Cherished [Paperback]

Maya Banks (Author), Lauren Dane (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 7, 2012

Two all-new novellas that cross the boundaries of desire.

Exiled by Maya Banks…Enticed to the island paradise where an enigmatic prince is living in exile, beautiful, virginal Talia is introduced to a world of forbidden pleasure where the prince’s every whim is fulfilled and her fantasies are rendered in exquisite detail. But when the prince is summoned back to fulfill his duty to his struggling country, reality is thrust upon Talia all too soon. She returns home, heartbroken, convinced she was a passing fancy for an idle ruler and his most trusted men. Until the day they arrive on her doorstep, determined to have her back where she belongs.

Sway by Lauren Dane…Levi Warner is an established, older man—wealthy, powerful, and above all, respectable. Then Levi meets Daisy, an uninhibited 24-year-old dance instructor and artist, not exactly the kind of woman Levi is accustomed to. But the young, free spirit, brings out something in him he only experienced in fantasies. When their scorching affair turns into something unexpectedly deeper, Levi finds himself torn between preserving his reputation, and exploring a wilder and much more satisfying kind of life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 "A must-read author...her [stories] are always full of emotional situations, lovable characters, and kick-butt storylines."

 "Delicious eroticism."

About the Author

Maya Banks is a New York Times bestselling author of several romance novels.
Lauren Dane is a New York Times bestselling author of over forty novels and novellas across several genres.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1 edition (August 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425247538
• ISBN-13: 978-0425247532
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Cherished - Loved Sway, couldn't finish Exiled August 7, 2012

By Jess

Format:Paperback

**My item rating is for the story Sway only**

Exiled by Maya Banks

This was a DNF for me. The setup is this: a 22 year old virgin feels as though she has to fulfill an agreement she made with a Prince four years ago. He stepped in, paid for her mother's cancer treatments and put her through college. The deal is, when he calls for her, she must go to him and obey his every command. He summons her and she goes thinking she has no choice. The Prince, Xander, plans to share her with his three best friends, something they often do. Honestly, the story already lost me by about page 40. The heroine came off as being very weak and timid and I'm supposed to believe that because of this agreement, she'll do whatever is asked of her? I just couldn't buy it. Maybe as the story goes she gains some confidence and a stronger personality, but it wasn't enough at the start to make me curious enough to find out. 1/5 stars (202 pgs)

Sway by Lauren Dane

Lauren Dane has a way of writing relationships and friendships that draws me in every single time and makes me feel like these characters are my own friends. They feel genuine and come across on page as such. It was this was with her Brown Siblings series and she's done it again with Daisy and her tight knit group of friends all living on Bainbridge Island, outside of Seattle. Daisy is twenty-four years old and an incredibly driven person. She's an artist and helps run a gallery with her Grandmother, she does numerous odd jobs, mainly to help out her friends. She's smart, funny, caring and acts very mature. The maturity is a huge key because it helps her relationship with Levi, a forty year old attorney work.

Levi had a bad marriage that looked good from the outside, but he was moments away from divorce when his pregnant, alcoholic wife crashed her car, killing herself and the baby. He's vowed to never open himself up emotionally again and has been living the single life for years. After he mistakenly walks into a wrong dance class, a dance class his soon-to-be sister-in-law is forcing him to take for her wedding, he sees Daisy. He's attracted but nothing comes of it until he starts running into her all over town. They date and hit it off instantly. The age difference is big deal to him, but I really liked how Daisy summed it up so simply, telling him he's not too old and she's not too young. And I thought it worked.

Levi has a dominant nature that comes out naturally around Daisy and she's loves it. She falls into a bit of a submissive role, finding pleasure in taking care of him in small ways as he does the same for her. They connect really well in the bedroom, but outside of it, they still have some issues to work though. Levi doesn't open up fully with her, not introducing her to his family and not wanting to meet hers. These things all start adding up and bring in a bit of angst, forcing Levi to get his act together. I thought this couple was sexy together and it was romantic seeing them fall in love. Yes, the age difference is on the significant side, but for these two, it's just a number and it's easy to forget their ages as they really just become Levi and Daisy together, nothing more or less.

This story also set the ground work for the coming books in the series centered around Daisy's close friends Jules and Mary who are in the process of sharing business space for their companies. Jules is a baker, Mary a chef and these are two more strong women who are so easy to like. All the characters introduced in this story (if you don't count Levi's nasty sis-in-law) are so likeable, relatable and characters that are easy to fall for.

