inferno

Flasher! by Elene Sallinger

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Flasher
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink up to High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Erotica, Flash Fiction, BDSM, ménageReviewed by Kate

37 pages


This is a collection of flash fiction erotica, or extremely short stories. Most of the time we don’t know much about the characters back stories or how they met. There are no beginnings or endings, we are simply there with them at that moment in time. The six stories in this collection range from a hot and sweet after-boot camp reunion to crops and bondage. From strangers to masters and most things in between.

Elene Sallinger’s writing seared the pages and left my Kindle smoking. It felt like the stories were excerpts from books rather than just a collection of random scenes. My only complaint is that I now have six stories worth of characters that I want to know more about.

This was my first time reading any flash fiction.  It worked well for me as a quick break between book, although for some of the stories I really wanted to know more about the characters’ befores and afters.  Have any of you tried flash fiction? If so, what did you think?

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads Week: Fearless by Tawny Weber

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

This is the second in our week of reviews of Cosmo Red-Hot Reads.
Fearless

 
Grade: D
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, novella
Series: not part of a series, but it is one of Harlequin’s new line: “Cosmo Red Hot Read”
Published: 9/15/13
Reviewed by Anne
119 pages
 
Gia has a huge crush on Luke.  The only problem?  Well, there’s two problems.  First, they work together and their company has a no dating between employees policy. Second, Luke doesn’t seem to know she exists.  He’s pretty wild, and she’s pretty boring.  But Gia’s friends have a solution.  See, Gia and her friends (or should I call them “friendz”) have created “the Girlz Guide to a Rockin’ Life” and when one of them has a problem… it’s “gettin’ it” time!  No, really, brainstorm solutions to the problem, and they call that “gettin’ it”.  So, yeah, they drink some drinks and brainstorm and decide that Gia could follow Luke to a work convention he’s going to.  She could go undercover and seduce him.  Enjoy a hot weekend of sex, and then go back to being just Gia at work.  They’ve heard he has a job offer from another company, so they’re sure he’ll be moving on, never knowing that one of his co-workers was his weekend fling.  Really, what could go wrong?
 
This story was really hit and miss for me. The “Girlz” club and the fact that when they help each other out they call making a plan “gettin’ it”… It just made me feel old. (And I’m not that old.  I’m not!) I think it just seemed a little ridiculous, and that pulled me out of the story.

I did enjoy the parts where Gia/Vanna and Luke got together in Vegas. I just wanted to see more of them. We were *told* they talked a lot about personal stuff, but it was all off page. The sex was hot, but transitions (not the sexual kind) from scene to scene were awkward. I would have to reread to understand… Ok, there was just one scene on page, and now we’ve skipped to the afterglow of time #4 of having sex.

And it’s kind of a spoiler, but I’ll just throw it out there ’cause I saw it coming from that initial gettin’ it session… after the weekend is over, *gasp* Luke does NOT take the new job offer, and now Gia has to work with him.  Will he recognize her?  What if he does?  What if he doesn’t?

I was disappointed by Gia’s behavior back at work. I know the no fraternization policy was presented as the reason they couldn’t get together, but it didn’t seem to stop anyone else. Her behavior just didn’t make much sense.

So, I guess it was more miss than hit.

Finally, this was my first Cosmo Red Hot Read and I had high expectations of it. I enjoy novellas and I enjoy hotter more explicit reads, so this seemed like a good match. I want to mention that while this one didn’t work for me, I adored Cake by Lauren Dane (we posted the review yesterday). So I will not be judging all Cosmo Red Hot Reads by this one.

Cosmo Red-Hot Read Week: Cake by Lauren Dane

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Note: This week we’ll be publishing reviews of Harlequin’s newest line of books: Cosmo Red-Hot Reads.  Today we have the first of four reviews.
Cake
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, novella
Published: 9/15/13

Reviewed by Anne
87 pages
Gregori is a famous sculptor.  He’s got a mohawk, tattoos, a Russian accent (and heritage,) and a gruff and grumpy attitude.  Wren is an art student and delivery girl who brings papers from his personal assistant for him to sign.  She’s thinks he’s incredibly hot (and totally out of her league) but she’s not intimidated by him.  Over time her deliveries have morphed into breaks in his day where he sits down and talks with her, sharing a macaron, or even cake.  
This novella is the story of what happens when they take their friendship one step further, and I loved every second of it!  From their flirty conversations to the way they handle each other when they’re upset… I loved watching this relationship!  Wren and Gregori felt real to me.  His reasons for shying away from her seemed plausible.  I loved how she responded to that, too!  The whole thing really worked for me.
I think this book is an example of how the novella format can really shine.  I hope the Cosmo Red-Hot Reads line is full of stories like this one!   Have you read a Cosmo Red-Hot Read yet?  If so, what did you think?  If not, who do you think does the novella format really well?