Ice Planet Barbarians Series, Book 2 Barbarian Alien / Ruby Dixon / 211 pages

Kidnapped from Earth by aliens Liz and a bunch twelve other women are kept prisoner on their ship to become sex slaves but when things go wrong for their captors the alien traffickers dump their ‘cargo,’ the women, on an ice planet until they can come back for them. When Georgie decides they can’t stay in the cargo container, she explores the ice planet looking for natives that might help her and the other women and finds a native. He and his people mate for life when they meet the ‘one,’ and because of the alien symbiote they have inside them that lets them survive the harsh conditions of the planet ‘choose’ their mate. Now the women also have to get symbiotes in order to survive on the planet and her symbiote chooses one of the natives Raahosh, but she doesn’t really like him. Two points of view in the book by Liz and by Raahosh. Narrated by Hollie Jackson & Mason Lloyd 6h 27min.

Ice Planet Barbarians Series, Book 1 Ice Planet Barbarians / Ruby Dixon / 188 pages

Kidnapped from Earth by aliens Georgie and a bunch of other women are kept prisoner on their ship to become sex slaves but when things go wrong for their captors the alien traffickers dump their ‘cargo,’ the women on an ice planet until they can come back for them. Georgie decides they can’t stay in the cargo container, the aliens only need the six women they have in cryo stasis to meet their deadlines and she and the rest of the women were just extras,  if they wait they’re likely to die from the aliens when they come back, the cold, or starvation. While the other women stay in the cargo hold, Georgie explores the ice planet looking for natives that might help her and the other women and finds Vektal an alien, he’s humanoid, blue, has horns, and his tribe is in desperate need of females. Vektal and his people mate for life when they meet the ‘one,’ and now Vektal has met his and she is strange and pale.  Two points of view in the book by Georgie and by Vektal. Narrated by Hollie Jackson & Mason Lloyd 5h 51min.

Bared to You (Crossfire Series #1) / Sylvia Day / 338 pgs. / 1st in a Series!

I missed out on the whole "Fifty Shades" hoopla; but since it seems like this trend is not going away any time soon, I thought I would give it a try.

The characters in this novel are flawed and dysfunctional.  Both have been through traumatizing sexual abuse as children and it asks the question, can two damaged people have a happy (and healthy) relationship?  The hero, Gideon Cross is mega-hot and mega-rich and very powerful in the business world.  He's also domineering and very blunt, and comes off as the quintessential rich playboy type.  I was gritting my teeth through the first part of the book, when Gideon's "come on" lines to the heroine Eva, were just flat out statements describing the kind of sex he wanted to have with her.  Obviously, Gideon is one of those "beautiful" people who are never turned down by women with his sexual prowess.  I was just disgusted and wondered by Eva didn't try to round up Gideon's other conquests and start a class action lawsuit against him for sexual harassment.

Needless to say, Eva fall for his advances and they have lots and lots....and lots of sex.  If you cut out the steamy parts, this book could have been a novella.  What I liked about the book was that the characters were dark, dysfunctional, insecure, and make mistakes instead of the plucky, heart of gold, honorable characters of traditional romance novels.  I liked that the book gives insight into characters that have a sexual dysfunction / addiction; and that the main characters decide to go to counseling to get much needed help.

Fifty Shades Freed/E. L. James/579 pgs.

This is the 3rd in the "Shades" trilogy. Anastasia and Christian are now married, and adjusting to their life together. There are challenges along the way--a kidnapping, a murder attempt, and an unplanned pregnancy--just to name a few. Insight is given to help understand what makes Christian tick. All in all, it's a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. (the whole trilogy needed decent editing)

50 Shades of Grey/E.L. James/372 pgs

Ok I had to read it to find out what the hype was all about and I don't normally read this type of book.  That said I don't think it was as bad as some have made it out to be.  Yes there are some bondage scenes in the book but it is not the entire story.  Mainly it is the story of Anastasia Steele and how she comes to terms with Christian Grey and his lifestyle.  There is a lot of explicit scenes in the book and some of the language can be a bit much, but I think that I will continue to read if only to find out what Ana decides to do.

Fifty Shades Darker/E. L. James/532 pgs.

This is part 2 in the trilogy, and picks up with Anastasia Steele having left Christian Grey at the end of Fifty Shades of Grey. The separation doesn't last long, and before you know it, Anastasia is confronted by  Leila, one of Christian's ex-submissives. In addition, Anastasia starts her job at a small publishing company where her boss is a real sleaze bag. The reader learns more about what makes Christian "tick," among other things. I'm interested in seeing how James wraps up the trilogy--and why this trilogy has gotten so much hype.

Fifty Shades of Grey/E.L. James/514 pgs.

I admit it--my curiosity got the best of me with all of the media hype this book has received. In some respects, I was expecting much worse. It's basically about Anastasia Steele's relationship (both physical and emotional) with billionaire Christian Grey.  The fact that the physical relationship has Grey as the Dominant, and Steele as the Submissive, with a lot of description of the acts performed, is what comprises the controversy surrounding this book. All I can say is different strokes (pun intended) for different folks!