Archive for the ‘Anthology’ Category

2 IN 1
Paige Tyler
ISBN: 9781611601039
August 2011
Whiskey Creek Press (Torrid)
Erotica: paranormal
E-book: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=62&products_id=596

This 2 in 1 book combines two of Paige Tyler’s most popular paranormal erotica titles: Animal Attraction and Animal Instinct.  Previously released in 2008 and 2009, readers will find them equally as sizzling hot and engaging as before.  My one complaint to Whiskey Creek Press is that when they combined the books into this anthology, they placed the books in the opposite order.  The advertising blubs place the books in the correct order, but the eBook I reviewed had  Animal Instinct  as the first to read, even though the action in Animal Attraction actually occurs first chronologically.  Unfortunately I didn’t discover this till I was totally hooked on Animal Instinct. While both are standalone stories, previous characters are discussed in Animal Instinct with some spoilers resulting regarding the action plot in Animal Attraction.

I don’t normally read or review erotica; however, Paige Tyler has a wonderful talent for character development and emotionally charged scenes that make her books irresistible. In a publishing landscape that is saturated with werewolf stories, Tyler still achieves stories that grip the reader, drawing them into the struggles and challenges of the main characters.  Warning: Readers who are offended by stark sexual language and sexual encounters that err on the controversial side would be advised to give these books a pass.

When previously released, these titles garnered several awards including Readers’ Choice #1 Torrid Bestseller of The Month and CataNetwork Reviewers’ Choice Award for 2009.

PRIMAL
Lora Leigh, Michelle Rowen, Jory Strong, and Ava Gray
ISBN: 978-0-425-23905-6
ASIN: B004Z8MJB6
February 2011
Berkley Sensation
Erotica/Anthology
Paranormal Romance/Anthology
Trade Paperback

The anthology begins with Bleeding Heart by Michelle Rowen. Jill is seeking a cure to the formula tainting her bloodstream. She’s become an anathema to vampires as just one bite of her blood kills them. There’s just one tiny problem… the formula is unstable and is killing her. Declan Reyes, dhampyr, is determined to help her. Will Dr. Reynolds have the answers they seek?

Bleeding Heart picks up just after the conclusion of NIGHTSHADE, the first book in the series. Without the context of the first book, Bleeding Heart has too many missing pieces to fully stand alone. I thoroughly enjoyed Rowen’s Immortality Bites series but her trademark humor is absent from this series. Declan is a hard man to like. The serum injected into him has made him almost heartless at times and the added touch of impotence just seems over the top. Quite honestly, I won’t be reading anything further in this particular series. Rating: 1.5

Skin & Bone by Ava Gray begins with an earthquake. Silas is on the run from the Foundation but he can’t refuse the cries of the woman buried in the rubble. Juneau sees beneath Silas’ tough exterior… but what will she think when she learns of his hidden power?

Silas first appeared in SKIN TIGHT but it is not necessary to read the book to appreciate Skin & Bone. However, knowing the context of what Silas has suffered only makes his happily-ever-after all the more beautiful. Silas is somewhat of a different type of hero, drawing his strength from what he has hidden rather than any displays of power. Juneau is the perfect counterpart to him, light hearted enough to dispel the darkness Silas has endured at the hands of the Foundation. Without a doubt, Ava Gray’s story is the best in PRIMAL. Great story! Rating: 5

In Jory Strong’s Angel-Claimed, Sajia’s entire world hinges on locating her missing charge. To fail means death, both for herself and her family. Addai has been searching for Sajia’s reincarnation since her murder long ago.

According to Jory Strong’s website, Angel-Claimed is set in the world of GHOSTLAND. This story was the biggest disappointment of the anthology to me because I loved GHOSTLAND and yet I couldn’t connect with the characters or the world of Angel-Claimed. I wanted to like Sajia and Addai but their relationship is too closely tied to pain for me to enjoy it. Rating: 1

PRIMAL concludes with Lora Leigh’s Primal Kiss. The Breeds have been free for awhile, but that hasn’t stopped those who oppose them from attacking. Meanwhile, Creed Raines has been hired to protect Kita Engalls, the daughter and niece of the men who experimented on the Breeds. How will Kita react when she discovers who Creed really is?

