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Author: Margaret Leigh
Publisher: Torquere

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Aussie cop Miranda is interviewing Kayleigh, the victim of a robbery and attack. As she’s on her way back to join her partner Sid in the patrol car, Miranda is hit on the head and knocked out by a flying coffee cup!

Miranda discovers the owner of the cup is a pretty nurse, Lorraine, a family friend of the victim. They start dating, and then Miranda and Sid catch the yobs that hurt Kayliegh.

This is a short story so not a great deal happens in terms of plot, but even in the short space allotted, Miranda’s character flourishes as she falls in love with Lorraine. It’s a sweet lesbian romance that shows a slice of ‘normal’ real life –people meeting by chance and falling in love.

There’s a nice amount of humour. My favourite lines were when Miranda, on her first day back at work, receives a joke gift from her colleagues of a hard hat. Later she thanks her partner but says she won’t wear it. Sid replies:

“Aww, and after all the trouble I went to, getting a color to match your eyes.”

I looked at the fire engine red hat and half rose to my feet, scowling at him in mock fury.

“Okay,” he held up both hands, “so I’m color-blind.”

A couple of typos – ‘desert’ rather than ‘dessert’ being the most memorable, but otherwise this was a pleasant little read.

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Authors: Mia Varano, Rae Monet, Natasha Moore and Alexa Ames
Publisher: Red Sage

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A collection of erotic novellas, part of the popular print anthologies from Red Sage Publishing.

‘Hot on her Heels’ by Mia Varano

Former showgirl Viveca Steele runs the Lollipop Lounge, a Las Vegas strip club for women. She’s known as an ice queen, treating men as disposable slaves and never letting them get close to her. But her new stripper, Jack, might just make her change her rules about getting involved with the hired help.

Jack Slater is a PI who’s investigating allegations that many of the strippers become toy boy lovers to rich, elderly women and then rob them of their jewellery. Jack’s looking for a particular dancer named Rock, and the best way for him to investigate is to go undercover as a stripper.

Jack saves Viv from Charlie, the guy who ‘adopted’ her when she first came to Vegas as a teenage runaway. Viv’s tried hard to escape Charlie’s sleazy grasp, but now he wants a piece of both her and the Lollipop Lounge. Then Jack’s identity is revealed and Viv is furious, thinking she’s been tricked. As Jack gets closer to discovering who’s behind the thefts, Viv decides to take her own action against him – and plays right into Charlie’s hands…

This was a great story with which to open the latest Secrets anthology. A thoroughly enjoyable read, I couldn’t put it down as I watched the simmering attraction between Viv and Jack.

Viv is a strong, confident heroine. She’s someone who knows how to cater to women’s fantasies, but doesn’t allow herself to explore or enjoy her own. She fears losing control and making the same mistakes as she did as a teenager, and it takes time for her to learn to trust Jack – only for her to discover he’s not what he says he is.

The apparently superficial PI-undercover-stripper story conceals deeper currents, with a strong plot with numerous twists, as well as very likeable central and supporting characters (I especially liked Chanel, Viv’s best friend and business partner).

The love scenes are sexy but not over the top, but where this story really shines is in the sexual tension between Jack and Viv. Jack’s arrogance and Viv’s coldness are great contrasts that work very well in this fast-paced novella. 4.5 Flutes.

‘Shadow Wolf’ by Rae Monet

27th century bounty hunter Dia is half-Dange, half-Lupine, born without the power to shape-shift. A bloody war has raged between the Lupine and the Dange, who won after they poisoned the water supply to alter Lupine DNA so they couldn’t shift. Dia doesn’t feel like she belongs with either race, but now her skills as a tracker and her ability to scent out a wolf is demanded by the Dange Alliance. They offer her a huge sum of money to capture the Shadow Wolf on Earth.

She travels to Scotland where she meets Roark, a Solarian Wolf Warrior, who’s the prince of a race and secret society that’s been around since the 13th century. He’s bonded with a wolf, Wacipi, who’s the Shadow Wolf.

Dia seduces Roark in order to win over Wacipi, but gets more than she bargained for when she finally understands the connection between a man and a woman. Without realising it, she’s mated to Roark. She thinks she can leave Erath, taking Wacipi with her.

