Review- In the Eyes of Love by Sheri Livingston

In the Eyes of Love
by Sheri Livingston
June, 2006
Contemporary/ Lesbian
60K- $5.99

Buy it Loose-Id, Fictionwise, ARebooks

When Morgan’s lover leaves her after nine years, betrayal drives her deep into work and denial. She’s not looking for anyone else, because she’ll never forget Dawn.

Shane is an artist, content in her world of line and form. Though lonely, she blames herself for the death of her ex and can’t see past her guilt.

Morgan’s job at the magazine brings her and Shane together. The attraction is undeniable, the passion explosive.

Now that Morgan’s found someone else, Dawn desperately wants her back. She uses every dirty trick, pulls every sexual string, and Morgan takes her back. But she can’t stop thinking about Shane…

First, the blurb is a bit off. Morgan, after years of being clueless that she’s been with a narcissistic bitch, walks out on her long time partner after she discovers for the first time that she’s been cheated on. Dawn didn’t leave Morgan, but stalks her constantly trying to win her back.

It’s been a year since Morgan told Dawn to go to hell, but she still cannot let go of her and walks around with a sad face thinking about Dawn all the time. Her friends who all love her, hover around her and intercede often trying to protect her from Dawn, but she keeps going back.

Morgan works for a popular magazine and has been trying to get an interview with Shane, a well known artist who keeps blowing her off for some reason. Shane did go to meet Morgan, but seeing Morgan from behind and the sadness in her eyes through the glass reflection, she ran fearing the intense attraction she felt. Shane’s got her own big ole sad past that’s unresolved and feeling this kind of attraction again is something she’d rather avoid.

Dawn, who’s basically a sociopath, has been with Morgan since high school and is obsessed with her. But Dawn comes on to and sleeps with anything that is female and is alive because she can and just to be nasty. She feels that she has a right to do as she pleases, while keeping Morgan all to herself. So she does what any person like that would do, she stalks and harasses and preys on Morgan’s feelings and inability to let go, constantly.

Ok, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this story. Obviously I’m doing a review so I did find it compelling enough to finish it, but it did push a few of my buttons. It’s one of those things that’s I’ve come to know in many lesbian stories as estrogen overload. It seemed like one long emo fest, with a few bright spots of budding love.

This story started out great. I really liked Morgan. She comes across as tough and savvy in her work even if after one year she cannot stop thinking about Dawn. And in the beginning Shane is also a very interesting character. She came across as a powerful eccentric type who had a lot of intrigue about her. After Shane and Morgan meet though, which is fairly early on, it kind of goes in fits and starts from there.

Morgan spends most of the story pining after Dawn and Shane intermittently. She’s trying to break away from Dawn while opening up to Shane, going back and forth and back and forth. I seriously felt that she deserved Dawn after a while. Why would you keep feeling something so strongly for someone and even consider going back after being cheated on for ten years? 10 YEARS! Not to mention the whole creepy, controlling, stalker thing going on.

And then there’s Shane’s super secret past. Through most of the beginning of the book there are just hints of some painful experience. We soon find out though, that Shane has been blaming herself for what happened with her last partner, who by the way, was no better than Dawn. Shane's still carrying a torch and blame for what happened to her ex, putting her on a pedestal as if the ex was any kind of a decent person herself. Her ex cheated on her all the time and cruelly told Shane what a loser she is and to deal with it or get lost.

What’s with all this love and pining over people who basically are/ were a shit and didn’t/don’t know the first thing about love? Instead of coming across as damaged and sympathetic, both Shane and Morgan came across as pathetic after a while.

Morgan and Shane’s way of relating was often also very frustrating. Shane comes on to Morgan straight away after they meet and Morgan is very attracted. They have one beautiful night of really hot sex, both opening up to each other emotionally and all seems great. But then Shane goes all iceberg on Morgan’s ass right after, which throws Morgan back into Dawns arms. Why? Shane does this several times; blows hot and cold. She loves Morgan, but feels that Morgan will hurt her by going back to Dawn, so she cruelly blows her off time and again only to keep perpetuating her fears about Morgan going back to Dawn.

Neither one of them will openly express what’s really going on, but constantly hint to each other that there’s reason for each of them to fear loving each other. They are both feeling insecure about each other. But instead of trying to alleviate the other’s fears, they hold back from saying what’s going on. *Headdesk*

I really have a hard time with the big misunderstanding trope that could easily be dealt with by opening the mouth and talking a little bit. I get that it’s an author’s way to keep up some tension, but for me that frustrates more than keeps me interested.

