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July 1, 2014

The Light of the World by Randi Black ~ Release Day Romp: Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

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Welcome to the Release Day Romp for The Light of the World by Randi Black. I have a review of the book for you as well as an excerpt. Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post! Click here to follow along with the other stops on the tour.  

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Title: The Light of the World 
Author: Randi Black 
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance 18+ 
Cover by: Maei Design 
Publisher: Self-published under the Name Withheld imprint 
Publication Date: June 27, 2014 
Event Organized By: Literati Author Services, Inc.






It was 1995 in the Southern California wasteland. 

I was barely legal and far from innocent. I loved The Gun Club more than I loved Walter, my high school sweetheart. He was the only person who knew why I stopped singing and playing guitar after what happened to me when I was 16. But even an engagement ring couldn’t save us after what he did to me that one afternoon. 


I used to worry that college would come between us, but I never thought it would happen on move-in day. 


That was the day I met Franz: a tall, handsome 23-year-old ex-jock from Germany. He was so not my type, but the more I got to know him, the more I knew he was the right guy for me. And after Walter betrayed me for the last time, it was time for me to break up with him and be with Franz for good. I never thought he’d be a safe place for me to explore my darkest sexual fantasies. Nor that he’d be a kindred spirit who knew exactly what it felt like when someone ridiculed your musical aspirations. 


We gonna start playing music together and be who we were meant to be. Nothing and no one was gonna stop us. 


Not even Walter. 


Note: This is the standalone sequel to Miss World, which was self-published in 2011, and takes place a month later.


Smashwords | B&N



Sexually explicit content - for 18+ only

The Light of the World takes place in 1995, which music wise was the height of the decade for me. In the fall of '95, I was a freshman in high school, so while the subject of this novel is intense, the cultural references of that time were a fond trip down memory lane for me. I feel so old saying that since it's been nearly twenty years. 

Kimmy is Chinese American, and I can't tell you how happy I was to read about a character from a different background than mine! There isn't enough diversity in books, so it was refreshing. Black wrote this story in a way that was believable and gave insight into the Chinese American culture in an organic way that added to the story rather than detracting from it. 

To say that Kimmy has been through a lot would be an understatement. At the age of sixteen on the same day Kurt Cobain was found dead, she was sexually assaulted. The Light of the World does not shy away from dealing with her trauma as it shouldn't - otherwise, it would be trivialized and this is most definitely not a trivial matter. 

Kimmy's fiance, Walter, treated her horribly and even made fun of the imaginary friend she used to cope with the sexual assault. He doesn't want her to go away to college, but I'm so glad she did anyway. She feels suffocated with him, and I can see why. I really didn't like him, and although she begins cheating on Walter with Franz, I had my suspicions Walter was also cheating on her. 

During Welcome Week at her college, she meets Franz, a handsome German man. He's a few years older than her, but they find they have music in common and are sexually compatible. Be prepared for explicit sex scenes! Just saying. Franz is gentle with Kimmy, and I fell in love with him, too. No matter how many times she tried to ignore him or push him away, he remained patient. She wanted to be with him, but she was afraid of how much she wanted him. 

The Light of the World is gritty, messy, and raw - Kimmy's life lays bare for all to see. I was swept up into her story and am definitely picking up the previous novel, Miss World, to read.  

My Rating:





On the walk back to campus, I continued to tease Franz and rack up more spankings, adrenaline coursing through my veins, my skin flushed beneath my skintight black dress and black leather jacket. Part of me was scared, but it wasn’t like my death march to room 216 at the Motel 6 in Downtown San Dimas, where I dragged my feet and Kevin kept turning around to ask if I were coming. I had never volunteered to get spanked before, and my mind was racing with so many questions: how badly was it gonna hurt? Was he gonna use his hand, or did he have a collection of paddles and riding crops hidden under his bed? Or maybe he’d go the efficient route and just use his belt? What if I freaked out and wanted him to stop? 

What if I liked it too much? 