But Roark goes after her to seek revenge and rescue Wacipi. He ends up saving Dia from hostile Lupine fire and forging a wary alliance with her. As their relationship grows, they must learn to trust one another – but then Dia’s boss Zarik turns up to find out why she hasn’t fulfilled her part of the bargain…

This story really wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not a fan of futuristic or sci-fi romance so I struggled to read all of this novella just because it didn’t grab me. Fans of this genre may love it, though.

Dia was an interesting character but Roark didn’t match her. I found their first love scene rushed and unbelievable, and compared with the other three stories in the collection, the sex was quite tame. Later, Roark thinks the sex happened fast because he was under Dia’s mind-control. He’s supposed to be a warrior and yet didn’t suspect anything, so I found him a bit dumb.

The rest of the plot was simplistic, linear and a little contrived, making it an undemanding but forgettable read. 3 Flutes.

‘Bad to the Bone’ by Natasha Moore

Annie, still smarting from her ex-boyfriend’s comments that she’s boring in bed and in life, has decided she’s going to stop being a good little girl and start living it up as a bad girl. Attending a school reunion with her best friend Lacey, she decided that her first victim will be hunky Luke Kendall, who used to be the baddest boy around.

Classic car restorer Luke avoids commitments. His mother abandoned him when he was a child and he’s accustomed to distancing himself emotionally. Added to that is the fact that his ex-lover stole his money, and now Luke has no reason to trust women. Except he’s intrigued by bad girl Annie – and challenged by her attitude.

Together they burn up the sheets during a weekend of passion. Neither of them want it to end, but Annie knows that bad girls don’t cling. She’s ready to walk away – it’s Luke who asks her for more. They attend a car show together, but Luke’s thieving ex interferes. Can a bad boy ever reform, and can Annie go back to her good girl life?

Remember the scene at the end of Grease when Sandy wows Danny with her sexy transformation? That’s what reading this novella is like. Fun, sassy and blisteringly hot, I enjoyed every minute of this story. I loved how Annie finds the confidence to stand up for herself and take what she wants. Yes, she thinks about her actions and what the consequences could be, but that doesn’t stop her from doing as she pleases. She’s a fantastic heroine – and Luke is hot, hot, hot, more than a match for her.

Much of the enjoyment in this story comes from the shattering of expectations and stereotypes. When Luke kisses Annie for the first time, she reacts in her ‘good girl’ persona. He can sense it and is slightly mocking – and then she turns the tables on him.

With strong characterisation, sparkling dialogue and scorching sex, this is a really great read. I loved every minute of it. 5 Flutes.

‘War God’ by Alexa Ames

Estella, a graduate student, finds an invocation to an unknown deity in an old book of mythology. Inadvertently, she summons the god Ares. At first he hides himself, preparing her for him through her dreams. Then they meet in the flesh, Ares disguised first as a cop and then as a bouncer/boxer.

Since his break-up with Aphrodite, Ares has been searching for the woman whose body and soul contain the essence of Aphrodite. He’s certain that he’s found her in Estella, and demands a trade from Athena – the antidote to the poison he gave to her lover Argus in exchange for the power to bring Estella into the realms of the gods.

Athena keeps her side of the bargain and Estella is whisked away to Ares’ home in Elios. But can a mortal woman ever tame the god of war?

Although well written, it was something of a jolt to read a story that was 80% sex after the previous story. Characterisation is sketchy at best and the plot is thin, serving to link one sex scene with the next. I didn’t care for the depiction of Ares and didn’t buy his growing affection for Estella. The D/s aspect of the story didn’t do it for me, mainly because of the non-con ‘but I can read your mind and know what you *really* want’ aspect, and Estella’s passive attitude.

I enjoyed the exchange between the gods more than the relationship between Estella and Ares, even though several basic tenets of Greek mythology were broken without explanation.

If you’re just looking for a hot read, you’ll probably enjoy this one, but to my mind it suffers from being the final novella in the collection, especially after the high of the third story. 3 Flutes.

