Book Thingo » Erotic romance

Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee

Kat — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee (Tanner Siblings, Book 1)

A friends to lovers story that doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights—or depths—that I prefer in my romances.

I love me a good friends-to-lovers story—it’s one of my favourite pairings. In theory, Jess Dee’s story in which the hero, Daniel, decides he’s had enough of being platonic friends with childhood friend, Amy, and executes a plan to change their relationship status…well, in theory it ticks the right boxes for me. Bonus for being an erotic romance, even though, as I may have mentioned a few times before, I’m so very picky with erotica.

Well…it kind of work and it didn’t. The fact that I’m a sucker for friends to lovers probably kept my interest longer than the book should have. Unfortunately, it just didn’t have enough emotional depth for me to care much about the characters.

Part of the problem was that too much of the characters are revealed in their POVs. There’s a lot of talking and explaining and reflection and…there’s no mystery. The characters have a genuine sweetness about them—and sometimes it works to the story’s detriment. The conflicts are flimsy and the characters don’t have to put very much on the line.

As an erotic romance, the sex is explicit but not acrobatic. And thank goodness for that! In fact, this book breaks the number one rule* for erotic romance because there’s no buttsecks to be found. (Unless I skimmed past it—but really, how would that even be possible?) For that alone, I’m glad I picked this book up. Yet in the absence of any real emotional resonance, the sex scenes at times felt disconnected from the story.

* This is a tongue in cheek rule, not an actual rule. Just so there are no misunderstandings…

Yay or nay?

This is a friends to lovers story that doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights—or depths—that I prefer in my romances. A tighter plot and a clearer sense of what’s at stake for the characters would have made all the difference.

This review is based on a print edition of this book.

Title: Photo Opportunity (excerpt)
Series: Tanner Siblings (Book 1)
Author: Jess Dee
Publisher: Samhain
C format: 9781605041513 (2009)
Ebook: 9781599989303 (2/5/2008)

Where you can buy this book

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A quickie with…Jess Dee

Perfect Formation by KB Alan

Decadence — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:00:19 +0000

Perfect Formation by KB Alan

Perfect Formation is KB Alan’s impressive debut e-book about a Will and Grace-type couple’s ménage with a bisexual dominant man.

Richard Daniels and Taryn Moss are walking home drunk and are immediately struck by a man who captures both their attention. Caleb Black thinks their drunken admiration and palpable intimacy are cute, so he decides to ask them both out when they’re sober. Sparks continue to fly when they learn that although Richard is gay, he likes having sex with Taryn, who is straight, and that Caleb likes topping both men and women.

Even though the relationship is somewhat affected by outside influences such as their families and friends, Alan skilfully balances each member’s relationship with the others. Taryn is uncomfortable with getting too close to her men in case the relationship fails or she loses Richard’s friendship. Richard is afraid that Taryn and Caleb may decide that they want a completely hetero relationship, since they can marry and have children in a socially acceptable and legally recognised union, while he is relegated to ‘friend’ status and is forced to witness the happiness they deny him. Caleb is taking things slowly to ensure that he doesn’t push his new lovers too far and that the pre-existing bond between them can expand to include him as well. If the three of them can maintain their relationship, then it promises to be more than any of them hoped for, with everyone’s needs being met.

Perfect Formation’s biggest appeal for me lies in its perfect balance between smut and affection. Caleb is the spark missing between Taryn and Richard, who in turn offer love and companionship and a sense of home while inspiring the same in him. The sex scenes are well written, with dominant Caleb taking charge firmly but gently, taking their limitations and needs into consideration and gauging their reactions to his orders. The BDSM is very light and while Caleb issues instructions as to what positions Richard and Taryn take and how or if they can touch, he doesn’t treat them as ‘slaves’ or inflict much pain, preferring to torture them with anticipation. He’s not the master outside the bedroom, but he’s still a bossy guy. Alan explores the combinations of players without giving the impression that any particular couple within this equilateral triangle is taking precedence over the remaining member (no pun intended), which is something I’m wary of in a ménage story.

