Tag: erotic romance

Ebook Review Central, Amber Quill, Astraea Press, Liquid Silver Books, Riptide Publishing, December 2011

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

This edition of Ebook Review Central is the last time ERC will look back at December 2011. Or look at 2011 at all. But one last time to complete the year. This is the time for ERC to see what Amber Quill, Astraea Press, Liquid Silver Books and Riptide Publishing had to say at the close of 2011.

First, Amber Quill did have output across all three of their publishing lines for the first time in Ebook Review Central’s coverage. Until now, it’s been all Amber Allure, their Gay/Lesbian Romance imprint. This month, Amber Heat, their Het erotica line, published two titles (Truth or Dare and The First Noel) and Amber Quill, their general imprint, published one title (Never Moon a Werewolf).

Second, Astraea Press has hired a reviews coordinator, and it shows. Every one of their December titles has at least one review. And this in a month where a lot of people in general were just plain busy with other things. I also noticed that some of the backlist titles picked up reviews. This is really, really great to see. Keep up the good work!

And now, the part you’ve all been waiting for…this week’s featured titles!

The number one pick was definitely Counterpoint by Rachel Haimowitz, published by Riptide Publishing. Counterpoint is the first book in Ms. Haimowitz’s Song of the Fallen series, and is a dark fantasy that takes place at the twilight of the human race. This male/male romance tackles issues of slavery, politics and interspecies prejudice as well as the age-old questions about which love is the highest and greatest: love of family, love of one’s own people or country, or the love of one’s heart.

Dreamer by Ann Mayburn is the ERC second feature for this week. Liquid Silver Books published this story of good versus evil that takes place in an alternate Washington, D.C. Reviewers say that this romance is filled with fantasy and action, and that the characters, especially the heroine, are incredibly sarcastic and funny. This story doesn’t just have evil stalking the children of Washington, D.C., it has Celtic Gods and Goddesses, Temple Warriors and their chosen mates, and more than a little BDSM. This romance is not for those who like their erotic on the vanilla side.

On the other hand, the third featured book is perfect for those looking for a sweet romance with a Happily Ever After and some romantic suspense. From Now Until Forever by Sherry Gloag is about the prince of a pocket European country and the female security chief his parents have entrusted with his safety. When they fall in love and marry, while still keeping their identities secret from each other, their life is idyllic until the prince becomes the target of an assassination attempt and their secrets come between them. The characters are extremely likeable, and the plot works surprisingly well.

2011 has officially ended at Ebook Review Central. We’ll return next week with the Carina Press titles from January 2012. Happy New Year!

 

Ebook Review Central, Samhain Publishing, December 2011

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

By the time December rolled around, it’s pretty clear that the folks at Samhain Publishing were done with Christmas. Out of the 29 titles that Samhain published in December of last year, there’s only one Christmas book. Just take a look at their title list for December 2011 and you’ll see what I mean.

Samhain had other things on their publishing plate besides Santa’s milk and cookies.  On December 13 (not a Friday), Samhain launched their Retro Romance™ line. It’s their way of bringing out older titles that were previously published in print by a host of other publishers, and whose authors want to introduce their work to a new audience of ebook readers. Random House is doing something very similar with the revival of Loveswept, although the Loveswept revival includes some new titles.

The romances from the Retro line did not pick up a lot of new reviews, but my research introduced me to the blog Get Yer Bodices Ripped Here, which definitely wins the award for best blog title of the month. This blog is worth reading for the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s vintage cover-picture inspired trips down memory lane as well as the absolutely inspired snark-fest reviews, which still tell the reader everything they need to know about each book. This blog is awesome.

But what about the featured books for the month?

The first featured title continues a trend for Samhain. This is the second time they’ve managed to scoop up an ebook-only novella in a popular print series. That popularity was reflected in the double-digit reviews all with B ratings and above for Thea Harrison’s True Colors, book 3.5 in her Elder Races series. The Elder Races books are paranormal romances about a group of very powerful, ancient shapeshifters called the Wyr. The series began in May, 2011 with the release of Dragon Bound, and the reviews for each succeeding book, Storm’s Heart in August, Serpent’s Kiss in October, have continued to raise expectations. Since book four, Oracle’s Moon, won’t be out until March, this novella is just enough to whet fans appetites for more. And did I mention that there are dragons?

Head Rush by Carolyn Crane is the conclusion of her Disillusionist Trilogy. Based on the ratings and the fourteen reviews, the fans who were waiting for this book will not be disillusioned in the least. This urban fantasy wowed the reviewers as the perfect conclusion to an enthralling trilogy, complete with paranoia, mind games, awesome characters and bad guys you really need to see get what’s coming to them. It also sounds like this one only works if you start at the beginning, so first Mind Games, then Double Cross, then, and apparently only then, Head Rush. The reviewers all say it’s well worth the trip.

Last at this round up we have Cowboy Casanova by Lorelei James. This is book 12 in her Rough Riders series. Rough Riders is clearly a guilty pleasure for a tremendous number of readers–Ms. James’ books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. The Rough Riders series is erotica, and sex very definitely sells. The series takes place in Sundance, Wyoming, and each book stars a different member of the McKay family. And yes, they are all cowboys. Well, there is one sister. But every single book is smoking hot according to the reviewers, and Cowboy Casanova is sounds like one of the hottest of the bunch. The reviewers are split on whether it’s necessary to read the whole series and get the background on the McKay family to fully enjoy the story, so if you want to start with the first book in the series instead, that was Long Hard Ride.

