Sandy M’s review of Midnight Sins (Midnight Trilogy, Book 2) by Cynthia Eden
Contemporary Paranormal Erotic Romance published by Brava 1 Dec 08

I guess being six months behind on reading a series is better than years like most others in my TBR pile. The third book, Midnight’s Master, in this trilogy just released last month, so at least I’m up to date to get started on it now and hopefully not in six months. Honestly, though, I have no idea why I waited so long to read this book. I loved the first book, Hotter After Midnight and even lamented in my review that I had to wait too long for Midnight Sins. But it’s finally read and, just as with Hotter After Midnight, I had a time of it.

I noticed in rereading the previous review that I started out doubting how much I would like the book based on the first few pages. Is it Ms Eden who teases the reader or is it just me? I had the same thing happen this time around too. Maybe it’s me. Demons aren’t my favorite read, so it took a minute or two for the heroine, Cara, to grow on me. But once the sparks started flying between her and the hero, Todd, I became a very happy reader.

Cara is a succubus and she’s decided to give up on sex. Is that even possible? Cara just doesn’t have it in her to be a predator like other succubi; she’s left empty and lonely after a night of carefree sex with whoever. So for her having no sex is better than those feelings. She’s a singer at a local club where a lot Other congregate for their nocturnal activities and she draws enough power from them when she sings, at least enough to get by. Then she’s hauled in to the local PD station, questioned in the death of a man she’d previously had a relationship with. That’s where she meets Todd. A human. And does that human do something to her. Big time.

Thinking he’s found his woman, Todd’s case just became open and shut. Good thing he jumped the gun in thinking Cara could have killed the string of dead men he and his partner have come across recently. She’s definitely his woman, just in a totally different way. Todd is still having a hard time accepting his partner is a shifter and that the world is not as he imagined with such creatures roaming around his city. And now Cara. He knows she’s different, but when she’s in his arms, in his bed, he doesn’t care. He just wants her. Even finding out she’s a demon doesn’t make him flinch. Knowing she’s being set up for the murders he’s investigating makes him all the more determined to find the real culprit. He’ll protect her life with his own.

Once I got to know Cara, I really liked her, especially her vulnerability when it comes to Todd and what she may be able to have with him. They both have secrets, her more so because of what she is, and I enjoyed how those were revealed through the book, interspersed with the investigation elements that were also revealed. And, of course, I loved Todd. He may not be an Other, but the man is alpha and hot to the core, just the way I like them.

As usual, Ms. Eden’s love scenes are smoldering and intense and burn through the pages as you read. The secondary characters, most of which we met in the first book, are all very well written. I also liked the relationship between Captain MacNeil and Dr. Smith, the ME for the department. I was thinking they might be the main characters for the next book, but it’s Niol, a super powerful demon, and Holly, the local news reporter, who get that honor. I hope the captain and the doctor are included in Midnight’s Master so we get a conclusion there too.

I really enjoy Ms. Eden’s writing. She gives us a well-rounded story, a little bit of everything, and you can’t ask for anything more in a book. I have other books of hers in the TBR. I’m going to have to make sure I don’t wait six months to get to them, because I know I’ll be in for some great reads.

Grade: A-

Summary:
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Cara Maloan doesn’t look like a monster. In fact, the gorgeous blond nightclub singer possesses heavenly attributes that make Atlanta detective Todd Brooks sure there’s a higher power somewhere. But a twisted killer is leaving a trail of bodies in seedy hotel rooms across town. The male victims show no wounds–it’s as if the life was simply drained from them. And right now, mysterious Cara is Todd’s only suspect.
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Cara knows it’s foolish to be so drawn to a man who thinks she’s a murderer. She also knows Detective Brooks would find the truth even harder to swallow. Cara is one of the Other, a race of powerful, paranormal creatures who live among humans. Cara’s particular abilities make men putty in her hands–all except this rugged, sexy-as-hell detective. But now someone, or something, has singled Cara out for serious payback…
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As uneasy trust gives way to mind-blowing desire, Cara and Todd will go head-to-head with a killer whose mission is deeply personal, and who’s determined to serve up revenge that’s hotter than hellfire, and just as deadly…
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of In His Mind (Raynes Paranormal Investigations, Book 3) by Cheryl Dragon
Contemporary Paranormal Erotic eBook short story released by Cerridwen Press 4 Feb 09

I don’t read male/male books very often, mostly because I’ve yet to find many that work for me. I tried this one because the blurb didn’t sound too bad and I’ve wanted to read Cheryl Dragon. So this was my chance. Unfortunately, this short story fell short just as so many have before it.

The biggest disappointment for me is there’s not a whole lot of emotion between these two men. Yes, there’s lust and the times they’re having sex, there’s plenty of emotion, but that’s all from the body. I didn’t read much emotion from the heart. Maybe I shouldn’t be looking for that in these books. But if the main characters begin a relationship, have sex, overcome issues, and fall in love just like a straight romance, why wouldn’t I get the same emotion in a m/m romance?

Adam and Parker have been attracted to one another ever since Parker came to work for Adam’s family’s paranormal investigations business. They’ve basically avoided each other, trying not to make things difficult for the family or the business. But on this case there isn’t any choice, all other family members are busy, so Adam accompanies Parker on a ghost hunting trip. Parker is a telepath and tries to stay out of Adam’s mind but doesn’t always succeed this night, gleaning a few tidbits from the man that he’s glad to hear. For the most part anyway.

Adam still has issues as far as his family is concerned. They have no idea about his lifestyle, especially his brothers, and he’s not sure he can tell them even now. Before these two even talk after setting up their equipment and getting ready to locate their ghost, they’re all over each other in a frenzied rush. Okay, I can see that since they’ve been wanting each other for a while and now they’re alone and it’s their chance. But it never really goes beyond that between them. They do talk about Adam finally telling his family, he’s afraid too, but maybe with Parker at his side he can do it.

In between all this they have help a gay ghost cross over so he will be with his lover who left him while they were both still alive. The paranormal part of this book is actually interesting, Parker’s telepathy and his ability to astral transport. Adam and Parker even share thoughts the closer they become, leading Parker to believe Adam is telepathic also and he should be tested. They do successfully end the case, so it’s time for them to face the music as far as Adam’s family is concerned.

That point about Adam’s family is a huge part of this story. It’s Adam’s main fear. They even come up with a plan on how to tell everyone for maximum support from his brothers. So when this story ended without that confrontation, I actually felt a little cheated. I wanted to see that confrontation and how Adam’s family did react to his news, any issues from of them, anything! Not one bit of that was included in this story. I was stunned to realize I was at the end and wouldn’t be getting that particular point after it had been dissected by Adam and then discussed by him and Parker throughout the story.

There just isn’t enough here to make me care about the characters all that much. I got the story I always want when I read erotica, but it’s the emotion that seems to be sacrificed after all is said and done.

Grade: D

Summary:
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Adam Rayne is in serious trouble. The new guy at work is hot and interested in him. Even worse, Parker Mullins is a telepath and can read every X-rated thought Adam has. Assigned to a case together for Rayne Paranormal Investigations, he and Parker are barely in the door when they give in. The case demands attention but so do the issues that have kept their relationship on hold. The sex makes Adam more sure of himself and ready to face any ghost with Parker’s help. But can he face his family with the truth and keep his job, family and the man he loves once this case is over?
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Limecello’s review of Stranger by Megan Hart
Erotic novel published by Harlequin Spice on 1 Jan 09

I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but this is my favorite novel yet by Megan Hart. And I mean that. I stayed up til 4 AM, then 6 AM respectively to read and finish this book. I recommend reading this book when you have a bit more time, or not picking it up between 2-3 AM, because you’ll want to read it all, and probably won’t like the tired feeling the next day. But it was worth it. I read the book premise with no idea what to expect (other than exactly what it says -which is clear yet vague at the same time -much like Ms. Hart’s writing in general). Stranger gripped me from the start.

I really liked the heroine Grace. She was so sensible, and real. I enjoyed the normality of her life, and the range of emotions that she experienced. Grace had to deal with everyday mundane issues, albeit on the darker side of things. I never once felt that the plot dragged or moved too slowly. It was also nice that Grace had a relatively normal childhood, which is always good to find in a heroine. She’s self deprecating, knows how to protect herself, and very reasonable. Grace is someone you’d like as a friend – although she has a secret life that nobody knows about. Grace is very kind and has a big heart, though she doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve.

Sam Stewart is a character that makes me smile. He’s the main romantic interest, but I wouldn’t exactly call him a hero. He’s really cute, although you kind of want to smack him a number of times. It seems that Sam is… unfinished. At the same time, Sam gets points for creativity, persistence, and in the end, honesty. I also love that he is Dan’s little brother, from Dirty. (Yes, this time I recognized all the cameo appearances characters made.) I wonder if Sam will appear in any other books – it seems that he still has a lot on his plate before he can settle. In a way, I liked that Sam was an uncertainty, because it definitely kept me on my toes. I liked Sam’s sense of humor, as well as his zany late night calls. Who would have thought a drunk dial would be endearing? But Ms. Hart made it happen.

It was very nice for Ms. Hart to connect the books, yet definitely leave them as stand alone novels. (I read them “out of order” so not until a re-read did I figure out that Elle from Dirty had a few cameos in Broken.) Another important repeating character in Stranger is Jack, who was also featured in Dirty. He’s an excellent character- entertaining, and young – so he provided for humor, as well as some male posturing. There was so much in Stranger in regards to emotions and situations – yet it wasn’t too draining.

I think I liked Stranger so much because I was invested in the book, but didn’t find it draining. I could relate to all the emotions, and put myself in the scenes and situations, but Ms. Hart didn’t employ shock techniques – which was nice. I think that this may be the happiest novel by Ms. Hart that I’ve read – and it was good. Ms. Hart’s writing brilliance lays in her ability to keep the reader entertained and involved, without resorting to fireworks and flash. That characters are believable and real – normal even, yet have some quality that is larger than life .

I was again reminded that it says “An Erotic Novel” on the front cover of each of Ms. Hart’s novels – so near the end I about made my head explode when I was expecting the worst and wondering about the end. However, I should have had faith in Ms. Hart and the Harlequin Team (and I did) to not let me down. While not sparkles and ponies (and if you’re expecting that you’re reading the wrong author), the conclusion to Stranger was extremely satisfying. I cannot wait for Ms. Hart’s upcoming releases, and hope that both Jack and Jared get their own books as well.

About a chapter into Stranger I had to stop, and squee. You know that super happy expression little kids gets when you hand them a giant ice cream cone on a hot day? When they shrink into themselves and smiles take up their entire face? That was me. Throughout reading this novel.

Grade: A

Summary:

I pay strangers to sleep with me. I have my reasons… But they’re not the ones you expect.

For starters, I’m a funeral director taking over my dad’s business. Not exactly the sort of person you’d expect to fork over cash for the lust and urgency only live, skin-to-skin contact can create. Looking at me, you wouldn’t have a clue I carry this little secret so close it creases up like the folds of a fan. Tight. Personal. Ready to unravel in the heat of the moment.

Unsurprisingly, my line of work brings me face to face with loss. So I decided long ago that paying for sex would be one of the best (and arousing) ways to save myself from the one thing that would eventually cut far too deep.

But Sam was a mistake. Literally. I signed on to “pick up” a stranger at a bar, but took Sam home instead. And now that I’ve felt his heat, his sweat and everything else can I really go back to impersonal?
Let’s just hope he never finds out about my other life…

Read an excerpt here or a spicier one here.

p.s. – Megan Hart is visiting us at the pond on Friday, January 23.
p.p.s. – On page 112, Sam talks about a bottle of Smirnov [sic], but I’m pretty sure he meant Smirnoff, which just made me go “awwweee.”
p.p.p.s- To be honest, I’m not 100% sure what time I stayed up until – I know dawn, Saturday. But much like the heroine, Grace, I hate looking at the clock and finding out exactly how muchlittle time I have left for sleep.

Limecello’s review of This Is What I Want by Megan Hart
Erotic fiction short story published by Harlequin Spice Brief on 1 Dec 07

I really enjoy Megan Hart’s writing, and I thought it’d be nice to complete/work on my collection of all her Spice books. Accordingly, I bought this Spice Brief. I ended up with a short, enjoyable read that was definitely worth my money.
I won’t summarize the plot because This Is What I Want is so short – and the blurb is sufficient. I read this not long after reading Ms. Hart’s newest Spice Brief Layover, and felt there were distinct differences in her writing, yet a number of similarities. Ms. Hart’s writing style is stark and at times what seems to be unfinished (though it actually is) – but its gripping and emotionally involving as well. There’s just something about it that keeps readers enthralled, and coming back for more.

The beginning of this short story is attention getting, and I liked how there were two different concurrent stories of a sort. It was nice how Ms. Hart juxtaposed two such different and somewhat disjointed stories together, and connected them. Ms. Hart carefully weaves together all the components so that they are separate and distinct, yet all part of the whole.

I felt that this also gave the characters more depth, as they were able to display distinct facets of their personalities in the different settings. Eve Grant and Lane DeMarco while an unexpected couple, work perfectly. For example, Eve and Lane have little interaction in person – yet the ending is entirely believable and in fact, welcome.

I recommend This Is What I Want to anyone who wants a satisfying story with a lot of heat in a little package. (And of course I loved the little shout out to classical mythology in Eve’s blogger persona, Eris Apparent. And that it was right. Kudos to Ms. Hart!)

Grade: B+

Summary:

By day she was Eve Grant, customer service drone in a drab office cubicle. But at night she became Eris Apparent, sex goddess of the blogosphere, where she could express her true self in sizzling erotic fantasies. As Eve she entertained aching, unfulfilled fancies about her sexy co-worker. But as Eris Apparent she was outspoken and demanding as she carried on a steamy cyberspace affair with the mysterious Tell_me.

Read an excerpt.

Gwen’s review of Dangerous Pleasures by Bertrice Small
Contemporary erotic fiction released by NAL (New American Library) 5 Aug 08

I’m a gigantic Bertrice Small fangirl. I have daydreamed about being Skye O’Malley more times than I care to admit. I boohooed when Niall died and shivered every time she was taken advantage of by her slimy step-brother. The O’Malley Saga books were the first romances I had read with really hot sex in them. As big a fan as I am, I had never read any of her contemporary erotic fiction until this one. I didn’t want to ruin that lovin’ feelin’, if you know what I mean. Small’s writing occupies a very special place in my reader’s heart and I was afraid if I read her other genre work, it would mess up the rest for me. I was right, to an extent.

Dangerous Pleasures is the fourth of Small’s loosely related contemporary erotic fiction novels. There are some characters and other elements that are common between all four. I can’t call this entry “erotic romance” – there’s very little romance in it. It’s definitely “erotic fiction” with some odd paranormal elements. But there’s no real romance in the book. Sex, sure, but no romance. And the sex is strangely arm’s length – no real emotion is invested in it by any of the actors. But that may be because of what you’ll read below.

By the way, this book will be difficult to continue reviewing without mild spoilers. So keep reading at your peril.

Dangerous Pleasures was an odd book to me. I read the first 2/3′s thinking, “Okay, nice for a short story, but not enough for a novel.” I was actually getting a little bored. Then, BLAM! Something incredibly DARK happens. Like CREEPY as SHIT dark. Having not read any of Small’s previous contemps, it totally took me by surprise.

Very shortly before and all the way after that event, the book progressed down a COMPLETELY different path than I dreamed it would go. The heroine’s personality changes, and not for the better. There is NO hero, at all. The secondary characters suddenly get downright diabolical. It totally took me by surprise.

I think if Small had hinted at something sinister earlier in the book, I might have given it a B. However, because there’s no fore-shadowing, I dropped the grade a bit. It just seemed too disjointed and it took too long for these twists to develop for me to believe in them.

I can’t really recommend this book to anyone other than fans of Small’s writing or to people reading this group of books. If you’re looking for straight contemporary erotic fiction, there are better ones out there. And this is from a fangirl (gasp – I KNOW).

Grade: C

Summary:

Widowed with five children, stay at home mom Annie Miller has been just getting by—and growing restless because of it. Thinking Annie just needs a vacation, her sister enters her into a contest sponsored by The Channel, a network that caters to delivering women’s fantasies. Annie wins the grand prize, a week at a luxurious spa—and gets a treat when she turns on the flat-screen TV. The one working channel lets Annie program—and experience—her own personal fantasy each night. Suddenly she’s living out dreams she didn’t even know she had. But now that she’s experienced a complete sexual awakening, how will everyone in her former life handle this humble homemaker turned vivacious vixen?

No excerpt available when this review was written.

Other books in the “series”:

Sandy M’s review of Caine’s Reckoning (Hell’s Eight, Book 1) by Sarah McCarty
Historical Romance released by Harlequin Spice 1 Nov 07

I loved this book. I absolutely loved everything about it. The characters are very true to life, good or bad.

Caine Allen is a Texas Ranger and head of Hell’s Eight, a spread nearly the size of Texas where he and other men who have lost loved ones in Indian massacres have found a home and a family of sorts. Caine is a hard man because of the hard life he’s led living in a hard land during hard times. He’s also a good and honest man, a man who looks out for those under his protection and for those who have a place in his heart. He and two of his men, Sam and Tracker, have been hired to rescue a town’s kidnapped women. When they come upon the kidnappers and their victims, only one woman is fighting back and what a job she is doing on not one, but two of the evil cowards and she wins Caine’s admiration and respect right off the bat.

Desi is a feisty hellcat when she has to be. Most of the time, however, she’s afraid of every sound and movement and doesn’t trust a soul. She’s been held captive since her family was killed by Indians. And it’s not the Indians who have kept her in chains and used her for their own twisted ways. The town’s gambler is Desi’s guardian and that’s the first thing, besides her fear, that bugs Caine about the entire situation when he returns the women to the townsfolk. As determined as he is not to leave her with such lowlifes, Desi herself is more determined to remain free and she even fights Caine for that freedom. But at the end of it all, they end up married so he has the right to take her away from the hell she’s been living in for years.

