Outcast

Outcast
Evangeline Anderson
ebook, 97 pages
Published August 26th 2008 by Loose Id

Sayana Nakamura is of one of the great houses of planet Kanasum and she has the silver eyes and indigo hair to prove it. But when her family name is tainted by bad luck, she is shunned by the superstitious people of her home world. Because of her genteel breeding, Sayana is expected to accept her fate and die with dignity. She refuses, and goes looking for a new destiny aboard the casino ship orbiting her home planet. There she must do the unthinkable--sell herself to the highest bidder in the sex auction in order to earn the credits to survive even though she knows this will brand her forever as an outcast when she returns to Kanasum.

Caleb Joiner is an ex-smuggler with time to kill and money to burn which is how he ended up on the casino ship in the first place. He is drawn to Sayana's delicate beauty but it is her fierce courage in the face of adversity that wins his heart. He tries to talk Sayana out of auctioning herself off but she is determined to follow her destiny. What can Caleb do but follow her...all the way to the auction and beyond.

Publisher's Note: Outcast is a re-edited, revised book previously released by another publisher, and it contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, exhibitionism, voyeurism.

I love Publisher's Notes that serve as a warning, especially when it lists all the good stuff! UNFORTUNATELY, this book contained not a one of the things we were warned about!! Whatever...

I thoroughly enjoyed this read, which is why I am appalled that someone would shelve it as "utter-shit" on Goodreads. Along with "no-just-no" and "never-again". Of course, the woman did mention paying $4.49 for a 97 page book--(I can't recall what I paid although it's currently listed at $5.49 on Amazon)--and that's just way too much to pay for this short story. $2.99 tops!

To take a Kanasumi woman's virginity will result in the changing the color of their eyes. I *know* I've read that somewhere before because I love the sound of it so much. I just can't put my finger on where...

When Sayana's father dies and her uncle gambles away all of her family's money and most treasured heirloom, the Nakamura family is considered tainted by bad Jo, or bad fortune. Once the good of her name is gone, a Kanasumi woman is to prick herself with a poisoned needle and go honorably into death. Sayana has every intention of following through with her duty but only after she sees to the wellbeing of her two younger sisters before she dies. To do that, she intends to sell her virginity for the credit necessary to pay for their boarding at a local convent.

Aboard an orbiting ship of her planet, Sayana's path crosses with Caleb Joiner, an ex-smuggler who is "independently wealthy and indescribably bored". Despite his inner voice telling him Sayana is not his problem, he rises to occasion of serving as her white knight when two thugs attempt to rape her and, later, attempt to buy her.

Caleb offers to give her the money, even lend her the money. Anything to keep her from doing the unthinkable but her honor will not allow her to take charity. She must earn her pay or the bad Jo will only increase.

Obviously this book is reminscent of the movie Memoirs of a Geisha, and for one, even Cowboy Bebop. Okay, maybe it's been too long since I've watched CB but space and smuggling were the only two links I could make to that.

The plot of the story was entirely believable. Some cultures still have very strong, unbreakable, ways of belief. The romance, although pleasant to read, was not nearly as convincing. He shares one decent conversation with the girl and Caleb already thinks he's falling for her. Pickin's must be slim up in space.

3 out of 5 stars.

Reveal Me: Unveiled #1

Reveal Me
Cari Quinn
Unveiled, book one
ebook, 51 pages
Published January 19th 2011 by Ellora's Cave
ISBN 9781419931277

Alana MacGregor craves excitement, but when her sometimes lover dumps her at a popular sex club, she wonders if she's outgrown her live-fast-and-recover-later lifestyle. The last thing she expects is to run into the nerdy guy she rebuffed in high school-or for him to rock her world in ways no other man ever has. Hot on the trail of a story, Carter Nicholas can't believe his luck at encountering the one woman he's never forgotten. He's come a long way from being a wall-hugging geek. Now he gets all A's between the sheets. But can he convince Alana he's her sure ticket to an unforgettable night-and maybe much more?

Alana doesn't immediately recognize the blast from the past Carter Nicholas when they reunite at Kink, a traveling sex club. And she doesn't want to admit it's him when she eventually does. She just wants to get screwed, find her best friend, and forget the night ever happened.

For Carter, Alana is his ultimate fantasy. The big what-if of his life. And while he's not giddy over fucking her in front of everyone in the whole club, he's not about to let the moment pass him by. Thankfully, somebody cries wolf and we're able to avoid that particular situation altogether.

