Pulse by Anisa Damien is like falling into a James Bond movie or something directed byMichael Bay which isn’t a bad thing. Its a Tryst so the story is short so the plot moves very quickly. Though there is a big silly misunderstanding, I don’t mind since in the heroines’ shoes, I would have scurried about like a chicken with its head cut off. Except I would have already jammed a hand into my purse, looking for my phone so I could call myMama. Pulse is a solid C+ book.

Gabe and Cassidy Sabastien nee Raleigh are divorced, but even with the papers filed they still have a strong attraction to each other. They divorced because Gabe couldn’t providethe stability that Cassidy needed. So, when Gabe disappears for a while, Cassidy says ciao. Little does she know that Gabe is a secret agent with the US government.

Maybe, I’m biased because I’m recovering from having my tonsils removed, but Pulse was just what I needed. Its sort of cheesy, it doesn’t push any boundaries, and the HEA never reallyseems too out of reach, but its a good light read to pick you up. The dialogue is pretty slick and gives the characters a little more depth than they would have with another author. Its the sort of read that you want on a sick day.

This is my first AA romance, but, shock and gasp and surprise, it wasn’t different from anything with a white couple. I may not check out more of Anisa Damien, but I’m sure to check out more AA romance. Hopefully, with a paranormal twist. No offense to Anisa Damien, but she seems to write more suspense than I am into.

Pulse is a respectable triller. Its not rocking the romance boat, but it doesn’t insult the reader’s intelligence. Cassidy and Gabe are a fun couple that you know are going to get back together and they don’t annoy you while they’re doing it

What do you think of this book? You can buy Pulse by Anisa Damien at Cobblestone Press

Love Under Siege by Samantha Kane is hot. Really hot. This ebook should come with the warning that your screen will burst into flames and will singe your eyebrows. Not only that, but it has a lot more at its core. Its the story of a women’s (Maggie) sexual awakening that is told with sympathy and honesty (even though in real life, two hot guys wanting to pleasure and treasure you forever doesn’t really happen unless you sold your soul somewhere along the line). And, Maggie isn’t the only one who reaches a sexual maturity and road to understanding. Her two lovers, Philip and Jonathon, go through the same thing as well. That is not to say that Love Under Siege is introspective by any means, but it has a soul to it that is lacking in many erotic romances. You can tell that all three of them love each other and the kinky sex they have doesn’t negate it by any means. This is a threesome written right. Love Under Siege gets an A.

Maggie and Philip have been married for three months and neither are satisfied sexually or emotionally. Philip can’t forget the time he spent in the Peninsula War with Jonathon where they relied on each other and shared everything in order to survive under the harsh Spanish sun. They also shared women. Philip is worried that his naive and virtuous bride would scorn him if she knew of his desires. Yeah, that doesn’t last for long. The plot is very focused on the relationship between Jonathon, Maggie, and Philip with only a few subplots that began and ran in and through Samantha Kane’s other books. Some people might be put off by this, but I thought that the intense focus on the threesome helped make it a real romance. Other threesomes I have read didn’t quite connect all the members of the trio to each other. In Love Under Siege, you can clearly see that everyone is in love with each other. Its like three love stories for the price of one. While the tight focus on the plot was a good thing, I wished that Kane could have woven the subplots a little better into the story. Its not all that noticeable, but it might annoy some readers.

The characters were fun and were a joy to read about. Love Under Siege works well as a stand alone book or in the Brothers In Arms series. If you don’t know, the Brothers In Arms series is about a group of veterans of the Peninsula War who, like Jonathon and Philip, have become very close and may or may not be sharing ladies. She manages to take similar stories and make them all different beyond boy and boy met girl and want to have crazy monkey sex with her. Samantha Kane is good at making characters. I’ve read everything that Kane has written and I have enjoyed them all. Love Under Siege is the best in the series and the best that she has written. Its a great book so if you like menages or historicals then you ought to check it out at Ellora’s Cave. What do you guys think about this book?

Wereplanets: In Smoke by Crystal Jordan is a book that is built on a great premise with awesome world building. The plot doesn’t feel rushed by its novella length. That doesn’t mean that it is a book without flaws, though in spite of them, I would still give the book a C.

