The Touch of Trinity Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Laurlee Ann Harbig

Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

Davin has loved tales of fairies since she was a child, but life has been cruel – her parents dead in a car accident, her boyfriend walking out – and so her belief has been put to the test one too many times. Picking up the pieces, she keeps moving forwards and starts work at a radio station.

Half-Irish Davin has always been able to sense when things are going to happen, and so she’s disgusted but not surprised when Jason, one of the DJs, hits on her. The station hires a new guy, an Irishman by the name of Pan Trinity. That night, Davin dreams of a gorgeous hunk with green eyes – and she’s floored when she meets Pan the next day, who resembles the man she dreamed about.

Pan has come to the US in search of his mother, who abandoned him when he was a baby. He confides to Davin that he’s found his mother in a psychiatric hospital, but she refuses to see him. Davin tries to help, and unwittingly discovers the secret of Pan’s birth…

I liked the motto that weaves through this story: Life has a way of crushing dreams and dreams have a way of ending, but if you keep them safe they will return.

This short tale has plenty of witty one-liners and wry observations that kept me chuckling. Despite its brevity, it’s really quite charming, such as in the scene where Pan explains his unusual name: “I had taken a fondness toward the penny whistle back at the orphanage I was raised at. The good sisters named me Pan after the pagan Greek god.” Isn’t that great? I love it! A really nice touch of characterisation.

My favourite line was when Davin’s boss, who good-naturedly letches after her all the time, says: “Nice jeans”, to which Davin replies: “Thanks…they come with a chastity belt.”

The negatives: Some dodgy editing marred the flow of the writing in places, which was a shame.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, light-hearted ’sweet’ story, more about Davin’s growth and the resurrection of belief in dreams than a true romance. Short and cute.

Love Bite Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Carol McKenzie
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

Rayna ‘Ray’ Craig is at a pool party, watching her friends have fun while she sips a Virgin Mary – an appropriate drink, given that, at twenty, she’s still untouched. None of the guys her age interest her; in fact, she has the hots for an older man – divorcé Mike Zirelli, a nightclub owner, forty years old and totally gorgeous…and also totally the father of her best friend, Carla.

Carla encourages Ray to find a man: “Nookie.” She giggled. “It’s what a
woman’s body needs from time to time. It’s nature’s requirement.”

Unfortunately, the only attention Ray’s getting that evening is from the mosquitoes.

When Mike turns up at the party, he offers to put lotion on Ray’s bites. Things hot up between them, but Mike backs off before Ray can blurt out how she feels about him. They talk about school, and soon Mike offers her a job in his club. He assures her there’s no pressure to accept it, but she doesn’t feel comfortable getting too intimate with him and so she refuses.

Later, just before her twenty-first birthday, Mike approaches her again. Ray’s sleazy neighbour Ben is jealous that she’s flirting with Mike, and so he tells her that Mike isn’t all he seems – he’s a vampire. Ray laughs it off, but when she goes home she starts to put two and two together and realises that maybe it’s true.

Mike promises to take her virginity as soon as she turns twenty-one – but can she trust a vampire? And when it turns out there’s more than one vampire who wants to lay claim to her, Ray finds that losing her cherry is a lot more complicated than she ever expected.

I liked the May-December aspect of this story – a young woman fancying the father of her best friend is obviously a complex situation, and the author manages to present this in a sexy way. Ray’s reticence contrasts nicely with her growing desire, and I really enjoyed her characterisation here.

The continuity of different types of bite – mosquito bite, love bite, vampire bite – was well presented and fun.

Another plus point: How refreshing to see a vampire who can’t create vampiric offspring!

The negatives: I loved the premise of this story, and the first two chapters were great. It was when the paranormal thread of the story kicked in that I felt a little short-changed: there was simply not enough detail to make me really feel and believe in the plot. But this is a short story, after all, so the lack of detail is perhaps understandable.

I liked the forbidden section of the nightclub with the ghosts, and as it’s mentioned twice in the story and Mike specifically asks Ray not to go in there, I was expecting some kind of revelation about this building. Instead, the story ends rather abruptly. I’m not sure if the story really does end there or if some kind of sequel is in the works.