Most of the story is light and fun but when they face a threat from outside their relationship, it takes on a more serious tone, and when they are forced to stay together for safety’s sake, they must evaluate what they want and need and if they are willing to let go of their baggage to get it. Even if it is a shameless plot device, the external threat effectively does its job in progressing the story and providing an opportunity for the characters to examine their issues together before their insecurities can fester.

Yay or Nay?

Perfect Formation ticks all the boxes for me. If you like a man in charge, this book is for you. If you like a ménage, this book is for you. If you like full, penetrative sex between men, this book is for you. If you enjoy erotica with a plot and genuine affectionate, romantic and sexual love between the main characters … I think you know what I’m going to say.

Perfect Formation is a 2009 Australian Romance Readers Award finalist for Favourite Erotic Romance.

Title: Perfect Formation (excerpt)
Author: KB Alan
ISBN: 9781419922022
Release date: March 11, 2009
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Format: Ebook

Where you can buy this book

The book is available from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave, and Amazon (Kindle).

Remastering Jerna by Ann Somerville

Kat — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:00:41 +0000

Remastering Jerna by Ann Somerville

A BDSM book for readers who don’t read BDSM. Yes, it was that good.

[Edited because my previous intro was highly susceptible to misunderstanding.]

Australian author Ann Somerville has, at times, been a controversial figure in some of the online romance communities I hang out in. I mention this up front because I get the feeling that a lot of readers will want to dismiss her work based on preconceived notions.

All I can say is that they’d be missing out on one of my most unexpected keepers of 2009. (And I’m not the only one who thinks so.)

Yes, the book starts a little shakily as Somerville sets up the protagonist, Jerna Setiq, a devoted husband, teacher and father of two, whose contented life is decimated when he’s falsely convicted of child perversion. Once the stage is set for Jerna’s emotional journey, however, Somerville gets it just about perfect.

In prison, Jerna endures a level of brutality that is magnified by the world in which Somerville places him. Serelto Prison is dehumanising; those in power are capricious. There’s no attempt at rehabilitation—prisoners are there to repay their social debts by working in the city. In order to be released, Jerna must pay his tariff of 30,000 riols, which means around 20 years in prison, given that most of the better paid positions aren’t open to child abusers.

Even worse, Jerna discovers how harsh life outside prison can be, and the only thing stopping him from committing suicide is the burden his debt would place on his family. Although I was braced for some shocking scenes, Somerville’s narrative isn’t gratuitous. Indeed, Jerna tries to block out much of the worst incidents, so we see the before and the after—not so much the acts themselves. Jerna’s psychological turmoil, his sense of helplessness and hopelessness, and his attempts to make sense of his situation were at once terrible and beautiful to read.

In despair, Jerna applies for a job at Winds of Paradise hotel, a high-end brothel ‘that catered to every legal sexual whim imaginable’ and one of the few residential positions open to prisoners. Although happily married, Jerna had previously been in a submissive relationship with another man, so he’s not easily shocked by the requirements of the job. Here Jerna finds the first bit of compassion in his new life.

I lay on my bed and worked hard to get my breathing under control. …I was a fully qualified whore now, and I made a silent apology to Tyrme. I’d have a lot apologies to make to her when—if ever—I saw her again, though I knew she’d forgive much greater sins.

…The important thing was today I had reduced my tariff by fifty riols (less the bloody interest), and that meant fifty riols fewer for my family to have to find if anything happened to me.

Despite the improved conditions, Jerna never manages to forget that he’s only 1 complaint away from being sent back to prison. The hotel’s rules are strict and customers’ needs come first. Jerna is not allowed to say ‘no’ to any request—a fact that Somerville quickly demonstrates. Jerna manages to skirt these obstacles and is able to build up a regular clientele, at least one of whom comes to truly care for him.

Pain as pleasure…

Are you wondering when the BDSM begins? Somerville takes her time setting up the most intense sexual and emotional scenes in this book, and I’m telling you now: it’s worth the wait.

