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Somewhere in Time
Air force pilot Aurora Durant felt lucky to be alive. It hadn't been easy to bring the plane down in the storm, but she'd managed. Now she had to figure out where she'd landed - and when.
Senior Centurion Lucius Antonius couldn't believe his incredible fortune. A beautiful woman had literally dropped out of the sky! But before Lucius could claim the willful, impertinent creature, he had to tame her.
Aurora discovered that crash landing had been a picnic compared to teaching an ancient warrior about women's lib. Oh, the brute had his charming moments - in fact, he was nearly impossible to resist. And that was the problem....
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
5 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Merline Lovelace
409 books141 followersAfter a 23-year AF career, Colonel Merline Lovelace launched a second career as a writer, basing many of her tales on her own experiences in uniform and on her travels all around the globe.
The USA Today best-selling author now has more than 11 million copies of her books in print. Her works have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA. Merline is especially proud to have been named the University of Oklahoma's Writer of the Year and the Oklahoma Female Veteran of the Year.
The USA Today best-selling author now has more than 11 million copies of her books in print. Her works have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA. Merline is especially proud to have been named the University of Oklahoma's Writer of the Year and the Oklahoma Female Veteran of the Year.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 27, 2009
*************3 1/2 stars***************
Somewhere in Time had a very interesting setting and premise but faltered somewhat in the execution. Aurora is a captain in the United States Air Force who is flying a supply plane with her co-pilot Charlie over the Iraqi desert when a freak sand storm comes up. The sand storm causes the plane to lose control but Aurora manages to land the plane. She carries the hurt Charlie out of the plane just in time to meet a strange man wearing a red cape, short skirted outfit and speaking Latin. Pretty quickly it becomes obvious that she somehow flew back in time to the days of the Roman Empire.
Senior Roman Centurion Lucius Antonius doesn't know what to think of this woman in strange clothing speaking in an unknown tongue, so he decides to take her to his camp so he can determine where she is from and if she intends harm to the Roman Empire. He is the commander of an outpost of the empire in the Arabian desert, so he is reponsible for her. Lucius decides to have a tutor teach Aurora to speak Latin so he can interrogate her. Of course Aurora had some Latin in high school so she picks up the language very quickly.
Lucius and Aurora start a test of wills as Lucius tries to figure out what Aurora is talking about and why she acts so willful. Aurora doesn't want Lucius tell her what to do and is determined to find out what happened to her co-pilot Charlie. Lucius decides he is going to possess Aurora because he finds her attractive and thinks she needs some taming since she never listens to him. So he sets out to seduce her and make her willing to stay with him.
This story was okay, I liked Lucius a lot but Aurora got on my nerves big time. She was very abrasive and brash. She always did things impulsively and didn't show much intelligence with her thought processes. She stood up to Lucius in front of his men which is a huge no-no in those times and she just thought it was her right to do whatever she wanted. She showed no thought to observing the time period and customs and pretty much thought Lucius should adapt to suit her. I think Lucius should have showed her the consequences of her actions a bit more and gave her the spanking he was threatening. She has a major TSTL moment that showed no thought to the end result of her actions and Lucius had to pay the price for her actions by fighting a bear in a stadium. Aurora makes sure that Lucius knows she was a warrior in her time and he should treat her with respect because of that fact. I think she beat the "I am a tough woman warrior" theme to death. Oh yeah, and Aurora treats the Romans to hip hop dance at one point. Yep. (I wonder if she did some break dancing?).
There were some good parts to the story. The setting was interesting, the Arabian desert during Roman occupation. Lucius was a good hero, I just wish he would have been a bit more assertive with Aurora because she was way too demanding - and I really can't see a Roman comander allowing a woman to talk to him that way and boss him around. The love scenes were not very descriptive but kudos to the author for including a love scene on the chariot (though it was so non-descriptive I wasn't sure they had done the deed until Lucius referenced it later). The background characters weren't really fleshed out much but it is a Harlequin so that is to be expected. Lucius was a good comander who never harmed Aurora even when she was practically begging for it with her impulsive actions. The harsher parts to the story such as slavery and punishments were very much glossed over. Aurora doesn't really seem to care all that much about the slavery as long as she and Charlie are not slaves (oh yes she is a bit self-absorbed).
