Review: Dangerously Red - Kristin Miller

In part three of the new Dark and Dirty Tale serial by New York Times and USA best-selling author Kristin Miller, the time has come for Red to choose. But things are not always as they seem...

Before the night is through, I’ll join the Arcana wolf pack, declare a mate, and transition into a wolf for the first time. I must decide between Reaper, the devilishly sexy huntsman, and Lukas, the fiercely controlling Alpha. Both pleasure me senseless, taking me to heights I’ve never known. But I can’t have both.

Time is up, and I must choose.

But Lukas just dropped a bombshell. If I declare him as my mate, no other person is allowed to touch me. Ever. Not a handshake or a good-bye hug. Talk about stifling. Not to mention, the Omega has all but forbidden me to choose Reaper. As I stand before the pack, I must decide…the man who unleashes dark desires inside me, or the man I’m forbidden to love.

Get ready for scorching hot Alphas, a spitfire heroine, and a breathtaking ending!

A Dark and Dirty Tale:
Desiring Red
Dominating Red
Dangerously Red

Visit Kristin Miller's website for more information

Review:
It's time for Ivy to officially join the pack and that means choosing her life mate. But will she pick domineering alpha Lukas or will she go against everyone and choose Reaper, the man she started falling for first but is forbidden from mating?

I'm sorry to say it but I just don't have a very high opinion of this series, not only is it very overpriced considering each instalment is only about 55 pages long but I never got answers to my questions regarding the world building and there is absolutely no character development. Lukas and Reaper pretty much treat Ivy like a toy to fight over and I don't think either of them particularly care about her or want her to be happy. Reaper is marginally better than Lukas but the shine has worn off him since part one.

I'm also finding myself cringing at every sex scene, Ivy has gone back and forth between two men multiple times in the space of a single evening and not once have they used protection so it kind of turns my stomach a bit. It doesn't help that I knew exactly who she would end up with and who was causing trouble in the pack from the first instalment, I kept hoping to be surprised but it was all as predictable as hell and quite boring really.

I can't recommend this serial, it's over priced, the world building is shoddy and the characters aren't interesting or memorable. I'm disappointed.

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Dominating Red - Kristin Miller

In part two of this Dark and Dirty Tale serial from New York Times and USA best-selling author Kristin Miller, Red has two hot alphas in pursuit. But which one should she choose?

Lukas, the Alpha of the Arcana wolf pack, has chosen to seduce me in his private chamber before I join his pack and declare a mate. But Lukas doesn’t intend to rush things. A tantalizing game of cat and mouse uncovers my dark desires, and no matter how I try to resist, I’m lost in him.

Although the sex is so good I forget my own name, I can’t deny there’s still something missing…Reaper, the Omega’s eldest grandson.

He swept me off my feet before meeting Lukas, and I can’t get him out of my mind. And now that Lukas has taken me, Reaper is more protective than ever. I'm torn, but I have to choose—the one who has captured my heart or the one who possesses my body. And there is more than passion at stake—lives hang in the balance.

Get ready for scorching hot Alphas, a spitfire heroine, and a breathless cliffhanger ending.

A Dark and Dirty Tale:
Desiring Red
Dominating Red
Dangerously Red

Visit Kristin Miller's website for more information

Review:
So this second instalment of the Dark and Dirty series focuses on Ivy and the pack alpha Lukas. He has chosen her out of all the new initiates and as much as she has started to develop feelings for Reaper she's also very attracted to Lukas. Lukas is very dominating and he knows exactly what he wants from Ivy, he plays her body like a master but no matter how hot the sex is she still finds herself thinking of Reaper. As the mating ceremony draws ever closer Ivy knows she must make a decision but will she go with her head or her heart.

I hate to say it but this is where the series started going downhill for me. I still don't think the world makes sense, it seems totally stupid that the new initiates to the pack have to choose their life mate on at their very first ceremony, even in Ivy's case where she has only met two of the men in the pack. How is she supposed to decide something so important when she doesn't know what all her options are? Why is it only the women who get to choose their mate? Why don't the men (apart from Lukas) get a say in the matter? For that matter why does Lukas get to pick any woman he wants? I know he's the alpha but they keep saying that the omega is actually the one who is in charge so why would she let him treat pack women like that? I'm probably overthinking things considering this series is only around 150 pages in total (so it's pretty much a novella split into three parts!) but it bugs me when things don't make sense!

