Master Fabrizzio’s Vault: Clarissa Unveiled by Catherine Dolore

May 27, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Master Fabrizzio’s Vault: Clarissa Unveiled by Catherine Dolore
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: Three Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

What is a birthday party without candles?
What girl doesn’t want jewelry as a gift?
What girl hasn’t wanted a pony?

Clarissa gets all three, but not in the way she expected.

A young woman’s birthday bash becomes a surprise that she never saw coming. But, in the end she does.

Catherine Dolore blows out the candles in “Master Fabrizzio’s Vault: Clarissa Unveiled”.

What a birthday party!

This is a short story and moves fast. It’s essentially just one scene and man, it’s hot.

The writing flows along and it’s fast. There aren’t many details because this is meant to be a hot, naughty story. It’s meant to arouse. To that end, it succeeds. There are multiple partners, back door play, toys and bondage in this story.

That said, this book could use a bit of editing to make it shine. There are words missing. Some readers might not be bothered by that. If you’re looking for the heat factor and the naughty angle, then it might be fine. I would’ve liked a bit more emotional response from Clarissa as well. This is a big event for her and one she didn’t see coming, so it would’ve been nice to get in her head and know how she felt about this situation. It’s not really written from any one point of view, so it was hard to know how she felt.

If you want something hot for a quick afternoon read and want the scorch factor, then this might be the book for you.

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

Sticks And Stones by John Carson

May 27, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Sticks And Stones by John Carson
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A horrific murder. A stunning abduction. Can he open an old case to prevent another grisly death?
Edinburgh DCI Harry McNeil isn’t easily intimidated. But after years investigating crooked cops, a promotion heading up a Major Investigation Team will put his reputation on the line. And he’s starting to sweat when the daughter of a rich and powerful family vanishes from the honeymoon suite in a Scottish Highlands castle…

Searching alongside officers from two other divisions, pushes McNeil to his breaking point when the investigation uncovers a charred corpse dressed in a wedding gown. Fearing the missing bride will suffer the same gruesome fate, the detective follows a fifteen-year long trail of clues littered with vengeance, false identities, and a tragic murder-suicide.

Can McNeil bring the butcher to justice before the celebration turns into a mass funeral?

I was pleasantly surprised by this Scottish mystery novel. Not as dark and gritty as some UK crime/mystery novels can be I nevertheless found the tone of the book to be similar to many other British crime novels. With a small number of main characters that I could easily keep a handle on this helped me feel pretty quickly like I knew the characters and the energy between DCI Harry McNeil and his work partner DC Alex Marshall. I was really pleased that – for me at least – the banter and friendliness between Harry and Alex didn’t seem to have an undertow of romance or chemistry. I feel for now at least their professional, working relationship was a good blend of boss and co-worker and the two of them being genuine friends. I’m not sure I’d want Harry or Alex to muddy that with sex or complications between them.

Indeed, for the most part I found this a refreshing, enjoyable Scottish mystery with a good – albeit slowly moving – plot. Readers looking for an action based, fast-paced mystery might find this one moves a bit slower than they’d prefer. Personally I was pleased to find since this was the first book in a series a decent amount of time was spent showing me Harry, Alex and the other main characters and setting the scene of the crime. A good portion of the start of the book was spent with the missing bride, the wedding guests and searching the massive grounds for clues and trying to piece together what had occurred. I was left a little bewildered, since I couldn’t seem to slot the prologue into what was occurring in the main part of the book, but I was really pleased with how everything wrapped up neatly, and a little over half way through the story there were a few plot-twists that I found particularly satisfying and felt really helped both move the plot along and give the book a taste of individualism which made me pleased I’d kept on with it.

Readers looking for an enjoyable, not too gritty mystery with good characters and a solid – though at times slow-ish – plot should really enjoy this book. I found it easy to stick with the book since the characters and writing style really appealed to me and especially around the half way mark when things started to really come together I was pretty chuffed that I’d stuck with it. I enjoyed this book enough I’ve ordered the second in the series and I might even look into the author’s other works since I really did enjoy his writing style and tone.

A good, enjoyable and interesting mystery book and a new-to-me author I’ll happily read again.

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

The Comeuppance Of Charlotte Rose: Book One by Catherine Dolore

May 26, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Comeuppance Of Charlotte Rose: Book One by Catherine Dolore
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Historical, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

A thorny English rose gets pruned with precision in propriety’s void of Master Fabrizzio’s Vault.

She’s saucy and she’s about to meet her match.

Charlotte is no wallflower. She likes bedroom antics and they don’t even have to be in the bedroom. This is a quick story and features Charlotte’s interactions with Lina. This is certainly a hot story, but it’s very short. It reads like a preview, but if one wants a short, hot story for a quick afternoon read, then this is it.

