Sandy M’s review of Empath by Bonnie Dee
Contemporary Erotic Paranormal Romance eBook novella released by Samhain 1 Nov 08

I liked the idea of this book.  And while that part of it worked well and I liked the character for the most part, there were a couple of little things that just weren’t for me.

Jordan has chosen to live alone, away from people because of his empathic abilities.  Just a slight touch zings that person’s feelings through him and after so many years of such onslaughts, he just couldn’t take it any longer.  Being isolated was a better way for him to live.  His best friend is a police detective and when murder touches the heart of Danny’s family, he calls on Jordan for help.

Danny’s brother-in-law was shot in his own home, his autistic son the only witness. Reluctantly agreeing to see what he can do, Jordan is enveloped into the case, wanting to help young Mike deal with this traumatic event and then wanting more with the lieutenant in charge of the case.

Lauren Sadler has pretty much kept to herself for a few years now, concentrating on hardly anything but her job with the police department due to issues in her life, both personal and professional.  She’s skeptical at first when she meets Jordan Langley and is told about his powers, but seeing the results when he talks with Mike and even when he touches her, she becomes a believer. Even though Jordan isn’t that closely related to the case, she knows it’s against policy to become involved with him, she can’t resist the pull of the man.  After one night, however, Lauren is running scared no matter how hard Jordan tries to keep them together.

Both Jordan and Lauren are interesting characters, they each have issues to overcome, one willing to try, one to frightened to try.  I never really connected to Jordan, though.  He just seemed lackluster from the description of him that the author gave.  Now, this is a personal opinion.  I like a hero who stands out — alpha, sexier than hell, terrific lover, whatever.  Jordan’s empathy isn’t enough for a read to fall for him, and when he’s described as lanky with no butt, well, sexy is just out there.

Also, it seemed that Lauren’s belief in Jordan’s ability came a little to easily.  Cops are hard-core skeptical people because of what they do day in and day out.  Even when proof stares them in the face sometimes.  I just felt she needed a little more convincing, especially because of what type of ability she was dealing with.  The ending didn’t quite work for me either.   It was too pat, too easily concluded.  And it just seemed that the reasons given by the culprit were contradictory.

I do like the author’s writing style, and, as I said earlier, the story idea is different and for the most part worked well. This book just wasn’t the right one for me.

Grade: C-

Summary:

A gift or a curse? Jordan Langley’s every touch of other human beings transmits their deepest feelings to him. Detective Lauren Sadler blocks her emotions so she can do her job. When a murder case brings them together, will Lauren yield to the power of the most intimate exchange she’s ever known?

For nearly two years, Jordan has lived like a hermit, avoiding the world that affects him too deeply. He had spent his life dealing with his “gift” of empathy until a traumatic event drove him into seclusion. Now a friend needs his help to reach an autistic boy who has witnessed a murder.

Lauren Sadler, the detective on the case, believes in Jordan’s ability after seeing the results of his touch on the boy. She doesn’t count on how that touch will influence her. In the midst of the investigation, the couple shares a passionate night. But Lauren’s not ready to open up to deep intimacy when her trust in herself has been shattered.

Solving the murder and coming to terms with love will challenge them both, bringing each to a new awareness of what they have to offer each other and the world.

Read an excerpt.

Here’s another blurb from the Samhain site:

How to trust him…when she can’t even trust herself?

A Gifted story.

Jordan Langley thought he could deal with his empathic “gift”—until a traumatic event drove him into seclusion. As a hermit, he can avoid a world that tears his own emotions to shreds. But now a friend needs his help to reach an autistic boy who witnessed a murder.

Detective Lauren Sadler specializes in blocking her emotions so she can do her job. She can’t deny Jordan’s ability to reach the troubled boy, but she hadn’t counted on how his touch affects her.

In the midst of the investigation, Jordan and Lauren break their own rules, sharing a night of passion that shatters all their barriers. Jordan is intrigued by the vulnerability and self-doubt he senses underneath Lauren’s tough exterior.

But Lauren isn’t sure if she’s ready to yield to the power of the most intimate exchange she has ever known. Even if it’s the only way to catch a killer.

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex using graphic terms. Mind sex…you’ll have to read to find out what that is.

