Kidnapped for Christmas by Evangeline Anderson

TITLE: Kidnapped for Christmas
AUTHOR: Evangeline Anderson
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 41k)
GENRE: BDSM erotic romance
COST: $5.20

Jillian Marks doesn’t believe it when her little sister tells her she’s paid for someone to kidnap her. Why would any woman have that kind of fantasy? But when she is mistakenly grabbed in her sister’s place, she finds herself thrust into a world her body seems to love. She should probably tell the amazingly sexy man who snatched her that he’s got the wrong woman, but when he gives her the most amazing orgasm of her life, she decides to shut up and play along…

Escapism doesn’t get more blatant than a kidnap-for-pay and mistaken identity plot, and yet, Anderson keeps this one fresh by the genuine chemistry between her two leads. Jillian is the responsible older sister, always cleaning up her skinnier younger sister’s messes, while Kyle is a Dom without a sub, wondering why he can’t find a woman who only wants to be sexually dominated rather than something full-time. They come together out of circumstance, when Sabrina flakes out at the last minute and takes off for the holiday without remembering to cancel her kidnap, and Kyle’s brother – the business’ owner – begs him to take this one job. What happens then is combustible.

The BDSM in this is fairly light stuff, mostly domination/submission, with some candle play, mild double penetration, and spanking. It never feels like it’s crossing a line, though the fact that Jillian doesn’t know the safe word is a tad troublesome. However, the fact that she and Kyle are so clearly on the same emotional page helps mitigate some of that concern. It’s hot and sweet all at the same time, thanks due to the tremendous attraction between the two. Not all heroes and heroines sparkle like this. It was a delight to sit back and enjoy.

Kyle, especially, is appealing as a fantasy figure. Both tough and caring in the bedroom, he has no desire to see that same sort of submissiveness outside of it. Toss in the fact that he’s attracted to larger women (Jillian is a size eighteen), and he’s a little too good to be true. While I can see this within the context of the story, though, I never really care that much, since, yes, I rather want to believe in him. If he hadn’t had such chemistry with Jillian, I might have been more skeptical, but the author succeeds in a little Christmas magic by getting me to believe. At least for the duration of this long, sexy, sweet novella.

Readability	8/10 – Sexy and sweet
Hero	8/10 – I liked him more than I probably should have
Heroine	7/10 – Some of her problems were her own doing, and it got a little frustrating sometimes
Entertainment value	7/10 – Not wholly original, but I liked the chemistry enough between them not to care
World building	7/10 – Immediate surroundings felt genuine, though the rest of it was skimpy
TOTAL:	37/50

Wishful Thinking by Evangeline Anderson

TITLE: Wishful Thinking
AUTHOR: Evangeline Anderson
PUBLISHER: Samhain
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 105k)
GENRE: Paranormal romance
COST: $6.50

Philomena Swann is dreading her approaching twenty-fifth birthday. Not out of fear of getting older or that her fiancé will forget it again. Her anxiety stems from the birthday wish she gets granted by her fairy godmother every year, a wish that always gets interpreted in the worst possible way. So when she inadvertently blurts out that she wishes she could just speak her mind, her fairy godmother grants it. Literally. All of a sudden, every thought she’d kept to herself – from her admiration for her best friend Josh to her frustrations with her job – is out there for anyone to hear. Unfortunately, that’s just the start of her wish tribulations…

Evangeline Anderson seems to get more attention for her heavily sexed up work and her m/m than her tamer het romances. Wishful Thinking, while still sexy and appropriately hot for its genre, is an example of her storytelling ability more than anything else. It’s the tale of Phil Swann, a young woman who is 1/8^th fairy, as she approaches her birthday. She’s been engaged for five years, and has made a deal with her fiancé that she would put him through law school, then when he was established, he would do the same for her. She works in a law firm for a man whose behavior makes him the poster child for sexual harassment, and her life is plagued by the effects of wishes made over the years, things like not being able to speak up for herself, eyes that always match the color of the sky, and so on. The one bright spot in her life is her best friend Josh, who works in IT at the law firm. Her frustration with everything escalates until she inadvertently makes a wish saying she wants to be able to speak her mind. Then, everything explodes.