There are four wereplanets with mermaids, weredragons, weretigers, and werebears on separate planets. The werefolk were made from Earthan experiments so they could survive on the various planets. It takes places in a galaxy far far a way and a long time from now, but with the loss of Earth they have gaps in their fantastic yet primitive technology. The world building is awesome and the little hints of the various were cultures were fascinating. It made me want to read more in this series just for the world building.

Wereplanets is a series and in this story, Katryn is a weredragon raised on the weretiger planet who is sent back to her home planet to be mated to Lord Nadir and be apart of his harim which is really a polyamorous relationship that would include the sexy Tarkesh. That is where the story breaks down. This plot should have enough conflict thrown in its way, but Jordan resorts to big misunderstandings to advance the plot.

Katryn is thickheaded like few characters outside of the Anita Blake series. Katryn is described as being intelligent, but there are few examples of that trait.

She has no idea what is up with dragon politics or culture and is about to be mated in a way that would cement and protect a trading relationship with the dragons and tigers, but she still allows Tarkesh to seduce her and kiss her in public.

And, even with the knowledge that there are dangerous bandits in the desert that require her caravan to take secret routes she does this:

“No. Just leave me be.” She knew her words and actions were unreasonable, but she couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop now. Her fists balled at her sides, a sign of her anger at all the things she couldn’t control in her life now. Of all the things she was ignorant of, all the things she should know and didn’t. Spinning away, she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She needed to escape, to be alone… Digging her toes into the sand, she moved with great speed over the terrain. Her body was built to thrive in desert conditions. Away, away.

Katryn acts like a child at every turn. She is supposed to be from the tough weretiger court, but there is no sign that she has any guile or tact. She needs to read the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, badly.

This is supposed to be a menage, but the relationships between Katryn, Tarkesh, and Nadir are very fragmented. Everything is focused on Katryn. The relationship between Katryn and Nadir is never really built on. Tarkesh seems to be their only link besides the mating. One good thing about the threesome (or in separate couples) was that whenever Jordan got them sexing it up, I had to fan myself because she can write some scorching sex scenes.

Nadir is my favorite character because he acts in a logical manner. It annoyed me when he made Katryn apologize to someone when she was being rude, he gets stomped on by the other two in his mating. He’s willing to do something very big for Katryn and she doesn’t appear grateful as if its her due.

Oh, and the sequel baiting or whatever the side romance plot was distracting.

Crystal Jordan has a great world on her hands. I would love to read her other books, but I just hope that next time she makes a heroine that it is worth her universe. What do you think about this book? You can buy Wereplanets: In Smoke at Cobblestone Press.

Neptune Rising by H.A. Fowler was like a constant homage to other books or even
television shows. I say homage to be polite. Let me explain: the hero, Hart Campbell,
is describe as having cheekbones like David Boreanaz’s and sounding like a Scotsman
because he sounded like Jamie from a Diana Gabaldon’s book. He is a incubus and, like a Christina Feehan or Kresley Cole book, has a soulmate with a cutesy name — an
Intimate. Its not a good sign when a reader is like, “wow, that seems like something in so-n-so’s book so why am I not reading them?” It took me two tries to finish this
story. Neptune Rising (the title seems to have nothing to do with the book) earns a D.

I’m a poor college student, and I could be spending what little money I have on beer
and weed, but I decided to spend it on books. I could have gotten five used books for
the price of this 10k-20k story. And, as a poor college student who is neither drunk
nor high and has just finished a really really disappointing book, I will not be
pulling any punches.

Kimber Andrews, a ‘quirky’ girl, is looking for love and with the help of her witchy
friend, tries to summon the perfect man. Too bad she summons the perfect rapist in the form of a incubus. Hart Campbell looks like David Boreanaz and happens to be a very bland, Scottish Guardian. He’s also a reformed incubus. He has to rescue her from being raped. She’s enough of a wet blanket that right after almost being raped (which honestly, don’t start necking with a dude who appears out of thin air wearing bondage gear) she hops into bed with Hart. Who later has a thought bubble about Kimber’s spirit. What?!? Maybe H.A. Fowler should have showed some of this spirit before. Of course, they fall in love after five seconds because Kimber is a desperate woman (Hart falls out of the sky and without any questioning Kimber is fine to be with him FOREVER) and Hart’s has that whole mystically Intimate thing going on.

