Kelly of I Work for Books says
Hurt me so Good is a novel which was written beautifully and evocatively with powerful imagery and insightful emotion and thoughts description and even if you are not into reading this genre, is still a good book for the romance it entails and you know what? I think I’d read a sequel! 🙂
Read her whole review here. Thank you so much, Kelly!
Pearl was kind enough to read Hurt Me So Good in its early stages and has now written a lovely review:
The way Joely Sue Burkhart describes the feelings and the dynamics, the hunger and need, is mesmerizing. The way she describes insecurity, vulnerability and pain is simply out of this world. I have no words to do it justice with a description. I had the pleasure and honor of proofreading HURT ME SO GOOD many months ago and was utterly impressed with the way Joely Sue Burkhart wanted to bring Victor’s story to her readers. Now having read it with a reviewer’s eye I can only be even more impressed. From the first to the last word she reeled me in with a poignant and emotional story within the realm of D/s that is a more than worthy successor of DEAR SIR I’M YOURS!
Thank you, Joely Sue, for another great installment of the Connaghers, a family that has found a firm place in my reader’s heart and on my (digital) shelves. I can’t wait to see what Vicki will bring to the table.
Thank you so much, Pearl! I’ve never written a m/m book, but for Leon and Brandon…. hmmm. Maybe. 🙂 You and Sherri’s great minds are thinking alike.
MichelleR has written several wonderful reviews on The Romance Reviews site. First up, for Dear Sir, I’m Yours:
Holy guacamole ladies and gents, I have another winner! Seriously, if you are a fan of masterfully written characters, smokin’ hot sex, tender romantic men and strong independent women you really need to check out Dear Sir, I’m Yours by Joely Sue Burkhart.
With tender moments that brought tears to my eyes, hysterical moments that had me gripping my sides, and Oh My Gawd moments that had me searching for a hand fan, I was up well into the night unwilling to put this amazing read down. The story was fast-paced, engaging, complex and well-rounded. Joely Sue Burkhart was a new author to me. She has talent in spades and I just can’t wait to check out more of her books.
And for Victor in Hurt Me So Good:
I can take a whole lot of hawt in my stories. Bring on the meneges, tie-em-up, and go places only the most wicked have gone before, but the idea of sadomasochism wasn’t revin’ my good-read engine at all. Quite the opposite. I found myself way outside my comfort zone.
That is, until Victor and Shiloh stole my heart.
Hats off to Ms. Burkhart as she has once again proven herself a master of developing complex, likeable characters in a world most view as unpalatable.
Thank you so much, Michelle!
Fern at Whipped Creme Erotic Romance Reviews gives 4/5 to Hurt Me So Good:
After enjoying Dear Sir, I’m Yours by author Joely Sue Burkhart, I was extremely excited to get my hands on the second installment, Hurt Me So Good. Although vastly different from the first, I found similar elements and themes present and, of course, the writing was wonderful. Ms. Burkhart pens memorable stories with tortured characters that are impossible to forget.
Also, Nicole donated a copy of HMSG to Stumbling Over Chaos, so stop by and comment to win!
Thank you so much, Fern and Nicole!
P.S. You still have time to enter the Pride & Prejudice book handbag and charm bracelet giveaways.
Mrs. Giggles reviews Victor and gives HMSG 83!
While I’m no expert on BDSM and therefore I cannot say for certain how accurate the author has been in the depiction of that lifestyle in this story, she manages to sell me the fantasy in a most believable and very intriguing manner. The psychology behind the use of the riding crop is fascinating, and the love scenes are erotic. The author also gets bonus points for a rather dignified treatment of the hero’s ex-sub without degrading her into merely another notch in the hero’s bedpost. The hero has control issues when it comes to being a Dom, and I have to admit I raised an eyebrow at that scene where he pleasured himself while whacking his thighs with the riding crop. But Ms Burkhart sells the whole deal to me nicely despite my unfamiliarity with the BDSM scene.
She does have concerns about the reality TV aspect, about whether insiders receiving the prizes is illegal or not. There is no “million dollar prize” offered to the winner of ANTs — only the Master’s collar, if he chooses to give it. It’s not a true reality show, but more of a parody of a reality show. Too bad that part bothered her, but overall, she enjoyed the rest of the story, so yay!
Thank you, Mrs. Giggles!