From this point on this story becomes an emotional ride for Caine, Desi, and the reader. Caine does his best to hold himself in check when he tries to love Desi. He doesn’t know the whole story yet and every time she jumps at his touch or she expects anger from him when she does something “wrong,” he vows to get his hands on the men who abused his wife as horribly as they did. Caine is soft and sensitive to her every need, her every want, her every desire. It’s fascinating the way he comes across on the page being the hard man he is but knowing he has to gently love this injured, scarred, and scared woman.

Desi’s issue is trust. She hasn’t had any for anyone in a lot of years and with every flinch at Caine’s touch, it seems as though her trust is gone forever. What she doesn’t know is that Caine is not about to give up because this woman, his wife, although she deserves better than the likes of him, she is only one for him. Seeing Desi’s trust grow in each and every scene between these two characters is wonderfully done. And when Desi finally truly opens herself to Caine, it’s a scene not to be missed.

The secondary characters are all simply terrific. The other Hell’s Eight men have their own demons to fight and they’re going to be great but hellacious reads as they come along in the series. I’m especially taken with Tracker and Shadow, who are brothers, and look forward to their stories. The villains are also written quite well and are characters who you love to hate. James, the aforementioned gambler, is a complete but terrifying asshole, along with his cronies, and it’s so nice when their time comes due.

There’s not one thing I didn’t like about this book. I’m just sorry I waited so long to read it after everything I heard about it when it was first released. I won’t be doing that with the newest edition in the series, Sam’s Creed, which was released just last month. I will be reading it very, very soon.

Grade: A

Read other reviews by clicking on the Caine’s Reckoning tag.

Summary:

Caine Allen is a hardened Texas Ranger, definitely not the marrying kind. But when he rescues a kidnapped woman and returns her to town, the preacher calls in a favor. One Caine’s honor won’t let him refuse.

From the moment he beds Desi, Caine knows turmoil will follow. Desi might have the face of a temptress, but she also has a will of iron and while she needs his protection, she’s determined that no man will control her again. They establish an uneasy bond, but it still isn’t enough for Caine. He wants all Desi has to offer. He wants her screams, her moans, her demands…everything. Yet there’s still a bounty on Desi’s head and keeping her satisfied is proving easier than keeping her alive.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

LauraD reviews Lady Sings the Blues by Mallery Malone (no author site found)
Contemporary romance eBook novella released by Samhain 24 Jun 08

When I read the teaser for this novella, it went into my shopping cart right away. I’d just seen Doyle Bramhall II play at Antone’s, so a sexy story featuring a blues guitarist fit my mood. Lady Sings the Blues is Mallery Malone’s debut, and a sign of good things to come.

Alina Gabriel owns The Scarlet Lady, Atlanta’s hottest blues club. The name is a nod to her former stage name, Miss Scarlett; Alina earned the money for her club by working as an exotic dancer, and still struts her stuff on the bar at the club when the mood and music strike her. Joshua Hanover is a talented blues guitarist, who draws in the crowds nightly and has also drawn Alina’s interest. Joshua wants Alina as well, but he couldn’t care less that she’s the gorgeous Miss Scarlett – Joshua is blind.

Alina is a great character. She is a strong woman who has no problem running her business and is comfortable with her own desires. I appreciated that she’s unapologetic about her former career, even though it’s caused her to be cautious about trusting men. She’s also very honest with herself; when she makes a mistake she acknowledges it and moves on.

Joshua is basically just a nice guy, who’s brilliant at both the guitar and at sex. He treats Alina like a “normal” woman, even bringing her home to mom and dad. There is a 4^th of July party scene that seemed out of place within the novella format, but it does jar the couple out of their love-bubble.

I liked Lady Sings the Blues quite a bit. Both characters were likable, and it was quite hot but not sacrificing story for the sex. I liked the author’s descriptions of the club and the music, and she so made me crave a rainy day! I hope Ms. Malone’s next Samhain title is longer, I think she could do a lot with a longer format. Novellas are tricky, especially when they are as intensely erotic as this title – the author smartly kept her two characters isolated for most of the story and just let them evolve as people instead of trying to throw in a suspense plot or some sort of unnecessary razzle dazzle.

So go put on some blues and read it!

Grade: B+

(I did have one pet peeve, and if backdoor lovin’ bugs you, read no further. I thought, finally, an author who is going to admit that if you have anal sex, you need lube! Alina actually mentions it! But do they use it? Nooooo. Ouch, author, ouch. You try it, I dare you.)

Summary:

Summertime…and the living is steamy in Hotlanta. A Red-Hot Summer story.

Alina Gabriel has hit on the perfect formula to make her club, The Scarlet Lady, the hot spot in Atlanta’s night life. Men flock to see her alter ego, retired exotic dancer Miss Scarlet; and women line up to see Joshua Hanover and his blues band steam up the stage. Alina herself isn’t immune to the blind guitarist’s sensual songs and musical dexterity, but she refuses to be just another notch in his groupie belt.

That is, until Joshua debuts a new song, “Red-Letter Woman”, to entice Miss Scarlet to dance. The song and dance leave them both hot and bothered, and when Alina retreats to her office for personal relief, Joshua joins her and offers to strum her desire. But Joshua wants more than a one-night stand. He’s pushing for an encore, and Alina wonders if it’s her he’s after—or her exotic persona.

Warning: This title contains sensuous solos, decadent duets, dirty dancing, and a man who’s really good with his hands.

Read an excerpt.

Gwen’s review of Italian Stallions by Karin Tabke and Jami Alden
Contemporary erotic romance anthology released by Aphrodisia 1 Jul 08

This two story anthology is centered around a restaurant in the San Francisco area. Both stories have several characters in common and a general theme – damsels in distress who are saved by the almighty peen, I mean, hero(es).

Tabke is one of the authors who employs the recently controversial Street Team concept. Something I find kind of funny, to be honest. I mean, how many years have I heard that authors dread having to market themselves and say that’s the worst part of the job. And yet, when a few of them actually do that by employing the oh-so-urban-hip-sounding “street team,” they’re criticized for it. You authors can’t win for losing sometimes, ya know?

Okay – back to the book.

In His Bed by Karin Tabke

I was underwhelmed by this story. I didn’t find either the hero or heroine very believable and didn’t particularly care for the evolution of the romance.

The heroine, Gianna, is a protected Italian virgin who helps her traditional Italian father run a traditional Italian restaurant. She loses her father and is left to fend for herself. During this transition, she’s confronted with a local thug/mucketymuck who wants to pop her cherry. This thug employs other thugs, naturally, who almost take said cherry for themselves (huh???). The heroine is saved by an undercover FBI agent/hero who is gunning for the thug/mucketymuck.

The seriously alpha hero proceeds to conquer heroine’s heart and body with his almighty peen and saves the day. The heroine is mad at him for like two seconds about the lies he’s told her (undercover, remember?), forgives him, and they live HEA.

And that’s the story. See? A bit underwhelming.

Grade: D+

Summary: Intense and darkly handsome, Gabriel LaMotta is working an undercover FBI investigation in San Francisco–and he’s making the mob real nervous. Tough luck. They can’t hide inside a club full of pole-dancing babes. But Gabe would like to know what a demure, soft-spoken beauty like Gia Cipriani is doing there. But first he has to rescue her. Then he’ll ask the questions. And when they get behind closed doors, a high-octane attraction turns into blazing, soul-shattering sex. Gia may look innocent, but she sure knows how to show her appreciation–and set him on fire…

Will That Be All? by Jami Alden

This story was quite a bit better, in my opinion and with apologies to Tabke. I liked the heroine, sort of liked (if I didn’t fully believe in) the hero, and enjoyed the evolution of their romance.

The heroine, Theresa, is the best friend of the previous story’s Gianna. She returns to San Francisco and the family house after a disastrous relationship – one that estranged her father from her. Theresa goes to work for Gianna as a waitress, where she meets the hero, Vince. Vince is a regular and uber-rich guy. Through some twists in the plot the heroine moves into the hero’s guest house to train his dog. Nature takes hold and some very hot and steamy sex ensues.

What I liked particularly about this story was the heartwrenching break-up scene, even if I wanted to sock the hero in the nose. The heroine had been battered by the aforementioned disastrous relationship, so her reticence to open her heart and lack of self-esteem make her response to the break-up seem very believable.

The make-up was a bit out there, but I liked it. This was a hot little story and worth the purchase of the book.

Grade: B

Summary: Vince Mattera clawed his way up from poverty to the top of the financial heap in San Francisco. The hedge fund he manages is making millions. But he still eats at the same little Italian restaurant where he always ate. The marinara is homemade, the food is real, and it doesn’t hurt that the owner just hired a spicy little brunette. But smart-mouthed Theresa Bellessi is a whole lot more than a waitress–she’s a goddess. And Vince intends to sexually worship every inch of her glorious, soon-to-be-naked body. Check, please…

This was an entertaining little anthology, even if I had to put a large post-it over the mantitty cover before I would be seen in public with it. (It was just a bit too “in your face – I’m reading an erotic novel” for a self-confessed soccer mom at the dentist’s office with said soccer kid, if you know what I mean.) The first story wasn’t my cuppa tea, but I enjoyed the second one quite a bit more.

This was a very good summer read for some steamy pool-side action. Bring along your own personal hero, though, or you’ll be asking the cabana boy for more than a towel…

Overall Grade: C+

I couldn’t find excerpts of either story. And just because I know there are others who appreciate mantitty almost as much as I do, here’s the cover in larger format – you can thank me later:

Shannon C.’s review of Hell for Leather by Beth Williamson
Historical erotic romance ebook released by Samhain 17 Jun 08

I understand that Beth Williamson is a popular author over at Samhain, and that she has written a lot of westerns. This book was my first exposure to her books, and while I found it a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours, I’m not sure I’m a convert yet.

My problem with this book was largely compounded by the fact that I’ve been having the same problem with the last few westerns I’ve tried. Namely, I find former gunslingers angsting about their pasts extremely *unsexy*, and in this case, the whining also included a fair bit of petulance which irritated me.

Cade Brody has moved to New Mexico to bury his past. (Literally, as it turns out.) Unfortunately, solitude isn’t as easy as he’d like it to be. He seems to have an unwelcome visitor leaving him surprises outside his cabin, the townsfolk seem to regard him with suspicion, and he’s way too attracted to Sabrina, the local storekeeper. Sabrina, who tends the store and also lives with her painfully shy sister, is drawn immediately to Cade, and is driven to uncover the secrets of his past–secrets he doesn’t want to share with her.

I’ll start with Sabrina. I liked her. She was a widow, and so she knew what she wanted from Cade. She could have been a martyr, but I just never got that vibe from her. Also, it’s Sabrina who does a lot of the pursuing of Cade, which I really enjoyed.

Cade… Oh, Cade. I suspect he would not have bothered me nearly as much as he did were it not for the fact that he makes the third whiny gunslinger I’ve run across in my reading lately. He needed a good shaking, and while, of the three gunslingers I’ve read about, he’s got the far more convincingly rough past, I thought he stomped around and acted more like a [pouty teenager than a grown adult one too many times]. Thankfully, a few of the characters call him on this, which makes me feel better.

The secondary characters worked well. I really like Bernice, a young woman Cade befriends, and Antonio, the saloon keeper, was also fun. Some of the rest of the town seem destined to being sequel baits, but the characters whose stories I would read were all female, so I wasn’t really as bothered by that.

The plot was good, with action that kept me reading. I had a few questions about some things that didn’t seem entirely historically plausible, and there’s a random paranormal element that seems kind of jarring, but the romance was pleasant. Also, I kept wondering what was up with this title as it seems like a cliche from the book of western phrases just inserted there randomly. (That’s a nitpick, I know, but still… I did wonder why nobody was actually riding hell for leather anywhere.)

Overall, this was a fun read. Probably not one I’d recommend going out of your way to acquire, but definitely a quick, amusing read.

Grade: C

Summary:
Exile…or love. Life…or death. His demons will force him to choose.

Gunslinger Kincaid has traded his black clothes and pistols for a homespun shirt and trousers. Now he’s Cade Brody, a man with dark hair, dark eyes and an even darker past. The blood money he’s earned bought him a small piece of property in New Mexico territory, at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. But it can’t buy him peace.

Sabrina Edmonds, a tough, no-nonsense widow, runs the post office and store in the small town of Eustace. She’s made her way in life with an independent streak a mile wide. Sabrina doesn’t want to get involved with Cade, but she finds herself drawn to the dark stranger who hides in his mountain retreat.

Cade wants nothing more than to be left alone, but an elusive wild child who delights in tormenting him, and a town full of people determined to befriend him, conspire to intrude upon his self-imposed exile. Then there’s Sabrina, who should be afraid of him—but isn’t.

Not even when the deadly demons of his past catch up with him.

Warning: This title contains lots of smart-ass remarks, a kick-ass heroine, a dark hero and some kickin’ hot sex.

You can read an excerpt here

Gwen’s review of Baddest Bad Boys by Shannon McKenna, E.C. Sheedy, and Cate Noble
Contemporary erotic romance anthology released by Kensington Brava 1 May 08

All three stories in this anthology has alpha males, damsels in distress, emotional tension, some drama. Oh, and hot hot sex. What more could you want from a summer read? And, bonus! They also happen to be written by some of our favorite people!

Anytime, Anywhere by Shannon McKenna

I like McKenna’s writing. The characters aren’t always sympathetic and the erotic scenes are seriously steamy and this story is no exception. I loved the heroine. She decides the burden of her virginity would be removed from her by the man she’s loved forever – the best friend of one of her brothers. the heroine has an irrepressible quality that just makes you like her. Here are a couple of sentences where she’s planning The Seduction:

She gave her body a critical once-over… Had the taut tummy and the boobs happening, thank God. They weren’t excessive, but they were perky and cheerful, and they did their divinely ordained boobly duty of filling out her bra and dragging mens’ eyes away from her face… Put those boobs to work. About time they stopped bouncing aimlessly around on her chest and started earning their keep.

And that right there is one of the biggest reasons this story was so fun to read – the heroine was just fun. The hero was hot, troubled, and very, very alpha. The villain was downright creepy, too.

A really good story.

Grade: A-

Summary:

For years, Robin MacNamara has been secretly in love with her big brother’s friend Jon Amendola, but the sexy cop has never seen her as anything but a kid. Until Robin follows him to an isolated cabin to prove she’s all grown up. Unfortunately, Jon’s last case isn’t quite closed-and someone wants payback…

Read an excerpt.

After the Lovin’ by E.C. Sheedy

This is a really cute story. As you could tell from my reaction to the first story, I love an ‘ugly duckling’ story. In this one, the hero was the duckling and he had always had a crush on the heroine. A crush that shamed him, making him behave abysmally to the heroine. Our story starts years later, though, and the duckling is now a hunk. A hunk who still wants to treat the heroine like shit but can’t.

These two characters manage to come together, defeating a very nasty villain at the same time. This would have made a nice book, I think.

Grade: B+

Summary:

In need of a place to hide, Tommi Smith finds herself on the doorstep of a high school classmate’s remote fishing lodge. Though Mac Fleming never trusted this knockout’s reputation for breaking hearts, nothing’s going to stop him from seducing her into his bed now. Until Tommi’s past comes back to haunt them…

No excerpt available.

Deal With the Devil by Cate Noble

This was my least favorite story of the three stories. It was readable, but I didn’t feel like the characters were sympathetic. The drama and tension were sporadic, and the villains were not very clearly drawn. Plus, the heroine was a bit wimpy.

Grade: C

Summary:

All Ellie McMann DeLuca wants is one night with the only man she’s ever truly loved-Max DeLuca, dubbed the Devil by the Italian paparazzi. Max agrees on one condition: they extend it to seven nights of sensual pleasure on a private island. But after a whole week of fulfilling each other’s deepest desires, how will they go back to the way things were?

Read an excerpt. You have to highlight the text to read it on the black background.

Overall Grade: B

Shannon C.’s review of Law of Averages by Wylie Kinson
Contemporary romance ebook released by Ellora’s Cave 17 May 08

Ms. Kinson specifically requested that we review one of her books, and unfortunately, she got stuck with me. My track record for Ellora’s Cave books has been something less than inspiring, unless you’re Samantha Kane, which most authors are not. In fact, in my more megalomaniacal moments, I like to think that Ms. Kinson keeps coming back to the site every day, with bated breath, hoping I do not hate her book. Well, for her, at least, the wait is over. Read on for my thoughts.

Megan Frost is the assistant manager of a very successful restaurant in Toronto. When her boss insists she needs a holiday, she is glad to be going to sunny Bermuda so she can enjoy the sights, work on her tan, and maybe have some vacation sex. She is not expecting Gabriel Law, the Dark Angel of rock, to also be spending the week in Bermuda and, thanks to a misunderstanding, they soon find themselves sharing a house, and their beds. But can an average girl and a rock god find lasting happiness?

Well, I’ll just go right ahead and say it. I liked this short novel. Both Megan and Gabriel were nice, normal people who had perfectly understandable neuroses. There was no tortured past for either of them, and they both had chemistry in spades. Plus, I am a sucker for musician heroes, even though Gabriel’s style of music probably isn’t my cuppa, either. The sexual tension between the two is palpable practically from the moment they meet, and when they finally get into bed, the sex scenes are toe-curlingly good.

I really liked Ms. Kinson’s writing style. She is funny without having her heroine do silly things just for cheap laughs. Her descriptions of Bermuda made me wish I were going there, and I really empathized with the characters, and could hear their very distinct voices in my head. Plus, this isn’t a terribly complex story, with no extraneous suspense subplot, and only incidental mentions of other characters, so we really do get to see the development of the relationship between Gabriel and Megan.

