Decoy

Book Review of Decoy, by Michaela Debelius

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DecoyI grabbed a copy of Michaela Debelius‘ book, Decoy (Noel Casey, #1), from the KDP free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Lieutenant Noel Casey is taken aback by her newest military assignment. Her usual routine of vaccine development is interrupted when she’s assigned to analyze Killian, a genetically engineered soldier designed for exceptional strength and intelligence. She’s not accustomed to working with human subjects, especially a person created for warfare, and Killian’s indifference is making it difficult to see past his robotic demeanor.

When Noel is attacked outside Killian’s containment quarters, he is forced to intervene. The altruistic act instantly transforms their relationship, though neither will admit to the shift in sentiment. The predator is now the protector in Noel’s eyes, and she’s thrown off by her growing captivation.

As if her infatuation with a virtual stranger isn’t enough of a distraction, she begins having terrifying nightmares. Her cryptic dreams appear to harbor an elusive warning as she watches them materialize into existence, proving the nightly visions foretelling. She begins to suspect the military base is concealing far more than an experimental soldier, and she can’t shake the feeling Killian is the axis of the chaos. Noel must decide whether she’ll accept the unconvincing explanations offered by her peers, or reject her comfortable environment for an unimaginable truth. With her premonitions pointing towards a violent outcome and her irrational draw to Killian becoming impossible to ignore, she realizes the choice has already been made for her. Noel’s understanding of science is about to be shattered

Review:
This book was not at all what I expected from reading the blurb. That’s not always a bad thing, but I wanted to read the story described. The one I got wasn’t a bad story; it just wasn’t the one I set out to read. Having said that I did like quite a few aspects of it.

I liked that even when frightened, confused, lied to, exhausted and overwhelmed Noel still held her own. Yes, she got pushed around by the men a bit, but she was still strong willed and determined. I liked Killian as the intimidating super-soldier. I also liked him as the gentle lover and considerate brother. I liked Taylor and his relationship with the rest of the guys. I liked the basic writing style and the occasional vocabulary that forced me to utilise my Kindle’s dictionary capabilities. And I am amused to have encountered what must have been the most ethereal sex scene ever. Heck, I’m not sure that first one ever even happened.

What I didn’t like were the things left unexplained. What was up with the tickers? How exactly did people live right there among them, since they have an obvious tendency to attack people at random? (Unless it wasn’t supposed to be random, but that’s never addressed so I’m left to assume it was.) Why did everyone keep the deception up even after they had verified Noel’s identity and why, for god’s sake, why didn’t they call in any help once it was apparent Quinn was homicidal. If she’s supposed to be so darned important you would think people would help the group out a little. Half the base was supposed to be Eneathian after all. (I’m not swearing I spelled that right.)

There were also simply a few aspects of the story that irked me. How was I not supposed to get tired of the attempted rapes? I swear every time Noel turned around someone was trying to rape her. How am I not supposed to feel bad for poor Taylor? I was actually hoping this would turn into a ménage à trois just so he wouldn’t be left out. Lastly, while it was lovely that the Russo’s took her into their home, having so many men about made it feel very much like she was living in a co-ed dorm. Being essentially newlyweds didn’t they deserve their own space?

All-in-all not a bad read, just one that wasn’t what I expected and then left me with a few questions. I’m hoping book two comes up on the free list. I’d be glad to give it a read…even if it does start out with a tentacle monster. Seriously, I read the preview. It begins with the quintessential cheesy, late night sic-fi movie cliché, the tentacle monster. LOL

Review of Dr. Homebrew, by Snow Hudson

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Dr. HomebrewI was sent a free review copy of Dr. Homebrew, by Snow Hudson. (Though the illustrator, Chiara Rogazzo deserves mention too. It’s worth checking out the website just to see more of of her illustrations.) While not currently free, I also know that the book has been available for free through Amazon KDP and will likely come up again.

Description from Goodreads:
An unassuming Psychiatrist by day, Dr. Max Mason and his assistant, Amber, work after-hours in their underground laboratory making the world’s best beers. Unfortunately for Max and Amber, the global corporation, Lake’s Ltd., has forced all independent beer brewers out of business. Pursued by Mr. Wig (the CEO of Lake’s Ltd.) and the clueless Chief Inspector Hastings, Max and Amber dodge one close call after another in pursuit of having their home-brewed beers distributed amongst the general population.

