Madame Butterfly

Review- Bangkok Love Story (DVD)

2010-12-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

Bangkok Love Story
2007
Thai/Gay/Drama

Steamy Thai nights provide the backdrop for unbridled romance, crime and action as two men unexpectedly brave forbidden love. Maek, a cold assassin-for-hire, is sent to knock off Iht, a police informant, when in a twist of fate the killer is shot for refusing to pull the trigger. After making their escape, an indelible bond is forged when the vulnerable assassin is nursed back to health by handsome, married Iht. But as taboo feelings of desire swell between the swarthy new lovers, their relationship is discovered. Now there s no turning back as enemies, friends and lovers are pitted against each other.

I saw the cover to this DVD a while ago searching for something else on Google Images and it totally grabbed me. I even downloaded it. It looked like a gay, Thai version of Bonnie and Clyde…dangerous and sexy at the same time. I went to the video store looking for other films yesterday and there is was, so I had to rent it.

Holy freaking crap, this movie was intense, dark, totally sexy hot, and utterly tragic. Only Asians can call a story with a tragic ending a “love story.” They practically invented the genre of emo, bittersweet, love. Yes, I’m telling you the ending is less than HEA, although in its own way there was an HEA. None the less, it’s a compelling story that will take you to places…maybe you don’t want to go to, or maybe you do.

Cloud is a street thug basically who does hits for the local mob syndication. His mother is dying of AIDS and his younger brother is HIV+. It’s the only way he can get money to take care of them. He has one rule though, he won’t kill anyone who is a good person, meaning he only kills thugs and assholes.

He’s hired to kill Stone because Stone knows too much about one of the crime bosses. Stone is a good guy, engaged to be married and Cloud refuses to kill him. Instead, he shoots the crime boss and gets shot. Stone grabs him and takes him away. In the weeks that follow, Stone takes care of Cloud, in a very loving way I might add, and falls in love with Cloud.

There’s a constant and slow build up of sexual tension that goes on between Stone and Cloud and when they do let go, dang, but it was hot. Really hot. Even though they’re always doing it on the ground in the rain… ewww.

Unfortunately, Cloud has some issues around homosexuality due to some minor issues of his step father molesting his brother and trying to molest him. Yes, nice life these boys had. /sarcasm. This keeps Cloud feeling a bit disgusted by what he’s done with Stone.

Most of the story is about Stone aching for Cloud and trying to win him back, while Cloud stays distant and cool, even though he does feel something. They are also trying to hide out from the the uber crime boss who’s trying to kill them.

It does get a little to syrupy and over dramatic in bits, but there’s enough pain and sadness all around to keep it balanced on the emo side.

I loved though how this film was done. One thing particular to Asian films is that distinct lack of dialogue, with scenes and pictures expressing more about what’s going on. There’s a lot of fade in and out with brief clips of different scenes and parts (other characters) of the story to let us know what’s going on without having to go into a lot of detail or unnecessary chit chat. It’s rather brilliant actually and it’s what I get off on in Asian films.

This is ultimately a raw and sad movie. Nothing is hidden, including the devastation of AIDS, which in Thailand is a huge issue, although not shown as political statement. Just a reality of poverty and the sex trade in Thailand.

The love story is very real though, and I thought the scenes between Cloud and Stone were poignant and sweet. Unfortunately, their lives were destined for something else. Still, I enjoyed this film. Just don’t expect to be left with an upbeat feeling.

Heat level: 2- some sex/kissing scenes between men, but no full on nudity.

Grade: B+

MIA these days

2009-10-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

NOT!

I'm back in school full time these days and have no time to really mess around on blogs. Last time I was in school, like 4 years ago, I wasn't taking a full load of classes. But due to getting this quarter paid for free, I had to take a full load.

And I'm stufying stuff that requires lots and lots of technical/ medical terms memorization, which is not as easy as those classes you can BS your way through with writing. I'm totally stressing since it's a lot of work. So, I'll be MIA for a long while, only jumping in here and there.

I am still reading a bit here and there but so not as much as I used to.

And I am still reviewing sporadically over at my other blog Loving Venus-Loving Mars, but have cut way back on that as well.

I do continue to glance through all the blogs on my reader, so I'm keeping up with the latest stuffs. And I'm trying hard to keep up with favorite authors' newest releases.

So... for all intents and purposes, this blog is officially dead for a long while and I won't be commenting too much on blogs. Just so everyone knows I haven't blown you all off.

Brief intermission of Hiatus for Book Pimpage- Healer's Touch

2009-06-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Friends, I totally suck hairy cow dung chips. My blogging partner, friend and great author of hawt, juicy, colorful, erotic romance and fantasy, Kirsten Saell, has a book out in Print today and I totally forgot. I was shamefully reminded by another reader lover of hers who posted about it on her blog. I bow my head in shame and if really needed, will lick some boots. OK not really, but in trying to make amends, without further ado, I'm pimpin her book because I loved it and I hope more readers will find it now that it's in print.

Blurbiage:

She’s determined to break his eight centuries of celibacy—at any cost!

Darjhian healer Aru has been in exile for eight hundred years, barred from the Deathless Land and parted from his wife. Now fallen from grace and no longer immortal, he can never return to her.

Yet he cleaves to his marriage vow and holds himself apart from everyone—especially Viera, the former prostitute whose sexual energy provides the power needed for his healing work. She presents a temptation he must constantly hold at bay if he’s to keep to his vow.

Viera isn’t interested in fighting temptation. She wants Aru. He wants her. What could be simpler? After three frustrating months working with him, her need for him has reached the breaking point. He claims he can never touch a woman again, but Viera isn’t the type to take no for an answer.

Over four glorious nights, she shows Aru everything he’s denied himself for eight centuries. But a shadow hangs over their passion. Aru is keeping secrets about the nature of his mortality. And now he faces a terrible choice…

Break Viera’s heart, or risk destroying her with the knowledge of what he truly is.

Warning: This title contains: graphic sex, including anal sex, f/f and m/f/f; bad language; inappropriate use of a kitchen work surface; flagrant tickling of ivory; and a wagon-load of good, old-fashioned voyeurism.

Buy it at Amazon and other fine brick and mortar stores near you.

Go ahead, I dare you to take a trip into the wild erotic world of Aru and Viera and... Inella as they work out their love for each other with hawt smexin. And for only $10.20. Why that's like the price of a large box of popcorn and a drink at the movies. And this book is way more satisfying than that and will give you hours of pleasure, without the tummy ache afterward.

So don't be shy, you know you want to and are curious about this book with very hot menage scenes in it.

And if you've read it already, maybe you know someone who needs an erotic pick-me-up that they can hold in their very own hands, who don't like reading the ebook. It makes a lovely gift. Perfect for any coffee table decoration and topic of conversation when your friends come over. Share it over coffee and general girl gossip.

And to further entice you here is my review and Amy C's review- And AmyC's post on it.

So go forth and be willing to be satisfied on every level. You can do it!

Ok, back to regularly scheduled Hiatus...

On Hiatus again for a while

2009-05-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Heh, I posted this pic without comment earlier and realize how rude it is. I'm sorry. I've been in a bad space again for a while and it's kind of how I feel. Of course I'm not ignoring anyone, just ignoring my personal push to read when I don't feel like it.

And in case anyone has noticed, I'm not so chatty these days really. I don't feel like coming up with interesting blog posts or book discussions. I feel most comfortable just reviewing when I feel like it, so for now and in the near future I will only be doing reviews, if I post. Boring, but that's the way it is for me.

I'll get back to it soon, I'm sure.

Review- A Roof for the Rain by Katrina Strauss

2009-05-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

A Roof for the Rain
by Katrina Strauss
March 26, 2009
Sci-Fi/ Futuristic/ Gay
Short Story
Ebook

Buy it Red Rose, All Romance Books

It's the year 2031. The rain doesn't fall, while access to water is controlled by a ruthless few. In the midst of this harsh, barren world, Jacob has taken up his father's mantle as leader of the rebellion against the Water Lords.

Loyalty and sacrifice have their place in Jacob's life, but there's little room for love. Gorgeous recruit Ethan at least meets Jacob's physical needs, but duty to their cause comes first.

When a killer dust blizzard interrupts a scouting mission, memories of Jacob's painful past hit him full force.

Will he find shelter from the storm in the form of Ethan's love?

It’s very rare for me to feel so strongly and positively about a short story because many times the plot is incomplete or I feel frustrated that the characters are not well developed. A Roof for the Rain is one of those rare exceptions. I got hooked straight away into this bleak, future world and, amazingly, I got a good feel for both characters, especially Jacob, and what motivates them and how they got to be who they are.

It’s 22 years into the future and a second dust bowl, like its predecessor in the 30’s, has devastated the land and there’s precious little water. A group of nasty people have taken control of what water is to be had and you either join them and be a virtual slave or be a part of the underground rebellion.

There’s been a small earthquake and unexpectedly, extra water is coming through the pipes in the underground bunkers. Hopeful for a new source of water, Jacob and Ethan, both soldiers in the underground rebellion, go hunting for the area where it might be coming from to protect that spot from the Water Lords. They can see a huge dust storm coming though and run for protection in an old abandoned house where they wait for it to roll over. In the meantime, old memories of a normal pre DB2 life are coming up for Jacob and he takes solace in the arms of a willing Ethan.

Can I just say I loved this story? It’s so nicely written and intrigued me on so many levels. Not only the introduction of a compelling future world with many conflicts and possibilities, but also the depth of the characterizations of Jacob and Ethan and how they relate. Katrina Strauss’ style, in not only writing but in story telling as well, is so smooth and layered at the same time in this story.

Jacob was still a young boy when DB2 hit and his childhood memories of a normal life; living in a house above ground with windows, green fields, and the ability to move about freely and so on have been hidden for a long time. His father was the main leader of the rebellion when warring started over resources and since his father died, he’s taken over and become a leader in the rebel army. So he's had to fight for survival most of his life. Because of his past and his current position, he has a more somber attitude about things.

Ethan is much younger and was born in the underground, so he has no clue or dreams about what life was like, could be like, on the outside if it would start to rain again. This underground living and being a soldier is all he knows, so in a way, between him and Jacob his spirit is lighter and he easily has a brighter outlook on life.

As far as the relationship goes, Jacob and Ethan are so perfect for each other. Jacob is obviously the older dominant one, always in control. He’s so attracted to the playful submissiveness that Ethan has, even though Ethan is also intense and very powerful in his own right and makes no bones about what he wants with Jacob. Jacob can’t resist either quality in Ethan.

Until this day that the story takes place in, Jacob hasn’t relinquished control over himself and what he feels. Memories suddenly start floating to the surface of his mind though, especially after he and Ethan are stuck in the old house reminding him of his childhood, and this makes him more open and vulnerable to Ethan.

I totally got off on this future world that Katrina Strauss created as well. The concept is provocative and I was so curious about what has happened really and how Jacob and Ethan actually live, although there are glimpses of it. This is the part of the story that was least developed and was more there as a setting for both Jacob and Ethan to come together and cement their relationship. But in itself, I wanted to know more.

This is one of the problems about short stories. While in this case I was very satisfied with the presentation as is, it left me craving for a whole lot more. The details that were presented were so tantalizing. How did the Water Lords gain control? If the rebels live underground then why is it that they can go above ground as well and why don’t they more often? What’s going to happen now with the new development that the story was left off with? And so on. I felt very satisfied though that Jacob and Ethan will have a go at it though.

Can I say anything bad about this story? Nope, not really. All in all, A Roof for the Rain was thoroughly enjoyable read. It was almost the perfect blend of plot, characterization and back story, without one sacrificing too much for the other creating a full, well rounded story. My only wish was that this would have been a much longer. I’ve read that Katrina Strauss might have a companion story to A Roof for the Rain coming and I can’t wait to read it.

Sex rating: Commando- m/m, anal. Intense, hawt male lurving, gritty, juicy, sex.

Grade; A-

Review- InDescent by K.Z. Snow

2009-05-16T15:00:00.001-07:00

InDescent
by K.Z. Snow
May 11, 2009
Paranormal/ Gay
Novel
Ebook

Buy it Liquid Silver

Being a powerful, sexually magnetic wizard has its disadvantages. Like inviting the attention of bumbling but persistent rivals. And seductive women. And otherworldly beings.

For Jackson Spey, that isn’t the worst of it. His lover-of-choice is his best male buddy. Who has a disturbing past. And a girlfriend. And feelings Jackson is afraid to return. The legendary Prism of Nezrabi brings all these elements together when it falls into the hands of Spey’s number-one enemy. No ordinary crystal, the Prism is an intricate microcosm wherein all time, space, and dimensions coexist in delicate balance. Humans who’ve been pulled into it have gone mad…or simply never returned.

Through inept or malicious magic, the structure’s integrity has been compromised. A breach has freed creatures thought only to exist in Slavic myth. Nobody but the most qualified Adept can repair the split. But if Jackson Spey descends into Nezrabi’s world, he may have to face something more dreadful than a seemingly impossible task and its potential consequences.

He may have to confront the secrets of his own soul.

I recently read K.Z. Snow’s book Obsessed and was fascinated by the psychological complexity of the characters and relationship dynamics in that book. In InDescent, the relationship between Adin and Jackson, the characters from that book, gets taken to a new level. Not only that, the magick realm in which Jackson operates is acting up and we the reader are taken on an esoteric trippy trip along with Jackson and Adin as they work out their relationship.

The plot to this story is quite complex so I’ll try and do the best to give my synopsis of what’s going on here.

Like with Obsessed, Again: Warning--- long ass K.Z. Snow book review coming. Sorry but her characters and story telling really get into my head.

Edited: To anyone who read my first posted review, I erroneously thought that Adin and Celia were married and not live-ins and thought that had been changed in this book, affecting part of what I felt about this book and much of my review. However, I stand corrected on that and have deleted those parts of the review in which I expressed my dismay about that. And my sincerest apologies to K.Z. Snow for that.

It’s been a while since Jackson and Adin have had their first real sexual encounter in which they openly expressed and acted on their sexual attractions to each other and Jackson is in a state of deep ache for Adin, who’s gone back home to his girlfriend.

Weird things have started happening though which is freaking Jackson out. A mysterious, evocative woman has shown up who Jackson feels oddly attracted to, and then she disappears. He starts having shifts in perception and weird creatures are showing up all over the place whom the average person can’t see.

Jackson shares this with his long time friend Angelina Funmaker (I love that name) who is psychic, and she mentions having strange experiences as well. They both go together to talk with another psychic who channels an otherworldly spirit and this being tells Jackson that there’s been a breach in connections inside the Prism of Nezrabi, an ancient and powerful crystal that contains the balance of all worlds and beings in the universe in it, and that Jackson is the chosen one to fix the problem.

Ivan is another wizard like Jackson. He has nowhere near Jackson’s level of proficiency and is extremely jealous of Jackson. With the help of a necromancer, he gets a hold of the Prism of Nezrabi so that he can use its power to hurt Jackson and get rid of him.

Adin decides to come for a visit and after a while admits that he’s having weird experiences as well, as in reverting back to his old vampiric ways. When these strange happenings escalate, which Jackson has been told will destroy the balance of the universe, Jackson knows that he must go into the Prism to save himself, Adin, and the world. But his chances of getting lost in the prism or dying are very high.

OK, umm… wow. K.Z. Snow warned readers that this story is different and that it might not get an overwhelmingly great reception. I myself went through a gambit of feelings while reading it. It started out as wow for me. I was totally turned on and intrigued by this story, the characters, and was very curious where it was going. Then somehow the plot got a bit convoluted to me and I got lost in a quagmire of jumpy world building and POV changes. But it got back on track for me about three quarters of the way through and I couldn’t put it down again.

The good: Jackson. I love Jackson. This is basically all about him and it’s mostly from his POV that this story is told. In this story the focus for him has changed as well. In Obsessed, Adin was the one who had such an intense need to be with Jackson and goes to him. Jackson realized at that time that he was attracted but was very reticent about really going for it, not totally accepting his bisexuality. In this story, the tides have turned and Jackson is longing so deeply for Adin but is still not totally acknowledging it. It’s pushing its way to the surface at every turn though so he can’t ignore it for long.

I’ve noticed lately that I love the reluctant hero; that guy who knows what needs to be done but is “why me?” and “no way, I just want to live my life” resistant, but steps up to the plate anyway. That’s what Jackson is in this story. He’s forced to go through some trials and face personal demons and fears to rise to the challenge of his true wizard capabilities to save the world and face what he feels emotionally to Adin.

He’s so complex as well. When Adin shows up, all of Jackson’s insecurities come up when normally he’s in total control. He’s jealous of Celia, Adin’s girlfriend, jealous of Adin looking at other men, jealous of other men looking at Adin and so on. It’s something foreign as he never felt that with the women he’s had relationships with. He’s also forced to deal with his “gayness,” which he’s been avoiding.

I will say that I loved that K.Z. Snow did not blow off Jackson taking responsibility for what he feels and how he acts. He goes through a major huge personal growth spurt in this story and he’s very much concerned about not pushing Adin to choose, but stays respectful. He’s very conscientious about everyone involved while at the same time grappling with his overwhelming need and desire for Adin, and I totally loved that. He really is an amazing character.

I’m still very curious how it will work out as this story was left open ended, meaning more can come and Celia is still somehow in the picture as she didn’t die or anything and it’s clear that Adin still has strong feelings for her.

The secondary characters are pretty delicious as well in this book. Ivan, who’s supposed to be this evil dude trying to mess with Jackson using his wizardly abilities, is constantly pooing his pants as his plans, which are not well thought out, go awry and the power of the Prism is too much for him to deal with. Mikaela is one deliciously intriguing character as well. She, along with Christy, the intellectually challenged coven high priestess and Ivan’s unwitting lackey, and Bothu, Ivan's freaky necromancer sidekick, add much to this story’s intricacies and entertainment value.

The not so bad: You know, there wasn’t really anything that I can pinpoint in this story that was really bad. Most of it was a very positive experience. The plot and paranormal part of this story got a bit overwhelming at times with so much going on. I didn’t understand, or it wasn’t really explained how the Prism got messed up to begin with or why only beings from Slavic folk lore escaped except that this takes place in Milwaukee, a city founded by Slavic descendants.

And quite often I didn’t see the point of a lot of it until actually towards the end when it does become very clear. But, meh, those issues were minor to Jackson’s growth and his relationship with Adin, so it was easily glossed over

One thing that really did throw me out of the story and which I didn’t get or like was the sudden POV shift with Jackson’s guide in the Prism. Most the book is written in third person, but suddenly shifts to first when this being is talking. It was jarring and a bit confusing to suddenly have first person POV from someone who wasn’t really telling the whole story, or even a big part of the story. But maybe others will like that as it does distinguish between the “real” world and the “Prism” world since Jackson relives some of his “real” personal history in the Prism, which could get confusing.

Altogether, InDescent was a fine, if unusual, read. Yes, it is a bit different. What I liked was that it didn’t really fall into any established paranormal subgenre. It’s a unique and unpredictable story, which was a huge turn on for me. As for characterization, K.Z. Snow has become an author for me who I think writes exceptionally complex and multi faceted characters whom I can’t stop thinking about long after the story is over.

Sex rating: Commando- Oh yeah, smoking hawt, intense m/m lurving in this book.

Grade: B++

Review- L.A. Heat by P.A. Brown

2009-05-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

L.A. Heat
by P.A. Brown
July 1, 2006- I read older version
Mystery/ Suspense/ Gay
Novel- 306 pgs

Buy it Amazon

When LAPD detective David Laine first encounters hunky party boy Chris Bellamere, it is to interrogate him about the murder of one of Chris's many sexual conquests. When Chris's efforts to prove his own innocence mark him as a victim, David steps in to save him, and finds himself falling in love with a man who might be a brutal murderer. P.A. Brown's debut is a gritty mystery set in LA's edgy, less glamorous East Side, where gangs co-mingle with gays, gunfire is heard after dark, and where a gay cop like David Laine could live undetected. At least until now.

Oh yowza, P.A. Brown is my new BFA (best favorite author). I make no bones about the fact that my favorite genre is mystery/suspense and when someone gets it right in that area, I’m having whodunit orgasms. P.A. Brown not only gets it right, but as a debut detective novel, L.A. Heat is a very sophisticated, well thought out, intense and skillfully written book. Plus, there’s a juicy romance involved between two complex and diametrically opposite characters.

Chris is a young man who has it all: good looking, great job in IT making loads of money, luxury car, and he’s a player whom guys want. He’s not looking to settle down but keep up his life of good times, trolling for guys in bars and keeping it fun and light. Unfortunately for him, he just happens to know and has been with a few victims of a serial killer who is brutally killing gay men and he becomes the lead suspect in the police investigation.

David is an older police detective who is so deep in the closet that even if the door opens light won’t reach him. He takes care of his needs once in a while on vacations to places no one he knows would find him. He lives alone in a small, plain but neat house and leads a quiet life. He’s also got a work partner who is homophobic and makes every effort to bash gays with derogatory language on a regular basis. So David is in no hurry to come out of the closet.

When David meets Chris though, he finds himself very attracted but dismisses any thought of possibly getting together because they are two different people from two different worlds and, well, he’s a suspect and that’s a no-no. But he admires that Chris is so out there and open with who he is. Chris feels this and puts out feelers, which David picks up on. Even though Chris is still under investigation, David finds himself going to Chris even though Chris is potentially the killer.

My strongest feeling about this book was “well done, brilliant!” Not only does the investigation unfold in a meticulous and cryptic way in which it’s virtually impossible to figure out who the killer is, but the world in which this happens is very graphic, gritty and real as well, especially the gay world depicted.

I thought that P.A. Brown wrote very intriguing and complex characters. The constant issues: harassment, random trolling for sexual encounters, lifestyle, bigoted ideas these characters had to deal with were very realistically written. She really captures the essence of all the characters, what they go through, feel, and how it affects them in a very vivid way.

The way the relationship between David and Chris unfolds is also very nicely written. Chris sees something in David that really attracts him even though David is so not his type and he goes from being a steadfast player to really wanting something deeper in this story. And David decides to take some big steps outside of his comfort zone because of his feelings for Chris. The tension involved in David not quite being sure if Chris is the killer or not kept that part of the story on the edge as well.