I have a few quibbles that keep this out of the A grade range. First of all, there was a paranormal element inserted in the story that not only felt unnecessary, but was also way too schmaltzy for my taste. Second of all, no mention was ever made of Gabriel and Megan using any form of protection. If I were Megan, even if I were sleeping with a rock star, I would be worried at the very least about disease.

All in all though, I really enjoyed this story and am pleased to find an EC title that I can recommend.
Grade: B

Summary:

Megan Frost, an up-and-coming restaurateur, knows everything there is to know about the culinary arts, but when it comes to pop culture, she’s been living under a rock. During a vacation to the sunny island of Bermuda, the yummiest dish she’s ever laid eyes on rolls that rock right off her.

British musician Gabriel Law, the famous Dark Angel of Rock, regrets putting his songwriting on the back burner. Tired and creatively simmered out, he retreats to the peace and solitude of Bermuda in order to cook up some original sounds for his new album. But when he finds a naked girl in his holiday cottage, he happily exchanges solitude for a sizzling duet.

The ingredients for a sexy, scorching relationship are in place, but the mix isn’t complete without a romantic legend, a mysterious taxi driver and a surprise symbol of destiny from the aquamarine sea…

Read an excerpt here

LauraJ’s review of Reckless (Red Hot Summer) by Maya Banks.
Contemporary Erotic Romance short story eBook released by Samhain Publishing 3 Jun 08

Maya Banks is a new author to me, but one I have wanted to try for some time. So when this book became available, I thought it would be a good one to try. Short stories to me are a great way to see if you are going to like an author and their writing without investing a lot of time and money.

I’ll start off by saying that I like Ms. Banks writing style. She has a wonderful voice and the story itself flowed easily, but the characters in this story left me feeling flat and for me to like a book I have to like the characters.

Nikki annoyed me as a heroine. I wanted to like her motivation for some of her actions (like wanting the first time to be with the guy she loves) but the way she goes about it was immature. The hero, J.T. was marginally better, but still lacked some characteristics I like in my heroes. Even though J.T. is several years older than Nikki he seemed immature as well. I want my hero and heroine to show some intelligence (even though occasionally they screw up and do something stupid) and I really didn’t see much from either.

Since this was my first experience with Ms. Banks books and even though I wasn’t crazy about this book I’m going to try some of her other books. I don’t like to judge an author on one book along (especially since I’m reading a short story as a opposed to a category or novel length where the author has more time to develop the characters. Those who like her books will probably enjoy this one. The sex scenes were hot (even though, to me Nikki seemed a little to knowledgeable to be a virgin).

Grade: D+

Summary:

He can run, but he can’t hide.

Sheriff J.T. Summers promised to keep an eye on his best friend’s little sister. What could possibly go wrong? A lot. “Little” Nikki Durant isn’t so little anymore. She’s sex on a stick, and she’s pointed right at him.

Nikki has always loved J.T., and she’s through waiting for him to come around. The soaring summer temperature is nothing compared to the heat generated when she sets fire to his senses. With a take-no-prisoners attitude, she’s out to get her man. But no matter how many ways she offers it, J.T.’s not buying.

What’s it going to take to get him to realize her love for him isn’t a passing fling? Get herself arrested? Hmm…

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Ask Adam by Jess Dee
Contemporary Romance published by Samhain 18 Sep 07

I admit it, sometimes I buy a book because the cover grabs my attention and won’t let go. I do read the blurb for it and if it sounds even okay, I’m a sucker, I plunk down my money. The icing on the cake, however, is when you read the book and it turns out to be a great read and you’ve found a new author to check out. Ask Adam is my most recent cover buy and I have to say, I done good!

Lexie is trying to get the jump on her meeting with the one man who can make her new program for children at the hospital where she works a reality. She needs his donation to get it up and running. They are both staying at the same Melbourne hotel, but she seems to always miss him by minutes, no matter how hard she tries to catch him. Instead she literally falls into the arms of the handsomest man she’s ever seen and they end up sharing one hot, sweaty night together, a night that Lexie will never forget. She never does meet Mr. Riley, so she tries to move on, stay in the moment with her program, but the man who gave her so much pleasure won’t stay out of her brain. Day and night she thinks of him. Imagine her surprise, her incredulity when she arrives for her appointment with AJ Riley back in Sydney and finds her fantastic one night stand sitting behind the desk.

He’s been aware of Lexie for a while. The woman turns him on just by being in the same room with him and now that AJ has had her in his bed, he can’t think of anything else. He even told her to call him Adam, for heaven’s sake. That’s something he’s never done. He likes the distance his nickname, among other things, gives him from the hurt and anguish he suffered ten years ago. Now Lexie has brought feeling back into his life and that scares him senseless. Making her walk away from him and what they could have together is the best thing he can do for both of them. Isn’t it?

These two characters are something else. They’ve both gone through hell when tragedy strikes a loved one, but the outcomes they suffered were so very different and brought them to very different places in life so many years later. Adam has totally cut himself off from feeling, vowing never to love again. He even stays away from his family so he won’t have to feel. Lexie finally gets under his skin enough that he shares his heartbreak with her. And your heart will break right along with hers when he tells all. There’s a number of scenes that will tear at you when Adam opens up and lets the emotion he’s held at bay for so long flow through him. I love a story more when the hero isn’t afraid of letting his feelings show and Adam runs the gamut of every feeling there is during his return to living. Even when he lashes out at Lexie you feel for him, you know why he’s doing it and you have to love him that much more because of it. Lexie gives him comfort with her heart and her heart does get trampled, but she doesn’t let her love go for this man who needs her. They are simply a wonderful hero and heroine.

I really like Ms. Dee’s writing style, especially the way she has with emotionality. Her characters are very well developed; she’s not afraid to have them act out harshly when situations call for it. They’re that much more human for it. Her new book, Photo Opportunity, was released last month and I’m looking forward to reading it. It’s got one of those covers that sucks me in, so I’m doomed either way.

Grade: A

Summary:

Can one wild night of passion turn into the romance of a lifetime?

Lexi Tanner’s got a major problem: AJ Riley, the man she’s about to approach for a hefty donation, turns out to be the stranger she shared a night of steamy sex with less than a week past. She’ll do anything to raise money for a children’s charity—anything except sell herself. Now how can she ask AJ for money without it seeming like he’s paying for sexual favors?

If there’s one thing the past has taught Adam “AJ” Riley, it’s that loving someone can only lead to pain. He knows he shouldn’t feel so attracted to Lexi, and he definitely shouldn’t trust a woman who’d sleep with a man one week and approach him for money the next. Yet somehow Lexi breaks through all his barriers. His instincts tell him to run but his heart wants to give Lexi—and love—a second chance. How can he let go of his tragic past and still protect his battered heart?

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

Laura J’s review of Tasting Candy by Anne Rainey
Contemporary Erotic Romance ebook released by Samhain Publishing 24 Jun 08

My first experience of reading one of Ms. Rainey’s books was when I reviewed Touching Lace. I immediately fell in love with her writing style. Since reading Touching Lace I have been eagerly awaiting the sequel and hoping I wouldn’t be disappointed. I am very happy to say I wasn’t.

Tasting Candy takes place immediately following Nick and Lacey’s story and has Lacey’s big brother Blade looking to find love.

Blade is crazy about Candice, who works for his brother Merrick’s business. He’s not quite sure why he is attracted to the quiet and somewhat shy Candice but he wants to go out with her, but doesn’t know how to approach her. While delivering his sister a message at her gym he witnesses an incident that makes Blade unsure what to do to. He wants to protect her and take away all her fears, but at the same time he needs to know what happened so he can help her without scaring her away.

Candice is embarrassed by what Blade has witnessed. He’s a big guy, but he is the one guy that doesn’t send her into panic attacks. When Blade shows up at Candice’s place and demands to know what happened at the gym to upset her so much, she finds herself wanting to tell him, something that has been very hard to do with many people. Blade tells her that he wants her and that he will be patient and let her lead, but she shocks him when she tells him that she wants him too, but only as far as she remains comfortable with. Blade agrees knowing that Candice is worth the wait.

Ms Rainey has once again created characters that you will fall in love with. While Ben is big physically he is probably one of the most tender of the heroes I have read in a while. His patience and love for Candice is evident every time we see Ben even though he doesn’t immediately say he is in love. His actions speak louder than words.

I expected Candice to be more of a fragile character in this story but I was pleasantly surprised at her strength and her determination to move forward instead of staying stagnant and hiding away from what happened to her. She was still a vulnerable person and a couple of scenes showed that vulnerability.

This book is going on my top ten list this year, along with Touching Lace and Ms Rainey will be a must-read author for me from now on. She is able to put everything I want to read in a book, likable characters, tender moments, great sex, and easy laughs. I’m really looking forward to reading more from her.

Grade: A

Lust was the lure, Candy was the reward.

Walking around with a raging hard-on isn’t Blade Vaughn’s idea of a good time. He’s hungry for sex and there’s only one woman on his menu: Candice Warner. When Blade witnesses the shy beauty go into a panic over a harmless encounter, he’s more determined than ever to prove that sex with him is just the therapy she needs.

Candice is used to being afraid of her own shadow, but when she goes all nutso in front of Blade, she’s beyond mortified. She wants him to see her as an equal, and as a woman. It’s time she got over her past trauma and started living again.

But trust is hard to come by when her only experience with men has left her heart in pieces.

read an excerpt

Sandy M’s review of Lifting the Veil by R.G. Alexander
Contemporary Paranormal Erotic Romance released by Ellora’s Cave 16 Apr 08

Give me a good shifter story any time. If it’s a wolf shifter story, it’s that much better. A sexy-as-sin, handsome, alpha, immortal shifter. What’s better than that?

It’s Meru’s birthday and she’s been given an unexpected gift, The Book of Veils. Not knowing what all the book contains, she translates a spell that gives her the ability to see what people truly are, seeing their aura, so to speak, lifting the veil. As she learns more about her ancestor, Aine, a Druid and favored by the goddess Danu, and the power of future sight she possessed, Meru realizes that power has been handed down to her for a reason she and her family must discover and then they must solve whatever comes from that discovery.

Sent to protect a priestess, Damon is a guardian of the North Portal, a place where it is his duty to keep dark shifters and Others from gaining entrance to the human world and causing havoc throughout. But when he meets this priestess, his wolf instincts take over and it’s his mate he’s confronted with, though he can’t reasonably acknowledge that particular piece of news right now. All he knows is he wants her, needs her, and will have her.

And have her he does. The lovemaking between these two is fierce and mind numbing as well as slow, savoring, and loving. They don’t fight the attraction, the pull they have for one another. They let it grow and explode naturally, all the while learning about each other and fighting evil and darkness. You feel the emotion between them, especially when Damon tells her about his childhood, how lost he was and frightened at not knowing how to control his shifting.

The storyline itself is done very well, giving you and the characters a mystery to solve together. And those secondary characters are all terrific. I especially enjoyed Finn and twins Val and Hawk, fellow guardians of Damon’s. I was hoping those two would have their own books, and perusing the author’s site I found that Val and Hawk’s story is in the works.
I look forward to that one. I also really enjoyed the mini romance between Lily, Meru’s aunt, and Myrddin, an ancient immortal entrusted to protect mortals. Maybe they will have their own book down the road too.

This is one of those books that gives you a storyline to go along with your sex and this author does it quite nicely while keeping you entertained and hot and bothered all at the same time.

Grade: B+

Summary:

When Meru Tanner receives a mysterious birthday present, The Book of Veils, her world is turned upside down. Now she’s “seeing” things that aren’t supposed to be real, gabbing with gods and having erotic premonitions about one sexy wolf-man she’d do anything to tame.

She tempted the feral beast inside him to come out and play. Damon Arkadios has kept the animal part of his nature leashed for thousands of years. He is a guardian, the leader of the Fianna warriors — but from the moment he caught her scent, he knew she was more than just another assignment. Protecting the sexy little seer will challenge his own beliefs — and his control.

Their lust quickly spins out of control, even as danger lurks behind every corner. Can she accept the legacy handed down to her from the distant past and convince her Lycan to be a part of her future? Or will the ancient evil that threatens to destroy their world keep them from making a new beginning together?

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of Dirty by Megan Hart
Erotic romance released by Harlequin Spice on 1 Jan 07

I discovered Megan Hart around the time Tempted came out. I’m still not quite sure what happened, but I got caught up in the craze, and I’m glad I did. I’ve read all of Ms. Hart’s Spice books, and I think Dirty may be my favorite. I read it because Ms. Hart has a new Spice Brief out, Reason Enough, which acts as an epilogue to Dirty.

Ms. Hart has a great writing voice. While the characters and situations are stark – almost bleak – the words hold an almost sort of warmth. It’s hard to describe. Dirty is both normal, and outrageous. You would think that the contrasts in the book are too clashing, but it works. Incredibly well.

Elle is a very average person, with a troubled past. Her family is dysfunctional, like so many other people’s, but her situation is unique because of the combination of things that happened to her. Tragic events led her to closing off her emotions. She’s haunted by what happened to her, and copes through sex and drinking. And counting. Elle eschews all emotional ties, and is living life as a dead person. Still, she has quirks, and her reaction to people give her depth and complexity. There’s a vulnerability about her as well, which saves her from being a static character.

Dan is a perfect foil for Elle, and a great character. He’s incredibly sweet, but stands up for himself. Dan is also a very human character. Sometimes, he loses his temper, or even acts like a jerk. However, I felt that when he acted cold, it was because he knew it was the only way he could get closer to Elle. I love that Dan liked and wanted Elle from the start, and he’s willing indulge her eccentricities. He’s incredibly considerate, and pushes Elle, willing to force her into difficult situations in order for her to grow.

While I generally don’t like books written in the first person point of view (ok, I actively dislike it) – this type of narration is perfect for Ms. Hart’s writing. Rather than alienating or isolating the reader, the writing draws you in, and gives you perspective on the heroine, and you begin to empathize with her. The story line is relatively normal – the occurrences and situations are all every day, but there’s something special about Dirty. While most of us don’t do what the characters did, and generally don’t have to deal with all the traumatic events in Elle’s past, we do have dysfunctional families or friends. The secondary characters were fun, and became a way to provide additional perspective to the story.

Dirty has things each and every one of us has can relate to, either personally or through a friend or acquaintance. Still, the additional issues and problems the characters have prevent them from being mundane. I also love how the title of the book is integrated throughout the novel. Not only that, but I felt the title was clever, because really it’s an oxymoron.

I generally like happy books – actually, I strongly prefer happy books. Life and circumstances are sad enough. This makes it just that much more impressive how much I enjoy Ms. Hart’s novels. The nuances in the book as well as the characters make for a very enjoyable read, and I definitely recommend looking into Ms. Hart’s books. I’m anticipating reading her next novel.

Grade: A-

This is what happened…
I met him at the candy store.

He turned and smiled at me and I was surprised enough to smile back. This was not a children’s candy store, mind you–this was the kind of place you went to buy expensive imported chocolate truffles for your boss’s wife because you felt guilty for having sex with him when you were both at a conference in Milwaukee.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

I’ve been hit on plenty of times, mostly by men with little finesse who thought what was between their legs made up for what they lacked between their ears.

Sometimes I went home with them anyway, just because it felt good to want and be wanted, even if it was mostly fake.

The problem with wanting is that it’s like pouring water into a vase full of stones. It fills you up before you know it, leaving no room for anything else. I don’t apologize for who I am or what I’ve done in–or out–of bed.

I have my job, my house and my life, and for a long time I haven’t wanted anything else.

Until Dan. Until now.

Read an excerpt here.

Holly‘s review of Black Silk by Sharon Page
Historical erotic romance released by Kensington Aphrodisia 1 Apr 08

This novel was a pleasant surprise for me. It’s a historical, which I didn’t know until I started reading it. I fell right into it, despite the fact that I generally avoid historical erotica novels. The plot was surprisingly deep for the way it started out (I thought it was just going to be a quick, light erotica) and the characters were well drawn and deeper than it seemed at first glance. From the first page I was hooked and couldn’t walk away.

The back blurb of this book doesn’t do much for the story, so I’m going to add my own really quick:

Maryanne Hamilton is lured to Mrs. Masters house of ill repute by a friend who says she’s in dire need of help. Only her friend never shows and Maryanne ends up locked in a room with none other than the man she’s been fantasizing about for months, Dashiel Blackmore, Lord Swansborough. And as an editor of erotic novels, she can fantasize pretty good. But Dash mistakes her for a lightskirt named Verity and she ends up compromised…all night long.

Dash uses liquor and sex to dull the pain from his bitter past. But when some of London’s most notorious courtesan’s turn up missing and Dash is framed for it, he needs Verity to verify his alibi. Only he has no idea who she really is. Until her brother-in-law – and one of Dash’s good friends – shows up on his doorstep demanding he do the honorable thing and marry her.

Dash was an extremely compelling character, filled with contradictions and insecurities. He has a reputation for being lecherous, most notably for allowing hot wax to be poured on him during sex play, though at heart he’s honorable and only wants to escape his past. Once he marries Maryanne, he becomes confused about what carnal delights he should and shouldn’t introduce his innocent wife to. He also struggles with the desire to protect her while not really trusting her. Both these internal conflicts were interesting and well played out.

Maryanne was also an interesting character. She hides from Dash the fact that she edits erotic stories, afraid he’ll be disgusted with her and turn her out if he realizes how truly depraved she is. Yet she can’t control the impulse to be as wanton as she can in the bedroom. Though the two sound contradictory, it rather worked. She was a strong character and I truly enjoyed watching her and Dash circle each other.