I could have easily read 200 more pages about Daisy and Levi. I enjoyed their relationship and the supporting characters surrounding them, Daisy's friends and Levi's brothers. Sway was a nice introduction to this new series, and it's a great extension of Lauren Dane's Brown Siblings series. It's not necessary to read the Brown series first, but for fans of that series, they'll enjoy picking right back up in the Pacific Northwest with this new group of friends. 4/5 stars (147 pgs)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Two of my favorite authors in one book - score!! August 8, 2012

By Jennifer Lowe

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Oh....where to start...I loved both stories in this anthology, but I didn't doubt that I would since it's two of my favorite authors.

Exiled, by Maya Banks was awesome! Again, Maya brought me to tears, in less than 210 pages! At first I was a little creeped out by Xander's infatuation with Talia, but it's all good. And honestly there were several occasions when I thought to myself - how can a PRINCE/KING of an entire country be such an idiot. But let's be honest - I would have happily run away to that island with Xander and his 3 cohorts FOREVER! So delicious. A HOT HOT HOT story that I enjoyed VERY much. All of these men treat Talia kindly, gently and cherish her with all their hearts....what woman wouldn't want that??
So....as long as D/s AND group sex/menage doesn't bother you, run out and read it - HOLY HOTNESS!!

And Sway - Oh Lauren Dane - I LOVE YOU! And I love your characters!
So, if you've read her other series - The Brown Siblings (AWESOME AWESOME!! If you haven't read it, add it to your TBR pile immediately!!) - you have a little head start on this one because we already met a lot of the key players in the last Brown Siblings book. And honestly, I loved them then, so of course I was chomping at the bit to get this book! I am a fan of D/s, so for me, Levi was pretty HOT. And Daisy's sexual submissiveness is beautiful. It's great when a girl can be strong and sassy outside of the bedroom, but beautifully submissive in. I love how quickly the spark ignited between these two and just kept on burning. And man - the sex is hot between these two. I just loved everything about this story and can't wait for 'Tart' to come out....I'm so looking forward to Lauren's new spin off from the Brown Siblings - it's going to be HOT HOT HOT!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect if you like your romance spicy August 9, 2012

By The Season

Format:Paperback

This duo of erotic novellas is a steamy and sensual read, perfect for those who like their romance spicy.

The first novella is Exiled by Maya Banks. This story features the virginal Talia and her four very hunky men. Talia is brought to an exotic island by Prince Xander and finds herself bound in a contract to be submissive to him and his three guards. Though Talia is a virgin upon her arrival on the island, it doesn't last long and she quickly submits to the men. She is drawn to all four men and finds herself falling for them one by one. I really like the way Talia struggles with her status on the island. She doesn't immediately think everything is fine and that sleeping with four men at the same time is no big deal. She berates herself for feeling the way she does about the men and struggles to come to terms with their unusual relationship. As soon as she starts to really feel comfortable everything changes and she is tossed away from Xander and the men. Although the relationship is unusual, Ms. Banks writes it in such a way that you know the feelings between Talia and each four men are deep and real like any other monogamous relationship. When Talia is tossed aside and sent back to France, I could feel her pain and her struggle to get back to some normal state of life. The relationship between Talia and Xander is the main relationship in the story, but I found the relationships between her and the other three men more interesting. They each have such different personalities and deal with her differently. The sex scenes are smoking hot and portray a great deal of emotion through them.

The second novella is Sway by Lauren Dane. I'm a huge Lauren Dane fan and couldn't wait for this "Delicious" novella. I enjoyed Daisy's story, but I wish it had been more. There was so much about the characters that I wanted to know. I think because this book is part of a series I felt differently than I would about a normal novella. I wanted to see Daisy more in her element and get to know Levi more. Putting all that aside (since it's really about me being greedy and wanting more), I loved the older man/younger woman dynamic in Sway. Daisy isn't bothered by the age difference, but Levi uses it as an excuse to not get close to her. Daisy is the stronger and more together of the two. She knows what she wants and isn't ashamed or afraid to go after it. Levi is ruled by his past and his family's opinion letting those things get in the way of his relationship with Daisy. He has to wake up and realize what he really wants and what really matters to him before it is too late. The one thing that I really, really loved about this novella was the groveling at the end. Levi does some major groveling and Daisy doesn't let him off the hook easily. The sex scenes are kinky (bondage and D/s) and sexy. Ms. Dane definitely knows how to write a love scene.

Reviewed by Carrie

Originally published on The Season site (theseasonforromance dot com)