That’s  it for this week’s Ebook Review Central. We’ll be back next week with the multi-publisher post covering Amber Quill, Astraea Press, Liquid Silver and Riptide Publishing. And we’ll finish up 2011 in style!

Ebook Review Central for Carina Press for November 2011

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

It’s time to take a look at the Carina Press titles from November 2011. When Carina Press posted their November catalog on NetGalley, the whole list looked fairly yummy, and the reviews bear that out. Every title has at least four reviews. This is amazing! Carina published 18 titles in November, and Carina always has the shortest time from the end of the month for reviews to be generated. Clearly, I was not the only reviewer who thought their November list looked really, really good.

And as always, the September and October lists have been updated to include recently published reviews. So keep ’em coming.

This month’s featured books were easy to choose. Any time review numbers start going into double-digits, I sit up and take notice. That means a title has got lots of people not just talking, but reading.

So what were the big three titles in November?

Shona Husk’s Dark Vow was definitely a wow. Eleven reviews, including a TOP PICK! review from RT Book Reviews is enough to make anyone take a second look. For anyone who likes stories with a western flavor, or steampunk, or strong female leads, this book is a winner. There is a hint of science fiction/fantasy, but it’s more of a tease than hard core. It made a lot of reviewers think of the TV series Firefly, and that is not a bad thing by any means. RT Book Reviews made a comparison to True Grit. The blend works incredibly well. Shona Husk’s paranormal series starting with The Goblin King is very popular; this will be too.

For Toni Anderson’s Edge of Survival, thirteen turned out to be the lucky number of reviews this month. Even better, one of those thirteen was a feature review on USA Today‘s Happy Ever After blog. Edge of Survival is a romantic suspense story about damaged people in an unforgiving wilderness, trying to find ways to be strong past the broken places. It is an extremely good book, one that keeps the reader guessing until the end. The heroine of this tale is diabetic, and the author is donating 15% of her royalties to diabetes research. Readers of Nora Roberts suspense titles will love this one.

The third featured title is the second novella in Christine d’Abo’s Long Shots series. A Shot in the Dark was the third book this month to break that magic 10+ review number in November. A Shot in the Dark is an erotic novella with much more than a hint of BDSM. The Long Shots series features the Long siblings and their erotic adventures at an upscale local sex club, Maverick’s. Double Shot, the first book, was sister Sadie’s story. A Shot in the Dark leads sister Paige to her happy ever after. According to the reviewers, these stories are steaming hot, even hotter than the coffee served at the Long Family’s coffee shop. If you are looking for erotic stories that lead to a happily ever after, Christine d’Abo’s trilogy may be just the shot of espresso you are looking for. Pulled Long, the third book in the trilogy, just came out in December.

And that’s a wrap for this week. We’ll be back on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) with the Dreamspinner Press November titles.

Her Christmas Pleasure

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews

Her Christmas Pleasure by Karen Erickson, is a short, yummy candy cane of a story. And yes, I did want you to think of that particular holiday treat for a reason!

Damien Morton promised his best friend, Lawrence Danver, that he would look after the man’s wife, just before Lawrence died. They were, after all, best friends, and it was the honorable thing to do.

What Damien hadn’t counted on was falling in love with Lady Celia Danver. Hopelessly, irrevocably in love. Or that Lawrence’s family would take him in, and come to rely on him in Lawrence’s place. But Damien knows he’s just a man with no family, an employee, however trusted. He can’t really take his friend’s place. His friend was the heir to Earl of Urswick. Damien is nobody.

A nobody who is in love with his friend’s widow. And has been for years. This Christmas, when he and Celia are caught under the mistletoe, Damien gives in to his one chance to kiss the woman of his dreams, before he has to tell her that he’ll be leaving England after New Year’s Day.

That one kiss awakens Celia to something that she hasn’t been willing to let herself see. Damien is more than a friend. And he’s more than the man her five-year-old son wants to be his father. A man she has allowed to act as his surrogate father for several years now.

Damien is a very handsome man she wants to take to her bed.

These two people, Celia and Damien, have to negotiate the rest of their lives during a family Christmas gathering. Damien has the mistaken belief that his origins mean he has nothing to bring to a possible marriage with Celia, that she can somehow do better than a man who not only loves her, but also loves her son. The boy, Theo, already thinks of Damien as his father–Damien is the only father Theo has ever known.

Celia needs to convince Damien that she really loves him, even through she hasn’t shown any sign of it until that mistletoe kiss. And she doesn’t have much time.  Will the course of true love, not to mention really hot lust, run smooth before the holidays are over?

Escape Rating B-: There was more sex than story in this holiday tale. And very hot and spicy sex it was, too. As far as the story goes, I found Damien’s perspective easier to understand than Celia’s. Her enlightenment came a little bit too suddenly for me to completely relate to, although once it was reached, it was understandable that she wouldn’t want to let him go. My question was why she was that blind for quite that long.

His point of view made more sense to me from the beginning. Damien was simply tired of torturing himself by watching someone he couldn’t have, so he decided to put himself out of temptation’s reach by finding a new position–elsewhere. He kept trying to do the honorable thing, but there were limits to his self-control. When those were reached, the author treated the readers to another sensual interlude.

This story can be nicely summed up as a lovely sensual interlude, as was Karen Erickson’s previous entry in her loosely connected Merry Widows series, Lessons in Indiscretion (review).