Christmas with the Billionaire by Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino

April 4, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Christmas with the Billionaire by Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Holiday, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

It’s the most wonderful time of the year … or is it?

Alora Harris is working her way up at Nelson Industries. Everything is going her way—her client list is growing and Christmas is just around the corner. Her best-laid plans end at the holiday office party. Too much alcohol mixed with a lot of pent up attraction leads to a night she’ll live to regret.

Adam Nelson doesn’t do relationships. Family is a word that makes him cringe. But he’s had his eye on Alora for some time. After one night of lust, he wants more. He wants to claim the curvy blonde for himself, but can he be everything she deserves?

With Christmas just around the corner, Alora and Adam will have to decide what’s most important. Will they take a chance on love or spend the holidays alone again?

A chance on love and forever? Sign me up!

I love a hot short story and this one certainly delivered. There was heat and passion right from the start and the characters are fun, too. I liked the pacing of the story. Yes, this all happens fast, but it’s like going on a wild ride where you don’t want to miss a moment.

Alora has some issues, but it makes her more relatable. She’s attracted to her boss and doesn’t want to seem like she’s using him. This humanized her. Then there’s Adam. He’s got issues, too. I liked that he was a guy with cash, but he didn’t throw it around or act like a jerk. He was humanized, too. The chemistry between them leapt off the page and I had to read more. I wanted to know what would happen for them.

This is a hot Christmas story that should satisfy at any time of the year. If you’re looking for a quick read that packs a holiday wallop, then this might be the one you’re looking for. Give it a try.

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

The Proud & the Dumb by Bob Freville

April 1, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The Proud & the Dumb by Bob Freville
Publisher: Godless
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Some godless horrors are more unforgivable than others, baseless prejudice and willful ignorance chief among them.

In The Proud & the Dumb, a group of white separatists suspect their friend of being a traitor. After a few seemingly innocent remarks call his blind loyalty into question, the group decides to confirm its suspicions in the only way it knows how – by employing insults and threats.

These nasty threats are met with answers the group is unwilling to confront, answers that lead to a series of increasingly absurd and violent acts.

Hatred poisons everything.

Some of the most interesting scenes in my opinion were the ones that showed the characters experiencing brief moments of clarity that pierced through even their most deeply held prejudices. People are complex and often have nuanced reasons for the things they say or do even if their first explanation for those actions might seem pretty stereotypical. I appreciated the fact that the author acknowledged this without ever turning it into an excuse for a character’s prejudices.

It would have been helpful to see more time spent on the character development. I struggled to keep track of who was who because of how similar all of the characters were. Their personalities often blended together in my mind, and sometimes I misremembered which descriptions belonged to which individual. While I know that one of the points the author was trying to make had to do with how people can be forced to tow the party line in these sorts of organizations, I did find myself wishing I knew more about who the characters were outside of their membership in their hate group.

The conclusion was perfect. Not only did it dig deeply into the characters’ motivations for hating so many different groups of people, the explanation it provided fit what I knew about their personalities and backstories as well. I also enjoyed the way the author took this revelation and used it for one final plot twist just when I thought he’d run out of ways to surprise his audience.

The Proud & the Dumb was a thought-provoking read.

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

Haint’s Alive by J. Hali Steele

March 31, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Haint’s Alive by J. Hali Steele
Haint’s Misbehaving 1
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, LGBTQ, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

An angry, dead spirit is useless – until it becomes the living Haint in your bed!

JD Tolliver begins research for his thesis on paranormal phenomena as a nonbeliever. He believes now. A ghost or angry spirit, a true haint, follows JD from Appalachia. His finding a suitable body so he can leave poses a problem — $it has JD by the balls@!

Coll Collins spent over a hundred years locked in silence. Suddenly freed, he discovers that gay hate crimes are not a thing of the past. The stranger he attaches himself to is sassy and, to Coll, sexy as hell. Never had the pleasure of a soft young man, and Coll plans to take advantage every single night until he returns home.

He doesn’t believe, but he sure will when Coll is done!

This is a short story and packed full of heat. It should be. It’s a Razor’s Edge story, so it delivers the hot stuff. This is great for an afternoon or lunch time read when the reader wants something hot, short and satisfying.

I liked Coll and JD. Coll is blunt and goes after what he wants. I totally understood what a haint was and I’d never heard of them before, but I knew after this story. Coll is certainly an angry spirit, but he’s not totally bad, either. I liked him. Then there’s JD. He’s rather repressed and needs to be pushed. The chemistry between him and Coll is great. It leapt off the page.

