Blood Ties Phaze

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Author: Missy Lyons

Publisher: Phaze

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1777

Priscilla dances with an older man, William, at a party and agrees to meet him outside later. Once outside, she witnesses a couple involved in a sexual act. She has never experienced such feelings herself. Alarmed, she watches the woman bite the man’s neck, producing blood. Turning, she bumps into William. The point of view switches between William and Priscilla in this scene, which I found jarred the read. Later, it switches between all characters.

William bites Priscilla and discovers that she is an undiscovered, immature vampire. Alerted by a female scream, William realises ‘The Hunter’ (a vampire named Van Wilder) is lurking somewhere, so instructs his men—who appeared from nowhere—to take care of Priscilla. Unfortunately, the men think William meant for them to kill her…

2008

Priscilla has waited a couple of hundred years to exact revenge on William for making her a vampire. She didn’t understand what he had made her, why the sunlight hurt so much, but baser instincts kicked in, and her body showed her that she needed blood. She slaughtered many in her lust for blood—and her hate for William grew. With the help of two of William’s men, Priscilla is at last able to deal out the justice that has weighed so heavily on her for so long. Drugged, William is at her mercy, and Priscilla gains satisfaction in knowing his own tools of torture will be used against him. She tortures him well and doesn’t believe his pleas and explanations as to why he left her that night so long ago.

William, left out in the sun to die, sups blood from a cat and survives. Meanwhile, Priscilla visits Van Wilder for his help in killing William. William finds out, and the urge to let her know that they are, in fact, mates and tied by the bond of blood grips him. Van Wilder falls foul of William, Priscilla accepts William as her mate, and all ends well.

As a summary, I found Blood Ties predictable, which tinged the enjoyment factor. The point of view switches became annoying, as did the overuse of the word ‘felt’ and missing punctuation. I don’t like being negative, but do feel that Blood Ties would benefit from an editorial overhaul, as the tale has the potential to really shine.

Flexible Sexual Phaze

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Author: AJ Bray
Publisher: Phaze

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In this collection, AJ Bray presents six short stories about the flexibility and range of human desire and sexuality.

In ‘Extra Cream’, coffee addict Samantha rejoices when a boutique café opens in her neighbourhood. But it’s not the coffee that gets her heart racing faster but the sexy barista, Joe. After a long day at work she returns to the cafe to get another fix, but Joe wants to give her more than a Vanilla Spice latte and an apple crumb cake.

Rich with great humour and hot sex, this is a fun and entertaining read to start the anthology. 4 Flutes.

‘A Proper Tea Service’ shows us what happens when four prim and proper heiresses get together for tea. Carmen, a maid, is angered by the racist comments made by her employer and her friends. A sprinkling of shamanic magic in their drinks, and soon the ladies are on their way to becoming much more closely acquainted…

I liked this one less than the first story, mainly because it reminded me of a scene from a porn movie and was a bit clichéd. Still, it had some funny lines and was enjoyable in a giggly, cheesy kind of way. 3.5 Flutes.

Lonely trucker Robert gets more than he bargained for at a rest stop in ‘Trucker’s Heaven’. Charming French-Canadian Pierre is more than happy to take the closeted married man in hand and show him that dreams can become a reality.

This was my favourite of the collection, with some lovely characterisation, especially Robert, whose plight as a gay man with a wife and family was explored without sugar coating his needs or ignoring his hesitation and uncertainty. I liked the acknowledgement of his old high school crush on another boy and how this long-held fantasy has affected him, and how it leads him to act on his desires with Pierre. The sex scene in the shower was excellent, too. 4.5 Flutes.

In ‘Page 146′ we meet Sandra, an aspiring paranormal romance novelist who’s hit writer’s block. Her best friend Tanya orders her out for a night on the town, telling her she needs to get laid. Sandra agrees to try a Goth club, hoping to do some research for her book, but to her disappointment there’s not a single wannabe vampire in sight. There is, however, a sexy Romany girl, Shovani, who catches Sandra’s attention.

Here’s another strong, well-characterised story. Even though Sandra hasn’t been with a woman before, her attraction to Shovani is very natural and believable. A smooth and enjoyable read, with another excellent sex scene. 4 Flutes.

In ‘Kelly Girl’, married couple Gary and Jennifer have decided to spice up their love life by spending an hour with a prostitute. Kelly makes certain that she gives full value for money and pays special attention to Jennifer’s pleasure.