H.A. Fowler takes way too long (with too many cliches) to describe how great looking
Hart is. We get it — He’s fucking pretty. Her skill with description is again used
with such lovely terms as aching channel, womanly juices, velvet steel, and throbbing
womb. Maybe its just because I’m a big lo’ lesbo, but those words just threw me right
out of every sex scene. You know what else threw me out of the sex scene — Kimber’s
screaming orgasms of cliche. Wow, I would not want to live next to that broad. Hart
doesn’t sound like a heterosexual dude. In fact when he is around his partner, Nasim,
he sounds like he’d rather be with Nasim than Kimber. The dialogue is so cheesy; its I
-want-some-tortilla-chips-to-go-with-this cheesy; my eyes almost popped out of my
sockets because I kept rolling them. There is not plot. There are some info dumps
between Kimber and Hart having boring sex, but no plot.

Good things, because even I am tired of my rant, are the lovely cover, Nasim, and the
editing. The plot really could have been cool which sort of counts as a good thing.

Neptune Rising was every cliche and overly used plot point of recent paranormals rolled into one. Kimber and Hart are uninteresting characters. The whole book seems like author wish fulfillment, as a fanfic reader, I know how to spot that. This is a best seller at Cobblestone so some people must like it; I really did not. See for yourself at href=”http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/neptunerising.htm”>Cobblestone
Press.

Dirty Shame by Selah March from Amber Quill press is a contemporary romance that breaks the rules. First of all the hero, Dare Daniels, is the star of a hit television show called Vegas Knight. Second of all the ‘dirty shame’ in his past is actually something that would make a person tortured. Third of all, Dare is a complete womanizer. Selah March doesn’t play halfsies with this tale. And, boy, does it pay off. Dirty Shame gets an A from this reviewer and I don’t particularly like contemporaries.

The heroine is Joey Fiorello, a struggling actress who applies for a personal assistant gig to pay the bills. Dare is tabloid fodder of Britney Spears proportions; His manager hires Joey in hopes that she can make the oversexed actor tame his libido or at least keep it from the public eye. That becomes difficult when, of course, sparks fly between the pair.

The editing was good which sometimes with Amber Quill books can be iffy. The dialogue is fantastic. I never rolled my eyes once during their verbal sparring, and I usually find romance ‘banter’ to be mockable at best, Dare sounded like a real guy! Its like Selah March had observed them in their natural habitat. Joey was a tough cookie without being stupid. Feisty and not lobotomized: a mix so rare its like a white tiger in the wild. She did have some quirks that seemed a little unrealistic to sort of crazy. And the fact that Dare was willing to hire even after she explains her behavior is odd, but given his own history, understandable. Joey and Dare were interesting, fleshed-out characters that gave extra spice to their romance and more enjoyment for me as a reader. And, the sex scenes mention condoms. Sorry if that is a spoiler, but it was that realism that grounded the book and made believing that a hunky TV star would fall for a short, buxom assistant that much easier. This is also a suspenseful story, and the mystery part of the story isn’t tacked on. As the plot twists and turns, its always surprising, but doesn’t come out of left field. I had a few ‘Ah ha’ moments I pieced together the story. This book is just all around fun!

Selah March has a great voice and her story had its feet on the ground with touches of realism. This book feels like it takes place on Earth instead of Romancelandia. Watching Joey and Dare fall in love is a treat, and the fall is natural, I never felt like the author was writing down to fit romance conventions. This is a ‘A’ tale, and I can’t wait to read more from Selah March.

Okay, finals are a week and a half away, so I will be getting into stressed out mode complete with swelled tonsils. So, I bid everyone adieu until finals are over and I stopped pulling my hair out.

Sela Carsen:

I liked the Virgin Courtesan a lot. There was a good sense of scenery. I couldn’t imagine the story taking place anywhere else. The characters were likable. The villain was pretty 2-D, and the ending felt like a cop out. It was lacking in depth, but it was a fun read. It was a pleasant romp 1500s Venice. I would think that it would be a C+ or B+ depending on if you thought the ending was great or lame.

Peace Out!

Ghostly Desire by Keziah Hill from Forbidden Publishing.

