April Love by Nancy Fraser

March 27, 2014 By Leave a Comment

APRIL
April Love by Nancy Fraser
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Short Story (112 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 2.5 stars
Reviewed by Hollyhock

Eleanor Martin is every company’s dream employee. She arrives early, stays late and never misses a day. If it weren’t for Eleanor’s skill as a private secretary, her architect boss would never make a deadline. Not only does she keep him on track, she runs interference between him and his over-bearing mother, his deadbeat brother, and the half dozen or so women who want to bed him and/or wed him.

When Jess Norton acquires a new client who asks him to build a palatial hideaway on Grand Cayman Island, Jess is certain he’ll never be able to complete the multi-million dollar job without the help of his efficient secretary. Despite her reservations, he convinces Eleanor to accompany him on the assignment of a lifetime.
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The sun and the sand cast the perfect spell for romance. But will the tides turn in the opposite direction?

I’m a sucker for those career-themed movies from the 1950s where girls in crisply tailored suits conquer the business world and—of course!—find romance along the way. So naturally I was drawn to the premise of April Love, a novella about a secretary in 1958 who falls in love with her boss. That the romance takes place on Grand Cayman Island just adds Caribbean flair to the appeal.

Eleanor Martin is the perfect secretary and office manager. She’s her boss’s right hand woman, knows everything about the company, and is always one step ahead of his requirements. The fact that he happens to be gorgeous just adds spice to her interesting job. Her boss, architect Jess Norton, is a bit of a playboy but never lets his private life affect his dedication to his craft. When a commission requires him to travel to Grand Cayman, and no project manager is available to go with him, it is only natural that he bring along his super-efficient secretary instead. Once in the sultry tropical atmosphere of the islands, though, their relationship changes in ways neither anticipated.

The idea that leaving their familiar surroundings makes Jess and Eleanor see each other in new ways really appealed to me, but the premise didn’t hold my attention as well as I would have liked. For a novella, April Love takes a surprisingly long time to get going, and when it does, it doesn’t spend enough time developing the characters or building the emotion of the romance. Interactions that should draw the reader into Jess and Eleanor’s changing relationship are often summarized (“They sat there for the longest time, enjoying the warm evening, the cool water, and each other’s company”) or happen off-page (“They’d spent the remainder of the evening in light conversation”) while story space is expended on minor details like business arrangements and clothing choices. That lack of characterization, combined with the author’s tendency to tell rather than show, gave the story a flat quality and made me feel I had little sense of Jess and Eleanor as people and still less idea why they fell in love. Even their physical encounters were more matter-of-fact than involving (“when she offered no resistance, he pressed his lips to hers a second time”).

I wish there had been more atmosphere of the fifties. Beyond a reference to some baseball players of the era and mentions of the Pat Boone song of the title, this story could have taken place any time. In fact, I only remembered it was supposed to be the fifties when I wondered things like: would it really have been so easy to fly from Detroit to Grand Cayman in the pre-jet age and would there have been multiple daily flights to choose from? And did men wear shorts and casual shirts when dining in opulent hotels back then?

Overall, though, this story has an appealing premise and an attractive hero and heroine I wanted to root for, even if I didn’t enjoy their story as much as I would have liked.  I’m certainly not sorry I read this, and still enjoyed much of it. So, if you’re in the mood for a short read that takes place during the Golden Age of Rock and Roll, April Love might be just what you’re looking for.

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

The Mitosis Hegemony: Techno-Politics in the 21st Century by Arthur Van Kaserman

March 10, 2014 By Leave a Comment

HITOSIS
The Mitosis Hegemony: Techno-Politics in the 21st Century by Arthur Van Kaserman
Publisher: The Mitosis Library
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Short Story (125 pages)
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

THE MITOSIS HEGEMONY: TechnoPolitics in the 21st Century is a hi-tech, sci-fi thriller about current trends that will collide soon to forever change the world as we know it.