That backdrop of constant homophobia and bigotry as well as the whole gay scene was very realistically written and didn’t come across to me as pushing any social agenda, which can happen and which I don’t like often. In this case it really added to the story and created lots of internal and external conflict, much like how I imagine it would really go down.

For those who want some hawt m/m smexin, this book doesn’t have it. But it’s still a juicy romance anyway and made me feel warm and fuzzy all over, in a cool sort of way.

I saw that Chris and David are back in a new novella by P.A. Brown and I can’t wait to get on it. If this is a first book, with this kind of writing and story telling quality, I can’t wait to see what P.A. Brown writes from now on.

Sex rating: Granny panties- no graphic sex in this story, but lots a alluding.

Grade: A

Review- Parallel Process by Barbara Sheridan & Anne Cain

2009-05-04T18:27:00.001-07:00

Parallel Process
by Barbara Sheridan & Anne Cain
Sept. 2007
Contemporary/ Paranormal/ Gay/ Interracial
Novel
Ebook

Buy it Loose-ID, Fictionwise

Grad students Matt Gavin and Haku Nishikawa have a lot on their plate trying to get their paranormal activities research program taken seriously by university administrators. They're also trying to figure out where their relationship is headed -- the sex is great, but Haku's not sure if his best friend is serious about love or loving the lust.

When funding for their program is put on the chopping block, they're desperate to secure a grant and accept an offer from a famous documentary-maker and anthropologist. But Pearce Dannings is dealing with a few demons of his own -- literally. He's stolen a key to hell from a powerful devil god, Maaya, and the deity wants it back at any cost.

Haku finds himself marked as the man to help the god retrieve the missing key, and it's clear Maaya has some other plans in mind for him. The sexual attraction between them is hard to resist, but if Haku doesn't he's going to lose everything in the process, including Matt.

Parallel Process is one of those stories that’s just unconventional and strange enough to feel afterward, “wow that was fun, bizarre ride.” While reading this, all sorts of movies ran through my head: Ghost Busters, The Mummy, the Hardy Boys, Indiana Jones, and the TV show Supernatural, as this book had elements of all them. However, it was presented in the unique way that I’ve come to know I’ll get with a Barbara Sheridan/ Anne Cain story.

Haku and Matt are struggling grad students who have been in a relationship for a while. They are both TA’s for professor Adler, whose quirky, off beat, bumbling ways fit right in with the course he offers at the university, which studies the paranormal. Of course no one takes them seriously, especially dept. head professor Beaglehole, who thinks that the university is wasting money on this foolish crap and is trying to shut them down.

One day they are offered funding by a an outside film company known for producing shows on the paranormal, which is headed by Dannings, a former student colleague of Adler. Adler played a nasty prank on Dannings in college so he’s surprised that Dannings is doing this, but he needs the funds for his program so he goes a long with it.

When Haku and Matt go to do the show, it turns out to be a joke. To the shock of everyone though, a real demon shows up, scaring the bejeezus out of all of them. Haku manages to fight it off of Matt and kill it. When they try to investigate it the next day, another demon, Maaya, takes over Matt’s body and tries to seduce Haku, who’s pretty good at resisting him even though he gets a constant hard-on with Maaya.

Haku and Matt then go on an investigation, trying to find out about these demons and what they’re about. Of course, while all this is going on, Haku and Matt try to figure out what their relationship is and what the other really feels.

OK, this was such an off the wall, fun book. Like going into a dark tunnel and not knowing what’s going to come at you next but being pleasantly surprised at what pops out at you. The whole feel of it was almost tongue in cheek and I couldn’t figure out if it’s a quirky spoof or a story about seriously recognized phenomenon in current times considering the reference to current shows about paranormal phenomenon. At any rate, I really enjoyed it for what it was.

Matt and Haku are two easy going, cute characters. They’re both young and have the major hots for each other. I can’t really separate them as they both worked together throughout the book without a hitch in their relationship really. This story was less about two guys coming together and falling in love and more about two guys who have a solid, mutually enjoyable relationship but who have some niggling doubts about the other’s true feelings.

Since Maaya, the demon, tends to take over Matt’s body to try and have sex with Haku, and Haku finds himself irresistibly drawn to Maaya’s overwhelming and intense sexual advances, a kink does happen in Matt and Haku’s relationship as Haku worries about his attraction to Maaya. But it also brings them to get clear about what they want and what they feel for each other and their true love for each other keeps them safe in a way.

While overall I loved this book, there were some gaps in the plot that left me with a few questions. One was why Matt and Haku are even into all of this? It’s explained briefly that they feel they have to expose paranormal events that are unexplained. For me though, I would have believed that these two are really gung-ho on this if they’d had a personal experience that drove them to this, instead of it being a hobby that takes them away from studying something more useful as grad students.

The other plot issue was why Maaya is so attracted to Haku? He’s a demon that in the end has this love/ thing with a woman that he helped fight off Alexander the Great’s men and who has been in a limbo, semi dead state ever since. He keeps trying to seduce Haku through this whole thing, but there’s no back explanation as to why he’s got it bad for Haku, like that Maaya was even into men or that Haku is some reincarnation or had something to do with him in any way in a former life. I liked Maaya as a character and how he interacts with the boys gets kind of amusing. But his thing with Haku felt out of no where, unless I totally missed that part.

The revenge part of the plot was a bit predictable as well and I had to suspend disbelief to a degree that someone would hold such an intense grudge for years like that over a silly school prank, but it actually worked for me as the story itself is a bit on the campy, mischievous side of being entertaining.

Definitely with Parallel Process Barbara Sheridan and Anne Cain have done it again for me. I keep coming back to them and their books because they consistently write stories that are different and go off on interesting tangents. And their guys have hot sex and romances. It’s always a fun trip.

Sex rating: Crotchless panty: m/m, anal, and one really hawt hidden under the desk blow job while students are taking a test.

Grade: B+

Review- The Valde: Water by Astrid Amara

2009-04-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Valde: Water
by Astrid Amara
April 2009
Fantasy/ Sci-fi/ Gay
Novella
Ebook

Buy it Loose-Id

On Joel’s birthday, he watched his lover Charlie drown while saving Joel’s life. Since then, no other man has been able to match the erotic chemistry the two of them once shared.

But a year later Joel is shocked to discover Charlie alive and well, looking as mysterious and attractive as ever. However, Charlie is different. He has new, arcane superpowers. He doesn’t seem to remember Joel at all.

And he murders people with his bare hands.

Suddenly Joel finds himself on the run from both his lover, and a frightening group of dangerous individuals who can wield the elements at will, and who are determined to kill him to keep their secret safe. But the smoldering looks Charlie gives Joel reminds him of their former, heated passion, and even with Charlie’s new homicidal tendencies, they discover their bodies remember what their minds may have forgotten…

In my review of Astrid Amara’s book Intimate Traitors I said that it’s “one of those books that comes along and shows you what you’ve been wanting to read but didn’t know you did.” Once again, I have to say the same thing about The Valde: Water. This is such a fascinating and creative story, with intricately detailed world building, some thriller elements, and a completely unique take on the eternal love theme.

Joel and Charlie have been dating for about a year. While they are very different in their personalities, Joel being more reserved and pragmatic, and Charlie being the more open and romantic one, they find themselves deeply in love and enjoy their time together.

After Charlie drowns on Joel’s birthday during a boat outing, Joel spends the next year feeling depressed and guilty about what happened and blaming himself for it. On his next birthday, he goes out alone to get drunk and sees Charlie come in the bar with a group of people. Of course, he goes up to Charlie but Charlie acts as if he doesn’t know Joel and blows him off. While Joel can see that Charlie is not like the old Charlie in how he acts and dresses, he knows deep down that it is Charlie and follows to the group to a warehouse bar in the middle of nowhere.

There Charlie finds out things that blow his mind and flees after the leader of the group Charlie was with tries to kill him. Charlie goes after him and this sets the course for Joel’s finding out about a whole world of people and beings that he and the rest of the world know nothing about. But he’s not safe and he needs to decide whether or not to run and hide or stick around and fight.

I’m going to say it; Astrid Amara just blows my mind. I was so impressed with her writing in Intimate Traitors. I liked the cool, streamlined, stark feeling her writing style and prose evoked; it was very clean and crisp and added a lot to the depth of that book. Once again though, I’m totally enthralled.

The Valde: Water has a whole different feel to it, which tells me that Astrid Amara has this incredible ability to morph her writing style to facilitate creating a certain atmosphere to a story. Her world building skills are awesome as well. Not once was I confused and left wondering what is going on. It’s a step by step layout, but so nicely integrated with the relationship and general story itself, so it was easy to grasp the concepts.

The world/plot: There are four elements of beings called Valde roaming the planet outside of humans: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Before man arrived, the Valde were only in their elemental form, but warred with each other constantly. Earth and Air teamed up and defeated Water and Fire and those Valde were forced to be imprisoned in human form. Earth and Air can choose to stay in element or take human form.

The Water/ Fire Valde spend lifetimes being reincarnated over and over, often never knowing that they are elemental beings until and unless they die at the hands of their specific element. Once they die by fire or water they wake up remembering who they are really and also have the ability to remember their lifetimes as mortals. These beings can also, when actualized as Valde, manipulate their element to their favor if they are near their elemental source.

Fire and Water Valde have been enslaved for so long they don’t remember what it was like to be part of the whole--the source, and so a rebel group called the retributers with members of both Water and Fire Valde are trying to fight for their freedom again against Air and Earth. First they have to find Dev, the general and leader of their group. Only Mar, a seer and Capitan who can see Valde who are unaware of themselves, can find him.

Charlie plays a big role in that he’s a lieutenant in that group and the lover of Dev who has not been found yet and who might be stuck in human form not knowing who he is really.

I loved the whole premise of this world and am sure this is the set up for a series of books that I’m jonsen to read at this point. I’m very curious as to where Astrid Amara will take this. This book did read as a stand alone though, so there wasn’t a feeling of being left hanging even with the obvious set up.

The love story: I would say that while the relationship between Joel and Charlie was fairly prominent, I think the world set-up was more the substance of this book. That said, since in this world the beings are reincarnated, there is that element of eternal love, which I quite liked.

Mainly we see Charlie as Valde, while Joel is mortal in this story. Even though Charlie is Valde at the moment, he still has an intense attraction to Joel that he cannot ignore. While Charlie is and has been for lifetimes the lover of Dev, Charlie can get it on with whom ever he wishes until Dev is found and he gets it on with Joel. He still carries his memories of his life as Charlie the human and knows exactly what happened between them.

Joel has decided that he wants Charlie any which way he can have him even though he knows it might be all over once Dev is found. But he can’t help himself either, he really loves Charlie even though Charlie is different. Although the emotional chemistry between Joel and Charlie wasn’t as intense as I know Ms. Amara can write it, and maybe that’s because the focus was more on the world building in this book, I still felt the sexual relationship was very hot between these two.

The only thing that I had to suspend disbelief for here is that Joel decides to stay and fight even though he knows nothing about these beings really except for the fact that they want him dead because he’s found out about them. I really couldn’t see a “normal” person choosing to stick around like that with an unknown enemy that has super powers seemingly everywhere. It did sit a bit on the TSTL fence. But as this is a fantasy, meh, I could get over it fairly easily.

One special treat for me was the fact that this story takes place in Seattle and I had a great visual of where things take place. That obviously is not a factor for those readers who have never been to Seattle, but I have to be honest in saying it did add quite a bit to this story for me.

All in all, this was good read for me. I’m definitely going to be on the look out for the rest of the story. It has a lot of promise. And as ever, I will read Astrid Amara for her writing alone.

Sex rating: Commando- hawt m/m, anal.

Grade: Between B+ and A-

Review- Pitch Dark by Brooke London

2009-04-26T14:36:00.001-07:00

Pitch Dark
by Brooke London
March 19 2009
Suspense/ Contemporary
Plus Novel
Ebook

Buy it Cerridwen Press

Alyssa must protect her grandfather’s cutting-edge, environmentally friendly oil sands extraction technology—and his life. Forced into dealing with her grandfather’s chosen partner, Connor, a wildcard business mogul and ex-CIA spy, she knows she can’t trust him.

Connor resents that Alyssa has the final say on his multimillion dollar partnership. When someone tries to kill them both, they are thrust together and their mutual attraction sparks hot enough to heat the sheets to searing intensity, despite their mutual distrust.

Together they race between his headquarters in Colorado and the oil sands of Alberta to stay one step ahead of the terrorists who are determined to stop them at any cost. It will take their combined cunning and courage to survive the explosive and treacherous covert world of espionage, betrayal, terrorists and spies. But even if they do, can they survive the secrets they are keeping from each other?

The author of this book, Brooke London, an author I never heard of, friended me on facebook and I decided to try her book. It’s her first book as far as I know and I must say, it’s really impressive for a first book. Pitch Dark is fast-paced thriller, which I couldn’t put down.

Alyssa is a young techy genius type who worked for the CSIS, Canadian Intelligence, as an expert computer hacker. It was a rough life though and having inadvertently been responsible for the deaths of some innocent people, she left and reverted back to her other love, music, and is living a nice quiet life playing in a symphony.

Unfortunately for her though, her grandfather has created a new, highly secret technology that can suck oil from the Alberta oil sands and he needs her to go to Connor, owner of a company who will financially back her grandfather, to check out Connor’s computer systems for security leaks.

While at Connor’s company/home compound in Colorado, she and Connor are chased, shot at and all kinds of things start happening. They blow it off as coincidence until two terrorist attacks on oil fields happen simultaneously in the world, and then one man who Alyssa thought was trying to kill her gets caught and it turns out he’s Israeli Mossad. At that point, Connor, who is ex CIA, knows there’s something more serious going on. When after all that her grandfather disappears, she and Connor decide to go to the CSIS to get help.

All the while of course, Connor and Alyssa find themselves intensely attracted to each other and get it on, but it’s not an easy road for either of them.

The Plot: this is a suspense novel and I thought the plot was well thought out and executed. It was intense, gripping, full of intrigue and totally plausible. Al-Qaeda are trying to control America and the world market by blowing up and messing with Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil well and the largest Alberta Oil sands all in one go.

Knowing about Alyssa’s grandfather’s new invention, which could make the world’s other biggest oil reserve viably extractable, taking away from the Saudi world oil monopoly, the terrorists decide to blow up her grandfather’s plant with a nuclear weapon, eradicating all of it. Of course, they are getting help from some inside US and Canadian Gov. officials who have their own agenda and need the formula, which only Alyssa and her grandfather know.

The romance: Connor and Alyssa absolutely sizzle together and the romantic part of this story was very sensual and profound.

I’m a huge fan of the reluctant heroine and in this book Alyssa is definitely a reluctant heroine. Where she differed from most reluctant heroines is that she really is screwed up. Not just that, “oh I suck so bad, who’d ever want me” reluctant. Nope, I mean, she’s so messed up that she does go off the deep end a few times.

She’s had such a nasty past, totally rejected and treated like a pariah from her father because her mom died giving birth to her. Then she went to live with her grandfather who wasn’t all that loving or warm to her either. Her fears of abandonment and the walls she’s built around herself are so deep, that when she starts falling in love for the first time ever, she totally freaks as those barriers start cracking. As a character she’s so well written and believable and I really liked her.

Then there’s Connor, the hero. When I started reading this book I was kind of in a funk about heroes. I’ve just read too many heroes recently that don’t really stand out. They’re all nice, really nice. The typical hero: honorable, broody, quiet, emotionally broken, blah, blah…and here comes Connor who is straight away nice to Alyssa.

The only difference here, and it was kind of refreshing, is that he’s normal. No screwed up past, not all quiet and emo deep, nope, he’s just a normal, well adjusted guy. And he gloms onto Alyssa in the beginning to the point where even she thinks she needs space from him, feeling he’s a bit too needy. Me too at that point. And so I though oh crap, not another boring goody two shoes guy who you think you have to duck out that back window to get away from for someone with some spunk.

But wait...out of nowhere, Connor starts showing that he’s got some major testosterone and he lets Alyssa know in no uncertain terms that he wants her and he’s going to do what ever it takes to have her and prove his love. Yes! Finally a hero with balls, but who isn’t the uber domineering alpha who doesn’t give the heroine a moment to breathe.

He really is that perfect hero. He jumps in and protects her, stands up for her, makes love to her with a raging intensity out of his deep need for her and fear of loosing her, and…he knows when to back off and give her space, not pushing too much after he gets what’s making her tick. Wow… I need more of these please.

Pitch Dark is one of the best romantic suspense novels I’ve read in a while. There’s a nice easy flow to Brooke London’s writing style and from this book, she has an ability to write well rounded, complex characters while keeping them from coming across as stereotypical and stale. Her ability to slowly build up on the plot and keep the tension going at just the right pace is just as fine. I’ll definitely be looking out for more of her books.

Sex rating: Crotchless panty- the sexual situations are written with a lot of intensity and passion, but with soft, non graphic, sensual language. This is not an erotic romance on that level. Still, very spicy though.

Grade: A

Review- Alaskan Heat by Pam Champagne

2009-04-22T17:03:00.001-07:00

Alaskan Heat
by Pam Champagne
March 10, 2009
Contemporary/ Suspense
Novella
Ebook

Buy it at Samhain

She’ll make him finish what he started—if they live through the night.

Framed and on the run, FBI agent Joe “Hawk” Hawkins has only one chance to clear his name: hit the road for Eagle, Alaska. Things can’t get much worse, until a woman from his past steps into his path. Sophie’s a brilliant statistician, pissed off about their disastrous one-night stand—and offering him a deal.

This is Sophie’s first field assignment, and the fact that it involves Hawk doesn’t make it any easier. She’s never forgotten or forgiven the night Hawk found his way to her bed and left her wanting more. Now she’s on a double mission to make Hawk finish what he started, and get them both to Eagle alive.

The long Alaska Highway stretches before them, and long nights of sexual fireworks that rival the Northern Lights. Caution turns to trust, and then to a love neither of them bargained for.

With two rogue agents in hot pursuit, though, the end of the road may be closer than they think…

Warning: This title contains sex hot enough to boil ice—and make you wish the Alaskan winter lasted even longer.

Alaskan Heat was a nice quick read, with some hot, spicy loving mixed with an intriguing suspense plot to go with it.

Sophie is a desk agent who got put in the field because of her knowledge of Hawk, an agent who went rogue when a drug transfer and bust between American and Canadian agents went bad. She’s been sent by her boss who believes that Hawk was set up and wants her to find him so that they can bring him in.

Sophie has a short personal history with Hawk though, she’s always had the hots for him, but he’s the lone wolf type, never settling down with one person. They had a drunken night of sex after an office party one night and he left with nary a “thank you ma’am” and she’s still miffed about it.

Hawk was set up. He’s been wandering in the North American/ Canadian wilderness, living off of berries and rodents trying to get himself to some ex-agent friends of his up in Alaska, who he thinks can help him clear his name. Sophie has been driving back and forth on a 300 mile stretch of road knowing that he will come through there and he does.

They hook up and she tells him that the agency is on his side and that she will take him to his friend’s place in Alaska. During the trip, of course, she brings up the past and he kind of roughly has sex with her in that way of “you want it, you got it” type of way, which turns her on even though she knows he might not mean anything by it. They play this game of cat and mouse though around whether he’s innocent or not and neither really trust each other until they finally reach his friend’s place and the truth is found out.

I’d have to say that although this book was entertaining and overall a good read, it didn’t really have anything overtly special about it that made it stand out. As a suspense story, it was written very well. There were enough hidden agendas and blind turns to keep up the curiosity. Who is really the good guy, who is bad; will Sophie turn Hawk in to the right people? Is she really on his side? I liked this part and it kept my interest even if not too original.

The romance part was OK overall although in that area there were things that didn’t really add up for me. The writing for this part of the story was lacking for me. Quite often I felt the characters' reactions were unrealistic to what has happened. Their actions and feelings towards each other had a huge disconnect to me at times.

Yes, they had a history of a one night stand. Sophie is still harboring feelings for Hawk. She thinks she’s in love with him, but I couldn’t understand her depth of feeling based on one night of hot drunken sex; it didn’t make sense to me. And she’s angry with Hawk as if he had promised her the moon and reneged, which He never did.

After they have a really steamy sexual encounter in the trailer, she then cools off again after he’s not all lovey dovey with her. And for the rest of the trip she blows hot then cold, kind of angry and yet really wanting him. I just didn’t believe her expectations to be realistic to their relationship until that point by the way it was written.

And Hawk, well, he’s your typical honorable, quiet, brooding man with the tortured past who’s afraid to love. In fact, he did once and it didn’t work out, so now’s he’s really on the path of some major jadedness.

He finds that he is attracted to Sophie and that yes; he wants her and is starting to feel something for her. But that transition from a one night stand to musing that she’s my new one and only soul mate was choppy, sudden and unrealistically written to me. I didn’t believe it. I believed he was on his way to loving her, but his feeling that she’s suddenly his soul mate didn’t ring true for me at that point.

This way of acting from both parties kept both Hawk and Sophie in this constant holding pattern of push/pull with neither really saying what they want, which got a bit irritating after while.

That said, I still liked these two characters and I liked that they could work it out in the end

I think if you’re a lover of the romantic suspense then Alaskan Heat is a good book and worth it to read, even if there were some issues. It still has some great suspense elements and the romance, while choppy, ended in a good way. Plus, the sex was very steamy and hot! No matter what, the sexual chemistry between the two characters was very strong.

Sex rating: Commando- lickably delicious vanilla.

Grade: B

Review- Theirs to Capture by Shelli Stevens

2009-04-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

Theirs to Capture
by Shelli Stevens
March 31, 2009
Erotica/ ménage/ fantasy/ paranormal
Novella
Ebook

Buy it Samhain

When there’s a tiger—and a lion—on your tail, there’s no escape…

Delilah is strong, independent—and a princess on the run. Her father, King of the Falcon kingdom, wants to unite her with Pierce, Prince of the Tiger kingdom, and Jason, Prince of the Lions. Never can she imagine giving herself to one man if there is no love—let alone two! So she flees her home in hopes of avoiding the union.

