I sit amongst the Presidents, Royalty, the Captains of Industry, and the wealthiest men in the world. We own Spiked Roses—an exclusive, membership only establishment in New Orleans where money or lineage is the only way in. It is for the gentlemen who own everything and never hear the word no. Sipping on whiskey, smoking cigars, and conducting multi-million dollar deals in our own personal … own personal playground of indulgence, there isn’t anything I can’t have… and that includes HER. I can also have HER if I want.
And I want.
*BASTARDS & WHISKEY is a dark billionaire romance. If you don’t like a sprinkle of shock, a dash of taboo, and a heavy dose of dirty, then don’t take a sip of this TOP SHELF cocktail.
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Yes, this was a great story and now I can’t wait for the next book from Alta.
This book is about Anita, a 21 year old woman who is living a drab life with no real future to look foward to.
The elderly woman she cares for, Virgie, gives her money and direction to improve herself if she goes to a boarding house
she once stayed at and hopes the other ladies living there might give her a chance at a good job.
Anita is told to go to Spiked Roses to apply for work there. Spiked Roses is an exclusive club where only rich men men are
members and they get to drink top shelf liquor and fine cigars while being offered the services of lovely women that have
much to offer and money to gain if they are willing to avail themselves of the Tasting Room.
The Tasting Room is where the rich men and willing women can make a binding contract for the men’s somewaht taboo
tastes. Most contracts have no vaginal sex in their terms so Anita gives it a shot.
Unfortunately, Anita signs a contract with a twisted sadist so she takes the money and runs away.
Anita wants her money so she can help her friend Virgie get out of a retirement facility the state forced her into.
Kenneth, one of the owners of the club goes after Anita because she puts their club in jeopardy by violating her
contract with the client.
There is a definite attraction for Anita by Kenneth, but he is trying to save the reputation of the club and it’s owners.
Without giving spoilers, this story was sexy, steaming hot and has a lot of angst that both Anita and Kenneth experience
as they try to fix the mess they both find themselves in.
I will say, for others like myself that hate cliffhangers that this book gives us a HEA!
I can’t wait for the next Top Shelf book!!!
SPIKED ROSES IS ABOUT TO BE REBORN
Once again, Ms. Alta Hensley has penned a story that is spine-tingling, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, I can’t look, but I can’t look away page-turning tale. There is a unique cast of characters, some you will hate, some will have you hot and bothered, and some, you just aren’t sure about. The characters and situations are explicated detailed. The story is not for those who want wine and roses with a sweet storyline. The story is raw, edgy, dirty, painful, intense, explicit and erotic.
Her grandparents raised Anita Kyle in a rundown mobile home behind a closed gas station in a hole-in-the-wall desert town in Nevada. She is all alone now and looks out for an elderly lady, Virgie, the only person she can even call a friend. The only color in her life is the colorful tattoos running down the right side of her body. Virgie decides to send Anita to New Orleans, giving her a chance to find something new in her life. With the help of a housemate, she will be hired to work at Spiked Roses.
The Spiked Roses is an exclusive private gentleman’s club with a very wealthy clientele. Men who enjoy the best in alcohol, cigars, and indulging in various proclivities and taboos, the club has private venues in an area called The Tasting Room, where private contracts are made between the men and women. The deals are contracts, spelled out in agreed upon terms, proclivities, time frame and payments, signed and seals with a drop of blood. It definitely isn’t for everyone. It is dark, depraved, humiliating, and the girls are giving consent to a set timeframe at the mercy of the men buying them.
The plot will have Anita leaving Nevada and arriving in New Orleans, and getting a job immediately at the Spiked Roses, a very exclusive private gentlemen’s club. But these men are no real gentlemen when it comes to their various proclivities. Kenneth Saxon, an attorney, and one of the club owners is impressed with the blunt honesty when Anita applies.
“Who was this woman? She was very cool and collected, and yet so very naïve. Parts of her were hard, and I could easily see parts of her were soft. She was a jagged edge that I wanted to touch, even if it made me bleed.”
The Tasting Room will be hosting a very dark opening, with very few girls willing to participate, and newbie Anita is refusing to back down. When Marco Nunez purchases her by consensual contract, it will be out of Kenneth’s hands. She has been warned by Tennessee to read and understand the contract thoroughly. “You will read the contract carefully. And I mean carefully. If you feel you can’t do something, you need to negotiate it out of the contract right away. When I allow you to leave with the buyer, I need to be sure that you are going into the situation with your eyes completely wide open and consensually entering the darkness.”