Primal Kiss is part of the Breeds series but does stand alone. The overall storyline involving the serum and the possible effects towards the Breeds is explained well enough that new readers can understand it, while giving fans a further glimpse into Brandenmore’s history. The romance between Creed and Kita is hot and quite steamy as the sparks fly between these two. Kita is no cowering victim and Creed has definitely met his match with her. Rating: 4.5

PRIMAL HEAT offers a mixed bag of stories. It’s hard to rate the overall anthology has the stories ranged in strength. As a fan of all four authors, I am still surprised that I didn’t enjoy all of the stories rather than just the ones by Ava Gray and Lora Leigh.

MEN OUT OF UNIFORM
Maya Banks, Karin Tabke, Sylvia Day
ISBN #:  978-0-425-24316-9
Kindle ASIN #:  B0052RE5FC
Berkley Publishing Group/Berkley Heat
October 2011
Erotic/Anthology Erotic/Ménage
Print

MEN OUT OF UNIFORM are three category length novellas about the men who serve the law and the women that they protect and love. Because of the category length of these novellas, the stories were more in depth than the typical novella and gave you a deeper insight into the characters and plot.

Soul Possession by Maya Banks is the first novella in the series and a ménage. Jessie, a survivor of a horrific car accident is a student and waitress working to pay for her schooling and medical bills. At the bar Jessie works at, she encounters Rick and Truitt two detectives with the local police department who have been trying to proposition her. When Jesse is unjustly fired, she decides to go home with the men. When the boss who fired her turns up dead, Jesse is accused of her murder and her two lovers have to fight to clear her name not only from the murder accusation, but also from a serial killer who has targeted and kidnapped her.

Out of the three novellas, I preferred Soul Possession because it was the most well-rounded out of the three, the suspense and the romance were integrated in a seamless manner that made it an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the mechanics of the story and while I had an idea of who the villain was, I was surprised at how the climax played out and I’m rarely surprised when reading romantic suspense. The only quibble I had with Soul Possession was the happily ever after working within that particular ménage relationship because of the strong Alpha personality types of the two heroes, but that could be just be quirk of mine and not reflective of the writing and the quality of the story, which was excellent.

Wanted by Karin Tabke was the second novella in the anthology. Colin Daniels is an officer with a tri-state task force who is assigned to protect the wife of a mob boss who is on the run. Colin’s mission was to find, protect, and bring Sophia back alive so she can turn in state’s evidence that would convict her husband. When Colin catches up with Sophia, he realizes that she is a girl from his past, a woman he has never stopped thinking about. He also realizes there is a leak in his department and the bad guys are hot on his trail. He and Sophia are on the run not only from the bad guys but the intense feelings that are building up between them.

I enjoyed Wanted very much. It actually had the best relationship dynamics out of the three stories. I loved how Colin and Sophia interacted and their interactions seemed realistic given the circumstances and their past. What bothered me about Wanted is that the story had a big build up for this awesome climax, a climax that just didn’t happen. In other words the beginning and middle of Wanted were great and the end fell flat. When I got to the end of the story I was surprised that it was over. I was looking for that big climax that was built up throughout the book, that never occurred. It fizzled out in the end.

Taking the Heat by Sylvia Day was the final novella in the anthology. Layla the heroine is in the Witness Protection Program after witnessing a federal agent get killed while on vacation in Mexico. When her hideout is compromised, the only survivors are she and Federal Marshal Brian Simmons a man who was called in at the last minute and her first love. She and Brian are on the run to get Layla across the country so that she doesn’t miss her court date and to keep her alive.