The only way to know what inside an unexpected message is to open it. The question is, will humanity ready for what they’re about to discover?

In partnership, sometime, husband or wife may viagra price linked here refuse to lovemaking and the frequency may reduce from twice a week to twice a month. There has been phenomenal progress in the future phases cheapest cialis https://www.unica-web.com/archive/2000/filmlibrary2000.pdf of the sickness. One can make the use of its softness cialis viagra on line jelly that comes in tempting different flavors and melts into the mouth and gets mingled into the blood swiftly which takes hardly 15 to 20 minutes depending on the type of treatment. Among all the good inventions viagra sale https://www.unica-web.com/watch/2016/fling.html was said to be the best amongst all. This is a fast-paced book that is full of plot twists I didn’t see coming. It was especially interesting to see how the same events play out from the perspective of more than one character in this piece. The ability to experience an event from more than one point of view comes in even more handy as the plot progresses. No two people are alike and neither will they interpret or remember the same event identically. These differences – large and small – are scattered throughout many of my favourite scenes.

Due to a large cast of characters and almost no character development it took me a while to remember everyone’s name, occupation, and location. The vast majority of the characters are introduced within an incredibly short period of time during which a lot of other important things are happening in the plot. It would have been really helpful to have a glossary of at least the most important people in an appendix somewhere. I would have also liked to see more descriptions of individual personalities. The plot is so centered on solving the mystery that I finished this novella with nearly no idea who might be shy, gregarious, intellectual, or trustworthy.

As someone who has absolutely no experience with military slang or acronyms, I really appreciated Mr. Van Kaserman’s willingness to explain exactly what each term meant. The first few chapters in particular are filled with references to military equipment and procedures, so there were quite a few definitions in the beginning of this story. Including them in the flow of the narrative was the right decision for this piece. The plot was rarely slowed down by it, and it was nice to figure out the meanings of new terms without having to stop reading.

There is also a lot of telling instead of showing in this novella. The narrator explicitly states what certain characters are feeling instead of allowing their body language or word choice give the reader hints about what is happening. In certain scenes this technique is necessary when writing such action-heavy science fiction, but using it repeatedly with characters whose personalities are so ill-defined was one of my biggest reasons for giving this book a 2.5 star rating. It was often difficult for me as a reader to care about what was happening to individuals that I knew so little about.

With that being said, the mystery was well-paced and provided clues just often enough to keep my curiosity piqued about the true origins of the odd signal. Coming up with theories about who might be behind it was invigorating. I would have enjoyed spending more time playing around with this mystery, and the intricacies of it could have easily filled up the pages of a full-length novel.

I’d recommend The Mitosis Hegemony to anyone who likes fast-paced, plot-centered tales. Despite its flaws, the concepts it explores are unique and worth a try for readers who are big fans of this writing style.

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

Irresistible Forces by McKenna Jeffries and Aliyah Burke

March 5, 2014 By Leave a Comment

FORCES
Irresistible Forces by McKenna Jeffries and Aliyah Burke
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (112 pages)
Other: M/F
Rating: 2.5 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

When desire flows over it makes two head-strong people realise they are powerless under the onslaught of pleasure.

Leonardo Wright has been fighting his attraction to the sexy diva that gets under his skin like no other woman. Deyon is one woman who he can’t seem to resist. She is a family friend but he wants to take their relationship to another level. But he wants to do so on his terms…however when dealing with Deyon, she plays by her own rules and her passionate nature will not let him do as he wants. Take it slow and easy and build something lasting. Leo gives in and holds on for a journey that will bring him the one thing he wants more than all else—Deyon’s heart.

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Deyon De’clare is one woman that Leonardo (Leo) Wright can’t seem to resist. Leo wants to pursue a relationship with Deyon, who is a head strong full figured X model turned designer, but she is a family friend. Will the two give in to the irresistible forces of attraction?