There’s really no plot at all here but the sex is extremely well written and very hot. The writing has a gentle quality to it that I found appealing and which lifted this above pure porn. 4 Flutes.

‘Lessons Learned’ is about an unnamed warring couple, a woman and her jealous transgendered lover. The woman flirts to get a discount on a pair of shoes; the couple argue and the woman taunts her lover that his lack of a real penis means he’s not a ‘real man’. The lover retaliates, showing her exactly what he’s capable of doing.

This was my least favourite story in the collection. I didn’t find either character sympathetic – one was a bitch and the other was almost stereotypically ‘male’ in his desire for revenge and violence. The transgender issue was almost peripheral, and overall this read as an ‘angry’ story that left me cold. 2 Flutes.

Summary

This single-author anthology of pure erotica is skilfully written with a very tongue-in-cheek humour and an eye to quirky, light-hearted fun and gratification. There’s no real agenda here, just an open attitude to sex in all its forms. It’s a quick read, and for the most part enjoyable and sexy. It was only the last story that did nothing for me personally, but overall this was a very readable collection of erotica. Overall score = 3.6, rounded up to 4 Flutes.

Lutin’s Heir Phaze

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Author: James Buchanan
Publisher: Phaze

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Julius ‘Jules’ LaRousse has settled with his family in Paris, where he’s still mourning the death of his mentor, Cardinal Richelieu. Jules has it all – good looks, wealth, an open marriage to his beautiful wife – but he’s never been able to learn the secret of his birth…until a letter from Richelieu reveals the truth.

Jules discovers that his mother was from the deBussy family. By chance, he meets a young girl of this family, who leads him to her aunt – the sister of Jule’s mother. Soon Jules is embroiled in a battle with the deBussy family as they seek to deny any connection with him.

Jules’ family, his Irish lover Curran and even his long-standing enemy Charlotte ‘la Tisson’ Mollion are all drawn into the war of words and power. At the same time, a strange magic is at work in Jules’ household – and then tragedy strikes…

Reading this was like trying to watch a Harry Potter film when you haven’t read the books. A lot is assumed of the reader – that we’re familiar with the characters (there’s little description given), familiar with the world-building (no explanations are given), etc. This seems to be a sequel, as there are a large amount of references to earlier events. Such references aren’t particularly well explained, and to be honest by the end of the book I still had no idea what Jules was, beyond the rather vague epithet of ‘Le Fé’. Given that the word can cover any multitude of otherworldly creatures, it would have been useful if the author had told readers new to this universe exactly what was going on, rather than drop in a hint on p166 out of 179.

The characters are flat and uninspiring, the dialogue clunky, and the plot meandering. I found myself wishing for more sex scenes to liven the pace. There’s no emotional connection to any of the characters – granted, many of them are meant to be amoral and devious, but at least the hero should evoke some kind of emotion other than boredom.

One of my pet peeves is the irritating habit of characters dropping foreign words into dialogue when we’re meant to assume they’re already speaking that tongue. It gets even more irritating when French words are not just sprinkled but slathered throughout the book. I’ve never seen so many italics on a page and I don’t want to see that many again – it’s distracting and unnecessary.

There’s some very bad editing in this book, with typos scattered throughout, names changing, titles uncapitalised, bad French, place names italicised when they don’t need it, and worst of all, Provence is referred to throughout as ‘Provance’. How this escaped the notice of an editor is mind-boggling.

The only good thing I can say about this book is that at least the history and period detail is accurate. For that reason alone, I give Lutin’s Heir 2 stars.

Shadow Cat Phaze

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Author: Zoe LaPage
Publisher: Phaze

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Isabelle, an art historian, has come to the Loire Valley in France to work on a major restoration project at the Chateau Limoges. On her first night as she’s out for a stroll, she’s attacked by a panther – and saved by her new neighbour, Jules Valdrome.

She soon learns that there’s more to Jules than a handsome face and a hot body. He’s a Favrés, a werecat descended from the Egyptian goddess Bastet. The creature that attacked Isabelle is Rouvier – a Rogue, an evil vampiric werecat descended from the goddess Sekhmet.

Through a series of puzzles revealed by the fresco, Isabelle learns the secrets of the werecats, only to discover that she’s embroiled in a battle between good and evil as the Favrés try to fight against the increasing power of the Rogues. When Jules’ impressionable younger brother Satie is lured by the seductive Rogue Dominique into danger, only Isabelle has the means to save him.