Will Max and Amber ever be able to sell their delicious drinks in the real world? Will Mr. Wig or the Chief Inspector ever find out who Dr. Homebrew really is? Who is blackmailing Dr. Max Mason? And will Max and Amber ever acknowledge their feelings for one another?

Review:
To start with, I adore this cover. It sets the feel of the book before you even start page one. It’s what originally attracted me to the book. As a matter of fact, it’s only the cover that really makes this a steakpunk novella. The technology isn’t really described in enough detail to clue the reader in to its technological genre (normal, sic-fi, steampunk, etc).

I quite enjoyed the story, didn’t immediately figure out the mystery, adored Max and Amber and felt really sorry for poor Chief Inspector Hastings (even if maybe I shouldn’t have). I couldn’t decide if this was supposed to be an indictment of the perceived lack of choice available in the modern Western market or not. I think some of us would be surprised at how little variety is actually available to us once you consider that choice really is only an illusion if you’re only allowed to choose between the same few options. Not to mention how many of those options are actually owned by the same companies. But again, I couldn’t decide if this was or wasn’t the theme here. It could have been or it could just be me reading too much into it.

The novella was written in a tight, snappy narrative style that moved along nicely. I did find it just a little bit repetitive and thought it wrapped up quite quickly at the end. It definitely left ample opening for a second book. I look forward to reading it.

Blood Red

Book Review of Sharon Page’s Erotic Vampire Novel, Blood Red

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Blood RedI grabbed a practically new (maybe even new) paperback copy of this book at the secondhand shop.

Description from Goodreads:
Take a bite of desire…

Althea Yates is a vampire hunter, skilled with the crossbow and the stake. But she knows nothing of a man’s touch—or how to control the unladylike dreams that haunt her sleep. That is when they come, two men of unearthly beauty who ravish her in sweet carnal games, taking her to the precipice of exquisite desire and unimaginable erotic pleasure. It is scandalous. Forbidden. Unholy. For her lovers are not men, but vampires—the very beasts she and her father have sworn to destroy.

It is only a dream…until the elegant carriage arrives at the inn, drawn by four black horses. Until Yannick de Wynter, Earl of Brookshire, alights, silver-eyed, determined, and hungry for something she cannot name. And suddenly, Althea is no longer certain whether she has had a dream… or a dangerously erotic premonition…

Review:
I’m gonna use a star rating here and go with three stars for this book. But that needs to be understood as three stars on the erotica rating scale. I’m not really suggesting there is a whole different grading system for erotica, but we all know to expect less plotting, character development and world-building from an erotica than from, say, literary fiction. So a three star erotica is still going to have less of all of the above and readers accept that as par for the course.

I can sum this book up in seven short words: sex, sex, sex,sex, and more sex. Yep, that’s about it. I realise I can’t reasonable complain about too much sex in an erotica and I’m not. But even by erotic standards the plot was pretty flimsy for a full length book. A lot was left unexplained, such as exactly what special skills Bastien had that was supposed to help him battle Zayan or what exactly vampire were. Somehow demons and Lucifer came into play and I never really figured out how.

So, you’re doing the math in your head, aren’t you? There wasn’t a lot of plot, but the book is 300 pages long. Wow, there really must have been a lot of sex, you think. Yep, and surprisingly the author manages to put enough variety in to keep it from getting too stale. (I admit that by the end I was ready to finish, but I never quite reached the ‘Oh, bloody hell, not another one’ stage.) There is M/F sex, M/M sex, F/F sex, M/F/M sex, a M/M/F/M/M/M orgy, and even a little light bondage, S&M and breeding thrown it. Having said that, some of it just felt a little ridiculous–as if Ms. Page was trying desperately to create situations to add something more. The orgy especially felt this way. You see it coming a mile away, and then just watch it unfold with a mental eye roll and move on.

For all the forced variety there was also a certain innocence to the book. Maybe it’s because it is a couple years old and the current publishing rage is questionable consensuality, forced seduction, heavy BDSM, dominate men and simpering submissive women. I really appreciated that every sex scene in this book is clearly consensual. Althea (what the hell kind of name is that BTW) may be a virgin when she meets Yannick, but she takes to sex with enthusiasm. I did begin to wonder just how much she could experience before she lost that same innocence that the twins love so much, but it’s hardly a point worth thinking too deeply about.

I could have done without the sappy, happy ending. But, all-in-all for a full length erotic novel it wasn’t too darned bad.