Tag: pepper winters

Posted in Book Tours, Dark, Pepper Winters

BLOG TOUR: Twisted Together (#3) – Pepper Winters

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

Twisted Together - Tour Banner

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19015729Synopsis

“After battling through hell, I brought my esclave back from the brink of ruin. I sacrificed everything–my heart, my mind, my very desires to bring her back to life. And for a while, I thought it broke me, that I’d never be the same. But slowly the beast is growing bolder, and it’s finally time  to show Tess how beautiful the dark can be.”

Q gave everything to bring Tess back. In return, he expects nothing less. Tess may have leashed and tamed him, but he’s still a monster inside.

After surviving the darkness, a new dawn has begun. Twisted Together wades through black to grey, chasing the light of true love to banish the shadows forever.

Pain is a requirement, connection a necessity. But ultimately Q and Tess must face their demons, before they can embrace their future.

5 out of 5 stars

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My Review

‘Ma vie est à toi’ 

There are books that I tend to stay away from, and dark romance and taboo issues is that genre. But I took a chance on Tears of Tess. I wanted to broaden my horizon, push my limits and in doing so i found an amazing series, one that hooked me, had me feeling crazy emotions and one that turned into a clear favourite of mine. As a series that introduced me to the dark nature of ‘romance’ its also made me think i can venture into more books surrounding the things that the Monster in the Dark series deals with – kidnapping, slavery, BDSM, pain, gory scenes and the rest. Although my stomach was turning at some of the more descriptive scenes, I powered through, my heart racing, my palms sweating, hoping that in the end, things would get better.

I want to thank Pepper for writing this series and for letting me lose my ‘dark romance’ virginity to her ;). I took a chance on a new genre and it’s all down to her that i fell in love with this series. The writing, the story, the power of love between Tess and Q – slave and master. It’s gritty – god don;t we just know it, filled to the brim with action and angst and overpowering love and emotions. Man, i was exhausted by the end of Twisted Together and i was grinning so hard, knowing that I survived everything in the book, knowing that all the heart attacks and tears i spilled were worth it to see Tess and Q happy. I’m pretty sure Pepper killed me over and over again with all the twists. None that I ever saw coming and i was shaken up reading everything that came their way. Pepper knows how to keep you captivated, how to write intensity and how to keep you guessing just what the heck is going to happen. I was definitely on tenterhooks for the WHOLE BOOK. Tess and Q have gone through so much throughout the series but would you expect anything less knowing those two and how they came about?

For those who have read Tears of Tess and Quintessentially Q we all know what went down in both those books. Twisted Together carries on the story of Tess and Q and we see a hell of a lot of action brought back into their lives, but not only each other but other people. All Q wants is his Tess back, the strong slave that challenges him but Tess is still ‘broken’ underneath her façade. She tries to push it all away but no matter how hard she tries, nightmare occupy her and its down to Q to help her break free from them. Love makes Q venerable and he knows something is around the corner. When that something comes along its down to Tess to break from her shackles and prove her worth, and when she did, boy was i like a proud mama. I was gunning for her, shouting and grinning and clapping at her change, at her strength and i knew, just knew she would be okay, she would do whatever she could to be with Q, whatever it took, whatever the risks.

Tess, in the last book is a shell of herself. She had been through so much shit and she was broken, felt numb and just gave up on herself. She felt worthless and not worthy of Q but he pushed past to make her see she was. In Twisted Together we see a slight change in her. She is still feeling worthless but she tries to hide it, yet Q can see right through her. He wants his Tess back, the strong one. I can’t go into too much because i will be spoiling everything that happens in this book, but lets just say my emotions were on high alert with certain scenes that occurred. My heart raced, my head throbbing and i was just reading thinking, “can Tess go through any more without actually dying an early death?!” But she prevailed, she got passed her demons, she faced them head on and i gleamed at her, i was so happy to get Tess back, even if it was a new Tess, she grew up, she stood up for herself and for Q and shit man, she is badass. She can play on her sexuality and get her own way and that one scene, where i was shitting myself, crying my eyes out, i was so proud of her. She was working on adrenaline but in that scene it was actually a good thing. She got the strength and energy pulsing throughout her and she got the job done, got her Q, forever and always.