I know this looks like I hated this book, but that’s not true. A lot of it did annoy me, however, there were some really good moments in this book that did keep me turning the pages.

Those times when Morgan and Shane were in alignment and flowing together were very nicely written. Very loving and sexually hot. And it was clear that both really want and love each other. That’s what kept me reading this story. There were just enough of those moments that it did give me a better overall impression than other specifics that bothered me.

If you like the kind of story about a lot of emotional love drama then I think In the Eyes of Love will be a satisfying read. I wish there would have been more of Morgan and Shane and their budding relationship with less of the negative angsty drama, but this story still worked for me on some level.

Sex rating: orgasmic- f/f, mostly vanilla, some minor anal play. It was pretty juicy vanilla though.

Grade: B for technically being nicely written, C for the story itself.

Review- Birthday Girl by Paisley Smith

Birthday Girl
by Paisley Smith
November 2009
Contemporary/ erotica/ f/f/m ménage
Length- quickie (up to 15K) $2.49
Ebook

Buy it Ellora’s Cave

It’s Gemma’s thirty-second birthday. She’s not surprised when her gorgeous husband Nate whips out the blindfold and orders her to bend over for a birthday spanking. What does surprise her is that Nate has enlisted the help of a friend. Another woman!

Lindsey is a sexy Bohemian artist who has starred in Gemma’s fantasies for a long while. She doesn’t know what will happen beyond this single night of scorching sex play, but for now, Gemma fully intends to enjoy every new touch, taste, sight and sound her “birthday gift” has to offer.

It was just by chance that I came across this author and book. I have a GLBT promo blog on my reader and saw that a post was written wondering about straight women liking f/f stories or not. It was a lead in to promo this book Birthday Girl. I went and read the freebie story of Ms. Smith’s offered at Ellora’s Cave and totally loved it as you can see from my earlier post. I then downloaded Birthday Girl and again, I was so not disappointed. In fact, I read it all just before going to sleep, which never happens; I’m usually falling asleep after a reading a few pages of a book.

Like First Taste, this story is sexually, steamy hot. Also like First Taste, within a short amount of space, Paisley Smith managed to convey how much these characters love and respect each other. Again, I was left with a warm and fuzzy feeling that these characters will be together for a long time even though seriously, this was one long string of sex scenes/scenarios with very little plot or characterization.

The set up is very simple. It’s Gemma’s birthday and her husband Nate, whom she’s madly and totally in love with, gives her the gift of woman in her bed for a threesome. Nate has known all about Gemma’s fantasies and desires for a woman here and there and that she’s particularly liked Lindsey, a woman who frequents Nate’s Pizza restaurant and has become a friend to both of them.

Nate found out that Lindsey, who came in alone often, was more into women and that she’d just finished a long-term relationship. Lindsey confessed to him that she’s had a girl crush on Gemma for a long time. So it’s the perfect scenario.

What was so delicious here is that Gemma, who’s had inklings that’s she’s bisexual having had experimented in college, was not completely aware of her bisexuality until she gets with Lindsey and loves it so much. I thought this was written rather nicely. She’s a bit confused about her feelings but only because she really loves Nate and how can she love both Nate and Lindsey? And is it cheating to want Lindsey when she adores Nate so much?

Being with Lindsey though, has stirred up hidden feelings for her and as the two days progress with lots and lots of sex, she and Lindsey do share what they feel, neither one wanting to let go and just have this be their one and only time.

Lindsey has been with men before but they just didn’t do it for her like women did. So she’s pretty clear that in this little threesome that it’s mainly Gemma she wants. And yet, these three seem so cozy, so open and loving that I was left with the impression that they could all work out an arrangement that would keep everyone happy. Even this was written very well. Lindsey wants Gemma and although she’s not so hot on being sexual with Nate, she does like him and is very open to working something out to be with Gemma.

Nate is just a sweet guy in the background of this story. The main focus is on the two women, both sexually and emotionally, although Nate is part of a lot of the sexual scenarios, which was totally hot. But it’s mostly about Gemma and Lindsey both getting something inside of themselves deeply fulfilled by being together. It came across as all so natural. What I liked about it also was that Nate is honest that he loves seeing his wife being sexual with a woman and thinks he’s gotten lucky, but it never came across as ever for his pleasure. It was clear all along that this was for Gemma only.

There was only one niggling little problem I had with this book, but it was so minor really. I felt that at times Gemma’s self reflecting about her sexual past to Lindsey and to herself did come across more as the author doing some self reflecting. The way it was written felt more like a real post that someone would write, rather than a character thinking to themselves. This did pull me a little out of the story because it was a bit more telling than expressing. However, truly this was so minor to the whole of the story.

And just a minor warning, Paisley Smith’s prose is a bit gritty and graphic at times. I absolutely loved it, but it will be a matter of taste.

I feel that if you’re looking for a hawt quickie that’s a lot about the sex, but even more so about hot sex with characters connecting emotionally, then Birthday Girl is a juicy, yummy read.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- f/f, f/f/m, minor anal play. I will warn some that there is some serious spanking in this book with very minor BDSM play. I’m not so hot on spanking, which is why I wasn’t that quick to jump on this book before I read First Taste. That said, it didn’t come across as heavy in the BDSM area, but more light and playful. Bottom line, if I could be OK with it, it wasn’t that intense or a turn off, but will satisfy for someone who likes that sort of thing.

Grade: B+++ Definitely a short story worth the money to me.

This! What a short story should be- pimpage

First Taste
by Paisley Smith

It's FREEEEEE! Get thee over to Ellora's Cave to read/download this story.

It’s Natalie’s ten-year high school reunion and she’s reluctantly joined the planning committee. Things start to look up, though, when she finds that Haley Moore is on the committee—and she’s even more gorgeous than Natalie remembered.

Ten years before, Natalie and Haley had experimented sexually together, but when high school ended, they went their separate ways. Their unexpected reunion finds them ready to make up for lost time, both in bed and out.

Yeah, skip over the fact that there's a man and woman on the cover. I discovered that all of EC's free reads have this cover, no matter what the content.

To my regular readers. I've been bitching like hell about all the crappy short stories I've been reading. You can see in my reviews that I get rather pissed off with spending good money, and in some cases a ridiculous amount per word count, on short stories that suck. Short stories that have no emotional connection between characters, but just disconnected sex many times.

Or, there's a nice connection, but it's just too incomplete with big old gaping holes, leaving me a bit dissatisfied.

I've reached the point where I'm very leery about BUYING short stories even though I do like shorter books due to time constraints and being a slow reader.

But then comes along this little gem written by Paisley Smith. And, even better, IT'S FREE!!!

This is what chaps my ass. Here's a perfect little short story that kind of has it all. It's a very hawt and steamy, but loving story about two women together. There's just enough background to get where each woman is coming from, how they feel about each other, and it's complete.

Even though this story is basically one huge sex scene with a little bit of background, I can really feel that these two women really want each other, that they have a need to be with each other. It's totally right for both and flows so smoothly. Nice characters, great sex, no big holes and a perfect wrap up. It's just one of those satisfying reads all around the block. And the sex, yowza!

So why can't a publisher offer these kinds of books more often? If I would have paid for this story I would have walked away feeling like it was worth it, unlike several I've read recently in which I felt ripped off.



Since I loved First Taste so much I'll pimp Paisley Smith's new book just out, Birthday Girl, which is available at Ellora's Cave. I haven't read it yet so I don't know if it's as good as First Taste, but I do have hopes since this is exactly what I love to read.

It’s Gemma’s thirty-second birthday. She’s not surprised when her gorgeous husband Nate whips out the blindfold and orders her to bend over for a birthday spanking. What does surprise her is that Nate has enlisted the help of a friend. Another woman!

Lindsey is a sexy Bohemian artist who has starred in Gemma’s fantasies for a long while. She doesn’t know what will happen beyond this single night of scorching sex play, but for now, Gemma fully intends to enjoy every new touch, taste, sight and sound her “birthday gift” has to offer.

Review- Dreaming of Harmony by Jade Buchanan

Dreaming of Harmony
by Jade Buchanan
2008
Contemporary/ Lesbian/Erotica
6K words- $2.49
Ebook

Buy it Changeling Press, All Romance ebooks

When Erin opened the paper she never expected to see her obituary staring back at her. Is this some idea of a cosmic joke? She’s especially unsettled when the deceased woman, who happens to share her name and birthday, starts lecturing her in her dreams. Erin knows she needs to take a few chances, but she doesn’t know how to do the one thing she’s avoided for months… seduce the girl next door. Lucky for her, fate is about to step in.

