Tag Archives: erotica

Cleaning out the short stories from my ‘Taking Care of my Own’ challenge shelf

I collected all the books that I own, written by people I ‘know’ into one place with the intent of spending the next month reading them. In doing so, I noticed a couple are actually novellas, novellettes, or short stories. So, I’m taking this opportunity to sit down and systematically work through anything less than 100 pages all at one time.

I’ll be honest up front, and I’ve said this before, I’m not a huge fan of short stories in general. I’m a bit mystified how I always seem to have so many on my Kindle. I think they breed. Anyhow, following are reviews of 6 very different stories, grouped for no more reason than that they matched an external criteria. Enjoy

Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness, fan girl swoon! I loved this sooo much. (Honestly, I’m not just saying that. I really loved it.) It was the feel of it, more than anything else. Yes, I could wonder how Antho could see a proficient assassin as even remotely fragile. I do. But I don’t really have to understand where self-destructive, self-sacrificing, obsessive love comes from to believe it. Emotions are slippery things and sometimes they have a mind of their own, especially the emotions of already damaged people. (And aren’t we all just a bit damaged, in the end?)

The open, all out on the table, completely exposed autobiographical letter style of the story is extremely effective in stirring emotions. I wanted very badly to see Antho and HIM to find some peace, but know it can’t be.

Apparently this is a stand-alone short for a series that doesn’t exist yet. I will DEFINITELY be reading it all when it does. A full five stars for this one.

Would someone tell what the heck I just read, because I sure don’t know. It’s set in some mysterious dystopian future (no cause of the decline of civilisation is provided) and predominantly focuses on a mysterious character named Steve (no defining characteristics are provided) and his even more mysterious girlfriend, Leslie. So, essentially an unknown man, in an unknown future, fights some unknown social oppression, comes to some unknown decision, which then lead to some unknown consequences. Ummmm….

It’s my understanding that this is a small piece of a larger work. I had forgotten this when I sat down to read it. (To be fair, I’m fairly sure the author did mention it in his email.) If I had remembered, I probably would never have picked it up. I detest the trend of publishing teasers marketed as complete pieces of work. It pisses me off to realise too late that I’ve just invested time in a mere piece of something.

What’s more, and I’m really not trying to be mean here, I get the impression from the blurb (and the author’s ascertain that this somehow ties into a graduate thesis) that this whole series is being developed as some sort of university assignment. It feels like it too. From the synopsis:

The revolution is headed by the forgotten inmates of Alcatraz. These inmates are actually powerful philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Camus, Gandhi and others. Together they will take on The General (who is based off of The Marquis de Sade. A rather dark philosopher.) and a populace that struggles to care about anything other than themselves.

We’re name dropping here. We’re ensuring that the reader (professor) knows we’ve done our research. We’re creating artificial gravitas for ourselves. This sense of self-importance wasn’t just apparent in the write-up, but carried through the book too. It showed up in the way the vague inferences (and HEAVY descriptions) suggested that the reader should know what was going on, and if only they too were just a bit smarter, they would. When really, there simply wasn’t enough solid information provided to allow understanding to develop. Plenty of others love this story; so maybe despite all my education I’m really not up to sophist par. It’s off-putting. Or at least it is to me.

The writing is technically fine. There is a palpable atmosphere to the story and as a longer piece, the world could be interesting. But on it’s own, this is just an anchorless, random (and largely undefined) series of events that mean nothing to the reader.

Ms. Cathcart and I aren’t technically ‘friends’ so this doesn’t technically qualify for the challenge. But we’ve interacted a number of times in the forums and such. Since I’m reading shorts today, I figured I might as well throw it in.

I thought this was an interesting little story chronicling one young man’s attempt to find himself, when he wasn’t even originally aware that he was lost. An obsession with David Bowie, once removed, is just such a random way to go about it. I especially liked that the HEA isn’t one that brings all the happy people together. Joe had to face the consequences of his actions, but was still happy with the end result. It did seem to wrap up unexpectedly quickly, but it’s well-written and worth the time to read.

I suppose this was all right, just not really my thing. I was well written and self-contained, which is all I really ask of a short story. You get a fairly firm grasp of both Cecil and Horace’s personalities, though I have to admit I’m not sure if Cecil started out quite as evil as he ended up or if he became that way in the course of the story. The synopsis would suggest he started that way. All in all, for the right reader, probably a real win. For me, I can appreciate that it’s mechanically sound and makes sense, but can’t say I particularly enjoyed it.

This was all right I suppose. In a way it was a sweet little romance and the sex was hot, though I’ve never been a fan of the courser language in soft sex scenes. By all means, call it a cock, cunt or pussy if it’s a dirty fuck and all, but if two people are supposed to be making sweet, gentle love the same words feel horribly out of place.

I do have one major complaint, though. It bothered me that Marissa was a sexually liberated woman who happened to like being in control in the bedroom, but she spends most of the book being ashamed of this and trying to change herself. Why can’t she just be a sexually aggressive woman who knows what she likes? Promiscuous girls can be good too. Why does this have to be portrayed as wrong? What’s more, she eventually found someone to happily submit to. So, the whole subtext appears to be that her initial behaviour was somehow unnatural and by accepting the “natural” monogamous, submissive role all is well with the world. Bah! What a waste.

This looks to be an interesting start to something bigger. It introduces a lot of interesting characters, but never returns to any of them after moving on. How they all tie together remains a mystery. The writing is sharp and quite readable. It’s also well edited. But what I like most about it was it’s grittiness. Not everyone is pretty or noble or even clean. There are drug addicts, violence, and sex devoid of love or even affection. Characters have ulterior motives and sinister intents. However, this is in no way a stand-alone piece.