Summary

These four novellas are very different, offering a range of fantasies and locales. From bad boys to wolf warriors, PIs to Greek gods, the heroes are hunky, driven men who match their women in life and in bed. From a slice of real life to a strip club to Mount Olympus to futuristic sci-fi, this anthology has something for everyone. Rae Monet’s story is the weakest, but Natasha Moore’s superb novella more than makes up for it. Two light, sexy reads from Mia Varano and Alexa Ames complete the collection, which will be available in paperback from July.

Overall score: 3.8, rounded up to 4 Flutes.

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Author: Janna Lee Hayes
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

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Alyssa has grown up with stock car racing and provides the timing statistics on her father’s racetrack. Her childhood friend and long-term crush Newt is now an up-and-coming driver poised to move into the big time. When sexy socialite Janie invites Newt to test in California, Alyssa is madly jealous.

Newt has had the hots for Alyssa for a long time. They almost got together at the end of last season, but Lys’ brother burst in on them and split them up. He’s had a lot of women but none get to him the way Lys does. On the verge of moving to California to pursue his dreams, can he really let Lys go?

It’s so unusual to find a book set in the world of motorsport that I really wanted to love this short story. Unfortunately, it assumed far too much of the readers. I know a lot about Formula One, but nothing at all about NASCAR or stock car racing in general. After reading this story, I still know nothing.

Janie’s role wasn’t clearly defined. She’s described as a socialite yet she seems instrumental in landing Newt his trip to California for ARCA testing. I have no idea what ARCA testing is. Since it’s an important plot device, it would’ve been helpful to know what it is. I’d also have liked much more general background and explanation. Motorsport is such an unusual and unique setting, it’s a shame the author didn’t utilise it to her advantage.

I enjoyed the sensual aspects of the story, but overall it read too much like a RPF fanfiction where the author is writing for an audience already familiar with the details of the sport.

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Author: Chris Owen
Publisher: Torquere Press

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Kiddy League baseball coach Myles is a doting dad on friendly terms with his ex-wife, Susan. His gay friend Todd, a widower and a father, helps out at matches and the two men share beer and food together every week. They also share a little light sexual relief. Things are fine as they are, until Myles goes on a date with a girl, Charlotte, from work. He’s enjoying himself with her until she sees a picture of Todd, Todd’s deceased husband and their adopted son. Charlotte doesn’t mind gay marriage but she dislikes the thought that a gay couple could have a child. Confused and angry on Todd’s behalf, Myles sends her home but doesn’t think too much about his reaction.

As time passes, Myles becomes more comfortable with Todd and their sexual relationship deepens. Meanwhile, Myles wonders if he should try a date with another workmate, yet nothing comes of it. After a baseball match, a group of parents go to a bar, where Myles is disturbed when he sees Todd flirting and exchanging numbers with another guy. Suddenly things fall into place with a massive crash - but now Myles knows the truth of his own feelings, is he too late to convince Todd they should be together?

This is written in an unusual POV (although I’ve seen it a lot in fanfic) - third person present omniscient. It’s a POV that gives a sense of immediacy and flexibility, and it’s used to great effect in this novelette.

I loved this story. Like Owens’ longer work Shady Ridge and the Neon Sky, this is a story about men. Real men, who regardless of their sexuality can relax and jerk each other off like it’s no big deal. Real men who love their kids. Real men who live normal, uneventful lives, and yet because of this ordinariness, they’re incredible. Chris Owen has a wonderful way of writing about real men and their real lives, evoking empathy for every character and building a lovely, believable little world I was sad to leave when the story ended.

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Author: Laura hogg
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

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During the Black Death, Isanne’s husband and daughter die of the disease. Her husband Symon doesn’t go easily, cursing God for causing such suffering. But Isanne survives, and lives again in modern times where she serves in the US Army in the Middle East. On a trip to the UK, she’s shocked when she sees Symon again.

Symon has been waiting for Isanne for centuries. A letter left to him by his sister in the fourteenth century reveals that he must find Isanne again for the chance for them both to return to their own time and to save their daughter. But when they’re taken back in time, their daughter is still sick with the Plague - and their only hope of saving her is with a modern cure. Symon and Isanne must pray for a miracle…

I’m not entirely sure what I think of this story. It’s not quite an inspirational and it’s not really anything else, either. It’s a very short story so the characters don’t have much room to grow, and the plot is… not convoluted but it’s almost too busy for the brevity of the story. Just as you settle into one scene it’s over, and over too quickly for me. I wish this had been a much longer story so we could get to know Isanne and Symon properly.