My beloved Sister might be just a tad biased ::ahem:: but she has some lovely things to say about Victor:
See, it’s not just about the “kink”. It’s not even about the sex. It’s about what two people need. It’s about trusting their partner to provide that need. It’s about two people finding their perfect match and then fighting for that perfection.
If I had a rating system, this one would be off the charts. Not just because it’s excellent reading with snappy (occasionally blush-worthy) dialogue, killer setting, and smokin-hot romance, but because it… I dunno… shows that you don’t have to be damaged in some way to want this lifestyle.
This is really important to me, and it’s important to Victor, which is why he chose to start VCONN, an erotic cable channel dedicated to BDSM lifestyles. Sadist can have so many negative connotations, usually applied to perverted villains of the story who want to commit vile acts against the snowy pure heroine. Victor is a sadist, but he’s not perverted and most definitely not the villain, but yeah, I guess he does want to do vile things to Shiloh…even though he feels terrible guilt at the same time. The key, here, is that she wants him to do these painful things.
Thank you, Sis. I love you!
I’m at Kait Nolan’s today blogging about When the Well Runs Dry. Comment on the post to win an early copy of HURT ME SO GOOD, which doesn’t release until 10/5!
Soleil of Black Sun Reviews is the first to review Victor:
Nobody makes my reader’s heart sting like Joely Sue Burkhart. I’m not usually one to enjoy contemporaries but with Joely’s quirky sense of humor and passion for the forbidden or the politically incorrect, I get lost in the magic every time.
Hurt Me So Good is a sweltering hot read even without the mention of crops, whips and collars. The passion between Shiloh and Victor is addictive and I do believe I’m going to miss reading about a heroine who isn’t afraid to talk dirty. She’s not a doormat. She’s not a shrinking violet or the epitome of fragility. She’s a damned proud Submissive and she totally won my heart.
Soleil also mentions Mal (Malinda Kannes, Mistress of Dallas) and I’m happy to say she will definitely get her own story, tentatively titled MINE TO BREAK. I already know who her hero is, too, and he makes a brief appearance in Vicki’s YOURS TO TAKE.
Thank you so much, Soleil!
Tanya at Among the Muses has some wonderful things to say about Dear Sir, I’m Yours:
Conn, imo, is the perfect Dom. He knows what he wants – control and complete and utter happiness and trust from his sub — Rae Lynn. He’s always loved and wanted her back, so after she ran, he, too, went on a personal journey of learning how to master his control. He’s attentive, caring, protective, and wants more than anything for Rae to submit to his control and give him her trust, all while quoting, Shelley, Lord Byron, Blake, and Shakespeare. *swoons* Seriously, a sexy hot, dominate Professor who can quote classic poetry while licking your inner thigh? Just sayin’.
Ha, that totally put a smile on my face! You can read the whole review here. thank you so much,Tanya!
The conclusion of the free read Lie to You, Victor’s prequel. (Part 1, Part 2). Pdf and epub will be available on the Free Reads page shortly.
“I’ve watched several of VCONN’s shows,” she said in a husky purr that tightened things low in his gut. “But I have to admit that my favorite is Erotic Tales from the Crypt.”
He couldn’t have been more surprised if she’d pulled out a gun and shot him dead. “That was our premiere. It hasn’t been on the air in years. How did you…”
That show had made Dallas history, earning more via Pay-Per-View than the biggest boxing match of the year. It had shocked the mostly conservative community, yet they’d gobbled it up and begged for more shows about the Dungeon Master’s exclusive torture chamber.
His hand convulsed on his thigh and a small grunt of pain escaped his mouth. If that show had been her favorite…
She had to be leading him on. Maybe she’d been to Silken and picked up some of the nastier gossip about him. Maybe Kimberly had been spreading malicious lies about him.
But they wouldn’t be lies, now, would they?
“When I saw that VCONN was hiring, I called the information desk and asked if I could watch several archived shows. I ended up watching them all.”
“All?” He winced at the roughness in his voice. The stomach-twisting throb of his bad knee had begun feeding the darker, erotic pain that he’d given himself. Pain compounded with pain turning into desire. If he wasn’t careful, he wouldn’t be able to stand up at the end of this interview without embarrassing himself. “That’s several years’ worth.”
“All of them.” She tipped her head to the side, deliberately showing him the curve of her neck. Making herself vulnerable. Her hands were quiescent in her lap, but she shifted slightly in her chair and he swore her skirt snuck up her thigh an inch. No, two. “I’m very thorough.”