If you’re looking for something that’s short, hot and good for a quick read, then this is one to try!

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

The Chronologist by Ian R. MacLeod

March 22, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The Chronologist by Ian R. MacLeod
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A boy, desperate to escape the drudgery of life in his small town, gets caught up in the machinations of a traveling time keeper, and slowly watches his town and his life unravel by the seams.

When time is slippery, every moment counts.

It was fascinating to imagine a world where time itself is unreliable. Imagine opening a soft-boiled egg to find a living chick inside or seeing a wheel of cheese turn back into milk because of fluctuations in how time flows in your community! These were just two of the unusual side effects the characters experienced, and they filled my mind with theories about how people learned to survive in such an unstable environment.

I would have liked to see more time spent on world building, especially when it was related to exactly what magical powers a chronologist does and doesn’t have. There were moments in this tale when I was confused by how the townspeople reacted to the arrival of a chronologist and why they seemed to be able to do things in certain towns that didn’t happen in other ones. Having clarity on these issues would have encouraged me to go for a much higher rating.

As soon as I met the unnamed main character, I liked him. He was a curious, mischievous, and intelligent boy who was determined to solve the mystery of where the chronologist went when he left town and what it would be like to visit other communities like the one he was growing up in. There were so many practical and magical obstacles in his path that I couldn’t imagine how he’d reach his goal, but I sure wanted to see him succeed!

The Chronologist was a wild ride.

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

Weekends With Sexy by Treva Harte

March 22, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Weekends With Sexy by Treva Harte
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Review by Fern

Sexy is cute. Sexy has ‘tude. What Sexy doesn’t have is his comfortable home and his well trained human servants to care for him. He’s completely unimpressed with the fancy condo and his caretaker Sandy.

Good thing Sexy knows just the guy to help straighten out this mess – Kirk. Maybe Sexy can show the grumpy Kirk that stargazing is better with a partner. Can the crazy dachshund bring these two humans together?

Sandy is trying to take care of a failed-foster dachshund, Sexy. In way over her head, her cousin recommends Sandy consult with Kirk, who lives in a remote cabin in the woods and takes care of rescue dogs. Can Sexy keep them both in line, or will they all let their insecurities ruin something special?

I found this a fast paced and fun read. I personally felt that Sandy and Kirk jumped into bed a little quickly – but for the short length of the story I could understand that neither could really drag their feet too long. Readers who like a slower build up or longer drop from interest into intimacy might find this was a little too quick for their specific tastes. That said, the connection and chemistry between Sandy and Kirk was quite intense and I found it mostly believable, especially with Sexy the Dachshund to help grease the wheels between them.

I was pretty pleased that the pace of the relationship between Sandy and Kirk slowed a little once they were intimate, I found it really helpful to see them doing more emotionally based, “relationship” types of things like spending regular time together and getting to know each other. This really helped sell me on their long term compatibility and helped me see them better both as characters and as a team working together. While the order of Kirk and Sandy’s relationship was a little muddled for my liking, I really ended up caring deeply for them both – and Sexy – and being heavily invested in their long term compatibility.

Readers looking for a fun, sexy and quick paced story should find this is a lovely and short read.

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

Driven To The Limit by Alice Gaines

March 21, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Driven To the Limit by Alice Gaines
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

After rehab, Lauren King returns to the only home she has… a rock star’s compound everyone calls The Pit. She also returns to her only friend… an antique German motorcycle she’s nicknamed Jake.

Little does she know that the cycles Klaus Mannhof made have the ability to shift into human men. Mannhof designed Jake especially for Lauren. Using his special brand of magic, Jake’s going to teach her to love him — and to love herself as well.

Lauren is returning to the only home she has, and to her very special antique motorcycle, Jake. Little does she know Jake is even more special than Lauren could have believed, Jake might be a motorbike, but he can shapeshift into a man – and as a man he’s determined to teach Lauren to love herself – and also him.

I was deeply intrigued by this slightly different Paranormal/shapeshifter style of story. I loved the idea of a man/bike crossover and found was intrigued enough to pick up this story and the first in the series as well. While I feel most readers will need to suspend a fair bit of disbelief at the very beginning – I don’t know many women who could calmly discuss the logistics of having witnessed an expensive motorcycle changing into a sexy man before their eyes, and mere minutes later blindly accept it was just fine – aside from this small blip I found the whole premise of the plot delightful and a lot of fun. The attraction and chemistry between Jake and Lauren was solid and steamy, and I did adore how Jake in bike form was more than compelling and in control of his and Lauren’s late night rides around the streets. There’s definitely something sexy about a gorgeous bike and I could well understand Lauren’s insta-lust.