So overall, the story and setting were interesting but the characters were not all that fleshed out and the story didn't try to be too realistic - basically you need to check reality at the door to read this story. Lucius was a good part of the story but Aurora was irritating because she was too abrasive and annoying. The ending was too abrupt, I needed a bit more closure when everything changes at the last part of the story because I had no clue how Lucius and Aurora would deal with those changes.
Somewhere in Time had a very interesting setting and premise but faltered somewhat in the execution. Aurora is a captain in the United States Air Force who is flying a supply plane with her co-pilot Charlie over the Iraqi desert when a freak sand storm comes up. The sand storm causes the plane to lose control but Aurora manages to land the plane. She carries the hurt Charlie out of the plane just in time to meet a strange man wearing a red cape, short skirted outfit and speaking Latin. Pretty quickly it becomes obvious that she somehow flew back in time to the days of the Roman Empire.
Senior Roman Centurion Lucius Antonius doesn't know what to think of this woman in strange clothing speaking in an unknown tongue, so he decides to take her to his camp so he can determine where she is from and if she intends harm to the Roman Empire. He is the commander of an outpost of the empire in the Arabian desert, so he is reponsible for her. Lucius decides to have a tutor teach Aurora to speak Latin so he can interrogate her. Of course Aurora had some Latin in high school so she picks up the language very quickly.
Lucius and Aurora start a test of wills as Lucius tries to figure out what Aurora is talking about and why she acts so willful. Aurora doesn't want Lucius tell her what to do and is determined to find out what happened to her co-pilot Charlie. Lucius decides he is going to possess Aurora because he finds her attractive and thinks she needs some taming since she never listens to him. So he sets out to seduce her and make her willing to stay with him.
This story was okay, I liked Lucius a lot but Aurora got on my nerves big time. She was very abrasive and brash. She always did things impulsively and didn't show much intelligence with her thought processes. She stood up to Lucius in front of his men which is a huge no-no in those times and she just thought it was her right to do whatever she wanted. She showed no thought to observing the time period and customs and pretty much thought Lucius should adapt to suit her. I think Lucius should have showed her the consequences of her actions a bit more and gave her the spanking he was threatening. She has a major TSTL moment that showed no thought to the end result of her actions and Lucius had to pay the price for her actions by fighting a bear in a stadium. Aurora makes sure that Lucius knows she was a warrior in her time and he should treat her with respect because of that fact. I think she beat the "I am a tough woman warrior" theme to death. Oh yeah, and Aurora treats the Romans to hip hop dance at one point. Yep. (I wonder if she did some break dancing?).
There were some good parts to the story. The setting was interesting, the Arabian desert during Roman occupation. Lucius was a good hero, I just wish he would have been a bit more assertive with Aurora because she was way too demanding - and I really can't see a Roman comander allowing a woman to talk to him that way and boss him around. The love scenes were not very descriptive but kudos to the author for including a love scene on the chariot (though it was so non-descriptive I wasn't sure they had done the deed until Lucius referenced it later). The background characters weren't really fleshed out much but it is a Harlequin so that is to be expected. Lucius was a good comander who never harmed Aurora even when she was practically begging for it with her impulsive actions. The harsher parts to the story such as slavery and punishments were very much glossed over. Aurora doesn't really seem to care all that much about the slavery as long as she and Charlie are not slaves (oh yes she is a bit self-absorbed).
So overall, the story and setting were interesting but the characters were not all that fleshed out and the story didn't try to be too realistic - basically you need to check reality at the door to read this story. Lucius was a good part of the story but Aurora was irritating because she was too abrasive and annoying. The ending was too abrupt, I needed a bit more closure when everything changes at the last part of the story because I had no clue how Lucius and Aurora would deal with those changes.
October 2, 2011
With much regret, 2.5 stars
I have a thing for guys from Ancient Rome, who (1) can pull off skirts and breastplates while fighting against a bear in the arena and (2) emerge victorious with the blood of the vanquished trailing down the deep crevices of their rippling muscles.
If the above really turned you on, boy, will you love this book.
[/cheekiness]
Sorry. Onto the real review:
I enjoyed the book. Really! But the bucket full of caveats dragged down the rating to 2.5. The entertainment factor was high, but the quality of literature...well...let's just say you had to try really hard to feel connected to the characters or even the world of the novel.
