Review- Miyuki: The Silence of the Deep Snow by Carla Croft

Miyuki: The Silence of Deep Snow

By Carla Croft

March 16, 2013

Erotica/ f-f-f/ Bisexual/ Contemporary/ Interracial/BDSM/D/s

111 pgs

From the renowned author, Carla Croft, comes Miyuki: The Silence of Deep Snow. Ms Croft has been described by one well known erotic author as her favourite find of 2012.This, her first novella, charts her discovery of the relationship between Miyuki (a beautiful half-Japanese girl) and her Mistress. Described as a stunning story full of dark angst, mystery and suggestive erotica, the story is sure to delight readers of Romance and Erotica. The story contains adult themes including explicit sex, lesbian relationships, bondage and S&M. Graphic Content

It’s been a while since I ventured into erotica territory and I had a craving for it after reading many fairly non erotic romance books. I found out about this book from a link on Twitter and it looked interesting. I like finding books with Japanese characters in it and the reviews gave me an indication that maybe it’s a good book.

Cara (Carla) is a lawyer by day and a sort of sex writer/collector of sex stories by night. She’s living an average life: married, working, but her passion of sorts is collecting those  stories. In her everyday dealings with many people she has met Miyuki, a biracial Japanese girl who has been living in England for a few years. Miyuki is an enigma and mystery to Cara and capturing Cara’s imagination, has become fodder for her sexual fantasies.

(By the way, the character’s name in the story is the same as the author’s, which I don’t know how to take really. Also, the author’s bio is the same as the lead character’s in this story. Is this autobiographical? Not sure.)

One evening to Cara’s delight, they meet up at Miyuki’s request. Miyuki offers Cara a proposition that shocks and freaks her out on one level, but also excites her on another, and Cara decides to go along with it.

The rest of the night is all about Pretty (Miyuki’s sub name) and Pretty’s mistress Dominica, a much older woman, introducing Cara to the delights and specifics of the sexual world of Doms and Subs.

I found the author’s voice and way of writing to be rather exquisite and it appealed greatly to my sense of aesthetics. I would call this more highbrow erotica since the focus seemed to be less on the actual sex acts and more on the senses and strict rituals involved. Also, she got the essence of Japanese aesthetics down as well, meaning way of expression and thinking. (Not the part that the author included in which Miyuki has trouble saying certain letters in English words.)

The author really gets into the nitty-gritty of what’s going on in Cara’s head, what she’s experiencing, and to some degree Miyuki and Dominica's as well. Through Cara’s thoughts, emotions, impressions, and astute observations about how Miyuki and Dominica interact, we get to see her process as she goes from being someone with only superficial knowledge of and having a somewhat negative view of the D/s world, to someone who comes to “get it.”

For the most part, this book is provocative and sexually intense. The characters, how the sex is written- fairly hot-- and style of writing as it starts and ends is engrossing. However, it wasn’t a perfect story.

I was all into these three women, how they are engaging with each other on a visceral level and then bam, there’s this whole section in between in which Dominica starts explaining what the D/s relationship is all about to Cara. It got way too cerebral for me, taking me out of the story altogether and my mind started wandering into chores I needed to do, what was on TV, etc. Since the writing does get into lofty philosophical territory at times outside of that, I was afraid it might not get back on track. Others might like a tutorial on D/s lifestyle, but for me, it detracted from the fantastic energy and chemistry of the beginning of the book.

I get that Cara is there partly from the standpoint of a writer who likes to do “research” on sex as it were and didn’t know much about the D/s relationship, so I can see the injected commentary from the character’s standpoint. However, her main reason to go there, at a baser, more instinctual level, was due to her deep attraction to Miyuki and desire to be with her. Even so, I wanted to see how it turned out and did keep going. The end does make up for it and carries on with the same intensity as the beginning had, but with an interesting and unexpected twist.

As far as the actual D/s/ BDSM part of the story goes, I felt it’s rather mild compared to others I’ve read. This would be a really good story for anyone wanting to step into reading the genre for the first time without being overwhelmed with aspects that that can put off those not into or accustomed to reading it.

Overall, with the story getting back on track at the end, I’d give this recommend if you’re looking for a light D/s f/f erotica story.

Heat Level: 4-5- graphic sex, although not as much as I would expect in erotica. Light BDSM, D/s, f/f/f.

Grade: Liked it

Review- What the Mistress Did by Anya Delvay

What the Mistress Did

By Anya Delvay

Oct. 25, 2011

Historical/ Erotica/ f/f, m/f, f/f/m

45.8K words

Publisher: Samhain

Buy it Samhain, Amazon, B&N, ARe 

Oh, the delicious peril of deception…

Lady Marianne Gillingham has no intention of ending her affair with David Dunscombe, Earl Harrington, despite his pending nuptials. She craves his attentions, and he satisfies her deepest yearnings.

Yet, when his fiancée, the sweet, innocent and oh-so-very young Annabelle Frazier, appears on her doorstep to demand the end of the association, Marianne realizes she does not wish to be second in David’s affections. She also cannot resist issuing a warning. The earl will bed his wife with tedious regularity, but never reveal his more unusual desires.

