Latin Moon, by Jeigh Lynn (***)
All in all, I enjoyed this werewolf romantica starring Latino-American heroes, and Jeigh Lynn slowly builds the foundation (rules) for her werewolf culture here in LATIN MOON (unlike Liz Andrews & Lena Matthews' SHADOW OF MOONLIGHT). Instead of making up fancy names to build the culture, Jeigh Lynn slowly reveals the crux of the werewolf culture via suspense and mystery. Family is clearly important to Jeigh Lynn and it shows in her story here with a Latino family (the Hernandez's) and their extended relations. The men are dark and handsome, the women petite and pretty and the sensuality oozes from the pages. There were some weird, jarring parts however (Alex's cousin Adrian giving Alex a massage? And Michael and Rand kneeling before Alex like some Godfather scene?) while the finale seemed to flounder around with so many characters involved. I don't mind a large cast, but when the story seems to throw names around just to account for them from a bookkeeping standpoint, I have to wonder whether the author is more interested in setting up sequels or telling this story. Still, it's one of the better werewolf erotica/romantic (whatever you want to call it) that I've come across.
After Dr. Alex Hernandez glimpses Jessica "Jess" Ingram at his little sister's dance recital, all that matters is meeting her, talking to her, claiming her. The 'pack alpha' (leader, dominant) for his group of werewolves consisting of various family, Alex formally meets Jess at the hospital later and the two immediately explore their attraction for one another. Uncommon nowadays, Jess is a virgin and since mating partly transforms Alex which could frighten Jess (nothing major, just an amber eye color to accompany a feral carnality), Alex convinces Jess to abstain until after marriage. Alex wants to slowly ease Jess with his true werewolf nature and so keeps that aspect secret from her. Meanwhile, anonymous phone calls warn Jess to stay away from Alex while attempted assaults and abductions on her person heightens the drama behind a threat to Alex's pack. When a pack member -- Rome -- goes missing, Jess and Alex must work with Alex's family to string together the pieces of the puzzle. Attempts on Jess's life and Rome's disappearance seem connected. The sensuous romance parallel this mystery plot as Jess shockingly comes to grips with Alex's true nature. Enjoyable, relatively substantive plotting and pacing, steamy, and romantic.
Wynd Temptress, by Kathryn Anne Dubois (**)
This is a futuristic paranormal and I thought the writing and settings in this were better than most from this genre. There's even some attempt at political maneuvering in the beginning with Alaska's resources. Still, I didn't find this story all that sensual, surprising since the beginning is written from the hero's perspective. Although Dubois injects love and romance, I found the ending flat and dry. It's the year 2150 where some people potentially have psychic power. When the League of of World Government Sectors subdues Jezermiah Cameron's evil great-grandfather years ago, the government establishes the Psychic Sensory Investigations Agency to ferret out psychics utilizing their talents to gain an unfair advantage. Jezermiah Cameron AKA Jesse Calhoun's evil great-grandfather was a level five psychic, and along with being a level five psychic herself, Jez controls the wind as well. The Psychic Investigations Agency brings Adam Wydner out of retirement to examine the new self-elected mayor of Chinook, Alaska, Jezermiah Cameron AKA Jesse Calhoun. A level five psychic himself, the agency wants Adam to determine if Jezermiah has inherited her evil great-grandfather's powerful psychic abilities and whether she isn't unfairly influencing people with her psychic abilities for (or against) an important new proposed pipeline through her city.
The premise has Adam abduct Jez, whisking her away to resort-like grounds where she has the freedom to go anywhere but endless surrounding fields offer no substantial escape. At the resort, Adam intends to conduct his investigation of her psychic talents and their influence in her mayoral position. But Jez quickly turns the table on Adam and ties him up instead! I always enjoy a fun turning-of-the-tables, and thankfully, Dubois obliges. Unfortunately, the sensuality failed to resonate although Adam and Jez's banter was fun at times. The ending was worse, with an overabundance of choking love sickness on Adam's part. Jez has two other sisters, Jez the wind to her sisters' fire and water. Their stories are explored elsewhere.
Showing posts with label erotica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label erotica. Show all posts
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Erotica reviews of the month
Is it a bad generalization to state that married women write erotica much more conducive to a guy than single women? I admit I'm generalizing (which is never good), but when I read the Author's Note at the end of an erotica I thought was good, the author is happily married, with kids, etc. When I read the Author's Note of erotica I thought was too girly-centric or containing menage and BDSM, the authors are usually single. Oversimplification? Maybe, but one that generally holds true (in my case).
Silver Fire, by Jeanne Barrack (***)
Intense passion for her soulmate transports our heroine Mirelle to the fantasy world Hearthome teeming with magical wizards, princes, and flying unicorns. In Hearthome, magic comes from the dust lanbeth produced from a "joining" between true mates who climax together. True mates preordained by the Fates in Hearthome are rare, and their climaxing at the same time even rarer. Hence, many in this fantasy world covet the magic dust lanbeth due to its extremely sparse and dwindling supply. Our hero is the wizard prince Jareth set Morath, son of Morath, tall and very handsome of course. Jareth calls to Mirelle on Earth and migrates her back to his own fantasy world. Once in Hearthome, Jareth and Mirelle immediately pledge their devotion to each other and they engage in some steamy sex. Mirelle is in a trance and after, she tries to help Jorath and his mentor Narik piece through the conspiracy rocking Mirelle's own family. She discovers she's actually a princess from Hearthome, ordained as Jareth's soulmate, and her royal family devastated by insidious plots and treachery. Narik suggests Mirelle's uncle who seemingly eliminated any competition for dominion over Hearthome. Jareth and Mirelle work together to disentangle the pieces clouding Hearthome.
Admittedly, the tale exhibits its fair share of silliness and senselessness but I found the chemistry between Jareth and Mirelle very passionate and it doesn't shy away from allowing Mirelle to show how much she wants Jareth. There's plenty of sex scenes and most of them are extremely heated because of their mutual desire for each other. In trying to make the people of Hearthome authentic, Jareth sometimes comes across very flaky both in his speech and mannerisms. The plotting and settings obviously leave something to be desired, but you can't argue Jareth & Mirelle's passion and love for each other one bit.
Jeanne Barrack writes a series on Hearthome, and I started reading the second installment in this dealing with Jareth's brother entitled AMBER INFERNO but I couldn't finish that one. The plotting in AMBER INFERNO reached levels of inanity and senselessness I couldn't quite stomach.
Price of Fame, by Ashley Ladd ()
This receives a zero not because it describes elements of a menage a trois or BDSM (I find little value in either) but because it's so ridiculously *girly* and stereotypically skewed from a female's point-of-view, I wanted to literally retch my insides out. Our twenty-eight year-old heroine Wenefred "Wendy" Applegate AKA Skye Blue harbors a mountain of insecurities and prejudices from page 1 to the very end. All beautiful women in this story are either air-headed bimbos (Thunder's drop-dead gorgeous wife Carly, or Wendy's band members Rain and Hail evidenced by Wendy's derogatory thoughts when Rain suggests an idea for their band, or all the ditzy bimbos in Wendy's sister's beauty pageants) or the beautiful women are extremely annoying (Wendy's beauty queen little sister Angelina). There exists beautiful, confident and successful women, but you'd never know it from this story. Apparently only plain women like our heroine Wendy has any brains as she spends the whole story ridiculing beautiful women and yet fawns over handsome, ripped men. She summarily condemns all beautiful women as dumb, she entertains menage fantasies with two hot men and yet she's insecure in a threesome with another, potentially prettier woman (c'mon, we can't really measure beauty and yet there's little doubt we can gauge the size of two dicks in a menage and she as a woman is insecure?!). All the hot men in this story are of course considerate and smart along with possessing handsome faces, huge biceps, pecs, abs, hard thighs and mammoth erections described in excruciating detail ad nauseam. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to read Wendy whining about her plain looks, her family ignoring her as a child and focusing on her little beautiful sister Angel, etc., etc., etc. You name it, our Wendy has a whine ready for it on autopilot. When a hotel concierge doesn't treat her with the utmost respect and care due to a diva because she didn't have her face paint on, she whines. Nevermind two hot guys pursue Wendy the entire story (her band member Thunder and the hot Dr. Trace Cooper), she continues to whine about her plain, insignificant looks. Nevermind that she's more successful than her little sister, she constantly whines about her pretty little sister garnering all the attention. Despicably, it's our hero the tall, hot and ripped Dr. Trace Cooper who makes all the sacrifices in the end (consistently shown working out and also a high school football star who enjoyed all the cheerleaders back in the day). Though he considers the peculiar resemblances behind Skye Blue and Wendy a couple times, Trace never explores his hunch behind Skye Blue's true identity. He dismisses the notion that Skye Blue could be his Wendy and everyone melodramatically learns of Skye Blue's true identity from the media. Instead of crafting a circumstance where Trace explores his hunch and possibly turns the tables on Wendy, Trace remains a dolt throughout. Of course he's built like a body builder, he's a doctor, played high school football and dated all the cheerleaders, what more could a plain, insecure girl like Wendy want? And from my vantage point, Wendy remains ugly both from the inside and outside. Her petty grudges and mountain of insecurities never diminish. Her bitchy attitude towards Trace never ceases until the last page. Trace must chase her across the country after she lies to him about her identity and Trace must declare words of love and devotion to assuage her concerns despite media attention of her new beau, a TV star. Trace must abandon his practice in Florida and relocate to California to accommodate Wendy's illustrious career. I literally wanted to barf.
The essential premise revolves around Wendy struggling to hide her public persona from her family and friends back in Florida. She resents her family (her mother and little sister) for always making her feel secondary, and she hates her childhood crush Trace for saying he would prefer her sister Angel's beauty when they were all very little. Wendy has grown up to be the distinguished lead singer Skye Blue in the famous band called Storm and with all the face paint she's successful keeping her real identity secret from the media and her public persona hidden from her family. When health conditions handicap her aging mother, Wendy returns to her home in Florida and the girly, juvenile feeling of the story steadily rises while everything else promptly disintegrates. Her childhood crush Trace is her mother's doctor and she's Bitch Numero Uno around him. Shockingly, our doctor is a fan of Wendy's band Storm and he attends her Florida concerts dressed in tight leather and of course the Wendy's girly notions escalate. Wendy wants men to look beyond superficial beauty in women and yet fawns over beautiful men (Thunder and Trace) at every turn. She's not only petty, jealous, insecure and plain looking, but she's also hypocritical. Trace enjoys Skye Blue's attentions after a concert, completely ignorant of Skye Blue's true identity. Trace never discovers anything for himself and the story continues on its girly, stereotypical and hypocritical course.
Before the Fire, by Jaid Black (****)
I've skimmed through a few of Jaid Black's work and I can confidently say that compared to all the other erotica (i.e. Lora Leigh), Jaid Black writes one of the few erotica that guys can read as well as women. Her stories contain hot guys, but they also contain hot, smart women and the passion isn't heavily one-sided (all the pleasuring from the guy to the girl) nor the plotting too feminine (notions of tingly reactions for example). BEFORE THE FIRE comprises of futuristic, scifi elements merged with time traveling to the common setting of most historical romances, Georgian England. Although I tried not to, BEFORE THE FIRE made me laugh so many times that I have to recognize its light, passionate and humorous touches in an otherwise silly and foolish tale. If a nonsensical story makes me laugh, I have to give it props, and if the story is meant to be an erotica strictly for women, I have to laud its efforts. It's like laughing at one of Mel Brooks' silly yet funny movies (like SPACEBALLS). Some of the "magical" elements here weren't nearly as inane here as in Barrack's SILVER FIRE.
In the year 2429 AD, a new mutation of a virus threatens all of mankind distributed across various planets and solar systems. I had to laugh at the name: BV-5, or Brain Virus Five. Scientist and "planabotonologist" (a botanist for all the planets, I'm assuming) Kane Edmonds represents Commander Linder's last hope for his stricken son Egis. Linder asks Kane to travel back in time during Georgian England when there exists evidence of a "kabitross" plant which possesses herbs to combat the deadly BV-5. Kane agrees, traveling to the estates of Blackmore, where rumors abound of the Earl of Blackmore having murdered his wife. George Wyndom, the ninth Earl of Blackmore and heir apparent to the Duke of Browning, espies a thoroughly nude Kane on his land and understandably falls prey to lust instantaneously. Kane is taken aback by George's massive size and handsome countenance and asks some amusing and yet pointed questions of George. George finds a woman like Kane who doesn't abide traditional protocol and custom very refreshing. Kane tells George she's American and she seeks a plant vital to her research. George wants to court Kane formally but Kane refuses to march to the time period's pace and proceeds to shock George all the while capturing his heart thoroughly. More characters from the 1776 appear and the mystery behind George's first wife is unraveled. Kane slowly acquired new friends and family in 1776 all the while searching frantically for the plant. Again, the passion resonated and chemistry sizzled in this one minus the cloying muliebrity so characteristic of this genre.
