Stone Cold by J. Hali Steele

Title: Stone Cold

Author: J. Hali Steele

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Publication Date: 2010

ISBN: 978-1-59578-720-0

Genre: Paranormal

Length: Short Novella

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Author Website

Author Email: joannhali@yahoo.com

Rating: 5 Diamonds

Heat Level: Spicy erotic

Other: Masturbation, Menage, oral, anal, m/m

Reviewer: S. K. Fero

Date: 9-20-10

The Stonegars, Book 1

Talk about a man being frustrated!

Erac Dane has spent years cursed and trapped as a stone statue, sculpted in a sitting position. He has been “so close and yet so far” from the woman he desires. She has sat in his naked, stone lap and rubbed her ass against his ever-hard cock for far too long. She has shared her sexual frustrations and her life with him all this time and he could do nothing to help her or give them both relief. Until…

Vena Waring has suffered through one unhappy relationship after another. Her trouble with men began with the father she never knew, a man never talked about. The only “man” she could count on was Erac. “If only Erac could have loved her back.”

I have been to Stonehenge and found it awe-inspiring. The author’s twist on using the famous place was great fun and well done. The characters were unique and I especially enjoyed poor Erac’s frustrations at the beginning. Talk about torturing a hero!

Cria by Suzanne Rock

Title: Cria

Author: Suzanne Rock

Publisher: Loose Id

Publication Date: May 2010

ISBN: 978-1607375784

Genre: Multicultural Shapeshifter Paranormal

Length: 90 pages

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Author Email: suzannerock@ymail.com

Rating: 4 Diamonds

Heat Level: Erotic

Other: oral

Reviewer: Finn

Date: 10/3/10

The ancient mating ritual, known as the Cria, is a race every man in the Jaguarundi tribe wants to win and no woman wants to complete—except for Aleta Cortez. She is in the race of her life in what is supposed to be her final Cria. Her father, the Jaguarundi tribal leader, is overbearing and still believes in the tradition of the outdated race. Aleta has other ideas and intends to “win” the race, just as she always has for the past nine years. But fate has other plans and her former lover, Luiz, shows up to stake his claim. That claim is her.

This is a wonderful tale about shapeshifters set in the Brazilian rainforests, with vivid descriptions that made me truly feel as if I was right there in the action. Ms Rock has a flair for balancing the explicit sex scenes with the conflict the characters must face, and I was rooting for the couple all the way. Especially since Aleta is a wonderfully strong female character, something not always found in erotic stories.

Beast of Burden by Tami Sinclair

Title: Beast of Burden

Author: Tami Sinclair

Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Publication Date:

ISBN: N/A

Genre: Paranormal

Length: 24 pages

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Author Email:  tamisinclair@hotmail.com

Rating:  3 Diamonds    

Heat Level: Spicy

Reviewer: Cassandra Parker

Date: September 29, 2010

Blade wasn’t looking for his mate but one night he stops in a bar for a drink and there she is. Tina is unaware of her heritage and doesn’t know she’s part wolf. Will she be able to accept Blade for who he really is and become his mate?

Delicious Darkness by KyAnn Waters

Title: Delicious Darkness

Author: KyAnn Waters

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Publication Date: 2007

Genre: Paranormal

Length: 43 pages

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Author Email: kyannwaters@hotmail.com

Rating: 3 Diamonds

Heat Level: Spicy

Reviewer: Cassandra Parker

Date: October 3, 2010

Audra has always been afraid of the dark because she has had to protect herself from dark visitors of another realm. As an empathetic woman of white light she is coveted for her power. Audra latest visitor is one of the darkest to ever cross her doorway but is also the one who will change her life.

Dorian Hunt is a fugitive from another dimension and needs to bond with a woman of white light in order to survive in this realm. He’s on the run from bounty hunters who can either capture him dead or alive. Will Audra be able to help Dorian beat back the darkness?