A story with potential but somewhat lacking in polish, this is a decent quickie read and worth the purchase price for the first two chapters.

Aftermath Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Angel Martinez
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

I’ll start off by saying that I’m not easily impressed…and I love being proven wrong. This way, I can say with a clear conscience that I loved this book.

Aftermath is a tale of two men—and what men they are. Victor Szoldos is a gruff, take-charge guy with a high-stress corporate career. You know the type: plenty of money, zero time. Cody Fitzroy is a free-spirited artist with a dubious past, who has found stability and respect in Victor. On the surface, the lovers have everything they could want…but beneath it all, things are falling apart.

The story opens with a touching and hilarious scene that gets hot fast—in more ways than one. Martinez immediately establishes their relationship: Victor, coming home late from a long day, discovers Cody waiting for him in a rather compromising position from which he can’t escape (because his surprise has backfired on him). Things between them swing from hot to cold and back again, and the subject of Cody’s former clubbing comes up. Cody misses the partying; Victor doesn’t want him to get hurt again. A brutal attack and rape during Cody’s last outing had sent him into months of crippling depression.

Cody, feeling that Victor is stifling him, finally convinces his overprotective lover to let him go out, promising to be careful and come home early. When Cody doesn’t return at the time he promised, Victor fears the worst…and his fears are confirmed when a so-called “friend” brings Cody home viciously beaten and raped, again. The lovers are forced to embark on a healing journey for both of them, with their relationship and Cody’s life threatened by the men he can’t identify due to alcohol poisoning—and his club “friend” refuses to.

The writing in Aftermath is solid, vivid and descriptive. Martinez is tasteful and spare with the violence, giving just enough to evoke strong emotion for the characters without grossing out the reader. And there is no holding back when it comes to the physical interplay between Vic and Cody—the erotic scenes are wonderfully hot and skillfully rendered.

Victor is a true knight in shining armor, and playful, vibrant Cody completely stole my heart. I have only two complaints regarding this book. One: at 95 pages that flew by like it was only five, I hated to leave these two characters. And two: the love scenes are so sizzling and intense, I could practically feel the heat…

Angel Martinez, you owe me a new monitor, because Aftermath melted mine. Excellent job.

Relative Dreams Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Emery LaRue
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

Countess Elizabeth Bathory is feared by many, and has no fear of others. Strong of character, she seems to have no conscience—this is very clear when she attacks her maid with a knife. A startling, yet unable-to-tear-your-eyes-away beginning to a book that I enjoyed very much. I will admit to being a little scared, which is a good thing as it shows Ms. LaRue’s talent.

In the past, many young noble women have been sent to Csejthe Castle, Elizabeth’s home, to learn their social skills. Many of these young ladies have disappeared… Elizabeth’s cousin, Thurzo, has been sent to search the castle for the young ladies, and to detain Elizabeth, who feels she has done no wrong. Her nonchalant attitude has an eerie feel to it. I liked the way Ms. LaRue brought forth a range of emotions within me.

The stabbed maid is found, as are many other females, all locked up. They are freed, and a great image is shown here:

So many women fled, Thurzo had the image of scurrying rats.

I could well imagine terrified faces, women pushing and shoving each other in their attempt to gain their freedom. A haunting image, for sure, but one so vivid that I gained so much understanding for the lives portrayed in Relative Dreams.

Elizabeth is walled up in her room. Scheming to get revenge, she casts a spell. In another time, another place, Elizabeth returns to wreak havoc on another woman; Elizabeth Shelton.

Elizabeth #2 is a model. She has been plagued by awful dreams of torture and such like all her life. She can’t understand why she keeps having these dreams, and her friend, Tara, tells her she should see a shrink. Elizabeth #2 takes some time off from her modelling as she feels run down. Things start to get very strange; her dreams encroach into real life, and Elizabeth #2 finds it hard to tell which world she is living in. Finally, after another particularly vivid dream, she gives in and calls a shrink, Dr. Ethan Richards, who agrees to see her that day.

