Sweet Possession (Sweet Series Book 5)

Again another awesome story by Maya Banks. I love love love the Sweet series & this book is no exception. One thing that I loved about this book was that it was kind of vanilla, ok a lot, but it was no less hot or emotional as the other in the series. And to be honest, it was a refreshing. Not that I didn't love the other, but not everyone is into BDSM, so this gives you that awesome story telling of Maya Banks and yet super hot love scenes. I want to be part of this circle of friends, and am sad that aren't real people. That's how much I love this book. 4 1/2 stars!

I'm kind of sad to see some of the other reviews posted here. I read HUNDREDS of romance books a year ( 253 last year, and I'm at 47 so far this year ) and I promise this was a good story. I think people were expecting this story to fall into line as the others, and it didn't. It was simple, yet emotional love story. It was realistic.

Brandi

This book was VERY DISAPPOINTING. It didn't have the enough chemistry between Lyric and Connor but what bothered the most about the book was the way Ms. Banks made the other kinks in the earlier books seem as though they were something to be ashamed of. Apparently she's decided to move to more vanilla kind of sex in her future books. While I'm sure a lot of people will love her future books if she continues down this path, I know I won't.

Fifth in the Sweet erotic romance series and revolving around the family and friends involved with Malone and Sons Security (or The House!) and based in Houston. The couple focus is on Lyric Jones and Connor Malone.

My Take
This one was a lot tamer than the first four. I'd call this a sexy romance as opposed to the earlier very erotic stories. It doesn't start well for Connor. He can't stand the singer, but he may well have some of those control urges the others enjoy. The way he reacts to the sassy Lyric was pretty funny.

I love how tamed Micah is, lol. He can't do enough for Angelina. And that boy was a player.

I also love, love, love how much fun the girls have together and with their men, especially the teasing part. There's a lot of par-tay time for the girls as they get to know Lyric…and show her the amazingness of true friendship. That crack about the Stepford neighborhood and then Faith's house made me laugh.

Connor does spend a bit of time being overwhelmed about his sister's sex life and the antics she and her friends get up to, lol. He's also quite insightful, if hypocritical *more laughter* He sure handles that nasty Paul quite well *yet more laughter*

That's got to be about the stupidest thing people do, not tell the object of a stalking or threatening letters what's going on. At least they'd be more aware of what's around them if they knew. I do like how Connor encourages her to take control of her life. How supportive he is of her. And I love that she responds to it, gets braver.

Lyric has some big issues, and I'm surprised she hasn't sought counseling for it. It drove me nuts that she wanted to be alone but didn't want to be alone.

The Story
She's a singer who lives for the spotlight — and can't resist scandalizing the world…

Outrageous and out-of-control, Lyric Jones is a spoiled pop star who lives hard and fast, always outrunning her past and the nightmares that haunt her. She's used to getting what she wants, and because she can't stand to be alone, her bed play philosophy is "the more the merrier".

There is nothing Connor Malone wants to do less than babysit the celebratty songstress while she's on vacation. But part of him relishes taming Lyric and showing her what it's like to be be truly loved — body and soul — by one man. And though Lyric's crazy antics nearly drive Connor to the edge, his quiet intensity penetrates her defenses, leaving them both vulnerable to the secrets that could topple Lyric from the stage.

The Characters
Lyric Jones — a name chosen to honor her mother — is a bratty big-name singer who is too difficult to be believed. I gotta confess that I felt as if I'd read this story before but I couldn't find any record of it. Carly Winters is her real name. R.J. Miller and Trent Carnes are her useless bodyguards. Stacy is her stylist. Danny Higgins was her stepfather.

Connor Malone is the last of 'em — barring Pop — in the group who is still single. Pop owns Malone and Sons Security that is about to expand into bodyguarding. Faith Montgomery is Pop's adopted daughter, and as far as Connor is concerned, his sister. She's married to Gray ( Sweet Surrender , 1). The pregnant Angelina Moyano is still saying no to Micah Hudson's marriage proposals ( Sweet Temptation , 4). They've named the baby-to-be Nia. Nathan Tucker is another operative. He's married to Julie ( Sweet Seduction , 3), a stylist who owns her own place.

All of the men and their women are friends, including Damon and Serena Roche ( Sweet Persuasion , 2). Sam is both driver and security for Serena and the girls.

Kane Murphy is head of the security team who will be answering to Connor. The rest of the team includes Davidson, McElroy, Hennesey, Tatum, and Markowitz. They'll be getting an eyeful later.

