Review- Cream by Christiana Harrell

Cream
By Christiana Harrell
Aug 31, 2013
Contemporary/Lesbian/Stud/Romance/Erotica/African American
230 Pgs
Pub-Self
Kindle Edition

Cream, an androgynous beauty, knows what it’s like to be abandoned, broke, and used. Left to the state by her parents and taken under the wing of her selfish foster mother, Cream sets her focus on one thing: money. She dives head first into the exotic lifestyle of stripping. Starting out in gentlemen clubs, drama seems to follow her wherever she goes. Instead of facing the turmoil, she moves on to the next city, causing more chaos than what she left behind.

She thinks she has life all figured out until she crosses paths with Payton, a daddy’s girl with lots of cash and a lust for women. Payton makes her learn things about herself that she never saw possible and with her new discovery comes a big change in her look and personality.

Cream is at the top of her game, surrounded by money and beautiful women. Then, one wild night forces her to discover yet another truth about herself and face the reality of her lifestyle. Will she continue to dwell in her unstable comfort zone? Or, will she finally open her eyes?

If I could ever call a book a reader whisperer, this would be it for me. Cream spoke to me in so many awesome and amazing ways. It’s such a raw and powerfully positive story of growth and acceptance. Cream as a character is also one of the most intense, real and dynamic female leads I’ve read in a long time.

What I loved so much about Cream is that she’s written as someone having a nice combination of savvy, rough street smarts and innocence. It’s that underlying innocent part of her, the part she’s managed to keep even with all the negative obstacles she’s had to deal with that helps her change and grow once she allows that part of her to emerge. That’s not to say she doesn’t have a lot of flaws and isn’t a nasty shit at times. But this is what makes her an interesting, complex character.

I also got off on how the author wrote this book. The way this story is written: language (colloquial), pacing, character development, were all spot on for me. The growth of Cream is slowly done and we get to see her change as she learns from her relationships and experiences. It’s a natural progression and I liked that it wasn’t rushed or that she suddenly had an epiphany that wasn’t natural to her character.

That the author wrote a character who works in the sex industry but isn’t being controlled, or doing it for “good” reasons, was a huge plus for me. Cream chooses it after that first night. She did have a crappy childhood. And she ends up stripping because she was pimped out by someone who should have protected her. But she embraces it, becomes the best stripper, and uses it to her advantage. She also enjoys it and makes no excuses, nor does she blame the world for it. And shockingly, she stays unaffected by the sexual nature of it, never having any attractions or sexual encounters.

One of Cream’s worst characteristics is being unable to get close to people and running all the time. She seemed to be missing the empathy chip for a good part of this book and I wondered if she’s actually just out of touch with her feelings, or if she really feels as emotionally cold towards others as she acts. But it’s clear after a while it’s a survival technique. It’s also what throws her into meeting new people and having experiences that push her out of that. 

Of course, both good and unsavory characters enter her life. And I will say that what was appealing to me was that there were no stereotypical characters. People who you’d think would try and take advantage of Cream don’t and those who you’d think would normally be nice, aren’t. I loved that.

This story is about Cream, but several other characters are very compelling as well. Payton is an interesting character in that she starts Cream on the road to growth, albeit, unknowingly. She’s the impetus for Cream to see that she has a lot of talent and helps her career flourish.  She’s also the one who turns Cream on to women, suggesting she’s not just a lesbian, but a stud. At first it felt like Payton would be a very positive influence on Cream in all aspects, not just her career, but things didn’t go as I thought.

Then there is Tasia. Tasia is the antithesis of pretty much everyone Cream has met. Tasia, like Cream, has been abused on several levels, but has kept her heart, hope and humanity. Even when she’s so clearly treated like shit from her fiancé and by her best friend, she still manages to keep hope that one day she will find love. This is not to say she’s a doormat. Like Cream though, she’s managed to keep some innocence locked away but it’s more on the surface for her.

Tasia and Cream meet mainly due to a betrayal, but more so because Tasia looks very much like the only “friend” Cream had ever had and probably the only person she had any feelings of love towards. Although Cream tries her usual shtick with Tasia, keeping things at a distance, something about Tasia’s vulnerability and positivity worms its way into Cream’s psyche and slowly breaks down her hard core emotional wall. Tasia also has an easy going, loving, but non-threatening or needy way about her that sparks something in Cream wherein for the first time in her life she finds herself opening up to another person and caring about their well-being.

I know there are some negative aspects to this book. There were some editing issues and well, I know intellectually it’s not subject matter for everyone; it represents a fairly specific world. Also, some (lesbians) might not like that Tasia’s sexual orientation is not really clear and it’s written more as she loves Cream vs being attracted to women. And also for my taste, even Cream, while clearly into women and not ever having an attraction to men, won’t commit to stating she’s a lesbian. However, I got so sucked into the story and the characters, I didn’t notice those things or they didn’t bother me. 