Elizabeth #2 and Ethan become close. Ethan is desperate to help Elizabeth #2 overcome her nightly fears. It soon becomes apparent that otherworldly forces are at work, and as Elizabeth #2 and Ethan grow closer, the wretched Elizabeth #1 grows more incensed…and goes all out to claim Ethan as her own.

An absolutely fantastic read, full of great visuals, creepy elements, and great action. Emery LaRue is one author I’ll be looking out for in the future.

In a Sensual Garden Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

and a half!

Author: Emy Naso
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

A series of interwoven stories exploring and discovering the sensual aspirations and desires of seven people. Each one takes centre stage in turn and roams into the gardens of Mulgar the Enchanter, meandering along the floral path of their choice and acting out the erotic destiny they individually seek. It is lyrical, dream-like and a fantasy, which through language and descriptions range from phobias, fetishes and modern sexual anxieties.

Bryony seeking equanimity

The first story takes Bryony into the rose garden where she encounters two males who proceed to vie for her sexual favours. She is in danger of becoming a pawn in their sexual games until Mulgar the Enchanter arrives in the nick of time, deals with the two men, and sends her off to the white summer house…

Crush my Love

Dutch is bored, but then he sees Mulgar the Enchanter followed by Bryony, and the two now disenchanted men. He follows them, but decides to take a different path out of the three that fork away from the main path he is already on, He goes into the garden of Tulips where he encounters a woman, who by the looks of her fulfils all his sexual fantasies…

Favourite line:

This one could raise the front of a vicar’s cassock.

He begins to live out his fantasy with the temptress, and, you guessed it, Mulgar the Enchanter arrives in the nick of time, deals with the dominatrix and sends Dutch off to the summerhouse at the end of the path…

Potions and Lotions

Lesbian Saphor finds herself in the herb garden following a row with her lover Jenny who has been having an affair with a MAN!

She encounters two women, both of which she is instantly attracted to for different reasons. The three embark on a game of “find and dare”. Just when Saphor was beginning to enjoy it, Mulgar the Enchanter arrives, and dealt with the two women, and sent Saphor to the summerhouse…

Time Must move on

Griselina is in the gardens contemplating her life, and her cheating husband. She wants a new man for herself. She meets a young man, young enough to be her son, who tells her a sorry tale of how he has lost his job.

LOL line:

Jeez his curly pubic hair; wait for it, here it comes…fuck me, what a cock!

Griselina is seeking someone to please her, and the young man begins by offering her just that, but what actually happens… Mulgar the Enchanter puts a stop to the event, deals with the young man, and sends Griselina off to, YES, the summerhouse…

Time to Decide

Shy Virgil is in the gardens remembering his mother who had died a year ago, thinking about his totally unfulfilling job, and his uncertainty about his sexual orientation. He finds a gated garden full of irises, his mother’s favourite flower. A man and woman approach him in the iris garden, and proceed to try and seduce him into… but along comes Mulgar the Enchanter, and yet again puts a stop to the goings on sending Virgil to the summerhouse…

Go For Brash

Scarlet is a bit of a raver, she stumbles across the gardens, and thinks to herself that she has never seen them before, finding that very odd. She meets a middle aged man who appears to recognise her as a teller at his bank, despite her now totally different appearance. They begin a tentative seduction of each other. Scarlet gives the man, Michael, a choice; from her midriff, to either explore up or down? He has just made his decision, when, Mulgar the Enchanter arrives, and sends Scarlet to the Summerhouse…

This is Me

Disabled and wheelchair bound 36 year old Helene is antsy at the world, fed up with never being considered a “real woman” despite dressing to impress. She is in the bamboo garden when she encounters a man. He is as honest as she is feisty, and the two make a connection, in more ways than one, but before it can go too far, along comes Mulgar the Enchanter, and sends Helene off to wait in the Summerhouse…

Are you out there?

All seven of our characters are now in the summerhouse, weighing each other up, and wondering what is going on.

