After Hours (Beyond His Control Erotic Series Book 1)

Erin was so real and practical and Kelly, for all his dominance, was also incredibly real and straightforward. Yet, they both had an edge, as well. They're attractive, without being totally perfect. Their interaction at work was as interesting to me as their After Hours interaction; I can't find words to describe it. They both had such a way about them, and their chemistry was OFF. I found myself absolutely fascinated by the psychiatric-hospital setting and the patients.

It was handled deftly by Cara McKenna. There was no lack of sensitivity, but there was also no preaching one side or another. Very well done by the author. Kelly is dominant, he likes it a little rough, and he wants what he wants when he wants it, but that's about as far as it goes. Frankly, as someone who is becoming a wee bit tired of the whole BDSM frenzy, I loved, loved, loved the physical relationship in this book! Cara McKenna writes with an unapologetic realism and pragmatism, no matter how creative the plot may be. I truly believe this only makes her books that much more compelling and edgy.

This is a writer who deserves more attention, and I'm hopeful her audience will continue to grow as more people discover her unique 'voice'. I, for one, fervently wish to see more full-length books, like this one, from the author in the very near future! After Hours has my 5-Star recommendation, for whatever that's worth, and, if you need a place to start with this author, look no further!!

View all 36 comments. Feb 06, Louise rated it it was amazing Shelves: He's just a responsible, mature guy who was raised by not so decent parents and still, he wasn't like them and that's what I love about him: I loved both characters determination and perseverance towards life, even though both their families became a burden to them, they still work hard and do their their best to become a better person.. View all 37 comments. Feb 25, Regina rated it it was amazing Shelves: Badass Book Reviews is hosting an interview of Cara McKenna -- stop by to read a fabulous interview very juicy!

Read for the first time in March Re-read by audio November After Hours is categorized by Cara as erotica and it definitely is that. There are explicit and beautifully detailed sex scenes to justify this category. Readers looking for this will not be disappointed. But After Hours is more than that, it is a romance. Yet, After Hours doesn't neatly fit into the romance category either.

It is a romance without store-bought roses; it is a romance without courting; it is romance with very detailed and dominating sex scenes. After Hours tells the story of a real life romance, it isn't idealistic or fantastical. There is no millionaire hero that sweeps the heroine off her feet and at the end of the book, the heroine still has to go into to work to make a living. It is real life, but told in a very sexy very sexy way. How does Cara McKenna do it? She seems to write characters I want to read about in settings that feel so real that I know I have lived there.

The main character, Erin, is young inexperienced but not feeling so young anymore. She has spent six years taking care of an ailing relative and is now facing the job market for the first time in her adult years. She gets a job at a mental institution in a small town in Michigan and moves there. As described in the book, this town could be so many communities in the Midwest — factories and jobs have left, its residents are struggling with unemployment and the town is shrinking, not expanding.

Instead, the town seems centered around a major institution, the mental institution where Erin and Kelly work. The setting plays a part in establishing that while this is a romantic erotica novel, the characters aren't offering us an escape from reality. Instead, the characters in After Hours are living reality - - cars break down, a sister needs help, characters are tired for work, bad choices are made and characters regret things they have said and done. And the fact that the author did not feel the need to solve every problem and wrap it up with a bow is rewarding.

I prefer to read gritty books and you may ask, who wants gritty romance? I also think that you do too, there just isn't a lot of gritty romance out there. Cara McKenna is forging a new path in romance and thank goodness for that. I get why that brand of romance has been popular and has such staying power, but it is just so separated from my real life that I cannot settle down and truly enjoy a book if that is the theme.

Cara McKenna is not writing about that theme. He is an orderly at the mental institution and assists Erin in her new job. He is an established resident of the town and much older than Erin. Set in his ways and knowing what he likes, he pursues Erin. Kelly is exactly the type of man that Erin does not want to be with or so she believes.

Erin looks at Kelly and categorizes him; she believes she knows who he is by his appearance. After Hours is about Erin and Kelly learning about each other and through the characters, the readers learn about them too. Cara McKenna delivers complexly written characters that defy stereotypes. Erin is not just-the-down on her luck nurse; Kelly is not as simple as Erin believes. Erin and Kelly orbit around each other out of caution, but ultimately they are pulled together due to their sexual attraction.

Each resists the romance part of the relationship for their own reasons. The growth of the characters and the resolution of their issues over being together feel real and not forced. We know at the end of the book that Erin and Kelly have to go to work. So what if they aren't married and Erin isn't pregnant. So what if Erin never had the appearance of a magical inheritance?

But isn't that okay? Isn't that real life? It is real life delivered to us in the package of a deliciously sexy story. To read this and other reviews like it check out BadAssBook Reviews View all 6 comments. Mar 25, Wendy rated it really liked it Recommended to Wendy by: Kelly Robak is the kind of hero that really makes me weak at the knees.

His confidence is present and oozes out in spades. Erin is the strong independent heroine who has played the matriarch of the family and tries not to fall for the hot and bad boy type, who is Kelly.

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Boy, I definitely put my desk fan at w Kelly Robak is the kind of hero that really makes me weak at the knees. Boy, I definitely put my desk fan at work to good use at lunchtime. Everything about this book goes outside the romance novel type of format we all know and have read. All in all a great read. Thanks for the recommend Jilly, loved it.