I didn't like Lukas from the beginning, he comes across as selfish and entitled, he doesn't really care what is best for Ivy only about what he wants and he pretty much warns her that selecting anyone else as a mate is out of the question because it would supposedly make him look bad. Even that doesn't make sense since he has his pick of women every year and since he's not mated already they were all obviously allowed to choose a different partner at their ceremonies! The sex scenes between Lukas and Ivy just didn't do it for me, she was willing enough once they got started but I kept thinking about the fact that she wasn't allowed to say no to him even if she wanted to and I thought there was a far better connection between her and Reaper in part one.

There is a bit of a plot running through the background regarding stolen pack money and someone trying to undermine the omega but it was so obvious who was behind it that it didn't even feel like a mystery. I did go on to read part three purely because I wanted to see who Ivy ended up with but it didn't really get any better and I can't say that I'd particularly recommend the series unfortunately, especially when you consider how expensive it is thanks to the serialised format!

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Desiring Red - Kristin Miller

I’m indecisive when it comes to my shoes. Choosing a werewolf mate who’ll be with me until I croak? Pardon me while I take some time to think on it. But a steamy encounter before the final ceremony changes everything.

Reaper, the Omega’s eldest grandson, is fiercely loyal, scorching hot, and built for pleasure. He brings down my defenses, and before I know what’s happening, I succumb to the heat in his touch and the skill of his mouth. I’ve only just met him, but I need him like no other.

As part of my pack duties, I must parade in front of the Alpha, who has first choice of the pre-shifters. Rumors of his dark desires run deep, and I’ve always been intrigued. But the forbidden passion blazing between Reaper and me is too primal to deny. By pack law, Reaper can’t have me until the Alpha makes his choice…but Reaper’s never been one to follow the rules.

A Dark and Dirty Tale:
Desiring Red
Dominating Red
Dangerously Red

Visit Kristin Miller's website for more information

Review:
Ivy is a werewolf who has yet to experience her first shift. She recently lost both of her parents and they made her promise to join the local pack so that the alpha could teach her how to control her shift and everything else she needs to know about being a werewolf. Now, she's fast approaching the ceremony that will see her officially accepted into the pack and allow her to make her first change. It's also the ceremony where she must choose her life mate (unless she is chosen by the pack alpha, Lukas, since he gets first dibs on whatever women he wants!)but it's kind of difficult to make a decision when you've not met any of the available options yet. A brief encounter with the Omega's grandson, Reaper, in the gardens before the ceremony begins changes everything but it's forbidden to Reaper to touch her until after Lukas has made his choice.

I have to confess I was expecting a ménage story from the super hot covers for this series so I was a little disappointed when I realised it was actually a story about two different men vying for Ivy's attention and her struggling to choose between them. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just not what I was looking for when I picked up this book and I've never been a fan of love triangles.

However, that's not much of an issue because this instalment is all about Reaper. He is the omega's oldest grandson and the rightful alpha of the pack but he walked away from it all to hunt for the person who murdered his parents. He's only visiting briefly to check in with his grandmother before going back to his search so he's not really a long term option for Ivy but she finds him incredibly hard to resist. There is no denying the chemistry between them and this novella includes some great steamy encounters but Ivy is also drawn to his cousin Lukas, who is standing in as Alpha until Reaper returns for good.

I had a few issues with the world building but I'm willing to overlook those in the first novella in a trilogy and hopefully things will be expanded upon in the next two novellas. Desiring Red is a short but hot read and I definitely enjoyed it enough to continue reading. I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of the serial novella format though. I just think that serials aren't great value for money, especially when you consider that each section is only about 55 pages long! There doesn't seem to be any need to split a 150 page story into three parts apart from to get more money out of readers and I don't think it's a good tactic for publishers to use.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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