Archive for Book Reviews

I just added a new review to the site, a book I enjoyed reading over this past weekend. Here's an excerpt of the review and a link to the whole thing. If you like fantasy romance (paranormal), then you should check it out.

Forgotten Sea Review

With the newest Children of the Sea novel, Forgotten Sea, Virginia Kantra follows up on an open plot element from Sea Lord, a previous book in the series.

Although Forgotten Sea isn't as sensual as the other Children of the Sea books, the romance is just as compelling. The book introduces several new elements to the world Kantra has created…. more

On the Hunt releases early next month and I've been lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this Signet Paranormal Romance for review from the publisher. Here's what I think so far…

Click for ON THE HUNT prices, formats, or to read reviews

On the Hunt

An Anthology by Gena Showalter, Shannon K. Butcher, Jessica Andersen, Deidre Knight

I read Gena Showalter's Ever Night from On the Hunt this morning, and although I haven't had the opportunity to read the other stories in this book, I have to say, I think the book is worth buying for that story alone. Ever Night is excellent. The novella (~109 pages) caught my attention immediately and was an exciting, sexy, fast read that I did not want to put down (so I didn't). ;-)

In Ever Night, Rose meets Vasili on the night of her eighteenth birthday when she discovers she's a Dimension Walker, someone who travels between our dimension and another involuntarily once a year, every year. The other dimension is a nightmarish place.

The story is short, and because of that, I'm not going to give away anything else about the story, except to say that Vasili was spectacular and Rose was a heroine I could care about, strong, but not overdone, and interesting. I enjoyed all the characters in Ever Night and I hope to see them again in a full-length novel sometime…

I've bought several but never read any Gena Showalter books before. Looks like I'm going to have to pull them out and read them very soon. I think I now know why she's such a popular author with spicy and erotic romance fans.

I think if you're a Gena Showalter fan, you're going to want to buy On the Hunt.

Other paranormal romance fans are sure to want to buy On the Hunt too!

This anthology promises to be worth the time invested and fans of the genre are almost certainly going to enjoy this book.

Now, off to do some work and maybe I'll even have time to finish reading this book later tonight!

I've been on a serious reading binge and have just posted reviews for a few of the books I've enjoyed reading over the past few weeks. Here are some links to help you find them. :-)

Burning Up is an anthology made up of stories written by four different writers of paranormal romance. Of the four stories in this excellent anthology, my favorite was Shifting Sea, but of course, since I'm a huge fan of Virginia Kantra's Children of the Sea series, I'm partial to her tales. Read More

If I wasn't hooked on Virginia Kantra's Children of the Sea series before Immortal Sea, I would be now. But who am I kidding? I've loved this series ever since Sea Witch was released. Immortal Sea is the story of Morgan of the finfolk and Dr. Elizabeth Rodriguez, a woman with whom Morgan spent one night of pleasure with about 16 years ago. Now Elizabeth has two children, and it becomes apparent quite quickly that Morgan fathered her teenage son, Zack. Morgan is sure Zack is also finfolk and wants only to take him and return to the sea. Only his desire for Elizabeth keeps him from doing just that. Read More

Body Master is a science fiction romance set on Earth after an alien ship has crash-landed on the planet. The aliens have the ability to use human DNA to reproduce human bodies for themselves and they've used that ability to blend into the human population. Some want only to build new lives for themselves…some want to take over the world. Read More

Don't Kill the Messenger is an entertaining paranormal romance told through the eyes Melina Markowitz, a woman who operates as a Messenger for supernatural beings. Early in the story, Melina gets caught up in trouble and has to come to terms with that fact that she is eventually going to have to take a stand instead of letting everyone else deal with the problems that sometimes pop up. There's a sexy vampire, but the real hero of this story is the normal human cop watching out for Melina. Read More

Counterpoint: Song of the Fallen (Volume 1 of 2) is an erotic tale of fantasy and romance between an elf and the prince who has captured him. Set on a world where elves and humans live apart because of a war waged between the two many years ago, this story has a well-built, full, and rich universe. Read More

Jungle Heat is a compelling revisit of Tarzan. During an expedition to Africa, James finds a man who has been living in the jungle, having apparently been raised by the Gorillas of the Congo. Odd One, or Michael as he's later called, is drawn to James, who begins teaching him about Man. Read More

The recommended read Her Heart's Divide by Kathleen Dienne is a romantic little novella I read and reviewed late last month. The story was intriguing and caught my attention. I enjoyed the book and thought I would mention it again now that it's available for purchase. It wasn't when I originally posted my review but I'll be updating soon to include the buy link…

The book is a new release from the new Carina Press, which is ultimately owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Her Heart's Divide is the first book I've read from Carina, but it seems to me Carina Press is full of many different kinds of books, not just erotic romance, so I won't be adding any specific page for the publisher on The Erotic Reader website.

The Erotic Reader accepts paid advertising. Any advertisements of books are “Featured” books. The “Recommended” books have and will always be my own personal picks. They are never determined by advertising. Click here for more details….

I just posted a review of a recent read. This was one of those books that I can't quite make my mind up about. I liked it, but then again, I didn't like all of it.