Rainlashed, by Leda Swann (****)
This one is too fun for guys, what guy wouldn't want a hot mermaid-like creature wanting nothing more than to please him 24/7? This one is definitely skewed a little bit for guys but not nearly as bad as Agnew's DANGEROUS INTENTIONS (below) or Ladd's PRICE OF FAME (above) are skewed for women. RAINLASHED contains paranormal elements in the Regency England setting. Our heroine Maya is a "selkie," or a creature capable of shape-shifting between seal and human form though her first love lies with the water and oceans. Selkies also possess magical powers affecting the ocean. Our hero Ian Argyle, Earl of Stoneleigh, was born to the land but also shares a love of sea and ocean like Maya. Iain comes to terms with his love for Maya in the end and sacrifices a part of himself to be with Maya long-term. Maya is sexy, innocent, unabashed, and provocative -- pretty much every guy's dream and Leda Swann captures a guy's dream perfectly just this once.
The premise: Iain dreams of capturing one of the slippery selkies on the shore of his estates ever since they taunted, teased and finally escaped his clutches as a child. When Iain stumbles on some beautiful female selkies bathing on the rocks in the sun, he resolves to capture their seal skins which would effectively enslave them. A selkie would do anything to reacquire her seal skin. In fact, a selkie without her seal skin is powerless to transform to seal form and enjoy the waters. When Iain captures Maya's younger sister's seal skin, Maya barters her own seal skin in exchange for her sister's. Iain would have returned the younger sister's seal skin, it's Maya he's wanted from the moment he laid eyes on her, and he cruelly uses Maya's desperation to enslave her to him. Iain tells Maya that if she pleases him enough, he'll return her seal skin back to her. Unfortunately whatever Maya does for him sexually only makes Iain latch onto her harder and harder. The story's end satisfies as Iain forsakes part of his life on land to be with Maya, and Iain doesn't ask Maya to abandon her love for the sea and ocean permanently. Leda Swann's love for the water and ocean is evident and I enjoyed the story thoroughly.
Naughty Mistress Nita, by Jodi Lynn Copeland (**)
Conservative and a general good girl, NAUGHTY MISTRESS NITA describes Anita Roemer shedding her shell of inhibitions and discovering her sexual side in the arms of tall, gruff and handsome Zane Matthews. In spite of any expectations stemming from the title, our dominant hero Zane Matthews quickly turns the tables on Anita and she's the recipient of some of Zane's naughty ministrations, not the other way around.
Jordan asks her best friend Anita to drive to a lodge in the boondocks in order to cancel an appointment with one Zane Matthews. Jordan works as a professional dominatrix, and she's tried calling him, but there's no answer. Jordan doesn't want to leave the guy hanging since he's prepaid and so Anita drives all the way to Zane's cabin to cancel the appointment with the professional dominatrix Jordan. The entire premise is way too bizarre and Jordan goads her friend Anita that she could sit in for her, but then laughs it off recognizing Anita for the sexual prude she is. Anita walks in on Zane's empty but messy cabin and proceeds clean up the place and sleep in the bed after a storm strands her there. Fairly outrageous circumstances to be sure. Zane walks in on the professional dominatrix his buddies have arranged for him after his recent separation with his cheating ex-wife. Her conservative attire sure doesn't scream dominatrix, Zane thinks. The story has Anita shifting between her conservative self and the role as a confident dominatrix. Zane believes Anita is new at this but then quickly deduces she couldn't be a lifetime dominatrix. Like Copeland's INTO THE ARCTIC piece in the Anthology: A Faerie Tale, I smiled and chuckled at some of the amusing and humorous writing. Still, there was something missing in the sensuality (compared to Copeland's INTO THE ARCTIC in Anthology: A Faerie Tale), and the plotting and ending seemed empty.
Erotic Stranger, by Cheyenne McCray (*)
This is a full-fledged BDSM fantasy though it restrains from any menage. Corporate lawyer Teri Carter wants to drop her inhibitions for a night, have pure, unadulterated sex with a stranger who will nail her hard, long and leave her satisfied. Used to ordering and bossing others around, Teri is a closet subservient in the Dom/Sub BDSM relationship. Successful entrepreneur and Dom Josh Williams recognizes Teri in the hotel bar as a hot potential Sub. Both are attracted to one another and Josh takes Teri back to his room, ties her up and their games in bondage and pain escalate as Josh unveils his arsenal of BDSM toys and gadgets. Some of the pain Josh inflicts on Teri borders on torture and I guess I'll never understand a woman actually liking this much pain. I'm all for some butt slapping, but some of Josh's professional BDSM toys mean business. Somehow, love ensues from all this. This is, by far, the shortest of the stories amongst these reviews and offers little substance and less plotting.
Dangerous Intentions, by Denise A. Agnew (*)
This begins with some substantive prose and promise with respect to the plotting but quickly takes a nosedive for the worse. Although not as girly and woman-centric as Ladd's PRICE OF FAME (above), it comes darn close! Thankfully it forgoes PRICE OF FAME's nauseating insecurities and the heroine here in DANGEROUS INTENTIONS is really hot. But this story is interested in one thing and one thing alone: magnify the appearance of the hot, ripped guy, and detail his pleasuring of our heroine Kiley. Every time Kiley wishes to offer something for our hero Scott Danger, he brushes her off. It gets old after the third and fourth times which are so female-centric and imply any ripped, handsome guy could elicit such uninhibited reactions from our pretty heiress Kiley. Not to mention any man would love to have her doing a small fraction of the pleasuring Scott bestows Kiley; and no, after the third, fourth, fifth times her favorable reactions alone are not enough and *every* man would move on after the the woman's selfish second time. If she really "loved" him, she wouldn't let Scott brush her off so easily when she starts to return a fraction of his servicing attentions. The whole time, Kiley shoulders bruises from a prior relationship (Barclay), someone macho and handsome who looks and acts like Scott. Hence, she's reluctant to submit to him completely and commit to him. Scott has no problem loving her, giving her pleasure, and putting himself out there for her without the least bit of any expectation on her part to reciprocate (in anything).
Kiley's billionaire uncle Reginald Casey Chapman of Chapman Enterprises has some enemies and expects some trouble from his old business partner Gregory Thorson who was recently released from prison. Kiley's uncle hires Scott's agency and specifically Scott to protect Kiley. Scott is the best: he's "lean and mean," possesses the obligatory wide shoulders, ripped muscles, handsome countenance and hails from a celebrated past in secret ops and protection which would hone and tone his muscles. The story shifts to mostly Kiley's very girly and cloying perspective as Scott responds to Kiley's ad looking for a hero and having qualities of a hero. Kiley would be around the successful candidate 24/7 to observe the qualities of a hero, and that would suit Scott's purposes just fine -- to protect her of course. Kiley's uncle advises that he must protect her without revealing that he was hired to protect her since Kiley would have none of that. The story contains absolutely zero surprises, everything is predictable and the villains do some things that make Scott desperate to protect Kiley and want her more (also predictably).
His Female (Gryffin Strain 01), by Madison Hayes (**)
Another paranormal story, this one deals with a human -- our heroine Chiarra -- caught in the midst of Gryffin politics. Gryffin are fantastical creatures but essentially humanoid in form and genitalia. Both females and males have these fantastic multi-colored fans spanning their body, females are straight-waisted and flat-chested, while males' phallus stem directly from underneath and between their legs. Their arousal leans horizontal while a human male's arousal leans vertical more often than not. Also, females are common amongst the species while males rare. A male's "fold" will contain the male with as many as 8 wives. In fact, our hero Jarrk's fold consists of 7-8 women. Male gryffin can perform some neat tricks while embedded in the female and consequently the females climax almost immediately while it takes many females for the male to climax. Male gryffins covet human females because they're able to last longer. It's all very amusing and silly at the same time.
After Chiarra ventures to gryffin territory and is captured, she watches a fight between the evil Gryffin male Grat and our hero Jarrk. Our human heroine Chiarra was brought up to believe gryffin are less than human, that they're mostly animal. Grat abused and killed the last human female that they captured and Jarrk wishes to protect Chiarra from Grat's malevolence. After Jarrk defeats Grat, Chiarra joins Jarrk's fold (consisting of him and his 7-8 wives). Jarrk has no desire to force her to stay though but the maelstrom and dragons across the land prevent Chiarra from returning right away. An acrimonious disposition mars Chiarra and Jarrk's exchanges but their attraction to one another steadily builds. When Chiarra leaves to brave the maelstroms, Jarrk gives chase to help and protect her from Grat. Events progress and Jarrk and Chiarra find bliss in each other's arms. It's an interesting story if nothing else, definitely different from what I've been reading. It was also amusing at times and didn't piss me off as much as some others here.
Shadow of Moonlight, by Liz Andrews & Lena Matthews (*)
This is a werewolf story which attempts to imbue some societal culture and hierarchy to the wolf packs. Tanned, muscled and surfer-boy-like Jace McClellan is the anomaly within his own Pack, a seer of his pack, a Rakshasa as they're called. For most of his adult life, Jace has wanted Elizabeth Remington, or "Remy." Remy is a warrior, a Venator, second-in-command to their Pack leader, and she's earned her title, scars and bruises by fighting. This story attempts novelty by substituting fancy names for the various titles in the wolf packs for a meaningful setting. One of Jace's visions about a pregnant human woman could threaten the tenuous stability between wolf packs and heralds danger for the werewolves. Remy dumped her last hot, muscled lover Kellan (all the guys in the pack are obviously tall, steroid-pumped and handsome) and her attraction to Jace evolves as the pack's leader Nico orders to investigate the identity of this woman. In any werewolf or fantasy-based romantic erotica, there exists some notion of mates and here is no different. Fear of injuring Jace (because mating involves partially shifting to wolf form) prohibit Remy from mating with Jace since Jace isn't a true wolf (he has were DNA which allows him to see visions, but he can't shift into a wolf). The sex scenes were fairly one-sided focusing on Jace pleasuring Remy which I wouldn't have a huge problem with if the words and emotions from Jace for Remy weren't so much more profound than the other way around. Jace says he's intoxicated by the smell and taste of her arousal, that it's imprinting itself in his brain, that it smells and feels like home, blah, blah, blah. He tells her he loves her early and often and of course he's understanding enough to allow Remy to work out her own issues and fear of committing to Jace. The story meticulously describes Jace loving to pleasure Remy with his mouth and hands but of course anytime an opportunity for the reverse presents itself, Remy performs out of rote or they're interrupted by the pack leader Nico. The servicing from the hero to the heroine isn't nearly as bad here as in Agnew's DANGEROUS INTENTIONS, but it's still fairly lopsided, in thoughts, words, and deeds.
Silver Fire, by Jeanne Barrack (***)
Intense passion for her soulmate transports our heroine Mirelle to the fantasy world Hearthome teeming with magical wizards, princes, and flying unicorns. In Hearthome, magic comes from the dust lanbeth produced from a "joining" between true mates who climax together. True mates preordained by the Fates in Hearthome are rare, and their climaxing at the same time even rarer. Hence, many in this fantasy world covet the magic dust lanbeth due to its extremely sparse and dwindling supply. Our hero is the wizard prince Jareth set Morath, son of Morath, tall and very handsome of course. Jareth calls to Mirelle on Earth and migrates her back to his own fantasy world. Once in Hearthome, Jareth and Mirelle immediately pledge their devotion to each other and they engage in some steamy sex. Mirelle is in a trance and after, she tries to help Jorath and his mentor Narik piece through the conspiracy rocking Mirelle's own family. She discovers she's actually a princess from Hearthome, ordained as Jareth's soulmate, and her royal family devastated by insidious plots and treachery. Narik suggests Mirelle's uncle who seemingly eliminated any competition for dominion over Hearthome. Jareth and Mirelle work together to disentangle the pieces clouding Hearthome.
Admittedly, the tale exhibits its fair share of silliness and senselessness but I found the chemistry between Jareth and Mirelle very passionate and it doesn't shy away from allowing Mirelle to show how much she wants Jareth. There's plenty of sex scenes and most of them are extremely heated because of their mutual desire for each other. In trying to make the people of Hearthome authentic, Jareth sometimes comes across very flaky both in his speech and mannerisms. The plotting and settings obviously leave something to be desired, but you can't argue Jareth & Mirelle's passion and love for each other one bit.
Jeanne Barrack writes a series on Hearthome, and I started reading the second installment in this dealing with Jareth's brother entitled AMBER INFERNO but I couldn't finish that one. The plotting in AMBER INFERNO reached levels of inanity and senselessness I couldn't quite stomach.
