A Place for Romance: Paranormal | Fantasy | Futuristic | Contemporary | Historical | Suspense | & Asian Dramas

4.24.2014

Scent of Salvation (Chronicles of Eorthe #1)

If he took his time maybe he'd remember how to do this right.


Scent of Salvation
Annie Nicholas
Chronicles of Eorthe, book one
ebook, 391 pages
Published July 30th 2013 by Samhain Publishing
ISBN 9781619217485

Love blooms across species, culture, and time.

Stranded in another dimension, on a primitive version of Earth, Dr. Susan Barlow needs to find a way to survive. There’s no electricity, no cities, and to her shock, no humans. Instead, she faces a population of werewolves, vampires and incubi. The people are vicious but she must find her place among them. And live.

An illness is killing Sorin’s pack. As alpha it’s his responsibility to save them, but it’s a battle this warrior doesn’t know how to fight. Then a blue light in the sky brings a creature he’s never seen. She calls herself human, but to him she smells like hope.

Sorin offers Susan a safe haven in return for a cure, but she’s not that kind of a doctor. She’s a doctor of physics, not a physician. Yet as they search for a cure to save a dying people, they find something special—each other.

But even with Sorin’s protection, Susan can’t help but wonder how long she can survive in a world without humans…

Warning: Feral shifters, power-hungry vampires, and a sole human female suffering culture shock.


"Today seemed like the perfect day to burn bridges."

All Susan needed was the funding to see if her dream could actually become reality. All Technocon needed was a tax write off. They didn't expect her to actually be capable of creating a door to other dimensions. But she proved herself. And now, her biggest fear, seeing the military take control of her life's work, is staring back at her.

What's a girl to do but blow it all up?...And inadvertently get sucked into its portal.. wherein getting dropped into a world raging with shifters, vampires, and an incubi or two.

There, Susan is met by Sorin, an alpha wolf shifter of the Apisi pack, and one of his omegas. He believes she was sent from his goddess, convinced her sudden appearance and his great need for a miracle to save his people is no coincidence. 

She flees him and ends up crossing into the neighboring pack’s territory where she is met by Kele, a female shifter, daughter of her pack alphas, and her guards. Susan is human and bears no scent marking her. When Sorin attempts to take her back, taking him across boundaries, Kele’s guardians attack and the fight leaves Sorin unconscious.

Kele makes the decision to bring both Susan and Sorin back to her parents, and urges Ahote, the leader of her guard, to mark Susan to keep the other males away. A mark given by rubbing her wrist against his cheek. That doesn't prevent Kele's mother from bitch slappin' Susan, though. As much as the woman tries to emulate the others and follow pack protocol, she can't help but screw it up.

When Sorin escapes the Payami pack, he takes Susan with him. And it's not entirely against her will. She could have gone with Benic, a nefarious vampire with one too many plots at work in his favor, but Sorin took that choice away from her. Honestly, each and every character has their own villainous moment.

Sorin forces Kele to stay with him, preventing any chance she has at going back through the shaky, here-again-gone-again portal. Hey, the guy's desperate. His pack is dying from a viral infection, one by one. Without her science, he'll lose everything.

Benic becomes convinced that humans, which don't exist in this world, are the ancestors of their kinds. And, in an attempt to prove his theory, infects Susan with his blood. Unfortunately, by then, Susan and Sorin have fallen in love and, unbeknownst to Benic, Susan has taken Sorin's mating bite. So, she'd already been infected with the shifter virus by the time he put his potions to work. If she would have changed without Benic's involvement is anybody's guess.

Kele was probably my favorite of the cast. As the daughter of the alpha pair, she was expected to be an alpha herself. But she lacks the ability to shift, leaving her somewhere in the hierarchy between hunter and omega. Meanwhile, Sorin's omega, Peder, is a true hunter, but he's been too badly broken by his former alpha, Sorin's father, that he's borderline submissive in every damn situation he meets. Sorin isn't much better though. The strongest of the weak that one.

Book two, Scent of Valor, has en expected publication in November, 2014. Possibly Kele and Peder's story? Hoping so...

3 out of 5 stars.

4.18.2014

Seth (Cyborgs: More Than Machines #5)

“So if my choice was to become super robot man capable of keeping up with a gorgeous robo chick or living a mundane life alone? I chose you.” -Seth


Seth
Eve Langlais
Cyborgs: More Than Machines, book five
ebook, 244 pages
Published February 28th 2014 by Eve Langlais
ISBN 9781927459478

His mission: Blend in with the humans. Save the cyborgs. And seduce the only woman he ever loved, without getting killed.

Cybernetic spy models are different from other humans turned machine. For one thing, they never completely lost touch with their humanity, or their memories. But retaining their identity doesn’t mean the military didn’t mess with their lives. Seth lost the woman he loved because of their web of lies. When the chance arises to make things right, he relies on his superior intellect—and irresistible charm—to prove his innocence, and make Anastasia his again.

Anastasia might possess upgraded parts and programming, but the scientists never could cure her of her biggest weakness, jealousy. The volatile emotion made her walk away from love once. Can she overcome it and recognize the truth? Or will she continue to let the military manipulate her emotional strings?

Unlike the rest, Seth wasn't a doomed failure or reject of society. He signed on for the military. He excelled at it. And he chose to become more than a mere man. After that, the project did what they wanted with him, whether or not he agreed to it.

Seth's individual story began at the end of book three and runs concurrently with book four. Had I known what a disappointment Aramus was going to be, I would have skipped right into this, because this was just short of amazing.