Mulgar appears to them and after an explicit dance is performed, asks them which one of the seven was interrupted on their true path to fulfilment, which one should be allowed to return to the enchanted gardens and continue their journey to fulfilment?

three and a half flutes

Weathering the Storm Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Kelley Vitollo
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

Stephanie was dumped a year ago by her boyfriend, Luc. Unfortunately, she is still hung up on him. Luc owns the local, and only, hardware store for miles. Being the best carpenter in the small town means that Stephanie has to frequent his store on a regular basis.

Favourite line:

Working hard on going into Luc’s without trying to jump his bones.

A storm traps them in the hardware store, just the two of them, alone…

Stephanie has self esteem issues, and that is what broke them up in the first place. Luc uses the opportunity fate has handed him to try and prove to Stephanie how much he loves and needs her.

There follows a well written erotic love scene, culminating in… Well, you’ll have to read it and see won’t you?

Four flutes

She Wore a Red Dress Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Allise Alders
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

A short sexy read, with an unexpected twist at the end.

If you like an easy, slightly risqué read, this is for you.

three flutes.

Blurb:

Finding his wife in the arms of another man, Shawn filed for divorce and refused to look back until now. After a year of trying to cope with the agonizing pain of betrayal, Shawn goes against his better judgment and agrees to meet Vanessa a final time.

Will he find the closure he needs to get on with his life or realize he still desperately needs the woman who broke his heart?

Surrender in Moonlight Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Stella and Audra Price
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

 

In the first book of this series, Beyond the Vision of Dreams, Reece got on my nerves (a good thing). I opened Surrender in Moonlight to find the whole book is about…Reece. I settled down to prepare myself for wanting to hurt him quite badly…

Reece visits a club. He’s in need of some female company. He thinks he’s quite a catch and, along with his money, he probably is. Shame he doesn’t get a personality transplant with all that money he has, for this guy is a total pig.

Reece can shapeshift into a snake. I recommend reading Beyond the Vision of Dreams first, although Surrender in Moonlight gives ample explanation about who is who without repeating anything from the previous book. This is a stand-alone as well.

Reece senses another snake in the club. As he knows all the other snakes, and as snakes aren’t supposed to encroach on another nests territory, he’s intrigued as to which other snake is out on the town tonight. He finds out. A rogue snake, Carmen, speaks with him and one of Reece’s arrogant lone-liners occurs in this scene:

“So should I buy you a drink? Or just take you in the back?”

Let us all grit our teeth at Reece’s…charming way of speech. He has many of these horrible little quips. The Price sisters have created a character that I would avoid like the plague if I met him in real life. Nothing short of a pri… No, I won’t say the word.

Carmen asks Reece if she can catch a ride with him. While talking, he doesn’t realise she’s stolen the keys to his bike. She goes off for what Reece thinks is a few minutes and then realises she’s taken his keys, wallet…

Carmen calls Reece from the police station. She’s been picked up after he reported his bike stolen. He gets her out of jail and insists that to pay him back for the damage to his bike, she must either pay him $500 or stay with him…

Carmen goes back to The Compound (snake nest/apartments) with Reece.

Things happen…

I must just say here that Reece is such an arrogant little… He makes such nasty comments to Chrissy about her pregnant state, that I have the urge to scream quite loudly.

* Bloody Mary screams quite loudly *

Reece is intent on ‘breaking’ Carmen.

* Bloody Mary screams quite loudly again *

I felt some satisfaction that Carmen bought lots of new things at Reece’s expense. Problem is, Reece is so rich, it didn’t bother him how much she spent.

* Bloody Mary refuses to scream again for fear of getting a sore throat *

Bizarrely, though Reece is ‘not a nice chap’, Carmen grows to like him quite a lot. They spend much time together, and both learn things about themselves they hadn’t taken the time to before. As Surrender in Moonlight continues… Does Reece change from a hole in the rear end to a nicer chap? Does Carmen ditch her previously solitary life and stick around?

I recommend buying both titles and you can find out for yourself.

4 flutes.

Beyond the Vision of Dreams Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Stella and Audra Price
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

Remi Crane is sexually frustrated. His dreams are filled with erotic images. He’s raring to go, so to speak, and while walking through the foyer of where he lives (The Compound), he sees a beautiful woman. His urge for sex goes up a notch and he tells himself he’ll have to be careful when he’s in her company or sees her around the place because she sends his thoughts in the direction of sexual liaisons.

