Blog Archives
Delicious Surrender: A Steamy Grumpy Sunshine Romance
Delicious Surrender follows Brynne, a London-based writer whose half-written BDSM romance novel pushes her toward a bolder, messier, and far more personal journey than she ever imagined. After a breakup that strips away her safe, predictable life, she dives into the erotic underworld, not as a voyeur behind a laptop, but as an active participant. From her nerve-racking interview at the elite Club Dominus, to her intense encounters with a legendary Domme, to her electric clashes with the magnetic and maddening Master Gage, Brynne’s story is one of self-discovery wrapped in heat, humor, and raw vulnerability. The book blends the erotic with the emotional, showing both the thrilling power play of dominance and submission and the inner battles of a woman learning to drop her armor.
I had a blast reading this book. It’s sharp, cheeky, and vivid in all the right places. Brynne’s inner monologue cracked me up as often as it made me blush. The pacing has a satisfying rhythm of slow burns that spike into sudden, pulse-racing moments. What I loved most was how Sutherland makes the eroticism feel earned. The heat doesn’t live in endless descriptions of skin and leather, but in the teasing pauses, the push-pull of control, and the tiny moments of vulnerability that hit just as hard as the physical scenes. There were points where the banter and Brynne’s self-deprecating humor undercut the tension.
The characters feel alive, even the ones who only appear briefly. Mistress Patricia completely stole my attention. Her elegance, command, and warmth wrapped in danger made me want an entire spinoff just about her. Master Gage is pure temptation laced with barbed wire, and while he isn’t always likable, that’s part of the pull. I appreciated how Brynne’s growth wasn’t about finding “the right Dom” so much as it was about finding her own boundaries and desires.
By the end, I was both grinning and wishing there were a few more chapters to linger in the afterglow. Delicious Surrender is for readers who want their romance spiked with edge and humor, who don’t mind their heroines messy and mouthy, and who enjoy erotic tension built on more than just explicit scenes. If you like your love stories with a twist of danger, a splash of wit, and enough steam to fog the windows, this one’s worth surrendering to.
Pages: 515 | ASIN : B0DPL2B4R9
Arkfall
Arkfall wastes no time throwing you headfirst into its mix of cosmic mystery, high-stakes diplomacy, and reality-bending sci-fi. The story follows Adam Freeman, who once stopped an ancient interstellar war with the help of the Ark of the First Gods, a sentient, impossibly old artifact tied to the very structure of time. His act of mercy has thrown the universe off its rails, drawing the wrath of the Xirelion, beings who see themselves as keepers of the timeline. They demand Adam reignite the war to “restore” balance, but other alien factions, along with the Ark itself, reveal deeper truths. What follows is a tense journey across shifting timelines, shattered futures, and uneasy alliances, where Adam must decide not just between war and peace, but which version of reality deserves to survive.
I was hooked from the first page. Pollack writes with cinematic energy, and I could practically hear the hum of the Ark or feel the sting of Martian winds on my face. The book balances mystery and clarity well, never overexplaining the sci-fi concepts but giving just enough for my mind to latch onto. The Xirelion are eerie in the best way. They’re cold, logical, and yet strangely reverent toward the cosmic order they claim to defend. The interplay between Adam and Zyra carries a relatable grounding through all the mind-bending spectacle. Their dynamic feels lived-in, with just enough mistrust to keep the tension alive. I found myself genuinely caring about the characters’ choices, which is a feat in a plot this tangled.
Sometimes the pacing sprints when I wanted it to breathe, especially after major reveals, when I needed a moment to sit with the implications. And while the multiple alien factions add richness, they can also muddy the waters, with names and motives occasionally blending together. Still, the constant shifting between perspectives, settings, and possible timelines gives the book a restless pulse that kept me turning pages. The technology collapse subplot was particularly chilling. It felt uncomfortably plausible in a way that kept me thinking about it.
If you like your science fiction with ancient mysteries, alien politics, and a protagonist who wrestles with impossible moral choices, Arkfall is for you. It’s ideal for readers who enjoy the cerebral puzzle-making of Peter F. Hamilton’s novels, the mythic undertones of Stargate, or the tense moral dilemmas of Mass Effect. It’s not a light read, you’ll need to keep track of names, timelines, and hidden motives, but it rewards that attention with moments that feel truly epic. For me, it was a ride worth taking, and one I’d step onto again.
Pages: 308
My Land, My Nile
My Land, My Nile, by Maria Zeinab, is a sweeping and multi-generational tale that threads together history, myth, and personal memory along the Nile’s banks, from the Abyssinian Highlands to the Nubian Valley. It blends the oral traditions of Nubian culture with vivid depictions of displacement, political tension, and familial bonds. Through interwoven narratives, crocodiles as sacred guardians, the fall of the legendary Yahodi Nog, and the odyssey of Nabra-Isat Soliman returning to her ancestral land, Zeinab paints a textured portrait of a people’s resilience against the tides of time, politics, and water. The novel drifts between the past and present, memory and vision, often blurring the lines between the real and the mystical.