Anastasia was a perfect compliment to Seth. They met back in their training days. She, doing all she could to prove herself while he... he did what he had to do to not show off and make enemies. He put himself in the middle of the rankings and helped his fellow soldiers when he could. Until he met her. And fell in love.

When Anastasia chose to upgrade herself, Seth followed along. Even back then, before even making it to second base, he couldn't bear to leave her. Oh, he's always been his smartass self, but the intelligence he possessed and his daring willingness to take risks took them both up the ladder. They became an undefeatable team.

Soon enough, even the military that trained them began to fear them and finally put into play a course that would tear them apart, turning one against the other.

Of all of the cyborgs, the government took the most from Seth. The lengths of which just about brought me to tears. They raped his wife while forcing him to watch. And they destroyed his marriage with their lies of betrayal and infidelity.

  • It didn’t entirely surprise him when Anastasia confronted him, gun in hand, tears streaming down her face, intent on killing him. And despite her not pulling the trigger, a part of him did die. It died because no matter how much he loved her, and she loved him—I know she did—the military had ruined it. Ruined them both. No longer were they in control of their lives, their destinies. Heck, Seth barely controlled his body or his mind. As for Anastasia? It was a wonder she didn’t immediately pull the trigger. He could tell her machine side warred with her human, urging her to obey and kill. Not wanting her to live with the guilt, he did the easy thing, and yet the hardest. He left. But it didn’t mean he stopped loving. He couldn’t help but dream and remember the girl with the bright eyes and spitfire attitude who’d climbed the wall. The woman he’d set off on an adventure with. The woman who’d stolen his heart, owned his soul, and without whom life lost meaning and color.

By the end of the book, the story comes full circle with that of book four's completion. Elsewhere, there is a new revolution led by a cyborg named Adam, where humans are rising up in support. And Adam? He just so happens to be Anastasia's ex-boyfriend. Sure enough, metal fists are going to fly. Jealousy is one emotion no cyborg handles well, and Seth is the deadliest of them all.

4 out of 5 stars.

*Note* Because Seth commands such a starring role in this series, I recommend reading books one through three before reading this one. It's not necessary, as each book stands alone, but will definitely give you the full effect of his character.

Previously in this series:

4.17.2014

Aramus (Cyborgs: More Than Machines #4)

An end to the emptiness inside me that plagues me whenever I am alone.


Aramus
Eve Langlais
Cyborgs: More Than Machines, book four
ebook, 211 pages
Published September 23rd 2013 by self published
ISBN 9781927459423

Wiping out humanity is his number one objective—until he meets her.

Aramus has no patience or sympathy for the excuses humanity uses to hunt cyborgs down and eradicate them. He’s put up with too much at their hands to ever forgive and forget. But all that changes when he rescues a fragile human doctor who refuses to see him as a machine. She teaches him that perhaps not all emotions are a weakness and that love can make even a cynical cyborg like him stronger.

And for those who’d mock his change of view or threaten his female? Go ahead. His iron knuckles could use some exercise.

Oh, how the mighty fall. And for a human. Aramus? Tsk tsk.

Aramus, once called B351GI, was the perfect cyborg soldier. Until the solar flare disrupted his programming, and set him free. Free to follow orders as he saw fit. And when his commanding officers deemed his method defective and ordered his termination, well, he killed them. And has continued to do so to anyone else who ever thought to control him. His contempt for the humans responsible for his slavery has blossomed, and consumed him. Now, he's driven to see that all of humanity feels his wrath.

After the return of their last mission, Seth disappeared. He left them with a message that contained coordinates and urged them to proceed quickly, and expect a battle. No one knows he left with his wife, estranged though they were. Doubtful anyone even knows he has/had a wife. Aramus, being the most ruthless and blood hungry of the cyborgs, jumps at the chance for some action.

Upon reaching their destination, the team, led by Aramus, find a completely uninhabitable planet on the surface. Below, they find a medical facility where doctors and scientists alike have been kept prisoner, forced to run tests and experiments on creatures that can't be identified. On cyborgs, too. Among them, they find Rylie,... and a small band of misfits that aren't worth going on about.

This was probably the most disappointing of the series thus far. Although Aramus clung to the colder side of himself the longest, much to my satisfaction, Rylie was nothing special. And when push came to shove, Aramus found himself all too capable of abandoning her ass on a refuel center. After he had fucked her, literally dumped her ass on the floor, then ignored her for days. Oh yeah, quite the lovable guy this one is.

2 out of 5 stars.

Previously in this series:

4.16.2014

B785 (Cyborgs: More Than Machines #3)

Forehead, meet console.


B785
Eve Langlais
Cyborgs: More Than Machines, book three
ebook, 215 pages
Published April 11th 2013 by self published
ISBN 9781927459324

When cyborg intelligence meets sensual robotics circuit boards sizzle.

Einstein was probably the only cyborg in existence with no interest in the opposite sex, until he discovered B785. With her sensual nature and quirky sense of humor, she draws this cybernetic geek out of his scientific shell and teaches him the one thing he’s never understood – passion.

Tired of being a slave to the military, Bonnie went to sleep one day with the intention of never waking up, but she didn't count on a cybernetic prince charming bringing her back to life. Coming to terms with her past isn't easy, but harder still is the realization that even a bionic princess can fall in love.

However, all fairy tales have a villain, and despite the fact the military wrote them both off as a loss, they soon discover they’ll need to fight to have their happily ever after.

Einstein has no interest in sex. He's a tech cyborg, and likely the last of his variety.