So Alana is the whore and dear Carter's the nerd. If you like it hot and quick with a living happily for now ending, this one's for you.

2 out of 5 stars.

Hecate's Own: Heart's Desire #2

Hecate's Own
Dana Marie Bell
Heart's Desire, book two
ebook, 243 pages
Published April 9th 2013 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN 9781619210967

When a witch is hot for teacher, the sparks are sure to fly.

Zachary Beckett has been a screw-up most of his life, but he's finally done something right. He saved his brother's life at great personal cost, and now he's on his way to Cleveland to train as a witch. There he meets Johra Yashodar, a teacher with the belief that Zach is still a screw-up. It isn't long before Zach realizes he's hot for teacher.

Jo has never met someone like Zachary Beckett. His blue eyes haunt her, his body is made for sin and his magic... well. The less said about that the better. He's the worst witch she's ever met, bar none. But Jo is determined to help him, and to do that she'll fight the attraction she feels towards him tooth and nail.

But things aren't always what they seem, and when Zach realizes he's under a hex he comes into his own... as one of Hecate's Own. Chosen by the Goddess Herself to fight evil, it's up to Zach and his brothers to save Jo from a fate worse than death.

Warning: This novel contains explicit sex, graphic language, a sexy, awkward, blue-eyed wolf-witch and a woman who can make his dreams come true.

Zachary Beckett, youngest of the Beckett brothers, has never had much luck with magic. Until, he learns that he's been practicing the wrong kind of magic all along. He is not a wizard like the rest of his family. He is a witch. And he soon discovers, he is Hecate's Own, one of the chosen of the Goddess herself.

I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as I did the first. I loved Zach back in Shadow of the Wolf but his relationship with Jo came across as rushed and a tad forced. I don't do the older woman/younger man affair as it is. Here, it only made the coupling worse.

We do, however, get to meet Gen, Gerard's destined mate, who is also an Own and a member of the warlock Godwin family, the villains of the Heart's Desire series. As a bonus, we meet Daniel's intended, Kerry. And the man is *so* not happy about the news.

3 out of 5 stars. (I added a star because I do love these brothers)

No Romance Required: Love Required #3

Make me believe you're in this bed with me, that neither one of us is alone tonight. -Cory

No Romance Required
Cari Quinn
Love Required, book three
ebook, 250 pages
Published August 12th 2013 by Entangled: Brazen
ISBN 9781622667963

Faking it never felt so good…

Cory Santangelo is used to getting his way, both in the boardroom and the bedroom. Lately he hasn’t had much opportunity to do anything but work, but one unexpectedly sexy night in a gazebo with Victoria, his gorgeous and feisty interior designer, changes all that—especially when they’re caught on camera. Suddenly Cory’s sterling reputation is no longer above reproach. Since his impromptu encounter coincides nicely with his need for a girlfriend to get his well-meaning, meddling parents off his back, he decides to ask his lifelong frenemy for a favor.

To pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. No strings attached.

The only problem? Vicky Townsend wants those strings tied all around her. She’s battled a long-suppressed crush on Cory, and their combative work relationship has only fanned the flames. When he suggests his needs are more than she can handle, she’s ready to up the ante. And her bargaining chip is lots of delicious, inventive sex.

Until they discover nothing feels as good as making it real…

Cory and Vicky have kept me entertained since their beginning. Their witty verbal sparring would be enough to have me hanging on page after page even without the intense physical chemistry. There are *very* few books that send me looking for a fan. This was one of them.

Cory's world revolves around his business and financial success. He doesn't "long for anything he couldn't satisfy within the columns of a profit-and-loss sheet." Nice life, huh? But to Vicky, Cory's just a "distracting combination of megalomaniac and man candy, covered in geektastic frosting that wreaked hell on her hormones." They've known each other since high school and Vicky has been half in love with Cory for years.

“We’re both going to watch you shatter for me.”

This book opens up on the same night that the first book closed and things ignite rather quickly. Much too quickly. In that what-the-hell-just-happened kind of way.

This book is hot. Chapter six alone was *blazing*. Cory's need to be in control isn't confined to the office. The man has BDSM fantasies. And they are oh so yummy.

Her chin came up. “There’s nothing fun about someone restraining me.” “What if the restraints are all in your mind?” He pressed into her skin, knowing he would leave an indent. Wanting to. “And what if that someone was me?”

I worried for Cory. So alienated from the world. Vicky was the closest, and only, person left he had as a friend. I wondered what would come that would break him. Instead of being broken, though, he was awakened.

