Review and Giveaway: Theirs to Cherish

Theirs to Cherish (Wicked Lovers - Book 8) by Shayla Black

Publication Date: 03/04/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Books
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
Pages: 400
ISBN-10: 0425251233
ISBN-13: 978-0425251232

(Received for an honest review from Berkley Books)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Indiebound

Shayla Black on the WEB: website, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series: 

1. Wicked Ties
2. Decadent 
3. Delicious
4. Surrender To Me
5. Belong To Me
6. Mine To Hold
7. Ours To Love
8. Theirs To Cherish

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from, Theirs To Cherish, courtesy of the author's website.

Synopsis:

The perfect place for a woman on the run to disappear…
Accused of a horrific murder she didn’t commit, former heiress Callie Ward has been a fugitive since she was sixteen—until she found the perfect hideout, Club Dominion. The only problem is she’s fallen for the club’s master, Mitchell Thorpe, who keeps her at arm’s length. Little does she know that his reasons for not getting involved have everything to do with his wounded heart…and his consuming desire for her.

To live out her wildest fantasies…
Enter Sean Kirkpatrick, a Dom who’s recently come to Dominion and taken a pointed interest in Callie. Hoping to make Thorpe jealous, she submits to Sean one shuddering sigh at a time. It isn’t long before she realizes she’s falling for him too. But the tender lover who’s seducing her body and slowly earning her trust isn’t who he claims...

And to fall in love.
When emotions collide and truths are exposed, Sean is willing to risk all to keep Callie from slipping through his fingers. But he’s not the only man looking to stake a claim. Now Callie is torn between Sean and Thorpe, and though she’s unsure whom she can trust, she’ll have to surrender her body and soul to both—if she wants to elude a killer…

Thoughts:

Shayla Black returns with the eighth book in the Wicked Lover's series, Theirs to Cherish. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the story of Club Dominion owner, Mitchell Thorpe, but they are in for a few surprises. This book is all about secrets and the things that make a person who they are. The deep dark things that lie in our innermost depths. It also has enough action and thrills to keep readers glued to the pages, and don't forget the heart pounding sexual tension that doesn't quit throughout the book. A typical Shayla Black novel... Amazing!

What I liked:

Readers who follow this series have seen Mitchell Thorpe in the background of several Wicked Lover's books. He is the owner of Club Dominion and one very dominant man. He believes in rules and discipline and exacting the most pleasure and pain he can from those he chooses to deem worthy, or at least that how he has come across until this book. Readers get to see a much different side to Thorpe in this book. One in which he can barely contain the feelings he has for Callie. He wants to protect her and be with her in whatever capacity she needs. Black takes a background character and gives him a back story that will make fans shake their heads and say, "I knew there was a reason he acted that way!" Those who have waited for his story will certainly not be disappointed, if perhaps a bit surprised at how Black presents it.

Callie is a character readers have glimpsed at before. She has a back story that is riveting. She has been running all her life and it doesn't look like she's going to stop any time soon. She thought she could loose herself in Club Dominion but she falls hard for the owner, in spite of herself. Callie has a tragic past and a lot of secrets. I liked the fact that she seems to have a chip on her shoulder that just the right dom would have to work on. Black shows a lot of character development with all of the characters in this book, but Callie is the one with the most to learn. 
Trust is never easy, but when you've got a character who has never seen it, it's that much harder and more wonderful when it happens.

Sean, is a new dom in town. He gives Callie something she has never had before. He isn't afraid to talk about his feelings and to show her what he can offer her. He grants her a kind of peace she's never experienced. But using him to make Thorpe jealous, maybe not her most brilliant plan, especially when she starts to fall for him as well. Do you see where I'm going with this? Sean isn't who he claims to be though, and his secrets are as deep as anyone's in this book. Can he be the man Callie needs him to be? I loved watching him grow, but always remain constant in his love and caring for her.

Obviously this book is a menage story and a good one at that. I always have difficulty seeing how each person can set aside their own feelings to make a menage work. Someone generally always has to be in control, a hard thing I would think, especially with two very dominant men. But Black makes it work. They start out hating each other and in the end come to realize that they both love her and want to be with her. They want the same thing, her happiness and well being. And Black makes me believe that it can work. 

The sex scenes as usual with any Shayla Black book are steamy, intense and scorchingly hot. You never have to worry that you won't get your monies worth in this area, because Black always delivers. She has a way of making the reader believe the impossible can really be achieved in the bedroom. You can have real love and really good sex. I think readers who read Black's books want realism along with experimentation and earth shattering orgasms. And she gives it to them in spades.

What I didn't like:

It took a little while to build up to where these three characters could be together. There was a lot of set up that took up a lot of space in the book. Space that I wished could have been used for more scenes of the three of them together. I just wanted them together sooner, but that may not have worked with the pacing of the story.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for a erotic romance that is packed with action and suspense as well as a hot romance, this is it. Black gives you everything you need to satisfy both aspects of your reading pleasure. She pulls of the menage theme with style and makes the reader believe it can happen. What better endorsement than that. She made me believe.

Theirs to Cherish is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

Shayla Black is the USA Today bestselling author of over 30 sizzling contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances, including Ours to Love, Mine to Hold, Belong to Me, Surrender to Me, Delicious, Decadent, Wicked Ties, Bound and Determined (writing as Shelley Bradley),  and Strip Search (writing as Shelley Bradley). She lives in Texas with her husband, munchkin, and one very spoiled cat. In her "free" time, she enjoys reality TV, reading and listening to an eclectic blend of music.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Theirs to Cherish by Shayla Black.

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~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, April 4th.

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