Carnal Urges (Queens & Monsters 2) by JT Geissinger-Review & Excerpt tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 30, 2021
Carnal (adjective):
1) Relating to the pleasures of the body
2) Given to sensual indulgence
3) The man who kidnapped me
The devil has blue eyes, an Irish accent, and a hatred for me that runs deep.
He blames me for starting a war. Consorting with his enemies. Getting his men killed. Though I’m innocent on all charges, he wants his pound of flesh. With an eye on revenge, he makes me his captive.
But as we’ll both soon discover, there are more powerful urges than that for revenge.
When the devil meets his match but she’s his sworn enemy, that’s when the real war begins.
••••••
REVIEW: CARNAL URGES is the second instalment in JT Geissinger’s contemporary, adult QUEENS AND MONSTERS erotic, Mafia, romance series. This is the forty-two year old, new head of the Boston Irish mob Declan O’Donnell, and twenty-eight year old, yoga instructor Sloane Keller. Declan was first introduced in the author’s Beautiful Cruel series. Sloane was introduced in book one Ruthless Creatures.
SOME BACKGROUND: At the end of book one RUTHLESS CREATURES, Sloane Keller heads back to New York to visit her best friend Natalie Peterson, the fiancée/wife of Bratva boss Kage Porter, and finds herself the victim of a kidnapping by the Irish Mob.
NOTE: There are some scenes of sexual spanking and bondage that may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Sloane and Declan) with a chapter from Natalie and Stavros, CARNAL URGES follows the abduction of our heroine Sloane Keller by members of the Irish Mob but Sloane being Sloane begins to push all of Declan’s buttons. Declan O’Donnell, second in command, has orders to bring Sloane to his boss but said boss has apparently met his demise, leaving our hero in charge. Not knowing what to do, Declan holds Sloane prisoner, where she will make friends with Declan’s men, threatening any sense of normalcy within the Irish mob. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Declan and Sloane, and the potential fall-out as Declan’s backstory is revealed, and a war brewing between the ruling families sees the heads taken down, one man at a time.
Sloane Keller is a spunky, confident, quirky, feisty, take no sh*t heroine who gives as good as she gets. Always ready with a chirpy come-back, Sloane easily makes friends with several members of Declan’s mob but her over the top attitude pushes at Declan’s barely veiled control. Falling for Sloane was never in the cards, but Declan finds himself pulled into the whirlwind that is our story line heroine. Declan O’Donnell never wanted to take control of the Boston Irish mob but circumstances required that Declan step in and step up, placing Declan at the top, in command but Declan keeps secret the who, how and why, and his secrets are about to place Sloane in the direct line of fire.
The relationship between Declan and Sloane begins as an abduction wherein Sloane’s energetic and high spirited personality immediately gets on our hero’s nerves. Reading to toss Sloane back from where she came, the palpable sexual attraction fuels a burning need for Declan O’Donnell. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate, erotic and intense-with some scenes of spanking and light bondage.
We are reintroduced to Declan’s right-hand man Kieran, and Spider; head of the Russian Bratva in New York Kage Porter and Natalie Peterson; Bratva member and Sloane’s former boyfriend Stavros; and Declan’s ‘handler’ Greyson.
CARNAL URGES is a story of power and control; secrets and lies; obsession, betrayal, and love. The back and forth, humorous banter and snark between Sloane and Declan is fast, fun, and furious-Sloane is a fearless heroine who is full of life and love for a man who would kill to protect the woman he loves. The fast paced premise is spirited and often amusing ; the characters are fiery and animated; the romance is captivating, provocative and seductive. CARNAL URGES is a wonderfully humorous and sizzling addition to the author’s QUEENS AND MONSTERS Mafia series. CARNAL URGES epilogue ends on a cliff-hanger, you have been warned.
Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one RUTHLESS CREATURES
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
We drive. He takes phone calls, one after another, speaking in Gaelic through each one. After maybe a dozen, he hangs up and turns to me.
“Don’t try to run. It’s safer for you with me than anywhere else right now.”
“Trust me, my feet hurt too much to…What do you mean, it’s safer with you?”
“Exactly what I said.”