Ghostly Desire by Keziah Hill is novel that was dried out in the sun until it was sixteen pages. If you read it, you will understand why it has a raisin quality. Thea and Judith met when they were both fifteen at Thea’s Uncle Osbert’s mansion by the sea in Tasmania. Years later when Uncle Osbert dies, Thea inherits the mansion. Judith had been the daughter of the housekeeper, so of course she has strong ties to the house. Opposites personalities clash together in this story until a sexy showdown almost too neatly ties up the entire tale. Ghostly Desire suffers from its lack of length, and what could have been a great novel makes for a unsatisfying short story. I would give this story a very low C-.

I really had thought about giving this one a D, but Hill has a fun voice in her writing and a little bits of realism that you never really see in romancelandia. The back story to Judith and Thea’s first meeting is a smoke-filled affair as Thea and her brother were toking it to keep from being bored to death. That made me laugh out loud because I still remember family vacations where us kids would go on “hikes” and smoke our way up the mountain. Anyway, back to the review. The editing was fine; no errors jumped out at me. I could tell that this would have been a very fun novel, and the sex was hot (though the sexy talk was lame but I always think the sexy talk is lame unless the author carefully set the mood) so I put it between C and D. The potential and the energetic prose bumped up the score.

Now, why would I have wanted to give this a D? Hill had a great chance to build up the character of the house and the setting to give a little dimension to Judith. Judith really loves the house, readers like having setting, so build up the description on the house and it gives insight into Judith and a nice setting. I know that at sixteen pages that it is hard to set the scene, but it would have given the story more texture. Though, I always want more description and texture, so your opinion may vary. thing that wasn’t well explained was why Thea and Judith would have stayed in each other’s memories. I could understand if Hill had explained it as Thea and Judith being friends or both mooning over each other or something, but they had known each other (and didn’t talk to the other much) for a week. And, the chemistry was lacking. I didn’t feel the passion which I believe that Hill could have been able to build if she had a full novel to do so. And the conclusion? Abrupt, abrupt, abrupt: it was like Wil E. Coyote running into one of the Roadrunner’s painted tunnels.

This story felt like that the missed opportunities overcrowded the actual story. Hill has a good voice, but I think that she ought to stick to longer stories. Get this story at Forbidden Publications (for $2 actually).

Vegas Magic: Stacking the Deck by Sara Dennis is sweet. I would give it a B+. Now, I am a lesbian, but even though this is heterosexual romance, I enjoyed it a lot.
Sam is witch ready to hit the town with her girlfriends when she sees Alec perform a magic show. That chance meeting leads to a few drinks which get complicated very fast because anything can happen in Las Vegas with supernatural creatures about. Kick ass witches, hunky warlocks, adorable fairies, and angry werewolves populate this tale of romance and action in Las Vegas.

Sara Dennis’ has created some vivid characters here. Sam and Alec have fleshed out personalities, and Dennis is able to make secondary characters like Twyla stand out. Sam and Alec are just fun to read about. They are such a cute couple that it made sense that they liked each other. I’ve read a few romances where I wonder why in the hell didn’t the couple get restraining orders on each other. Not with this couple. They made me wish the story was longer. Sara Dennis is good at creating interesting characters.

For those like me who get thrown out of a story if there is bad editing — never fear! Stacking the Deck looks like an editor did get a hold of it.

There were some things that I didn’t like. The romance between Sam and Alec seems like it went from ‘hey hottie’ to ’soulmates’ a little fast, but the story was well-written enough that I didn’t mind. Another issue was the character Duff. I found him to be a tad unrealistic, but like with the fast romance, I was convinced to get over it. Both issues did bug me when I was reading it though. The ending was sort of unrealistic in its HEA, but you are so happy that there is a HEA that it doesn’t really matter. Sara Dennis does seem to be able to make any flaws in her story seem minicule or charming by strength of the story as a whole.

The story is very fast paced, and the plot is like a roller coaster. This does seem like the characters are the real focus of the story, so though who want a real plot driven romance will be disappointed. I want to read more of Sara Dennis’ work. This is a real treat of a paranormal romance. You can buy this story here at Cobblestone Press.

Locked and Loaded: An Erotic Lesbian Romance Anthology (Review)

Locked and Loaded edited by SA Clements is a pretty damn good anthology. All in all, I would give it a B. The theme of this anthology is the women who sleep with a gun under their pillow and never go out of the house without a knife strapped to their thighs. The stories are organized in chronological order starting with a sexy pirate captain and ending with a engineer making love in space. I think a round of applause is in order for Clements in finding such a diverse group of stories that have some thing for everyone.