Jerna quickly earns the respect of his co-workers, and soon he’s asked to participate in a one of the hotel’s monthly shows. Kare, one of the hotel’s owners and its chief hostess, asks for his submission and Jerna gives it to her in a spectacular way.

As someone who doesn’t understand the emotional impact of (what I consider to be) hardcore BDSM, Somerville’s use of the show to introduce a BDSM scene worked very well. There was a certain level of artifice which allowed me to accept the scene more easily. Jerna’s enjoyment also comes through clearly: ‘Theatrics, I knew, but a shiver of delicious fear went through me anyway.’

But it’s in the aftermath that I found Somerville’s writing most compelling.

…slowly, dimly, with sorrow, I realised it was over, the sweet agony had stopped, and the room had fallen silent save for the laboured sound of my breathing.

Somerville also provides a counterpoint in Zeila, the hotel doctor, who doesn’t understand the appeal of ‘this mistress and submission nonsense’ and can’t see past the physical pain it inflicts on Jerna.

…and pain as pain

Jerna’s performance invites the attention of one of the hotel’s most difficult clients. Jerna is told that Tolomi is competent but has not been satisfied with any of the hosts he’s been with. Their encounter came as a shock to me, having been lulled by the care Jerna had previously received as a submissive.

It was unpleasant and humiliating, and there were tears as much from rage as from pain in my eyes by the time he stopped.

…He did make me scream, but there was no pleasure in it for me. I could never lose myself in the pain, nor did it arouse me.

By the end of this scene, Somerville has cleverly set up 3 contrasting situations—humiliation at the hands of callous employers and guards, submission freely given, and ‘domination by numbers’—and their differences couldn’t be more obvious.

The master’s role

Somerville doesn’t stop there, however. When Jerna makes a grievous mistake and is punished as a result—it was either that or prison—he reaches breaking point, and his collapse is heartbreaking.

From this point on, Somerville shifts her focus slightly away from Jerna as a submissive and explores the role—’the craft’—of a master. It’s difficult to provide much more detail for this part of the story because it involves a spoiler I’m reluctant to reveal—yes, the romance bit. I’m not normally shy about giving out spoilers, but in this case I’m erring on the side of caution. (You can email me if you really want to know. But … do you really want to know? It’ll be worth it to read the book properly, I promise! And that’s from someone who usually reads the back of the book first.)

This is no BDSM-lite story. Jerna’s pain—and pleasure—feels real, his emotional responses even more so. But Somerville is a skilful guide. She builds on each scene, adding a little more pain and a little more emotion, inviting the reader to trust her so that some of the most challenging scenes become not only tolerable but deeply romantic.

And love in between

So my main problem with Remastering Jerna is the happy ending. First of all, this isn’t a conventional romance. Somerville does come up with an ending in which Jerna, his wife and his lover find happiness, but it’s suspiciously convenient and somewhat rushed. It would probably help not to think of Remastering Jerna as a romance because the plot structure and narrative style aren’t what you’d typically find in the genre.

Somerville’s prose is a little weak at the beginning and some of the dialogue feels stilted, though still better than many, many other books I’ve read, particularly in erotic romance. When exploring the role of the master Jerna is sometimes too didactic—but even then the author has an excuse because Jerna is a teacher.

Somerville makes up for it in the—dare I say it—climax of both the romance and Jerna’s sexual exploration with his lover. I held my breath at times, it was so glorious.

Yay or nay?

If, like me, you’re frustrated by the lack emotional depth in many BDSM romances, I’d strongly recommend Remastering Jerna. Forget about any ick factors—if this book doesn’t help you see past those, I’m not sure anything will.

Remastering Jerna’s plot and characters are carefully developed, and the book’s underpinning ideas of consent, submission, domination and, to some extent, love are explored from different perspectives, giving the story layers of meaning that I don’t feel I could fully appreciate from just the one read. This is definitely a keeper.