I found this story be a little challenging considering the length. I didn’t feel like the world came across for me. I enjoyed what I got to see of the main characters but that wasn’t much. The way the author handled the getting to know you stage of the relationship worked well for this story considering there were only 43 pages. Overall this was a pretty good read and I would recommend it but it isn’t one of my favorites.

Pelota! by Sarah Black

Title:  Pelota! A Basque-Inuit Love Story

Author:  Sarah Black

Publisher:  Changeling Press

Publication Date:  2010

ISBN:  978-1-59596-839-5

Genre:  Contemporary GLBT

Length: 15 pages

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Author Website: http://sarablack5.livejournal.com

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Rating: 3.5 Diamonds

Heat Level: Sweet

Other: GLBT

Reviewer:  S. K. Fero

Date: 10-1-10

Oliver has dreamed of being Basque all his life, but there is no Basque blood in his lineage. The fact doesn’t keep him from becoming an expert on all things Basque. When his college professors send him on an excavation of a Basque whaling ship sunk in a bay, he finally gets a chance to learn more first-hand. He meets Jack at the excavation and isn’t at all sure he likes the man, until they play a game of pelota.

Jack has dreamed of everything Inuit all his life. He is the top graduate Inuit researcher from another college sent to work on the excavation of the whaling ship. He is at first very competitive with Oliver concerning Basque issues and Inuit issues. A brief argument following a game of pelota brings the two young men closer.

The story was very short and the introduction to the characters brief. Their conflicts were based on their individual specialties and not really something to overcome. The heat of the moment after the pelota game was okay, but too brief. My main problem with this story was that there was too much background of the characters and information about the two cultures. For a longer story that would have been all right. I would have liked this to be a longer story and follow the growing relationship of the characters.

Mischief in the Dark by Liza James

Title:  Mischief In the Dark

Author:  Liza James (Donna M. Kowalczyk)

Publisher:  The Wild Rose Press

Publication Date:  2007

Genre: Contemporary/Halloween

Length:  17 pgs

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Author Website

Author Email: website contact

Rating: 4.5 Diamonds

Heat Level: Spicy

Other: Oral play

Reviewer:  Starla Kaye

Date: 9-27-10

Two people on the rebound from bad relationships find something special, something really hot in a most unexpected place on Halloween night.

Shari Phillips is determined to forget her miserable ex, conquer her fears, and get on with life. But, while on her way to a Halloween party, she decides to go to a haunted house. She quickly realizes this might not have been her best choice. And then when she meets a handsome man in costume as Dracula, she decides this side-trip wasn’t so bad after all.

Will is newly divorced and ready to start fresh, ready even to let his boss attempt to play matchmaker at a Halloween party. But before he goes there, he goes with his teenaged nephew and friends to a haunted house. Fate must have brought him here. It sure led him to one sexy woman.

For a very short story, I really enjoyed it. The characters were developed enough for the length of plot, and the sex definitely spicy.

French Kiss by Sloane Taylor

Title: French Kiss

Author: Sloane Taylor

Publisher: Aspen Mountain Press

Publication Date: September 2010

ISBN: 978-1-60168-317-5

Genre: Contemporary       

Length: 77 pages

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Author Email:  sloanetaylor@comcast.net

Heat Level: Sensual

Reviewer: Cassandra Parker

Date: September 29, 2010

Thrown overboard and left for dead during a storm, no one expected Rachel to survive. But she somehow manages to drag herself to shore, exhausted and wounded but luckily discovered by Henri Bernier. Henri has also been caught sailing out in the storm, and has to reach land for protection. He stumbles across Rachel who pretends to have no memories of who she is or how she got there. What is she hiding and who is she running from?

This book was really sweet and had an interesting plot with some extra twists. There were a decent number of characters and other elements to the plot other than the relationship between Henri and Rachel, but their interactions were pushed along at a very fast pace to compensate. There was a lot of drama in this story and it’s a good read if you’re looking for something quick.