WICKED by Sasha White - coming soon!

WICKED
Berkley Heat
ISBN-10: 0425219186
ISBN-13: 978-0425219188
Format: Trade Paperback
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel
Release Date: January 2, 2008

Sasha White readers are anticipating her next Berkley release, WICKED, available January 2. I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC from Sasha and am pleased to chat it up! Here's a little blurb:

Readers first met Karl Dawson in BOUND, they’ll get to know him a little better in TROUBLE, but one woman will learn all in WICKED.
Bad-boy divorce attorney Karl Dawson has seen all the ways love can go wrong. That’s why he’s given up on it. Jaded and feeling restless, he has playmates, not girlfriends. A leather-clad Dominant, he comes and goes in the city’s after-dark playgrounds as he pleases. That’s how he likes it.
Lara Fox is an independent jack-of-all-trades who can do anything she sets her mind to - except that falling-in-love thing. She’s got a need for control too strong for most men, and an inability to walk away from a challenge. Including a challenge like Karl. He’s cocky, arrogant, and demanding. That’s how she needs it.
They’re perfect for each other. But what begins as a sensual battle of wills turns into a journey neither is prepared for when Lara is threatened and emotional walls start to crumble.

If you liked that little nibble, click here for a great excerpt!

I've done a brief review of WICKED:
Lara Fox is fiercely independent, having fended for herself since the tender age of 15. She's a hard-working young woman who is self-assured in everything she does, but she'll be the first to tell you that when it comes to love, she's a non-believer. Life has dealt her one too many low blows and while she has managed to get back up after each one, the emotional scars remain. When her good friend Graham introduces her to his boss, attorney Karl Dawson, she can't help but flirt with this arrogantly intriguing man. When he gives back as good as he takes, she knows the two of them could sizzle together. Karl is a well-known Dom and when he introduces Lara to the ways of a true submissive, neither is certain that she will ever be able to relinquish complete control, although she desperately she wants to please him.

Karl is fascinated by Lara from the moment he spies her sweet little butt peeking out from under Graham's desk. He tries not to be interested, thinking that her headstrong nature would make any sort of relationship just too much work, despite the fact that he has tired of his current playmates and their sexual games. A violent attack against Lara has Karl on the defensive, and when the attacks escalate, he wants to keep her safe, but Lara has been on her own for too long to give up her independence. Karl begins to tutor Lara in the ways of dominance/submission and while she is eager and a fast learner, there's a slight hesitance on her part that leaves Karl confused. He is even more confused by the emotions he is beginning to feel for Lara and, because he believes in love even less than Lara does, is unsure of just how to manage them.

Lara and Karl are very interesting characters. Their personalities are excellently written and there is never a question as to the reasoning or purpose behind any of their actions. Sasha White allows readers glimpses deep inside her characters in a way that few authors are capable of and there's never a disappointment in her books. Most of you know that while I love erotic romance, I don't typically care for some dom/sub stuff - spanking, anal sex, and painful pleasures, in particular. As would be expected, given the content of Sasha's previous books with some of these shared characters, this book does contain those things, but I think because Karl and Lara are so wonderfully written, and their personalities delved into so completely, it wasn't a concern and I loved their story very much. The two are almost instantly attracted to each other - they didn't want to be, mind you, and they did fight it - those deep emotions come into play and make for an absolutely beautiful story. A side M/M romance is sweetly written, and the return of familiar faces as secondary characters is a bit of a bonus. I give WICKED a strong recommendation, and ask that even if you aren't a fan of edgier sex scenes, you consider giving it a try because the love story it tells is so deliciously well written.

You should also check out Sasha's Samhain release, LUSTFUL, an anthology available for download now! I haven't read it yet, but am familiar with some of the other authors and I'm certain it will be a great read!


Samhain Publishing
ISBN 1-59998-840-2
Genre: Contemporary, M/M, Ménage a trois, D/s, Light Bondage
Length: Novella
Release Date: December 7, 2007

Thanks, Sasha, for giving me the opportunity to review WICKED for you!!
Laurie