To Marianne’s amusement, her prediction comes true, with a surprising twist. The countess is back with a new demand: repair the problem her prophetic words created. Taking pleasure in imagining the other woman’s fear and horror, Marianne rekindles the affair to demonstrate exactly how to fulfill David’s lascivious desires—while Annabelle secretly watches from the shadows.

She never expected Annabelle to prove so resilient and surprisingly easy—not to mention delicious—to corrupt. Or that the ensuing erotic tangle would be impossible to put right without heartbreak.

What a treat this book was. First, it’s extremely well written erotica. Written in first person present tense, the thoughts and feelings of the main character, Marianne, are deeply nuanced and expressed in a gorgeous way. Second, it’s a rare femdom D/s, BDSM story, which I like to read if well done. Third, it’s a historical f/f/m, which is also hard to find. What the Mistress Did was an all-around great read for me and lucky find.

The characters:

Marianne is an intriguing and complex character. I love getting in the head, very easy to do with first person present tense, of a character like her. On the surface she likes being in control of her relationship with David. She controls their sexual encounters and she knows he loves her. She’s a widow and doesn’t want to marry again, although it seemed any possibility of marriage was blocked from David’s side. When he becomes betrothed to Annabelle, Marianne knows they will not be able to continue, but deep down she’s not ready to settle on that idea yet.

When Annabelle shows up at her doorstep stating that David will be hers soon and that he won’t be coming around anymore, this becomes a challenge to Marianne to keep seducing and using her power over David. She’s not a generally good person on the surface, being deceptive and conniving and rather cool. However, as the story progresses and we get more insight into what Marianne is feeling and thinking, it’s clear that Marianne is an extremely passionate woman and she has deep, strong feelings of pain and conflict about her love of David and knowing that she will never totally be his. She’s also that rare self-reflective character who has a lot of insight into her own psychological motivations and takes responsibility for who she is. I liked that.

Marianne’s relationship with David: They have a rather complex relationship. It’s clear that they enjoy each other and he comes to her for comfort in a sexual way, although it seems more than just a sexual thing for him by their interactions. When they have sex, often Marianne won’t have an orgasm and it’s controlled but very intense sex they have at times.

I don’t know what David really feels because we don’t get into his head, but it seems that he’s not too clear how things will go once he’s married. He seems willing to let Marianne go on the surface, but keeps coming back.

Marianne’s relationship with Annabelle: Anabelle asks for help in pleasing David since she gets he doesn’t love her like he does Marianne. Marianne finds herself feeling strongly attracted to Annabelle as she teaches Annabelle about her body, what sex and orgasms feel like and how to please a man. They start a very erotic sexual affair on the side without David knowing. Over and above that, Marianne has Annabelle secretly watch through a screen when David comes to visit Marianne. It’s interesting that Marianne becomes more turned on by the idea of thinking about Annabelle watching, and fantasizes about sex with her when she’s with David.

Annabelle for her part grows and changes over the course of her interactions with Marianne. I loved her innocence and total trust and openness towards Marianne who in turn responds to that in deeply loving way.

It all culminates when David comes for a last visit and Marianne blind folds him, and she has Annabelle participate. The reaction to the deceit is interesting.

I think in most situations readers will not like the deceit part. But this is erotica, not romance, per se; it’s more about how these three people relate to each other within the sexual realm only. I felt a lot of love and passion from all of the characters was amply expressed, which actually made this story a much more positive experience.

The ending was my only complaint. Of course my expectation in erotica of an HEA or HFN is not there. However, it’s always a nice touch. In this case I felt the ending was appropriate to the people involved, but…they, all three, had an amazing chemistry, both in love and sex. I’ll leave it at that.

What the Mistress Did is a definite recommend from me. I would love to read some more (f/f, f/f/m) from this author.

Heat Level: 5  D/s, BDSM, Flogging, anal (f to m), Strap on- graphically expressed sexual situations.

Grade: Loved it!

Review- Lessons Learned: Eldritch Legacy II by Katrina Strauss

Lessons Learned: Eldritch Legacy 2
by Katrina Strauss
Sept. 2009
Historical/ Fantasy/ Paranormal/ BDSM/ erotica/m/f, f/f, m/f/f/m
62K
Ebook- Loose Id

Buy it Loose-Id, Fictionwise, ARe, Amazon (Kindle)

An enlightened woman of her times, Camille Rocheford stirs up controversy with a novel published under her true name rather than a male pseudonym. Yet despite her modern views, Camille is at odds with the carefree morals of her more open peers. Lured into summering at the home of an undisclosed host, she is shocked to meet the infamous Stefan Eldritch, the greatest scandal being her instant attraction to him.

Stefan Eldritch is known for his provocative verse, more so for his wild soirees. Born into wealth, the poet enjoys a life of excess even as he holds the aristocracy in contempt. But one luxury eludes him—the woman who can match him in both wits and in bed. Until he meets Camille.

