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The Next Ex
Jamie Miracle was everything Travis could hope for. She was beautiful, kind, sweet, and charming—but what's more, she was utterly broke. About to be evicted, he offered her a job too good to refuse…as his wife. This would be a strictly business proposition and a temporary one at that—Travis needed another wife like he needed a hole in the head. But he'd see to her financial security, and in return, all she had to do was be a loving spouse and charm the family-oriented Kuronabe's into signing a very lucrative business venture. With Jamie by his side, there was no way he could lose.
Except that it didn't take Travis long to discover he had a problem with this arrangement: he couldn't keep his hands off Jamie. He couldn't stop kissing her; he couldn't stop spanking her. The closer they drew to the end of their contract, the more Travis became convinced that he had to find a way to make this temporary merger permanent and keep Jamie from becoming his Next Ex.
This is a contemporary spanking romance that features both consensual and non-consensual spankings. 49,627 words
Except that it didn't take Travis long to discover he had a problem with this arrangement: he couldn't keep his hands off Jamie. He couldn't stop kissing her; he couldn't stop spanking her. The closer they drew to the end of their contract, the more Travis became convinced that he had to find a way to make this temporary merger permanent and keep Jamie from becoming his Next Ex.
This is a contemporary spanking romance that features both consensual and non-consensual spankings. 49,627 words
- GenresBDSMContemporaryRomance
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 11, 2007
4 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Maren Smith
156 books1,131 followersFortunate enough to live with my Daddy Dom, I am a Little, coffee fanatic, dog and cat mom, was an administrator for six years at my local BDSM dungeon, and have since become a Utah resident and submissive to the love of my life. An International and USA Bestselling Author several times over, I have penned more than 160 novels, novellas and short stories, and am the author of the Masters of the Castle and Daddy’s Little series.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 20, 2011
What to say about this one? It's domestic discipline which is not really in my comfort zone at all but I gave this a go. I have to say that I laughed pretty much throughout and not in a bad way. The writing was just fresh and amusing.
The story was well written in pretty much all aspects. There was some spanking of the domestic discipline kind. But I didn't feel like he was just beating on her for no reason or that the author came up with random crap the heroine did to get a spanking. It felt more like he was just some throw back to the 1950s kind of guy when spanking was more accepted. Just consider all the the spanking in John Wayne movies for example. Keep in mind that this is not something I can speak from authority about not being in the lifestyle but rather a layman's take on it. She basically got spankings for calling him names, putting herself down or running away and causing him worry. They didn't seem so severe as to be considered BDSM I don't think. There was one erotic spanking and a couple of love scenes which were not too explicit.
As to the humor, the hero was the star of this story. He's a hard ass business man who needs a wife to close a business deal so he proposes to a janitor in his building. She's a single mom who has leanings towards wanting erotic spankings already. The hero has a reputation as a gruff cranky guy but he really has an off beat humor and I giggled quite a bit. For example the first time he held the heroine's daughter:
Gingerly, Travis lay Megan to his shoulder the way he'd seen Jamie do. His eyebrows arched. “All right. This isn't so bad. I can do this.”
“But it's pretty easy right now,” Jamie said with a smile. “Megan isn't crying, the phone isn't ringing, no one's knocking at the door, the washing machine isn't walking across the floor because the load's unbalanced, and dinner isn't burning in the oven. When all that happens and you can still smile and say, 'This isn't so bad, I can do this,' then I'll be impressed.”
“My, my.” Travis drawled, “We really are hard to please, aren't we? All right.” He turned and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Downstairs,” he tossed back over his shoulder. “I'm going to call a judge to marry us, and hope someone comes knocking on my door as I'm doing it. I'm not entirely sure where my washing machine is located, or if I even have one, but I'm almost certain I can burn something in the oven.”
I would happily read more of this author just for the humor and I'd love to see her do some more mainstream romance as I think she'd appeal to a broader audience.
The story was well written in pretty much all aspects. There was some spanking of the domestic discipline kind. But I didn't feel like he was just beating on her for no reason or that the author came up with random crap the heroine did to get a spanking. It felt more like he was just some throw back to the 1950s kind of guy when spanking was more accepted. Just consider all the the spanking in John Wayne movies for example. Keep in mind that this is not something I can speak from authority about not being in the lifestyle but rather a layman's take on it. She basically got spankings for calling him names, putting herself down or running away and causing him worry. They didn't seem so severe as to be considered BDSM I don't think. There was one erotic spanking and a couple of love scenes which were not too explicit.
As to the humor, the hero was the star of this story. He's a hard ass business man who needs a wife to close a business deal so he proposes to a janitor in his building. She's a single mom who has leanings towards wanting erotic spankings already. The hero has a reputation as a gruff cranky guy but he really has an off beat humor and I giggled quite a bit. For example the first time he held the heroine's daughter:
Gingerly, Travis lay Megan to his shoulder the way he'd seen Jamie do. His eyebrows arched. “All right. This isn't so bad. I can do this.”