I liked Taking the Heat, I found Layla and Brian’s past relationship and how it ended realistic given their age differences. How they resolved their differences seemed realistic to me as well. Taking the Heat was one of the more steamier stories inside the anthology, not because of the sexual encounters but because you really felt the emotion between the hero and heroine. Out of the three stories, Taking the Heat was definitely the most emotional. What I didn’t understand about Taking the Heat was the suspense portion, it didn’t seem to have one. Taking the Heat was about Brian and Layla taking a road trip and resolving their differences, any suspense that happened was done off the page, I wish that it was more integrated inside the story. However, that didn’t bother me very much, because the characters were great.

Overall, this was a great anthology that I would recommend.

MINE UNTIL MORNING
Jasmine Haynes
ISBN:  978-0-425-23702-1
B0046ECJ6E (Kindle eBook)
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Heat
December 2010
Erotica/Anthology
Erotica/Contemporary
Trade Paperback and eBook

MINE UNTIL MORNING is an erotica anthology that revolves around a courtesan service, their clients, and the courtesan’s themselves.

The Only Way Out is the story of Dani Dawson who is a courtesan. She got in the business with her husband Kern as a way to spice up their sex life. Her husband Kern loved to watch his wife have sex with others. Dani stops when he is stricken with cancer; however, her husband’s passing has left her with a mountain of debt, and the only way Dani can think of to pay them off is to resume her work as a courtesan. There is one problem with her plan, her brother-in-law Mac. Mac now feels it’s his responsibility to look after Dani per his younger brother’s death bed request but Mac gets the shock of his life when he discovers how his sister-in-law pays the bill, and what’s more, he is not a shocked as he should be, he’s turned on.

In The Wrong Kind of Man Cleo is a single-mother struggling to make ends meet when she goes out on a date with Walker one of the regulars at the restaurant she works at. Their casual, sexual relationship grows deeper than they either expected when he happens to meet her daughter and mother and a bond forms. When Cleo finds out what Walker does for a living, she ends the relationship but she can’t easily erase the feelings he evoked nor the match-making attempts of her mother.

No Second Chances revolves around Isabel who runs Courtesans. When Isabel runs into her childhood flame, the sparks fly and she and Royce began seeing each other again.

What I loved best about MINE UNTIL MORNING is how the anthology doesn’t revolve around typical romance characters (individuals in their twenties and early thirties), but mature adults who are grappling with second chances, growth, pain, and loss. I especially appreciate that because MINE UNTIL MORNING is an erotic novel, and with erotic novels you don’t often find a great emotional depth as well as physical depth. With MINE UNTIL MORNING you get great umm . . . smexing and great character emotion.

My favorite stories out of the anthology where the first two, which I really loved and were fun reads. I had problems with Isabel’s story and had a hard time buying into her as a character. While I totally understood that she needed Royce to accept the woman that she’s become, it felt to me that she attempted to force her lifestyle down his throat, which was a shame really because hers was the story that I enjoyed the most.

That was my only fault with MINE UNTIL MORNING. MINE UNTIL MORNING is a great erotic anthology that I highly recommend.

POSSESS ME
R.G. Alexander
ISBN: 978-0425235287 (Trade Paperback)
ASIN: B003QMLBSY (Kindle eBook)
August  2010
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Heat
Erotica/Anthology
Erotica/Fantasy
Erotica/Menage
Erotica/Reincarnation
Trade Paperback and eBook

What happens when a voodoo spirit, a Loa, helps fulfill sexual fantasies? R.G. Alexander tackles that question in three sultry hot stories….

In Release Me, Allegra Jarrod is fascinated by Celestin Dias Rousseau, even as her best friend, Michelle, warns her to avoid him. Rousseau has a dark reputation for fulfilling a woman’s deepest fantasies and desires after sexually satisfying a woman. Called Bone Daddy for the Loa residing in him, Rousseau harbors a lonely secret… will Allegra help release him?

Release Me is a fascinating introduction to the world of the Loa. It was nice to see an erotica tale that involved something slightly different than the usual fare of vampires and werewolves. The attraction between Allegra and Rousseau steams up the pages and one can’t help but cheer for them while wondering what will become of Bone Daddy. Luckily, the intertwined tales answer that question quickly!