A review copy of Remastering Jerna was generously provided by the publisher, P.D. Publishing, an LGBT publishing house. The self-published sequel, Games & consequences, is available via Smashwords, with profits going to the Haitian Earthquake relief.

Title: Remastering Jerna (excerpt – PDF)
Author: Ann Somerville
ISBN: 9781933720661
Release date: August 2009
Publisher: P.D. Publishing
Format: C format

Where you can buy this book

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Sweet Seduction by Maya Banks

Decadence — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:00:10 +0000

Sweet Seduction by Maya Banks (Sweet Series, Book 3)

A blend of sympathetic characters, the heroine’s emotional journey and hot fantasy sex overcome the far-fetched plot in Maya Banks’ latest erotic romance.

The drama between Nathan Tucker and Julie Stanford stems from a Big Misunderstanding: he’s so in awe of her that he can barely get 2 words out in her presence and instead comes off as uninterested. Julie is a drama queen and doesn’t accept his apparent disinterest with good grace. Oh, no, this brassy chick makes a final attempt to get Nathan’s attention by throwing in a free blow job with his back massage before telling him that she is no longer offering him her services (those of a legitimate nature, at least) and avoiding him for a week out of sheer vindictiveness and petulance. After all, why shouldn’t he know what he’s missed and keep her from being the only frustrated one?

She doesn’t feel bad about violating her professional ethics or deliberately stirring Nathan up knowing she has no intention of letting things go further and decides to exorcise her Nathan demon with an anonymous threesome at The House (the private sex club run by Damon Roche, hero of the previous book in the series, Sweet Persuasion). But her sexual equivalent of a hissy fit works because when mutual friend Micah Hudson tells Nathan about Julie’s fantasy, he’s dying to get involved. For her own good, of course. After all, no other man is good enough. Except maybe, much to Nathan’s dismay, Micah, who knows his way around a ménage.

Put this way, the plot sounds pretty bloody ridiculous, but when I was reading, I found it easy to go along with the conflict created by Julie’s need for emotional and sexual release from her perceived unrequited lust for Nathan versus his superior male drive to save her from herself and get the upper hand or at least regain his equilibrium. I wanted to see them both get their comeuppance from the other because when they had sex, sparks flew, and I enjoy a romance with a bit of a combative edge and banter between the hero and heroine.

Another reason to accept the plot is that Julie was acting out from a sense of hurt pride, and over the course of her relationship with Nathan, she learns more about herself and her needs and grows up into someone ready for an intimate relationship rather than just a good time. Nathan needed a kick in the arse to see he was going to miss out on the woman he was attracted to, but I think Julie’s strategy of making a move on someone she believes isn’t interested and walking away before he can even say, ‘WTF?!’ was overkill. Sometimes I wasn’t convinced he would be strong enough to handle her shenanigans, but he proved to be the more mature of the two by wanting to talk about what’s going on instead of flying off the handle and plotting crazy schemes.

Although Nathan and Julie are very much the focus of this book, we’re also reunited with Faith and Gray as well as Serena and Damon. Without spoiling their stories too much, although their main issues were resolved in their books, neither couple had married by their books’ conclusions and there were a few things that needed to be settled before this could happen, which Banks accomplishes without stealing too much attention from her main characters.

Sweet Seduction also sees Micah progress from his origins as the man on the outside, who gets this close to the heroines, but never ends up with them, to a haunted hero. We learn more about his past and how much we never knew about him in an interesting enough way that I want to read his book and not just to see the odd man out find his HEA. We also see who his heroine will be and what they will have to overcome in the next book, but this was covered in a single chapter.

The vacuum left by Micah as a sidelined almost-hero is being filled by Cole, an attendant at The House who Julie says has the worst job because he prepares women for sex and is barely allowed a small taste of them. No doubt we’ll see more of him as The House features in all of the books so far.

Yay or nay?

