I’d like to thanks the Scarf Princess for having my here today as part of the Switching Mercedes Blog Tour. Today I thought I’d share a bit about where Switching Mercedes is set and why I chose that setting for my Wylde Shore Series.
As some of you may know, I’m Australian, therefore it shouldn’t be a surprise that most of my books are set here, with the characters having a distinctly Aussie flavor to them. In particular, Switching Mercedes is set in the inner city of Sydney. I chose Sydney because it’s a city I’m really familiar, having spent my younger wild days partying there. I still go there when my wild child needs to be unleashed…lol. Knowing the city so well makes it easy to add an element of reality to the fictional stories I construct, which is something I like to do in all my books.
Both Mercedes business and The Dungeon, a club owned by Zane, are situated in the red light district of Sydney. No they aren’t real clubs, but the concept for each was based on venues I know of. In particular, Zane’s club is based on the Hellfire Club, a monthly BDSM event that’s held in a Darlinghurst nightclub. The club has areas for dancing, as well as live performances by artist and members of the Kink community who specialize in particular fields of BDSM play. I occasionally attend Hellfire, (yes, in my wild child moments) it’s a great place to have fun and catch up with my kinky friends in a social setting.
When I started writing this series I decided it would be great to incorporate a venue where the characters could go to socialize, a place that’s specific to the BDSM scene. Knowing what Hellfire was like, I loosely based Zane’s club, The Dungeon, on it. Likewise, Mercedes’s Gentleman’s Club was inspired by a real-life business called Salon Kitty’s. I had a friend who worked at Kitty’s as a professional Mistress, but never actually went to the club myself.
Other locations mentioned are real locations. All the suburbs mentioned are actual suburbs, the streets Mercedes drives down while going to her friend’s home in the beginning of the story are some of the actual streets leading from Darlinghurst to Glebe. The serviced apartment that Isaac moves into is also a real place, as is the restaurant he eats at.
If you decide to read, Switching Mercedes, I hope you not only enjoy the story, but also enjoyreading the snippets about a city that I love.
Below is information about the book and where you can purchase it, along with my other books, including the first two in the Wylde Shore Series. If you’ve missed any of the previous blog from the tour you can check them out by looking up the appearance dates via this link. There is also a competition running during the tour, where you can win the complete Wylde Shore Series, entry details are at the bottom of this post.
Ash knows he isn’t a good man for any woman to fall in love with. He’s a paid mercenary, disillusioned with life and his ability to fit into the civilized world. Zane insists he’s found the perfect woman for them to share, the problem is, Mercedes has no idea Ash exists.
Mercedes has more to worry about than a wager where she plays submissive to Zane for a week. She’s just become a serial killer’s new target and met the man assigned to protect her, Zane’s twin, Ash Reynolds. Ash appears as interested in her submission as Zane, but Mercedes isn’t looking to be shared.
Mercedes has more to worry about than a wager where she plays submissive to Zane for a week. She’s just become a serial killer’s new target and met the man assigned to protect her, Zane’s twin, Ash Reynolds. Ash appears as interested in her submission as Zane, but Mercedes isn’t looking to be shared.
EXCERPT:
God she was adorable. He felt like he was a schoolboy being given a good dressing down by an angry principal. If he was any way inclined to that sort of thing he’d be hard as a rock by now. No wonder she was considered the best professional Mistress in the city. Instead he grew hard for other reasons. The black leather dress she wore fit her like a glove with the zip front pushing her breasts together and up to show the most alluring cleavage, like two soft pillow tops he wanted to bury his face in then bite just for the pleasure of hearing her moan. Her thigh high boots allowed for only the smallest peek of sheer nylon-covered flesh between boot top and dress hem. He wanted to raise the hemline and see what lay beneath.
She appeared to be on a roll, although he’d given up listening to the barrage of insults she fired at his brother. If he was Zane, which of course he wasn’t, he’d wait for her to calm herself, get the fact he’d annoyed her off her chest, and then proceed. But he wasn’t Zane, and the one inherent difference between the two of them was his brother was far more patient with women, especially when they were upset. Ash, on the other hand, knew exactly how to soothe this savage beast.