Then Rouvier bites Isabelle and makes her a Rogue, and her world turns upside down. Together with Jules and Satie, she must find a way of defeating Rouvier and his Rogues before they can begin their plan of human genocide. Armed with her knowledge from the fresco, Isabelle calls on the ancient cat-goddesses of Egypt for help – but can she take on Sekhmet – the goddess of War – and win?

This is a long book (295 pages) but a rewarding read, full of fascinating art historical details and an intriguing blend of cultures and references. The world-building of the history behind the Favrés and Rogues is fantastic and has the potential for more stories featuring these werecats.

Isabelle is a strong heroine, a confident woman who’s not afraid of her sexuality. She doesn’t dumb down but uses her knowledge to help and save her men. But she’s not all gung-ho bravado, either – she has an uncertainty that’s very endearing. I particularly liked the scenes where Isabelle struggles with her first transformation into a werecat. Her resolve continues to be tried throughout the book – she’s a peaceful vegetarian, yet she has to come to terms with eating meat, drinking blood and killing her enemies.

The rest of the numerous fade a little in comparison, although Satie did stand out for me. There are so many characters and so many plot threads that this could well have been two separate books, or even a series. Isabelle is the key to the whole story, though, and indeed the key to unlocking the secrets of the goddesses and the werecats.

If you’re a fan of Christine Feehan’s Dark series, or if you’re just a cat lover, I recommend taking a look at Shadow Cat - a fascinating mix of mythology and erotic paranormal fiction.

Apache Eyes Phaze

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Author: Yeva Wiest
Publisher: Phaze

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Ranch-woman Jenny has just buried her husband, who was killed by a gang of Apache braves. She’s glad he’s dead – he was vindictive and abusive – but being a widow brings danger for a white woman alone. Saved from death by an Apache woman, Miakoda, Jenny soon becomes her lover. Miakoda is the moon priestess of her people, a powerful woman in a man’s world.

Jenny struggles with her upbringing and the expectations of society. She only feels free when she’s with Miakoda. When the men who killed her husband turn up at the ranch, one of them wants Jenny for himself. Miakoda protects her, but this starts a train of events that attracts the attention of the Army. To be with her lover and to win the trust of the Apache, Jenny must help Miakoda capture Fort Bowie – even though it means betraying her own people to do so.

After reading many a white woman/Native American warrior story, I was happy to find a lesbian romance in the same setting. Unfortunately I had a lot of problems with this story. I felt that I was missing huge amounts of information. Things happened without much explanation or build-up, and the scenes in the fort were rushed and under-developed.

The characters were one-dimensional – granted, this is a fairly short story with not much room for character development, but I didn’t feel like I could connect with Jenny or Miakoda at all. The story also rather showcases the disadvantages of using first person POV. Perhaps if the story had been longer and the characters more sympathetic, this could have been a much better read.

However, the saving grace was the author’s obvious affinity and love for the ways of the Apache. Miakoda’s way of life is by far the most fascinating segment of the book and I wish more had been done with it.

Concubinage Phaze

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Author: L.E. Bryce
Publisher: Phaze

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In a land vaguely reminiscent of medieval Persia, two courtesans, Hanithi and Inandré, meet one another by chance during a festival. Both should be attending other men, their lovers and patrons, but momentarily alone, they find themselves enjoying each other’s company.

Hanithi is the ‘good boy’ courtesan, who tries and succeeds in attracting the patronage of a dour but wealthy noble, Ghazri. Inandré is more of a ‘bad boy’. He’s playfully wicked, oblivious to the fact that his actions, however innocent, could be misconstrued.

When Inandré is embroiled in a scandal, he flees the city to find Hanithi, who attempts to help his friend and lover pick up the pieces of his life.

This is not your typical erotic romance. It’s not even your typical e-book offering. Multi-layered, exploring in butterfly-touches questions of love, honour and loyalty, Concubinage is a rare and lovely little tale.

L E Bruce has a wonderful, ethereal voice in her writing, reminiscent of late Victorian travelogues, or perhaps more fittingly, of Sir Richard Burton’s translation of The Arabian Nights. In keeping with the Burton analogy, the style is quite detached and impersonal, which may deter some readers who prefer to get more ‘up close and personal’ with characters. As a whole, though, I found it refreshing and indeed charming, closer to a literary tale than to the usual type of erotic romance.