No matter how apprehensive the questions, my feet kept moving us back toward Franz’s residence hall, the Phantom Guitarist’s swampy melody cutting through the brisk night. Anticipation rumbling in my bones. I took unhurried, exaggerated steps upstairs to his room. Smiled at him over my shoulder, tossing my hair. He stood two steps below me, at eye level with my ass. I could hear him breathing. Thinking. Right when we were at the bottom of the third floor, his hand slid up my dress and beneath my panties, warm roughness on my right buttock. His grip firm. I turned, already wet from his touch. His eyes told me I was gonna get punished and I’d love every minute of it. Fair enough. My knees weakened as I gripped the railing. He took his hand away and we forced ourselves to continue. All the doors in his suite were closed. Conversations, music, and pornos muffled. The soles of my feet tingled as his key card entered the lock. Green light. Click. The door closed behind us as he switched on the lights and we tossed our backpacks onto the floor. 


Without another word, he sat on the bed and placed his hands on my side, then spun me around on my feet before lifting me onto his lap. I was breathless, scared, aroused. His strong thighs anchored my pelvis. The mattress cushioned my forehead and calves, reeked of sex. A heady scent that triggered my entire body to tense in anticipation. And it was a convenient position he had put me in, because my ass was practically in his face. He yanked my dress up to my waist, pulled my panties toward my knees. I wriggled and moaned as he squeezed and rubbed me. But then he took his hand away. 


My muscles contracted and… Crack! Stinging skin. Flailing legs. A squeal ripped from my throat and bounced off the walls. I had no idea how good the pain felt until that moment, when every knot in me had come apart and it was the most satisfying release I’d ever had in my short, sad life, like my body floated away in the liquid warmth. Nothing was more honest, more pure than my weightless body draped over his lap, so vulnerable and trusting as his palm caressed my burning flesh. 


Before Franz, the idea of getting spanked made me laugh my ass off. Walter and I used to peruse pictorial evidence of erotic spankings at Tower Records and mocked Bettie Page’s facial expressions. We wondered how the hell people got turned on by something that looked so fucking silly. But now I knew. It was about relinquishing control. Finding pleasure in pain. And the release. Especially the release. 


Franz rubbed my sore ass and I purred from his touch. “You have six more.” 


“Really, Franzster?” My ass rose to meet his palm. “Only six?” 


“I will give you ten, then.” Crack! He used a little more force on my other cheek. My face temporarily frozen in a scream from the impact, then the pain turned into another endorphin shot into my vein as I shamelessly ground my crotch into his lap while he rubbed my ass. Smiling at dinosaur and band posters on the walls. Imagining Ted and Jeremy looking at each other and chuckling as they got high across the hall. But then Franz’s palm came down hard on my ass again. And again. And again. Pain built upon existing pain. His fingers dipped slightly lower, a throat murmur of approval when he discovered how wet I was, my entire body gasping when his fingertip brushed my clit. And my cruel lover took his hand from between my legs and Crack! My neck snapped forward. My skin hot and raw. Crack! Crack! Crack! 


“Have you learned your lesson?” 


“Yes, Franzster.” 


“I did not hear that.” He nudged me. “Sit across my lap.” 


I inhaled through my teeth before maneuvering onto him, thighs wrapped around his waist. The pain on my backside was so intense that I held him tightly, my back arching as my tits pressed into his chest. “Like this, Franzster?” 


Ja, Kimmy Lee.” He smiled, almost bashful. His kiss simultaneously ignited my heart and cunt. “Do you trust me?” he murmured, cupping my chin in his hand. 


“What are you gonna do?” 


“If you get onto your hands and knees, I promise I’ll make you feel very good.” 


“You’re not gonna try to sneak your dick up my ass, are you?” 


He shook his head. “No, no.” He looked into my eyes, traced his finger down the side of my neck. “I’d never do that to a girl. Especially Meine Freundin.” 


I kissed him, then pulled away. “What are you gonna do, then?” 


“Eat your ass.”    


Randi Black photo RandiBlackauthorphotocopy_zps9a5094d0.jpgRandi Black has worked as a phone sex operator, cashier, writing tutor, and librarian. She holds an MFA and an MSLIS, and is responsible for the controversial debut novel, Miss World. For now, she lives in Chicago with her long-suffering partner and spoiled cat.




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