He casually butted out the cigar on the wall, pocketing the extinguished two-thirds. After all, with trade embargos, Cubans were hard to come by unless one visited the country, and he wouldn’t be back there for the foreseeable future. He expected his target to step back when he pushed away from the wall and stood upright, but she didn’t. Too busy explaining how she was happy with a casual sex arrangement and that was all a Neanderthal like Zane could ever hope for. Too bad he wasn’t his brother. He’d probably reconsider what he was about to do.
With lightening speed he reached out his arm and circled her waist, pulling her toward him. A quick one-eighty-degree spin had her in the shadows, back to the wall, surrounded by his larger frame.
“Enough.” He covered her mouth with his in their second, long overdue kiss, swallowing her fury and any objections she may have been about to voice. She responded with a seductive moan as their tongues entwined. He had her, and this time he wouldn’t let her go until she screamed his name. Well, his brother’s name actually. Damn it, he should just tell her.
All notions of confession were blown away when she looped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled herself up onto his body, her legs circling his waist. He clasped the globes of her ass in both hands and assisted in repositioning her, standing taller and wedging her more tightly between the brickwork and his body. He moved his hands in turn, repositioning them under the leather of her dress, dragging it up as he cupped the bare flesh of her ass cheeks. She was either commando or wearing a G-string. Knowing the latter more likely to be true, he slid his fingers to the crease of her ass until he found a thread of material. Following the thin trail of lace to the wetness between her legs, he moved the lace aside, allowing his fingers to delve between her lips before sliding effortlessly inside her… one…two…three.
“Enough.” He covered her mouth with his in their second, long overdue kiss, swallowing her fury and any objections she may have been about to voice. She responded with a seductive moan as their tongues entwined. He had her, and this time he wouldn’t let her go until she screamed his name. Well, his brother’s name actually. Damn it, he should just tell her.
All notions of confession were blown away when she looped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled herself up onto his body, her legs circling his waist. He clasped the globes of her ass in both hands and assisted in repositioning her, standing taller and wedging her more tightly between the brickwork and his body. He moved his hands in turn, repositioning them under the leather of her dress, dragging it up as he cupped the bare flesh of her ass cheeks. She was either commando or wearing a G-string. Knowing the latter more likely to be true, he slid his fingers to the crease of her ass until he found a thread of material. Following the thin trail of lace to the wetness between her legs, he moved the lace aside, allowing his fingers to delve between her lips before sliding effortlessly inside her… one…two…three.
As the third long digit pushed inside, Mercedes broke the kiss, exhaling a breathless moan of pleasure, her cunt tightening around his fingers.
“Fuck my fingers and come for me, baby.” He’d prefer to have her come on his cock, but he refused to be caught with his pants down if Bethany chose to show up for their meeting.
“Not here, please, Zane.” Despite the request for a change of venue, Mercedes thrust downward. Ash extended his thumb to rub over her clit, resulting in another mewling of delight from his now totally aroused and compliant little hellcat as she rode his fingers, driving them deep inside.
“No one can see you, baby, I’ve got you covered.” Sweet pussy juice spread over his hand as her cunt began to pulse around him in a flurry of release. She pulled his hair and buried her face against his chest, muffling the passionate cry as she came. “Again.”
This time he did the maneuvering of his fingers, thrusting them deep and fast within her, quickly bringing her to another climax.
“Please no more, not here. You know I don’t like public displays.” Mercedes cupped his face between her hands and rested her forehead against his. “I need you buried deep inside me, your skin against mine, but not here.”
Not here, great.
“Your place or mine?” It was obvious Beth was a no-show, so leaving the area didn’t matter. He’d contact her later.
“Neither.” She lowered her legs and pushed away from him, straightening her hem as she headed straight for the staff entry door. “The perfect place is right inside. You have a lock on your office door so we won’t be disturbed.”
Fuck, no. She was inside the club before he could stop her. Zane was working tonight, which meant he needed to stay the hell out of there, but instead he followed, hoping to drag her back into his arms and change her mind before anyone found out Zane Reynolds had a doppelganger.