You’ll enjoy the book if you don’t look too closely at the premise, which only seemed ridiculous to me after I’d finished the book. Banks whips up a light and frothy blend of sympathetic characters, the heroine’s emotional journey and hot fantasy sex that made a nice departure from my steady diet of paranormals and urban fantasy. I devoured Sweet Seduction in two nights.

Sweet Seduction was released in October and is published by Berkley Heat. The next book in the series, Sweet Temptation, is due for release in April 2010.

Title: Sweet Seduction (excerpt)
Series: Sweet Series (Book 3)
Author: Maya Banks
ISBN: 978-0425230695
Release date: October 6, 2009
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Format: B format

Where you can buy this book

Books in the Sweet series

Cold Front by Ann Somerville

Decadence — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:07:24 +0000

Cold Front by Ann Somerville (Pindone Files, Book 4)

Because who could resist that cover? Seriously.

When I was offered the chance to read an M/m romance by Australian author Ann Somerville, I scrolled through her website and the book with the shirtless man in tight black pants with his hands cuffed behind his back brought out my inner cover tart.

Then, when I read that it was along the lines of an M/m BDSM paranormal CSI, I was even more interested in the story because just one of those would have been enough to attract my attention. The book contains two prequel novellas, One Brief Encounter and A House is not a Home, followed by the novel Cold Front, which is the focus of this review.

One Brief Encounter

One Brief Encounter is told mostly from Dekan hon Cerimwe den Tsikeni’s point of view. Dek met Rensire hon Parmin den Vizinken in a bar while visiting Ren’s home region for police training and they had an immediate connection. Dek’s serious, military bearing is balanced by Ren’s cheekiness and Dek’s dominant nature allows the empath to leave behind his own headspace (which is often shared with the feelings of those around him) and recharge his emotional batteries. Ren has the confidence of knowing he is generally admired and having the advantage of seeing into others’ feelings, but Dek is tough from having lived through some pretty major personal and professional disasters and keeps himself in control because anything else is simply unacceptable to him. They are a good fit—Ren takes a more relaxed and easygoing view which contrasts well with Dek’s regimented stiffness.

After an incredible night together, they agree to meet up each year when training is held. Unfortunately, Dek is injured in a mission and misses their next rendezvous. He thinks it’s for the best because he thought about Ren too often anyway.

On his return to work, his supervisor orders him to show around a promising young empath/telekinetic who is interested in applying for a job in their team, and he is surprised to see Ren. The connection isn’t lost between them despite so much time apart, and Ren is forced to choose between following the direction of his career by applying for the job and exploring the connection between this hardened, haunted man, as regulations prohibit fraternisation between cops.

A House is not a Home

A House is not a Home is mainly dominated by Ren’s POV (point of view). He has joined Dek’s team and has become his partner, but struggles with behaving appropriately in public, particularly when, as an empath, he can sense how frequently and intensely Dek wants him. He is impressed by Dek’s performance as a Defence Force officer and gains understanding of Dek’s demons.

Today is the anniversary of Dek’s wife’s death and even though he’s a real bear with a sore paw, Ren won’t take no for an answer and insists on helping him find a way to handle his grief. When Dek relives his wife’s death, Ren uses his empathic talent to lessen the load of Dek’s suffering without diminishing his feelings for his wife.

After their first encounter, it’s clear that Ren finds more than just sexual satisfaction from being with Dek, as D/s sex offers a reprieve from the stress of his talent, but here we see how being with Ren can be good for Dek’s wellbeing. Their relationship has become more complementary and solidified my feeling that these men belong together.

Cold Front

But all this is background for Cold Front, which alternates between Dek’s and Ren’s POV. Two years later, they are secret lovers on a regular basis and still partners in the defence force. Their case is a serial killer mutilating impoverished young girls. The body of an empath was found nearby with no obvious cause of death, and Ren is sure that the two victims must be connected—and not just because they were found in the same vicinity—but their orders are to focus on the girl’s killer and the empath is swept under the rug.

This places strain on their relationship because Ren comes off as being rash and overzealous in his desperation to be heard, which discourages his superiors from listening to him, and he blames Dek for not backing him up, while Dek is able to see that no one will listen until they can present enough evidence linking the two cases, even if they’re technically not allowed to look outside the case their task force is assigned to.