Price of Fame, by Ashley Ladd ()
This receives a zero not because it describes elements of a menage a trois or BDSM (I find little value in either) but because it's so ridiculously *girly* and stereotypically skewed from a female's point-of-view, I wanted to literally retch my insides out. Our twenty-eight year-old heroine Wenefred "Wendy" Applegate AKA Skye Blue harbors a mountain of insecurities and prejudices from page 1 to the very end. All beautiful women in this story are either air-headed bimbos (Thunder's drop-dead gorgeous wife Carly, or Wendy's band members Rain and Hail evidenced by Wendy's derogatory thoughts when Rain suggests an idea for their band, or all the ditzy bimbos in Wendy's sister's beauty pageants) or the beautiful women are extremely annoying (Wendy's beauty queen little sister Angelina). There exists beautiful, confident and successful women, but you'd never know it from this story. Apparently only plain women like our heroine Wendy has any brains as she spends the whole story ridiculing beautiful women and yet fawns over handsome, ripped men. She summarily condemns all beautiful women as dumb, she entertains menage fantasies with two hot men and yet she's insecure in a threesome with another, potentially prettier woman (c'mon, we can't really measure beauty and yet there's little doubt we can gauge the size of two dicks in a menage and she as a woman is insecure?!). All the hot men in this story are of course considerate and smart along with possessing handsome faces, huge biceps, pecs, abs, hard thighs and mammoth erections described in excruciating detail ad nauseam. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to read Wendy whining about her plain looks, her family ignoring her as a child and focusing on her little beautiful sister Angel, etc., etc., etc. You name it, our Wendy has a whine ready for it on autopilot. When a hotel concierge doesn't treat her with the utmost respect and care due to a diva because she didn't have her face paint on, she whines. Nevermind two hot guys pursue Wendy the entire story (her band member Thunder and the hot Dr. Trace Cooper), she continues to whine about her plain, insignificant looks. Nevermind that she's more successful than her little sister, she constantly whines about her pretty little sister garnering all the attention. Despicably, it's our hero the tall, hot and ripped Dr. Trace Cooper who makes all the sacrifices in the end (consistently shown working out and also a high school football star who enjoyed all the cheerleaders back in the day). Though he considers the peculiar resemblances behind Skye Blue and Wendy a couple times, Trace never explores his hunch behind Skye Blue's true identity. He dismisses the notion that Skye Blue could be his Wendy and everyone melodramatically learns of Skye Blue's true identity from the media. Instead of crafting a circumstance where Trace explores his hunch and possibly turns the tables on Wendy, Trace remains a dolt throughout. Of course he's built like a body builder, he's a doctor, played high school football and dated all the cheerleaders, what more could a plain, insecure girl like Wendy want? And from my vantage point, Wendy remains ugly both from the inside and outside. Her petty grudges and mountain of insecurities never diminish. Her bitchy attitude towards Trace never ceases until the last page. Trace must chase her across the country after she lies to him about her identity and Trace must declare words of love and devotion to assuage her concerns despite media attention of her new beau, a TV star. Trace must abandon his practice in Florida and relocate to California to accommodate Wendy's illustrious career. I literally wanted to barf.
The essential premise revolves around Wendy struggling to hide her public persona from her family and friends back in Florida. She resents her family (her mother and little sister) for always making her feel secondary, and she hates her childhood crush Trace for saying he would prefer her sister Angel's beauty when they were all very little. Wendy has grown up to be the distinguished lead singer Skye Blue in the famous band called Storm and with all the face paint she's successful keeping her real identity secret from the media and her public persona hidden from her family. When health conditions handicap her aging mother, Wendy returns to her home in Florida and the girly, juvenile feeling of the story steadily rises while everything else promptly disintegrates. Her childhood crush Trace is her mother's doctor and she's Bitch Numero Uno around him. Shockingly, our doctor is a fan of Wendy's band Storm and he attends her Florida concerts dressed in tight leather and of course the Wendy's girly notions escalate. Wendy wants men to look beyond superficial beauty in women and yet fawns over beautiful men (Thunder and Trace) at every turn. She's not only petty, jealous, insecure and plain looking, but she's also hypocritical. Trace enjoys Skye Blue's attentions after a concert, completely ignorant of Skye Blue's true identity. Trace never discovers anything for himself and the story continues on its girly, stereotypical and hypocritical course.
Before the Fire, by Jaid Black (****)
I've skimmed through a few of Jaid Black's work and I can confidently say that compared to all the other erotica (i.e. Lora Leigh), Jaid Black writes one of the few erotica that guys can read as well as women. Her stories contain hot guys, but they also contain hot, smart women and the passion isn't heavily one-sided (all the pleasuring from the guy to the girl) nor the plotting too feminine (notions of tingly reactions for example). BEFORE THE FIRE comprises of futuristic, scifi elements merged with time traveling to the common setting of most historical romances, Georgian England. Although I tried not to, BEFORE THE FIRE made me laugh so many times that I have to recognize its light, passionate and humorous touches in an otherwise silly and foolish tale. If a nonsensical story makes me laugh, I have to give it props, and if the story is meant to be an erotica strictly for women, I have to laud its efforts. It's like laughing at one of Mel Brooks' silly yet funny movies (like SPACEBALLS). Some of the "magical" elements here weren't nearly as inane here as in Barrack's SILVER FIRE.
In the year 2429 AD, a new mutation of a virus threatens all of mankind distributed across various planets and solar systems. I had to laugh at the name: BV-5, or Brain Virus Five. Scientist and "planabotonologist" (a botanist for all the planets, I'm assuming) Kane Edmonds represents Commander Linder's last hope for his stricken son Egis. Linder asks Kane to travel back in time during Georgian England when there exists evidence of a "kabitross" plant which possesses herbs to combat the deadly BV-5. Kane agrees, traveling to the estates of Blackmore, where rumors abound of the Earl of Blackmore having murdered his wife. George Wyndom, the ninth Earl of Blackmore and heir apparent to the Duke of Browning, espies a thoroughly nude Kane on his land and understandably falls prey to lust instantaneously. Kane is taken aback by George's massive size and handsome countenance and asks some amusing and yet pointed questions of George. George finds a woman like Kane who doesn't abide traditional protocol and custom very refreshing. Kane tells George she's American and she seeks a plant vital to her research. George wants to court Kane formally but Kane refuses to march to the time period's pace and proceeds to shock George all the while capturing his heart thoroughly. More characters from the 1776 appear and the mystery behind George's first wife is unraveled. Kane slowly acquired new friends and family in 1776 all the while searching frantically for the plant. Again, the passion resonated and chemistry sizzled in this one minus the cloying muliebrity so characteristic of this genre.
Rainlashed, by Leda Swann (****)
This one is too fun for guys, what guy wouldn't want a hot mermaid-like creature wanting nothing more than to please him 24/7? This one is definitely skewed a little bit for guys but not nearly as bad as Agnew's DANGEROUS INTENTIONS (below) or Ladd's PRICE OF FAME (above) are skewed for women. RAINLASHED contains paranormal elements in the Regency England setting. Our heroine Maya is a "selkie," or a creature capable of shape-shifting between seal and human form though her first love lies with the water and oceans. Selkies also possess magical powers affecting the ocean. Our hero Ian Argyle, Earl of Stoneleigh, was born to the land but also shares a love of sea and ocean like Maya. Iain comes to terms with his love for Maya in the end and sacrifices a part of himself to be with Maya long-term. Maya is sexy, innocent, unabashed, and provocative -- pretty much every guy's dream and Leda Swann captures a guy's dream perfectly just this once.
The premise: Iain dreams of capturing one of the slippery selkies on the shore of his estates ever since they taunted, teased and finally escaped his clutches as a child. When Iain stumbles on some beautiful female selkies bathing on the rocks in the sun, he resolves to capture their seal skins which would effectively enslave them. A selkie would do anything to reacquire her seal skin. In fact, a selkie without her seal skin is powerless to transform to seal form and enjoy the waters. When Iain captures Maya's younger sister's seal skin, Maya barters her own seal skin in exchange for her sister's. Iain would have returned the younger sister's seal skin, it's Maya he's wanted from the moment he laid eyes on her, and he cruelly uses Maya's desperation to enslave her to him. Iain tells Maya that if she pleases him enough, he'll return her seal skin back to her. Unfortunately whatever Maya does for him sexually only makes Iain latch onto her harder and harder. The story's end satisfies as Iain forsakes part of his life on land to be with Maya, and Iain doesn't ask Maya to abandon her love for the sea and ocean permanently. Leda Swann's love for the water and ocean is evident and I enjoyed the story thoroughly.
Naughty Mistress Nita, by Jodi Lynn Copeland (**)
Conservative and a general good girl, NAUGHTY MISTRESS NITA describes Anita Roemer shedding her shell of inhibitions and discovering her sexual side in the arms of tall, gruff and handsome Zane Matthews. In spite of any expectations stemming from the title, our dominant hero Zane Matthews quickly turns the tables on Anita and she's the recipient of some of Zane's naughty ministrations, not the other way around.
Jordan asks her best friend Anita to drive to a lodge in the boondocks in order to cancel an appointment with one Zane Matthews. Jordan works as a professional dominatrix, and she's tried calling him, but there's no answer. Jordan doesn't want to leave the guy hanging since he's prepaid and so Anita drives all the way to Zane's cabin to cancel the appointment with the professional dominatrix Jordan. The entire premise is way too bizarre and Jordan goads her friend Anita that she could sit in for her, but then laughs it off recognizing Anita for the sexual prude she is. Anita walks in on Zane's empty but messy cabin and proceeds clean up the place and sleep in the bed after a storm strands her there. Fairly outrageous circumstances to be sure. Zane walks in on the professional dominatrix his buddies have arranged for him after his recent separation with his cheating ex-wife. Her conservative attire sure doesn't scream dominatrix, Zane thinks. The story has Anita shifting between her conservative self and the role as a confident dominatrix. Zane believes Anita is new at this but then quickly deduces she couldn't be a lifetime dominatrix. Like Copeland's INTO THE ARCTIC piece in the Anthology: A Faerie Tale, I smiled and chuckled at some of the amusing and humorous writing. Still, there was something missing in the sensuality (compared to Copeland's INTO THE ARCTIC in Anthology: A Faerie Tale), and the plotting and ending seemed empty.
Erotic Stranger, by Cheyenne McCray (*)
This is a full-fledged BDSM fantasy though it restrains from any menage. Corporate lawyer Teri Carter wants to drop her inhibitions for a night, have pure, unadulterated sex with a stranger who will nail her hard, long and leave her satisfied. Used to ordering and bossing others around, Teri is a closet subservient in the Dom/Sub BDSM relationship. Successful entrepreneur and Dom Josh Williams recognizes Teri in the hotel bar as a hot potential Sub. Both are attracted to one another and Josh takes Teri back to his room, ties her up and their games in bondage and pain escalate as Josh unveils his arsenal of BDSM toys and gadgets. Some of the pain Josh inflicts on Teri borders on torture and I guess I'll never understand a woman actually liking this much pain. I'm all for some butt slapping, but some of Josh's professional BDSM toys mean business. Somehow, love ensues from all this. This is, by far, the shortest of the stories amongst these reviews and offers little substance and less plotting.
Dangerous Intentions, by Denise A. Agnew (*)
This begins with some substantive prose and promise with respect to the plotting but quickly takes a nosedive for the worse. Although not as girly and woman-centric as Ladd's PRICE OF FAME (above), it comes darn close! Thankfully it forgoes PRICE OF FAME's nauseating insecurities and the heroine here in DANGEROUS INTENTIONS is really hot. But this story is interested in one thing and one thing alone: magnify the appearance of the hot, ripped guy, and detail his pleasuring of our heroine Kiley. Every time Kiley wishes to offer something for our hero Scott Danger, he brushes her off. It gets old after the third and fourth times which are so female-centric and imply any ripped, handsome guy could elicit such uninhibited reactions from our pretty heiress Kiley. Not to mention any man would love to have her doing a small fraction of the pleasuring Scott bestows Kiley; and no, after the third, fourth, fifth times her favorable reactions alone are not enough and *every* man would move on after the the woman's selfish second time. If she really "loved" him, she wouldn't let Scott brush her off so easily when she starts to return a fraction of his servicing attentions. The whole time, Kiley shoulders bruises from a prior relationship (Barclay), someone macho and handsome who looks and acts like Scott. Hence, she's reluctant to submit to him completely and commit to him. Scott has no problem loving her, giving her pleasure, and putting himself out there for her without the least bit of any expectation on her part to reciprocate (in anything).
Kiley's billionaire uncle Reginald Casey Chapman of Chapman Enterprises has some enemies and expects some trouble from his old business partner Gregory Thorson who was recently released from prison. Kiley's uncle hires Scott's agency and specifically Scott to protect Kiley. Scott is the best: he's "lean and mean," possesses the obligatory wide shoulders, ripped muscles, handsome countenance and hails from a celebrated past in secret ops and protection which would hone and tone his muscles. The story shifts to mostly Kiley's very girly and cloying perspective as Scott responds to Kiley's ad looking for a hero and having qualities of a hero. Kiley would be around the successful candidate 24/7 to observe the qualities of a hero, and that would suit Scott's purposes just fine -- to protect her of course. Kiley's uncle advises that he must protect her without revealing that he was hired to protect her since Kiley would have none of that. The story contains absolutely zero surprises, everything is predictable and the villains do some things that make Scott desperate to protect Kiley and want her more (also predictably).
