ARC Review – Cherished (Delicious #1) by Maya Banks, Lauren Dane

Description:
Two all-new novellas that cross the boundaries of desire.

Exiled by Maya Banks…Enticed to the island paradise where an enigmatic prince is living in exile, beautiful, virginal Talia is introduced to a world of forbidden pleasure where the prince’s every whim is fulfilled and her fantasies are rendered in exquisite detail. But when the prince is summoned back to fulfill his duty to his struggling country, reality is thrust upon Talia all too soon. She returns home, heartbroken, convinced she was a passing fancy for an idle ruler and his most trusted men. Until the day they arrive on her doorstep, determined to have her back where she belongs.

Sway by Lauren Dane…Levi Warner is an established, older man—wealthy, powerful, and above all, respectable. Then Levi meets Daisy, an uninhibited 24-year-old dance instructor and artist, not exactly the kind of woman Levi is accustomed to. But the young, free spirit, brings out something in him he only experienced in fantasies. When their scorching affair turns into something unexpectedly deeper, Levi finds himself torn between preserving his reputation, and exploring a wilder and much more satisfying kind of life.

This book has stories by two of my favs, Lauren Dane and Maya Banks. While both of these stories have BDSM themes, they also have interesting stories. I have been counting the days until I could get my hands on this book since Lauren Dane is starting her new Delicious series, a spin-off of the Brown Siblings series with her story Sway.

Exiled by Maya Banks

Exiled is the story of Talia who is 22 and still a virgin. Talia has been away at University in Paris along with her mother who is in Paris for cancer treatment. All of this would not have been possible without the help of Prince Alexander “Xander”. Xander has been in exile on a lush tropical island due to unrest in his small island country. Now that Talia is done with school and her mother is cancer free, Xander summons her to the island as “payment” for helping her mother and putting her through school. The “payment” is her submission to him and his three most trusted friends for six months. I have to admitt I had a hard time getting into the story. I could not understand why Xander was so infatuated with Talia seeing has they had not seen each other or spoken to each other in 4 years. This story had a hard time of keeping my attention. Of course the sex scenes are hot. I really enjoyed the interaction between Talia and Xander’s friends. I enjoyed watching them fall in love with Talia. I did want the story to keep going at the end. I hope that maybe one day Maya will pick up Talia’s story.

Exiled – 3 Stars

Sway by Lauren Dane

Okay I was ready to get my hands on this story the day after Lauren announced she was doing a Brown Siblings spin-off focused around Gillian’s friends, plus we will finally get Raven’s story! I am a HUGE Brown Siblings fan and have read those stories over and over. We will still get to see the Brown family in these stories so what more could you ask for. Sway is the start to the Delicious seris and Daisy is up first.

I fell in love with Daisy. She is a no holds bar, take the bull by the horns kinda woman and I love that! Levi is prim and proper, what else would a laywer from a well to do family be. But, these two are perfect for each other. Even though this is a short story it had it all. You had great character development, believeable story and hot sex! Levi and Daisy are great together. I was gald to see some old friends and we get to know Mary and Jules a little better. This was a great start to the Delicious series and I am now counting the days unitl I can get my hands on Jules’ story. Book 2 Tart will be out in November. That is next month right?

Happy Reading!!

SWAY – 4.5 Stars