Slow progress makes a worthy adversary

The writing, particularly in Cold Front, is very heavy on dialogue, which is effectively used to keep the flow of the investigation going and further the world building. The first person narrative is used to express either Ren’s or Dek’s thoughts or summarise slow points in the investigation to maintain pacing. And to be honest, that is needed. Progress on the case is frustratingly slow, but that’s appropriate for a serial killer worth a task force run by our heroes. This isn’t an episode of CSI where the murder is solved neatly within an hour and a single sample of trace or DNA leads directly to the killer’s door. This killer is smart and adept enough to cover their tracks better than most and provides a compelling challenge for the most dedicated and competent of detectives.

Even when they work out who the killer is, it’s not a simple capture and the stakes are very high. The pace suddenly picks up tremendously after all the waiting and I stayed up a lot longer than I should just to make sure everything ends well.

Lack of details provides clarity and focus

Even though the place names, units of measurement, police ranking system and beverages don’t give any frame of reference within the world, it’s nowhere near as disorienting as I expected because the story is very much character driven. It’s clear from the handling that Somerville doesn’t want to distract her readers with complicated world building, and this strategy meshes well with the typical male economy of language used in the first person narrative and made even more concise by their law enforcement backgrounds. She’s not selling the world—it’s about the connection between the two men first and foremost.

The lack of scene setup actually made the characters’ POVs more accessible for me. As an example, when I leave work in the evening, I’m much less likely to think about the pretty tree across the road and all the restaurants nearby than, “Shit, it’s cold out here!” And that’s what they do, too.

The switch between Dek’s and Ren’s POVs can be a bit confusing, because this is usually indicated by a scene change, but a scene change has other purposes as well, such as fast tracking to the next relevant event. The vast majority of the time, the scene change achieves both objectives at once, but for the other times it’s a bit jarring to think you’re reading from one person’s perspective only to find them referred to in the third person and realise that you’re actually reading as someone else.

Urban fantasy vs romantica

Even though the story is largely written as an urban fantasy, there are some definite elements of romance. Although the murder case is the vehicle for the story, the relationship between Dek and Ren actually is the story and their efforts in solving the case strongly affect their relationship.

On the other non-romancey hand, there were a few references to them both having sex with others with no other purpose than to cover up their illicit relationship and preserve some distance while they deny how much their relationship means to them. Those occasional references weren’t my favourite parts of the story, but that’s my issue and, having said that, it comes up very infrequently and there’s no mention of who those people are since they don’t play any role in the story.

But given Ren’s apparent lack of jealousy over these sexual partners and the women their colleagues keep throwing at Dek, it’s surprising that he resents Dek’s rapport with their superior, Hadin. It was inferred that Ren notices they share an adherence to rules and procedures to a far greater extent than he would and that may make him feel like the odd man out, but it feels strange that he seems to have no problem with Dek having sex with others but feels jealousy towards someone with whom Dek has a platonic relationship.

I also would have liked more sex scenes throughout the book and felt that a few opportunities were missed. The best example was after another victim is found. Ren and Dek cop verbal abuse at the wake and they return to Dek’s house for sex. I felt cheated by getting the 1950s fade to black after Dek gives Ren the order to kneel, before the new scene opens on a discussion of stained clothing and a sore arse. Somerville certainly hadn’t shied away from writing sex at other times in the story (thank god!) and given the lack of progress they were making on the case, I would have enjoyed the temporary departure as much as the men did.

Well, maybe not quite as much as they did.

Torture vs BDSM

This book contains both and Somerville takes great care to differentiate between the two. Ren compares the killer’s selfish pleasure in forcing pain on helpless girls and notes that it is a world away from what Dek does to him for their mutual pleasure. Ren knows that he is able to say no if Dek wants something more than he is willing to give and that a large part of Dek’s pleasure comes from his.