His Female (Gryffin Strain 01), by Madison Hayes (**)
Another paranormal story, this one deals with a human -- our heroine Chiarra -- caught in the midst of Gryffin politics. Gryffin are fantastical creatures but essentially humanoid in form and genitalia. Both females and males have these fantastic multi-colored fans spanning their body, females are straight-waisted and flat-chested, while males' phallus stem directly from underneath and between their legs. Their arousal leans horizontal while a human male's arousal leans vertical more often than not. Also, females are common amongst the species while males rare. A male's "fold" will contain the male with as many as 8 wives. In fact, our hero Jarrk's fold consists of 7-8 women. Male gryffin can perform some neat tricks while embedded in the female and consequently the females climax almost immediately while it takes many females for the male to climax. Male gryffins covet human females because they're able to last longer. It's all very amusing and silly at the same time.
After Chiarra ventures to gryffin territory and is captured, she watches a fight between the evil Gryffin male Grat and our hero Jarrk. Our human heroine Chiarra was brought up to believe gryffin are less than human, that they're mostly animal. Grat abused and killed the last human female that they captured and Jarrk wishes to protect Chiarra from Grat's malevolence. After Jarrk defeats Grat, Chiarra joins Jarrk's fold (consisting of him and his 7-8 wives). Jarrk has no desire to force her to stay though but the maelstrom and dragons across the land prevent Chiarra from returning right away. An acrimonious disposition mars Chiarra and Jarrk's exchanges but their attraction to one another steadily builds. When Chiarra leaves to brave the maelstroms, Jarrk gives chase to help and protect her from Grat. Events progress and Jarrk and Chiarra find bliss in each other's arms. It's an interesting story if nothing else, definitely different from what I've been reading. It was also amusing at times and didn't piss me off as much as some others here.
Shadow of Moonlight, by Liz Andrews & Lena Matthews (*)
This is a werewolf story which attempts to imbue some societal culture and hierarchy to the wolf packs. Tanned, muscled and surfer-boy-like Jace McClellan is the anomaly within his own Pack, a seer of his pack, a Rakshasa as they're called. For most of his adult life, Jace has wanted Elizabeth Remington, or "Remy." Remy is a warrior, a Venator, second-in-command to their Pack leader, and she's earned her title, scars and bruises by fighting. This story attempts novelty by substituting fancy names for the various titles in the wolf packs for a meaningful setting. One of Jace's visions about a pregnant human woman could threaten the tenuous stability between wolf packs and heralds danger for the werewolves. Remy dumped her last hot, muscled lover Kellan (all the guys in the pack are obviously tall, steroid-pumped and handsome) and her attraction to Jace evolves as the pack's leader Nico orders to investigate the identity of this woman. In any werewolf or fantasy-based romantic erotica, there exists some notion of mates and here is no different. Fear of injuring Jace (because mating involves partially shifting to wolf form) prohibit Remy from mating with Jace since Jace isn't a true wolf (he has were DNA which allows him to see visions, but he can't shift into a wolf). The sex scenes were fairly one-sided focusing on Jace pleasuring Remy which I wouldn't have a huge problem with if the words and emotions from Jace for Remy weren't so much more profound than the other way around. Jace says he's intoxicated by the smell and taste of her arousal, that it's imprinting itself in his brain, that it smells and feels like home, blah, blah, blah. He tells her he loves her early and often and of course he's understanding enough to allow Remy to work out her own issues and fear of committing to Jace. The story meticulously describes Jace loving to pleasure Remy with his mouth and hands but of course anytime an opportunity for the reverse presents itself, Remy performs out of rote or they're interrupted by the pack leader Nico. The servicing from the hero to the heroine isn't nearly as bad here as in Agnew's DANGEROUS INTENTIONS, but it's still fairly lopsided, in thoughts, words, and deeds.
Monday, February 25, 2008
More erotica reviews
Diamond (Galaxy 03), by Michelle M. Pillow (****)
There exists three erotic stories in the Galaxy Playmate series (that I know of) though I found DIAMOND the best of the lot. Jane, whose stage name is Diamond, meets her childhood nemesis Liam Ferguson while traveling back to her home planet of Werten. Diamond wants to throw her fame and beauty in her brother's friend (Liam's) face after all these years, she wants to flaunt her beauty in Liam's face for teasing her when she was an awkward girl. After a very enjoyable reunion in which Diamond fails to recognize Liam in the space hunk body before her, Diamond soon learns of his true identity and seethes over repressed feelings for Liam as a little girl even when he used to tease her. This is a story about rediscovering a childhood love that never died and of course I'm always partial to those. The love scenes are very hot and the love resonated.
Forbidden Fruit, by Caitlyn Willows (*)
This one is also about reigniting a childhood crush/love. Abby Strickland runs into her childhood crush Richard Braddock (a cop) at a wedding after many years. Richard has just divorced from his wife and seeing Richards after all these years makes Abby all hot and bothered. This story is written almost entirely from Abby's perspective and I found myself mostly bored with the end result. After a devastating prior relationship, her childhood crush fifty year-old Richard is johnny-on-the-spot. Although he's in top form as a cop, Richard's advanced age seems part of Abby's attraction. I wasn't moved by their "connection" in the least though I do give points to any erotica that mentions g-spot stimulation as this one does.
Claiming (Outlaw Lovers 2), by Jan Springer ()
This one obviously gets a zero because it's about a ritualistic "claiming" between multiple brothers and a woman. It wouldn't be so bad if the woman in question (Callie) wasn't married to one of the brothers (Luke). Luke gets off watching "his" woman claimed by his brothers at the same time. Supposedly, Callie and Luke "love" each other. Again, I wouldn't mind this so much if the author didn't disgustingly bring love and marriage into it. The story is obviously a woman's fantasy to have multiple hot men with huge erections nail her in multiple orifices and the farthest thing from a guy's mind during all this is "love." Yeah, I cannot imagine a guy sharing a woman he supposedly loves, and no, I'm not a prig about sex believe me. There's a reason why you won't see any stories where the woman supposedly gets off sharing the man she loves with other women. Again, I consider myself fairly liberal but something like love is so much more intense and fulfilling in a monogamous relationship (both emotionally and physically). And stories which manufacture love into multiple-men-single-woman scenes incite my rancor to no end. It's raw sex, so LEAVE LOVE OUT OF IT.
There exists three erotic stories in the Galaxy Playmate series (that I know of) though I found DIAMOND the best of the lot. Jane, whose stage name is Diamond, meets her childhood nemesis Liam Ferguson while traveling back to her home planet of Werten. Diamond wants to throw her fame and beauty in her brother's friend (Liam's) face after all these years, she wants to flaunt her beauty in Liam's face for teasing her when she was an awkward girl. After a very enjoyable reunion in which Diamond fails to recognize Liam in the space hunk body before her, Diamond soon learns of his true identity and seethes over repressed feelings for Liam as a little girl even when he used to tease her. This is a story about rediscovering a childhood love that never died and of course I'm always partial to those. The love scenes are very hot and the love resonated.
Forbidden Fruit, by Caitlyn Willows (*)
This one is also about reigniting a childhood crush/love. Abby Strickland runs into her childhood crush Richard Braddock (a cop) at a wedding after many years. Richard has just divorced from his wife and seeing Richards after all these years makes Abby all hot and bothered. This story is written almost entirely from Abby's perspective and I found myself mostly bored with the end result. After a devastating prior relationship, her childhood crush fifty year-old Richard is johnny-on-the-spot. Although he's in top form as a cop, Richard's advanced age seems part of Abby's attraction. I wasn't moved by their "connection" in the least though I do give points to any erotica that mentions g-spot stimulation as this one does.
Claiming (Outlaw Lovers 2), by Jan Springer ()
This one obviously gets a zero because it's about a ritualistic "claiming" between multiple brothers and a woman. It wouldn't be so bad if the woman in question (Callie) wasn't married to one of the brothers (Luke). Luke gets off watching "his" woman claimed by his brothers at the same time. Supposedly, Callie and Luke "love" each other. Again, I wouldn't mind this so much if the author didn't disgustingly bring love and marriage into it. The story is obviously a woman's fantasy to have multiple hot men with huge erections nail her in multiple orifices and the farthest thing from a guy's mind during all this is "love." Yeah, I cannot imagine a guy sharing a woman he supposedly loves, and no, I'm not a prig about sex believe me. There's a reason why you won't see any stories where the woman supposedly gets off sharing the man she loves with other women. Again, I consider myself fairly liberal but something like love is so much more intense and fulfilling in a monogamous relationship (both emotionally and physically). And stories which manufacture love into multiple-men-single-woman scenes incite my rancor to no end. It's raw sex, so LEAVE LOVE OUT OF IT.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Erotica reviews
Anthology: A Faerie Tale, by Paige Burns, Jodi Lynn Copeland, Rae Monet, and Tiffany Aaron
RING OF FIRE (***), written by Paige Burns, begins this anthology on four faerie princesses forced to live on Earth (separately) and find love before their 28th birthday. All four of these stories are very readable, and they don't just portray how much the guy wants the girl but how much the girl wants the guy back (beyond the responsiveness). In RING OF FIRE, our nature faerie Damia meets scientist Mateo De'Acosta in a jungle where he's studying and measuring an active volcano. This qualifies as a very rare romance/erotica story where the guy isn't a notorious rake, but rather a studious research scientist. He's very attractive though and our libidinous faerie Damia directs her ample charms on Mateo. The passion is heated and the chemistry palpable. Towards the end, Damia's special faerie powers aid Mateo and his project on the volcano. Mateo, meanwhile, falls hard for Damia and both discover true love in each other's arms.
The second story features the faerie sister Albinia in Jodi Lynn Copeland's INTO THE ARCTIC (****). Some amusing twists to the common werewolf storyline make this tale an enjoyable and yet very passionate affair. Geologist Flinn Gregory is a were-penguin who is studying glacial tectonics at an outpost in the frozen tundra to save his imperiled species (were-penguins). Along with a couple guys, Albinia arrives at the post under the guise of a student named Erin finishing her masters in geophysics. Albinia coaxes Flinn to allow her to stay with him at his outpost to study glacial drifting while the two other guys (Lance and Rusty) move on. Albinia and Flinn enjoy a very heated passion and similar to the previous story, Albinia saves Flinn's life along with finding a means to salvage his race.
The third story showcases the the faerie of luck and fortune Nortia in Rae Monet's LUCK OF THE DRAW (**). The focus shifts here a bit to south France where Nortia uses her powers to win at slots in a casino called Ranger's Palace. Owned by Brice Ranger, Nortia's vast winnings compel Brice to investigate her. Passion takes over from there but this story lacked the fresh appeal from the prior two. It was also the most mundane in this anthology because unlike the volcano and penguins in the first two stories, LUCK OF THE DRAW lacked a compelling premise.
The final story, TIGER BY THE TAIL (***) by Tiffany Aaron, focuses on the final faerie sister Alida, the faerie of glamor manifested by her singing talent. Taking place in Australia, Cyno Wellington is a were-tiger, the very last Tasmanian Tiger in fact. Cyno attends one of Alida's concerts and of course he's mesmerized. The plotting here deals with Alida stalked by her Aussie manager Jason via anonymous threatening notes. Cyno and Alida's chemistry resonated in this one and the passion was definitely heated.
Anthology: Pleasure Raiders, by Katherine Kingston, Arianna Hart and Dawn Madigan
These three stories are about space pirates discovering love in a science fiction universe. The first story, CHECKMATE (**) by Katherine Kingston, is interesting to say the least. Written entirely from the heroine Devonne's perspective, Captain Dev crosses paths with her hero Raje. Both are pirates of a sort. Devonne and Raje share an early passion and later Devonne learns he's none other than Prince Reginald of Gambria. His uncle is the Grand Emperor. Devonne recoils feeling he used her for a short time. Circumstances land both Devonne and Raje in a bind with the Sangari government. The Sangari people enjoy exhibition and in order to escape charges, both Devonne and Raje must successfully perform various acts in front of a live audience. They involve combat, mazes, and of course, sex. One scene with another couple was especially memorable. In the end, the Sangari trials prove to Devonne that Raje really loves her.
The second story, Arianna Hart's CONCUBINE'S REVENGE (***), also represents the most heated and passionate. Space pirate Triona Fallon of the The Bunny's Revenge captures Captain Drake Cantor and his ship. Drake is Traminian where it's customary to own concubines as slaves. Triona was captured from her rural home and forced into the concubine slave trade on the planet when she was 16. A cruel Traminian master abused Triona for a two years before she finally escaped to engage in space piracy. Triona takes revenge on the captured Traminian Drake who offers sexual services in exchange for his freedom. Triona agrees and puts a collar around Drake controlled by a remote. The premise engages from the outset. Although Triona's treatment justifiably angers Drake in the beginning, I was rolling my eyes at Drake's lovesick introspection relatively early. He forgets about escape and instead he's emotionally enslaved by Triona too early. Both obviously discover true love in the ruse and the love scenes are hot.
