Wallflowers Don't Wilt by Raven McAllan

WALLFLOWERS DON'T WILT BY RAVEN MCALLAN

Word Count: 19,700

Heat Level: Smoky

Genre: M/F/F Historical Romance

Publisher: Breathless Press

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Two women on the verge of freedom. One man looking for adventure. Can he persuade them that freedom comes in many forms, including three bodies entwined?

Ivo Daranton is bored. What he sees in a busy ballroom soon removes the boredom and replaces it with the thrill of the chase. His quarry? Serena and Arabella—Sappho-following, pinkie-linking, more than just friends.

Although they had not thought they were inclined to include a man in their lives, Ivo decides they are wrong: a man is needed, and that man is him. How he persuades them to give him and his idea a chance—or rather, how the ladies encourage him to persuade them—is as unconventional as the life they intend to lead.

***

This sultry m/f/f short erotika story takes you back into Regency Era England. The author did a great job of putting you directly into the setting, in this case a ball. The author paints a vivid picture of the ladies and their beautiful dresses, the looks and stares of those gossiping and those being gossiped about. The leading ladies: Serena and Arabella are strong willed; they don't care what others think, they have their future together planned. Then they meet Ivo. The story heat up as they determine if Ivo and his teachings will be included in these plans.

B-

A Wild Night's Bride by Victoria Vane

A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE BY VICTORIA VANE

Word Count: 33,529

Heat Level: Smoky

Genre: Erotic Historical Romance

Publisher: Breathless Press

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With the devil in charge, there will surely be hell to pay...

What happens when a struggling actress and a grieving widower come together in a night of unbridled debauchery orchestrated by a bored and machinating rake?

She's a lonely lady down on her luck.

Phoebe Scott, alias Kitty Willis, is a struggling Covent Garden actress with a bruised heart and a closely guarded secret.

He's steadfast and eminently respectable.

Sir Edward Chambers, Ned to his intimates, is guilt-ridden over his beloved wife's death and has avowed to live out a rustic and mundane life...of celibacy.

With the devil in charge, there will surely be hell to pay.

Devil-in-disguise Viscount Ludovic DeVere is determined to return his best friend, Ned, to the land of the living. His meddling machinations result in a night of mind-blowing passion after which "Dull Dog Ned" awakes to find himself in the King of England's bed!

A Wild Night's Bride, a sexy, rollicking Georgian romp!

***

This story starts off with a bang, as the hero and heroine wake up in the king's bed. It certainly piqued my interest! How on earth did they end up there? Why does he not recognize her? What is going on?

I love a good historical and the details in this story are spot on. The author weaves in real historical figures with effortless ease and her descriptions of the time period draw the reader in. Phoebe is a strong heroine who is not afraid to go after what she needs, in this case a protector, when the theater she works at shuts. I liked Phoebe immediately. She struggles with the need to be practical and her own moral convictions. Even though the idea is distasteful to her, she needs to survive, so she makes the most of the situation she finds herself in.

It throws her in the path of the notorious DeVere, and his friend Ned. Ned is a widower, in town to arrange the coming out of his daughter, and he isn't best pleased to be dragged along to a bawdy house. When he encounters Phoebe their mutual attraction is instant, but Ned is sworn to celibacy, following the death of his wife.

DeVere does his best to throw Ned and Phoebe together and when DeVere is challenged to a wager, to 'rut in the king's bed' he accepts.

I shan't tell you what happens next, so as not to spoil the story, but it was both funny and heart wrenching and hot! I wasn't sure what to make of Ned to start with, but as the story unfolds I warmed to him, and once he made up his mind to pursue Phoebe, well, does he make up his mind.

*grins*

All in all this was very enjoyable read and the ending has me all sorts of intrigued!

A-

The Price to Pay by Raven McAllan

THE PRICE TO PAY BY RAVEN MCALLAN

Word Count: 55300

Heat Level: Flirty

Genre: Romance, contemporary, cougar

Publisher: Breathless Press

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Do a friend a favor? Easy. Persuade the woman she's your soul mate? Not so easy. Does this cougar romance stand a chance?

Raig was only doing a favor for a friend. Who'd have thought the mum he was "babysitting" would turn out to be the woman of his dreams?