When Aramus and Seth venture to a well known bordello, Einstein tags along in search of goods with hopes of trading. He ends up employed the entire visit by the bordello owner, earning pay and a deep discount for his brothers while he tends to the repairs of some well beaten sexbots. At the end of his task, he discovers a sealed crate with a female bot that has been deemed a dud. The owner has no need of her, and Einstein finds her too appealing to leave behind to be destroyed, so when presented as a gift for his hard work, he accepts wholeheartedly. For purely scientific reasons.

When Bonnie lost her sister, Chloe, and believed herself alone and destined to be the last of her kind, she shut down. Literally.

Once Chloe and Fiona confirm, via photo, that Bonnie is one of their sisters, Einstein is filled with regret for not saving her in time. He then, quite illogically, kisses her lips. Even more strange, it was the poor guy's first kiss ever. Immediately, Bonnie awakens, and doesn't miss a beat. She can't stop talking, flirting, joking... It's all Einstein can do to get her some water without shutting his own self down from shock. The others just end up staring in horror.
  • "I'm Bonnie, formerly known as B785, or as the general liked to fondly call me, that irritating bloody bitch. But you can call me your newest pain in the ass."
Why, oh why, did the geek get the slut? 'Prime girlfriend material' my ass! Seth has seriously lost it. Aramus-he had the right idea. And the ending? No friggin way! I was expecting one of them to have a past with a woman. Being first edition, I suspected it to be Aramus. Wasn't suspecting it to be Seth.

3 out of 5 stars. They are nothing if not consistent.

Previously in this series:

4.15.2014

F814 (Cyborgs: More Than Machines #2)

"Why, Einstein, I do believe you just insulted me. Way to go, dude." -Seth


F814
Eve Langlais
Cyborgs: More Than Machines, book two
ebook, 163 pages
Published April 15th 2012 by Eve Langlais
ISBN 9781927459010

She thought herself a robot, defective and unique among her kind, until he taught her how to live again.

F814 exists to serve the humans until they decide to terminate her. An instinct for survival makes her fight, but when she achieves freedom, she discovers she cannot throw off the chains of habit. Everything changes when another flesh covered droid arrives, a cyborg he calls himself, who teaches her she is more than a machine.

Solus hates humanity, and even though he was born as a flawed human, he strives to eradicate all traces of it from his persona—until he meets F814. Meeting and touching her releases something in him. Has him yearning for things he doesn’t understand. Makes him long for…affection.

Before he can learn to love though, he must first tackle the task of reminding F814 that she is more than the sum of her mechanical parts. But of course, when dealing with an illogical thing like emotions, there is no sure plan for success.


"Makes him long for …affection." I like that. And I liked Solus. So after book one's introduction, I just had to dive right in to its sequel and be there for Solus' awakening.

F814 has finally broken free of her programming, and destroyed the humans that kept her captive. Now, alone inside the broken dome that once imprisoned her, her days are spent wandering, seeking nothing in particular. At times, she goes back into the mines and does what she's always done. At night, she suffers nightmares of the life she had before.

When Solus, Aramus, Einstein, and Seth land upon the abandoned site in search of much needed materials for themselves and fellow cyborgs, F814 is fully prepared to destroy them. Like everyone else who has dared to board her home. She knows nothing of cyborgs, having been convinced she's nothing but a defective android. She doesn't trust them and won't go with them. Despite their warnings that she's in danger, that more will come looking to shut her down, she won't comply and Solus is left with no other alternative than tossing her over his shoulder and hauling her into their ship.

Hatred is the one emotion Solus has allowed himself to feel since his escape from slavery. Hatred of all humankind. Such is fueled further the more he learns of F814, now called Fiona, and the many injustices she's suffered at the hands of man. He vows to protect her, and to teach her the wonders of being cyborg, which only opens him up to the wonders of his human side as well. A side he has long desired to expunge.

I fancied Solus in book one as he clung to the logical, more rational side of himself and had hopes it would drive him in his own installment. Unfortunately, Fiona throws his circuits for a loop rather immediately and the guy spirals quickly into the state of a besotted fool. The friendly, and violently intense, fighting continues among the cyborg brothers as Solus finds himself in the place Joe once stood, bashing in the heads of everyone who dares look, touch, or speak in any way towards Fiona that sparks his jealousy. Seth even dares to kiss her.

Aramus takes a whooping. Far better than the gunshot Chloe gave him previously. Meanwhile, Einstein stays just outside the stage light for the last time. His story his next. His female? Chloe's biological sister, Bonnie.

And onward I go.

3 out of 5 stars.

Previously in this series:

4.14.2014

C791 (Cyborgs: More Than Machines #1)

"I love you, little one. I might not understand how to romance you, or convince you of this truth, but I feel it. It is the most uncomfortable sensation and, at the same time, the most glorious."


C791
Eve Langlais
Cyborgs: More Than Machines, book one
ebook, 161 pages
Published February 21st 2012 by self published
ISBN 9780986915482

Machines aren’t supposed to feel, but this cyborg can’t help falling in love.

Assigned as a specimen collector for a captured cyborg, Chloe is intrigued by the machine disguised as a man. Kidnapped during his daring escape, he shows her that despite the chip in his brain, his humanity is not completely lost.

Formerly known as unit X109GI, Joe is on a quest to discover his origin. While he doesn’t find the answers he’s looking for, he does discover that affection isn't just for humans. But when it comes to a battle between logic and love, which side will the cybernetic organism—once a man—choose?

Evaluating his feelings will have to wait though because the military isn’t done with Joe. But their threats against him pale in comparison before the shocking discovery of project C791, the revelation of which stuns the rebel cyborgs—and ignites a fury for vengeance.