The final story here, Dawn Madigan's CRASH COURSE (*), is weakest of the lot although the initial premise intrigues. Navy commander Blade Steele hounds captain of the Ambrosine pirate Chiliad-Kai Jayrt'ian. In an act of desperation, Chiliad orders his ship the Ambrosine to hyperleap without a functional navigational system. A smuggler and scoundrel, Chiliad prays he doesn't end up in the heart of a supernova. Our heroine is virginal Valasca ("Val") of an Amazon-like race of females who make their home on the planet Chebrri in uncharted territories. Val chances on Chiliad in the desert of her home planet and agrees to help him find fuel for his ship. An entertaining belligerent quality characterizes the early exchanges between our hero Chiliad and Val. Chiliad initiates Val to passion and it's first story which saves any oral until the very end.
London Falling, by Eve Vaughn (****)
A very short read, this is about our alien heroine London who falls for ordinary nice guy Matt Taylor. Ordinary nice guys who haven't had a myriad of nameless, faceless women are a rarity and Matt is exactly such a guy. Although he's dated plenty, women dump him because they find him cute, but lacking in enough sex appeal. Matt isn't bitter about it though, and he perseveres reasoning he isn't looking for a beauty queen just someone he could talk to and share his deepest thoughts with. Unfortunately, Matt only seems to attract abused women who want him to clean up the pieces. Meanwhile, London is a princess on another planet who refuses to marry the General. Instead, she falls on Earth in what looks to Matt in his telescope as a comet or falling meteorite. The story is sweet and although it doesn't contain the obligatory rakish hero, I thought it was very passionate.
Last Kiss, by Dominique Adair (*)
In her mid to late 30s, Elaine Nichols decides to attend her millionaire friend Dirk Prentice's weekend party. Organized for sexual excursions, Elaine wants to have lots of sex before succumbing to her cancerous tumor which grows worse by the day. At Dirk's ostentatious castle, Elaine meets Count Alexei Romanov, a man whose very presence calls to her. Elaine has been having dreams of a mysterious man all of her life and she suspects Alexei may have some answers behind her dreams. As you might suspect, Alexei and Elaine cozy up and when Elaine's tumor catches up with her, Alexei reveals he's a vampire. Apparently, in prior lifetimes, Elaine has been with Alexei but Elaine tragically died. Hence, her fractured dreams. Determined t0 be with Elaine forever this time, Alexei explains their history and turns her into a vampire so they can finally be together. Why he didn't turn Elaine in one of her earlier reincarnations is beyond me. I wasn't moved by anything here: neither the premise nor Alexei and Elaine's "connection."
RING OF FIRE (***), written by Paige Burns, begins this anthology on four faerie princesses forced to live on Earth (separately) and find love before their 28th birthday. All four of these stories are very readable, and they don't just portray how much the guy wants the girl but how much the girl wants the guy back (beyond the responsiveness). In RING OF FIRE, our nature faerie Damia meets scientist Mateo De'Acosta in a jungle where he's studying and measuring an active volcano. This qualifies as a very rare romance/erotica story where the guy isn't a notorious rake, but rather a studious research scientist. He's very attractive though and our libidinous faerie Damia directs her ample charms on Mateo. The passion is heated and the chemistry palpable. Towards the end, Damia's special faerie powers aid Mateo and his project on the volcano. Mateo, meanwhile, falls hard for Damia and both discover true love in each other's arms.
The second story features the faerie sister Albinia in Jodi Lynn Copeland's INTO THE ARCTIC (****). Some amusing twists to the common werewolf storyline make this tale an enjoyable and yet very passionate affair. Geologist Flinn Gregory is a were-penguin who is studying glacial tectonics at an outpost in the frozen tundra to save his imperiled species (were-penguins). Along with a couple guys, Albinia arrives at the post under the guise of a student named Erin finishing her masters in geophysics. Albinia coaxes Flinn to allow her to stay with him at his outpost to study glacial drifting while the two other guys (Lance and Rusty) move on. Albinia and Flinn enjoy a very heated passion and similar to the previous story, Albinia saves Flinn's life along with finding a means to salvage his race.
The third story showcases the the faerie of luck and fortune Nortia in Rae Monet's LUCK OF THE DRAW (**). The focus shifts here a bit to south France where Nortia uses her powers to win at slots in a casino called Ranger's Palace. Owned by Brice Ranger, Nortia's vast winnings compel Brice to investigate her. Passion takes over from there but this story lacked the fresh appeal from the prior two. It was also the most mundane in this anthology because unlike the volcano and penguins in the first two stories, LUCK OF THE DRAW lacked a compelling premise.
The final story, TIGER BY THE TAIL (***) by Tiffany Aaron, focuses on the final faerie sister Alida, the faerie of glamor manifested by her singing talent. Taking place in Australia, Cyno Wellington is a were-tiger, the very last Tasmanian Tiger in fact. Cyno attends one of Alida's concerts and of course he's mesmerized. The plotting here deals with Alida stalked by her Aussie manager Jason via anonymous threatening notes. Cyno and Alida's chemistry resonated in this one and the passion was definitely heated.
Anthology: Pleasure Raiders, by Katherine Kingston, Arianna Hart and Dawn Madigan
These three stories are about space pirates discovering love in a science fiction universe. The first story, CHECKMATE (**) by Katherine Kingston, is interesting to say the least. Written entirely from the heroine Devonne's perspective, Captain Dev crosses paths with her hero Raje. Both are pirates of a sort. Devonne and Raje share an early passion and later Devonne learns he's none other than Prince Reginald of Gambria. His uncle is the Grand Emperor. Devonne recoils feeling he used her for a short time. Circumstances land both Devonne and Raje in a bind with the Sangari government. The Sangari people enjoy exhibition and in order to escape charges, both Devonne and Raje must successfully perform various acts in front of a live audience. They involve combat, mazes, and of course, sex. One scene with another couple was especially memorable. In the end, the Sangari trials prove to Devonne that Raje really loves her.
The second story, Arianna Hart's CONCUBINE'S REVENGE (***), also represents the most heated and passionate. Space pirate Triona Fallon of the The Bunny's Revenge captures Captain Drake Cantor and his ship. Drake is Traminian where it's customary to own concubines as slaves. Triona was captured from her rural home and forced into the concubine slave trade on the planet when she was 16. A cruel Traminian master abused Triona for a two years before she finally escaped to engage in space piracy. Triona takes revenge on the captured Traminian Drake who offers sexual services in exchange for his freedom. Triona agrees and puts a collar around Drake controlled by a remote. The premise engages from the outset. Although Triona's treatment justifiably angers Drake in the beginning, I was rolling my eyes at Drake's lovesick introspection relatively early. He forgets about escape and instead he's emotionally enslaved by Triona too early. Both obviously discover true love in the ruse and the love scenes are hot.
The final story here, Dawn Madigan's CRASH COURSE (*), is weakest of the lot although the initial premise intrigues. Navy commander Blade Steele hounds captain of the Ambrosine pirate Chiliad-Kai Jayrt'ian. In an act of desperation, Chiliad orders his ship the Ambrosine to hyperleap without a functional navigational system. A smuggler and scoundrel, Chiliad prays he doesn't end up in the heart of a supernova. Our heroine is virginal Valasca ("Val") of an Amazon-like race of females who make their home on the planet Chebrri in uncharted territories. Val chances on Chiliad in the desert of her home planet and agrees to help him find fuel for his ship. An entertaining belligerent quality characterizes the early exchanges between our hero Chiliad and Val. Chiliad initiates Val to passion and it's first story which saves any oral until the very end.
London Falling, by Eve Vaughn (****)
A very short read, this is about our alien heroine London who falls for ordinary nice guy Matt Taylor. Ordinary nice guys who haven't had a myriad of nameless, faceless women are a rarity and Matt is exactly such a guy. Although he's dated plenty, women dump him because they find him cute, but lacking in enough sex appeal. Matt isn't bitter about it though, and he perseveres reasoning he isn't looking for a beauty queen just someone he could talk to and share his deepest thoughts with. Unfortunately, Matt only seems to attract abused women who want him to clean up the pieces. Meanwhile, London is a princess on another planet who refuses to marry the General. Instead, she falls on Earth in what looks to Matt in his telescope as a comet or falling meteorite. The story is sweet and although it doesn't contain the obligatory rakish hero, I thought it was very passionate.
Last Kiss, by Dominique Adair (*)
In her mid to late 30s, Elaine Nichols decides to attend her millionaire friend Dirk Prentice's weekend party. Organized for sexual excursions, Elaine wants to have lots of sex before succumbing to her cancerous tumor which grows worse by the day. At Dirk's ostentatious castle, Elaine meets Count Alexei Romanov, a man whose very presence calls to her. Elaine has been having dreams of a mysterious man all of her life and she suspects Alexei may have some answers behind her dreams. As you might suspect, Alexei and Elaine cozy up and when Elaine's tumor catches up with her, Alexei reveals he's a vampire. Apparently, in prior lifetimes, Elaine has been with Alexei but Elaine tragically died. Hence, her fractured dreams. Determined t0 be with Elaine forever this time, Alexei explains their history and turns her into a vampire so they can finally be together. Why he didn't turn Elaine in one of her earlier reincarnations is beyond me. I wasn't moved by anything here: neither the premise nor Alexei and Elaine's "connection."
Monday, January 21, 2008
Menage scenes in erotica
So I've run across a lot of erotica featuring two (or more) guys and one girl. Yes, I can understand how literature provides a nice outlet for women to vicariously enact sexual desires they're unlikely to experience in real life, and that's all fine. It's another reason why you rarely see "nice" heroes and the lot of'em are high-handed, dominant alpha rakes.
But man, it pisses me off to no end when erotica authors manufacture a "love" between the woman and one of the men she's getting pounded by in a menage scene.
Please, please, PLEASE leave love out of it. Clearly this is a fantasy about a woman getting nailed by multiple men with huge erections at the same time. Fabricating a circumstance in the paranormal or modern realm where it's customary or tradition for the woman to get nailed by more than one man at the same time and then contrive a love with one of the men... it's just ridiculous. Guys screwing a girl with other guys at the same time do not feel love for the girl. Even if the guy is bisexual (which also happens often in erotica), there's still *no* way he can forget that he shared the woman he supposedly "loves" and she enjoyed it tremendously. Lingering and suppressed grudges will inevitably decimate any potential for a meaningful monogamous relationship. And if there's no lingering grudges from the guy, then there's no love!
For example, I read an erotica where it's customary in elven culture for the leader or king of the elves to share his bride with another man so both can be attuned to her and "protect" her as needed. Please. Right before both men screw the girl, the king thinks to himself that he loves her and this will be the last time he'll share his wife with another man. Aren't you the king/leader? If you "love" her, change custom! Do something about it! But don't give me crap about love and then go through with it. I read another story where the story contrives to have the husband get off on watching and taking his wife with his brothers. It was actually a ritual for the brothers (a "claiming"), and it's beyond retarded because the husband and wife "love" each other. Are you kidding me, no guy would want to share the woman he "loves."
So why doesn't the woman get off on sharing her man with other women?
Seriously, if erotica novelists want to contrive a love between one of the men and the girl from 2+guy-and-1-girl scene(s), then let's see a scene where the girl shares the guy she supposedly "loves" with another woman. Otherwise just leave the scene alone for it's raw value: more than one gorgeous man pleasuring the woman. It's raw sex dealing with multiple men pounding a single woman. Nothing close to the profound intimacies of a monogamous relationship.
Is my way of thinking too traditional? Hell, I'm fairly liberal but I will never see love in multiple men screwing a woman in all her orifices. Regardless how much the story wants to force a "love." A lusty woman? Sure, and there's nothing wrong with that, but love? Uhuh, keep telling yourself that you love the person you share with other people.
Okay enough of my ranting and raving.
But man, it pisses me off to no end when erotica authors manufacture a "love" between the woman and one of the men she's getting pounded by in a menage scene.
Please, please, PLEASE leave love out of it. Clearly this is a fantasy about a woman getting nailed by multiple men with huge erections at the same time. Fabricating a circumstance in the paranormal or modern realm where it's customary or tradition for the woman to get nailed by more than one man at the same time and then contrive a love with one of the men... it's just ridiculous. Guys screwing a girl with other guys at the same time do not feel love for the girl. Even if the guy is bisexual (which also happens often in erotica), there's still *no* way he can forget that he shared the woman he supposedly "loves" and she enjoyed it tremendously. Lingering and suppressed grudges will inevitably decimate any potential for a meaningful monogamous relationship. And if there's no lingering grudges from the guy, then there's no love!
For example, I read an erotica where it's customary in elven culture for the leader or king of the elves to share his bride with another man so both can be attuned to her and "protect" her as needed. Please. Right before both men screw the girl, the king thinks to himself that he loves her and this will be the last time he'll share his wife with another man. Aren't you the king/leader? If you "love" her, change custom! Do something about it! But don't give me crap about love and then go through with it. I read another story where the story contrives to have the husband get off on watching and taking his wife with his brothers. It was actually a ritual for the brothers (a "claiming"), and it's beyond retarded because the husband and wife "love" each other. Are you kidding me, no guy would want to share the woman he "loves."
So why doesn't the woman get off on sharing her man with other women?