Anita negotiates the deal, but the cruelty of Marco is more than she can take and she will escape after only hours in his home. Kenneth’s reputation and the club are on the line and rather than let Marco’s henchmen catch up with her; he will retrieve her himself. It will be a battle of wills as he finds her and takes her back to New Orleans. She has two choices, to return the one hundred thousand dollars, or continue for two weeks with Marco. She refuses to give back the money, and Kenneth has no choice but to turn her back over to Marco.
The story is full of angst, depression, desperation, depravity, and determination. There is a love-hate status between Kenneth and Anita. Things will turn volatile and physical during their return trip to New Orleans, including spankings, non-consensual and consensual sex.
“I craved his control over my body that willingly surrendered. “
“Sometimes you have to stare the devil in the eyes to be able to conquer him. I’ll get past this. I’m going to see it as a nightmare that I have woken from. I’m awake now. It was all a really bad dream.”
This is the first book in this series and I look forward to the next one.
When I first read the Bastards & Whiskey novella in the Royally Mine Anthology I loved it and was excited to hear that it would soon be expanded. Bastards& Whiskey was a fantastic introduction to a top shelf series I am highly looking forward to.
I was intrigued by the idea of the Spiked Roses club. An exclusive gentleman’s club where the richest men around the world come to play. Members are able to get anything and everything and the word “No” doesn’t exist.
Kenneth Saxon is a owner and lawyer for the club but just as kinky and filthy as the rest of his friends. When he hires Anita she is young and naive and new to the city. When these two get together prepare for the explosions. Kenneth is all alpha and wants Anita to submit but things don’t go as he planned. The sexual chemistry and tension between these two is palpable and won’t be denied. Could Kenneth have finally met his match?
Bastards& Whiskey was a downright dirty and delicious read. The storyline kept my attention until the end and the characters kept me hooked wanting to know what was going to happen next. Bastards & Whiskey is definitely a “top shelf” read and has me eagerly anticipating the rest of this series.
After reading a shortened version of this story in the Royally Mine Anthology, I was so glad to hear that Alta Hensley would be giving us more. This is the first book of getting more and what a hot book it was!!
Spiked Roses is a member only men’s club. A place for rich men to go to where they can have anything and everything. The word NO does not exist. After Spiked Roses has had a bad run on law suits, things must change.
Contracts are the first up for change. Each and every member must sign a contract if they wish to purchase a lady. Not that they will ever stand up in a lawsuit, they are there just to prove that the contract is between two consenting adults.
The sexy scenes that Alta has brought to us in this book is what I’ve come to appreciate in Alta’s writing. She constantly comes up with scenes that push everyone’s limits. With those limits, we all are screaming the safe word in our head…. but the characters in the book, they go with the flow.
Great job Alta!!! I Can’t wait to read Villains & Vodka and Scoundrels & Scotch.
A downright deliciously dirty read!
Welcome to Spiked Roses where your every dirty darkest fantasy can come true – for the right price and a drop of blood, just to seal the deal
Alta Hensley delivers again with Bastards & Whiskey a perfect blend of Disobedient and Willful with just the slightest undertones of Powerful and Perverted leaving a smooth burn that warms from the inside out
I love a strong heroine who takes no bull from anyone, and Anita has that ability in spades. She shows her vulnerabilities from living in the “middle of no where” all her life in the way she interacts with people, but then covers it up with the best snark and commentary that makes you smile. To watch her tumble with the ever in control Kenneth is fascinating. They are like gasoline and fire about to meet in a mighty explosion. Such a good read, and looking forward to book two in the series.
Six filthy rich, smart as a whip, and complete a$$hole friends owned the Spiked Roses, an exclusive membership only establishment in New Orleans where money or lineage was the only way in. It was for men who owned everything and never heard the word no. Sipping on top shelf booze, smoking cigars, and conducting multi-million dollar deals in their own personal playground of indulgence, there wasn’t anything they couldn’t have .. And that had now become an issue. A colossal problem that could make each one of them lose their butts in litigation and settlements. If something wasn’t done, they would be in Chapter 11 bankruptcy before their first year anniversary.
Kenneth Saxon was a vicious lawyer who destroyed people in the courtroom and handled all legal matters for the Spiked Roses. There were too many lawsuits and Kenneth had decided to force the issue with the other owners because he hadn’t decided to open the club so some greedy b*tch or a$$hole who saw a payday in their future could bleed his pockets dry. That’s why he’s come up with a new plan to clean house, bring order and make all members and employees sign contracts and sign with a drop of blood if they choose to engage in any type of sexual activity showing it was consensual.