 

Chrissy comes to live at The Compound. She’s the woman Remi desires, and is at first unaware of what he thinks about when he sees her.

 

Reece also lives at The Compound. He is arrogant, a true nasty man. If one character caused me such annoyance to the degree that I ground my teeth and cursed at the screen, it was Reece.

 

Remi and Chrissy eventually get together (I’m not giving anything away as it is obvious from the start). There are twists and turns in Beyond the Visions of Dreams that made me smile. This tale is quite literally different. Want to know why? Because Remi, Chrissy and Reece are shapeshifters. Not your usual werewolf, oh no. They’re snakes. This premise struck me as unusual and interesting right from the start. The scenes where they shapeshift are particularly well done and very visual. I enjoyed those scenes the most.

 

Favourite line:

“Sure,” she bit out sarcastically. “Don’t mention it, I try to get knocked on my ass at least once a day,”

 

Beyond the Visions of Dreams starts out with hot action, but an intriguing and delightful story follows. I enjoyed the plot of this story immensely.

4 flutes.

Uncaged Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Jordana Winters
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

Uncaged takes us through a section of one woman’s life. Gwyneth, betrothed to a man she doesn’t love, is appalled when her parents, despite her pleas, force her to marry Randolf.

Randolf is, quite frankly, a pig. He takes what he wants, when he wants it, and Gwyneth endures his attentions while at the same time longing for escape. Each night she takes to slipping out of the house to the woods, where she bathes in the pond. During these times she is free to be herself.

However, the dashing Damian has been watching her every night, and finally comes out of the shadows to meet her. They form a bond, both of them out at night to escape for their own reasons.

Gwyneth’s life is further upset by the constraints of society. She is sick of sipping tea with the ladies while they gossip about everyone. Along with her husband’s continually vile behaviour, she dearly wishes for more than her nightly escapes.

Uncaged ends on a happy note, one I was glad had happened, for no one deserves to be married to an oaf and become so unhappy, as Gwyneth was. For a HEA that will make you smile with the last line, Uncaged is the book for you.

Juliana Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Adelle Laudan
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

Juliana receives a telephone call to say her disgraceful and bullying husband, Gary, is dead. For seven years she has remained hidden inside their home, unable to face the outside world, due to Gary diminishing her self-confidence and controlling every aspect of her life.

In chapter one, I learned just what a despicable man Gary was. Hateful images filled my mind, and if I were Juliana, I would have killed the rotten S.O.B well before his death by dangerous driving. What an utter pig!

Unable to believe that Gary was actually dead, that the phone call had been another of his ways to control her, frighten her, she continues her daily routine as usual. This tugged at my heart. That Juliana was so insulated by what Gary wanted that she was even afraid to let herself believe he had really passed away–fear of being caught in one of his sick games.

From what she wears to even the smallest of her acts, Gary controls. Some of the things described in Juliana that Gary does are so terrible that anger inside me caused me to leave the book and have a cigarette to calm down. That women are subjected to this kind of life makes me very angry.

Gary insists Juliana wears ‘uniforms’ not normal clothes. Underwear is a frivolous expense, so she has to go without wearing any. She is allowed to wear make-up, however, because Gary likes her to look good.

*pause in review again for a break*

After continuing her routine of getting Gary’s dinner done exactly on time, a police officer arrives, and it is only then that Juliana accepts that maybe Gary really is gone for good. Oh my. What an utterly startling set of emotions I felt here, as Juliana realises she can go into Gary’s office, do whatever she likes without fear. She decides to call her sister, the only person she can think of who may still want to know her despite Gary’s attempts of isolating Juliana for so many years.

Cyndi, Juliana’s sister, arrives to take her back to her house. Juliana acts oddly, following the many rules Gary had insisted upon, rules that had ingrained themselves so deeply in Juliana that she didn’t realise she did them. She had, quite simply, forgotten how to live normally.