Phillip Armstrong is a friend of Pop's from his Marine days who needs a favor. He's a big-shot record executive today with Cosmic Records. Barry Kennedy is his assistant. Paul Woodrow is Lyric's disgusting, rude manager. Leslie Burke will manage the meet-and-greet at the record store.

Sergeant Willis is with the Houston PD as is Lieutenant Donnelly. Drew is the yummy bartender at Cattleman's.

The Cover and Title
The cover is classic with its black background and the gilded pear lying on its side.

The title is what each relishes about the other, the Sweet Possession of their love.

I loved Connor and Lyric story. Sooo good. Lyric's wild antics and Connor's. Connor is the last of his friends to remain single. He has sat back and watched and laughed as every one of them has fallen like a rock for their wives. When he gets assigned to be Lyric Jones' bodyguard, he wants nothing to do with the rock star. It's dislike at first sight for them both, except for the huge spark between them. Lyric doesn't understand why she needs a bodyguard when she already has two of them. Her record company is insistent that there are threats being made against her, and they want to protect her. Once these two are stuck together, the sparks fly and they begin to see a little deeper into each other. I did like seeing everyone again, catching up on baby news, and seeing how the relationships have developed. Damon, my sexy barbarian, still turns me on. Micah is still super intense. Nathan still cracks me up trying to rope Julie in. It was fun seeing the girls all together, getting sloshed while Sam stands guard. And to see Micah wearing a baby Snuggie, too funny. I liked catching up with all the character's from the other books in this series.

Former Marine Phillip Armstrong is at the end of his rope when the antics of his top pop star Lyric Jones led to the firing or quitting of her security staff. The record executive calls in the marine motto of never leave a comrade behind when he asks his brother in arms Pop Malone to provide personal protection to Lyric while she is on "vacation" in Houston. Pop informs his stunned son Connor he will take care of the music diva. While his sister Faith smirks, Connor objects pointing out that they install security systems not provide bodyguards.

Malone and Jones detest each other at first sight and state so to one another, but he loathes her nasty manager Paul much more. However, under their veneer of disgust is also a desire neither wants to admit as he is hard from her first scornful remark and she is upset with his obvious disappointment when he gazed past her glitzy veneer into who she truly is. Neither wants a second engagement, but the two marines pressure both. At the Cattleman's, she kisses him, leaving both shocked with need. As they fall in love, a betrayal to the media exposing her past leaves Lyric distrusting Connor.

The latest "Sweet" heated romance (see Sweet Temptation and Sweet Seduction) is a wonderful contemporary starring a caring male and a flawed female whose childhood leaves her unable to ever be alone. The story line is a commonly used theme, but the lead couple and the support cast including the villain make for a fresh brisk tale; as Maya Banks insists that a powerful mental healer is sharing love.

Harriet Klausner

Sweet Possession by Maya Banks
Contemporary Romance -April 5th, 2011
4 stars

Sweet Possession is the fifth in the Sweet series. An erotic book that is based on friends and co-workers who live in Texas and have their own brand of integrity! While characters from previous books make appearances in this book, this story can easily be read by itself.

In this story, sexy Connor Malone is hired to guard the popular and outrageous pop star, Lyric. Lyric is being stalked by a dangerous fan. However, Connor doesn't approve of her hedonistic and wild lifestyle and leaves in disgust. But his family persuades him to finish the job.

Lyric can't stand the pompous, arrogant and unbearable attractive Connor. She lives the life she has to without any apologies. But being around him makes her think of being a one man woman! For Lyric's extreme lifestyle is a cover for the desperate loneliness she feels inside. Deep down she knows Connor is a man that she secretly desires but opening herself up may take more courage than she has. As Connor seeks to guard Lyric he soon realizes his overly harsh attitudes toward her really are due to his jealously of the other men in the past. He wants Lyric for himself.

Lyric has a lot of insecurities and it is easy to sympathize with her. I liked the couple's rocky beginning and the heated attraction between them as they try to deny their longing for each other. The tension between them was super hot and highly entertaining. Connor is definitely an alpha male. And fans of Maya Banks will not be disappointed by his steamy `bedside' manner! As mentioned earlier, characters from previous stories return and the author spends time on them. I especially liked revisiting Micah's and Angelina's tender relationship.

If you love hot, dominant heroes with a noble streak, then you will adore this scorching series. Sweet Possession will only make you want to read more of this series!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

I have been looking forward to the story for Connor since he was introduced in the first book.

Connor can't help himself. He sits around and watches his best friends falling in love and becoming whipped by the women in his life. His sister and her friends.

He doesn't understand what the big deal is and couldn't possibly fathom how they could have fallen so hard.