The killer enjoys inflicting pain on someone who cannot prevent it from happening and takes a strong interest in the amount of damage their victims can endure before death. And whenever a victim gives out, there’s always another one to take their place, whereas Dek asked Ren at the beginning of their first night together what his limits were and treated him as an individual while in his care.

While the killer targets young, underprivileged girls, who are arguably among society’s weaker members, Ren is actually bigger than Dek and is not only similarly trained in fighting techniques but also has the ability to kill with a single touch. By contrast, Ren is powerful enough to be able to say no and back it up if necessary.

Yay or nay?

Cold Front is definitely worth a read, although strict romance readers may not enjoy it as much if they don’t also enjoy forensics and police procedurals because this is a major part of the story and the romance may seem to take a backseat as they have to keep their relationship hidden at work. But even when they’re not in bed (or the shower), Dek and Ren make a very good team with complementary strengths and weaknesses and mutual respect. Their chemistry goes beyond sex and it made me want to see them together for the long haul.

You can purchase this book from Lulu, or download an electronic copy of the stories directly from the author’s website.

Title: Cold Front (excerpt)
Series: Pindone Files (Book 1)
Author: Ann Somerville
Release date: January 2006
Publisher: Self-published

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Dark Master by Tawny Taylor

Decadence — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:00:27 +0000

Dark Master by Tawny Taylor (Masters of Desire, Book 1)

I wanted to like Dark Master, but just couldn’t. It had all the ingredients—hot, dominant male vampire king needs a passionate human female to secure his power base. Lots of potential there, but even though I knew not to expect Vishous, I was hugely disappointed. And since the aspect of the book that I hated, hated, hated and felt disgusted by was something I think a halfway decent editor should have picked up on, I consider it my duty to warn people off this crappy book.

Regan Roslund was a spoiled rich girl who trusted the wrong financier with her inherited wealth and is suddenly left with no money, no assets and no skills, except for a little bondage store left by a black sheep relative, containing a necklace designed to select the next vampire queen, carelessly left on a display waiting to be tried on by poor unsuspecting subs.

Shadow Sorensen badly needs a queen because the vampire community is on the brink of civil war and having a human for his queen gives him a huge enough boost to his power that he cannot be challenged. When Regan puts on the necklace and meets with its approval, Shadow feels an awareness and goes off to claim his mate. He then manipulates Regan into agreeing to marriage and BDSM sex.

Regan was boring and had no real personality, but I guess that might be explained by having to stand on her own feet for the first time in her life, and I wasn’t attracted to Shadow at all. I found him flat and manipulative, and I thought Tawny Taylor used the special vampire power of being able to share souls during orgasm as a shortcut to an actual connection between the characters. On the very odd occasion that they work together instead of arguing, Taylor says that they make a good team, but I needed to be told because she didn’t show it in the story. Their only compatibility seemed to be in the bedroom.

Regan tried to keep running her business, even though it wasn’t bringing in money, partly to piss Shadow off, and partly because it was all she had left. With people trying to kill the new queen and leave Shadow weak, she should have been protected and stayed put, but no one explained it to her.

Call me crazy, but isn’t “queen” supposed to be a position of power and respect? In Dark Master, Shadow’s personal guards (and brothers) were not only allowed to see their new queen naked, but also to drag her around the castle. Maybe it’s because she’s human and inherently weaker than a vampire, but she was less a queen and more like just the king’s consort with a fancy title.

Where was the editor?

The second worst mistake the book makes is that it can’t make up its mind whether it’s going to have a plot. If it was simply a fuckfest for its own sake, fine, but throw in any semblance of a plot and I’ll expect a properly developed story. I’m just picky like that, especially when I’ve paid for the privilege of reading it. The sex scenes (with one very notable exception) were all right, but forgettable. I read Anita Blake and I’m complaining about the sex and lack of plot in Dark Master, so that’s really saying something.