I will start with the fabulous! “No Business” by Parhelion is my favorite story. In a dark, gilded 1930s Hollywood, Vera is a kick-ass ‘gal Friday’ getting the scoop for her wealthy boss’s (Margot Blake) gossip column. While you’re reading the story you can totally tell the amount of research that went into it. The only complaint is that the love scenes seemed tacked on, but I haven’t read such a well-written tacked on scene in a while. Two stories are tied for second place in my heart - “Free” by Tracey Shellito and “Kiss of Steel” by Crystal Barela. “Free” is set in the Netherlands, and the setting is used so well. The story couldn’t be told in another setting. The writing is taut, and I love that there is an interracial couple. Warning, the ending does sort of dance the line of being too sentimental. “Kiss of Steel” is a darker tale. The girls in this story are harder than steel with an edge that could cut diamonds. Jane and McClane are ruthless killers and there is no sugar coating of the fact. The sex is rougher, and the fighting more brutal. I felt like the ending was a little too pat.

Some highlights from the middle of the pack are “Guarding Kate” by Samantha Boswell. I ended that story with one sappy smile. “Bustles and Doeskin” by BA Tortuga has one fantastic character in Eleanor. She cracked me up.

“Inexorable” by Jodi Payne and “Coming Home” by Jennifer Joyce are at the bottom of the pack. “Coming Home” was sort of boring for me and I felt in term of writing that it might have been the weakest. Though I think that might be one of those things were I am alone on. “Inexorable” by Jodi Payne was one that I just didn’t like at all. She seemed like a Mary Sue with the attitude of bratty teenager not the highly trained, empath that the author kept telling the reader she was. Jo was similarly grating. From the beginning the characters just kept me from enjoying the story.

I really did like this anthology. I hope that SA Clements edits another anthology. She picked a good bunch of stories. Everyone can buy this anthology at Torquere Press.

Her Black Little Heart by Selah March [het ebook review]

Misfits are the underlying theme of story which isn’t covered enough in romance. The hero and heroine of Her Black Little Heart are misfits. Outcasts. Outsiders. Adam Brewster, a doctor, is a stranger to the little village of Chop Gate. Leda Cavendish is a rich widow living alone with her son in her estate while the village below swirls with gossip about her wicked ways. Leda has summoned Adam to her estate to care for her ill son. I would give this novel a B.

Its refreshing to see a romance where people are truly outsiders. Usually its because a virgin widow is too much of a bluestocking to go outside or a rough, but lovable sea captain can’t face society after the losses he saw at a sea. With the xenophobia and intolerance of the townspeople Adam and Leda can’t actually fully become true citizens of the village. This influences both of their personalities, and is a way that they both can connect.

This is a historical romance, and it is written like one. It has all the earmarks of a historical: old time-y syntax, rustic servants like Mrs. Maggs, and a moor. I swear to God, that I would find a moor in a historical set in Egypt. Though, this romance turns some conventions on its head. Leda was a widow with a child, but she doesn’t hate her first husband. She’s a worldly woman with no qualms about what she wants. Adam is a good doctor. He’s nice to Leda from the start, and even with their verbal sparring, one can tell that they enjoy each other’s company. Another refreshing point, an author who uses banter to up the chemistry, and not replace it.

On the technical/craft note, this was well-written and there is actual effort to make this sound like it is in the 1820s. Its nice to read an ebook where the character’s name doesn’t change midway through and the sentences aren’t awkward jumbles of prose.

There were things that didn’t work. There were times when Leda seemed a little bi-polar. Crying over her son one minute and then pawing at Adam the next. A little more explanation, not an info dump mind you, about the ways and ideas of the 1820s might have shed a little light on Leda’s mindset and her behavior. I think that some people who prefer a traditional historical with a virgin and a rake might be disappointed, but those who want a little variety in their historicals will be pleased with this offering from Selah March.

Her Black Little Heart is a historical tale that takes the reader out of the respectable parlors of London and onto an estate where a strong woman and a good man may just have found love and the will to leave their critics behind in the dust. You can buy the book at Amber Heat.