Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Caleb (Review)

Caleb is a player. He's a got a lady at home, a secretary he likes to play with AND a fuck-buddy named Kelly. It can be hard, in more ways than one, to juggle so many women in a guy's life. Does he get away with it? Well, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. The story is written in the first person but switches between the perspectives of characters which makes for an interesting ride for the reader. The sex scenes are descriptive without being too graphic but what I especially loved were the sensual descriptions of the characters' bodies. I felt really transported into the story at those moments. Caleb is an interesting and humorous character and I found his live-in girlfriend, Sarah, to be a bit misunderstood. Overall, it was a worthwhile read.

Caleb is written by Kim McNiel and published by Hot Ink Press.


Thursday, April 11, 2013

His Southern Temptation (Review)

I'm not a regular reader of romance novels—I think the last one I read was "The Bridges of Maddison County"—but Robin Covington's latest novel, "His Southern Temptation" (Book 2 in her series "The Boys are Back in Town" from Entangled Publishing) just swept me off my feet. It's said that a surefire way to identify good writing is if you really care about the characters. Well I not only cared about these characters, I found myself falling in love with them.

Lucky, our handsome hero, is in love with Taylor, his on-again-off-again lover and a beauty that likes to keep her distance and her options open. Their chemistry is delectable and Covington's descriptions of their lovemaking made me feel as if I was the lucky one.

That Lucky is the one pining for Taylor and not the other way around, is something I didn't expect and yet I could totally relate to. I found myself rooting for these two to get together from the start and while their hookups are very satisfying—to both the characters and the reader—I wanted to see the romance blossom and the two make a life together.

Of course just as I'm really getting into the emotions of their relationship, Covington ups the ante with danger and suspense. Remember, I love these characters now, to put them in any kind of trouble is going to make me not want to put the book down until I know that they're okay and can live happily ever after.

Thank you, Robin, for taking me on this romantic adventure and creating Lucky and Taylor, two characters that I truly adore.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

The Modesty Diaries Pt 1 - The Journey (Review)

Have you ever read someone's diary?

I'm not suggesting that you go rummaging through anyone's personal belongings in search of their diary so you can peruse it in the hopes of finding something juicy about their personal life. Thanks to Katie Ellison, you don't have to.

I had the opportunity to read Katie's diary recently and I didn't need to sneak around to do it. She had taken the liberty of publishing it for all to read.

The Modesty Diaries Pt 1 - The Journey, isn't your typical erotic fair but it is a fascinating read. Written in the first person, as expected, the style has an almost stream-of-consciousness feel to it. The dialogue is fragmented within the descriptions but I didn't find it distracting at all from the flow of her storytelling. It simply reminded me that this is not a typical narrative read but a peak inside the mind of the author.

As a man, reading the words—thoughts!—of a woman, I found it especially enlightening. Compared to other erotic stories that I've read where all characters involved are totally confident and assertive in what they want and the sex is practically choreographed ahead of time, Katie's perspective offers a refreshing reminder that real human interaction has its moments of uncertainty, restraint and even a little fear. There is a vulnerability to her "character" that everyone can genuinely relate to yet at the same time she is confident, assertive, knows what she wants and goes after it despite some misgivings and apprehension. That twinge of doubt and uncertainty makes her experiences that much more exciting.

The sex scenes are descriptive without being too hardcore and, again, reveal the character's vulnerability and quirks that we can all relate to. A bit of conflict occurs here and there between her and her partners in choosing what they do, giving the scenes a much more realistic feel, a welcome departure from the A-B-C descriptions of erotic encounters I've read elsewhere.

I really enjoyed her descriptions of sexual climax, especially those of her lovers. I won't spoil the descriptions here but suffice it to say it appealed to my appreciation for characters that aren't afraid of bodily fluids.

I found her choice to replace names of people with single letters to be interesting but a little distracting. I suppose she could just as easily have made up new names for her lovers but, again, it reminded me that I'm not reading a story, I'm reading a diary. These events aren't just from her imagination, they actually happened.

I'm grateful for Katie for allowing me to peak inside her mind and her lifestyle and highly recommend her first foray into erotica.

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Web Site/Blog: http://modestyablaze.com/
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