Review link- Bound by Steel by Kirsten Saell

Hey all, I posted my review of Kirsten's book Bound by Steel on my Madame Butterfly blog.

Of course I totally loved it. Kirsten wrote an incredibly hot, passionate and loving girl-on-girl with a boy story and I'm not just saying that because she's a friend. I really loved it, even if I did think there was way too much sex.

I think it's her best book yet.

Review- Fine Flickering Hungers by Alessia Brio

Fine Flickering Hungers
By Alessia Brio
Feb. 2007
Erotica/ Straight/GBLT
Category
Anthology
E-book
194 pgs. pdf-$6.00

Buy it Phaze, Amazon, Fictionwise

A finalist in the first annual Fruity Awards, and 2007 EPPIE Finalist for Best Erotica, "fine flickering hungers" is a collection of eight erotic short stories with accompanying poetry. Sexual scenarios vary from hetero- to mono- to homosexual to group, with the only common thread being that they seldom (if ever) take place in a bed.

Fine Flickering Hungers is a nice eclectic mix of short stories that contains many juicy and highly erotic fantasies. There’s a bit of something for everyone in here. However, what I mainly loved was the fair amount of girl-on-girl content, especially of the “first time experience” nature. Outside of that, I enjoyed each story for what it was.

This book also includes very short poems between each story, which I thought was an interesting touch and liked most of them. And I say that as someone who is not really into poetry.

The only negative I felt about this book was that some of the stories ended a bit too abruptly for me. And one in particular got me all worked up with no where to go. None of the characters are fulfilled in that story, but I’ll talk about that later.

A little blurb about each story:

Wetter Has Never Been Better: This was one of the best stories in this book. It’s about a young advertising woman who goes to Costa Rica to get some inspiration for an ad campaign for the Costa Rican tourist office, which wants people to come during the rainy season. While there, she ends up in all kinds of sexual situations as when it rains, everyone becomes horny. I just loved the whole concept of it and that a natural element, especially rain, causes everyone to get hot and bothered. m/f, m/f/f, f/f.

Topping Love: This story included some of the characters from Wetter Has Never Been Better, but went off in a different direction. This is about a sex expert/therapist who has become asexual and has really intellectualized sex. He allows his wife to get her needs taken care of with others and she goes with both men and women. When his brother, wife, and her best friend get together for an evening, it’s all talk, talk. The therapist decides to make pizzas having everyone put toppings on according to meanings he has put to those toppings. It boils down to an analogy of pizza toppings with what we desire in a mate/ relationship.

This story was a bit confusing to me and it was very philosophical with lots of discussing and proselytizing about the nature of love and sex. There was no actual sex in this story though. Meh, it wasn’t my cuppa, but others might like this one.

It’s All About Customer Service: Oh, I liked this one. A woman calls a furnace repair man to fix her furnace and you can guess what happens. This one is a nice little hot erotic fantasy. Doing it with the repair guy? Yumm… m/f

Jake: This is about a woman who has to leave her lover to go on a business trip, but worries about him because he seemed ill when she left. She rushes home, all tense, worried and excited to finally have sex with him again, only to find him lying in the same position. OK, seriously, this was hilarious. Very different and creative, although there was no real sex in this story, just implied sex. f/?

Listen to Me: This is a first person story of a woman seducing another in a single night. It had the feeling of two strangers who’ve agreed to try it and there was a slight bit of BDSM feeling to it. I loved this story and thought it really steamy right up until it ended abruptly. Both characters are getting worked up; the D is leading by bringing the s to the brink many times and stopping, and then, THE END. No orgasmic finish, nothing. Just a third party male is suddenly at the door. So, this one was incredibly frustrating for me. Alessia, please, at least let the characters get off if they’ve gotten all steamed up. Other than that, this was one really hot story. f/f

Timeless: OK, this story went right over my head. It’s about a couple, in a hotel room, who aren’t supposed to be together, or they’re together illicitly? I don’t know really. Somehow they are from another time and there’s a sword involved. Seriously, this one was too poetic for my plain old brain and I just didn’t get it. Once again though, others out there might find it very intriguing. No graphic sex in this one either. m/f

The Second Person: A story written in, you guessed it, the second person. This one was really hot. A guy on a business trip jerks off all over the place in his hotel room thinking about a woman who is also at the meetings. She kind of likes him though, especially after he defends her against the office a-hole. Just by chance, ahem, they’re both going to the airport after the last meeting. So they go together stopping at her house along the way, where she shows just how much she likes him. This was very juicy and erotic and the second person writing didn’t bother me at all. m/f.

Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun: A short, cute story of a woman who hates Halloween, but gets seduced by a ghost on Halloween night. Mostly she’s ordered to masturbate by it. A very nice, very hot story. f/ghost

Hallowing Eve: Two girl friends spend a weekend in a cabin and get it on with each other for the first time. This is a very spicy, first time girl-girl experience and it was nicely and realistically written. f/f

Under Cover Angel: A female detective hired by a woman to catch her husband in the act, finds out the woman is the real cheat and she meets with the husband. This is an interesting fantasy, however, it was written a bit oddly. I was a bit distracted by how quickly the husband is into the detective, but that’s fantasy for ya. Still, it was an interesting story. m/f

It’s Just Sex: This was one very salacious and slightly humours story. A priest is tired of hearing boring confessions day in and day out and hires a company specializing in fulfilling sexual fantasies to have someone come in and confess something really hot and juicy. And he gets his money’s worth. I love the whole irreverence in this story and there’s an unexpected twist at the end. The poem- Surrogate Sin, just before this story is hilarious. Very creative and entertaining. M, f, mutual masturbation.

Memento: is a very short story that is a continuation or epilogue of It’s Just Sex. The good Father is brought a memento of his fantasy in the form of a high heel with a message written on it. Meh, it’s not really a story actually. So I can’t comment on it as such. If you have a shoe fetish though, this little ditty might get you going. m/shoe.

Boiling Point: Oh this one was hot, hot, hot. Two girl friends, both married, have been sexually fantasizing about each other for a long time but have never talked about it. It comes to a head when they disagree on the outcome of a movie. The friend who mainly does the following and not leading in the relationship, decides to take matters into her own hands and finally pushes the envelope, forcing the other friend to acknowledge her feelings. The other friend is very reluctant though and fights her desires even though they have a really hot time together and the story is left at that. Nice, graphic and highly erotic girl-on-girl sex in this story. f/f

Say it With a Strap-On: This is a continuation of Boiling Point. The girls haven’t really been speaking to each other since that one night and the one who initiated the whole thing is just wracked with pain over not being able to be with the other one. When the reluctant one calls her up for an evening together, things come further to a head in their relationship. Once again, very nicely written and there’s a satisfying HFN outcome. The angst and feelings that would come up in such a situation were very nicely and realistically written and again, there was some very steamy sex. These last two stories were my favorites. f/f- strap-on use.

While Alessia Brio’s style of writing seemed to fluctuate between very gritty and poetic, which kind of distracted me at times, I really enjoyed how she portrayed many of her characters and most of the stories/ fantasies were very creative, different and engaging.

Sex Grade: Orgasmic. toys, strap-on, f/f, m/f, m/f/f, hint of m/m, masturbation.

Grade: between B+and A-

Bound By Steel - Excerpt and contest.

In honor of the release of my third Samhain book, Bound by Steel, I'm holding a little contest. Up for grabs is a copy of my loverly book there===>

As some of you might be aware, today also marks the occasion of the Canadian federal election. Since there's really nothing less evocative of politics than dirty books, and since I am a sucker for the lol-speak, I'm asking for your best (that is, most bizarrely spelled, syntax-impaired, grammar-challenged) lolcat-style Canadian political campaign slogans. Extra points for every lame Canuck stereotype (beer, hockey, "eh", etc) you manage to include.

To assist those fortunate souls unfamiliar with the panoply of Canadian political pomposity, the candidates and their individual weirdnesses are as follows:

Liberal leader Stephane Dion, talks with the exact same mannerisms and inflection as my great aunt Lorette

NDP leader Jack Layton, has the front teeth of a bunny-rabbit. Also, a mustache. I just don't trust a straight guy with a mustache...

Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, evil overlord extraordinaire

Green Party leader Elizabeth May, crazy cat lady

Conservative leader and incumbent PM Stephen Harper, the quintessential Blue Meanie

Now I know, Ms. May just screams potential for lolcat goodness, but please, do not neglect the rest of this motley crew. Gimme some insanity. Do your worst.

And once you're done, to cleanse your palate, read this blammo, girl-on-girl excerpt:

Scowling at the blank leather surface, Kaela hammered her bandaged fists into it, harder and faster. A patch of sweat plastered her shirt to the center of her back, and tendrils of her hair had escaped her braid to stick to her face. Her breasts jiggled enticingly with every blow, her nipples poking against the thin linen of her borrowed shirt.