Cyndi senses the negative energies that surround Juliana, feels them pervading her own, formerly well-balanced home, and when everyone in the house is asleep (Cyndi has a husband and child) she sets about cleansing the house with an aged Indian custom.

Juliana opens up to Cyndi and tells her of the terrible treatment she suffered at Gary’s hands. Julia explains that she is still in the mind-set of the Gary years. I suspect it will take a long time for someone who has suffered such terrible abuse to ever be anything close to normal again–if that is possible at all.

For someone who has experienced some form of abuse, be it mental or physical, certain lines in Juliana will re-open old wounds, or, if a reader is still living the nightmare, they will be able to connect strongly with Juliana’s plight and character. One such line struck a chord with me:

For years now, she had perfected the art of staying detached. Of not feeling, not caring and most of all, not letting her guard down.

Cyndi decides to treat Juliana and takes her out for the day to a health spa. I queried in my mind one small thing–that Cyndi noted Juliana obviously hadn’t seen a razor in a very long time–yet Gary had expected Juliana to be ladylike at all times, so I would have thought his preference would be a woman with smooth underarms and legs.

They then went clothes shopping. Juliana experienced a surge of excitement at this–to choose something to wear that wasn’t anything like the uniforms she’d had to wear before.

Juliana is amazed that Gary’s estate is hers now he is dead. He had no family, therefore everything went to Juliana. She had gone from a terrified woman, trapped in her apartment, to someone finally able to come out of her shell, with money to her name. Juliana then feels ready to embark on a cleansing of her mind, spirit and soul, and Cyndi is more than willing to help. Juliana is soothed, and slowly begins to learn to live again.

David O’Leary enters her life, a policeman who has come to discuss the issue of Gary’s remains.

Juliana comes to a big decision–that she would like to move out of Cyndi’s home and find a place of her own. How wonderful that she is able to make such a simple decision like that, one ‘normal’ people take for granted every day. Juliana’s spirit slowly begins to heal, she enters this new life with caution, but knowing in her subconscious that Gary cannot hurt her ever again–except in her memories–memories that lurk inside her mind, for when she purchases that new house she insists on new locks on the doors and windows, not really able to totally believe that Gary won’t come back and track her down, find her, and punish her all over again. What a terrible state of mind to be in, just terrible.

Embracing the same life her sister leads, Juliana learns the power of her own mind–that it has the ability to heal her wounded soul. After moving to her new home, her life takes on a whole new meaning. I won’t go into details of what the rest of the book is about, for it would spoil the read.

Just know that in life, we sometimes have to go through terrible things before the goodness is bestowed upon us. We have to learn certain lessons before we can progress to the next stage. Juliana proves that, and not only is it a shocking/heart-rending/lovely tale, it also shows that good things do happen.

Having read Destination Unknown, Ms. Laudan’s other title reviewed here, for purposes of our fair review policy, I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that the plot/story subject in Destination Unknown, in my opinion, doesn’t suit Ms. Laudan’s ‘voice’.

Juliana, however, suits her perfectly, and shows us that she can indeed write a gripping tale, one I’m very glad to have read.

Thank you, Ms. Laudan.

 

 

Wasting The Dawn Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Elisabeth Drake
Publisher: Forbidden Publications

REVIEW:

 

Rhiannon and Gareth visit the grave of Gareth’s late wife, Irina. Gareth and Rhiannon are now married, but each one mourns Irina’s passing just as much now as they did five years ago when she died. Each Valentine’s Day they visit her grave.

This year Rhiannon takes a white rose, Irina’s favourite flower. As the couple stand and think about the past, a raging storm arrives. The rose is snatched out of Rhiannon’s grasp, and when she looks at the grave of her former friend, she is shocked to find a naked female form in the foetal position on the ground.

Hardly believing her eyes, Rhiannon takes a closer look and sees that it is her friend, Irina. How was this possible? How did she manage to come back after so long?

There is tension and awkwardness here. Of course, there would be. Imagine yourself, married to a man whose first wife comes back to life. You’d ask yourself many things. Does he still love her? Does that mean our relationship will become redundant? Many emotions must race through your mind, and for that, this story made me think.

