DIRTIEST SECRET (S.I.N. #1) by J. Kenner-review and book tour
DIRTIEST SECRET
S.I.N. #1
by J. Kenner
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romantic suspense
Release Date: April 19, 2016
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 19, 2016
It was wrong for us to be together, but it was even harder to be apart.
The memory of Dallas Sykes burns inside of me.
Everyone knows him as a notorious playboy, a man for whom women and money are no object. But to me, he’s still the one man I desperately crave—yet the one I can never have.
Dallas knows me better than anyone else. We bear the same scars, the same darkness in our past. I thought I could move on by staying away, but now that we’re drawn together once more, I can’t fight the force of our attraction or the temptation to make him mine.
We’ve tried to maintain control, not letting ourselves give in to desire. And for so long we’ve told ourselves no—but now it’s finally time to say yes.
Dirtiest Secret is intended for mature audiences.
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REVIEW: DIRTIEST SECRET is the first installment in J. Kenner’s adult, contemporary S.I.N. erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on heir to a billion dollar enterprise Dallas Sykes, and author/ child advocate Jane Martin. DIRTIEST SECRET and the S.I.N. series is a spin off from J.Kenner’s STARK series. Dallas Sykes is reintroduced to the reader in DEEPEST KISS (March 2016).
Told from first person point of view (Jane) and third person perspective (Dallas) using memories from the past and present day, DIRTIEST SECRET follows the ‘forbidden’ relationship between Dallas Sykes and Jane Martin. Dallas and Jane have known one another since early childhood, and have endured some dark and damaging times, but Dallas is keeping his distance from the woman that he loves to protect her from the man that he has become.
Jane is a woman, strong in her convictions, but a woman who has loved Dallas Sykes most of her life. As she struggles with her relationship with and love for Dallas, Dallas continues to keep secrets from Jane and the rest of the world. What ensues are Jane’s attempts to keep Dallas in her life, as Dallas battles the demons from the past.
To be honest, I am purposely being vague about much of the premise as the secrets from the past, the present and the possible future are dark, dangerous and heartbreaking, and are the catalyst that sent Jane and Dallas’s lives out of control. The ‘elephant in the room’-the person ultimately responsible for the past-is easily deduced from my perspective but there is always a possibility that something could change in future installments.
The world building focuses on relationships, recovery and revenge-grieving about what was and what will never be yet struggling to ensure it will never happen again. We look at fractured family dynamics, secrets from the past, and a ‘forbidden’ love that is only forbidden in the mind-life long friends who have lived through hell and survived to live another day.
The relationship between Jane and Dallas has been damaged and destroyed by the past- a past mired in betrayal, heartbreak, and abuse, that have formed the people we read about –today. The chemistry between Jane and Dallas is palpable; unmistakable and profound. Dallas needs and wants Jane with every breath that he takes, but he believes is unable to give Jane the love that she needs.
J. Kenner once again traverses into the BDSM territory with secret clubs, and hidden desires. In all honesty, I am tiring of the BDSM trope-the billionaire who needs to control and use power to usurp the women in his life-sometimes I want a hero who doesn’t require Domination/submission to succeed or fall in love.
DIRTIEST SECRET ends on a cliffhanger-it is book one of three and therefore be prepared to learn the truth-one book at a time. The premise is a slow build that focuses on what happened in the early years of Dallas and Jane’s life-the catastrophic actions of greed; the destructive nature of abuse and betrayal. The characters are heartbreaking, impassioned and intense. The romance is an emotional struggle against the odds-a love that has never faltered between two people who have fallen into a pit of darkened memories and a tainted past. DIRTIEST SECRET is an emotional and heartbreaking tale that grabs hold and refuses to let go.
Copy supplied by Netgalley.
Reviewed by Sandy
Grammy Award–winning artists performed on an outdoor stage that had been set up on the lush lawn that flowed from the main house to the tennis courts. Celebrities hobnobbed with models who flirted with Wall Street tycoons who discussed stock prices with tech gurus and old-money academics, all while sampling fine scotch and the season’s chicest gin. Colored lights illuminated the grotto style pool, upon which nude models floated lazily on air mattresses, their bodies used by artisan sushi chefs as presentation platters for epicurean delights.Each female guest received a Hermès Birkin bag and each male received a limited edition Hublot watch, and the exclamations of delight—from both the men and the women—rivaled the boom of the fireworks that exploded over Shinnecock Bay at precisely ten p.m., perfectly timed to distract the guests from the bustle of the staff switching out the dinner buffet for the spread of desserts, coffee, and liqueurs.
No expense had been spared, no desire or craving or indulgence overlooked. Nothing had been left to chance, and every person in attendance agreed that the party was the Must Attend event of the season, if not of the year. Hell, if not of the decade.
Everyone who was anyone was there, under the stars on the four acre lot on Billionaires’ Row.
Everyone, that is, except the billionaire who was actually hosting the party. And speculation as to where he was, what he was doing, and who he was doing it with ripped through the well-liquored and gossip-hungry crowd like wildfire in a windstorm.
“No idea where he could have disappeared off to, but I’d bet good money he’s not pining away in solitude,” said a reed-thin man with salt-and-pepper hair and an expression that suggested disapproval but was most likely envy.
“I swear I came five times,” a perky blonde announced to her best friend in the kind of stage whisper designed to attract attention. “The man’s a master in bed.”
“He’s got a shrewd head for business, that one,” said a Wall Street trader, “but no sense of propriety where his cock is concerned.”
“Oh, honey, no. He’s not relationship material.” A brunette celebrating a recently inked modeling contract shivered as if reliving a moment of ecstasy. “He’s like fine chocolate. Meant to be savored in very limited quantities. But so damn good when you have it.”
“More power to him if he can grab that much pussy.” A hipster with beard stubble and a man-bun wiped his wire-rimmed glasses clean with his shirttail. “But why the fuck does he have to be so blatant about it?”
“All of my friends have had him.” The petite redhead who pulled in a six figure wife bonus smiled slowly, and the flash of her green eyes suggested that she was the cat and he was the delicious cream. “But I’m the only one of us to enjoy a second helping.”
“All your friends?”
“How much pussy?”
“At least half the women here tonight. Maybe more.”
“Man, don’t even ask that. Just trust me. Dallas Sykes is the King of Fuck. You and me? Mere mortals like us can’t even compare.”
Though known primarily for her award-winning and internationally bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and #1 internationally, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.
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 swopn for him.” A four 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).
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J.Kenner’s publisher and The Reading Cafe are graciously offering a paper copy of DIRTIEST SECRET to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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