Review- Bailey's Run by Ali Spooner

Bailey’s Run
By Ali Spooner
Jan 2, 2014
Contemporary/ Lesbian/ Mystery/ Paranormal
358 pgs
Publisher: Affinity Ebook Press NZ LTD
Kindle Edition

Bailey Chambers mourns the loss of her lover, Nessa, in an unsolved carjacking. When Tommy, Bailey’s brother becomes a victim of a gay bashing, Bailey assumes his case will be handled the same way as her lover’s—lackadaisically.

Desi Dexter assigned to Tommy’s case, feels Bailey’s disdain toward her and her partner. Through tenacious police work, Desi, is able to uncover the reason for Bailey’s attitude, and convinces her that she is sincere in solving the case.

Mutual attraction sparks, and before they can move forward with their fledging romance, Desi, and her partner Braxton, uncover the presence of a serial killer.
What will happen to Bailey, when, Desi, becomes engrossed in another case, can their relationship survive?

This is one of those stories that was quick to read and was entertaining with a lot of fun characters, but which didn’t really excel in one area. It’s both a romance and a mystery of sorts, however, the romance developed fairly quickly without too much ado and the mystery didn’t have enough tension or mystery actually. Bailey’s Run is carried mainly by a gaggle of characters interacting and several random events happening, which was fine as is.

The two main characters, Bailey and Desi, are very likable characters. Bailey is a truck driver during the week, but works in her Aunt’s bar on the weekends. Many women have been trying to catch Bailey’s eye, but since the murder of her partner, she’s not been interested in dating. For her, her partner was perfect and she has no desire to find a replacement. She’s also still grieving as there was no closure in that her partner’s killer was never found.

Desi is a detective who’s just trying to do the right thing in life. She’s a tough but warm woman and has a good working relationship with her partner who is supportive and doesn’t have judgments that she’s a lesbian. She meets Bailey when she’s called on the case of Bailey’s brother Tommy being severely beaten outside her aunt’s bar. Although Bailey is very cold and snippy with her, she feels a spark between them. Something about Bailey attracts her.

For Bailey it’s the same, but her anger over the police not doing anything about her partner’s death has left a bad taste in her mouth and she blows Desi off. On her own, Desi checks out what happened to Bailey’s partner and totally gets Bailey’s anger since the investigation was shoddy to non-existent. Between working on Bailey’s brother’s case and deciding to work behind the scenes to reopen her partner’s murder case, she manages to become closer to Bailey. Bailey slowly opens up to Desi, feeling attracted to someone for the first time since her partner’s death, and feeling also that Desi is on the up and up with her.

They are very cute and sweet together and the romance develops easily, quickly and nicely without too much conflict once Bailey is on board. While there’s a pretense of staying apart for ethical reasons, they don’t pay too much attention to that on a personal level.

Outside of the romance, there are several plot lines. Desi and her partner Dexter, besides going after the men who jumped and beat up Tommy, get reassigned to cold case after they solve who killed Bailey’s partner. Desi discovers a pattern of killings and they realize that they might have a serial killer on the loose. They also figure that the killings happen around the same date every year and that date is coming up soon.

The author goes back and forth between them and the serial killer, giving us insight into who the killer is and their investigative process. I felt this part was not really that well developed as there was no tension built up in finally finding the killer really. I kept expecting more tension or maybe more danger for certain characters, but that never happened. This part of the story felt more like a reason to bring in more characters and keep the story going.  

Spoiler********************************************************************

Also, and this is something that bugged me, an FBI profiler is brought in. Her father was FBI and she’s allegedly some kind of serial killer expert. She works with a partner, also her life partner outside of the job, who is a psychic. Unfortunately, this part of the story was off to me. Basically, all the FBI profiler does is have her partner do her thing while she does zero investigating. They felt rather like unnecessary and extraneous characters thrown in there to add more character interaction even though as characters go they are likable. And about the psychic thing, well, I think I would have been on board with that if the psychic didn’t come up with all the answers right away versus having an actual investigation, which included some psychic help. Due to that it went into hokeyville for me at times. 