Delilah may be dead-set against the plan, but Jason and Pierce have no doubts. She is the one they want to complete their triad, to be their mate. She alone has the power to form the bond that will, in turn, join all their kingdoms in peace.

They’re prepared to use every means of pleasure to convince her they are all destined to be together. But first they have to catch her…

Warning: This book is hot! Hot! Hot! Threesomes, m/m, and capture fantasies, oh my!

I’m slowly becoming a fan girl of Shelli Stevens, although I don’t claim gushing fan girl of anyone, it’s not my style. But it’s natural that I resonate with some authors more than others and she’s one of them. She writes fun, light, juicy, sexy, romantic stories that never fail to entertain me. I downloaded Theirs to Capture as soon as it came out because I knew I’d get a nicely written story with some hot smexin.

What I didn’t expect was that I’d be having hot flashes non-stop, and not of those nasty old lady kind, but of the wow!, these characters are burning up the pages, kind. I hadn’t checked really to see what category Samhain put this under so I didn’t notice that it was erotica, but right out of the gate, Theirs to Capture is one yummy sexual scenario after another and the plot, though minor, kept this story glued together in a good way.

Delilah is a princess and a virgin. She longs to marry a man she’s in love with and who loves her, but her father has decided that it’s time for her to marry. The kicker is that two princes from other Kingdoms want to marry her together to make a stronger fortress against the Bear Kingdom, and have been petitioning her father for that for a couple of years. These two princes, Jason and Pierce, also have a sexual relationship with each other and they feel that Delilah will be the perfect partner for them over and above the politics of it.

Delilah is pissed off at this and runs, or shall I say flies as she’s a falcon shifter, and Jason, a lion shifter, and pierce, a tiger shifter, go after her. She’s captured, of course, and the men have their way with her, giving her orgasm after orgasm trying to convince her that this marriage is in her best interest. When she realizes that they will never let go of her, that it’s inevitable that she will have to marry them, and also, that she actually likes what her body is feeling, she slowly comes round, even though her mind is still rebelling at the thought of not being able to marry someone she loves and she makes her feelings known.

First I’m going to say that I don’t get off on the capture fantasy. Nor am I a fan of forced, not going to go as far as rape here, but forced submission scenarios either. However, Shelli Stevens did manage to walk a really fine line here keeping both men just out of the realm of being insensitive clods and Delilah from being a doormat. I think sexual/romantic tension with this kind of dynamic is hard to keep up without the characters swinging drastically in one direction or another and I think Shelli Stevens did a great job of keeping it appealing and not a turn off.

Jason and Delilah have been friends since childhood, so she thinks of him more as a friend. She’s also not yet had any real sexual stirrings inside herself so she’s rather clueless still about her sex appeal. Although Jason really does love Delilah he hasn’t expressed that and she is hurt that he would betray her like that. Out of both men though, he’s the softer of the two and treats her in a more respectful way without giving in to her balking.

Pierce comes across as a bit older and worldlier than Jason. Even in his homosexual relationship with Jason he seems to be the dominant one. He’s very cold and bossy with Delilah, basically telling her too bad for you, you will submit to us. Even so though, when Delilah shows her hurt and pain that she is being forced to marry against her will, he does feel hurt that she is not coming to him/ them willingly and this is what kept me from wanting to clog him.

Delilah as a character is written in an interesting way as well. Her body is betraying her when she gets really turned on against her will. She really tries to fight the guys, feeling so angry at being forced against her will. But it’s hard for her when two men are so lovingly making her feel such physical bliss. When she finally does give in, it's out of understanding. I have to say again, Shelli Stevens walked a very fine line here because I hate that scenario that a woman is forced to be submissive and because she’s plied with orgasms, she suddenly and easily looses her spirit and becomes the good little docile woman.

In this instance though, Delilah gets that even though these men will never let her go and she really has no choice, the way they care about her and treat her body with reverence and respect, they are not so bad really and that giving in might even be nice. The way it was written kept me from getting pissed at her as well. Kudos to Shelli Stevens on this.

Theirs to Capture is one sizzling hot story and good for an afternoon quick, pick-me-up in between more substantial books. Just a warning here, you’d better have good fan handy or your partner near by because your going to need it.

Sex rating: Commando. Yowza! Tssssssss….burned up my ebookwise! m/m, m/m/f, m/f/m, double penetration, anal.

Grade: B+

Review- Enchanted by Janine Ashbless, Olivia Knight & Leonie Martel

2009-04-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Enchanted
by Janine Ashbless, Olivia Knight & Leonie Martel
Oct 14, 2008
Erotica/ Paranormal/ fantasy
Novel
Anthology

Buy it- B&N, Borders, Amazon

Fairy tales for grown-ups by three of Black Lace’s most popular authors...

Bear Skin - Hazel is whisked away from her tedious life by the mysterious Arailt, who will push her to her limits

The Three Riddles - The queen longs for her lost love, but can she risk the fate of her country on a whim?

The People in the Garden - Count and Countess Malinovsky embroil their maid Katya in their erotic games, but could she be a girl who disappeared almost a hundred years before?

Once again I have been taken some wild and erotic journeys by the mastery of Black Laces authors. This time it was Janine Ashbless, Olivia Knight, both of whose stories I’ve read in the past and loved, and a new author to me, Leonie Martell. Enchanted is a book of three, very creatively written fantasy tales all with characters who become enthralled and through trials that get them to their purest self to become worthy, get what they truly wish for.

Bear Skin by Janine Ashbless—

Hazel works in book store and is tired of her boring life of reading about others’ lives and not making good use of her education. She lives in a drab room in a house with others and really has no life outside of having coffee with her co-worker girlfriends. One day a bear, Arailt, walks into the book store and goes straight up to her. He proposes that she come live with him for one year but that she cannot ever ask him any questions about him.

Curious, wondering why her, and wanting some adventure she goes with him. Arailt has his own reasons for making these conditions and his future depends on her following them although she doesn’t know that.

During her time with him he comes to her in the darkness of night when they make passionate love, and she's surprised that he’s in human form. This goes on for months until she gets lonely and wants to see her friends. Going out for a day to meet her friends, they convince her to take a peek at what he looks like with a mini light they give her and she does, which of course ruins everything and Arailt goes away.

Feeling despondent she goes everywhere searching for him and gets sent from being to being who request things of her before they will help her and pass her on to the next being.

This story hooked me in straight away. It’s got everything in it: passion, hot sex, love, desire, evil beings and a moral. Hazel is just your average girl who gets a chance at true love but blows it by getting too wrapped up in superficial things and not keeping her word. When she realizes what she has done and that her actions have also hurt Arailt, to rectify it, she pays dearly to prove her love is true. Even then she’s not guaranteed her heart’s desire but goes for it anyway.

Bear Skin is a very creative and unique story, which I felt veered off the beaten trail of the usual in the paranormal/fantasy and offered an interesting take on the “true love is worth every sacrifice” theme.

Hazel is a woman that many of us can relate to as a character and Arailt is that honorable, hunky man that we want to sweep us away. Both are interesting well written characters.

I do have to warn readers that some of the “sexual” situations are a bit on the base side in this story. I think it was written that way to show really how far Hazel is willing to debase herself to prove her love and fortunately it didn’t go the way of Breaking the Waves; it has a happier outcome and was easier to take because of it.

Grade: A-

The Three Riddles by Olivia Knight--

Pearl is a young princess in love with Thomas, a knight from a neighboring country with good ties with her country. They have a deep, all consuming love and promise their undying devotion to each other. One day though, Pearl’s father the king dies and she takes charge of negotiating treaties with warring, neighboring countries to keep her people safe.

Shannon, Pearl’s most trusted lady in waiting, believes in the elves who have sent a riddle to Pearl, which she must figure out and follow if she is to keep her country safe. But Pearl thinks it’s all a bunch of superstitious nonsense and does as she wishes. In the process of trying to negotiate treaties with other countries to keep her country’s seat of power and peace, she becomes possessed by the power she has and allows herself to be seduced by the King of a neighboring country agreeing to marry him to control it all. Thomas won’t play second fiddle to the neighboring King even though it’s a political arrangement and he goes back to his country.

As things progress, Pearl’s questionable judgment comes into question by her council as all of her back room scheming goes awry and her country starts heading into chaos. She realizes that she made a mistake in not honoring the elves and letting her true love Thomas go. So she decides that she has to let go of her own ego desires and try to figure out the answer to the elves’ riddle to find Thomas and make things right. For this she goes on an arduous journey that tests her fortitude and decision making ability until she comes to her truth.

I have to be honest here in saying that I’m a fan girl of Olivia Knight. I really get off on not only the creative stories she comes up with but the way she writes. There are some authors whose prose does more for me sometimes than the story itself and Olivia Knight is one of those authors for me. And she is one of the very few authors I’ve read who can really tap into and express the intensity and depth of what passion is. That said:

Once again, Olivia Knight has come up with an impassioned story of love written in a beautiful, transplendent way, which really drew me into the story and the characters’ hearts and minds. Pearl is a very sensual and powerful being. The same ardor she feels for Thomas gets translated into a lust for power and a need to satisfy her body’s sexual desires at all costs. She’s so passionate that she’s easily led astray by it. However, she’s inherently an honorable person and when she wakes up to the fact that she’s gone astray, it’s that very fiery part of her that gives her the tenacity to go through the challenging personal trials she needs to to find Thomas and make things right.

The Three Riddles is a true fairy tale with all the magic, darkness and eroticism and as in the first story, Bear Skin, it has a moral, making it more than just a love story. The characters come to grow and learn something through what happens to them and justice is served against evil.

Grade: A+

The People in the Garden by Leonie Martel--

Katia is a young woman from a well-to-do family away at school when her parents die. She loves her school life, learning the arts and reading the classics and fantasizes about having a full life, being surrounded by culture and ease in her future. Her uncle, being in control of her life now, sells her into a life of servitude to a very wealthy, but odd, couple who have a huge mansion in the country, where old ways and superstitions still rule.

Irina and Nikolai are not your average married couple. Outside of the fact that he spends his days in his library where no one may enter and the fact that he likes to be whipped to get off sexually, he’s the more normal one. Irina is into the superstitions of her ancestors having found a book of spells and magik written by an old ancestor in her family and she spends her days up in her tower preparing for the return of her master, a being who lives in the woods with other supernatural beings.

According to the legend, All Hallows Eve is coming and she needs to find a virgin to offer him so that her gardens, the pride of her estate and prized all over the land for their unique beauty, will bloom again. So she pays for Katia and brings her to the estate to groom her for this. This all unbeknownst to Nikolai who becomes enamored with the young Katia.

The People in the Garden has a dark, uniquely Gothic feel to it that I really liked. There is also a running thread of BDSM in this story, which I’m kind of skittish about in general, but felt that in this story it worked really well and was nicely written.

The characters in this story are all very unique and vividly strange, which was a nice touch. Katia is a young, innocent woman who comes of age sexually in this story. Her first sexual experience is when she accidentally sees Irina whipping Nikolai. Irina brings her in and makes her whip Nikolai as well and Katia finds herself very turned on. Really turned on. She then spends the rest of the story trying to get laid, her desire to experience sex to its fullest coloring her thoughts and feelings every moment.

Irina is kind of like a witch. She’s all dark and moody, acts very strange and people are afraid of her. She’s possessed by something but people leave her be as she more and more stays up in her secret tower that no one can ever enter, including Nikolai. And Nikolai is kind of your average guy who loves his wife and is happy with the status quo of their sex life and marriage, but finds himself enjoying Katia’s company, wishing to do things with her that Irina won’t, like travel and such. He fears for Irina’s sanity and does play a huge role in the turn out of Irina’s plans, which gave him more cache for me in this story than I though he’d have.

The only thing negative that I can say about this story is that it went right over my head. I didn’t “get” it, whatever I was supposed to get. According to the blurb, the glowing girl from the forest was supposed to resemble Katia and so I guess there’s supposed to be some connection, but either I missed it or the Leonie Martel failed to connect the dots for me.

In fact I didn’t read the blurb first, so I only got that there should be a connection after the fact. I’d have to say that I really didn’t get much of the whole fairy tale/ moral part of this story and why Irina’s introducing Katia into sex was needed to begin with since Katia needed to be a virgin when offered to Irina’s master. Even though much of that part went over my head, yes I do admit I’m a bit dense, the ride was still worth it. The flow of the writing, the sexual situations and the dark, occult-like atmosphere kept me turning the pages to this story anyway. And overall it was very entertaining for me.

Grade A-

Enchanted is a fun, magical and very erotic read that I found hard to put down. Each author created engrossing and distinctly different stories that carried me to far away places. This book is a must read for those who want to believe in magik and that love, passion, and pure hearts win out in the end.

Sex grade: Commando. As per usual with Black Lace, there’s an assortment of sexual situations. M/F, minor f/f, light BDSM, fetish stuff, gang face spunking, and just a warning that there is a golden shower drinking scene. It’s in Bear Skin in case anyone feels a bit squeamish about that. It’s a minor scene and not written very graphically so it’s easy to gloss over if it’s not your taste.

Grade: A-

Amazon- What are you thinking?

2009-04-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd do my part at least to say what I feel. I sent Amazon an email with my complaint and am participating in the:

The Google bomb!

Amazon Rank

Explanation at Smart Bitches who started it.

Poll for DRM issues

2009-04-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Angela James has a quick poll up on her blog about DRM.

I hate, HATE DRM so I'm posting the link to her blog. If you see this please go over and vote to help her gather some info on it.

Nice mommy~ evil editor

Thanks!

Review- Obsessed by K.Z. Snow

2009-04-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

Obsessed
by K.Z. Snow
2008
Contemporary/ Paranormal/ Gay
Novella

Buy it Changeling Press

After nearly six hundred and sixty years, Adin Swift is dreaming again.

As a vampire, he slept like the dead. Now that he’s reverted to mortality, vivid dreams surface every night to torment him. And the most disturbing ones involve his best friend, Jackson Spey.

It was their “otherness” that drew them together ten years earlier -- two extraordinary men living outside the mainstream, one a bright and beautiful vampire, one a cynical and handsome wizard. Their unique bond took on more dimensions than either was willing to acknowledge. Until now.

Realizing he can no longer ignore the desire that’s been simmering for a decade, Adin must face the heart-wrenching fact that he’s in love with two people: the woman to whom he’s committed and the man he can’t seem to live without. Two confrontations ensue over the course of one explosive weekend, and they will forever alter three people’s lives…

Author's note: Although this is (or can be read as) a stand-alone story, these characters previously appeared in Tormented.

I won this book over at Jessewave’s blog and felt to review it since K.Z. Snow was kind enough to offer this book for free. Obsessed is a really sweet and complexly written story of two men who have been long time friends who need to come to terms with feeling more for each other than just a friendship.

Warning: long ass review coming.

Adin has been living for more than six hundred years as a vampire. He is now back to being a mortal and is grappling with feelings that got stirred up in him about his best friend Jackson, whom he’s been friends with for more than ten years. Adin and Jackson had a very erotic moment while Adin was still a vampire and would suck off of either sex, male or female, and that moment bonded them both sexually and emotionally outside of the realm of a normal friendship although neither has been willing to openly admit it.

It’s years later and Adin is very happily married to and so in love with his wife, Celia. All three: Adin, Celia and Jackson have been good friends for years and they all really love and respect each other. While a vampire, Adin had no dreams, but now that he is mortal they are back and he’s been dreaming of and obsessing over his intense romantic attraction to Jackson.

When Adin shares what he feels to Jackson, Jackson sort of acknowledges that something is there but is unwilling to openly admit anything or to express what he feels because he thinks he's not really gay. Becoming too much for Adin to deal with, he expresses his longing for Jackson to Celia who understands and tells him he should go to Jackson to see what is there.

This was such a fascinating book to me. There are many interesting dynamics going on here and it’s the first time for me to read a ménage themed story in which all the characters don’t all end up in bed together. It’s a ménage story in which one person in a committed het relationship loves another of his own sex and tries to work that out with the blessings of the two other people involved.

Adin and Jackson are very unique characters in many ways. I liked that for a change, a vampire has become mortal. It creates a whole new host of difficulties for a character to deal with.

As a vampire, Adin would suck on either gender but it wasn’t about sex or love even if erotic feelings were evoked. So for him, who he falls in love with is more about the specific person and not so much about the person’s gender. He’s fallen madly in love with Celia, his wife, and is very happy with her. But he also has feelings specifically for Jackson, who has never been with a man, nor claims to be bisexual. Adin openly considers himself bisexual.

I loved that an author finally wrote this kind of dynamic in which two people who haven’t been gay, one not even bisexual, falls for someone of their own sex because of who that person is and not because they are confined to a biological orientation necessarily. I think it’s an interesting concept and one that is possible. I’m sure many would beg to differ with me on that though. And I know that many disagree or dislike the “gay for you” scenario. For me it works if written like this book.

Jackson is an intriguing character himself. He’s a wizard who is a master at spells and magik, so already he’s outside of the mainstream world. He feels this attraction to Adin but is very reticent to express it or even to find out what is really going on between them. He hasn’t been gay, nor is he really clear that he’s bisexual outside of his specific attraction to Adin. Although… I don’t know if it’s written this way on purpose or what, but his sexual orientation prior to Adin is very ambiguous. It’s not clear that he’s only been with women because he refuses to discuss it. But the conversations he has with Adin and the way he talks imply that he’s never been with a man or been attracted to one sexually.

Jackson is also more black and white in his morality than Adin. He has difficulty in accepting that he loves Adin in a romantic way and brings up the issue of Adin being married. Loving Celia as well, he worries about how opening up to Adin with affect Adin and Celia’s relationship. He seems unwilling to do so unless he knows that Celia is really on board with this, which I really liked.

After spending a weekend together in which they have a lot of hot sweaty sex, both men come to terms with, and even discuss, what it means for them sexually and romantically as both have never really been with another man. I though K.Z. Snow handled this in a very open and realistic way. They wonder out loud how gay they really are or if this means that either will go out now and have sex with lots of men from now on. For Adin, he’s very clear that he only wants Jackson.

By the time Adin has to go back home, Jackson is still not quite openly showing his emotions about them as a couple as Adin is, which upsets Adin since he’s really got it bad for Jackson. They stayed in character and I liked that. Jackson has a lot to deal with and think about since this is a lot newer to him than it is for Adin. It bothers Adin, but he comes to terms with Jackson being a bit distant before he leaves and accepts that this is how it might be.

I also felt that K.Z. Snow handled the wife issue in an interesting way as well. Celia really loves Adin and she’s very confident in his love for her. She also loves Jackson, even having a little crush on him. So she’s really willing for Adin to go and explore what’s there. Many people might not believe that this could be possible, but K.Z. Snow had me really believing that Celia was really OK with this. And the fact that Adin comes back and is really happy to be back with Celia helped this feeling to me the reader.

What was missing, and I wish K.Z. Snow had continued on, was that I wanted to see how Celia and Adin would be together after Adin shared what happened. The story ends with Adin coming back home with Celia still away at a friend’s house. It’s left as an HFN for all parties. But I really wanted to be sure that this new kink in Adin and Celia’s relationship wasn’t going to damage them. I didn’t feel that it would, but I wanted to specifically see how Celia would react to not just the idea of Adin and Jackson really being together, but her reaction to the nitty gritty of it.

Adin and Jackson took pics of each other, naked and otherwise, and Adin has decided that he will not show them to Celia, keeping them as his personal memento. I agreed with this to some degree, but I also felt that if Celia would see the pics, then I wonder how she’d really react? But this story is about Adin and Jackson specifically. I was also left with wondering how Adin will deal with the current situation of just meeting Jackson for a weekend here and there considering how much he longs for and needs to be with Jackson.

The only down point for me in this story was that some of the sexual scenes were written kind of funky for me. The wording threw me out a few times. But for the most part K.Z. Snow’s writing flowed very nicely.

All in all Obsessed was an excellent read for me. It left me thinking about a lot of things and wondering about the characters, which is a good thing in a book. I like ménage dynamic in books, but they are mostly written as three people getting it on together. This was a unique take for a change and I was very impressed by K.Z Snow going there without all jumping into bed together and keeping it real.

Sex rating: Crotchless Panty—m/m, anal sex, mutual masturbation. Some of the wording/euphemisms during the sex scenes were odd to me, but the sexual situations were very hot.

Grade: B+

Review- The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo & the Poltergeist Accountant by Vivi Andrews

2009-04-09T05:14:00.000-07:00

The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo & the Poltergeist Accountant
by Vivi Andrews
February 17, 2009
Contemporary/ Paranormal/ Comedy
Novella
Ebook

Buy it Samhain

It’s not smart to piss off a poltergeist…

A Tickle My Fantasy story.

It’s bad enough to be sexually frustrated. But as a medium, it means until Lucy Cartwright gets some, she’s doomed. Oh no, not to death. Worse. To nightly visitations by recently deceased, wanna-be Cassanovas without the bodies to back it up. Then a living, breathing fantasy arrives on her doorstep, and Lucy thinks her dry spell is at an end.

Much as he would like to be Lucy’s personal gigolo, PI Jake Cox has a job to do. He’s been sent to prevent her from getting laid until a particular horny phantom—and key witness in his mob investigation—pays her a visit. The real challenge? Keeping his own hands off Lucy long enough to get the job done.

Or the lonely, geeky ghost of a murdered mob accountant could rip a hole in the fabric of the universe…

Warning: This book contains cheesy pick-up lines, amateur stripteases, and voyeuristic intentions – all by dead men. And the living behave just as badly…

I came across this author/book because the author, Vivi Andrews, did a guest blog about it on Naughty and Spice blog and it just so happened that I was in the mood for a romantic comedy in that moment and downloaded it straight away.

This is one of those quickie stories that are good to read in between heavier more intense books when you want some light, fluffy, comic relief. It’s a cute, outrageously ridiculous and over the top story that totally entertained me for what it is.

Lucy is a medium working for Karma who runs an agency that deals with communicating with ghosts and other paranormal issues. Her job is to help spirits come to terms with their death and help them to move on. Lately, all the ghosts that show up to her place are spirits of horny, sexually frustrated men who hit on her all the time and she’s fed up. Karma tells Lucy that she’s attracting these horny ghosts because she hasn’t had sex in a long time and that she needs to get laid.

