Choice of Masters by Joey W. Hill

TITLE: Choice of Masters
AUTHOR: Joey W. Hill
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 33k)
GENRE: BDSM fantasy historical erotic romance
COST: $5.20

Thomas has lived his life by the code King Arthur set, and now has one final quest to complete – rescue the Lady Lilith from her captivity. He dreams of her constantly, and in those dreams, he knows her, loves her, recognizes her as his soulmate. After learning what he must to set Lilith free, he ventures to the wizard’s realms, where the world is not what he expected. Lilith is, though, and now he must show her that she has the power to make the choice to leave…

I adore Joey Hill. I may not love everything she writes, but for me, the sensual eroticism of her prose stands alone. I just have to remember as I read more and more of her backlist – because even though this was just recently released by Ellora’s Cave, it was originally published seven years ago in an anthology – that not only will she hit on some of my buttons, she will also show varying levels of skill in her storytelling abilities.

This one is a little hard to describe. Thomas is a knight who has been dreaming of Lilith, a woman notorious for being held prisoner by a wizard for years with an entire stream of other knights who have failed to rescue her. Thomas is convinced she’s his soulmate and is ready to do whatever it takes to make her accept him as her Master. He spends a month with a group of priestesses renowned for their sensual delights to learn how he can break Lilith free. When he feels he’s ready, he sets off and finds Lilith as the Great Whore in Zorac’s household. He is granted the right to attempt to rescue her, but Zorac is certain he’ll fail and leave in the morning without Lilith. Thus begins Thomas’s quest, a night of unbridled sensuality.

Some people think Hill’s prose is too purple, and I can see how it can sometimes verge in that direction. Much of the time, I adore it. It’s lustrous and rich, like sinking in thick, soft velvet. She has a way of wending and winding with her words that sucks me in, even when the events that unfold might bother other sensibilities. Then, it’s not until I’ve finished the story that I see some of the flaws it might contain.

This particular story has quite a few potential hotspots, but one in particular will likely bother a number of readers. Lilith is being held prisoner and forced to act as the whore to anybody Zorac wants. Worse, she is bound by a spell that keeps her forearms and hands immobile, invisible shackles if you like. On top of that, the magic also keeps her on the brink of orgasm without ever giving her a release. So Lilith is the victim of continual nonconsensual acts, with the demonstration of one at the dinner Thomas shares with Zorac after his arrival. I have to admit, this didn’t bother me so much in this, because it was so clearly fantasy from the very first page, however others are likely to disagree.

While Hill’s eroticism shines, especially in how surprisingly sensual the rituals Thomas performs are, the story suffers in other areas. Lilith lacks much of any kind of personality for much of the story, since she’s already wound tight from her lack of release. She’s much more of a damsel for Thomas to save than I normally like to read. Any strong sense of setting disappears as well. The entire tale has a dream-like quality, making it very hard to pinpoint. Definitive explanations on who Thomas really is or what he really can do are lacking, too.

But you know what? These were problems I identified once I’d already devoured the story. I was so lost in the sensuality of it, much of the other issues didn’t raise their heads until afterward. Thus, my rather skewed scores.

Readability	8/10 – Minor editorial problems broke up the flow, but Hill writes lush, sensual BDSM like nobody else
Hero	7/10 – Proud and honorable
Heroine	4/10 – She feels more like a vessel than anything else
Entertainment value	7/10 – Logic and depth of any kind of explanation gets thrown out the window for the gorgeous eroticism
World building	6/10 – With so much focus on the eroticism, the world and its nature felt very superficial
TOTAL:	32/50

Board Resolution by Joey W. Hill

TITLE: Board Resolution
AUTHOR: Joey W. Hill
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 45k)
GENRE: Contemporary BDSM erotic romance
COST: $5.95

Savannah Tennyson is her father’s daughter. Bred to be his replacement, her entire life has been about the business, all the way to the rules she has posted on her wall. Business partner Matt Kensington is her intellectual and business equal, and if she has the occasional less than professional thought about him, she just squirrels it away to savor when she is all alone. Because she is alone. More often than she would like. And now Matt, with the help of his four-man team of associates, is determined to show her she never has to be alone again…

With the exception of one, maybe two, stories, I absolutely adore Joey W. Hill. Her writing is dense and evocative, and the eroticism of her prose unparalleled. She’s one of the few authors that I’ll read paranormal water creatures by, and when friends ask for D/s suggestions, I always recommend her. Ellora’s Cave recently released this short novel on its own as an ebook, after having been part of an anthology several years ago, so I’m only now discovering it. While some people will certainly have some issues with it, it worked so completely for me as erotic fantasy that I was shocked to see just how long it really was.

At thirty-five, Savannah has a plethora of not so flattering nicknames, including but not limited to, Savannah Cyborg. She has no personal life and lives for the business, the vast majority of her contact being with Matt and his “child prodigies” in the board room. As she’s gotten older, though, she’s increasingly aware of her isolation, and the armor she wears to protect herself grows thicker and thicker. At the story’s start, she is on her way to a meeting with Matt, scheduled for Friday evening, a tactic she is sure he is using because he knows it’s the one time she is most vulnerable. What she doesn’t expect is for his words to almost immediately take a sexual tone, blunt and erotic, but when she announces she’s leaving, he orders her to sit. This starts the back and forth game they have always played, a game that has always resulted in an inevitable draw. The difference is, this time, Matt intends to win, and Savannah is mostly trapped until that happens.

This is the first line readers might not be able to cross if they aren’t immersed already in the erotic fantasy of it all. This entire exchange has tones of noncon, though it’s done entirely in Savannah’s POV and she makes it clear from the start that she views this as an extension of their negotiations in the board room. She is determined not to let him win, which means temporarily acceding to his commands. In doing so, she finds herself strung up on a sling-type apparatus, blindfolded, gagged, and then put on display as Matt’s four-man team enters the room. What follows is Matt’s seduction, using the men who have come to claim Savannah as one of their own as his tools. While it’s a ménage in the technical sense (without physical contact between the men), the focus is all on Savannah and getting her off, and the men are just living, breathing means of making that happen. The entire night has been scripted before she ever arrived, playing out at Matt’s command, and if you’ve bought into the fantasy of it by this point – which I had – it’s a highly charged, whirlwind of an erotic adventure.

The characterizations of the two leads might not be as fully fleshed as they could have been – for instance, Matt takes a back seat for a large chunk of the story as the four men service Savannah; each of which, incidentally, felt as realized as either of the two leads – but that’s a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. Few people write BDSM like Hill does. Even fewer make me accept such an outrageous erotic fantasy so easily. Yet, she’s done it here, and I know she’ll likely do it again. Because another of her stories has just been released this week, in the anthology Laced with Desire, and features one of the four prodigies, the third in this particular series as it turns out. I’ve had the second on my print TBR pile for ages, but now, knowing it’s connected to this one – albeit loosely – I’ll be pushing it closer to the top.

Readability	8/10 – Some of the mechanics of the equipment slowed me down trying to get a visual on it, but otherwise, I was shocked at how fast it read
Hero	7/10 – With so many other men in the room, he often took a back seat, but I liked what I got
Heroine	7/10 – I had a few problems with her experience vs her reactions, but I appreciated the attempts to make her so strong
Entertainment value	9/10 – Accept the fantasy of it, and it’s erotic bliss
World building	8/10 – My notions of their relationships at the start of the book were different than what was offered in the middle, but the crisp detail of the business world – even in their dialogue – crackled
TOTAL:	39/50

5 Releases I'm Looking Forward to in 2010

To finish out 2009, I'm looking forward, to 2010, to the stories that will make me laugh, make me cry, inspire or arouse me. It's highly likely that the stories that leave the strongest marks will not be ones I anticipate. Did I know last year at this time how moved I'd be by a JM Snyder short story about two elderly men? I'd never even read Kate Willoughby, and look at how much I loved her books.

But that doesn't mean there aren't titles that don't leave a small thrill of anticipation, every time I see them. So I've picked out five of those to share today, to look forward to in the dawn of a new year and a fresh decade. In no particular order:

1. Boot Hill Bride by Lauri Robinson: I don't find many series in e-books that inspire me to follow along, but the first Quinter Brides book was delightful, and the second sits in my TBR pile, waiting for me to get to it. I have no doubts I'll be picking up this third book, too.

2. Nothing to Commend Her by Jo Barrett: Wild Rose Press actually published this one a couple days early. When I last checked, it was supposed to come out on the 1st, but there you go. Anyway, I've had some hit or miss with this author since first falling in love with her Highlander's Challenge, but this is a novel-length historical, rather than her shorter contemporary work I had problems with, with a damaged hero and heroine. It looks so intriguing and will go straight in my TBR pile.

3. Board Resolution by Joey W. Hill: It's Joey Hill, do I really need to say more? I have no idea what it's about, other than I can assume it's het from the cover, but I don't need anything more. With the exception of Rough Canvas, I've really enjoyed everything I've read by her. I tend to buy her in print, but since this will likely be out in e-format first and it's EC, I'll likely have it on my reader very quickly after its release. Whenever that is.

4. From Afar by Ava March: I wasn't blown away by the second of her stories about Oliver and Vincent, but this is a gay regency with vampires. How am I not supposed to get excited about that, especially since I know this author can pour on the erotic?

5. The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon: Okay, this one is cheating because it came out on the 22nd. But I've done very little reading for pleasure in the past ten days, and I've been waiting for this last Adrien English book for what feels like forever. So it completely counts as a book I'm anxious to read in 2010. Do you have any idea how hard it's been to stay unspoiled for this?!?

Rough Canvas by Joey W. Hill

TITLE: Rough Canvas
AUTHOR: Joey W. Hill
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 121k)
GENRE: Gay BDSM erotic romance
COST: $7.99

Thomas abandoned his New York art career to return to his quiet North Carolina upbringing when his father died and his brother got in a life-changing accident. Now, 18 months later, the man he left behind is back, asking for Thomas to take one week to find his muse again. Marcus is the Dom Thomas never realized he needed until he met him, and it takes his return for Thomas to realize just how much he misses it. One week. A lot can happen then. Especially when Thomas has never been able to deny his Master anything.

There is no doubt about it. Joey Hill knows how to paint pictures with her words. Her prose is dense, packed with detail after evocative detail. She strips down her characters to their barest emotions and then layers it all back on again, much like Thomas’ paintings. When she writes a D/s scene, you feel it. I can even forgive frequent headhopping when it's written as evocatively as this.

The drawback in this particular story is that you feel it in scenes that feel wrong within the context of the story. I have issues with Marcus. Serious issues. While Thomas is a sweet, smalltown boy, Marcus is a self-professed bastard with a mean streak a mile wide. And not even in the Master sense. He reacts in ways that alienated him in my eyes long, long before any sort of explanation came for his behavior. By the time that explanation came, over 90k into the story, I didn’t care how bad Marcus’ background was. I didn’t like him. I didn’t understand how he could profess to be Thomas’ Master and let Thomas' health issues slide for months, and I didn’t know why at least a hint of that truth couldn’t have been offered. He says he loves Thomas, but does he do anything more about helping him than strapping him in an iron maiden? No, not really. I wanted to shake the jerk and demand to know what medical journal told him the cure for panic attacks and a bleeding ulcer was fisting in a BDSM club.

The plotline flipflops between Thomas giving in to Marcus, the two of them having great sex, maybe even a serious emotional moment, then bam! Fight. Then it starts again. Over. And over. And over. All the way to the end. Even disliking Marcus as I did, the author had me for probably the first half of the story, but eventually, the sheer repetition of it all just grew too weighty. Toss in my issues regarding Thomas’ health that go nearly ignored for the bulk of the story, and it was a serious chore to slog through the second half of the story. As soon as I saw the jump in time to 3 months after the week they spent together, I knew it was going to be a losing battle. An evocatively written battle, but a losing one, just the same.

Readability	7/10 – Dense, descriptive prose gets bogged down by unnecessary length and repetition
Hero #1	3/10 – Mean and untrusting, it’s very difficult to see why Thomas loves him so much
Hero #2	7/10 – Thomas was lovely, though dense and a little too flipfloppy for my tastes
Entertainment value	5/10 – While I can enjoy the beauty in the prose and some of the hot scenes in the first half of the story, the unbelievability of the second half combined with too much back and forth makes it a difficult read.
World building	9/10 – It’s painted with words, just as adept as Thomas’ work
TOTAL:	31/50