To begin with, the prose is so mournful I would deem it beautiful. I was captured by the voice from the start. However, it does change throughout the book. Upon taking Irina home, and hearing her reasons as to why she’s alive again, the ‘voice’ of the story changes, as does the tone. This isn’t a problem, but I was actually quite sad that this tale lost its earlier poignancy. I realise the tale couldn’t continue in the same vein as it started, but still, such beautiful wording and ‘feeling’ is very rare, and I admit to feeling sad when it went away.

The trio go back home to discuss their circumstances, and Rhiannon reveals a secret she has kept for many years. Irina knew what that secret was, although she never revealed this knowledge when alive.

Irina is a little spiteful, in my opinion, when she spills out one of Gareth’s secrets–that he had visited church and mourned her passing even while married to Rhiannon. I went off Irina after that, though I can understand how she must have felt.

A lot more happens in this story, which I won’t reveal.

Very well written, Wasting The Dawn is a good read for a shorty. I did find myself wishing it didn’t take the path it did. This doesn’t mean the path it did take wasn’t enjoyable, but for my own preference–that beginning was just so powerful… For me, what happens in the last third of the book took some of the earlier magic away.

Enough lamenting about it.

Sigh.

So, I gave four flutes for the tale it was, not for the tale I wanted it to be. It deserves the score as Ms. Drake has an exceptional voice and a unique ‘thing’ that just shines from the page. I like some of the word combinations she uses–she doesn’t seem afraid of experimenting, veers from ‘the usual’. I like that.

I especially liked the ending. Very sweet.

Made my eyes sting.

The Virgin Courtesan Forbidden Publications

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Sela Carsen

Publisher: Forbidden Publications

ISBN: N/A

Genre: Erotic Historical Romance

Length: Short Story

REVIEW:

Set in Venice, 1528, we are transported to the interior of a brothel. A young woman, Nerina, is rebuffing gentleman after gentleman and draws the attention of Domenico Venieri. She’s not particularly beautiful, but there is something about her that makes her unique.

Nerina doesn’t want to be a courtesan, but with her family dead or unable to help her, her options are to “earn” her living or starve. Sensible girl that she is, she chooses to “earn” her living. Or thinks she can do it, but she can’t. When a particularly disgusting patron pushes her, she slaps him and makes an enemy.

Domenico saves Nerina from the powerful patron, but he has his own reasons for helping her, and it’s not just to get into her drawers. The rest, you will have to read to find out. I will not ruin it for you.

Sela Carsen has a very distinct voice, is excellent at creating atmosphere, mood and characters, and obviously has done her research. I like the fact that Nerina wasn’t drop dead gorgeous, was intelligent, and resourceful. I also really like that Domenico showed enough respect for Nerina that he didn’t force her into doing something she didn’t want to do. He was a bit of a pig, but considering the time period this is set, he wouldn’t fit in if he weren’t.

My favorite part of the book came when Nerina took out her stiletto and used it to obtain some information in a very enterprising fashion, much to Domenico’s surprise. Being the sadistic slut that I am, this particular scene made me grin. Nope. I will not reveal more. You will have to read it to find out. I also really enjoyed the scenes where they separate and then masturbate. Oh, that was priceless and unique. She refuses, he lets her go, then both take care of their needs. It made me laugh and cheer that Ms. Carsen wasn’t afraid to be different.

Now, I did have issues with the book. While Ms. Carsen obviously did her research, some of the dialogue didn’t work. I felt like I was listening to my teenage daughter talk to her friends and some of the scenes were over the top. For instance, not only did Nerina slap a man for kissing her, she threw wine in his face. This has been so done much in movies and other books that I shook my head. The slap was enough. The wine was, well, Hollywood.

I also had issues with Domenico and the first scene where he sees Nerina. Men are visual creatures… in the beginning. They look first then are attracted to the talk. However, I found it a bit unbelievable that he would automatically think she was something special. Nerina was nothing really special. Great boobs, great figure, great singer, but only pretty, not breathtaking, yet Domenico is thinking: “But this woman intrigued him for some reason. It wasn’t her beauty, strictly speaking, just some vague notion that she might…match him.” Later in the book, after they have had conversations and arguments, when he admits that she intrigues him, that is believable, but at this point? No. And especially not thinking about matching him. When you consider he is a very wealthy merchant and she is a penniless, wannabe prostitute, this just doesn’t fit with the time period. Class was a huge barrier in Renaissance Venice. 