Devon’s review of The Final Act by Bonnie Dee
Contemporary Erotic Romance eBook released by Samhain Publishing 26 Aug 08

Am I the only one who adored the old TV series “Fame”? I watched it religiously, my sisters and I played it, and choreographed dance routines to the music. I even went to see the cast perform when I was ten. I love the behind the scenes, struggling performers trying to make it kind of thing. If you’re a fan of “Fame,” “Rent,” “A Chorus Line,” and like stories, you will likely enjoy The Final Act, which follows the national company of a “Rent”-like musical. While on the road the actors face personal and romantic struggles.

There are three main storylines. Elena and Michael are relative unknowns who win starring roles as star-crossed lovers. Their onstage chemistry translates into offstage sparks, as their opposing personalities clash. But is the flippant Michael capable of love? Elena’s friend Denny is in a long term, committed relationship with Tom. But the long separation is taking its toll, as Denny fears Tom is cheating. Then there’s Gretchen, fresh from Ohio, who nails her very first audition. She finds herself unprepared for the pace of the touring life, and her involvement with guitarist Jake only gets her further in over her head.

Although the romantic elements are strong, and the sex scenes hot and explicit, this was more of an ensemble piece than a traditional romance. The individual romances on their own weren’t enough to keep my interest, but the way the story was structured, moving back and forth between characters, my interest was fully engaged. Dee’s usual unusual character development was in evidence. The characters did not always behave sympathetically (sometimes I downright disliked them), but they were so believably human in their weakness, that I hoped for the best.

Take Jake, the pit guitarist. Yes, he introduces Gretchen to recreational drugs, but he’s not some evil, After School Special, despoiler of innocents. He truly loves Gretchen, but he is so effed up and has such low self-esteem that he has no idea how to be in a healthy relationship. I wanted him to get a comeuppance, but I also kinda liked him. I cared for Michael and Elena the least. She was bitchy and he was glib and smug. But some hot chemistry was generated there. Denny and Tom were the most likeable characters, but even they make some missteps.

If you have always harbored secret fantasies of bright lights and greasepaint, pounding the pavement to Broadway auditions and you sing show tunes in the shower, The Final Act will appeal to the actress/waitress in you. While not the strongest Dee romance, this is an appealing, grown up, sexed up version of “Fame,” and my inner chorus girl thrilled to it.

Grade: B-

The Summary:

Life imitates art? One can only hope…

Elena is a by-the-script actress whose co-star, Michael, has a gift for improvisation that drives her crazy. Fighting a fiery chemistry, they work to keep their on-stage romance where it belongs—on the stage. But a year-long road tour stretches before them. How long can they keep a lid on their simmering passion?

When his left-behind boyfriend, Tom, seems withdrawn on the phone, Denny questions his lover’s faithfulness. Their once-solid relationship faces its biggest test during the long separation.

Inexperienced Gretchen is thrilled to land her first professional role in the musical, Transitions, but the pressures of performing are more than she bargained for. Entranced by her wholesome sweetness, Jake, the pit guitarist, endangers the very qualities he admires by giving her a “little something” to take the edge off her nerves.

Every night for a year, they’ll play out a “happily ever after” on the stage. Before the last curtain call, will life imitate art?

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex using graphic terms. Almost public sex, m/m sex, drug-addled sex and a lot of horny backstage fooling around. 

Read an excerpt

Shannon C.’s review of Undeniable Magnetism by Bonnie Dee
Contemporary M/M Erotic Romance Ebook released by Loose ID 25 Mar 08

I really like Bonnie Dee’s writing. I’ve only read a couple of her books so far, but I love that she tackles a variety of genres, and her characters have a lot of warmth and seem like people it would be fun to get to know. In Undeniable Magnetism, a recent release from Loose ID, Ms. Dee continues in that vein and provides a nice character study with two protagonists who are both the kind of guys one might actually run into at some point in real life.

Essentially, the plot here is simple. Simon Chase goes to a bar to de-stress, a bar owned by Jay Moran. After a heated encounter, Jay never expects to see Simon again, but on a whim, Simon calls him and the two begin a relationship. The conflict here is that like in the real world, not everybody in Simon and Jay’s world really embraces the men’s sexuality, and the two of them have to come to a place where they can accept that.