Q. My lovely, broken and dangerous master. Due to his overpowering love for Tess, he’s even more vulnerable to the bad guys, especially after book two where he went on a bloody mission to save Tess. He’s at a loose end, he doesnt know how to save the love of his life from her tormentors, but he will do whatever he can to at least try. I understood how troubling it was for him to not be able to touch her, to inflict pain and pleasure on Tess, it must have killed him to see her fight her nightmares, and then not let him in, not tell him everything.  I understood his anger, his frustrated but there was one scene that i was not comfortable with and my heart went out to Tess. I was squirming, i was willing Q to stop but he didnt and then when he did stop i could see how much it affect him, see the remorse running through him. Man, that tore me a new one.

Then everything he does for Tess in the second part of the book. HOLY FUCK. I couldnt breathe, i was sobbing. I didnt know wht was going to happen and i only prayed everything would be okay, that Q could get through it if he had hope. He did everything he could and then when he saw a vision of Tess, and the chapter finished, i actually screamed and shouted and i spent a good few minutes just staring at my kindle. This was the part i couldnt handle, it was gory and pain ridden and my pulse soared so high at my emotions being all over the place. But our boy did it and what follows after made me gleam. The things he said to Tess filled my heart to the brim and i spent the last remaining chapters in smiles, and happy tears and our demanding, sexy as, controlling master was back in business.

The heal their demons together, they vowed forever with each other and Q and Tess are one of my favouite couples. They rose from the dark, into the light, together and alone. They did it and they got one another in the end. Just how it should be.

I cant begin to tell you the amount of emotions that i felt throughout Twisted Together. I went through them all. This book will turn you inside out, back and forth and you will be on a never ending stream of emotions. I’m sure my heart has just about got back to normal. See, i cant even express how i was feeling because my feelings were just too strong. I was texting my friend about this book and how i was just crying my eyes out and shouting ‘NO NO NO” at my kindle. Yupp, you will be doing a lot of that, i can assure you, along with “WTF Q!” That was another one. But above all that, I love the french! For all three books I have been reading the french out loud and it really makes me miss french lessons. I loved that i understood the majority of the french parts too, it means my lessons were worth something! I just want to go back to France now and try to find Q. Mmmmmm.

This is the perfect conclusion to Tess and Q’s story. Albeit, so much happens but to get to the point they did, the point where they ended up together, but they stuck together, never wavering in their love and you know that Q and Tess are a forever couple. Damn, just the words and the sex (yes it was just as hot as the first two books) and the never dying love for one another is shown so strongly that you know everything they went through meant they ended up together. If Tess had never been kidnapped and sold, then she would have never found a love for Q and Q would still be plodding along, trying to tame the monster inside. But together they unleash their monsters and fight through anything, as long as they have one another.

 

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Who are the top five female characters that you adore and why?

Oh that’s a great question!!

Okay my top five females in literature would have to be:

  1. Ayla from Clan of the Cave Bear—especially in The Valley of the Horses. That girl was so capable and intelligent. It made me want to go and learn all about natural medicines and improve my weaving skills.
  2. Clare from Outlander—LOVE her strength when faced with the daunting future of missing her husband and being married to a Scottish heathen. I’m DYING for the series to start on TV
  3. Tatiana from The Bronze Horseman—only when she’d grown up and accepted her womanhood and stopped being a little brat. Then she really grew on me and I could see how hard it would’ve been growing up during the war.
  4. Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone—she was witty and artistic and ended a war. Not to mention had blue hair and a smoking gorgeous angel in love with her.
  5. The last one goes to all the incredible heroines dreamed up by indies and authors I’ve only just found. I love them all and can’t pick just one more. I know I’m breaking the rules—but I have to. Lol

Thank you so much for having me on your blog and for all your amazing support. It’s hugely appreciated! And thank you to the readers who have enjoyed my work and for all the incredible messages I receive xxxxxxx

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Author Bio:

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero the better and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby (who speaks French—hot!) who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends. She loves to hear from her readers so hit her up at pepperwinters@gmail.com

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Author Social links:

Facebook || Twitter || Pinterest  || Goodreads || Website

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Social links for Twisted Together (#3)

Amazon || Amazon UK ||  B&N || Kobo || iTunes

Social Links for Tears Of Tess (#1)

Amazon || Amazon UK || B&N || Kobo || iTunes || Createspace

Social Links for Quintessentially Q (#2)

Amazon || Amazon UK || B&N || Kobo || iTunes || Createspace

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TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY:

Pepper is offering up the prizes below for grabs. Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST 06/22/2014.
1 x Signed set of Monsters in the Dark series
3 x Swag Packs
2 x Signed bookplates & stickers
2 x Ribbon bookmarks
5 x eBook copy of any Pepper Winter’s title (winner’s choice)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Posted in New Adult, Pepper Winters

Quintessentially Q (#2) – Pepper Winters

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

18398089Synopsis

“All my life, I battled with the knowledge I was twisted… fucked up to want something so deliciously dark—wrong on so many levels. But then slave fifty-eight entered my world. Hissing, fighting, with a core of iron, she showed me an existence where two wrongs make a right.”

