Review: Bad Lands by Alexis Martin

Bad Lands by Alexis Martin

Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance

Heat Rating: 3

Blurb

Living in the wastelands, Quincy and Tegan eke out a meager existence as scavengers. Tegan secretly has a insatiable crush on the man who saved her from a slave’s fate five years earlier. But Quincy is unaware of Tegan's feelings for him, and in truth, he harbors the same desire for her.

In the town of Last Chance, Quincy goes though his normal routine. He barters for goods with his findings, has a nice warm meal with Tegan and beds one of his favorite harlots, Hannah. This time, Tegan shows her aggravation and decides to make Quincy jealous by taking Jimbo, the local merchant's son, to her apartment.
Quincy McAdams and Tegan Sparrow survived Armageddon, but will they survive each other?


Clare C’s Review

Bad Lands is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth. The landscape is a barren wasteland full of unscrupulous people. Tegan is a woman traveling with a man who saved her from becoming a sex slave. She loves him, but he doesn’t see it. It’s a promising premise for a story.

I think the author tried to cram an epic adventure into less than 100 pages. Several times, things happened without any kind of buildup or warning. Coincidences and assumptions that had no basis in logic appeared regularly. For example, a villain suddenly turned good, but we don’t know that until we see her being tortured. If she’s going to try to set the heroine free, then I want to read that scene. I want to know what happened and why.

Also, I never knew whose point of view the scene was supposed to be in. Sometimes, we jumped from one character’s point of view to another’s mid-sentence.

I didn’t care for Tegan, and I didn’t see why she wanted Quincy other than the fact she was horny and he saved her from a horrible fate. The fact that both had sex with multiple other people, even after they decided they loved one another, bothered me.

The ending puzzled me because the story seemed to suddenly become a ménage, but not really, and the setting suddenly turns into the Garden of Eden, complete with the ‘special child’ in Tegan’s womb. Perhaps I would have been able to believe it if the author had slowed down or if she had only chosen a slice of the story to tell?

1 ½ Tea Cups!

Review: Winter and His Twins by Cooper McKenzie

Winter and His Twins by Cooper McKenzie

Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand Publishing
Genre: Alternative Romance

Heat Rating: 3

Blurb

After his ex-boyfriend beats him up, erotic romance e-book author Winter Ryan is forced to contact his sister for help. Little did he realize that in doing so his life would change in ways he never would have imagined.

Garrett and Hawk Sullivan, the youngest set of Sullivan twins, are visiting Charlotte when Spring asks them to help her brother. Arriving at Winter’s door in the middle of the night, they don't expect to meet their mate—Spring’s baby brother. The shape-shifting Irish wolfhound electronics geeks have found their mate who also happens to be their favorite gay erotic romance author. Life couldn’t get much better.
Life couldn’t get much better—until Winter’s violent ex shows up.



Clare C's Review

Winter and His Twins in the second book in the Sanctuary series. The theme of the series, people finding a safe place to live and love, continues in this novella. After being beaten by an abusive ex, Winter calls his sister, Spring, for help. She sends Garrett and Hawk, two of her brothers-in-law who just happen to be in the same city, to check on him. Winter’s injury leaves him with casts on his arms that mean he can’t really use his hands. Garrett and Hawk recognize their mate immediately. They take care of him and take him back to Sanctuary with them.

The story is told in Ms. McKenzie’s usual fluid, inviting writing style. I think that’s what keeps me coming back to her stories again and again. However, the characters and the plot in this one didn’t quite ring true and the climax seemed a bit contrived. A little more character development would have solved both problems. Winter, Garrett, and Hawk were very flat characters, and I really wanted to know them better. I wanted to know why they fell in love with one another, aside from the whole ‘meant to be’ aspect. I applaud Ms. McKenzie for mentioning some of the ‘coming out’ and abusive relationship issues gays must deal with.

Overall, the characters were sweet and loving. The sex was romantic, and the story was a fun, quick read.

3 Tea Cups!

Review: Pleasure Slave by Ann Jacobs

Pleasure Slave by Ann Jacobs

Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Rating: 3

Blurb

Book 2 in the Pleasure Partners series.