View all 20 comments. With the added and very welcome bonus of a heroine that never once made me want to punch her in the face Chuck Norris style because of her TSTL tendencies. And that last chapter? Specifically the pillow talk? It turned me into such a swooning, gooey mess that I read it all over again just because I wanted to keep experiencing the loveliness I felt from it for a little bit longer.

View all 18 comments. View all 4 comments. Well… I did not love this book, but I did like it. I liked that the two imperfect main characters worked in professions that suited them, that they had realistic troubled childhoods, that they were not described as stunningly gorgeous and that they were guarded in letting anyone get too close to them yet very protective of others in their lives.

Sadly, I was a bit disappointed in their relationship for the rest of the story. The big weekend was fairly tame and uneventful in my opinion especially after page after page of Kelly talking up how Erin should come by his place for one weekend and he would really show her a good time.

I expected to have my socks knocked off… but I did not. Anyway, this was a solid story of two people that finally were able to let their walls fall down and help each other instead of always being the one that others relied on for help. Sep 27, Olga therebelreader rated it liked it Shelves: I loved both the main and secondary characters involved.

Erin is a LPN nurse at a mental institution and Kelly is an orderly in the same hospital. You see an instant but subtle attraction between them that slowly grows as they get to know one another.

They finally get together after Kelly ask Erin to give him a weekend From there their relationship progresses much to the dismay of Erin. Erin is stubborn, independent, and proud. She has trouble depending on or trusting anyone especially men. Kelly has his own issues from a rough childhood. He's very overprotective and definitely an Alpha!! View all 16 comments. Jun 21, Jennifer rated it it was amazing Shelves: I loved this so hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mar 12, Holly rated it really liked it Shelves: I have to begin by saying that there has not been a book by Cara McKenna that I have not thoroughly enjoyed.

I get so excited when a new one comes out because they are such awesome reads!! If you have ever read her you know what I mean, if not, what exactly are you waiting for??! Erin Coffey is a nurse and she takes a job at a Psychiatric Hospital after her grandmother, for whom she was the sole caregiver, passes away. She takes the job for not only the money but to be near her sister and nephew.

Her sister who is a hot mess I might add!! Since Erin has become self-appointed protector of the family that she has left, she feels she needs to be nearby. Her first day she meets Kelly Roback. Kelly is an orderly whose task is pretty much the protection of the staff and the patients. Erin is wildly drawn to the big, strong, super confident man but knows that she needs to steer clear. Until she tries it, of course!

I like doing what I want, when I want. Without permission, in the moment. Honestly people, we really need to communicate more and not make assumptions based on our own insecurities!! But I really think that is what makes me love this authors writing so much! It is raw, real and sometimes gritty. But never fear, they do get a real life HEA! There was something about this particular paragraph that stuck with me from the whole book, I reread it about a dozen times because to me it said so much that I just have to share.

We got a little something between us. No thicker than a layer of cotton now. Barely anything at all, with those stubborn barriers demolished, just us two, lying here as the dust settled. Just the two of us, stripped and spent, hearts beating together in the dark. Apr 12, Camille Adams rated it liked it Shelves: A very stretched and diluted version of Willing Victim. The balanced and endearing introspection that helped shed light on Laurel's character is overwrought and chick-litty here The analysis of sexuality and self that was refreshing and insightful in WV becomes wrung out, transparent and a form of pop-psychology that is too aware of itself and thus not very seam A very stretched and diluted version of Willing Victim.

The analysis of sexuality and self that was refreshing and insightful in WV becomes wrung out, transparent and a form of pop-psychology that is too aware of itself and thus not very seamless in the story. The work also seems written with length in mind considering the prolonged descriptions and meticulous mention of minutiae throughout. McKenna's voice has always been wonderfully singular to me. The one little bit I didn't take to very well in Willing Victim, which I loooooved btw, is the softening up of Flynn at the end.

McKenna does the same here with Kelly. It's the the redemption of the Dom trope. A trope I despise. Like finding the right woman negates the need to be "mean". Like love and "meanness" are mutually exclusive. Like one's sexual identity, needs, and expression is at best just a variable or at worst was an ill-effect of a prior loveless state. Like Dom-ness results from issues but affection takes away the need to give orders or be demanding or controlling during sex If I say more, I'll say too much.

Notwithstanding, there were a few elements that did work, thus the three stars. Flynn Kelly is hot, diluted or not. His strength, determination, sense of self, sexiness and immalleability and maturity in the relationship is really great. This is one of the author's greatest strengths in all her books, her dialogue! The tenacity against obstacles presented in the story lines is moving. The presentation of this relationship that is bigger than these two people who have to let go of their hang ups to let each other in and to let themselves have the other is amazing.

I always like contemporary romances featuring real people. Seriously, how many billionaires do readers imagine there are: I wish McKenna would go back to her style. Sharp, focussed, concise, electric, dynamic, sexy as hell. This felt like it was written with fans who said they wanted Willing Victim to be longer with a more definitive end in mind and with an ear to an editor or publisher who required a novel length work.

View all 7 comments. After an uneasy start, this book and I became very good friends. Cara McKenna took a very unlikely hero and made him adorable. Kelly was very different in character to other male leads I have read lately. He was an alpha all the way through, but still just an everyday guy doing a normal sort of job. No ridiculously wealthy, male model looking man for a very nice change. His childhood was not great, and he had acknowledged that and moved on. Erin was a young woman who had also started life out the After an uneasy start, this book and I became very good friends.