Where this story comes alive, though, is in the descriptions of Symon’s castle. As Isanne wanders around reacquainting herself with their ancestral home, the reader is right there with her.

Fans of Laura Hogg may enjoy this short story but I prefer her longer, richer works - and wish this had been one of them.

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Author: Shada Royce
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

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Edward, the Duke of Carlisle, is dying on the battlefield in the arms of his friend Gavin, Earl Brockington. Edward’s dying wish is for Gavin to deliver two letters - one to his wife, Sarah, and the other to his mistress. Gavin is desperate to reveal a secret he’s carried with him for too long - he’s in love with Sarah and slept with her before she married Edward.

Fifteen months later, Sarah is still in mourning for her husband despite her housekeeper’s encouragement to look to the future. She’s shocked when Gavin turns up at her door and at first refuses to see him. But when he forcibly insists so he can give her Edward’s letter, she relents.

Sarah still loves Gavin, but she’s suffered while the men were away at war. While Edward’s letter frees her mind, can she take a chance on Gavin to find lasting happiness and love?

The opening scene of this short Regency erotic romance is great. On the battlefield with tensions running high, we’re introduced to Gavin and his guilty secret, and see his love for his friend and also his disgust that Edward could value his mistress Micah (isn’t this a man’s name?) over his wife Sarah. For me this was the strongest part of the story.

Sarah’s housekeeper is far too forward. Very few servants, even an old and trusted servant, would touch or address a Duchess so familiarly. Perhaps a childhood nurse would get away with the familiarity, but this struck a false note for me.

Another error that made me go ‘huh?’ was when Gavin visited Sarah at her late husband’s estate. We’re told it’s near Exeter in the south of England. A few pages later, Gavin thinks it’s time to tell Sarah why he’s come to Carlisle. Uh, Carlisle is in the north-west of England and pretty close to the Scottish border – a good 300 miles or more from Exeter.

We’re not told who Sarah is – she’s obviously a lady of quality otherwise she couldn’t have married a Duke – but her characterisation is thin and I finished the story not knowing more about her than I did at the beginning. Why did Sarah marry Edward rather than Gavin, when she’d already ‘ruined’ herself by sleeping with the latter? Apparently Sarah believed herself to be in love with Edward, but if so, why did she sleep with Gavin? Why was Gavin such a bounder that he didn’t make an offer of marriage before he slept with Sarah? And why didn’t he do it after, if he loved her so much?

This is well written, but the Regency setting is just window-dressing and the story leaves me with more questions than answers.

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and a half!

Author: Sharon Buchbinder
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

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Levisa is studying for her Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology, which means she’s an expert on accents and dialects. She’s intrigued when she meets good-looking Sam, who’s from Pigtown, Baltimore. Immediately, Levisa wants to study Sam’s drawl as part of her thesis, but he refuses to be anyone’s guinea pig.

Sam’s friend, Chip, fancies Levisa and bombards her with emails begging her to meet him. When she agrees to go for a coffee with him, he comes on too strong and Levisa flees. She’s rescued by Sam, who later asks her for help. He was told in an interview to lose his accent, and he wants Levisa to help him do it…

I loved the original Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (and the movie version My Fair Lady), and this short retelling of the tale starts off as an interesting variation. I was intrigued by Levisa’s degree and clinical work, and she started off as a good character.

However, things went downhill fairly quickly, with much of this story coming off as a bit jarring. The scene where Levisa asks “How far do you think you’ll get with that accent in an accounting firm?” and the dialogue that follows struck me as offensive and crass. She’s supposed to be persuading him to take part in her study, but instead she insults him. Her people skills are really lacking here and are not what one would expect from a clinical language therapist.

Also, I’m not a fan of seeing dialect or accents in their written form in fiction unless it’s very occasional. For me it’s enough to say ‘he had a such-and-such accent’. I don’t need to read ‘yew’ for ‘you’, ‘rate’ for ‘right’, etc. It pulled me straight out of the story.

Chip’s obsession with Levisa happens way too fast, and his reappearance in the second half of the story really made me go ‘huh?’ That whole sub-plot seemed over the top and unnecessary. In fact the entire second half of the story seemed contrived and rushed.