When Jake Cox, a delicious hunker, shows up at her door claiming to work for Karma, Lucy thinks that Karma sent him to take care of her sexual needs. But Jake is a P.I. who needs to talk to a recently murdered ghost to find out who killed him and he’s been told NOT to have sex with Lucy because if he does then this ghost might not show up. Of course, he being a studly manly man, Lucy cannot resist him and she comes on to him. And he cannot resist Lucy’s fresh and innocent energy. But he does, which pisses Lucy off.

When the ghost that Jake needs to talk with shows up, it turns out that he, unlike most ghosts, has the ability to move things, which freaks Jake out who comes in shooting thinking the ghost is hurting Lucy. Eliot, the ghost, falls in love with Lucy and gets all jealous of Jake. To get rid of Jake, Eliot sends him to a heavily guarded warehouse that has all the evidence Jake needs to put away the mobster who had Eliot killed. Lucy freaks and goes to save Jake. Eliot follows her and sees both his ex boss and the woman who killed him and looses his connection to Lucy, at which point he becomes enraged and goes all poltergeist on the mobster’s butt.

Really, this whole story was so ridiculous. But it was so far-fetched that it was amusing. Lucy is a cute character who really takes things in stride. She thinks that she’s not that special that anyone would want her, and yet, she really jumps on Jake when he shows a bit of interest being so horny and all. It seems though that events conspire to keep them getting it on fully, leaving her more sexually frustrated.

Jake has the hots for Lucy straight away. He almost looses control, having his way with her, until some burned muffins stop their heavy breathing making him realize that he went too far and he backs off. But when he’s able he goes for it with gusto on her.

Eliot is a funny character. He was a looser accountant for a mob guy and never got any girls. Nor did he ever really live his life, always afraid of his own shadow. He thinks he got lucky one night when a really hot, buxomy blond screws him but she kills him mid coitus. Now that he’s dead, he’s really enjoying himself and his new found courage and doesn’t want to pass over into the light to Lucy’s dismay.

I’m not going to say that The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo & the Poltergeist Accountant is a great book or even a fully developed one really, but it is a sexy, fun story that was worth my time to read. I felt that Vivi Andrews took an absurd concept and played with it. Yes, it's an eye rolling story. But eye rolling in that feel good way and not in the, "puleeze, give me a break," way.

Sex rating: Crotchless panty- m/f… straight up-- melt in your mouth-- vanilla

Grade: B-

Reviews (mini) Urban Fantasy- Living Dead in Dallas, Moon Called, Darkfever, Angels' Blood, Grimspace

2009-04-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've done any reviews, I know. The last few posts were all about me, me, me. Actually, I've been doing what I said I wanted to and have been hanging with DH after he gets home instead of reading. So reading time has been cut way down. I've really been enjoying myself though, and that's what counts. But I do miss the process of reviewing.

For the purpose of my blog, I prefer to read and review books by lesser known authors, ebook authors whose books don't get that many reviews and such. So while I've wanted to read more mainstream books, I've put them off for books that I would like to review. But since I took a break, I decided that I would use that time to read the books by well known, mainstream authors for a change.

These last few weeks I've been focusing on reading Urban Fantasy, a genre I haven't really read unless you want to count JR Ward in that. So I got started on a few series by authors I've been wanting to read.

I'm not going to fully review these books but I felt that I wanted to comment a little bit.

___________________________________________________________________

Living Dead in Dallas
by Charlaine Harris
April 2002

In the follow up to Dead Until Dark, telepathic friend of the undead (and vampire bar cocktail waitress) Sookie Stackhouse puts her newfound powers to the test. After an unfortunate incident, Sookie finds herself beholden to a group of Louisiana vampires. So she agrees to travel to Dallas with her undead boyfriend Bill and track down a missing vamp, but only if the vampires promise to let local humans go unharmed. That seems easier said than done when an upstart religious cult threatens to destroy all things vampire - including Sookie, who is quickly scheduled for sacrifice.

I've been listening to this series on audio and I think I'm really enjoying it because of the way actress/reader Johanna Parker is reading these books. She's pretty amazing and I'm sure I might have gone off these books on this book if it weren't for her way of reading Sookie and the other characters.

As a series, I really love the way Charlaine Harris describes this world of vampires, shifters and so on. She has a very down to earth and vivid way of bringing her characters to life. I particularly like Sookie, which is good since she's the main character in these books and it's through her eyes that the stories are told.

I really love how on the one hand she's so straight-laced, reminding me of the old stereotype of a schoolmarm in how affronted she acts about all kinds of things that go against what is typically accepted as moral. And yet, she has no problem disposing of dead bodies, covering up crimes, and she's just so open to all kinds of things that go against the grain. That dichotomy in her character makes her so appealing to me.

Who I'm not getting, and I know I could get a bunch of crapola for saying it, is Bill. Bill sucks. Really. I never really warmed up to him and in this story it gets even worse for me. I'm currently on the next book Club Dead and I wish he'd just go away. Leave Sookie and be gone. For me he's just a lame dude without that oomph that ready gets my juices flowing. Not only that, he's so flaky with Sookie. Blows hot then cold. He would drive me nuts.

Who does make my mouth water is Eric. What a delicious specimen he is and I'm glad he's getting more page time. And I'm totally drooling over Chow, the Yakuza inked vampire bartender.

Little side rant here:

{Umm... what does bother me a bit is that he's a vampire who has Yakuza ink all over. This happened in another book and it annoyed me. There is a difference in Japanese and Chinese names and they never sound anything like each other. Chow is NOT a Japanese name. So I don't know of Ms Harris did that out of ignorance or maybe I missed that he's really Chinese or has a Chinese father, or she just wanted to call a Japanese Yakuza guy by a Chinese name. That kind of thing bothers me though. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this please.}

Never the less, I want to know more about him. Yummers.

The whole story line in this book was kind of lame to me as well; it just didn't really grab me although I like that there is more info on the shifters and their world. If it weren't for Johanna Parker's way of telling these books, I probably would have not finished this one and dropped the series even though I love Charlaine Harris' voice.

My grade for this one- C+ for lame story, A for writing, and A+ for Ms. Parker's rendition of this book.

____________________________________________________________________

Moon Called (Mercy series book I)
by Patricia Briggs
Jan 2006

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.

I've been reading and hearing about Patricia Briggs' books for a long time now, everyone raving about them and I finally got to read one.

I've been teetering on paranormals these days. Part of me just so bored with them and yet, there are these authors like Patricia Briggs writing paranormals that I feel I must read. Moon Called was one of those paranormals that juiced me up again to the genre.

I really like this world of riff-raff type scrappers that Ms Briggs created. Mercy is an intriguing and different kind of character. Heroine characters who go against the grain and are tough and yet soft-hearted at the same time are female characters that I can relate to and respect. Mercy also has an odd occupation for a woman, she's a mechanic, which makes this story even more unique. What's also appealing about Mercy is that she does what needs to be done, no matter the danger to herself, to save those around her whom she really doesn't have to get involved with. She just jumps in there and goes for it.

The paranormal world is exceptionally complex, which grabbed me as well. It's well developed with clear delineations as to the power structure and hiearchy of the shifters and Vamps vs. humans. And I really like that it's set in the Pacific NW, which carries darker themed stories much better to me than say, Arizona or Florida. I can see these beings staying hidden from contemporary America in the nature of the PNW, which added to the overall feel of this book.

This book really isn't a romance per se, but it does have some elements in it. I actually liked that Mercy is not hopping into bed with any of her potential love interests at this point.

I'm definitely going to continue on with this series as Ms Briggs' writing is very entertaining.

My grade: B+

BevQB's take

____________________________________________________________________

Darkfever
by Karen Marie Moning
Aug. 2007

MacKayla Lane's life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she's your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone - Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister's killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book - because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

I got this book because of BevQB and JenB's ravings about it. I was so not disappointed. Loved, loved this book. The whole world building and creatures involved are so different from much of what I've been reading. I loved Ms Moning's take on the whole Fae concept.

So dark and delicious is this world and it moves at a nice pace. Mac is a funny character as well. An unlikely heroine, she's more concerned about matching the color of her nails with her shoes and designer bag than she is about the fact that she's mixed up in a dangerous world of nasty Fae. But I liked her for it. She's just a normal girl who finds out that she's got some special abilities that are needed to save the world and it's kind of hilarious to me that she still clings to these superficial things. What she wasn't was, TSTL, which could have easily happened considering that she is so into how she looks and dresses.

Again, as in Moon Called, I liked that there is some sexual chemistry and energy flowing between her and the hero, Barrons, but that it stays in the realm of not getting expressed. Barrons is a fascinating character as well and not knowing where he's coming from and what his stake in the whole matter is, partly keeps this story compelling. What also keeps this story gripping is the mystery of what is going on. As Ms. Moning is doing an excellent job of world building, slowly introducing the reader to this intricate world of Fae, she's also keeping a fine balance of intrigue vs. satisfaction by keeping what is going on really, a huge secret that Mac has to find out.

I downloaded the second book, Bloodfever right after I finished the first one because I loved it Darkfever so much.

My grade: A-

____________________________________________________________________

Angels' Blood
by Nalini Singh
March 2009

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux is hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael. But this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break.

First I'm going to say that I really love Nalini Singh's psy/changeling series books. Love them! Ms Singh really has exceptional world building skills in her books and each one is so unique in that world that it doesn't get boring.

So I was really hot to read this book. Unfortunately, against what everyone else is saying about this book, it just didn't grab me. I had a hard time sticking to it and put it down, reading other books in between. I finally forced myself to just finish it up the last few days since I had read quite a bit already and didn't want that that time was wasted by putting it down altogether. I knew I wouldn't pick it up again.

Once again, Nalini Singh has created a really complex and delicious world consisting of Vampires and Angels in this one. I really got off on the fact that the angels weren't the goody two shoes that is the understood nature by most people. They are nasty and feared as well as revered. That's just me though, I enjoy when accepted ideas and myths get shattered and go against the grain.

The Vampire world here is not much different from the usual, but in context, I liked that they are in servitude even though they still have power to glamour humans to them. As with the psy/changeling series, there isn't straight up good vs. bad in this story except for maybe the guild hunters, which Elena is part of. I get off on blurry lines and imperfection with characters and worlds, which keeps things interesting and real for me.

Elena as a character is so tough and feels, but is not overly aggressive nor too soft. She's very human, but holds her own. She has her own demons, which she's fighting and which still hurts her. The pain of her father disowning her is still something that drives her but she also has guts and stands up to those she's afraid of. It's a nice mix of characteristics.

Where this book went off for me and bored me was that there were too many similar themes to the psy/changeling series even if the world was completely different and some other areas that didn't work for me.

1. The archangels rule the world. They are not all nice beings, a few being corrupt with one gone rogue. This is very similar to the psy ruling the world with corrupt members and having to go after and kill a rogue psy in Slave to Sensation. Another similarity is the archangels each having rule over a territory in the world and there being a council of members trying to keep each other in check as well as forming alliances for power take overs.

2. Beings from two different species coming together with one or both having to give up something of their racial characteristics to be with the other and both fighting as a team against evil from either group, is another psy/changeling theme.

3. I know almost everyone else will disagree with me, but I felt no chemistry between Elena and Raphael. I know, I know... Nalini Singh is a master at creating sexual/love tension between her characters. However, I felt that between Elena and Raphael there was no heat. Nothing. Even when they finally get it on it was almost a let down for me. Very anticlimactic.

Actually, I wasn't really feeling Raphael as a man that Elena could go up against really. She's so tough and he comes across as even tougher, initially. But for some reason I felt that he went soft way too quickly on her. I was almost wishing him to be a just a bit more cruel with her, keep her at a distance for a longer period of time, or to really own her and take her. I just didn't feel that and was left with the feeling in the end that she will run over him one day and or that she will turn into a Suzie homemaker all domesticated with him by the way she was acting at the end. I hope it turns out to be different in the next book.

4. The whole wing thing... yes, I know they are angels, but it was very distracting to me that their wings were always there. When they sleep, make love, and even in the bath tub and shower, they are there and seemed huge and in the way. I know that's a very petty thing for me to go on about, but I was thrown out of the story so many times trying to work out the mechanics and feeling of that in my head every time they did something normal and mundane like sitting and such.

5. There were some parts of this story that went right into hokeyville for me. Not to give spoilers, but the end was just too pat and unrealistic to me. It lost all that nice tension and energy build-up from the whole rogue archangel going whacko and having to fight him. Again... it fizzled for me and was just too unbelievable even in an urban fantasy paranormal.

I don't know if I will read the next book in this series. I'm sure like the psy/changeling it will move on to other characters, which might be interesting, but I'm not as hot to jump on the "guild hunter" series as I was the psy/changeling one.

Grade: B

____________________________________________________________________

Grimspace (Sirantha Jax series book I)
by Ann Aguirre
Feb 26, 2008

As the carrier of a rare gene, Sirantha Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace-a talent which makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. Then a crash landing kills everyone on board, leaving Jax in a jail cell with no memory of the crash. But her fun's not over. A group of rogue fighters frees her...for a price: her help in overthrowing the established order.

Ann Aguirre is another author that I've been reading and hearing so much about that I really wanted to get to her books. You know, I read so many books where I'm left with feeling meh. Even less so with books that I think wow, that was good. Even rarer are those books that when I finish it I'm thinking WOW!, that was frigging amazing. Grimspace was one such book that left me feeling Wow, that was amazing, having blown my mind.

I can't say that I'm a sci-fi fan as in that I actively seek it out, but I do enjoy a lot of sci-fi if it happens to be there, so I found this book a total turn on in that aspect. As I'm not a huge fan and don't have that much experience with the genre I can't say if this world that Ann Aquirre has created is unique or runs along conventional sci-fi themes, but it was fascinating to me. The futuristic tech side of this story didn't blow over my head and with general themes of power abuse and control that we deal with today being a huge part of the story, the world building was easy to grasp and take in.

Even if the world itself is typical to many books in the genre, the character development and story telling was so alive and vivid to me. Jax is such an intense character. I totally loved her.

Again---it seems to be a theme in UF---she comes from a family that has disowned her, wanting her to be something she's not inherently. She has a special gene that makes her part of what she is, was destined to be. And again---as in other urban fantasies--- she's a reluctant heroine. Being forced against her will to fight for something she doesn't believe in or care about, she still does what's right in the end and her internal struggles to come to terms with who she is rather than what she thinks she wants is very a real and human conflict.

Another thing that Ann Aguirre accomplished in this book was that she kept the sexual tension up between Jax and March. Both of these characters are damaged and come from a hostile environment and hard backgrounds. While the romance aspect of this book was way on the back burner, I felt the subtle and soft intensity around how Jax and March kind of need each other without all the drama really added some human normalcy to the cold, almost emotionless, world in which these characters are living in.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series. It's definitely a keeper.

My grade- A+

Bev QB's Take

Taking a Break indefinitely

2009-02-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

To everyone who has and is supporting me and reading my blog, I really thank you.

I've been in a long dark tunnel for quite a while and I finally see the light at the end of it. Yeah, as I've mentioned I've been depressed. A few of you have given me suggestions as to why and have tried to help me, which I really appreciate. It's probably a combination of things, physical, age related, vitamin deficiencies, but a lot of it is emotional for me.

These last few days the core of my problem finally pushed it's way through my consciousness and I've had to face what's really bugging me.

My sister, whom I totally love more than anything and who reads my blog sweetheart that she is, helped me out yesterday by putting it all out there in front of me. No sugar coating. It was a shock, and yet I've known all along, deep down, what the issue has been and what I've needed to do.

But you know how you have a dream or fantasy and it's so nice and it takes you away from a "normal" uneventful life, but it's not real and it's ultimately hurting you? You know how you just don't want to look at it straight in the face and you find a thousand and one excuses and ways to avoid it by claiming all kinds of other non problems?

Well, my sister helped me do that yesterday and it was very painful for me to look at and acknowledge. But it was time. And it's been rather an emotional day for me letting go of something that I've been holding onto for the last year. It's kind of like leaving a lover and a long story being over. That's how I feel and I'm in mourning.

more animals

See how seriously I really take myself. Gotta have a sense of humor sometimes.

Anyway, also part of what's been going on is that I've been feeling the strain of keeping my blog going. This is a separate issue than what I just mentioned, but it's also been adding to my depression.

I've been pushing myself to keep up and keep reading and reviewing, partly because I really enjoy it, but also because I feel that if I don't, I will fall far behind of what's going on.

What's so ironic in all of that, reading romance and being part of this world, is that I stopped doing a lot of the things that I enjoy with my husband. Mainly cuddling up with him every night and watching TV together. It was always our way to have some intimacy without stress and to connect in a quiet way.

I've totally stopped that since doing this blog, constantly pushing myself to keep reading or writing reviews or coming up with topics to talk about or communicating with fellow bloggers and supporting them.

The last few days I've just been taking care of me, my emotional state and physical health and haven't read a damn thing and I love it! I just can't be bothered to read anything right now. I want to hang with DH and watch TV, take care of things and get off my ass and do stuff that I need to do.

So, I've decided I'm just going to do as I really please and not push or worry about any of this. I don't know if and when I will blog or review at the moment. The reason I'm saying a lot of this is so that you don't take it personally if I don't comment on your blogs and such.

A huge change is coming for me and I'm going to go with it. So thanks to you all for supporting me and trying to help.

Review- Possession by Mathilde Madden, Madelynne Ellis, Anne Tourney

2009-02-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

Possession
by Mathilde Madden, Madelynne Ellis, Anne Tourney
April 2008
Contemporary/ Paranormal/ Fantasy
Novel
Anthology

Buy it Amazon, B&N, Borders

Lust has long been attributed to the beast or the 'other' inside us. From the dark side of Black Lace these three short novels of possession unmask the forbidden.

The Silver Chains
Alfie Friday is a werewolf. For 7 years he has controlled his curse very carefully by locking himself in a cage every full moon. But now he's changing when it isn't full moon. His girlfriend Misty travels to South America to try and find a way of controlling Alfie's changes, but discovers the key to the problem lies in Oxford. The place it all began for Alfie and the place he has vowed never to return to.

Broken Angel
After stealing a copy of an ancient manuscript, Blaze Makaresh finds himself being hunted down by a gang of Youkai - demons who infiltrate human society in order to satisfy their hunger for sex and flesh.

Falling Dancer
Kelda has two jobs: full-time bartender, part-time exorcist. She meets vengeful spirits and misguided demons wherever she goes. She wishes the spirit world would leave her alone so she could have a relationship that lasted longer than twenty-four hours, but when she's contracted by a sexy musician who wants her to solve the mystery of his girlfriend's disappearance; she can't help getting involved.

I’ve been kind of off reading erotica for while now, unbelievably not wanting to read too much sex. So I haven’t read a Black Lace book for months. What was I thinking? I totally forgot about the exceptional caliber of writing and the incredibly creative story telling abilities that Black Lace authors possess.

Even with it being erotica, the sexual escapades didn’t seem redundant as the scenarios are way out of the realm of the average so I didn’t get bored once. Possession turned me right back on to reading both erotica as well as paranormals again. All three stories in this book are really well written in which the world building is artfully done.

The Silver Chains- by Mathilde Madden. This story is actually a prequel to The Silver Collar. Alfie is a were alpha with a small pack consisting of only Misty and Leon. He’s become unstable and is turning outside of the usual full moon time, especially when having an orgasm. So he’s been denying himself an orgasm for fear of turning and changing other people, which he hates doing. As a were though, his sexual needs are stronger than humans, so it’s become a difficult for him to deny himself that.

At a club specifically catering to BDSM clientele, Misty hooks Alfie up with Caroline, a woman who’s come in just for a one night pick up. Because she’s a dom into tying up her men, Misty feels she won’t be shocked by Alfie wanting to be tied down during sex and even injected with something that will keep him from turning. When she figures out that Alfie is a legendary were that her witch sister has talked about, she tells him that there are special silver chains with built in magic that can hold him while changing, so he can safely have sex if he’s chained with them.

Alfie, Misty and Leon then head to Brazil where these chains are supposed to be and they end up in a special were world existing outside of the main were world. These weres are guardians who kill beings from another realm to keep them from infecting and destroying humans. While Alfie finds the chains and is happy to have sex with the female alpha, he finds out that his destiny is really tied to someone back in England a place he has forsaken.

If you haven’t read The Silver Collar, The Silver Crown or The Silver Cage, then this is a good way to get introduced into this intricate, intense and dark world of werewolves that Mathilde Madden has created. Reading this I was once again reminded of how the world building in a paranormal can be as much a turn on as the story and characters themselves. Mathilde Madden does this exceptionally well as well as creating all consuming relationships between the characters in this story.

Broken Angel by Madelynne Ellis- This is a shadowy, mystical story that starts out with Blaze, a human, on the run after stealing and ancient pamphlet. This pamphlet tells of a prophesy in which a powerful leader will emerge from a group of demons called the Youkai who are out to destroy humans. Another group, the Talon, keeps things in check and humans safe by patrolling around and killing the Youkai. When Blaze is attacked by the Youkai leader, he’s saved and captured by Asha, a Talon, who thinking he’s human, sucks the Youkai poison from his body.

Although Blaze thinks he’s human, to his horror he finds himself changing. A strange symbol appears on his body, he gets super human strength, his sex drive goes into overdrive and he grows wings. Because of taking the poison from Blaze, Asha has become bound to and sexually mesmerized by Blaze. The leader of the Talon is aware of the prophesy and knows that Blaze is to be the new leader of the Youkai, so he imprisons him and tries to reverse or change the prophesy to give himself the power.

I loved this story. It’s just so unique and creative, full of all those juicy conflicts and emotions that make a story interesting as well as a clearly defined and intricate supernatural world. What I liked particularly is that while the Talon come across initially as good in that they are saving humans from the Youkai demons, the leader of the Talon is not such an upstanding being and is power hungry with nefarious intentions himself. We also don’t quite know if Blaze will become the evil being he’s destined to be or if his humanity will keep things at bay.