The story  starts out with Deyon in a race to get home before one of her headaches set in. Leo is a sheriff on duty and follows Deyon home to reprimand her of her careless and reckless driving. During one of his visits they discuss Leo wanting to get to know Deyon, not just sex but more along the lines of things a man finds out about a woman who has captured his interest. Deyon has her own personal reasons why she hasn’t approached Leo before. They agree and set up conditions on starting a relationship. Well it seems after a month they throw caution to the wind and change the conditions of their relationship. They exchange keys to each others place and start staying the night at each other’s place.

This is a pretty short novel but it took me longer than normal to complete. I wasn’t drawn into the characters, nor the storyline. I often found myself trying to figure out what the plot of the story was. This is part of a series, however, and may be part of the reason for my confusion, as well as be the reason why the story is bogged down by many events that do little to move the story forward.

Despite my concerns, the novel is also more than I expected. I expected the lead characters and their relationship to be the highlighted focus of the novel. However, the authors did a good job of including a host of characters and each added their own interesting piece to the story. The dialogue is snappy, and the bedroom scenes were hot and steamy.

This novel is much more than a couple giving into the forces of attraction. As with any couple, they love, disagree and have a life outside of their relationship. This is a novel that tells of events that take place in the city of McKingley. I haven’t read the prior books in the series but after reading this I would suggest maybe reading the prior books and hopefully it will fill you in on some of the people and events that take place in this novel so you can enjoy this story, and the rest, more.

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

Waking Up by Amanda Carpenter

February 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment

UP
Waking Up by Amanda Carpenter
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (139 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 2.5 stars
Reviewed by Hollyhock

Friends for life…but could they have even more?

Robbie Fisher had been friends with Jason Morrow for years. A lifelong confidant, he’d listened to all of her hopes and dreams for the future before leaving to pursue his.
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After years away, Jason is back in town, looking after his parents’ house for the summer. But Robbie’s all grown up now, and suddenly uncomfortable with spilling all of her secrets to her handsome neighbor.

The cute boy next door has become a stranger…and a disturbingly sexy one at that. But can they forge a new relationship to replace the old?

If you’re feeling nostalgic for the eighties‒big hair, leg warmers, acid-washed jeans and all‒and you like friends-to-lovers stories, then Waking Up, a Retro Romance from 1986, might be just what you’re looking for.

The story begins with the heroine, Robbie, defending her lack of direction in life. She’s twenty-two years old, never went to college, and works as a waitress. Her childhood friend Jason, a successful businessman who has recently moved back home, is prodding her to do something with her life, but Robbie says she has to do things in her own time. That beginning really resonated with me. I remember being a directionless twenty-something and how difficult that was, and I was looking forward to Robbie’s journey of self-discovery. Unfortunately, rather than chronicling that journey, the story moves from one commonplace scene to the next as Robbie slowly realizes that Jason is no longer just her pal next door. The romance is the point of the story, of course, but it is played out against a backdrop of Robbie’s evening shifts at the restaurant, her housecleaning chores in the home she shares with her father, and lazy afternoons spent working on her tan. Not much scope for interesting character growth there.

Equally problematic for me, is that Jason is more old-school hero than I am comfortable with. He’s sometimes violent toward Robbie, shaking and shoving her more than once: “He held her by the shoulders and shook her steadfastly until she shouted in outrage.” He’s also a borderline stalker who stands outside her window at night and stares into her bedroom. And when she asks him to back off his aggressive sexual pursuit of her, he refuses to admit the fault and instead turns it on her: “No. The conflict is all within yourself. You can’t place the blame on me for what you’re feeling.” For the most part, the author portrays Jason as a gentle, caring man who truly loves Robbie, but occasionally I thought his behavior crossed a line no hero should cross in any era.

Overall, though, the story is well-written and a quick read, but I would have liked it much better if Jason had been less menacing and if the novel had been as much about Robbie’s personal journey as her romantic one. But if you like your retro heroes with a touch of machismo, and this frozen winter has you longing for a story that brings hot-shouldered summer to life, Waking Up might just be the book for you.