Joe, once referred to as X109GI, is in search of answers. As a cyborg broken free of his programming, he and his brethren are out to discover why they were stripped of their humanity and figure out how to keep their kind from dying out. When they conspire to have Joe captured in order to download the latest intel, the quest proves futile. But it's not necessarily a waste.

During his confinement, Joe becomes intrigued by the female his captors send to collect samples from him. The samples are worthless. He knows this. She comes to know it. Still, they continue with their orders. When the time comes for Joe to make his escape, he decides to take Chloe with him.

Lo and behold, our (not so) dear cyborg has claimed himself a sex toy.

Joe did not make the best first impression with me. Solus and Seth, on the other hand, were absolutely great. And even though Joe never did redeem himself, the twist of C791 more than made up for his crass behavior. Although how someone fighting against slavery feels justified in taking women to be nothing more than a means for an enjoyable sexual release is beyond me. To not even consider the act being no better than what was done to him... it's absurd.

3 out of 5 stars.

4.13.2014

Her Empath


Her Empath
Mina Carter
Zodiac Cyborgs, prequel
ebook, 65 pages
Published March 11th 2011 by Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc.
ISBN  9781419933110

Even a rogue can be brought to heel by love. And the seduction of a sexy Empath.

Lyssa is feared and wanted by half the admiralty, but no one can control her. She commands one of the most fearsome battleships in the fleet and is friends with the largest mercenary clans in the galaxy. No one dares mess with her. JJ has been tasked with controlling Lyssa and bringing her back under the authority of the Fleet. Instead of the crabby woman he’s expecting, he finds an unforgettable woman who makes him ache with the need to get her in his bed. Between the pressure from the powers that be, a mission gone wrong and Lyssa’s discovery of his real mission, JJ has his hands full. Can he convince Lyssa that his seduction is genuine and lust is only the beginning?

Mind boggling it is how one author can trigger such extreme emotion with one story (ie: Perfect Mate) and yet barely stir even the most basic of reactions with another. Such as here, with Her Empath. The action was great but the story in itself was completely backwards for my taste.

Lyssa commands one of the most notorious battleships in the fleet, but she's a force all her own. When her commanding officer orders an Empath to join her staff, with the unspoken aim to rein her in at all costs, she is none too happy and hell bent on making sure the guy keeps his powers out of the minds of her and her men.

As Lyssa storms back to her ship, her path collides with JJ who, unbeknownst to them both, is the new Empath she's been ordered to take on. The attraction is both instant and explosive on both sides and the two end up in bed together with the idea that they'll likely never see one another again.

When Lyssa finds him aboard her ship and realization of their dilemma dawns, she spends the next three weeks avoiding the man. All the while, JJ is determined to get her back into his bed. And eventually, his goal is to keep her in his life, forever.

3 out of 5 stars.

4.12.2014

Kinky Neighbors


Kinky Neighbors
Jasmine Haynes
ebook
Published April 7th 2011 by Smashwords Edition
ISBN139781452499352

Two couples, two very hot wives, two husbands who don’t mind a little swapping...

The Mitchells and the Harts have been next door neighbors and friends for the past year. They have loads in common; double incomes, professional careers, no kids...and a kinky streak.

Now they’re about to become very good friends...with kinky benefits.

The sex between them all is hot, naughty, and unbearably exciting. It isn’t merely swapping partners and moving to another room; it’s true foursome sex, same room, same bed, all four involved. For Drew and Cat Mitchell and Logan and Alexis Hart, it’s about barreling through boundaries none of them have ever crossed before, doing kinky things they’ve only fantasized about. But when they begin to exchange not just sex but emotional connection, the problems start; a little jealousy, feeling left out, wanting more from the wrong partner. Can two couples really share everything without losing it all?

Riding on the high that manifested from Mina Carter's Blood Mate, I figured it was time to try something new. So here it is-my first menage read.

Cat is married to Drew. Logan is married to Alexis.

When it comes to the world of sex, Cat wants to leave no stone unturned. Drew loves that about his wife. It certainly has kept their fifteen year marriage interesting. But he can't help but wonder if he'll feel at all jealous when it comes time to inviting another couple to their bed.

The fantasy of sharing her husband with their neighbors, Alexis and Logan, lights Cat up like a wildfire and she'll stop at nothing to turn the dream into a reality. Logan seems game, if his plays at her sexual innuendos mean anything, and he certainly has his own list of unfulfilled fantasies ready in hand, but Alexis just might put an end to her schemes. Or maybe not.

While Drew and Alexis are the more docile of the two pairings, they can't help but measure their spouses up against one another. And in many cases, they find their marital partner the one lacking. Not exactly the prime foundation for what they're about to participate in, but hey, they'll do anything for the people they love.

During a weekend getaway, both Cat and Logan seduce their partners into a marathon of sexual fantasies come to reality. Each find a sense of rapture in the act. And a touch of guilt in some. Soon enough, jealousy festers. The drive for competition arises. Secrets form. And by the end of the tale, two of the partners will be betrayed.

And two will have a real chance at happily ever after.

Threesomes. Foursomes. Wife-swapping. Exhibitionism and voyeurism. You name it, it's here. Well, maybe not everything. Monogamy? Hell, yes, even that will come in time. The nagging desire that stirs the air between Alexis and Drew drew me in while Cat and Logan's detachment of their spouse's feelings kept me safe at arm's length. Frustration at the suspense thrilled me more than the smut did but that's a given for the my-mate-is-mine-alone personality I have. No sharing. Not in this lifetime. Not in any.

3 out of 5 stars.

