Book Review: Prince Lestat by Anne Rice

by | Mar 13, 2015 | , | 0 Comments

Prince LestatPrince Lestat, the latest book in Anne Rice’s epic The Vampire Chronicles series is one hell of a big read – especially in hardback format. But then, it’s telling one hell of a big story. Told from many, many points of view (so don’t rush reading it, or you risk getting lost or confused), Prince Lestat deals with a crisis in the vampire world. Young vampires are being slaughtered all over the world – nests being burned by ancient vampires. But why? It soon transpires that there is a bigger force at play, much bigger than the vampires that must come together and solve this problem before their race is completely wiped out.

I can’t say too much without giving the plot away, but this is a seriously ambitious book. It tells multiple stories from many different perspectives and time periods, then brings it all together in an epic climax. There were times when I did wonder where the narrative was going, what the relevance was to some of the chapters, but I shouldn’t have worried. Rice is a master (or should that be mistress?) storyteller, and she manages to lead the reader on a huge, huge journey, with many characters, twists and turns, yet still leave them having a light bulb moment at the end, where it all comes together. Really, I should have re-read the entire series of books again before coming to this one, but in a way, it didn’t matter. There were enough recaps of relevant parts that I didn’t feel I was missing too much. But it did make me want to refresh my memory, spend more time with characters that are only touched on in this book.

Another compelling addition to the series, I look forward to what comes next.

Available from:
Amazon UK
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Book Review: Bad Angels by Rebecca Chance

by | Dec 12, 2012 | , | 0 Comments

Bad AngelsBad Angels was sent to me for review by the publisher, and I’m very glad they did. It’s not quite what you’d call erotica – I believe it’s classed as a bonkbuster. Basically, it contains sex scenes which are a little graphic, but not too full on.

The book tells the story of a luxury apartment building in London, which houses celebrities, oligarchs and other people who have the ridiculous amount of cash required to live there. There’s also a very high quality plastic surgery clinic next door, and it owns some of the apartments so those who wish to recuperate in extreme privacy may do so – and there are also nurses at hand to administer their after care. It’s Christmas time, and there’s an awful lot happening in Limehouse Wharf. Broken hearts, divorce, marriage, attempted assassinations, love, unexpected love… it’s all going on.

I really enjoyed Bad Angels. I haven’t read anything by Rebecca Chance before, but I’ll definitely seek out her work in the future. Her writing flows really well, it’s very engaging and the humour thrown in had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. It’s a long book, but it certainly didn’t feel that way – each chapter had me eager to read the next, to find out if the residents and staff of Limehouse Wharf had a happy Christmas and New Year. Definitely recommended if you like your books with sex, scandal and humour.

Available from:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Book Depository
Waterstones

Book Review: Wannabe a Writer We’ve Heard Of? by Jane Wenham-Jones

by | Aug 24, 2011 | , | 0 Comments

Article first published as Book Review: Wannabe a Writer We’ve Heard Of? by Jane Wenham-Jones on Blogcritics.

Wannabe a Writer We've Heard Of?I’m not a huge reader of non-fiction books. Not because I don’t want to learn new things, but because I usually find them so dull and difficult to get into that I don’t absorb anything anyway. There’s absolutely no danger of this with Jane Wenham-Jones’ fab book, Wannabe a Writer We’ve Heard Of? A couple of years ago I read her first book in this series, entitled Wannabe a Writer? and thought it was awesome, so I was delighted to be sent a review copy of this book, too.

Jane Wenham-Jones is a lady with her fingers in many pies; fiction writer, non-fiction writer, newspaper and magazine columnist, and so on. She’s also in the public eye a great deal and therefore perfectly placed to be giving advice to people on such matters. In Wannabe a Writer We’ve Heard Of? she does it in her usual inimitable style: fun to read, easy to understand and full of humorous anecdotes.

What’s great about this book is that every piece of information is broken up into small, easily read chunks, so you don’t feel overwhelmed by it. Add in Jane’s wicked sense of humour and sage advice, and you’re onto a winner here.