Seriously, if erotica novelists want to contrive a love between one of the men and the girl from 2+guy-and-1-girl scene(s), then let's see a scene where the girl shares the guy she supposedly "loves" with another woman. Otherwise just leave the scene alone for it's raw value: more than one gorgeous man pleasuring the woman. It's raw sex dealing with multiple men pounding a single woman. Nothing close to the profound intimacies of a monogamous relationship.
Is my way of thinking too traditional? Hell, I'm fairly liberal but I will never see love in multiple men screwing a woman in all her orifices. Regardless how much the story wants to force a "love." A lusty woman? Sure, and there's nothing wrong with that, but love? Uhuh, keep telling yourself that you love the person you share with other people.
Okay enough of my ranting and raving.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Stranger I Married, by Sylvia Day [0]
/***** (0/5)
THE STRANGER I MARRIED depicts two taming-the-rake routines, and it's clear Sylvia Day enjoys her heroes giving chase and pining quite a bit. The routine dealing with our main hero and heroine is mostly imbalanced and unjustified. I hated both lead characters (Gerard/Gray and Isabel) and the soapy plotting was so bad it needed a secondary pairing (Rhys and Abby) to fill the pages. For an erotica, the love scenes here are just plain. ASK FOR IT (**) is much better in that department. There's no doubt appearance plays a role in attraction, but I found Day's infatuation with superficial appearances even towards the end exhausting. If I didn't know any better, one big cock is as good as any other for Isabel. I had a hard time understanding why Isabel loves Grayson other than his size. I guess that's enough for Isabel. Grayson pines so much throughout the second half and voices so much tender drivel for Isabel's delight, I believed him I suppose. But she really doesn't do anything to earn all that pining because she never trusts him.
A prior pregnancy ending in death makes Grayson very fearful of losing Isabel to childbirth. Instead of Isabel staying and talking him through it, Day has Isabel's brother Rhys coach Grayson like some idiot (Grayson also fails to recognize Isabel's misgivings for making their marriage legit when it's so plainly obvious). Rhys explains that Grayson should take the risk of pregnancy and childbirth to keep Isabel. Day's heroine Isabel here mistrusts, seethes and curses Grayson throughout the novel and even runs from him after both admit their love for each other in the end. The answer to every heroine's problems: when things aren't going exactly the way you want it, CUT and RUN! Make the hero give chase, test him repeatedly, say and do nothing to show your affections. The denouement showcases Isabel at the height of her bitchiness when endless words of love, caring and giving fail to convince Isabel ("I pledge my troth to you, my wife. Not for my needs, but for yours..." blah, blah, blah. Later: "Will you let me in?" Isabel: "Why?" Grayson: "I want to give you all that I am to you. Including children..." blah, blah, blah. Isabel's answer: "I agree to talk. Nothing more." My thoughts: B---, !$#@$! Then from Grayson: More blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc. pining to prove himself; Grayson, along with having perfect abs, perfect butt, biceps, a monster cock, a title, and abundant wealth, is also a poet).
The entire story has Grayson needing to prove himself for Isabel and win her affections as if Isabel has been some chaste virgin her whole life. I found it repetitive and strenuous to read. There's nothing there, Isabel does little more than seethe and lambaste Grayson the entire book because she believes Grayson is exactly like her first husband who cheated on her. Isabel holds it against Grayson that years ago he was "cheating" on the woman ("Em") he professed to love (who was married) with another woman. Despite the fact that both the women went into the affair with Grayson eyes wide open and knew of his libertine ways. Despite the fact that Isabel has had many paramours herself between her first husband and Grayson. Why is it that Grayson has to constantly prove himself? Because Day has some perverted notion to reform him? But he was already reformed by the time he returns to Isabel after his hiatus. Isabel believes Grayson wants to sire a child off her and so Grayson assiduously spills his seed elsewhere to allay those concerns (every time). Many times Isabel thinks Grayson with other people and so Grayson must assuage her concerns there. Isabel never surrenders all of herself to Grayson because she believes him exactly like her cheating first husband. If anything, It was Isabel's mistrust and commitment issues that needed reforming. When the issue with children drives our lovers apart, it's again Grayson who needs to prove himself and chase Isabel. I'd love to see Grayson finally discover bliss with someone else after she drives him away. Screw Isabel if she doesn't know she has a good thing when she has it.
More than once, the book talks about how true love is about accepting the other person with their faults. I don't see any faults with Grayson: he's physically perfect, amply-endowed, titled, and wealthy. Arrogance, high-handedness and lascivious debauchery in heroes are actually celebrated in historical romances like they are in THE STRANGER I MARRIED (Rhys is a celebrated rake too). Hence, I don't consider these qualities all that bad since sexual experience in heroes is a prerequisite more than anything else. It's why readers of romance gravitate towards alpha heroes so much. While threatening Isabel's last paramour Hargreaves in the second half, Grayson (Gerard) thinks to himself that Isabel was not a fickle woman to leave Hargreaves for him. Which is bullshit because a muscled body, big cock and a quick recovery time in bed are pretty much all it takes for Isabel to submit to Grayson and ditch Hargreaves. I'd say that's pretty fickle. Sex is great [with Grayson] and she gets multiple orgasms for every one of Grayson's. That's nice, Grayson is your regular cartoon pimp complete with trimmings of a tortured love story from his past.
The plotting is mostly immature and soapy. Everyone in the book seeks a good fuck and lusts for the forbidden affair which appeals so much to women (Isabel, Grayson, Grayson's brother, Isabel's parents outside marriage, etc.). You have a marriage bargain that invites both spouses to sleep with everyone but each other. Neither recognize potential problems that could arise from such an arrangement. Then once Grayson decides he wants his wife for himself, you have these episodic jealousies and outings introduced by other characters. Twice, Isabel chances on Grayson and his former mistress Lady Stanhope (Barbara) in a compromising situation from which Isabel draws all the wrong conclusions and mistrusts Grayson even more. There's even a scorned mistress and an evil mother posing road blocks as they try to confound Grayson and Isabel's lusty relationship with misunderstandings and misconceptions. After all of Isabel's misconceptions and misunderstandings are out of the way, there's the children issue which rears its ugly head. First, it's hard to believe that Isabel would remain childless with so many men considering the time period's inadequate contraceptive methods. Second, if she wants children so much, just pick a guy to screw like she has previously and get a child off him! The book is so inane, it turns its attentions to a second pairing: Isabel's rakehell brother Rhys (aren't they all rakes?) and the virgin spinster Abby. Just so we have at least one pairing where there's a handsome rake deflowering the ordinary-of-appearance virgin.
THE STRANGER I MARRIED depicts two taming-the-rake routines, and it's clear Sylvia Day enjoys her heroes giving chase and pining quite a bit. The routine dealing with our main hero and heroine is mostly imbalanced and unjustified. I hated both lead characters (Gerard/Gray and Isabel) and the soapy plotting was so bad it needed a secondary pairing (Rhys and Abby) to fill the pages. For an erotica, the love scenes here are just plain. ASK FOR IT (**) is much better in that department. There's no doubt appearance plays a role in attraction, but I found Day's infatuation with superficial appearances even towards the end exhausting. If I didn't know any better, one big cock is as good as any other for Isabel. I had a hard time understanding why Isabel loves Grayson other than his size. I guess that's enough for Isabel. Grayson pines so much throughout the second half and voices so much tender drivel for Isabel's delight, I believed him I suppose. But she really doesn't do anything to earn all that pining because she never trusts him.
A prior pregnancy ending in death makes Grayson very fearful of losing Isabel to childbirth. Instead of Isabel staying and talking him through it, Day has Isabel's brother Rhys coach Grayson like some idiot (Grayson also fails to recognize Isabel's misgivings for making their marriage legit when it's so plainly obvious). Rhys explains that Grayson should take the risk of pregnancy and childbirth to keep Isabel. Day's heroine Isabel here mistrusts, seethes and curses Grayson throughout the novel and even runs from him after both admit their love for each other in the end. The answer to every heroine's problems: when things aren't going exactly the way you want it, CUT and RUN! Make the hero give chase, test him repeatedly, say and do nothing to show your affections. The denouement showcases Isabel at the height of her bitchiness when endless words of love, caring and giving fail to convince Isabel ("I pledge my troth to you, my wife. Not for my needs, but for yours..." blah, blah, blah. Later: "Will you let me in?" Isabel: "Why?" Grayson: "I want to give you all that I am to you. Including children..." blah, blah, blah. Isabel's answer: "I agree to talk. Nothing more." My thoughts: B---, !$#@$! Then from Grayson: More blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc. pining to prove himself; Grayson, along with having perfect abs, perfect butt, biceps, a monster cock, a title, and abundant wealth, is also a poet).
The entire story has Grayson needing to prove himself for Isabel and win her affections as if Isabel has been some chaste virgin her whole life. I found it repetitive and strenuous to read. There's nothing there, Isabel does little more than seethe and lambaste Grayson the entire book because she believes Grayson is exactly like her first husband who cheated on her. Isabel holds it against Grayson that years ago he was "cheating" on the woman ("Em") he professed to love (who was married) with another woman. Despite the fact that both the women went into the affair with Grayson eyes wide open and knew of his libertine ways. Despite the fact that Isabel has had many paramours herself between her first husband and Grayson. Why is it that Grayson has to constantly prove himself? Because Day has some perverted notion to reform him? But he was already reformed by the time he returns to Isabel after his hiatus. Isabel believes Grayson wants to sire a child off her and so Grayson assiduously spills his seed elsewhere to allay those concerns (every time). Many times Isabel thinks Grayson with other people and so Grayson must assuage her concerns there. Isabel never surrenders all of herself to Grayson because she believes him exactly like her cheating first husband. If anything, It was Isabel's mistrust and commitment issues that needed reforming. When the issue with children drives our lovers apart, it's again Grayson who needs to prove himself and chase Isabel. I'd love to see Grayson finally discover bliss with someone else after she drives him away. Screw Isabel if she doesn't know she has a good thing when she has it.
More than once, the book talks about how true love is about accepting the other person with their faults. I don't see any faults with Grayson: he's physically perfect, amply-endowed, titled, and wealthy. Arrogance, high-handedness and lascivious debauchery in heroes are actually celebrated in historical romances like they are in THE STRANGER I MARRIED (Rhys is a celebrated rake too). Hence, I don't consider these qualities all that bad since sexual experience in heroes is a prerequisite more than anything else. It's why readers of romance gravitate towards alpha heroes so much. While threatening Isabel's last paramour Hargreaves in the second half, Grayson (Gerard) thinks to himself that Isabel was not a fickle woman to leave Hargreaves for him. Which is bullshit because a muscled body, big cock and a quick recovery time in bed are pretty much all it takes for Isabel to submit to Grayson and ditch Hargreaves. I'd say that's pretty fickle. Sex is great [with Grayson] and she gets multiple orgasms for every one of Grayson's. That's nice, Grayson is your regular cartoon pimp complete with trimmings of a tortured love story from his past.
The plotting is mostly immature and soapy. Everyone in the book seeks a good fuck and lusts for the forbidden affair which appeals so much to women (Isabel, Grayson, Grayson's brother, Isabel's parents outside marriage, etc.). You have a marriage bargain that invites both spouses to sleep with everyone but each other. Neither recognize potential problems that could arise from such an arrangement. Then once Grayson decides he wants his wife for himself, you have these episodic jealousies and outings introduced by other characters. Twice, Isabel chances on Grayson and his former mistress Lady Stanhope (Barbara) in a compromising situation from which Isabel draws all the wrong conclusions and mistrusts Grayson even more. There's even a scorned mistress and an evil mother posing road blocks as they try to confound Grayson and Isabel's lusty relationship with misunderstandings and misconceptions. After all of Isabel's misconceptions and misunderstandings are out of the way, there's the children issue which rears its ugly head. First, it's hard to believe that Isabel would remain childless with so many men considering the time period's inadequate contraceptive methods. Second, if she wants children so much, just pick a guy to screw like she has previously and get a child off him! The book is so inane, it turns its attentions to a second pairing: Isabel's rakehell brother Rhys (aren't they all rakes?) and the virgin spinster Abby. Just so we have at least one pairing where there's a handsome rake deflowering the ordinary-of-appearance virgin.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
More erotica reviews
A Grand Passion, by Samantha Winston (*****)
What a cute love story! This one, along with Evangeline Anderson's SECRET THIRST (*****) is passionate, hot and very romantic too! The hero-and-heroine chemistry resonated in both Anderson's story and here in Winston's. After the death of her beloved husband our heroine Casey travels to Italy to take art classes. There, she interviews soccer star Alessandro Sottini for a friend back in the States. Ignorant of the sport and taken aback by Alessandro's long eyelashes and beauty, Casey stumbles through the interview. Things progress between the two slowly at first then rather vigorously. The Italian media turns Alessandro and Casey's relationship into a public affair and they face many obstacles. For one, Casey is described as a "generously curved" and since she's older than Alessandro, Italian soccer fans and media alike deem her unworthy of their soccer star Alessandro. When Casey's foster parents (and in-laws) drop in, things further deteriorate between our hero and heroine.