4.11.2014

Blood Mate: Project Rebellion #2

He wore blood like it was the new black.


Blood Mate
Mina Carter
Project Rebellion, book two
ebook, 211 pages
Published September 17th 2013 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN 9781619216556

The only thing they have in common? Really…sharp…teeth.

Major Antonia Fielding has one goal: to escape the clutches of the Project. With the blood-virus infecting her system, though, a body bag is likely her only way out. Until her boss lets slip that he may just have a cure for her—if she brings in an escaped Lycan.

Can she trust him? Now there’s the million-dollar question. Then again, can she afford to take that chance?

Darce Foster was a Special Forces soldier, until the Project got hold of him. Now he’s a Lycan, a lab-created werewolf, this close to escaping his creators—until another of the projects experiments stops him in his tracks. Not because she has the power to hold him, but because he instantly recognizes the impossible. The vampiress is his mate.

Allowing her to bring him in is his only choice—and possibly the last mistake of his life.

Enemies or lovers, it doesn’t matter. When they discover that the Project is hiding yet more secrets, they must work together to bring it down...or die in the attempt.

Book two, book two, book two! ...or so I exclaimed when I saw this baby pop up. How could I so easily forget the Project Rebellion series? When I finished Perfect Mate (book one, and my absolute favorite read of 2013), Blood Mate was still a work in progress. How could I miss its release, and in September of 2013 at that. WTF?!

These Project Rebellion women are the last bitches you want to screw with. They have no hesitations whatsoever in spilling a bit of blood or ripping apart a few rib cages. Nic, still just a supporting character, was a force in book one. And don't anybody give Lillian an axe. Here, Toni is the chick to steer clear of.

Darcy Foster, beta to Jack Harper, has been taken hostage by the Project after the Apha Three, the first successful pack of Lycans turned by the Project, escaped. The woman responsible for bringing him in? Toni Fieldings. His mate.

So yeah, he walked into a trap with that one. Suffering the instinct to get to her, having scented her during the battle, Darcy got too close too fast to Toni, a Blood in desperate need of a cure to the virus the Project has infected her with.

Toni brings in Darce as part of a trade but finds herself too tempted by the Lycan. His kiss, his touch, brands her, and awakens emotions she never even felt as a human, much less as the twisted version of a vampire she's been turned into. When she seeks him out inside his prison, she finds him surviving a torture she never could have imagined. And once the depravity of those responsible hits a new low, she stops at nothing to free him and all of her fellow Bloods and Lycans alike.

Pinned in a ring, forced into some paranormal perversion of MMA, Darce tells Toni to go for help. Go to Jack, his alpha. Send a Blood to a Lycan for help? Yeah, right. The races are sworn enemies. And puh-lease. Darce might need help, but Toni sure as hell does not. She rips that place apart with her own creepy defy-the-laws-of physics retractable claws, human by human. And sets free every victim of the Project cage by cage.

Besides, the pack is well on their way for a rescue.

During the chaos she creates all on her own, Toni discovers four Reanimates that have evolved passed zombie stage. They've destroyed the rest, offer no threat, and look only to disappear before they can be used to further the taint that they've become.

Meanwhile, our dear Joe Sanders and his unrequited love for fellow soldier (and male) Leon Richards just keeps its teasing. And Nic... sweet, lethal Nic, confesses she had a thing for Jack, and wouldn't mind finding her mate. Despite the fact that she doesn't *need* one. After the tower goes up in flames, Nic's ordered by Jack to go find his old commanding officer, Jamison Tanner, in Arizona. There's a story there, I'm certain, but I was kind of hoping the hybrid, Steele, would have been meant for her. But no-lmao-not for Nic. Nope. Sanders? Maybe...

You're going to read a good seventy percent of action outside the bedroom before it gets down and dirty with Darce and Toni. And you're only going to experience it once, and even then, it's surrounded by the Project's plot to get their hands on little Lycan-Blood babies. But it's oh so worth the wait!

Hot damn, this baby was cooking! Steamy, pulse get to racing, on the edge of my seat excitement around every turn. And mate claiming/providing/protecting at its finest. Oh, I do love this series!

Another 5 out of 5 stars for the Project Rebellion!


  • Blake grinned, unholy amusement showing on his face. "Long story short. Kid Ball. Fido here couldn't resist the chase. Got a little carried away. Hit a fence and swallowed the fucker. Now he squeaks. You'll piss yourself when you hear him laugh."



To Be Released in this series
Book 3 - Broken Mate (How dare we not get a preview with Blood Mate!)
Book 4 - Hidden Mate
Book 5 - Unwanted Mate

Previously in this series:

4.10.2014

Take Your Pleasure


Take Your Pleasure
Jasmine Haynes
ebook, 30k words
Published April 7th 2010 by Loose Id, LLC
ISBN 9781607375678

Natalie Beaumonde’s life turns upside down the day she walks in on her boyfriend, Van, playing submissive to a beautiful dominatrix. Not only has she been betrayed, but Natalie loses her belief in herself as a desirable woman. And when she starts making mistakes at work, her career being the one thing she’s always excelled at, she’s in danger of losing her self-worth and her job, too.

Lincoln Masters isn’t like most bosses. Instead of issuing a reprimand, he decides his sexy executive assistant needs a good spanking, something he’s been dying to deliver for almost a year. And afterward, he hatches a plan to help Natalie rebuild her self-confidence and show her wandering man the error of his ways: become the dominatrix her boyfriend is looking for. Being a Master himself, Lincoln’s the perfect dom to help her execute the punishment.

