SAY MY NAME (Stark International Trilogy 1) by J. Kenner-a review

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 7, 2015

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I never let anyone get too close—but he’s the only man who’s ever made me feel alive.

Meeting Jackson Steele was a shock to my senses. Confident and commanding, he could take charge of any room . . . or any woman. And Jackson wanted me. The mere sight of him took my breath away, and his touch made me break all my rules.

Our bond was immediate, our passion untamed. I wanted to surrender completely to his kiss, but I couldn’t risk his knowing the truth about my past. Yet Jackson carried secrets too, and in our desire we found our escape, pushing our boundaries as far as they could go.

Learning to trust is never easy. In my mind, I knew I should run. But in my heart, I never felt a fire this strong—and it could either save me or scorch me forever.

Say My Name is intended for mature audiences.

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REVIEW: SAY MY NAME is the first installment in J. Kenner’s adult contemporary Stark International Series focusing on billionaire architect Jackson Steele, and professional assistant Sylvia Brooks. Stark International Trilogy is a cross over series from Kenner’s original Stark series. Sylvia Brooks is Damien Stark’s PA; we were first introduced to Jackson Steele in the Stark Trilogy novella-PLAY MY GAME. You will not have to have read the original Stark series to understand or follow the Stark International trilogy. Many of the characters including Damien and Nikki Stark cross over between the series, but any important information from the Stark series is revealed where necessary.

Told from Sylvia’s first person point of view, the storyline trope follows a second chance at love for two people, who five years earlier, spent two glorious nights together before nightmares from the past forced Sylvia to push Jackson away. Jackson has never forgotten or forgiven Sylvia for the humiliation and pain she caused his fragile male ego, and now that he and Sylvia would be working together with Damien Stark, Jackson is bent on revenge, retribution and payback. What begins as Jackson attempts at avenging Sylvia’s blatant dismissal of their connection, spirals out of control when Sylvia finally acknowledges the truth about what happened five years before.

The connection between our couple has already been established. Their attraction to one another has never waivered and working together on Damien Stark’s latest project will place our couple in constant contact. Stark International has contracted to develop a resort on Cortez Island but the architect and investor is MIA. As project manager, Sylvia approaches well- to- do businessman and her former lover Jackson Steele in the hopes of pushing the development forward knowing their history together will make for a volatile working environment. As the sexual attraction builds, Jackson and Sylvia give into the desire only to find themselves at odds when Damien’s past comes barreling in. Sylvia has bared her heart and soul to a man whose own secrets he keeps buried in the past. The $ex scenes are intimate, intense and passionate. There is some slight discipline and bondage play between Jackson and Sylvia that, honestly, felt out of place in the overall storyline premise. The sexual language is graphic and bold.

SAY MY NAME is an intense and dramatic introduction to J. Kenner’s Stark International Trilogy. There are many similarities between Kenner’s Stark Series leading couples including a history of abuse and harm, obsessions, sexual needs and desires, and colorful family histories. All of Kenner’s characters are engaging, charismatic, rich and beautiful. There are moments of heartbreak and betrayal; love and hate; forgiveness and love. There is no cliff hanger but a definite ‘more to come’ with Jackson’s revelations about his past.

Copy supplied by the author through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

ON MY KNEES
Stark International Trilogy 2
by J. Kenner
Release Date: June 23, 2015

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I never thought I’d lose control, but his desire took me right to the edge.

Powerful, ambitious, and devastatingly sexy, Jackson Steele was unlike any other man I’d ever known. He went after what he wanted with his whole mind, body, and soul—and I was the woman in his sights. One touch and I surrendered, one night together and I was undone.

Jackson and I had secrets, dark pieces of our pasts that threatened to swallow us both. We couldn’t outrun our demons, or the people trying to tear us apart. But in our passion we found salvation, and in each other’s arms we found release.

I was scared to trust Jackson fully, to finally let go. Yet no matter the dangers that lay ahead, I knew I was his—and now that we’ve laid claim, there’s no more holding back.

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UNDER MY SKIN
Stark International Trilogy 3
by J. Kenner
Release Date: August 25, 2015

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Jackson Steele and Sylvia Brooks are back in the powerful finale of a provocative, sizzling-hot new erotic trilogy set in the world of J. Kenner’s beloved Stark novels: Release Me, Claim Me, and Complete Me.

J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and International bestselling author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres. Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, Victorian-era thrillers (coming soon), and paranormal mommy lit.

Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, has been consistently in development in Hollywood since prior to publication. Most recently, it has been optioned by Warner Brothers Television for development as series on the CW Network with Alloy Entertainment producing. JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for him.” A three time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy). Her books have sold well over a million copies and are published in over over twenty countries. In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.

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