End Spoiler*************************************************

What does work in this story is the connection between all the characters. The characters get together a lot for fun, food, home cooking and entertainment while they deal with what seems like non-stop issues. They have a great camaraderie and all support each other. I loved that Fubar, Bailey’s aunt’s bar, is one of the central places they meet up and that it features drag queen shows. Most of the characters are either gay or supportive of the gay community and that was rather nice to read as well.

And, well, this is stupid and most people won’t care, but there was a rescued kitten. Desi finds it in an alley and brings it home. The kitten actually gets a fair amount of detail and attention and I found myself worrying about it when both Desi and Bailey can’t get home and loving that it was part of the story.

So, while there were some issues for me in this book, overall it’s a good read.

Heat Level: 2 – sex mostly implied not graphically written

Grade: 4 Stars

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- The Last Best Tip (Grift-Girs) by Cassandra Duffy

The Last Best Tip (Grift-Girls)

By Cassandra Duffy

July 4, 2011

Lesbian/ Paranormal/Erotic

16.6K words

Publisher: Sapphic Pixie Tales

Buy it Amazon, Smashwords, B&N

“This is a novella, actually it’s a novella with two short stories attached to it, but even then it shouldn’t be mistaken for a novel. Like most summer trysts, when the heat is too oppressive for a long love-making session, it’s short, intense, hopefully satisfying, and over before you’re likely to succumb to heat stroke.” ~Cassandra Duffy

The lone anchor in Lucy’s life is a job she hates at a swingers club in the heart of middle America; without it, she would be just another twenty-something college dropout, who never quite reached her potential, and is as unlucky in love as most everything else. It’s a shame she hates her job. Sasha, her vampire crush, working in the bar across the way, is in a similar boat, but she has a way out…

Lucy breaks the law, breaks rules she didn’t even know she had, and risks what little she has left to be with Sasha. In this sexy, lighthearted comedy of errors luck and flexibility aren’t always what they seem.

I loved Cassandra Duffy's The Gunfighter and The Gear-Head so I was jonsen to try another of her books. This book actually contains three stories, all with a vampire theme. To be honest, I'm not that excited about reading vampire stories any more, however I do put that aside if there's a particular author's work I have admired.

While the vampire aspect of these stories was really nothing more than a character who happened to be a vampire, meaning for me, there's no mythology build-up to give that aspect a unique feel to it, what Cassandra Duffy did do is create two unique characters in the first story and focus on the dream like, nebulous quality of the typical vampire portrayal in the last two. These, I did get excited about.

The Last Best Tip-- is about a vampire and a human who are partners in crime. The blurb is an accurate description of this story so I'll go from there. I have a soft spot for strong, clever women who have chutzpah and like to break the rules. Before Lucy and Sasha meet, Lucy didn't really ever think about scamming people, but Sasha sparks that part of her that likes that excitement. Both are working in jobs they hate and Sasha, the vampire and more worldly person, convinces Lucy to work a con with her so they can open their own bar. Lucy readily jumps on this.

This story is fun and very erotic with strong exhibitionist/voyeuristic elements to it. I thought it kind of funny that these two rather wild and kinky ladies would want to open a normal lesbian sports bar in the Midwest after having worked in fetish bars, but how their con turns out works out for the best for them. As a couple, there's a lot of sexual heat, but the romantic angle is a bit glossed over. That was fine because these two ladies are juicy and that's what's interesting in this story.

An Eternal Night of Overtime--- Brooke is a young, former surfer girl from Australia who lands a job as an assistant with a famous and difficult designer Vendela. Vendela has a reputation of being weird and off-beat. She has a home up in Barrow, AK and she wants Brooke to come up there with her to work on her designs during the coldest and darkest time, Nov-Jan.

After Brooke arrives, she finds Vendela's massive stone and metal house to be cold and unwelcoming and a bit shocking since Vendela creates colorful, splashy clothes. After Vendela arrives though, things get weird and Brooke can't tell if what's going on is a dream or real.

I have to be honest, at first I was reading this and thinking WTF? It's a story set in Alaska above the Arctic Circle. Already, that's odd because we're talking about a fashion icon who you'd think would want to work in NY or CA. But it piqued my interest. Second, Brooke wakes from sleep after being called by Vendela and walks downstairs not realizing what she's wearing. I was thinking, how can you not notice something like that? But as I read the story it all became clear and quite the turn-on.