The mystery surrounding the women being abducted and the attempts on Dash’s life was well done. The focus of the story stayed on the main couple, so I felt the mystery was an added bonus and played well into the characters’ internal struggles. The villain wasn’t easily recognizable as such, either.

I do think parts of the plot were unnecessary (such as the erotic scavenger hunt Maryanne and Dash are drawn into shortly after they meet) and some of the scenes were over the top, especially some of the sex scenes between secondary characters. I think more than a few were thrown in just for the sake of having them.

This is the sequel to Sin, which features Maryanne’s sister, and there were a few times when the story focussed on things that had obviously taken place in the first novel and I was lost. It doesn’t happen often, so I don’t think they have to be read in order, but for those of you who care about that sort of thing you might want to.

Grade: B+

     Summary:

DANGEROUS SEDUCTION Maryanne Hamilton had expected to be shocked, but the wanton orgy she finds in Mrs. Master’s salon makes her wonder if she has walked into hell. Desperate to escape, she comes upon the master of sin himself-Lord Swansborough. Fascinated by his nakedness, she longs to touch every inch of his long, hard body. And when he bids her come near, she quickly surrenders to his wicked promises of carnal pleasure and sensual ecstasy.

  Read an excerpt (scroll down).

by Cherie Feather

Is erotica a genre you read? And if so, when did you start reading it? For me, erotica is a wonderfully guilty (or maybe not so guilty) pleasure. I love it in all forms: sensual books, movies, and art.

Some of my favorite erotica authors are Emma Holly, Ann Rice (writing as A. N. Roquelaure) and Shayla Black. Some of my fave erotic flicks are “Wild Orchid,” “The Red Shoe Diaries” Movie and “9 ½ Weeks,” which were all created by Zalman King. As for erotic art, I adore the works of Olivia de Berardinis, Alberto Vargas and Jay Trembly. I’m friends with Olivia and Jay on Myspace. Don’t you just love MySpace for that? Whoever thought there would be a day when we could “friend” people we admire?

Most of the key players in The Art of Desire are involved in the art world. The historical heroine is an artist and the contemporary heroine is a museum director. There is also a famous painting of the historical hero that is an integral part of the book, as well as a hundred-year-old journal.

So far the reviews have been extremely favorable, including a glowing write-up from Romantic Times. If you’re curious, here’s the review:

This story has it all–hot and varied sex scenes, a hunky hero to die for, a tough-yet-insecure heroine to identify with and a diary that links the characters to a tragic Old West love affair from a hundred years ago. The happy-ever-after ending is icing on the cake! Feather is an excellent writer who knows which details will evoke just the right emotion.” Romantic Times, 4 ½ stars, Top Pick!

On this site, Sybil recommended The Art of Desire as a book that “…fucking rocks!”

Oh, how I love that!

The Art of Desire is my first erotica and my first book written as Cherie Feather. I’ve always wanted to write a contemporary story with a historical twist. Have you read Kathleen Eagle’s Fire and Rain? It’s one of my all-time favorite books and the contemporary/historical element is what inspired me to try this fascinating theme. I wondered how an old journal would fare in an erotica, so I gave it a try.

First I wrote a pitch and sent it to my agent. She loved it instantly. From there I wrote a three-chapter proposal, but it took me almost three months because I kept re-writing it, trying to get the level of sensuality just right. After that, it flowed. The words spilled onto the pages.

Since then, I’ve completed my second erotica, a spin off from The Art of Desire. It’s called Submission and features a wildly sexy pin-up artist (the hero), a museum historian (the heroine) and two lovelorn ghosts (the historical characters and subplot). Submission will be released in Feb. 2009.

I am also published as Sheri WhiteFeather. My current Sheri WhiteFeather release is Killer Passion, a Silhouette Romantic Suspense that comes out in July. Killer Passion is part of a miniseries called Seduction Summer with authors Nina Bruhns and Cindy Dees. Nina, Cindy and I were asked to write hot, suspenseful stories, and we had a blast creating romances set in Fiji with a serial killer stalking lovers on the beach.

I just received my authors copies of Killer Passion, and I’ll be giving away some of them here. Leave a comment to enter the contest and winners will be drawn at random. Keep checking back to see if you won. I think you’ll enjoy this sizzling, suspenseful book.

I’m also giving away a copy of The Art of Desire. Once again, leave a comment for a chance to win. Then check back to see if you’re the winner.

For more contests, more news, see pictures of my gorgeous grown kids and read my blog, visit my websites at www.CherieFeather.com and www.SheriWhiteFeather.com

Hugs and Happy Reading!

Thanks, Sheri/Cherie!! Again, to win one of the copies Cherie is giving away, comment here and tell us what you like the most about erotic romance. You must be 18 or over to enter, one entry per household, and you must comment by midnight Central time (according to the blog’s timestamp) Sunday, 8 June (technically, 9 June, but who’s counting). Good luck!

We continue with excerpts from The Art of Desire by Cherie Feather, a new erotic romance from Berkley Heat. Keep reading for the book’s summary and the last of four excerpts. This is a seriously steamy series of excerpts, so read on only if you dare!

Summary:

Museum director Mandy Cooper is obsessed with nineteenth-century artist Catherine Burke-and the artist’s erotically charged relationship with Atacar, her enthralling American Indian lover. But Mandy’s link to the legendary couple runs deeper than she knows. She’s having a heated affair herself-with Jared Cabrillo, Atacar’s handsome great-great nephew who knows precisely what it takes to seduce a woman…

He’s in possession of Catherine’s explicit journal. He knows every intimate detail of what she wanted and needed. But he also knows how desperately Catherine had loved Atacar and how dangerously he’d loved her. The journal is timeless and tragic, and the secrets contained within its pages can bring Mandy and Jared together, or just as surely destroy them both-desire by shocking desire.

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

THREE

Atacar didn’t take me. He didn’t sweep me into frenzied passion. For what seemed like the longest minutes of my life, he continued to hold me at gunpoint.

Should I tell him my name? That I am Catherine Burke, a twenty-two-year-old virgin artist with a wanton reputation? That I want him to kiss me? That I long to feel his nakedness against mine?

What if he didn’t speak English? Then what? My words would be lost on him. But my actions wouldn’t. I repeated what I’d done earlier and looked at his cock. I could see his genitals in much greater detail now that I was standing only a gun barrel away from him. He grew bigger, aroused by my visual attention, and I got bolder.

I brought my gaze to his face and stared him down, biting my bottom lip, sucking it lustfully between my teeth. His granite-cut features didn’t soften. They were as hard as his penis. I felt triumphant. His eyes burned for more. My boldness made them darker, pitched like a midnight fire.

At that point, I expected him to lower the rifle, to sweep me into the passion I craved. But he didn’t. He appeared to be waiting for me, to see what I would do next. Nervous energy skittered through my blood.

What would I do next? I’d never seduced a man before. I couldn’t just stand there like an inexperienced ninny and stare him into ejaculation.

So I did what I assumed a seductress would do. I curtailed my fear and removed my clothing. I got as far as my dress, petticoat and corset cover and stopped, letting him look at me in my ribbon-trimmed corset, lace-hemmed drawers and high-top boots. To heighten the image, I loosed my daytime coiffure, which was already messy from my nap, allowing my wheat-colored hair to fall in long, unbound waves.

Atacar finally lowered his gun, resting the butt of the weapon on the ground. He looked at me if I were a divine delicacy, the best sweetmeat he would ever taste. My breasts tingled. The juncture between my thighs went moist.

He jutted his chin, telling me, without words, to complete my state of undress. I prepared to unfasten my corset, and a sudden noise caught both of our attentions.

The rustle of foliage, of riders approaching.

Atacar moved at a spinning pace, and so did I. We gathered our clothes and dashed for the cottonwoods. He latched onto my arm to speed me up, and I felt as if I were being dragged. He was much taller than I was, making quicker strides. His horse spooked and ran, too. The animal disappeared out of sight. The riders were still coming from the opposite direction.

Once we were hidden in the trees, Atacar pushed me down and thrust his water-damp body on top of mine. He was heavy, big and muscular, and the air whooshed out of me.

He lifted his head and arched his torso to see who would appear. All I could see was his naked chest, which bore varying scars. War wounds, I presumed. I knew he was clutching his rifle. If the riders threatened us, he would attack, living up to his name.

The strangers arrived. I heard them dismount. I heard them talking, too. They were cowboys, filling their canteens at the stream, discussing the stray cattle for which they were searching.

Atacar’s posture relaxed a bit, and I realized that he understood what they were saying. I could have spoken to him after all. Either way, I suspected that he was relieved that the other men weren’t associated with the army. Luckily, they didn’t linger. They were gone soon enough.

Leaving Atacar and I alone once again.

This time I waited to see what he would do. Would he lift his body from mine and don his clothes so he could track his missing horse? Or would he stay where he was, pressed intimately against me?

He stayed.

Our gazes locked. My heart rapped in raw excitement. His hips bumped mine, creating friction. His arousal returned, stone hard and insistent.

“I’m aware of who you are,” I said.

“And I’m aware that you’re bewitching me,” he responded in a strong, choppy accent I’d never heard before. But that was probably how Indians sounded when they spoke English.

Dangerous. Exotic.

“Soldiers came through this area last week,” I told him. “I saw your picture.”

“And now you want to lie with me?”

I nodded, feeling my pulse rise. “Yes.”

After that, we quit talking. Our words no longer mattered. I battled my corset, and he tugged at my drawers. I didn’t show him that the crotch seam was open. I let him pull them down instead.

I knew that women could have orgasms, and I was anxious to experience what my bohemian friends in Paris whispered so deliciously about. They’d told me that I could make it happen myself, but I’d wanted to wait for my first lover.

And here he was.

Atacar kissed me, his tongue fornicating with mine. He tasted wild and forbidden, and I hungered for more. Liquid heat, as powerful as the sun itself, rained down on us.

Experimenting, I rubbed his cock, circling the head. It was silkier than I imagined. I felt as wonderfully wanton as my reputation, sliding my hand up and down, enjoying the gliding sensation. He groaned and kissed me harder. Our teeth clashed, and I bit his lip. He pinned me down and told me do it again, and I made a drop of his blood spill into my mouth.

We rolled over in the dirt, the grass-patched, leaf-laden ground abrading the exposed portions of my skin. My corset, which laced in back and contained a front opening, was partially undone, and my drawers were halfway down my legs. A twig scratched my bare bottom.

Atacar used his fingers, parting the curls that covered my mound, and I spread my thighs for him. He looked down, aroused by how willing I was to expose myself, to let him see. I looked down at him, too. His cock was even more engorged. I imagined him spending his seed all over me.

He played with the secret folds of my flesh, making me sinfully wet, making me squirm. I didn’t need to wonder if the nub he tended was my clitoris. I knew it was. My bohemian friends whispered deliciously about that, too. I finally understood why.

The world burst at my core. I shuddered and shook, lifting my hips in jerking motions. He dipped two fingers inside, spreading even more wetness, more of what I needed. I panted until there was barely breath left in my lungs.

Then I heard a familiar voice call my name. “Catherine!”

Atacar rolled away and grabbed his rifle.

“No!” I told him, scrambling to right my undergarments, pulling up my drawers and fastening my corset. “That’s my nanny. I’m from England, and she came to America with me.” I managed to put my petticoat in place, but I couldn’t find my corset cover so I climbed into my dress the way I was, nearly tripping over the fabric. Nanny kept calling out to me, expressing her concern. I’d been gone a long time.

Atacar shoved on his clothes, too. But he couldn’t get his cock to behave. In spite of our predicament, he remained half hard, the buttons on his pants straining. He still desired me.

For all the good it did. By now, he looked as if he wanted to rip my hair from my pretty little head, to make me suffer for his unresolved erection. I hoped that scalping one’s enemies wasn’t a practice in his tribe.

Nanny called my name again.

“Hurry,” he snapped. “Go to her. Before she finds you here with me.”

“I’m trying.” I had leaves in my un-scalped hair, and my hastily fastened corset was threatening to come undone. I was an abomination.

It was to no avail. Nanny discovered us. She came puffing through an opening in the trees, stopped in her tracks, her gaze darting from me to him, then back to me. Although my appearance was ravished, she didn’t accuse Atacar of hurting me. She must have recognized a seductress when she saw one.

“Goodness, child.” She shook her head, her double chin quivering. “What have you done?”

#

It was done.

Jared leaned against the sink while Mandy popped the dildo out of the cast. She traced the naughty phallus, and his cock went hard.

“It’s you.” Her fingers caressed the rubber form, moving from the head to the shaft to the testes. “Every sexy detail.”

“You’re making me excited.” He leaned over to kiss her, the toy pressed against her blouse.

“Pierce it,” she said.

He used a needle. Mandy seemed intrigued, studying the procedure. He put a circular barbell in the same location as his piercing to give her the familiarity she craved. He washed the dildo with an antibacterial solution, cleaning it for her.

Once it was dry, Mandy licked the newly decorated head. He thought about the blowjob she’d given him earlier and got even more excited. He wanted her to suck the dildo, too.

“Let’s go.” He took her hand and they went into her bedroom.

Jared removed the quilt and top sheet from her bed, leaving the bottom sheet and two pillows. Her room was soft and feminine with white washed furniture, pastel prints and hints of lace. It was perfect for tonight, ideal for a man’s voyeuristic obsession. He angled a chair, positioning it at the footboard, where he intended to watch the show. He put the dildo in the center of the bed, along with the lubricant they’d brought.

She dimmed the lights and lit the candles, placing them on the dresser beside several ornate bottles of perfume. The stage was set, he thought.

Jared took his seat, and Mandy turned toward him. The kama sutra candle began scenting the air, the light rose fragrance enhancing the ambience.

“Take off your clothes,” he said.

She stripped, removing her sandals first, then her blouse and jeans. Her flesh-colored bra and panties came next. She had small breasts with full pink nipples. Her stomach was flat, and her hips flared. As always, her pussy was delicately waxed. She was so beautiful, she looked like a centerfold come to life.

“Give me your panties,” he said.

She walked forward and handed him her daintily laced underwear. He tucked them into the front right pocket of his jeans, taking them as a trophy, wanting to keep something that belonged to her close to him.

All pink and pretty, she blinked, seeming unsure of what to do next.

He motioned with his chin. “Get on the bed.”

She did as he instructed, kneeling on the sheet, waiting to fulfill the rest of his needs.

He gave her another aroused order. “Lick the dildo. All of it. Every inch. And imagine it’s me.”

“It is you.” She darted her tongue over the head and played lavishly with the piercing.

By the time she worked her way down, he scooted to the edge of his seat. She held the phallus high enough for him to see her scoop one of the balls into her mouth.

Damn, he thought. Hot fucking damn. “Do that to the other one. Then give it a really nasty blowjob. Hot and dirty, the way I like it.”

She didn’t disappoint. Clutching the base, she wrapped her lips around the dildo and sucked, pumping the device as if it really were his dick. She tipped back her head, exposing the ladylike column of her neck.

Somehow, someway, Jared was going to get through this without jerking off. Looking but not touching, her or himself, was part of the fantasy.

Mandy made the dildo come. Or that was how it seemed in his mind. He imagined white-hot liquid spurting into her mouth. She even made a swallowing sound. When she released the dildo, she licked her lips.

This was the best fantasy he’d ever had, and it was just getting started. “Put the lube on it now. Make it as slick as you can.”

She used a generous amount, gliding the silicone solution over the rubber form. He could almost feel her sleek, smooth strokes. She took her time, favoring her new toy.

“Lie back and spread your legs,” he told her.

Mandy propped both pillows against the headboard and opened her thighs. But it wasn’t enough.

“Wider,” he said. “All the way.”

She inched them open a bit more.

He didn’t back down. It was part of the game, and they both knew it. “More. Show me how pretty you are. Show me what I want to see.”

She did it. She went as wide as she could, exposing her inner folds. He didn’t ask her to do anything else. He just sat there, staring at her cunt.

Mandy flexed her hips, offering him an even prettier view of her labia and the hood of her clit. She glistened in her own juices. He could only imagine how much wetter she was going to get.

He lifted his gaze to her face, and she gave him her best naughty-girl smile. He’d never met anyone like her. Good. Bad. Shy. Wild. He wanted to grab her panties out of his pocket and press them against his fly.

“Tell me to put it in,” she said.

“Not yet.” He needed a minute.

She clutched the dildo. “When?”

He took a steadying breath. “Now. But don’t insert it very deep. Go slow so I can see it happen.”

Mandy followed his direction, soft and easy, and he watched the pierced head disappear.

“A little more.”

She gave the dildo another tender push, and he marveled at how sweet and sexy she was. She was looking down at herself, watching, too.

When she glanced up, they stared at each other. He unzipped his jeans to ease the pressure, to make his hard-on more bearable. His boxers tented through the opening.

“Go deeper,” he said. “But not all the way. Just enough to hit your G-spot.”

She made a curious expression, biting the inside of her cheek, looking girlish and womanly at the same time. “I don’t know how far that is. I’ve never tried to find…”

“Try it halfway. At an angle.” He knew it was difficult to reach during regular sex, but devices like dildos and vibrators were easier to maneuver. Some vibrators were made especially for that spot.

“Like this?” She repositioned the dildo, angling it with each stroke.

“Yeah. Like that.” Jared spread his thighs. He wanted to give up the fight. He wanted to jerk off, as hard and fast as he could, but he gripped the underside of his chair instead.

Mandy stimulated her G-spot, using both hands to hold the tool, going at a watch-me pace that drove him half mad. Her rhythm was steady–shallow, then hard, then shallow again.

She went faster and her firm little tits bounced with each pumping stroke. Her nipples were as hard as rock candy. He wanted to dissolve them on his tongue.

“I like doing this for you.” She arched her back against the pillows and thrust her hips. “Just for you.” She thrust again, showing him how good it was.

