Beyond Jealousy by Kit Rocha – Our Thoughts & A Giveaway!

BEYOND JEALOUSY – KIT ROCHA

SYNOPSIS

She’s been looking for the perfect man. She found two.

When Rachel Riley sacrificed a life in Eden to protect the O’Kanes, she earned her place in the powerful Sector Four gang. But the former crime princess is tired of being everyone’s sweet little sister . It’s time for her to get wild, to embrace her fantasies as only an O’Kane can—with a delicious exiled soldier and the gang’s wickedly sinful tattoo artist.

A saint…

Lorenzo Cruz is a warrior, taught by his commanding officers in Eden that involvement equals distraction. Emotion is a liability, and desire a sin. In Sector Four, he finds decadence, shameless sex—and his own dark urges. No battle strategy prepared him for how Rachel makes his heart race…or the way his rival for her affections sets his blood on fire.

…and a sinner.

Ace Santana has a dirty reputation and a mind to match, especially where his new lovers are concerned. He’s eager to help Cruz embrace his dominant side, and to explore the lines between pleasure and pain with Rachel. But corrupting them quickly becomes an obsession, a need he can’t deny—and a love he never imagined.

Three hearts on the line means a hundred ways their ménage a trois could go wrong. After all, even O’Kanes do forever two-by-two. One of them could be the missing piece that makes them all whole…or a temporary diversion destined for a broken heart.

AUTHOR BIO

Kit Rocha is actually two people—Bree & Donna, best friends who are living the dream. They get paid to work in their pajamas, talk on the phone, and write down all the stories they used to make up in their heads.

Beyond Shame was their first dystopian erotic romance. They also write paranormal romance as Moira Rogers. You can find them on the web at the following places:

BEYOND SHAME (book 1)

All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond–beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman’s daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier.

The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four’s ruthless leader, and he’ll defend the O’Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who falls at his feet.

Her innocence is undeniable, but so is their intense sexual attraction, and soon they’re crossing every boundary Noelle barely knew she had. But if she wants to belong to Jas, first she’ll have to open herself to a world where passion is power, and freedom is found in submission.

BEYOND CONTROL (book 2)

She refuses to be owned.

Alexa Parrino escaped a life of servitude and survived danger on the streets to become one of the most trusted, influential people in Sector Four, where the O’Kanes rule with a hedonistic but iron fist. Lex has been at the top for years, and there’s almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the gang…and for its leader. Lie, steal, kill—but she bows to no one, not even Dallas O’Kane.

He’ll settle for nothing less.

Dallas fought long and hard to carve a slice of order out of the chaos of the sectors. Dangers both large and small threaten his people, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. His liquor business is flourishing, and new opportunities fuel his ambition. Lex could help him expand his empire, something he wants almost as much as he wants her. And no one says no to the king of Sector Four.

Falling into bed is easy, but their sexual games are anything but casual. Attraction quickly turns to obsession, and their careful dance of heady dominance and sweet submission uncovers a need so deep, so strong, it could crush them both.

BEYOND PAIN (book 3)

A woman with no future…

Live fast, die young–anything else is a fantasy for Six. She’s endured the worst the sectors had to throw at her, but falling in with Dallas O’Kane’s Sector Four gang lands her in a whole new world of danger. They’re completely open about everything, including their sexuality–but she hasn’t survived this long by making herself vulnerable. Especially not to men as dominant as Brendan Donnelly.

A man without a past…

Bren is a killer, trained in Eden and thrown to the sectors. His one outlet is pain, in the cage and in the bedroom, and emotion is a luxury he can’t afford–until he meets Six. Protecting her soothes him, but it isn’t enough. Her hunger for touch sparks a journey of erotic discovery where anything goes–voyeurism, flogging, rough sex. He has only one rule: he won’t share her.

In Bren’s arms, Six is finally free to let go. But his obsession with the man who made him a monster could destroy the fragile connection they’ve forged, and cost him the one thing that makes him feel human–her love.

BEYOND TEMPTATION (novella 3.5)

Part of “MARKED”

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lauren Dane takes you into a brand new world in “ALL THAT REMAINS”. Summer Killian falls fast and hard when Charlie arrives in Paradise Village. But the heat turns all the way up when she learns Charlie is also with Hatch – the man she loved three years before. While she’s not sure she’s cut out for a triad, neither man is going to give her up.

Take a “ROCKY RIDE” with New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Vivian Arend as she leads you back to the Six Pack Ranch. Anna Coleman might be the law around Rocky Mountain House, but bad boy Mitch Thompson knows that under the stiff RCMP uniform is a woman with a passion for speed and pleasure that matches his own, and he’s not giving up until she’s his.

Kit Rocha returns to Sector Four in “BEYOND TEMPTATION”. A promise to a dying friend backfires when Noah Lennox finds that the girl he was supposed to rescue is all grown up–and wearing O’Kane ink. He wants to protect her from the secrets of their past, but she wants him. And an O’Kane woman always gets what she wants.