Guy Stone is now a cyborg who can never go home to Earth. He wants a new life on Luna Ten…and a soul mate. A woman who will bow to his domination and revel in the satisfaction as he uses her body to sate his powerful desires.

When Guy sees Cassie, he vows to have her. She’s looking for a high-tech sexbot. He can pass as one—he already has the appropriate piercings. All he needs is the right jewels to enhance them and a shave. When she chooses him at the sex shop, he’s ready to play. The sex is incredible and Cassie is a natural submissive. Now Guy just has to convince her that he’s worth permanent exile from her home, her way of life.

Reader Advisory: This book contains a loving, uninhibited public sex scene.



Clare C's Review

Pleasure Slave takes place in a future where the Earth’s elite are still trying to preserve their idea of the “master” race. They have strict laws against humans having offspring with non-humans. They also limit the amount of technological advancements a person can have. On Earth, traditional families are out and breeding farms are in.

Cassie is taking one last vacation away from Earth before she goes to do her duty at a breeding farm. Guy is a pilot who crashed on that planet, and the technology installed in his body to save his life makes it illegal for him to return to Earth. He poses a sexbot in a store and she takes him back to her room where he turns the tables on her. Soon, Cassie is calling him Master and rethinking her life plan.

The writing in this novel is good, but I didn’t really connect with either character. Their relationship happens really fast. After one night with Guy, Cassie is willing to throw away everything she was raised to believe. Maybe they recognized unhappiness and desperation in one another?

The sex scenes were highly charged and erotic, especially if you like the idea of a lot of piercings. Guy definitely knew how to please Cassie, and when things took a D/s turn, she strove to please him as well. The ending followed with the rest of the novel as far as the importance of piercings and submission, but I would have liked to know the characters better.

3 Tea Cups!

Review: One to Keep by Sophie Oak

One to Keep by Sophie Oak

Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand Publishing
Genre: Erotic Romance

Heat Rating: 4

Blurb

Stefan Talbot let Jennifer Waters run from him once. He knew she was far too young for him, but he kept a watchful eye on her, protecting her from afar. When she’s arrested for a crime she didn’t commit, Stef knows the time has come to get close again.

Jennifer ran from Bliss only to find herself in hot water in Dallas. She’s longed to return to Bliss, but not in handcuffs. The only thing she longs for more than her mountain home is the man she ran from—Stef Talbot.
In the middle of the Winter Festival, Stef and Jen find themselves fighting for their love and their lives because danger has followed them back to Bliss.



Clare C's Review

Part of the Bliss series, One to Keep fits right in with the rest of the books. In order to convince him they belong together, Jen Waters must fight against Stefan Talbot’s penchant for keeping people at arm’s length while simultaneously controlling their lives. Throw in the Russian Mob, and we have a vintage Oak novel. Much of the book is devoted to furthering Jen’s association with the characters presented in Three to Ride and Two to Love. Some chapters are told from the point of view of a character that will probably have a book devoted to him next.

Because I have read the previous two books, I didn’t get lost among the vast cast of characters. I would not read this as a stand-alone for that reason alone. It was nice to visit with characters from previous novels, but I felt they sometimes intruded on Jen and Stef’s story. I would have liked it to focus more on developing Jen’s and Stef’s characters, and on developing the emotional relationship between them. Also, given how devoted Stef is to the BDSM lifestyle, I thought there would be more S&M involved. I have too much respect for Ms. Oak to give her a pass on that.

Even so, the vivid characters of Bliss welcome everyone. One of the things I like about Ms. Oak is how her friendly writing style invites the reader inside the story. Her plots, like her characters, are larger than life. I’m willing to suspend my disbelief long enough to believe stalkers, biker gangs, murderers, and mobs can upend life in a small town. It’s enjoyable, and it really makes me appreciate the relative safety and boredom of my small town. Thoroughly entertaining and pleasurable, fans of Oak will love One to Keep. If you’re new to Sophie Oak, pick up Three to Ride first.

4 Tea Cups!

   

Review: Soul Dealer: Redemption by Yolanda Sfetsos

Soul Dealer: Redemption by Yolanda Sfetsos

Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Heat Rating: 2

Blurb

When someone is killed too suddenly or tragically, there’s a creature ready to bargain for their soul…

Cain was killed by a sorcerer and dumped inside an empty room. Alone, with only his thoughts to torment him, he begins to regret betraying his best friend. So when a thing calling itself the Soul Dealer offers him a second chance at life, he accepts the challenge.

