O Come All Ye Kinky by Various Authors

5 STARS

What a great anthology! There's something for everyone. M/M, F/F, menage... all here. A great introduction to authors I hadn't read that I wish to check out. (I had only previously read L.A. Witt before.) 

Really, this is kink done right. None of this 50 Shades apologetic bullshit. These people enjoy their kinks! I can't even pick a favourite story out of the bunch because they were all that good. :) 

I guess I especially liked "Fireworks" by Katie Porter because I read so little f/f fiction. Of course that could change tomorrow. *LOL* But believe me, there are stories here that I will read again and again. Do yourself a favour and whatever time of year it is, check out O Come All Ye Kinky. You won't be disappointed. :) 

(And yes, I did finish it in the wee hours of Christmas morning. *LOL*)

A Knitter in His Natural Habitat by Amy Lane

4 STARS

Knitting Series - Book 3

Loved it and I love this series. :)

How to Raise an Honest Rabbit by Amy Lane

4 STARS

Knitting Series - Book 2

LOVED IT!!

Dark Soul Vol 3 by Aleksandr Voinov

4 STARS

Dark Soul Vol 3 - Books 5, 6 & 7

I forgot to review this when I finished it. :/ 

But I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

Santuario by G. B. Gordon

3.5 STARS

Santuario - Book 1

3.5 Stars!! Well, I want another half star so I can give this 3.5 stars. 

Santuario was a good read. I enjoyed it. Well-written with clearly defined and different characters, a juicy mystery, some interesting world-building and a plot that kept me wondering all through the book. 

The relationship between the two main characters, Alex and Bengt unfolds very slowly until a ramp-up into intimacy near the end of the book. It was working for me and even the rush was okay, given the plot line that I don't want to give away. But for me, there was a problem with the cliff-hanger ending. I think maybe I didn't need the epilogue dangled in my face to make me go for Santuario #2. 

I think I would have liked a little more insight into the differences between the two cultures of this world because I'm still not sure about some of the more important differences and how they'll affect our heroes. There are also a few spots in the book where the author uses clippings from a newspaper to explain things/further the plot and on my ereader, I could not get the darned things big enough to read the printing of them. The font of the paragraph before and the paragraph following could be HUGE, but the clipping stayed really, really small. That was unfortunate. 

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to those that enjoy mysteries and alternate universe type science fiction. Maybe there'll be more heat in the following volumes, but you know what? I didn't really miss the heat in this one - I suspect it's coming. :)

EDT: I contacted Riptide Publishing and they've informed me that the problem with the 'clippings' has been resolved and updated versions have been uploaded to the site so I can download and replace the one on my Kobo. Have I mentioned that I love Riptide Publishing? They rock!

The Flesh Cartel - Capture by Rachel Haimowitz and Heidi Belleau

5 STARS

The Flesh Cartel - Episode 1

I'm giving this 5 stars because it's SO outside my comfort zone and I couldn't put it down. I think it's probably the most hardcore thing I have ever read - if you're going to read it, HEED THE WARNINGS!

It was released for pre-order download last night at midnight, so I downloaded before heading off to bed. It's violent, it's intense and it's so dark and painful; but I could not put it down. 18K+ words, so not a really long read - it's part one of a serial - I figured I'd read the first chapter before turning out the lights and read the rest today, but I COULD NOT put it down! 

It scares me that I enjoyed it so much. Maybe the distance between me reading in my bed and the brothers being kidnapped and subjected to violence and degradation rendered it safe for me? I don't know. 

But what I do know is that the authors do a spectacular job of writing. I think that's what made this so good to read, getting me past the initial reticence I would have for such violent, triggering fare. A friend of mine wrote a fanfic once that went to many of the dark places that Rachel and Heidi are taking us and I had the same reaction I loved it and I hated that I loved it. *LOL* This is what a good writer will do, I think. Get past those boundary walls you have set up and open your eyes to something different. I am eagerly awaiting the second episode in this serial. Eagerly.

Sublime - Collected Shorts by Rachel Haimowitz

4 STARS

Continuing the tales of Nicky and Devon as they explore many, many aspects of a D/s relationship. In these assorted short stories, there's something for everyone. I think my favourite was "Milk Run". Devon is a lovely, devious, mischievous Dom, especially when his Nicky steps out of line. :) There's a sweetness to Devon and Nicky that I just love and they are just perfect for each other. Loved it!