The story is pretty formulaic. A woman named Aurora, a US Air Force pilot, gets caught in a freak storm and gets hurled back into the past, right into a band of Roman centurions. Immediately, she encounters a senior centurion named Lucius, who decides to capture and interrogate her. It's only a matter of time that the bodice ripping--er...the toga ripping?--ensues.
But seriously, I reeeeally wanted to read this book because it took place during the Roman times. How often do you come upon that?!
I think it's admirable that Merline Lovelace was willing to go that extra mile and thrust our heroine back not just 1000 years in the past, but 2000! If you ask me, time travel romance needs more Ancient Rome settings, or even further back. I'm surprised that there aren't more gorgeous Roman and Greek (i.e. Spartan) men populating romance novels, considering the release of blockbuster hits like Gladiator and 300, and the ample supply of really muscled warrior men as potential alphas.
...Sorry (again), less drooling, more reviewing.
Anyway, the setting was new and a breath of fresh air. The novelty of the time period is what helped me get through the book, though the setting wasn't very developed and the characters' behavior (even the Roman centurion's) was much too "modern" for the time period they were in. 'Tis a rare time travel romance that realistically places you into the setting of the story while enthralling you with the romance (see Outlander and Knight in Shining Armor), and unfortunately, this book was not it.
Besides the substantial lack research into Roman culture and administration of conquered territories, I had serious issues with characterization, particularly that of Aurora. I know she's dazed and confused, but if I were thrust back in time, I think I, like any thinking person, would maintain a little more reason and less impulsiveness. Where is her survival instinct? I assume that since she is in the military, she had some training in what to do if you crash land in enemy territory. I'm not in the military, but I'm sure that none of the lessons propose running your mouth off against the captor. Being headstrong is no excuse for being stupid, but she gets away with it. Again and again.
I also wish the setting were more developed. The story takes place in Roman-occupied territory near the desert somewhere near modern-day Iraq. While I didn't expect much, I couldn't help wishing that the writer could have taken advantage of the lush, exotic setting to really expand the story and incorporate the brutality and epic-ness that was the Roman world. The Romans were a race of conquerors and administrators who re-defined the livelihoods of the peoples they conquered, for better or worse. That the author chose to reduce all of this by using a group of rebellious desert bandits as the main antagonists was disappointing.
I have a different set of standards for romance novels. I don't expect considerable research of the time period, but I do want to feel like experiencing the world. However, here, I didn't feel like I was in Roman-occupied territory. I felt like I was in some fantasy world with resemblances to the Roman world. I also want to like the heroine and the hero, but while I found the hero tolerable and--at times, likable--I really could not respect the heroine. Though many of these expectations were not met, however, the novel was still very entertaining and unique, for its genre. The romance was hot, and while the plotting wasn't tight or realistic, it did propel the story forward somewhat.
Final verdict: You could do much worse, but you could also do much better. I would recommend this for a people looking for a quick, light read, especially if you are a fan of time travel romances looking for a non-European setting.
I have a thing for guys from Ancient Rome, who (1) can pull off skirts and breastplates while fighting against a bear in the arena and (2) emerge victorious with the blood of the vanquished trailing down the deep crevices of their rippling muscles.
If the above really turned you on, boy, will you love this book.
[/cheekiness]
Sorry. Onto the real review:
I enjoyed the book. Really! But the bucket full of caveats dragged down the rating to 2.5. The entertainment factor was high, but the quality of literature...well...let's just say you had to try really hard to feel connected to the characters or even the world of the novel.
The story is pretty formulaic. A woman named Aurora, a US Air Force pilot, gets caught in a freak storm and gets hurled back into the past, right into a band of Roman centurions. Immediately, she encounters a senior centurion named Lucius, who decides to capture and interrogate her. It's only a matter of time that the bodice ripping--er...the toga ripping?--ensues.
But seriously, I reeeeally wanted to read this book because it took place during the Roman times. How often do you come upon that?!