This was my favorite story of the three. It's got a biting starkness to it that's really unique in an erotic story. And I love, love stories, particularly sexual scenarios, in which what's going on is dreamy or hazy.

Haunted House on Top--- Cami, who's a vampire and her human, long distance girlfriend, Brianna, are meeting up for Halloween night. Cami's gay best friend Lewis has told her about a haunted house that would be fun to go to and they need a special password to get in. When the girls get there the house is in a constant flux with rooms and people appearing and disappearing.

The girls' story together is basically that they are already a couple but this house gives them a chance at a different erotic sexual scenario. Or that's what I read in this. What appealed to me about this story is again the vagueness and the shifting perceptions that the women experience. It brings in a mystery to what's basically short erotic story.

What I didn't really get off on in this story is the throwing in of an odd assortment of demons in the form of weird animals. This made the story a bit hokey for me. I appreciate these kinds of elements if there's complex world building around it, but throwing in paranormal elements without that doesn't add to a story for me. But that's a personal pet peeve so YMMV.

Still though it's a cute story.

All in all I enjoyed this book. If you're into vampire paranormals and like unique and odd settings for sexual scenarios, this book will totally do it for you.

Heat Level- 4, somewhat graphically written sex, strap-on, exhibitionism.

Grade- Really liked

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- 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- Last Flight of the Ark- by D.L. Jackson

Last Flight of the Ark
by D.L. Jackson
March 2010
Sci-fi/ Paranormal/ f/f/m- ménage
Novel- 45-80K
Ebook- Liquid Silver Books

Buy it Liquid Silver

Evolution never happened so fast.

Twelve hours outside of Terra II, Colonel Kaleb Titan, a molecular geneticist and commander of the Ark, faces a life or death choice that could change the fate of mankind.

The Genesis I, aka the Ark, travels with a hold full of wildlife and three crew members. When a wolf bite and genetically-altering gamma radiation transform Kaleb, he notices his senses have been heightened, his libido has gone haywire and he can’t keep his hands off his crew. Worse yet, they don't seem inclined to stop him.

When their sister ship, the Genesis II arrives early, Kaleb’s problems compound. As soon as the command crew of the Genesis II boards, one whiff tells Kaleb they’re not from Earth or who they appear to be.

When he discovers that they’ve kept the Genesis II’s crew of over two thousand alive, he begins to believe their reasons may be far more ominous than anyone could have imagined. However, he also discovers what’s holding them back. The hijackers seem to be allergic to canines.

Now they're forced to employ biological warfare against their own, but will it be enough to save humanity?
History is about to repeat and only one species will survive.

Contains: Menage (M/F/F), Lesbian sex (F/F), intercom sex

I wanted to like this book, I really did. There are so few f/f/m ménages out there that I wanted this to be really good. And for the most part it was fairly entertaining. However, right from the get-go there were some things that pushed my buttons and I’ll say they probably colored my whole view of the book.

The blurb is pretty accurate so on with my take.

Right in the beginning we are introduced to all three main characters. They are the only three manning a ship bringing in animals to start a new earth colony called Terra II. They've been stuck together for 8 months on this journey and of course all of three of them are harboring major hots for each other.

What bothered me straight away was how Kaleb muses about the two women. He’s either complaining about them in his mind calling them bitchy and hormonal females, or he’s thinking about how stacked they are with the double D boobs and cute ass cheeks that keep making him horny. And he is in his 50’s. It felt more like he was a teenage boy. And I’m really put off when men talk like that about women. You know, better behave or they’ll nag, nag you to death those bitches! Ugh. So this put me off right away.

I will say that it did change over the course of the book after they all get together. In fact, he has to put up with them running over him at times and disobeying orders to do what I thought were some TSTL things. But there was still this overall quality in the writing that came across more as a young boy getting a hold of a Playboy mag in the way that Kaleb thinks often.

Next up in what didn’t work for me was the flow of the writing. The story was disjointed in the telling and I was often confused as to what was actually going on. It jumps around in a way that I often had to go back and see if I missed something and after a while I couldn’t be bothered. There are gaps and things got glossed over for convenience I thought. And again, there was a certain quality about it that felt a bit cheesy in the way the characters act, think and speak.

