Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Blog tour: Event Horizon, by Evelyn Shepperd

                                                                     
Valentine’s Day turns into a nightmare when an ancient vampire burns her
way through the greater Columbus, ushering in the Aztec God of Death. Theo
and Carlos will have to set aside their personal problems in order to put
an end to a deranged killer. But as the body count rises, they find out
they’re going up against more than a vampire -– they’re going up against
each other.

In the midst of the chaos, Theo faces his own personal turmoil. When Lloyd
confronts Theo about his feelings, Theo isn’t sure whether his heart still
belongs to Carlos or if he truly cares for Lloyd. If he wants to save the
world, Theo will have to overcome his troubled heart and harness the power
within.

SLAVE's Review
This was one of very few books I could not even finish. I was confused at the start. I couldn't connect with the characters and felt like information was missing. I was halfway through the book when I decided to just stop. To me Theo came off as disrespectful to his elders and everyone around him, selfish and un-necessarily antagonistic with the two men that wanted to be with him.
Event Horizon is book 2 in the author’s series. I have read books from a series out of succession before, but was able to connect with the characters. Perhaps if this book had hints or some kind of prelude to events that already happened that would have helped. They may have occurred later on, but on my Nook this book was 197 pages and I hadn’t seen anything like that and had no desire to finish reading when I reached page 115.

1 pen

Monday, June 11, 2012

Freed from Fear, by Jaxx Steele



Leaving New York was the hardest thing Dana Scott had to do. 911 had taken the love of his life. Although the pain had eased over time he decided to remain single.
Francisco de la Fuenta was a charming, charismatic, social butterfly that men and women loved to be around. ‘Frank’ had everything a man of his caliber could want: his own business, a great social life, and true friends. What he didn’t have, he didn’t know he needed until Dana Scott came into his life.

SLAVE's Review
I really enjoyed this book! Frank's best friend Reggie hooked him up with Dana because he saw something in Dana that Frank might like. He was right. Frank liked Dana on the on start and pursued him vigorously. Dana was caught in his seductive web. When their relationship goes to another level sexually, Dana found himself overwhelmed with all that Frank could be to him. With the thought that it was too good to be true he panicked and bolted. Frank and Dana get back together, it is a romance after all, but the drama they have to endure before that happens makes this book great.
Without going into too much spoiler detail I will try to break it down for you. Frank chased Dana and caught him. The situation opened his heart and Dana’s too and touched a spot inside him that completely freaked Dana out. Frank was devastated when he left. Finally he found Dana and demanded answers. They hashed out the differences and, determined to make it work, they live happily ever after. This book was a hellava ride and I enjoyed every minute of it! Also, I feel this is worth mentioning. The sex was unapologetic, in your face, hot, get down and dirty, feel good, exhausted at the end type sex…just the way I like it. Making love to one’s partner is enjoyable and beautiful, but straight up hot and heavy— hmm, I can’t seem to find a politically correct word for what fits here—let’s just say the f-ing— has its place in the bedroom as well. This book had both.
5 pens…with refills!

And then there was Anthony, by Jaxx Steele


After the death of his lover, Luke Finley took dating off his list of things to do. After meeting Anthony Dixon he found it difficult to keep the handsome man safely on the friend list. Will Luke let the ghosts from his past prevent him from having love in his future?

SLAVE's Review
This was a moving, sometimes funny and well written story. I enjoyed it very much. The book is from Luke’s point of view. You walk with him to see how he moves forward after the death of his long time lover, Sean. Anthony was sincere about being Luke’s friend, but up front about wanting to be more. He left the pace up to Luke, but when Anthony saw Luke giving in to his subtle seduction he turned the heat up just enough to make Luke walk into his arms willingly.  Well done, Jaxx!
4 ½ pens

Cam's Best Friend, Jaxx Steele



Reynaud Leduc is a Creolyte and endowed with the magical ability to heal anyone. His lover Angele is killed and he is held responsible. As punishment, he was mostly stripped of his magical abilities and shape shifted into an animal form until someone loves him enough to trust him.
Cameron Gamble's café is finally ready to open for business and he can't wait. He has seen a large dog hanging around the building for a while. The dog, Cameron names Mel, seems very smart, gentle and loving so Cameron invites him to live with him. A bond forms between Cameron and Mel that is more than just between a pet and his owner. Will he be enough for Cameron to get over his troubled past?