The writing is a tad choppy and would benefit from an editor. There were words missing and it was jarring at times because of that. I didn’t get a real sense of how Charlotte or Lina felt during the story and would’ve liked more emotion from them. Also, this is supposed to be a historical book, but there were times when modernity slid in and made getting lost in the story harder. I know it’s hard to write historical, but the modern slips might be jarring to historical readers.

That said, this is a story that’s true naughtiness. If you’re looking for a short story that’s packed with heat and moves fast, then this might be the one for you.

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

Heart of the Scrapdog – Short Story Collection by Isaac Nasri

May 26, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Heart of the Scrapdog – Short Story Collection by Isaac Nasri
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Action/Adventure
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

After a perfidious operation that almost costed him his life, Troy Levi, an sagacious agent for the FBI, is granted a second chance, albeit a cyborg for the agency’s Virtual Division. However, this action does not come, without a price. He strives relentlessly to find grounding in a contemporary society that judges him and many others of his kind for who they are. A short story collection that will leave many readers fluctuating from hope to trepidation.

Getting new cyborg body parts won’t fix all of your problems, but they can be a good start.

All five of these stories were about the same main character and many of the same secondary characters as well. It was fascinating to get to know different facets of their personalities over time, especially as new people were introduced and Troy spent more time talking about how he felt about becoming a cyborg. There was a lot of ground to cover here, but the characters had plenty of opportunities to get to know each other and share themselves with the audience.

This collection would have benefitted from another round or two of editing. I discovered numerous examples of missing words, punctuation errors, and run-on sentences among other issues. As interested as I was in the storyline itself, all of the mistakes were so distracting and confusing that I couldn’t justify giving this book a higher rating.

I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the characters and setting. Mr. Nasri clearly put a lot of effort into who his characters were as individuals, what they looked like, and what the various places he visited would be like to experience in person. It was easy for me to visualize all of these things which made me want to keep reading and find out what would happen next. The author struck a nice balance between describing things to his audience in detail while also keeping the plot moving forward. That’s not always easy to do in such a short medium.

Heart of the Scrapdog was a fast-paced collection that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys cyberpunk tales.

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

Numb by Montgomery Raye

May 25, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Numb by Montgomery Raye
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary
Rating: Two Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Take a walk with Nora, whose hunger for love has taken the foreground in a most unusual way.

More control which Nora relinquishes, the sexual spotlight becomes hers and hers alone.

How does a wallflower become the life of the party?

For one who is “Numb”, what others may see as being extreme, is just a walk in the park of what is average.

To cope, to succumb, to overcome, to numb. The road is yours.

There is freedom in choice.

This is a quick story and definitely hot. Nora knows what she wants – love – and she knows how she wants to get it. She’s determined to be the center of attention and this story delivers the heat. This short features multiple partners, lots of back door play, role play, pony play, degradation, and domination. Oh boy, is there domination. She gives up control, as the blurb suggests, and this is her journey.

This story could be greater if there was just a bit more description and fleshing out in each section. Nora goes on an adventure and each lover is unique. I would’ve liked a bit more to each chunk. How’d she get involved with this person, how does she feel while being with the person and how does she feel after? Those details would certainly bolster the story. The other thing that was a bit more work with an editor. It’s jarring to read when words are omitted. It reads like an outline that way. While this might not take away enjoyment for all readers, it did for me.

That said, this story is hot and there is a little bit of everything for readers wanting a hot read. If you want to read about Nora’s journey in this short read, then this is the one for you. Check it out.

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

The Dog Next Door by Sean Michael

May 21, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Dog Next Door by Sean Michael
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ, Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Keifer’s a vet with a secret. Felix is his hunky next door neighbor. One weekend when they’re both out enjoying a beautiful Saturday morning, Felix asks Keifer out for dinner and ice cream. One thing leads to another and the two discover they’re very compatible, in and out of bed.
Keifer’s got that secret, though, and he’s not sure exactly how to tell Felix about it, and he’s more than a little worried about how Felix is going to take it. What happens when the truth comes out unexpectedly, and that truth has a tail?

Keifer and Felix are next door neighbors who hit it off in and out of the bedroom. But Keifer has a secret and despite his relationship with Felix deepening he’s not quite sure how to explain it. Can these two men move to the next level together?

I found this to be a fun and lighthearted short story. While a little predictable I thoroughly enjoyed watching Keifer and Felix begin their relationship together and learn to trust each other. There is loads of deliciously hot – and explicit – intimacy and while this takes up a large part of the story I was delighted to find the deepening of their emotional attachment to each other was equally front and center throughout the story.

I could understand if some readers found Keifer and Felix’s relationship moved a little fast, though I feel the fact they’d known each other for quite some time (over a year as neighbors) and both were in a healthy and happy place to enter into a romantic liaison together this coupled with the short length of the story had be satisfied that it wasn’t really unusually fast or illogical. I was pleased both that Keifer felt he could trust Felix with his secret and that Felix didn’t over-react when Keifer opened himself up and made himself vulnerable with his lover and friend.