Sandy spends most of her nights alone. But tonight, in the beach cottage her parents left for her before they died, she plans to end the depression plaguing her every waking moment.

If Cain doesn’t stop Sandy before the end of All Hallows Eve, both of their souls will be lost.


Clare C's Review

The book is called, Soul Dealer: Redemption. When the soul in deed of redemption is the hero, it makes it a little hard to root for him to win his girl. Cain was a very bad person in life. If you read the first book in the series, you are cheering for him to die by the end of the book. Sandy had a cursory relationship with Cain previously, who brushed her off when they were through. Sandy is depressed, so depressed she is ready to end it all. Cain is given the chance to redeem his soul, by saving hers. This story is very much Cain's story, and how by learning to save someone else, he saves himself.

Cain is taken through a difficult journey of self discovery and forced to confront what an awful person he was when alive, and how his love 'em and leave 'em attitude left a string of depressed and unhappy women in his wake. While this is not the typical path to an HEA, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and I'm sure you will too.

4 Tea Cups!

   

Review: Mikayla’s Men by Abby Blake

Mikayla’s Men by Abby Blake

Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand Publishing
Genre: Menage Romance

Heat Rating: 3

Blurb

Mikayla believed the wrong man and found herself stranded on a planet a long way from home. Faced with starvation or prostitution, she chooses to survive, but things don’t go quite the way she expected.

Matt, John, Peter, Ryan, Ty, Lachlan and Brock have a small problem. She’s a beautiful, talented, kind and incredibly sexy woman snowed in with them for the winter. But she is also a victim and in need of their help. Refusing to use her as the prostitute they paid for, they manage to find enough work to keep her busy.
But they hadn’t counted on Mikayla actually wanting to fulfill the terms of her contract…

Snowed in for the winter with seven sexy brothers, can Mikayla live a fantasy without losing her heart?


Clare C's Review

Abby Blake packed a lot of story into 100 pages. The premise of marrying seven men seems a bit much, but since it’s science fiction, it’s much easier to believe. I liked Mikayla and I liked each of her men.

The story is very fast-paced. It sucks you in with its simple style and interesting characters. Being the first in the series, it seems to serve as more of an introduction to the characters. We don’t really get to know anyone in depth, but it’s a fun read, so depth isn’t quite necessary for enjoyment. Each of the men are different archetypes of the dominant male, including two Doms and a set of twins who like to share, so there’s a little something for every taste.

Mikayla’s Men is a great escape and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series to see how her relationships with the men and how the larger story arc with the villain who picks up women and abandons them at a planet where they’re forced into prostitution unfolds.

4 Tea Cups!

   

Review: Blood Knot by Tracy Cooper-Posey

Blood Knot by Tracy Cooper-Posey

Publisher: Amazon Digital
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Rating: 3

Blurb


Winter, a professional thief who can manipulate others’ biologies by touch, accidentally “healed” her former partner—and former vampire—Sebastian, whom she secretly loves. Her healing created a symbiot pairing between them that neither of them wants.

Nathanial, a sexy thousand-year-old vampire and Sebastian’s ex-lover, talks Sebastian and Winter into stealing evidence that will expose all vampires to the world. But Nathanial is a puppet-master who doesn’t believe in falling in love with humans, leaving Winter unsure of his real feelings for her once he seduces her, or how he feels about Sebastian, the former vampire-now-human whose life he has turned upside down once more.

But the evidence they steal is hot property. The future of all vampires is on the line and others will stop at nothing to get it, leaving Sebastian, Winter and Nathanial with no allies but each other. They must trust each other to survive. Only...can they?



Clare C's Review

Blood Knot by Tracy Cooper-Posey stands head-and-shoulders above most other vampire books on the merits of its plot and characters.