Working in security, Connor is forced (heheh) by his father, Pop, to work as a bodyguard to a pop diva, Lyrics. She has a super psycho stalker threatening her and everyone is scrambling to keep her protected. Can you just imagine some bee bopping high-pitched, tight pants, swinging ass singer arguing with Connor? HILARIOUS!

There was no way he could do this. Everything about the woman got on his last nerve, and he hadn't even met her yet.

Lyric is your typical pop singer. I'm shaking my head even thinking about it. Just a quick copy of text below will explain her completely. She found a cop on the side of the road and this is what she says to him:

"Yes. You see, I have this crazy person stalking me and I had to hot-wire my BMW because the guy who's supposed to be my security was being a dick and he has they keys, but I don't want to be driving around by myself or go back to my hotel room in case the crazy stalker is waiting to kidnap me or make me his sex slave or whatever it is that crazy stalkers do. So I'd really appreciate it if you could follow me back to my hotel."

All in all, a super funny book that is filled with vanilla lustful sexy scenes.

I recommend this book to ADULTS ONLY. This is a pretty direct and "normal" erotica so if you're interested, please by all means read the series from the beginning. Sweet Surrender is the first book of the Sweet series.

Reviewed at Another Look Book Reviews

Did it have to end? I love this series so much that I didn't want Sweet Possession to end. Each of the books and the couples are all so different yet their stories are all so connected by deep friendship and family. I still have no idea which is my favourite couple.

The best part of this Sweet series is the friendships between the women. I remember reading a teaser from Maya Banks awhile back on Facebook and she hinted that the Sweet girls were having a girl's night out with drinking. That was such a teaser for me because those are my favourite moments in these Sweet books. I love shenanigans those women get into. I was looking forward to reading about their night out and was super excited to discover that there is more than one girl's night out and a hair dying episode. What a blast! Totally didn't disappoint the readers at all.

Connor and Lyric's first impression didn't start off on the best foot and their tension made for great reading. I wasn't sure if I was going to like Lyric at first. I was imagining a Britney Spears type of character but thankfully Maya Banks set the readers straight and on the right direction before the superstar's impression got to out of hand for the reader. It was perfectly timed writing because if Lyric's antics were corrected too late, the reader's opinion of her would have been hard to win her back.

The reason for Connor's involvement with Lyric was for her security and the foreboding notes on her life. It was a storyline that was intriguing and I was happy that the mystery of who, what, where, why and how for that threat took a secondary position to reading all about the trust and the build-up of Connor and Lyric's relationship. The threat was always there and I was very happy the way it all played out.

Oh my heart when Lyric thought Connor betrayed her. Of course it was no surprise to the readers that Connor never betrayed her and I was pretty sure who the villain was but wow, did Maya Banks ever convey the devastation and emotional breakdown poor Lyric went through. My heart hurt. Very well written. Stellar.

Sweet Possession was rather vanilla sex compared to the other couples in the series but that doesn't mean that it wasn't hot. I like that the characters in the series all have different types and varieties of sex lives or the reading could get boring pretty fast. Who wants to read the same story over and over again? Not me. I was wondering with the introduction of Kane in this book that perhaps there may be a ménage between Kane, Connor and Lyric but the story never took us in that direction and I don't really think Connor is that type of guy.

I never want this series to end. Thankfully I see via Maya Banks website that Sweet Addiction is due out April 2012. Sweet Addiction is Cole's book and although he was not in Sweet Possession, he is quite memorable from the previous books so I will anxiously wait. I predict that Cole's book will be scorching hot. Nope, no vanilla in that story if I understand Cole that way I think I do.

I am also hoping that with the introduction of Kane in this book that perhaps Maya Banks could possibly squeeze in another character. *begs* Sweet Possession is not my favourite of the series but was still a very good book. Reading it made me want to go back and reread all the others from beginning to end so maybe I'll have a Maya Banks fest coming up. LOL

This is my favorite book of Maya Banks' Sweet series. I have to confess that after the last book (Sweet Temptation) I had decided that I wasn't going to read any more in this series. Angelina and Micah's relationship was waaaaay too kinky for me. She could've written enough pages to rival War & Peace, MB was not going to convince me that a man who set up his girlfriend in a gangbang with his friends was someone he cared about. But I took a chance and I read Sweet Possession because I read the first 3 chapters via google books preview and I liked what I read.

Now I'm happy I read this book. She brought the kink factor down a bit...make that a lot, and we got a truly sweet love story with characters who are now my favorite couple of the series...even above Julie and Nathan...gasp.