I thought the plot surrounding Lauren’s crazy ex-boyfriend was interesting though a little over the top. It was definitely a good counterpart to the blossoming romance between Lauren and Jake though and helped keep the story decently balanced. While most of the plot threads were well tied together I thought there was definitely room left for more details to be fleshed out in potential future books. The ending clearly showed this was the start of a longer series and what I suspect is a multi-book arc which could prove very interesting.

Readers looking for a fun and sexy, slightly different paranormal romance should find this a steamy and interesting story that can easily be read as a stand alone.

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

One Owner Lady Driven by Alice Gaines

March 18, 2022 By Leave a Comment


One Owner Lady Driven by Alice Gaines
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Claire Wilcox is in for the ride of her life…

Why would a normally sane woman pay a million dollars for a motorcycle? Hard-driving CEO Claire Wilcox has found the bike of her dreams — a 1957 Mannhof four-cylinder touring motorcycle.

Little does she know that the cycle’s designer made each of these beauties for one person only. The Mannhof is sentient — and he has the ability to take on human form. He was designed with purpose, and he’s on a mission — he’s here to heal Claire’s wounded soul. If she’ll let him.

Claire is a rich CEO and she’s not afraid to spend her money for something she truly desires – like a super-rare motorbike of her dreams. The million dollars she dropped on the machine was cheap for her at the price. Only Claire had no idea the bike was even more special than she could believe. It’s sentient and can change into a human man – one who is here to love and heal Claire and start a whole new aspect to her life, one that involved them being together, forever.

I found the power dynamic between Claire and Will really interesting. On the one hand Will is a paranormal being – a powerful motorcycle that can shapeshift into a physically powerful man, but then Claire is an extremely strong and powerful CEO, more than used to having her own way and charting her own course. They are very different people in nearly opposite ways of life but add in the intensity of their sexual chemistry and their slow opening to each other and they became a formidable couple. I found this dynamic – and the unfurling of their blossoming relationship – to be really interesting and different to read. It was quite unique to me, and I feel lots of other readers likely won’t have come across something like this either.

I admit I felt that the ending to this story felt a little rushed. There was a delightful build up to the final confrontation scene, and a few home-truths exposed for both Claire and Will, but the actual conclusion to their fight and reconciliation felt a little hurried at pat to me. I’m not sure if this was because of a word-limit or restriction imposed on the author, but for such a well-paced story and what I felt was an excellent build up to this final scene, it fell just a little flat to me and left me not as satisfied as I had hoped.

Sexy and sensual, this was a really interesting and unique story that I felt showed an excellent power dynamic between the hard-core CEO and a supernaturally powerful machine/man. With plenty of baggage and hurt on both their parts, this was an interesting and vibrant read. I was pleased to find it was the first in a series and I’m eagerly looking forward to the next.

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

Monet Talks by Tamar Myers

March 17, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Monet Talks by Tamar Myers
Den of Antiquity, book 5
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Charleston antiques dealer Abigail Timberlake Washburn is thrilled by her recent estate auction purchase of a spectacular bejeweled birdcage from India, but not so much by its occupant, a mouthy mynah named Monet. Still, her customers at the Den of Antiquity seem charmed by the insufferable birdbrain, so Abby figures she’s stuck with him. That is, until she finds a stuffed starling resting on his usual perch with a ransom note demanding a real Monet (the painted variety) in exchange for her purloined pet.

Since she doesn’t happen to have a priceless masterpiece on hand — and since a mynahless existence isn’t all that distasteful a prospect — Abby figures she’ll let the thief keep the annoying avian. But when her mama Mozella is abducted by the craven birdnapper, Abby must leap into the fray to rescue mater and mynah alike … before the feathers really start to fly!

A missing bird, a crazy fancy Taj Mahal and a mystery. This one will be a tough one to crack!

I picked this book up, first because of the orange cat on the front and, second because I like a good cozy mystery. I’d never read a book by Tamar Myers, so this was a good introduction to her work. The story flew by, pardon the pun, and it had moments of great flash.

I did like that there is a cat in this story. Sometimes the books are marketed with having an animal that never actually shows up, so that was a plus for me. The main character, Abby, owns an antique shop and one of the things that goes missing is the Taj Mahal, the mynah bird that lived in it and her cat! So, I rooted for Abby to get the cat back.

One of the things that lowered enjoyment of this story for me was the sheer number of characters. I got so confused at times as to who is who and finally realized this is the fifth book in a series. It would probably help the reader to start at the beginning of the series in order to keep everyone straight. Another thing that sort of irritated me was the way the mystery took a backseat to the rest of the action. There’s also a lot of talk about just how hot it is in Charleston, SC, and that got a bit redundant, too.

Still, this is a good afternoon read and the conclusion of the mystery is worth the effort. You’ll want to pick this one up!

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

New Era by Tommy B. Smith

March 15, 2022 By 1 Comment


New Era by Tommy B. Smith
Publisher: Raven Tale Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Insomnia. Headaches. Fear.

It drove Marjorie down, cost her a career, and almost destroyed her marriage. When she and her husband Terry escaped to the quiet green countryside west of the Mississippi River, their new home, it seemed too good to last.

The snake-ridden adjoining property, bordered by a row of maple trees, hosts a deadly secret. There the blood of fiends and innocents stain the crumbling ruins of an old farmhouse, a decaying testament to a web of treachery and murder stretching back to distant times.

The horror in the ruins watches in wait. Marjorie fears the end, and the end is coming.

The past never dies.

It was nice to read about characters who are sensible and cautious in the horror genre. While they didn’t always make the same decisions I would, I understood why they made other choices and thought they were doing the best they could with the information they currently had. That’s not always something that happens in these sorts of tales, so it’s refreshing to find here.

The cast of characters was large enough that I had trouble keeping track of who everyone was and how they knew each other. It was even more of a problem for me in the 1982 storyline because it kept introducing new characters who were sometimes critical to the plot and in other cases played less prominent roles in future scenes. As much as I liked switching between this year and the 1918 plot that explained the origins of certain events, it was also confusing for me as a reader because of how many extra characters I then needed to keep track of.

One of the most memorable parts of this novella had to do with its thoughts on how curses work. This was even more true since part of the curse was placed upon a parcel of land instead of on an object or a person. I found myself wondering about all sorts of practical matters related to cursed land. For example, would an object lose its curse if it were removed from that area? Were the soil and plants themselves cursed, too? How long could someone spend on that land before terrible things began to happen to them? I can’t answer those questions in this review without sharing spoilers, but I enjoyed the author’s thoughts on how that all worked in this universe.

I did find myself wishing that the narrator had gone into more detail about the motivations of certain characters who committed some pretty violent acts. Yes, violence is to be expected in the horror genre, but I struggled to understand how those characters could switch so quickly from displaying fairly calm demeanors to attempting to kill those around them. With more development, these changes in behavior could have been truly terrifying in the best sense of that phrase for the horror fans reading it.

The ending was well done. I was especially interested in seeing how the main characters would react once they’d discovered enough clues to realistically have some idea of just how much danger they were in. Their sensible reactions only made me more curious to see if they’d prevail in the final scene. I will be keeping an eye out for any sequels that might revisit this world.

New Era was a delightfully scary story.

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

First you Dream by Aliyah Burke

March 14, 2022 By Leave a Comment


First you Dream by Aliyah Burke
Publisher: Totally Bound
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Moonflower

A rash decision can become the best ever.

Race car driver Cody Gamino has come from Europe to the United States for one thing. To race with the incredible Xin. Their one night together means more to him than he expected and suddenly, it’s not just about racing together, but about being together too. Forever.

Racer N’Jelle ‘Xin’ Marx turns to a handsome man she met outside a bar, just to forget for a night. Six weeks and two pinklines later, she is questioning the decision she’d made that night. When he shows up at her job, revealing to her who he truly is, and snatches it out from under her, she doesn’t have the fight in her any longer. She leaves.

Cody isn’t one to give up and when he learns of his unborn child, he digs in even more. Will these two, used to life in the lane, learn to slow down and see what is before them? Will they recognize what they have to lose?

One night is sometimes all you need!

Xin and Cody are both race drivers, although Xin has faced more adversity than Cody, simply because she is a woman and black. When her personal life becomes complicated, she has a one-night stand with Cody, not knowing who he is. Then things really hit the fan.

This is a fast-paced novel that I think would have read better for me if I’d read the first two books in the series. It jumps about a bit as well. The family situation was a complete blank to me, but I felt as though I should know some of it. And the crew Kenny was with? Who were they?

Cody is also a jerk for 90% of the book – arrogant and high-handed, thinking his way is the right way. I was happy when he got his act together and started behaving like a human, instead of a misogynistic ***!

This erotic story is full of drama so if that’s what you’re after, that’s what you’ll get.

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