The world-building is exquisite, and includes a fictional language (complete with declensions!), used sparingly in the story for specific terms, such as the different ranks of male courtesans, games and pastimes, etc. Numerous small details set the scene perfectly, and highlight individual characters in a subtle manner. For example, this is my favourite description:

The guest bed had not been designed with lovemaking in mind,
which had no doubt been Ghazri’s intention when providing the
furnishings that went with the house. […] Ghazri had a keen nose,
and insisted on fresh linens scented with lemon, which he found
soothing. This preference meant keeping a large supply of bed linens on
hand, as well as a fuller’s bill twice what it should have been. Ghazri did
not mind the musk or emissions of sex, but each encounter must begin in
absolute cleanliness.

But – and there has to be one, no matter how beautiful the writing – this story felt like a couple of chapters from a much larger work. I haven’t read anything else by this author, so I’m guessing that most of the questions I have about who and what and why and how would be addressed in her longer works that feature the same shared universe.

Readers familiar with L E Bryce should add Concubinage to their collections without delay. If you’ve never read anything from this author before, it’s perhaps not the best work to showcase her undeniable talents, but it should certainly prove enough to pique interest in her backlist.

Caribbean Blue Phaze

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Author: Dahlia Rose
Publisher: Phaze

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Philadelphia cop Elijah Connors is wrung-out and in need of some R&R. He heads off to Barbados to stay with his friend Mick and his wife Jewel. Immediately he falls for the laid-back vibe of the island, and his holiday becomes even more enjoyable when he meets a mysterious woman on the beach, a snake curled around her shoulders.

Anxious to discover more about the woman, he asks Jewel if she knows of her. Jewel tells him a tale about a legendary race of people who live in the island’s caves, who stole a baby named Alison. Eli wonders if his mysterious beauty is the same girl, and decides to find out.

Trouble appears in Paradise in the shape of coral poachers. Alison attempts to stop the thieves, and Eli is injured as he tries to protect her. Can Alison save her lover and protect her beloved coral reef, and can two people from such different backgrounds find true happiness together?

I haven’t read a tropical island romance for a long time and expected the usual sun, sea and sex here. Instead I had rather a nice surprise. What I liked about this story was that it taught me something – I’d never considered that coral could have a gender, for example – and it had a conscience behind the erotic action. The subplot of coral poachers could have been a two-line mention in a little novella like this, but Alison’s passion for her home and for the coral really shine through.

My only quibble is that in some places I felt there was a lack of drama. The scenes with the poachers could be exploited more for tension, even in a read of this size.

However, I liked the characters of Alison and Eli. In particular, I enjoyed the scene where Eli’s (and the reader’s) expectations are turned on their head. I would quote that scene as having my favourite lines, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise for readers!

Overall, this is a sweet, undemanding read with a heart.

Ice Crystal Phaze

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Author: Becca Dale
Publisher: Phaze

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Ice Crystal is the story of a recently widowed young woman and her struggle to overcome a repressive and oppressive relationship.

As the story begins, Crystal is reeling from the recent loss of her husband in a plane crash. She is a broken woman and she seeks refuge with her dog, Jake, at her grandmother’s home in the mountains of Sweden. Here, with some help from a mysterious dream man, she is able to find the strength she needs to become the woman she was always meant to be.

I thoroughly enjoyed Becca Dale’s Ice Crystal. Ms. Dale has written the story of a woman that readers will easily relate to. When we enter Crystal’s life, she’s just suffered a devastating loss and is trying to put her life back together. The pain of her husband’s death and her uncertainty about her future are realistically portrayed and I could definitely understand where the character was coming from.

Enter sexy Nordic god incarnate, Von, to show Crystal that while her life may have temporarily taken a downturn, there is still lots more living to do. His panacea of choice? Mind-bending, soul-shattering orgasms. Sign me up, please!

Becca Dale’s Ice Crystal is an engrossing, touching and thoughtful read from an author that I hope to read more from in the near future.

Time Warp Phaze Publishing

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Given for the sheer entertainment value. Every wronged woman should own a copy of this book!

Author: Alessia Brio
Publisher: Phaze Publishing

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This review isn’t going to give much away about the plot as it will spoil it for readers. I will admit, when I began to read Time Warp, finding out that Alex is married to Dan, that they were about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, I winced just a little bit at picking a book to read that seemed too peachy, too ‘Alex’s world is wonderful’ for my current mood. It then becomes apparent that things aren’t so ‘cute’.

