So Passes the Night by Cassidy McKay

August 3, 2026 By Leave a Comment


So Passes the Night by Cassidy McKay
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

One wild night, two sexy seamen and a voluptuous woman — three broken souls seeking completion.

First Mate Cade Talbot disobeyed a direct order, sacrificing himself to save his best friend. Since then, Captain Grant Rowen rules his ship with an iron fist, demanding strict compliance from all aboard.

Coffers are low, and when a lone woman requests passage to St. Thomas, Captain Rowen accepts her payment. But the stormy sea crossing holds more than just nature’s surprises.

Aurora Journade reveals that she not only speaks to spirits, she makes love to them –and she doesn’t follow orders. With Aurora’s help, Cade has one last chance to reach out to his captain. Not even death can keep them from seeking passion’s redemption.

Healing comes in many different forms.

The setting was as unique as it was well-suited for this erotic tale. I wasn’t initially sure if it was supposed to be set in contemporary or historic times, so figuring that out was part of the fun of reading it. Other readers should discover for themselves exactly when this was set, of course, but do keep an eye out for clues along the way as they do influence how everything played out. It was also interesting to see how the characters dealt with such a violent storm when help could be so far away due to the technology of the time.

I would have liked to see more plot development in this piece, especially as it related to Grant’s relationships with Cade as well as with the mysterious woman who asked to board his ship on a stormy night. The bonds between them were incredibly important later on in the storyline, so it was a little disappointing for me as a reader to not have as much information about them as I would have preferred by that point.

The slightly ambiguous ending suited these characters well. While the most important conflicts were wrapped up, there was still plenty of space for readers to speculate about what might happen next and fill in the gaps about the things the narrator didn’t spell out directly. Yes, it would have been nice to have more resolution about them, but it also left room for a sequel if the author decides to write one!

So Passes the Night was a sexy romp.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Dark One by Angela Knight

July 28, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Dark One by Angela Knight
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Dark Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Kaska means to make Matia the centerpiece in an erotic ritual to honor his Dark god.

Matia of Ruza is one of the legendary Battlemaids — a woman warrior who has taken an oath of celibacy in service of the Maid of Light. When mercenary Kaska of Artane helps Matia defeat a gang of brigands, the two become partners.

Matia finds her oath of celibacy tested by her handsome Shieldmate’s erotic appeal. But Kaska means to do more than test her. He worships the Dark One, and he wants to make Matia the centerpiece in a sizzling erotic ritual in honor of his god.

But first, he must defeat her in combat — and win her heart.

Matia is a legendary Battlemaid, a warrior woman who has taken an oath of celibacy. She meets Kaska, a mercenary, when he assists her to defeat a gang of brigands and the two become partners on the road. Matia is tempted by Kaska – but holds firm to her vows. Only Kaska has other plans in mind. Can he defeat her in battle and win her heart?

This is a short but seriously steamy book and one I most thoroughly enjoyed. From Kaska and Matia’s first meeting their chemistry is clear and enjoyable. Matia is a fierce and strong woman – everything I can enjoy in a modern heroine despite the fantasy/old style books setting. I especially enjoyed how even though Kaska and Matia had some sizzle from their first moment, they each understood timing was important. They each had their own paths and duties so this gave the reader a little time to enjoy watching them interact together as equals and dance around each other for a while.

Readers who like their spicy romance a little on the darker side – but not too dark – should find this a good fit. There are a number of darker elements here (BDSM, spanking, capture etc) but they weren’t written too harshly, or included for shock value. These aspects of the story were clearly woven into the fabric of the plot and characters and were quite tastefully handled. This story is dark, yes, but still spicy, sexy and a pleasure to read. Readers maybe looking to dip a toe into the newer Dark Fantasy genre might find this a good, quick story to see if this style of book is up their street.

