Review/Flame Seeker/Berkley Trade

Author: Kay Danella
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Genre: Erotic Fantasy (Menage M/F/M)
Publication Date: December 2009
Print ISBN: 978-0425230824
eBook ISBN: 978-1101151754

Length: 384 Pages
Format: Print
Purchase: Amazon    Barnes and Noble

Blurb:

The eldest daughter of a clan of perfumers, Alithia must secure her family’s endangered livelihood by retrieving an ancient relic in the fabled north of the neighboring mountain realm. But the rules and tradition of Hurranni society forbid her from making the journey alone. Alithia must take a shield pair as husbands.


With many competitors vying for her hand, Alithia proposes a contest: those who can best pleasure her, wins. The victors are Taith and Phelan. Two strong and able men from an unknown clan, their own beliefs play havoc with the woman they both want. As two societies are joined in a tenuous union, their quest begins.

As emotions run high and ecstasy runs wild, Alithia, Taith, and Phelan are bound to together by the dangers of the journey, by a clash of cultures more intense than they ever imagined, and by a twist of fate that will change their lives forever.

My Review:

I liked this book, it was a change of pace for an erotic book.  The focus was more on the relationships between the three individuals and on the world building of this particular fantasy book.

The three main characters in the book have one thing in common, they all come from a society where women are revered.  The difference that they face is that in Alithia's clan, the women make the decisions and men are very disposable, they don't have long term marriages and use marriage contracts to determine the length of any union.  Taith and Phelan come from a clan where there aren't as many women, so they grow up in homes where there are 2 fathers and one mother.  The mother is revered but doesn't make all of the decisions and their marriages are for life. 

Alithia also believes that she worships a different "Goddess" than the "Lady" that the men follow.  It is interesting to watch them realize that their clans may not be so different after all.  If I found any fault with this novel it was that the love that grows between the three characters isn't really examined or a main part of the plot.  It is only towards the end of the book that the relationship is considered by Alithia as she comes to understand that she does in fact want a different relationship for herself than what is the norm in her clan.  It is also at near the end that the issues that have haunted Taith from childhood and that are alluded to in the book, are resolved.

This was a good first book by Ms. Danella and I'm curious to see if she will visit this particular world and these characters again in another book.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 Stars

 FTC Disclosure:  This book was purchased by the reviewer.  No financial remuneration was exchanged.

Review/Take It Off/Saphire Blue Publising

Flashback Sunday Review: I'm going to try to review one book every Sunday that is at least 12 months old.  Something that I have been wanting to read and just never had the time.


















Author: Tina Gerow

Publisher: Sapphire Blue Publishing

Genre:  Erotic Novella (M/F)

eBook ISBN: 978-1-934657-00-3

Length:  37 Pages

Purchase


Blurb:


When Samantha Ryan receives a call from her mother, asking her to come home and run the family business--a real live Nevada brothel--she's not thrilled about it, but she reluctantly agrees. While out on the town the night before she takes over her duties, Samantha seizes the moment when she meets the sexy Chase Hanson.


Chase had his eye on the beautiful brunette all night and when she asks to go home with him, he jumps at the chance. After a night of the most mind-blowing sex of his life, they part with Samantha saying she'll call. Meanwhile, he's still forced to fulfill a prior obligation and heads out of town to a brothel to celebrate his buddy's bachelor party. Imagine his surprise when he finds Samantha working at a brothel…

Can Chase tame this reluctant Madam?



My Review:

I really enjoyed this short novella from Ms. Gerow.  It was a fast read, had lots of interesting dialogue and characters and even tackled the issue of being the child of someone who is involved in a business that most of society looks down on. 

I enjoyed the characters of Samantha and Chase and their interaction.  You could see where both jumped to conclusions and it was interesting watching them deal with their mutual attraction. 

The main focus of the book is that you really can't judge everything by what you see and that jumping to conclusions isn't the safest or nicest way to do things.  I think if the story had been just a bit longer that it would have really given some depth to the message.

My Rating:     3 out of 5 Crowns
 

                                               

FTC Disclosure:  This book was purchased by the reviewer, no financial remuneration was received.