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

The Darkness Within by Robert Friedrich

January 2, 2014 By Leave a Comment

WITHIN
The Darkness Within by Robert Friedrich
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Action/Adventure, Paranormal
Length: Short Story (106 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A past long forgotten, a mysterious reading in space, an unprepared crew and an unforgivable Darkness.

A Captain who suffered a terrible accident causing him amnesia, and his crew of the salvage ship “LIGHTARK” stumble upon a mysteries reading far in space. As they investigate they uncover a terrible secret that shall ultimately decide their fate. Will the Captain and his crew be able to survive, or will they be consumed by the Darkness that lurks at the edge of space.

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As soon as Captain Roberts and his crew notice bizarre readings coming from what ought to be an uninhabited part of space I couldn’t wait to find out what it was they’ve discovered. The first few scenes were so well-paced that I felt like I was watching a movie instead of reading a book.

The lack of character development made it difficult for me to connect emotionally with any of the crew members of Lightark. I had trouble understanding their motivation for behaving in certain ways as the plot progresses, and in most cases their intentions and thought processes are never really explained. While I understand that a plot-centered work such as this one may not be designed to explore these things in depth, I was hoping that the issue would be raised eventually. The characters also didn’t seem to understand one another despite working together in very close quarters for what appears be a long period of time. I would have preferred to see more time spent exploring why their professional relationships were so uncommunicative. It could have easily provided more tantalizing clues about what was happening to them, and it was one of the most interesting aspects of the second half of the adventure in particular.

After the first plot twist I had some trouble determining what was really going on. Mr. Friedrich doesn’t tell his readers that the captain is disoriented and afraid, he drags you into the middle of what is happening and offers only as many explanations as as strictly necessary to keep the plot moving along. This technique works well for this book because of how many seemingly inconsequential details the author includes in these passages. I appreciate it when an author expects his or her audience to use common sense to help uncover what is really happening, and there are many opportunities to do so in this tale.

There are numerous grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors in this story. While most of the mistakes don’t affect the meaning of the text, in a few instances I was genuinely unsure of what the author was trying to say. Many scenes switch rapidly between present tense and past tense, and this only added to my confusion. Had the book undergone a more vigorous editing process it would have earned a much higher rating as the premise is intriguing.

On a positive note, Mr. Friedrich clearly poured a lot of effort into his metaphors. I was repeatedly surprised by his clever use of language to describe emotions and experiences that are difficult to put into words. His ability to approach even the most mundane experiences as if his characters are trying these things for the very first time piques my curiosity.

I would recommend The Darkness Within to anyone who enjoys creative and occasionally non-linear horror stories that require some effort from the reader in order to reveal their secrets.

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

Jumping Ship by Janice Ross

December 2, 2013 By 2 Comments

SHIP
Jumping Ship by Janice Ross
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Historical, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (44 pages)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The year was nineteen seventy-five. Pregnant seamstress, Petrina Dugal, became a runaway at the age of twenty-six. She ran away from a brutish husband, Roger, and a well-loved South American home in Georgetown, Guyana; at the heart of her rebellion – an enigmatic lover named Michael Chen. Pet and Mikey, as they became affectionately known, allowed love to blossom in front of her police officer husband and an intrusive community. Were they not aware of the dangers? Or did the pursuit of love trump obligations?

Pet and Mikey’s journey to their new life took them through a multitude of the Caribbean’s treasure trove of islands – Antigua, Martinique, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, and Saint Lucia. More than a month later their voyage landed them at JFK airport, in New York USA. And they disappeared, as though their existence was a myth. During this time, barren couple, Pearl and Edward Riley stumbled upon a newborn baby girl. Her cries could only be heard by a true mother, which Pearl immediately became. Bundled up with their new child, they discovered a parcel of artifacts and a scribbled note that read: Sakkara.