Raig could see their future; Vairi could only see the age difference. He may say "you are only as old as the man you feel," but she couldn't do the forever he wanted. Too many obstacles stood in their way, especially when she finds out Raig has not been telling her the truth, even though she too has secrets she's not willing to share. Can they open up and put their doubts behind them to discover how satisfying a cougar romance can be?

***

Oooh, a cougar story. How fun, I thought, and it has a good looking couple on the cover. Those two things were the main reasons why I chose to read this book.

First let me start with the mechanics. If I had to grade only this part of the work, it'd end up in the low C range. It took me a little while to get into the story as I grew used to the style of writing and learning to overlook all the telling words/phrases (i.e.: he felt, he could hear, he let, etc). For my taste, I would have liked the story to have been in the heroine's POV at times and not just spoon fed through how the hero thinks she's feeling/thinking, but the story did work just in the hero's POV. There were other small errors, too, that should have been caught during the proofing (spelling, missed words, etc) and which drew me out of the story.

As for the story, whew, talk about sexy! Who wouldn't want a man treating her like a queen and lavishing gobs of affection on her, even though he's a randy one and struck with the love bug right from the start? The hero explained his quick descent into loving her from his angle, and I did appreciate the fact that the heroine addressed the "falling in love fast." I'd been wondering the same since they didn't know each other yet. I liked how humor/wit is laced throughout the story along with the fun bantering between the couple. The first radio show was quite enjoyable as was the texting back and forth later on. I also found myself trying really hard to guess what the issue was Raig was keeping from Vairi. It was built up to be this huge issue/obstacle that they needed to overcome. Yet, when it came down to it, it seemed to be quickly resolved...probably because of how Vairi felt by the end. And, no, I wasn't able to guess his issue so it came as a nice surprise. If I had to grade the story separate from the mechanics, it would have received a high B.

All in all, The Price to Pay was a good read and decent story, and with the two grades combined, it came out with a weak B-.

B-

The Alphas Anthology

THE ALPHAS - A 4 AUTHOR ANTHOLOGY

Word Count: 43,400

Heat Level: Smoky

Genre: Paranormal, Erotic Romance

Publisher: Breathless Press

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When the Wicked Ladies of Fiction meet up in a Scottish bar they don’t expect a night filled with danger, lust and hot supernatural men…
Perfect Timing by Arya Grey

David Malm had given up on love, but on a trip through time he meets Josie. She reignites a lost fire in his soul.

Josie McNair may be all fire on the outside, but her lack of self-confidence has her insides twisted over meeting her writing group. She begins to realize there are more creatures in the world than she first suspected and finds herself thrown into a life where time has no meaning.

Time-traveling peace-keeper David Malm could never believe in love again. When Henri instructed him in 3042 to look in at the Blood Bar on this particular night in 2011, he didn't envision it turning into a supernatural disaster, let alone be in the throws of passion with a beautiful stranger. Josie reignited something in him he'd thought he'd lost forever, and he would do anything to keep her safe.
Alpha’s Vixen by Cherie Nicholls

From IT geek to Mystical Beacon in one night; not the usual WLF meeting it has to be said.

Dora "Dizzy" Williamson is a busy lady, but she finally makes time to meet some of her writing group in a new bar. Surely a couple of hours with the ladies wouldn't be too bad, right?

Xander de Rista is CEO and alpha to his pack, so being drawn to a new bar that prickled his fur doesn't sit too well with him. Tonight feels different; there are too many supernaturals in one place, but one human stands out to him. One he intends to claim and protect, because hell isn't just breaking loose, it is coming to town.
Saving Hope by Doris O’Connor

Fate cannot be denied. When an ancient vampire finds time catching up with him, can he protect the only woman capable of thawing his heart?

Noelle has only one thing on her mind: how to save her sick daughter from a mysterious illness. A night out with the girls ought to be a distraction, but it turns out to change her life forever.

Fate is not something Henri, a two-thousand-year-old vampire, takes lightly. When he steps into the bar teeming with supernaturals, there is only one scent he finds—Noelle, the one woman he’d never forgotten—and she holds a secret that could cause a war. With time finally ticking in his ear, there is only one decision he can make—he has to protect her or die trying.
In Her Element by Jorja Lovett

When quiet Ana Chapman meets Fire Elemental, Zanaan, at the Blood Bar, a night of hot sex makes her realize just what she's been missing.