"In the red sweaterdress I peeled off her she looks like a miracle.” He gritted his teeth and fought to haul in air. “I don’t deserve one, but God, she makes me wish.”

The man has a talent for words.

"Imagining you’re behind me, whispering in my ear. I can smell you, your soap and your perfume. It reminds me of being outside, in the barn. The smells of hay, earth, and fresh, clean air. Everything so sharp and crisp. That scent’s inside me even when you’re not around. If I breathe in right now, you’re there. Always.”

The end sneaked up on me. I was too busy devouring page after page to realize it was all about to be over. Hot damn. What a ride.

5 out of 5 stars. Best of the series!

Previously in this series:

Purity: Pure & Tainted #1

I fear nothing. I feel nothing. -the Purist code

Purity
Evangeline Anderson
Pure & Tainted, book one
Kindle Edition, 348 pages
Published August 28th 2013 by Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
ASIN B00EUBGMB6

K is a fourth level Paladin and a servant of Purity—the holy nothingness she has been taught to revere and aspire to from childhood. Born on a sexless world from an artificial womb, K was fitted with a black mesh skinsuit at the tender age of nine. The suit nourishes and defends her from enemies and serves as her main weapon in the holy war her people have declared on the rest of the universe. It also eradicates even the slightest traces of emotion. Leading her purge squad in a never-ending mission to rid the universe of the Impure, K is accustomed to killing or enslaving everyone she meets.

That is, until she meets Boone.

Boone is a doctor and geneticist from Colossus—a heavy G world which has rendered the people who inhabited it larger and stronger than regular humans. He’s more than happy to stay on his own planet and do research—until his little sister is taken by Purists and delivered to the pshalite mines. Frantic to rescue her, he hatches a desperate plot—capture a Paladin and use the enemy pawn to gain access to where his sister is being held. K falls into his net—but not without a fight. When she is wounded in the battle, Boone is forced to cut off her skinsuit in order to save her life.

Now, removed from her comforting routine and separated from the parasitic suit, K is beginning to change. Her body is blossoming and her mind is opening. For the first time in her life she can feel…whether she wants to or not. In order to survive in her new environment she has to cooperate with Boone.

However, she soon finds that it isn’t just her body he holds prisoner…
but also her heart.

The cover of this book was done to perfection. That *is* K.

K is a Paladin and a Purist. They do not believe in emotion. They do not believe in touching. They train, they live, to purge the universe of the impure--that is, anyone not a Purist. Or enslave them.

Boone knows next to nothing of the Purists and is therefore left to trust Loki, his ship's Erian pilot, on how to handle their new prisoner. And well, Loki has theories. He's a manipulative bastard, too. Loki believes K shares some of the DNA of his people who are not only touch sensitive, but touch dependent.

When K begins to suffer from the loss of her suit, Loki screams that she's touch deprived and instructs Boone, having already touched her to tend her wound, to keep skin to skin contact with her.

And K does not do touching.

Recovered, she immediately tries to kill herself. Boone's touch has contaminated her beyond cleansing. Her people will purge her for it. It is only honorable that she save them the trouble.

Sexual tension attraction comes sloooow in this book. Boone's first impression of K likens her to Earth's hairless cat, asexual, and scrawny. Then he feels like a father with a child as he explains food to her for the first time in her life. A child that has never gone through puberty. Despite it all, little by little he begins to appreciate the womanly attributes she does possess.

That's when puberty sets in.

But by then, Boone knows he's falling for K and Loki has even managed to win me over. I didn't like the guy at first. Then Sweetie happened. And that homosexual fool owned that scene. XD

This book was AWESOME. I daresay it was even better than the Brides of the Kindred. Easy 5 stars. I couldn't put it down and ended up finishing long before I had intended to. Boone is easily the most laid back character I've ever read. He's also ready and willing to do whatever it takes for the people he loves. He's not above prostituting himself for the means to save his sister or, to save K, he's perfectly willing to fight, die, step aside, and even wait for her.

Book two, Tainted, was previewed at the end and follows Hesler, a former Paladin who has learned to command his suit as he travels back in time to gather the necessary antibiotics to save his best friend. He's only taken off his suit once since his escape from the Purists and depends largely upon it to damper both his emotions and raging sex drive. Ugh. Why time travel? Keep the suit. I like the idea of the suit.

