Wallflowers Don't Wilt by Raven McAllan

WALLFLOWERS DON'T WILT BY RAVEN MCALLAN

Word Count: 19,700

Heat Level: Smoky

Genre: M/F/F Historical Romance

Publisher: Breathless Press

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Two women on the verge of freedom. One man looking for adventure. Can he persuade them that freedom comes in many forms, including three bodies entwined?

Ivo Daranton is bored. What he sees in a busy ballroom soon removes the boredom and replaces it with the thrill of the chase. His quarry? Serena and Arabella—Sappho-following, pinkie-linking, more than just friends.

Although they had not thought they were inclined to include a man in their lives, Ivo decides they are wrong: a man is needed, and that man is him. How he persuades them to give him and his idea a chance—or rather, how the ladies encourage him to persuade them—is as unconventional as the life they intend to lead.

***

This sultry m/f/f short erotika story takes you back into Regency Era England. The author did a great job of putting you directly into the setting, in this case a ball. The author paints a vivid picture of the ladies and their beautiful dresses, the looks and stares of those gossiping and those being gossiped about. The leading ladies: Serena and Arabella are strong willed; they don't care what others think, they have their future together planned. Then they meet Ivo. The story heat up as they determine if Ivo and his teachings will be included in these plans.

B-

A Wild Night's Bride by Victoria Vane

A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE BY VICTORIA VANE

Word Count: 33,529

Heat Level: Smoky

Genre: Erotic Historical Romance

Publisher: Breathless Press

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With the devil in charge, there will surely be hell to pay...

What happens when a struggling actress and a grieving widower come together in a night of unbridled debauchery orchestrated by a bored and machinating rake?

She's a lonely lady down on her luck.

Phoebe Scott, alias Kitty Willis, is a struggling Covent Garden actress with a bruised heart and a closely guarded secret.

He's steadfast and eminently respectable.

Sir Edward Chambers, Ned to his intimates, is guilt-ridden over his beloved wife's death and has avowed to live out a rustic and mundane life...of celibacy.

With the devil in charge, there will surely be hell to pay.

Devil-in-disguise Viscount Ludovic DeVere is determined to return his best friend, Ned, to the land of the living. His meddling machinations result in a night of mind-blowing passion after which "Dull Dog Ned" awakes to find himself in the King of England's bed!

A Wild Night's Bride, a sexy, rollicking Georgian romp!

***

This story starts off with a bang, as the hero and heroine wake up in the king's bed. It certainly piqued my interest! How on earth did they end up there? Why does he not recognize her? What is going on?

I love a good historical and the details in this story are spot on. The author weaves in real historical figures with effortless ease and her descriptions of the time period draw the reader in. Phoebe is a strong heroine who is not afraid to go after what she needs, in this case a protector, when the theater she works at shuts. I liked Phoebe immediately. She struggles with the need to be practical and her own moral convictions. Even though the idea is distasteful to her, she needs to survive, so she makes the most of the situation she finds herself in.

It throws her in the path of the notorious DeVere, and his friend Ned. Ned is a widower, in town to arrange the coming out of his daughter, and he isn't best pleased to be dragged along to a bawdy house. When he encounters Phoebe their mutual attraction is instant, but Ned is sworn to celibacy, following the death of his wife.

DeVere does his best to throw Ned and Phoebe together and when DeVere is challenged to a wager, to 'rut in the king's bed' he accepts.

I shan't tell you what happens next, so as not to spoil the story, but it was both funny and heart wrenching and hot! I wasn't sure what to make of Ned to start with, but as the story unfolds I warmed to him, and once he made up his mind to pursue Phoebe, well, does he make up his mind.

*grins*

All in all this was very enjoyable read and the ending has me all sorts of intrigued!

A-

Book of the Month Winner

The votes have been counted and "Dear isn't Dumb" by Tara Chevrestt is the best book of May! 

You're stupid. You're retarded. You shouldn't have this job. These words lit a fire of determination in one deaf woman who set out to prove to the aviation world…and the world in general that deaf isn't dumb.

Deaf Isn't Dumb is a motivational story of a young woman, Tara, who faces the challenges of growing up "hearing impaired" in a hearing world. Follow her as she recounts everything from childhood bullies to work related restrictions, and funny misunderstandings from mispronounced words to fear of Federal Air Marshals. In this tale, straight from the heart, learn that simply because one is deaf—contrary to popular misconception—it doesn't mean they are dumb.

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Zakia and the Cowboy by Lorraine Nelson

ZAKIA AND THE COWBOY BY LORRAINE NELSON

Word Count: 60,770

Heat Level: Flirty

Genre: Western Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Evernight Publishing

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Thunder Creek Ranch Series Book 1

With a stalker following her every move Zakia has no choice but to flee the city. With her options limited she runs to the only place she's ever felt safe...the Thunder Creek Ranch and her ex-husband, Lucas.

Will he protect Zakia from the stalker? And if he does will either of them be able to ignore the feelings that have simmered for so long, ready to explode... before danger either draws them together or pulls them apart.
***

Ah from the first line I was hooked. Ms Nelson writes in a brilliant style, and I just sat and read this in one sitting, oblivious to what I should have been doing.

I find writing a review hard, because I don't want to give any of the story away!

But, I love Zakia, and her attitude and how she copes.

