Showing posts with label You Could Read. Show all posts

Title: Silent Heat

Author: Vonna Harper

Publisher: Ellora's Cave

Buy Link: Buy Silent Heat Here!

Rating: You Could Read

Reviewed by: Gabrielle

Blurb:

Deaf since age ten, Carlee Cooper has become a master gardener. She has developed a teaching greenhouse, funded by her rich landlord, at the local high school and she lives in the small guest cottage behind his home. Although she's attracted to him, she doesn't have much self-confidence when it comes to men.

Her landlord, BDSM Dom York Bridges, knows a sub when he sees one-when he touches and smells her. Carlee is drawn to York's control and power. She'll submit to the red collar her Masterplaces around her neck and his cuffs on her wrists, for now…

Review:

Carlee has been deaf since childhood and hides herself away from the world because of this. Yet her landlord sees nothing wrong with her and finds himself enjoying her company. On his arrival home from his latest trip York sees her as something else and suddenly Carlee and York find themselves with a whole different relationship that is more than just landlord and tenant.

Silent Heat is an interesting story of two people finding love. York is a well-experienced Dom who finds himself loosing interest in the world of BDSM. He is a man that knows what he wants and is in it for the long haul. Carlee does not see herself as everyone else sees her and when she starts to come out of her shell she blossoms. Watching Carlee find herself and begin a relationship with York was a nice read.

As hot as the love scenes were in this story I had a hard time falling into the world of Carlee and York. The connection just didn't happen for me with these two. I enjoyed both York and Carlee as separate characters but had a hard time with their relationship. Even though this was not a favorite for me Vonna Harper is a good writer and I will be sure to look for more from this writer.

Title: Dhampir Passions

Author: Mary Corrales

Publisher: Eternal Press, 2009

Buy Link: Buy Dhampir Passions Here!

Rating: You Could Read

Reviewer: Nerine Dorman

Blurb:

Can everlasting love be found in a paranormal cauldron of greed, bloodlust, passion and murder?

Living in the post-war American Western Barrans, Linea Kamiya is in danger of becoming a vamp master's minion. While she hides Desmondi's evil mark from the townsfolk of Whickeup, the town council intends to take her farmland for themselves. Linea's only hope lies with an enigmatic stranger.

Raduslav Dracula is hunting for the vampire who stole the Draculesti Bloodstone from his family's gravesite. When Radu's attraction to Linea turns physical, he knows he will have to battle with his heart as well as the demon Desmondi.

Is the half-blood Dhampir strong enough to embrace his own cursed nature to defeat Desmondi?

Review:

Dhampir Passions presents an intriguing premise in its dystopian futuristic setting but misses the mark when it comes to solid world-building and overall execution. For one, I feel that there's a lot of "tell" but not enough "show". It's all fine and well to have mutant "Mammoth Wheat" but I wanted to see this; know more about the mechanics and sociology of this post-apocalyptic world. The villagers seem to react with mob mentality, as an example. A lot of intriguing threads are presented, but are not fully developed.

The pacing also needed attention, progressing often in a very haphazard fashion. As a reader I felt rushed, the characters not given enough space to develop their motivations, which were murky, at best. At times the text felt awkward and some of the word choices out of place. Linea comes across as a bit of a Mary Sue, Radu idealized and a bit too stoic for his own good. I wanted to connect with them, but couldn't.

I felt that the author was holding me at arm's length, as though I were reading the script for a TV programme. In fact, I felt that distance of a viewer, rather than reader, who emotionally engages with a story. I really wanted to like Dhampir Passions but, to be quite honest, it needed a lot more work before publication. This is very much a case of "almost, but not quite there" for author Mary Corrales.

Title: Releasing Kate

Author: Cyna Kade

Publisher: Ellora's Cave

Buy Link: Buy Releasing Kate Here!

Rating: You Could Read

Reviewed by: Gabrielle

Blurb:

Kate Logan is unaware of her genetic imprint. All her life, she's suppressed the dark longings that haunt her. Twenty-first-century women should not want alpha males to protect or dominate them.

Michael Kyle immediately recognizes Kate as his mate. He can send violent sexual visions to her but she doesn't seem to understand what that means. She's unaware and untrained.

He's ready to show Kate that pain can liberate her pleasure. But first, he has to break through her resistance. She thinks her needs are wrong and fears her craving to submit to the sexual demands of this dominant man. Michael has to be patient-gradually increase her sexual pain to free her sexual pleasure and acceptance of her submissive heritage. If he rushes the process, or if he can't break through her barriers, she won't survive their mating.

Review:

When Michael finds Kate she has no idea about her heritage and nothing about being Clan at all but he recognizes Kate as his mate and must show her the world she comes from and the love that comes with it.

Releasing Kate is a very intense read. The people of the Clan heritage are Dominant men and submissive woman. These men and women enjoy this to the very extreme, which includes pain. Some readers may be offended by how far things go in this story so I would warn the faint of heart to be careful when deciding on whether or not to read this book.

Michael is a good man who fights for Kate with patience and love hoping to break past her barriers. Kate is a strong woman willing to give all of herself for love. The relationship that builds between Kate and Michael is a good read. Yet the amount of pain that is needed for Kate and Michael to connect was a bit much for me making it hard to enjoy Michael's seduction of Kate.

Cyna Kade writes a good story that pulls you right in and keeps you entertained to the end. If you enjoy your books on the edge this is one that you may enjoy.

Title: Just Press Play

Author: M. A. Ellis

Publisher: Ellora's Cave

Buy Link: Buy Just Press Play Here!

Rating: You Could Read

Reviewed by: Gabrielle

Blurb:

Erin learned a great deal during one of the workshops at RomantiCon. But she never dreamed, when she asked her friends to help act out one of her sex scenes, that her tape player would fall into the hands of a ridiculously hot, younger man.

Daniel loves older women and has lusted after Erin for years. He's been waiting for the perfect time to approach her. He can't wait to find out if she's channeling her own desires into the characters in her book. Daniel thinks Erin is a secret exhibitionist and it's finally time to step up and let her know he's ready for anything she's up for.

Erin isn't the only one adept at sexual choreography. Before she can say "watch me", Daniel-riding crop in hand-has her bent over a table at a sex club, determined to fulfill every dark fantasy Erin has ever had.

Review:

Daniel has loved Erin for years and now with the book she is writing he has found the perfect way to make his move. Will she finally see him as more than her friend's brother?

Just Press Play is an interesting story about going after what you want and enjoying life. Daniel is a strong man who longs for more from life, he longs for love and with Erin he thinks he may find it. Erin is a strong woman with a playful side that she loves to share. Watching Daniel show Erin just how much he loves her was a nice read. It was a very creative way to start a relationship. Erin and Daniel make a cute couple that enjoy themselves.

M. A. Ellis writes a fast paced story that is full of imagination and romance and at the end you wonder what more adventures Erin and Daniel will be going on.

Title: Customer Service

Author: Wynter Daniels

Publisher: Ellora's Cave

Buy Link: Buy Customer Service Here!

Rating: You Could Read

Reviewed by: Gabrielle

Blurb:

April's husband divorced her for a snooty saleswoman, leaving her with a bruised and battered self-image. When she evaluates a new sex toy and lingerie store for her job as a mystery shopper, she finds much more than kinky gear. One by one and then together, two hunky salesmen give her the best customer service of her life-emphasis on service-and restore her confidence in the process.

Review:

April has found herself a new job as a secret shopper and her new assignment is to evaluate a lingerie store. Ever since her husband left her April has been loosing her self-esteem little by little. Hopefully this new job will bring it back to her in spades. When April finds herself in the shop being helped by not one but two wonderful salesmen that dote on her she can do no more than believe in her beauty and herself.

April is a great heroine. I enjoyed watching her blossom under the loving attention from Ty and Bernardo. As great as April is I had a hard time connecting with Ty and Bernardo. Physically they were very appealing but it seemed to me that they lacked some substance and with the strange twist at the end of the story I was left feeling as if something was missing. Wondering if April really had her adventure or not.

Customer Service is a hot read that is well written and if you enjoy your books with a twist than this is one that you may want to pick up.

Title: Road Mage

Author: Robert Roman

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Buy Link: Buy Road Mage Here!

Rating: You Could Read

Reviewed By: Janelle

Blurb:

Jason Rodriguez is a CSI with a checkered past, struggling to live an honest life on the side of the angels. Literally. Jason is more than just a CSI, he's also a Mage. His magical powers are put to the test when he discovers that Paul Dunn, the city's most decorated officer, is actually a psychopathic Death Mage, 'solving' crimes by framing others for the murders he commits. Jason can't let Paul keep getting away with it. Paul can't let Jason keep breathing knowing what he knows.

Review:

This doesn't feel like a story. It feels like an excerpt from something larger. There are a lot of words used as if the reader should know what they mean, even though they are never explained. Magic of some kind is used, but how it works and why some have it and some do not is wholly unclear.

The characters are rather bland, and without understanding of the magical forces at work, the action is rather confusing. While the blurb above does make the plot a bit more clear, it shouldn't. The blurb is not for explaining or a replacement for characterization, it is there to entice prospective readers. These things should be explained in the story itself.

Overall, this story could use some refinement.