I think it's admirable that Merline Lovelace was willing to go that extra mile and thrust our heroine back not just 1000 years in the past, but 2000! If you ask me, time travel romance needs more Ancient Rome settings, or even further back. I'm surprised that there aren't more gorgeous Roman and Greek (i.e. Spartan) men populating romance novels, considering the release of blockbuster hits like Gladiator and 300, and the ample supply of really muscled warrior men as potential alphas.
...Sorry (again), less drooling, more reviewing.
Anyway, the setting was new and a breath of fresh air. The novelty of the time period is what helped me get through the book, though the setting wasn't very developed and the characters' behavior (even the Roman centurion's) was much too "modern" for the time period they were in. 'Tis a rare time travel romance that realistically places you into the setting of the story while enthralling you with the romance (see Outlander and Knight in Shining Armor), and unfortunately, this book was not it.
Besides the substantial lack research into Roman culture and administration of conquered territories, I had serious issues with characterization, particularly that of Aurora. I know she's dazed and confused, but if I were thrust back in time, I think I, like any thinking person, would maintain a little more reason and less impulsiveness. Where is her survival instinct? I assume that since she is in the military, she had some training in what to do if you crash land in enemy territory. I'm not in the military, but I'm sure that none of the lessons propose running your mouth off against the captor. Being headstrong is no excuse for being stupid, but she gets away with it. Again and again.
I also wish the setting were more developed. The story takes place in Roman-occupied territory near the desert somewhere near modern-day Iraq. While I didn't expect much, I couldn't help wishing that the writer could have taken advantage of the lush, exotic setting to really expand the story and incorporate the brutality and epic-ness that was the Roman world. The Romans were a race of conquerors and administrators who re-defined the livelihoods of the peoples they conquered, for better or worse. That the author chose to reduce all of this by using a group of rebellious desert bandits as the main antagonists was disappointing.
I have a different set of standards for romance novels. I don't expect considerable research of the time period, but I do want to feel like experiencing the world. However, here, I didn't feel like I was in Roman-occupied territory. I felt like I was in some fantasy world with resemblances to the Roman world. I also want to like the heroine and the hero, but while I found the hero tolerable and--at times, likable--I really could not respect the heroine. Though many of these expectations were not met, however, the novel was still very entertaining and unique, for its genre. The romance was hot, and while the plotting wasn't tight or realistic, it did propel the story forward somewhat.
Final verdict: You could do much worse, but you could also do much better. I would recommend this for a people looking for a quick, light read, especially if you are a fan of time travel romances looking for a non-European setting.
August 2, 2011
I’m glad I decided to try this unusual setting and storyline. It wasn’t a perfect read, but it was very entertaining. And I did like the setting. I watched a bit of Spartacus – God’s of the Arena until I blushed so hard and it was an interesting time period. I also watched a bit of the series Rome, but not that much.
Aurora had herself a good job flying the muckety mucks around in her air force jet before she flew into a sand storm one evening over the Iraqi desert. Her plane crashes and her team member is hurt. She is discovered by a dude in a leather breast plate and skirt – I’m thinking think Brad Pitt in Troy for a nice visual. For a while she thinks he and his men are some kind of desert tribe, but she can’t be sure and they don’t have a common language. This dude and his men take her back to a small desert city, bring in a scholar and Aurora slowly begins to realize she’s not in Kansas anymore. Instead she has been transported back when Rome ruled the universe and the skirt dude was, in fact, a Roman general in charge of the city.
As you can imagine there is quite the culture clash. Aurora is a woman raised and living in 2003 who’s met her match with a commander of the
Roman Army who is used to command and used to owning slaves and used to getting his own way and used to women being of lesser importance. So one can imagine the clashes between the two.
Often I get cranky with this kind conflict – they hero being a ‘know it all, me Tarzan, you Jane’ type attitude and the heroine being kind of a ball busting bitch. But it worked with this book for me. I think in part Lucius didn’t hold negative views per se; he was a product of his time. He was autocratic because he was a commander and that was what he HAD to be. He didn’t hold a lot of respect for women because that’s the way it was. He didn’t hold them in disrespect, it was more that women held very few position of power. When Jane got carried away in a fit of imperiousness, she really did need to be punished according to the times, but Lucius recognized that there was something very different about Aurora and despite getting frustrated with her lack of respect, he did get kind of a kick out of her nerve. And of course once he started getting a kick out of her, he started developing deeper and deeper feelings for her; to the point where he takes her punishment as his own. Gotta love a hero who will do that for his heroine.