Reading this was like watching a train wreck. Knowing everything Phil was thinking was going to come out of her mouth lent an, “Ohmigod, I can’t watch” vibe to the whole thing, especially when the wish gets morphed into something else. That sense of disaster loomed over every chapter, and elements that I’m sure were meant to be funny instead had me cringing as I waited for the worst to happen. Even more, there’s no relief from it. Things get bad, then they get worse, then they get truly awful. The only thing that saved me from banging this against the proverbial wall was how likable both leads were and Anderson’s charming prose. Even though the book is over 100k, it reads fast, much faster than a lot of shorter works. I credit her voice and her leads’ appeal.

Josh is a little too perfect, but his warmth and humor are enough to make me not care. It’s obvious from his very introduction that he has deeper feelings for Phil than just friendship, and sometimes, Phil’s blindness to her friend is frustrating. Then again, Phil can be frustrating, so maybe it’s just symptomatic of that. I could have done without her constant reminders of various expositional facts, but the pace of the story whipped along fast enough for these weaknesses to be ignored.

Phil has two sisters that are clearly meant to have their own stories, though as far as I can tell, this is the only book in the series so far. They provide interesting contrasts to Phil, as do most of the extremely colorful characters in this. It’s hard not to have strong feelings about all of them, whether positive or negative. Though it would be nice not to read another “boyfriend” calling the heroine “babe.” I hear that, and I automatically think, “He’s a schmuck.” Which he invariably turns out to be. Still, a colorful cast, a warm hero, and enough action to keep the reader interested are enough reasons for me to like this story as much as I do.

Readability	8/10 – Charming and swift, though not as funny as it thinks it is
Hero	8/10 – Warm and funny, though the truth of his feelings are obvious from the start
Heroine	7/10 – The excuse of her fairy godmother to explain her doormat tendencies wears thin
Entertainment value	8/10 – Charming in a train wreck kind of way
World building	7/10 – Some of it felt very convenient, other aspects I needed more of
TOTAL:	38/50

Taming the Beast by Evangeline Anderson

TITLE: Taming the Beast
AUTHOR: Evangeline Anderson
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 18k)
GENRE: Futuristic erotic romance
COST: $4.50

In this futuristic retelling of Beauty and the Beast, the virginal Gisella is all set to join the convent, desperate to escape her lecherous uncle’s attentions. She’s shocked to discover he’s sold her to a whorehouse instead, but when an offer to earn her freedom servicing only one man instead of hundreds arises, Gisella jumps at the opportunity, even if none of the other women sent to this particular client have ever returned…

Evangeline Anderson is one of my guilty pleasures. When I buy one of her stories, I know I’m doing it deliberately either for the pure escapism she often provides, or for the hotness of the erotic set-up, because a good part of the time, the woman really knows how to write a sex scene that works for me. So I bought this, expecting more of the same, because the idea as a futuristic retelling of Beauty and the Beast is hardly original. Unfortunately, this story never worked on either one of the levels I expect from Anderson.

It starts out all right. Virginal Gisella is off to the convent, fending off the icky advances of her uncle, knowing she’s giving up any chance of a sexual future, but willing to trade it away just to get away from him. She’s sweet enough, and her alarm is real when she finds herself dumped in the middle of the red light district instead of the spaceport. I was even on board for the ride while she overhears someone come in, offering to purchase a girl for one night’s worth of work, one night that will pay off her uncle’s debt (the one her servitude is meant to clear). It makes sense that in her panic, she’d think that one man/one night is a hell of a lot better than hundreds over the next ten months, with potential multiple partners at the same time. The small detail that none of the other girls ever came back slips to the wayside, until she’s already there, and it’s too late to back out.

