Review of No Limits (No Shame #2) by Nora Phoenix

  

 by Nora Phoenix

3.5 stars

Josh is convinced he’ll never find someone who’ll love him the way he is. He’s not exactly a catch with his PTSD, which has transformed him into a homebody most of the times. Sweet, maybe, but also boring as hell. Plus, there’s that submissive tendency he recently discovered and is dying to explore. His complicated relationship with Noah and Indy don’t make it easy, either. When Connor shows interest in him, he can’t believe the sexy cop would look at him twice, let alone make an effort to get to know him. When he does, Josh discovers they have more in common than he’d ever thought possible.

Connor had survived the ordeal that left his best friend and fellow Marine dead, but that survival came at a price. He’s a robot, going through the motions, but barely alive. Until fate intervenes when he meets Josh. The vulnerable man triggers all kinds of protective and dominant urges in Connor, but what would a cute guy like Josh want with an inexperienced, closed-off, bossy steamroller like him?

When Connor discovers his past endangers Indy, all hope for a future between him and Josh seems lost. After all, there’s no way Josh will ever choose Connor over Indy’s safety and Noah’s lifelong friendship. When a crisis hits, can Connor prove he’s strong enough to deal with everything that’s thrown his way?

No Limits is the 2^nd in the No Shame series by Nora Phoenix, and a great continuation from the first book No Filter.  While we enjoyed the first book, we found editing and story inconsistencies kept us form loving it, Nora Phoenix has ironed out a bot of the story, making No Limits a much easier read.

The yay?

-  BDSM:  We really enjoyed watching Connor and Josh finding their kinks, and exploring their dominant/submissive relationship.  Nora Phoenix spent some time really developing this relationship and not jumping too hardcore into whips and chains.  It seems like a natural progression for their relationship, and we loved how it suited and settled Josh.

-  Continuation of Story:  This is a series; you can’t read this book without reading the last book. We liked that, but it could be a negative.

-  Story flow:  The story was so much better edited, there was a flow to the events and just didn’t stumble along. 

The meh?

-  Confusion:  We still feel the story was a little confused about what it is trying to be.  Erotica, threesome / foursome ménage, hurt comfort, mafia, there is a lot going on.  Seem to jump from story line to storyline and it gives us a bit of whiplash.

-  The cliffhanger:  Just like the end of the first in the series and man it is unsatisfying!

-  Story flow:  Yes, this was something we enjoyed, but there is so much going on in this book, that sometimes we felt a good editor could streamline a bit more, and deal with the grammatical and word confusion issues.

So many things going on, so many feelings and storyline, so many relationships.  We love these boys and feel invested in the series, but a few issues still nagged at us, and ironing out the kinks could really skyrocket this series. 

Review of Audiobook If the Seas Catch Fire by L.A. Witt, narration by Michael Ferraiuolo

by L.A. Witt, narration by Michael Ferraiuolo

5 star 

Sergei Andronikov was a child when the Mafia wiped out his family, leaving him with nothing but a hunger for revenge. Years later, through ruthless strategy and tireless patience, he's a contract killer working for the three families ruling Cape Swan...and he's nearly in position to bring them all down from the inside.

Domenico "Dom" Maisano is Mafia royalty, a made man...and a hitman. He's caught up in a violent life he can't escape, struggling to maintain an image he doesn't want, and suppressing desires he can't have.

A chance encounter throws the killers into each other's paths. Though Dom knows he's playing a dangerous game, he's intrigued and keeps coming back. Sergei can't resist him either - Dom is everything he set out to destroy, but he's also everything he's ever ached for in a man.

Then Sergei gets the contract he's been waiting for - the hit that promises to bring the town's Mafia to its knees.

But when a boss makes an unexpected move, Sergei must choose between dropping the hammer on the families he vowed to annihilate, and protecting the man he swore he wouldn't love.

And the wrong choice - or even the right one - will destroy them both.

We LOVE this book!  If the Seas Catch Fire is our favourite L.A. Witt book, hard to choose just one!  And in all honesty we have read it 5+ times.  So what could make it better?  An amazing narration by Michael Ferraiuolo!

Why we love the book?

-          The story:  We love Mafia stories and If the Seas Catch Fire is at the top of our love list.  These 2 are normal men who are dragged into a life they don’t want.  There are so many similarities between Dom and Sergei yet they are so far apart on who they believe themselves to be.  It made us want to shake them, and make them acknowledge what they were felling.   This is a fast-paced ride of a story, so many ups and down, intrigue and heat-ache.