So, in conclusion, I quite enjoyed this rather unique storyline. I check out Kindle to see if she wrote any more along this line but I didn’t see any. Though I think I will check and see if I can find any more books set in Ancient Rome – all suggestions welcome
Aurora had herself a good job flying the muckety mucks around in her air force jet before she flew into a sand storm one evening over the Iraqi desert. Her plane crashes and her team member is hurt. She is discovered by a dude in a leather breast plate and skirt – I’m thinking think Brad Pitt in Troy for a nice visual. For a while she thinks he and his men are some kind of desert tribe, but she can’t be sure and they don’t have a common language. This dude and his men take her back to a small desert city, bring in a scholar and Aurora slowly begins to realize she’s not in Kansas anymore. Instead she has been transported back when Rome ruled the universe and the skirt dude was, in fact, a Roman general in charge of the city.
As you can imagine there is quite the culture clash. Aurora is a woman raised and living in 2003 who’s met her match with a commander of the
Roman Army who is used to command and used to owning slaves and used to getting his own way and used to women being of lesser importance. So one can imagine the clashes between the two.
Often I get cranky with this kind conflict – they hero being a ‘know it all, me Tarzan, you Jane’ type attitude and the heroine being kind of a ball busting bitch. But it worked with this book for me. I think in part Lucius didn’t hold negative views per se; he was a product of his time. He was autocratic because he was a commander and that was what he HAD to be. He didn’t hold a lot of respect for women because that’s the way it was. He didn’t hold them in disrespect, it was more that women held very few position of power. When Jane got carried away in a fit of imperiousness, she really did need to be punished according to the times, but Lucius recognized that there was something very different about Aurora and despite getting frustrated with her lack of respect, he did get kind of a kick out of her nerve. And of course once he started getting a kick out of her, he started developing deeper and deeper feelings for her; to the point where he takes her punishment as his own. Gotta love a hero who will do that for his heroine.
So, in conclusion, I quite enjoyed this rather unique storyline. I check out Kindle to see if she wrote any more along this line but I didn’t see any. Though I think I will check and see if I can find any more books set in Ancient Rome – all suggestions welcome
April 9, 2023
I love time travels and it has been way too long since I read one. I've had this one on my shelf for years and after a busy week with lots of drama I needed a different kind of drama and picked it up. This was just what I needed -- a take charge, smart, resourceful female Air Force pilot, a hot Roman soldier, and some exciting flight scenes. Now I need to locate the rest of Lovelace's books that I have and have been meaning to get to.
September 7, 2023
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I haven't read a book this cheesy in a long time, but I'm a sucker for time travel romance. It's very on point for the era (1990s) so the vernacular dates itself and the plot is rather fun if you suspend disbelief. It's wild and ridiculous (no one learns conversational Latin in a few days) yet still manages to entertain.
I haven't read a book this cheesy in a long time, but I'm a sucker for time travel romance. It's very on point for the era (1990s) so the vernacular dates itself and the plot is rather fun if you suspend disbelief. It's wild and ridiculous (no one learns conversational Latin in a few days) yet still manages to entertain.
Read
May 23, 2022Best Book Ever!
This is one of the best time travel I've ever read. I have read it several times and will read it several more times! I have it on kindle and hard copy. Best Book Ever 😁👍
This is one of the best time travel I've ever read. I have read it several times and will read it several more times! I have it on kindle and hard copy. Best Book Ever 😁👍
October 30, 2018
I enjoyed reading.
December 15, 2023
Eu perdi a paciência com a heroína Aurora que foi muito "mim yankee, you não" para o meu gosto.
August 16, 2025
FINALLY
On my journey to find a good one, I think I finally found it: an Ancient Rome romance story I enjoyed a lot!
The first half was the better half. The FL is charming: She's quite fun to read, so much so that I laughed a lot to her antics, her dialogue with the ML. I've seen people complain that she doesn't really take the initiative and I would disagree, because I think she does act on her own quite a few times considering she's almost always under surveillance. My only complaint would be, considering she's an AF pilot, she takes quite a long time to recognize how a Roman soldier would dress... And that's all to be honest LOL.