Erin was a young woman who had also started life out the hard way. She had grown up fast, and took her responsibilities seriously. At times she took them too seriously, but that is a common human error, and I had no trouble relating to her. There was plenty of sexual tension, followed by burning hot steam in this read. My only let down was I would have liked a tiny bit more at the end. An epilogue of what the future held for this couple, would have made this book perfect for me.

Nov 16, Kimberly Carrington-Fox rated it liked it. There's really nothing I can say that hasn't already been said more eloquently, too, I'll add in praise of this book. But handing out another 5-star rating for an all-heroine POV???? I feel like I'm making huge strides--breaking out of some sort of self-built cage or something. This was really great. First off, I love that I wasn't reading about a billionaire, firefighter, soldier, or secret-agent-man though, I really can't get tired of the fir There's really nothing I can say that hasn't already been said more eloquently, too, I'll add in praise of this book.

First off, I love that I wasn't reading about a billionaire, firefighter, soldier, or secret-agent-man though, I really can't get tired of the firefighters or soldiers. The fact that he was a middle-class orderly in a hospital was so ordinary that it was a surprise--but then it added an interesting twist that the hospital was a mental hospital. I haven't even got deep and I'm loving this book. It took me all of maybe 2 chapters to get my brain to stop envisioning Erin as Nurse Ratched with the funny white hat-- --but, anyway, back to our hero, Kelly.

Like all heroes he's kind and strong and protective and smart--and hung. He has an understated sense of humor that I found charming but it was his lack of ability to woo and charm that was the kicker for me. No flowery speeches or compliments. Nor would it be in mine. Like other reviewers, I would have liked an epilogue. Just to make sure this was an HEA--but I have confidence that they have what it takes to make it. I would have enjoyed Kelly's perspective--I never regret being in the hero's head, but it was great even without it.

View all 5 comments. Mar 02, Mandy rated it really liked it Shelves: I really enjoyed this book. I liked this couple, I liked the story and I can't wait to read more by this author. View all 3 comments. Mar 22, Jess rated it it was amazing Shelves: Happily Ever After - Reads Blog rating: A- After caring for her elderly grandparent suffering from dementia, Erin takes a new job after her grandmother passes away.

Her job as a nurse finds her at a psychiatric hospital, the only open position she could find that puts her in driving range of her sister and young nephew. On her first day she meets Kelly, an orderly at the hospital, whose job it Review posted: On her first day she meets Kelly, an orderly at the hospital, whose job it is to provide protection to the staff and help keep the patients in line when needed.

After a not so great first day on the job, Kelly takes Erin out for a drink and they start to get to know each other. Of course she gives in and has two of the most erotically charged days of her life. There are no whips, chains, bondage, just Kelly making sure Erin gives and takes everything he wants her to. It ended up being a really well-balanced relationship for them where yes, they both get off on Kelly dominating for the most part, but Erin finds her place as well and it just worked.

I also liked that nothing played out as I was expecting. I loved this story. I loved how it ended up being simply about two people, connected early on by their attraction and a hot, steamy two days together to being about them finding their way into a real relationship. After Hours is a book I highly recommend. Jun 28, Karla rated it really liked it. Jun 03, Maida rated it really liked it Shelves: My respect for author Cara McKenna only multiplies as I continue to make my way through her oeuvre.

She has incredible versatility— no two books are ever the same Carver was known for writing about the underbelly of our Capitalist System. Although the author provides a satisfactory ending for this hero, in terms of his romantic relationship with the heroine, the ending is NOT what readers would typically consider an HEA. Therefore, realistically speaking, the best that these characters could hope for would be gradual improvements in their circumstances rather than an HEA.

In this novel, the reader gets a glimpse into the inner workings of a psychiatric hospital. The day-to-day events that occur in this hospital take a toll, not only on the patients, but on the staff as well. In this novel, as in Hard Time, the author depicts the lives of people who are considered to be social pariahs. The heroine Erin— a new nurse at Larkhaven Psychiatric Hospital— is also a person who craves control. Then, later in life, Erin witnessed a domineering man hurt another member of her family—her beloved younger sister. Like Kelly, Erin, too, desires ultimate control.

Is a true partnership even possible when each party is vying for control? For the majority of the novel, the dialogue between the two main characters remains somewhat clipped. Furthermore, the general plotline may seem plain to readers who are accustomed to reading action-filled drama. When reading After Hours, the reader is forced to analyze the text the way one would when reading Raymond Carver or Virginia Woolf. In spite of the overall subtlety, the author does end the novel with some rich dialogue.

Maybe because like me, you grew up with nobody really fighting for you…. Nobody showed you how it felt, to be cared about. Believing maybe we could fix something ugly in the world, try to be of use to the people everybody else has given up on. I just want to feel needed by somebody who deserves whatever I got to offer…. I need you for what you let me be for you last night…. You ever feel tempted to offer me a foot rub, save your energy and ask me to fix something instead. View all 10 comments. Feb 16, Laura Kyahgirl rated it really liked it Shelves: Not much in the way of sunshine and butterflies in this story yet it really worked for me.

In fact, its set in a dingy rundown, formerly glorious industrial area and the workplace of the two main characters is a high security mental hospital. You can't get much more depressing than that for a setting for a love story. I put this book on my 'dark and disturbing' shelf because McKenna did a very good job of catching the scary, dark vibe of a mental institute.