Where the story falls apart for me is once the beast gets introduced. It’s a cursed prince named Tristan, whose only hope to be free is if a prophecy is fulfilled. The prophecy is about a woman who’s both virgin and whore, who happens to come from the same planet Gisella does. Sound familiar to anyone? It wouldn’t be so bad, except at this point, the story lapses into a whole lot of telling instead of showing, as Tristan describes the curse, Gisella talks about herself, yadda yadda yadda. It’s true to the fairy tale nature/style, but it made for a really boring read. Even the sex was boring.

Oh, and speaking of the sex. If I’d realized she actually had to have sex with him in animal form (ok, he’s kind of half-man/half bull-beast), I probably would have passed. I’m not into the shifter sex. At all. Especially when… great Goddess, his cock was huge. It stood between his legs like a club, a river of pre-cum dripping from the broad head. Tristan was bigger than her wrist before he changed into the beast. Can you imagine something like that penetrating you without shuddering or cringing? I can’t. This is probably my fault because the blurb did say she had to submit completely to the beast, but I was holding out that maybe he just exhibited characteristics of the beast, not that he actually had horns. I guess I’ve learned my lesson.

Readability	7/10 – Big chunks of telling not showing that’s true to the fairy tale nature but makes for a kind of boring read
Hero	4/10 – I never fell for the mix of vulgar and refinement he’s meant to convey
Heroine	6/10 – Better than the hero, but the virgin whore motif was played too thickly for my taste
Entertainment value	4/10 – Never worked on either one of the levels I bought it for – escapism and hotness
World building	6/10 – Some nice details, but there are too many settings for such a short story
TOTAL:	27/50

Favorite Covers of 2008

My first category of favorites for books I reviewed in 2008 are covers. Generally speaking, I'm not a reader too influenced by covers in my book buying habits. Pretty covers are nice, but I'm not buying a book to stare at the artwork. I need a story. But there is still some wonderful work out there, and though I might not get swayed by it too often, I can certainly appreciate it.

That being said, my top 5 favorite covers of the books I reviewed this year...

4th Runner Up

Charlie's Bargain by Evangeline Anderson, Cover Art by Les Byerley

There might be a theme with some of my favorite covers this year, and this fits it. Though the man on the cover is not a very good representation of how Lynx is described, it's close enough - and the eyes are hypnotic enough - that I don't care. The woman's back is elegant, the simple chains at her wrists evocative. I still stop and stare at this when I see it randomly online.

3rd Runner Up

Hawk's Woman by Madeline Baker, Cover Art by Syneca

In the upper corner, you'll see the eyes that seems to trigger my "Oh, I love this cover" reflex. But in this case, I have to admit I didn't even notice them until after I'd read the book. This one is all about the beautiful man on the cover. The muscles, the hair, the lines of his face...yeah, I can be superficial, too.

2nd Runner Up

Dead Man's Rain by Frank Tuttle, Cover Art by Anne Cain

The incredibly talented Anne Cain outdid herself on this one. The colors are haunting, the composition amazing. There's a definite noir feel to this, even though it's fantasy.

1st Runner Up

The Nameless God by Emily Veinglory, Cover Art by Croco Designs

Gee, look, more of the eyes. But seriously, this cover hits me hard. I'm not entirely sure why. I'm not hugely fond of the color, but in this instance, it works. I adore the arc of the bent body, and the old world feel to the title font. The entire effect makes my throat tight, and I can't tear my eyes away from it when it pops up.

And my pick for the favorite cover I reviewed this year is…
Like a Thief in the Night by Bettie Sharpe, Cover Art by Scott Carpenter

This cover is proof that simplicity often provides the best result. There was a theme to all the Strangers in the Night stories - the black background, the female, and the random red highlights amongst the monochrome. The entire effect was striking. Mesmerizing, even. It's especially appropriate for this particular story, since Arden is such a memorable character. This highlights both the danger she presents and the danger she is in, and it does so with elegance and beauty. Just gorgeous.

Charlie's Bargain by Evangeline Anderson

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