With a title like Nine Kinds of Naughty, author Jeanette Grey is definitely setting up some high expectations for steamy scenes in this third novel in the Art of Passion series. If you’ve read Seven Nights to Surrender and its companion/sequel Eight Ways to Ecstasy, you’ll know that she’s up to the task. This standalone novel ups the ante by delving into a forbidden workplace/BDSM romance that has an interesting and sexually intense plot and enough strong character development to make it stand above the crowd.

Lexie Bellamy is a driven young woman. When her father went to jail on corruption charges, her older brother Rylan fled to Paris and refused to take over the reins of the family company. With their younger brother Evan away at school, the fate of the business rested on Lexie’s shoulders. Ignored and dismissed as a child in favor of her brothers, assuming control was a definite boost to her self-esteem. But Rylan’s sudden return from Paris to take his rightful place as the head of the company has her on unsure footing again. She’s determined to prove she belongs at the top with him, and a trip to Spain to put out some fires in their continental division is the answer. She insists that her assistant, capable and trustworthy Dane Huntley, accompany her. She’s been able to ignore the sizzle of attraction between them that’s always been there because work always comes first. But spending long days and evenings together in sultry Spain will test her endurance – especially when Dane offers her a chance to relinquish control to him in return for pleasure beyond her imagining. Will the relationship they develop overseas be relegated to a footnote when they return home or can they turn it into something more?

Control is the theme on multiple levels in this story. There is the traditional power exchange that one expects to see in a BDSM romance and this one, with its heavy emphasis on the Dominance/ submission part of the genre explores that thoroughly. Lexie is a workaholic with no time for relationships. She is afraid of being seen as weak and goes out of her way to appear the opposite, always remaining in control. But Dane has been biding his time to show Lexie that letting go of control can be a good thing, if it’s done with the right person. Itching to introduce her to his sexual world, he finally gets his chance on their plane ride to Spain, and things progress from there. These scenes are super hot and take up a fair portion of the story, so even if you’re just reading it for those, you’ll be well satisfied.

New to the world of submission, Lexie struggles with the implications should anyone find out. Not only that, but her last relationship was with a man she worked with and trusted – who dumped her when news of her father’s arrest got out. She still has to deal with that person, to her humiliation, and the armor she’s put on as a result is pretty thick. Dane is her subordinate whom she counts on to keep things running smoothly in the office. She insists that anything happening with him must be kept very secret. She can’t stand the idea of being the laughingstock of the company again for a failed workplace affair, nor the idea of losing a man she’s come to count on to be always at her beck and call, keeping the office running smoothly. This makes for some interesting and intense scenes as the power dynamic from boss/assistant to Dom/sub shifts back and forth.

Dane’s character is complex. On the surface, he’s a calm man, always in control of himself, a man who loves nothing better than helping a woman submit and the pleasure it brings them both. But the truth is that there are deep cracks in that façade. His dream of being a firefighter like his father and brother died when his brother was lost in a house fire. His mother, reeling with grief, moved him away from his father into the city, insisting he get a ‘safe’ office job. He might be good at it, but deep down he hates it. The only thing that keeps him sane is his weekends where he throws himself into adventure daredevil sports like bungee jumping to give him those brief moments to let go of everything but feeling alive. If he lets go of control there, he gains it back in the bedroom with a woman on her knees. Everything in between, including his job with Lexie, is just counted off time until the next time he can be fully in control of what he wants.

The author is very adept at writing deep point of view and it shows in the crafting of this story, with both Dane and Lexie’s thoughts and feelings keeping the reader fully engaged. The one thing that niggles at me (and caused me to lower the grade slightly) is the age of the characters. Lexie took over her father’s company at the age of twenty-three, making her now twenty-four or twenty-five. That’s a pretty young age to be in charge of a multi-national corporation, but then it’s a family business thrust into her hands through no fault of her own and she had no choice but to take charge, so I just about bought that. But taking that as read, Dane’s age and character didn’t quite match for me either. He’s supposedly twenty-six, but his self-assurance as a Dom, his experience, his whole demeanour rings as a man who is at least thirty. I had to dismiss their respective ages from my mind when reading the story.

Apart from that, I really enjoyed this story. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I’ve already re-read it which, given the number of books on my to-read shelf, is a huge point in its favor and makes it a Desert Isle Keeper in my eyes. The conflict as Dane and Lexie struggle to redefine their working relationship and their new personal one makes for a page turning read and leads to a well-deserved happy ending. I would not hesitate to recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys BDSM romances. Nine Kinds of Naughty delivers an intense and steamy romance with strong and likable characters who find that being in control and letting go can be equally rewarding.

This review has been featured at All About Romance. An abbreviated version will be posted on sale sites during release week.

The title is a little odd, but this was very well-written. I actually cared about the characters and their relationship and felt emotionally invested.

This is the first book I read by this author and I have to say I loved this book.

It is well written and kept me reading. It did take me a week to read it. Not because I didn't want to continue reading it but because I started reading it during a busy time.

I highly recommend this hot and sexy book.

This book is so steamy between Dane and Lexi. This is such a page turner as you navigate their challenge with domination and submissive in the boardroom to the bedroom. Lexi is the boss in the business, while learning to submit to Dane in the bedroom.