Readers looking for a short but seriously smoking hot sexy read should find this a delectable book to indulge in. Filled with Fantasy, two strong characters and enough sizzle to set you on fire this is a fun read that’s sure to add some spice into your day. Recommended.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Dona Nobis Pacem (God Grant Us Peace) by Will Okati

June 18, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Dona Nobis Pacem (God Grant Us Peace) by Will Okati
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Dark Romance, LGBTQ, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Dona Nobis Pacem. God Grant Us Peace.

Voiceless Donnell and defrocked priest Nathan are outcasts and strangers at the turn of the century. Despite his handicap, Donnell has made a life for himself as a businessman and owner of a saloon. His heart goes out to those whom life has dealt an unhappy hand. When Nathan arrives in this former gold-rush town, horsewhipped and ill to the point of collapse, Donnell is the only one to offer help.

Barely ordained before being accused of unnatural desires, Nathan has been sent to travel a faux road to Damascus as penance. He did not expect to survive the trek, and longed for the peace he might find when his body gave up the fight.

He never expected to meet someone like Donnell. Despite his lack of voice, Donnell is the teacher Nathan has hungered for all his life, and the lover he never dared seek out. Triumphing over a lifetime’s worth of threatened damnation will not be easy to overcome, but Donnell’s not giving up. The passion they share is what both men have always craved, but never found. When they’re discovered, standing together is the only thing that will save them both.

Peace comes in many forms.

Donnell and Nathan had sizzling chemistry that was evident from the very first time they met. Seeing those sparks between them slowly develop into something much deeper was rewarding and is exactly the kind of pacing I love to see in this genre. While they had wildly different backgrounds in certain ways, both men shared some things in common that I wasn’t necessarily expecting to find. This only made me root for them even more strongly than I already was.

The strong and memorable world building made me briefly wonder if this were part of a series, but it does seem to be a standalone work after all. I particularly appreciated how much time was spent explaining the origins of Nazareth, the small community where Donnell was born and raised. Little details like this went a long way in not only explaining why some residents behaved the way that the did but also helped to round out the main character’s backstory and personality in ways that other readers should discover for themselves.

What ultimately convinced me to give this a full five-star rating was the ending. Not only did it wrap up all of the conflicts satisfactorily, it gave readers some strong hints about what to expect from these characters in the future regardless of whether not we ever get a sequel about them. While I’d want to be the first person in line to read more about them, I was also quite satisfied with how everything ended and thought the author did a great job of wrapping it all up.

Dona Nobis Pacem (God Grant Us Peace) was everything I wanted it to be and then some!

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Silver Spider by Lena Austin

June 15, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Silver Spider by Lena Austin
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Dark Romance, LGBTQ, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The secretive Duke of Aberystwyth has invited Madge Majesty to a murder mystery party, but he’s the first victim!

Madge is a harpy, mystery writer, and amateur sleuth with a nose for murder. At her side is her faithful chauffeur, Hayden, who is a telekinetic ex-thief — and a confirmed bachelor.

Now it’s up to Madge to solve the whodunit. Her suspects are a motley assortment of inverts and very nervous heterosexuals, all of whom have more than just their sexual foibles to hide. Is it the cross-dressing vampire, the packless werewolf, the voyeuristic doctor, the gargoyle majordomo, or the promiscuous man who seems bent on getting everyone into his bed, including Hayden?

Some parties can never be forgotten.

This was a good example of how to include a wide variety of characters in a storyline that probably would not have otherwise crossed paths with each other. It was interesting to see how they all interacted, especially the characters who weren’t human and who therefore weren’t necessarily bound to the social norms of this era, much less the typical behavior of human beings in general. While I can’t go into detail about this without sharing spoilers, I was pleasantly surprised by how this played out and how it affected what certain characters wished to do.

I would have liked to see more character development in this piece, though. Sometimes I had trouble keeping track of who everyone was because of how little time was spent describing what they were like. Given how many characters were interacting with each other in the various scenes, this was something that kept me from fully immersing myself in the plot.