Notturno by Z. A. Maxfield

4 STARS

Believable vampires! I'm not a huge fan of paranormals, but that may be because I've not read any by an author that will make it work. (Or maybe I'm still scarred by the Hamilton woman.)

I enjoyed the characters, very much. Both the main characters and the secondary ones' This book felt full, in a very good way. The two main characters were not wrapped in a cocoon of their own emotions, they interacted with others and had other relationships and all the while, you knew they were thinking of each other without having to have it spelled out for you. 

And I want a Boaz. I surely hope we've not seen the end of him because he totally charmed me. Edward and Tuan as well, but to a lesser extent. 

So, a full book, a hotly romantic book, an adventure story, a character study and a few well placed spots of humour. I really enjoyed it. :)

Dark Horse by Kate Sherwood

1 STAR

Thank God, that's over with! This book clocked in at 382 pages on my ereader and nothing really happened before page 340. I was so disappointed. I mean, it had horses! And not just any horses - EVENT horses! You know, the dressage, the stadium jumping and the cross-country. I had high hopes.

To read the blurb about the book, I thought I was getting the story of Dan, the horse trainer, whose life intertwines with another horse trainer, Jeff and a rich stable owner, Evan. I expected a story with lots of physical heat and a lot of explorations of emotions as a polyamorous finds its feet. Did I get that? Nope.

Part One - almost 200 pages - was the study of Dan, the trainer, and how he's dealing with the death of his lover. We spend SO much time in Dan's head, being told how he feels ad nauseum. He meets Jeff and Evan and we're TOLD that sparks fly, but I honestly didn't see it. The author seems to think that we need to be told every last thing that happens to Dan in a day, including how he brushes his teeth, decides on the blue shirt or the white shirt, decides which horse to take out of its stall and which tack the horse is going to need. Minutiae! NOTHING happened to further the story.

And then came part two with more of the same, only this time, we've moved from Kentucky to California, so hopefully we'll be seeing more of Jeff and Evan and get this threesome on the road. They say the longest journey starts with a single step, but OH MY LORD, it took the author so long to pack the bag before taking that step! 

I never warmed up to Dan. He seemed very schizophrenic to me. We spend 9/10ths of the book inside his head and one moment he's this quiet, retiring fellow, then he's a predatory wolf looking for a fuck, then he's an unsure young man trying to do the best in his job, then he's a uneducated bumpkin with all this horrid stuff in his past - yes, this horrid stuff that supposedly had a lot to do in forming his character and we find out about in in the last fifth of the book! OH, by the way, Dan has a juvie record, an abusive father, and a younger sister. 

I never saw what it was that Evan and Jeff saw in him - at one point, I think it's Jeff who says something along the lines of, "I don't know how to explain it, Dan, but you just bring us into balance. You just do." Well, I'm sorry, I need to know HOW and WHY this can be. And then... when both Jeff and Evan confess to burgeoning feelings for this paragon of wonderfulness, all he wants is sex, hot and heavy. 

I don't know if the author had an editor for this book, but if she did, I sure couldn't tell. 

The story was advertised as being about the relationship, but ended up being an exploration of the ever-changing personality of Dan's head. Personally, I would have cut out three quarters of the manuscript and made the focus of the story the actual story of the blossoming relationship between the 3 men and how Dan learns to fit in at his new home in California. I understand there's a sequel to this book but I'm not hurrying off to get it. It makes me wonder if Dark Horse was written as a scene setter for the second book. A 400-page scene setter. OY! Sadly, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

Dark Soul Vol 1 by Aleksandr Voinov

5 STARS

Dark Soul Vol 1 - Books 1 & 2

I had barely begun the second of the two stories in this volume, Dark Secret and there I was, adding all the rest of the Dark Soul Series to my MUST HAVE wish list. 

This series really isn't for everyone. Gritty is almost too gentle of a word to describe it. It's dark, it's violent, it's intense and it explores things that most people would rather relegate to the very back shadows of their minds. I will be honest, I spent most of the first story, Dark Soul with my eyes like this - 0.0 - while I devoured it. Horrified and fascinated at the same time. *LOL* 

The main characters of Stefano and Silvio are two of the most intriguing men I have ever read about and I cannot wait to discover more about them. I hope to learn more about Stefano's wife, Donata, as well. The wee glimpse we got as well as Stefano's thoughts about her have piqued my interest. 

So, it's really not for the faint of heart, REALLY NOT, but, man, I really, really enjoyed it. And it gets 5 stars because it's so far outside my comfort zone and Aleksandr made me care about the characters so that I can't wait to read the rest of the series.