The end was very sweet, and extremely romantic, concluding on a very satisfying note. The sensuality, passion and chemistry between Alessandro and Casey resonated and their love finally found a way in spite of all the road blocks. A GRAND PASSION is so cute and hot, it's worth a re-read.
1-800-SEX4YOU, by Chris Janglen and Michele R. Bardsley (***)
A 49-page "quickie," our story focuses on Arissa, who suffered a disastrous ending to a relationship her fiance publicly shattered 6 months ago. Arissa's friend enlists her into a sex agency (1800SEX4YOU) for some great anonymous sex and practically shove her back into the dating scene. Shedding her ordinary visage in favor of makeup, a slinky, strapless black dress and three-inch heels ("fuck-me pumps"), Arissa prepares to thrust herself back into the dating scene some with some anonymous sex. Despite resorting to anonymous sex, Arissa fantasizes over her boss Derek Mortenson who is described as "big, tall, broad-shouldered and muscled."
Derek Anderson has no time for girlfriends and relationships and so uses the same sex agency for his voracious sexual appetite. For reasons which escape him, he's attracted to his employee Arissa and when he sees her tape in the sex agency, he volunteers himself for Arissa's one night of anonymous sex. Derek is a well-respected member of this sex agency, and because of the myriad of compliments he's received from women, the agency allows him many privileges including his choice of ladies and a personal robe with his name.
The short story takes place in one night as Derek pleasures a blindfolded (initially) Arissa. Big cocks, muscles and abs obviously take precedence in a story so short, though it's presented with some flair and comedy. Both Arissa and Derek describe events in the first-person alternately and I actually found Derek's sensual ministrations proficient and efficacious. There's some chemistry here, but egregious references to Derek's skill and size mired any potential long-term connection and it seemed like he settled down for Arissa. Another cartoon pimp servicing the lonely, ordinary girl? You bet.
Charming the Snake (three stories), by Mary Janice Davidson, Camille Anthony and Melissa Schroeder
The first story -- SAVAGE SCAVANGE (*) -- by Mary Janice Davidson is pretty dry. It's another futuristic tale that takes place 3 months after another one of her books. There's one very lackluster sex scene, it's different (not necessarily satisfying for the woman), and Davidson's story is also the shortest of the three contained in CHARMING THE SNAKE. Our heroine is Dr. Gladys Loder of the "B-Block" who ventures to a lower part of town. There's a culture in this futuristic world with mutes and a hierarchal society. Gladys pleasures our hero Jaz, though I found the portrayal lazy.
The second story, Melissa Schroeder's SEDUCING THE SAINT (****), is the best of the lot and also the longest. Libby's acrimonious disposition towards 6-foot-4 womanizer Brady (misnamed the "Saint") was entertaining here, while Brady's selfish desires appropriate. Again, it's futuristic and about two lovers finding their way back to each other after the heroine Liberty (Libby) Wainwright called it off years ago. Libby needs help finding her missing father and no one is better than the mercenary Saint (Brady). Brady accompanies Libby on her journey and the two renew their passion, chemistry and love for each other. Renew is a bad word for it -- more like ignite. It was hot, it resonated with chemistry and passion depicting a love that never died. The little pretense of a story to find her father helped the setting.
The final story was also hot but the most superficial of the three as well. Camille Anthony's CARTE BLANCHE (**) is about Regency England in a futuristic setting. Our beautiful virgin heiress Chastity Tilson agrees to come out for the Season and hunt for the assassin that attacked her father. She spies notorious libertine Darian "Dare" Acer below a stairwell in a ballroom and his oozing masculine sex appeal ropes in Chastity despite promising herself she'll never allow a man to tie her down. After a meeting where Chastity proposes "carte blanche" to Darian (Chastity will support Darian financially in return for his sexual services), Darian initiates Chastity to sex. Of course Darian feels insulted that she'd ask him such a thing and he actually wanted to propose marriage, but accepts Chastity's "carte blanche" arrangement anyway. Steamy sex scenes and a pimp initiating a virgin to sex summarize this common fare.
Wednesday Nights with Jaime, by Daisy Dexter Dobbs (**)
This one is hot too, though I found the avid descriptions of Jaime's appearance superficial. The interracial issues and racial prejudices from the lead pair's families also drained the love and passion. Additionally, it wants to tackle a woman's issues with her weight. Jaime is Lyla Lassiter's boss; he's black, hunky and Lyla fantasizes of him every Wednesday night while she's pleasuring herself with chocolate and a vibrator. Lyla, a "generously-curved" white woman, lusts after Jaime's pecs and cock pretty much for the entire story. After an incident which leads Jaime to reveal his attraction for Lyla, the two go at it in the office. The words they say to each other are steamy but again, the glib references to Jaime's physical appearance swallows the chemistry along with Jaime's cock. Jaime reveals his love for Lyla after their second time, proposes and they share challenges from their family as they plan the wedding since he's black and she's white.
Pearls of Passion, by Ann Jacobs ()
This 56-page quickie is a zero. Basically taking place in a futuristic, oriental setting, you have ceremonial wedding between youngest daughter Pearl and the stoic Pak Lin. Pak Lin is the son of a sexbot mogul, and he's created 6 gorgeous male sexbots for Pearl's pleasure. The 6 gorgeous sexbots titillate and arouse her to the brink of climax as Lin straps on a dildo to claim her both from the vagina and anus at the same time. The rest of the brief story has Pearl taking it in the mouth, ass, cunt, and her breasts thrust into mouths, all at the same time. Our hero Lin even takes it in the mouth and ass while he's screwing Pearl who's also taking it in the mouth and ass. Nothing timid about this novel. Lin is almost obsessive over perfecting his cock designs on the sexbots. The whole time I'm thinking why isn't there a scene with multiple female sexbots with Lin involving the heroine Pearl? It's only fair. Alas, it is of course women's erotica where more than one woman (including the heroine) with one man is rare, while multiple men (including the hero) with one woman very common. Nothing kills romance, love and chemistry like multiple cocks pumping the heroine (and hero in this case) in various orifices.
What a cute love story! This one, along with Evangeline Anderson's SECRET THIRST (*****) is passionate, hot and very romantic too! The hero-and-heroine chemistry resonated in both Anderson's story and here in Winston's. After the death of her beloved husband our heroine Casey travels to Italy to take art classes. There, she interviews soccer star Alessandro Sottini for a friend back in the States. Ignorant of the sport and taken aback by Alessandro's long eyelashes and beauty, Casey stumbles through the interview. Things progress between the two slowly at first then rather vigorously. The Italian media turns Alessandro and Casey's relationship into a public affair and they face many obstacles. For one, Casey is described as a "generously curved" and since she's older than Alessandro, Italian soccer fans and media alike deem her unworthy of their soccer star Alessandro. When Casey's foster parents (and in-laws) drop in, things further deteriorate between our hero and heroine.
The end was very sweet, and extremely romantic, concluding on a very satisfying note. The sensuality, passion and chemistry between Alessandro and Casey resonated and their love finally found a way in spite of all the road blocks. A GRAND PASSION is so cute and hot, it's worth a re-read.
1-800-SEX4YOU, by Chris Janglen and Michele R. Bardsley (***)
A 49-page "quickie," our story focuses on Arissa, who suffered a disastrous ending to a relationship her fiance publicly shattered 6 months ago. Arissa's friend enlists her into a sex agency (1800SEX4YOU) for some great anonymous sex and practically shove her back into the dating scene. Shedding her ordinary visage in favor of makeup, a slinky, strapless black dress and three-inch heels ("fuck-me pumps"), Arissa prepares to thrust herself back into the dating scene some with some anonymous sex. Despite resorting to anonymous sex, Arissa fantasizes over her boss Derek Mortenson who is described as "big, tall, broad-shouldered and muscled."
Derek Anderson has no time for girlfriends and relationships and so uses the same sex agency for his voracious sexual appetite. For reasons which escape him, he's attracted to his employee Arissa and when he sees her tape in the sex agency, he volunteers himself for Arissa's one night of anonymous sex. Derek is a well-respected member of this sex agency, and because of the myriad of compliments he's received from women, the agency allows him many privileges including his choice of ladies and a personal robe with his name.
The short story takes place in one night as Derek pleasures a blindfolded (initially) Arissa. Big cocks, muscles and abs obviously take precedence in a story so short, though it's presented with some flair and comedy. Both Arissa and Derek describe events in the first-person alternately and I actually found Derek's sensual ministrations proficient and efficacious. There's some chemistry here, but egregious references to Derek's skill and size mired any potential long-term connection and it seemed like he settled down for Arissa. Another cartoon pimp servicing the lonely, ordinary girl? You bet.
Charming the Snake (three stories), by Mary Janice Davidson, Camille Anthony and Melissa Schroeder
The first story -- SAVAGE SCAVANGE (*) -- by Mary Janice Davidson is pretty dry. It's another futuristic tale that takes place 3 months after another one of her books. There's one very lackluster sex scene, it's different (not necessarily satisfying for the woman), and Davidson's story is also the shortest of the three contained in CHARMING THE SNAKE. Our heroine is Dr. Gladys Loder of the "B-Block" who ventures to a lower part of town. There's a culture in this futuristic world with mutes and a hierarchal society. Gladys pleasures our hero Jaz, though I found the portrayal lazy.
The second story, Melissa Schroeder's SEDUCING THE SAINT (****), is the best of the lot and also the longest. Libby's acrimonious disposition towards 6-foot-4 womanizer Brady (misnamed the "Saint") was entertaining here, while Brady's selfish desires appropriate. Again, it's futuristic and about two lovers finding their way back to each other after the heroine Liberty (Libby) Wainwright called it off years ago. Libby needs help finding her missing father and no one is better than the mercenary Saint (Brady). Brady accompanies Libby on her journey and the two renew their passion, chemistry and love for each other. Renew is a bad word for it -- more like ignite. It was hot, it resonated with chemistry and passion depicting a love that never died. The little pretense of a story to find her father helped the setting.
The final story was also hot but the most superficial of the three as well. Camille Anthony's CARTE BLANCHE (**) is about Regency England in a futuristic setting. Our beautiful virgin heiress Chastity Tilson agrees to come out for the Season and hunt for the assassin that attacked her father. She spies notorious libertine Darian "Dare" Acer below a stairwell in a ballroom and his oozing masculine sex appeal ropes in Chastity despite promising herself she'll never allow a man to tie her down. After a meeting where Chastity proposes "carte blanche" to Darian (Chastity will support Darian financially in return for his sexual services), Darian initiates Chastity to sex. Of course Darian feels insulted that she'd ask him such a thing and he actually wanted to propose marriage, but accepts Chastity's "carte blanche" arrangement anyway. Steamy sex scenes and a pimp initiating a virgin to sex summarize this common fare.
Wednesday Nights with Jaime, by Daisy Dexter Dobbs (**)
This one is hot too, though I found the avid descriptions of Jaime's appearance superficial. The interracial issues and racial prejudices from the lead pair's families also drained the love and passion. Additionally, it wants to tackle a woman's issues with her weight. Jaime is Lyla Lassiter's boss; he's black, hunky and Lyla fantasizes of him every Wednesday night while she's pleasuring herself with chocolate and a vibrator. Lyla, a "generously-curved" white woman, lusts after Jaime's pecs and cock pretty much for the entire story. After an incident which leads Jaime to reveal his attraction for Lyla, the two go at it in the office. The words they say to each other are steamy but again, the glib references to Jaime's physical appearance swallows the chemistry along with Jaime's cock. Jaime reveals his love for Lyla after their second time, proposes and they share challenges from their family as they plan the wedding since he's black and she's white.
Pearls of Passion, by Ann Jacobs ()
This 56-page quickie is a zero. Basically taking place in a futuristic, oriental setting, you have ceremonial wedding between youngest daughter Pearl and the stoic Pak Lin. Pak Lin is the son of a sexbot mogul, and he's created 6 gorgeous male sexbots for Pearl's pleasure. The 6 gorgeous sexbots titillate and arouse her to the brink of climax as Lin straps on a dildo to claim her both from the vagina and anus at the same time. The rest of the brief story has Pearl taking it in the mouth, ass, cunt, and her breasts thrust into mouths, all at the same time. Our hero Lin even takes it in the mouth and ass while he's screwing Pearl who's also taking it in the mouth and ass. Nothing timid about this novel. Lin is almost obsessive over perfecting his cock designs on the sexbots. The whole time I'm thinking why isn't there a scene with multiple female sexbots with Lin involving the heroine Pearl? It's only fair. Alas, it is of course women's erotica where more than one woman (including the heroine) with one man is rare, while multiple men (including the hero) with one woman very common. Nothing kills romance, love and chemistry like multiple cocks pumping the heroine (and hero in this case) in various orifices.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Reviews of some erotica
Since we're talking about erotica here, I'm going to do a quick and dirty lowdown. The ratings below mainly reflect degree of eroticism. Much erotica delves into a paranormal realm just like the following four.