What worked for me was that after the characters do get their freak on with each other, there is a cohesiveness about them and the way they relate that was very appealing. Both Jessica and Melissa were lovers before they got on the ship, with Melissa only being into women. However, they both have it bad for Kaleb and decide that neither one will be with him without the other, all unbeknownst to Kaleb.

Kaleb of course, being a full blooded teenage boy in a 50 year old’s body, has been salivating over the girls since they left earth. I will give Kaleb credit though for being a gentleman and not sexually harassing the women with lots of sexual innuendo since they were doing whatever they could to try and get his attention in the sexual arena, including wearing very skimpy clothing.

They are all quite juicy together and there were some interesting moments of jealousy when one of the women are with him without the other. But by the end it’s clear they are a threesome and that’s the way it’s going to be.

About the premise of the story, I really liked it. I thought it was pretty creative and unique in that it mixed the shape shifting paranormal genre with sci-fi. I am pretty tired of the whole fated sexual/romantic attraction thing that is caused by the animal nature in a shifter, but it worked here for me because of the intricate sci-fi element and the fact that the three characters were hot for each other before the “mutation” happens. The mutation just becomes the impetus for all three to finally let loose their pent up sexual energy with each other.

The author also focused a lot on the story and less on non-stop sex, which is something I liked. I picked this book up for the f/f/m ménage element, but also because f/f and f/f/m are usually contemporaries and it’s nice to read something a bit different for a change. So not making this about a menage with an added sci-fi element, but this being sci-fi with a menage, added to my enjoyment.

So, I have mixed feelings about the book. I think if the story telling was a bit more cohesive and the characters were a bit less horn-doggy, this would have been a hit for me. As it stands, it was entertaining and fairly easy to read even if I did roll my eyes here and there and got lost in confusion.

Heat level: 4- f/f, f/f/m, m/f. Some nicely written graphic sex, but not overbearing to the story.

Grade C+

Review-The Life Not Lived by Michelle Houston

The Life Not Lived
by Michelle Houston
February 2010
Erotic romance, lesbian romance, paranormal/horror romance
Short Story (27 pages) 7K words
Ebook- Phaze Publishing

Guest Review by M.A.

Buy it Phaze, ARe, Fictionwise


We all have those moments in our lives we wish we could take back. Natasha has come to regret the choices she has made in her life, the biggest one being turning away from the one woman she had ever loved. But thanks to a late night visit from a succubus and a magical diary that found its way into her life, she can have a second chance. If she¬s willing to take a leap of faith...

I’ve read The Life Not Lived a few times and mulled over how to grade it. This short story qualifies as an “almost-book,” imperfect in places, but still likeable enough I want to recommend it.

Houston’s lyrical “voice” is a pleasure to read. Its cadence best compares to rainfall or the waft of soft piano music from a distant room. Her storytelling resonates with beautiful, subtle imagery. I often visualized specific scenes as though they’d been shot with soft-focus effects. Dream-like, no harsh edges.

Like many good short works, The Life Not Lived relies upon scene/setting, atmosphere, and emotion to build itself. Houston’s talent shines in her ability to craft a tale where 95% of the action occurs in a single location – the protagonist’s home – without ever inducing claustrophobic tension. Sufficient description illustrates Natasha’s world without overwhelming the plot.

Natasha is a convincing, well-drawn protagonist with whom many readers can identify. Recently divorced and approaching middle life, the successful professor/scientist contemplates past mistakes as she refurnishes her home. Years ago she broke off a romance with her college roommate, Lydia, in favor of marriage to Andrew because she viewed heterosexual marriage as a social and professional advantage. The selection of career over love haunts Natasha, and her recent acquisition of an old diary boasting paranormal properties may offer her a second chance for true happiness … if Natasha pays an unspecified price.

Self-doubt and fear of the unknown cook conflict through the storyline. A demonic visitor’s revelation of Lydia’s awful fate raises the stakes as Natasha reconsiders the toughest choice she ever made. As a horror fan, I enjoyed the subtle terror these elements added to the narrative. Great payoff followed great tension, but Houston remained true to the romance genre and provided readers with a happy ending. In a manner of speaking.