With that being said, I thought Ms. Austin did an excellent job of combining the erotic and mystery genres. They both kept the storyline chugging along smoothly and fed into each other in all sorts of creative ways. When combined with what appeared to be a 1910s or maybe an early 1920s setting, there were some fun plot twists involving hijinks both in and outside of the bedroom in a time when people tended to be more reticent about certain things…at least in public.

Silver Spider – A Paranormal Murder Mystery Romance was a wild ride.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Audit This! by Anne Kane

May 15, 2026 By 1 Comment


Audit This! by Anne Kane
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

No matter how you add the numbers, Nick is one hunk of an auditor!

When government tax auditor Nick finds himself obsessed with the work of romance author Khloe Matters, there’s only one thing to do. Audit her! But getting a closer look at the author in her own home just makes him switch his obsession from the writing to the writer.

When he accompanies her to a writers’ festival, things heat up in a hurry. Neither of them is being entirely honest, and as the weekend progresses so does the hilariously tangled webs of deceit as each of them seeks to further their own agenda.

Anything is possible in a hotel room.

This was an excellent example of how to explore the enemies to lovers trope between two characters who are instantly attracted to each other. Despite the disagreements between them, I genuinely bought the idea that Nick and Khloe could be a great match due to how carefully these scenes were written and how hot the chemistry was between them. Kudos to Ms. Kane for putting so much effort into those early scenes that established why these two had such a mixture of feelings about each other.

I would have liked to see a little more time spent exploring the conflicts between Khloe and Nick. The solutions to them made sense, but I was slightly surprised by how the characters reacted to what could have been bigger issues depending on how one thought about them. Had another scene or two of discussion been included, this would have been a five-star read for me.

A great sense of humor is something I love discovering in the erotic romance genre, and there were plenty of laughs to be found here. Trying to attend a professional work conference while also entertaining a new love interest leaves a lot of room for good-humored conversations along the way, especially when said love interest also happens to be one’s auditor. The playful dialogue was a great addition, and I would have happily read an entire novel’s worth of conversations between these two.

Audit This! was a funny and sexy tale.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Snob by Megan Slayer

April 14, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Snob by Megan Slayer
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Dacre will risk everything to keep Carley safe, but he expects a high price — her heart.

Carley Mathers isn’t just the “party girl” daughter of a congressman. She’s more. But these days, in a world of fake friends, she’s determined to keep only true ones close. Because she puts them at arm’s length, her classmates at college refer to her as “The Snob.” But she comes from wealth and means — she shouldn’t be able to mix with her bodyguard, right?

Dacre Jennings has been given the job of protecting Carley while she’s off at college. The same classmates who make light of her silence also make fun of him, too. He doesn’t care that they think she lives with the old man. He’d rather she lived with him than alone. He sees the real woman, and he’s been in love with her for as long as he’s worked for the family.

With threats on her life, Dacre refuses to let Carley be used or abused. He’ll put his life on the line for her, as long as he knows he’s got her heart as well.

With social media and fake friends nowadays, Carley is determined to only keep her true friends close. When her classmates call her “The Snob” she mostly shrugs it off. Dacre is her bodyguard, keeping Carley safe while she’s off at college. He couldn’t care less that those same classmates make fun of him – finding humor in Carley living with an old man – but he’s the one who sees Carley for who she truly is, and loves her deeply. Can Carley and Dacre find their way together?

While the trope of bodyguard falls in love with his client is not new, this is a refreshing, modern and interesting story. Carley’s father is a super rich businessman and influencer who begins to orbit the president’s social and government circle. When Carley finds herself being used as her father’s pawn she and Dacre decide to rock the boat and help Carley assert her independence. This was fresh enough it not only kept me interested but felt like a different take on a well worn plotline.