Fortunately, in addition, she also showed the surprising glimmers of hopefulness and potential that can't be stamped out of people, no matter how bad a place they're at. My Goodreads friend Corduroy did an excellent review which talks about the dark aspects of the book and the low-life, trashy kind of culture around the town of Darren as well as around Erin's sister Amber.

Her review convinced me to give this book a try in fact. One of the aspects of this book that I liked very much was that Erin and Kelly were just regular people, trying to work towards their goals. There were no rich hero's around. Nor were there any sophisticated successful career women. Erin and Kelly both came from disadvantaged backgrounds yet they were well on the way to working their way out of the hole and finding some happiness.

At the very beginning of the book I almost put it down because Erin was musing about how she had to come to this new town and help her dysfunctional little sister who was an unwed mother with an unfortunate tendency to pick losers for partners. I don't care for martyrs or victims in my characters so was a bit worried. I'm glad I didn't give up because it became clear that Erin was well aware that there was a bit of co-dependency going on there but she was still going to be there for her sister and nephew while at the same time trying to help them stand on their own.

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One of the things that made this love story work was that Erin and Kelly both had lots of flaws but they were pretty self aware and mature enough to try and talk about issues and make sensible decisions. They could have been a bit more up front about what they wanted after their wild weekend fling but they eventually worked their way through that one too.

There is some fairly steamy sex in parts of the book but it doesn't overshadow the relationship development. I haven't read anything by this author before but have several of her books on my TBR. I will definitely be moving them up the list. McKenna is one of those authors whose work I immediately buy without even reading the blurb. I adore her writing and she is one my short list of favorite erotic authors. Erin is nurse who recently gets a new position at the Larkhaven Psychiatric Hospital. I could tell a lot of research went into this book and since Psychology is my field of study, it played right into my interests.

Problems, both the emotional and physical kind, act as a barrier between them and McKenna takes her time in building the romance from the ground up. I have to appreciate that kind of patience and tenacity from a very skilled writer. Another thing McKenna is great at is her sex scenes.

She adds a certain vulnerability to her scenes that make them more than just sheet scorchers. She evokes emotion that paves the way to an amazing romance. I loved the power play between Kelly and Erin and the way Erin drew herself outside of her shell. It really was a romance that made their lives better. Well, color me surprised. Now, now, hear me out I love the way she writes. Her characters and the snark and the sex holy hell, the sex. However, I generally hate the types of books she writes. Now her alter ego, Meg Maguire? Exactly the stuff I'm looking for, but wish it was just a little okay, a lot hotter.

If only there were a way to meld the two Alas, I don't think I'm going to get my wish, so I'll pick and choose the Well, color me surprised. Which, sadly, aren't many. But, surprisingly, this was one of them. I wasn't sure I was going to like this. In fact, I was almost positive I'd have to flounce. And that's what I totally thought I was getting with this. Sure, there were a handful of times my hackles were raised, but it wasn't anything that made me want to flounce i.

It was just Kelly being bossy Kelly. And, I'll be honest, I really really loved him for the most part. He was strong and hard but wonderfully soft at the perfect times. The tiny glimpses we got of the tender Kelly were all the more special because of the man we knew he was. As this was told in first person narrative, you pretty much have to enjoy the MC if you're going to enjoy the book, and I did.

I loved her self-awareness and her journey and how she grew by the end Kelly too. I'm eagerly awaiting Cara's next release so I can see if I can put it on my to-read shelf, or if I have to label it you can't read this don't even try. May 03, Rose rated it really liked it Shelves: Probably one of the better titles in its genre that I've read in a while. Erin works as an LPN at a ward and meets Kelly, a rough and tumble guy who works in the same place as a person who restrains patients when needed.

Both have a sexual and intimate chemistry that leaps off the page, and they have very relevant issues in their lives that they deal with one step at a time. I enjoyed this and definitely want to read more from Cara McKenna in the future. This was ce Initial reaction: This was certainly a read that hit the spot: All of these aspects make a good story for me, and in my first read from Cara McKenna, they were all signs that I'd enjoy this story for what it offered. It surprised me how much I connected with both Erin and Kelly. I liked the attention to detail given to Erin's occupation and the environment she works in given a passion that I have for health as well, I was pleased to see this.

Erin has a rough first day on the job, and after sharing a drink with Kelly that night, its easy to see how their chemistry develops in something of a slow burn. Kelly's dark personality and demeanor was something I didn't expect to endear me to him. For the amount of so-called "bad boys" I've read this year, I thought I'd be turned off, but even considering his flaws, he's a guy I really liked, both in his personality factors as well as learning about his respective past.

He's realistic and I'll admit I liked his humor in touches. There's not a lot you know about him in initial terms, but the narrative does a great job of developing him through the story. Erin was a character whom I liked following as well, even noting her flaws. She's a protective elder sibling over her younger sister, who has a history with bad relationships and with a young child whose father isn't supportive.

The side conflicts involving Erin's sister's storyline were realistic and I could see where the conflicts arose from there. Some of the scenes ran a little longer than I would've expected and weren't as spaced out, but I thought they were done well for the most part. The fact that these two have such intimate conversations between them, not simply of the sensual kind, was refreshing to read as well, and made them pop off the page.

