Tag Archives: short stories

Chipping away at the erotic short story shelf

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I keep saying that I don’t read short stories, but I’m apparently a liar, because I seem to download a whole heck of a lot of them. Today I made an effort to read a few and chose erotica as the theme. Be warned, some of these are not for the faint of heart. Then again, some of them turned out not to be erotic at all, just incredibly sweet.  Most of them came from the Amazon free list and may still be free.

Serpentine TongueSerpentine Tongue, by Kayden McLeod

Eh, it was OK I suppose. I imagine some people will really enjoy it. Personally, I found it to be a continuous string of painful fantasy & romance clichés. I found myself cringing after a while. But I’ll be the first to admit these tropes are so frequently used because people generally like them. So there will be a subset of readers who are thrilled to see so many of them together in one place. I’m just not one of them.

I did very much appreciate that Siobhan was a truly strong female lead. She was equally as strong as the male leads; certainly, she was given more time to demonstrate her strength. There was one fairly mild ménage scene (the only sex in the story) that I liked well enough. I even liked all three of them…I think.

I say I think because they all felt a little shallow and could have done with a little depth. I also found some of the language stiff. Part of this was the effect of ‘fantasy language.’ Yes, I made that phrase up, but I imagine any frequent reader of high fantasy will recognise what I mean. The fae always seem to be written to sound posh, for example. But some of it was just stilted writing.

All in all, I don’t consider this one a fail, but I’m not rushing out to find out if there is a sequel either.

The Dragon and the WolfThe Dragon and the Wolf (Things in the Night), by Mandy Rosko

This was almost good. It started off well and remained good for about 2/3 of it. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the pace skyrocketed, the romance popped into existence out of the ethers apparently, there was an almost sex scene (or rather, there was sex just no sex scene, leaving me feeling cheated) and then the whole thing just ended. It felt very much like the first couple chapters of a longer piece, as opposed to an actual short story.

I could try and excuse it as a prequel, but it’s not the first in the series and the sequel is about another couple entirely. This suggests to me that there isn’t to be much more of Westley and Chris’ story, even if they do happen to be in the next book.

The writing seemed pretty good, but it’s a teaser at best.

Debasement

Debasement (His Nemesis #1), by Jack Brighton

In theory I thought the dirty debasement promised in book would be hot, but the reality of it…or rather the reality of reading it was more than I could actually stomach. It was everything it promised, true—rough, kinky, abusive, and at some points arousing. But I just couldn’t get down with spitting in your partners face during sex, and other such not sexy things (even if the MC was a dislikable character). I may have liked it if it hadn’t been taken quite so far. This is of course a personal line. But I found that this one way overstepped mine and I didn’t particularly enjoy it.

Pharon's DemonPharon’s Demon, by Anne Marsh

This is not a book to be taken seriously, not at all. I mean really, a female pirate who likes to get caught…because being caught apparently equals sex. I guess it never occurred to anyone to just shoot thieves. Go figure. It’s ridiculous. Having said that, it’s supposed to be and when taken with the appropriate truck load of salt it’s a lot of fun. I noticed a few typos and at 38 pages it’s not very long, but it was an enjoyable quickie. 

On an unrelated side note, except for the fact that this short was apparently later expanded into a longer piece involving cats, I have no clue what the lion on the cover is about. There’s not a single cat in the book.

Hazing MoonHazing Moon, by Layla Cole

I was surprised by this one. I had VERY low expectations, but ended up enjoying it. Despite one character being blindfolded and tied to a pole it managed to avoid feeling like (or being) rape. Amazing that. I liked Christopher’s shyness as well as his dominant streak. Hard to imagine the two in the same person, but it worked. I got less of a feel for Logan, but liked what I saw. It well written and fairly well edited.

I do have a complaint about it being the first in a series. I seriously dislike serial short stories. If you’re going to write the pages anyway, why no just publish it as a book so I don’t have to buy each chapter? When it comes down to it, that’s what I see a short story series as—a book you have to pay each time you want the next chapter. The fact that it’s called an instalment is just semantics, IMO. I refuse to buy subsequent chapters on principle. Then again, it’s possibly a stretch to call this a chapter even, it’s more like a 29 page scene and little more.