 
SLAVE's Review
This is a great read. Lots of emotion. I felt the anguish, the anger, the love, even the sex was emotional. I enjoyed learning about the Creolyte people and how they came into being. The Creolyte people were originally regular humans and they evolved where their magical abilities are part of them, but they still retain many human qualities that could create problems if they use their abilities against others. It all seemed plausible.  There were a few questions left unanswered, however, but I look forward to seeing if the author will do a sequel to answer those questions.

4 1/2 pens

The Long Con, Lori Toland



British Agent Nathaniel Bradley is tasked with bringing home a stolen heirloom. After tracking the Faberge egg all the way to a group of criminals in New York, Bradley infiltrates a ring of con artists and gets sucked into the role of a high priced prostitute.
While hoping for a chance to take back what is rightfully his, Bradley’s sole mission becomes to seduce Tony Terranova, Jr, the heir to a notorious mafia dynasty. Though Tony is strikingly handsome, the usually dominant Bradley is hesitant to submit to the sexual whims of a dangerous Mafioso.
What Bradley doesn't expect is for Tony to fall to his knees so eagerly for him, leaving him blindsided by how intensely their dark tastes complement each other. Now Bradley is caught up in a deadly game of lies and desire, where what he truly wants may not be what duty requires.


SLAVE’s Review
Without giving too much detail or plot away The Long Con was detailed oriented and very easy to follow. I got to know the main character Nathaniel Bradley very well. His relationship with Tony was hot! There was an instant spark like they belonged together. All in all, it’s a good read.

I enjoyed it. Character info: great. Plot: great. Flow: nicely done. If you have the time to spend on reading a full length novel, The Long Con is for you. I look forward to seeing this character and the writer grow.

3 pens

She's Furry Yiffy, by Adele Dubois


“She’s Furry Yiffy” an insert of, SHE-SHIFTERS, coming this summer from Cleis Press and editor Delilah Devlin.

Preorder SHE-SHIFTERS on Amazon!

SLAVE's Review

While jogging in the mountains, the main character, Anika, is barely scratched by a Puma. When she is asleep, Anika sees herself as a Puma and wakes with bloody clothing. The attack left her with ‘un-natural’ desires making it, in her opinion, doubly hard for her to find a mate to accept her for who and what she is. When Anika catches the scent of the one she thinks is her perfect lover, her amazing senses took over and the pursuit was on.

She’s Furry Yiffy is an installment in the shifter anthology, SHE-SHIFTERS. The reader is led to believe that Anika is a Puma shifter, but we don’t actual see any shifting. Her lover claims to be a shifter as well, but she doesn’t shift either. In Anika’s dreams she does see herself as a sleek golden Puma. I asked to read this book because I was interested in seeing how lesbian shifters made love, especially since Anika said, “I must warn you, I get aggressive during love making.” but since this book didn’t have any shifting and the love making was far from aggressive in my opinion, I still don’t know.

2 1/2 pens

Wrong Valentine, by Dana Littlejohn


Shante was single, happy and ready for Valentine's Day. She planned a delicious dinner, music and a little self indulgence to celebrate her single-hood. Her evening was going well until someone else's Valentine O Gram showed up at her door. Should she get dressed and make sure it goes to the proper place or does she reap the benefits of someone else's mistake?
available at Phaze

SLAVE's Review
Shante had every intention on spending a romantic, self induced pleasurable Valentine's night alone...boy! was she wrong! This book shows the benefits of being in the right place at the wrong time or the wrong place at the right time...whichever way you decide on, you just want to be there! Wrong Valentine is an unexpected seduction that if you forgot a gift on Valentine's Day, you could send this to your lover.
5 pens...plus refills!

Lady Vampires, by Dana Littlejohn

Dana Littlejohn's female vampire series is about, well, lady vampires. Each book is about a different female vampire looking for love.

Book 1-Sweet Tooth
Sasha had been alone for many years. Lately she began to think it was time for her to take a mate. When she spotted the beautiful Candice, she wanted her at first sight. Distracted to frenzy Sasha enlisted aid from a friend and put a plan into action to claim her for her own.