Reclaim Me focuses on Michelle Touissaint and her secret fantasy for Ben Adair. Michelle is determined to avoid her attraction to Ben and her sense of the spiritual world. Bone Daddy has other plans for them both, however….

All three stories are sizzling hot but Michelle and Ben have one scene in Reclaim Me that is beyond scorching hot- it’s an inferno! I have to admit that it seems a bit awkward with Michelle and Ben initially after the ménage scene in Release Me, but R.G. Alexander uses Michelle’s voyeurism to make it work.

POSSESS ME concludes with Redeem Me. Bone Daddy is almost out of time. All Saint’s Day is his last chance to enjoy the pleasures of New Orleans. Bethany Sorelle has left the comfortable confines of her home in New York to help Michelle solve a historical mystery. Instead, Bethany finds Bone Daddy. What is behind the instantaneous bond between them?

Redeem Me gives readers the necessary happily-ever for Bone Daddy. R.G. Alexander does a marvelous job at making the Loa seem human and so it’s with little surprise that we see he, too, has a story. Bethany’s transformation from a timid woman to a woman full of self-confidence is beautiful to behold. Redeem Me is the perfect conclusion to POSSESS ME.

POSSESS ME is one hot, steamy anthology! R.G. Alexander takes readers into the darkest secret fantasies- from ménages to voyeurism- and shows love blossoming. Intriguing.

SEX ON THE SLOPES
Susan Lyons
ISBN:  978-0-425-23701-4
B00466ISI0 (Kindle eBook)
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Heat
December 7, 2010
Erotica/Anthology
Erotica/Contemporary
Trade Paperback

SEX ON THE SLOPES is an intriguing, well-written anthology by Susan Lyons that is set around a vacation wedding in Whistler, British Columbia. Not only do the bride and groom find love, but so do several of the wedding participants.

Fire and Ice is the first story in the anthology. Fire and Ice focuses on Andi, the couple’s wedding planner. When one of the guests at the ski lodge where the wedding takes place falls asleep smoking, the lodge catches fire. As the fire sets off the smoke alarms, Andi jumps in to ensure that everyone is evacuated despite the fact that she was wearing a sexy negligee when she went to bed and it’s the middle of winter. Jared, a firefighter, is tasked with making sure Andi doesn’t freeze to death, which is easy because he and Andi can heat each other up by just looking into each other’s eyes. They decide to have a fling since they both live in different towns and don’t expect to see each other once the wedding is over, but they find it’s hard to have sex without emotion and their emotions for each other is taking over everything else.

The character that sticks out for me in Fire and Ice is Jared. I loved him. He’s a widower who has lost his childhood sweetheart and their unborn baby in an accident. Although it’s been several years since the incident, he still hasn’t recovered from losing his family. When he meets Andi he is terrified of what he’s feeling for her because how can he have the right to be happy when his wife and unborn child are dead? It was amazing to me how Jared had such complete character arc in such a short story and Andi’s reactions to Jared’s conflicts were very realistic (i.e., understanding his grief, but unwilling to be second best or a replacement) which made me enjoy the story all the more. While I enjoyed the character arcs, I did wish for more plot because of the length of the novella, they came to an understanding a little too quickly for my comfort, but other than that, I thought it was a great read.

Slippery Slope is the second novella. Brianna is the groom’s boss and a wedding guest. She’s a workaholic talk show host and producer whose show is being considered for U.S. syndication. The last thing she wants to do is to take time away to attend a wedding, but she attends because of her friendship with the groom. When she’s corralled to take skiing lessons with the wedding guests, she meets Zack a ski instructor who spends his time during the winter months flinting around different ski resorts teaching guests. Brianna likes the idea that Zack doesn’t seem to know where she is, and considers this the perfect opportunity to have a fling before she gets back home to Vancouver and has to deal with all the pressures and demands of her career.

I enjoyed Slippery Slope but I did have an issue with this story. I found Brianna hard to connect with, because she tended to jump to conclusions. By this I mean, when Zach who suspects that she just works on a television show asks her advice on something, she immediately assumes that he knew who she was and was using her to further his own ends. While, I know nothing about the pressures of celebrity, and while I imagine this reaction is true to life, her actions and the way she jumped down Zach’s throat without proof didn’t sit well with me. This was a minor incident in Slippery Slope and I enjoyed everything else about the novella, but that is the one incident that stuck in my mind as I closed the novella, despite Brianna redeeming herself in the end.

In Hot Pursuit of A Bad Boy is the final novella. Maddie, the groom’s sister, has always been in love with her brother’s childhood friend Logan. She has never forgotten him despite the fact that she hasn’t seen him since her early teens. When he becomes a last minute guest to her brother’s wedding Maddie is determined to see if the chemistry between them still exists and to prove to Logan that she isn’t a child any longer. But Logan has a secret and getting involved with Maddie may lead to danger and not just from their hearts.

I am ashamed to admit that this is the novella that I was not looking forward to reading, part of it was because how Logan was seen in the eyes of the other guests in the previous novella. I should have known better. While Jared is my favorite, I loved Logan and should’ve known that Ms. Lyons wasn’t going to give us another reformed bad boy story like what I was expecting. In Hot Pursuit of A Bad Boy is not that, it was so much more. Without giving away too much of the plot, Logan has a reason for acting the way that he has. Maddie, who has always been able to see the real Logan, sees the real man inside of Logan instead of the façade that he portrays to the world. Logan informs her that he is not the type of man for a happily ever after, and while Maddie tells him that she is a grown woman now and can have a relationship without the promise of forever, she finds that is a hard promise to make with a man like Logan. While I loved Logan and Maddie, I couldn’t help but be annoyed at Logan’s feelings of inadequacy, while I perfectly understood the reasons behind his actions when he was younger, I couldn’t help but being annoyed that he still felt that as an adult and after all that he had accomplished. That was my only minor quibble with In Pursuit of A Bad Boy and I highly recommend taking a chance on this great collection of novellas by one of my favorite erotic romance authors.

FOUR PLAY
Maya Banks and Shayla Black
ISBN:  978-0-425-23669-7
B0042JSOJ4 (Kindle eBook)
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Heat
October 2010
Erotica/Ménage
Erotica/Anthology
Trade Paperback

FOUR PLAY is an erotic novel about ménage relationship’s and living out your deepest fantasies.

Pillow Talk by Maya Banks resolves around Chase, a firefighter, and Zoe an ER nurse. Chase and Zoe are dating and live together in a home with his two friends. One night after sex Chase and Zoe discuss their secret fantasies. With Chase’s birthday approaching Zoe decides to live out Chase’s fantasy of dancing for him and his friends in a strip club. When Chase returns the favor and indulges in Zoe’s fantasies he enlists the aid of his two best friends who always cared for Zoe. When sex enters the picture, Tate and Brody find that they can no longer ignore the feelings that they’ve pushed back regarding Zoe all these years. What once started out as a wild fling gets very complicated.

I am a big fan of Maya Banks writing; she’s my guilty pleasure. However, she often pushes the emotional and sexual envelope and I often read her books with my eyes popping out of my sockets, but I keep reading. Even being a Maya Banks fan girl, I just couldn’t buy into her entry into the FOUR PLAY anthology. It is a given with a Maya Banks novel that Pillow Talk would be a well-written novella with compelling and three-dimensional characters and interesting plot turns. However, I was uncomfortable with some of the plot twists. I bought into Chase and Zoe’s pillow talk and how they each wanted to bring the other’s deepest fantasies into reality, so I really bought into Pillow Talk and the sexy situations that the characters found themselves in. Where Pillow Talk lost me (and I’m trying to tell this without giving away too many spoilers so forgive me for my vagueness) is when an additional element was brought into the fantasy, which appeared with the whole sex with strangers introduction (you’ll have to read the book to understand what I am talking about). To me that whole plot seemed to be tacked on and didn’t fit with the flow of the story and because of the situations, I lost respect for one of the characters and stopped caring. I didn’t think that person deserved a happily ever after at that point.

Of course, that is my own personal opinion and does not reflect the strength of the writing and the characters. Maybe it enhances it because I did have a strong physical reaction to the behavior of one of Ms. Banks characters; it just so happens that reaction caused me extreme anger and annoyance with that person. LOL!

In Her Fantasy Men Kelsey is the type of girl who finds it easier hanging out with men than woman and her three closest friends are, her best friend from childhood, her neighbor, and her boss. She doesn’t dare reveal to them that she wants to be more than just friends, because she cannot decide what man she’d prefer as she wants them all. When the men suspect that Kelsey may have a boyfriend they decide to do some undercover work and what they find surprises them. They decide to fight for her affections, and to prove to her that they are what she needs.

Before delving into FOUR PLAY I had seen several reviews about this book and I dived into the reviews despite knowing that I was going to receive the book and review it as well. In those reviews a lot of people who didn’t like Her Fantasy Men and preferred Ms. Banks story. I figured that I would be the same since I’m a Maya Banks fan girl. I was wrong. I actually preferred Ms. Black’s entry inside FOUR PLAY. What can I say, I’m a rebel.

To me Kelsey is a great character. Her reactions, fears, concerns about her desires and the reality of those desires were very realistic. I also loved the fact that the men were resistant and fought against Kelsey’s needs and wanted what they wanted and darn anyone else. Umm . . . that was so MALE of them. LOL! It was so totally believable that three Alpha males would balk at a ménage relationship and try to out maneuver each other to prove to Kelsey that THEY were the one she should be with. That realism as well as the Kelsey’s response to that realism made the story for me and I enjoyed it immensely. My only issue with the story was the ending and how they decided to deal with the pregnancy and marriage issue.

Overall, I thought FOUR PLAY had some sexy situations, awesome writing, and compelling characters. I would definitely pick up these two authors again and again.

BOUND, BRANDED, AND BRAZEN
Jaci Burton
ISBN:  978-0-425-23269-9
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Heat
March 2010
Erotica/Contemporary
Erotica/Anthology
Trade Paperback

BOUND, BRANDED, AND BRAZEN is an anthology revolving around three sisters resolving their loves and business after their uncle’s death.

Valerie, Brea, and Jolene had an ideal life living on their parents’ ranch in Oklahoma until their untimely death thrusts them in the care of an uncaring uncle. When he dies, the sisters reunite to bury him and to settle ranch affairs. But coming home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially for Valerie who unable to settle in a small town and reconcile herself to the overwhelming feelings she had for her husband, Mason.Valerie ran away to the big city. Now that she’s back, she’s learning that you can never out run your problems.

I didn’t like Bound. It took me forever to read that story. I think it’s because I never warmed up to the heroine Valerie. Her real motivation for leaving her husband and the ranch wasn’t really explained until the end of the book and by then I had already stopped caring about her as a character. I wished her reasoning was sprinkled in throughout the book instead of being dumped in the last chapter or so. It also bothered me that she never apologized to Mason for running away from him years ago. While their sexual contact was hot, I needed more conflict/dialogue between Valerie and Mason. To believe in them as a couple, I personally needed to see them work through some of their issues. I was surprised that Mason didn’t call her out for just walking out on him all those years ago. To me, that weakened his character and made him more open to getting hurt again. It would have helped me if I saw more angst, or his thought process on why he was entering into a sexual relationship with someone who has never been able to give him more of what he needed in the relationship.

Nor can you hide them. Ever since she ended a bad relationship, Brea has been hiding from life. Now that she’s back on the ranch, there is no place to hide, nor can she hide her attraction to horse trainer Gage. But if she gives into her attraction will he think of her as other’s have or realize how special she is?