Something SweetSomething Sweet, by Megan Derr

This was a very short, very sweet clean M/M read. I enjoyed it. There were quite a few editorial errors—swapped names, missing words, etc. But they didn’t detract from the “awww” effect any, or how much I liked Sherlock and Basil. They were like shy little boys all grown up…ok, that’s exactly what they were. But it was still fun to see. It passed a pleasant 20 minutes. This wasn’t the first Megan Derr story I’ve encountered and enjoyed and I expect it won’t be the last, especially if she keeps them on the free list.

Clearing Out the Short Story Reviews

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I generally don’t review short stories. In fact, in my review policies it is one of only two genres I claim not to read. However, I’m well aware that there isn’t a definitive page length for what qualifies as a short story, novella, or just shortish book. In my head I consider anything under 100 pages a short story. (IMO calling it a novella is just semantics, so it’s still a short story.)

In tending my review pile this morning I notices a couple ‘books’ sent to me are on the short side. Rather than delete them I gave myself a mission–read them. Get them off the list. Make some authors happy by doing something that will probably take less than an hour apiece. I probably won’t always make the same choice. 

I haven’t included the synopsis, since that would make for a unusually long post. But I’ve linked each to its Goodreads page if you want to read it. So here they are:

The Trouble With RaneThe Trouble With Rane, by Robert Beacham

I thought this was pretty good. Rain had a bit of a Sherlock Holmes feel to him, if you remember Holmes was supposed to be a little bit of a badass too. As a galactic Ranger he is among the best of the best in universal policing and he has a lead…if only he could remember what it was. I rather enjoyed him and his unfathomable luck. I did think the plot got a little silly at times and would have liked it more if it had shied away from the absurd, for example the poor couple who turned them selves into chintz lampshades for life. The subtler humour was excellently done though. Being as the afterwards states something along the lines of ‘well that’s the end of this Ceras Rain story,’ I’m assuming it’s the first of more than one. It felt that way. The story barely wraps up. I’m not a huge short story fan to begin with, but reading one that lacks a firm end is almost guaranteed to irk me. It was well written and well edited however.

Origins of the SphinxOrigin of the Sphinx (Sphinx #1), by Raye Wagner

This is a short story about (maybe a retelling of, but I don’t know my Greek mythology well enough to know) the demigod Phoebe and the origins of the Sphinx. I liked it but the dialogue felt quite stiff, names and endearments used too often to be natural. I also thought the language was too modern for ancient Greece, with phrases like, “reality check” and “Please!” Beyond that I thought it was a good one. It captured the feel of a truly Greek tragedy while allowing Phoebe’s pure, shining heart to come through. I also liked the idea of immortality leading to moral ambiguity since the Gods tend to outlive the consequences of their actions. That’s a rather deep thought. The first and last chapters seemed a little anomalous. I think the two characters, Athan and Hope, might be who the rest of the series is about but they played no role in this story.

Demons in the Big EasyDemons in the Big Easy, by Jamie Marchant

Again, I thought this was alright. I liked having a grandmother as a heroine for a change. I also thought Marchant did a good job of world-building in such a short piece. I did think that the ladies’ language, which was generally somewhat medieval, slipped into the modern vernacular fairly regularly and that Jake came out with his equivalent of “I see dead people” a little too easily. I also would have really liked to know the approximate ages and physical descriptions of the other characters. Cassandra is the only one I remember being described. All in all, a little predictable but an enjoyable read.

We the People TogetherWe the Separate Together, by Jaye Viner

I’m always a little sceptical of stories that try and address social inequality through fiction. It’s just far, far too easy to do it badly. My experience has shown me that what is often really being said in the sub-context of such works is simply,’live like us.’ A more ethnocentric theme would be hard to find. We the Separate Together is on that managed to get it right. It managed to create an obviously unequal society without feeling it necessary to make it recognisably correlative with a historical grouping, the Nazis/Jews/Poles/Gypsies (though I would say this is closest), Whites/Blacks, Immigrant Americans/Native Americas, etc. The story would have been weakened by such comparison. It would have been distracting in it’s familiarity and render the reader less able to fully immerse themselves in THIS society, outside of whichever nation it was meant to mimic. 