Lincoln’s terms for helping her? He wants a piece of Natalie, too. Now Natalie finds herself with a growing fascination for her boss. When Van’s punishment is complete, can she go back to being just Mr. Masters’ assistant?

When Natalie walks in on her boyfriend of two years with a Domme, she comes to the devastating revelation that she's never once fully satisfied him in all the time they've been together. With her self esteem at an all time low, she begins to screw up things at work and her boss, Mr. Masters takes immediate notice.

Lincoln has watched and lusted after Natalie since she came to work for him, but he's not one to mix business with pleasure. Especially the type of pleasure he has in mind. The situation though, is too much to resist, and he offers Natalie the chance to prove to herself that she is a desirable woman and to learn if her boyfriend truly cares for her at all, all in one night. The catch? By the end of the evening, her boss will fuck her.

Natalie agrees. Her boyfriend agrees. And the whole affair is quite an experience for all. Reader included.

Mr. Masters knows how to take control, but he's also capable of letting it go as well. Of course, any advantage taken will be justly punished. And the punishment is oh so delicious. The relationship between Natalie and Van is a rather strange one. The blow to her self esteem impacts Natalie more so than the loss of her boyfriend and she easily gravitates toward Lincoln, contemplating him in every action, every decision she makes. Van, too, relinquishes Natalie just as easily. As if they're entire two years together was just biding time.

3 out of 5 stars.

4.07.2014

Captive Surrender

"Fuck you and your immidoo."


Captive Surrender
Linda Mooney
ebook, 186 pages
Published September 12th 2011 by Carina Press
original title: Beauty's Alien Beast
ISBN 9781426892257

As an intergalactic cop gifted with psionic abilities, Maurra instinctively went to the Ellinod's defense when she saw the immense and bestial-looking alien being attacked by a group of vicious Kronners. Little did she know what the Kronners had planned for her and the Ellinod until she woke up naked in a cell inside their ship. And it wasn't long before she found out a translation device had been implanted against her spine, debilitating her and making her helpless with pain whenever she tried to use her psi powers.

Neither she nor the Ellinod had any idea how twisted their captors were, but they soon discovered that she and the beast were at the mercy of someone who expected them to "entertain" his "customers", and entertain them well regardless of the consequences.

Warning: Contains moral degradation, public sex, self sacrifice, unexpected tenderness, sadistic little aliens, banishment, exorbitant Pay Per View charges, and sweet revenge served cold.

Evidence suggests I'm in a SciFi mood.

As a Joramansu, Maurra is duty sworn to protect and defend others. When Vol Brod, a convicted felon, devises a plan for some moneymaking revenge, it's Maurra who becomes the target and Safan, an Ellinod, just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the right humanoid form necessary for his plan to work. Trapped in a cell that attaches and detaches to that of Safan's cell, mingling the two, they are forced to perform sexually for Vol Brod's paid subscribers with the threat of one another's life to bend their will.

It's galactic law: Absolutely no fornicating with another species.

Without her powers, having had them blocked by a chip implanted into her spine by the Kronners, she can't save them and Safan's strength isn't enough. One broken law for another, the decision isn't a difficult one. They'll do what they must in order to survive. So they fuck for their audience. Once. Then once more.

When their captor demands that Safan take her as his kind takes their mate, all bets are off. Maurra takes their one chance, a split second when the walls dissolve, to use her powers and it's all that's needed for Safan to get them both off the ship. Albeit with a very unconscious Maurra in tow.

What's waiting for them back home quickly snuffs any relief they may have found. Proclaimed guilty of committing inter-species sexual acts with indisputable evidence, Safan is instantly taken into custody and sentenced to work the rest of his life in the mines. Maurra is stripped of her rank and banished. When she needs a new identity to start her life over, she declares herself Maurra Safan. As if it won't be difficult enough to forget the guy. He was the first partner to give her intimacy. They'd bonded in the short time they were together as he'd risked his life for hers and vice versa.

When she receives news about riots and chaos in the mines Safan was sentenced to, she trades the last of her credits to buy a ship capable of getting her to him where she's taken prisoner by escaping convicts and reunited with Safan in time to save the guards and end the breakout. With gratitude, one of the guards in charge gives them a single opportunity to get free only to subsequently end up in a trap set by Vol Brod himself.

So there's a story beyond the story here and it all ends up in a nicely wrapped box of happily ever after. Could it have been better? Yes... Despite Maurra and her fiesty little self keeping me well entertained, I found Safan a bit lacking. He needed more oomph. Basically, I needed inside his head to get the full effect of his emotions which were more or less guessed at the entire time. The lukewarm smut didn't help either. Suspenseful? Definitely. After Maurra and Safan were free from their porn prison, I had no idea what to expect. Didn't even think a story would exist beyond it. And quite honestly, I wouldn't have minded at all if the prison was where they stayed.

3 out of 5 stars.

4.06.2014

Planet X

"Tell me you want to give yourself to me-here, now, tonight."


Planet X
Evangeline Anderson
ebook, 356 pages
Published March 8th 2006 by Ellora's Cave Publishing
ISBN 9781419905506

Krisa Elyison is a bride-to-be—bought and paid for by a stuffy aristocrat. Though she secretly longs for just one adventure all on her own, she knows the reality of her life—she is destined to be the wife of the elderly and pompous Lord Radisson.

Kurt Teague is a prisoner—a galactic criminal wanted for multiple murders. He is also Feral, a proud and savage people known for their indomitable wills to survive and their fiercely possessive natures. His tortured past has turned him into a ruthless killer—an unthinkable fate to the innocent, sheltered Krisa.