In the end, I thought McKenna did a fine job with "After Hours" and I definitely want to read more of her work in the future. In my reviews for Willing Victim and Ruin Me I said that the only thing holding me back from that 5th star was a more "complete" feeling to the story, this one had the length and depth I felt were just so slightly missing in those, so there you go. I've come to realize that it wasn't McKenna or those stories, it was me, so I will be adjusting those reviews accordingly Simply put: Cara McKenna can write her ass off.

Sure I wouldn't have minded a bit In my reviews for Willing Victim and Ruin Me I said that the only thing holding me back from that 5th star was a more "complete" feeling to the story, this one had the length and depth I felt were just so slightly missing in those, so there you go.

Sure I wouldn't have minded a bit more of a HEA style ending KA has spoiled me but I am hard pressed to remember the last time I found an author who wrote such starkly real characters in this genre. Gritty, flawed, normal people leading normal, flawed, gritty lives. It is just refreshing and feels so damn honest. With a bullet Cara McKenna is becoming an author who I want to devour her back catalog and put on a watch for new titles because her writing is just that good.

I am so glad that this story gave us a bit more character and story meat to chew on, and hope this trend continues because it just shoots her talented writing into orbit. I fell in love with Kelly Robak and his laid bare type of machoism. There is just no bullshit about each of McKenna's leading men and I only wish Flynn in WV had had this much story to sink his filthy mouthed perfection around.

But yeah, just seriously real sexy men. Our narrator and heroine, Erin Coffey, is just as imperfect and real. This book isn't a walk in the park fairy tale - McKenna doesn't write those - but even when they don't act right or say all the wrong things it's hard for me to get seriously upset when you can experience such a journey through great writing. No stereotypes just, again, REAL. I think I just realized this belongs on my favorites list too. So yeah, do yourself a favor and introduce yourselves to Cara McKenna. It is very rare to find this much honesty in the erotica side of the romance genre, and whatever that undeniable thing is that cinches it, McKenna has a firm handle on.

I think I loved it more the second time. I don't remember how much I fell for Kelly Robak the first time, but he moved to book boyfriend status for sure with this re-read. What I said about McKenna's raw truth style of storytelling is beyond rare - it is unique. So unique and holds so much of a place in my heart that I want to revisit her stories again and again just to get out of the rat race of recycled and overplayed character archetypes.

I read "romance" novels for pleasure - but that doesn't mean I want to read the same story over and over again. This also goes to my change of heart regarding my disappointment of some of McKenna's earlier and shorter works. I wanted more story with the characters but I want that with this book as well. McKenna doesn't write "wrapped in a bow" HEA endings.

She takes the characters to the place they were meant to go for the story and leaves the reader to make their own conclusions about how they end up. Do I love that? Not really, but I respect the hell out of it. It just adds to the realism. And realism is something that is so very lacking in so many books of this genre. When you find it like this, it's nothing less than a gift. Apr 21, PJ rated it really liked it Shelves: Not just for the extended and intense sex scenes. But for the coming together of two needing-to-be-needed, restless and lonely souls.

And what a treat to read a book properly edited. I caught one "him" that needed to be "his" or maybe it was the other way around. My point is, I was allowed to wallow in the story and keep my red pencil tucked away safe in my desk drawer. The weekend of sex was at times hot and at times weird. It took me awhile to warm up to both Erin and Kelly. I didn't really care of either one of them. The ending was even more abrupt and strange, felt more like a HFN. Apr 19, Monique rated it it was amazing.

I am so excited I read this! It was so much more than I expected. This is my second Cara McKenna book. I walked into this expecting to read a steamy romance. And I did get that. The hotness of those sex scenes were off the charts. Like, crazy steamy hot. The hero's dominance in bed was so UNF. The scenes when the heroine took charge that was even more so. But it was the moments in those steamy scenes where the hero opened up and became tender and passionate that made me clench in all the right p I am so excited I read this!

But it was the moments in those steamy scenes where the hero opened up and became tender and passionate that made me clench in all the right places. No, Kelly, I'm the one falling in love with you right now. I didn't expect to fall in love with Kelly as much I did. I knew he'd be hot but he was so much more than that. That hospital scene when he showed up after everything that had already happened Oh, be still my beating heart.

But it was when Kelly said this that completely owned If you wanted that. May 14, Mandapanda rated it it was amazing Shelves: I'm a bit speechless after reading this book It's an erotic romance with a lot of depth. Not usually two things you find together. But the claims in the author's bio are true. Erin is a new nurse starting work in a psychiatric hospital.

She's spent her whole life caring for others, raising her younger sister, looking after her dying grandmother, being in control. Now she's finally got a real job and is learning to live for herself. At Larkhaven she is slowly settling I'm a bit speechless after reading this book At Larkhaven she is slowly settling into her new life, getting used to the patients, making friends with the staff, and trying not to stare at the powerful-looking orderly who watches over the patients and staff with quiet authority. What a sexy, sexy man! That sex scene when Erin first stayed over at his house was heart-stoppingly good.

A real working class guy whose need to dominate and protect was written in a way that just melted my ultra feminist heart. I loved the chemistry, the way they fought against being close, and the ending What an excellent setting. The slightly creepy psychiatric hospital is a perfect foil to the development of the erotic romance. It gives the whole story a weird tension. It's the best writing of a hospital setting and staff that I've read in the romance genre. What a lot of writers don't get is that hospitals are already full of tension and drama. You don't need to make the characters OTT or have everything occurring on a dumb deathbed scene to make this setting interesting.