As a reader I didn’t quite know who is good or bad and I liked that the lines are blurred in that. This is one thing that I think Madelynne Ellis does very well. She creates full bodied characters who are not black or white but who are conflicted and act according to their passion, which isn’t always the easy road. I find that fascinating.

Falling Dancer by Anne Tourney—This was a very unusual story about a woman, Kelda, who is an exorcist of beings called The Fallen Ones. They are beings who were the spawn of the union between the goddess Lilith, the first woman before Eve, and a demon. Because they were created before original sin, some of those beings were emancipated, but some fell into a state of limbo between life and death. They must live out thousands of years of servitude before they can be free, so many are very hungry to possess a human being to live out their own desires in the flesh.

Kelda is contacted by Brendon who claims that his girlfriend disappeared. Lia, his girlfriend has been possessed by a Fallen One, Er Shaghryn, who has spent the last thousand years helping couples get together and wants that for herself. For Lia’s part, she wakes up in a state of limbo not really being human and not really dead and likes it that way as she was tired of her miserable life in the physical form. All of this comes to a head when Kelda draws Er Shaghryn out into the open so she can get her out of Lia’s body. But there’s something different about this one and things don’t go as normal.

Wow, this was another very dark and unique story with a well developed, complex mythology to this world. Once again, like in the two stories before, there is a clash between good vs. evil with a twist that doesn’t fit the usual mold of the how things work in the world within the story. What I liked in this story is the ambiguous ending, although it wasn’t quite as satisfying as would have liked. It’s left a bit open ended for the reader to decide what is going on. But I did like all of the characters in this story, especially Kelda and Er Shaghryn (Lia) who are both dynamic and clear about what they want.

Possession was definitely a gritty, absorbing read. It’s a nice intro to these three authors' way of writing and definitely stands out for me in the realm of the paranormal genre.

Sex rating: Commando. Mostly m/f, m/m, light BDSM, rimming, anal, minor f/f.

Grade A

Review- The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston

2009-02-10T07:40:00.001-08:00

The Mane Attraction
by Shelly Laurenston
Oct 28, 2008
Contemporary/ Paranormal
Novel

Buy it Amazon, B&N, Borders

Weddings have the strangest effect on people. How else to explain the fact that Sissy Mae Smith woke up in Mitch Shaw's bed the morning after her brother Bobby Ray tied the knot? Or that gunmen are trying to kill Mitch, and Sissy Mae now has to escort a bleeding, stubborn, yet still incredibly sexy lion shifter to her Tennessee Pack's turf to keep him safe? It doesn't help that Mitch's appraising gaze makes her feel like the most desirable creature on earth, or that the ultimate stray cat is suddenly acting all kinds of possessive...Mitch is an undercover cop who's about to testify against some dangerous ex-associates. Even more worrisome, he's harbouring hot, X-rated fantasies about the fast - talking little canine - and he has to deal with every male in Sissy Mae's Pack sniffing around her in a way that makes his hackles rise. Mitch has his pride, and he intends to show Sissy Mae that when a lion sets out to make you his mate, the only thing to do is purr, roll over, and enjoy one hell of a ride...

I picked up this book because I had read When He Was Bad and really loved Shelly Laurenston’s story in that so of course, I wanted to read more of her work. To be honest, I had mixed experiences with this book. It worked for me on a lot of levels, but at the same time I got really bored with it many times and had to drop it and read other books in between.

Sissy Mae, a canine shifter, and Mitch, a lion shifter, have been good friends for a long time. They have a fun, easy rappor between them, but it’s stayed in the realm of friendship. Because he witnessed some murders committed while undercover in the police dept. there is a hit out on him so he can’t testify. After the wedding of Sissy’s brother, Mitch gets shot while with Sissy and she takes him to her small town in Tenn. because her father is the pack Alpha and Mitch will be safe there.

Although Mitch keeps it light, he’s constantly hitting on Sissy Mae sexually and so of course, they end up shacking up while he’s in hiding even though Sissy Mae makes it clear that this is just fun and games and it’s NOT going to go further than that. Add to the mix all her family members who are all doing their best to get these two together and a lot of conniving goes on.

The bad: I’m starting here because right away I got a bit annoyed at what seemed to be an overwhelming amount of characters all being introduced in the first chapter. 29 characters are introduced, all of whom are mentioned many times throughout the book, so they were integral to the story and important to take note of. On top of that, since the beginning of the story takes place at a wedding, we got introduced to several families’ names and how they are all connected. That was just way too confusing to me; I couldn’t keep track of who is part of what family or how they were all connected and that was the first time I put the book down for a while.

The next thing that got on my nerves was that at some point a hundred pages in, I was wondering if there was even a story involved here. Or if it was going to be non-stop zany escapades totally stereotypical of the south. It seemed like while Mitch and Sissy Mae are staying in her family home and falling in love ~~having sex in every room of the house~~, there are constant fights between family members, stock car races, suped up car speeding, football games, town family rivalries, etc. and I kept wondering if this was going to be one long Jerry Seinfeld meets the Dukes of Hazzard story about nothing.

It started out with a nice intro into what I thought was going to be more of a plot with a mysterious hit person stalking Mitch and I guess I was expecting more of that as the story progressed. But it was so minor to all the family/ small southern town antics that seemed to keep getting repeated. I got so bored as the story seemed to go on and on without having a point or an end other than to have one crazy situation after another in order to express humor. At a certain point the wit itself wasn’t enough for me, so I had to stop several times and read some other books.

Then there was the paranormal aspect going on here. For the most part, this book read to me as a contemporary in which the characters were just made to be shifters. Not really much world building in that dept. And I did kind of get squicked out at the literal thought of different species of animals having sex even though it’s done in human form all the time. I basically had to pretend that they weren’t shifters. On the positive side of that though, the different animal groups and qualities specific to each one did add some to the humor in this book.

The good: This book is hysterically funny. The dialogue between the characters, especially Sissy Mae and Mitch was hilarious. These two don’t take each other seriously and they have so much fun in their verbal banter. Even when they start having sex, it’s hilarious, totally non serious even though it was really hot. They both fit each other and are very amused by each other and I did really enjoy that part.

Then there were the characters. They are all a bit off center, and quirky. Sissy Mae and Mitch as characters are very well written. Sissy Mae is a strong alpha female who takes no crap from anyone. She’s very independent, totally Tom boyish, has issues with half her family and is constantly scrapping with someone.

Mitch, while not exactly alpha, gets under Sissy’s skin and into her heart by charming her. He makes her laugh and doesn’t take her gruff, tough attitude too seriously. He really gets off on her outrageous, rowdy behavior. But at the same time he has the ability to take her out of her comfort zone and insist on a few things, which she goes along with mainly because she gets off on him even if she won’t admit it. It was the witty dance between these two that kept me coming back to this book.

The Mane Attraction is one of those books that I would recommend if you’re in the mood for a light, funny, not too involved paranormal love story. Shelly Laurenston’s way of writing is very amusing and I wasn’t disappointed on that level at all. I only wished there were just a bit more plot to this one. If at least 100 pages in the middle that went on and on about football games and such would have been cut from this book, it would have totally rocked for me.

Sex rating: Commando- totally hawt and hilariously done vanilla sex.

Grade: B+

Review- Redemption by Sharon Cullen

2009-02-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

Redemption: Love on the Edge, Book 2
by Sharon Cullen
October 21, 2008
Contemporary/ Suspense
Category
eBook-
Print out Aug 1, 2009

Buy it Samhain, Amazon

Love on the Edge, Book 2

Running for her life…to a man who’d given up on it.

“Go to Callahan.”

Pregnant, alone—and with no memory of who she is—these words are the only thing Hope can hang onto as she drives through a blizzard, searching for the reclusive Callahan. And when she finds him, she’s not sure which of them is more in need of help and healing.

Haunted by the brutal murder of the woman he loved, the last thing John Callahan needs on his hands is an injured pregnant woman. But with the storm bearing down, he has no choice. Opening his home to her, though, turns out to be far from simple. Her unconditional acceptance of him, scars and all, opens windows to his soul he thought were forever sealed.

Then he discovers Hope’s true identity, and realizes his past—and a powerful enemy—has come back to haunt them both. Even as he races against time to save her, John has to wonder…

Is Hope his redemption? Or his downfall?

You know how you’ve had a bad day, everything that could go wrong did and you just want to relax and slip into a world of being taken care of loved? Reading Redemption was that world for me. It’s a beautifully written romance wrapped in a mystery that unfolds in an unhurried but highly intriguing way. Both lead characters are written so compellingly authentic that I didn’t want to let go of them when the story finished.

John Callahan was working for the government on a special anti terrorist task force when he was betrayed by a woman who was his boss. He was sent to Peru as a ruse by her to prove that she was actually working for the gov., but she was actually dealing with terrorist and he was taken prisoner and tortured on a daily bases.

While in prison, a female cook befriended him but something went terribly wrong for him and her and because of that he was almost broken completely. Now it’s years and lots of unhelpful therapy later and he’s cut himself off from his family and secluded himself totally, living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, dealing with constant nightmares that won’t go away. It’s Christmas day and he’s about to do the unthinkable when Hope looses control of her car in a blizzard and crashes on his property.

Hope only knows one thing, that she has to get to this guy Callahan. He’s the only one who can help her. She looses her memory from the crash and doesn’t know who she is so she needs John’s help to find out, but senses that he’s a bit freaked at having to deal with her. As the mystery of who she is slowly unfolds and these two are stuck together so he can keep her safe, of course they become rather close.

First I’m going to say that there are several aspects about this story that I really liked. I have a soft spot for the trapped together--fall in love trope. As well as a baby involved trope. In this case, Hope is pregnant already, so if they do fall in love, he has to accept her baby as well and I can’t help but get off on a man who loves a woman so much that he would accept another’s baby as his own. It’s a huge turn on for me.

Both of these characters have their issues. John Callahan is one of those irresistibly tortured heroes, but not in that over the top-- poor me kind of way. He’s got some intense emotional baggage that he’s dealing with and I really liked how Hope’s need for comfort and her innocent way of reaching out to him for that because he’s all she has, slowly opens him up. Deep down he has a huge heart but has suffered so much pain that he’s done everything he can to deny that he has any feelings.

What could have gone the way of syrupy saccharine with him opening and feeling things again doesn’t and I appreciated that. He’s deeply touched by Hope, but his letting her in is a slow process with fits and starts and he doesn’t loose his essential maleness in that. There’s nothing worse then the tortured, dark hero who suddenly becomes an emotional woman at the hands of a soft, loving woman. John stays all man while slowly letting himself feel again, which kept it real for me.

As Hope starts to remember who she is and what has happened, she has so much loss that she has to deal with herself. Besides realizing that her father wasn’t who she thought, she has to deal with being punished for her pregnancy as well as finding out painful stuff about her baby’s father.

She goes through a very difficult grief process while stuck together with John and she’s operating at the most primal and honest of human levels when she keeps reaching out to John, which makes it hard for him to turn away. And I liked that she doesn’t shy away from gently pushing him to talk about his past. She won’t take no for an answer because part of his opening is hooked into finding out what has happened to her.

I really enjoyed how their love story unfolded for them. It was very quiet, like soft ripples on the water. No big drama, and yet, very emotionally deep. And when they do finally have sex, they are already in a deep love and need of each other even if they’re not expressing that on the surface. I couldn’t help but be turned on by the way they got together; it was so realistic and honest.

The mystery part of this story is very well done as well. It’s not overly suspenseful in that gripping, nail biting sort of way, but it kept my interest through out. Little details are given along the way so that the mystery and suspense keeps building enough to keep that energy up and these two characters together while they try and figure out what’s going on. And it’s a plausible plot as well. While having a strong presence in the story, I felt the developing love story to be the focal point with the suspense as a nice backdrop to have that in.

Ultimately, Sharon Cullen has written an exceptionally beautiful and gratifying romance, which I wanted to keep reading about. I’m definitely going to read more of her work.

Sex rating: Commando. The only real sex scene is written in very light sensual terms and not really graphic at all, but came across as highly sensual and erotic to me.

Grade: A-

BDSM - as a topic and lame review of a book

2009-02-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

I'm totally pissed off today about a book I'm reading. Actually, I've been reading it for the last few days. It's taking me this long to finish it because every few pages I get pissed off and leave it.

The sexual theme in this book is BDSM.

Ok, right off the bat, I'm going to be honest in saying that BDSM is not my cup of tea. I don't get spanking, pain as a sexual pleasure, humiliation, getting off on controlling or humiliating someone, being tied up or whipped, or being dragged around like a dog. I just don't.

However, I have read more than a few books with that theme and from those books I intellectually get the dynamics and psychological aspects behind it. To be honest in some books it's done so well that I've actually thought maybe it would be cool to try it out, to see how it feels really. But in other books it pushes all my buttons and in a very negative way.

In the book I'm reading, my personal visceral reaction to the "hero" if you can call him that, is that this guy is an ass who gets off on controlling his women and making them submit to him. It's all about him.

I think there's a fine line between the Dom/sub dynamics while playing in the bedroom as opposed to men who like women to be weaker than them because it makes them feel bigger. I say this because there are many people who are in total control and even in charge in their everyday life who love to be controlled in sex. But sex only.

In this book there is a threesome, the prick, and two girlfriends. The one girlfriend is really into this world of being a sub and she's the only character that I actually believe is a true BDSM person. The Prick is into this lifestyle and it's OK for me when he's with the one girlfriend because it's mutual and it's clearly a game between them.

Enter the second girl. She's had a very abusive past and is quite leery about trusting anyone. The girlfriend thinks the prick will be the perfect guy for her and tries to get her into their world of BDSM. Prick is instantly hot over the new friend and slowly pushes her into being his sub.

Now, I wouldn't mind this at all normally if the new friend were the type. But she gets pissed at him at every turn and feels rebellious when he orders her around and pushes her beyond her limits. But then, you see, he knows what's best for her and what she really desires deep down and that's to be completely submissive to him. And he's so generous that he's going to train her how to be the best sub out there because he wants to own her and he knows that his huge dick and intense sexuality is turning her on.

[Just to interject here. There have been quite a few times that I've gotten sexually turned on by a sexually aggressive man. Or shall I say, my body has gotten turned on because the men behind that energy have been major asshats who I wouldn't give the time off day to and frankly it made me feel a bit sick that I got turned on by them. This is kind of how I felt reading this book.]

Again, I would try to keep an open mind, but when she is pushed into a situation she's not sure about and he can clearly see she's very uptight about it, he punishes her for being rebellious. And he doesn't do it because he's the Dom and she's supposed to be his Sub, which she really hasn't totally agreed to, but because he gets jealous of her being with another man that he pushed her into being with. Really, I just wanted to poke my eyes out reading this book.

And she, while constantly having an initial reaction of F-U to what he proposes at every turn, always gets miraculously turned on just after. Hmm... I wonder really how convenient that is. Yes, Ok, later on the book she is easier about a lot of it. But that's at the 3/4 mark and I've just been so done with this book that I barely got to that point. If I wasn't reading it to review for my other blog, I would have dumped this book after the first few chapters. And still I might not be able to review it because it pushed so many buttons.

If I put myself in her place, having the same feelings, it's like I said, I've been in situations where I've been totally freaked out by what's going on and yet, have gotten turned on. But lets see, the red flashing warning lights going off in my head were a far truer indicator as to how I was feeling emotionally than my hoo-ha going off like a light bulb. I've had orgasms walking past men whose pheromones somehow reached out and touched mine, but I wouldn't have sex with them or even talk to them. So I was having a hard time understanding why this chick kept going along with it all. But wait, he was her high school crush and he gives her incredible orgasms.

And... her therapist has told her that in order to heal, she needs to learn to trust. Which by the way, she's told to do over and over and over again by the Prick and her girlfriend. "Just trust me," which pushed all my buttons because really, if someone has to repeat over and over to trust them, then they are failing drastically at making the person feel at ease. But I digress.

> To be fair, all along he does tell her she can use the safe word and it's clear that they are operating in that realm. But I think when you have a man who is sexually aggressive and self assured going after a woman who is rather sexually naive and he knows she's really turned onto him and wants him, and he uses that to get his way, isn't that more along the lines of very subtle abusive behavior?

Can someone please tell me what is the difference between a Dom/sub relationship and your garden variety control freak man with a women who is afraid of her own shadow in this case? Because this is supposed to be BDSM and yet, I'm reading it as more your garden variety control crap with a Prick who's all about his needs and desires.

This BDSM theme comes up quite often in the books I read and really, I'm not against reading it. I actually get off on it sometimes. I'd just kind of like to understand it a bit more so when I'm reading it, I know that what I'm reacting to is real BDSM and not just someone's idea of it or a controlling prick asshole hero who can't exist unless he's all powerful over a woman.

Ok, this pic is for me. It just makes me feel better about this whole thing just looking at it. Oh noes, is my psychology showing? :o

Frankly, I've always felt that men who needed control over a woman like that were very weak. Weaker than guys who cower when a strong women mess with them.

A really good book that I read with BDSM was One Breath at a Time by Gwen Masters. This book was so beautifully written and goes deeply into some hard core BDSM and yet, it was so well done that I could not only see clearly the psychological dynamics of it, but it made me want to try it. To go into that kind of trust with some one and be that exposed.

Then there are the Blue Ruin series books by Katrina Strauss. Ok, this BDSM is done within the gay world. However, I totally had the feeling that Blue, the sub in those books, is the one completely in control in that relationship and it helped me to get over my usual initial internal negative reactions in BDSM of my personal fear and dislike being controlled and being told what to do. Katrina Strauss clearly has the Sub in charge, which is how it was in One Breath at a Time. And it's how in my limited understanding of it, I see as representation of true BDSM.

Mathilde Madden's Silver Crown, Silver Collar, and Silver Cage are all strongly BDSM themed and yet I loved those because the characters are so full dimensionally written. They fit the be incredibly strong in many parts of the life, but want to be controlled and to control in sex bill. And they swap around, meaning with one partner they are controlling but with another they are the sub. It was so delicious to read and it didn't push my buttons at all.

Maybe one day I will really have to find out about all of this, because I hate to review a book based on my personal reactions to BDSM and complain about something that is true to that world as opposed to some made up simulated BS just for titillation.

True Confessions

2009-01-31T15:06:00.000-08:00

People, I'm a fraud. There it is, I said it. Feels like a huge weight off my chest.

You might be wondering what the heck I'm on about, and most likely you could care less. Big deal right? I'm in total agreement. But I've been going through a fair amount of self doubt recently, reflecting on what the hell I'm doing with my blog and how I can continue it and stay true to myself.

In June of '07, I drove by myself from Seattle to a family reunion in Iowa. During this trip I took a bunch of audio books that I got from the library to help keep me entertained during the long hours of driving. One of those books was Tami Hoag's Dust to Dust.

Until that moment, I never read a romance. Ever. I loved mysteries, suspense, and thrillers and that was pretty much all I read outside of Japanese authors. Anyway, within this story was a sort of love story, which really grabbed my heart. What? What's this? I was aching for these two to get together. Unfortunately in that story things go horribly wrong in that department. But what happened was that I was left with wanting more...of the love story. How did this happen? I was shocked at myself.

There after, I got a hold of every Tami Hoag book I could get just for the steamy love story part of the suspense.

For some reason, at the same time I suddenly felt compelled to write reviews of what I was reading. Really, I don't know what the hell came over me because I've always had a hard time putting two coherent sentences together, and even more so, two coherent thoughts without my mind rambling all over the place. So where did my audacity to actually try and critique a book come from?

The last time I looked, I was definitely a girl, although I must say keeping the beard and mustache in check has become a more full time operation these days as opposed the occasional plucking of my earlier years. (Yeah, TMI, tough. LOL) Somehow though, I grew a pair of cojones along the way, because seriously, who the hell did I think I was to write reviews of a "real" writer's work when I couldn't even write an intelligent paragraph. What possessed me to think I could do such a thing?

Moreover, to do it in the genre of Romance was insane for me. A genre I had absolutely no clue about or experience with.

But my cojones grew as quickly and as huge as a marijuana plant in a Hawaiian sugar cane field because I got fed up with feeling restricted with the language I could use on Amazon, so I started my very own blog to review erotic romance and erotica. Even I can't believe my cojones in this.

For a while, I was nice and anonymous, keeping myself hidden because even though I managed have the audacity to write these reviews, I was very shy about someone seeing my blog, my obvious ignorance of the romance genre, my gall and even more important, my complete lack of grammar comprehension. But I wanted to write reviews anyway because I like the thought process in that.

Slowly, I started finding and lurking on all the more well known romance reviewer/reader blogs and little by little I would comment, even though I was very careful not to link to my blog for fear of people checking me out.

One day though, I commented on BevQB's blog because I had seen her reviews and comments and thought she was very funny, someone I could relate to and feel comfortable with. And bam, then it started. She commented back on my blog and the interacting slowly started.

Ok that's a wee bit of a lie, Sybil of the TGTBTU was the first to comment on my blog because I had made the mistake of linking her blog to my side bar. So my carefully crafted plan of staying hidden was thwarted right from the beginning in part by my naivete of pingbacks. But I thank Sybil for commenting, it was really nice of her.

Then as I did more and more reviews, authors also started to come by and commenting or emailing me. It's been a nice slow easement into this whole new world for me. Until this point.

What possessed me to write this post is that I've come to a crossroads now. I'm getting linked here and there to other blogs, some of my reviews are getting linked, I hang out and comment on more and more reader and author blogs. I'm twittering, Facebooking, Myspacing and I'm suddenly feeling the weight of being a total fraud because I'm exposing myself more and more. Moreover, just keeping up with all that is going on so I don't look like a total idiot if I comment somewhere, is getting difficult.

The truth is, I don't have the slightest idea of what the hell I'm doing. I don't know what the hell I'm talking about half the time and many times I just wing it. I didn't even know the word trope or what it meant until recently. I don't even have a clue as to what the most common romance tropes are or the particulars of subgenres, I fake it. I'm so out of my league it's not funny.

I just felt the need to get that all off my chest as I continue on with my blog. I am trying to at least be informed and intelligent about what's going on, especially when I feel like a complete outsider who's crashed the party and is acting like I actually belong.

So there it is. I'm going to continue with my blog because I still enjoy it. Including writing reviews, which I still feel completely incompetent at. Oh well. Feeling out of my comfort zone is good for me.