Lianon dragged her gaze from them, and refocused her attention on the motion of Kaela’s arms. "From the shoulder," she instructed. "Put your whole body into it."

Another few punches, and Kaela sagged against the sparring form, panting. "Enough, Lianon," she gasped with a weary smile. "I’m tired."

"Are you?" Lianon asked. Her belly coiled at the sight of the other woman’s arms wrapped around the form, her breasts pressed against it, imagining them pressed like that against Gil’s chest. "How tired?"

Hearing the change in her voice, Kaela aimed a surprised glance at her, laughing giddily. "Lianon? Lianon, it’s the middle of the afternoon!"

Lianon grinned, remembering a lazy morning spent abed exploring Kaela’s deliciously curvy body, before chores had forced them to rise. "I know what time it is. Come here."

Kaela’s cheeks filled with color, but her eyes were suddenly all heat. She straightened, her smile evaporating as she stepped into Lianon’s waiting arms.

Their lips met, parted. Tongues dueled and danced as an already familiar need leapt between them. Lianon plundered deep into the moist heat of Kaela’s mouth, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. She wrapped her arms tight around the other woman, reveling in the feel of Kaela’s heavy breasts pressing against her own smaller ones.

Stumbling a little, she walked Kaela backward toward the wall and pushed her up against it. Her hands slid down to cup Kaela’s ass, so gorgeously outlined in Gil’s trousers. Dipping low, her fingers brushed against the seam that covered Kaela’s sex. She was rewarded by a sigh of sweet breath into her mouth.

Tearing her lips away from Kaela’s, Lianon kissed a path across her cheek to her ear, then began a slow, torturous descent down the side of her neck. "God, you’re so fucking beautiful," she whispered, echoing words Gil had said to her so often the last six months. This body, these curves, this woman in her arms felt like coming home. Like bread and wine and a kindling hearth after a long day of toil. Reaching down with one hand, she freed two buttons at the waist of Kaela’s trousers and slipped her hand inside.

Swollen flesh slicked with lust greeted her questing fingers. Sucking the skin at Kaela’s shoulder, Lianon found the rigid nub of her clit and flicked her fingertip across it.

"Ah, Lianon…" Kaela gasped, her bandaged hands buried clumsily in Lianon’s hair, guiding her head down to her breasts. Through the linen of Kaela’s shirt, Lianon took a pebbled nipple into her mouth, suckling delicately before moving to its twin. Her fingers slid further into Kaela’s slit, circling her opening. Slowly, carefully, she pushed one finger inside. Paused as the other woman’s inner muscles accustomed themselves to the invasion. Slid a little deeper.

"Lianon?" A thread of worry had woven into the arousal in Kaela’s voice.

Lianon lifted her head, caught Kaela’s gaze and held it. Saw the uncertainty there. She kept her finger where it was, and drew slow circles around Kaela’s clit with her thumb. "Do you trust me?" she whispered.

Forget the candidates, I vote for Lianon!


Purchase Bound by Steel here, or read another steamy excerpt here.

ETA: contest deadline is Friday, Oct 17, winner announced Saturday.

Review- The Interview by Kira Chase

The Interview
by Kira Chase
Jan 15, 2008
Lesbian contemporary romance
Novella-90 pages
E-book
$3.99

Buy it eXstasy books

Best selling author Shayla Bolton is used to having any woman she wants, but is also very protective of those she cares for. When she spots reporter Rae Wilcox at an awards ceremony, she offers Rae an exclusive interview in order to get to know her better. Rae confesses that her job is on the line and this interview could seal her career as a reporter. Shayla takes her under her wing and helps her with her insecurities, but what Shayla doesn't expect is to fall in love.

Rae accidentally learns of a secret from Shayla's past, but Shayla doesn't believe it was an accident. Shayla is torn between protecting the secret and her love for Rae whom she believes may expose the secret in the interview.

This is the second book of Kira Chase’s that I’ve read and although I didn’t like story Destiny too much, I really enjoyed her voice, so I wanted to read some more of her work. The Interview is a very sweet and satisfying love story that didn’t disappoint me on any level. In fact, it left me feeling warm and fuzzy all over and wishing to read more of Rae and Shayla’s story.

