Review Dark Desires by Miranda Forbes

Title: Dark Desires: Love That's Out of This World
Author: Miranda Forbes, Lucy Felthouse, K.D. Grace, et. al.
Source: Publisher Request
Genre: Erotic Paranormal
Format: Paperback, 230 pgs
Release Date: July 4, 2011
Publisher, Xcite Books

Explore your darkest desires in this collection of paranormal erotica.

From virgins to vampires, dirty dancers to demons, spirit lovers to sexy séances, these stories will send a shiver down your spine.

Enter a time of familiars and witches, werewolves and highwaymen, where nothing is as it seems, but the sex is out of this world.





My Review:

This is an anthology of 20 short erotic paranormal stories. Each is around eleven pages so there isn't much space for much character or romance development but most are cute, funny and definitely sexy. I love anthologies. They expose the reader to many authors who are new or new to the reader. New authors can mean whole new worlds opening up. I was having a hard time deciding on a rating for the entire book because some of the stories are very good and some are not so great and fraught with writing issues. The sexy scale was hard to determine as well because there are different levels across the book. So, I'm going to rate each individual story.

Animal Attraction by Lucy Felthouse Ratings: 4/Hot
Humorous. Claude wakes up naked next to a trail with Rayne looking on. He has no idea how he got there or why he's naked. Rayne takes him home with her, only a short walk away. In talking to him, she thinks she knows what's up but doesn't want to freak him out. Talking with him some more, she knows for sure. HEA.

Familiar by Sommer Marsden Ratings: 4/Steamy
Humorous. The birthday girl, a witch, is 25 today -- the day her powers come to her. All the family she has left is her cat familiar. The night of her birthday she is shocked to feel someone touching her while she's trying to sleep. The writing is a little choppy due to sentence fragments but it is a good story with a little implied romance and a HEA.

Séance by Mary Borsellino Ratings: 3/Steamy
Humorous, example: Ouija board planchette compared to the cursor on a computer screen -- priceless. 2 guitarists vacation in an old rental house and come up with a makeshift Ouija board. A ghost makes a interesting F/M/F threesome after conversing with it on the makeshift board.

Come With Us by Landon Dixon Ratings: 2/Hot
Service men have been disappearing. One escapes and says the missing men are laid out by "vampeters … I've never heard tell before. Craving protein instead of plasma?" They swallow when giving blowjobs -- literally sucking the life out of the men. The Colonel sends the vampeters to the enemy in a prisoner exchange. This story, while a good plot, has quite a few grammar and punctuation errors. No romance, oral sex only and a little homosexual bashing.

Circle in the Sand by Elizabeth Coldwell Ratings: 3/Hot
While on a cruise to the Scottish Isles, a married couple whose relationship has become a little blah finds a message in a bottle on the beach. The message turns out to be a spell which shows them what it had been like when they first met to show them what they've been missing. Romance, sex on the beach and HEA.

Making Lewis Hard by Esmeralda Greene Ratings: 4/Hot
Juliet wakes up several mornings with flakey white-ish stuff on different parts of her body. After several days of waking this way, she determines what it is and is creeped out. She "dreams" her old boyfriend, Ned, masturbates over her. It is a ghost! A nicely built ghost when she is able to see him. Parts of him start becoming corporeal and they have a good time. Romance and a HEA.

Demon by Kathryn O’Halloran Ratings: 4/Hot
Very humorous. Clem is sex demon fighter who, in order to banish the demon, cannot reach an organism for several days leading up to the banishment. Then she must have sex with the demon but the demon must climax before she does to be banished. Has a cute ending twist. No romance, no HEA.

On The Other Side by Peter Baltensperger Ratings: 2/Steamy
Galen unintentionally bought an apparently haunted house for his dream house. A female entity pulls him through the wall. She says they are the Uglies. Reminds me of an old Twilight Zone or Night Galley TV episode. The Uglies are a type of slave to the Beautiful Ones. Little romance, quick F/F scene and HEA.