At first it was hard to connect with the blossoming romance between Carley and Dacre – mainly because they were shifting and changing their roles and relationship to each other. It’s not a bad thing that took some time, and the author definitely wrote this aspect well. I was definitely pleased that Carley and Dacre’s relationship was firmly established before the secondary plot of a stalker/killer really moved into action.

Normally I really enjoy a book that has a solid plot along with a good spicy relationship, but in a way it seemed like this book changed mid way through. It was somewhat jarring for the plotline to shift from “my father is trying to use me and set me up” and into “I have a killer stalker”. Perhaps the story would have felt stronger and more stable had it just been one plotline or the other and not a shift from one to the next.

Despite this, I really did enjoy this story – particularly the slow burn and steamy chemistry between Carley and Dacre. Readers who enjoy a seriously spicy, bodyguard style of story should absolutely find this one hits the right spot. I did enjoy the thorough plotting and will happily read more by this author. Enjoyable.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Cat Came Back by Anne Kane

March 20, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Cat Came Back by Anne Kane
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Cat’s come back to town. Jacob plans to keep her here.

When Catherine’s aunt dies in a suspicious accident, she comes back to her hometown to settle the estate. She expects it to be an easy job, but she doesn’t count on being chased by a pack of wild wolves, and an unknown enemy who sprays graffiti on the house and throws bricks through her windows. When the local police force proves less than helpful, it’s up to Cat to find out what’s going on with the help of her all too human lover, Jacob.

Known as the Mad Trapper, Jacob has been in love with Cat since high school. Now that she’s back in town he intends to show her that a human-shifter relationship can be just what a were-cat needs to keep her out of trouble.

Who says you can never go home again?

The chemistry between Cat and Jacob was smoking hot. Things escalated between them quickly in the beginning, so it was useful for me as a reader to know they had a previous history together and therefore knew they could trust one another. Given everything else that was going on in that scene, it made sense that she would seek out someone who had previously helped her when shifting into her feline form had lead to unexpected consequences.

It would have been helpful to have more plot development in general. This was something that I found most noticeable when it came to the mystery storyline that never quite had as much time to grow as I would have preferred to see. There was so much more that could have been done with these scenes and the crime they explored, and I would have happily gone with a higher rating if they’d been given more attention.

I was intrigued by the shifter world building in this book as well, especially when it came to the history of romantic relationships between shifters and humans and why so many folks were hesitant to date across that social barrier. These are details that are best left for other readers to discover for themselves but just know there were good reasons for these two characters to be a little wary of getting involved with each other despite their chemistry and previous interactions.

Cat Came Back was a wild ride.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Armored Hearts by Angela Knight

March 19, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Armored Hearts by Angela Knight
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Captivity makes the heart grow kinkier…

When interstellar mercenary Captain Nick Rand rescues a beautiful enemy from his own men, he thinks she’s the answer to his vampire prayers. On the verge of starvation thanks to the destruction of his hemosynther, he’s in desperate need of a female blood donor.

Lieutenant Zara Tahir needs Nick Rand as badly as he needs her. Without Nick’s blood, Zara’s overactive immune system will kill her.

But Zara has no intention of embracing captivity. While she’s willing to exchange blood for blood, maybe even play a kinky game or two with the handsome vampire dominant, he’s still the enemy. She can’t allow herself to see him as anything more.

Then Rand’s enemies make things a lot more complicated…

Interstellar mercenary Captain Nick Rand rescues a woman from his own crew, and he thinks this might be the answer to his vampire prayers – broken equipment meaning he’s quite literally starving to death. The tasty female blood donor could make all the difference. Only Lieutenant Zara Tahir has a few secrets of her own, and she’s not likely to admit she needs Rand as much as he needs her. Can these two enemies find some common ground when they each need what the other can provide?

I have enjoyed a number of Angela Knight’s previous books – though I do admit it’s been a while since I’ve caught up with anything from this author. I enjoyed this story, finding it reminded me of why I have previously enjoyed this authors work. Smoking hot with a good amount of kink, I found this to be an interesting and hot read.