The Life Not Lived is marketed as erotic romance. It contains brief explicit content, including masturbation and f/f(demon) erotica. I viewed the erotica as neutral and a little gratuitous, not integral to the plot. It disappointed me that none of the erotica portrayed Natasha and Lydia together. Technically the “demon lover” contains an aspect of Lydia, but it was concealed to the point Natasha did not recognize her. In my opinion, an erotic romance featuring a character willing to seriously consider altering fate for a lost true love should contain the couple’s lovemaking.

The beautiful, flowing qualities of Houston’s storytelling do hit some awkward “bumps” at times. The plot lacked consistency concerning Natasha’s relationships with Lydia and with Andrew. At the beginning, Natasha describes Andrew as her college sweetheart, colleague, and friend turned faithless spouse. Later on, the narrative hints that Andrew’s extramarital affairs were condoned by Natasha, their own union platonic, and their divorce amicable.

The story also implied that Natasha’s interest in Lydia was more superficial while Lydia was truly in love with Natasha during their heyday, even though Natasha has never moved past her feelings for Lydia. It read like, from chapter to chapter, the author couldn’t decide who Natasha truly loved and who Natasha used. I normally enjoy the complexities related to sexually fluid characters. I think the author wanted to convey Natasha loved Andrew and Lydia, but this wasn’t addressed in a way I found credible.

Editorial problems included awkward word/phrase use and repetition. I’ve decided to only “count” technical issues if they are glaring and frequent enough to actively interfere with my reading enjoyment. Given this story’s size (approximately 7,000 words,) I felt too much error/awkwardness made it to the final copy. I’m unhappy saying that; Houston’s talent shines in this story, and a conscientious “polish” would have made all the difference.

An issue that might irk some readers is the low percentage of dialogue involved in the story’s word count. This worked, in my opinion; it increased the aura of isolation contributing to the story’s horror element. Since trends in popular fiction indicate preference for lots of dialogue, the silence might be an issue to some.

This story appealed to me. It has that “something” capable of engaging me through the read. I’m not blind to its faults, but the beautiful tone and voice combined with emotional subtlety and good horror elements outweigh its flaws.

I recommend The Life Not Lived to readers seeking a pleasant, entertaining quick adult fairy tale, keeping in mind fairy tales contain creepy moments.

Heat level: Erotic

Grade: C +

Review- The Garden House by Mia Cherish and Jacqueline Quaid

The Garden House
by Mia Cherish and Jacqueline Quaid
2006
Paranormal/ F/F
Extended Novella- 31K
Ebook

Buy it Amber Allure

Clancy Rosabel had no intention of following her sorority president’s order to steal flowers from Léonor Griffin’s exquisite courtyard in the Garden District. Everyone knew Léonor was the legendary Belle Madame, a vampiress as well-known for her seductive effect as her intolerance of “bad elements.” No indeed. Clancy would march right up to Lea’s courtyard and ask for the flowers instead!

The price of the flowers is a vampire’s kiss.

Lea Griffin found the innocent underdressed woman tugging at her garden gates appealing but she never imagined initiating Clancy into feminine sensuality and vampire love would leave her body and her fangs eager for so much more. Her feelings grow possessive as she seduces Clancy further into her own world. But she must be careful not to take more from Clancy than she can reasonably expect such a young mortal to provide.

Is Léonor ready to embrace Clancy fully and look forward to lasting love, or will she keep the girl as a pretty pet in her garden house?

I’m in awe. The Garden House is one of the most erotic and deeply passionate love stories I’ve read in a while. I didn’t want to let it go.

Clancy is a young, innocent college student who is pledging to a sorority and is told by the nasty bitch sorority leader who hates her, to steal flowers from Belle Madame’s garden. Having no fear, even though Belle Madame is a known vampire and a local legend, Clancy goes straight to her and asks directly if she may have some flowers.

Leonor (Belle Madame) finds Clancy’s manner intriguing and decides to help her but Clancy must offer something in return. Clancy, kind of curious, agrees to let Leonor kiss bite her. Leonor does so after sexually seducing Clancy though, giving Clancy a very erotic first time experience.