He suddenly wished he kept his crop in his desk drawer instead of hidden in the depths of his closet or beneath the seat of his car. If he brought it out and smacked it on his desk, would she leap from her chair and flee the building? Or would she hike up that skirt just a bit more as she bent over his desk?
The image was all too easy to build in his mind after last night’s fantasy. However, he still had enough blood flowing to his brain to continue that little farce…all the way to her screams of terror. The look of revulsion on her face. The police sirens and the slamming of prison bars when she pressed charges.
His intercom beeped again and he barely suppressed the sigh of relief. He’d been saved from committing a monumental error.
“Mr. Connagher? You have a meeting in five minutes?”
It took all his control to reach out with a hand that didn’t tremble in order to respond. “Thank you, Lisa.” He took a deep breath and concentrated on putting his corporate face back on. Not the desperate Master in need of a flirtatious submissive who just might not be afraid of a little dungeon play. “And thank you, Ms. Holmes. I hope you have a very successful career here at VCONN.”
Disappointment made her bite her luscious lip, sending another surge of lust through his body that he refused to show.
A little dungeon play in a controlled environment was one thing. When you were a woman dating a much larger, stronger man in a position of authority who also had a lust for pain and one vicious crop, it was entirely different. This wasn’t a show. No one was going to call time-out and let her walk away, because once the sadist had her in his grasp, he wouldn’t unchain her until he’d drained every last scream of pain.
Standing, she held her hand out to him again. “I look forward to working with you, sir.”
He deliberately shifted his weight to his bad knee as he stood. His face stiffened with pain, and he saw the flicker in her eyes that registered his withdrawal with resignation. Hopefully she would take the hint and stay far, far away from him. He gave her a brief, entirely professional handshake. “Unfortunately, I rarely deal with the day-to-day duties of handling employees any longer. Ms. Kannes will see to any questions you may have.”
“Maybe we’ll run into each other on set,” she said with a hopeful gleam in her dark eyes.
Coldly, he forced himself to snuff out that flame before it could scorch them both beyond recognition. “I doubt it, Ms. Holmes. Good day.”
He watched her walk toward the door, letting his hungry gaze travel down her spine to her nicely rounded buttocks and hips. Perfect for his crop. She gave him one last glance over her shoulder, her mouth soft, her eyes shimmering, whether with hurt or regret he couldn’t say. It didn’t matter.
Would I lie to you, Ms. Holmes? So dangerous, this attraction, making every muscle in his body tense with the urge to chase her down and drag her screaming to his bed. Absolutely.
Victor’s story HURT ME SO GOOD will be released Oct. 5th from Samhain Publishing.
Edited to add Victor’s cover, in case you haven’t seen it yet. Continuing the free read Lie to You, Victor’s prequel. (Part 1)
Warning: BDSM and sexual content.
After last night’s activities, his bad knee hurt worse than usual, compounded by an assortment of bruises and marks on both thighs. Scowling, Victor straightened his legs out beneath his desk. Tendons torn years ago pulled and burned almost as badly as the day he’d blown his knee. The steady ache did little to improve his mood, which admittedly was always bad the morning after he indulged his sadist.
The intercom lit up and made an annoying chime. He stabbed the button. “Yes?”
His secretary had a hesitant squeak of a voice that made him think she was asking questions every time she spoke. “Mr. Connagher?”
He was so not in the mood for timid creatures today. If he wasn’t careful, his VCONN partner would yell at him for scaring off another worthy office manager, but good God, couldn’t he find someone with just a little backbone? He fought for a gentler approach rather than throwing open his door and bellowing. “What is it?”
“A new hire is here to see you? Shiloh Holmes? Ms. Kannes sent her to meet you?”
Rubbing his knee, he tried not to sigh like a martyr. “Send her in.” I’ll try not to scare her off on her first day at VCONN.
He stood to round his desk in welcome, but his damned knee was stiff and fragile, as though too much weight on it would make the whole joint shatter. He settled for at least standing politely in front of his desk as the door opened and the new hire walked in.
She marched straight up to him and held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you, sir.”
Surprised by her bold manner, he shook her hand, taking in her wide smile and warm brown eyes. She met his gaze unflinchingly, which he knew was no small feat. He decided to push just a little and see how much it would take to make her drop her gaze. He kept his fingers firm on hers, his gaze as steady and deep as though he sought her deepest secrets.