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“Jumping Ship” provides the introduction to Sakkara’s attempts to commune with her true heritage.

Sakkara has always wondered where she came from, and now she’s finally old enough to start looking for her birth parents thanks to a few clues left with her when she was abandoned. The only question is, has the trail gone cold over the last few decades?

Imagine discovering a newborn in a pile of trash. The idea of running across something like that is so heartbreaking and unthinkable that I was immediately hooked onto this mystery. It was even more intriguing to jump around in time and learn about what kind of person Sakkara grew up to be as well as some information about her biological parents. I made assumptions about their lives that did not necessarily correspond to who Pet and Mikey actually were as individuals, but what I did learn about them makes me want to know more.

While I completely understand Ms. Ross’ desire to pique the interest of her readers, and I believe that she has done an excellent job setting up a detailed backstory for the mysteries Sakkara will confront in later books, I do wish that at least a few of the questions posed in this piece were answered. Jumping Ship asks many intriguing questions, but due to the lack of closure for any of the mysteries that are introduced earlier on this is not something that works particularly well as a standalone piece. Even solving a small part of the puzzle of Sakkara’s origins at some point in this introduction to her quest would have earned this book a much higher rating as Ms. Ross clearly knows how to write an engrossing tale.

I didn’t know anything about Guyana before reading this short story, but Ms. Ross’ extremely detailed descriptions of what it’s like to live there made me feel like I was walking alongside Sakkara in the small town she lived in. Even clothing, hairstyles, and the scents that cling to one’s skin are described in meticulous detail, and while it slowed down the pacing of the first few scenes I truly enjoyed the author’s attempt to make every inch of her story come alive once I settled in and paid close attention to her character-based plot. This is a languorous mystery that works best if it’s allowed to unfurl slowly, and while I would have liked to see certain scenes cut to most important information a little more quickly I do appreciate the author’s willingness to paint such a vivid picture of life in Guyana.

Jumping Ship shows a lot of promise. Reading it made me curious to discover what happened to Sakkara’s birth family, and I would recommend this book to anyone who is planning to dive into the entire Island Hopping Series when it is released in 2014.

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

Ribbons of Steel by Carol Henry

November 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

STEEL
Ribbons of Steel by Carol Henry
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (320 pgs)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 2 Stars
Reviewed by Hollyhock

Charley Carmichael’s loyalty may be with the Pennsylvania Rail Road’s main man, Mason Aderley, but his heart lies with the men who work the rails. With the railroads cutting wages, a major strike is imminent. Caught up in the riots and bloodshed sweeping the continent, Charley’s friends are threatened; workers are dying. Charley’s life turns tragic when his wife is diagnosed with consumption.

Emily, forced to leave her family due to her health, travels to her cousin’s home in the California Territory. A damaged trestle prevents her train from crossing a ravine, stranding the passengers with nowhere to hide when an Indian hunting party causes a deadly buffalo stampede. Fearing for her life, Emily worries she will never see her children again. Who will care for them should her husband not survive the railroad strike?

Set between a farming lifestyle in the rolling hills of south central New York and the gritty railroad realities of Philadelphia, this is one family’s story of courage, spirit, and resilience.

Men from all age groups can use this drug to consult with buying tadalafil online their doctor first before taking anything. Therefore, experiencing ED after 60 should not be order generic viagra considered as the high side effective and low effective medicine by all. There’s great news for men as well, lowest price sildenafil http://raindogscine.com/?attachment_id=70 thereby forming part of Booster capsules. It is the levitra india best and most convenient ED treatment that is generic and potentially dangerous.A generic medicine is contraindicated in men who are under nitrates, alpha-blocker and antidepressants, and who are known case of allergic to Sildenafil Citrate. In 1877, the Great Railroad Strike swept across the United States, suspending the nation’s freight and passenger trains and bringing death and destruction in its wake. Ribbons of Steel by Carol Henry brings that violent era to life and shows what it was like for a man to find his loyalties divided between his employer and the rail workers whose cause he understands all too well.