Reading this book felt like stepping into an old Nubian home where the walls are lined with family photographs, some faded, some vivid, each whispering a story. Zeinab’s writing is drenched in sensory detail like the smell of sandalwood, the glint of green crocodile eyes, the oppressive hush of a summer noon, and that attention to the tangible pulls readers deep into the narrative. Her characters are layered, never reduced to tropes, and their conversations carry the weight of centuries. That said, the lyrical style can be somewhat demanding. The shifts between timelines and voices require patience, but for me, that challenge was part of the reward. The story never panders. It trusts the reader to wander, to get a little lost, and to return richer.
What moved me most was how the novel treats loss, not just the loss of people, but the erasure of land, language, and ways of life. Zeinab doesn’t rush to offer hope. Instead, she lets grief sit in the room, lets it breathe beside the characters, until its edges soften into something like acceptance. I felt my chest tighten during the moments of cultural theft, like when Nubian names are stripped from official documents, because it’s not just fiction; it mirrors real wounds that history keeps opening. Yet even in the heaviest passages, the story never forgets the beauty of what it’s trying to preserve. It’s a rare balance of lament and love.
I would recommend My Land, My Nile to readers who appreciate historical fiction that leans into poetry and myth, and to anyone who has a soft spot for intergenerational sagas rooted in place. For those who have ever felt the pull of an ancestral home, whether visited or only imagined, this book will feel like a homecoming, with all the joy, ache, and ghosts that it entails.
Pages: 352 | ASIN : B0FH2Q9KQT
The Night of the Animals
The Night of the Animals, by J.J. Pascal, follows René Navarro through a series of winding, strange, and often grim encounters after his mother’s death. The story begins with a bitter family truce and moves through bars, dusty basements, cramped apartments, and funeral parlors as René becomes entangled with a man named Pascal, a theater troupe, and an elusive family “treasure.” The narrative jumps between present action and memories, mingling bleak humor, oddball side characters, and moments of quiet despair. Death hovers everywhere, sometimes literally, sometimes just the decay of lives gone stale, and yet there’s always a sense that René is searching for something to give all of it meaning.
I found the writing to be wonderfully vivid and strange, the sort that can make a chipped coffee mug or a hole in the wall feel like a portal. Pascal doesn’t shy away from disturbing images or awkward moments, and I liked that honesty. There’s a dark comic undercurrent that kept me turning pages, bits of absurdity dropped into the middle of grief or poverty. At times, the style felt almost claustrophobic, piling sensory detail on top of emotional weight until I felt just as trapped as the characters. That density could be exhausting, but it also fit the mood perfectly.
Beneath all the odd errands and shifting conversations, there’s a constant pull toward identity. How much of who we are is built from family history, and how much is just chance? The book plays with doubles, echoes, and repetitions, as if lives can overlap without ever quite touching. Some moments hit hard: the little observations about aging, fear, and small cruelties landed more heavily than the plot twists. Other times, I wished the story would move faster, but I can’t deny that the slower pace gave room for its unique textures to sink in.
I’d recommend The Night of the Animals to readers who enjoy literary fiction that leans into the strange and the melancholy. If you like stories where humor and sadness share the same breath, where objects hold memories, and where characters feel like they’ve been living long before the first page, this one will reward your patience. It’s not a light read, but it’s the sort that stays with you, gnawing at the edges of your thoughts.
Pages: 129 | ASIN : B0F4Z78QXP
Elements of Life
Dominion follows a leader of the Dragon Guild, who discovers her brother is a primary target, putting him and his dragon in grave danger, and tries to protect him while preparing for battle. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The character, Gabri, inspired the adventures of her little brother, Alex. As a baby in an earlier series, Gabri had used one of her powers to save Terra from destruction. It made sense to me that her baby brother would be born with the same gifts. Alex’s intellect is far advanced for his age. Like a child, he’s headstrong and emotional. Because of his powers, he feels invincible and doesn’t believe he’s in any danger. He knows he can defeat the evil entity that is capturing and hurting dragons.
Much wiser and having learned to live without her powers, Gabri rightly fears what the Shadow will do to Alex when he discovers the boy and his abilities. She’s torn between protecting him and fighting the enemy.
Their conflict developed organically. I had no idea the story would end the way it did until I got there.
The writing in your story is very artful and creative. Was it a conscious effort to create a story in this fashion, or is this style of writing reflective of your writing style in general?