I really enjoyed this one. The writing itself is really quite elegant. It had a certain patient rhythm to it that matched the slow, contemplative main character. It did end quite abruptly, but after the shock it felt like the only obvious ending. I highly recommend giving this one a read. 

From the TBR: cleaning out the short story shelf

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So, it’s finally Summer vacation. Woo-hoo for 3 months of no pressing obligations. Deep, fortifying breath to face 3 months of bored children and an ever present husband. Gotta love ’em all, but there goes my routine. Yep, there it goes, right out the window and with it most of my reading time.

On the up side, that never missing mate can take those antsy children away some days, leaving me time to concentrate on my own writing. It’s been so long since I’ve had undisturbed writing time that I hardly remember how to fill it. But there is no way that I’m missing out on the opportunity should it present itself. 

I mention all of this because it heralds a change in my review schedule. The less I read, the less I review. It makes sense, right? I don’t think I’ll be able to post a review a day as I have been for the last few months. 

I might crawl right out of my own skin without a fiction fix though. So I’m making an effort to change what I read, rather than give up reading entirely. I’m not usually a huge short story fan, much preferring full length books. But a short story enables me to read a quick piece, but still have a blank slate in the morning when I want to write. (‘Cause lets face it. If I’m half way through a book I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else until I finish it.)

In an attempt to give this new review routine something akin to order I am trying to group them by subject matter. This week I’ve been reading M/M romances. All of them came from Amazon’s free list and many of them are still available for no charge. Here they are:

bonds of fireOh, I want so much more of this. It worked well as a short story, but there was enough to be expanded into a full length novel (always my preference). I love that, despite being short, the romance didn’t feel rushed. In fact it doesn’t really even come to a head in the story. I did feel a little bit like Malachi was shorted. Drekken’s attraction to Yakov is so overt that, despite being told Drekken is falling for Malachi too, he feels secondary. I was a little disturbed in the beginning because Yakov and Malachi are referred to as youths for so long that I was visualising them as 12ish. So when the attraction started heating up I got a little scared. I heaved a huge sigh of relief when their ages were finally addressed. They are 19 & 20. 

I adored the way the reader is keyed into Drekken’s emotions and even though he is a ‘big bad warrior’ he is able to show soft emotions without ever looking weak. I also really liked the way humans and dragons for families. It made for a really intriguing world. 

All in all I thought this was a touching, well-written story that I would love to see more of. I’m curious about the cause of the war, how Drekken and Miri manage as parents, and how Yakov and Malachi progress. I’d love to witness Drekken’s attempt to live near his mothers again and to see him try to keep from being further organised. Thrilled to have read it.

fire song

While I appreciate that the story was written for Hurricane Sandy relief (charity), it isn’t very well developed. It has a really interesting premise, a crippled Phoenix falling in love with an scarred human, but the writing is rough. There are a number of misused words and the plot seems really rushed. I did really like both male leads, though I didn’t think the family deserved the easy forgiveness and unearned happy ending. With a little work this could be really good though. I hope the author (who I suspect is quite young) puts the time and effort into a 2nd edition.

17673045I quite enjoyed this, but like many of the previous reviewers I think it would be best described as a teaser for something longer. Certainly it ends with the promise of more to come. It definitely isn’t anything standalone. There is no denying the baseless insta-lust/insta-love between the two main characters. I liked them both though. The single sex scene was plenty steamy and it’s well written. I’d happily read more of the story if there ever is one.

taming the foxThis was a sweet little M/M, shifter romance. Though in all honestly it could have been almost the same even if the two main characters hadn’t been shifters. In the end the challenge to overcome wasn’t even shifter related. Be that as it may I still enjoyed seeing the two characters find a way to come to terms with their circumstances and each-other. I would have liked to see a little more closure with Shane’s family. They seemed to accept everything a little too easily, all things considered. Plus, as hard and long as Harlan resisted he seemed to give in awfully easily in the end. I was especially pleased to find it a stand alone story. Those seem to be getting rarer these days. Worth reading.