He tightened the hold on his chair.

“Jared.” She panted his name, making sure his gaze was locked on the point of impact.

He dragged a gust of rose-scented air into his lungs. He felt as if he were going to explode. He knew she was going to come.

Her orgasm ignited the bed, shooting imaginary sparks straight at him. He could have sworn that she’d made the flames on the candles dance. The kama sutra couple melted all over each other.

When it was over, Jared gave Mandy, and himself, time to recuperate.

Before he told her to do it again.

#

Atacar scowled at me. He’d planned to cross the hills and ride into Mexico, where he could escape the law. But he didn’t recover his horse.

He blamed me for his dilemma, claiming his desire for me had affected his judgment. He should have tracked his horse before it had gotten so far away from him.

“I bewitched you,” I bragged, making his scowl deepen. He wasn’t amused, and neither was Nanny.

He formulated a new plan, pulling her and me into it. He assumed that we lived within walking distance of the stream or else we wouldn’t have traveled on foot. He questioned me, making sure we resided alone, just the two of us. We did. At a farmhouse I’d purchased from the bank. Up until last week, we had a farmhand, but he’d left our employment to marry the widow he’d been courting. Nanny and I had yet to replace him.

Rifle in hand, Atacar nudged us forward, insisting that we offer him food and lodging until he raided a neighboring ranch for another horse to steal.

I carried my stretching board and paintbox, and Nanny trudged beside me, complaining that Atacar was forcing us to the farm so he could steal our horse. We only had one, and we needed it to pull our buggy when we went into town for supplies.

“That Red Indian will leave us on the plains to starve,” she said, even though I caught her darting wistful glances at him.

Nanny was rather plump, with graying brown hair and sagging bosoms. I’d heard that she was quite voluptuous in her youth. Long before she’d become my nursemaid, she’d been a fetching farm girl. She’d also been accused of having a forbidden tryst with a notorious London thief. She’d denied the allegation, but I always wondered if the story were true. Now seeing the way she looked at Atacar, I suspected it was. My old Nanny missed her thief.

Hours later, Nanny served supper. The three of us sat at a simple wooden table and ate in silence. Compared to the genteel dwelling in which I’d been raised, the farmhouse was primitive. But in this area, it was considered quite nice. Nanny and I each had our own bedroom, and I used the third for my studio.

I watched Atacar beneath my lashes, trying to get his attention. I caught Nanny’s instead. She scolded me, squinting her eyes and pursing her lips. It wasn’t unlike me to misbehave during a meal. I’d done so at society events, poking fun at my already soiled reputation. My parents were greatly relieved when I’d expressed an interest in moving to America. Father bestowed a portion of my own dowry upon me, providing means for my survival. He was certain I would never snare a respectable husband anyway.

Nanny pursed her sour-plum lips again. I ignored her and resumed flirting with Atacar. He finally turned his frustrated gaze upon me.

“How long are you going to be uncivil?” I asked.

“When you stop bewitching me.”

“I won’t stop,” I countered.

“Then I’ll be civil,” he said, leaning toward me and speaking directly in my ear, keeping his words from Nanny, “after I fuck you.”

His harshness aroused me. But it frightened me, too. Had I taken my seductress game too far? Would he thrust hard and fast upon entering me? Would losing my maidenhead be more painful than it should be?

“You’ll be the first,” I whispered back, too stubborn to let my fear show.

His expression changed. He seemed confused. How could such a brazen girl be a virgin?

“I’ve been waiting for a man who makes me feel the way you do,” I admitted.

Atacar didn’t dispute my claim. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at me, as if I’d bewitched him even more. I relaxed, sensing that he would be gentle my first time.

The farmhouse had a sleeping loft in the barn. At bedtime, Atacar told me to meet him there. I knew it was because he wanted to lie with me where Nanny couldn’t hear us. She knew it, too. She’d figured out that she’d interrupted us in the cottonwoods before he could deflower me.

I changed into my finest undergarments, a red corset and matching drawers that were fashionably called lingerie. I brushed my hair until it shined, pinning a portion of it up and allowing the remainder to fall freely. I removed a buttercup from the glass jar beside my bed and worked it into my coiffure.

Before I left for the barn, Nanny draped me in a blanket. She insisted that I drink a special blend of tea, too. She told me that it would help me relax. So I took a few sips of the brew she offered.

“While you were getting ready, I asked Atacar why he speaks English so well,” she said. “And do you know what his response was?”

I shook my head. The blanket was soft and fluffy, providing the comfort she wanted me to have. The tea helped, as well.

“He scouted for the army,” Nanny told me. “He translated for them, too.”

“If he served the army, then why is he a prisoner of war?”

“After the Chiricahua hostiles surrendered, the entire tribe, including the scouts, were exiled to military installations. First to Florida, then to Alabama and now Oklahoma Territory. It didn’t matter that Atacar served the army, the government treated him and the other scouts as if they were hostiles, too.”

“He’s lived a complex life,” I said.

“Yes, he has.” She tucked the blanket tighter around my shoulders. “And if he doesn’t steal our horse, he’ll probably steal your heart.”

“The way the London thief did to you?”

She didn’t answer. She took my empty teacup and handed me a kerosene lamp. I turned away, slipping off for my rendezvous, the moon a silver crescent in the sky.

I entered the barn and climbed the loft. Atacar waited for me. He was stripped to the waist. I held up the light to admire him and let him appreciate me.

Neither of us spoke. I stepped forward and placed the brass lamp on a hook on the wall, then spread the blanket on a bed of straw.

We came together and kissed, standing on the fluffy floor covering. I showed him that my fancy silk drawers were slit between my legs, and he smiled. It was the first time I’d seen his lips curve. He looked wickedly handsome.

He knelt down and licked me there, right through the opening. I gasped and widened my stance. I knew this was called cunnilingus, and it elicited the warmest, wettest, most naughty sensation. I could scarcely wait to orgasm, to shake and shudder against his tongue.

Atacar gazed up at me, making sure I was watching. I was. Totally. Completely. How could I not? I felt like a wild-hearted bride on her secret wedding night.

He stopped pleasuring me, but only long enough to order me to lie down and remove my drawers. I did his bidding, and he knelt between my thighs and lifted my legs onto his shoulders, licking me some more.

He told me how womanly sweet I tasted, calling my private place my cunt. My bohemian friends had familiarized me with that word, and like all of the other definitions they’d taught me, they’d whispered it scandalously. From Atacar, it sounded rough and dangerously romantic.

I removed my corset so my breasts would spring free. He laved my clitoris and reached up to stimulate one of my nipples, to roll it between his thumb and forefinger.

I scooted even closer to his mouth. I was drenched with his salvia and my own honey-slick moisture. He stilled his tongue, and I rubbed against his face, teasing him the way he teased me.

Finally he resumed his skillful ministration, and I put I my fingers down there, encouraging him to lick them. He turned my boldness into a game and told me to do it, too. So I did. I tasted my own fingers after they’d been inside me.

Heat danced between us. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, and he couldn’t stop looking at me. I’d aroused him, and myself, beyond reason.

I climaxed, even more powerful than before, streams of fire bursting through my quaking body.

After it was over, Atacar wiped the wetness from his face and rose up to hold me. I clung to his neck, and he said something in Apache. I had no idea what it was, but I could tell it was an endearment. He removed his pants and slid between my legs, his rock-hard penis poised at my soft, slick entrance. My heartbeat quickened and I exhaled a virginal breath.

Desperate for him to take me.

We continue with excerpts from The Art of Desire by Cherie Feather, a new erotic romance from Berkley Heat. Keep reading for the book’s summary and part III of four excerpts. This is a seriously steamy series of excerpts, so read on only if you dare!

Summary:

Museum director Mandy Cooper is obsessed with nineteenth-century artist Catherine Burke-and the artist’s erotically charged relationship with Atacar, her enthralling American Indian lover. But Mandy’s link to the legendary couple runs deeper than she knows. She’s having a heated affair herself-with Jared Cabrillo, Atacar’s handsome great-great nephew who knows precisely what it takes to seduce a woman…

He’s in possession of Catherine’s explicit journal. He knows every intimate detail of what she wanted and needed. But he also knows how desperately Catherine had loved Atacar and how dangerously he’d loved her. The journal is timeless and tragic, and the secrets contained within its pages can bring Mandy and Jared together, or just as surely destroy them both-desire by shocking desire.

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

TWO

“Turkey with avocado and coleslaw on the side. Pink lemonade, lots of ice.”

Kiki Dion, the museum’s colorful historian, placed Mandy’s lunch on her desk. The other woman’s wavy red hair peeked out from beneath a geometric-printed-bandanna-style scarf, and freckles dusted her nose.

“Thanks. It’s been one of those days.”

“For me, too. We deserve a moment to rest our bones.”

The redhead sat across from her. She’d also gotten a sandwich, cramming in a quick lunch together.

“How’s the research going?” Mandy asked.

“I don’t have anything new to report, but not from the lack of trying. I’ll keep working on it.”

“I know you will.” The journal quest was still in its early stages. Mandy had worked at the museum for a little over a year, and Kiki had only been there for eight months, so it had taken some time for them to settle into their jobs before they’d made the journal a priority. But now that they had, they weren’t letting go.

The historian unwrapped her food. “So what’s up with you? Any more hot romps with Jared?”

“Not since the party.” Mandy wasn’t surprised by Kiki’s blatant question. She’d been confiding in the other woman about her affair.

They seemed like unlikely friends, but they weren’t.

Although Kiki was closer to Jared’s age than Mandy’s, they’d both survived mundane marriages, with ex-husbands who’d left them wanting more, not just sexually but emotionally. Not that Jared came anywhere near to fitting the emotional bill for Mandy. But she kept telling herself that wicked sex wasn’t supposed to be steeped in life-altering conversations and handholding walks.

Kiki glanced at the sofa and shot her a teasing grin. “I hope you had that cleaned.”

She smiled, too. “I did. Right away.” But the memory of him remained. She’d been focused on Jared all week, anxious for him to call, to tempt her into another be-bad-for-him encounter. “I spilled coffee on it the next day to cover my tracks.”

“Good thinking.” Kiki dived into a grilled roast beef and swiss, eating heartily, crumbs falling onto her napkin-draped lap. “Why don’t you ever call him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I like waiting for him to get in touch with me.” Mandy removed a peppercinni from her sandwich and bit into it. The juice squirted into her mouth, the spicy hotness reminding her of her lover. “Maybe it’s part of my addiction. Part of the thrill.”

“He is exciting. Remember the first night you slept with him?”

“How could I ever forget?” Mandy had always been keenly aware of Jared’s reputation, but she rarely saw the art-celebrity bad boy out on the town. They didn’t run in the same circles. Then last month, she’d been seated next to him at a hotel ballroom charity dinner and sexual sparks flew. “I told him that I was half in love with Catherine and Atacar.”

“And he used that to seduce you.”

“Yes, he did. By the end of the night, he convinced me to check into a room with him.”

“You were the talk of the town. Atacar’s great-great nephew and the Women’s Museum director. People are still gossiping, wondering how a nice girl like you fell for a guy like him.” Kiki flashed another playful grin. “But I know the real scoop.”

“That he turned me into a Jared junkie?”

“Exactly.” Kiki paused. “Does he know you’re trying to find the journal? That you’re hoping to acquire it for the museum?”

Mandy nodded. “Yes, but he doesn’t think it exists.”

“He’s a non-believer?” Kiki sounded surprised.

“He tried to find it, too. A long time ago. But he never did, so he thinks it’s a lost cause.”

“Then I’ll do my darnedest to prove him wrong.”

The phone rang, and they quit talking, with Mandy taking the call. A few seconds later, she exhaled a quick breath and hung up.

“That was Gloria,” she said, referring to the curatorial division secretary. “She wanted to know if she should accept my flowers or have the delivery boy bring them directly to me.”

“Your flowers?”

Mandy struggled to keep her cool, to not make a fuss, even if her heart was heading toward a girlish patter. “Apparently someone sent me a bouquet.”

Kiki reacted openly, her voice boosting a notch. “Do you think it was Jared?”

“I doubt it. It doesn’t seem like something he would do. It’s probably work related.” Mandy reached into her bottom drawer for her purse, removing her wallet for some bills, preparing for the tip. “But I told Gloria that I’d take them. Just in case.”

They waited, Kiki perched on the edge of her chair, and Mandy standing near the door, lying to herself, insisting it didn’t matter who the flowers were from.

When the bouquet arrived, the women gazed at each other. A stunning spray of long stemmed, deep red roses in a sleek crimson vase. Maybe it was something Jared would do.

Mandy asked the delivery boy if he knew what kind of roses they were since they were so dark, and he said they were a hybrid tea called Black Magic.

After he left, she snagged the miniature envelope that accompanied the bouquet. But there wasn’t a traditional gift card inside. Instead, she discovered a business card of an adult store in Albuquerque. It was called Black Magic, too. She turned the card over. Jared had written a note for her to meet him there tomorrow at three o’clock.

“So?” Kiki asked. “Are they from him?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t think of anything to say except that one little word.

“Can I see?”

Mandy extended the Saturday-afternoon invitation, and the other woman studied both sides, her eyes going wide.

“He’s full of surprises, isn’t he?”

“Always.” Mandy wet her lips and tasted the lingering pepper juice. “I wonder what he’ll talk me into buying.”

“Something that will make you want him even more?” Kiki asked without expecting an answer. “Black Magic is right. That man is casting a spell on you.”

“I know.” Heaven, how she knew. Without thinking, she leaned in to inhale the roses’ sweet, light fragrance, to touch their bewitching petals.

Jared waited in the parking lot, leaning against his truck, a customized fifty-seven Chevy big block, Prussian blue with polished centerline wheels. It wasn’t his ranch vehicle. He drove it for fun.

Life was supposed to be fun, wasn’t it? Especially with Mandy. So here he was, keeping things light, telling himself not to feel guilty. He’d lied to Mandy from the start. He knew Catherine’s journal existed because he had it. He’d searched for years and then had uncovered the book unexpectantly. But that wasn’t something he could reveal. The journal was a secret he’d promised to keep.

He glanced up and saw that Mandy had arrived. She parked next to him and got out of her midsize sedan. He didn’t start a conversation. He let her do the talking. She was fifteen minutes late.

“I didn’t know what to wear to a place like this,” she said. “I changed three times.”

Was she kidding? He broke into a smile. “What you have on is fine.” Slim-fitting jeans, a blouse that shimmered in the sun, jeweled sandals. She’d painted her fingernails red for the occasion. Her toe nails, too. Normally she wore pink polish.

“I hope I don’t see someone I know.”

He tapped her chin. Her face was shaped like a heart, with a cute little point at the end. “If you see someone you know, you’ll both pretend it never happened. You won’t discuss it at the next stuffy fundraiser.”

“The last one wasn’t stuffy. You were there.”

He knew she was referring to the night their affair had begun. The charity dinner had been for a Native American cause, so Jared had bought a ticket and paid an astronomical price for his meal, hoping to do his part. He hadn’t intended to get sidetracked by the museum director whose job included keeping his ancestor’s portrait in her care. Her interest in Catherine and Atacar should have kept him away. But it had intrigued him instead.

He reached for her hand and led her toward the sex shop. She stalled for a moment, studying the shaded windows and shiny black door. Her urged her forward. Black Magic wasn’t a dungeon, even if it seemed dark and cavernous from the outside.

He escorted her into the building, and she made a pleasant sound.

“It smells good in here,” she said. “Like cinnamon.”

He didn’t comment, but he’d heard that cinnamon produced heat within the body, increasing physical and sexual appetites.

The store was big and well lit with an array of toys, BDSM gear, fetish clothes, lubes, lotions, books and DVDs.

Sensual accoutrements, he thought. For all types. A group of young women who appeared to be planning a bachelorette party were waving rainbow dongs at each other and giggling about wedding colors.

Mandy glanced at Jared, and they both laughed. “Are you still nervous about seeing someone you know?” he asked.

“Not anymore.” She walked over to a female-friendly display, a glass table showcasing massage oils and bath products.

“Try this.” He reached for a tester on another display and pumped clear liquid onto her hands.

She rubbed her palms together, as if she were analyzing a department-store moisturizer. “That’s nice. Silky.” She spread the lingering wetness over the backs of her hands. “It’s not drying very well, though.”

He bent forward to whisper in her ear. “It’s a silicone lube. For the toy I’m going to buy for you. To make it nice and slick.”

She caught her blunder and grabbed a hold of his shirt, a basic white T, keeping her body close to his. Their pelvises would’ve bumped if they’d been the same height, but he was taller.

“Are you getting a toy, too?” she asked.

“No.” They separated, and he led her to the dildo section. The giggling girls were gone. He gestured to a wall of rubber phalluses. “Check them out. Touch them.”

She blinked at him. “Are one of these going to be my toy?”

“No. But I want you to touch them anyway.”

She stepped forward and examined the samples, weighing them in her hands, running her fingers along their sculpted shapes.

Jared stood back and watched. He’d created this game for her, and he thrived on every inch of it. “Do you like the realistic ones?”

“Yes. Like this.” She fondled a model equipped with a thickly veined shaft, hefty balls and a bulging head.

“Good. Because you’re going to make one of me. When I’m big and hard.”

She looked up. By now her cheeks were flushed, giving her a warm glow. “Make one?”

He led her to another shelf, where he showed her a dildo making kit. Her cheeks turned pinker.

“It’ll include anatomical details,” he said, enjoying her reaction, the shyness that made seducing her exciting. “Veins, ridges, balls. Just like the one you said you liked.”

“Only it’ll be an exact replica of you.” She picked up the kit. The box depicted a picture of an erect penis. “I can use it when I’m alone.”