She's being stalked, and goes to her ex-husband for help. That's all of the plot I'm sharing, but, I will say, the sex is hot!

What is great is yes, hot sex, yes tingly hot sex, but it's not all the book is about. This book has a story. It kept me on tenterhooks, even when you know who the stalker is, well you don't know who he is, and it's great.

So you might say, why no A?

Because I would have liked more of the stalkers reasons. Yeah we find out why, and they are oh so plausible, but the little insights into his mind weren't enough for me.

I will definitely be reading more of Ms. Nelson's work.

B+

The Price to Pay by Raven McAllan

THE PRICE TO PAY BY RAVEN MCALLAN

Word Count: 55300

Heat Level: Flirty

Genre: Romance, contemporary, cougar

Publisher: Breathless Press

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Do a friend a favor? Easy. Persuade the woman she's your soul mate? Not so easy. Does this cougar romance stand a chance?

Raig was only doing a favor for a friend. Who'd have thought the mum he was "babysitting" would turn out to be the woman of his dreams?

Raig could see their future; Vairi could only see the age difference. He may say "you are only as old as the man you feel," but she couldn't do the forever he wanted. Too many obstacles stood in their way, especially when she finds out Raig has not been telling her the truth, even though she too has secrets she's not willing to share. Can they open up and put their doubts behind them to discover how satisfying a cougar romance can be?

***

Oooh, a cougar story. How fun, I thought, and it has a good looking couple on the cover. Those two things were the main reasons why I chose to read this book.

First let me start with the mechanics. If I had to grade only this part of the work, it'd end up in the low C range. It took me a little while to get into the story as I grew used to the style of writing and learning to overlook all the telling words/phrases (i.e.: he felt, he could hear, he let, etc). For my taste, I would have liked the story to have been in the heroine's POV at times and not just spoon fed through how the hero thinks she's feeling/thinking, but the story did work just in the hero's POV. There were other small errors, too, that should have been caught during the proofing (spelling, missed words, etc) and which drew me out of the story.

As for the story, whew, talk about sexy! Who wouldn't want a man treating her like a queen and lavishing gobs of affection on her, even though he's a randy one and struck with the love bug right from the start? The hero explained his quick descent into loving her from his angle, and I did appreciate the fact that the heroine addressed the "falling in love fast." I'd been wondering the same since they didn't know each other yet. I liked how humor/wit is laced throughout the story along with the fun bantering between the couple. The first radio show was quite enjoyable as was the texting back and forth later on. I also found myself trying really hard to guess what the issue was Raig was keeping from Vairi. It was built up to be this huge issue/obstacle that they needed to overcome. Yet, when it came down to it, it seemed to be quickly resolved...probably because of how Vairi felt by the end. And, no, I wasn't able to guess his issue so it came as a nice surprise. If I had to grade the story separate from the mechanics, it would have received a high B.

All in all, The Price to Pay was a good read and decent story, and with the two grades combined, it came out with a weak B-.

B-

Forbidden Desires by Kelly Yeakle

FORBIDDEN DESIRES BY KELLY YEAKLE

Word Count: 43,730

Heat Level: Flirty

Genre: Contemporary f/f Romance

Publisher: Evernight Publishing

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When Dani meets the delicate beauty that is Carmen she knows instantly that she wants her—in her life and in her bed. But can Miss. Commitment-phobic look beyond the sex to see the woman beneath?

To Carmen, the wildly beautiful Dani is a new and exciting friend. What she hadn't counted on is the simmering desire she feels when in Dani's presence. As her relationship with her boyfriend sours, Carmen begins to wonder if there is more to Dani than she realizes.

Should she give in to this, the most forbidden of desires?

***

There is a LOT I LOVE about this book.

1. The writing style is superb, engaging, and shows great talent. 

2. In the end, it has a moral: that a woman CAN leave a long-term relationship, CAN stand on her own two feet, and does not need a man in her life to be happy. 

3. Through the heroine, readers feel the emotional turmoil as Carmen is torn between her long time love and boyfriend and what could be and her new sexy friend, Dani and the forbidden desires and (for her) unchartered territory of loving another woman. 

4. It raises the question and the conflicts around: "Is it cheating?" 

5. The sex was amazing.

Do I recommend this read? Absolutely. My only quibble with this book is at times, I did not like Dani. She came across as really pushy. When Carmen said "no" or "I'm not ready for this" or "I need to think," Dani SAID she'd give her space or whatever, but would continue kissing her and driving Carmen mad. I feel Dani pushed Carmen and didn't respect her need for space.

But I loved Carmen and enjoyed her story very much. I was engrossed and understood the turmoil she was feeling. Loved the issues raised. This was a very good read.

B+

Book of the Month - May

Thank you to all or our reviewers, authors who gave their books to us, and the readers who check out this site. In our opening month of May, we reviewed a total of 9 books and there were 3 that stood out. Those 3 were the ones with the A grade rating, meaning they captured the reader and didn't let go. These are the best books of May.

DEAF ISN'T DUMB BY TARA CHEVRESTT

SINFUL URGES BY SONIA HIGHTOWER

OF COURSE I TRY BY SELESTE DELANEY

And now, please vote for the book YOU think is the best! Voting is in the sidebar. The winner will be chosen on Monday, June 11th.