Dark Embers by Tessa Adams is a book about dragons, romance, magic, and a deadly disease that's killing the people of the Dragonstar clan. Dylan and Phoebe come together when Dylan seeks out a scientist specializing in autoimmune and nervous system disorders. He wants her to work with his clan's doctors to discover the cause of and a cure for the disease that's killing the members of his clan.

Dark Embers has a strong story propelling it forward, with writing strong enough to overcome a few big issues I had with the book. Read the review for Dark Embers…

There were some definite parts that I liked in the book, but there were a few issues with the book that kept it from living up to my expectations. However, overall, it was a pretty good book. It takes a lot to make me enjoy a dark story, and Dark Embers was good enough to keep me reading past the point when I might have given up on another book.

I just posted a new review to the site.

In Seducing the Highlander, Emma Wildes introduces three Scottish heroes who can't help but come to the rescue of three damsels in distress. The included stories are Seducing Ian, Seducing Robbie, and Seducing Adain, and although each story is a stand-alone novella, this anthology is actually made up of three connected stories that make this book hard to put down. Read the rest of the review for Seducing the Highlander…

Carina Press is the new digital-first publishing imprint from Harlequin Enterprises Limited. They've partnered up with NetGalley to deliver galleys (review copies) in digital format. When Carina Press launches on June 7th, they'll have a variety of fiction, with an emphasis on romance.

Through NetGalley, Carina Press is going to offer the digital galleys, along with press kits that include book trailers, audio and video materials, press materials, images, etc. Any reviewers approved for access can download the galley files to their computer or ebook device to read.

It doesn't cost reviewers to register and use NetGalley, so it's a great option if you're interested in writing reviews and reading great books!

I've recently read and reviewed Her Heart's Divide, one of the upcoming Carina Press releases, and I was quite pleased with the story. (You can read my review of Her Heart's Divide for details.)

…but it sure was a great book!

Okay, so I spent some serious time reading over the past month, and I'm definitely not staying on top of writing reviews for those books. I thought I'd mention them here though, because I've read some fabulous books lately.

Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy — It's not available yet, but when it becomes available, you should run out and buy it right away. It was a wonderful book, full of all kinds of goodness. I absolutely loved Imogen and Ty, and usually the female characters are not my favorites. I'm all for the guys and I adore it when I find a female character I really love. I loved Imogen. This book is a (very, very) highly recommended read.

Kiss of Fate by Deborah Cooke — Okay, this one isn't exactly erotic romance. But it was sexy. And exciting. And action-y. And FABULOUS. I hadn't realized how much I might like reading about Dragon heroes until I read this book. Now I'm on the lookout for dragon stories…and buying the other books in the series I think I'm going to be addicted to.

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole — Finally! If you've been around this site very much, you'll probably realize I love, love, love the Immortals After Dark series. This is a wonderful addition to the series and Rydstrom and Sabine are now two of my favorite Immortals.

Raine by Elizabeth Amber — Oh, this one is hard to explain, but it was a great book. I loved Jordan and Raine. The only thing about the Lords of Satyr series is the darkness. I don't like to read too many dark stories in a row, so I wouldn't want to sit down and read all the stories at once, but I will definitely be reading the rest of the series. Definitely.

Oh, and right at this moment, I'm reading White Star, Never Been Witched, Everlasting Bad Boys, and a few others. I should really learn to focus on one book at a time…but then again, I might not enjoy reading so much if I had to follow rules about how I did it!

Goodness, there are still so many other books I've read lately, but many of them don't fit the site, and I'm out of time right now!

What good books have you read lately?

Mirror, Mirror (Spice Briefs) by Amanda McIntyre is a Recommended Read.  I love a good mystery and this short, erotic read delivers! Read my review

Would-Be Witch (Berkley Sensation) by Kimberly Frost is a Highly Recommended Read, but I have to warn you, there's not a lot of sex in this book. I couldn't stand not to recommend this book though—it really was that good. This book pulls off sexy without much sex and is the most fun I've had reading in ages!

Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten (Signet Eclipse) by Sharon Ashwood is a Highly Recommended Read. There's plenty of sexual tension in this vampire/witch romance, but it was light on the sex. Still, it's a sensually appealing romance that's great reading and I couldn't stand not to recommend it.

Pretty Poison (Luv Luv) by Yutta Narukami is a Recommended Read. This isn't my first erotic manga, but it was the first one I've been able to recommend without reservation. It's a surprisingly good “Ladies' Comic” of the erotic romance variety. If you enjoy comic books, graphic novels or the like, you really might like this one.

Really Unusual Bad Boys (Kensington Brava) by MaryJanice Davidson is a Recommended Read. This imaginative and fun book is an anthology of 3 connected short stories! I really enjoyed the dose of humor in this one.

I've got reviews in the hopper for each of these books. I just have to make the time to get them done! (Not so easy when I just want to be reading…)

Have you read anything great lately?

Over the last week or so I've added two new reviews to the site, and both reviewed books made it onto the recommended reading list. Running Wild and Crave: The Seduction of Snow White are both very hot, very sexy, very good books!