Even as she pleads for her freedom, she hopes he will never let her go… wrong?
Everything!
Captured by the military police, she finds herself in a cold, stark cell, at the mercy of none other than the brother of the crown prince himself. She soon learns that Zafar Nur al-Talat has his own unique methods of interrogation, combining pain and pleasure to devastating effect. Before long, Jenna finds herself screaming for him to stop, whilst silently begging for more!
Powerful, handsome, ruthlessly determined, Zafar is sworn to protect his country. His English prisoner is beautiful, and he cannot deny his attraction to her, but she is hiding something and the security and safety of those he loves is at stake.
He will do his duty, which means he will discover the truth, whatever it takes.
more
How far will you go and what would you be capable of doing for family? This is the question for our main characters Zafar and Jenna. Jenna is determined to rescue her stepsister by sneaking into a foreign country. When she is captured, she is interrogated by Zafar who uses intriguing methods to get what he want. This time his captive is an American Woman. Her beauty intrigues him but he must have his answers and he knows she is with holding information. Will his methods backfire on him this time around?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a new author to me, and I thought this plot was different and interesting. I enjoyed how the author writes and she held my attention throughout the book. The characters didn’t quite behave as I expected them to which made the story even more interesting. An enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The first half of this book showed me two things. The first being that Jenna was an idiot who had no sense of self preservation, and the second was that the time she spent in prison was pretty dark and intense.
Zafar seemed a bit cruel, until he wasn’t. He was a Dom and sensed that Jenna was submissive and used it against her to get answers.
The second half of the book seemed to do an about face. Zafar was still a Dom, albeit of a gentler nature. Jenna’s reaction to Zafar was like Pavlov’s dog considering the time they spent seperated.
Jenna seemed to be completely accepting regarding how he went about getting her back to his country. Bizarre. As a h, I didn’t pick up any strong, independent, woman vibes from ger.
Zafar , on the other hand, was alpha male Dom throughout the book. It wasn’t that I couldn’t pick up on the chemistry between Zafar and Jenna, but it did seem like he was not up for a serious relationship. His character just felt very dismissive to me about both Jenna and the relationship.
The book had a little mystery, intrigue, and suspense that I was not expecting.
I don’t want to say much more for fear of dropping spoilers in the review. I’ll just say there were elements of BDSM, some more intense than others. There was also a HEA, on a large scale.
Great Erotic romance with good character and story development. It started off a bit slow, but after the first few chapters it picked up. I was unsure of what to think of Zafar at first. This is a bit of a darker than I usually read, but I think that she was able to really capture what some secretly wish for. I enjoyed how Ashe was able to differences in culture when it came to families since the majority of this book is set in an Arab country. I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more of Ashe Barker.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Loved the book it was great the story was well written and the characters were interesting. Jenna went to a small Arab country to find her sister. Jenna went to the Palace looking to see if she could find anything about her sister, the security found her in places she should not go through. Security took Jenna down to the cell. Zafar is head of security also the brother of the king. Zafar will punish Jenna to find out what she is doing, with pain and pleasure.
Thank you for allowing me to review this book it was great.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Anything for…..
A darker erotic story with many toe curling moments for a variety of reasons. This story of Zafar and Jenna is well written, complex, hair raising, erotic and has some great twists and turns. Great story!
Suspenseful Erotic Romance!
Professionally written, fast-paced and engaging “Thicker Than Water” is a suspenseful erotic romance with a darker ambiance. Much of the novel takes place in a small Arab country and the heroine (a British citizen) is attempting to rescue her sister from the royal palace where she is being held. Gaining access to the palace under false pretenses, Jenna is taken prisoner by the crown prince’s brother and head of the country’s security forces, Zafar Nur al-Talat. The first half of the novel is simply chilling, a European woman imprisoned in a small Arab country, interrogated, subjugated and harshly punished without any rights whatsoever. The thoughts as well as actions of both characters are disconcerting, and I could not help but identify with Jenna, held prisoner in a totalitarian system with absolutely no rights or recourse. As events unfold, the plot flows with both lead characters recognizing the unsettling attraction toward the other. Jenna is covertly returned to England with strict instructions from Zafar to never return. Two years later a crisis occurs within the royal palace necessitating Jenna’s assistance and Zafar asks for Jenna’s help as well as her return to his country.