Our Thoughts!

Once again, I wanted to do this review a little bit different than we typically do them around here. Since four of us got the advance copy of Beyond Jealousy, I wanted a way for all of us to share our thoughts on it at once! So we’re making this review conversational this time around! We basically chatted and flailed and quoted things to each other the entire time we read. And because of that, I recommend you read this with a friend because it’s so much fun!

Overall, what did you think about the book as a whole?

Jaime: I really enjoyed the story, and I know we were all waiting very impatiently to get our hands on this story because holy crap.. Cruz and Ace and Rachel… I was so happy with how much I enjoyed their story. I think the only thing that I struggled with was my connection with them as characters. I think they were really well done, but I didn’t connect with them as much as I have some of the others *cough BREN cough* In all honesty, I felt like we didn’t get enough of each of their stories before they jumped into the relationship. We’ve seen them previously, but I don’t know why I just felt like I didn’t know enough about them. Aside from that… holy hot. I swear I was going to combust if this story hadn’t ended when it did.

Obsmama- I really really enjoyed seeing so much plot movement with this book for the series as a whole and enjoyed the entire way the love story was woven in with it. I agree with Jaime I would have loved to connect to the characters a bit more from the start but as the story unfolded I was fascinated by each one of their back stories and would love to learn more.

Erin: I really liked this one – I have been waiting for this Ace/Cruz/Rachel storyline for a while. If there was anything that was a drawback I would agree with Jaime. It felt like perhaps since we encountered these characters throughout the earlier books we may have been deprived of getting to really know them and what made them tick.

Cosmo: I’m gonna try to not fangirl my ass off here, but you know that’s not gonna happen. I freaking loved this book. I do agree with Jaime about not knowing as much about the characters going in, but I really do feel like they did a great job letting us get to know them. The only thing I wish we had more of was Rachel. Her thoughts, her history. And yeah, I mean, these two epically hot, amazing men were in love with her, so she was basically the luckiest girl in the world. (Well, maybe Lex and Six are the luckiest girls in the world bc Dallas and Bren.) But yeah. That’s the only thing I’d have done differently.

Jaime: I have so much jealousy for Six it’s not even rational.

We’ve gotten glimpses of Cruz and Ace in the previous books, what do you think of them after reading Beyond Jealousy?

Obsmama: *sigh* Bren… Sorry I was distracted. I have to say I fell pretty damn hard for Cruz. I mean from Beyond Shame I have been a fan of Ace so seeing this other side to him, more of a scared and hurt side was powerful for his character. I loved seeing Cruz interact with other people in the book from his past and the rest of the O’Kanes. Rachel was the biggest shock for me. I was ready to be jealous of her and found myself rooting for her the entire time.

Jaime: I think I found myself falling for these guys. I wasn’t sure I would like Cruz, as much as I liked Ace, but I truly did. I mean I think Rachel might actually be the luckiest girl around… aside from Six of course. (I’m not even going to apologize for my love for Bren and my jealousy of Six…. it’s going to be a recurring theme throughout these questions.) As for Ace… I felt for him, I really did. And I’ve always been incredibly intrigued by him and I kinda want him to do some tattooing for me.

Erin: Oh my god…I love them. I have always loved the sexual tension between these characters but wow – I have to agree…Rachel is pretty lucky. There doesn’t seem to be any competition between them which is amazing. Can I just say too…the shower scene with Ace and Cruz – the only words I have are “HOLY CRAP”.

Cosmo: Cruz was genuinely a revelation to me. I say this with the full knowledge that going in, I was sure Ace would own my heart. And he did. But Cruz…Hnnnggg. There are no words. I adored how much, and how equally, he loved both Ace and Rachel. HOWEVER, Ace brought it all back to me in the end. Cruz was supposed to be the hero. And he was, but seriously, Ace was equally heroic. Mostly because he kinda had to be after the shit he pulled. And that’s something that I love about Kit Rocha and the way they write their heroes – they inevitably fuck up, but they always work to make it right. And they own up to their failings before they ever get the HEA.

Jaime: I agree C – I also really loved the portrayal of the relationship between the three. Menage is always a bit … messy… LOL you never know if one person is going to be jealous of the other and question their feelings etc etc, but I think that what KR did here was show that these characters truly loved each other equally. Of course it’s not all easy but there was never a question how each of them felt about each other even when they weren’t together.

What do you think of Rachel?

Cosmo: I’ve love Rachel from the moment I was introduced to her earlier in the series. I love how she was in love with Ace, but when he couldn’t give her what she needed, she didn’t sit in a room and pine away for him. No. Screw that. She danced naked in front of crowds, she dated his friend, she had blindingly hot sex with Dallas and Lex while Bren and Six watched. I mean, damn. She’s my freaking hero(ine)! And I loved her in Beyond Jealousy. Loved how open she was to everything with both men. She embraced the relationship from the beginning. And I never once felt like her love for one was greater than the other. I always struggle with that in menage books. In Beyond Jealousy, it was never even a thought or concern.