Book 2- What a Ride!
Tamika James had just accepted a job in Boston. Although she was still single, Tamika was feeling optimistic about her life. During the train ride back to New York she met the beautiful Cassandra and the circumstance catapulted her into a new world she didn't really know existed.

Book 3- Bobbie Rocks!
Roxie stayed under the radar for years moving from city to city to stay in the designing business. Thoughts of taking a permanent mate were put on the back burner years ago. When her friend Melina brought her to an adult toy store to prepare for a party she meets Bobbie. Although she had no intention on keeping her, she had every intention on having her for the night, but Roxie had no idea that Bobbie had other plans for her.

You can find Lady Vampires at Secret Craving Publishing.

SLAVE's reviews

Sweet Tooth:
Sasha, Candice and Jasmine were believable. Though the book was brief, this story held my attention from the first page to the last. Jasmine, the secondary character, set the tone of the sensuality. The main characters used that to take the readers to the story’s orgasmic end. A great read. A short that stands tall among its peers.
5 pens...plus refills!

What a Ride!
Tamika was the passenger on this great ride with Cassandra as the conductor. This book is aptly named because that is what the main character, Tamika, is taken for. There was a time when I was a little confused when Cassandra was bringing Tamika up to speed on her life, so I took ½ a pen. However, What a Ride has an easy start that escalates to a great lunch time readable orgasm.
3 ½ pens

Bobbie Rocks!
The main character, Roxie, sets out for a night of lust and a good meal, but quickly learns she is on the menu. This story rose in crescendo. Seduction was throughout the book and the one sex scene was worth the wait. I enjoyed the characters and the story set up and the ending was fun and unexpected.
4 pens

Overall, Dana Littlejohn’s Lady Vampires are a recommended read, whether you’re alone or sharing them with your partner. Her characters are believable and beautifully alive. They can bite me anytime!

Sunset, by Arshad Ahsanuddin

Los Angeles, 2040. The terrorist Medusa and her followers threaten to destroy the metropolis with a nuclear bomb. One individual, the vampire Nicholas Jameson, comes forward to oppose them.

For tens of thousands of years, the vampires, called Nightwalkers, had been entrenched in a bitter feud with their enemies, the Sentinels, those born to destroy the Nightwalkers with magic and steel. The battle drew to a close once the Redeemer offered the two sides a new path, allowing the Nightwalkers to step back into the sunlight as Daywalkers, in return for giving up the sword.

When Nick takes on the terrorists, he exposes his powers and advanced technology that had been previously unknown to humanity. In the wake of the confrontation, the fragile peace between the races hangs perilously in the balance. Will coexistence be possible, or will the final war destroy them all?

Sunset (Pact Arcanum: Book One)
available at Amazon

SLAVE's Review

Nicholas Jameson aka Magister Luscian was born a human, but was now last of the house of Luscian. Along with the Sentinals, the Night Walkers and other Day Walkers a plan was hatched to save L.A from destruction and introduce them all to the humans, but things go awry when Nicholas met Jeremy Harkness.
The Day Walkers, Night Walkers and Sentinals lived among the humans, going about business as usual until a crazy woman wanted to blow up L.A. This would not only kill the humans, but all of them as well which forced them to intervene and reveal themselves.
I enjoyed reading this book. The story is set in the not so distant future of 2040. Arshad Ahsanuddin’s writing is clean and his storytelling was well done. Just as I had a question, the author smoothly transitioned into back story, successfully answering my queries and then jumped right back to the present to keep the story moving forward. All the characters showed clear emotion. Even with so many characters I was never bored or overwhelmed wondering chaotically about what was going on. The few sex scenes in the book were closed door, which was fine, but I wished that the fighting scenes were in more detailed. All in all this was a good read.

4 pens

Orion's Way, by DC Juris


Orion is a vampire with a tragic past. After running away from abusive parents at the tender age of sixteen, he was turned by a ruthless elder vampire and forced to torture and sexually abuse human feeders and submissive vampires. Though that's all behind him now, he still lives in the shadow of what he was, and it has cost him the loyalty of Xavier, the human feeder he loves. Malagan is Orion's closest friend—the vampire who saved him from brutality all those years ago. Malagan knows the dominant side of Orion—the side Xavier needs—is still there, lurking below the surface. But if Orion's going to find his way back to who he ought to be, he'll need help. And Malagan is just the man for the job.