Resigned to her destiny, Krisa boards the starship that will take her to another planet and her loveless marriage. In the cargo hold, she stumbles across Teague—so fierce a prisoner he's blindfolded and chained to a wall. Even so, her heart jumps at the sound of his deep, gravelly voice.

When the ship crashes onto an uncharted jungle planet, Krisa has no choice but to trust the menacing convict with both her virginity and her life. Yet, on a world filled with ravenous telepathic beasts and cannibalistic natives…Krisa discovers that the gorgeous and mysterious Teague may be the most dangerous animal of all.

There's just something about a woman's first introduction to our would-be hero while he's in chains that gets my heart amped up for one hell of a story.

Before there were the Brides of the Kindred, there was the Bride Planet, where girls were sent in hopes of one day being purchased by a man of wealth to be a wife. Krisa's contract was sold when she was only thirteen to Lord Radisson. Her destiny was clear and certain. But despite her willingness to sacrifice her body and spend the rest of her life as a dolled up slave, she is equally appalled to learn they plan to take her mind, and that of her free will with it.

Aboard the Star Princess, the ship that will deliver her to her intended husband, Krisa becomes fascinated by the prisoner  chained up in the luggage hold. Blindfolded, he can't see her. But he tracks her movement despite the impairment. And her starved need for adventure pulls her closer.

When Teague escapes while the rest of the ship is in stasis, he crashes the Star Princess into Planet X, a world renouned for its dangerous wildlife and savage, cannibal races. A victim of a defective stasis chamber, Krisa awakens to find herself one of three conscious passengers, including Teague and her would-be rapist.

When the man tries to rape her a second time, Teague violently ends his life. From there, Krisa has little choice but to follow Teague into the jungle of Planet X, in a race to find the savage tribe Teague is all too familiar with, and his old shipmate, who has founded a smuggling business upon the peculiar planet.

With her virginity intact, and the certificate to prove it in hand, Krisa's goal is simple: lose the embedded chip in her neck, ensuring her free will remains, and return to Lord Radisson to fulfill her contract. Escaping the latter part doesn't even enter her mind.

The entire story is told through Krisa's point of view and does an amazing job of carrying the adventure. Teague, very much an antihero, is both manipulative and deceptive... in the very best of ways. And authoritative in the most delicious of them. He wants her. He's all but claimed her, but still she refuses him her virginity. In desperation, he goes as far as to mark her and still she fails to relent.

The erotic nature of this book comes in the form of dreams for the greater part of the story. Right up until they find the legendary Yss tribe, where cannibalism and exhibitionism abound. Krisa evolves, shedding her desire to meet the expectations she'd been raised to meet, and decides to go into her life of servitude with the very best of memories to sustain her. Starting with the man she has come to love. She can't, in good conscious, give him her virginity, but she can give him the opportunity to take it. Tomayto, tomahto. But yeah.

It was a perfect five star, up until the near end. Up until the memory wipe. Striking characters with amnesia is an easy scapegoat that I've never responded well to. Finding it here rather pissed me off.

It was all so good. So thrilling. So suspenseful. Easily could have eclipsed the Brides of Kindred altogether. An old story (circa 2006) but a must read for all erotic-scifi readers out there!

4 out of 5 stars.

4.04.2014

Accidental Abduction

Nothing says I love you like bloodshed and violence.


Accidental Abduction
Eve Langlais
Alien Abduction, book one
ebook, 110 pages
Published May 22nd 2011 by Eve Langlais
ISBN 9780986915420

Abducted by a space pirate, she fights the temptation to let him plunder her goods.

A boyfriend’s attempted murder leaves Megan floundering in the ocean. Sinking without hope, the bright light she sees in the night sky isn’t her doorway to heaven, but rather the beginning of her accidental abduction by a space pirate. While thankful of his rescue, Megan stays true to form and just can’t keep her mouth shut, even when he keeps threatening to kill her--or auction her off to the highest bidder. Even odder, despite her decision to not get involved with her wickedly hot captor, she can’t help craving his touch.

Tren retired from his job as a mercenary so he could enjoy life, but he never counted on the boredom of normalcy. The acquisition of rare items has somewhat filled the void, but his accidental abduction of an outspoken earthling, who doesn’t know when to shut up, turns his life upside. Her fiery spirit draws him while at the same time drives him insane. Struggling with his urges, he must decide-- throttle her barbarian neck or ravish her delectably lush body?

Despite what his heart tries to tell him, he’s determined to sell her to the highest bidder even as he seduces her body. However, despite his best intentions, he discovers he can’t let her go. And when a foe from his past thinks to steal her, he’ll do anything to get her back.

There's nothing believable about this story, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining.

When Megan's boyfriend for all of six months decides to dump her behind off a boat and leave her for dead, it's an alien abduction that saves her from inevitable doom. 

Her hero? Tren. A purple ex mercenary turned acquisitions specialist. 

While collecting specimens from Earth's oceans, because, yeah they'll be a rarity at the rate we're destroying our natural resources, he accidentally scoops himself up a human. And he doesn't want it. 

With plans to sell her the first chance he gets, Tren decides to keep it for the time being. Until she awakens and opens her mouth. 

Holy hell, this woman does not shut up! 

And Tren, although annoyed as frukx, finds her spirit and temper arousing. Soon enough, they can't keep their hands off one another. All the while, their clashes never cease. 

Yelling at someone has never, in any way, sparked the fuel in my libido, so the smut did nothing for me. Sure, I laughed, until the non-stop bitching turned that off as well. 

In the end, I did find what I'm always on the hunt for in these paranormal affairs-love, mate marking, and justice. 

