Sandy M’s review of Menagerie by Lara Santiago
Erotic Sci-Fi Romance released by Siren 23 Jul 08
My biggest beef [Ed.: heh] with erotic romance most of the time is the gratuitous sex and no storyline to be found (I do have my moments when I don’t mind reading über-horniness), and there’s a lot of those out there. This book comes close to that, and while the story itself is not thought-provoking, it is full of imagination, at least giving the reader an okay “reason” for all that sex. And for good measure it’s sci-fi, in essence, asking you to suspend disbelief for a while longer, just enough to get in that much more going on between the sheets.
Valerie is sucked up into an alien spaceship by mistake, a side effect of its inhabitants passing so close to earth when accessing a wormhole to take them home. Earthmen cannot survive in their world without sex at least every thirty days. The more the better for the men. So because the ratio is five to one in favor of men, each earthwoman must service five men to help keep them alive during the three years it takes for the ship to return near enough to Earth to return everyone within seconds of where and what they doing when they were abducted.
So before she enters the mob of men looking for a woman for his “team,” she meets Hauser and he gives her the lowdown on how the choosing will work. They agree she’ll pick him, assuring her she’ll like the other four men she’ll soon meet. Johnny, Fraiser, Mark, and Dominick each have their own merits, of course, their own way of making love.
Valerie begins the time of her life until it’s Dominick’s turn. He’s a huge biker-type guy and he scares her, but he’s also the one that makes her feel the most in bed and out of it. There are strict rules the aliens have laid down, but both Valerie and Nick are rule-breakers. The number one rule is not to play favorites among the men, but her feelings begin to grow for Nick, much to her surprise, and she wants to spend her free time with him and only him, while still servicing the others, whom she also loves but just in a different way.
While this book is by no means a keeper, it amused me enough on the premise alone that I kept reading. I have to admit that I did like the relationship between Dominick and Valerie from the beginning. I was disappointed here and there in the dialogue and there were a few little inconsistencies in Valerie’s past, and her feelings and actions in what she’s doing in the present. I was curious how the author was going to end it all due to a certain theme that ran throughout the book, but she pulled it off it credibly enough. In fact, I rather enjoyed that ending when they were all back on Earth after their adventurous journey.
I almost wish she’d gone with a romantic suspense with Dominick and Valerie as the hero and heroine. They definitely could have pulled it off.
Grade: C-
Summary:
What’s a girl to do with five hot guys who need her for their sexual survival? Create a weekly schedule.
Accidentally transported to an alien spaceship, Valerie Thornhill inadvertently volunteers to be a virtual sex slave for five men.
A shortage of females and her blatant curiosity aboard the alien vessel conspire and set fate in motion. The fact that the five are sexy and attractive is helpful when she learns the term of service is three years.
Forbidden to show favoritism within her unusual household for the duration of the long trip, Valerie still can’t help falling in love with the most intriguing one of her male harem. The fact that she is apprehensive about his demeanor and overall size only heightens her desire for him.
When the aliens discover Valerie’s indiscretion, the ultimate price for her desire may jeopardize the return trip to Earth for all of them.
Read an excerpt.
