Forbidden

Playing With Fire #1

by Karen Erickson

He always wanted what he couldn’t have…

Playing With Fire, Book 1

Forbidden desires, secret needs…that’s not what girls are made of. At least, that’s what Michaela’s past boyfriends told her when she revealed her darkest, dirtiest fantasies. She knows she’s better off without the exes, but she’s lonely—and horny. It doesn’t help that her roommate, Austin, is the most gorgeous man she’s ever laid eyes on. Too bad he’s bisexual…or so he says.

There’s a reason Austin hasn’t been with a woman in a long time. The only one he wants is Michaela. He’s fought his attraction for months, waiting for a sign, desperate to show her she’s everything he wants in a lover. One illicit kiss leads to an explosive night of sex that leaves her wanting more—yet afraid. But Austin is a patient man, more than willing to tear down her boundaries piece by piece. Exposing her to pleasures she’s never known.

Trust leads her to whisper her most deeply held fantasy. One that rouses a new emotion Austin didn’t jealousy. Possessiveness. He’s the only man he wants in her life. And he’ll do whatever it takes to prove it…

Genres: Menage, Erotica, Romance, M M F, Contemporary, BDSM, Erotic Romance

105 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2006

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson lives in central California with her family. Being a romance writer and bringing her characters to life is her greatest dream come true.

She also writes as NYT & USA Today bestselling author Monica Murphy.

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https://www.karenerickson.com/newsletter

Reviews

[Beate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impossible to put down. There just is something special about friends becoming lovers. Especially if it is a relationship that goes against the odds. It makes for an even better read with Karen Erickson's knack at making the characters seem 'real'.

Having read nothing but books by Ms Erickson for days now, I've yet to find a 'perfect' character. They all have their issues, making it easy to connect with them, which brings their story up a level, which again makes them perfect. Or perfectly imperfect, if you wish.

The cover image is a little misleading. This isn't about a girl and two boys. Forbidden is about Michaela and Austin, roommates and best friends. Michaela watches her best friend's revolving door of (male) lovers, and quietly pines for him. Austin watches his best friend's boyfriends, knowing he's better than them for her, and quietly pines for her.

Austin, in his desperation, asks his very gay ex-boyfriend, Brad, about how to win Michaela's heart. Brad, never having been with a woman, is of little to no help. Though he tries. It's just that girls squeak him out.

Austin, finally ready to put himself on the line, doesn't take no for an answer, and soon the two best friends are at it like crazed monkeys. They aren't afraid to play and Austin soon brings out Michaela's kinky self. They even end up at a sex club watching and engaging in group sex with a man and a woman. Something that has Michaela running for the hills once she sobers up.

That's one thing that kinda annoyed me, Michaela's inane insecurity and tendency to run away all the time. When you have a man like Austin (who by author's description in the book looks a lot like bad boy Jared Leto), why would you run away from him? Fuck, I'd be running towards him!

I couldn't put this book down, and I was seriously bummed when I got to the end of the book. I want more of Austin and Michaela!

[Gussy]

straight up book porn

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it didn't have more pages.

[Michele ~ la Smoocherina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read. Austin is bisexual, but still very "masculine". He hasn't been interested in a woman in years. He wears eyeliner, edgy clothes, and his hair is spiked in the back and swept in the front. So, basically, Adam Lambert. I have a hard time with this dichotomy. I'm all for bisexual, I'm all for make up and all that, but I have a hard time imagining him as hetero-sexy, as in being sexy to a woman. That's the only reason I gave four stars. The sex was hot and Austin wanted to please Michaela in every way. He was so sweet and considerate to her. Enjoyable.

[Madelynne Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this book. Nothing wrong with the writing, the magic ingredient just never clicked for me, and I've always disliked the whole trip to a sex club thing. I am going to give the next book in the series a go.

[Kerry Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It was well written and the characters were strong and likeable. I know not everyone enjoys the m/m, m/f/m, menages, voyeurism etc but I certainly do and this was a very good one.

[LaSarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I wasn't really invested in the characters and I kind of thought the girl was selfish and kind of dumb. Austin was cool, but he was really the only one I kind of liked.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

No real big plots or storylines but this was one hot little number! (not for the weak of heart...you have been warned)

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smokin' hot

[Claudine Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Christina Montminy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book got lost in my to be read file & I’m glad I found it. Hot & sexy is putting it mild for this 1st book in the Playing with Fire series. Michaela & Austin were burning up the pages with one hot night after another. This friends to lovers took a slight deviation with the character of Austin & his sexuality, it was angsty with indecision & undeclared feelings. Michaela’s fears of her sexual preferences kept her tied up in her head & Austin was the only one able to shake her free. Recommend to read.

[Robin is it summer yet · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I will try another in the series.

[Martha Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick read with a bi-sexual man and his hot female roommate. The sex was great - wish the book had lasted a little longer.

[valeria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michaela's attitude annoyed me,

[Amy Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and easy smutty read with some romance.

[Narita Wijaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ini buku pertama yang aku baca yang Hero-nya tuh BiSex...

jadi ceritanya nih si Austin (hero) itu punya temen se apartment perempuan yang namanya Michaela (heroine). si Michaela itu tau kalo si Austin itu BiSex karena si Autin pernah bilang sama dia. tapi Michaela masih ragu kalo austin itu Bisex secaraa~~ selama Michaela tinggal sama si austin dia ngga pernah liat austin punya pacar cewek... jadi si Micahela itu mikirnya kalau si Austin masih denial kalau dia itu pure Gay~

Padahal si Micahela ini diem" ada rasa sama si Austin, tapi karena dia pikir Austin itu cuma doyan lekong~ jadilah si Michaela itu menutupi perasaan sukanya,perempuan mana coba yang ngga pusing kalau jatuh cinta sama temen yang dia tau seorang Gay, ya gaq sih?!? ngga ada kelanjutannya...
nah dilain pihak si Austin juga suka sama si Michaela tapi ngga bilang karena dia taunya si Michaela dah punya pacar...

sampailah suatu hari si austin ngajakin Michaela pergi ke Club, si Michaela pas diajakin langsung nanyanya apa coba?! "Itu club khusus gay?!" kenapa si Michaela nanya kayak gitu?, soalnya dulu si austi pernah ngajakin dia ke club khusus gay dan disana dia ngeliat si Austi fliting sama cowoq lain... nah sekarang si Michaela suka sama Austin, bisa stress dia kalo liat cowoq yang ditaksir flirting" apalagi sama lekong... tapi ternyata Austin bukan mau ngajak dia ke Club Gay tapi Club malam biasa...singkat cerita pas disana si Austin langsung melancarkan "serangan" ke Michaela dengan sexy dancing , sampai cium si michaela dengan HOT~... jelas si Michaela jadi bingung kan?! dia jadi memerangi perasaan sendiri... udahlah dia naksir Austin eehh~ sekarang si Austin ngegodain dia~ padahal si Michaela dah susah payah membunuh rasa naksirnya ke Austin karena ngga ada masa depannya... abis dari klub itu si Michaela jadi menghindari Austin selama beberapa hari dengan jarang ada di Apartment...

Austin yang dah bertekad mau dapetin si Michaela pun nungguin si Michaela pulang dan mengkonfrontasi si Michaela... ternyata si Michaela ini punya secret fantasy~ apa secret-nya?! baca ada deh sendiri yaa bukunya

[Cyanure · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and easy to read, a pure romance with just a little kink to spice it up.

[Jessica Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one woman's journey into self discovery. She has many layers to her personality and it takes a while for her to finally discover her courage. At first she is annoyingly wimpy. At times she is just a pain in my ass. But as the book progresses she gets some courage. I loved that growth in her. She has had fantasies that her previous boyfriends didn't explore. She was severly stunted in her sexuality. I loved the way it all came out with Austin. What a gorgeous piece of man flesh. Prior to really getting to know Micheala, and actually falling in love with her, he was a manslut. Manwhore. Whatever you want to call it. I loved the way he handled her. Slowly sensously showing that it's ok to be a sexual woman. To unleash her sensuality. I loved that. The growth theses two individuals was an added benefit to what was needed for both. I also loved the other characters and I look forward to their stories.

[PepsiGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, there was something about this that just didn't click. Maybe it was how Austin starts out gay, they do mention that he said he was bi, but Micheala had never been witness to this obviously. For Austin to be harboring a crush on a girl when he's in a fractured relationship with Brad well it sounds like he was just maybe experimenting with Brad. I don't know, I never bought the whole thing. And what Austin was willing to do to please her, well that was just unhealthy for him. I really didn't like Micheala's little act that she wasn't sure if she should ask, No, she shouldn't have. When Austin was having all those inner thoughts that maybe she should want just him, and that she was just using him, I'm like Hello, there's your clue. Three stars because some of it was hot, but then again some of it was not.

[Jaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice short read, and I enjoyed the steamy parts. I love that the main character was struggling with her true nature and when she found acceptance, she also found love. I didn't quite get the emotional aspects I'm used to from this author, but that's why I love her as Monica Murphy! With one author I get the emotion and angst; with the other I get the steamy sex and erotica. Best of both worlds. As always, the conversation between characters flows really well, and the story moves at a decent pace so as not to bore the reader.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

2nd Reading
Quarantine Read


Nah. I'd make this 1.5 stars.


***********************************************
2 stars.

The thing is.... I can't really categorize this as erotica or smut.

Maybe because I read book 3 "Scandal" first then book 4 "Notorious" next that I found this ahmm mediocre. I should have read this first as build up for the upcoming books.

Note:
This book has M/M scenes.
Has m/f/m scenes.
Has m/f/f/m scenes.
Doesn't have DP.
Teasing, Playing.
Voyeurism and exhibitionism.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shallow story used as a wrapper for varied sex scenes. The writing is OK, but I found myself skimming by the end. The scenes include MM, MFM, mild FF and light bondage and spanking. I like more emotional depth in my erotica so nothing really sparked for me.

The story takes the form of a woman exploring the kinky side on her way to traditional MF marital bliss.

The real page count is around 180.

[KindleKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, my! What a phenominal read! This is another smokin hot book for the wild side. Very graphic smut scenes but the character development is amazing and the premise is a deep fantasy for many, I would venture to say. I would HIGHLY recommend for those looking for some zing.... I will definately read this again!!

[Emmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like how this started out, but I rarely quit reading a book. I'm glad I didn't quit this time. I really enjoyed it. It was different (Austin being bi) but it ended up being really good. If you are looking for a quick, really explicit read with m/m m/m/f m/f voyerism, with a sweet ending then try it out.

[Amanda Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, It was okay. I was a bit disappointed, I usually like Karen Erickson books. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it just wasn't happening for me. I just never really felt invested with the characters I guess. The sex scenes are hot though, as always Karen has no problem in that department.

[Portia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tried this author on the recommendation of one of my favorite authors. I am so glad that I did. It is a great read. The sexual tension is just right and there is an Alpha man. All the ingredients necessary for an very enjoyable reading experience.

[Yolanda]

Its a short read but if you want to read alot of sexual content this is the book for you. It had a little story to it but i think she was a little lost and needed someone to help her on her way to realizing what she wanted and that happen to be sex.

[Amy Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a HOT HOT HOT read! I love that these two were friends first and that they hid their attraction. I also loved how they were so comfortable with each other to share their every fantasy! Will definitely be reading more.

[Jessica Wertz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was pretty out of my element. After finishing I really enjoyed them. They were fun and exciting. If hardcore seems aren't something your able to read about then this isn't the series for you!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't like an OMG book, but it wasn't bad. I wasn't pulled to read the others in the series thought. But that doesn't mean it was a bad book. It just means it wans't my cup of tea, it didn't grab me by the throat and never let go.