Kate

Sweetwater by Lisa Henry

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Historical, m/m, BDSM
Published: 8/19/14
Reviewed by Kate

This one is such a tightly woven story that I find it hard to write a summary of it without giving you the entire play-by-play.  But here goes : When Elijah was little, scarlet fever took his family, and his hearing.  Although he isn’t 100% deaf, most of the town thinks he’s an idiot.  Elijah knows that being deaf isn’t the only thing that makes him different from everybody else.  He’s also gay.  His first “relationship” is with Harlan Crane, the owner of the saloon.  But Elijah is also attracted to cowboy Grady Mullins and Grady’s interested as well.

Elijah is around 20, but is just starting to try and figure out who he is and what he wants.  Unfortunately most of what he wants conflicts with the way he was raised.  Lots of internal conflict for Elijah.  Lots.

His relationship with Crane is dirty and nasty.  It made me flinch whenever I had to read it.  Their relationship is about pain and humiliation and subjugation.  Even though Elijah discovers he needs the pain, there is nothing romantic about Crane and Elijah.

In Grady, Elijah finds something that he never knew existed.  Gentleness, caring, compassion.  And while part of him craves that from Grady, another part of him is terrified spitless at this new type of relationship.  Elijah’s relationship with Grady, which doesn’t start until half way through the book, is the only part of this book that would qualify as a romance.

This one felt more like a coming-of-age story, rather than a romance.  Outside of the relationships with Crane and Grady, Elijah goes on a heartbreaking journey of self discovery.  A journey which takes him through highs and low—although mainly lows.  The relationships with Crane and Grady are a definite, but minor, part of his journey

Lisa Henry has written a gritty, raw, page turning tale about a young, deaf, gay man on a self-discovery journey in 1870.  And while the relationships in this book were not my cup of tea, I would not hesitate to read another of her books.  In fact I hope to do so soon.

As a romance, this one disappointed me a bit.  As a novel, in general, I loved it.  What’s the last book that you read that didn’t hit the romance note right, but you enjoyed regardless?

Desired by the Deep by Lyra Fawn

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: shifter, menage, serial
Series: Claimed by the Alpha Dolphins, Part 2
Published: 8/16/14
Reviewed by Kate

In part 2, Lucan and Dario (princes of warring pods of dolphin-shifters) have found Mona, the descendant of Neptune that they’ve been searching for.  Now they have to get her safely back to their homes.  Of course, she has to choose between them as well.  Her choice will bring an end to the war between pods, will bring one pod under the rule of the other.  But Mona is attracted to both of them, and choosing one prince means the other must be killed.  Can she find a solution to end the war and keep both princes?

My favorite character is Dario at this point.  His princely superior-to-everyone attitude had me cracking up.  He tells himself he has to quit referring to her as “the human” and start using her name.  He gets frustrated when she doesn’t just recognize his princely aura.  Poor Dario.

Mona has become quite a firecracker.  She’s been on the run with the princes for a few days and everything’s been overwhelming, but some of her spunkiness is starting to return.  It was great to watch her butt heads with Dario and Lucan.

And the ending!  Talk about a cliff hanger.  I find myself stalking the author’s website, waiting for the release date of part three to be announced.  Come on, Lyra Fawn!  Write faster, please!

Have you been won over by the trend of serials yet?  Do you read them as they come out or wait for all the installments to be released and then read them back-to-back?

A Bride for Eight Brothers by Abby Blake (The Complete Series)

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: C+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Futuristic, Sci-Fi
Series: The complete series, parts 1-6
Published: 2011
Reviewed by Kate

In a future world, the Davidson brothers go from planet to planet conducting environmental research.  One of the brothers rescues Mikayla Noone after she was abandoned to a life of prostitution by her fiancee.

This is a serial that I read for the first time quite a while ago, back when I was a new reader in the world of menage.  I picked up the first one because, seriously?!  Eight brothers!  How could I not at least give the first one a read through?  And like any good serial, reading the first one meant I had to read the next, and so on, and so on.  I find myself re-reading this serial every once in a while and decided it was finally time to write a review about it.  Because each one is fairly short, I decided to give an extremely brief description of each one instead of a full blown review.

The first one, Mikayla’s Men:
The one where you continually count brothers wondering why it’s called “A Bride for Eight Brothers” when there are only 7.

The second one Sweet Captivation:
The one where the eighth brother finally makes an appearance.

The third one Wild Fascination:
The one where the animals on the new planet cause the men to get horny.

The fourth one Keen Inclination:
The one where the reader is really bored.

The fifth one Hot Inspiration:
The one where they rescue an abused woman.

The sixth one Mikayla’s Family:
The one where an old enemy appears, but you’re assured of a Happily Ever After.

If you’ve read this series I would love to hear what you thought.  If not, tell me what’s the largest menage you’ve read about.