Jenna is portrayed as a strong, benevolent character but I had difficulty throughout with Zafar due to his initial portrayal as cold, calculating, detached and cruel. After Jenna’s return to Zafar’s country, his demeanor towards her improves immensely and a genuine relationship develops. Unfortunately, Zafar never fully redeemed himself with me and I continue to view him as a somewhat condescending individual. Despite my issues with Zafar, “Thicker Than Water” is a fast-paced, gripping and suspenseful story with plenty of sultry heat. This is a standalone story told from dual POV.
Disclaimer: Children 18+ due to explicit sexual content within an unequal power exchange relationship. No Kindles were seriously harmed while reading this novel.
Disclaimer for the Disclaimer… The term “seriously harmed” is not intended to include: overheating, scorch marks, minor melting or inconsequential fire that can be put out with an extinguisher. Fire retardant gloves highly recommended while reading. Reviewer is not responsible for run-on sentences, appalling grammar or questionable punctuation.
RATING DETAILS (Based on 1 to 5 Gold Stars):
Steam Factor: 5 Sultry Stars
Writing Style: 5 Professional Stars
Plot: 5 Suspenseful Stars
Engaging Characters: 4/Zafar & 5/Jenna Stars
Satisfying Conclusion: 5 Encouraging Stars
*** I voluntarily received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review ***
This book starts with a wild premise: the heroine Jenna is convinced that her stepsister Melisa is being held against her will in her father’s homeland (Jenna and Melisa are related through their mother) when their mother passes away. So when she isn’t allowed to contact Melisa (who’s a young teenager), Jenna sneaks into the royal palace (yes, their mother’s second husband was a prince of a vaguely Arab country) to “free” Melisa. When she’s caught, Jenna ends up being cross-examined by Zafar, another prince of this realm. And this is when things get wild.
Instead of the typical torture that you’d expect any leader of a nation’s spies and secret police to use, Zafar employs sexual torture exclusively (only to discover this turns both Jenna and him on). I really wondered why, once he realized Jenna’s proclivities, he wouldn’t have switched to another form of coercion considering his deep suspicions about her actions. So this whole section, while exciting, didn’t make a lot of sense to me.
Jenna is finally released and returns to her family, but years later she is called upon to return when Melisa’s life is in danger, and she and Zafar rekindle their connection. I quite liked this second half of Thicker Than Water, particularly a series of refreshing revelations on how Zafar and Jenna perceived one another’s families. I also really liked Melisa, who’s shown at several points in her teen years and actually *acts* like a teenager.
Barker is a wonderful writer. But Thicker Than Water has a curious feel to it that makes it not quite successful to me. There are wonderful parts, but they’re all in the second half of the book. So if you can work with the very odd first half, you’ll find an interesting book in the second part.
This is a fantastic story. Loved it from start to finish. Sonia was the worst mother ever but Rachel more than made up for her. Jenna has so much moxy and strength, I just loved her character. This is a story that will take you around the world and evoke a wide range of emotions. I love a story that makes you forget where you are and this is one of them.
Characters were well developed and storyline engaging. Few grammatical mistakes were there but overall it was a fast paced thrilling read. Will read more from the author. You
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A breath taking, sensual tale. As I turned the last page, I forced myself to take a deep breath. The author created sensual imagery that held me captive and ready to cede all control to the point where I almost needed a safe word to ease the sizzling tension. Fabulous read you won’t want to put down once you start. Five stars just aren’t enough.
This was very different to Ashe Barker’s usual books.
If there hadn’t been the “torture” scenes it could have been a Mills and Boon publication, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
The story was interesting, tautly plotted, and well paced.
The characters were believable, especially Zafar, but I found Jenna somewhat lacking in comparison.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
A awesome story and i thoughly enjoyed reading this I just loved the characters in this, Jenna is a teacher and has a strong sence of wanting to do right, and wants to get her sister back. Thinking that she is not happy where she is she heards of to Akrami with a plan, determined to get to her sister and take her home. But everything turns to custard when she is caught by the police for trespassing where she isnt surposed to be. Zaarr Nur al-Tala is the
Princes brother and also head of Security. He dosnt trust Jenna and will do anything to get the truth out of her including using his skills as a Dom.