Anita lived right off the interstate of Nevada at exit 222, mile marker 51 with her Meemaw and Pappy. Getting a job as a home health care for Ms. Virgie at 15 helped with taking care of things. As time passed, Pappy died and Meemaw followed six months later but she was still living in the trailer taking care of Virgie while feeling nothing inside her. She was bored and restless. Had been all her life. One day out of the blue, Virgie informed Anita she was firing her and sending her to New Orleans. Said someone did it for Virgie so she could follow her dreams and now it was her turn to do it for Anita and get her out of Muckaluk, NV; find her dreams, live her life and make exciting memories. So Virgie called the boarding house she use to live at, arranged for the rent and room for a month, bought her a bus ticket, gave her some spending and food money and sent her on her way.
This is the first book from Alta Hensley I’ve read and couldn’t ask for a better introduction. Hot, Dark and Dirty best describes book one of Top Shelf, Bastards & Whiskey. The storyline has the plot seamlessly woven throughout with characters that have personalities so relatable you’ll either love them or love to hate them. Great book and I just discovered there are more to this series already out, so I know I’ll be checking into them soon.
Beasts & Bourbon by Alta Hensley is book 5 in the Top Shelf Series. This is the story of Roman and Cheri. I have read the previous book which added to my joy of reading this one, but you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so. Cheri had escape to try to find herself and a life without the rich background. Roman is a Prince whose time has come to claim his Princess which is going be Cheri. Roman goes forward to set up Cheri to return but they both have things to go through before they get the ending they want. This was a exciting story with a hot alpha male and a strong women lead. Loved them and this story.
Bastard’s and Whiskey is a dark romance between billionaire Kenneth and sweet innocent Anita. Kenneth is a kinky rich, successful lawyer/owner at the exclusive gentlemen’s club Spiked Rose in New Orleans. Anita gets hired at the Spiked Rose and her life will never be the same. Alta Hensley can truly write and I am one of her many fans! This book is full of suspense, mystery, danger, kink and dark romance. A well written story and over the top characters with twisted chemistry. I can’t wait to read the next book by this author.
A pleasure club owned by billionaires -Kenneth Saxon, Harley Crow, Victor Drayton, Mathew Price , Lennon Wolf & Prince Roman Cassian
We owned Spiked Roses—an exclusive, membership only establishment in New Orleans.Sipping on top shelf booze, smoking exotic cigars, and conducting multi-million dollar deals in our own personal playground of indulgence, there wasn’t anything we couldn’t have
There’s debauchery and sexual fetishes coming to life . Kinks are as easily accepted as Rare old whiskey . The girls are in for the money, the guys are in for dark rough , no holds barred sex.
You were all nothing but a room full of bastards and whiskey.”
“But at the same time, we were nothing but a room full of harlots and diamonds. So who’s to judge?”
The men and women are in contractual sex relationships. Each person aware of exactly what goes on in the Humidifier Room, Cigar Room & Tasting Room . It’s spelled out clearly , precisely , well in advance
In this meleè comes a naive Anita . She lives a drab life in an abandoned trailer in the middle of nowhere .
Muckaluk .A mile marker in Humboldt County near Coal Canyon. This was my home. This was my hell. Dust devils and sagebrush.
Her life a colorless canvas and boring tumbleweed infested. In the smack middle of rest landscape , she’s as colorless and joyless as the arid wasteland . Looking for the elusive Rattlesnake to bite her to feel herself alive, besides looking after her old neighbour Virgie. She pushes Anita to go to New Orleans to change her life. Just live for once. Fly , even if she crashes later.
That’s how Anita ends up sitting in front of Kenneth. Her life takes some really dramatic turns and she has to run…far far away. But Kenneth is nothing but persistent. Worried about the scarred reputation of his club -Spiked Rose , he has the unenviable task to locate Anita and lasso her ass back to the club.
What follows is a series of tides that pull and push these hearts and souls together and apart.
It’s an interesting story taht started out really well, written well and oozing sexiness.
Somewhere in the middle , it sagged a bit, but picks up later.
Just my take, for a man in control and Dominant attitude, Kenneth unravelled pretty quickly and did a turnabout .
Good sex with some kinks thrown in .