The thing that really works here are the characters. Jay and Simon are both guys. Sometimes when I read plot descriptions of gay romance, I feel like the author could just give one of the guys a set of breasts instead of a penis, do the occasional find and replace, and you’d have a het romance. This frustrates me as a reader, because if I wanted to read a het romance, I would, well, read a het romance. But both men do very masculine things and they talk like men. Their issues were very realistic, and because of that, I was rooting for them the entire time I was reading.

I also liked the fact that Ms. Dee subverts a few stereotypes. Simon is the upper-crust one who attended the best schools and parties. Simon is black. Jay grew up in a poor, ethnically mixed neighborhood and owns a bar. He’s white. The race thing does come up occasionally for both of them, and I felt it was addressed in a sensitive way.

Overall, I think this is a great example of M/M romance. I didn’t even mind the relatively short page count, because Ms. Dee manages to pack a lot into those pages. I definitely recommend this one.

Grade: A-

Summary:
When Simon walks into Jay’s bar for a drink, he never expects to find himself having an afternoon quickie in the back room. Although he’s very attracted to the blond, blue-eyed bartender, he’s never experienced a real relationship with another man and isn’t ready for the commitment that entails.

Jay is ready for Mr. Right, and when he meets hot, hunky Simon, he believes he’s found his match. But convincing the reserved man that their brief encounter could evolve into something more will take all his considerable persuasive skills.

Jay is blue collar, Irish. Simon is an African American from a society family. Can two men from such different backgrounds find common ground? Undeniable magnetism draws them to one another, but only love can keep them together.
You can read an excerpt here

Devon’s review of The Countess Takes a Lover by Bonnie Dee
Historical Romance eBook released by Samhain 6 May 08

Bonnie Dee is one of my favorite ebook authors. I have read a number of her books in several different subgenres, and she can be counted on to deliver an unusual romance, with plenty of emotion, passion and vivid characters. Dee specializes in a different kind of hero. Not your typical alpha, they are often tormented or damaged, but also intelligent, passionate and thoughtful. With The Countess Takes A Lover, Dee once again proves how hot a so-called “beta” hero can be.

Christopher Whitby is not as damaged as other Dee heroes, but this intellectual, shy botanist does not measure up to what his father thinks a man should be. So he enters into a bargain with the notorious Comtesse duChevalier, Meredith, to seduce his son and make him into a man. The very experienced Meredith is intrigued by the challenge, and even more intrigued by the shy and charming Christopher. So on the pretext of having him fix up her greenhouse, Meredith invites Chris to her country estate. She intends to tutor him in the art of love, then send him on his way, but will the tutor become the tutored (heh, I’m clever).

Dee pulls off an entertaining role reversal here. Meredith is the jaded, sexually experienced one. She has suffered in the past, and is now devoted to making money and her own pleasure, remaining emotionally distant. Sound familiar? Christopher is the dreamy virgin. He never seems weak or wimpy though. It’s that whole brain as the sexiest organ idea. Christopher is so passionate and focused on his flowers, the idea of that focus being turned on a woman is romantic and hot.

This book is classified by Samhain as a Red Hot. There are plenty of steamy sex scenes. They were woven into the story well, and added to the deepening connection between the hero and heroine. This was a fast and satisfying read, both erotic and romantic. Recommended for those who like erotic historicals, as well as those who can enjoy a hero who relies on brain more than brawn.

Grade: B

     Summary: 

     Who is learning more…the novice? Or the master?

     Countess Meredith du Chevalier, a widow with a reputation for being sexually adventurous, is intrigued when she is approached by a gentleman who wishes her to “make a man” of his son. Sensing a passionate man beneath Christopher Whitby’s reserved exterior, Meredith takes on the challenge, inviting the botanist to her country home to revitalize her abandoned greenhouse.

     Chris finds people to be a chaotic, animalistic species, and has chosen to devote his life to the study of plants. One kiss from the vivacious countess, however, and his inner animal is aroused. But lust is only a fraction of what he feels for the vulnerable woman hiding behind a brittle façade. He resolves to coax her to grow until her petals unfurl in a glorious bloom.

     To her surprise, Meredith finds Chris brings much more to life than just fallow soil. But just as their love begins to thrive, he learns about the secret arrangement. Meredith must risk her heart for the most dangerous lesson of all—love.

     Read an excerpt here.