For the first time in her life, Ana Chapman is ready for a little excitement. Escaping her mother's tyranny in Belfast for one weekend in Edinburgh to meet her online writers' group seems more than enough to cope with. But her visit to the Blood Bar changes everything. Spontaneous public orgasms, supernatural beings, and teleportation weren't on her agenda for the trip. Neither was losing her virginity.

Zanaan is a Fire Elemental, who most humans can't see. When the shy Irish lass locks eyes with him in the bar, he's drawn to her, and this time it isn't the Salamander legend spurring his chase to bed a mortal. After a night of passion with Ana, he feels the effects immediately—he's losing his powers and becoming human. It's what he always wanted. Isn't it?

***

The Blood Bar Chronicles: The Alphas is a tale of friends: Ana, Noelle, Dizzy, Josie, Arielle and Kyla. Members of the Wicked Ladies of Fiction, a group of erotic novelists based in the UK, the women decide to meet up for a night on the town. Little do they know that they’re about to become enmeshed in a series of sexy, supernatural adventures.

Ana, the newest member of the group, meets a fiery Fire Elemental who calls himself Zane and soon, sparks begin to fly. Dizzy hooks up with a hot, horny shifter by the name of Xander, while Josie’s life literally spins out of control due to David’s time-traveling proclivity. Each of the women rally around to help their friend Noelle, a young mother whose six-year old daughter’s life hangs in the balance. Doctors are baffled by her sensitivity to light and the rare qualities in her blood. That is, until the true identity of the child’s father is revealed.

The concept of The Blood Bar is interesting – one of a supernatural portal where humans and otherwordlings mix and mingle. I liked how the storylines of all four authors (Jorja Lovett, Cherie Nicholls, Doris O’Connor, and Arya Grey) intertwined. In particular, I thought Ms. O’Connor’s depiction of Noelle, the forlorn lover left alone with a child to rear was both believable and compelling. However, at times the dialogue in the other tales seemed a bit stilted.

The Blood Bar Chronicles was a wild ride that’d I’d be obliged to recommend to fans of vampires and shape shifters alike.

B

Unscripted by J.S. Marlo

UNSCRIPTED BY J.S. MARLO

Word Count: 86,784

Heat Level: Flirty

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Breathless Press

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"Shaped by fire. Bound by duty. Driven by love." Riley's tumultuous life rivals the television scripts she writes for Wild Rescue.

After a bullet shatters his world, actor Blythe Huxley befriends Riley Kendrick, a new writer on the television show Wild Rescue, never expecting to discover a kindred spirit.

No stranger to tragedy, Riley lends a compassionate ear to Blythe's difficulties and soon becomes entangled in a web of illicit affairs and deadly intrigue.

When an arsonist and a killer both strike, Riley's fate intertwines with Blythe's, and her life and her heart hang in the balance. Will they be able to protect their past? And save their future? 

***

I was dreading the end of this book because I knew that it would leave a huge hole in my heart. I didn't want to say goodbye to Blythe or Riley. I wanted to stay wrapped in their story for much longer than I thought was possible, such is the amazing talent of this writer.

J.S. Marlo has an incredible knack of drawing you into the world that she has created - and created very cleverly I might add. I read a lot of books and most of them are very good but I would honestly have to say that this is an excellent read. Well worth your time and money.

I cried (more than once), I got annoyed (okay really pissed off) at a couple of the characters and frustrated as well. All indicators that I was totally immersed in the plot and the people involved.

A well deserved B plus from me.

B+

Sinful Urges by Sonia Hightower

SINFUL URGES BY SONIA HIGHTOWER

Word Count: 11,537

Heat Rating: Steamy

Genre: Tragedy - Erotic

Publisher: Breathless Press

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Follow the confessions of Juan and Maria as they fall prey to lust at first sight. Can they stop themselves before it's too late, or will they become victims of their own sinful urges?

A new neighbor sends Juan running to confession to rid himself of the lustful thoughts he experiences. Each confession becomes more erotic, more sinful than the last. Can Juan stop himself, or will he give in to the desire that threatens his very faith?

The man across the street causes Maria to question her own morals. When she seeks out a priest for confession, she weaves a tale of exotic kisses and stolen moments. How can Maria find sanctuary in her prayers when her body demands she finds solace in her neighbor's arms?

