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  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Devilish by Ella Frank & Brooke Blaine

    June 14, 2025 / 2 Comments

    Devilish – Ella Frank & Brooke Blaine

    In a world where everything is within his grasp, love is the only thing thatโ€™s ever eluded him.

    Lucien Vale is temptation incarnate. Devilishly charming, wickedly confident, and sinfully sexy, he rules Manhattanโ€™s most elite clubs, indulging the cityโ€™s darkest desires with a knowing smirk and a whisper of seduction. Heโ€™s built an empire, played the game to perfection, and isnโ€™t afraid to get his hands dirty when it serves the greater good.

    But love? Thatโ€™s always been just out of reach.

    Then he sees Kai Danielsโ€”a man too raw, too vulnerable, and too damn captivating to ignoreโ€”being used by someone who doesnโ€™t deserve him. And Lucien doesnโ€™t hesitate. He steps in, knowing full well that some things arenโ€™t meant to be owned.

    But Kaiโ€™s past isnโ€™t ready to let him go. His tormentor is powerful, relentless, and determined to make them both pay. As the stakes rise, Lucien is forced to become the man heโ€™s kept buriedโ€”the one who doesnโ€™t just play the game but makes sure his enemies never play again.

    Now, with danger closing in and their connection burning hotter than ever, Lucien and Kai must decide if theyโ€™re willing to risk everything for a love that was never part of the plan.

    * * * * * *
    Devilish can be read as a standalone novel in the Park Avenue Kings world, but for maximum enjoyment, read after Savage.


    Devilish is the second book of Park Avenue Kings, a billionaire secret society romance by bestselling author duo Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine.

    Our King this week is Lucien Vale, owner of a multinational sex club empire and secretly longing for that perfect sub to complete his life. One night in his club, he spotted a young man, Kai, mishandled by a wannabe dom and swooped in to rescue him. Learning Kai had nowhere to go, he offered to let him stay in his penthouse, no strings attached.

    I initially dismissed this book as a hurdle to overcome before Alesso and Father Vitale’s book. The way his character was presented in the first book, Savage, it would seem Lucien is an over-sexed lothario ready to debaucher any pretty young thing in his wake. It didn’t help that the authors dressed him in silk shirts with too many buttons open, which screams tacky and sleazy.

    Boy, was I wrong!

    Lucien turned out to be quite angelic. He likes taking care of people and is a natural provider. He instinctively knew how to put the skittish Kai at ease, catering to the younger man’s needs and protecting Kai, who’s a victim of human trafficking, from his abusive owner. And without asking for anything in return.

    The first parts of the book were cute and fluffy. Lucien is surprisingly cultured and well-read, often regaling Kai with obscure trivia. His house rivals a museum crammed with precious art and artifacts. He whisked Kai to Monaco for protection and entertained him with stargazing. And you know what they say when a boy shows you the starsโ€ฆ

    So yeah, Lucien won me over. Green flags all the way!

    Kai is sweet and playful, with a submissive side that fulfills the dom in Lucien. Homeless at 15 and a survivor at 23, Kai still has an innocent air about him. I loved how he embraced learning everything he could about the wider world. It’s fun listening to him banter with Lucien. Our boy can sass with the best of them.

    The romance is slow-burn and achingly tender. It was a beautiful meeting of souls where the dom with a heart of gold found his perfect sub who loved and trusted him completely.

    BDSM isn’t my jam, so my asexual ass found the detailed account of their BDSM scenes tedious and boring. One thing is certain: Lucien always treats Kai like the treasure he is.

    My complaint is that we need more scenes featuring the Kings because most of their appearances are too brief. We are teased with each King’s quirks but honestly I think their brotherhood would be more memorable and dynamic if it’s not treated as a mere device to group a bunch of attractive but deadly billionaires together.

    The secret society part drew me the most and just like Savage, I wish the books were more mission-focused rather than romance-focused. Seriously, a missed opportunity especially when you have a powerful and highly-specialized group such as the Kings.

    Overall, Devilish is a charming portrait of an ideal dom/sub relationship. Equal parts sweet and spicy, sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle, always wholehearted.

    Rating:
    4 Stars โ€“ minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Constellations
    Artist: Tokyo Shoegazer
    Album: Moonworld Playground

    P.S.

    Park Avenue Kings books can be read as standalones but meeting each King is a pleasure.

    Savage is about the Shadow King and his meet-mysterious with an intrepid journalist.


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    DEVILISH: Kindle | Audiobook

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    REVIEW: Pretty Policeman: The Case of the Suspicious Stripper by Fifer Rose

    October 20, 2023 / No Comments

    Pretty Policeman: The Case of the Suspicious Stripper – Fifer Rose

    Going undercover at a strip club owned by your mafioso boyfriend without running it past him first? Not the best idea. (Then again, a few spankings never hurt anyoneโ€ฆ much.)

    Micah Hart had learned a few things the first few months of officially dating Damon Romano, a vicious mafioso/ridiculously rich billionaire, infamous throughout New York City for his cut-throat โ€œbusinessโ€

    1. Damon was soft for nothing and no oneโ€ฆ except Micah (and maybe his sisters).
    2. His domineering tendencies definitely extended to the bedroom.
    3. Damon didnโ€™t trust him โ€“ not completely.

    That last one shouldnโ€™t have hurt as much as it did. After all, there were bound to be certain obstacles to overcome in a relationship when one person was a mafia don and the other was a police-detective-turned-PI.