“Not the first time. You’re going to use it when you’re with me. I want to watch you slide it between your legs. In your bedroom, with the lights turned low and candles burning.”

She clutched the box, pressing the cardboard against her chest. The good girl. The want-to-be-bad girl. “That sounds romantic. Sort of,” she added softly.

Jared didn’t respond. Sort of romantic was the best he could do. In the silence, they gazed at each other. Was she imagining him in her bedroom, instructing her how wide to spread her thighs, how deeply to insert her homemade toy? A copy of his cock. He knew it made him seem arrogant, but he didn’t want her to use a device that was fashioned after another man. He wanted to be her lover in every way.

“Will you do this for me?” he asked. “Will you use it and let me watch?”

“Yes.” The word came out in a sensual rush. “But we have to pierce it. It won’t feel like you if it doesn’t have your PA.”

Damn, she was sweet. Multiorgasmic Mandy. “We can use one of my barbells.” He would be sure to go home and get one before they went to her place to make the mold.

“What about the candles?” She glanced around. “Can we get them here?”

“Sure. But the only kind they sell are shaped like body parts. Or full nudes. Like statues of people.”

“I think I’d like to get some of those.”

“Okay.” He knew what area of the store they were in, so he pointed the way.

She chose two white candles, one shaped like a man, the other molded as a woman. She went for a red candle, too, where a couple was together in a kama sutra position called Flower in Bloom.

“This is beautiful,” she said.

It was, he thought, wondering how it would look with a flame burning at the tip, making the lovers melt into each other.

She glided the wax creation under his nose. “It’s scented.”

He caught a fragile whiff of roses, like the bouquet he’d sent. Suddenly he worried about losing her, about their affair ending before he was ready to let her go.

“Don’t ever say no to me,” he said. “Don’t ever not be there when I need you.”

“I won’t,” she responded. “I swear I won’t.”

#

A naked man in her bathroom, Mandy thought. Tall and dark and waiting for her to make him hard.

She’d already read the directions on the kit and mixed the molding powder with water. The specially designed container was ready. But Jared wasn’t. He’d asked her to do the honor.

He sat on the closed lid of the commode and opened his thighs. He was so unabashed, so comfortable with his nudity. And why not? Between his gym routine and endless hours on horseback, he had the body of a modern-day god.

Mandy knelt on the contour rug at his feet. Her bathroom was decorated in dusty blue and sea-foam green, with a clear white shower curtain. She lived in a one-bedroom condo in a fast-growing urban area.

Jared skimmed her hair away from her face, and she darted out her tongue. He’d removed his piercing, so the cast would be smooth.

“That’s my girl,” he said.

She smiled against his growing erection. One lick and he was half hard. He leaned back against the commode and widened his legs.

She gripped the base of his shaft and lowered her mouth, stroking and sucking at the same time. He smoothed her hair again, keeping it from falling forward, from obstructing his view.

His testes were drawn tight. She cupped the tender sacs, and he pushed deeper into her mouth. He was cheating, she thought. By now he was hard enough for the negative mold. He just wanted to get sucked some more.

Mandy gave him what he wanted until he groaned and told her to stop.

Before he inserted his cock and balls into the container, she dabbed a little petroleum jelly onto his pubic hair to be sure the molding material didn’t grab any of it.

Sixty seconds later, the negative casting portion was done. The next step was pouring the liquid rubber into the container.

“It’ll take hours to set,” she said. “It won’t be done until later tonight.”

“Then we’ll hang out together and wait.” He reached for a washcloth and dampened it with soap and warm water, cleaning himself, getting rid of the petroleum. He slid his piercing back in, too.

They both stood beside the sink, their reflections in the vanity mirror. She wanted to spend the evening with him, to have dinner, to sit on the patio and watch the sun go down. But she wasn’t fooling herself into believing that they were headed toward an emotionally committed relationship. Earlier when he asked her to never say no to him, to be there when he needed her, she was well aware that he meant sexually.

He tossed the washcloth into the hamper, and she glanced at his cock. He was still half hard, hungry for more attention. Apparently she’d left a lasting impression.

“Do you want me to finish what I started?” she asked.

Jared looked down, then back up at her. “Is that a rhetorical question?”

Mandy smiled. “I think maybe it was.”

She guided him back to the commode. The moment she knelt at his feet, he sat down and assumed the fellatio position, spreading his thighs the way he’d done before.

She stroked and sucked, and he went back to playing with her hair, running his fingers through it, keeping it away from her face so he could watch.

“You’re getting good at this,” he said.

Enjoying his praise, she relaxed her throat and took him as deeply as she could, the way he’d made her do at the museum.

Although he tasted clean and sexy, he tasted salty, too. Semen was already beading at the tip.

He scooted to the edge of the commode lid, getting as close to her as possible. His breathing hitched, his legs went taut. His stomach tightened, too.

He thrust forward, fucking her mouth. She couldn’t think of another way to say it, not with the way he was moving in and out.

When he bucked his hips, she felt the pressure of his oncoming orgasm. He spilled into her, and she swallowed every drop.

Afterward, she returned to the sink to sip some water, and he came up behind her. Once again, they were standing in front of the mirror. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he put his arms around her, then unzipped her jeans and wedged his hand between the denim and her skin.

Instantly aroused, she exhaled a quick breath, and he worked his way into her panties.

“Do you know what I was fantasizing about when you were sucking me?” he asked.

She pressed against his fingers. By now, he’d found her clit.

“What you’re going to do to yourself later,” he said, answering his own question. “I can’t wait for the damn thing to set so I can watch you use it.”

She shivered against his touch. She was getting slick and wet. “You were watching me go down on you, too.”

“Can you blame me?” He grazed the side of her neck with his teeth. “You’re my bad girl.”

She had an insane urge to ask him to give her a hickey, to brand her in a visible way. But she wasn’t a smitten teenager letting her high school boyfriend get to second base. He’d already been to third and back. He’d scored at least a dozen homeruns.

He trapped her gaze in the mirror. “I want a key to your condo. Will you give me one?”

“Yes.” The tension between her thighs got thicker. He thrust two fingers inside of her, banging her in that dirty boy way of his.

“Do you know why I want it?”

“To come over in the middle of the night when I’m asleep. To kiss me. To climb on top of me.” But not to cuddle, she thought. He never did that.

“That’s right. Spontaneous sex. I can’t get enough of it with you.”

“Me, neither. With you.” She angled her hips to give him better access, to show him how wet she was. She was more than willing to let him steal into her bedroom at whatever ungodly hour he chose, to give her a fix, to feed her addiction.

Losing control, she climaxed, staring at her haunted image in the glass. All she wanted was Jared. Just him. Her lover. All the time.

The way Catherine had probably wanted Atacar.

Mandy pitched forward against the sink and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about Jared’s great-great uncle or the woman who was rumored to love him.

Not now. Not while Jared was standing behind her, with his hand still wedged in her pants, working her into another frenzy.

And making her come again.

Sandy M’s review of Ties That Bind by Jaid Black and Lora Leigh
Contemporary Erotic Romance anthology released by Ellora’s Cave 29 Aug 03

This book surprised me. I’m a huge Lora Leigh fan. There’s not been a book of hers that I haven’t loved so far. The few books I’ve read by Jaid Black I haven’t cared for. In Ties That Bind it’s the Black story that I liked best. Go figure.

Sins of the Father by Jaid Black

JD is determined to have what Lawrence Morgan, his mentor and pseudo father, promised him — Morgan’s daughter, Candy. But Morgan betrayed JD and then had the gall to die before JD could exact his revenge. Now he’s finally got his goal in sight, his revenge will see fruition. He’s backing Candy into a corner, forcing her into marriage to save her father’s business and her family, but giving herself to JD totally and fully, to be at his command night and day. He plans to own her, to use her, have her bear his heirs, and never let her forget what she did to him.

Candy has impeded JD’s tries to take over Morgan Chemicals twice before, but this time her success and her luck run out. She’s dumbstruck at what JD wants of her, but as much as she tells herself she will find a way out of his web, her body and her heart tell a different story. She’s been in love with the man for so long, knowing he’d never want someone like her, and now that he has her, it’s not at all what she’d dreamed. He only wants revenge while she wants love. But he brings out her sexuality, shows he what it’s like to be dominated and ravaged. Is it enough? Will he ever give her more?

While it’s blackmail that is used to coerce Candy into their marriage and forcing her to give her body to him when he demands — and JD demands all from her frequently — that didn’t matter to me in this story. I ended up liking JD because he’s not what he seems. Even though he was hurt by her father, he’s man enough to let the past go when he finds the truth and sensitive enough to confess his feelings when the time is right. Candy is a strong woman in business and loves her family, and that’s what forces her to agree to JD outrageous but sensuous contract of marriage. When they finally truly talk, things become so much better between them and a good and happy life is possible.

Grade: B+

Surrender by Lora Leigh

Tess has dreamed of and loved Cole for years, ever since her father married Cole’s sister. But even when he finally makes his move to let her know he wants her, she refuses to believe him. The fact that her mother is bitter about the divorce and her father’s marrying a younger, more sexually open woman don’t help matters. Cole has plans of his own, however, and lures Tess into spending a week with him, a week full of erotic pleasure and pain, something she’s fearful of but something that will be heaven to experience with Cole. The fear of finding out he won’t love her also plays havoc with her willingness to give in to his expertise.

Suffice it to say, Tess does give in and spends the week with Cole. He overloads her in every sexual way possible, ending in one explosive menge a tois — explosive in more ways than one. While the story is very erotic and Cole is alpha to the max, there’s just something missing in him from the usual Leigh hero that I love. He is sensitive a few times towards Tess, but maybe not enough for all his demands of surrender. I’m thinking maybe because it’s a short story and there wasn’t enough time to really get to know his character better like we would in a full-length book. He was too hard and demanding.

Grade: C

Summary:

Sins of the Father by Jaid Black

Candy Morgan has always felt badly about the fact that her father duped and then fired his former protégée, James Douglas Mahoney III. Worse yet, she knows that JD has always believed her to be a part of the conspiracy to get rid of him. When JD comes to power during a hostile takeover of Morgan Chemicals, Candy realizes he will want revenge against her family so she prepares herself to be ousted from the company. But much to her surprise, JD doesn’t oust her. Instead, he wants his vendetta against the Morgans settled in an entirely different fashion, in a way Candy never could have imagined in her wildest, most wicked dream…

Surrender by Lora Leigh

Cole has wanted Tess for years. And he’s warned her of this several times. He’s also warned her HOW he wants her. Tied down in his bed, under his domination, surrendering to his desires…

Read an excerpt of Sins of the Father here and Surrender here.

We continue with excerpts from The Art of Desire by Cherie Feather, a new erotic romance from Berkley Heat. Keep reading for the book’s summary and part II of four excerpts. This is a seriously steamy series of excerpts, so read on only if you dare!

Summary:

Museum director Mandy Cooper is obsessed with nineteenth-century artist Catherine Burke-and the artist’s erotically charged relationship with Atacar, her enthralling American Indian lover. But Mandy’s link to the legendary couple runs deeper than she knows. She’s having a heated affair herself-with Jared Cabrillo, Atacar’s handsome great-great nephew who knows precisely what it takes to seduce a woman…

He’s in possession of Catherine’s explicit journal. He knows every intimate detail of what she wanted and needed. But he also knows how desperately Catherine had loved Atacar and how dangerously he’d loved her. The journal is timeless and tragic, and the secrets contained within its pages can bring Mandy and Jared together, or just as surely destroy them both-desire by shocking desire.

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

ONE

Dirty sex with a dirty boy.

That was all Mandy Cooper, the proper, professional, highly organized director of the Santa Fe Women’s Art Museum, could think about.

She was addicted to Jared Cabrillo, Atacar’s great-great nephew, a man who sizzled in the art scene, who was notorious for having public liaisons, who wielded his celebrity like the party-on-the-edge charmer he was.

Mandy could feel him watching her from across the museum. She and her staff were hosting a summer reception and he’d crashed the event.

She tried to avoid him, but she couldn’t. His gaze was too strong, too persistent. She gave up the fight and looked at him, too.

Their eyes met, and he lifted his wine and toasted her before he put the glass to his lips and drank the blood-red liquid.

She gripped the silver chain on her evening bag, locking it around her wrist like a handcuff. He was drop-dead, imprison-a-woman gorgeous. There was no other way to describe him. He walked toward her, and her panties stuck to her skin, making her want to rub her thighs together.

“Nice party,” he said, as they came face to face.

“It’s going well.” She’d been sleeping with him for almost a month, yet she couldn’t stop herself from staring.

He sported a retro-style, black western shirt, decorated with white piping and tucked into crisp jeans. His face, diamond-blade dazzling and stone-quarry tough, mirrored his heritage. Both ears showcased tiny silver hoops. He had an intimate body piercing and tribal tattoos, too.

He was everything she shouldn’t want. At thirty-eight, she was supposed to know better. He was ten years younger than she was, but he wasn’t her boy toy. He controlled their affair, enticing her into carnal situations.

He set his empty glass on a nearby table. “You look beautiful, Mandy.”

“Thank you.” Her black dress scooped modestly in front and the delicate silver-and-turquoise cross around her neck offered a hint of adornment.

Aside from their naked urges, they didn’t know each other very well. They didn’t have meaningful conversations. But at least she knew he wasn’t seeing anyone else. He didn’t cheat on his lovers. Of course that didn’t change who and what he was. He treated monogamy like a courtesy, not a commitment.

Needing a diversion, Mandy turned toward a famous portrait of Jared’s ancestor. They were standing in front of Atacar’s exhibit.

He was the museum’s most prized possession, a Catherine Burke treasure, a portrait remarkable for its depth and passion, for its stunning realism. But Atacar was more than Catherine’s greatest work. So much more. The nineteenth century artist was rumored to have loved him, just as he was rumored to have loved her.

But no one knew for sure.

Catherine had abandoned her Texas home, never to be heard from again, and soon after she’d disappeared, Atacar had been shot and killed by a trio of soldiers.

As Mandy looked into his eyes, an air-conditioned chill blasted from the ceiling, sending goose bumps along her arms.

He was an imposing figure, his head cocked just so, his expression dark and serious. Positioned in a straight-back chair, he gripped the barrel of a Winchester rifle. She tried to imagine him sitting for Catherine while the daring girl painted his image. His clothes consisted of Anglo gear, reminiscent of ranchers and farmers, but he was Chiricahua Apache, an enlisted army scout who’d become a prisoner of war.

Mandy blinked, but Atacar’s gaze remained constant. The museum had acquired his portrait nearly forty years ago. Prior to that, it had been hidden inside the walls of the farmhouse where Catherine had lived.

Upon its discovery, their romantic legacy had begun. Rumors spawned that they’d been lovers. That she’d disappeared because of him. That their desperate hearts would remain forever entwined.

But once again, no one knew for sure.

The only ray of hope was that Catherine had kept a secret journal, writings that had never been found.

By now, most of the art world thought the journal was a myth. But Mandy chose to believe otherwise. She had the museum historian searching for it.

Suddenly Jared moved closer, close enough to invade Mandy’s space, to attack her senses. She could smell the spicy notes of his cologne. She turned to face him, his ancestor fading into the background.

“Why did you come here tonight?” she asked.

He smoothed the front of his hair. He wore it plaited into a single braid, leaving the hardened angles of his face unframed. “To fuck you.”

Her addiction jabbed her hard and quick, like a needle to a starving vein. “I’m working, Jared.”

“That’s what makes it so fun.” Fun or not, he didn’t smile. He just looked at her with the same driven expression as when he’d toasted her with his merlot or cabernet or whatever he’d been drinking. “Like when we do it at my work.”

She didn’t respond. He was a highly successful breeder, trainer and showman who managed his own horse farm. Banging each other’s brains out in his barn wasn’t the same as getting naked at the museum.

His gaze turned darker, more intense. “You could take me to your office. You could make me do things to you.”

Hedonic chills vibrated her spine. By now, they were just inches apart. He kept moving closer, drawing her into his seductive sphere, doing what he always did.

“What things?” she asked.

“You could take off your panties, order me to my knees and lift your dress in front of my face. You could make me taste how sweet you are.”

The room started to spin. She wanted his mouth between her legs. But envisioning herself standing in front of him, making him do it was almost more than she could bear.

“Does that excite you?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“What else turns you on? What other games do you want to play?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice shook. “I honestly don’t know.” At the moment she just wanted to crawl all over him, to fall like a sugared gumdrop at his feet.

“I’ll bet she did it,” Jared said.

“What? Who?”

“Catherine.” Jared moistened his lips. “I’ll bet she lifted her skirts in front of Atacar’s face. I’ll bet she came all over him.” His voice was soft and low, dangerously demanding. “Do it, Mandy. Be bad for me.”

Heat flooded her lungs. If her guests weren’t milling around, eating canapés and socializing, she would’ve removed her panties right then and there.

“Meet me at my office,” she said. “But give me a head start. I need to unlock the door.”

His demeanor didn’t falter. “Hurry up.”

“I will.” She did her damnedest to regain her composure, to not give away what she was about to do.

She walked toward the stairs, moving quickly so no one stopped her, so she didn’t get trapped into small talk. Finally she ascended to the second floor, her low-heeled pumps assaulting terrazzo-topped concrete, ringing like bullets in her ears.

Her office door came into view, and she fumbled with her purse. What if she got caught? Her affair with Jared wasn’t a secret, but doing it at work….

She removed her keys, and footsteps sounded. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Easy, baby, it’s me.”

Jared. He’d barely given her a head start. Mandy glanced his way, her heart thudding between her thighs.

He came up behind her, bumping his fly against her rear. “You’re so conventional. So ladylike. But here you are, wanting this as badly as I do.”

He had no idea. She crammed the key into the lock and pushed open the door. Her drug-of-choice was crashing in on her, rushing perilously through her veins.