As someone who’s in the PR game as well as writing, I still found lots of valuable advice in here. I would say this is mainly aimed at people with paperback books available in the shops, and the advice deals mainly with ‘real world’ stuff as opposed to online, but nevertheless it’s a brilliant book to add to your shelf.

Available from:
Amazon UK (paperback)
Amazon UK (Kindle)
Amazon US (paperback)
Amazon US (Kindle)
The Book Depository

eBook Review: Far From Perfect by Portia Da Costa

by | Jul 11, 2011 | , | 0 Comments

Article first published as eBook Review: Far From Perfect by Portia Da Costa on Blogcritics.

Far From Perfect

I knew before picking up Far From Perfect that it wouldn’t be the type of work I’m used to from this author. However, I love Portia Da Costa’s stuff so wanted to read it anyway! And granted, it’s much sweeter than some of her other books and stories, but that doesn’t make it any less of a good read!

This book tells the tale of Anna Felgate. For as long as she can remember, she’s been in love with Nick Lisitano. They’ve been family friends for many years and she’s always had a crush on him. However, it had always been a one-sided thing, until the night Anna decided to seduce Nick in order to rid herself of her virginity. The circumstances weren’t perfect, but Anna thought it best to have her first sexual encounter with a man she knew and trusted, and also one with a reputation as a fabulous lover. Unfortunately, though her plan worked to begin with and a fabulous night of sex was had, it totally messed up their friendship and four years later, it still hasn’t been repaired.

Anna’s still in love with Nick, but she knows she’ll never have him as he’s a millionaire playboy with no intention of settling down with anyone, let alone Anna. She’s pretty much come to terms with the state of affairs, until he waltzes back into her life with an insane proposition that has her brain whirling. Add that to the reaction her body has to being close to him again, and poor Anna’s in a mess.

Nick’s proposal is engagement. His seriously ill father is experiencing a slow recovery and Nick believes that his ‘engagement’ to Anna – whom his father adores – will perk him up. It’s a completely hare-brained plan, but Anna loves the man she’s always thought of as an uncle, so goes along with it for the sake of him and his health. Of course, her own father is also delighted, so once the pair begin the charade, it’s increasingly difficult not to go along with it.

Naturally, their fake engagement has consequences. Anna must split up with her perfectly nice but not at all right for her boyfriend, and Nick must actually spend some time with Anna for the outside world to believe their relationship is real. The trouble is, the more time the pair spend together, the more the sexual chemistry between them sparks and eventually it becomes too much to resist. And so follows a will-they-won’t-they storyline of love, hate, betrayal, fear and trickery. The question is, can Anna and Nick get past all the problems and uncover what they really want? Only one way to find out…

Despite this being a more romantic tale than an erotic one, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve always found Portia’s writing style absorbing and enjoyable, and I whizzed through this tale in no time. I found Nick both lovable and infuriating at the same time and I laughed (in a good way) at some of the things he said and did and often wondered why Anna didn’t just thump him!

Overall, this was a really fun read. The sex isn’t explicit, but it’s still damn hot (which is why I’ve still included in on this site) and I found myself rooting for the young couple throughout the book and it was sweet torture as Portia keeps the reader guessing and guessing until the last possible moment!

If you’re looking for explicit erotica, this book isn’t for you. But if you’re in the mood for a sweet, yet tumultuous romantic read with spicy elements, then I’d definitely recommend Far From Perfect.

Available from:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
All Romance eBooks
Samhain Publishing

eBook Review: Holly’s Intuition by Saskia Walker

by | Jul 4, 2011 | , | 0 Comments

Article first published as eBook Review: Holly’s Intuition by Saskia Walker on Blogcritics.

Holly's Intuition

Holly’s Intuition is the second book in the Erogenous Zones Series by Saskia Walker. I reviewed the first, Monica’s Secret, here.

This book can be read as a standalone, in my opinion, but you’ll have more idea of what certain references mean if you’ve read the first one, so I’d recommend it.

This story tells the tale of Holly. One day, her neighbour, Joshua has an accident and she rushes to his aid. It’s not a fatal accident and since it happened, Holly has had some kind of psychic connection with him. Confused and overwhelmed, Holly says nothing to him, but confides in her sisters, both of whom also have psychic abilities.