Tess is Q’s completely. Q is Tess’s irrevocably. But now, they must learn the boundaries of their unconventional relationship, while Tess seeks vengeance on the men who sold her. Q made a blood-oath to deliver their corpses at Tess’s feet, and that’s just what he’ll do.

He may be a monster, but he’s Tess’s monster.

5 out of 5

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My Review

If you loved Tears of Tess, then shitting hell, you are going to fall head over hells for Quintessentially Q. I was hooked to Tears of Tess but I LOVE this book a hell of a lot.

I actually had to think long and hard about this review, because its so hard to put into words just how amazing this book is. And Jesus, its still hard to formulate the words to express it. But I’ll give it a go.

I have to say, despite the disturbing and violent nature of this book, it’s my favourite out of the series so far. I felt so many emotions throughout this book and I actually cried for about 50+ pages. I cried for Tess, I cried for Q but I also cried because of the heartbreak and the scenarios both of them were going through – alone. I cried for how Tess was being treated, how afraid and angry and monstrous Q was. Dear god, the tears just kept coming, the emotions, from sickness, to my stomach muscle tightening, to the heartache and the light relief of this couple finally being reunited again….

But then my emotions didn’t stop there. It was a constant roller-coaster with this book and when Tess was broken, was empty, I cried for her feeling nothing. Her kidnappers broke her so much that she was seemingly unfixable and as much as she tried to get ‘unbroken’, she just couldnt see past anything. I prayed that she could get past it,that she could push past it and i felt broken reading about her being broken, about her being at that point where she didnt care, she didnt feel, she was just so numb and it killed me to watch this strong women like this. But all bad things turn good eventually….

I cried for Q who you know has deep feelings for Tess, who would maim and kill and do anything to get her back to the strong Tess he knows. I cried for him trying to get her back to her old self, how much time and effort and love he put into trying to get her to talk but it was useless. I saw his fear, how exhausted he was, how he tried and tried to get Tess back…i saw him be defeated and that killed me. No joke, you feel every single emotion these two go through and I cannot tell you how this book broke me and then fixed me back together again.

I cant tell you how much I wanted to see a different side to Q and Pepper sure as hell let us! We see the softer side of him come out, the side where we know he loves Tess, how she is actually the one for him, his monster, like he is hers. Although he doesnt know what he is doing and his feelings are confusing the hell out of him, he wants to make sure Tess is happy with with and yes, he is still the dominant alpha we all loved, I loved this whole different side to him.

I loved how it was dual POV. I loved getting inside Q’s head, how conflicted he was over his feelings, over how he should act – did he love her? How was he going to get her back? We saw plenty of sides to him and each broke me a little. From the slight touching moments he gave Tess, to his monster side, his dominant side and his tired side. His POV also gave me hope that maybe Q could love, that he had found his one, albeit in a trafficking way, but it was a bit like fate and then to lose her was terrifying and you knew that he had to track her down, do whatever he could to get her back. He would die without her.

I cant explain how much I loved Q. How I draw in his emotions, how he was feeling, every little piece of his emotions pierced my heart, both in a happy and devastating way. I cant tell you how happy I was at the end. Throughout all the pain he endures, to see him have Tess back in his arms, back to her strong self, especially the things he tells her (SWOON), I, for one, cannot wait to see this relationship expand and grow in book three.

Pepper, you have turned me over the the dark side and i am loving it!!!

Posted in New Adult, Pepper Winters

Tears Of Tess (#1) – Pepper Winters

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

18134894Synopsis

A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.

“My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.
Then it all changed.
I was sold.”

Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.

For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.

But lusty paradise is shattered.

Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.

Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.

Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?

4.5 out of 5

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My Review

“Je suis a toi.”