I would love to read another book by this author.

Heat level: 4-5- some graphic sexual situations, but more tell than show. But graphic language used.

Grade: 5 Stars

Review- Business with Pleasure by Keziah Hill

Business with Pleasure: Hot Down Under
By Keziah Hill
Jan 1, 2013
Contemporary/ Erotica/ f-f-m
48 pgs
Publisher: Momentum

For sculptor Lottie Williams, entering her sculpture, Triumvirate, in the Carve the Wind exhibition is the culmination of her career.

What she doesn’t count on is the incendiary lust between her and the curators, James and Magda. While she’s at first happy to play, she rapidly gets out of her depth when she confuses business with pleasure. Against the wild backdrop of the Pacific Ocean her work is displayed to great acclaim.

But all she wants, all she can think about is being back in the bed of the two people who have laid claim to her heart and soul.

I’m going to come right out with it, this is a short, hawt and juicy piece of stroke fiction. It’s really basically one long sex scene, but wow, what a sex (string of scene/s)!

I thought the set-up was good. While on the beach working on an art piece that she wants to enter into an exhibition, Lottie keeps seeing a man who intrigues her. She doesn’t know he’s the owner of the gallery that is sponsoring this event, she only notices how buff and nice looking he is.

When she goes to the gallery to present her piece to the owners, a husband and wife team --James and Magda, she’s shocked to see it’s the guy she’s been eying on the beach. After a discussion reveals that both Magda and James have been admiring Lottie’s work for a long time and were hoping she would enter a piece,  the conversation starts turning sexual as Lottie’s piece is quite erotic. Magda and James overtly try to seduce Lottie and she easily goes along with it. There is a brief blip in this love fest though when Lottie suddenly feels unsure of their intentions as she’s heard rumors about them, but the author managed to infuse a fair amount of real warmth and genuine feelings of attraction between all three.

What is most enjoyable about this story is that all three click sexually without any hang-ups or hesitations. You know that feeling when you can just be yourself and feel free to get your freak on without judgments or fears of being rejected? That’s the kind of feeling this story evoked in me.

Moreover, there was no feeling of one of the parties being left out or any two having a better connection. This is something that I’ve read in threesomes and not liked. No, Magda and James are both equally attracted to Lottie and she to both of them and they all mix it up without any angst. And it’s all left off with them deciding to keep it going.

The only negative thing I’ll say about this is that the author used the word “savage” to describe James way too many times. It felt like it was on every page, although realistically I’m sure it wasn’t.

If you’re in the mood to read a short, erotic f/f/m, I definitely recommend Business with Pleasure.

Heat Level: 5- pretty much the whole story is sex and it’s written graphically with strong, blunt sexual language.

Grade: 4 Stars

Review- His and Hers and Hers by Nona Raines

His and Hers and Hers

By Nona Raines

Nov 20, 2102

Contemporary/ Erotica/f-f-m/ romance/ménage/polyamore

38K words

Pub: Loose Id

Kyla Denster and Jordan Brougham are passionately in love. Kyla knows she's lucky to have a guy who uses all his tricks to keep her happy in and out of bed. Jordan knows he's lucky to have such a hot, adventurous girlfriend.
But neither of them knows that their best friend, Cassie DeSantis, wants them both. Cassie's painful past has taught her not to wear her heart on her sleeve. She keeps quiet, afraid that revealing her feelings would mean losing the two people she cares for most. Things change one night when an impulsive kiss leads to the three of them spending an incredibly hot night together.
When the couple wants more of Cassie, she leaps at the chance to be with them. But problems arise at her insistence that no one mention the L word and when Jordan and Kyla clash over how to deal with disapproving family. Their triad relationship will only survive if they all stand together to prove that three is the perfect number—when all three are in love.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read an f/f/m romance/erotica. They aren’t that common, although there are lots more than when I first started reading them. So when some twitter friends linked it I thought it would be fun to read it.

Generally, I would say this is a decent read. However, it didn’t really spark anything in me that made it stand out; I’ve read better and worse. The issue for me in this story is what I’d say are poorly written sex scenes and a sense that while the characters get a happy ending, I wasn’t feeling it as deeply as I think I should have for an HEA/HFN.

Actually, if I start breaking it down, there are many things. One is that I felt there was a lot of tell instead of show in what’s going on with both Cassie and Kyla as far as being attracted to women goes. In the beginning, we get glimpses into Cassie noticing things about Kyla from a sexual standpoint, but not from Kyla’s. They have been friends for a long time already and this hasn’t come up before? Kyla seems to be open to the idea of being with Cassie only as an afterthought from her and Jordan talking about some sexual fantasies, not because she already had an inherent sexual attraction to Cassie on her own. Or that wasn’t really expressed. Maybe if there was more about Cassie being attracted to Kyla all that time and vice versa, it would have come off as more believable to me.