Nial and Sebastian are vampires who’ve been lovers for two hundred and fifty years. They parted ways before the beginning of the novel. In the meantime, Sebastian, a thief, has partnered with Winter. Due to their reticence to get close to another person, their relationship remained professional even though both harbored a secret love for the other. And that’s just the backstory. So much more happens in the actual novel. If this were a movie, it would be an action flick with a hot, romantic twist.

I loved the way Cooper-Posey wove the baggage between Nial and Sebastian into both men’s evolving relationships with Winter. It gave them all a chance to heal from past wounds and to grow as people. The author brought them to life, gave them depth, and made them so real. The love scenes were steamy and passionate, romantic and erotic. The only reason I rated this 4 Tea Cups instead of 5 lay in the excessive use of passive verbs because it slowed down pace and flow of the story. If you like vampire stories or any kind of epic love story, you have to read Blood Knot.

4 Tea Cups!

   

Review: Spring Comes to Sanctuary by Cooper McKenzie

Spring Comes to Sanctuary by Cooper McKenzie

Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand Publishing
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Heat Rating: 3

Blurb

Wanting to prove she can be a strong, self-sufficient woman of the twenty-first century, Spring Ryan decides to spend her thirtieth birthday hiking the Appalachian Trail through the Smoky Mountains. Her third day in, she’s ready to give up and crawl back into the small box she’s lived in for a dozen years when a pair of Irish Wolfhounds cross her path. When they turn into gorgeous identical twins, she is amazed, especially when they claim she is their mate.

Adam and Brock Sullivan are the oldest of four sets of twins living in the hidden valley of Sanctuary. They had just about given up on ever finding their mate when they come across her just two miles from their home.
Can Spring make a life for herself in Sanctuary? Will her family accept her decision to live with and love both men?


Clare's Review

This has to be one of my favorite Cooper McKenzie books. Spring is a woman who has been sheltered by her family ever since she was the victim of a horrifying attack in college. A decade later, she’s looking to take back her life by going on a solo backpacking trip through the mountains. The premise is a bit far-fetched—how many overprotective families would let their daughter go off into the wilderness alone?—but it’s a story about shapeshifting Irish Wolfhounds, so I was willing to suspend disbelief.

Adam and Brock are loveable from the start, and they definitely bring out the best in Spring. I loved the way they interacted with one another. This is McKenzie at her finest. Spring Comes to Sanctuary is fast-paced with a cute story and well developed characters. If you love shape-shifter stories, you’ll love this.

4 1/2 Tea Cups!

      

Review: The Truth about Vampires by Theresa Meyers

The Truth about Vampires by Theresa Meyers

Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Heat Rating: 2

Blurb

All her life Seattle reporter Kristin Reed sought her breakout story. She never thought she’d find it in the crimson lair of a real life creature of the night. Kristin never believed vampires existed—until with dark brooding eyes and a decadent chocolate scent, Dmitri Dionotte called out to her….

Dmitri and his clan’s true nature was cloaked in secrecy until a warring vampire order threatened their existence. Kristin was just the woman he needed. She couldn’t resist their story…or Dmitri. Her blood pulsed hot and furious when he touched her, and with his kiss, all logic fled. But each night she spent with her vampire lover brought her closer to death and destruction. A death not even an immortal could triumph over.



Clare C's Review

The Truth about Vampires caught my attention from word one and held it for the entire ride. Dimitri Dionotte is strong, smart, and sensitive. He has strong morals and fierce loyalties. However, he doesn’t run over the heroine and impose his will on her. Kristin Reed is my favorite kind of heroine. She’s driven, focused, intelligent, and strong. Her mission to win a Pulitzer isn’t derailed because she falls for a vampire. I love a heroine who doesn’t give up what she wants for the hero. A real hero wants his lover to achieve her dreams.

This novel isn’t just a love story. The plot revolves around the exposure of the existence of vampires to humans. Two warring factions even go to war with humans watching their every move. Themes of racism are explored when huge masses of mortals react badly to finding out vampires are real. The pacing of the action and the skillful writing kept me riveted and on the edge of my seat the whole time. Meyers weaves layers of plot and theme together with great characters to create one heck of a novel. The major conflicts are resolved in this installment, but that conflict creates a ripple of more problems. I, for one, can’t wait to read the next installment of Meyers’s Sons of Midnight series.

5 Tea Cups and a Recommended Read!