What I loved about this story is that Kira Chase managed to really convey all of those feelings of excitement and joy that that happens when falling in love as well as all the insecurities that come up until really getting to know each other. It was very real and well written. The romance between these two women develops very quickly as Rae moves in with Shayla on the first day of meeting. However, in this story, it felt good and right for these two to do that. You really get the feeling that these two are meant for each other.

Rae is a rather insecure young woman who has fantasized about Shayla for quite a while. She can’t believe that this gorgeous, famous woman is attracted to her and wants her, but she has such strong feelings for her that she goes for it even though she fears Shayla might be using her until the interview she is doing is over.

Shayla is a very warm, mature woman of 40, who has been carrying a painful burden for years, fiercely keeping it a secret from the world. I totally fell in love with her as a character.

While the tabloids have portrayed her as a player, she’s not really like that. But she hasn’t allowed her heart to open to anyone for years, either. When she sees Rae at an awards ceremony, she’s immediately attracted and gets Rae into her life. Right from the beginning she treats Rae in a loving, caring, but not motherly, manner and doesn’t waver from expressing her love for her until there is a misunderstanding.

Oh yeah, the misunderstanding. The foil in many a romance. Here it worked for me because it resolves itself quickly without dragging out the pain for the characters or me, the reader, and even adds just enough tension to keep the story from heading into saccharin sweet territory.

There’s really nothing bad I can say about this story. The Interview is a straight up tender and loving romance with a definite HEA and was well worth reading. I'll definitely be checking out some more of Ms. Chase's work.

Sex rating: Wet panties. f/f. Hot, loving and fairly graphic vanilla sex. Dildo use.

Grade: B+

Review- A Whole New World by Anna Fallon

A Whole New World

by Anna Fallon
Jan 2007
Erotic Fantasy
E-book
Novella- 44 pages.
$3.00

Buy it Phaze, Fictionwise

Elisia Moore is opposed to her controlling husband dabbling in the darkarts. Although ready to take her life back into her own hands, Elisia cannot believe the adventure she is about to be thrown into.
Taken to the realm of the warrior where her every sexual fantasy can be catered for, Elisia ponders over her happiness and if there is indeed any life left for her in the earth realm.

Faced with the choice of sexual bliss with warrior Ramala and Mistress Deelilah will Elisia return home or stay to enjoy this whole new world.

More often than not, the offering of f/f content in e-book stories is totally lacking for me, in content and or writing, and I have to abandon a story. What doesn’t happen very often is starting a book and thinking, “Oh no, here we go again, a lame, poorly written story with nothing but sex” but then unexpectedly finding a sweet little gem. A Whole New World is just one of those diamonds in the rough, which totally surprised me, turned me on, and restored my faith that a nice story with f/f can be written.

Elisia, the heroine, is saved from her husband who turned himself into a monster, by Ramala, a warrior from the Inner Realm where souls go after earth and whose job is to save the Earth Realm from evil. Not only does he save her, he takes care of her afterwards by giving her the most intense sexual experience of her life. And because she survives it, she is considered to be "The One," his life mate and the person who will reign with him as leaders in the Inner Realm.

She wakes up from this sexual experience in the Inner Realm and meets Deelilah, a domme who is Ramala’s master and sexual teacher. Deelilah is also under the thumb of Marin, a nasty ass dude who roughly abuses her sexually, promising to let her go back to the Earth Realm to see her babies if she does his nasty bidding.

Marin needs Elisia's husband's potion book from the Earth Realm in order to control both the Inner and Earth Realms. So Deelilah has to convince Elisia to choose coming back to the Inner Realm with the book. The question is, can Ramala and Deelilah convince Elisia to choose the Inner Realm with their sexual prowess and love for her?

A Whole New World is a very short and sweet story even though the ending was very abrupt, leaving things open ended. Still, Anna Fallon managed to create and explain, without info dumping, an interesting fantasy world, as well as writing some interesting and complex characters.

Elisia, was a domme who tried to be a sub with her husband but was fed up with being his slave. She’s a very independent and open woman who really feels for Ramala and is very attracted to Deelilah, but also wants to find herself after a bad marriage.

Ramala is a very interesting combo. He’s definitely an alpha warrior, but he’s been trained by Mistress Deelilah to sexually please a woman and likes being her sub and obeying her. I mean really, who cannot fall in love with a strong dude whose priority is serving and pleasuring his woman sexually and with love. On top of that, he's philosophical. My inner new age hippy chick lit up like a Christmas tree as he ponders that there must be some cosmic meaning to his meeting "The One." He’s totally in love with Elisia and is ready to be her mate. He’s the perfect man.