An unlikely pair, Stefan and Camille fall into creative collaboration—and unbridled romance. When the lovers stumble upon the lost path of the Magi, the power they unleash plunges them deeper into a world of reckless abandon. Yet sinister forces lurk in wait, putting the power of the pen and a pledge of love to the ultimate test.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, BDSM theme and content, ménage and moresome (m/f/m, m/f/f/m, partner swapping), same-sex interaction (f/f), voyeurism.

First, it’s hard for me not to compare this story to the first Eldritch Legacy book of the series, which I found to be exceptionally good. Secrets Revealed rocked as far as I’m concerned and even now the two main characters sit in my head as characters to set the bar by in their depth, intensity and overall characterization.

Lessons Learned carries on with the colorful and creative mix of having the feel of an historical with a bit of the paranormal and fantasy elements intertwined that Secrets Revealed had. It takes place few centuries later with Stefan Eldritch being a direct descendant of Lord Eldritch and Inga. Unlike Lord Eldritch though Stefan doesn’t quite have the intensity, purpose and darkness about him. He’s a lot more pampered and although he does have that dominant vibe about him, I felt overall he was a bit too soft and placating. This is one part where I think had I not read the first book, I might feel differently. The bar was set rather high already.

Stefan is basically living off of his family’s money in their ancestral home. He’s known to be a playboy and partier, the black sheep of his family and not really caring much about anything except is life of debauchery. When he meets Camille, it’s instant love and attraction. He introduces her into the world of BDSM, which she readily goes along with even though she initially comes across as spinsterish and shy. However, when Camille takes off, leaving him, he turns into a mush ball. Or if she decides to not be submissive, he doesn’t push it. I personally felt that he would be the type to be p-whipped in the long run. So while I rather liked Stefan as a character in general, he didn’t quite jump out at me like Lord Eldritch did as someone memorable.

Camille starts out rather innocent and prudish. I liked this. I love a female character who’s a bit uptight and cool and all proper at first and on the surface. So I got off on Camille in the beginning. She quickly though, and I mean almost right from the beginning, finds herself attracted to Stefan being dominant and being OK with him treating her submissively. I felt that happened a bit too quickly and easily. It’s not that I felt a disconnect in her personality, it’s just she went from 0-60 within a short period of time. I guess I would have, or I actually did wish there was more seduction involved that would have been drawn her out to show that she really wasn’t such a wanton woman in heat without needing more coaxing. But that’s strictly my preference.

As female characters go, I love me female who is or can be submissive and yet dominant and strong in other ways and Camille shows that she can be. She literally walks away from Stefan and she literally saves his life. On this level I quite enjoyed Camille. However, again, she was not as crisp and intense a character for me like Inga was. Maybe it was that Stefan being a bit washed out didn’t give enough contrast to make Camille really shine for me.

Even with my criticisms, I’m certainly not saying this is not a worthy book, it is. I loved the continuation of the generations theme. Camille finds Lord Eldritch’s mask in the river and it becomes an important magical item that connects the generations. The use of paranormal concepts as a connection to the characters in the former book, and which I think will be in the next book set in current times, is very nicely and uniquely done. Camille in particular finds her psychic abilities, which she never acknowledged and which has made her fearful at times, connects her and Stefan to the past.

The secondary characters Nicolette and Klauss, to be honest, felt placed in there specifically to turn this into a foursome. Their characterizations stayed mostly on the surface giving Camille and Stefan others to interact with and have contrast with.

On the level of how hot this book was, well, Katrina Strauss certainly delivered on that account. Maybe for me there was a bit too much sex in the beginning, but it’s very well written and erotically charged. And for the purposes of LVLM blog interest, there was quite a bit f/f mixed with m/f in it. Some of the best scenes are with all four and although the men are never with each other. All four do have strong feelings for each other and the f/f was written very honestly, Nicolette being Camille’s best friend. It came off as loving and natural and no big deal that they took it a step further.

This is exactly the type of book I love to read. As far as the BDSM aspect, I felt it a bit more subdued than in Secrets Revealed. Although all the elements are there and Stefan is very commanding at times, maybe again it was due to my feeling that Stefan didn’t quite step up to the plate or that he wasn’t as dramatic in his characterization. Or maybe I’m so used to well written BDSM now from Katrina Strauss that I don’t bat an eye at it. Heh.

The story on the whole, is rather fast paced and full of adventure and crisis, especially mid way on. Stefan and Camille have collaborated on some salacious and politically charged pamphlets that they’ve had published anonymously. His family, who feel he is a traitor anyway, cause a lot of trouble for him and this part of the story, along with the erotic adventures, are what made this book a good book for me ultimately.

I definitely recommend it for those who enjoy the particular elements to this book. Well written BDSM, historical fantasy, and most importantly for this blog, the f/f or m/f/f/m interactions. I look forward to reading the next installment of this series if only to see where Katrina Strauss takes it.

Heat level: 5 – BDSM, Anal, F/F, M/F/FM, D/s dynamics. Frequent, graphically written sexual scenarios.

Grade- B+

Review- Angel's Wish- by Kissa Starling

Angel’s Wish
by Kissa Starling
2009
Lesbian/ erotica/ time travel/ bondage/ M/s BDSM
24.5K words
Ebook- Renaissance eBooks Inc.

Buy at Fictionwise, Renaissance Books

Angel is nothing more than a two-bit mechanic. She dreams of vintage pin-up girls and old cars. Nothing else excites her. She takes a cat nap one day at work and wakes up in the 1950’s. Old cars are now new and classy women are abundant and sweet. Can she find hers before she’s yanked back to her own time? Lust, love, or luck- she’s bound to find one of the three when she wishes upon the star on a tree!

I love it when I read a book that normally I’d never choose and totally enjoy it. I got this book when there was a sale because I’ve seen the author around blog land and decided to try one of her books even though I’m not so hot on the master/slave or bondage thing. I’m glad I did though. This story is such a bizarre mix of all kinds of interesting elements but it totally worked for me.

Angel is running on empty. She’s broke, just been evicted, using a car on its last legs and has no where to turn. Her parents have disowned her due to an unsavory (to her parents) incident with a teacher while she was in high school and has no other family ties. She still shows up for work and to the only person who does support her, her boss Mel. She’s a mechanic and loves cars, especially classic cars. While taking a break, she focuses on an old pin-up calendar, daydreaming about how beautiful the women were in the 50’s—it’s now 2056, and she’s suddenly transported back to the 1955.

Back in the 50’s she ends up with a life she could only dream about. By a series of events, a wealthy family takes her in and really accepts her, comes to love her, and she meets her soul mate, the house maid Mary. Unfortunately, she knows that this can’t last so she makes the best of it.

What I enjoyed most about this story was the heart in it. Angel is a person that is totally into the master/ slave dynamics as a lesbian but she does so in a deeply loving way. She oozes a warm vulnerability and sensitivity with a cocky independent strength that people are attracted to. In her own time, she’s a broken person who’s just scraping by. But being in the 50’s, in an atmosphere of simpler times where life was more like a Rockwell painting, she’s shown love and respect and blossoms in that.

Particularly what was interesting for me in this book was the juxtaposition of Angel’s dominance and crudity in seducing women and her big, warm heart. One minute she’s thinking about how she’d love to melt hot wax on Mary’s private bits and the next she’s trying to make sure an elderly women in a nursing home is loved and cared for by just going to hang out with her. For me it made Angel an interesting complex character that I could relate too and totally worked for me on accepting the master/slave hard core BDSM in this story.

And there is some really hard core BDSM in this story. Angel does some heavy duty things to Mary, some things that shocked even me in the area of pain and she talks to Mary in a very sexually blunt way. But at her core, Angel is soft, loving woman and she treats Mary with deep respect and love.

Mary was also written in such a way that I never once felt that she is a slave in any other way except that she’s really loves it. She enjoys being a sub and serving Angel and I felt how Mary feels she’s found her love in Angel. Mary is also a witch and I liked this aspect of it because it intertwined a hint of a timeless love along with a time travel story.

About the time travel and soul mate for eternity aspect of this story, I thought everything was integrated in a natural and fun way. The way it reads, I could actually almost believe that this is possible. I will admit though, that I love the concept of eternal soul mates and that we can meet up with people we love again in alternate or future lifetimes, so yeah, I enjoyed this part of it.

I don’t think there is really anything negative that came up for me about the story. The writing was kind of funky in bits, although nothing that threw me out of the story. And there was an odd bit when Angel first meets Mary and Mary calls her “mum” all the time, while Angel orders Mary around calling her “wench”. I think there were few other British words in there and that kind of confused me because I thought they were in Missouri. This kind of thing though is part of what turned me on. Contrasting elements thrown together.

I’m sure if you like BDSM on any level this story will definitely hit the spot. But I think if you’re not into BDSM at all, this story could work for you because it’s not just about the sex or lifestyle it’s more universal in its appeal as a love story. It did for me anyway.

Heat level: 5- hard core BDSM, M/s relationship. Graphically and bluntly written sexual scenarios, some minor anal, bondage.

Grade: B+

Review- What She Needs by Lacey Alexander

What She Needs
by Lacy Alexander
Nov, 2009
Contemporary/Erotica/BDSM/m/f, f/f
304 pg.- Penguin Group

Buy it Amazon, B&N, Borders

By Guest Reviewer- Jill Sorenson

The author of "The Bikini Diaries" now invites readers to an erotic hotel where sensual satisfaction is the main amenity...

Mild-mannered Jenna Banks never considered sex a recreational sport-until she wins a two-week stay at the notorious Hotel Erotique, where every sexual fantasy comes true-in room after room, with stranger after stranger. Even more unnerving for Jenna is Brent Powers, her wildly sensual personal guide who can't wait to put his degree in sexual psychology to work. But with the steady seduction of Jenna come feelings that neither expected. Where will the ultimate fantasy take them?

I’m going to preface this review with a confession. LVLM asked if I wanted to be added to the sidebar, and I said yes. But I don’t know if I belong there. I’m an infrequent contributor, and most of the f/f I read is in m/f books. I’ve never actually read a lesbian romance! I have a few in my digital library, but I’m not a big ebook reader. I also tend to gravitate towards straight or bisexual female characters, because I think I’ll be able to relate to them better. I’m new to this subgenre and just sort of experimenting with it. I hope to read and review of a “real” f/f novel sometime in the future. Stay tuned?

Okay, so even an ingénue like me knows that good f/f is hard to find. I’m always looking for m/f erotic romance with f/f scenes or ménage situations, but the blurb rarely hints at that kind of material. Reviewers don’t mention it. Authors keep quiet. Shhh! It’s dirty. ;)

I got an f/f vibe from a review (can’t remember where) of What She Needs. Really, a person has to be psychic to figure these things out. Anyway, I ordered this book hoping it might have some light girl-on-girl, and I was pleasantly surprised. The f/f content is a good portion, maybe 25%. Although the type of contact isn’t as intense as I’d have liked, and the emotional connection between the women is nonexistent, I really enjoyed this story.

To set it up, Jenna Banks wins a surprise vacation to the Hotel Erotique, where all of her sexual dreams can come true. She intends to turn down the sex and enjoy the beach, but her handsome guide, Brent Powers, is impossible to resist. Jenna admits that she wants to relinquish control, and Brent is happy to direct her. If you’re squeamish about BDSM, group sex, m/m, or multiple partners, this story is not for you. It’s all a bit of a smorgasbord, to be honest, and plays out as more of a spicy fantasy than a deep-seated need for Jenna. She acts as the submissive, and is aroused by Brent’s orders, but this is not a permanent lifestyle switch for her.

Most of Jenna’s contact with other women is orchestrated by Brent. There’s a harem scene, a sensual massage, and a very sexy encounter at a private pool. The turn-on, for Jenna, is performing for Brent. At times, I found her lack of engagement unsatisfying. She’s okay with receiving oral sex, but not giving it. During the pool scene, there’s a third woman hanging around for no reason, and Brent watches from a distance. I wanted Jenna to get her groove on without these distractions, to find pleasure in another woman for herself.

The romance portion is well done. Jenna and Brent negotiate the sexual relationship like reasonable adults, use safe words, and constantly reevaluate each other. It turns out that Brent needs to change just as much as Jenna, if not more. I appreciated that the story wasn’t just a “good girl gone bad” meets “all-knowing sensual master.” Brent isn’t perfect, and the concession he makes at the end totally worked for me.

All in all, What She Needs is a very steamy read with some nice f/f scenes.

Grade: B+

Review- Secrets Revealed (Eldritch Legacy I) by Katrina Strauss

Secrets Revealed (Eldritch Legacy I)
by Katrina Strauss
2009
Historical (Medieval)/ fantasy/ BDSM/ erotica/ m-f/ f-f (bi-sexual)/ f-f-m/ m-f-m/m-m
60K- $6.99
Ebook- Publisher: Loose-Id

Buy it Loose-Id, Fictionwise, ARe, Amazon (Kindle)

The king's fiercest warrior, Lord Eldritch, hides his face behind an iron mask, and his tortured past beneath a hardened shell. For nineteen years the Black Magi have ruled the land; the evil king's knights enforcing the ban on all forms of magick once practiced by the common populace. And none have been more feared than Eldritch.

A young peasant, beautiful in body and soul, Inga was orphaned as child and raised to hide her healing gifts in ordered to stay free. She is plagued by nightmares of Eldritch--and shaken when her dreams take an unexpected sensual turn.

Rumors of a practicing medicine woman reach the Magi and Eldritch must investigate. He finds a strong-willed maiden who ignites his passion and stirs memories of a love long lost. Self-protective, he imprisons Inga in the castle dungeon where he may possess and keep her forever. In time Inga learns that, even in submission, she wields power over her captor. Can she inspire Eldritch to face his past and challenge the king while she, herself, resists the seductive lure of dark magick?

Publisher's note: This book is a re-edited, revised version of a title previously released by another publisher, and contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, BDSM them and content (including/not limited to tethering, voyeurism), dubious consent, homoerotic sexual situations (f/f, m/m), menage (m/f/f and m/f/m).

Wow, this story grabbed me right from the get-go and was good to the last page. I’ve mentioned before that I often use the bookmark feature on my eBookwise to highlight passages that are off to me or that I want to review later. The worse the writing, the more the bookmarks. I read this book with nary a book mark. It means that for me, the writing and story-telling was very clean, engaging and lacking in any issues that normally bog down a book for me.

I will also admit that I didn’t know that this book contained some f/f in it. That was a huge bonus! I bought this book because I happened to enjoy Katrina Strauss’ writing and wanted to try one of her m/f stories as I’ve only read her m/m. The same crisp, evocative writing, complex character development, and imaginative story-telling that I’ve experienced in the past was very present in this book as well. This book was just a pleasure to read all around.