Book Review of Promises (Coda Books #1), by Marie Sexton

I downloaded Marie Sexton’s novel,Promises from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Jared Thomas has lived his whole life in the small mountain town of Coda, Colorado. He can’t imagine living anywhere else. Unfortunately, the only other gay man in town is twice his age and used to be his teacher, so Jared is resigned to spending his life alone. Until Matt Richards walks into his life, that is. Matt has just been hired by the Coda Police Department, and he and Jared immediately become friends. Matt claims he is straight, but for Jared, having a sexy friend like Matt is way too tempting. Facing Matt’s affair with a local woman, his disapproving family, and harassment from Matt’s co-workers, Jared fears they’ll never find a way to be together-if he can even convince Matt to try.

Review:

I very rarely read romance sans some sci-fi or fantasy element. Be it M/F, M/M, M/F/F, or any other variation, I generally end up gagging on all the feel good factors or declarations of love and/or dedication. I usually NEED something else in the plot to distract me from all that…that…those hearts and flowers. Having said that, it’s probably not surprising that this book’s been on my TBR for almost 9 months. But after randomly seeing a couple favourable reviews of it recently, I decided to give it a chance.

I’m glad I did. It’s very sweet in its own way, without being nauseatingly sappy. These men aren’t the sort to spout off about their undying love, though they’re not too tightlipped to admit it either. I appreciated that. I adored Jared’s voice as a narrator and practically swooned over Matt’s earnestness. Though that same honestness, combined with his readily expressed excitement left him feeling a little like a wide-eyed child at times. But I just wanted to grab him up and squeeze him to death then too, so it’s all good.

Seeing Jared and Matt struggle through their own issues was a bit of a blessing. Now, I don’t know where it falls on the realism spectrum. I suspect a long way from real. But it also didn’t force any “yeah, rights!’ out of me. Which left me able to fully immerse myself in the story and pretend it really did represent life somewhere out there.

I deem this one definitely worth picking up and I would be thrilled to read more of the Coda series and/or writing by Marie Sexton.

Book Review of Vampire Vacation, by C. J. Ellisson

I picked up C. J. Ellisson‘s book, Vampire Vacation, from the KDP free list. It’s still free…probably perma-free.

Description from Goodreads:
Meet Vivian. She’s a 580-year-old vampire who exudes sex, has a talent for drama, and is passionate about two things: her human husband, Rafe, and their resort for the undead. Her ability to project physical illusions has created the perfect vacation spot-a dark, isolated Alaskan hideaway where visitors can have their wildest fantasies come true.

Vivian knows the best performance requires perfect timing, but the powerful vamp is put to the test when she discovers a corpse in a locked guestroom minutes before the next arrivals. Always cool-headed, Rafe hides the body, convinced he and Vivian can find the culprit without disturbing their guests. Juggling the increasingly outrageous demands of their customers while tracking a killer isn’t easy.

Will their poking and prodding give them the answers they need, or will it uncover secrets Vivian would kill to protect?

Review:
I moved this up my TBR after coming across a one-star Amazon review that was getting slammed with negative votes and derisive comments (198 at last count). I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. (This, BTW, is a perfect example of a bad review gaining a book a reader. Just goes to show, bad reviews aren’t always bad for a book.)

My opinion? I wouldn’t call it one star worthy, but it’s not any great piece of literature either. Granted, it’s paranormal erotica, so who would expect great literature? But even for the genre it’s just fluff. Now, I enjoy a little fluff now and again. I do. So I’m not disparaging the book for this. But I will have to admit that it’s a pretty weak offering.

The problem is that the sex is too thick, even for an erotic book. At one point, the main characters have sex three separate times in a matter of hours. Now, given the time it takes to do the deed, cleanup (hopefully), redress and let the rubbery legs recuperate I have a hard time figuring out how they’re supposed to be getting anything else (like run an inn) done. Yes, I know it’s fantasy and I shouldn’t worry about the particulars, but i do.

That’s generally how the book felt. It was so cluttered with unnecessary and unrealistic sex (apparently no-one needs or expects foreplay, there isn’t any to be found) that the plot is forced to the side. I could almost see the poor thing trying to push itself to the surface on occasion, like a drowning victim in high seas. It would manage to peak out for a moment, only to be overcome by some ridiculous sexual foray, usually between Viv and Rafe but occasionally between a secondary character and Viv’s imagination. It was just a constant barrage on one sex-related activity, fantasy, comment, imagining, etc after another. The VV Inn felt very much like a bordello or a sex-retreat (do these have names?), but all of the guests felt too innocent to be there.

Then there is Viv, herself. I’m putting her in the too stupid to live category. She’s presented as if she’s unusually clever and strong, but she creates one ridiculous situation after another. Each time there is an excuse—I was so distracted by the blood I couldn’t think straight or I was so hopped up on werewolf blood I was distracted, etc—but after a while the excuses start to feel like just that, an excuse to cover her obvious lack of intelligence.

Though it was a bit heavy handed (we’re told about a million times how much they love/desire one another), I did appreciate the obvious affection between Viv and Rafe. It was nice to see a solid, loyal married couple with no desire to give in to the temptation to wander.

The writing itself was simplistic but fine, though names did crop up a bit too often to read smoothly. It’s in first person, present tense (which I HATE, hate, hate) but it’s not too badly edited and there aren’t too many cringe-worthy passages. All in all, it’s a little on the cheesed up side, Vivian being too focused on her own sexual prowess (teaching the guest SMBD, for example) to feel serious about much of anything else. She felt self-centred and conceited. I loved Rafe, Jon and Asa but not Viv, if I’m honest. If I found the rest of the series free, I’d read it. But I’m not racing out to put my money on the table for it.