The biggest mistake was how Shadow chose to punish Regan on one particular occasion. Shadow downplayed attempts on Regan’s life, so she has no idea how serious the situation is, but the castle is under threat from an insultingly obvious source (Taylor could learn how to handle villains better from Stephanie Laurens’s The Taste of Innocence). She’s also new to BDSM and disobeyed an implied order through ignorance (Taylor even italicised “implied”, so even she knew it wasn’t a REAL order), but the punishment escalated beyond anything she’d endured for a real order.

*** SPOILERS ***

Shadow put her in stocks while he had sex with a slave in the same room. I felt that was inappropriate for those reasons—it wasn’t a real order and he hadn’t even punished her like that for direct disobedience. Also, I thought the method of punishment was wrong because it seemed meant to punish her emotionally, but she had to put up with it because she wasn’t prepared to admit to this bully that she cared. Can’t imagine why.

So Regan’s heartbroken, but because she can’t fully see what’s happening from her position in the stocks, she paradoxically enjoys picturing herself in the slave’s role—a huge WTF (I don’t know how or why this scene wasn’t caught by the editor). She never safeworded and even though she cried “divorce” often enough in the past for far less, she shut up for this. Again, WTF?! I think it goes beyond submission to accept your husband doing someone else to teach you a lesson that he hadn’t made clear in the first place. I don’t know, maybe people in the lifestyle would say that she shouldn’t need an explanation because she had her orders, but there was NO CONTEXT for his chosen punishment and her doormat acceptance anywhere else in the book.

And if this wasn’t bad enough, Regan suffers the indignity of being unable to get away when the slave loses her balance in a state of post coital weakness and smooshes her no doubt fragrant arse in Regan’s face. I’m sorry, but proximity to another woman’s naked arse just doesn’t work for me. Not that I’m ever going to put that to the test.

*** END SPOILERS ***

Spoilerish things happen in the “story” leading to Shadow’s realisation that he failed Regan, but that punishment and his infidelity are never discussed, justified or even mentioned ever again.

They “fall in love” at the end, but I wasn’t convinced because I didn’t feel they connected, so it just seemed like a way to wind up the book.

Yay or Nay?

I’m all for cheap thrills, but given that this book was published in trade paperback format and ends up with a piss weak plot as a result of its refusal to commit to even having a plot, it’s neither cheap nor a thrill. Save your money for real toilet paper.

Where you can buy this book

Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Caine’s Reckoning by Sarah McCarty

Kat — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:22:54 +0000

Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty (Hell's Eight, Book 1)

Caine’s Reckoning has not been an easy book to find. First, Spice (Harlequin’s erotic line) isn’t published in Australia. Second, my husband had to scour bookstores all over San Francisco to find a copy, which he finally did in some obscure Borders Express store somewhere. Yay for husbands! I really wanted to love this book, and I can see why it’s generated so much buzz (aside from the fantabulous cover), but it fell a little short of my expectations.

Desi, the heroine, is forced into sexual servitude, and the only way Caine can save her is to marry her. I expected very dark, very intense sex scenes that would show how Desi deals with and is healed of the horrors she had to endure. Instead, I felt that her recovery was extremely rushed. While the sex scenes were very erotic and very well written, they didn’t have much emotional resonance. I didn’t understand her sexual choices at all, and at times I felt that she made them just to please Caine, rather than for herself.

In the middle part of the book, I was underwhelmed by some of the conflicts. I mean, Desi versus a rooster? I can see how her character was changing, but I wish it had been done in a less frivolous way. Or maybe written in a darker way. I expected tears and chills and, at the end, relief; instead, I got a reasonably enjoyable feel-good story with villains who were mere shadows against the very alpha, do-no-wrong hero and his mates.

Finally, I didn’t feel that the language in the book reflected its historical context, but I don’t really know much about American westerns, so I could be wrong.

Despite all this, Caine’s Reckoning is still a decent read, and it wouldn’t be a bad introduction to the romance genre. It’s the kind of book you might secretly read in high school and keep forever. Click here for an excerpt.

Note: This post was originally published on November 25, 2007.

Where you can buy this book