Also, even though they’ve been good friends for a long time, Kyla, unlike Jordan, seems so out of touch with who Cassie is, setting her up on a date with a total loser and not even once picking up the signals that Cassie is bored out of her skull with this guy. Whereas Jordan is just jealous and gets right away what a douche that guy is.

Then there was Kyla’s easily getting it on with Cassie as if they were doing that all along, which came across more as “whatever, I’m game” and  not, “I totally want you.” At some point though, it almost seems like she and Cassie become more connected than Kyla is to Jordan due to Jordan being a dick. But at the same time we are constantly reminded of the fact that Jordan is the love of Kyla’s life and she would do nothing to jeopardize her relationship with him. That puts Cassie on the outside because right there in the interim of them coming together, one person is more important if push comes to shove.

I didn’t like Jordan. He’s cowers to his family who get on his case for being the only blue collar, unmarried kid. He doesn’t really stand up for Kyla even though clearly his parents don’t like her and never have. Forget about that he hides their threesome as well. And I felt he was a bit sleazy by the way the sex scenes were written.  

For instance, in some scenes he almost seems to ignore Kyla as he gets it on with Cassie. It felt like Kyla was excluded although not specifically written as such. I didn’t get that she wasn’t bothered on some level. It would be a normal reaction even if she was into the three of them being together.  Here they have a really tight relationship and she agrees to bring Cassie into it but Jordan seems to be more about “oh yeah who wouldn’t want two women” even though the author tries hard to make them all inclusive. I don’t know, he rubbed me the wrong way.

The relationship issues. I would think that a solid couple bringing in third person would create some issues no matter how close they all are. However, the issues these three face are all about Jordan’s family and their influence on him and ultimately Kyla and Cassie as well. Only Cassie has some issues because she is coming into a solid relationship and there is some fear of being a third wheel. Therefore, even though they all end up together, I didn’t feel them to be a gelled unit since there wasn’t much about them together other than having sex and having been friends all along.

The best part of this book was the transient character Walter whom Cassie helps often. I got more of a feel for him than the others and wanted to know where that went. There was also a lot more warmth and emotion injected into those interactions between Cassie and Walter than what I felt for Cassie, Jordan and Kyla’s interactions.

Still though, I would recommend this book only because it is the rare HFN f/f/m ménage and it did have lighter, fun moments to it that kept me reading. And some of the sex, even if kind of funky, was pretty hot.

Heat Level: 4-5- fairly graphically written f/f/m sex scenes.

Grade: It was OK

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- Happy Endings by Marlene Sexton

Happy Endings

By Marlene Sexton

Dec. 20, 2011

Lesbian/f-f/Paranormal/Erotica

9.8K words

Publisher- Red Heels Press (self-published)

Buy it Amazon, ARe, Smashwords, B&N

Emma needed to get away from Boston and her on again, off again girlfriend/editor Haya to work on her book. She found a quaint inn near the sea in Connecticut. The innkeeper Gladys is a sweet woman and Emma instantly likes her. Apparently, a young couple, the Finnegans, are staying at the inn also, but they are rarely around.

Emma begins having vivid, sexual dreams and then one night a woman comes to her darkened room. She thinks it might be Gladys but then a younger woman, Beth, joins her in bed. The women make love and it's some of the best sex of Emma's life. She assumes Beth is the elusive Mrs. Finnegan, but when she meets the real Mrs. Finnegan the next morning, she finds out it wasn't. Now Emma is wondering who the strange woman really is. The answer is almost to strange to believe.

If this story doesn't leave you horny and in tears, your better check your pulse!

This is a new to me author. I bought this book during ARe’s ½ ebook bucks back sale. There’s no way I’d buy a 10K book for $2.99 without a deal unless I loved the author’s work. I have mixed feelings about this story. There were some things about it that I found off or lacking, but other parts of it I really liked.

The main thing that didn’t work for me was that I found the writing to be amateurish and repetitive in parts. I got the feeling the author was adding words unnecessarily to make a higher word count and or that it wasn’t edited very well.

One example:

“You must be Emma!” the middle-aged woman exclaimed. “We were getting worried about you with all the ice on the roads. I’m Gladys McGillicuddy and this is my husband Oscar,” she said as she pointed to the thin but hardy looking man just emerging from the inn.

“Hi, I’m Emma. I’m not used to driving, especially on icy roads at night. I went really, really slow.”

They already know and assume she’s Emma and said so, so introducing herself on top of that is weird.