Something About Mary by J S Black Ratings: 2/Flirty
Casey, Larry and Mary, Casey's creation. Mary is a full sized, fully figured, life-like female doll -- a playmate -- created by Casey in the image of a girl she had a crush on in college. Larry is a little jealous and creeped out by Mary. This is a little creepy story in a Tales from the Dark Side TV episode way. F/F romance but no F/F sex.

Dancer in the Dark by Scarlett Blue Ratings: 3/Hot
A vampiress is a private lap dancer in club and meets a creature who can give her her money's worth, in more than one way. She feels what it would be like to actually find contentment in a male's arms. Lite bondage and a F/M/F threesome. Lite romance and HEA.

The Call of the Night by Tabitha Rayne Ratings: 3/Hot
Maudra is a vampire who controls invisible phantoms. She finds Leah walking in the forest and has her sexually tormented (but not tortured) by phantoms. There is light bondage and a F/F scene in the forest. No HEA but implied future rendezvous.

House of Seven Inches by Michael Bracken Ratings: 4/Hot
The storyteller bought a fixer upper whose previous owner disappeared. The ghost of the previous owner, who had been shot and thrown down the old well, haunts the place. Little bit of romance, some homosexual bashing and M/M with anal penetration. Potential for future HEA.

Incubus At Your Service by Maggie Morton Ratings: 4/Steamy
A stunningly good looking man, who turns out to be an incubus, arrives to clean her home which is a disaster. Her friend arranged for her to have the day off to be with him. She thinks the sex is almost beyond description. He bribes her into cleaning when he is gone by telling her for each dish she cleans, she get an orgasm the next time he comes over. Romance and HEA of sorts.

Skyggen by Giselle Renarde Ratings: 3/Steamy
Mirjam is on vacation. She thinks she sees a ghost woman on the terrace across the street. When she gets home from vacation, she feels out of sorts and ends up totally changing her life, beginning to deteriorate physically. One night she hears a commotion outside her door and the door bursts open to admit a strange woman. The woman asks if Mirjam missed her and tells her she is her shadow. Interesting story line. No romance, sex with anal penetration.

Lord Nano’s Nemesis by Slave Nano Ratings: 1/Flirty
Lord Nano is a womanizer whose carriage is waylaid by a female highwayman whose name is Nemesis. Bondage and S&M with no pleasure for the submissive. No sex, just sexual humiliation with a little torture. A little disturbing with male bashing.

Ghost With The Most by Lynn Lake Ratings: 4/Steamy
A couple attends a "ghost party" on Halloween whose attendees must dress as ghosts. Greg dresses Barbara up as "Cassandra the Slutty Ghost". Barbara ends up having great sex with a ghost, who she thinks is Greg, against the railing in front of an audience. The sex was better than usual with hubby Greg. Existing romance.

Flaws by K D Grace Ratings: 3/Steamy
Sally is a witch specializing in sex magic. But, "I don't do love spells". A client comes to her for one, she initially refuses but agrees to do one if he will first allow her to work a clarity spell on him. Little romance and HEA.

Nymph by Kyoko Church Ratings: 3/Hot
Ben is a nymph who feeds by way of oral sex. Charlotte thinks the relationship with him is great except he won't perform oral sex on her. Read and find out why. Romance and HEA.

Skin Deep by Kat Black Ratings: 4/Hot
Humorous. A vampire trolls a club for victims. He is surprised by the spunky little female club owner who is somewhat resistant to his commands. Sex up against an alley wall. Implied future meetings.

Airfield by James Hornby Ratings: 3/Hot
Ghost planes, B17s, land and take off in abandoned airfield. The nearby town comes alive with ghosts that night. Some ghostly F/F and interesting threesome (F/M/F) with ghosts. Romantic F/F reminiscing. No HEA.

Overall I enjoyed this book. There are some very creative paranormal stories here. I think paranormal fans will enjoy most of the book.