One brow quirked. Then the other, her eyes widening with surprise. The corners of her eyes crinkled and he suspected she might be laughing silently at him, but he didn’t look down at her mouth to find out. Her eyes warmed to molten chocolate, sparkling like she had a dozen secrets all bottled up just waiting for him to yank them out one by one.
She made a soft little sound, barely more than an indrawn breath, but it made his inner demon perk up with interest. It was all he could do not to step forward, bury his hand in her tawny hair, and jerk her mouth to his so he could punish her lips for that delicious little moan.
Too late, he remembered that this woman was supposed to be his new employee. The CEO of the company had no business testing his female employees, and for what? To see if he could break her? He already knew he could. He always did sooner or later.
Abruptly, he released her hand and whirled away. “Welcome to VCONN, Ms…”
Damn it, he couldn’t remember her name and pain knifed through his knee at the sudden movement. He was forced to limp the few steps back to his chair and sat down heavier than usual.
“Holmes, sir.” She replied evenly, not upset in the least by his macho dramatics. “Shiloh Holmes. Are you hurt?”
He jerked his gaze up to her face, but saw only open and honest concern, not ridicule or speculative interest. “Old college football injury. I tweaked it last night and it’s hurting today.”
“Ah, that explains all the trophies I saw downstairs.” She gave him a little chuckle of admiration and interest that tightened a fist in his chest where his heart used to reside. Dressed in a velvety suit that matched her eyes, she sat in front of his desk, alert and eager as new employees usually were, but without any hint of nerves or shyness. “Are they all yours?”
“From my glory days. But that was a long time ago.”
“Where did you play?”
He settled back in his chair, amused at how easily she’d turned the tables on him. Who’s interviewing who? “Texas A&M for four years. What position do you think I played?”
Her lips quirked. “Definitely quarterback. You’re the kind of man who’d lead the whole team down the field, refusing to settle for someone else calling the plays.”
“Oh, I always call the plays.” Damned if her eyes didn’t smolder. Didn’t she have any idea what sort of man she was playing with? “But I think you must have taken notice of the photographs, too. Maybe you even had time to read one of the clippings in the case.”
Her left eyebrow arched. “Not at all.”
She lied and she knew that he knew that she lied and she didn’t care, not by the widening smile she gave him. “Really?”
“Would I lie to you, Mr. Connagher?”
Polite flirting had turned much too serious. He couldn’t do this. Had he learned nothing all those months, pretending to be safe and normal for Kimberly? Who’s lying now?
Furious at himself and yes, at her for tempting him, he jerked his hair tighter in the ponytail. The small pain sharpened his control, but not enough, not with this saucy morsel staring at him with those big chocolate eyes. He gripped his right thigh and squeezed that bruised muscle until his cheek ticked.
“So what position have I given you here at VCONN?” Deliberately, he chose rather insulting language to see if he could goad her. Maybe he’d get lucky and she’d quit. Today.
“Associate Producer,” Shiloh answered, adjusting to his professional switch seamlessly without rising to his bait.
“It’s an entry level position.” He tried to guess her age without asking for her file, and he put her mid to late twenties. She wasn’t a young woman fresh out of college.
As though she knew his line of thought, she explained, “I worked my way through college, so it took longer than usual, and I’ve had other jobs.”
“Why are you starting over?”
“I wanted something new.” For the first time, she lowered her eyes, but it was a deceptive move. She still looked at him through her lashes. “I like a challenge.”
Unfortunately, so did he, and she was giving off all kinds of submissive invitation vibes, whether she knew it or not. Giving his leg another painful squeeze, he cautiously waded into more treacherous waters. In a job interview, it wasn’t customary to ask about a person’s sexual preferences, even if the company was an erotic cable television channel. “Are you aware of the kind of programming that has made VCONN famous?”
“Of course. I did my research before applying.”
He wanted to ask if she’d researched him. Maybe that would explain her familiarity and lack of fear…although if she knew more about him, surely she’d be afraid. More, though, he wanted to ask if she was submissive or merely a damned good actress. If she was as attracted as him.
But he didn’t dare. It was too late. From the first moment his secretary informed him of the new hire, Shiloh Holmes had been off limits. The CEO could not dally with female employees without opening himself up for sexual harassment charges. Especially when said CEO is a sadist.
Victor’s story HURT ME SO GOOD will be released Oct. 5th from Samhain Publishing.