This is a short story, only 23 pgs., so there’s not too much to it. It’s not a romance, but more about a short erotic interlude in Emma’s life that helps her get out of a rut she’s in. Between the quiet folksiness of Gladys and her short stay at the country B&B, and the unexpected paranormal elements, Emma manages to get her writing mojo back. The title is Happy Endings and I guess for several characters that’s what happened in their own way.

The “Beth” part of the story, outside of the actual sex, felt a bit unfocused. It’s treated as if Beth was waiting for Emma in particular but there’s no background for that. Why Emma in particular? The author kind of goes there but then goes the direction of it’s only because Emma happens, coincidentally, to be a single lesbian who showed up as a guest after so much time for why Beth comes around.

The best parts are the dream like, ethereal erotic moments between Emma and Beth. The sex is nicely and sensually written even if not overly graphic.

To be honest, and I’m sure the author will not like this, but the best part of Happy Endings can be read in the excerpt on All Romance Ebooks. Or a good part of it. There’s more of course, but for the cost, and other issues I’m not sure it’s worth it. Or you can download the first 50% of the book on Smashwords to see if it’s a book you might like.

I wouldn’t say this book is totally not worth it, it was generally an OK read. I still have a pulse. But if you’re into paranormal sexual scenarios or want a short quickie that’s hot sexually, then you might like Happy Endings.

Heat level-  3-4- Vanilla sex with some minor anal play.

Grade- It was OK

Review- Deux: The French Kiss Chronicles Book 1

Deux: The French Kiss Chronicles Book 1
By Em Petrova
March 25, 2011
Contemporary/ Bi / Erotica
7.7K words
Published by Breathless Press

Buy it Breathless Press, ARe, Amazon

Jane is a wife and mother who's stuck in a rut. Spending too much time at the gym perfecting her physique, she learns that what she really wants is someone new to share her body with.

After Margot's divorce, she's feeling frumpy and unloved. Until one day, Jane corners her in the dressing room and makes it perfectly clear that she finds her ripe curves desirable.
Together, the couple shares the passion they thought long dead, and in doing so, discover they harbor a deeper need—to find love.

I was attracted to Deux from the blurb. The wife and mother “stuck in a rut” had me curious; I’m always wondering what  “stuck in a rut” means and if it’s a good excuse to go with a long unfulfilled sexual desire for someone who’s not the partner. If it’s a lame excuse, it could be a negative factor for me.


I was also attracted to the “she’s feeling frumpy and unloved” part of Margot’s description. There’s just something nice about someone who’s feeling undesirable getting some juice, being wanted by someone. So this story looked promising to me.


Since this is such a short story, and it was pretty much all sex, there’s not much to really talk about. There’s no character development really, nor any past history to get a feel for these characters other than what’s in the blurb. However, for what it is, it’s a hot little read if you’re jonesing for a nicely written erotic f/f that will give you hotflashes.


At first I was a bit uneasy about Jane’s nonchalant attitude about what her husband will feel when he finds out about this little escapade. In the blurb, as I pointed out, Jane's bored. However, from her inner dialogue, she’s absolutely in love with her husband and they have a great and satisfying sex life. So her “rut” is more about having strong fantasies that she feels she needs to actually experience. Although she has shared these with her husband, she’s not discussed actually doing anything. So he doesn’t know.


This would have put a bad taste in my mouth if it weren’t for how the husband reacts.


Not only does it turn him on, he’s all over her and the sex they have is hotter than ever. I have admit that did mitigate for me the fact that Jane treated the whole thing as if she bought an expensive pair of shoes that they couldn’t afford and not that she had sex with someone she’s been attracted to for a while without discussing it with her husband first.


The downside for me was that I felt it would have been nice if this story was a bit more drawn out. Jane is the aggressor in the initial sex between her and Margot, but I felt that Margot just went along a little too easily for someone who’s never thought about being with a woman. There was no shock, or hesitation really. Nor much of what she was feeling in the whole thing. They sort of go from being acquaintances to naked, 0-50 without much dancing around each other. Had this whole thing been more fleshed it, this book would have really popped for me.


I also felt that the author took one of the usual short cuts in a short erotic story in that she told more than expressed feelings of love. Jane muses to herself how she has strong feelings for Margot over and above the sexual attraction, but there’s nothing there to show how that developed. So we know she has more than sexual feelings for Margot because she said it, which to me is a bit lazy in writing.


Ultimately though, I liked how this book was written even if it’s not too involved. The sex between the women is very erotic and nicely written. I could see that this is more than just one time thing to scratch and itch. The same goes for the sex between Jane and her husband. It’s clear they really enjoy each other. The husband wants in the action, but is willing to wait and let Jane have her time with Margot to let things develop first. This is one of my favorite types of reads in that way. And there is the set up for the next book in the series where the three of them do come together, which I’m going to read.


Heat level: 5- pretty much non-stop sex—f/f, f/m.


Grade B