This author totally gets that. These staff are business-like and professional yet you couldn't find two more absorbing characters than Erin and Kelly. The patients are realistic. The initial interview with secondary character Lee for example was really well done. Exciting to see this author has written a lot of stories.

I hope a few of them are full-length novels like this one. Oh and thanks to Baba for her great review which put me on to this book. I'll be checking out your 'favourites' shelf now! Feb 27, Chappy rated it it was amazing Shelves: Re-read Jan , I really, really enjoyed this book. Erin was a strong and resourceful heroine despite her petite figure and baby face. I absolutely loved Kelly in all his bossy badass glory.

He seemed a bit cold and distant at first but this is just his way of maintaining control and protecting his heart. They meet at a mental hospital where they both work I found this setting interesting and quite unique. The chemistry between these made me drool a little. Thanks Cara, you Re-read Jan , I really, really enjoyed this book.

Thanks Cara, you did a great job. The only part I could have done without is when they're getting a little rough in the sack and Erin slaps his face. Kelly asks for her to do it again Sorry face-slaps are just not my kink. Dec 30, Kindling Micky rated it really liked it Recommended to Kindling by: I really enjoyed this one.

Cara McKenna always brings a unique take on connection and provides depth to relationships and chemistry. The mental health institution was an interesting setting. Kelly was a most unusual type of character, total alpha-jerkiness but an evolving one. Erin demonstrated strength of character over time.

This was an absorbing read and it reinforces why I like Cara Mckenna's writing and imagination. Mar 06, Sophie Jordan rated it it was amazing. I loved that it was not insta-love but a slow friendship. The road was not easy, but it was a journey that I enjoyed. I did not know how it was going to end and that made it all the more better.

One Night of Sin (After Hours, #1) by Elle Kennedy

I hope, HOPE that there is a sequel. Erin is the nurse and Kelly is the orderly at Larkhaven Psychiatric Hospital. I am getting a little annoyed at how every book I pick up lately is written in dual POVs. With those, I know each character's thoughts and feelings at every moment and it leaves the suspense out. With this book, I loved that I had no idea what Kelly was thinking, but his actions were telling me his feelings. I thought that Erin would be annoying me.

I love strong heroines, but sometimes the ones that preach feminism, drive me nuts. I adored Erin though. Her character was written very well. Also, her narration seemed so slow. Like every word took her a minute to pronounce.

If anyone can recommend others to me, I would appreciate it!!! My Wicked Valentine Ann Mayburn. Lucia Roa needs a miracle to keep her fledgling event planning business from going under. When she gets word about the opportunity of a lifetime to do a Valentine's Day party for an elite club in Washington D.

Desperate for a chance to make the social and professional connections that this job would offer, she agrees to a most unconventional business arrangement with the handsomest man she's ever met. CEO Isaac O'Keefe swore off relationships years ago after having his heart broken and his bank account emptied by his gold digging first wife. He thought he'd managed to keep his heart under lock and key, but when Lucia walks into his office he is instantly drawn to the fiery beauty in a way he's never felt before. He convinces Lucia to take the position as event planner for Wicked's Valentine's Day Party, but in order to make the event a success, something he needs to happen to secure his place on the board at Wicked, he must give her a crash course at all the dark pleasures BDSM has to offer.

What starts out as a business partnership quickly turns into something more as Lucia breaks down every wall around his heart without even trying. Isaac must then make a choice, push Lucia away and continue to live a safe, but lonely life, or open himself up again to the greatest pain and pleasure in the world. Reckless - Complete Series Vanna King. He's the most sinful mistake she won't dare commit ten days before her wedding. Leigh is about to enter into a marriage of convenience. But before she resigns herself as a Stepford wife, she makes one last wish to her parents.

She asks for three days of complete freedom. She flies to Vegas, checks into a hotel and casino, and vows to enjoy three days without the rules of decorum that have governed her all her life. There she meets a man. His name is Bron. Gorgeous as sin, mysterious as the devil, and he wants her. Every cell in her body comes alive, screaming the same. She's not getting married a virgin!

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront her anger and envy of the women who came before her and make the most important decision of her life. When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating.

Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time. Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever. This bundle includes the following novels: When college student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating.

The unworldly Ana realizes she wants this man, and Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and while Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Ana is forced to make the most important decision of her life. Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future.

But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. This book is intended for mature audiences. Everything Nice Mari Carr. Allie and Alex want each other—and Charlie. But does Charlie want Alex? Now, six years later, Allie is back in their lives, all grown up and more alluring than ever. A hot encounter at the office—with Alex bent over his desk—only confuses Charlie further. Taming Damian Jessica Wood. Can I still love her? With Alexis, Damian sees something more than just hot, no-strings-attached sex, and against his inner resistance, he gives into his feelings for her.

But just when their relationship begins to bloom, something unexpected threatens to break them apart. Will Damian leave Alexis and go back to his playboy ways and break yet another heart? I didn't care what you called it, the end result was always the same. You paid me for a job, you got results. The Marines trained me to shoot, but life taught me to aim. Working for the best personal security firm in the business was a stepping stone. Put in my time, build the resume, then move on. I didn't do attachments, on any level. Until a smoking-hot former one-night stand crossed the street in front of me, holding hands with a kid who was my spitting image.