***

The blub of this was enough to make me know I had to read the story. And the story more than lived up to the blurb.

I found myself totally gripped by every word, wondering what was going to happen next, wanting to rush through it to see what did happen, but not wanting to miss anything.

I actually read it three times, that's how engrossing it is. And the ending? Let's just say I never expected that.

It's rare I get so engrossed in a story that I don't look for errors, but with this? I have no idea if there was repetition, hesitation or deviation. I was hooked.

To be honest, is enjoyment the right word to describe what I got from Sinful Urges?

I don't think it is, reading this you will get so much more, and even find yourself questioning the very tenets of some important fundamentals of some people's lives.

A great short read. I read it in one sitting…walked around assimilating what I read, and read it again.

Definitely if you like something that's a little bit different and don't mind being shocked in an unexpected way, this is for you.

A-

A Facebook Affair by Tara Chevrestt

A FACEBOOK AFFAIR BY TARA CHEVRESTT

Word Count: 38,221 

Heat Level: Flirty

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Breathless Press

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When Kelly and Brandon rediscover each other on Facebook after twenty years apart, it sparks an attraction that even distance can't extinguish. Do they truly have a future, or is this just a Facebook affair?

Kelly Littleton takes the plunge and finally joins Facebook to socialize without the limits that her hearing impairment gives her. On a whim, she looks up a childhood friend. In sending him that first message, she ignites the memories of a crush from twenty years ago. But will they turn into the flames of romance, or end up the ashes of a Facebook affair?

Brandon Hopkins has a lot on his plate. A recent divorce, a pregnant sister, and now, he realizes he's in love with a woman who lives states away. Can he overcome the boundaries of internet romance to make this desire turn into something real, or will adversity and distance be their undoing?

***

A Facebook Affair centers on the rekindling of a friendship between a young hearing impaired woman and a sweet man who knew each other in elementary school. The tale seamlessly transitions from the past the the present. The element of having a deaf heroine brought a sense of realism to the world of erotica, which can sometimes be a bit far-fetched. There were many funny one-liners, and I found myself smiling while reading several times. The heroine is a strong woman, something I love to see in romance, and the hero is quite the gentleman. There was hot build-up and delivery of sex scenes, and non-awkward discussions about using condoms. The one thing I didn't like about the book was that there was head hopping, most notably during one of the sex scenes. I found myself distracted and wondering "Wasn't this just in her point of view?". Regardless, I enjoyed this story and look forward to more from the author.

B

Deaf Isn't Dumb by Tara Chevrestt

Death Isn't Dumb by Tara Chevrestt

Heat Rating: Innocent
Word Count: 30,391
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Publisher: Breathless Press

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You're stupid. You're retarded. You shouldn't have this job. These words lit a fire of determination in one deaf woman who set out to prove to the aviation world…and the world in general that deaf isn't dumb.

Deaf Isn't Dumb is a motivational story of a young woman, Tara, who faces the challenges of growing up "hearing impaired" in a hearing world. Follow her as she recounts everything from childhood bullies to work related restrictions, and funny misunderstandings from mispronounced words to fear of Federal Air Marshals. In this tale, straight from the heart, learn that simply because one is deaf—contrary to popular misconception—it doesn't mean they are dumb.

***

After reading the blurb for 'Deaf Isn't Dumb' I was quite interested in taking a look at Tara's story. Having grown up with a relative who was deaf, experiencing auditory and speech issues when I was younger and ear problems still as an adult, I related to some of the stories Tara had faced in her life, especially when it came to the childhood incidents: the operation and her reactions, the teasing by other children, the lack of peer respect and friendships. There were times I was moved and wanted to reach through the pages to give her a hug and others where I wanted to reach through and ask the people she had to deal with–like the gray-haired man in the men's store where she tried to work and Rat Bastard at another job–how they could treat anyone the way they did. She infused just enough humor into her recounting to make the serious subject of being deaf in a hearing world approachable and, aside from a few minor stylistic/editing choices, a very easy read.

'Deaf Isn't Dumb' was an enjoyable, inspirational memoir that teaches one to be more aware of who they're dealing with, that obstacles can be overcome and nothing/no one should get in the way of reaching one's dreams. Thank you, Tara, for taking a stand in your life and sharing your story with the world.

A-