White the growing emotional and sexual relationship between Rand and Zara is absolutely front and center in this erotic romance story, I was pleased that this wasn’t the only plot in the story. Readers who enjoy some light sci-fi should find this an enjoyable read. I’m not a big sci-fi reader and personally I was pleased that this side of the story while present didn’t overshadow the relationship and BDSM bedroom games between our two protagonists. But I did greatly appreciate that the sex wasn’t the only aspect to the book and this helped the whole story feel a lot better rounded to me.

Readers looking for a hot and heavy book with elements of space should find this a strong and good read. I’d definitely keep a cool drink on hand and give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the shenanigans.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Impulse Caught by Emily Carrington

March 2, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Impulse Caught by Emily Carrington
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Riku takes charge in bed, but will he have any control over the day-to-day decisions of a marriage?

Money and status differences challenge Riku and Theo to find a middle ground. Their passion is white-hot, but their ideas of living comfortably are at odds. As their wedding nears, driven forward by Theo’s parents’ sense of guilt, Riku feels the old urge to run.

Riku refuses to give into this impulse at first, but as the comparison between his emotional scars and the mountains of Theo’s familial expectations grow, Riku fears running will be the only less-than-honorable course left to him.

Theo isn’t blind to Riku’s struggles but he doesn’t understand what’s wrong. Each time he reaches out, Riku reaches back, yet they never quite connect. Will their need for each other overcome their differences, or will their passion be subsumed by a wave of conflicting desires?

Riku and Theo are passionately in love, planning their wedding. But money and status differences continue to challenge them both. While their love is strong, they still struggle to trust and connect with each other. Can they work through these conflicts and find each other again?

I found this to be an interesting and emotional love story. Riku and Theo both have a number of challenges – physical and emotional – and it was deeply interesting to see them try to navigate everything between them. While it was clear they loved each other, this didn’t immediately help them fix all the problems that came between them. I found this both realistic and interesting to read.

I admit I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series, so I did have to play a bit of catch-up on the history between the two men. While I found this fairly easy, I have to admit this might irritate some readers. I also didn’t enjoy the characters Theo’s parents too much. I found them a bit too controlling and overbearing and while I expect this was the point, a part of me doesn’t really understand why Theo didn’t limit his interaction with them more or be a bit firmer in setting boundaries. That irked me a bit with this book.

Overall, I found this a deeply interesting and refreshingly different story. While there is some very steamy sex between the men there is a huge amount of plot and conflict and that really helped carry the book to my mind. I’ll definitely be looking into other books by this author.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Kuro by Ana Raine

February 13, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Kuro by Ana Raine
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Holiday, LGBTQ, Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When Preston saves a black cat everything he knows about life and demons is going to be questioned.

While shopping for candy for his friend’s Halloween party, Preston saves a strange black cat from a group of teenage boys. Overcome with a desire entirely new to him, Preston takes the black cat home and discovers things are not always what they seem, especially on Halloween.

The cat, a demon named Caleb, has been searching for his mate for months and can’t help but be fascinated with sweet Preston. He’s determined to drag Preston down to his home in the underwater demon world.

Now Preston must choose between his mortal life, or one full of demons — and love.

Preston rescues a black cat from a group of teenage boys. Despite never wanting a cat, Preston decides to take the stray home – only to discover things are not always what they seem.

I found this to be a fun and sexy short story. Caleb and Preston certainly set the pages on fire between them, but I liked that even though Caleb was a demon he didn’t really use powers or magic to lure Preston or fake things between them.

Readers looking for an extended or slow drop into love should be aware that this simply isn’t possible with such a short page count. I thought the author did a good job showing the attraction and chemistry between Preston and Caleb give the quickness of the story and while I do feel readers will need to disconnect their brain a little I did find this a fun and enjoyable Halloween themed story.

With smoking heat between the two men and some sizzling scenes I enjoyed this short and erotic quick read.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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