I have learned so much. All you romance/erotica lovers are so much fun to hang with and I really am enjoying the ride with you all. And thanks for not kicking me out, but for welcoming me, even if I am a fraud.

Review- Frost Fair by Erastes

2009-01-31T07:59:00.001-08:00

Frost Fair
by Erastes
Nov. 24, 2008
Historical/ Gay
192 pages
ebook/print

Buy it Amazon, Linden Bay Romance

Gideon Frost is willing to do whatever it takes to earn enough money to save the printing shop that was left to him by his father. But when faced with the prospect of having to engage in acts society deems unnatural and the law declares punishable by death, he realized there are limits as to how far he’ll go. Then he meets the privileged and handsome Joshua Redfern, the one man who tempts Gideon to break his own rules. Joshua Redfern has no title or important relations, but his independent fortune allows him a life that is more than comfortable. And more importantly, it enables him to offer assistance to the unfortunate but beautiful Gideon just when the man needs it most. Joshua realizes his interest in Gideon is far more than charitable, but is the man similarly attracted or merely indebted? When the Thames freezes over and London hosts the great Frost Fair of 1814, trouble and necessity bring Gideon and Joshua together. But just as ice is destined to eventually crack, will the circumstances break these two men as they learn that life isn’t always fair?

I got really lucky one morning and won this book at Jessewave’s blog. There were lots of books up for grabs and it was a first come first serve situation. I’d been dying to read this book because I really loved Erastes’ short story Chiaroscuro in an anthology and being the first person to comment, I chose this book. I was so not disappointed in my choice or my feeling that Erastes is an excellent author who writes really fine, aesthetically appealing, and yummy m/m historicals.

Frost Fair starts off with Gideon Frost, a printer who is barely eking out a living, fending off creditors while trying to keep his shop afloat. Times are so bad for him though, that he occasionally goes to St. Paul’s Churchyard, an area where men go to get serviced by other men, in order to make some money. It’s not his preference to sell his services like that, but it’s a necessity for him to survive.

Gideon gets lucky though, he’s caught the eye of some very wealthy benefactors. One of them is Thouless, a wealthy society man who notices Gideon’s beauty and introduces him to his friend Joshua, an equally wealthy man. Joshua is instantly besotted with Gideon and commissions him to make an etching of his newly renovated house to have contact with him. Both Thouless and Joshua want Gideon but being a time when homosexuality is a punishable by death, no one openly expresses their attractions, keeping everyone guessing. Gideon is very attracted to Joshua, the more quiet and less socially active of the two men and starts fantasizing about him.

It’s one of those rare occasions when the river Thames completely freezes over and as all the shop keepers do, Gideon and his helper set up shop on the river to try and make money. While there, Thouless invites him over to his place offering him a commission, which Gideon can’t afford not to take. But Thouless’ intentions are not honorable and all hell brakes loose when a pissed off Thouless connives behind Gideon’s back to ruin him and keep him from Joshua.

To start, I’m going to say that Erastes is really a master at creating a colorful view of early 19^th century life in London. Right from the beginning her descriptions of Gideon’s dress, manor, his shop, the way he goes about getting food and the young boy Mordecai, how he talks and acts, are so deliciously vivid and enticing. I was sucked right away into this world. Add to that her rich characterizations, the slow build up of tension and growing feelings between the characters at just the right pace, it was juicy right to the end.

Gideon is one of those characters who is straight up, has integrity and is very much his own man. He works really hard to keep his shop going, which was his father’s dream, and have a decent man’s place in society. He also feels responsible for young Mordecai and his welfare. I loved that even though he has stooped to selling his services to men on occasion, he doesn’t cave to his principles when offered a life of ease and comfort with a man he dislikes. Nor does he allow a good friend to take care because he knows this friend wants from him. And after he and Joshua are together for the first time and then he is confronted by Joshua with those things of his past and accused of wrong doing, he doesn’t grovel, but keeps his dignity and walks.

Joshua is an older man and a good man at heart, but a bit misguided. He’s totally smitten with the younger Gideon and dreams of being together with him. Although he’s very wealthy, he doesn’t like to participate too much in the goings on of high society and sticks to basically hanging out with one man, Thouless, who is into being the society playboy.

Joshua is interesting in that while he’s rich and one would think a bit savvy, he’s so easily duped by Thouless and his conniving, shallow ways. One redeeming factor he did have is that although easily deceived by Thouless, at one point he has the guts to stand up to Thouless, which was a bit surprising considering how much he was tag-a-long and not a leader.

Thouless is one of those deliciously evil characters. All evil all the time. There isn’t one redeeming quality about him. But he was the perfect wrench to throw in between Gideon and Joshua’s love because Gideon is so straight and honorable and Joshua needs to learn to trust that same part of himself, which I don’t think he would have done without Thouless pushing it. I think Joshua would have gone on treating Gideon more as a treasured boy toy and less as an equal partner had not Thouless intervened. So Thouless has an interesting place in this story.

Frost Fair is one of those rare historical m/m books that I’ve come to love and really desire to read more of. I hope that Erastes will continue to write such stories because this book was such a turn on in all aspects.

Sex rating: Commando: very sweet, but very juicy m/m

Grade: A-

Fed Up! Major rant

2009-01-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

That's it! I'm so done with this DRM crap.

DH is running from the room now because I just beat the crap out of the couch arm in my utter frustration with just trying to read a frigging book.

This has pissed me off for a while, but just came up again with the offer from eHarlequin for free book downloads. The current offerings are DRM free. It did take me a while to figure out how to save the PDF to my computer and then to txt so that I could put them on my eBookwise, but I did. And I do appreciate and applaud eHarlequin for offering this.

That said what happened next brought me right back into why I've been pissed at eHarlequin for months now and why I was very leery about doing these free downloads.

Dear Harlequin,

I'm sorry, but I just can't buy from you again. The thing is, I get that you want to protect your property by slapping on DRM so that pirates can't download them and then offer it for free for the masses. And I get it, I'm only one measly customer out of your millions. But you lost a real honest to god PAYING customer because of the huge hassle it is for me to read one of your eBooks on the eReader of my choice.

For the last hour now, I've been trying to figure out how to open up 4 DRM'd PDF books that I bought and downloaded from your site a few months ago. First I'd just like to say that it would be really nice if you actually labeled your PDF as DRM so that those of us who change PDF into TXT format in order to read it on our eBookwises, can. That was my first mistake.

What also kind of pissed me off about that was once I download the PDF, I couldn't go back and re-download it in mobi, which I am able to get on a PDA so I'm not forced to sit and read on my computer. But no, that's not allowed.

What finally brought this up is that I had to download the latest version of Adobe Reader, 9, because 7 was giving me problems. And when I went to open those books, what happened? I couldn't. I had to download Adobe Digital editions as well in order to read them.They opened up fine without problem with Adobe 7, so I never expected this.

So after I spent at least 20 mins. having to go from site to site and setting up YET ANOTHER ACCOUNT and activating my computer, I opened up Adobe Digital Editions to see if I could read those books. But no, it just can't be that easy. I moved those books into the library and they all have errors.

Libertine_Lord__Pickpocket_.pdf:
Adobe DRM Error
System: 7
State: 4
Class: 15
Code: 31
Message: Error on response from server.
Scroll below or view error.log for more details.
Your Adobe software could not be activated.
HTTP error on Adobe DRM Activator request.
Adobe DRM Activator error.
Client Code: 31 - HTTP Code: 500
Fault location: 15
--- end ---

Yeah... more dicking around when I could be actually reading.

So I went to Adobe help and my error didn't show up. At this point I've been trying to figure this all out for an hour and I don't care anymore. Here's the thing, why, why does it have to be so hard? Yeah, I can spend a crap load more time and probably figure it all out, but why should I? Why should I have to go through hoops to read a book? I feel bad for the author's of those books because I don't want to deal with this really.

So many other ePubs offer books not only DRM free, but give several options in the format. And some even let you download a book as many times as you want and in a different format if needed. Totally love you Samhain and Phaze!

They are the publishers that will get my business. Maybe me being just one little customer isn't going to hurt you, but I'm done now. I will never download a book again unless I know for sure there is no DRM on it. I can't support companies taking away options when they should be giving them to me as a real honest to god costumer. Plus, it's just a real hassle that I can't be bothered with.

Rant over.

Don't mess with menopausal women, we have nothing to loose. : )

Crossing Swords

2009-01-27T16:09:00.000-08:00

Author Kirsten Saell is having a contest for a signed copy of her book Crossing Swords, which came out today in print. Hop on over to her blog and comment about your feelings about revenge in romance for a chance to win.

It's a really fun, bawdy, and completely different fantasy. You'll love it!

Review- Empath by Bonnie Dee

2009-01-26T11:55:00.001-08:00

Empath
by Bonnie Dee
Nov 1, 2008
Contemporary/ paranormal
Novella
Ebook

Buy it Samhain

How to trust him…when she can’t even trust herself?

A Gifted story.

Jordan Langley thought he could deal with his empathic “gift”—until a traumatic event drove him into seclusion. As a hermit, he can avoid a world that tears his own emotions to shreds. But now a friend needs his help to reach an autistic boy who witnessed a murder.

Detective Lauren Sadler specializes in blocking her emotions so she can do her job. She can’t deny Jordan’s ability to reach the troubled boy, but she hadn’t counted on how his touch affects her.

In the midst of the investigation, Jordan and Lauren break their own rules, sharing a night of passion that shatters all their barriers. Jordan is intrigued by the vulnerability and self-doubt he senses underneath Lauren’s tough exterior.

But Lauren isn’t sure if she’s ready to yield to the power of the most intimate exchange she has ever known. Even if it’s the only way to catch a killer.

I bought Empath for two reasons: I love the premise of a character who can pick up others’ feelings, taking in their pain giving them relief, and, I read another story by Bonnie Dee and liked what she wrote.

Jordan has this power of being able to feel what others are feeling when he touches them. Not only that, he’s able to heal their pain as well, taking it all into himself. He’s had this ability all his life and he hasn’t learned to turn it off. Because of his ability, his childhood friend and police detective, Danny, has asked him in on some cases and one case in particular burned him out and he retreated from the world living almost in seclusion in the country. Until, that is, Danny shows up asking for help because his sister’s husband was murdered and the only witness might be his autistic nephew, whom no one can reach.

Lauren is a jaded Police detective who won’t let herself open up to anyone in love. She had a bad experience with someone and it broke her. She finds herself immediately attracted to Jordan and goes to him. They have one night of really hot sex, but more than that happens, she can “feel” him, what’s going on with him and it freaks her out, so she backs off. As the investigation continues, she has to deal with him as she tries, but cannot, to keep him at a distance.

The good: Jordan is not your everyday gorgeous hunker like in 99.9 % of romance stories. He’s tall, gangly and all limbs. He has big feet and hands and has scruffy hair with droopy, sad, puppy dog eyes. OK, that’s not really my cuppa in the looks dept., but I thought it nice and unique to have a hero who is kind of odd looking. It added to the fact that he is odd, an outcast. But due to his abilities, he’s very sensitive to what going on with the women he’s with, able to read their every emotion and sensation going through their bodies, which until Lauren, has been a curse really. He’d like to open up and love a woman, but it’s just too much.

I liked the little autistic boy, Mike, in this story as well. The idea that he and Jordan communicate without words, sending messages through thought and emotion was an interesting concept and one that I can imagine might be possible with an autistic person.

The general plot was nicely done as well, with a slow build up as to who the killer might be. It’s someone that Mike, the autistic boy knows, but due to his inability to communicate, we don’t really know until the end.

The Bad: Lauren finds herself able to tune into Jordan and pick up what is going on with him, which I felt was an interesting idea. Two people who can feel and read each other without boundaries is a trippy concept, which turns me on. The problem I had here is that after her and Jordan’s first night together, she cools off dramatically, trying to push him away. But then all the sudden, out of nowhere at the end, she allows herself to drop the barriers and they have a cosmic connection in a funeral home, with her suddenly having the ability to do as he does, feel and take away the pain of others as she tries to ease his burdens. I couldn’t help it, but that’s where the book slid right into hokeyville and I couldn’t believe it. It was just too pat for me.

The other issue I had was that some of the wording and euphemisms for genitals were off for me. I’m just not that fond of words like channel, or red seam as euphemisms for ladies’ parts. Red seam especially. I won’t say on my blog what image that conjured up. It certainly wasn't erotic.

Still though, Empath was a pretty interesting read and conceptually it was great. Outside of bad euphemisms, which I didn’t find in the other book I read of hers, I enjoyed Bonnie Dee’s way of writing. And she did save the hokey part by having them living a nice comfortable, realistic life together, which saved this for me.

Sex rating: Thong: m/f, vanilla

Grade: B

Review- Intimate Traitors by Astrid Amara

2009-01-24T17:55:00.001-08:00

Intimate Traitors
by Astrid Amara
June 2008
Sci-fi/ futuristic/ Gay
Novella
E-book

Buy it Loose-Id

Armen Markus is a member of the resistance fighting the corrupt regime of the Council. He works as a double agent within the Council's most notorious prison as Commanding Interrogator, with one special purpose: to keep the secrets of the rebellion safe.

When he discovers that his ex-lover, Ravi Jai, has been arrested, Armen wants to help him. But he can't risk compromising his position. Now, more than ever, he must stay the course; for the Council has captured the man who has the one weapon needed to end the war, and Armen must find him.

But his newfound power over Ravi proves too much of a temptation. Armen can't resist the lure of Ravi's body, shackled and at his mercy…

For his part, Ravi Jai is shocked to discover his lost love has become a torturer. Now with secrets of his own, Ravi needs to escape before he's discovered and he's pretty sure his old flame Armen can help him. He just needs to be convinced the right way.

Intimate Traitors is one of those books that comes along and shows you what you’ve been wanting to read but didn’t know you did. Astrid Amara’s writing and world building is so clean and crisp, almost Zen like in its expression, with not a word wasted and this story is told from beginning to end in a very evocative way.

The first thing that grabbed me about this story was the stark futuristic world in which this story takes place. It’s sometime in the future and something like what happened in Russia during the revolution and then cold war time is going on. The Council is a group that took over from a democratic society under the guise of freeing the people from a corrupt government, but the Council controls every move of it’s citizens, right down to having “dust-eyes” that can see and record every thing.

Armen works in one of the counsil’s most notorious prisons, a place where members of the resistance end up for automatic death or interrogation. Armen is their top interrogator, liked by the Council and the warden because his techniques are clean and effective. Really he’s a double agent working for the resistance and he fudges reports to keep the resistance’s secrets from the Council.

Armen is such a fascinating character. I really like characters who are in total control of themselves. On the surface he’s cool and commands respect as all obey him. He’s not afraid to use the power that’s been given him. While it hurts him to have to kill and torture his people, he does so in an almost mater of fact way because he knows it’s for the good of the whole. It’s cost him his humanity though, which he doesn’t realize until Ravi, his former lover, shows up at the prison.

Ravi knew Armen in college. He was known as openly gay, and as a player who didn’t take things too seriously. One day he seduced the shy and sexual virgin Armen, and they became lovers. They went their separate ways when Armen decided to work for the resistance and Ravi has been searching for him ever since. So he’s shocked to find Armen doing the worst kind of job for the enemy, and yet, he cannot deny his feelings for him when Armen drags him into the interrogation room.

What I really enjoyed about the romance between Ravi and Armen as they reconnect in the interrogation room is that they are very sexually intense but subdued and mature with each other. They came across as real men, interacting in a real way, and not over emotional or sappy. While they both still have strong feelings for each other, they are both still loyal to the work they have to do, and the conflict in that is dealt realistically.

The whole futuristic world that Astrid Amara has created is just so richly and vividly described. I could see it all so clearly in my head it being dark, cold, steely, and totally believable. I felt it was a very interesting and unique background for a love story. And the technology used by this society is so advanced, and yet, hits very close to home. It’s almost scary that these kinds of things could be a possibility.

While this story takes place within a couple of days and mostly in the prison, the secondary characters that show up offer a nice contrast to what’s going on with Armen and Ravi. Simon is a deliciously depraved character. You just hate him because he loves his work so much, and yet his presence keeps up the tension for Armen because of the possibility of being caught. And then there was the suspense of what will happen that really picks up towards the end as Armen risks everything to save Ravi from certain death.

Intimate Traitors is definitely one of those stories that will stick in my mind for a long time. Astrid Amara’s clean and expressive style of writing was such a turn-on and for that alone I will read some more of her books.

Sex rating: Crotchless Panty- juicy, hot m/m, anal

Grade: A-

Review- Holding Her Own by Marie-Nicole Ryan

2009-01-19T13:13:00.001-08:00

Holding Her Own
by Marie Nicole-Ryan
July 15, 2008
Contemporary/ Suspense
Novel
E-Book

Buy it Samhain, Amazon kindle version

Pretending to be newlyweds is a dangerous game…particularly if you’re falling in love.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Caitlin Chaney believes in doing things strictly by the book. It’s the only way to prove she’s earned her rank despite her father’s position in the federal government. Just her luck, she’s been teamed with an agent who’s known for following his instincts, not the rules. To her way of thinking, Agent Jake LeFevre is a screw up and bound to trash her operation—and career.

Jake is used to running undercover ops his way, and he’s not too happy with his new boss—an accountant, no less, whose undercover experience is limited at best. He needs a partner who can hold her own, not a prima donna.

At first the sparks that fly between them aren’t the good kind. From the very beginning, their cover as madly-in-love newlyweds at a New Orleans casino is tested to the max. But as they work together to find a missing whistleblower in a money-laundering scheme, their admiration grows to respect—and something more.

Then Jake discovers the casino CFO is someone he loved as a teenager. If the woman recognizes him, things could go sideways, and fast—and in a way that could leave their bodies—and hearts—in pieces.

This is the second book of Marie-Nicole Ryan’s that I’ve read and like One Too Many, Holding Her Own moved along at an exciting pace portraying a very sweet romance with in a gripping suspense plot.

FBI agents Caitlin and Jake are thrown together as undercover agents on a case to find out who’s behind a money laundering scheme in a casino in New Orleans. Caitlin has been put in charge and Jake is incredulous. To Jake, Caitlin is a bean counter with no field experience. Even worse, he thinks she’s an uptight stickler for the rules who’s spoiled and comes from D.C. political royalty and he’s having none of it.

Caitlin’s father is a very powerful mover and shaker in Washington, but has had no time for Caitlin who grew up without a mother. Caitlin’s looking to advance her career and wants to prove to herself, her father and everyone else that she’s capable of more than being an accountant and that she’d make a great field agent. So being put in charge on this case, she lays down the law straight away with Jake, a known renegade in the FBI. The instant hate between them is obvious and some very colorful verbal banter starts flying.

This book was so much fun to read; it’s one of those books that I enjoyed everything about it so in order to write a review I’d have to touch upon almost everything. Well, I’ll spare you all and only talk about what mainly hit me about this book. But it’s a winner all around for me.

The romance: I’m a huge fan of those old romantic comedies from the 30’s and 40’s were in the dialogue between the characters is so witty and delicious and Holding Her Own was just that in the beginning. Caitlin and Jake go at it straight away with neither one backing down. While mentally they clash, of course, on a deeper level they have the hots for each other and the verbal dance starts turning into sexual heat.

Outside of the yummy way in which these two find their way into being together, which is what turned me on the most in this story, I loved how the tension between Caitlin and Jake slowly builds into a very sweet and loving romance. They don’t hit the sheets until they both recognize that they really are attracted and are ready to open up to each other on more than a sexual level and there’s nothing more satisfying to me than that.

Normally I’d go on about each character and what I liked, but somehow through most of this book I thought of them as unit, working in tandem. While each character had their own personality, they are so good together that I didn’t think of them as separate in any way, which was a change from the usual.

What grabbed me even more in the romance part of this story was how really comfortable Caitlin and Jake are with each other. Both Jake and Caitlin come from backgrounds of some kind of abandonment and then being loved by an outsider, so on some level, they get each other. It had the feeling that they’ve been together for a life time and you know that they will stick together forever with nary a waver. They’re often doing very mundane, day to day things together and you can tell how much they enjoy each other just doing those things. Very nice.

And I will say that the sex between them was very nicely written and at just the right amount. It’s expressed as the culmination of their love and not thrown in there to amp up the heat to the story, which made it very erotic even though it’s written more sensually than graphically.

The suspense plot: The first half of the book is mainly Caitlin and Jake finding their way as a couple, but once they are established, mostly, then the suspense part really kicks in. I feel that Marie-Nicole Ryan has an excellent handle on writing convincing, intelligent and exciting suspense. Not only that, but she manages to weave the different aspects in the story seamlessly, building from one event to the next without wasted verbiage.

What I really got off on the suspense part was that even though Caitlin, Jake and Alex, their other contact within the casino, are tops in their fields as FBI agents, they go about using every day technology, unlike so many suspense books in which super intelligent technology is just made up. I just loved it when Jake breaks into the casino’s CFO’s office that he brings with him a simple external hard drive to transfer files. There’s no super secret, WiFi file sucking chip that he can just beam at the computer from across the world, nope, he goes in with your basic external hard drive that every schmo uses and I kind of got off on how almost retro that felt. It was the same when Caitlin, a computer pro, can’t hack into some files. It shows how fallible and normal these agents are.

Outside of the money laundering plot, there is a plot in which a family member of Jake’s is kidnapped and this part of the story line added a lot to both the suspense plot and the romance, kind of tying in both. I can’t say much on that or it’d be a spoiler, but the character is very interesting and keeps the running theme of both Caitlin and Jake’s lives of having others take them in and love them and is cause to test Caitlin and Jake’s love.

The only niggling point I had was that Caitlin is in charge of the operation and when she, Jake and Alex go out on a covert mission, the guys nonchalantly poo poo the decisions she makes, which came across as a bit patronizing and she backs down. I didn’t like that she wavers and wasn’t more decisive at that time and that she let the guys run over her even though they were right and had more field experience. It would have been nice if she would have stood her ground.