Scene one: Time Warp begins with Alex making preparations for her first wedding anniversary. All seems wonderful, peachy…

Scene Two: Same scene start, subtle differences. I liked those. Third anniversary, not first. And the small things that creep into a relationship once it begins to age are shown well here.

And then the shocker…

Littered with lines from the song The Time Warp, which, I might add, lends an incredibly creepy/Alex is whacko feel to the whole story, I could NOT put this book down.

Favourite line that had me laughing along with Alex in an insane manner, my eyes narrowed with the excitement and spite of retribution as if I myself were Alex: She chuckled and sang, “That really drives you insa-a-a-a-a-ane.”

I will say no more, except that if you like revenge stories, this is the one for you. If you want to see a deranged woman in action, doing everything you wished you could do to your ex partner, read this.

It makes you feel as if you’ve actually done it. Most satisfying.

Big smile.

Wishes Phaze Publishing

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Author: Stella and Audra Price
Publisher: Phaze Publishing

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Janey Duvall runs a business, an assassin business. She’s in demand. A demon, one Cassiel, who goes by the name of Sean Taylor, wants Janey to supply a number of assassins and send them to China for him. Janey can’t get that many people out there in the time Sean wants. She should be scared of Sean and his threats, but she isn’t. Sadly, she’s dying of cancer and the threat of dying from that is far more scary than dying by Sean’s hand.

Sean asks Nicodemus Marsh to make Janey more pliable, to ‘break her’. Marsh sets off to do Sean’s bidding. And here the Price sisters go again, creating an arrogant S.O.B for me to spit at and curse. Marsh is nasty.

Teeth gritting I-hate-this-man line:

“Hope you like bite marks, love,”

Well hell. That line just cracked me up. Why? Though Marsh says ‘love’ on the end, it only serves to prove what a truly horrible man he is. I also laughed because, as with Reece in Surrender in Moonlight, the Price’s have proved once again that they are able to create the most antagonistic male characters. I didn’t think anyone could be worse than Reece… Plus, not only did it make me laugh, but also made me want to spit at the same time. Unbelievable!

Janey appears to quite like Marsh’s attentions. Is she nuts?

There are a couple of funny lines in Wishes. Here is one:

“What exactly do you do? She smirked. “Other than me.”

Being a Djinn, Marsh can grant Janey three wishes. I know one of them, if I was her, would be to make him disappear. I’d only do that after he gave me the first two wishes, obviously…

Marsh has been alone for 150 years. It’s about time he settled down. He quite fancies doing that with Janey. After all, she likes him for who he is (is she crazy?).

Wishes is one of those books that lets you get quite affronted by the male character, yet at the same time you will him to change and be a better/nicer man. I rooted for Janey because she is ill, and as a final summary I would recommend Wishes to anyone who wants a story where they can love to hate someone in it.

4 flutes.

The Stud Farm Phaze Publishing

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Author: Skylar Sinclair
Publisher: Phaze Publishing

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Dale King returns to the Stud Farm with one thing on his mind, and it isn’t to fulfil one of the many male fantasies he could act out while there either. He wants one man to pay for ridiculing him when he first ‘came out’. Eight years have passed, and his appearance has drastically changed.

Dale recalls the incident, which isn’t pleasant, and it urges him to go through with his plan more than ever. Now a strong-looking Adonis, the man he’s come to teach a lesson won’t know him at all…

Preston Hayman owns The Stud Farm. He employs the most gorgeous men to act out any role the customer requires. Hyped up by his looks, (he loves himself dearly) being in charge is a major turn on. He’s arrogant and nasty. Be prepared to hate this man!

When Dale enters The Stud Farm, Preston senses his charisma and decides he would make a good dancer. Dale gets the job he intended to get and proves to be a great dancer, overshadowing all the others. Preston fancies Dale… Dale, repulsed by Preston, still vows to see his mission through to the end.

Revenge is sweet, or not so sweet for Preston, and Dale is able to leave The Stud Farm happier in mind, body and spirit.

Favourite line:

Who carried a large duffle bag round with them for shits and giggles?

That made me laugh out loud.

I really disliked Preston. He is gross, an arrogant pig. If you like tales of getting your own back, and enjoy reading about characters who make your blood boil, then The Stud Farm is the book for you.