4 kitty tail stars
Kenneth Saxon, billionaire lawyer and part owner of the Spiked Roses Gentleman’s Club. He takes what he wants when he wants it. He certainly does not do relationships . . . so why is he so intrigued with the woman he just hired to work in the club?
Anita lacks color in her life and is just going through the motions. When she is given the chance of a lifetime to make a new start in New Orleans, she takes the chance and finds herself as the new cigar girl at an exclusive men’s club. When the elderly woman who is her best friend finds herself in need of 24 hour nursing care, Anita finds herself willing to do whatever it takes . . .even if it is contracting herself as a slave for two weeks to act as someone’s darkest and kinkiest fetishes.
When Anita finds herself in a situation she knows she won’t make it through, she runs . . . and it’s up to Kenneth to drag her back to either return the money or fulfill her end of the contract. But, once he finds her, will he want to give her up?
This book was seriously an OMG what did I just read (in one sitting that kept me up until about 4am because I could not put it down!) Kenneth, as well as the rest of the owners of the Spiked Roses Club, are ridiculously wealthy and spoiled men who are not used to having anyone go against what they want or tell them no at any time. Anita, while a bit on the naive side, is certainly no pushover however, and refuses to give in to Kenneth’s demands without the fight of her life. The more they fight, however, the more they begin craving what the other has to offer . . .
This story has some very dark and extremely kinky undertones. I found it fabulously delicious and decadent and truly loved the dynamics of this anything but vanilla couple. I want more and can’t wait to see each of the owners of this good old boys club meet their match when they least expect it. 5 stars!
Bastards and Whiskey is the first book in the Top Shelf Series. And, this is the first book that I have read by Alta Hensley. Okay, let me tell you that this little blurb hooked me to start reading this series.
***”BASTARDS & WHISKEY is a dark billionaire romance. If you don’t like a sprinkle of shock, a dash of taboo, and a heavy dose of sex, then don’t take a sip of this TOP SHELF cocktail.” ***
This Gentleman’s club is a little different. These men are insanely rich. Rich beyond anyone’s imagination. They are also not your average type of male that belongs to a club. These men are kinky. The only kind of kinky that money buys. These men are into the taboo.
These are not nice men. Harley Crow (an assassin), Marco Nunez (head of the Nunez family). They run a large gun ring out of Rome, Venice and New York. Like I said not nice men for the most part.
Kenneth Saxon is the attorney for the club, Spiked Roses. Anita, is a young woman who you could tell was going to be a lot of trouble to Kenneth. And, she was. I LOVE this book! I read it in 1 go and could not put it down.
Do read the blurb that is in this review. If you don’t like anything in it don’t read the book. But, as I said I loved Bastards and Whiskey. I can’t wait to pick up the next book in this series to start reading it. I felt that this book is a page turner and I give it 5 stars. Villains & Vodka is next and is sitting on my Kindle just waiting to be read. Oh and I got Bastards and Whiskey on Kindle Unlimited.
Before you begin this book you require 2 fingers of whiskey neat!
Holy mother of dragons, this devilishly dirty and sinfully book was sizzling hot!
Spiked Roses is an exclusive Billionaires all male club where anything goes provided you agree with the contract! When things got complicated the fun really began.
The characters were likable and it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat but the ending felt a little rushed.
Can’t wait for he next installment though!
The first book in a new series by Alta Hensley. We got a glimpse of the world of Spiked Roses in the story Bad Boys & Bourbon featured in the Anthology Royally Mine.
This story introduces Kenneth and small town girl Anita. The story starts all slow and sweet. Alta takes her time setting up the characters, their lives and the club Spiked Roses. But in true Alta form this is all the calm before the storm. You will find yourself saying eeeuw, cheer Anita on, no you did not just say that. And you will get all hot and bothered.
I struggled with the story flow.
I really enjoyed this book.
I liked three grittyness off this story.
What I really, really like about this series is that they start out a little mysterious, and you get a great build up, before realizing that these heroes are actual softies for the ones they end up loving. It seems very dark, and don’t get me wrong, there is some taboo, but the honesty, commitment, and caring is also very apparent and I love it. I can’t wait to read all the other books in the series.
This was a very dark book with unpleasant experiences. It was also not a complete storyline. I won’t be reading anymore in this line.
This book was pretty down and dirty, if you don’t like that type of thing, this book is not for you. If you’re into domination and sex you’ll really enjoy it. Not my type of thing, since I respect women and also want to be respected by them. I have to say it was an eye-opener for me.