A sexy, titillating, and wickedly naughty read that will for sure have you craving for more of Jeanette Grey’s sinful and seductive prose. In her latest release, Nine Kinds of Naughty, the third installment in the Arts of Passion Series, Grey turned up the heat and sex factor several notches as she dangerously weaved romance, passion, and a little angst into the mix. With her vivid description, Grey not only awakens our desires but she allows readers to understand her characters on a deeper emotional and sexual level. I loved the plot of this story since Grey told the story of Lexie Bellamy and Dane Huntley in such a lyrical manner that you can’t help but be consumed by their intense relationship. So if you are looking for one scorching read that weaves passion and raw emotions then Nine Kinds of Naughty might be the book for you.

Rating: 3.5 Stars / 5 Stars

I’ve read the previous two books of this series, about Kate and Rylan, Seven Nights to Surrender & Eight Ways to Ecstasy, so when I saw this one was available on netgalley, I requested it, because I had really enjoyed the other ones. Also, because in book 2 there’s a chapter about Lexie, and her relationship with her assistant Dane intrigued me.

WITH THAT SAID, I HAD NO CLUE THAT THIS BOOK WAS ABOUT BDSM.

Once again, I found Jeanette Grey’s writing amazing. The book is told in dual POV, and her writing style is almost lyrical. It’s beautiful.

I really liked both main characters. Lexie, who thought she was never good enough and that always tried her hardest, especially at her job – which was her live. And then Dane, who was stuck in a life he didn’t want and had no control over, and who so desperately just wanted to be himself. They both go through an amazing evolution.

I really liked the overall plot of the book, and how Dane taught Lexie how to relinquish control, at least in a part of her life, and how he gained himself in the process. I loved the falling out, it was perfect and so on point with the characters.

So… why am I only giving this book 3.5 stars? To sum it up, BDSM is not for me, and it’s definitly something I do not like to read about.

I have to praise Grey here, because I think she did an amazing job with all the scenes, and I gained an understanding of it that I didn’t previously have (and it seems like she did it right enough, according to some websites). I liked that things were explained. But I just can’t stand it.

I understand the principal and the importance of the elements for the people involved. I do! I just cringed each time I was reading about Lexie’s submission. Some elements I could get on board with, but others were just… no, not for me. Sorry…

Either way, it is a good erotica book, and I think that if you don’t mind reading about BDSM, you will thoroughly enjoy this one. It has great writing and great characters and loads and loads of sex.

Dane is a complicated man. By day his focus is on business, hiding his true self behind business suits and corporate duties. By night he lives for the pleasure, releasing the untamed animal in his soul. A man of many appetites, guilt, grief and responsibilities are at the center of shadowy existence. Until he meets Lexie and his two sides merge into one. Lexie has chameleon like qualities of her own. A good girl driven by her career, she's hardworking. She hides her insecurities behind a wall of competence and distance but inside she's a naughty girl with a need to unleash her wild side. Will these two wounded souls be able to bring each other into the light? Nine Kinds of Naughty is a temptation, that is not to be denied. Ms. Grey seduces her readers while at the same time breaking their hearts. An entrancing combination.

lexie bellamy knows how to rule the boardroom. she's been at the top of her game since taking the reins at her family company and keeping the whole thing afloat while her brother figured himself out. in nine kinds of naughty now that he's back in charge, she has to fight even harder to stay on top, to lean in, because as a woman, no one is going to give her more than one chance to succeed.

and part of her success can be tracked back to her assistant, dane huntley. he knows what she wants before she even speaks the words. he's at her command, by her side every moment she needs him while he's on the clock. when he's not on the clock, well, she doesn't quite know what he does. his weekends are a mystery to her.

but dane isn't really that mysterious. he comes from a firefighting family, and his older brother died in a fire. and since then his mother has kept him in a bubble, and to please her, he's lived his life inside the lines. taking a temp job that becomes an assistant job. and keeping his weekends to be his true self, the dominant, risk-taker he is meant to be.

when lexie and dane are tasked with a work trip to spain to manage a merger negotiation, the sexual tension simmering between them hits a boiling point. dane knows that what lexie needs is for him to take control. he knows her like no one else, and he knows exactly what she needs. even if she isn't quite ready to accept it.

and once she does give in, she discovers exactly what she needs in dane's arms. but as they work through lexie's issues, dane is working through issues of his own. when lexie's brother is injured in a car accident and they spend time in the hospital with him, dane realizes that he can no longer take the stifling life inside the bubble. what he doesn't realize is that this is counter to lexie's plans of corporate domination with dane by her side. and so his need to be himself comes directly into conflict with lexie's fears of abandonment.

they get a little help from lexie's brother on figuring themselves out, but they do get there. and their story is sexy, emotional, and well-worth reading.

Loved it. Fast and addictive read. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

My library doesn't typically buy erotica, unless it's as an ebook only. But, I thought I'd read this. The world is quite immersive although it doesn't really feel like the main characters issues got resolved. I did appreciate the idea that as a Dom the hero looks for what the other person needs, which turned out to be positive reinforcement. I felt like the end was a little rushed, and I also didn't like it that the whole Spain deal didn't go through.