For 18+, a free short story from Dark Desires can be downloaded from Xcite Books here

Guest post with romance author Lucy Felthouse + giveaway

Capturing the Atmosphere

Paris is well known for being a beautiful and romantic city, so it's probably not a surprise to learn that my latest release, BITE WITH HEIGHT, is set there. What may surprise you, though, is that in my book there are no romantic strolls along the Seine, or boat trips along it. It's a romance, all right, but one with a twist.

You see one of the main characters, Meg, is a vampire. And she is not a typical vampire, either. I don't want to give too much away and ruin the story for you, but let's just say she has an unusual lifestyle which draws her into the seedier, darker side of Paris. And that's most definitely the side I've captured in BITE WITH HEIGHT.

When I visited Paris myself last year, I was fascinated by the Pigalle and Montmartre areas, which were an enthralling blend of seedy, sexy and sensual. When I decided that part of Paris was going to feature in my writing, that was the atmosphere I wanted to capture. The story itself is a mixture of romance, eroticism and danger, so it fit perfectly. Once I knew what I was going to write, I didn't find it difficult to capture the essence of the area – I simply wrote what I'd seen and heard for myself, with some creative licence, of course.

I had fun writing BITE WITH HEIGHT, and early reviews seem to indicate the story and the setting are ticking people's boxes, so naturally I'm delighted. Even more so because I have a research trip to Paris planned in a couple of months. Oh yes... it's time for the sequel. I haven't finished with Meg and Grace yet!

*****

When Meg spots a young woman alone in the Pigalle district of Paris at night, she’s intrigued. She has to know her story and find out why she looks so sad and alone. After introducing herself, Meg realizes that she and Grace have a lot in common. But when they decide to go and grab a drink together, they discover a mutual love that could bond them forever.

Buy Links:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005BYZO7E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lucyfelt-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005BYZO7E

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-bitewithheight-575237-139.html

Also available from all good eBook stockists.

*****

During Lucy’s first year studying Creative Writing at the University of Derby, she was dared to write an erotic story. It went down a storm and she's never looked back. Lucy has had stories published by Cleis Press, Noble Romance, Ravenous Romance, Summerhouse Publishing and Xcite Books. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

*****

Giveaway!

Want to win a PDF or ePub copy of BITE WITH HEIGHT for yourself? Simply leave a comment on this post with your email address and a winner will be chosen on 8/4/11.

Review Bite with Height by Lucy Felthouse

Title: Bite with Height
Author: Lucy Felthouse
Source: Won at Paranormal Haven
Genre: Paranormal Romance f/f
Format: eNovella, 22 pgs
Release Date: June 6, 201
Author Website
Publisher Website



When Meg spots a young woman alone in the Pigalle district of Paris at night, she's intrigued. She has to know her story and find out why she looks so sad and alone. After introducing herself, Meg realizes that she and Grace have a lot in common. But when they decide to go and grab a drink together, they discover a mutual love that could bond them forever.



Rating -

Sexual -

My Review:

Very cute, sexy, short vampire story and humorous paranormal romance.

Meg, a vampire, has taken it upon herself to clean out the criminal element in the Pigalle area of Paris.

Grace looks as if she definitely doesn't belong in this part of town. Meg is attracted to how beautiful she is as she sits all alone outside the Starbucks.

After talking together for a while, Grace admits that the boyfriend she moved to Paris with dumped her, telling her she was boring in the sack.

After a walk, Meg shows Grace her fangs. Grace asks her "So you're like a vigilante vampire? Like Blade?!" Priceless! {grin}

Sex in the dome on the top of the Sacré-Coeur building in Paris — can it get any more romantic? A few kisses and some quick F/F oral sex with a vampire bite is all there is time for in this short, 22 page eNovella.

The only thing I didn't like about this story? It was way too short. I think Ms. Felthouse could use this as the basis for a full length novel. As soon as I was finished reading the story, all these questions about the characters came to mind. That's how I know it would make a great novel.

Warning Spoiler Alert!!!!
It has a HEA ending.