The ML is written accordingly to the time frame and his occupation -- a centurion to be exact. I don't know what the other reviewers were talking about but I think the writer actually showcased a lot of the bad too, albeit short but I give her the benefit of the doubt and say that since this is a romance story of these two, those things are sidelined. And to be fair our Roman ML is a lot more forgiving than a man at that era and with such power would be. Putting all that aside, sometimes you just want to imagine a tanned middle-aged muscly man that would okay? :D
I basically couldn't wait until they finally accepted their love (more so for the FL) and the results were quite satisfying.
I just didn't really enjoy the last half as much, and it's a result of the setting in my opinion. I guess, to make it possible for a "soldier" to be spending this much time with a non-Roman, the writer opted to put the story on a camp at a desert... But you still see fragments of Roman life as you'd have in a more city-like setting, but the "enemies" become the actual indigenous people of that land. Well, I guess that's quite American to be fighting against the people who rebel for their freedom against fascists. LOL.
The time travel stories are charming to me because of how each party responds to seeing the unfamiliar, and with this one, I really enjoyed reading Lucius reactions to a 20th century woman mostly xD Giving me quotes like these:
Another one I laughed a lot:
On my journey to find a good one, I think I finally found it: an Ancient Rome romance story I enjoyed a lot!
The first half was the better half. The FL is charming: She's quite fun to read, so much so that I laughed a lot to her antics, her dialogue with the ML. I've seen people complain that she doesn't really take the initiative and I would disagree, because I think she does act on her own quite a few times considering she's almost always under surveillance. My only complaint would be, considering she's an AF pilot, she takes quite a long time to recognize how a Roman soldier would dress... And that's all to be honest LOL.
The ML is written accordingly to the time frame and his occupation -- a centurion to be exact. I don't know what the other reviewers were talking about but I think the writer actually showcased a lot of the bad too, albeit short but I give her the benefit of the doubt and say that since this is a romance story of these two, those things are sidelined. And to be fair our Roman ML is a lot more forgiving than a man at that era and with such power would be. Putting all that aside, sometimes you just want to imagine a tanned middle-aged muscly man that would okay? :D
I basically couldn't wait until they finally accepted their love (more so for the FL) and the results were quite satisfying.
I just didn't really enjoy the last half as much, and it's a result of the setting in my opinion. I guess, to make it possible for a "soldier" to be spending this much time with a non-Roman, the writer opted to put the story on a camp at a desert... But you still see fragments of Roman life as you'd have in a more city-like setting, but the "enemies" become the actual indigenous people of that land. Well, I guess that's quite American to be fighting against the people who rebel for their freedom against fascists. LOL.
The time travel stories are charming to me because of how each party responds to seeing the unfamiliar, and with this one, I really enjoyed reading Lucius reactions to a 20th century woman mostly xD Giving me quotes like these:
"Rome does not hold women of sufficient worth to be considered enemies," he responded mildly."
[...] "Oh, yeah? Seems like I recall someone named Cleopatra who gave you guys a run for your money."
Another one I laughed a lot:
"Mayhap the wife of Centurion Quintus would take you in hand. She could show you how best to order a Roman household."
"And mayhap you could take a flying heap."
October 15, 2010
I've read and enjoyed many time travel romances before; unfortunately, this wasn't one of them. Our heroine, Aurora Durant, a USAF Captain who flew herself 2000 years into the past to a Roman province in the Middle East, is annoying as all hell. I thought military officers required some type of brain power to qualify for the position - this chick just couldn't figure out what the phrase "when in Rome..." means. Brass, arrogant, demanding, outspoken - were this not a Harlequin, Aurora would have found herself dinner for the lions. *Sigh* Too bad.
January 29, 2018
YAWN. Yep. This is every other Harlequin book, just with a sci-fi twist to make it seem different. But it isn't any different. Female is a raging femenist with a chip on her shoulder, check. Alpha male going to take her down a peg or two, check. Kissing, check. Fights, check. Misunderstanding and jealousy, check. Are you asleep yet? If you aren't, you could actually read the first five pages. That will make you sleep!
October 29, 2019
Didn't know Roman warrior could humiliate heroine like this book. OH, PLEASE, bitch.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews