Review- Every Waking Hour by Paisley Smith

Every Waking Hour

by Paisley Smith

January 1, 2013
Lesiban/Historical 50's/Erotic Romance

Pub: Loose Id LLC 

Words:  64.5 K

English professor Della Boyd has worked hard to carve out a career for herself in the male-dominated 1950s South. Having escaped an unpleasant childhood, she resolves to keep her nose to the grindstone and work her way up the university ladder. All that changes, however, when she meets her favorite author, Grayson Garland, whose androgynous beauty and taboo kisses cause Della to question everything she’s always believed.

When Grayson Garland returns to bury her father, the world renowned, eccentric Southern author sets the small town of Rome, Alabama on its ear. But the old antebellum mansion she once called home is haunted with dark secrets Gray is reluctant to face. Sultry nights in the arms of a pretty, oh-so-feminine professor provide ample distraction, but unless Gray can summon the courage to confront her demons, even Della’s love won’t be able to save her from herself.

 (ps: what's with the woman on the cover looking 40-ish? When I saw the cover I thought it's a story about an older spinster, which would have been cool too!)

I think this is Paisley Smith’s best book yet. It’s longer than her usual story with perfect pacing between the love story build-up, tension and sex, and it the first book I’ve read in a while that I couldn’t put down.

Anyone who has followed my reviews knows that I’m particularly fond of Paisley Smith’s books, her writing style and content. So you might this review worth a grain of salt. However, this book felt the most polished and intense of all her books so far so I will have to rave about it.

I loved that this book is set in a small town in the 50’s. That in itself is unusual. And to have a lesbian story set in the 50’s is even more intriguing. Both characters are so nicely and complexly written as well. Ms. Smith really offers an in depth background on how they come to be who they are and why each reacts to the other the way they do.

While this story is full of the usual amount of sex for a Paisley Smith book, meaning frequent, intense and fairly graphic, this story also deals with, in a rather somber way, a serious issue that can cause many problems in a relationship and which doesn’t come up as a common foil. This-- outside of the fact that they are two women falling in love at a time when it was not acceptable on any level.

Della is quiet professor of English and is using a local famous Pulitzer Prize winning author’s books to teach English. Something about Grayson Garland’s books speaks to her in ways she likes but doesn’t get. She leads a quiet life, lives with her brother and dates the English department head occasionally. She doesn’t feel that excited about her love life, nor was she impressed with the one time they they had sex.

Grayson, being a famous author and having the confidence that comes with that, is not shy or ashamed of the fact that she likes to dress like a man and is a lesbian. She walks into a coffee shop where Della is grading papers on Grayson’s book and is immediately attracted to Della’s softness and femininity. Sitting at her table uninvited and shocking Della, Grayson then proceeds to correct Della’s student’s papers making Della angry at how her most loved author is being criticized by this freak who clearly knows nothing of great writing or of the writer’s intentions in what she wrote. Plus, everyone is looking at them.

I loved this set up. It creates a delicious spark of tension right off the bat.

The sexual tension between these two is hot right from the start, but simmers unfulfilled until just the right moment when both have gotten more emotionally attached and want more than just the sex. Della, never having been attracted to a woman before, finds herself mesmerized by the strong sexual desire she’s developing for Grayson. Della just can’t resist how feral and intense Grayson is in going after her. Nor does she want to. Even though she’s well aware of what that might mean and how it can affect her life, so compelling is Grayson she can’t stop herself.

Grayson for her part doesn’t waver once on her desire and need to have Della in her life. However, her troubled past and how she’s dealt with and is still dealing with it is not sitting well with Della for reasons that have to deal with her own past. Grayson is portrayed as having a volatile mix of being cocky and aggressive with being deeply vulnerable making her a bit unstable and tortured. This makes it very hard for a very composed Della to deal with and causes a lot of conflict in her.

Fortunately, Paisley Smith walked a nice line here. I have a hard time with a tortured character who keeps pushing the love interest away because they feel sorry for themselves or feel unworthy. In this case Grayson keeps reaching out, not pushing Della away, which gave her an endearing quality and made it believable that Della would fight for them even against her own insecurities and fears.

I also felt that Grayson’s issue was dealt with in an honest and poignant way giving this love story just a bit more depth than your usual fall in love romance.

I definitely recommend this book. Yeah, there are a few issues but they were so minor compared to the whole effect. Wish I had another like it to read. 

Heat Level: 5- frequent, graphic sexual situations

Grade: Loved it!

Guest Author Post-The Allure of Vampires in Romance Literature by Paisley Smith

Guest Author post: The Allure of Vampires in Romance Literature -by Paisley Smith

Why are we so fascinated by vampires in literature, especially in romance? Nineteenth century vampires represented sexual desires that were considered taboo in polite Victorian society. Both Dracula and Carmilla spoke to hidden lusts, with the penetration of the fangs mimicking sexual penetration.

Nineteenth century literature depicted vampires and their bloodlust as wicked. But modern literature portrays vampire eroticism as supernatural and the vampire becomes attractive rather than fearsome. They are the literary bad boys and bad girls, only ratcheted up a notch.

Girls Who Bite, edited by Delilah Devlin for Cleis Press, offers fresh takes vampire lore with an erotic lesbian spin.

For bad girls looking for love…fangs are more than an accessory.

These are no Twilight tales—the stories in Girls Who Bite are varied, unexpected, and soul-scorching. Bestselling romance writer Delilah Devlin and her contributors investigate vampire myths from around the world, and add fresh girl-on-girl blood to the pantheon of the paranormal.

Take a walk on the wild side with some of the hottest erotic romance authors out there. In La Caída, a Mexican “salt-eater” saves a fallen angel and redeems her own soul. In Bloody Wicked, a powerful witch’s spell to lure a lover turns her into a vampire’s love slave. Through a Pet Door, a shapeshifting vampire meets the dominatrix of her dreams. South African Impundulu sweeps you back into a vampire’s primeval beginnings. With a list of contributors that include Adele Dubois, Christine d’Abo, Paisley Smith, Myla Jackson, Shayla Kersten and Vivi Anna, Devlin delivers a dark and sexy read you can sink your teeth into!

Inside Girls Who Bite:

Bloody Wicked
A witch becomes a slave to the vampire lover she conjures

Al Dente
A jaded vampire in Rome savors a renewal of love

Dark Angel
After a fateful night in a Berlin cabaret, a woman undergoes a blood rite

Pet Door
A shifter passes through the pet door of a dominatrix she seduces

Dark Guard
A detective partners with a sultry vampire to stop a serial killer

La Caída
A nagual rescues a fallen angel in the Sonoran desert

The Crystal Altar
An ancient crystalline cavern becomes the setting for a most unusual birthday party

Beloved
An Egyptian goddess exploring the remnants of her ancient world finds her immortal beloved

Bound Lust
A human dominatrix frees a vampire submissive from loneliness

The Gift of Lillith

An immortal surrenders her legacy to give continued life to her lover

Madeline

Long lost vampire lovers rekindle their dark passion in London

Red Horizon

Sailing the seas, a modern day vampirate is seduced by her human captain

Impundulu

A vampire journeys to South Africa seeking her lover and creator

Night at the Wax Museum

A museum security guard falls for a vampire trapped in wax museum exhibit

She Knows I Am Watching
A New World Vampire in Oxford feeds her victim’s dark and secret fantasies

More information can be found at http://GirlsWhoBite.net

Order Trade Paperback Now

Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million | Borders
Indiebound
The Book Depository

More lesbian vampires from Delilah Devlin and Paisley Smith are coming soon in Bitten in the Big Easy, the first in the Femme Noir paranormal series!

For more information, visit http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9589-bitten-in-the-big-easy.aspx

About Paisley Smith:

Paisley Smith is a full time freelance writer and can usually be found in front of her computer either writing, chatting, promoting or plotting. It’s a glamorous life…working in one’s pajamas.

She attended college in the Deep South where she obtained a slew of totally useless degrees and developed an unrelenting sense of humor.

Her books can be found at Ellora’s Cave , Loose Id, and Cleis Press!

Paisley’s site: http://Paisley-Smith.com

Review- Nurse Lovette by Paisley Smith

Nurse Lovette
By Paisley Smith
July 22, 2011
Contemporary/ f/f/ Erotica/ Kink/ Fetish
Novella- 15-29K

Buy it Ellora’s Cave

After two failed marriages, Avery Walker is encouraged by her therapist to explore her secret obsession. She can’t get off without fantasizing about submitting to intimate examinations—performed by a hot female nurse. When she joins a medical fetish website, she expects to find a partner who’ll provide a little probing and maybe some sexual release to help Avery get in touch with her kinky side.

Then she meets Nurse Lovette…

The consummate professional, Darby Lovette is determined to keep her relationship with Avery one of nurse and patient—nearly impossible when the gorgeous woman is on the exam table, willingly submitting to unspeakably intimate “procedures”. The fact that she’s loved and lost helps Darby maintain her resolve; falling in love isn’t part of her treatment plan. But Avery’s determination to explore sex with a woman just might be the cure for what ails them both.

Reader Advisory: This book employs myriad toys created especially for erotic exams, no holes barred, and, ahem…perhaps a sensual enema—or two.

Um, wow, I loved this book! I knew this book was going to have kink in it, that it was most probably going to be a good one-handed reading story with not much more to it.
But surprisingly, Nurse Lovette is far more than a fetish erotica story. It’s actually a sweet story about budding love and opening up and characters finding out who they really are by accepting and exploring their unique sexual fantasies with each other.

I don’t deny that Nurse Lovette is pretty much non-stop sex and with a specific kink. And damn, but it’s obscenely hot sex. Although YMMV if it’s not something you can imagine as sexy in a fantasy setting. Let’s face it a gyn exam is something most women dread and would rather skip. However, I felt it’s written so that the sex is more generic, with a specific fetish around it. What struck me most though, is how much heart and affection was infused into this story.

As erotica, I don’t really expect a love story. In this novella Paisley Smith managed to create enough romantic tension and at just the right pace that I was dying for these two women to get together.

Avery has fantasies of medical, specifically gynecological, procedures being done to her to get off sexually. She’s in therapy trying to figure out why this is so since she thinks it’s weird. Incidentally, all those fantasies only include female practitioners; no male Drs. She feels that these fantasies and needs are getting in the way of experiencing true intimacy with someone. She’s been married a few times and none of her husbands or boyfriends have been able to satisfy her or been willing to explore this with her. Her therapist suggests she find a person who’s willing to cater to her kink outside of a romantic relationship to see if she can find the source of it and maybe get over it.

Darby is a real nurse who works with patients who are dying. While she enjoys her job, due to the nature of it and other day to day things she has no control over, she has a strong need to dominate, to have some control in her life. So she has set up part of her own home as a Drs. office to offer private clients their nurse kink fantasies. She sticks to the fantasy and treats every client as a real patient in a Drs. office. Just coming off a nasty break up with her girlfriend who dumped her due to being bored with the kink aspect of their relationship, she’s determined to keep all clients at arm’s length, staying strictly professional.

Avery starts going to Darby for these sessions several times a week but finds that she wants more. Darby makes her feel things she’s never felt before and her desire and need to really connect with Darby on a deeper emotional level starts eating at her since the boundaries have been set and she wants to respect Darby in that.

For Darby, Avery’s response to her, her vulnerability, her willingness to really get into it with Darby is turning her on. Cracks in the wall of keeping it professional are freaking Darby out and she acts even more coolly with Avery, trying to keep her distance. But her job and her own intense attraction to Avery are shattering her cool facade.

Nurse Lovette also explores those feelings and thoughts that a character would feel who’s realizing that maybe they’ve been wrong about their sexual leanings and not known it. It’s written in a realistic, honest way. Both characters actually have some growth through their connection, which made this story far more than the typical erotica.

If I wouldn’t have been familiar with Paisley Smith’s books, I would have passed this book up. It would have been a shame because it’s ultimately a sweet, warm love story.

Heat Level: 5

Grade: A-

Review- Soft Swap by Paisley Smith

Soft Swap

by Paisley Smith

Contemporary/ f/f/m/ Erotica

May 25, 2011

Novella-15-29K

Buy it Ellora’s Cave

Jess has always been curious about being with another woman. Soon after her husband Ben gives her the go-ahead to join a swingers’ website, Jess meets another couple interested in a little girl-on-girl swap.

Tina is drop-dead gorgeous and her husband Bradley is equally hot. With Ben’s blessing, Jess is soon experiencing wholly new pleasures at the hands of another woman; pleasures wrought by soft fingers, a feminine tongue…a sexy strap-on. But sex is rarely just physical. As Jess delves deeper into this taboo lifestyle, she wonders how newfound feelings for Tina will affect her relationship with her husband.

Jess quickly discovers she’s not as prepared as she thought for some aspects of her newly defined sexuality—including the fact her darkest, most secret fantasy might finally be fulfilled.

Anyone who’s read my reviews here knows that I’m a fan of Paisley Smith. She writes about bisexual characters, which are pretty rare in the romance world and I enjoy her writing style quite a lot. Fortunately, Soft Swap was another hit for me.

Let’s start with the characters. They are all easy going types who don’t angst too much about what’s going on with their partner’s needs or desires to experiment. This was a plus for me. Of course, since this story is told in 1st person by Jess, we get into her head for most of this story. And really, it’s anyway all about her in that the other characters are there to support her fantasy and desire.

Jess and Ben decide to get with another couple to amp up their sex life and to explore some of Jess’ fantasies. Jess has always dreamed about being with a woman and Ben finds this kind of hot. Before I go further here because I know many readers of f/f dislike the whole chick being with a chick to turn the guy on scenario, I can tell you, this isn’t it. While Ben does love the idea and finds it a turn on to watch Jess get it on with Tina, he never goes into that territory of it being about him. It was just a nice side effect of Jess’ fantasy for him and he stayed very respectful to her in that.

Tina and Bradley have been swapping with other couples for a while, and while Tina has been with and enjoys women, it seems to be more of a fun thing to do for her than a need.

They all readily jump in when it comes time to get it on, but there were ground rules. I liked this. This becomes important because certain boundaries get explored, including Jess’ desire to be with Tina without the men, and it kept the story more about Jess’ desire to explore with Tina, but with Ben’s and Bradley's blessings.

One of the downsides for me in this story was that Jess’ character sort of mind fucks about who or what she is, a common thing in first experience bisexual stories. Is she gay, is she bi, does she just want to have sex only with a woman sometimes, does she want a full on romantic/sexual relationship with a woman, does this mean that she doesn’t love her husband anymore, etc.

For me this sometimes goes too much into realistic territory, like I’m reading someone’s real diary or hearing about a real experience in which a person is working out very real issues that I imagine do come up for someone who wants to a.) explore sex with someone other than their partner and b.) explore with someone of their own sex for the first time.

On the one hand I respect that this aspect is brought into this kind of story, on the other, I tend to enjoy stories of this kind when the characters just enjoy their fantasies and go for it without too much angst-ing. Fortunately, there is enough fantasy around this whole thing that I didn’t get too wrapped up in her inner dialogue. And Jess does recognize that she's over-thinking things, which did mitigate some of me neg feeling around it.

For those who are wondering, while Jess has a really good time with Tina and finds that she has some feelings for her, she’s very clear that she loves Ben and there’s no way that this whole turn of events means that she has to choose Ben or Tina. She comes to love Ben even more that he allowed her to go with her fantasy and this solidifies their relationship even more.

The sex. Wow, yes, there’s lots of sex in this short story. And it’s hot sex. Spicy, hot, juicy sex. It’s why I will label it erotica. However, it’s not written as a bunch of bodies just getting it on. Paisley Smith managed to infuse a lot of warmth, some tenderness, and a dose of respectfulness into the sex scenes. This is what made this story a bit more than the usual erotica for me. There’s also a slight amount of D/s dynamic in those scenes which kept them from getting too sugary sweet or vanilla.

I highly recommend Soft Swap if you’re looking for an erotic story that feature f/f/m, with a good feeling. It’s well a written and fun fantasy.

Heat Level: 5 – F/f, f/f/m, anal play, strap-on, spanking.

Grade: B+

MA's Review of Soft Swap on Goodreads

Beguiled by Paisley Smith

Beguiled
by Paisley Smith
Nov. 16, 2010
Historical (Civil War time)/ Lesbian/bi
Short Novel- word count UK
Ebook- Loose- Id

Buy it Loose-Id

The Civil War has torn Belle Holloway’s world apart. Left to manage her Georgia plantation with little help, she is exasperated when the Union Army adds to her burden by leaving a wounded soldier behind. But upon closer examination, Belle is shocked to discover the soldier is actually a beguiling woman.

Clad in male attire, stubborn, brash Alice O’Malley awakens a passion in Belle she never knew existed. Alice dominates Belle’s lonely existence with taboo pleasures and erotic escape. Soon Belle realizes she is more than willing to submit her body and her heart to the woman whose strength and compassion she admires -- until those very attributes prove to be the catalyst that could destroy their newfound love.

I’ve read all of Paisley Smiths f/f books so far and I’ve enjoyed all of them. So picking up this one was a no-brainer. Again, I wasn’t disappointed. Moreover, the time period Beguiled is set in-- late 1800’s-- coupled with one of my favorite scenarios--- a woman passing herself off as a man— made this a yummy and favorite book.

While overall I really enjoyed this book, there were a few niggling things that bugged me. I’ll get to that first so I can get to what I loved.

There were a few inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story here and there or made me wonder. At one point Alice thinks to herself:

Alice knew from Belle’s passionate reaction that she would go all the way with her, and the knowledge that the prim, proper southern lady would spread her legs for another woman drove Alice mad with desire.

Her mouth went cotton dry at the thought of Belle lifting all those frilly petticoats and then beckoning her to touch her—taste her. Alice tried to swallow but couldn’t. She’d seen the look of desire in Belle’s eyes. The curiosity to explore, to not only be touched but to touch as well.

First, Belle comes across as tough, efficient and competent right from the get go. She reacts to horrific events that would make even a more hardened person flinch, with aplomb. I didn’t see any of what I thought would be an uptight, prim and proper, gentile southern belle woman in her characterization that would make Alice hot on that level. Maybe if Alice had met Belle before the war it would have been the case.

And also, again, due to the ravages of war, of Belle needing to do all the house work and tend to repairs and the animals, I didn’t picture her in frilly petticoats either. I pictured her more in tattered and dirty older dresses.

That was another inconsistency that I felt as well. Belle tells Alice when they are talking about their lives, that she had a great education and learned several languages, that their slaves were taught to read, that she basically lived the life typical to a woman of her station as the daughter of a plantation owner, meaning, she was a lady living a life of ease and refinement. But there was nothing in the way she spoke,or acted that gave that impression even if the current circumstances required her to adapt to a harsher life. I would think she’d still react according to her background and upbringing even if she did adapt.

Alice also uses fuck and said at one point:

“I don’t suppose I’ve made figuring this shit out easier for you.”

Shit and fuck? I know people said those words at that time, but I guess I always think of ladies at that time not using such words, even if Alice was in the Union Army pretending to be a man and she did come from a poor childhood in Boston. Belle is not shocked at all of Alice talking like that, like that’s the kind of language she’s always heard from women or men even.

Another question I had was that it seemed that the Union soldiers of Alice’s troupe knew she was a woman dressing as a man acted as if it were normal. Does anyone know if that’s so that it was accepted? I know women did serve, but it was only if they could really pass themselves off as a man. I would think once they knew she was a woman, they would have dumped her or worse. And in fact they did, but only because she was wounded at the time.

Now that I’ve said those things, none of them changed the way I felt about this story. Alice and Belle are very real and colorful characters. I suppose that Belle in an earlier time might have balked at such advances from Alice, but in her new situation and life, it seemed on par with the changes in her life.

Belle is a strong woman and she deals with the trials of war and her life without freaking or acting put upon. She’s lost just about everything. She’s so intrigued and impressed by Alice dressing and acting like a man and fighting in the war; Alice is like no woman she’s ever known and this attracts her.

Some might question her really going for it with Alice when she didn’t know if her husband was still alive or not, but I wasn’t bothered by that. Mainly because there really wasn’t much discussion about her relationship with her husband before he went off to war. Outside of some inconsistencies in character, I loved Belle as a character. She's got fortitude and doesn't shy away from much.

Alice is also an intriguing character. She grew up poorer than poor and had nothing left to lose by leaving her family and Boston. She’s definitely a lesbian and having been disowned by her family for being “different” she joins the army. And she gets away with it for a long time, at least until she’s wounded and left at Belle’s.

Alice pretty much seduces Belle and Belle doesn’t resist. Not only that, but Belle is all over that. She even gets into it asking Alice for more. This is one of the best parts of this story, these two women go at it with nary a real conflict. Of course, Belle wonders about being with a woman, thinking it’s wrong, but wondering how wrong what she feels could be? And Alice, while having her fears about falling in love with a woman who is married and whose missing husband could return, follows her feelings anyway.

The conflict in this case comes from outside actually in the form of bushwhackers and other sundry soldier types floating in and out making life harder. This draws them together even more.

The sex is pretty hot and nicely written with a touch of D/s going on, which added a bit more spice to their interactions. I thought the characters, while not getting too much of their backgrounds, were well fleshed out and the general plot line kept this story entertaining. I got a good feel for the time period and how it would have been. Overall, it’s a good read.

I definitely recommend Beguiled if you’re in the mood for period f/f and one with a sweet/spicy love story.

Heat level- 5- fairly graphic sexual scenarios. Interesting dildo use.

Grade: B/+

Review- Beyond Curious by Paisley Smith

Beyond Curious
by Paisley Smith
Jan 8, 2010
Contemporary/ bi- lesbian
Quickie- up to 15K--$2.49
Ebook- Ellora’s Cave

Buy it Ellora’s Cave

Annie’s dreading the piano lessons that her grandmother’s will demanded she take…until she meets her teacher, Emily. Far from the elderly cat lady Annie had envisioned, Emily is sexy, blonde and completely irresistible.

Emily has never been with a woman, but Annie attracts her in a way that no one else has. Despite Emily’s initial misgivings, it doesn’t take long for their relationship to move from teacher and student to something much more than either of them expected—something that might lead to the love of a lifetime.

Get your fans and cold showers ready ladies; Paisley Smith has done it again! This is one really hot story. Not only is this story as sexually delicious as deep fried ice cream, it’s also a beautiful love story. Somehow, Paisley Smith, as before, managed to write a well-rounded short story that from beginning to end left no gaps, lingering questions, and made me feel like these two women will only have eyes for each other forever.

Annie is a 29 year old student going for her veterinary degree. To honor her grandmother’s memory, the only family member who totally accepted her being a lesbian and loving her, she’s decided take the piano lessons her grandmother wished her to.

Annie’s dreading her first lesson and walks up to the old Victorian house thinking for sure the widow Granger is probably some old hag with a hundred cats, but finds herself lost for words and immediately smitten when she sees that her teacher is a woman not much older than herself and drop dead gorgeous.

Emily is a young widow whose husband came from a traditional, wealthy, influential family. She’s still grieving his death by cancer while trying to live up to the family name and reputation by doing all things proper. When she sees Annie for the first time, she finds herself strangely attracted to this unusual but appealing androgynous woman dressed like a man and starts to fantasize about what it would be like to be with a woman.

Over the next few weeks, at every lesson, Annie and Emily get it on in every which way possible both starting with the idea that this is just sex since Emily is not gay and Annie is taking off for school in a few weeks. What really happens is that both their hearts start to open and they have to decide to go for broke or not.

Wow, just wow. I just loved everything about this book. The first thing that got me was the atmosphere that Paisley set up in which the girls first meet. The old Victorian house in the middle of two frat houses, the ambience of old family money with a beautiful young widow. I kept picturing Emily as a Catherine Deneuve character, cool, distant, elegantly beautiful and yet vulnerably sensual. That piqued my interest straight away.

Then there’s Annie who knows what she wants, doesn’t care what people think and she dresses and looks androgynous. The contrast between the two women is very dynamic. Again, something very appealing to me.

Annie’s also a bit of a dom and an alpha. As the sexual relationship develops between her and Emily and she feels a mix of hesitancy and attraction from Emily she starts acting like this:

Brazenly, Annie’s eyes held hers as she stepped over the threshold and pushed the door closed behind her. “Take your panties off.”

At first, Emily thought she had not heard her correctly. “Pardon me?”

“Take ’em off,” Annie said, unsmiling.

Emily swallowed thickly. She gaped.

“I want you to teach my lesson without any panties on,” Annie said, and blithely moved toward the piano.

Damn but that is so hot. What’s really nice about the way this book is written is that it creates an interesting power dynamic in which the women don’t go the way of being egalitarian. Clearly Annie is in control of the sexual encounters but isn’t overbearing. She acts with just the right amount of assertiveness to keep the tension and excitement up, while still being soft enough that Emily feels OK to explore. And Emily is so turned on for the first time in her life that she gets off on it, doing things she never would have thought she’d ever do, totally in awe of discovering amazing sex for the first time.

This, of course, is a story about a lesbian and a woman who’s never been with a woman before, so there are some issues that come up for the characters about their intense attraction and budding love.

I thought the development of Emily’s feelings over the weeks is so beautifully done. She questions herself, if she’s really a lesbian, and what that would mean to her and her uptight in-laws if she openly has a relationship with Annie. And there are a few instances in which her immediate reaction to going public with their relationship is fear and resistance, which I thought only natural. But she also doesn’t deny herself what she really feels and I liked that.

Even though hurt at those flinch reactions of Emily, Annie always come back with an I love you and am not leaving attitude, which wakes Emily up making her realize how much she’s loved and wanted and how deeply she loves Annie. I totally love Annie’s energy here as her desire and frustration mounts:

“Goddammit,” Annie said and tossed her rolled-up piano book to the floor. She stalked across the carpet, hauled Emily against her and before Emily could utter a sound, Annie’s mouth claimed hers.

The best part of this story is that at its core, it’s a love story. Yes, it starts out with incredible sexual chemistry and the book has a fair amount of sex in it, but when the women start falling love it’s so clear and profound; I felt these two women really adore each other outside of the sexual realm.

Like the last two stories I’ve read of Paisley Smith’s, the pacing, character portrayals and general plot came together so smoothly. And of course, the sexual scenarios are so intense and juicy. For me, at this point, Paisley Smith can’t write fast enough. I want more!

Sex rating: Orgasmic- yes, there’s graphic sex, very light D/s, butt plugs but no anal sex, dildo. Mostly it’s vanilla sex though.

Grade: A-

Beyond Curious by Paisley Smith is out today!

Paisley Smith's Beyond Curious is out today- you can get it here.

The Blurb:

Annie’s dreading the piano lessons that her grandmother’s will demanded she take…until she meets her teacher, Emily. Far from the elderly cat lady Annie had envisioned, Emily is sexy, blonde and completely irresistible.

Emily has never been with a woman, but Annie attracts her in a way that no one else has. Despite Emily’s initial misgivings, it doesn’t take long for their relationship to move from teacher and student to something much more than either of them expected—something that might lead to the love of a lifetime.

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.