While it didn’t have many unexpected twists, I found this to be an enjoyable, satisfying and happy short story and a great, albeit quick read.

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

The Sentence of Anna by A.H. Scott

May 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Sentence of Anna by A.H. Scott
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Historical, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Alstroemeria

In 1747 France, the Duke of Givenchy, Philippe Paramour was a man of power and position. Philippe’s noble title gave him liberation of his most secret yearnings of debauchery. The Duke’s favorite past-time was taking female peasants under his wing as lovers and traveling companions across the French countryside. Anna’s sentence at times, would have been intolerable to a lesser woman of her immature age. But, what she gained under the strict tutelage of Philippe was the skills of maturity and demure sophistication. This is “The Sentence Of Anna”.

A firm hand awaits…

Author A.H. Scott, in the flurried pace of 37 pages, has embodied the essence of the original Harlequin romance. Anna, the alluring mistress of married Nobleman Philippe Paramour, excels and finds utmost pleasure in her job of keeping the Duke of Givenchy satisfied. But when they visit one of Philippe’s oldest friends Valery Terrance at his family’s stables, Anna finds that there are perhaps other ways to meet the desires of herself and the Duke.

The heat of this story is palpable even through the first lines, and the fiery tension between all three characters does not go unnoticed. Visually, the story leaves nothing left to the imagination for us or for the characters. Exploration of deeper desires is what fuels this quick-paced novel, and keeps the pages turning with each new discovery.

The great use of alliteration does hint towards that style of vintage Harlequin romance, but at times tips over the edge of visually stimulating, to corny. However, this does tone itself down as the story gets rolling towards its penultimate climax. The characters are very sexually explorative, giving the readers many exciting scenarios to venture through, and the spice level is through the roof!

The Sentence of Anna is the perfect, travel sized story for a quick zing of heat to make your heart flutter! I would gladly read other tales of Anna’s travels with the Duke, and perhaps other encounters with Valery Terrance. The steam that these three bring to the stables is not for the faint of heart!

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

Weatherman by Price Doom

May 19, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Weatherman by Price Doom
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Heart and her father are on the run from God. At least, that’s what her father, Sonny, tells her. Young Heart believes Sonny’s stories of dying suns and scientists with tranquilizer guns, parachuting out of planes in pursuit of them . Sonny believes only the elements in his body can save the sun, and Heart grows up in fear of the boogeymen from Sonny’s stories—and Sonny himself. After years without proof and questions about Sonny’s mental stability, Heart makes her escape.
Imagine growing up while on the run from people with unlimited resources.

Sonny was an excellent example of how to write a deeply unlikeable character. There were very few complimentary things I could say about him as a parent or an individual, and yet I was fascinated by the way his mind worked. This was especially true when he was confronted with evidence that contradicted his beliefs about the spirit world or what the limits were of his magical powers. He had an uncanny ability to explain everything in a way that fit his version of logic. That made me want to learn more about him.

The mystery elements of the storyline were confusing to me. There were multiple hints pointing at one solution, so I wasn’t expecting the ending that happened at all. It seemed to point to a completely different resolution than the one that the narrator had spent so much time building up to, although it was also vague enough that I was never entirely certain which option the author wanted their fans to think was most likely to be true. I generally enjoy ambiguous endings, especially in these genres, but this one left so much up to the imagination that I never felt satisfied by it.

There was a plot twist about two-thirds of the way through the book involving Heart’s past that I was pleased to see. It helped to answer some important questions that both the audience and Heart had been pondering for a while at that point. After all of the hints from earlier scenes, I was happy to see these things being resolved as much as they could.

I also struggled with Heart’s contradictory character development. She wasn’t written consistently enough for me to figure out if her occasional but dangerous lapses in judgement were out of character for her or if I’d misjudged her personality entirely. It was also hard for me to figure out why her opinions on certain topics like searching for her mother changed so rapidly. I understood why that topic was a sensitive one for her, but it seemed odd to me that she’d feel a deep yearning for answers about her origins in one scene only to give up on it in the next.

The horror elements of the storyline were well done. Heart’s childhood was so out of the ordinary that her innocent descriptions of things that would frighten anyone else made me shudder. The author did a good job of showing just how much humans can adapt to their surroundings and find meaning almost everywhere. That isn’t easy to accomplish in horror at all, but it’s one of the things that keeps pulling me back into this genre from time to time.

Weatherman was a thought-provoking tale that was equally at home in the science fiction and mystery genres.