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Events from the previous books in the Wylde Shore series rear their ugly heads in this steamy BDSM read with an exhilarating bit of suspense that puts numerous characters in jeopardy. Even if you haven't read the other books in this series you'll have no trouble getting caught up in the heart-pounding action of Switching Mercedes as the characters are entertaining and the author pulls no punches in amping up the suspense. Seamlessly interwoven with the suspense is numerous sensual scenes that ultimately evolve into hot BDSM play involving the personal rivalry of Dom and sub players for the burgeoning ménage of Mercedes and twin brothers Zane and Ash with the prize of forever up for grabs.
Mercedes is a strong-willed woman who became a Dom after a traumatic experience in her teens. It caused her to close herself off a bit, she became more guarded and more contrary to protect herself. She never wanted to be taken advantage of again and has become an ice queen as Mistress Mercedes. She doesn't have relationships, but for the last few years she's enjoyed the playful banter between her and the overly protective Dom, Zane. When the women who work for her start dying, and she loses a bet with Zane, she's brought into his and his twin brother's safe keeping where her body may be safe but they put her heart and mind through the wringer to accept the love and submissive play that she promised. Mercedes is an outspoken woman and the playful banter between her and the boys is entertaining. She's no shrinking violet where the villain is concerned and I applauded her never backing down to his vileness. From start to finish she remained a wonderfully admirable heroine unafraid of anything, even when loving the men who love her.
After a mission gone wrong where he was tortured, Zane turned his back on his covert job and joined the real world. To keep his soul he turned his back on the past and has embraced the feelings of love and softness that he feels towards Mercedes. He's extremely protective of her and is grateful for the knowledge of his past to keep her alive now. He admires her Dom side but wants to show her the carefree side of being a sub and the journey they undertake is sexy and fun. I found Zane's sexy yet caring side immensely appealing and found humor in how everyone was scared of his intimidating size but he in fact was very softhearted. He's a romantic at heart and expresses his feelings easily. There's a calming influence always surrounding him and this is just one of the subtle ways he's the opposite of his twin. Ash dealt with their torture in a very different way, he's built up a tolerance to all kinds of pain but in the process it's hardened his heart. To save his soul Zane wants him to join into a ménage with Mercedes where he can see the joys of living a life in the real world. Ash is far less romantic than Zane and talks in more gritty terms. He oozes sex appeal in his early meetings with Mercedes and they were full of sexual tension. He's clearly the more aggressive in his looks, words, and deeds and it's extremely appealing for Mercedes to be offered such a sexually stimulating dichotomy of men which made for a compelling sexual journey for their burgeoning ménage.
Along with appealing characters and steamy sexual interludes came a well-paced and pulse-pounding storyline of revenge. The villain's identity is tied to the past and the author spends ample time in his head to make his part of the story compelling and kept me on the edge of my seat. His dastardly deeds are vividly depicted and nicely paced alongside the romance to keep me completely immersed in the overall story. Reading the previous books in this series isn't a necessity to enjoy this one but it will enhance your experience. We get to see characters from past books and it's nice to be brought up to date on their outcomes and the parts they play in bringing down the bad guy now. The Wylde Shore series continues to keep things hot and suspenseful and I look forward to the fourth and final installment coming soon to see all the storylines come full circle at the hands of the talented Ms. Graham.
My rating for this is an A-
*I received this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Jan Graham describes herself in many ways. She is a full time writer, friend, submissive, orphan, widow, aunt, and sometimes, a wild child. Despite any hiccups the universe may throw at her, she believes in experiencing everything life has to offer and being the best person she can be. Janlives in Newcastle, Australia, where she spends her time writing erotic romance. Her writing falls under a variety of genres including BDSM, contemporary romance, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Jan has often been quoted as saying:
"I am glad to finally give the characters that swirl around my head on a constant basis, the opportunity to put themselves down on paper and I hope they entertain my readers as much as they amuse me."
"I am glad to finally give the characters that swirl around my head on a constant basis, the opportunity to put themselves down on paper and I hope they entertain my readers as much as they amuse me."
WEBSITE: http://www.jangraham.com.au
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/jan_graham
GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/
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Thanks for having me here today, Scarf Princess.Thanks also for the review, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the book.
ReplyDeleteThank YOU for being here! It was an honor to host you and I look forward to more of your steamy storytelling!
DeleteThe Scarf Princess