Tag Archives: erotica

Book Review: Live and Let Orc, by Dani Wyatt

I picked up a copy of Dani Wyatt‘s Live and Let Orc as an Amazon freebie, earlier this year.

I’m loaded down with a backpack full of stolen weapons when a seven-foot wall of orc steps in front of me. He’s got three-inch tusks pressing into a curling upper lip, eight-pack abs, fists the size of cantaloupes and his heated gaze devours me.

I make it out of there alive, barely.

The next day, the same orc that blasted my panties and made me wonder what a tusk laced kiss would feel like turns up at my festival booth sending my customers running for their lives.

I’m ready to blast him with both barrels but, before I get a word out, I’m over his shoulder wondering less about those tusks and more about what’s under that leather kilt he’s wearing.

Soon, I’m falling hard for this primal monster. But, will the burning bridges between our two worlds keep us apart or will we forge our own path to our happily ever after?

This actually started out really well. I thought I’d lucked out. Then the two of them met, and the whole thing went to shit. Look, I’ll fully admit that daddy-kink is not my thing on the best of days. But something about the way it is used here gave me a special sense of ick. And everything about it just seemed to get worse the longer the book went on. They have translators that translate all the languages and he can speak perfectly well. But his syntax deteriorated when speaking to her for no apparent reason. The sex (and it’s erotica; most of the books are sex) just sounds painful. His possessiveness doesn’t come across as endearing or even bad-boy alpha but just as a huge flying red flag. And honestly, the way he behaved and talked during coitus didn’t match what little we learned of him outside the bedroom. All in all, it may be a matter of taste, but despite the moment of high hopes in the beginning, this was a flop for me.

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Book Review: Tentacles and Teeth, by Rowan Merrick

I picked up a freebie copy of Rowan Merrick’s Tentacles and Teeth on Amazon.

Katarina was only looking for one night.

An evening of no-strings fun with someone who knew what they were doing and wasn’t afraid of getting a little wild. One look at the gorgeous bartender with the midnight skin and waving tentacles, and she knew she needed to feel all those…appendages wrapped around her before the night was out. Lucky for her, the bartender was a woman who went after what she wanted, and oh, did she want.

More wasn’t on the table.

But when Katarina wakes up the next morning not only still desperate to touch her, but also talk to her, she’s forced to reevaluate. Maybe a relationship wouldn’t be so bad?

Especially a naked werewolf before coffee.

Running into her maybe-more-than-a-one-night-stand’s roommate in the hall was yet another thing she wasn’t prepared for. It might have helped if she wasn’t still reeling from the night before. Or if he hadn’t been completely nude. Or so…sexy. She wasn’t in the market for one relationship, much less two. But they were both so tempting…

Can she finish her plate? Or did she bite off more than she can chew?

This was porn with—
No, it’s not porn with plot. It’s just porn. I went in expecting porn with plot, but there’s no real plot to speak of. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining; just want us all to be clear on what we’re dealing with. Porn. Tentacle and monster porn.

All in all, I enjoyed it. I appreciated the confident, business-savvy, successful, size 16 heroine. I’ve read far too few porny books with a lesbian in the poly group. That was a pleasant surprise. The writing is quite body and sex-positive, as well as careful about consent…for the most part. I honestly think Fenn’s behavior once he entered the mix undermined a lot of work the book did in this department. (Plus, it didn’t really match his character outside of sexy times.) But they did discuss consent, so it’s more a quibble than a criticism. Similarly, Fenn and Sid were respectful of Katarina throughout the book, only for Merrick to reduce her to the status of toy as soon as the trio interacted with even the first supernatural. Which, again, undermined a lot of the work Merrick had already put into establishing equality in the relationship.

Regardless, it’s spicey fun, and I don’t regret reading it. Plus, I love the cover.

Other Reviews:

Wondra’s World: Book Review Tentacles and Teeth

Book Review: Tangle of Dragons, by Jane Darkspire

I picked up a copy of Jane Darkspire‘s Tangle of Dragons as an Amazon freebie.

The city of Rendale is ruled by dragons—powerful monsters that control every drop of fame and fortune. They fear nothing, hunting without mercy and taking what they please.
And the Ruthless Dragons are the greediest of all.

I grew up believing if I worked hard my dreams would come true. Turns out that’s crap.
After two years of waiting for my life to begin, I was done sitting on my hands.
I’d have a final night of wild fun before packing my bags and saying goodbye to this wretched city.

But no one leaves Rendale once the Ruthless Dragons notice you.

Avrice, Sylt, Mortar and Rask.
The four of them masquerade as men to hide their wings and colorful scales, but they can’t wait to show me what they really are. Rumors say if they bring you to their den, you’ll be changed forever.
Warped and twisted by the time you walk out.

What happens if they never let me leave?

This is one of those books—I’m sure we’ve all read them—that objectively isn’t very good. While the mechanical writing is fine, the pacing is off, there isn’t any worldbuilding or character development, it’s too heavy on the tell instead of show, the villains are cliched, the primary one is conquered too easily and anti-climactically, the men are not given equal attention, and there is no explanation for why the H is The One the men fall for and not just another toy as all the other women. Objectively this book is bad. But subjectively, it’s a lot of fun. It’s so committed to its over-the-top ridiculousness that you find yourself rolling along with it without thinking deeply enough to notice how bad it really is. I’d read another Darkspire book happily.

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