We gaze at each other as the limo speeds through the night. Wherever we’re going, we’re going there fast. “So all that stuff you threatened me with on the plane—”
He interrupts, “What kind of guns have you handled?”
When I blink, he growls, “Answer the fucking question, please.”
Please. Astonished, I open my mouth, then close it again. My second attempt is successful. “. 357 Desert Eagle. Glock G19. AK-47.”
His brows lift. He’s surprised by the AK.
“Stavros had rifles lying all over the place. He liked to shoot at fish in the lake.”
“Of course he did. Fucking Russians.” He shakes his head in disgust, then leans down and pulls a small black pistol from a holder around his ankle.
He hands it to me.
“If we’re separated, use it on anyone who approaches you, even if they seem friendly. Even if it’s a little old lady, shoot that bitch between the eyes.”
I stare at him with my mouth hanging open and my eyes wide.
He sends me a mirthless smile. “At last. Silence.”
I can’t form words. This psychotic blue-eyed gangster has rendered me speechless.
When I finally manage to regain control of my tongue, I say, “How do you know I’m not going to shoot you?”
“Are you?”
I consider it. “Maybe.”
“Decide. We don’t have much time.”
“You’re insane, is that it?”
“Believe me, lass, I sometimes wonder.”
Pulling a beefy silver semi-automatic handgun from his waistband at the small of his back, he continues. “Things are going to get bad. We’re going to take fire. The car is armored, but if the tires are compromised, we have about eighty kilometers before they die.”
He stops and looks at me. “That’s roughly fifty miles.”
I see. He doesn’t think I’m brain damaged, he thinks I’m just plain stupid.
“I don’t give a shit about the tires. Rewind to the part about things getting bad and start over. What the hell is going on?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“If you can hand me a loaded gun and tell me to shoot an old lady between the eyes, you can tell me what’s happening. We’re past the honeymoon stage. Besides, I can handle it, no matter how bad it is. Spill.”
I could swear that flash in his eyes is admiration, but it’s probably just an urge to wrap his hands around my neck and choke me.
And not in the good way.
“War is what’s happening, Tinker Bell,”he says ominously. “War and all the bloody business that goes along with it.”
“Oh, swell. You’re being cryptic. I just love an incomprehensible Irishman. They’re my absolute favorite.”
“Careful. You’ll exhaust yourself using your entire vocabulary all at once.”“Can you tell from my tone how much I want to smash the butt of this gun into your face?”
“Can you tell from my face how much I want to smash the palm of my hand into your butt?
”“That was stupid.”
“Says the girl who jumped from a speeding car.”
“I would’ve jumped from a skyscraper if it meant I wouldn’t have to be near you.”
“If I’d known that, I would’ve taken you straight to the top of the Hancock Tower.”
I roll my eyes. “Just tell me the truth. I swear I won’t burst into tears. The last time that happened was before I’d even gotten my first period.”
He pauses, his gaze assessing. “Tell me how it’s possible that you’re not scared of me, or of this situation, or of anything else as far as I can see, and I’ll tell you what’s happening.”
I give it serious thought for a moment. “Honestly? I’m just badass like that.”
After a short, disbelieving silence, Declan starts to laugh.
It’s a deep, rich, sexy sound, beautifully masculine. I hate myself for liking it. And for noticing what nice white teeth he has. And how strong his jaw is. And is that a dimple in his cheek?
He stops laughing abruptly, looking as disturbed by the unexpected outburst as I am. Guess he wasn’t expecting that, either.
“Got that out of your system?”
Glowering, he says, “Aye.”
“Good. So who’s going to be shooting at us?”
“MS-13.”
More gangsters. I’m in up to my eyeballs. “Because…?”
“They don’t like me.”
I stare at him with my lower lip pinched between my teeth.
He says drily, “Thank you for showing restraint. It must be incredibly difficult.”
“You have no idea.”
“There’s another reason they’re after me.”
When he only sits there gazing at me in inscrutable silence, I prompt, “Anytime you feel like enlightening me, I’m all ears.”
“You.”
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A former headhunter, J.T. Geissinger is the author of more than a dozen novels in contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense.
She is the recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and is a two-time finalist for the RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America®. Her work has also finaled in the Booksellers’ Best, National Readers’ Choice, and Daphne du Maurier Awards.
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