Then there is Deelilah. Oooh… she’s a domme always dressed in leather, and is very caring and conscientious. She sacrifices never seeing her babies again by playing the evil Marin by allowing him to abuse her so she can destroy him in the end. She’s another interesting combo. While she’s a strong domme who orders Ramala around, when she seduces Elisia, who is totally open and attracted to Deelilah, she’s very gentle but firm with her, understanding that she’s a newbie who has never been with a woman before.

My only issue with this story, other than the abrupt ending, is that some of the euphemisms for genitals and the descriptive language for bodily fluids were a bit off-putting and odd sometimes. Words like tunnel for vagina, globes for ass cheeks, knob for cock and dripping pussy and so on, are just a wee bit too much for me and took me from the story sometimes.

Other than that, I loved the characters, fantasy world and general story telling, which left me with a nice warm feeling. I wish there were more stories like it out there. Even more so, I wished this was a longer story and that it was more developed as it had a lot of potential to be a good novel.

Sex rating: Orgasmic. m/f, BDSM tone, one very sweet, hot, juicy f/f first time deflowering scene.

Grade: B

Review: Servicing Lady Tremayne by Emma Wildes

Servicing Lady Tremayne
by Emma Wildes
2006
Erotic Historical
Novella- 30 pages
E-Book

Buy it Phaze
$3.00

Trying to maintain a pristine reputation isn't easy, especially when Lady Daphne Tremayne has a lustful secret longing for her doctor. Seducing a respectable physician is not something a lady would normally do but then again, desperate times make for inventive measures.

Being summoned to the home of his alluring patient, Thomas Blake cannot quite believe what it is exactly she wishes him to cure. Since he has always been deeply attracted to the beauteous Daphne, he has no objections to ministering to her desires but the lady in question only wants his sexual services nothing more. Or so she says but just maybe he can change her mind.

Forbidden passion and an ugly obsession make two lovers tear the down the barriers of social status and find that physical love just might not be enough after all.

This is a very short story really and I’m going to say not really worth the money or the time to read it. I really liked Emma Wildes’ The Arrangement and was hoping this story would be something of the same quality, but it was rather disappointing.

On story telling only, it was OK, but not great. It starts out nicely with the widow Lady Tremayne feigning malaise to get the good looking Dr. Thomas Blake to her bedside in order to proposition him into discreetly servicing her sexually. A commitment free arrangement as she has no intentions of marrying again. Of course, since he’s been secretly lusting after her and the lady is the most beautiful woman desired by all, he has no problem agreeing. This part of the story was fine, written very nicely and it did hook me in.

Where it starts to go a bit off for me is when Thomas decides that impregnating her would be a good way to “get” her. Now, it’s clear that she’s got the hots for him and she’s falling in love with him. And she’s not adverse to the idea of marrying him even though she’s of a much higher station then he in society. He is, in general, an upstanding kind of guy. But what is that, really? Even he thinks he’s an ass. “I might impregnate her, he thought traitorously.”

Next, he takes her to a brothel without letting her know what kind of place she’s in to be serviced, for his convenience and turn-on mainly, by several of the prostitutes there who have told him that they all get each other off when it’s slow. This, even though he has broached the idea of some kinky stuff with the Lady and she pretty much says she’s not interested.

While it’s clear that these two have the hots for each other and they are falling in love, what’s with all the trickery on his part? It was unnecessary as it’s clear these two are meant to be together and have a HEA. It was off-putting.

The writing itself was a bit lazy to me as well with much of the dialogue feeling stilted and unnatural with more telling and less showing of what the characters are feeling. But this is a really short story, so I don’t expect too much on that front and am willing to forgive a lot if the story itself is appealing.

Since this is a blog for the purpose of promoting quality f/f, f/f/m content in books, I will say that the f/f content in this story was solely for the male POV. While the prostitutes do enjoy women, and the Lady responds physically getting off of course, she feels no emotional involvement as she states later on and it’s clear she could have skipped that experience altogether. If the Lady would have said that she had such fantasies when Thomas asked, it would have had a whole different feel to me. As it was, it felt that that scene was thrown in there just to add some kink to the story. So this isn’t a story I can recommend for readers who would buy this book for the f/f, f/f/m content.

Sex content: Damp panties. m/f, f/f/f/f- male watching.