She tried to play it off, deny he was mine. She said she didn't even remember me, right before she picked her kid up and ran. She thought she'd made a clean escape. But she was about to find out how merciless a bodyguard could be. My Wicked Masters Ann Mayburn. Rhiannon Mirga, known as Goddess at Club Wicked, has a reputation for being a beautiful and unapproachable ice princess.

But beneath her hard exterior beats the tender heart of a submissive who yearns for a Master's love despite a nightmare past that makes it hard for her to trust anyone. For Rhiannon there are only two men that can help her overcome her fear, the club's incredibly sexy trainers, Master Rory and Master Liam. Unfortunately, after a long history Rory and Liam are on the verge of parting ways, driven apart by Liam's refusal to accept Rory's love as anything more than friendship. Despite their own issues, the men find they cannot refuse her plea for help and together they embark on a training session like no other where the Masters are the ones who learn the true meaning of love and surrender.

The Dirty Princess Jeana E. A personal assistant marries her exiled prince boss and learns that happily-ever-after only exists in fairy tales. His involvement in an international war might kill them both. With wealth and power comes great responsibility for Roman. Lives will be lost, hearts will be broken, and a new kingdom is about to be built. If you enjoy alpha billionaire, royal romance, one-click today! It is meant to be read following The Exiled Prince. My Sister's Husband Cassandra Dee. We were all devastated after Jane died in a car accident. After all, she was perfect: But during the funeral, things went crazy.

I caught my brother in law staring at me. He was absolutely ravenous. And it kept going. Hot and strong all throughout the grieving period. A Baby for Christmas Michelle Love. I hired Daniel to have a baby. I am the only female billionaire in Louisiana. I want for nothing but a child … and the right man. Finding a good man, however, is tough. So I'll settle for a baby. At least then I'll have someone who loves me.

A discreet advertisement is the solution: One million dollars for a healthy male to stay with me long enough to get me pregnant. Then he walks away, giving up all paternity rights. It's a sweet deal. Of course, I have a lot of suitors. However, charming, smoking-hot Daniel Fontaine is the only one I want. So, Daniel and his daughter Caroline move into my mansion outside of Baton Rouge.

I thought losing my virginity would hurt. Instead, he turns it into a night to commit to memory. And he does the same every night after. It's taking a long time for me to get pregnant … but I don't mind. Sex with Daniel is a perk by itself. It's not easy to keep from falling for him. But can I trust him to be anything more than my baby daddy?

Masked Indulgence Michelle Love. The naughty negligee she wore enhanced her luscious body, though the mask hid her face from me. But I took her anyway and I took her as many times as I wanted; she belonged to me that night. My little slave gave me everything I demanded of her. My touch became her undoing, making her give me more than she'd ever given anyone. The first time it happened, it seemed like an impossible miracle. Bills were piling up, adding up to more money than I could ever make. All of it on my shoulders. And I had just lost my job.

There was no hope, no money in my account, no work to be found. And then, just when I thought all hope was lost, I found an envelope in the mail. My name on the front, my address. Inside was a check, made out to me, in the amount of ten thousand dollars. Enough to pay the bills and leave me some left over to live on until I found a job. Enough to let me focus on classes. No hint of identity or reason for the check or anything. No mention of repayment, interest, nothing…except a single word, on the notes line: If you receive a mysterious check, for enough money to erase all your worries, would you cash it?

It too contained a single word: This time, two words. Ten thousand dollars, every month. A girl gets used to that, real quick. It let me pay the bills without going into debt. And then, after a year, there was a knock on my door. A sleek black limousine sat on the curb in front of my house. A driver stood in front of me, and he spoke six words: When reserved flight attendant Bianca gets one look at billionaire hotel owner James Cavendish, she loses all of her hard-won composure.

For a girl who can easily juggle a tray of champagne flutes at 35, feet in three inch heels, she finds herself shockingly weak-kneed from their first encounter. The normally unruffled Bianca can't seem to look away from his electrifying turquoise gaze. They hold a challenge, and a promise, that she finds impossible to resist, and she is a girl who is used to saying no and meaning it. Bianca is accustomed to dealing with supermodels and movie stars in her job as a first class flight attendant, but James Cavendish puts them all to shame in the looks department.

If only it were just his looks that she found so irresistible about the intimidating man, Bianca could have ignored his attentions. But what tempts her like never before is the dominant pull he seems to have over her from the moment they meet, and the promise of pleasure, and pain, that she reads in his eyes. This book is intended for ages 18 and up. Stepbrother Dearest Penelope Ward.

I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him. At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. But things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night. And holy hell, the teenager who made me crazy was now a man that drove me insane. I had a feeling my heart was about to get broken again. Stepbrother Dearest is a standalone novel. Sometimes the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

Forbidden love is the hardest to forget When Murphy pushed her away, it broke her heart. Now, on her eighteenth birthday, he claims he loves her? Axel Ryan loves two things—motorcycles and Heidi. He signed up to be a prospect for the Lost Kings MC because it seemed like a fun way to get closer to her. Nailed - Complete Series Lucia Jordan.