Secret Thirst, by Evangeline Anderson (*****)
This one is extremely hot and more often than not, it's the words the characters say that make it so erotic, not necessarily the action. I hear Anderson primarily scripts stories of surrender in some fashion. This one is hot without avid descriptions of perfect (and huge) male anatomy, which is rare. Our heroine Lauren's immunity to vampire "mind tricks" and other vampire powers places her in grave danger. The tortured vampire Kris abducts Lauren for her protection and she must play his concubine at a pleasure house. I thought a love resonated from the intensity of the sex scenes and the way Kris loves and cherishes Lauren. The writing never meanders too far away from its erotic intent -- it's hot for gals and guys alike.
Oath of Seduction Seducing Sharon, by Marly Chance (*)
I started reading this one after SECRET THIRST, and it just didn't hold a candle to Anderson's SECRET THIRST. Too many things to dislike, especially from a guy's perspective. One, Earth guys have long since failed to satiate their women, and the women must turn to another planet where there's plenty of men but a shortage of women. When a woman turns to this other planet for pleasure (or a "mating" as the alien man would describe it to make it appear like love), she has one of three choices: seduction, challenge and a third oath which I'm forgetting. Sharon chooses seduction and her hunky 8-inch cock-man is Liken. Our heroine, in the throws of passion, pauses to accurately note the exact length of the cartoon pimp's engorged cock. Liken, Sharon and a future hero (Tair) share a sexual experience in the same room to conclude the story. Nothing like two cocks to double your pleasure! This one too attempts to mix in shades of a "love" between Sharon and Liken, but the entire read seemed too much like the pimp servicing the sexual appetites of our librarian heroine Sharon. The carnal scenes were pretty boring actually. This story is strictly for women, if for anyone at all. Other than the language and the ending featuring a semi- menage a trois, I found the story's love scenes fairly tame.
Slave to Sensation, by Nalini Singh (*)
This one has more to do with shape-shifting. I found Singh's attempt to build her world of telekinetic beings, shape shifters and regular humans a very anemic affair. I thought the story loses focus and aimlessly spurts in sundry directions. The characters are unique though. We have our honey-skinned heroine Sascha Duncan, a powerful Psy trained to feel no emotion. Our shapeshifter hero Lucas is on the other end of the emotional spectrum. He's the "alpha" leader of his pack of panther shapeshifters (they call pack leaders alphas). The plotting wants to go beyond the common, get-it-on erotica but I thought it failed miserably. For an erotica, the book abstains from explicit language (the only story that can make this claim from this lot). Sascha and Lucas must work together on a architectural building project which represents a cooperative effort between the DarkRiver (panther) Changelings and Psy. Meanwhile, many Changeling packs hold the Psy responsible for the disappearance and consequent murder of many Changeling females. There really aren't that many scenes of passion in this. Again, a weak effort overall.
Kiss of the Night, by Sylvia Day (***)
Like SECRET THIRST, the carnal scenes and explicit language pervade the reading experience. It's basically a bodyguard story with avid descriptions of both the monster-cock guy and hot, blond woman. Like Sylvia Day's ASK FOR IT (**), the carnal scenes are definitely hot here, but the chemistry and connection didn't live up to ASK FOR IT, much less Anderson's SECRET THIRST.
Secret Thirst, by Evangeline Anderson (*****)
This one is extremely hot and more often than not, it's the words the characters say that make it so erotic, not necessarily the action. I hear Anderson primarily scripts stories of surrender in some fashion. This one is hot without avid descriptions of perfect (and huge) male anatomy, which is rare. Our heroine Lauren's immunity to vampire "mind tricks" and other vampire powers places her in grave danger. The tortured vampire Kris abducts Lauren for her protection and she must play his concubine at a pleasure house. I thought a love resonated from the intensity of the sex scenes and the way Kris loves and cherishes Lauren. The writing never meanders too far away from its erotic intent -- it's hot for gals and guys alike.
Oath of Seduction Seducing Sharon, by Marly Chance (*)
I started reading this one after SECRET THIRST, and it just didn't hold a candle to Anderson's SECRET THIRST. Too many things to dislike, especially from a guy's perspective. One, Earth guys have long since failed to satiate their women, and the women must turn to another planet where there's plenty of men but a shortage of women. When a woman turns to this other planet for pleasure (or a "mating" as the alien man would describe it to make it appear like love), she has one of three choices: seduction, challenge and a third oath which I'm forgetting. Sharon chooses seduction and her hunky 8-inch cock-man is Liken. Our heroine, in the throws of passion, pauses to accurately note the exact length of the cartoon pimp's engorged cock. Liken, Sharon and a future hero (Tair) share a sexual experience in the same room to conclude the story. Nothing like two cocks to double your pleasure! This one too attempts to mix in shades of a "love" between Sharon and Liken, but the entire read seemed too much like the pimp servicing the sexual appetites of our librarian heroine Sharon. The carnal scenes were pretty boring actually. This story is strictly for women, if for anyone at all. Other than the language and the ending featuring a semi- menage a trois, I found the story's love scenes fairly tame.
Slave to Sensation, by Nalini Singh (*)
This one has more to do with shape-shifting. I found Singh's attempt to build her world of telekinetic beings, shape shifters and regular humans a very anemic affair. I thought the story loses focus and aimlessly spurts in sundry directions. The characters are unique though. We have our honey-skinned heroine Sascha Duncan, a powerful Psy trained to feel no emotion. Our shapeshifter hero Lucas is on the other end of the emotional spectrum. He's the "alpha" leader of his pack of panther shapeshifters (they call pack leaders alphas). The plotting wants to go beyond the common, get-it-on erotica but I thought it failed miserably. For an erotica, the book abstains from explicit language (the only story that can make this claim from this lot). Sascha and Lucas must work together on a architectural building project which represents a cooperative effort between the DarkRiver (panther) Changelings and Psy. Meanwhile, many Changeling packs hold the Psy responsible for the disappearance and consequent murder of many Changeling females. There really aren't that many scenes of passion in this. Again, a weak effort overall.
Kiss of the Night, by Sylvia Day (***)
Like SECRET THIRST, the carnal scenes and explicit language pervade the reading experience. It's basically a bodyguard story with avid descriptions of both the monster-cock guy and hot, blond woman. Like Sylvia Day's ASK FOR IT (**), the carnal scenes are definitely hot here, but the chemistry and connection didn't live up to ASK FOR IT, much less Anderson's SECRET THIRST.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Ask For It, by Sylvia Day [2]
**/***** (2/5)
Sylvia Day's ASK FOR IT probably qualifies as erotica, and as far as that goes, that's a first for me. This book is heavy on the explicit language and erotica, so beware. Despite the explicit nature of this book, ASK FOR IT still imparts a heated passion and a loving romance. The plotting, however, is poor, the settings worse, both essentially serving as annoying background noise to the passionate scenes. I felt like I was reading an equivalent of a late-night B-grade showtime movie. The only reason I give this book 2 stars is because I thought the characterizations were more mature than I've been reading lately, and it was nice to see demons haunting our heroine for a change (though it wasn't handled well).
Our tall, dark and handsome Lord Marcus Ashford, Earl of Westfield, works for the Agency and is assigned to protect widowed Elizabeth, Lady Hawthorne, in a deadly case which places her life in peril; the details of the case aren't worth noting, only that her life is in danger. Marcus takes the case eagerly, intent on sating his lust of the stubborn woman who jilted him four year ago. Years ago, Elizabeth abruptly ends her betrothal to Marcus the night before their wedding after errantly drawing the wrong conclusions about Marcus' fidelity, or lack thereof. Marcus wasn't cheating on her though and Elizabeth doesn't give Marcus a chance to explain when she marries another man right away. Marcus leaves the country and they don't speak again until the case which has Marcus assigned to her.
While being assigned to protect Elizabeth, Marcus doggedly pursues a love affair with Elizabeth, just to be rid of his lust of her. Both confide and talk to each other about the events which led to the jilt those years ago, which was refreshing to read about. Elizabeth has major trust issues after witnessing the digressions of her father and brother first-hand, and resists Marcus, believing he will tire of her and return to debauchery. She desperately tries to escape Marcus' advances during the case and finally flees London at one point. Marcus gives chase, proposing marriage and asking her a week's time to consider his proposal, promising not to touch and seduce her unless she asks for it. Sure enough, by the week's end, Elizabeth asks for it, they marry, and more passionate scenes abound.
I liked Marcus's characterization in the beginning, but by the end I thought Day turned him into an over-the-top, pining, love-sick lapdog, and he lost a lot of the masculine flavor which made him interesting from the beginning. I understand the need to show love from the hero in an otherwise meaningless erotica and to "tame" the hero, but I didn't feel Marcus' intense desire and love was even remotely reciprocated by Elizabeth. I didn't think Elizabeth's unwarranted jilt four years ago was really settled between our leading pair. I didn't like how Elizabeth makes all the uncompromising demands on Marcus and Marcus happily assents to all of them by the end: she asks him to leave the dangerous Agency, he obliges; she asks him to verbalize the words "I love you" despite a prior chapter in which he spent 2 pages articulating - heartfelt and soulfully - just want Elizabeth means to him and everything he does anyway that shows it; and then Elizabeth demands to know if he could love her even though she could be barren, Marcus doesn't hesitate, he tells her he loves her so much nothing could change that. When Marcus suspects Elizabeth is cheating on him, Elizabeth cruelly allows Marcus to believe the worst, testing his obvious love over and over, again and again. Even though it was Elizabeth who jilted him years ago!
I thought the character of the pirate Christopher St. John was too smooth, too convenient when he saves both Marcus and Elizabeth at the end. Marcus is too love-sick to do anything on his own right. The plotting has our leading pair constantly reacting to events and neither make a concerted effort to dig deeper and discover who is behind the attempts on Elizabeth's life.
Heated, flaring passions cannot save this weak fare.
Sylvia Day's ASK FOR IT probably qualifies as erotica, and as far as that goes, that's a first for me. This book is heavy on the explicit language and erotica, so beware. Despite the explicit nature of this book, ASK FOR IT still imparts a heated passion and a loving romance. The plotting, however, is poor, the settings worse, both essentially serving as annoying background noise to the passionate scenes. I felt like I was reading an equivalent of a late-night B-grade showtime movie. The only reason I give this book 2 stars is because I thought the characterizations were more mature than I've been reading lately, and it was nice to see demons haunting our heroine for a change (though it wasn't handled well).
Our tall, dark and handsome Lord Marcus Ashford, Earl of Westfield, works for the Agency and is assigned to protect widowed Elizabeth, Lady Hawthorne, in a deadly case which places her life in peril; the details of the case aren't worth noting, only that her life is in danger. Marcus takes the case eagerly, intent on sating his lust of the stubborn woman who jilted him four year ago. Years ago, Elizabeth abruptly ends her betrothal to Marcus the night before their wedding after errantly drawing the wrong conclusions about Marcus' fidelity, or lack thereof. Marcus wasn't cheating on her though and Elizabeth doesn't give Marcus a chance to explain when she marries another man right away. Marcus leaves the country and they don't speak again until the case which has Marcus assigned to her.
While being assigned to protect Elizabeth, Marcus doggedly pursues a love affair with Elizabeth, just to be rid of his lust of her. Both confide and talk to each other about the events which led to the jilt those years ago, which was refreshing to read about. Elizabeth has major trust issues after witnessing the digressions of her father and brother first-hand, and resists Marcus, believing he will tire of her and return to debauchery. She desperately tries to escape Marcus' advances during the case and finally flees London at one point. Marcus gives chase, proposing marriage and asking her a week's time to consider his proposal, promising not to touch and seduce her unless she asks for it. Sure enough, by the week's end, Elizabeth asks for it, they marry, and more passionate scenes abound.
I liked Marcus's characterization in the beginning, but by the end I thought Day turned him into an over-the-top, pining, love-sick lapdog, and he lost a lot of the masculine flavor which made him interesting from the beginning. I understand the need to show love from the hero in an otherwise meaningless erotica and to "tame" the hero, but I didn't feel Marcus' intense desire and love was even remotely reciprocated by Elizabeth. I didn't think Elizabeth's unwarranted jilt four years ago was really settled between our leading pair. I didn't like how Elizabeth makes all the uncompromising demands on Marcus and Marcus happily assents to all of them by the end: she asks him to leave the dangerous Agency, he obliges; she asks him to verbalize the words "I love you" despite a prior chapter in which he spent 2 pages articulating - heartfelt and soulfully - just want Elizabeth means to him and everything he does anyway that shows it; and then Elizabeth demands to know if he could love her even though she could be barren, Marcus doesn't hesitate, he tells her he loves her so much nothing could change that. When Marcus suspects Elizabeth is cheating on him, Elizabeth cruelly allows Marcus to believe the worst, testing his obvious love over and over, again and again. Even though it was Elizabeth who jilted him years ago!
I thought the character of the pirate Christopher St. John was too smooth, too convenient when he saves both Marcus and Elizabeth at the end. Marcus is too love-sick to do anything on his own right. The plotting has our leading pair constantly reacting to events and neither make a concerted effort to dig deeper and discover who is behind the attempts on Elizabeth's life.
Heated, flaring passions cannot save this weak fare.
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