Right, to the story. Basically, the blurb is very accurate, so I’ll go from there. The characters: all of them are so rich and juicy, especially, of course, the two main ones, Lord Eldritch and Inga.

Lord Eldritch is one of those tortured heroes, but not in that over the top “oh puleeze, get over yourself” way. In the beginning of the book, he’s cruel and powerful; he takes what he wants without consequence and he wants Inga. He puts her in a dungeon straight away and keeps her there chained to the bed. For more than a year it’s like that even though he loves her and they have sex all the time. There’s a vibe about him that is so intense and dark, and yet, there’s a spark of something else in there that comes through once in a while, hinting at something deeper, but less sinister in him.

He wears a mask at all times because he’s been cursed; his face severely disfigured from it. This is part of his vulnerability and we learn that while he’s a dominant with Inga and the most feared knight in the kingdom everyone cowering in front of him, he’s kept in his place by the current evil King who has seen his face uses it against him.

Inga is one of the most real characters I’ve read in a while. She’s riddled with contradictions and yet, there's nothing off about her in that. I really got off on her willingness to go into her dark side and be real in every moment. She calls that part of her “the snake,” that part of her that allows her baser instincts and desires to rule her. I loved it. Absolutely loved it as she goes with it without personal judgment. No Mary Sue’s in this book.

Inga starts out by becoming rebellious and using her magik abilities to heal. She stopped caring that it’s against the king and that she can be killed for it because she sees her people suffering needlessly. So right from the beginning we see her strength and inner goodness. Inga also cannot get enough of Lord Eldritch. She readily becomes his submissive sexually even as she wonders why she is so attracted and doing such things.

As the story progresses, she is asked to do things, to make moral decisions that could end up getting people killed and yet, she does so without flinching, like a samurai sword coming down swift and hard. And she easily takes the position of being a domme with Thelise, the captured daughter of a rebel leader, who plays a role in Inga and Lord Eldritch’s lives. Inga’s only vulnerability is her love for Lord Eldritch and the passion of that relationship consumes her.

The story itself is also so provocative. There are several things going on that all mesh together that create a lot of tension and mystery as fiery emotions and power shifts erupt constantly. At its core, this is a story of passion and true human emotions and what it makes people do.

The title of this book, Secrets Revealed, is very apropos. There are secrets within secrets and as the story unfolds, shocking truths reveal themselves. This kept the story moving along at a nice pace with just the perfect amount of revelation to keep the reader guessing and intrigued at the same time.

The fantasy part of this story is complex and intricately woven throughout the story. Many people of this time have magic abilities but not all have the same kind. One that plays a huge role in this is the ability to read another’s thoughts. This leads to quite a bit of power play and intrigue between the characters as they often have to deal with trying to keep secrets even in their thoughts. Inga also has dreaming abilities and as the story unfolds, she sees past events in dreams, which causes her to disobey Lord Eldritch at a certain point, creating even more edginess to this story.

OK, now for the BDSM part. I’ve said before, I’m not too much a fan of BDSM. Much of what I read in this particular genre is more or less power tripping faux BDSM written by people who are clueless just for the titillation factor, which is a huge turn off for me. However, Katrina Strauss is one of the very few authors who can take me into this world and I get it. There’s nothing offensive at all about her way of writing BDSM. Not only that, I enjoyed reading it.

I also got off on the fact that while these characters all have qualities about them that are offensive and despicable to some degree and it’s tied in to some degree with the BDSM sexual aspect to it, Katrina Strauss never crosses the line that implies that BDSM and negative character traits go hand in hand. Really, it’s amazing writing when your characters can have evil characteristics and yet, the reader can easily fall in love with them, admire them as strong, powerful beings.

The only negative thing I can say about this book is that I would have liked more character development on Thelise. She’s a fascinating character, who, like Inga, acts on pure passion, but is incredibly selfless, selfish and vulnerable. I guess the story is pretty much perfect as it is and to develop her more would have maybe even cost the story some. But she was someone whom I wanted to know more about why she ticked.

For those who would read this book because of the f/f in it, well, all I can say is that the scenes between the women do carry a BDSM theme to them. It’s clear that Inga and Thelise share something very intimate and loving between them. They are very respectful of each other, but it’s not an f/f/m HEA. It’s still worth it to read for that alone, even if the main love story is between Inga and Lord Eldritch.

All in all, Secrets Revealed is a well written intense and passionate story set in a violent but colorful world. For any person who is into fantasy, dark m/f love, BDSM, and medieval stories, this a definite recommend. But I also recommend this book to people who like f/f and or those who are normally not into BDSM.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- while there are graphic sexual situations, the language used is more sensual and soft around the edges. There are many sexual scenes though and of all combinations. BDSM, flogging, anal, lots of m/f, some f/f, f/f/m, very minor m/m, and minor m/f/m.

Grade: A-

Review- Thirteen Hours by Meghan O'Brien

Thirteen Hours
by Meghan O’Brien
April 22, 2008
Contemporary/ lesbian/ erotic romance
288 pgs. $12.-$16

Buy it Bold Strokes Books, Amazon, OmniLit

Can you fall in love in thirteen hours?

It's her birthday but lonely workaholic Dana Watts is at the office late, drafting a proposal. The very last interruption she expects comes in the form of the most beautiful breasts she has ever seen. These belong to an incredibly hot woman, who is standing in front of her, stripping to music.

Laurel Stanley performs strip-o-grams to pay her way through school. She has never encountered a more ungrateful recipient than Dana. The uptight project manager makes it clear that she is furious to be distracted from her work by the "gift" a colleague sent and equally appalled by Laurel's occupation.

After Dana is rude and insulting, and insists on escorting Laurel from the building, the two women take an elevator ride that changes everything. Stuck with each other for thirteen long hours after the elevator breaks down, they discover how wrong first impressions can be and how right two strangers can feel together.

Can everything change in less than a day? Dana and Laurel set out to discover if their passionate elevator encounter can mean more in this fast-paced, erotic story of lust, loneliness, fantasy, and desire.

Yeah, umm bottom line… this is an excellent story for one handed reading. I’ve been coveting this book for a long time and finally broke down and bought it. I liked the premise from the blurb and that part delivered.

It's not totally sex though, there's also an intense romance involved with all the “I love you’s” you want and promises of a committed future. However, Thirteen Hours is mainly the story of the sexual relationship between two very compatible women in that area. For what it is, it’s a fun, light read that skirted the edges of becoming tongue-in- cheek sexual romp but didn’t quite get into that territory.

The first part of this book was great. Uptight Dana, a workaholic who hasn’t had a date in years and only had sex once in her life, gets a strip-o-gram as a birthday present from her male co-worker friend. Oh she gets good and pissed as this strange, but gorgeous woman who’s mostly naked sits in her lap, her perfect breasts calling out to Dana. Of course she immediately pegs this woman as a slutty whore who doesn’t have two brains cells to rub together to have a decent, respectable job and she tries to shuffle her out of the building.

Laurel is that cliché of the good person stripper who dances to put herself through college. Of course she has a brain and not only just a brain, but a really smart brain since she’s just about done with her schooling to be a Veterinary Dr. She’s shocked at Dana’s reaction since she assumed that whoever paid for her to dance would have only sent her to a woman who likes women, since she only dances privately for women.

They get trapped in the elevator for, yes, thirteen hours and as they open up to each other they find both their judgments of each other are all wrong.

This part of the book was great. Laurel and Dana, being bored after a while, start playing truth or dare and some interesting things come out about each that tells a deeper story. Dana admits for the first time ever in her life and to herself that yes, she has been attracted to women, although she’s only been with one man.

And Laurel tells of her sad tale of her father walking out while her mother was dying. Their conversations and banter at that point are witty, a bit sarcastic and touching, which kept it interesting. Of course, as the night progresses and Dana becomes more comfortable with the knowledge that, yes, she does like women and yes, she is attracted to Laurel, things get really steamy.

After they get out of the elevator, they proceed then for the rest of the book to pretty much have non-stop sex. Some of it’s very amusing and lighthearted, which did keep me interested and kind of turned on. Both open up emotionally and I really did feel that they trust each other enough to go to some places that Laurel has fantasized about sexually as one of those fantasies is being submissive.

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I’m not that hot on the whole BDSM thing, but this particular fantasy was written in a really fun, and frankly, freaking hot way. There’s lots of spanking and ordering around, but it’s done in non serious way, more as role play, which I really liked. They go on to fulfill other fantasies as the story progresses with just minor outside story lines going on.

This is the downside of this book for me though. After a while, there’s really nothing going on except for a few minor glitches like a mini fight they have after moving in, to carry this story outside of the incredible sexual connection they have. There are some moments in between the sex in which they discuss how to proceed and suss out what each feels, not wanting to push but at the same time wanting each other really badly. Fortunately, this didn’t go the way of yak, yak, yak lets talk about our feelings all the time as some of these stories are wont to do, but it gave some brief intermissions from the sex.

I really don’t know much about either character other than what they’re like in bed and what they like in bed. There’s no story or plot going on, even though the author seemed to be trying hard to make this a romance. It is a romance, but developed strictly through the characters having sex with all their cooing and I love you’s and so on repeated over and over to let us know they love each other deeply.

I think Meghan O’Brien has great talent as a writer and she wrote this at a young age, so maybe her next books are more developed. The writing itself is very nice and the sex, damn, but she can write really erotic sexual scenarios. By the end though, I was totally bored with yet another sex scene and I walked away from this book thinking that I need to read a fantasy or some other sub genre besides contemporary because really, where could this story go to keep it interesting? I was craving something, anything outside of the sex to spark my interest or care about these two.

Still though, if you’re really in the mood for something hot and steamy that’s not too serious or gets into too much drama, Thirteen Hours will hit the spot. It’s also got a variety of sexual scenarios in it to satisfy anyone on some level and the love story part is kind of sweet and very prominent.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- many, many very hot, graphic sexual scenarios. Spanking, light D/s play, anal penetration with a strap on.

Grade: For the actual writing B+, for being a bit boring or even lack of story after a while, C

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- Hands On by Amie Stuart

Hands On
by Amie Stuart
June 1, 2007
Contemporary/ Erotica/ m/f, f/f/m, bisexual
Novel- 256 pgs.
Trade- OOP

Buy it Amazon, Ebay, Amazon Kindle, Sony ebook store

Monday through Friday, they're known as Alex, Mel, and Carl. But by night, these blue collar Texas gals trade in their work boots and tool belts for high heels, lipstick, and men!

Lexi preaches safety first at her construction site, but when she's blindsided by a hot, hard-bodied foreman, he leads her into the danger zone for steamy sex...and all kinds of delicious trouble.

Lanie runs her auto shop, Chick's Garage, with no-nonsense efficiency. Nobody guesses the erotic adventure she's planning for a white-collar guy who needs a lady mechanic to give a kinky spin to his engine.

Carlotta knows how to splice a cable or wire anything, anytime, anywhere better than any man. But when this curvy electrican meets a quiet computer guy, he has something to teach her about how to connect...and give up control.

Hands On is one of those light, sexy, erotica books that’s great if you’re looking for something not too serious about women who are confident and all about enjoying and taking control of their lives, including sexually.

While in an anthology format, it’s not quite a proper anthology. Hands On is about three best friends and written in three different parts each told in first person by one of the girls’ POV. To be honest this did get a bit confusing because in each story all three girls are involved and sometimes I would forget whose POV the dialogue is coming from. Especially as the same scene would be written from another’s POV in the next girl’s story. Other than that, the writing is very smooth and enjoyable to read.

The first story focuses on Lexi. She’s a tough woman who’s in charge of a construction crew and has to deal with constant issues of men not wanting to take crap from a woman. But she persistent and doesn’t take crap from anyone. She’s lonely though and hasn’t had a date in a while. She also not about getting serious with anyone but mainly just fooling around. That is until she meets Wade, a construction foreman with his own crew. Of course she has a personal policy against, and can also get fired if fraternizing with a co-worker, but he’s different, so she risks it. These two have a lot of really hot sex, sometimes in her construction office when they can be caught and he takes her heart by surprise.

The second story is Lanie’s story. What I really like about Lanie is that she’s a car mechanic who owns her own repair shop and has painted it pink. She’s getting a lot of crap from her family, who think she’s a loser and a lesbian. She takes in her ex-con brother and helps him out with a job and a place to stay. She’s openly bisexual and makes no bones about her attractions to both women and men. She gets set up by her family with Jeff, a connected family friend. She blows him off not wanting to give into family pressure, but finds out that he’s really cool and is open to her having flings with women.

The third story is Carlotta’s. She’s also got a unique job in that she’s one of the best in her field of wiring buildings for tech equipment and such. Like Lexi and Lanie, she’s also about just having fun and screwing around. She screws her boss’ nephew, Devon, who works where she does in her boss’ office and finds out after that her boss was video taping it all. She quits but still gets with Devon. Devon is into BDSM and is a Dom looking for a sub and thinks that Carlotta is deep down a sub even though she’s a control freak. Carlotta is not so sure about this lifestyle and although she fights it, she does go along with it just to be with Devon.

The most enjoyable thing about this book is that it’s that rare book about girlfriends and their relationships. In this story it was actually refreshing to have the main relationship be the bond between these three women. They make it a point to meet every week no matter who they are with. They all seem to be bisexual as well, especially Lanie and Carlotta and have all fooled around in a light playful way with each other sexually. I really liked this easy way they all have with each other, supporting and taking care without any bitchy cattiness or complicated heavy drama.

The only story I was not totally on board with was the last one. BDSM is a tricky subject for me. While it skirted some really heavy stuff, there were points that bothered me. Devon calls Carlotta on her control issues, but I really didn’t see her as a control freak as compared to say a normal woman who is confident, takes care of herself and does as she pleases. So that didn’t really jibe for me.

And again with a lot of BDSM I have trouble with what looks like arrogance on the part of the male Dom that he really knows what’s going on with a woman whom he thinks is really a sub. That he is more aware about what she wants than she does. I don’t buy that quite often. Just because someone likes to give up control once in a while in bed doesn’t mean they are a BDSM sub. Or that if someone likes to have some control in their life that they are automatically a control freak who deep down wants to be spanked for it or give that control up.

This book is erotica, so if you’d read this for some HEA romance, it’s not this. However, all three girls do have an HFN, which left things in a satisfying way even if all of them haven’t really grown too much or are on the path to settling down and not screwing any people that strikes their fancy.

In all the stories the sex is really hot. For the f/f readers of this review there’s quite a bit of some really hot girl on girl in Lanie’s story, which was written very nicely. But all the sex in this book is smoking hot and full of fun scenarios. Amie Stuart has a nice flow to her writing that made this a juicy book to read.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- graphic- m/f, public sex, toys, f/f, f/f/m, lighter BDSM with accoutrement use.

Grade: B+