Emma has always had her eyes on Conrad Blunt. The enigmatic and out-of-reach steamy older brother of her best friend and Emma finds herself playing a role she never would have imagined in her wildest dreams. Visiting Denver, and recently broken up with his ex, Conrad asks his secretary to organize an escort to accompany him to a charity ball…but, unbeknownst to him, his over-protective sister Violet is dead-set against the idea.

iBookstore Top 50 Erotic Romance Ebooks

What Conrad sees in Emma is potential—an underlying strength coupled with the desire to surrender to his command. The question is, will she be able to find her way out…and does she even want to? This ebook contains very hot and explicit descriptions of romantic activity. Only mature readers should download this book. The Rebel Queen Jeana E. Valeri Huntington has her dream—a publicist for one of the top firms on the east coast. T he one relationship she did have ended roughly and left her picking up the pieces up of her heart for months.

The reclusive man that lived in the mountains was somewhat of a legend. Like a magnet, she was pulled to him and she had no idea why. Dallas McCormick was not the man everyone created rumors about. Fool's Folly Ophelia Bell. Deva Rainsong has found her dragon soul, but she still feels incomplete. As a chimera, bred in a lab from the blood of all four higher races combined with human blood, it will take no less than a fragment of a soul from all five races to complete hers.

Yet even as she starts to believe that she can finally be complete and all her powers awakened, her hopes are dashed when her soul gifts come with unexpected side effects. This series is a spinoff of Ophelia Bell's epically sexy "Immortal Dragons" series. Kurt Nielsen—dominant, wealthy and New York's most eligible bachelor. Carmen Wilson—a woman who has lost everything and is on the run for her life. A chance meeting brings them together in a blaze of sensual heat. Unfortunately for Kurt, Carmen runs again. Now he's turning the city upside down to find her.

But Kurt's not the only one searching for Carmen. Two Federal Agents and her violent ex-boyfriend also want to get their hands on her. Carmen has secrets she's convinced will make Kurt despise her. How could she possibly reveal the truth? Will Kurt find Carmen before the feds and her ex do? Can he teach her how to love and trust again? When unworldly student Ana Steele first encountered the driven, damaged young entrepreneur Christian Grey, it sparked a sensual affair that changed both their lives irrevocably.

Now, together, they have more—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of infinite possibilities. But Ana always knew that loving her Fifty Shades would not be easy and being together poses challenges neither of them ever anticipated. Conquered is part two in the London based romantic erotica She Who Dares trilogy. It features a dominant billionaire alpha male and a sassy female. The loss of love is a test in survival. It's such an understated word. It has the ability to grip you so hard you become completely consumed by it, and when it releases you, you find yourself on your knees.

Lilly Parker has me on my knees and I cannot muster the will to stand. It's all the worse when it comes from those we love. The pain, that much more intense. The loss, that much more heart breaking. I took a chance on Theodore Ellis and I lost. How hard is Theo willing to fight for the woman he loves? Can Lilly fight her demons, or will she push away the only man capable of facing them with her? Conquered is the emotional, gritty second part of Lilly and Theo's story.

The complete New York Times Bestselling serial, now available in one book! My cock has an appetite. A huge and very particular appetite: Although, that's a story for another day. As a high profile lawyer, I don't have time to waste on relationships, so I fulfill my needs by anonymously chatting and sleeping with women I meet online. My rules are simple: This is only casual sex. At least it was, until "Alyssa" She was supposed to be a 27 year old lawyer, a book hoarder, and completely unattractive. She was supposed to be someone I shared law advice with late at night, someone I could trust with details of my weekly escapades.

Roth and I are on an open-ended tour of the world. Roth being Roth, this means missionary in Morocco, reverse cowgirl in Calcutta, bent over the bow of a houseboat in Hanoi, slow and sleepy on St. Anywhere and everywhere, in every conceivable position, and some I didn't know were possible. Life was pretty incredible. Until I woke up in his chateau in France, alone. On the bed next to me was a note. There were only four words: Rush - Complete Series Lucia Jordan.

Kendra is a bundle of nerves when she walks into the office of Sebastian Montoya. To say his reputation proceeds him is be a gross understatement. The mystery that surrounds him is hypnotizing. There is just something about him that draws her in. He oozes sexuality and his lilting Spanish accent makes her insides flutter.

But as she learns, architecture isn't his only talent. A hot and steamy night at work leads to far more than she could ever expect. But does Kendra have what it takes to deal with the pressures that come with her day job while allowing Sebastian to handle her at night? Lund, Book 3 in the Unrestrained Series: Newly engaged, Drake and Kate start their life together in Nairobi, Kenya, where Drake is teaching and working as a surgeon to help out an old friend. Before they can even get settled in their new home, they are faced with challenges to their view of themselves and their relationship.

Will their love survive? Unrestrained is the third book in the bestselling trilogy in which the intense and passionate relationship between Drake and Kate unfolds as they search for their happy ever after. The man who bought, ravaged and tormented me. And yet his touch leaves me…devastated. Billionaire Benjamin Lee is back. This time to both punish and protect the reporter who might have cost his uncle the mayoral election. An old enemy is out to get her, and Ben never did get the full week with her that he had paid for.

Can he resist claiming her one last time? Made for You Lauren Layne. Some mistakes are worth making And yet there was still something about him she just couldn't resist. When Will moved across the country three years ago, Brynn vowed it was time to put him behind her. She never thought Will might have other plans. Back in town, Will intends to get what he's always wanted-gorgeous, unforgettable Brynn. For years, he tormented the untouchable ice princess in a desperate bid for her attention. Now he has a new plan, and he'll do anything to rewrite their stormy past. This time, he's out to show Brynn that the imperfect man might be the best mistake of her life.