The main character, Charley Carmichael, grew up in Philadelphia where trains and coal mines were the destiny of most families. Fortunately for him, his wife inherited a farming property in New York, enabling him to move his family away from the tenements, but he still works the Philadelphia railroad because it’s in his blood. Siding with management, Charley walks a fine line between sympathizing with his fellow workers and trying to avert the strike. Charley often curses the railroads and his boss for keeping him away from his family and for asking him to back management over labor, but since he had a choice in both instances, I didn’t really understand why he kept blaming others for his decisions. At times, it made him a little hard to sympathize with.

The story follows other members of Charley’s family too. His wife, Emily, is ill and travels to California to convalesce. Emily’s heartbreak at leaving her family behind is affecting, and her dangerous adventures out west make for interesting reading. Charley’s eighteen-year-old son, Seth, runs the family farm and is struggling to take care of his siblings while his parents are away. The strike affects his ability to get his product to market and puts a crimp in his love life. The farm scenes, which take place in and around Candor, New York, have a nice authenticity to them, but the author uses both these subplots to pull in extraneous characters that she devotes quite a bit of time to. Perhaps it’s meant to set up sequels, but I didn’t like the way it drew focus away from the essential story.

The author has clearly done her research about the railroad strike, and I liked the depth of information in the novel, but I didn’t think she found the right balance between sharing her research and entertaining the reader. Rather than immersing the characters in the action and showing how the strike affected them, she seems to stand back from it. Scene after scene involves people describing the events of the strike in unrealistic-sounding dialogue: “The crowd gathered along both sides of the track right down over the hillside like a sea overflowing its banks.” That static quality makes the story less involving than it could have been.

The many spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors in the book were also a problem. (For instance, it doesn’t make the best impression that the book begins with a “Forward” rather than a “Foreword.”) Overall, I think with more work—tighter focus, sharper dialogue, better flow—and a good copy edit, the book could have been a polished and absorbing read.

Before I picked up this story, I had never heard of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, so I’m grateful for the educational information Ribbons of Steel conveys. If you like wide-ranging stories about farms and railroads and western adventures, you should give this book a try.

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

Sea Dogs by Karly Maddison

November 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

SEA
Sea Dogs by Karly Maddison
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Other: M/M, Very Light BDSM Play, Anal Sex
Rating: 2.5 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Seal shifter, Flash Jackfin, enjoys a night of revelry at the festive solstice party at Codfish Cove with his cousin and friends. He hopes to hook a date during the party but is constantly distracted by sand wolf, Crave More.

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Mix one sea dog and one land dog and you’ve got some white hot fun.

I like a good paranormal story. This one had lots of elements to draw a reader in. I was drawn in by the concept—a seal shifter and a wolf shifter. There are even gull shifters. Very cool and very new to me. The idea of the story was interesting. I won’t go into a ton of detail, but it’s a nice twist.

There were a couple of things that tripped me up in this story. The writing is good, but I have to admit, it took me most of the book to figure out if the characters fooled around. I read and reread to make sure I got everything. That might not bug some readers, but it did me. Another thing was the very light—and I mean light—addition of BDSM play. I didn’t see where it was needed in the story (and I do appreciate BDSM). The concept was good and this seemed to be a bit of an add-on where it wasn’t necessary. A bit more tightening of the story and this book would rock.

Still, this was a good, interesting read. If you want something short for the beach or while at waiting for someone, then this might be the book for you.