“But it's pretty easy right now,” Jamie said with a smile. “Megan isn't crying, the phone isn't ringing, no one's knocking at the door, the washing machine isn't walking across the floor because the load's unbalanced, and dinner isn't burning in the oven. When all that happens and you can still smile and say, 'This isn't so bad, I can do this,' then I'll be impressed.”
“My, my.” Travis drawled, “We really are hard to please, aren't we? All right.” He turned and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Downstairs,” he tossed back over his shoulder. “I'm going to call a judge to marry us, and hope someone comes knocking on my door as I'm doing it. I'm not entirely sure where my washing machine is located, or if I even have one, but I'm almost certain I can burn something in the oven.”
I would happily read more of this author just for the humor and I'd love to see her do some more mainstream romance as I think she'd appeal to a broader audience.
May 13, 2022
Domestic discipline is always a treat, and this was done superbly!
April 13, 2019
I really enjoyed this book! Travis was so funny and swoon-worthy, and while Jamie did a few things that annoyed me, I really felt her reactions were something a normal person would do. This is an approachable spanking book, meaning it shows you some of what the lifestyle is without it being BDSM, which not everyone follows who likes spanking. The only thing I didn't like was the cover! The cover I had showed a brunette and and average sized guy, but Travis is huge, nicknamed The Mountain, and Jamie is a petite, curvy redhead. I am also a ginger and love to read stories about gingers, so if the cover had been more accurate I probably would have read this book sooner, instead of leaving it in my TBR for so long.
December 16, 2012
Maren Smith did it again! “The Next Ex” is another amazing spanking novel!
Jamie Miracle is a single mom working as a janitor and struggling to get by (who also happens to be a closet spanko). Travis Dorsett is a wealthy business man who has spent years working to get a lumber contract with the Japanese (who also happens to be a spanko). Given that the Japanese value family above all, Travis realizes that as a single man he is at a disadvantage to his married competition. So, he decides to hire a wife to help regain his edge in this deal. The morning that Travis decided to marry, he came to work in his large Seattle office. While riding the elevator to his office, he comes upon Miss Miracle pushing her janitor’s cart while lost in day dreams. Eight hours later, Jamie is in Mr. Dorsett’s office getting the offer of a lifetime.
Only hours after becoming Mrs. Travis Dorsett, Jaime is introduced to the concept of domestic discipline. After Travis announces that her janitorial days are done, Jamie threatens to leave saying that Travis can’t tell her what to do. Well, Travis takes some time letting her know that he most certainly can tell her what to do.
I absolutely loved this book and look forward to picking up again in the future. I most certainly recommend it as one of my favorite spanking novels!
Jamie Miracle is a single mom working as a janitor and struggling to get by (who also happens to be a closet spanko). Travis Dorsett is a wealthy business man who has spent years working to get a lumber contract with the Japanese (who also happens to be a spanko). Given that the Japanese value family above all, Travis realizes that as a single man he is at a disadvantage to his married competition. So, he decides to hire a wife to help regain his edge in this deal. The morning that Travis decided to marry, he came to work in his large Seattle office. While riding the elevator to his office, he comes upon Miss Miracle pushing her janitor’s cart while lost in day dreams. Eight hours later, Jamie is in Mr. Dorsett’s office getting the offer of a lifetime.
Only hours after becoming Mrs. Travis Dorsett, Jaime is introduced to the concept of domestic discipline. After Travis announces that her janitorial days are done, Jamie threatens to leave saying that Travis can’t tell her what to do. Well, Travis takes some time letting her know that he most certainly can tell her what to do.
I absolutely loved this book and look forward to picking up again in the future. I most certainly recommend it as one of my favorite spanking novels!
July 10, 2016
Travis and Jamie. Travis owns the company and Jamie is one of the janitors. But he needs a wife fast and she is so very compelling. I kinda wondered if he didn't come up with the need for a wife excuse because he found her so compelling? Jamie's had a hard life and is now a single mom when the girls dead beat dad takes off after stealing all her money and running up the credit cards. Travis makes her a deal she can't refuse. He needs to win a deal with a Japaneses company who believe in family values and his arch nemesis who is married to his ex wife is also trying to get the deal. The ex wife does show up at one point and is a complete skank, but it wasn't that big a deal. Mostly the story is Travis and Jamie and little Megan as they learn to live together. It's cute, and there's some random spanking. The ending was particularly sweet in a CEO 'let's get the job done' OTT kind of way. I think what I liked about this most is that Travis doesn't fight or deny his growing feelings for her and Megan.
July 4, 2013
It starts out as a means to get financial security for Jamie and a business deal for Travis. But it quickly develops into a true relationship.
August 1, 2013
This wasn't totally my thing - I didn't realize it was a "domestic discipline" book. However, despite the totally unrealistic storyline, the hilarious one-liners kept me with it to the end.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews