Hearts Afire: July by Keira Ramsey & Violet Summers

TITLE: Hearts Afire: July
AUTHOR: Keira Ramsey & Violet Summers
PUBLISHER: Liquid Silver Books
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 59k)
GENRE: Contemporary suspense erotic romance
COST: $5.50

The July edition of Liquid Silver’s 2009 firemen series, two tales of het erotic romance with just a bite of suspense.

I have another of these anthologies on my TBR pile, but this was the one that seemed most interesting to read next, so out it came. Both of these authors are new to me – my biggest reason for buying anthologies in the first place – but I’m still on the fence about whether or not I’ll pursue their other work.

The first story in the anthology is “Into the Fire” by Keira Ramsay. Arson Investigator Charly Davis is working on what looks to be a serial arsonist when the man who left her eight years earlier reappears in her life. Nate Andrews has spent that time in the Air Force, much of it stationed overseas, but the one thing he’s learned in those years is that Charly is the woman for him. He’d walked away because he was young and a little scared at how strong their connection was. Now, he wants to rebuild it. The set-up is familiar and comfortable, like a well-worn shoe, and the author’s prose is simple and unassuming. I liked both Charly and Nate, though I didn’t think either personality was particularly captivating. I definitely appreciated that Charly was the kind of woman who saw a mistake and owned it. One of the things that had been nagging at her for the past eight years was the fact that it seemed Nate had blabbed about their sex games – mild BDSM – and left her alone to be the fodder of the firehouse. When he explains how he didn’t do it and why, she thinks it over for a moment, realizes she made a mistake, and apologizes. I like that. It makes a wonderful change from a lot of heroines who let stupid misunderstandings try and carry through the story.

The conflict that is in the story centers primarily on the arsons that Charly is investigating. The technical aspects of their careers are really the most vivid parts of the entire story. I didn’t doubt for a second that these people lived and breathed these jobs, but the attempts to create a suspenseful atmosphere didn’t entirely work for me. The arsonist escalates as the story progresses, until it’s clear there’s more going on than meets the eye. But the resolution of the mystery left me dissatisfied, too out of the blue to have any kind of real impact on me caring. I did enjoy the romance aspect of the story, but with neither personality really grabbing me by the throat, it’s not something that will linger long for me.

The second story in the anthology is “Let It Burn” by Violet Summers. Fireman Kevin Kryszenski has to inform people of a fire at their city community center, one of whom is town oddball, Joanna Balentine. Joanna is considered weird by most of the town, a bohemian in a place that doesn’t appreciate her difference, but she’s more than fine with the separation as she is an empath, and often has difficulty dissociating her abilities with the feelings she absorbs from others. Kevin and Joanna hit it off right away, and the thrust of the story is Kevin overcoming his unease with Joanna’s uniqueness. There’s a mild attempt to create some suspense with another fire and someone who seems to be a serial arsonist, but that’s a very minor – and ultimately, awkward – aspect of the novella.

Right away, I noticed a difference with this story. Where the first had unassuming prose, the voice in the second carried a little more bite, a little more individuality. The prologue where we witness the events that drive Kevin throughout his life is vivid, intense, and mesmerizing. It’s an excellent way to suck me into the story, even if it slips into a more sedate, contemporary rhythm in chapter one. It didn’t hold, though. Unfortunately, this is one of those stories where the hero and heroine are physical within minutes of first coming into contact. I suppose it might be explained away that Kevin and Joanna went to school together, but by his own admission, she “hadn’t even blipped his radar.” Yet, he arrives at her place, tells her what happened, they sit down, and…bam! Sucking face that would have led into far, far more if Joanna hadn’t had a flash of something in Kevin and blurted it aloud. I just find it so very, very difficult to believe in a romance where there’s no build-up, no reason at all for them to hit it off so instantaneously. It lapses in between the various sex scenes into a relationship I can more credibly buy, but those feelings of disconnect linger throughout the story, no matter how hot the sex scenes can get.

One thing I found a little odd about the anthology was the setting. Both stories are set in Ludington, Michigan. Since I haven’t read any of the other anthologies, I don’t know if a shared setting is common to all of them, but I do know that reading these two back to back, with both stories making a very big deal about the town in question, I’m not sure it worked for me. They felt like very different towns. Both professed to be small towns, but only the second story actually felt and acted like a small town. They also had differing views on fires in town. In the first, it felt like fires were very common, as were arsons, which lends it to feeling like a bigger town anyway. The second stresses that fires are rare, rare enough for those few they have to stand out in everybody’s memory. I don’t really care which is actually true. For the duration of the story, I believed it both ways. But putting the stories back to back emphasized the setting, and thus, highlighted the disparities. It took away some of my enjoyment of the anthology as a whole, because ultimately, it didn’t feel right.

I’m definitely open to trying these authors again, though at this point, I’m not going to actively seek out their work. Still, it was a pleasant afternoon read. Just not all that memorable.

Readability	8/10 – Simple, clean prose, though the voice of the second story is far more engaging
Romance	6/10 – I believed the first romance more, though the second was far hotter
Characterization	7/10 – The personalities of the second are more vibrant than the first, though all the secondary characters blend and lack color.
Entertainment value	6/10 – Mildly entertaining for the time I was reading, but as individual stories, not likely ones I’ll remember long
World building	9/10 – Both stories bring the firefighting world to life
TOTAL:	36/50

Retrieving Morning by JoAn Watson Martin

TITLE: Retrieving Morning
AUTHOR: JoAn Watson Martin
PUBLISHER: Wild Rose Press
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 41k)
GENRE: Contemporary romance
COST: $4.50

Widow AnnaMarie Whitson is trying to get on with her life, but her three adult children are making it very difficult for her. A reunion in her small hometown reconnects her with her childhood sweetheart, and through their renewed friendship, she’s able to start finding the strength to live again, for her…

I’m not sure I’m the target audience for this romance as the heroine is in a very different part of her life than I am, but I was really looking forward to reading it, as the prospect of a widow trying to find new love in her golden years really appealed to me. There aren’t that many out there, so this stood out, and even though Wild Rose is notorious for ridiculously short excerpts, I took the risk anyway. I can’t say that it paid off.

Problems start relatively quickly, not with the story itself, but with the execution. The bulk of the story is told in third person, but occasionally, in the numerous flashbacks, that perspective shifts to first. The first time it happened, I thought it was a deliberate choice. First person lends an immediacy to a protagonist’s voice, which seemed in keeping with the fact that memories were becoming increasingly stronger. But that perspective wasn’t maintained. Within the same paragraph, it would switch back and forth between third and first, and it happened more than once. It made it very difficult to slog through, and what should have been a quick, heartwarming read, instead took me hours longer to finish.

Another flaw lies in the story’s characterizations. All three of AnnaMarie’s children are just dreadful, selfish and egocentric with no hints of what might make them decent human beings. It might have been a deliberate choice, to highlight AnnaMarie’s decision to find independence, but it got to the point where I resented every scene they were in. They’re awful people, and they got progressively worse as the story went on.

AnnaMarie’s characterization is uneven at best. For the first half, she’s quite charming and likable, but there is this weird episode in the second where she just goes off the deep end. I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be depression, or something medical. Both possibilities were hinted at in the story. But it derailed me entirely from the story, even when she seemed to get her act together.

In spite of the many flaws, there are moments of genuine pleasure. AnnaMarie’s return to her hometown is lovely and well-balanced, with memories that felt incredibly real for me. I liked who she was there, and the thought of the group of senior citizen women having a sleepover like they were teenagers had me smiling throughout the entire scene. But that wasn’t enough to save it from its other problems. When the story doesn’t even really end with an HEA or an HFN, I find it difficult to call it a romance at all. I think I’m meant to believe the HEA is around the corner, but I never got to see it. It just ended, with many of AnnaMarie’s problems still intact, and Jay – her high school sweetheart she’d reconnected with – still married. Not satisfying at all.

Readability	5/10 – Shifting POV and stilted dialogue made it difficult to read
Hero	6/10 – Hints of a really nice guy, but the lack of focus in the story kept me from knowing him too well
Heroine	6/10 – Felt all over the place, lacked consistency in characterization
Entertainment value	4/10 – I loved the idea of a silver romance, but this wasn’t the story to do it
World building	7/10 – The small town feel and memories were excellent. The rest of it, not so much
TOTAL:	28/50

Marrakesh by John Jockel

TITLE: Marrakesh
AUTHOR: John Jockel
PUBLISHER: Ravenous Romance
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 54k)
GENRE: Gay historical erotic romance
COST: $4.99

You’ll find this review different than my usual fare. I sincerely debated whether or not to write anything on this at all. Not because I didn’t finish it, but because of my conflicting emotions about it. I rather enjoyed it, actually, and read through the whole thing in swift time.

No, the source of my conflict lies in the fact that this is a blatant retelling of Casablanca. I pretty much knew that when I bought it, but I didn’t suspect it would be as blatant as it actually was. Basically, what the author has done has taken the homoerotic subtext of the movie and made it text, creating a whole gay backstory for his protagonist and expanding on some of the characters. I had fun with it, and I genuinely liked most of the characters, but the fact remains, it’s so obviously Casablanca that it’s a very guilty pleasure.

Names are thinly disguised. Rick Blaine becomes Frank Chandler, Sam becomes Dan and Frank’s ex-lover (and all those reasons about why he can’t go back to the US are due to being discharged from the Army for being gay), Ilsa is Lilli, and so on, and so on. Rick’s Café Americain becomes Frank’s American Nightclub. Situations and scenes are lifted and expanded. Even the montage in the movie about Rick and Ilsa in Paris has a correlating chapter, though the content in the book is more erotic and not quite the same. Decae (the prefect, in the movie it was Renault) has the same habit of calling Frank, “Frankie,” just like Renault called Rick, “Ricky,” in the movie. It was a little disconcerting to occasionally see actual lines of dialogue – none of the famous ones – appear in some fashion in the story, too (like the exchange about showing the Germans to a table because they would just take it anyway).

So you see my dilemma here? I feel tremendously guilty enjoying the book even a little bit. The writing is certainly solid enough, but knowing just how much of it is lifted from the movie spoils the effect. But others will know now just how blatant it is, and they can make their own decisions about buying it. Would I still have bought it, knowing how obvious the retelling was? I don’t know. Probably not.

Shock Radio and Other Stories by Gabriel Daemon

TITLE: Shock Radio and Other Stories
AUTHOR: Gabriel Daemon
PUBLISHER: eXcessica
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 37k)
GENRE: Paranormal
COST: $4.99

A collection of four stories, whose only connections are the elements of the supernatural and erotic tones…

Don’t be fooled by my scores given in my matrix below. When I read an anthology, I break down each category equally amongst each of the stories, score them individually, then add them all together for a final number for that particular criterion. For me, it’s the only fair way to judge an overall work. Every story should carry its own weight. However, that ultimately means that an overall score of an anthology could be lower than what I feel it deserves, based upon my reactions to the individual stories. I absolutely loved the first two stories in this anthology, but unfortunately, my scores might not necessarily reflect that.

The first, and strongest, story in the anthology is “Shock Radio.” Joe Rags is a successful shock-jock on satellite radio. On Halloween, he invites his audience to share stories that embody the true spirit of Halloween, not the whitewashed version he thinks it’s become. He ends up taking a call from a guy identifying himself as Nick, who warns that he is stalking Joe’s ex-wife. What follows is a series of increasingly horrific phone calls from Nick, leaving Joe suitably afraid of the worst. There is nothing gentle about this short story. It’s bold, brutal, and unforgiving, just like most shock programming. Joe typifies the host you’d expect, until he finally starts to show some humanity in his reactions to what is going on with his ex-wife. While I never liked Joe, I did believe him, and got caught up in his anxiety and anger as the situation progressed. I couldn’t put the story down. The graphic horror has erotic content, but it’s not meant to arouse. It’s meant to terrify, and in this case, it does so excessively well. I would have bought future work by – and been a fan of – this author based on this story alone.

But then came “Spirit of Love.” Where the first story abrades nerves and emotions with its stark language and disturbing content, the second creates a softer, gentler, far more melancholy atmosphere. Pete is determined that his ex-girlfriend find a new relationship, someone who can make her happy again, and sets out to show the man who has garnered her attention exactly how to woo her. Pete mourns the loss of his ex in touching, careful prose, and even though this story didn’t challenge me like the first did, it touched me in ways the other couldn’t. It succeeded in both making me smile and moving me to tears, all within the same page. The fact that two such different stories could create such spontaneous and disparate reactions in me, back to back, cemented my earlier decision to trust this author.

Unfortunately, the first two stories are leaps and bounds above the latter two. The third in the anthology is “Amazing Grace,” the story of a single mom, mourning the carefree life she used to have and living vicariously through her neighbors. It lacked the flow of the first stories, its focus constantly shifting. I’m sure I’m meant to get worked up over Jessica’s frustration, but it doesn’t have the same driving force as the other protagonists’. I’m left just kind of coasting along, wondering when something interesting is going to happen. Then, when it does, it comes so far out of the blue, it was never believable. I liked Jessica. I just never believed or really cared too much about the story that was told for her.

The final, and weakest, story in the anthology is “Streetwalker.” Even more than its predecessors, it seems to be a study on how a young girl takes to the streets for her very first time, but the erotica feels forced and the emotions unreal. I can’t say much about it without giving too much away, though really, nothing of much note happens other than the two girls talking and the sex that occurs.

But in spite of my lack of satisfaction in the second half of the anthology, I’m still seeking this author out. I might be a little more selective in what I buy, though. I’m not convinced erotica is this author’s strength, so stories that focus on that probably wouldn’t interest me as much as other elements of his writing. Strengths here lie in subtle emotional shifts, even in characters as unsubtle as Joe Rags.

Readability	8/10 – I gulped down the first two stories, barely able to breathe, though the latter half isn’t as strong
Content	6/10 – The first two stories, though drastically different, carry emotional weight and intent, while the latter two failed to thoroughly engage
Characterization	6/10 – Nothing beats the personalities in the first
Entertainment value	7/10 – The power of the first two stories is more than enough to inspire me to look up more of this author’s work
World building	6/10 – Focus is on character most of the time
TOTAL:	33/50

Islands by Samantha Kane

TITLE: Islands
AUTHOR: Samantha Kane
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 30k)
GENRE: Gay historical erotic romance
COST: $5.20

In 1943, on a remote Pacific island, Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Conlan meets a Frenchman unlike any other man he’s ever known. Gabe only wants to negotiate for the American government, but Rene Dubois has his mind set on different negotiations – how to get Gabe into his bed. All Gabe has ever known were furtive, frankly unsatisfying flings in the near dark. He’s unprepared for Rene’s grand seduction, or for the fact it’s entirely possible for two men to make love to each other, rather than just have sex…

The first thing that strikes the reader in this historical novella is the sheer romanticism of the setting. Rene’s island is remote and primitive, ideal in environment and open-mindedness. Even though the year is 1943, the islanders lack many of the fears and narrow perspectives usually found in even contemporary settings. Gabe lands and discovers – ultimately – his own Paradise, even if he can only have it for three days.

Rene has known and indulged his desire for men since he was a teenager, so by the time he meets Gabe at thirty-six, he’s not only worldly but also accustomed to winning the partners he wants. His determined seduction succeeds in spite of Gabe’s inexperience with more indulgent behavior, and the sex that follows is hot and lush, both in deed and word. The two men fill parts of the other’s life that neither expected, but the three days ends quickly, leaving Rene no other choice but to find a way to get Gabe back.

For those interested in an overly romantic story, this one definitely satisfies on an emotional level. Some of the idealistic nature of the first four chapters felt a tad heavy for me, but I was still able to appreciate the sheer escapism of it. I actually enjoyed it more once Gabe had to leave and Rene found his own way to get him back, because there was some actual conflict then, rather than the deadline of Gabe’s departure. They are forced to deal with their affair in the real world – or at least, as real a world as one can find a remote Pacific island. It was at this point I started to actually invest in the characters, because they became more real for me as they dealt with feelings other than lust or idealized love, but there wasn’t quite enough of it to elevate this to keeper status. It’s possible this was entirely just my mood at the time I read it, but I wanted more than the Paradise presented. Others might be more than satisfied with the focus on romanticism, because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the writing, or offensive in the primary characters. The men are smart and sympathetic, the prose rich. I enjoyed it, just not to the degree I think others might.

Readability	9/10 – Rich, romantic, and hot
Hero #1	7/10 – I liked his take no prisoners attitude in seducing Gabe, but occasionally, his romantic side felt a tad heavy
Hero #2	7/10 – Sharp and sympathetic
Entertainment value	7/10 – While it satisfies on emotional levels, it always felt like there was more to the story than what I got
World building	8/10 – Both worlds are well detailed
TOTAL:	38/50

Scythe by MK Mancos

TITLE: Scythe
AUTHOR: MK Mancos
PUBLISHER: Samhain
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 69k)
GENRE: Paranormal romance
COST: $5.50

Keely Montgomery works as a bartender while trying to finish her PhD, so the last thing she need is another job. Especially a job as one of Heaven’s Scythes, separating human souls from their human bodies to finish their journey in peace. She wants to refuse, except He doesn’t take no for an answer. When Detective Josiah Adler spots a gorgeous blonde wielding a golden blade over a dead body, he expects foul play, not untouched bodies and a woman who drives his senses crazy. He races to find out the truth, Keely races to try and cover her tracks, and someone else entirely is after her to switch sides…

NOTE: This is a review originally written for Uniquely Pleasurable.

I love being taken by surprise. Before this novel, I’d read two shorter works by this author (under a different pseudonym) that I enjoyed but wouldn’t necessarily consider keepers. So when I chose to read this, I honestly thought it would probably be more of the same – pleasant and escapist for the time I was reading. What I got was a funny, fast-paced escapade that had me racing through the pages, laughing out loud, and smiling like a loon for the vast majority of the story.

Keely Montgomery is twenty-nine, sharp and yet soft-hearted. What I love the most about her is how it feels like she has both her head and her heart in exactly the right places. She’s not one of those heroines who sacrifices smarts to do the right thing, or avoids emotional conflicts because she talks herself out of it. It’s a terrific balance, and best of all, never feels artificial. Almost from the beginning, Keely feels like someone I’d want to hang out with. She’s got a great sense of humor, she’s not perfect, and she cares. Wins all the way around.

Often in romances, I’ll find myself liking one of the two leads more than the other, investing in the romance because of a hero I like or a heroine I admire. Not so here. Josiah holds his own against Keely, proving just as funny and irresistible. He’s focused on doing the right thing, obsessing over a young Goth named Midnight who he’s convinced is behind a string of murders, and yet, it never seems over the top or unwarranted. He’s bound by his honor and the rules of his job, bending them only when it makes the most sense, and it’s this same determination he brings to his interest in Keely that draws you in. These two are a perfect match for each other, and getting to witness their interactions is the heart of this fantastic story.

It’s boosted by the cast of vibrant characters that surround the two principals. Samson, Keely’s preceptor, cracked me up from his very introduction. If he ever got his own book, I’d be all over it in a hot second. I can’t really think of a flat character in the bunch. Even Pugsley, Josiah’s English bulldog, has his own distinct personality, as entertaining and memorable as any human – or heavenly creature – in the story.

The plot itself moves at a brisk pace, with Keely slowly training in her job as a Scythe while the mysterious competitors, Death Inc., try to recruit her. It never lags, and if occasionally the depiction of Heaven as a corporate ideal seems a tad too cutesy, it’s done with aplomb. I did get hung up a couple times on editorial mistakes (the line, “Don’t pout. You’ll get winkles.”, made me laugh hysterically for five minutes because I’m pretty darn sure the author was not talking about sea snails), but in the grand scheme, when the characters are this entertaining and I’m having this good of a time, that’s really a minor complaint. I’m keeping this rollicking, wonderful book, and I’m on my way to give her other work a much closer look.

Readability	9/10 – Only the minor editing errors got in my way on this
Hero	8/10 – Determined, funny, and downright irresistible
Heroine	8/10 – Relatable, funny, and tough without losing her humanity
Entertainment value	9/10 – A rollicking good time with an incredibly vibrant cast of characters
World building	9/10 – There was a certain patness to some of the Heavenly organization, but I had fun with it anyway
TOTAL:	43/50

Ink Me by Anna J. Evans

TITLE: Ink Me
AUTHOR: Anna J. Evans
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 26k)
GENRE: Contemporary BDSM erotic romance
COST: $4.45

Summer Wakayama is desperate to rekindle the passion of her relationship, so she plans a night of seduction for their five year anniversary. Everything starts out on the wrong foot, however, when a dangerous customer almost turns deadly. Aidan’s rescue reinforces Summer’s desire to prove to him how much she desires him, and she sets about to resume her special plans, much to his delight…

The blurb on the publisher’s website misled me. I bought this on the pretense that it was going to be much more suspense-filled than it was, and while the opening scene is written that way – and everything I expected – it took such a left turn afterward, it might as well have been a different story.

Everything starts out in Summer’s tattoo parlor, after she has closed for the night. She’s getting ready to meet her lover for a special night she has planned when an upset woman comes in and locks the door behind her. She wants a special tattoo, and when Summer tries to explain nicely that she’s closed and to come back the next day, the woman pulls a gun and gets belligerent. It’s a tense, exciting opening, and after it was over, I was holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop, since according to the blurb, their night of experimentation is violently interrupted by two criminals with love life problems of their own. Didn’t happen. Or at least, it didn’t happen for another 11,000 words, which in a novella that’s 26k, ends up being halfway through the story.

Instead, what happens is their special night. Three incredibly sensual chapters of these two exploring BDSM boundaries when Summer ties Aidan up and plays the role of Lady Tigerlily for him. On their own, they’re extremely erotic, romantic, steamy chapters. Against the taut opening chapter, they’re much slower paced and lack the same tension that sucked me into the story in the first place. That’s not saying they’re bad. They’re absolutely not. They just don’t fit with either the story that was started or the one I was told I was going to have. Because after that 11k, the other shoe finally does drop, and the story reverts back to the action-filled drama of the first chapter. It’s jarring, and it’s this schizophrenic pacing that keeps this story from being as good as it could for me.

I really liked both lead characters, and without spoiling the ending, have to say the emotional pay-off of the last chapter helped compensate for some of my frustration with the schismatic story construction. It made me want to read more about Summer and Aidan, which is always one of my hallmarks for a fulfilling read. It just could have been so much more.

Readability	8/10 – Hot when it needs to be, though the sensual parts never mesh with the suspense parts
Hero	8/10 – He was charming enough for me to consider him a 7 all the way through, but he deserves an extra point for the ending alone
Heroine	7/10 – Sexy and smart
Entertainment value	7/10 – The sensual parts in this work far better than the suspense did, though the ending helps tremendously
World building	7/10 – The sensual milieu was well done, but the rest of it didn’t feel very vivid or unique
TOTAL:	37/50

The Shape of a Heart by Kimberly Gardner

TITLE: The Shape of a Heart
AUTHOR: Kimberly Gardner
PUBLISHER: Aspen Mountain Press
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 27k)
GENRE: Gay contemporary erotic romance
COST: $5.00

For the past two years, Zach Jensen has been grieving the death of his partner, the first man he ever loved, the man he spent a decade of his life with. Even now, just walking into the bookstore they owned together has the power to break him. When his business partner hires a new barista, Zach’s immediate attraction terrifies him. He doesn’t want to betray Jay. He’s not ready. But Keith Harte is. And he’s not afraid of his attraction to his boss. He’s willing to act on it. As long as Zach is willing to take a chance…

The opening of this short novella is gut-wrenching in its honesty. Zach walks into his store and gets overwhelmed by memories of his dead partner. The grief comes through the virtual page, and within paragraphs, the reader is completely in Zach’s corner, feeling the depths of his pain, aching for him to find some measure of peace. This was the story I was hoping to read, frankly, and though it’s suggested this is what the story will be about, ultimately that isn’t true. As a result, I ended up being disappointed by the entire experience.

The first half works to some degree. There are no scenes as painful as the first, and after Keith is introduced, some of the exploration of Zach’s emotions is a tad shallow. There’s still a certain charm about the story, though, since both Keith and Zach are very likeable men, so I didn’t mind so much when the romance felt a bit of a retread. However, once the two have their first date, the story shifts. The focus is no longer on Zach getting over his grief and moving on, but on Keith and an ex-boyfriend who is now stalking him. This particular development seemed to come completely out of the blue. If it was hinted at early in the story, it was done so vaguely that it left no impact on me whatsoever. The entire last third is devoted to Keith’s growing paranoia and his stalker ex’s tactics to terrify him. It felt like a completely different book, just as Keith felt like an entirely different character. It didn’t work for me at all, but the worst was probably the ending. All the resolution happens off the page. Zach arrives on the scene, they talk a little bit, and then it jumps to the epilogue a year later. It’s not fulfilling and feels like a tremendous copout, even if I actually cared about what was going on at that point. I didn’t. I missed the Zach and his grieving angle a lot, and kept waiting for that to come back.

It never did. A lot of the questions I had regarding Zach and his dead partner were never answered, either, which didn’t help at all with making up for the switch to Keith in the end. All the potential I saw in that pivotal first scene disappeared, leaving me unfulfilled and ultimately disappointed.

Readability	7/10 – Minor headhopping, but mostly easy
Hero #1	7/10 – So much potential in grieving partner lost as soon as he sleeps with Keith
Hero #2	6/10 – The stalker ex comes out of nowhere and completely changes the character
Entertainment value	5/10 – Potential gets lost in stalker story that comes out of nowhere and the grieving widow angle disappearing
World building	7/10 – The food details were great, but Zach’s life and history which is so pivotal never gets followed through
TOTAL:	32/50

Called By Blood by Evie Byrne

TITLE: Called By Blood
AUTHOR: Evie Byrne
PUBLISHER: Samhain
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 39k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: $4.50

Alexander Faustin has come to Boulder to find his mate. There’s only one problem. She’s human, and he’s…not. After a disastrous first meeting, Helena MacAllister is convinced she has a stalker, even if he’s the most gorgeous, intoxicating man she’s ever seen. She really shouldn’t let him in when he shows up at her house the next night, but she can’t resist. But his weird talk about fate and marriage is nothing compared to finding out he’s a vampire…

Evie Byrne was one of my exciting finds last year, and this title one of the books I’d picked out at year’s end as something to look forward to in 2009. It’s taken me a little longer to get to it, but now that I have, I can confirm that this is an author whose voice most definitely works for me. I say this with utter certainty, because I ended this story with a smile on my face even though the first chapter nearly stopped me dead in my tracks.

Alex Faustin is a vampire, in a reality where vampirism is a species variation, primarily bred though they can be made as well. His mother had a dream foreseeing his mate, so Alex has dropped everything and flown across the country to Boulder to meet Helena, and this is where the story starts out. On Helena’s doorstep. He rings the bell, Helena answers, and within eight lines of dialogue, the two are kissing and dryhumping on the doorstep. Eight lines. From the time Helena answers to the door, to the moment Alex pulls her into his arms and kisses her, is less than 500 words. And Helena responds. Vigorously. She does end up breaking it off when leaning against the doorbell startles her from her sexual fugue, and calls 911, but honestly, her instantaneous, unquestioning response completely threw me. I don’t generally do the instant love stories. I don’t like them. I find them incredibly hard to believe or get into, and even though the story’s humor made me smile and laugh more than once in those first couple chapters, I didn’t respect or really have any faith in either of the two leads.

It continued on like that through to chapter three, and the aftermath of Helena and Alex’s wild night of sex. The sex itself was reasonably hot, though I still thought Helena was a flake for her back and forth with her feelings. The scene that follows, as Alex tries to race against the dawn, is taut and exhilarating, and does a lot to really develop Alex, but Helena…that doesn’t happen in any one scene. Over the course of the rest of the book, as Helena finally responds in what seems like a realistic manner by questioning Alex and not necessarily trusting him all the way, my respect for her grew, until I was finally able to finish the story content and smiling.

I credit much of this conversion so to speak to the author’s humor and sparkling voice. She’s one of the few e-authors I’ve read who tickles me with her phrasing and situations, engaging me in the action while at the same time, engaging my mind as well. There’s a joyousness to the entire story that mirrors Alex’s easygoing, shameless, impulsive personality. I can’t remember the last time reading about a grocery shopping trip was so enjoyable. This effervescence counters absolutely everything that spoiled the beginning of the story for me, and if the ending felt a little rushed, I was far more forgiving at that point than I had been at any time before.

While I can’t say that I enjoyed this novella overall as much as I did the first one I read by Ms. Byrne, I will most definitely be continuing on with this series, and with her other future works. The fact that she could so thoroughly pull me out of the fire as she did is testimony to her skill. There is no way I’m stopping now.

Readability	8/10 – Other than stumbling over the beginning, the prose is funny, fast, and furious
Hero	8/10 – Shamelessly charming
Heroine	7/10 – If the beginning hadn’t ruined the set-up for me, she would have likely ranked as one of my favorite heroines of the year
Entertainment value	7/10 – There’s so much to love about this…except the beginning.
World building	9/10 – The alternate take on vampires is sharp and thoroughly believable
TOTAL:	39/50

Shotgun Bride by Lauri Robinson

TITLE: Shotgun Bride
AUTHOR: Lauri Robinson
PUBLISHER: Wild Rose Press
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 66k)
GENRE: Historical romance
COST: $6.00

When Jessie Johnson finds herself staring down the barrel of a shotgun in the middle of the night, she never expects to find herself thrust into a shotgun wedding, a trade-off her no-good brother has made in exchange for saving his own neck. Kid Quinter is a successful cattle rancher, with his own ideas about what he wants for a wife. But when his stepmother makes a decision, there’s no changing it. Jessie’s a sweet young thing, who’s had a hard life. Soon enough, Kid feels the need to take care of her, and maybe something more…

Almost from the start, there’s a cozy ambience to this story that sucked me in. Jessie gets snatched from her soddy in the middle of the night, and her fear and anxiety work amazingly well with the claustrophobic atmosphere of the storm that’s brewing and the unknown of what’s coming. My head went abuzz, just like hers, at all the characters, five Quinter brothers as well as their strong-willed mother and Jessie’s no-good brother. My heart went out to her, partially because her brother really is a piece of work, and partially because she’s just at such a loss. Thankfully, Kid isn’t nearly as scary as her brothers make him out to be, and he charmed me quickly. He’s solid, well-meaning, and distinctly enticing. He’s the core of this sweet, heartwarming romance.

All Jessie wants is a place to call home and a family, and she clings to Kid, terrified he’s going to get rid of her. She’s desperate to please, and it’s a little ingratiating at the beginning. It’s a fine line, though, because I have to admit to smiling when everybody falls for Jessie, including Kid’s cranky dog. While it borders on Mary Sue, at the same time, it’s presented in such a way – from Kid’s POV much of the time, with a grain of suspicion – that I’m actually okay with it. It’s oddly amusing instead of annoying.

Some of the plotting seems a tad convenient, as Kid decides it’s best for Jessie all around to go east to a women’s college. She doesn’t want to go, and it’s at this point she starts to finally grow a backbone and I started to see what everybody else saw in her. It becomes more than a little predictable after that, which is a shame since I was finally starting to invest a little bit more in both leads. But I like the characters in this, enough so that I’ll continue with the series, since it seems that all five Quinter brothers will end up getting their shot at romance. If they’re all as pleasant and gratifying as this one, they’ll be worth it.

Readability	8/10 – Sometimes, the saccharine is a little heavy, and the editing could be better, but there’s a warmth that pulled me in
Hero	8/10 – Outside of his stubborn sticking to certain ideals, he is solid and empathetic
Heroine	7/10 – She starts out wimpy, but finally gets a backbone
Entertainment value	7/10 – A sweet, heartwarming romance
World building	8/10 – Most of the time, there’s a nice sense of time and place
TOTAL:	38/50

To Hate and To Hold by Dakota Rebel

TITLE: To Hate and To Hold
AUTHOR: Dakota Rebel
PUBLISHER: Total-e-bound
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 54k)
GENRE: Gay paranormal erotic romance
COST: £2.99

Vampires Ethan Connor and Jamie McHale have fought nearly all their lives, ever since Jamie’s parents were murdered and Ethan’s took over the royal crown in their clan. Their most recent fight gets interrupted by powerful magic, magic that bonds them together as husbands. For the first few days, the absence of physical contact actually brings them excruciating pain, and the only way to fix it is to consummate their relationship. That’s kind of hard to do when you can’t stand each other…

If I had known one of the primary sources of conflict in this story was going to be, “We have to have sex or we’re going to die,” I never would have bought it. While I appreciate that this particular trope, clichéd as it is, does appeal to some people, it really doesn’t to me. To me, it’s shorthand for any type of actual relationship development, forcing characters into bed for often ridiculous reasons, creating an excuse to have sex as often as possible. If that’s in a blurb, I skip right on by 99% of the time (the only exception would be if an author I trust has done it; then I’d go as far as read the excerpt and judge it on an individual basis). However, this blurb simply said the bonding put their lives in danger, so I bought it on the basis of the humor I found in the excerpt and a chance to read some escapist fun. It wasn’t a wise choice.

The story is told in 1^st person from Jamie’s POV. Jamie is a bitter, angry young vampire, with no direction in his life. He’s a silent partner in his sister’s pub, but he spends all his time drinking, mooching off his sister, and brooding over his parents’ murder fifteen years earlier. He loathes Ethan for a variety of reasons – stealing his boyfriends, being the new prince, but most importantly, because he’s always suspected Ethan’s parents had something to do with Jamie’s parents’ deaths. Every time they get together, it ends in a physical altercation. Before the story starts, the last fight had been a year earlier, right before Ethan left town with his mortal boyfriend. It was a fight that nearly killed him. While there’s not a whole lot unique about this set-up, there’s certainly a lot of potential there for natural conflict, especially since there’s a distinct appealing humor in the prose when the story opens. Jamie’s bitter sarcasm suggests there will be an edge to this romance, but any potential is soon lost once the bond hits them in the first chapter. By the second, we know they need to have sex to rid themselves of the pain they’re in. To tell the truth, this is probably the point I should have stopped reading. I knew then that it was a plot device that usually drove me bonkers. But I held out, hoping that the humor from the first chapter would carry through into something I could enjoy. There was always the possibility that the story could go in a different direction than I expected.

Except it didn’t. From that point on, it slowly degenerates into such repetition that I was bored thoroughly out of my mind by the halfway mark. Very little happens except the same patterns of sex, then shower. There are so many scenes of Jamie waking up, then they either have sex, or argue, then go off to the shower, either together or alone, that they blur together. The story isn’t helped that nearly all the crucial plot developments happen via third parties, and many of them off-screen. It makes for passive involvement, which for me, was the death knell. The one time Jamie actually did something about his own situation, his rationale seemed so utterly unfounded that I couldn’t even get behind it. The entire last third of the book hinges on the big misunderstanding plot device, too, another cliché it’s very hard for me to overcome.

While the story isn’t helped by sloppy editing (like extra words that appear for no explicable reason, i.e. Ethan let go of my hand, and I my stomach rolled.), it’s the sheer repetition and lack of believable character development that really cripple it. Jamie and Ethan are vampires, but that seems to be token nomenclature in an attempt to make them sexy. They drink blood, but breed like humans. They sleep at night, but seem to need to breathe. There’s nothing wrong with cherry-picking attributes to try and create something new, but when some standard vampire tropes seem tossed to the wayside, there needs to be some sort of explanation. There isn’t in this, and in the end, it’s just another reason why I really can’t recommend it.

Readability	4/10 – Early humor disappears completely in sloppy editing and boring, repetitive scenes
Hero #1	4/10 – Funny to start, but personality gets lost in favor of sex
Hero #2	5/10 – More sympathetic than the narrator
Entertainment value	3/10 – Too much repetition and a preposterous set-up make for a very boring read
World building	4/10 – The vampires are never explained well (like needing to breathe) and any semblance of political exposition is lost amidst all the boring sex
TOTAL:	20/50

Butterfly Unpinned by Bonnie Dee & Laura Bacchi

TITLE: Butterfly Unpinned
AUTHOR: Bonnie Dee & Laura Bacchi
PUBLISHER: Samhain
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 86k)
GENRE: Contemporary BDSM erotic romance
COST: $5.50

When he accepts a job to create four unusual columns for a wealthy photographer, woodworker Bryan Lapahie is stunned to find four submissive women voluntarily enslaved in the house. The fragile Butterfly captivates him, as does the kink potential, but the extent they carry the lifestyle leaves him cold. His presence disrupts Butterfly’s delicate equilibrium, and for the first time in the five years since she entered the contract with her Master, she questions what she really wants. Escape might be possible, but it requires Bryan laying everything on the line for Butterfly. His protective instincts are screaming at him to save her, but there’s no way to be sure he can until it’s too late to stop…

NOTE: This is a review originally written for Uniquely Pleasurable.

Heroines don’t come any more damaged than Butterfly, the submissive, exceedingly fragile woman in Butterfly Unpinned. The story begins in her perspective, with a glimpse into her lifestyle as a consensual slave in a Dominant’s household. She is fearful of punishment for a disobedience infraction, as well as losing her status within the household. The latter isn’t necessarily for this mistake, but rather, because of a new slave in the house, a bold woman named Jasmine, who preys on Butterfly’s insecurities as well as Master ever did. There is no sugarcoating here. Though the prose is lovely and evocative, it doesn’t refrain from illustrating the extremes of her lifestyle or the depths of her emotions. She lacks true identity, voluntarily taking on the mantle of this submissive in its place because her previous life overwhelmed her. Then, in the aftermath of this particular disclosure about her mindset, we’re introduced to the outsider, the hero who provides a fresh outlook on the entire arrangement, and there, the story truly begins.

Bryan Lapahie is a tall, striking, talented guy, who’s left the Navajo reservation behind in Arizona for the busier climes of San Diego. Though he’s surprised by what he discovers in the mansion when he takes the job, he takes it all in stride, learning as much as he can without passing judgment. He has his own dominant streak, but it’s not nearly as sadistic as Butterfly’s master, and it’s Butterfly, with her delicate beauty and submissive personality, that absolutely captivates him. While I thought Bryan’s exploration into the BDSM world a tad bumpy with a few leaps that seemed to come out of nowhere, within just a couple chapters, I was head over heels for him. This is a strong, talented, just all around decent guy, with a need-to-save-the-girl streak a mile wide. I was caught up in his desperation for Butterfly almost from the beginning, even as I recognized both that he didn’t really know her all that well and that even if he did rescue her, there was little guarantee it would actually help. I simply didn’t care. I felt for him, for everything that he was going through, and all I wanted was for him to win.

The butterfly metaphor is carried throughout the book, and while it’s an apt one for the heroine in many cases, it has a tendency to get overplayed. Time and time again, the imagery and explanation of a butterfly learning how to fly is elaborated upon, from the specific passages in the heroine’s entrapment within the mansion to individual incidents afterward, like the butterfly landing on Bryan’s dashboard. I got a little tired of it being beat over my head, quite honestly, and would have much preferred a more subtle methodology to making the metaphor rather than the often literal one. It ends up losing much of its meaning for me by the end, and what could have been a true wallop of an emotional payoff ends up being merely satisfactory as a result.

That’s not to say it doesn’t still work. It does. The balance of Butterfly’s fragility and Bryan’s savior complex is a careful one, as is the dark sensuality prevalent in the first half with the deeper, heart-stopping eroticism of the second. I can’t necessarily say the same for the juxtaposition of Butterfly’s two worlds. In this case, it’s another metaphor of the harsh black and white of her damaging relationship with her Master versus the brilliant color of the Arizona desert and her healing relationship with Bryan. The transition between them is stark and jarring, and often creates the feeling of reading two different books. That’s likely a deliberate choice. Again, the contrast is likely done to heighten the romance, to create a real identity for Butterfly so her relationship with Bryan can have some actual hope of working out. It’s a necessary thing. It just didn’t work as effectively for me as other aspects of the book.

Like Bryan. When the end of the year rolls around, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on my list of favorite heroes of the year. He is the real heart of this book for me, and pushes this darkly sensual, unrestrained romance into a keeper status regardless of my other misgivings.

Readability	9/10 – Sensual, with a vivid palette of descriptions
Hero	9/10 – My only bump in the road with just how much I loved Bryan was the unevenness of his introduction to BDSM at the start
Heroine	7/10 – Fragile and heartbreaking, though I never always believed her growth
Entertainment value	8/10 – Dark and evocative
World building	9/10 – Both worlds – BDSM and Navajo – were painstakingly painted, they just didn’t necessarily feel like the same book
TOTAL:	42/50

Chasin' Mason by Stacey Joy Netzel

TITLE: Chasin’ Mason
AUTHOR: Stacey Joy Netzel
PUBLISHER: Wild Rose Press
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 51k)
GENRE: Contemporary romance
COST: $4.50

The death of his father brings Tripp Warner back to the ranch he ran away from eleven years earlier, to come face to face with the woman who drove him away in the first place. The last time he saw Regan Reed, she was fourteen, manipulating and lying to take his place in his father’s eyes. Finding out his father has left her a million dollars and nothing for him does nothing to shake his image of her, even if she claims that she’s changed. Except that’s not all the will says. It also orders Tripp and Regan to work together to bring in the stallion gone wild when Tripp ran away, in order for them to get joint ownership of the ranch. Otherwise, it goes to auction, and neither of them gets a dime. The ranch is all Regan wants, the only thing she cares about now that the man she loved as a father is dead. And she’ll do whatever it takes to get it, even work with the man who blames her for ruining his relationship with his father…

There’s a bittersweet charm to this short novel that drew me in almost from the beginning. It starts out just after the funeral of the man Regan Reed considers a father, and her grief as she has fled the others is palpable and gut-wrenching. It’s made even worse when a blast from her past shows up, the man’s son she drove away in her manipulative youth. Tripp represents the guilt she’s sublimated all these years, proof of her selfishness brought to delectable, tangible life. He’s bitter and angry about the years he’s lost, and more, about the woman he feels stole his place from him, and they lash out at each other so vehemently and cuttingly, it’s easy to leave marks. Added in with their grief, and it’s a lot of sharp emotion, almost from the get-go.

That emotion carries the story forward with a well-paced momentum, drawing the reader into caring about these two flawed individuals long before the ultimatum is discovered in the will. I did wonder how on earth they could ever get over their past. The betrayal was immense, even if they were just teenagers and there were valid reasons on both sides. Still, it didn’t get in the way of watching these two slowly open up and trust each other as they go out alone on their rescue mission, especially since Tripp was both sharp and appealing, and Regan suitably strong-willed without being over the top. When the turnaround finally came, however, it seemed to happen all at once, like a light switch had suddenly been flicked in their heads. That made it hard to believe in the romance after that, and while I still enjoyed the story, the lack of faith in the truth of their feelings kept me from investing too much more in their relationship.

One aspect that made it very easy to get involved in this story’s world was the attention to detail paid to the horses. From the very first page, it felt authentic, and the love both leads have for the land and the animals living on it seeps through every word. Believing in the world they inhabit helps smooth out the rough edges of the romance a bit, but more importantly, it creates a verisimilitude that builds faith in the author’s skills. I might not necessarily have 100% fallen for the romance in this story, but I did fall for the world, and that gives me confidence in the author’s future works.

Readability	8/10 – Well-paced and smooth
Hero	7/10 – Appealing, though his stubborn nature annoyed me more than once
Heroine	7/10 – Gutsy and admirable
Entertainment value	7/10 – The turnaround in the romance was the only part I didn’t believe
World building	9/10 – The author really makes the horse world come alive
TOTAL:	38/50