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

The Black Widow’s Prey by N. S. Wikarski

May 12, 2021 By 9 Comments


The Black Widow’s Prey by N. S. Wikarski
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

Consulting detectives Evangeline LeClair and Freddie Simpson face their most challenging case yet when a priceless Egyptian artifact is stolen from a Chicago museum. To make matters worse, the museum’s richest patron is robbed of a diamond necklace shortly afterward. Suspicion immediately falls on a wealthy widow and her scheming son. Trapped in their clutches is the widow’s hapless daughter, about to be forced into a marriage of convenience against her will.

The investigation is complicated by two mysterious strangers who have also taken an interest in the missing Egyptian relic. Solving both thefts will lead Freddie and Evangeline down some strange avenues of inquiry involving secret societies, international criminal masterminds, gentlemen jewel thieves, unexpected ocean voyages, and underworld kingpins. The two sleuths must either solve their case or join the ranks of fatalities numbered among THE BLACK WIDOW’S PREY.

I absolutely adore Victorian mysteries, and this one did not disappoint. All right – it’s set in America (Chicago to be exact) but it’s the same time period, so not being set in England is not a deal breaker. If anything, it adds to the enjoyment because it gives me a chance to learn a bit about the history of Chicago I was not familiar with.

If there is any complaint coming, it’s all on me, because I did not find this series earlier. I loved the characters and cannot wait to go back and read the other two books in the series.

It is definitely character driven, and if you are familiar with my reviews, you know this goes a long way! The author definitely knows her history, but does not hit the reader over the head with it. Yes, you will learn about this time period in Chicago, but you will absorb it almost by osmosis as you get to know the characters and enjoy their relationship, not to mention the way they work together to solve the issues in the book.

Although it’s not necessary to have read the earlier books in the series in order to understand what’s going on, the reader would probably get a richer enjoyment from knowing the background of the characters and how they got together.

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

Guarding January by Sean Michael

May 10, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Guarding January by Sean Michael
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Lord January is at the top of the charts, only comes out at night, and is usually covered in blood. Say what you will, but the man knows how to put on a great show. But when the Vampire King is let out of rehab, the last thing he expects is someone forcing him to eat real food, hang out in the sun, and generally be a human being.

Rye Sommers, the best bodyguard in the business, has been hired to babysit a rock star whose biggest threat surprisingly isn’t all the hard drugs, desperate groupies, and crazy fans—it’s Lord January himself. But the closer Rye gets, the more LJ turns into sweet, gentle, caring Jeff Smart. He may still be the super-skinny, pierced and inked genius Lord January, but he is slowly shaking his death wish as he sheds the loneliness and exhaustion his stage persona saddled him with.

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I found this to be a surprisingly sweet and emotional read. While the cover and blurb had me thinking this might be an edgy or even slightly futuristic style of story what I actually found when reading it was a lovely bodyguard/musician romance story. I adored the pacing – finding the longer length of the story really allowed the author to do a slow drop when it came to the romance between Jeff and Rye.

I also thought that while the blurb was a little confusing at the distinction between the on-stage persona of “Lord January, Vampire King” and the actual real-life person of Jeff, this was exceptionally detailed and quite logically displayed within the story itself. Indeed, if there are any readers (like me, for example) who have held off purchasing this book mainly because the cover and blurb didn’t especially appeal to them I’d recommend them giving this book a try.

I really enjoyed the interaction between Rye and Jeff. Unlike a lot of bodyguard stories there wasn’t some instant sizzle and them jumping into bed together and throwing caution to the wind. Nor was there some long-buried history between the two and so they just “had” to act on their feelings and the danger of the situation be ignored. Instead I found this to be a lovely slow burn and a well paced romance. As the bodyguard Rye slowly learns more about Jeff and his situation, the trappings of the celebrity persona of Lord January and all the other small factors that fit together to form someone’s life. And while sure, as Rye learns more about Jeff and Jeff learns he can trust Rye absolutely, they each begin to fall in love it’s clear that their emotional connection, the trust blooming between them and the respect and friendship were all factors grown first and the whole relationship was not just emotional but realistic and logical as well.

Readers looking for a kinky, edgy or hard and explicit read probably will leave this story not fully satisfied in my opinion. While there is definitely explicit intercourse scenes, unlike a lot of Sean Michael’s work it’s not first and foremost here and neither is it overly edgy or hard core (ie BDSM). Like many of this authors other books, this one focuses primarily on the relationship, the emotional connection and the situation as a whole and I really loved this. There are a number of secondary characters who I found were well drawn and interesting – but not as prominent as you’d find in other stories. While I felt they really added to the story they were absolutely supportive characters and not given equal time or attention as Rye/Jeff. This definitely read as a single, stand alone story to my mind and that’s reflected in while the secondary characters were interesting and well written they weren’t prominent enough for me to want to learn their stories now as well.

With a lovely slow drop into love, an interesting and well written bodyguard/musician style of plotting and the strong emotional and romantic connection realistic and lovely to read this was a great read and one I will definitely enjoy again in the future. Recommended.

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