The worst thing about Holly’s connection with Josh is that it only seems to be activated when he’s have a rush of emotion; happiness, stress… or arousal. The result is her being able to see everything Josh is getting up to sexually, including having sex with the guy Holly thought was his flatmate. She quickly realises that they’re a lot more than just flatmates.

Both guys are incredibly attractive, and Holly can’t help but get aroused by the visions that fill her head, to the extent that she’s soon wishing she was sandwiched between them, being pleasured by both. It drives her crazy with both lust and confusion about why this has happened to her, and she has no idea what to do about it.

On the other side of the wall, Josh and his boyfriend Stewart have no idea that Holly is inadvertently watching their sex life. They have other things on their mind. Since recovering from the accident, Joshua is now feeling increasing pressure to ‘out’ himself to his family. A few short months ago Joshua had a girlfriend and no idea he liked men. All that changed when Stewart came along and despite knowing his feelings for Stewart, Josh is still incredibly conflicted and confused about his sexuality.

Stewart, on the other hand is openly bisexual and very happy and comfortable with his sexuality. To further confuse matters, both men are attracted to Holly and after a conversation, the boys decide to invite her over for dinner, completely oblivious to the fact that through her connection to Josh, she knows intimate details of their lives.

Holly accepts the dinner invitation, and immediately regrets it. She finds both men incredibly attractive and has seen them in very compromising positions. Also, the closer physically she is to Josh, the more she can sense his emotions. Holly’s playing with fire but can’t figure out a way to get out of it without upsetting someone.

The dinner party both complicates things and excites all three of them until they end up falling into a hot threesome. Holly’s confused to find that both men want her, as well as one another. What started as a hot threesome quickly scares and confuses Holly – she has no intention of coming between the couple and doesn’t want to get hurt herself.

What will she do next? Only one way to find out…

Wow – this is one hot book! Holly’s Intuition is the perfect mix of sexiness, character development and plot. I loved all three main characters and enjoyed how the story progressed. Sadly, it had to end, but I’m definitely living in hope that Ms. Walker will revisit these three at some point in the future! A brilliant read and one I’d recommend to erotica fans, particularly if you like m/m/f threesome tales.

Available from:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
All Romance eBooks
Total-E-Bound

Book Review: Carnal Machines – Steampunk Erotica by D. L. King (ed.)

by | Jun 29, 2011 | , | 0 Comments

Article first published as Book Review: Carnal Machines: Steampunk Erotica Edited by D. L. King on Blogcritics.

Carnal MachinesI had no idea what to expect when I picked up Carnal Machines. I confess that before reading the foreword, I wasn’t 100% sure what steampunk was – though it turned out that I was pretty much right in my thinking. And for those of you that don’t know, in brief the genre is stories based in the Victorian era with an emphasis on inventions and machinery, i.e. steam-powered.

Now that’s cleared up, on to the review…

When I started reading Carnal Machines I quickly realised that the title was very literal. I knew that the machinery would be involved, obviously, but I wasn’t expecting, well, sex machines. There are naughty gadgets left, right and centre in this book – it’s a Victorian version of a sex toy shop!

The book really captures what it was to be alive in Victorian times – worried about being proper, sullied reputations – and sex. Carnal Machines takes what we know about that repressed time and flings open the doors. It’s always been hinted that the Victorians were in fact sex mad, probably due to the ‘forbidden’ nature of the act, and this anthology really plays on that. You can almost imagine yourself being transported back to a simpler time where polite society frowned upon naughtiness, so people did it in secret.

There are tales about the curing of hysterical women, using sexual energy to power machines, steam powered strap ons and much more. It’s a really good fun, well written anthology which is completely different to anything I’ve ever read before.

One of my favourite stories was Doctor Watson Makes A House Call, purely because I’m a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories and thought this was a brilliant take on it. The very idea of the supposedly prim and proper Watson using sexual aids on a woman to ‘cure’ her was excellent.

So, if you’re looking something sexy and very different, look no further. Carnal Machines is a decadent and unique read that’s well worth adding to your to be read list.

Available from:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Book Depository
Waterstone’s

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