If you know me, you know I’m not one for reading anything but angsty romance with cuddles and kisses and happily ever after, but after seeing so many people raving about Tears Of Tess, I was in two minds about reading it. Of course, I downloaded it, but I wasn’t sure if I would ever read it. I’m not good with dark books, with rape and violence, especially slave books but I thought ‘”f I can handle reading Poughkeepsie….and that is gritty….I can handle anything” plus this new year I want to broaden my reading genres and with so much love for this series, I thought Tears of Tess could take my dark book virginity.

HOLY SHIT ON A BRICK! I have fallen in love. Pepper Winters, I love you too and when I meet you in July at the Edinburgh Event, I may just have to kiss you (I’m sorry). You took something that I was so afraid to read about, and turned it into something that I love, I adore and I cannot get enough of. You captivated me every page, you made me sit up, read every single word and not put my books down in the 3 hours I read it. You made me cry, smile, be uncomfortable, turned on and I went through so many different emotions that I came out going “Holy crap, give me book two NOW!”

I really liked Tess. I felt for her a lot throughout this book. She thought she was broken for wanting to be dominated in the bedroom and it didn’t help her boyfriend was a bit of a pansy (sorry!). She thought she was made wrong for liking this and my heart went out for her. When she was taken, her strength never vanished. She was determined to fight, to get free and although she was induced to pain, she stuck to her guns and was feisty and mouthy and she knew that she would get her chance to be free again, she just had to wait it out and when the time came she would run.

Then she is sold to Q. She has conflicting feelings for him. From hate, to liking him, to being attracted to him to wanting to kill him. She knows, deep down, that she could be in the hands of someone much worse than Q. Although she is strong, of course she is going to have weak moments and I was awaiting these are no one can be strong all the time. I was actually glad when she did have a moment of weakness, it shows that she is thinking about the horridness of what she has been through but it also proves she can get past it if she thinks about it, proves she can become stronger, and not let it get to her. She’s safe and protected and the horrors of Mexico cant get to her anymore…

We see her fight inner battles. She wants to hate Q, he’s mean and cold but then we see her want Q, want him to dominate her, hurt her, fulfil her fantasies and we also see her warm towards him, towards her ‘master’ and although I have never truly understood how a captor could fall for their kidnapper, I can sympathise that, actually this can happen. She begins to see him in a new light, begins to like him and its hard not to really. Although he is hot and cold, he knows how to please her, how to use her body, how to pleasure her and you can actually agree that if you were Tess, you would probably fall for Q too.

Q…oh Q. I was constantly conflicted by him. I wanted to hate him but I liked it. I wanted to like him but I hated him. My mind would not make its mind up and I was constantly in a state of confusion and distress over my feelings towards him. He is the epitome of douchbag and sexy dominant alpha wrapped into one and although you want to hate him, you kind of cant. And that is what messed me up. I have to say though, I DO like Q a hell of a lot. You can see that with Tess he is different, he wants to stay away but cant and he’s never felt this way so it fucks him up.

He is not your usual alpha…his childhood fucked him up badly and that is why he runs the business he does. I’m not telling you what it is because its a spoiler, but I think you begin to understand why he acts the way he does and your heart feels compassion for him, for what he is doing but you know deep down there is a monster wanting to erupt and find its equal….I think he found it in Tess.

He is used to broken slaves and when Tess stumbles through the door, feisty as hell, he knows she is definitely different to the others and there is something about her that he wants to discover. Q switches from hot and cold. He can be a downright bastard one minute and swooning douchebag the next. You never know where you are with him and although we went on this journey, when you find out what he does, you kind of feel sorry for him and completely understand everything he does and did, to and for Tess.

He has a monster living inside him and when he sees Tess he knows he wants her. Their chemistry was instant for him, and although she knew he was gorgeous, and her body reacted to him, she didnt want it to but he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. When shit goes down, he proves how much he wants her, needs to protect her and he will most definitely kill for her….He has secrets and guilt and grief locked inside him but we find out more about him, about his childhood and his present in the epilogue and it tears you apart and heals you too and you just want to heal Q too.

Q is dark and brooding but he can show bits of compassion when he wants to and I really liked that about him.

I was texting my bestie, Anna Bloom, throughout reading this book and I was like “I should hate him but I cant and then he does things to not make me hate him! I’m so messed up and its so good its wrong.” AND I LOVED IT.

Despite the situations and dark nature of Tears of Tess, I am besotted with this couple, with their story and I cannot wait for book 3 (My review of book 2 will be next and SHIT was that book my favourite). If you are like me and have never picked up a dark book, seriously, start with this series. You will fall in love with it like I did.