They crossed the threshold and locked themselves inside. Her office housed an executive desk, a sofa and matching side chairs. But she didn’t move in that direction. She paused just beyond the entryway, beside a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, with a security light burning low.

Caught in a sexual whirlwind, she reached under her dress and removed her panties. She wasn’t wearing hose. Her legs were bare.

“Get on your knees,” she told him.

He dropped down with a grateful thud. Gorgeous Jared with his head tipped back, his jaw jutting forward. While he waited, a thick, naughty beat of silence swallowed the air.

One. Two. Three. Let him see.

She hiked up her dress, bunched the fabric around her hips and exposed herself.

“Damn.” His voice pulsed, the tendons in his throat strained.

He was staring at her. Ravenously. Mandy gripped her hem a little tighter. She knew he liked her Brazilian. He thought the process that left a small strip of pubic hair above a woman’s vulva was hot and sexy. He’d talked her into getting waxed, convincing her that it would make her feel prettier, even when she was alone. He’d told her to touch herself and think about him when he wasn’t around, to make it her guilty pleasure. She couldn’t begin to count how many times she’d followed his advice, imagining that he was watching her.

She moved closer, teasing Jared with her guilty pleasure, widening her stance to give him a better look, to show him the cleft of her labia. But that wasn’t enough. Anxious, she took her dress completely off, dragging it over her head. Her basic under-wire bra came next. She wanted to be naked, all the way bare, except for conservative black pumps.

He swallowed, eager to taste her. He looked half starved.

“Do it,” she commanded, spreading herself for him. “Do it.”

He didn’t waste a second, not one delicious moment. He went right for her clit, sucking hard and fast, then slowing to deliberate strokes. He knew how much pressure to apply, how much saliva to spread. Excitement gathered low in her belly.

She watched him, lavishing every taut, tingling taste. The sight was roughly, fiercely erotic. His hungry mouth. Her damp, swollen sex. She pitched forward, and he made a primal sound. Mandy got even more aroused.

“Are you hard?” she asked, trailing her hands through his hair and snagging his thick, silky braid.

He paused to answer her question, moisture glistening on his lips. “I’m so turned on, I could come in my pants.”

Her knees nearly buckled. “I’m going to do this to you. When you’re done with me.”

“What if I don’t want to stop? What if I want to keep going?” He snaked his tongue so she could see him make contact with her clit. He banged her with his fingers, too.

All the way in. All the way out. He even rubbed his sticky digits down the front of his shirt and along his bulging fly, searing himself with her juices.

Dizzy, she rotated her hips. Sooner or later he would have to stop, if he didn’t she would explode into a pool of pollinated liquid.

Reaching out, she grappled for something to brace the blinding pleasure and fisted the edge of a shelf. A moment later, she caught the binding of a hardback book and clutched it between her white-knuckled fingers.

He made a sudden move, cupping her rear and pulling her toward him. They both went crashing until she landed on top of him, sprawled across his handsome face.

This was even wilder, she thought. Sexier. She rode his mouth, her body flexed, her back bowed in a fluid arc. She’d never felt more graceful, more ladylike. The irony should have made her laugh. Instead, she came in convulsing waves.

All over her dirty boy.

#

Jared and Mandy sat on the floor and gazed at each other. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He’d just devoured her orchid-soft, pussy-sweet flavor, enjoying every warm, wet, orgasmic taste.

“That was the hottest thing ever,” he said, before she got shy and glanced away. “So don’t even think about blushing.”

She lifted her chin. “I’m not.”

Sometimes she did. Regardless of how nasty they got, she still had an innocent quality. Her mink-colored hair skimmed her shoulders, and her eyes were framed with sweeping lashes.

She was the first proper girl he’d fucked, and he was hooked. He didn’t know for how long, and he didn’t want to know. For him, it was easier living from day to day, walking the sexual tightrope that drove him.

“Now it’s your turn,” she said. “Take off your clothes.”

“Are you still going to blow me?” he asked, upping the ante on the offer she’d made. “Are you going to suck me as deep as you can? Deeper than you ever have?”

“Yes.” She released a shuddering breath. There was a damp spot on the carpet beneath her, where some of her wetness had leaked onto the floor. “I am.”

His nerve endings went electric. He got to his feet and offered her a hand. She stood up, and he grabbed her and swung her into his arms.

“What are you doing?”

“Carrying you to bed.”

She looped her arms around his neck and kicked off her shoes. “It’s a sofa. Not a bed.”

“Close enough.” He tossed her onto the sofa in question, planted his knees on either side of her face and shoved down his boxers and jeans in one fell swoop.

His penis sprang free, and he felt good enough to grin. The head of his cock was pierced, and he knew it fascinated her.

“Up close and personal,” she said.

“Just for you.” He imagined her tongue sliding over the curved barbell. He got harder just thinking about it. Not that he wasn’t already rock solid, not that he hadn’t meant what he’d said about creaming his jeans earlier.

“I like touching it,” she told him.

“Then what are you waiting for?” He wanted her to get aggressive.

But she didn’t. She traced the barbell with the tip of her finger. Softly. Tentatively. He thought he might die.

“You never told me what it’s called.”

“It’s a PA.” His own breathing engulfed him. “A Prince Albert. They pierce it from the outside of the frenulum and into the urethra.”

“Is this the frenulum?” She gestured to the band of tissue under the head of his cock, where a portion of the barbell was.

He nodded. “It’s a common piercing for a guy.”

“Not in my world.” She touched him again. No, not him. The jewelry. “Every time I see it, I keep thinking that it hurt.”

“When I first had it done? It didn’t. No more than getting your ears pierced.” His stomach muscles jumped. He wanted her to lean forward, to give him a silky blowjob. Her gentleness was exciting him. “It takes about the same amount of time to heal, too. But I’ve had it forever.” Since he was a rebellious teenager, seeking a rite of passage, a way to define who he was.

“If feels amazing when we have sex,” she said. “I didn’t expect it to. But it does.”

“It’s supposed to give both partners more pleasure. Not painful pleasure. Tingling sensations. It increases the sensitivity.”

Mandy looked up at him, and their eyes met, making him more aware of his erection popping in her face, of the promise she’d made.

They moved toward each other at the same time, at the same exhilarating instant, and she parted her lips, taking the tip of his cock inside.

She toyed with the barbell, creating a rippling sensation, then pulling back to lick him, to run her tongue along the underside of his shaft and over the top, until she nursed the head again.

He fought the urge to relinquish control. But he didn’t. He held on, letting Mandy play, letting her decide when she would take him deeper. While she experimented, he watched her, heightening the game.

It got better from there.

She shoved his jeans farther down his hips. “Lie on your back,” she said. “I want to crawl between your legs.”

Who was he to argue?

He did what she told him to do, even if they had to fight the sofa to make it happen. Once he was in position, she opened the snaps on his shirt and exposed his chest and stomach.

She took her time, kissing his abs, leaving wet marks on his skin. By now he wanted to push her down and make her suck him all the way to the back of her throat.

He didn’t wait for long. He tried, but he couldn’t. She put her mouth on him again, and he lost the battle. He did what he was craving to do. He pushed her down.

She made a girl-hungry sound. She liked his roughness, he thought. Jared spread his legs and lifted his hips, grinding one booted heel into the cushion and planting his other foot on the floor, supporting his weight. He set the rhythm, and she took over, sucking greedily.

She was sowing her blowjob oats, reaping him for all he was worth, the way he’d wanted her to. But even so, he didn’t spill into her mouth. Not because he was being polite. He loved watching her swallow. But tonight he wanted to come inside her. So he lifted her up and told her to stop, whispering gruffly in her ear, telling her it was time to fuck.

Mandy watched him undress. Her eyes were bright and her hair was tumbled. She was still feeling her oats.

Anxious, he ditched his boots and went to work on his jeans, then his pricey western shirt, tugging the sleeves to get himself out of it. He hadn’t brought protection. He and Mandy were clean and safe. They’d talked about it on the night they’d first gotten together.

“I love your tattoos.” She pawed his triceps, where he had matching armbands. “Do you have any idea how exotic you are?”

“Do you have an idea how hard I’m going to give this to you?” He nudged her with his steel-tipped sword.

“I’m ready.”

“You better be.” He told her to straddle his lap in a reverse cowgirl position, so he could see her ass, so he could reach around and cup her tits, so he could pinch her nipples.

His lover accommodated him. She turned around and spread her thighs nice and wide, creating the slick leverage she needed.

He gripped her waist, and she went rodeo, giving him a thrill. Not only could he admire the curve of her ass, he got an erotic view of her sliding up and down, milking his cock.

She gulped her next breath. “It feels so good.”

He knew she meant the barbell. The sensation rocked him, too. Her pussy caressed him, and he nearly growled, his heart machine-gunning his chest.

“Touch yourself.” He struggled to steady his voice. She kept riding him, only now she was going slow, forcing him to feel every luxurious glide. “Do it the way you do it when you’re alone.”

She moved her hand, and he could tell that she was rubbing her clit. He couldn’t wait to bring her deeper in his realm, to seduce her even more.

“Turn around,” he said. “I want to see.”

They made the switch, with her sitting forward on his lap, stroking her sex.

He watched her come, thinking how incredible she was. She smiled when she was done. Her lashes fluttered, too. How pretty could she be? Warm and soft in the barely there light.

“Is that what you wanted to see?” she asked.

He wasn’t about to respond, not now, not in the wake of wanting her so badly. Desperate for more, he pushed her down and opened her legs until they were almost straight in the air. She gasped, and he thrust full hilt, pumping hard and fast.

She had another orgasm, poised like an acrobat. Her stomach quivered, and she reached out and clawed the back of the sofa.

When she wrapped her legs around him, the familiarity of being this close to her shattered his mind. Jared tunneled his hands in her hair, heat surging through his blood and burning his loins. He went off like a geyser, coming deep inside her.

In the minutes that followed, she clung to him, breathing softy against his neck. He wanted to be gentle for her, to hold her close, but he didn’t know how to pull it off, not without getting out of his comfort zone. So he settled on a quick kiss, got dressed and went downstairs ahead of her.

Once he hit the party, he didn’t have another drink or wait for Mandy to reappear. He left the museum, and on his way out, he frowned at Atacar, knowing the other man would’ve stayed.

The Art of Desire by Cherie Feather, a new erotic romance from Berkley Heat, comes at us this week! (so to speak)

Keep reading for the book’s summary and part I of a four part excerpt extravaganza. This is a seriously steamy series of excerpts, so read on only if you dare!

Summary:

Museum director Mandy Cooper is obsessed with nineteenth-century artist Catherine Burke-and the artist’s erotically charged relationship with Atacar, her enthralling American Indian lover. But Mandy’s link to the legendary couple runs deeper than she knows. She’s having a heated affair herself-with Jared Cabrillo, Atacar’s handsome great-great nephew who knows precisely what it takes to seduce a woman…

He’s in possession of Catherine’s explicit journal. He knows every intimate detail of what she wanted and needed. But he also knows how desperately Catherine had loved Atacar and how dangerously he’d loved her. The journal is timeless and tragic, and the secrets contained within its pages can bring Mandy and Jared together, or just as surely destroy them both-desire by shocking desire.

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

Prologue

Texas

1895

The first time I saw him he was naked, morning-dappled water lapping at his skin, swirling around tendon-tight calves. His rifle, a gun he’d probably stolen from a rancher, was at the edge of the stream, well within his reach.

A hawk soared above his head, screeching like a red-tailed devil, creating a strangely spiritual arc. Mesmerized, the Indian followed its every move.

I knew he was unaware of me. Although I was no more than twenty to thirty steps away, I was crouched amongst a copse of cottonwoods. Earlier I’d been napping there, and upon awakening, I’d lifted my head and spotted him through a branch-scattered gap in the foliage, a stunned gasp locked in my throat.

Was this my punishment for dozing in the sun? Or my reward? I’d gone to that location to work, to sketch the scenery.

I longed to draw him instead. But I couldn’t find the will to move, to do more than stare. Curiously handsome, his bluish-black, cheekbone-length hair framed the hollowed angles and mysterious shadows that sculpted his face. Muscled ridges and flat planes defined his body, with wide shoulders and a powerful chest. His thighs, I decided, had been built for striding the horse that grazed nearby. A stolen mount, no doubt. A prize that went with his rifle.

Taking a swift breath, I centered my gaze, filling my vision with his penis. I measured the length and fullness, but I imagined how it would look fully erect, with his testes drawn tight, his foreskin pushed back and the sensitive head exposed.

Queen Victoria shame me.

In my own country, I was a rumored bohemian, London-borne, Paris schooled, an artist seceding from conventionality, an upper-class girl who’d cast her morals to the wind, who’d stroked many a cock with her hands, even with her ruby-red mouth.

But the gossip wasn’t true. Not completely. I fantasized about those carnal acts, but the only cocks I dared stroke were with a collection of Asiatic marten brushes.

The hawk flew away, abandoning its circling post. The Indian snapped out of his trance and continued his bath. My heart pounded like the drums of his people. I knew who he was. He was an Apache prisoner of war who’d escaped from a military fort in Oklahoma Territory. Last week U.S. Army soldiers had scoured this area in search of him. They’d ridden into town with a photograph, asking if anyone had seen him. They’d gone to ranches and farms, too. When they’d come to my house, I’d gazed curiously at his picture.

And now here he was.

I should have remained motionless until he went away. But somewhere in the peril of my soul, I found the strength to sit upright, to lift a piece of charcoal from my ready-made paintbox. The paper clamped to my stretching board was cold-pressed, better suited for rough effects than a detailed portrait of a bared man. But I was willing to compromise. Desire burned like a hot-wick candle beneath the folds of my skirt.

I had moved to America to study its ethnic, geographic, and religious diversity, to paint its fading frontier. So why not study him? Make him my secret project?

“Atacar,” I whispered his name. It was of Spanish origin, and in English it meant, “to attack.”

Suddenly he went still, his dark gaze shooting through the trees like an obsidian-tipped arrow. He couldn’t have heard his barely audible name on my lips, yet he’d found me out.

The charcoal slipped from my fingers; my paper remained blank.

Our eyes met, and he reacted like a hound on the heels of a fox. Before I could blink, he grabbed the rifle, jammed it against his water-damp shoulder and aimed it at me.

I did the unthinkable. I looked at his penis again, challenging the air between us. His face remained an indiscernible mask, devoid of emotion, of any kind of lust. But in his fire-ready stance, his stomach muscles jumped, giving him away, making his cock stir.

From there, neither of us moved.

Finally he motioned with his chin, ordering me out into the open. I didn’t hesitate. I lifted my arms in surrender and walked toward him.

Praying he would take me.

Limecello’s review of Seduction 101 by Moira Reid
Contemporary Erotic Romance released by Samhain Publishing on 20 May 08

I thought that the premise of this book sounded very interesting. I’m a sucker for friends-to-lovers stories. It’s also nice, and actually refreshing, to have a heroine who isn’t a vamp. Sadly, this book was did not deliver, and I found it very disappointing.

The main (and only) female character, Julia, is an idiot. She’s willing to bend over in 4″ heels to try to get a man, but balks at wear a dress that’s low cut, she thinks her good friend is gay for five years, even though they’re coworkers and spend weekends and various other times together. They’re so very close – yet she just upped and decided he’s gay because he doesn’t brag about nailing some tail. She’s also pretentious. We’re told she’s Phi Betta Kappa twice within a few pages. There’s also nothing [that] shocking about the male fantasy of a woman making any meal for him in lingerie (or naked), yet it freaks Julia out for pages.

Another thing that bothered me was the mixing of cultures. Random points from The Art of War – Chinese-and even more random use of the word sensei - Japanese- for even less reason. Nobody goes around randomly saying sensei - not even people who speak Japanese. The similes went too far for me, the imagery was perfect… and then the sentence would continue on, and the description would become cheesy. E.g. “Eric said her name against her lips with [quiet] reverence.” But the sentence is “Eric said her name against her lips with the quiet reverence of someone speaking inside a cathedral.” Considering he’s feeling her up, it just seems wrong.

Eric, the “hero,” annoyed me too. For his part, he couldn’t decide what he was. Obviously he’s nice and sensitive – so much so that Julia thought he was gay (Yeah, I can’t get over that). But once they get together, Eric becomes something of an ass, telling her she has to submit to him, do what he says, etc. Then he tells her she belongs to him. Maybe it’s supposed to be hot – all primitive like the shifter/were-heroes, but the impression I got here, was not the same. It feels like Ms. Reid is trying too hard.

Julia supposedly knows nothing about sex, but she has no problem unzipping the Eric’s pants and grabbing him when they’re only kissing, so really, try pulling the other one. I felt that there was also a extremely unnecessary bondage scene. It didn’t add anything to the sex, or Eric and Julia’s relationship. Reading it only irritated me.

This book read like too many used clichés and badly put together catch phrases and punch lines from other books. The premise could be interesting and cute, but the story does not deliver.

Grade: F

     Summary: 

     No one knows the advertising game better than Julia-sell the sizzle, not the steak. However, selling sirloin and selling herself are two different things. When she tries to generate sizzle in a coworker, he’s more interested in paper shuffling than anything juicy she has to offer.

     Eric, her long-time best friend and co-worker, feels the sizzle all right. The sizzle of the rare and beautiful Julia…and a searing jealousy as he watches her try to seduce another man. If Julia is ready to hit the sheets with someone, he’s determined it’s going to be him. But he needs a plan. Like her clients, Julia doesn’t respond to the direct approach; she needs to learn to generate her own heat.

     So Eric cooks up his own little continuing education class. Something he likes to call Seduction 101.

     Read an excerpt here.