Grade: D+

My review of The Arrangement

Review: Love Me by Kelly Jamieson

This review thing, how hard can it be?

Well, it ain't that much easier than writing a book, to tell you the truth. But I'm giving it a shot. Be gentle, it's my first time.

Love Me by Kelly Jamieson
Available now from Samhain
Short Story-$2.50

How far does she have to go to get his attention? Another girl’s arms?

Melina Wenham is worried and frustrated. Lately, her boyfriend of six months seems to have lost interest in her. Yes, she knows he’s stressed about his big project at work, but jeez, it seems like he’d rather go solo than have sex with her. Sexy lingerie, a Brazilian…nothing seems to get his attention.

Gavin’s frustrated too. He’s under enough pressure at work, without feeling more from Melina every time he gets home.

Another night, another party, and Gavin is off talking to the boys. Feeling ignored yet again, Melina confides her troubles to an acquaintance, Abby, who suggests shaking him up by flirting with another guy. Hmm. Not a bad idea, except there are no flirt-worthy guys at this party.

Then Abby suggests a different tack—flirt with her.

Could a little girl-on-girl tango be the match that reignites romance with Gavin? There’s only one way to find out…

Warning: Hot girl on girl scene!

It will likely come as no surprise to you all that I bought this book strictly for the girl-on-girl action. And because this is a Samhain book, I was fairly confident the story wouldn't devolve into some stupid, porny, f/m/f, male fantasy (which, on examination of the blurb was a definite possibility), and figured it would at the very least be good for some one-handed reading. I'm glad to say, for a debut effort--and a short story at that--it surpassed my expectations.

The fact that this is the author's first release did temper my reaction to those little nitpicks that usually bother me--the odd redundancy, repetitive words, and the occasional feeling that what the author could have achieved with a deft brushstroke was instead applied with a sledgehammer. Most of those issues are editorial ones, however, and thus not to be laid solely on the doorstep of the author.

The heroine, Melina, was alternately sympathetic and annoying. Okay, mostly annoying. She knows her boyfriend Gavin is working on a stressful project at work, one that could make or break his career, but she frequently obsesses on how neglected she's feeling. Granted, when your man comes home late every night, leaves early every morning and acts like he'd rather jack off than take what you're throwing at him, that can't help but hurt a girl's self esteem. Luckily, we're in Gavin's head enough to know he's not a total ass, just your typical guy who does his best at work, beats himself up over his few failings, and maybe isn't the best communicator in the universe.

Things come to a head at a housewarming party for Kylie and Duncan, Gavin and Melina's BCFs (best couple friends). Kylie's cousin Abby is there--a player, if ever there was one--and she suggests Melina flirt with her to pique Gavin's jealousy and get him interested again. As she and Abby put on a subtle display on the sofa, Melina doesn't expect to be so turned on by flirting with another woman. And when Gavin fails to fall for the ploy and Abby wants to take things further, Melina is so aroused she succumbs to her urge to explore this new experience.

This is where things could have gone sour for me. It could have so easily become yet another "two hot chicks seein' to mah manly needs!" kind of story, and I have to say the author came through beautifully for me. The girl on girl is exactly that. It's all about Melina and her willingness to explore her desires. And even though Gavin is there for much of it, he's believably conflicted--yeah, sure, he's got a hard-on like a steel girder, but he's also kinda freaking that maybe his girlfriend secretly wants to bat for the home team.

And if this story isn't simply a male-centric, two-chick fantasy, it isn't the tale of a lesbian in straight girl's clothing, either. Melina embarks on this adventure as a straight woman, and that's what she is when it comes to a close. And the fact that the adventure fails to magically cure all that ails her and Gavin is refreshingly unexpected. No, it's gonna take more than a three-way to fix their relationship--she needs to grow up and stop acting like a spoiled princess, and he needs to start talking about the shit that's bugging him.

All in all, this was a very nice story, one that hits on many straight women's fantasies of making love with another woman. It doesn't get political or preachy or have a sexual orientation agenda. It's unapologetically sexy, and the f/f scenes--both the flirtation and the actual sex--were wonderfully nuanced and moving. I believed that Gavin and Melina really love each other, but at the same time, I never felt that Abby was being callously used. The scenes between Melina and Gavin afterward were equally intense--I was emotionally invested in their romance by then, and the payoff was pretty damn hot.

The sex, both f/f and m/f, was mostly vanilla, but no less scorching for that. A solid B for an author I'll definitely try again.