    Damon keeps Micah far away from anything related to his โ€œworkโ€, and Micah allows it… at least until a stripper named Ginger waltzes into his struggling detective agency, claiming that her boyfriend – also a stripper – is trying to kill her. Ginger just so happens to work at Lust, the most infamous of a chain of clubs Damon has specifically warned Micah away from.

    Taking the job would require him to go undercover at Lust, and he should say no.

    But Damon is out of town for the weekend.

    And Micahโ€™s been salivating for an actually worthwhile case for weeks now.

    Whatโ€™s the worst that could happen?

    (Psst. Spankings.)


    Pretty Policeman is a fantastic brain candy written in the vein of Pretty Woman but with an undercover cop posing as a rent boy and a ruthless mafia don hellbent on being his sugar daddy. Against all odds and common sense, the two made it work.

    Fast forward to the present day, former detective Micah Hart is now working as a private investigator with his partner, also former detective, Tessa Gallagher. One particularly interesting case came their way, and the two were eager to jump on it.

    Pretty Policeman: The Case of the Suspicious Stripper has Micah and Tessa investigating claims by Ginger, a stripper, that her boyfriend and fellow stripper, Tommy, is trying to kill her. To do this, the detectives have to work undercover as employees of the club owned by Damon Romano and managed by his sister Joelle. And Micah has to do it secretly because everyone knows Damon’s possessive caveman tendencies.

    As with the first book, its best to suspend disbelief, grain of salt, etc. Also, read Pretty Policeman before diving into this to get the lay of land, so to speak, because this installment assumes you had done just that. The plot moves fast and doesn’t waste time explaining who’s who. Previous events were vaguely referenced, as well.

    The new case is interesting but can hardly hold water. It runs on the miscommunication gag where a character says one thing, and Micah thinks another. The people involved could have sorted it out themselves had Joelle not been scheming about Micah and her brother.

    Micah is still our lovable TSTL hero with spectacularly bad self-preservation instincts, has a look of wide-eyed innocence only seen in lambs, and a heart of gold as bright as his smile. The doofus still makes me laugh with his internal dialogues, this time written with less mini-explanations in parentheses. I kinda miss those because they show how Micah’s mind works.

    The story is in Micah’s POV. One of the things that makes it entertaining is that there is a constant sense of impending disaster, or anticipation of the other shoe dropping, whenever Micah makes god awful decisions or is talked into doing dumbass things. We as the reader see the approaching trainwreck a mile away while Micah doesn’t or does but forges on anyway.

    Our boy is all good intentions and saving the people, and we root hard for him, but also, yikes! As cute as he is, I would l love to see Micah’s character develop. When he was still a detective, he convinced me he was good at what he does. Here, his investigations skills were a joke.

    Damon, on the other hand, effortlessly kept the growly, possessive, soft-for-no-one-but-you moments as delicious and swoony as possible. The romance focused more on Damon being a Daddy rather than a Sugar Daddy, though he still loves pampering his precious tesoro. Fuck knows why the man latched on to Micah the way he did, but the mafia don had some of the most intensely romantic lines in the book!

    “You’re my heart, tesoro, and it’s terrifying having to watch it walk outside my body.”

    My favorite part is Geoffrey’s POV. He is Damon’s loyal chauffer and bodyguard who notes the changes in his boss since Damon had Micah. Through him we see a different side of Damon, the much-feared mafioso part, and the more recent besotted boyfriend side that few ever see. Geoffrey’s internal dialogues were more cynical than Micah’s but no less hilarious.

    Pretty Policeman: The Case of the Suspicious Stripper is a shorter read than its predecessor. The plot may be thin, our hero might lack common sense, but the writing made me chuckle, and the romance is high on squees. All in all, fun, light-hearted, and super swoony!

    Rating:
    4 Stars โ€“ minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Treasure
    Artist: Port Duo feat. Jonathan Ogden
    Album: Far Away

    P.S.

    Pretty Policeman the series is should be read in order. Find out how the unlikely pair of a mafia don and police detective came together in Book 1, Pretty Policeman.


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    PRETTY POLICEMAN: THE CASE OF THE SUSPICIOUS STRIPPER: Kindle

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
11 Jan

A funny and insightful story that lingers after one dares to step out of line.

REVIEW: Stay In Your Lane! by Cari Z. & L.A. Witt

๐ŸŒŸ๐ŸŒŸ๐ŸŒŸ๐ŸŒŸ
4 cranky piranha stars ๐ŸŸ๐Ÿงนโšฐ๏ธ๐Ÿ‘ฎโ€โ™‚๏ธ

SOUNDTRACK: Color Outside The Lines by Chris Colby ๐ŸŽถ

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
10 Jan

BLOG TOUR: All You Need Is Love by Meg Macy (Excerpt)



https://neverhollowed.com/2026/01/10/blog-tour-all-you-need-is-love-by-meg-macy-excerpt/

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
10 Jan

๐ˆ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐ž๐ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฌ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐ฆ๐š๐ง. ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ ๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ซ ๐š ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž.

COVER REVEAL: The Regressor King by A.J. Sherwood



https://neverhollowed.com/2026/01/09/cover-reveal-the-regressor-king-by-a-j-sherwood/

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
8 Jan

FLICKer: Now Itโ€™s Different #shortfilm

A poignant short film about rediscovery and hope. When a writer feels lost in the chaos of city life, he pours his heart into a love letter meant for someone special, someone heโ€™s never truly met.

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