On the other hand, she does make some decisions on her own later on, which could have been rather dumb, but it did show that she was capable of being her own person and not just suddenly the good little woman because she’s in love. I did like that at some point she does admit that she’s not that experienced and that it was enough to prove to herself that she was able to cut it instead of actually doing dumb things, which would have put me off. A fine line was walked there.

As in One Too Many, there is an array of colorful and uniquely written supporting characters that bring much to this story, keeping the entertainment level high. There are also a lot of New Orleans local cultural flavorings scattered throughout this story, which gave it some extra spice. As a romance and suspense, Holding Her Own is a delectably perfect blend of both genres, standing out for me as top notch in both areas.

Sex rating: Commando. Very sweet, grade A vanilla m/f

Grade: A

Ride up the butt underwear, ugh!

2009-01-14T18:51:00.001-08:00

I'll bet his underwear doesn't ride up his ass. Men... are so lucky. Plus they have nice things to play with stuffed in their underthings.

These last few days I've been hanging with my sister in Portland. Not really having anything that we have to do, we decided to go to the mall because I'm looking for a set of Japanese Katana swords for DH's birthday and since they are expensive, I thought maybe I could find a set here in OR where there is no sales tax.

So we're walking around and we end up in Soma Intimates, a lingerie store a lot like Victoria's Secret, but which I've never been to before. My sister was raving about these panties called Vanishing Edge that they sell that has soft rubber edges so they supposedly don't ride up your ass, and she wanted to get some more.

She swears by them, so I decided to buy a few to try, even though I found the perfect underwear for me years ago with Hanes Sporties. Ok, so they are sporty and not really that sexy, but I'm a practical girl and I HATE when underwear rides up my butt and these don't. I've tried everything. The Victoria's Secret underwear, which stated doesn't ride up the butt, but did and cost me bucks, and also the line of Hanes which claims gives no wedgies, but does as well. So I only wear Hanes Sporties. And being that they are really cheap, I can keep up my fetish of having like 30 pairs at any given time.

The thing is, you know, being a chick, I do like to have some frilly underthings. Frankly, until my mid 40's when I started to gain weight, I was thin enough to wear nice lacy underwear and I miss it sometimes. And I'm so not ready to go the route of the granny pantie. OMG, I won't be caught dead in them, no way-- no how. Maybe when I'm in my 60's, maybe.

So I buy 3 pairs of the bikini type because I'm not built for French cut or briefs styles, they definitely ride up. They were on sale 3 for $27, which was good since they are normally $12.95.

The next day, I have my shower and I'm all excited to put on my new, lacy panties and they feel OK. Not as comfortable as the Sporty, but OK. I walk around the house all morning and all is fine and I'm thinking, wow, I finally found some sexier underwear that doesn't ride up the butt. Riiiight.

Heh, too bad they don't sell the body with the undies, because I so look like this in my underwear. *snrk*

Later on, we went out to Fred Meyers to do some major food and sundries shopping and the first thing that happens is that my new panties start creeping up my butt. Not only that, but (Warning TMI) being a trimmed up chickie, everything started itching like hell down there because I think the lace was sticking/ grabbing to... um stubble, and I started going insane. Literally. We were walking around and I kept trying to surreptitiously, and outright after a while, scratching at my crotch and picking at my butt to get the underwear out of it. Oh yeah, THAT is very sexy. *snrk*

My grade on no ride up Vanishing Edge Soma Intimate panties? F

Looks like I'm sticking by my old faithful Hanes Sporties.

And don't get me started on bras. Ugh!

Review- Sleight of Hand by Katrina Strauss

2009-01-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

Sleight of Hand
by Katrina Strauss
Dec. 16, 2008
Gay/ historical/ paranormal
Short Story
E-book

Buy it Samhain

What if the man of your dreams is also the one of your nightmares?

Edwin Matthews just wants to get some sleep. Traveling by steam train with his family, the melancholic nineteen year old is plagued by restless nights and recurring dreams of a fiery disaster. When a mysterious magician comes aboard, the troubled insomniac’s trip takes an interesting turn.

Tall, dark, and incredibly handsome, the flamboyant Sir Marco Satori offers to cure what ails Edwin. Spurred by equal parts curiosity, desperation, and attraction, Edwin agrees to the experiment. Suddenly he finds his quiet journey turned into a wild ride of life, love, sex, death..and a few strange things in between.

He also finds himself claimed—in more ways than one—while a promise of “eternity” may be more than Edwin bargains for.

Sleight of Hand is just the kind of book I’ve been wishing for, for a long time. It’s a paranormal but strays far away from the usual, and is very unique in the telling and ambience. I think Katrina Strauss has outdone herself with this one. The writing, the story, the characters are just exquisite and it was such a pleasure to read this, totally satisfying something in me on so many levels.

Edwin is a young man who has suffered depression and spent a lot of time in an asylum to deal with his mental issues and weak constitution. He’s very sensitive and although sickly, he worries about his sister marrying a man the age of their grandfather and wishes he could take care of his mother and sister since their father died.

On route with his mother and sister to meet this man his sister is betrothed to, their train stops and he sees an interesting looking man in a car that is to be attached to their train, or so he thinks. The next thing he wakes up in his seat feeling like he’s actually met this man but brushes the whole thing off as dream as he doesn’t see the other car anymore. Until later that is.

On the surface, Marco Satori is just an exotic magician, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Edwin hears Marco calling him in his mind and goes to him. Again, Edwin wakes up fully rested in his sleeper but doesn’t remember how he got there. Although not sure, he has vague recollections of being sexually seduced by Marco, which oddly doesn’t freak him out even though he knows that being attracted to men is wrong and against God.

What is really going on?

Gorgeous, this story is just so rich and deep. Edwin is such a real and sympathetic character. I could really see how someone of his delicate nature would have all kinds of psychological and physical manifestations resulting from denial of his sexuality and sensitivities, especially during the particular time period this takes place when even mention of going to the bathroom is just not done.

He’s very attracted to Marco even though he doesn’t really know what to make of him, nor of his sexual feelings towards him either. Marco is very mysterious but so gentle with Edwin that Edwin finds himself just allowing the seduction to happen and enjoying it. I must say, the seduction of Edwin by Marco is one of the most erotic scenes I’ve read in a long time. But then again, I’m kind of partial to the older person seducing a much younger person trope as well as dream or otherworld sex. But the way it’s written is just so sensuous.

Marco is one of those characters that kind of sucks you in and piques curiosity. He’s very commanding and seems to be omnipotent, kind of like the Wizard of Oz, and yet he’s so human and compassionate. You can feel that he’s suffered some pain in his past even though he always genial. He is a bit paternal towards Edwin, although it doesn’t come across as squicky at all, but feels totally right.

The whole paranormal world that Katrina Strauss has set up here was very intricately done and so different than what I’ve read as well. There are elements of ghosts, but it’s not a ghost story really. Magic, mind reading, and psychic abilities play a huge part as well, but that’s not totally it either. It does get a bit mind boggling and trippy at times, especially towards the end, heading into areas of good vs. evil but all of that is what turned me on. And I like that it doesn’t follow logic in Marcos explanation at the end.

The only issue I did have about this story was that I guess since this world is written in such detail, I was a bit disappointed in Marco’s explanation to Edwin about the truth. But this is so minor to what this story offered as a whole.

For such a short story, Sleight of Hand came across as a fully written book. That’s how deeply it took me out of current time and swept me away. And I’d have to say it was just perfect in its presentation, leaving no loose ends, or holes in the story, which happens quite often with short stories. I’d love to know more about these characters since they are so intriguing, but so full was this story that it satisfied me totally as is. Well done!

Sex rating: Commando. m/m, anal. Very erotic, hot m/m sex.

Grade: A

Review- Beautiful C*cksucker by Barbara Sheridan

2009-01-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

Beautiful C*cksucker
by Barbara Sheridan
Dec. 2008
Gay/ contemporary/erotica
Short Story
E-Book

Buy it Nobleromance

What NYPD patrolman Ray Watts wants to do is finish his shift and take a much needed vacation. If he has to first suffer through playing chauffeur to some pain in the ass foreign cop visiting New York on a special fact-finding detail then so be it.

But what Ray gets is a pleasant and arousing surprise when Inspector Miki Nabeshima from Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department shows up and skillfully escorts him into a world like none he’s ever known, a world Ray never thought much about, but once he’s ushered in, he knows he’ll never be able to turn back.

This is just a quickie review only because this story is so short. What is packed into this book is a fun story with unique, engrossing characters. While there is some controversy around the title, the book itself is not controversial at all but a sensitively written story revolving around the world of gay BDSM. I just loved it!

Ray, a detective with NYPD, is such an interesting character. First of all, he’s shocked and very intrigued by Miki Nabeshima, a visiting cop from Tokyo in NY on a case, because Miki isn’t what Ray assumed. When Miki takes Ray to a private club where gay men can express their BDSM proclivities, Ray is at once turned on and a bit freaked.

What I got off on about Ray is that he’s very non-judgmental of himself about being curious about both his attraction to men, which he’s never really thought about, and the D/s world. He comes from a place of having had an abusive father towards his mother and also dealing with domestic violence on his job, so he can’t understand what people see in BDSM. While he is apprehensive, his curiosity about Miki, and maybe even a trust he has that he doesn’t understand really, keeps him hanging in there and I really liked that quality. He’s just open and ready to explore even with his fears.

Asian and good looking, Miki is a really delicious, intense and mysterious character. He's strong, dominant, controlling, and has an impressive presence that people immediately respond to, including Ray. Wow! Miki is attracted to Ray and gloms onto him, seducing him, but also stays very mysterious at the same time, which really intrigues Ray. Miki, being so in control all the time, wishes to be dominated by Ray, which fascinates Ray because both being cops, he gets the need for control all the time. I would have loved to have more of Miki’s history because this type of character is just so fascinating and makes me want to know more.

Being a short story there’s really not much to the plot, but it’s a nicely written beginning to what could be an ongoing relationship between Ray and Miki and it was left off on a good note, which made this story all the more appealing.

Sex rating: Crotchless Panty. Hot m/m smexing, public sex, anal, light BDSM.

Grade: A-

Author Anne Rainey guest blogging at LVLM

2009-01-08T06:33:00.001-08:00

Author Anne Rainey is guest blogging over at LVLM blog about her book Burn, which just came out through Samhain.

One lucky commenter will receive a $10 Amazon gift certificate so hop on over and check it out.

A woman scorned…can be damned delicious!

Ally Ryanaldo and Blake Steele were high school sweethearts, in love and inseparable. Ally always assumed she’d be his wife, raise his babies and live happily ever after. Those dreams were shattered the day Blake left her and his small town life for the bright lights of New York City.

Now, ten years later, Blake is back—and wants to pick up where they left off. Ally has other ideas. Naughty ideas. With the help of her kinky girlfriend, Heather, Ally shows Blake her wild side.

When her little plan backfires, though, Ally’s very much afraid she may lose the only man she’s ever loved—for good.

Warning: This title contains explicit sex, graphic language, anal play, ménage a trois, whips and whipped cream.

Review- Miss Lonely Hearts by Charlene Teglia

2009-01-03T11:36:00.001-08:00

Miss Lonely Hearts
by Charlene Teglia
Oct 30, 2007
Contemporary/ romantic comedy
Category
E-book

Buy it Samhain

Love, larceny, and lies.

When is a love letter not a love letter? When it’s mail fraud. Or in this case, female fraud.

Jason Alexander is one angry Alaskan, and he’s out to get his woman; the letter-writing Lolita who’s running the Miss Lonely Hearts con game in his bailiwick. She’s taking lonely Alaskans for a roller-coaster ride and cashing in on love. When she hits the patrons of his bar The Last Resort, the retired gambler takes it personally and goes out for justice.

Cassandra Adams has just been dumped by ex-fiancé number two. She’s fed up with Romance Roulette and ready to trade her rosy daydreams for hardheaded practicality. The logical solution? She’s going to search the classifieds for the mail-order marrying man she wants.

She thinks she’s found him in Jason, alias Alex Sanders. He thinks he’s hooked Miss Lonely Hearts. And the regulars at The Last Resort think it’s high time Jason got married, so they’re not about to clarify matters when they discover his mistake.

Together Jason and Cassandra will have to cut their way through the tangle of love, larceny and lies to unmask Miss Lonely Hearts and find a happy ending that’s a sure bet.

For some reason, and I don’t know why because I had never heard of her, I started following Charlene Teglia on twitter and found her little quips during the day to be very funny. Then I visited her blog a few times and the same thing. She’s totally cracks me up, so I decided to try one of her books thinking that her humor would come out through her stories. I chose Miss Lonely Hearts because it’s labeled as a romantic comedy, something I was really in the mood for.

It’s hard for me to review this book mainly because there is really nothing bad I can say about this story, and yet, it just didn’t wow me. I liked Ms Teglia’s writing style, which was easy to read and had a nice flow to it, but the story itself was just more of the same old same old, nothing unique or different about it. If you want a story that has a satisfying romance without too much drama then this is a good book.

Cassandra is an heiress who’s about to loose a huge chunk of change, like millions, if she doesn’t get married in two months time when she will be 28. Her other family members, who stand to inherit that money if she’s not married, keep thwarting her by interfering in her marriage plans and she is dumped, twice, just before marrying.

The last ass that dumped her also got her fired from her waitress job. So she’s totally broke and alone when she decides that she’s not going to bother about love anymore, but find some guy who wants to get married and have babies from an online dating site, because so far, love hasn’t worked out for her. Plus she doesn’t want her family members to get her money.

Enter Alex/ Jason. The barflies who hang out in his bar in Alaska have been trying to find wives online and have been getting duped and taken for all their worth by some woman and this doesn’t fly with him. So he sets up an account to catch her and ends up writing to Cassandra because she fits the bill.

Having sent Cassandra a fake pic of a really ugly man, he meets her at the Seattle airport and tries to seduce her on the way to Alaska because she doesn’t know he’s the guy. Of course she’s all hot for him and he for her, especially when he finds out that she’s the real deal, but he has to keep up the charade until after the marriage, which is to take place that very day.

Ok. First, I was almost derailed by the “big misunderstanding” trope. While I knew it’d be part of the story from the blurb, I was hoping it would resolve itself quickly and it did. Cassandra figures things out fairly quickly, which was a huge plus for me. The second main trope, marriage of convenience, is one of my favorites and in this story it’s done quite well.

What did bother me slightly was that Cassandra, never having met the man she is supposedly married to, starts playing footsie with Jason. And Jason is all over her right from the get-go, trying to seduce her. Really on her, at every turn. It’s all OK because Jason knows they are really married, however, she doesn’t and so the reality is that he’s really pushing her even though he knows she really wants to stick to her vows. This kind of pissed me off because Cassandra goes on and on to Jason and in her inner dialogue that she’s married, so she can’t cheat all while letting him kiss her. And Jason’s internal dialogue while seducing her is all about how he should come out with the truth, but doesn’t. But you know, pheromones and all that; it can’t be helped.

I liked Cassandra although I thought her to be way too naïve and compliant. She’s a nice girl, a seemingly intelligent girl, but she trusted everyone way too easily for my taste. When she arrives in Alaska, she finds out that she is to be married to Jason by proxy since “Alex,” the guy she really thinks she’s marrying cannot be there. She goes along with it, without too much questioning even though some suspicions come up during the ceremony when she does object briefly.

I get that it’s a leap of faith to marry someone you’ve never met, but then to get married without ever really meeting the guy was a bit much for me. This is a contemporary. And, she totally trusts all these new men she meets, supposedly friends of his, when they tell her what a nice guy Alex really is. But Ok, I was willing to suspend disbelief here because it’s fiction and I want to be entertained with something I’d never do. And deep down there’s a part of me that wants to believe that a person can be so gullible and trusting of strangers and not be taken advantage of.

Then there’s Jason. I quite liked him as well, but nothing really stood out for me with him. He’s just a good guy, even though he acted in ways that would have had me dumping him, or at least being leery. When he realized that Cassandra is the real deal and not the con artist he should have fessed up straight away, but he keeps the charade going until she actually figures it out and brings it up. Of course, he’s hot. The best lover she’s ever had. The chemistry is so intense that they can’t keep their hands off of each other and she just can’t resist him. And he really is marriage material and wants to settle down with her. But something just fell a bit short for me with him even though he’s a clearly defined and fun personality for the most part.

Outside of the romance, this little Alaskan town where the story is set has an eclectic collection of odd balls, drop-outs and people starting over. What’s become the requisite in small Alaskan town stories. Although a cliché at this point, those characters do add to the story and even with it being a cliché, I enjoyed that part. And there is a nice twist on the real miss lonely heart part of the story.

Miss Lonely Hearts was one of those quick reads that gave me a few hours of light entertainment. Even though I didn’t go, “oh wow this rocks,” it was still a nice romance and I will say that the sex was pretty steamy with lots of fun toy use. I’ll still pick up some of Ms. Teglia’s other books because I still have hope that her funny sense of humor will come out and I really enjoy her voice in general.

Sex rating: Crotchless panty- m/f, toys, light, playful borderline BDSM, handcuffs, nipple/ clit clips.

Grade: B

Oh Snap!

2008-12-27T13:05:00.000-08:00

Look at me all I don't have a job so I can't buy any new books...blah, blah that I wrote in my last post. Best layed plans right? Wrong.

I made the huge mistake of going into Borders today. DH and I have had very bad cabin fever due to the snow and ice and not being able to go out for fun. So we made our way out to get his Christmas prezzie, which arrived to our mail place, and to get some lunch, food stuffs and so on.

While we were in the Mall, DH had the great idea to go into Borders and of course I went along not fearing loosing any self control because I can't afford books now. Right.

But then what does Borders do? They have a bunch of bins in the front of the store with books and audio books all for $3.99 and $5.99. And being the nosy, and a bit bored cause I can't buy books, little biatch that I am, I just had to look. No problem because most of the books are stuff I wouldn't be interested in, until I came across some romance books. Ouch.

Next thing you know, I've got a handful of books and I meet up with DH who immediately rolls his eyes. I told him it's his fault for bringing an addict into the opium den. I don't think he bought that crap coming out of my mouth though. LOL

I picked up:

Hot Mama- by Jennifer Estep

Magical Seduction- Cathryn Fox, Mandy M. Roth, and Anya Bast- An Ellora's Cave book!

Just before Christmas I ordered a crap load of books from EC from their $3 and $4 sale bin, so I was a bit worried I might have ordered it already, but one of the authors in this book I know I didn't buy, so I figured I was good.

What She Wants at Midnight- by Kimberly Dean- I don't know this author, but for a $4 trade book, I thought I'd try her.

The best score was Sherrilyn Kenyon's- Devil May Cry audio CD's for $5.99.

There were several Stephanie Plum series audio books, but I read the first 3 books and wasn't too impressed, so I left them for someone who might enjoy them.

Ok, so really, from now on I'm staying away from book stores because obviously I can't trust myself. Really, I swear.

Ever changing life

2008-12-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning, the man I've been taking care of for 2 years died. We all knew it was going to happen so it was no big surprise. It's what I do. I take care of people from when they cannot do for themselves any more until they die and in this case I'm glad he went quickly and didn't suffer much in the end.

So there are some big changes coming for me. I don't know when I will get a new job, which oddly, I don't feel too worried about. There are always people who need the kind of service I provide. What I do stress about is all the things I've been lucky to have in all my cases and have become used to in this work.

I don't know why it's happened like it has, but I've had it pretty cushy in all my jobs in that I've had a lot of free time to do what I want during work hours, as well as having internet service. In fact, I managed to go to school for 2 years while doing a 24/5 live-in job and I started doing reviews out of my total boredom. Writing reviews has given me a chance to use my brain, on top of alleviating my boredom and it's something I wish to continue doing.

Luckily for me, I have DH to fall back on. Plus I knew this was going to happen and saved up, so I can be choosy about who I work for and the conditions that I work in.

So for now, I'm looking at the bright side in that I have some more time with DH since he's off until the 5th. And, I can also get a lot of stuff done around the house, which I put off while working. Visiting with family and friends who don't get to see often due to distance, is also on my list to do during this break.

The only bad thing I have to do now is put a moratorium on buying books, which is my only extravagant spending really. But since I went all hog wild just before the holidays and bought a shit load of books, I have plenty to keep me going for a while. It's just as well as my TBR pile was getting out of hand. Much of it is erotica though, which I'm kind of off of for a bit. I did get a B&N gift card for Christmas, so if there is a book that I absolutely have to have, I can get it, but I will hang onto it for now.

Part of my TBR pile. Books are behind as well. Most are in ebook format and I don't even want to count it all up. Certainly I don't have as much on my TBR pile as most people, I'm sure, but there's plenty to keep me going for a while.

more animals

I'm also hoping to rearrange my blog in the next few days/weeks, and get some new books up there. It's time for a face lift for the new year, maybe change stuff around, so if it gets discombobulated here and there, don't mind please.

Review- Edge of Darkness by Jove Belle

2008-12-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

Edge of Darkness
by Jove Belle
May, 2008
Suspense/ Lesbian
Novel

Buy it Amazon, Bold Stroke Books

Diana Collins charges at life with an irreverent comment and a right hook, but even her hard-headed attitude may not be enough to protect her heart…or her life.

As a senior investigator for a high-end insurance company, Diana needs to find the person responsible for the theft of a rare sword. While Diana struggles to protect her burgeoning relationship with kindergarten teacher, Cami Michaelson, the investigation leads her into a bitter world of rage and revenge. Diana uncovers one damning piece of evidence after another that challenges everything she knows about right and wrong. She finds her hard-driving work ethic, which demands the thief be held accountable, at odds with the desire to protect her new friend, Ali Sandoval, who is caught in the center of the conflict. As she draws Diana deeper into a dark subculture of sex, power, and death, Ali must choose between vengeance and peace if she hopes to escape with her sanity intact.

I never would have known about author Jove Belle if a friend hadn’t mentioned her to me, but I’m so glad I’ve found her. Edge of Darkness is one of those books that really popped for me. Its edgy, dark, suspenseful story line combined with a juicy love story made it one of the best reads in while for me. And I must admit, that cover totally grabbed me.