There was also an issue with POV switches in the middle of a scene. At times, this became confusing and I had to stop and go back to make sure I knew whose viewpoint I was in now. 

While there are other things that bother me, there is only one more I will mention. One of my biggest pet peeves is when an author cops out on description: “Dressed in a doublet of midnight blue velvet trimmed in gold, he held himself with military bearing. He was large and muscular…” You get the picture. I don’t want a run down of what he looks like. I want to know how she perceives him, if she finds him attractive and why, not this analytical listing of “he was dressed in this, was large, was muscular”. Later on, she weaves description into the action very successfully from the POV of the heroine/hero, giving me a lot more information than the previous list, information that shows me what the characters are thinking, how the other affects them and so on. 

Despite all of my issues, I did enjoy the story and I really waffled between giving this story three or four champagne flutes because I like the characters, I like the tale, and I like the mood of the piece. And I think Ms. Carsen has a unique voice and a great deal of talent. I think the issue here is that she didn’t have an editor to bring up some of the issues I mentioned, and many others that I didn’t. Do I think you’ll enjoy it? Yes, but because of the issues, I cannot give it a four.

 

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REVIEWED BY:

 

SCORE:

 

REVIEW:

This little e-book gave me fits and I couldn’t decide on three or four flutes of champagne. I love historical romance, but this story has so many pros and cons that I finally had to open the PDF again and looked over The Virgin Courtesan a couple more times. The flaws kept jumping out at me and I decided to settle on three flutes. However, that’s not to say that Ms. Carsen’s material doesn’t have redeeming qualities—it does.

First, the good qualities.

I must say that I’m probably one of the pickiest reviewers online, so imagine my surprise when I started reading Ms. Carsen’s e-book and actually enjoyed the opening pages. There is much lovely description in the work and the setting is done well; I really saw, smelled, felt, and heard the various aspects of Venice described throughout the story. The heroine, Nerina, is fleshed out well and is both innocent and strong. Plus, I liked the glimpse into the historical side of prostitution and the fact that women often did not have a choice. Selling their bodies was a matter of survival.

The hero, Domenico, is likeable, sophisticated, and worldly, but he could have used a bit more character development beyond the stereotypical qualities.

The flaws of The Virgin Courtesan really jarred me out of a good read. The many POV switches in mid paragraph and even mid sentence had me sighing in frustration. Modern speech crept into the 16th century dialect and the characters’ thoughts. (This is one of the main errors many new historical fiction writers make.) Moreover, the fight scenes between Domenico and the villains are flat and uninteresting; Nerina’s knife play was more believable. She’s a wicked little minx with that blade!

Good fiction must show, not tell. I hate it when I read sentence after sentence of his vest was blue when the author could show me how the moonlight glimmered on his blue vest. A good editor would have caught this stuff. Lastly, despite the e-book’s nice qualities, I felt that all the highlights of a full-length novel had been condensed into a micro-short story. I wanted more…but alas, it just wasn’t there.

My favorite scene was the opening pages in the salon where Domenico watches Nerina and surveys all the courtesans in the room. The imagery, colors and atmosphere are very rich. My favorite line involved Giada, Nerina’s pet cat who had just watched a bloody fight from the safety of her high perch: She stopped to sniff at Terullio’s body, sneezed in disgust and leapt into Nerina’s arms. This gave me a chuckle because only a cat owner could describe one so well in so few words.

My opinion is one of many, dear author, but regardless of my views, I see a lot of talent in The Virgin Courtesan. I really wanted to give this work a four-flutes rating or better, but it truly does need more work to nudge it up there, so I’m sticking with three. If you ever decide to write a full-length novel and find a knowledgeable editor, I’d be happy to read more of your historical fiction in the future.

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Cocktail Review Team.