LauraD’s review of Close Quarters by Denise J. Agnew
Romantic suspense ebook released by Samhain 20 May 08

Neena Williamson has taken charge of her city’s charity calendar- a beefcake calendar featuring local men. Sitting in a local coffee shop, she’s thinking about how to find Mr. December when she’s yanked out of her thoughts by a truly hideous Hawaiian shirt. It’s being worn by Mitch Gilroy, new to town, but who has already earned a good reputation as a handyman. The shirt would have been a deal breaker, except Neena and Mitch are thrown together when the coffee shop is robbed.

After spending an hour or so locked in the storage room, they’re already too attracted to each other to back away from it.

For a pretty short ebook, there was a lot going on here. The calendar, the robbery, and as always, the ghosts from both Neena and Mitch’s pasts- there was so much action that character development suffered. I would have loved to gotten to know Neena better, especially more about the backstory between her and her mother. The one bit of information we’re given is almost cruel, it’s such a story within a story.

Mitch’s history was told in more detail, or at least the “why” of his current status. But he seems to be a little too good to be true. Neena’s girlfriends kept throwing her towards him, and I kept thinking “Is he the only straight guy in town?” I liked Mitch for not making fun of the calendar; instead he had fun with posing for the calendar-even with positioning his tool belt appropriately. It’s all in the direction the hammer hangs, y’know?

Grade: C

     Summary:

     First impressions can be dead wrong.

     Neena Williamson is positive the man who just walked into her favorite café is all wrong for the local charity’s new hot male calendar. For starters, he’s wearing the most butt-ugly Hawaiian shirt on the face of the earth. He doesn’t fit anyone’s image of a smokin’ hardbody, even if her friend insists he’s perfect for Mr. December.

     When a gunman robs the café, Mr. December proves that underneath his bad taste in clothes, he knows how to bring it.

     Clarksville, Wyoming is the perfect place for Mitch Gilroy to hide in plain sight. He enjoys his low-key handyman job, and no one pries into his former life. But in an instant, Mitch is forced to remember everything he’s tried so hard to forget.

     Thrown together by sudden violence, Neena and Mitch quickly discover how tangled their emotions can become. And the only way to banish the monsters that haunt them is to do the one thing they fear most. Become vulnerable—to each other.

     Warning: This title contains a hot nekkid calendar boy shoot, heroic rescues, explicit, multiple orgasmic sex, and graphic language.

     Read an excerpt.

Shannon C.’s review of Heaven by Jet Mykles
Contemporary gay romance eBook released by Loose ID 30 May 06

I’ve been in kind of a reading slump lately. Nothing really looks good, particularly the books I had to review. So a couple of days ago, I went trolling through blogland and ended up stumbling across a rec somewhere–I honestly don’t recall where–for Jet Mykles’ Heaven Sent series. Since contemporary gay romance is so far beyond my general reading tastes, I figured I should read this book and hopefully get out of my funk.

I’m not sure that this book is what I was looking for. It’s a competently written story with characters who were likeable, but I just didn’t relate very well.

Heaven Sent is the hottest up and coming rock band. They hit it big on the Internet and then became a household name. Tyler Purcell, the manager of the Weiss Strand Hotel, hires the band to perform on the hotel’s new nightclub’s opening night. Tyler, however, is not prepared for the barrage of feelings that sexy lead singer Johnny Heaven elicits in him.

My major problem with this book was with Tyler. I think that coming to terms with one’s sexuality is a really really big deal. It is not the sort of thing that happens after a few really amazing sexual encounters. It got on my nerves that Tyler protested so very much. He’s not gay. No, really. Really not gay over here. He just likes anal sex and blow jobs when performed by another man. And Johnny… Johnny could never love him. They’re from two different worlds, oh noes! I felt like Tyler spent much of the book wringing his hands, his lower lip trembling in misery.

Johnny, on the other hand, is just adorable. There’s not a whole lot of depth to him, but he’s pretty sweet. I loved his enthusiasm about video games. I’ve met guys like him, too. And he definitely seemed to know what he was doing as far as being a top. Plus, I’m a sucker for musician heroes.

This book is a lot shorter than I normally go for, which explains why the characters weren’t developed as much as I wish they’d been. I did like that, aside from Tyler’s wishy-washiness, there wasn’t any huge external conflict to detract the focus from Tyler and Johnny. But the romance aspect never entirely went anywhere for me. For a nice female fantasy about two very pretty boys getting hot and sweaty with each other, it’s great, but if I wanted to read that, I’d read fanfiction for free.

I suspect other readers will like this a lot more than I do, and I suspect that my reading funk contributes to the lowering of the grade. I might read more in this series because I am intrigued by the band’s hot bass player and his book doesn’t look like it features the whole “I’m soooo not gay except for the fact that I like having sex with men” angle.

Grade: C

     Summary:

     The Weiss Strande Hotel is in trouble. Business just isn’t what it used to be when Tyler’s father ran the family-owned hotel. On top of business being down, dad’s sick with cancer and bills have skyrocketed.

     Desperate to save his family interest, Tyler and his best friend sink their hopes and what’s left of their money into a new venture: a nightclub at the hotel. It’s imperative that the White Room is a success, or else the hotel will go under. Lady Luck seems to be with them, however, because they manage to sign the mega-popular rock group Heaven Sent to play the grand opening.

     Already a huge fan of the group, Tyler couldn’t be more excited to welcome them to his hotel. He’s not at all prepared for the bomb of lust that hits him when he’s finally face-to-face with the painfully gorgeous lead singer, Johnnie Heaven. No, it couldn’t be lust. Yes, Johnnie’s probably the most beautiful person he’s ever seen, but Tyler is straight. It must be a misguided form of hero worship that he’s feeling.

     Tyler finds out that he and Johnnie share an obsession: video games. When Johnnie invites Tyler to his room to play, Tyler jumps at the chance. Who wouldn’t snap up the opportunity to spend time with their idol? He and Johnnie have a great time with the games, but Tyler soon discovers that Johnnie’s got more in mind. The rock star’s aims to introduce Tyler to a whole new level of game play.

     You can read an excerpt here.

Shannon C.’s review of Dark Sentinel (Book of Netherworld) by Melissa Lopez
Paranormal erotic romance released by Samhain Publishing 17 Mar 08

Melissa Lopez has a gifted and fertile imagination. There are no cliches and same-old same-old paranormal plot devices in Dark Sentinel, which earns the book points. Unfortunately, the writing style and the characterizations drove me crazy.

Lash is a damned soul, condemned to spend eternity in Netherworld, which is essentially Hell. Then he’s given an opportunity–he must see to it that Teva, a mortal, is condemned to join the ranks of souls in Netherworld.

Teva isn’t sure what to make of this quiet giant of a man. He seems to be suffering from amnesia, and he takes pleasure in little things, like being able to drink water. She takes him in when she finds him, naked, on her property, and soon she and Lash must fight their sizzling attraction to each other. Her soul is at stake if they give in to temptation.

The characters are very problematic, most particularly Teva. I just didn’t ever get a sense that I knew who she was. She seemed to have been bred from innocent-heroine central casting. She’s entirely too sweet and too trusting, and I didn’t really get what Lash saw in her. Plus, and this is a tiny thing but it still bugged, Teva was the kind of person who says “gosh” and “heck” in everyday speech. This made her come off sounding not like an innocent young thing, but like someone’s middle-aged mother.

Lash I liked a bit more, but he still didn’t entirely work. He’s a tortured soul–aren’t they all in paranormal romances–and some of the stuff he goes through was pretty horrendous. My heart broke for him when he experienced small pleasures like being outdoors and doing comparatively easy hard work like splitting wood. He just seemed like an adorably nice guy, but even he was a bit too good to be true, the sort of guy that, aside from the whole tortured repeatedly thing, would be any woman’s dream man. Hell, the man uncomplainingly watches chick flicks!

I also didn’t really buy the chemistry between the characters. Once more, this has to do with writing style. Lopez uses a lot of words that are designed to make the sex scenes hot, but after a while I kept wondering if all the stuffing Lash does to his cock would hurt. And while I’m not a fan of the “love grotto” and “turgid manhood” school of romance novels, I definitely prefer something other than “he shoved his cock into her sticky hole.”

Regarding the plot, it was interesting. It’s very clear that Ms. Lopez has thought long and hard about this world she’s created, and I liked that the story was fairly dark. I think there are lots of directions she could go with the Netherworld books, and lots of types of creatures it would be interesting to meet. But I will say that the human villain in the book was so screamingly obvious, not to mention horribly cheesy that I had a few eye-rolling moments. The book also took too long to hit its stride for me. There are also a lot of scenes of graphic violence. After all, a condemned soul gets to die repeatedly over and over, which means there’s a lot of opportunity for gratuitous torture.

I am curious enough to keep reading Melissa Lopez’s next book, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it except to those who are really, really die-hard fans of dark paranormals.

Grade: C-

     Summary:

     Their love could give him a second chance at life—or condemn her to an eternity of damnation.

     A Book of Netherworld

     Yanked from his tortured existence in Netherworld and dumped naked in the Louisiana Bayou, Lash could swear he’s died and gone to heaven. Except for the fact that a millennium ago he died a condemned soul, forever barred from Paradise. His new life feels like the next best thing, full of small miracles. Like silence. And ice water. And the company of a beautiful, compassionate woman.

     Teva is a woman with a taste for heavy-metal music, an inherited talent for magic, and a trusting heart. She knows nothing about the mysterious stranger she’s taken in, only that he needs her help. And the fact that he’s gorgeous hasn’t escaped her attention. She can’t see Lash as anything other than a sexy, gentle man who soothes her nightmares away.

     Then Lash learns the real reason for his reprieve from Netherworld—he’s been sent to corrupt Teva’s soul with sinful pleasures. Starved for tenderness and aching with desire, Lash yearns to accept the loving embrace Teva offers. But he can’t give in to passion without tainting her, condemning her to the horrors of Netherworld.

     The ultimate battle between good and evil is brewing, and Lash stands caught in the middle between Teva, who owns his heart—and Satan, who owns his soul.

     Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, and graphic violence. Netherworld is a dark, forbidding place.

     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.

Shannon C.‘s review of At Love’s Command (Brothers in Arms, Book 4) by Samantha Kane
Historical erotic ebook published 12 Dec 07

I have to qualify this review by admitting, again, that I am a Samantha Kane fangirl. This is mostly Lisabea’s fault [ed note: visit her blog today and every monday for Man lurve Monday], and now I’ve read everything on Ms Kane’s backlist. I was looking for a guaranteed good book to read while taking a break from studying, and finally decided to read this one.

At Love’s Command is set in Ms. Kane’s version of Regency England, which has an overabundance of bisexual men who hooked up during the Peninsular Wars and now are looking for the one woman to complete them. This premise works well for me, because I really like Ms. Kane’s men, so much so that I have my favorites that aren’t officially paired off and have actually considered sending whiny e-mails to the author begging for their books.

Anyway, the pair in question in this book consists of Ian Witherspoon and Derek Knightley. Unlike the heroes in Ms. Kane’s other books, Derek and Ian are already lovers. They met, surprisingly enough, during the war, and have been together ever since. The war left its scars on both of them, and now that they’ve been back in England for two years, Ian’s decided that they need a new start with someone capable of bringing them peace. And since Ian’s already betrothed to Sophie Middleton, it might as well be her that they marry.

Sophie, it turns out, really, really wants to get married. This is because her father is an abusive rat bastard and her brother Harold rapes her. Anybody else looks good, and she remembers thinking of Ian as her knight in shining armor when they first met. She figures since he’s already got Derek, he won’t want much to do with her except provide her with an heir, so her wedded life will be comparatively blissful.

Derek is opposed to the whole thing. He thinks that surely Sophie has to be manipulating everyone around her. He was perfectly happy with his life before Sophie came into it, and he is determined that she won’t take Ian away from him.

Needless to say, the three of them have a lot of issues to work out between them. And they do, with events following one another in a logical pattern until the end. Ms. Kane carefully paints each of her characters, adding depth as we get to know them. By the end I was totally convinced that Ian, Sophie, and Derek couldn’t live without each other.

Ian is great as the stabling force between Derek and Sophie. He realizes after he meets Sophie just how much she needs him, and he acts the perfect, chivalrous gentleman. I liked that he was exactly what Sophie needed when she first starts to come to her own, and I loved his patience.

I should have disliked Sophie. She’s shy, she’s been a victim all her life, and she’s terrified of everything. But then, I say that about all of Ms. Kane’s heroines, and somehow they turn out to really work for me. I loved watching Sophie grow into a confident woman, and I got the sense that she hadn’t done a complete 180 and become someone totally different by book’s end. In addition to her relationships with Ian and Derek, I really liked her interactions with the supporting female characters.

Derek, though, was my absolute favorite. He’s a big man who is really a submissive in the bedroom, a fact that I thought was interesting and a nice twist on the conventional tropes. He also feels things very deeply, and I loved his struggles not to care about Sophie. He was suffering through most of the book, in some form or another, but I loved that he wasn’t full of angst–just generally an abrasive smart ass.

As usual, Ms. Kane does a lot of the relationship development between her characters through sex scenes. And she manages never to lose track of who’s doing what to whom. Each scene felt necessary for something in the story, and I thought they were hot.

As for the extternal stuff? I really could have done without the creepily obsessed cartoonish villain, but then, I usually can. I also think I could have done with a lot less of the Very Thomas storyline, since I’m not sure that it was necessary for the rest of the plot. That being said, it was fun to see Kate and her husbands from the first book in the series, and my favorite secondary character, the Jewish dandy Daniel Steinberg, makes an appearance and shows a surprising amount of depth, so much so that I really, really want his book.

I enjoyed this book very much, and would highly recommend it to readers who like good M/M/F menage books. Ms. Kane is the gold standard by which I have come to judge menage stories, and this book is her best yet.

Grade: A-

You can read other reviews of this book from Sandy and Bev.

You can also read my takes on the first three books in this series:  The Courage to Love, Love Under Seige, and Love’s Strategy

     Summary:

     A child when they were betrothed, Sophia Middleton has been waiting twelve years for Ian Witherspoon to return and marry her. Preyed upon by her vicious father and older brother, Sophie longs for Ian to rescue her.

     Ian Witherspoon and Derek Knightly became best friends during the Peninsular War, and returned as lovers. Two more years pass before the desire for a wife and children prompts Ian to recall his little fiancée. Ian is determined to make a marriage work between the three of them. Derek opposes the marriage despite Ian’s determination, but how long will he be able to resist love’s command?

     Sophie’s vulnerability hides a core of strength and the combination enthralls and seduces both men. An apt pupil, Sophie learns trust and passion from Ian, and Derek tutors her in the ecstasy of surrender. Love will conquer their fears as they fight those who would tear them apart.

     Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Take a Stranger No More by Beth Kery
Historical erotic romance eBook published by Samhain 29 Apr 08

I was so excited to get this book! A new Beth Kery book! I’ve been singing her praises since I read Exorcising Sean’s Ghost, which I absolutely loved, last year. It so pains me to say this, I really didn’t enjoy Take a Stranger No More all that much.

The reason I’ve really liked Beth’s last two books I’ve read is because of the storylines, especially Sean’s Ghost. She has a tense, emotional quality to her writing that calls to me. She also gives enough of a story to go with all the erotica we read nowadays so it’s not entirely erotica, something a lot of authors out there don’t do. And that’s the biggest thing wrong with this current book for me.

The story of Max being Kit’s guardian, wanting to do what’s best for her, not wanting her to get caught up in his carnality just isn’t enough to make the erotic scenes not seem gratuitous. Even the added elements of the St. Clair servants, Max’s adoration and servitude to Kit’s parents, Kit’s friendship with Audie just didn’t help enough either. This book lacked the emotion, the intensity, the mystery, the romance of Sean’s Ghost. The same can be said of her Fire Angel. Those two books typify Beth Kery to me.

I also didn’t care for the fact that Audie and Kit were forced to have sex at Max’s whim — with his permission. They’re friends. They’ve been friends for a while. Yes, Max is Audie’s master during his service to Max and must obey him, but I just didn’t care for Max demanding and commanding Audie to do the things he did to Kit, let alone the fact that Max shouldn’t want another man’s hands or mouth on his woman, no matter how he felt about the situation. Some of the things Max commanded Audie to do just didn’t sit right. I realize that’ just Max, it’s his way to get his point across, to teach Audie, but a few of those little details were just a tad much.

I do like the characters themselves to a point. Max is the alpha hero I always like, and I do like Max a lot. I like how he tried to protect Kit even though he desired her. I like Kit. She went for what she wanted even though she was discouraged at every turn. Audie’s grief and guilt for letting Max down is a nice emotional touch. They’re all likeable characters. It’s just the storyline that doesn’t work. Maybe because it’s a shorter book? I don’t know. I’m just disappointed I can’t give this one a better grade. I’m still looking forward to the next Beth Kery, though. I always will.

Grade: C-

Read Shannon C’s review here.

     Summary:

     Once a servant…now the master.

     Kit Chevalier has a serious problem. She’s loved Max St. Clair, her sinfully handsome guardian, since she was a child of six and he a young man of nineteen. But now he stubbornly refuses to notice that she’s grown into a woman. Armed with a few shocking secrets from Max’s servant, Kit sets out to persuade him she is no longer a child.

     Long ago, Max was a servant himself, indentured like all St. Clair princelings to a noble family in order to teach them humility…and how to best pleasure their masters in bed. Once indentured to Kit’s parents, he is now pledged to protect Kit—and her virtue—until he can honorably hand her off to a suitable husband.

     And hand her off he will. Quickly, before he loses his weakening resolve to keep his own hands off her. The last thing he wants to do is expose the fragile beauty to the carnal appetites of his ancient line.

     But Max underestimates Kit’s resolve—and the passionate fires that burn within her are every bit a match for his own.

     Read an excerpt.