Diana is an investigator for an insurance company who’s been asked to do an interview because she’s a dyke and her bosses feel that the person they need to interview will be more open with her. There is a claim on a very valuable Katana sword that disappeared after the murder of its owner, so Diana and her mentor/friend, Braxton, who is an expert at interviewing, go to question the step-daughter of the murdered man. While Diana and Braxton search for the Katana, they find out that they might actually be in search of a serial killer, and get embroiled into a dark, twisted world.

While this is going on, Diana’s love life also picks up when she meets Cami, a kindergarten teacher, and finds herself falling in love again after a failed relationship and a string of one-night-stands.

There is absolutely nothing bad I can say about this book. I was just so impressed by all of it: the complex character development, the slow build up of a suspenseful investigation, and a realistically and honestly written love story, which all came together in a flawless, enthralling way for me. I really can’t say enough about how positively affected I was by the writing and story telling in this book.

The characters: Diana—is the main character and it’s through her eyes that this story is told. She’s a tough scrapper type who is not afraid to get into it with people to do the right thing. She’s also got a huge heart and takes her Irish Catholic upbringing, including being family oriented, very seriously. She’s still getting over a failed relationship and has been sticking to having one-night-stands even though she dreams of having the white picket fence and living in domestic bliss forever with someone someday. At the moment though, she’s mostly focusing on her career as an insurance investigator. She’s such a complex and interesting character whose mix of contradicting qualities really turned me on.

Cami- is Diana’s new love interest. What I really got off on in this story is how realistically the love story develops between Cami and Diana. Cami is a real sweetheart of a woman, who, like Diana, feels so attracted but also has all the usual doubts and insecurities that goes with falling in love and getting to know someone knew. The interactions between her and Diana came across as very authentic and it’s the first time for me read a lesbian love story that expressed how I imagine it would really be between two women.

I will also say on that front, that reading this book and trying to put together my thoughts for this review I finally realized why I enjoy reading f/f love. Based on this love story and how it developed, it’s the raw emotional communicating between the characters I get off on. Because both parties are women, the thoughts and feelings going on internally were openly expressed between these two women. It’s something I don’t get in a m/f romance, or at least not to this degree and it came across as extremely intimate.

Braxton- is Diana’s mentor at work and she is also a well written character. She a tough, straight forward, take no prisoners type of woman who’s extremely intelligent and a pro at interviewing and psychologically breaking down people to get info. She and Diana have this playful but respectful rapport between them, which I really liked. And even though she’s a straight, married woman, she flirts with Diana with lots of subtle sexual innuendo, which Diana doesn’t quite no how to take at times. I got the impression that she did have a thing for Diana in some way and it was interesting to me that Jove Belle kept what’s going on between them ambiguous because that felt more real to me.

Ali- is the serial killer. I can say that because it’s revealed right in the beginning. She’s a refreshingly written damaged character and I felt so much for her. She was kidnapped and abused for most of her youth by a tyrant of a man and basically kept prisoner until she managed to escape one day. Consequently, she is trying to save other helpless women by trying to rid the world of abusing men. What I loved about the way Jove Belle wrote her is that even though she’s become this cold blooded killer, when Diana shows her real love and compassion, that part of her that she’s forgotten that needs to be loved and accepted makes her feel more vulnerable than she was as a kidnapped victim because she actually opens up and reaches out for the first time. It was heartbreaking.

Other than those main characters, I felt the interactions between the office men and Diana were very interesting as well. The men joke about her being a lesbian and show their ignorance and sexism on a regular basis to the degree that it borders on sexual harassment, and yet, Diana’s sarcastic and humorous reactions to it, easily deflecting it back to them, and the fact that the men actually respect her and Braxton, didn’t turn all of that into a male bashing fest, which it could have easily happened to add more unnecessary tension or drama to the story and I liked that.

The suspense plot is also very well written. We know who the killer is straight away, but like a Columbo story, it’s the detailed and logical way in which Diana goes about investigating and the conclusions she comes to along the way, plus the unpredictable reactions of Ali, that kept the interest up in this story.

Reading Edge of Darkness was a thrilling, fascinating way to spend a couple of hours. It’s a book that really has me wishing that having a lesbian as a main character wouldn’t be cause for lack of interest or automatic dismissal of reading an author, because this book is so worth reading. I can’t wait to read Jove Belle’s other books, if only on the level that she’s such a good story teller.

Sex rating: Crotchless panty f/f. This is not an erotic romance, but it’s very sensually written. So no real graphic language or situations, but just enough description to get worked up.

Grade: A

Review- Come to Me by Barbara Sheridan

2008-12-21T06:04:00.000-08:00

Come to Me
by Barbara Sheridan
Aug 14, 2008
Contemporary/ Paranormal
Short Story
E-book

Buy it Fictionwise, Redrose

Miki Patterson took a job at a Japanese inn expecting to have an interesting life in an exotic land. Instead she became a transplanted Cinderella to a violent, lecherous employer and sought refuge in her dreams, in the arms of a shadowy samurai who thrilled her in ways no living man ever had. Yamaguchi Toshinada was a spirit who could not rest over the guilt that he failed in caring for his fiancée and her family following the overthrow of their domain during Japan's 19th century civil war. When she returns to him in the mortal world he will do anything to keep her safe and remain by her side in anyway he can. Is Miki up to what it takes to move beyond dreams and into the arms of her Samurai?

I’ve enjoyed Ms. Sheridan’s books very much and have read quite a few, so it wasn’t so hard for me to spend $1.99 on this short story about a gaijin and a samurai ghost. It’s right up my alley having the elements of Japanese culture, a samurai and a ghost being involved. I know the quality of Ms. Sheridan’s writing and it’s very good, but in this case I don’t know what happened other than that this was too big a story to fit into such a small word count, 7,000 words. So while I really enjoyed this story on a visceral and emotional level, I was left feeling a bit frustrated by the somewhat abrupt ending and lack of development in so many areas of this story.

Miki ends up in Japan working for Jiro, the nephew of her landlady in San Francisco. He’s a big shot who’s running a hotel and he’s pretty much a tyrant. He slave drives Miki, making her work until late at night, while at the same time letching after her on a constant basis. She hates him and it comes to a head one night when he catches her just after masturbating and tries to rape her. She escapes and he’s beheaded by a samurai who shows up out of nowhere. Uh…oh.

She then wakes up in Itako's house. He's an old blind, psychic Buddhist person she has befriended and the ghost of the samurai appears to her just before the police show up. When the samurai just disappears out of thin air, she really freaks even though she knows him somehow.

Ok, my first impression was that this was taking place a long time ago and not currently. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that a western gaijin would put up with that kind of treatment or that a Japanese person, no matter how powerful, could get away with that kind of treatment, especially with an American. But OK, I’m willing to suspend disbelief here because I like Miki and it’s a nice set up for her to be saved and... it could be possible.

For me the story then gets much better after her employer gets his head chopped off. I loved the mixing of past with present with a samurai ghost being able to kill with his sword in corporeal reality. This part got very interesting.

Then Miki finds out that she is the reborn soul of Miki, the fiancé of the samurai ghost and that he committed seppuku because he couldn’t save her in her former life. I love these kinds of eternal love stories and I thought Barbara Sheridan did this in an interesting way, but then things got a bit muddled for me towards the end. And this is where I felt that some areas in this story could have been more developed.

***spoiler***

For instance, how did Toshinada end up in a young corporeal state when Akira, who is very old, gave up his corporeal life so that Toshi could come back as a real person to be with Miki?

***end spoiler***

I also got confused about the connection between Miki’s boss and Toshinada’s family line. But that was a minor issue. These are things that I think if they’d been more expanded upon and explained, it would have made this story so much richer and made it pop for me.

On the positive side, Barbara Sheridan did manage to develop and convey much about the characters personalities and where they are coming from. And she gave the back history of the samurai ghost, Toshinada, and how he fit into the current situation with Miki, Akira, the landlady, and the letchy boss, which added some clarity to the story.

I really love these kinds of stories and I really enjoy Ms. Sheridan’s writing and have never been disappointed in her work and I’m not in this story either. However, I do feel that in the hands of Ms Sheridan’s usual writing quality and story telling ability, Come to Me could have been a really good novella or even novel had it been more developed. For what it is though, a short quickie, it’s still worth reading, if even for a minor taste of what Ms Sheridan is capable of writing.

Sex rating: Thong. There is only one short masturbation scene.

Grade: C+

Review- My Hawaiian Song of Love by A.J. Llewellyn

2008-12-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

My Hawaiian Song of Love
by A.J. Llewellyn
July 15, 2008
Contemporary/ some paranormal/ GLBT
Novel
E-book

Buy it eXtasybooks, Fictionwise

Katie Garrison’s boyfriend dumps her on the eve of their big move from California to balmly Waikiki. When she arrives, she meets not just one mystery man, but TWO! The first, Nohea, is a seafaring man who seduces her during a turbulent storm on the floor of a double-hull canoe.

The second man, Kahanu is an Aloha Patrol officer who harbors a deep secret she just can’t penetrate, despite their blossoming, very passionate relationship. Disappearing, reappearing and finally afraid he will lose her, Kahanu asks her if she would love him no matter what she discovers about him and she tells him she would.

What Katie is not expecting however is that Kahanu’s big secret is that he is bisexual but has been in a long-term gay relationship for several years with…Nohea.

Shocked and initially appalled, Katie realizes she loves Kahanu and when both men tell her they want to be with her in a three-way relationship, she balks until Nohea asks her how happy does she really want to be?

Just how ready is she for the ultimate sexual, romantic relationship with two, strong, virile men who both love her and both want to be with her?

Katie Garrison discovers unimaginable bliss beneath the stars, under tropic palms and in their arms, her Hawaiian Song of Love

I read this book on my way home from Hawaii and to be honest, it felt like an extension of my trip, it was so realistically representative of Hawaii and the warm and friendly Ohana (family) feeling it exudes. My Hawaiian Song of Love is a different kind of story with an interesting group of eclectic characters and unique, loving and crazy relationships. A.J. Llewellyn’s writing really expresses the essence of Hawaii and it's people and just on that level, it was a joy to read.

Katie is dumped for another woman on the verge of her wedding and move to Hawaii. She decides to stay in Hawaii anyway and start a new life and it’s all kismet because on her first day there, she gets sexually seduced by Nohea, finds a job and a place to stay and meets Kahanu, an Aloha patrol officer who comes to see her everyday at work. He and Katie have a tenuous, budding relationship going when kismet enters again and she meets a kahuna (healer), Kimo, and his boyfriend after she bangs her head and passes out. They take her to their property to heal her and invite her to stay.

In the meantime, Germany, the owner of the place where Katie has rented a room, and her girlfriend, Kaiona, are fighting all the time and it turns out that Kaiona is the wife of Niki, the mother of Kimo and Lopaka’s son by insemination.

Katie is really falling in love with Kahanu when she finds out that he is in a relationship with Nohea, and that both Kahanu and Nohea want her. While they all try to work it out, Kaiona’s selfish persona has attracted negative, powerful energy towards Kimo and all the characters work towards healing Kaiona to keep Kimo and his family safe.

I know this all sounds like a soap opera, and to be honest, it is kind of. Yet, because it takes place in Hawaii where family is huge and the people are so open minded and easy going, it came across as a totally real and normal story to me. Although frankly, many might find the relationships to be a bit out there.

Kahanu, Katie and Nohea—Katie falls in love with Kahanu hard. When she finds out that Kahanu is Nohea’s lover and that they both want a relationship with her, she feels betrayed. What I really liked about these three is that it’s not an easy ride trying to be a threesome like many books portray. There are issues because Katie has stronger feelings for Kahanu, even though she does like Nohea. Nohea and Kahanu do come across as vacillating in how they feel about Katie being all luvy duvy and sweet at times and rather cool and indifferent at others. And the power constantly shifts between the three.

And then, although both Kahanu and Nohea love Katie, they are not the perfect guys. They really do act like insensitive, clueless, guy oafs at times and that was so refreshing to me in the romantic world where the guys tend to be written as the perfect loving guy. What I didn’t like with them is that all the issues that do come up are resolved through sex. While the sex was nice to read, whew! not really complaining here, it wouldn't have been such a total guy way of dealing with things all the time if they would have worked out some of their issues by talking sometimes.

Sexually, these three are so juicy together. And I really got off on A.J. Llewellyn’s constant shifting of language in the sexual scenes. Sometimes they are all so loving and poetic because this was all meant to be and there are a lot of traditional Hawaiian spiritual beliefs and kahuna, shamanistic ways integrated into how they relate and love. But at the same time, the guys talk and get so rough, gritty and aggressive during sex and that was just so totally hot and real. Like how I imagine really guys would be together.

Then there is Kimo and Lopaka and their whole extended family. You can feel how deeply they all love each other and Kimo, as a top kahuna healer, is all about goodness and light. They are living on a ranch, which is on sacred ground, but being a kahuna, he has many enemies, including other kahunas who use their power for evil. The family as a unit, all the kids, the sister and his mom, plus Niki, the lesbian who is in despair over her wife going with Germany, is hugely prominent in this story.

I’ve said before that I’m not so much into reading a lot about kids and family stuff, and sometimes the storyline got a bit tedious for me with constant descriptions of the family eating or playing together and so on, but this is true to Hawaiian culture. It is like this, and so I was able to be fine with it in this case.

There is much kahuna magic thrown in this story as well and to be honest, I have no clue if it’s all a bunch of made up hooey, but I do know that Hawaiians have a strong tradition of belief in the supernatural so that part did add quite a bit to the story for me.

One story line, which I wish was more built up, was the triangle of Germany, Nicki and Kaiona. This part was integral to the story as Kaiona is a catalyst for many of the characters interacting with each other. And yet, it was kept on the back burner really. Moreover, there was a part of me that wished that all the lesbians in this book weren’t portrayed as evil, selfish asshats. It's kind of like how in lesbian stories, straight guys are portrayed as jerks. Outside of that, I found those characters and that story line to have the most interesting drama to it, which is why I felt it would have been good if it had more page time.

All in all though, I loved My Hawaiian Song of Love. All of the characters are different and uniquely written and it was nice to read something out of the norm. A.J. Llewellyn’s writing style had an easy flow to it and the constant POV changes, in language style and personality attributes, was a real turn on. It made the story much more interesting and complex.

Sex rating: Commando. Really hawt graphic man/man smexing, m/f/m, m/m/f ménage, m/f, some minor f/f, and lots of anal.

Grade: B+

Review- The Viking's Forbidden Love-Slave by Michelle Willingham

2008-12-17T15:40:00.000-08:00

The Viking's Forbidden Love-Slave
by Michelle Willingham
Nov. 2008
Historical
132 kb- mobipocket
E-Book

Buy it eHarlequin- Historical Undone

“You're terrified I'll force myself upon you. And worse, that you'll enjoy it.”

Aisling Ó Brannon should hate the Vikings who raided her village...especially after she’s captured as a gift for King Magnus by warrior Tharand Hardrata. But while her head says one thing, her body says quite another. Her attraction to the fierce and forbidding warrior cannot be ignored...even though she’s intended for another man’s bed.

Tharand has vowed not to conquer Aisling, saving her for the king instead. But the beautiful Irish noblewoman awakes a powerful desire in him. He can’t stop himself from arousing her, bringing her to the peak of pleasure while trying to honor his promise. As they near Magnus’s domain, Tharand’s restraint is tested beyond endurance. Soon he must choose: please his king...or keep his captive

I got this book free in a contest at TGTBTU and really liked it so I decided to review it. I’ve read one or two Harlequin’s before and thought them really cheesy, but since it was free, I thought what the hell, why not? And what do you know, it was a deliciously non cheesy love story with, I must say, some really steamy sex. I’m shocked and surprised.

Aisling is taken by Tharand, a warrior from another kingdom to be a sex slave but not for himself. Being dutiful to his king, Magnus, who’s as nasty a prick as Tharand is, Tharand wants to give Aisling to his king in hopes of exchanging her to free someone he loves from the King’s clutches. Aisling is having none of it though and fights at every turn.

What happens next is a really juicy dance between these two as Aisling’s strength, gutsyness, and shocking expertise in knife wielding impresses Tharand. And Tharand not taking advantage of Aisling coupled with his expert prowess at curling her toes and making her eyes roll back in her head with his fingers, impresses her.

As they travel from his village to the King’s place, his ability to hold himself back from touching her, and her ability to fight her body’s response to him betrays them both and they find themselves feeling something for each other. Tharand insists until the end that he will give her up, but can he really leave her in the end for the more important person?

Yum, yummy, yummers. I loved these two. Tharand is that perfect cool warrior type that I love, someone who is in total control of himself and in general, very honorable even if he’s a thug on the surface. And this is where I will show all of my ignorance because I’ve read hardly any historicals, but I thought Aisling is a strong admirable heroine and quite independent for someone of her time. Someone will enlighten me I’m sure if I’ve gotten it wrong that women were not that feisty and independent at that time. Even until the end she doesn’t turn into the good little woman who’s been finally made complete and docile by a man giving her mind blowing orgasms, but holds her own. Yeah.

I loved Michelle Willingham’s writing style and she’s totally turned me on now to eHarlequin historicals. Because The Viking’s Forbidden Love-Slave was such a gratifying read, I’m sure I’ll be pick up some more of her work.

Sex rating: Crotchless panty. Ooooh, steamy hot wet cappuccino tastaliciousness.

Grade: B

Review- Talking to the Dead by Shiloh Walker

2008-12-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

Talking to the Dead
by Shiloh Walker
Nov. 28 2006
Contemporary/ Paranormal
Category
E-Book

Buy it Samhain, Amazon

Surrounded by death, a man with a terrible gift reaches for life.

A horrific tragedy blasted open a door in young Michael O’Rourke’s mind—cursing him with the ability to talk with the Dead. Nearly two decades later, Michael has moved from victim to survivor, using his abilities to seek out those who would go unjudged.

With his gift, he talks to those who’ve died violently and seeks out their killers. Only once he’s found the murderer, can the victims be at rest. After his last case, the only thing he wants is peace and he hopes to find it in the small town of Mitchell, Indiana.

But something is horribly wrong—the dead are waiting for him there, as well.

Small town sheriff Daisy Crandall is frustrated. The murder investigation she’s leading is going nowhere, the few leads she’s had haven’t panned out. She needs a break—this case is personal and when a stranger arrives, turning up where he shouldn’t be, she’s suspicious. Finding out that he is more than what he appears to be, should shock her but doesn’t. The fact she’s highly attracted to him at the worst possible time is a hindrance.

Unfortunately, teaming up with Michael is the only way.

Now it’s a race against time before the killer destroys the life of his next victim…

I picked up Talking to the Dead because for one, I enjoy Ms. Walker's writing and two, this is just the kind of story I like, a ghost story mixed with suspense. It’s the best of two worlds for me. While there were a few issues that I had with the world building or to be more exact, the ghost part of the story, as per usual, Ms. Walker’s compelling characters and story telling totally sucked me in.

Michael comes from an extremely abusive past. His mother tried to pimp him and his brother out for money for years and kept them on the run because she’s is scam artist. His older brother, Lucas, does what he can to protect him from his mom and he and Michael form an unbreakable bond. All three: his mom, brother and him supposedly have the gift of being somewhat psychic, but it’s Michael and his brother who really have the gift and they communicate through thought most of the time. Due to shocking circumstances, Michael ends up on his own at 9 and scrapping for himself, while carrying a guilt that will haunt him for years.

Years later, Michael is working for the FBI as a psychic on serial killer cases, while at the same time helping spirits gets closure so they can move on. He’s just finished a really horrific case and on the verge of a breakdown, he decides to take some time off. He ends up in a small Indiana town and picking up that something nasty going on, decides to stay and see what’s up.

Daisy, the sheriff of this small town, just can’t catch a break on the recent grisly killings of several women in her town. The latest victim of the serial killer is her friend and she’s desperate for any kind of lead. When she sees Michael for the first time, there’s something about this stranger that’s off and that strikes her as very suspicious. Moreover, when Daisy finds Michael walking around the remote area where her friend’s body was found, she’s not about to let go of him and takes him in.

What I really enjoyed about this book, besides the well done suspense, was how Daisy and Michael slowly open up and learn to trust each other. Daisy is very leery and doesn’t really trust Michael, but she’s attracted to him and while she treats him as a suspect through much of the book, she finds her heart opening as well. I found her reactions to finding out about his abilities to be totally normal. Being as jaded as Michael, she neither accepts his abilities as completely true, nor does she dismiss him completely. He’s all she’s got though so she goes along with it, albeit hesitantly. Michael does try to “protect” Daisy by trying to keep some distance, but it’s futile and I’m glad that he doesn’t pull the “I’m staying away cause I suck so bad and you don’t deserve me” number.

Michael is that delicious blend of tortured, honorable, and sensitive without being overly reticent or self absorbed as some heroes are with those qualities. He’s the most developed character in this book and he’s just so easy to fall in love and sympathize with. Ms. Walker gives his background in a fair amount of detail in the prologue and it’s easy to see how and why he got to be who he is and the issues that plague him. As he’s gotten older, his ability to see and talk to spirits has grown, but he cannot turn it off and that is his Achilles heel in this story and what drives him really. When he meets Daisy, for the first time in his life, he finds himself relaxing just a little bit and opening up to someone, and it’s a sweet and realistic process.

For those of you who like a good mystery, the suspense part of this story is very nicely done as well. I couldn’t figure out who was doing the killing and the lead up information to finding the killer is given in just the right dosages along the way to keep the intrigue going.

The only part that I really had some difficulty with was the ghost world. I’d have to do spoilers to explain what I mean, so I’ll just say what I felt. While it’s explained enough to get how it works, there were a few things that were inconsistent or that didn’t make logical sense to me. And while I bought most of it, sometimes that part did enter slightly into hokeyville for me.

Mostly though, I really enjoyed this book and felt that even though this isn’t Ms. Walker’s best, it’s still an engrossing story and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves the ghost/psychic aspects of the paranormal mixed with suspense. Plus, it’s a feel good HFN love story that left me satisfied that Daisy and Michael have a chance at some happiness. I’ve really loved Ms. Walker’s Hunter series, but I think she does suspense very well as well and I’m looking forward to reading more of her work in this genre.

Sex rating: Crotchless panty- hawt, juicy vanilla.

Grade: B+