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

South Sea Siren by Heather Geoffries

October 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment

SIREN
South Sea Siren by Heather Geoffries
Publisher: Carnal Passions
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (43 pgs)
Other: BDSM, M/F/F, F/F, Ménage, Anal Play, Toys, Fetish
Rating: 2.5 stars
Reviewed by Thistledown

Amanda Mills knows how to have a good time and when she goes to Aphrodite’s Island she plans to embrace her naughty side. But when her current squeeze turns out to be a creep she winds up alone on her romantic getaway. Then she sees Kyrna walk out of the ocean like Venus and is blown away. All of her charm and charisma fly out the door when flirting with the lithe redhead. As they delve into a steamy romance, Amanda realizes that she is in way over her head. Now she must decide whether to take a chance at love and trust or keep playing the game.

Amanda was tricked into coming on a vacation with a couple with ulterior motives. She is disgusted and is walking along the beach when she spies a vision of loveliness. Kyrna and she connect on a sexual level immediately and as they bond, reveal some things about each other that take the relationship deeper. As Amanda shares her darkest secret with Kyrna, she reveals more about herself than she ever intended. Kyrna is determined to help Amanda over her hurdle, but it may be a wall that neither of them is strong enough to breach.
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Dealing with the after effects of rape in a novel is tough. It is something that can trigger both the writer and the reader into remembering things best left in the past. In this book, Amanda is dealing with her memories of the tragedy and her family’s refusal to help. Kyrna gets past her defenses but the walls are thrown up again when she gets a little too adventurous in her therapy efforts. Bringing a man into their lovemaking sets Amanda off, even after declarations of love. Will they resolve their differences? Will Amanda admit she could maybe be involved with Michael, Kyrna’s best friend, and share her?

The tension in the book was good, I had an issue with the snark at the onset of the novel. I want to see what sets a character off, not read about it in a summed up narrative. It is more real for me that way. The immediate chemistry was fine, but in a sleazy catty way that left me a little cold at the start. I want to have an emotional connection to the character first, not a boink fest.

The final blow, I think was the introduction of BDSM to the sex scenes without a necessary conversation with Amanda. Let me be clear. You need to know what you are getting into before you go into a scene, especially when you are dealing with a rape victim. The author did try to capture this, but there was more opportunity to show a gradual trust building and her acquiescence. One other note; BDSM is great. I love toys and the things people do that go bump (bump, bump) in the night.

Overall, I liked the conflict caused by Amanda’s necessary aloofness, but wanted a little more emotional connection to the character, both in the bedroom and out of it. Victims of sexual violence can have intimacy issues. It is a subject I am unfortunately very familiar with. I wanted a connection to the character, a realistic sexual relationship with Michael and Kyrna and a real feeling of love.  However, thankfully the book wrapped up with another narrative at the end just as the three came (giggle) to a satisfactory conclusion.

If you enjoy erotic stories with a sense of carnal want, then give this short novella a try.

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

The Prince and the Penis by Logan Zachary

October 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

PRINCE
The Prince and the Penis by Logan Zachary
Publisher: Torquere Books
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (15 pgs)
Other: M/M, anal sex
Rating: 2.5 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Prince Dante rushes to rescue a jogger from a stormy lake. After a shower, his unexpected guest’s restless state forces Prince Dante to secure him in bed, which only makes his guest struggle more.

Underneath the mattress, a dildo causes the prince’s discomfort. Has Prince Dante found his prince, and will his prince come? Will he finally get his happy ending?

This Prince wants to find his perfect match and he’s willing to go to any length.
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There is a lot to like about this book. It’s a quirky take on the princess and the pea. It’s also written well. I needed to see how the book would end. I mean, two princes and a dildo? Yeah, I needed to know.

I liked how instead of the pea, the dildo came into play. What I was confused by was the need for some of the incidents. The man is tied down when he’s having fits, but I wasn’t sure really why he was having the fits – other than that’s how it was in the original fairy tale. Another thing that was hit home quite well was how hairy the man was. Yes, I definitely had a mental picture of him.

I did have to read this short story three times before I got everything in it. For fifteen pages, there is a lot going on and some can be missed if the story is read too fast.

I do have to mention the sponge bath is really hot and a good addition to the tale. Whew!

If you want a book heavy on whimsy, then this might be the book for you.

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