Blog Tour & Giveaway: Claim Me by J. Kenner

For Damien, our obsession is a game. For me, it is fiercely, blindingly, real.

Damien Stark’s need is palpable—his need for pleasure, his need for control, his need for me. Beautiful and brilliant yet tortured at his core, he is in every way my match.

I have agreed to be his alone, and now I want him to be fully mine. I want us to possess each other beyond the sweetest edge of our ecstasy, into the deepest desires of our souls. To let the fire that burns between us consume us both.

But there are dark places within Damien that not even our wildest passion can touch. I yearn to know his secrets, yearn for him to surrender to me as I have surrendered to him. But our troubled pasts will either bind us close . . . or shatter us completely.

J. Kenner, What’s Your Billionaire Toy of Choice?

There are a lot of fun things about writing books like the Stark Trilogy, but there’s a special appeal to peeking into the billionaire lifestyle.  After all, I’ve only ridden in a limo twice.  Once after my wedding (a present from a friend) and the other time when an editor rented a limo at a conference to take her authors to dinner (that was a blast!).

So getting to put on the billionaire persona and step into Damien Stark’s world has been great fun.

But it also makes me think:  if I could pick just one billionaire “toy” (I’m going to loosely define toy to include houses and travel!) what would I pick?

And that is a hard one.

Damien Stark loves cars, and he has some exceptional ones, ranging from classics like Bentleys to power machines like the Bugatti Veyron.  But neither of those are really practical for me, and unless I went with the limo, I don’t know that any of Damien’s cars would serve me (and my husband and two kids) as well as my mini-van.  (How sad and pathetic is that?)

So then there’s the house.  I searched Malibu high end real estate sites to get a picture of Damien’s Malibu house in my mind, and I have to say, the mental picture I have is pretty darn sweet. 

But if I choose that as my toy, then I have to consider the rules.  Does it come with maid service?  Because I can barely keep my 3000 square foot house clean.  What would I do if I had more than triple that?

I mean, that’s quite the dilemma, right? 

Then there’s art.  Or fancy cameras.  Or helicopters.  Or jets.  Or hotel ownership, restaurant interests, insane clothing budgets.  All of which sound awesome.

But I think the “toy” that appeals to me most is the travel.  Because a billionaire pretty much has an unlimited ticket to see the world, and as I was doing research on the Hotel Kempinski in Munich (in Claim Me and Complete Me) I have to admit that my jaw was pretty much on the floor.  I would love to stay there and use that hotel as a base to explore Germany.  For that matter, I’d love to stay at any number of fabulous hotels that I can imagine Damien strolling into.

So that’s it for me: my billionaire “toy” of choice is an essentially unlimited travel budget.  What’s yours?

One lucky commenter will win a copy of Claim Me! 

(print for US winners, digital for international winners!)

Answer J. Kenner's question, "what's your billionaire toy of choice?" and include your email address.  Good luck!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner has written over 40 books under multiple names including Julie Kenner and J.K. Beck.  Her newest release, CLAIM ME, is the second book in the bestselling Stark Trilogy, which began with RELEASE ME, a multi-week NYT and USA today bestseller, continues with CLAIM ME (which debuted at #2 on the NYT list!), and which will conclude in July with COMPLETE ME.

You can learn more about her at her website (http://www.juliekenner.com) or connect with her on Twitter (@juliekenner) or on Facebook (http://juliekenner.com/facebook/)

Review: The Stark Trilogy: Release Me and Claim Me by J. Kenner

Today I'm reviewing two books in the Stark Trilogy by J. Kenner. The first one Release Me was published January 1, 2013. The second one Claim Me was released April 23, 2013. The final installment is Complete Me and is scheduled to be released July 30, 2013. So, get ready for hot romance with a dreamy leading man!

Let's begin, shall we?

Review: Release Me

OMFG! OMFG! 

This is one amazing story. Unfortunately it will be compared to Fifty Shades of Grey and while there are a couple of similarities, it is NOT a retelling of that story! It’s its own unique story, full of passion, tension, and heart wrenching moments.

Damien Stark is a former tennis pro who now runs his own multi-million dollar business conglomerate. He’s a control freak in every part of his life. Nikki is a former beauty pageant winner who is fresh to LA and looking to make her mark. She wants to do it on her own and away from her mother.

The tension between them is fierce and wonderful. It’s not just sexual tension but emotional tension as well. They both have secrets and they’re afraid those secrets will drive the other one away. They both crave intimacy with each other, emotional intimacy, but they’re scared.

Damien introduces Nikki to wonderful decadence and the finer things in life. She lets him spoil her and takes it all in stride. She does all this without being a gold-digger or out to get all she can from him. It’s part of who he is and accepts it as that. He’s edgy and dark and controlling. Nikki is no stranger to edgy and dark, maybe not in the traditional manner, but she’s no stranger to pain, fear and loss of control. The loss of control she has with Damien intrigues her and scares her at the same time.

Some secrets were revealed in Release Me. Others are yet to come. There has to be a second story with Nikki and Damien. We don’t have all the secrets and there are hints of more scandal to come. While there’s no big cliffhanger at the end, you are left wondering. What else is there?

J. Kenner does an amazing job of grabbing you in the very beginning and not letting you go. At one point in the story I did get frustrated with Ollie, Nikki’s friend, and Damien, my interest never wavered. I devoured this book in one day! I could NOT put it down.

It’s a wonderfully emotional and tension filled story that will leave you wanting more!

Review: Claim Me

Claim Me is the second story in the Stark Trilogy. It picks up right where Release Me left off.  While Claim Me picks right up where Release Me left off, J. Kenner does an amazing job of summarizing what happened in Release Me. It’s done in a way that isn’t overbearing to the current story and it doesn’t take up much of the story in Claim Me. It was just enough to refresh my memory!

Damien and Nikki’s story is a wonderful story about accepting people for who they are and not what you want them to be. It shows how two people, who are very flawed can let their scars hang out there and those who love them will accept them as they are. Build them up. Make them stronger. Be someone to lean on.

We learn so many things about Damien in this story. His history is not pretty. It’s brutal and makes you wonder how anyone could survive that and turn out partially normal. Nikki learns that she’s really quite strong. Where she thought she was weak, was actually strength. Damien brings that out in her.

One of the greatest things about this book is Damien. He’s a master with words. He could build an erotic scene and ratchet the tension up using only his words. He didn’t have to  lay a hand on Nikki to get her (and me) all hot and bothered. His words were enough. I could imagine his voice. Like smooth whiskey going down. Mmmmm………

HOT HOT HOT!!

Another great aspect of this story is how their relationship continued. It was refreshing to see a couple continue to learn and explore each other without breaking up and running from each other at every turn. When there were problems, they got mad, argued, gave each other space and moved on. It was nice to see a couple deal with issues instead of running at the first sign of problems.

Now, my big problem….Ollie. That man needs to get a reality check. He’s trying to protect Nikki, but he’s doing it all wrong. He’s going about it in the wrong way. He loves her. We get that. But Nikkie will never love him the way he loves her. Not only that, he’s just continuing to drive a wedge between him and Nikki. It’s actually quite sad to watch.

We’re left with a bit of a cliffhanger. There are some problems that Damien must face. I can’t tell you what they are, as that would give away the big secret. But let me just say, it’s no small matter.  We’re left with some unresolved issues for Damien, but luckily Nikki is the perfect woman for Damien and she makes sure he knows it!

Now, we just need the third installment and we’re good.  Bring it on J. Kenner! I’m ready!

Find them on GoodReads!