That’s a tough question. I would say it’s a combination of the two. The words flowed as the story unfolded in my mind. I became immersed in the scenes, invested in the characters, and intrigued by the emerging story.
My writing style may have developed because of the many books I’ve read and enjoyed in this genre. In short, I wrote a book I would like to read.
Friendship, love, sacrifice, and finding one’s place are virtues that are highlighted throughout the story. Why are these important to telling the story?
They’re elements of life. Both friendship and love involve some sacrifice. There is no love or friendship that doesn’t require giving up a bit of oneself. The journey is different for everyone, but it makes for some great stories.
Finding one’s place, one’s anchor, one’s tribe, has immeasurable rewards, but the process of getting there can be daunting and can make interesting reading. As an Army Brat, it took me years to realize my place, my home, was with my core family, no matter where we lived. The pain of saying goodbye to my friends as they left, or as I left them behind, was a sacrifice born of my love for them. As a parent, loving our children requires giving them up to live their own lives. No character-driven story would be complete without some such life elements.
After surviving so much, where do you see your characters after the book ends?
I don’t want to give away the ending! I will say that some of the characters might show up in other stories. They can become quite insistent, and I feel a plot or two percolating.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
As tensions rise, and Gabri, Elio, and their dragons prepare for battle, Alex and Tito embark on a daring mission to rescue Phoenix, a dragon caught in the crossfire of a sinister plot.
Treacherous challenges await the Dragon Guild as they harness their unique abilities and forge alliances to secure the safety of their loved ones and the future of their planet. Will courage and determination be enough to overcome the darkness threatening to engulf them? Will Gabri lose her little brother in their fight to regain dominion over their world?
Lasting Impacts
Buckaloo follows a couple opening a dog training academy and preparing for their wedding, who are navigating past traumas, the complexities of relationships, and the chaos of planning two major life events at the same time. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
When people find each other and choose to marry, they come with baggage from past relationships. Sometimes one partner is an open book, and the other holds close to their secrets. The story explores what happens when trust builds enough to share every truth. It’s about a couple with a relationship that can withstand whatever comes their way. That kind of maturity takes work but pays dividends. Offering two major life events, each with challenges, allows the reader to embrace the couple and cheer for their successes.
What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?
Early on, the reader learns that Bill is a “still waters run deep” kind of guy. His concern, respect, and acceptance of others have clearly been a long learning curve. Once inside his cadre, he’d give you anything. It took a long time to let Harley inside. Harley’s charisma brings people together. As an introvert, she has longed for a village to call on. In the novel, she realizes that her friends and family village was her doing. She shows love and acceptance to everyone in her ever-growing circle, watching as each one embraces their talent. Harley aches when things don’t go the way her friends or family might want. Central to Harley’s circle are dog lovers, with many dog owners in her crew. Harley wants others to have the close, respectful relationship she has with Gemma. The reader learns that her maturity has grown from several challenges, and we find she can still struggle over life’s triggers.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Weaved throughout the novel are four key themes. The first of these is that mid-life relationships are essential. The people in these relationships can help your life flourish, even if they haven’t been lifelong friends. Another theme conveyed in the work focuses on the human-canine relationship and how deep those relationships can become, with love, respect, and training. Another theme is how momentous life events can happen in planned and unplanned ways, and what matters is how you react. The other theme is how we humans form communities or villages, and especially how those have lasting impacts on our lives in large and small ways.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Another novel with many of these characters and several new ones is planned. There will be continued focus on Bill and Harley, and their dogs Gemma, Blackjack, and their newest, Coda. Now that a few friends have become neighbors, there will be more focus on them, as well as the dog training academy. Additionally, Harley and Gemma are sure to find themselves assisting on a trail adventure.
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Throughout Harley and Gemma’s adventures, they have made friends in states as far east as Washington, D.C. and as far west as Oregon. Those friends and more have assisted Harley and her fiancé, Bill Harris, with their engagement and in their home designing and ranch developing endeavors. Those same friends gather once more to assist Harley and Bill with the academy opening. Since the friends have travelled far once again, Harley and Bill have agreed to have the academy opening one weekend with the wedding taking place the following weekend.
Before the events can happen, Harley and Gemma are called away for another dangerous adventure where Harley’s and Gemma’s skills are required. Before and between the life-changing events, friends and family arrive with their dogs, their own imperfect relationships, and their areas of expertise to help Harley and Bill. The story of Buckaloo revolves around excellent food, enjoyable conversation, especially those taking place at the fire pit, and dreams that might come true, though likely in unexpected ways.
Hurricane, twelve dogs, a training academy, glamping tents, and a black-clad stranger intertwine in this story of middle-aged friendships.
LITERARY TITAN 