Review: Something Worth Fighting For/Lena Matthews/Ellora's Cave

Author:                      Lena Matthews

Genre:                       Erotic Interracial Romance (M/F)

Publication Date:     2010

Ebook Isbn:              9781419928307      
Print Isbn:                 N/A

Length:                     Novel

Purchase

Excerpt

Book Description:

     No good deed goes unpunished… And no one knows that better than Tisha Nichols, who, out of the kindness of her heart, agrees to style the hair of her nine-year-old neighbor Cami, so the little girl can look good for picture day. Unfortunately, Cami’s adoptive Uncle is far from grateful. In fact he’s down right livid…and far too attractive for Tisha’s peace of mind.


Love thy neighbor… Is easier said than done, especially when the neighbor in question is a sexy little spitfire who gives even better than she gets. Although Jonah is not the type to say he’s sorry, even he can admit when he’s wrong. But the ongoing fight to win custody of Cami has made him cautious and mistrustful of people, even those as desirable as Tisha.




What starts as a misunderstanding turns out to be one of the best things to ever happen to them. Unfortunately, not everyone is as thrilled, and Jonah and Tisha must decide if their newly formed family is something worth fighting for.



My Review: 

     I really enjoyed reading this book by Ms. Matthews.  She covered the subjects of adoption, interracial relationships and what happens when there is alot of outside interference.  The subject of child kidnapping is also touched on in this book.

     Tisha Nichols, a young African American hair dresser, lives by herself and gets along with her co-workers and friends.  She's not in a relationship with a man and seems to be happy with her life choices.  She's outspoken and knows what she wants.  Her nine year old neighbor, Cami, requests that she help her by doing her hair for school pictures.  It seems that Cami is living with her uncle and he doesn't know how to style her hair.  This leads to a somewhat combative encounter with Jonah Glasse, Cami's uncle. 

     Jonah Glasse, a Caucasian man, has custody of his best friend and foster brother's daughter.  Cami is an orphan, both of her parents died in an accident and Jonah was given custody per the term's of their will, but it is being contested by an African American cousin who doesn't believe that the little girl should be with a white man.  Jonah is also a local businessman and is very successful.  He also goes after what he wants and he realizes that he wants Tisha in his life.
    
     This book has enough romance and hot sex to earn it the title of erotic romance, but it really is alot more.  It is a look at the complex issue of interracial relationships and how society can choose to look at them.  We don't get alot of back story on Tisha and how she came to be the person that she is, but she's a great character.  She's loving, honest, hard working and open minded.  We get more back story on Jonah and what makes him tick.
Tisha is good for Jonah and through some incidents that take place in the book, we get to see him grow as a person.  Both a kidnapping and rescue take place in this book and it was handled very well.

     The end of the book came too quickly for me because I was enjoying what I was reading.  There is a happy ending and all of the loose issues are dealt with.  Overall, I believe that Ms. Matthews accomplished what she set out to do in her book, she entertained this reader and also made me look at some issues a little deeper. 

My Rating:     4.5 out of 5 Stars

FTC Disclosure:  This book was purchased by the reviewer, there was no financial remuneration.

Singapore Fling- A Review

Author:        Rhian Cahill

Genre:           Erotic Novella (M/F) Ebook

Purchase:     Amazon   Noble Romance

Excerpt



Description:

     Carly Simmons has lusted after her boss for six months. Throwing caution to the wind while on a business trip in Singapore, she suggests a fling. When Saxon takes her up on her offer, Carly gets far more than the conservative businessman she’s expecting.


Saxon Grant is definitely up for a weekend of red-hot sex, but once he gets his hands on Carly he knows a couple of days will never be enough. Months of wanting her explode into a weekend of tangled sheets and twisted emotions.


And after one wild weekend, these two hearts will never be the same.
 
 
My Review: 
 
     This is a hot novella and the two characters are smoking hot. 
 
Carly is a woman who wears conservative business suits to the office but underneath that is a very sexual woman.  She's very honest in both her business life and her personal life.  She also happens to be physically attractive. 
 
Saxon is a very smart and savvy businessman.  He's physically attractive and goes after what he wants.  He has usually dated women that are school teacher types but has secretly been lusting after Carly for months.
 
The sex is hot in this book and there are some light BDSM characteristics in that Grant is very much a dominant personality and isn't as into straight vanilla sex as Carly thought.
 
I really enjoyed reading this novella and it has just become available for download at Amazon, and at a great price.  I hope that someday the author comes back to visit these characters as they are an enjoyable couple.
 
My Rating:      5 out of 5 Stars
 

                 

FTC Disclosure:  I was given this book for review purposes.  No financial remuneration was involved.