While this was supposed to be a one time deal, both Leonor and Clancy can’t stop thinking about each other, and after seeing each other for a while, Leonor invites Clancy to move into her garden house. There are problems though. Can they have a real, long term relationship though as Leonor is a vampire and Clancy is human? And then there’s that pesky age difference issue, which does come up for Leonor.

Oh what a sweet, delicious story this was. Right from the beginning I was seduced by the budding relationship between Leonor and Clancy. I’ll be honest; I do have a soft spot for the The Lover type stories in which an older, experienced person introduces a younger, innocent person into the world of erotic delights, especially between women.

This one was a cross between that and Lady Chatterley’s Lover in its essence and the way these two women relate to each other. They are so sensual together. And the vampire paranormal aspect mixed with old world, exotic New Orleans culture gave this story an almost ethereal, timeless feel to it.

Clancy has a very interesting mix of characteristics. She’s forthright and strong, maybe by the fact that she comes from old money and family and was orphaned at a young age, having to fend for herself emotionally. At the same time though, she’s sexually innocent, almost naive, and still a virgin although in college. She’s had a boyfriend and crushed on men but has never been with a woman. She finds herself totally enthralled by Leonor after their sexual encounter and can’t stay away, although she tries. And I liked her attitude towards sex with Leonor. All she knows is that it feels good to be sexual with Leonor and doesn’t really judge it nor is she shy about admitting that she likes it. I found that very refreshing.

Leonor is a very delicious character as well. She’s a centuries old vampire, but she only takes blood (killing them) from nasty people, keeping the streets of New Orleans free of criminals and such. She’s lost her husband and still grieves over his death many years later as she was deeply in love with him. Although she’s had some female paramours before, she’s never loved a woman until she meets Clancy. There’s just something different about Clancy that attracts Leonor to the point that she finds it curious that it’s a woman who makes her feel what she does, but she goes with it.

What I loved about the relationship between these two is that neither of them really question if their attraction is right or wrong. For both it’s a new experience to love a woman as intensely as they do and they don’t fight it, but relish in it. I also got off on that feeling that these two are in their own special little world that they’ve created. Their love had a cozy feeling of it being something unique only for them against the world.

They also express much tenderness. Much of their time together is spent cuddling, cooing, touching, exploring and being nurturing outside of their all consuming sexual passion for each other, which was very sweet. And there is that vulnerability that comes out as both women tentatively navigate what they mean to each other and how they will proceed in their relationship. It’s very soft and real.

This story is not without tension though, the kind of tension needed to compel the characters to interact outside of sex. I liked how the power dynamics changed while they get to know each other. Both characters do some growing, but they never morph into something they weren’t to begin with.

Leonor, although the seducer and the dominant one at first, starts to worry that Clancy will one day want a younger lover and leave her. She even suggests to Clancy to go out and be with others although it would pain her for that to happen. And Clancy, while being the innocent at first, starts pushing her boundaries to see what power she can exert in life. But ultimately they just love each other and are willing to do whatever to be together.

And I can’t give enough praise to the authors for not having these two be “fated” or pull the “mine” card that is so often the case in vampire paranormals and which annoys me to no end at this point. Clancy chooses to be with Leonor of her own free will and not because she’s been thralled by some vampiric voodoo.

There was only one minor niggling thing that was off for me in this story. In this vampire world, apparently, unless Leonor claims Clancy as family and turns her into a vampire, Clancy is open game for other members of Leonor’s vampire family to be used as a sexual pet. So Leonor wishes to make Clancy her daughter. That was a bit on the weird side due to the fact that Leonor is much older and there is that adult/child dynamic at times. I glossed over it by her being a vampire and that in that world, that’s the terminology used and not the actual relationship type. I guess when those vampires turn someone they become a son or daughter, but that wasn’t really explained, hence my feeling it weird.

That aside, The Garden House was one of my best reads in a while. I felt that Leonor and Clancy will have a long, beautiful, loving relationship together and that their love is profound and eternal. Many authors can write good, steamy, sexual romances. But I’ve found that very few can convey real, intense passion; that feeling when you just ache and burn for someone and would die without them. Mia Cherish and Jacqueline Quaid did just that for me. The Garden House is a whole hearted recommend. I think if I were to fall in love with a woman, this is how I’d imagine I’d want it to be.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- very graphic and steamy vanilla f/f. 69 and light anal.