-          Dark dark dark:  this is a dark story, murder, drugs, human trafficking, torture, the list goes on.  But what do we love a dark romance?  The idea of redemption, the hope that itr will be okay.  And man we held onto that throughout If the Seas Catch Fire, we yearned for these men to find a little peace.

-          Sexy sexy sexy:  So sexy.  Dom and Sergei know they shouldn’t be together but just can’t stop needing each other, their middle of the night tryst are so hot and so good.

Let’s talk about the Narration:  Michael Ferraiuolo is amazing.  We have heard him in other audiobooks that do nothing for his talent.  He seems to have 100 voices from mafia Italians to Russians, and they are all exceptional.  We never felt confused, about who was who or what was going on.  And he delivered on the feels.   the Seas Catch Fire is an emotional read and Michael captures that heart-breaking quality, the hopelessness that surrounds Dom and Sergei. 

If the Seas Catch Fire is a perfect example of a fantastic author and an excellent narrator coming together to create a superior audiobook.  It is one of the best we have heard this year and on the top of our recommendations.  We are so pleased that L.A. Witt choose Michael Ferraiuolo to narrate and hope for many successful collaborations in the future.

Review of If the Seas Catch Fire by LA Witt

by LA Witt

4.5 Stars

 Sergei Andronikov was a child when the Mafia wiped out his family, leaving him with nothing but a hunger for revenge. Years later, through ruthless strategy and tireless patience, he’s a contract killer working for the three families ruling Cape Swan… and he’s nearly in position to bring them all down from the inside.

Domenico “Dom” Maisano is Mafia royalty, a made man… and a hitman. He’s caught up in a violent life he can’t escape, struggling to maintain an image he doesn’t want, and suppressing desires he can’t have.

A chance encounter throws the killers into each other’s paths. Though Dom knows he’s playing a dangerous game, he’s intrigued and keeps coming back. Sergei can’t resist him either—Dom is everything he set out to destroy, but he’s also everything he’s ever ached for in a man.

Then Sergei gets the contract he’s been waiting for—the hit that promises to bring the town’s Mafia to its knees.

But when a capo makes an unexpected move, Sergei must choose between dropping the hammer on the families he vowed to annihilate, and protecting the man he swore he wouldn’t love.

And the wrong choice—or even the right one—will destroy them both.

We loved this book!  Sexy mafia men, forbidden love, fated lives, hot chemistry all makes this a winner of a great read!

Sergei is an exotic dancer, a good one at that, but hiding his true identity as the Georgian hit man.  He started on this dreadful career for revenge, revenge of the family that was gunned down in the street by the Mafia.  He has pledged his life to create chaos and murder those who are responsible.  He is cold, calculated and finally seeing the fruition of the path he has spent many year cultivating.  But, fate has other plans for him.  Domenico, Dom, is Mafia royalty, and although it seems like everything has been handed to him, he is still paying for his father’s mistakes with a life he wants nothing to do with. He is being forced to marry for appearances he finally give mane to the fact he isn’t attracted to women, but in his world that’’ll end with a bullet in his head.  At the wrong place at the wrong time, Sergei rescues Dom and finds himself falling in love with the last man he should want.

We really like mafia books, and this one is fantastic.  Dom is a typical Mafia man, but hates the life, he wants to make his own choices and live his own life.  We really feel the push and pull of his heart and his head.  He know he can’t walk way, no one does, but he feels so obligated to the life he was given.  So when he meets Sergei, the time they spend together feels like a bubble, a place for them both the escape.

This is a fast paced story.  We really enjoyed that there was a story here, and not just typical erotic romance.  Theirs is a fast-paced romance, and you fall in love right along.  They both have so much to hide and it is heart-breaking to see them struggle with what they want for their futures, and the reality of their lives.  Let’s talk about the s-e-x.  This is an erotic romance, there is lot of sex, but it adds so much to the story.  Both Dom and Sergei are alone in life and sex is their connection to another person.  Dom has never allowed himself to be with another man, and with his potential upcoming marriage, he is finally being authentic to himself.

There are so many great things about LA Witt’s If the Seas Catch Fire; romance, sexy men, heartbreak, and love love love!