The Shifter: Shifting Plains #2

The Shifter
Jean Johnson
Shifting Plains, book two
ebook, 320 pages
Published May 1st 2012

Years have passed since there was any sighting of Family Mongrel. Yet traces remain in the Correda Mountains. Kenyen Sin Siin tracks down these hints from the past to make sure the curs have not survived. As the trail becomes more tangled he’s trapped in a valley where not everything is as it seems...including the beautiful and mysterious Migela Laun Far.

Don't you hate it when the blurb tells you NOTHING!

I hate it for many reasons. Other than the obvious reason--the sheer torture of feeling ignorant--but not knowing leads you to leave the book on the shelf for much longer than necessary. This, in turn, leads to the possibility of (once you figure out what the book is actually about) purchasing it for the *second* time. Which, I did.

I originally (once upon a time) picked this up because it was the sequel to Shifting Plains which I greatly enjoyed. But since the blurb TOLD ME NOTHING of sincere importance, I shelved it. Then, whilst reading Shadowed by Evangeline Anderson, I was reminded of Jean Johnson's work and thus began the chain that led me back to The Shifter. This time, I was able to skim a few reviews. Huge THANK YOU to "Tina" from Goodreads and Two Lips Reviews for the enlightenment.

It was only upon opening the ebook did I find that the blurb above is not the complete summary. It would have been oh so helpful if someone would have done the job right when they added it to Goodreads. I'm not going to go into it, but if you want a better idea of the story (and not just my ramblings and vents) check out Tina's review here.

So anyway...

Kenyen is not his brother. He knows it. If you've read Shifting Plains, you'll know it.

Kodan, the hero of book one, was... epic compared to Kenyen. Not that Kenyen isn't great in his own way but Kodan was... a man. (Ironically, it's Kenyen's manliness that doesn't allow Solyn to believe in Kenyen's diguise as her best friend, Traver.

I still remember some of Shifting Plains. Specifically, one, very long, very detailed scene. One just doesn't forget something like this. As hilarious as it was. It is the scene wherein Kodan talks Tava through her first masturbation.

Both brothers were raised within a culture that respect the hell out of women. And while Kodan, too, was a model citizen in that regard, Kenyen's story takes on an innocence where Kodan's took on passion. Kenyen's is less personal. Juvenile even.

It's good. It's always nice seeing the man get seduced for a change. And the guy is *very* good at playing bad. Still...

I'd rather have Kodan.

3 out of 5 stars.

Previously in this series:

Shadowed: Brides of the Kindred #8

Shadowed
Evangeline Anderson
Brides of the Kindred, book eight
ebook, 344 pages
Published July 19th 2013 (first published July 17th 2013)

Nina is a normal Florida girl with a job and a life and a grandmother she adores. But lately she’s been having disturbing dreams. Dreams of a man with a shadowed face—a man filled with pain and need and desire only she can slake. She fears him but at the same time, the dreams leave her breathless with need. Who is this dark stranger and what does he want of her?

Reddix is a Touch Kindred with an inverted Touch Sense—he can’t touch with his mind like others of his kind. Instead, he is doomed to endure their emotions like a physical invasion every time he’s around anyone. Desperation drives him to kidnap Nina—the girl he has been dreaming of. But he doesn’t take her out of love but as a sacrifice to one who claims she can cure his affliction.

Snatching Nina from her job, Reddix takes her on a journey to the stars that ends in disaster. Now, marooned on a strange planet they will have to learn to work together in order to survive. Can Nina forgive Reddix’s attack and gain his trust enough to heal him…or will his fate remain forever Shadowed?

Ah, yesss. Another BotK book. Keep 'em coming, Anderson!

Its been quite a while since I had a character who was physically pained by others' emotions. That being Rydan Corvis of the Sons of Destiny series by Jean Johnson.

Rydan was awesome.

But Reddix is so much more on so many levels. One of the Touch Kindred, males that bond to their females through a spiritual touch, Reddix is cursed with the much feared RTS disease. Reverse Touch Syndrome. He has no hope of ever finding his perfect mate and lives with the agonizing torment of physically feeling the emotions of everyone around him.

Pity is an acid seeping down his spine. Remorse is a knife to his ribs.

And now that Saber has abdicated his claim to the role of Clan Overlord to be with Lissa, it falls to Reddick, friends since childhood, to take his place or else civil war will befall his people. As if matters couldn't be worse, Reddick has been betrothed.

Reddick needs to mate. He needs an heir. He needs a cure, just long enough to make the two happen. To make the two possible. Two percent in, and I was in love with this book!