Faith and Gray (Sweet Surrender) were just okay for me. And while I love Damon (Sweet Persuasion), his character didn't seem to be that good of a lover (Serena was always made to get herself off). I loved Julie and Nathan (Sweet Seduction), but I wished Julie hadn't slept with Micah as I didn't see it as necessary and it wasn't something that Nathan was ever comfortable with, and as I mentioned before, Micah getting his buddies to run a train on Angelina isn't my idea of romance.

But ohhh, do I love Connor and Lyric's story in this -Sweet Possession- book

I should've prefaced everything by saying that for those of you looking for erotica and kink will be disappointed. I thought that based on Lyric's description in the previews that there would be a lot of threeways and bedswapping. There weren't. And given Connor's personality, I shouldn't have expected any. But Connor and Nathan are very much alike, and Nathan was made to deal with threeways and a fair amount of kink so I hadn't put it past MB to get Connor into a similar situation. She didn't, and I'm actually happy with that.

For those looking for a sweet (but not saccharin) honest to goodness love story with lots of laughs and an update on the other characters, you will not be disappointed.

At this point, I'm not even interested in Cole's story any more, I want to get more of Kane (who was introduced in this book as Lyric's very sexy but very bada$$ head of security). There is definitely a very hot, steamy story lurking in him. I actually liked Micah again after reading this book. Julie was a laugh a minute. If these characters were real, I'd actually feel sorry for Nathan.

This book was endearing and well-written with lively dialogue and interplay, and was laugh out loud hilarious at points (though I'm not sure how funny a lot of the jokes would be without reading the previous books in the series). In any case, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a romantic read.

Sweet Possession is the very first book I have ever read by Maya Banks. I know, I know, I've failed in the Maya Banks department! I really like this book because Maya Banks does such a nice job with the heroine, Lyric. Lyric is famous, wealthy, and surrounded by people she doesn't trust in her life. When Connor becomes head of her security (a job he sooooo doesn't want) there is immediate dislike between them. But as the reader, you realize that deep down Lyric isn't really the bitchy, defensive woman she portrays, rather a very vulnerable, sad girl whose life has gotten out of control. With Conner's help, and the help of his friends, she slowly learns the meaning of trust and family.

Like I said, this is the first I have read by Maya Banks, but if you are familiar with this series, the cast from the previous books play an important role in Lyric's evolution. Connor and his friends are very overprotective alpha males. This book portrays a fantasy life for a romance reader. There is one scene in particular where the girls all meet in this big mansion with bodyguards and a butler. They have wine and do each other's hair while the men I don't know - roam around and do manly things. When they all pass out drunk the boys come back and take care of them. This is the life, right girls? Where is my ticket to this town? Where some might see this over the top, (and again I have not read the previous books where we are introduced to these supporting characters) I found this world to be warm, very sexy, and a very nice escape.

Lyric also has a stalker situation happening which I think is handled nicely in the book. It doesn't overshadow Lyric's quest to find peace in her life and love with Connor.

This is labeled as an erotic romance, and while there are plenty of romance scenes, it takes awhile to reach that point, and I almost want to say it feels like the focus of this book is more on their relationship, and Lyric getting to a good place in her life, than just sex. Lyric has a great struggle with intimacy and her ability to trust Connor in sexual physical situations plays an important role in this book.

Sweet Possession is a very sexy book and I am so glad I finally read Maya banks after all of the wonderful recommendations I have received.

After reading the other books in the sweet series, this would be the tamest. By far this book takes you on an emotional roller coaster with Lyric and Conner. I just have to say that I loved how Conner could be a bad ass and then super sweet, understanding, and loving I just couldn't put this book down. Maya Banks is a great writer and you will be quickly drawn into any of her books.

Conor & Lyric were very sweet, but I was waiting for more of Cole from the last installment. The heroes in this series fall into two categories...straight shooters (Conor & Nathan) and wickedly depraved (Damon & Micah). Look forward to hearing more about Kane. His catetgory is yet to be determined :) It was nice to catch up with Damon and Michah in this one. Another great installment in the series.

I downloaded this audiobook from the library, and I'm so glad I didn't pay for it! I'm not sure why anyone likes their "romance" books strewn throughout with so many f words, it's worse than a gangster or mobster movie. And when one or both of the main characters is highly promiscuous, it's just not what I think romance embodies. I couldn't even finish the book, it was thoroughly unenjoyable, and I have many other choices! This review isn't to say that people who enjoy these kinds of books shouldn't, but in case anyone also views romance more similarly to me, I just wanted to give them warning. I do see this is the fifth book in the series, so most likely those who would buy this have already read the others and know what types of books Ms. Banks writes, but if that's not the case, beware!