Jaime: Hahah yeah… that scene with Dallas & Lex *fans self* that was nice. LOL – In all honesty, I liked Rachel, but I feel like I didn’t really get to know her as much as I’d have liked to. We definitely got glimpses of her in previous books, but I want to know more about her. I hope that in coming books we get that. We’ve learned a bit more about her history and connections in Beyond Jealousy, but I think I need a bit more than those base introductions to her history and her life before becoming an O’Kane.

Obsmama: Like I said before, I was surprised by how much I was behind Rachel from the start. I mean I immediately felt her pain and the loss in her. I also liked how very accepting she was of these two men. I can’t wait to see more from her character as the series evolves.

Erin: I like Rachel but I want to know more about her. Other than the back story with her father, I felt like her background was only touched upon. I am excited to see how their relationship evolves over the course of the series – She is definitely lucky to have these two guys. I am rooting for her to make this work with the guys.

What scene had the most impact on you or in your opinion the characters?

Obsmama- I think the scene in which stuck with me the most was when they were laying in bed and Cruz opened up about his past and really let Ace and Rachel see the dark and hurt parts of him. What made it so compelling was seeing Ace’s reaction to thinking he could never be open like that and how unfair that would be to them. As a reader you know they will love and accept him no matter what but he can’t see it in that moment and its heartbreaking.

Erin – The scene where Ace decides he is stepping back. The hurt that Rachel and Cruz experienced was so ….UGH. I was so mad at Ace for doing it – even though I saw it coming and I understand (kind of) what he was trying to do but I wanted him to also understand just how much he meant to these two characters. He didn’t get that he was a HUGE part of making that relationship work.

Jaime: I’m going to agree with you both on this one… I loved seeing Cruz open up to the two he loves most but it was also so incredibly painful to see Ace not have that confidence in these two people that he wants but feels he isn’t worthy of.

Cosmo: Emotionally? The scene where we finally learn about Ace’s history. His painful youth. And JFC, the whole story about the colors. Even now, I just can’t with the three colors. I think for me it explained so much about why he was the way he was. You know, during the series, Ace is used a lot for creating levity during intense situations. So, sometimes, I allowed myself to think that’s really who he was. It was completely selfish on my part, though. Because I always knew he had this darkness – this shade to the light he wanted wanted everyone to see. He’s so much more well-rounded for me now. I understand him so much more. I just freaking love him, okay?

We get to meet and see a lot of characters in Beyond Jealousy. Besides our Dirty three which character did you feel the most connection with or can’t wait more to see of?

Obsmama- I have been dying for Mad’s story since Beyond Shame and I love how much we got of him here in this book. But I have to say Doc really really intrigued me and I can’t wait to see what his story is and where it’s going.

Erin – I agree with Corie…Doc has me interested. I feel like there is so much more to his story and I can’t wait to see what it is. Also…Trixie. With that ending I am absolutely looking forward to see what happens.

Cosmo: Mad and Trix. Hands down. Completely fascinated by them both.

Jaime: I don’t want to pick… I want to know EVERYONE! And yes, I’m a cheater.

What scene left you blushing like a virgin?

Obsmama: This might have just been me but damn when Ace shows Rachel how to go down on Cruz I was blushing, then when she joined him HOLY SHIT lol.

Erin: Can I say everything?

Jaime: Blushing… hahahahahaha… um – maybe everything, but honestly that shower scene that Erin mentioned was pretty hot! But then again, I’m not surprised because it’s Donna and Bree and they do amazing things with words.

Cosmo: Pretty sure I didn’t blush when I was a virgin. LOL But srsly…trying to pick my favorite sex scene would be impossible. Donna and Bree write sex better than anyone. Everything is vivid and perfectly described. I almost feel like a voyeur reading because everything feels real. Maybe it’s my emotional connection the the characters. Hell, maybe it’s their perfect dialogue. I don’t know. I just hope they never stop writing.

Any favorite quotes?

Obsmama: Pretty much all the dirty words from Ace’s mouth…what I like a dirty talker. 🙂

Erin: Ha ha – YES to everything Corie said. 🙂

Jaime:

“Help her,” Cruz rasped, putting a harsh command behind the words. Giving in to the darkness. “Help her suck my dick.”

Ace’s smile was pure, smug victory. “I thought you’d never ask.” *FLAIL*

Cosmo:

“I’ll always come back to you. And I’ll always bring him with me.”

“My dick is fucking mesmerizing.” ← Obvs.

“The sector wouldn’t change until Dallas changed it. For Lex, he would. For Lex, he’d fight to his dying breath to make a world where she could do anything.” ← ajaljdsjkdshfjksdlfjl

And finally:

“You two are are all the colors I’ve been missing,” Ace whispered, closing his eyes. “I’m going to make gorgeous fucking art with you.”

So there you have it friends… We absolutely love this series and we talk about it probably way more often than we should but it’s because we really, really want you to read it. Make sure you get your copies TODAY!!