Nina is half Welsh/half Native American with a small chest and big behind. ...What? It's comical enough to be noteworthy. Twelve years ago, she lost her mother to cancer. She's been left with a gambling-addicted, alcoholic of a father and a loving, adopted grandmother who insists Nina bears a healing touch. For months now, in typical Kindred Bride fashion, Nina has been dreaming of a man whose face is hidden. A man, she believes, needs her help. Atypically, Nina is ineligible to be claimed as a bride due to her Native American heritage.

To get his cure, Reddick strikes a bargain with a swamp witch. He abducts Nina for the necessary blood to brew a potion that will numb his RTS. What he discovers, unexpectedly, is that Nina's touch alone mutes the effects.

Meanwhile, Saber and Lissa agree to return to their home world and face the wrath of their people for their 'incestuous' relationship. Lo and behold, the two find they are not alone in their affections. Almost all of the younger generation has fallen in love with one another. Yays. A happy ending in sight.

Reddick and Nina go well together, despite and because Nina is so damned empathetic. The woman can't bear to see anyone in pain, even her kidnapper, and she cries alot. There isn't much that threatens to keep the two apart. Truly, only Reddick's fears are the villain here.

And by the end, we have introductions to the protagonists of the next installment. Maggie, an academic nerd prone to being clumsy. And Therron, son of the swamp witch and Reddick's half-brother. He was fathered by a Touch Kindred and simultaneously changed by a demon. Aside from that, he's a class eight felon that has been tormented in chains his whole life. Should be... entertaining, to say the very, very least.

4 out of 5 stars.

Book nine, Chained, is TBA for sometime in 2014.

While researching Chained's release date, I stumbled upon Purity, along with this note from the author: While PURITY is not a book of the Kindred series, it IS science fiction erotic romance. So if you like the Kindred, I’m reasonably sure you’ll enjoy PURITY as well.

Previously in the series:

Cast in Sorrow: Chronicles of Elantra #9

She could see--with her eyes closed--the shape of nightmares.

Cast in Sorrow
Michelle Sagara
Chronicles of Elantra, book nine
Paperback, 480 pages
Published August 27th 2013 by Harlequin Luna
ISBN 9780373803569

THE END OF HER JOURNEY IS ONLY THE BEGINNING...

The Barrani would be happy to see her die. So Kaylin Neya is a bit surprised by her safe arrival in the West March. Especially when enemies new and old surround her and those she would call friends are equally dangerous...

And then the real trouble starts. Kaylin's assignment is to be a "harmoniste"-one who helps tell the truth behind a Barrani Recitation. But in a land where words are more effective than weapons, Kaylin's duties are deadly. With the wrong phrase she could tear a people further asunder. And with the right ones...well, then she might be able to heal a blight on a race.

If only she understood the story.

The first thing I do once I have the latest Chronicle of Elantra in hand is--not read the last page (It makes no difference anyway.)--but, ok, yes, I do read the last page, but only *after* I skim the entire contents for any and all mention of "Severn".

Because it is Severn that keep me coming back for more.

This installment opens up during the journey to the West March, quickly jumps into a walk through a nightmare, literally, and by the middle, Kaylin is within the green. I swear, there is no chance of sounding logical should one try to summarize these books to someone unfamiliar with the series. Or sane for that matter. Just read the one page where Kaylin sums up her journey through the nightmare. A serious 'What have you been smoking?" moment there.

Sadly, all of the tension--romantic, sexual, or otherwise--failed to follow into this book from the last. As if it never happened at all. *whimper*

It's, quite honestly, the least exciting of the series thus far. 

Aside from nearly losing Teela. And the dragon. It is around these two, and the 'lost children' that Cast in Sorrow revolves. It is the West March, the green, and (thankfully) the departing of them that make up the book.

A book, I am both surprised and reluctant to admit, that I actually wanted, out of sheer boredom, to end.

• If Jade and Steffi had never died, she could live with Severn. She would probably be living with him. It hadn't been much of a life, compared to the one she'd built in Elantra with the Hawks-but she'd been happy then. It was just one thing. It was just so small. If she could arrive in time. She would save Severn, too. She would save him from the torture of guilt and the absolute knowledge that he was-that he could be-a coldblooded killer.

2 out of 5 stars.

Cast in Flame is due out in 2014.

Previously in this series:

Cast in Ruin (#7)

Cast in Chaos (#6)

Books 1-5 were read prior to the birth of Location 2571

Cast in Silence (#5), Cast in Fury (#4), Cast in Secret (#3), Cast in Courtlight (#2), Cast in Shadow (#1)