This could have been a fascinating update of Pygmalion. Unfortunately the story doesn’t fulfil its potential and left me feeling disappointed.

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Author: Margo Hoornstra
Publisher: Wild Rose Press

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Single mum and PTA Treasurer Sarah Walters is looking forwards to the school carnival. Her best friend Roxanne, who’d like to see her settled and happy again, wonders if the handsome, divorced school principal Alex Carter could be the man who puts a smile back on Sarah’s face.

Sarah isn’t one for matchmaking, but when she and Alex end up running a stall together at the carnival, they begin to get to know one another and enjoy a mutual attraction. But Sarah has been hurt by her rat of an ex-husband. Can she trust Alex and her own heart to bring her the happy ever after she deserves?

This is the kind of sweet, quick read you might find amongst the pages of a woman’s magazine. But even in a short read, the author has done a fine job at making Sarah a real character that the reader can identify with. Sarah’s quiet resignation at the collapse of her fairy tale dreams, her love for her daughter and her uncertainty at wanting to believe she can find love again is all very natural and believable. She has a self-deprecating quality that I think most women can relate to, and her growing attraction to Alex is played out in a subtle, understated manner that exactly mimics real life.

Favourite piece of dialogue:
“He’s the school principal. I’m a parent who happens to be PTA Treasurer. We worked together on a school fund raiser. There’s no fairy tale in that.”
“And you lost your glass slipper.”
“It’s a plastic folder.”
“Glass slipper, plastic folder. No difference.”

The story is told from Sarah’s POV so we don’t learn much about Alex, but his actions speak louder than words as he steps in to shield Sarah from an innocent but still hurtful comment from a child. His thoughtfulness is demonstrated further a little later on, too.

Alex and Sarah make a sweet couple who will make you go ‘awww’ when you reach the end of this charming short story.

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Author: Lauren Blades
Publisher: eRed Sage

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Sofia returns to Mexico with the crew of the television show she works on. She’s there to investigate the sights and sounds of a female ghost, Maria, who mourns her three children. Each year, on the anniversary of her death, the woman’s screams are reported. Sofia’s show investigates the paranormal.

Sofia meets up with her old lover, Antonio. They had parted ways years ago due to his secrets. For one, he is a werewolf. Antonio’s secrecy drove a wedge between them, and Sofia couldn’t put up with tormenting herself with where he was and what he was doing any longer.

Their desire for one another sparks again and, with many highly sexual scenes, they realise they still have feelings for one another. However, when Sofia visits the site where the screaming woman died, she sees a vision—one that appears to include Antonio… Pushing for answers from Antonio, Sofia finally uncovers the truth about Maria’s death. Will Sofia allow Antonio back into her life permanently now?

If you prefer a sex heavy book, then Sofia’s Lobo should hit the spot.

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Author: Missy Lyons
Publisher: Whispers Publishing

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Kona is sick of being in his brother’s shadow—after all, his brother is next in line to the throne, and Kona only has dreary accounting to attend to. He needs something more in his life than women who only amuse him for a fortnight at the most. His cousin, Dustin, tells Kona of a woman who rules elsewhere—a woman who doesn’t have a husband. Kona’s mind goes to work on the possibilities…

Kona and Dustin visit the female ruler, Kivra. Kona issued a challenge to Kivra—to fight him. She asks what his name is—but he already told her upon entering her home. Small revision/editing slips like this ruin the read for me, as do frequent point of view switches between characters. Some capitalised words that should have been uncapped and punctuation issues also marred my enjoyment.

Kivra doesn’t concentrate on the sword fight—only on how sexy Kona is. I would have thought that her mind would have been on the blade and saving her kingdom rather than what Kona looked like. Kivra loses the fight, which results in Kona taking her upstairs for passion.

A relationship blossoms—with Kona appearing as a sex pest who can’t keep his hands off of Kivra, even in front of other people.

Unfortunately, A Warrior’s Woman was a book that turned me off rather than on. The editing issues irked, as did the predictability of the plot. I realise that a HEA is essential in romance, but when the HEA/plot is obvious from the beginning, I lose interest in the tale. Sorry.