she was able to bring out in him a playful side. I have to say though, I did enjoy watching her grow from the meek and feeble girl who landed in his lap, the the Queen of the Underworld.

  E – Persephone is an intriguing combination of naïve, innocent and worldly. I will admit when I was first reading her physical description as seen thru Hades eyes I felt like she was extremely overblown but as Ms Rai continued to provide information about her world I picked up on what I thought was some very interesting symbolism. Then when I found out Persephone’s parentage (no not the same as the typical myth) it all made sense. I also liked how she could make things grow without requiring sunlight and that she could use her plants almost as extensions of herself. She also grew during the story and became a much more complete character not just a relatively powerless goddess who had to stay sheltered.

  3. Favorite Scene

  Lou – I think my favourite scene has to be the beginning of the story. It’s so funny, and Hades’ was hilarious with his quips and his banter to Sephie. Though I have to add all of the smexy scenes were favourites for me. Those are usually my least favourite, Alisha did them so well with the level of sexual tension and yes, dirty talk *grins*.

  MinnChica – Oh this is a tough one. I loved the beginning as well. It started off sexy and dirty and just went downhill from there. It was fun and the teasing and innuendos were great. At the same time, I also loved the scene where Hades is talking to his brother Zeus and he talks about why he didn’t try and trick Persephone into eating the food and having to stay in the Underworld for good.

  E – I think my favorite scene is when Sephie ties Zeus up with a vine, he can’t get away and she proceeds to go fight for her HEA. That to me was the culmination of all of Persephone’s growth into herself as a goddess worthy of the position she holds in mythology.

  4. Dislike about book

  Lou – My only dislike was that I felt Sephie wasn’t as strong a character compared to Hades. The external plot of why Sephie was sent to the Underworld wasn’t as strong as I would have liked, but for the short story length, it kept the story moving along at a good pace.

  MinnChica – I would have liked a few more POV moments from Persephone as well. Like I said, we got such a good understanding of Hades, his point-of-view, his emotions and everything. I never felt that connect to her, and it would have been nice to have.

  E – I don’t really have any dislikes. The one I thought I was going to have as I continued reading got smaller and smaller and then I saw how Ms Rai set things up so there went my quibble.

  5. Any other misc. thoughts.

  Lou – Overall, Alisha Rai has once again managed to create a cracking story with characters that burst off the page — and for me, the story was all Hades. I love him so! With smex scenes that make you fan your face, Hot as Hades is a great short story that I would definitely re-read again. I give it a B.

  MinnChica – All in all I think Rai has another great novella here. The story is fun, moves quickly, and has some smokin’ hot scenes as well. Hades is such a lovable hero, and the twist on this classic myth was fun and different. I loved the moments with Zeus, and how all of the gods were portrayed. (am I the only one who is desperately hoping Rai will do a story about Zeus and Poseidon???) I give this one a B+

  E – I enjoyed reading this and Ms Rai’s portrayal of Mount Olympus and the Greek gods and goddesses. I also like how she put her own spin on the story of Hades and Persephone. I think my favorite character is honestly Cerberus and his multiple personalities. I certainly hope that Ms Rai decides to tackle other myths and legends.
  I give Hot as Hades an A-

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  Filed Under: A REVIEWS, A- Review, B Review, B REVIEWS, B+ Review, eBooks, Paranormal Romance Tagged With: A Review, B Review, Ebooks, Joint Review, Paranormal Romance
  About E_booklover

  E is addicted to books. She discovered at an early age that not only were they her transport to far off worlds, adventures, and exotic cultures, but that she ran into far fewer objects if she walked while reading then if she wasn't reading. She reads across several genres, such as: romance, western,mystery, SF/F and its derivatives. She isn't too picky except for good characterization, settings she can imagine, and a story that flows logically... umm so ok -- she wants a good story. Have any to recommend?

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