3 out of 5 stars.

4.03.2014

My Lady Mage: Warriors of the Mist #1


My Lady Mage
Alexis Morgan
Warriors of the Mist, book one
ebook, 336 pages
Published July 3rd 2012 by Signet
ISBN 9781101587126

A cursed destiny. A band of warriors. And one troubled kingdom.

It is whispered in Agathia that the legendary warriors of the mist—cursed by the gods—can be summoned only when a champion is needed and the cause is just. Gideon, their captain, knows this to be the one path that will lead his men to redemption—lest they face an eternity of damnation.

Years have passed since anyone has journeyed to the river's edge, but times are desperate. Oppressed by a cruel guardian whose dark magic threatens to destroy her people, the beautiful and courageous Merewen calls upon the bespelled warriors. In Gideon she finds more than a champion, and in his arms, more than protection. However, their enemies are fighting with a power darker than anything than they imagined, and should Gideon fail, she will lose everything she holds dear—including her heart.

After her father passed, Merewen's uncle took control of their home where he rules with a heavy, abusive hand. With her people suffering, and little hope left, she turns to the legend of the warriors cursed to spend eternity asleep beneath the river.

The Damned, Gideon and his fellow knights, Duncan, Murdoch, Averel, and Kane, are doomed to never be free of their punishment. They wait on the gods, a tool to be used at their whim, set free only when those gods find one whose burden is worthy enough for them to champion. Merewen's plight is decidedly worthy.

The five warriors are released to fight her battle and for three months they will crusade to save her people. But what they find upon awakening is a land haunted by dark magic. The likes of which not even Kane, grandson of a dark mage, has ever known.

Meanwhile, with Merewen, Gideon is reminded of what it is to just be a man. And Merewen, a woman who hasn't been courted since before her father's death, finds an awakening in his touch. Their romance is dreadfully minimum but unfolds at a natural pace until it becomes necessary for the goddess to intervene to give Gideon one last push.

This story is but the beginning, and likely won't find its end until all five knights have fallen in love. Obviously, this was Gideon and Merewen's start, and a bit of Murdoch's as well as he falls for Alina, Merewen's aunt. For now, the threat of Olaf and Fagan has been destroyed. Kane and Averel venture to the city where the duke, a dark mage, dwells to infiltrate his court as spies. Next up, though, is Duncan, who probably was the least intriguing of the group for me.

3 out of 5 stars.

4.02.2014

Hard As A Rock


Hard As A Rock
Mina Carter
Paranormal Protection Agency, book one
ebook, 24 pages
Published September 11th 2011 by Blue Hedgehog Press
ISBN 9781466162747

Iliona's had a rough day, so the last thing she wants is a whiny ex on her doorstep throwing accusations about which of her co-workers she's screwing. When he starts throwing punches and one of her hunky gargoyle co-workers rushes to her rescue, Iliona is more interested in what exactly he's been doing on the ledge outside her bedroom window...and whether he's interested in more than watching.

Cal and Iliona aren't lovers. They're not even friends. Their only bond is the Paranormal Protection Agency where they both work.

When Cal comes to the rescue after her ex starts to get violent, she invites him into her home only to learn that his sudden appearance isn't by chance of luck. He's assigned himself as her guardian and has spent many a night lurking in his gargoyle form outside of her bedroom window.

He's seen her naked. And he wants her body.

And Ilona suffers no hesitation whatsoever at giving it to him.

So it's a story of sex. Sex with a gargoyle. And not a thing more.

2 out of 5 stars.

4.01.2014

Best Kept Secrets


Best Kept Secrets
Evangeline Anderson
ebook
Published February 25, 2014 by Loose Id.
ISBN 9781623007775

Cassandra and Josh are xenobiologists. Traveling around the universe searching for new forms of life is exciting and Cass is never lonely because Josh is there. He is sweet, funny, kind and handsome…everything Cass has ever wanted in a man. But he’s also her stepbrother. There’s never been anything but normal affection between the two of them…until they encounter the truth plant of Svortza 6.

The truth plant is said to have strange properties—it forces all who come in contact with it to act on their deepest emotions. Cass is skeptical of the rumors until Josh is sprayed with the plant’s secretions and begins having fugue states where he is a mindless creature bent only on satisfying his sexual hunger.

Now, trapped on an alien world, Cassandra is learning a lesson in submission and forbidden lust. She knows she must keep Josh’s actions secret from him or he will hate himself forever. But some secrets are just too big to keep…

Note: Carrie and Josh have no blood ties and their relationship is fully consensual; however, some readers, particularly those with a history of sexual abuse or incest, may find this story disturbing.

Evangeline Anderson can tell a forbidden, step-sibling love story like no damn other, but the more of them she writes, the less strain there seems to be on the step-sibling part of the matter. First, (Eyes Like A Wolf) they grew up together but were the last of an otherworldly race, so our culture's taboo didn't necessarily apply. Then (Picture Perfect) they'd been a family for a matter of years and it was a little tense there. Now, (Best Kept Secrets) one month is all that they've had as being step-siblings, and both parents are now dead.

Are they even step-siblings anymore?

Without the tension of family ties, we're left with just Cassandra's conflicting thoughts on allowing Josh to be physical with her during his episodes wherein the lust he's long buried for her comes out through the 'Beast'. The drama of that mingles well the smut, but unfortunately it all loses it's sizzle as Cassie just... lies back and let's him have at it.

In end, they basically decide that they're not hurting anyone, and it feels good, so why not just keeping doing it.

Grr. Such a disappointment.

3 out of 5 stars.