Like the last Jade Buchanan book I read, Boardroom, this is a very, very short quickie. For what it is, Dreaming of Harmony is a cute, sexy read.

Erin watches her neighbor, Harmony, through the window. She’s been fantasizing about her for a while, but has no idea if Harmony swings with women. She’s only seen Harmony with men, so she doesn’t really hope for anything. Besides, in Erin’s mind, she and Harmony are so different. Harmony is a high powered business mover and shaker who dresses classy and elegantly, while Erin is just a lowly librarian whose personal style is more hippy casual.

Enter the ghost of a recently passed woman with the same name and birth date, albeit 50 years before, as Erin and things get a bit interesting. She’s got Erin’s name and was also a lesbian, but one who spurned her female lover back in the day to fit into society. She’s come to teach Erin something important.

I liked this story. I thought it’s kind of sweet with a fun premise to it. However, there really isn’t too much to say since this was such a short story, but I’ll try.

This story is basically about a dream come true for Erin. That’s rather a double meaning because the only sexual interaction between the women has the feel of a dream to it, seems to be a dream, and yet, is maybe not a dream. It’s kind of left ambiguous from the author whether or not Harmony and Erin are actually together even though Harmony says it’s not a dream. I was still wondering after I finished the story though. At any rate, it’s a steamy sexual encounter for both.

Again though, as I’ve come to find in stories under 10k, there’s a lot missing. In this case there’s no prior interaction between Erin and Harmony except for one scene in which they have a friendly chat and Erin picks up a subtle curiosity coming from Harmony for the first time since they’ve known each other. The next thing you know, a ghost shows up and shortly after, Erin and Harmony are getting it on. Erin has no idea how she’s in bed with Harmony, only that she fell asleep and it’s all happening.

The only information available on each character are some brief descriptors of the way they dress and their occupations to tell us what they’re about. So there’s not much to know where these characters are coming from. While it’s clear that Erin is a lesbian because she’s dreaming about Harmony from the get go, even in the end, I wasn’t so sure about Harmony.

The ghost aspect to this little story was kind of cute and interesting. There was an implication though that some ghost voodoo/help was responsible for Harmony and Erin getting together, which was both unique and a bummer for me.

Maybe I just read it wrong and maybe Harmony was a lesbian or bi all along and the magik was more to help them skip the whole uncomfortable and insecure part of getting together. To be fair, in an m/f I would not have bat an eye at a little help from some paranormal aspect to get a romance going. When it comes to f/f though, I like to know that there’s no question that the sexually ambiguous character really wants the lesbian or bi character out of their own, real, desire.

At any rate, I do like Jade Buchanan’s style of writing and I do think she managed to tell a fairly complete fantasy in such a short space that left me feeling good. I think though, for myself, I’m done with these little short stories that I usually feel a bit frustrated with because they’re nicely written, with interesting characters, but carry no depth or richness to them because of the lack of length. What’s the point really?

If you’re looking for a yummy, hawt little quickie then Dreaming of Harmony is the perfect read.

Sex rating: Wet panties: one short sex scene. F/F vanilla.

Grade: B

Review- Meghan's Playhouse Book 1: Seducing Cat by Adriana Kraft

Meghan’s Playhouse Book 1: Seducing Cat
by Adriana Kraft
2009
Contemporary/ erotica/ f/f-bisexual/ f/f/m-menage
28K+ $5.49
Ebook

Buy it Whiskey Creek Press, Omni Lit, Fictionwise

Level headed English Professor Caitlin Shanahan has finally earned tenure and purchased the century-old house of her dreams—at thirty-four, she'd better face facts: her future is teaching college and writing plays, not falling in love. So why is she so drawn to foxy little hometown actress Meghan Keenan, who's rented her upstairs apartment, or worse, to the girl's gorgeous hunk of a lover Kurt Davis, a brash carpenter who's never even been to college?

Twenty year old Meg has a plan. First she'll seduce the reluctant professor; then she'll share her sexual delights with both Cat and her brawny carpenter, and when she's successfully brought them together, she can make her escape and explore what's beyond the only town she's ever lived in.

Kurt can't stand the up-tight professor who's hired him to build a gazebo and refurbish her old house—the house he wanted for himself. Even if Meg succeeds, he knows Caitlin would never look at him twice. No need to go there in his fantasies…

This is the second book of Adriana Kraft’s that I’ve read and to be honest, since the first book left me a bit cold, I was a bit leery of reading another. Adriana Kraft, a husband and wife team of writers, like to specifically write bisexual female characters, which anyone who reads this blog will know puts Kirsten and I in seventh heaven. So I really wanted to try another hoping it’d be good. That said, this story was so different in its feel and style than Writing Skin was and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Meghan is a young 20 year old who’s very comfortable in her own skin and sexually open. She’s been friends with 24 year old Kurt since they were children and have a nice, easy going, commitment free friends with benefits type of relationship in which there are no expectations of it going any deeper or becoming something permanent.

As the blurb says, Caitlin is an older, up-tight, spinsterish professor who runs a local playhouse and is restoring an old house she bought. Caitlin feels that she’s over the hill at 34 and has basically given up on sex and love thinking no one would find her desirable.

Kurt, a local carpenter, was hired by Caitlin to restore her house. They have an uneasy, antagonistic relationship in which they put up with each other because Kurt is the best at what he does, and Caitlin has the money to keep him working for a long time. They seem to barely tolerate each other until Meg decides to play cupid and get them together. But first she must seduce the cool and distant Caitlin.

First I’ll talk about what bugged me in this book, although it wasn’t anything that had an impact on my opinion. Is 34 really that old? The way this is written, Caitlin sounds like a 40+ year old woman. Since when is 34 over the hill and too old to give up on having a sexual/love relationship? I kept thinking she must be 40+ to be feeling like she did or worrying that she’s not appealing anymore.

Second, why Meghan wants to get Caitlin with Kurt is a huge mystery that was never really explained. I mean she just decides to get them together? Kind of odd. She knows that Kurt and Caitlin dislike each other, so why it would occur to Meghan to shove them together was a point missing for me. But, you know, the story itself and how it was written kept me from thinking about that too much.

What I loved about this story was that in the end, the authors made me believe that Caitlin and Kurt will have a good go at it.

It starts out with Meghan seducing Caitlin who’s never been with a woman before. I really enjoyed that part as Meg is very open and it’s like Cat is discovering sex for the first time. Cat’s kind of shy and hesitant along with being uptight, so it was sweet. Once Cat and Meg are fully into a sexual relationship, Meghan then follows through on her original plan to bring in Kurt for a threesome. Kurt, however, has warned Cat that this might come up and both insist to each other that they would do that over each other’s dead bodies.

I though it very believable that both Kurt and Cat would be at odds, but then come around after a while. Their differences are quite real, even if a bit contrived for a good story. He’s the hunky, uneducated wrong side of the tracks dude with the intellectual, right side of the tracks older woman. Both find though that those issues are minor to the actual attraction that they find they have for each other.

My issue with Writing Skin that the characters and sex came across as too calculated and clinical, was not present in this book at all. All the characters are very warm and real and the sex in this book was very hot. More so because they feel something for each other.

For those who want to know, this is strictly an f/f of a bisexual nature. It’s classified as lesbian on several sites, but Meg is, has always been, bi. And Caitlin was never with a woman before, so the feel of this is very much bi. I’d say this is more a m/f relationship story with some f/f bi and ménage in it.

I definitely recommend this book for those who like a bi slant to f/f relationships and who like characters to feel something with each other outside the sex. It’s a very satisfying story all around and I’m looking forward to reading the next few books in the Meghan’s Playhouse series.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- f/f, f/f/m, lots of minor anal play, vibrator use, and some voyeurism. Mostly it’s vanilla sex though.

Grade: B+

Reveiw- When Katie Came Over by Arden Hill

When Katie Came Over
by Arden Hill
2008
Contemporary/ Lesbian/ light BDSM-ish/ erotica
4k- $2.00
Ebook

Pub: Loveyoudevine

When an established top who writes erotica under the pen name Sangre hires a woman to assemble a porch swing, she gets more than she pays for. Katie, a college student and novice in the practice of kink, has read much on the subject, including the work of Sangre, and is eager to experience the reality of bottoming to an experienced player. Soon Sangre is taking a break from writing scenes to gather more hands on research. She channels her creative energy into tutoring Katie as to how to turn her on. With the help of some specially designed restraints and a gorgeous glass dildo, Sangre also draws pleasure from Katie making her beg and moan for a well deserved release. In, When Katie Came Over, both top and bottom are rewarded by creative erotic collaboration.

I have just one thing to say about this story. Don’t bother.

Sangre has MS and is a well known erotica writer who hires Katie to put together a porch swing. Katie is a young college student just trying to make some extra money. Sangre is using voice recognition to write her book and Katie overhears her writing/speaking an erotic scene in her book. They quickly establish that they are both are lesbians and that Katie is a bottom. How we know this is because Katie says that she is and hints at being fairly experienced in kinky sex. In short order Sangre is telling her to get into the cuffs and they are getting it on.

First, this story is only a few pages long. It’s an extremely rare author who can do any story justice in a few pages and there was no justice done to this story. Second, it’s not well written, with a complete lack of character build up and plot really. Moreover, the only sexual situation portrayed barely kept me interested enough to even keep reading.

It is erotica, so yeah, I’m not expecting an elaborate well developed story, however, even on the level of erotica, which is pretty much mostly sex, it fell way short. The sexual scenes were very slow and boring with absolutely no chemistry or heat between the characters.

Even the whole light BDSM- bottom/top or what ever was going on came across as unrealistic and a bit off to me. I think if the author had at the very least made me feel some kind of connection between these two women, then I would have had a different feeling. If this book weren’t so short to begin with, I would have dropped it before it did end, with no reason to keep reading.

Sex rating: Technically it’s graphically written. But it was so boring I can’t say it’s too spicy. f/f- lesbian. Minor BDSM- hand cuffs, dildo use.

Grade: D-

Review- Open Proposal by Rosemary Gunn

Open Proposal
by Rosemary Gunn
2009
Contemporary/ ménage/ f/f/m- bi-lesbian
15-25K words- $4.25
Ebook

Buy it Liquid Silver Books

Samantha and Eve have it all: a beautiful home, successful careers, and a loving relationship. When the use of a sex toy brings Sam's latent desires to the forefront, the women decide to find someone who can give Sam the one thing that Eve cannot.

Roman--Eve’s best friend from childhood--is surprised by their unusual request, but agrees to play anyway. Eve has always been able to count on Roman to be there when she needed him.

What she hadn’t counted on were her own feelings regarding him. Will an open proposal mark the end of a friendship or the beginning of something more than any of them could have anticipated?

Ménage à Review--This is the one where Leah and Kirsten engage in some spectacular three-way review action. Who's the third? Why, the book, of course! And hot holy damn, is this gonna be a lovefest. We are ALL OVER that thing.

Leah: I never know what I’m going to get when I buy an f/f book. Since f/f and f/f/m ménage stories are not that common, I tend to almost blindly buy a book just hoping against all hope that it’s going to be decent. I don’t even dare to hope that it will rock my socks off.

Kirsten: I picked up this book after Leah emailed me to tell me she was halfway through it and DAMN. And...yeah. *ahem*

Samantha and Eve have been long time friends and lovers. While Eve has never been with a man and doesn’t really get the attraction, Samantha was once married, deeply in love with her man. After he died, lost and grieving, her old friend Eve helped her through it and she found herself falling in love with Eve romantically and sexually even though she'd never been with a woman.

They are so in love and feel very satisfied with their sex life together, but Sam has a hankering for what a man can give her physically. Not feeling threatened at all by that, Eve calls her BFF guy friend, Roman, whom she grew up with and proposes a threesome to give Sam the gift of um… real manly bits.

Roman, who’s been so in love with and ached for Eve since they were teenagers, can’t believe his luck and readily agrees. When he meets Sam for the first time, he’s in awe of how gorgeous she is, but his heart is still with Eve and he wants to make this experience memorable for her.

L: Open Proposal is such a juicy and satisfying menage story that restores my faith that a good f/f/m menage can be written more often than the rare comet that comes along. Not to mention it's a complete and nicely written story for a short one.

K: Totally, totally, totally. This is the author's debut book (at least her first published erotic romance) and it does show, but despite that, I have to say I'm impressed.

L: Wow, it’s her debut book? All I can say is yowza! Besides the steamy loving, Rosemary Gunn did an excellent job of showing how much all three of these characters love and respect each other. Particularly how Roman comes in and is more in awe and amazement at what’s happening than drooling over the fact that he’s got two hot chicks. His ache for Eve is palpable and he’s just as happy on an emotional level as sexual.

K: She had a real knack for building the heat while also just making you ache for the characters, especially Roman. I have a real thing for unrequited love. This dude's been carrying a torch for Eve forfreakingever, and you can soooo feel that. You do get such a sense of how...privileged (as well as conflicted) he feels to be included in this, with none of that straight guy voyeuristic entitlement that drives me bugfuck. I mean, there is a lot of voyeurism in this story (by all three characters), but it never feels skeezy. I never once felt that kind of nasty, bow-chicka-wow-wow thrill I get from watching m/f/f porn (yeah, I watch porn, wanna make something of it?).

L: Oh yeah totally. What I got off on was the fact that at no point during the threesome, do any two not include the third party. There was a nice sense of cohesiveness in all three that they were all there for each other. Even though this was set up for Sam's pleasure by Eve, never did Sam go off on Roman without Eve being a part of it. Nor did Roman ever exclude Sam because of his love for Eve.

I thought that even though Eve had never been with a man, she loves both Sam and Roman so much that she's willing to try and be with Roman, and does so in a very innocent and sweet way. I felt she didn't go against who she is, a lesbian basically, to be with Roman. It felt so natural because of Roman's love and Sam’s being there.

K: That part did make me wonder a bit whether lesbians would enjoy this story. I mean, I'm guessing there are plenty of people telling lesbians that they "just need the right guy with the right dick" and they'd go back to boyville where they belong. I think if a reader had encountered that a lot, this book might rub them the wrong way, even though the author did a good job of making me see how happy these two women are together.

In this book, with Sam, it's more like remembering how good sausage tastes even though you're happy with an all-vagitarian diet, heh. And I think the author did a great job with establishing the enormous intimacy that already existed between Eve and Roman, a kind of pervasive sexual tension that had always been there, and that defied her self-identification as 100% lesbian. And you know, I'm all for sexual fluidity--whether that comes in the form of "lesbian for her" or "straight for him".

L: Yeah, I thought about that, how Eve’s been a lesbian all along and how unlikely that scenario might be. However, Rosemary Gunn walked a fine line there and I could really see how Eve could get turned on and be willing to try to be with Roman only because she has a deep love and trust for Roman already. And at no point was there ever a feeling of coercion from either Sam or Roman for her to try. It all happened organically.

K: The author sets the stage with an intimate scene between Eve and Sam, shortly before they're to go meet Roman at a dance club. While the sex itself was damn hot, it was a little bogged down for me in backstory and inner narrative that I thought could either be pared down or expressed in other, more interesting ways. But the moment these three meet up at the club, the author kind of hits her stride. I read the rest of the story with a tight, achy feeling in my belly, and even came close to tears a couple of times (yeah, I'm a crier, wanna make something of it?). But really, there was like the perfect mix of lust and emotion here.

L: Heh, I thought the office scene with Eve and Sam was smokin hawt, establishing that they are very tight with each other. But yeah, there was a bit too much inner dialogue with Sam explaining her back story to the reader. And the story did get a bit draggy when they were in the bar. But like you, I also thought it got going really after Roman enters the picture and they go home.

K: I think telling the reader too much is kind of a typical new author thing. I noticed a bit of that, as well, in the threesome scenes--but I don't think it would have registered if I hadn't been on the lookout for it because of the info-dump in the opening. I also found some pronoun confusion and a few...mechanical difficulties as far as knowing who's doing what to whom at times. But having written my share of same-sex and ménage scenes, I know how hard it is to keep it all straight! I had to reread the odd paragraph, but it didn't interfere with my enjoyment of those scenes.

The emotional intensity stayed ramped up enough to carry me past any wonkiness. And yeah, the payoff was great. I just really wanted these three people to be together. I liked them all individually, and loved the way they played off one another. I don't need every sex scene in a ménage romance to include all three characters, but I think in this case it was the perfect choice--and very well executed.

L: I agree that the mechanics did get a bit confusing here and there. But totally, the emotional energy between these three characters was what grabbed me so I didn’t get too caught up in the technical issues that normally might have stuck out like a sore thumb in an otherwise crappy book.

Personally, I’m going to be on the look-out for more from Rosemary Gunn. This was a lucky find. Let’s hope she doesn’t go the way of so many authors who write that first f/f, f/f/m but then switch to the dark side (heh).

K: Yeah, I really hope Ms. Gunn at least keeps writing the odd f/f/m, because damn, she nailed it. And I can only imagine future efforts by her getting better and better as she evolves as a writer.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- Whoa! Yummilicious f/f, f/f/m vanilla.

Grade: B+