Branded was my favorite. I freely admit that it’s probably because I’m a sucker for stories of the shy duckling transforming into a swan. I also think it’s one of my favorites because Brea is so shy that Gage spent a lot of time talking to her to help draw her out of her shell. Because of this, they talked so much I was able to buy into their relationship more. Umm, that’s all I have to say about this one, other than I really like it. Just a FYI, there’s some back door action in Branded.

Being the boss, means that Jolene is used to getting what she wants and what she wants is ranch hand Walker and she can’t understand why he’s being resistant when it’s obvious that the feeling is mutual. However, the last time one of his boss’s wanted him, he got fired from his job and had to rebuild his life, so he swears to not get close to Jolene no matter how tempting she is. Too bad you should never swear.

Jolene was the sister that I thought I would like the most; after all, she was the sister who had been left behind to shoulder the burden of the ranch. Who had to take charge and get things done, right? Unfortunately to me, she appeared immature in her dealings with anything that didn’t have to do with the ranch. My feelings for Jolene soured when she attempted to fire Gage (the hero of Branded) when he and Brea (the heroine of Branded) relationship went south. I know she was trying to protect her sister, but that was pretty immature. I also couldn’t believe that she was so blasé about Walker’s logical reasons for not wanting to enter into a relationship with his boss. Especially after he had just seen her attempt to fire Gage, I couldn’t believe that this wasn’t even explored.

Although I had several minor problems with BOUND, BRANDED, AND BRAZEN, which I stated, I think it’s a good read and I closed the book with a smile on my face. Who could ask for anything more?

HERS FOR THE EVENING
Jasmine Haynes
ISBN:  978-0-425-23417-4
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Heat
May 2010
Erotica/Anthology
Erotica/BDSM
Erotica/Menage
Trade Paperback

HERS FOR THE EVENING are three loosely connected super sexy stories written by the same author that focus on a group of people who use the same courtesan service to spice up there sex life. The first story, Three’s A Crowd is about a married couple facing issues that many couples have to deal with. The kids are gone, the husband is working on a project, and the wife is feeling neglected and desires to bring that spark back into her and her husband’s relationship. She decides to spice up their sex life by inviting another woman into their bed but when the tables are turned she gets more than what she bargained for.

The second story Stand-In is about senior executives who work for the same company with a strict no fraternization policy. When the heroine CEO (who outranks the man) cannot get over her feelings for her CFO, she decides to use a service and request a man to pleasure her who looks exactly like her CFO. When she creates her encounter little does she know that the real man she wants is watching her every move.

The final story, Surrender to Me, is about overcoming loss and betrayal. The heroine’s husband has died in the arms of another woman and she blames her best friend and their business partner for telling her about the affair. He however has been in love with her for years and wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of her husband’s infidelity. When he comes across her secret desire of wanting to submit, he feels that this is his time to finally come out from the shadows and inform her of what they can mean to each other.

Umm, I’m not sure what to say other than I loved HERS FOR THE EVENING. When I first opened the book, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. It was nothing that was written, but a preconceived notion about the path that I assumed the author was going to take, a path that I really didn’t want the author to go down. In fact after I read the first couple of pages I had put the book down and didn’t pick it back up again until about two weeks later. When I picked it up again, I was pleasantly surprised that the author didn’t take the path that I was dreading she would. That’s when I really began to love HERS FOR THE EVENING.

That saying, the characters are realistically drawn and multi-layered with their motivations and conflicts woven in skillfully in a way that I rarely find in erotic romance. I also found their wants, needs, and desires reasonable given their characters and situations in life. As I alluded to earlier, the plot wasn’t predictable and I liked the little twists and turns the characters took to their journey to love and discovery.

Speaking of discovery . . .. I totally bought into each couple’s happily ever after. I felt that after each journey the couple’s relationship was strong and lasting and each couple benefited from their erotic journey. I also loved the fact that the couples weren’t twenty-year-olds, but mature adults in there forties and even fifties.

 Umm, I don’t have anything else to say. Great read!