Buy here: All Romance Books


SLAVE's Review
Orion's Way is about the vampire Orion trying to get over past hurts without repeating mistakes. He loses his feeder because he can't give him what he needs. Orion's coven leader, Malagan, steps in to help. In the end, with Malagan's continued guidance, Orion is able to take steps towards being able to over come his issues.
I enjoyed this book. DC Juris' vampires are hauntingly believable. Orion's scarred past showed through the pages. I could feel his pain and unsureness. Malagan was a good leader and helped him in ways only a true friend and leader could. The story wrapped with a nice happy for now ending.

4 pens

Zapocalypse-The Midnight Special, by D. Dye


Zapocalypse-The Midnight Special was accepted as part of Noble Romance's hit series…
Lesbians vs Zombies: the Musical Revue


When the Zapocalypse arrives and zombies are running around trying to eat all our brains, even the most uptight people aren't going to give a rat's petunia who comes to the rescue. Who knew that two lesbians stranded in some hick-ass town deep in the swamps of southern Georgia would become local legends, heroes in their own right? Gina and Ginger sure as hell didn't.


But that's exactly what they became on the night of The Midnight Special. Battling redneck hypocrites on a nightly basis at the diner was bad, but battling those same inbreds turned zombie was a whole different breed of stupid. Yet with their iPods jacked up and blasting Creedence Clearwater Revival, that's just what they're doing: kicking some serious zombie ass!


With half the town looking out their backdoors and the other half dreading that bad moon a'rising, Gina realizes she and Ginger have been thrust into a fight for the town as well as their lives.


Buy Links:
Amazon.com:   Noble RomanceARe:


SLAVE's Review
Two girls making their way in a small town, killing a few zombies along the way. That’s what the book was about. The characters, Gina and Ginger, are fun and believable. I liked D. Dye’s creation of her zombies and how she introduced them in the book. I enjoyed this book. It had sensuality and a hint of horror. I would have given this story 4 pens, but there were times when the flow felt choppy and it pulled me out of the book, thus I give Zapocalypse-The Midnight Special 3 ½ pens.

Dead Means Dead, by JS Wayne



Louise is having a bad day: studying for exams, play rehearsals under a director she can't stand, and ill-fitting shoes. Surely, there's a limit to what a girl has to put up with! But her day improves when she meets the pretty, new stagehand, Angie. An instant attraction leads to a sexy sojourn in Louise's dressing room. The rest of her day seems almost tolerable, until the director barges in on their interlude and collapses—before reviving to attack Louise. Angie fights him off, and the girls flee to the safety of the quad. Soon they learn their fallen assailant is only the first wave of a terrifying outbreak.


Their best hope to stay alive is to stay together. As they explore each other's bodies and learn the deepest secrets of their hearts, Louise and Angie discover that each has found something in the other's arms they never knew they wanted. But they have to survive first. There oughta be a law: dead means dead . . . .
Louise is having a bad day: studying for exams, play rehearsals under a director she can't stand, and ill-fitting shoes. Surely, there's a limit to what a girl has to put up with! But her day improves when she meets the pretty, new stagehand, Angie. An instant attraction leads to a sexy sojourn in Louise's dressing room. The rest of her day seems almost tolerable, until the director barges in on their interlude and collapses—before reviving to attack Louise. Angie fights him off, and the girls flee to the safety of the quad. Soon they learn their fallen assailant is only the first wave of a terrifying outbreak.


Their best hope to stay alive is to stay together. As they explore each other's bodies and learn the deepest secrets of their hearts, Louise and Angie discover that each has found something in the other's arms they never knew they wanted. But they have to survive first. There oughta be a law: dead means dead . . . .




Noble Romance  Amazon


SLAVE's review
I am an avid reader of horror and zombie type books, thus I looked forward to reading this book to see how the author would incorporate lesbian sex into it. It was my first Lesbian vs Zombie read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. JS Wayne's zombies were believable and the characters realistic. The sex was hot and the story left you wanting more, but satisfied with what you got.


5 pens...with refills! Great job, JS!