Grade: B+ for basic writing and story, A+ for how this story made me feel.

Review- Restless Spirits by Christian Black

Restless Spirits
by Christian Black
2007
Contemporary/ Paranormal/ Lesbian/ Bi-female/ f/f/m Menage / Erotica
Short Story- 16K
Ebook

Buy it Amber Quill Press- $3.00

Rosemary Waters is alone, but not lonely. A successful professional woman, she believes her life is complicated enough without a lover. But just because she isn’t looking for love, doesn’t mean it’s not on the hunt for her. And Cupid’s quiver contains not one arrow, but two...

John Raynor, a wealthy Hollywood orthodontist-to-the-stars who looks like a young Sean Connery. He seems too good to be true, and Rosemary soon finds out why. There’s another woman in his life...Amanda. The fact that she’s been dead for five years, however, doesn’t stop Amanda from intruding on John and Rosemary’s most intimate moments.

Enter June Ameday, an artist who also happens to be a psychic specializing in “cleaning” haunted houses. Rosemary recruits June to help with her ghost problem, but soon finds that the fiery redhead stirs up passions in her she’d thought she’d forgotten.

Torn between conflicting desires, Rosemary is delighted when her lovers express a willingness to share. But their triangle is thrown out of balance by a fourth point—the ghostly Amanda. The restless spirit is jealous of their earthly passion and unwilling to let go of this world without a fight…

Restless Spirits is one of those surprisingly quick, juicy reads that even with some unbelievable bits, still managed to leave me with a good feeling.

Rosemary, although having a Masters degree in communications, is basically a baby sitter for a top box office actor who likes to get into trouble. One night trying to keep track of him, she gets the help of a very suave man, John, who just happens to be the actor’s orthodontist and knows what a pain he is. Although not wanting to date really, Rosemary finds herself attracted to John who asks her out.

Back at John’s place while John is servicing Rosemary orally, the bloody spirit of a woman appears, telling Rosemary to piss off and scaring the crap out of her. This being a major buzz kill to Rosemary, she decides to leave, agreeing to meet up with John the next day.

In the meantime, Rosemary calls up June, the sister of an ex-boyfriend and a psychic and June agrees to see what’s up with this ghost. While at John’s house trying to provoke the ghost, June psychically sees something freaky that John is hiding. It's something which pisses Rosemary off and she ends up going home with and into the arms of June, who is also a lesbian. Feeling bad about blowing John off without explanation, she gets with him again the next day but finds that she wants June as well. What to do? There’s still the matter of the pesky ghost whose rage at John being with Rosemary has manifested in trashing John’s house.

This is a rather cute threesome story in which I felt these three would actually manage to work it all out. I liked the fluidity of all the characters and how they’re all open to at least trying to be together.

Rosemary is basically heterosexual, but has had some past experiences with women, which she enjoyed. She’s really got the hots bad for John but is disappointed to find that he’s a pervy player until she meets up with him after spending a night with June and he proves that he’s changed and is not that person anymore.

June and Rosemary have a very intimate and sexually intense night together and this opens up Rosemary again to her feelings for women. What I like here is that while June is a lesbian and doesn’t really get what the turn on is about men, she wants to be with Rosemary enough to accept John and be open to him as well. And John, also wanting Rosemary, is accepting of June, and Rosemary’s need of her. What was good here was that while John is really turned on by the idea of both women having sex, his feelings take him beyond it just being sexual and into respecting them.

This is not a long story so that’s about it. The only weird thing here for me was that in just one evening with John, and then only one evening with June, Rosemary supposedly has these strong feelings for both of them like one would normally have after a few months together. That bit was the least believable part of this story.

Still though, it’s a positive ménage story and it does end with them all working out the ever changing dynamics of a ménage and that was kind of cool.

The ghost part of the story was a nice focal point for all them to come together and added some entertainment value, but wasn’t such a big part.

Restless spirits is a definite recommended read for those who like a light, but fairly realistically written, f/f/m ménage in which all parties really like each other and want to stay together.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- nicely written graphic vanilla f/f, female 69, f/f/m, and minor anal. Also a very minor m/m scene, not graphic.

Grade: B+