Tag: Novella

Posted in Spicy Romance

Matched with a Vampire

Posted on by Little Bee

By Belle Blakley

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately, and nothing has really caught my attention. I received this ARC through Booksirens, and I am happy I asked for it! It is an incredibly short read and ticks the marks I look for in a short story.

I review short stories differently than a full length novel. My expectations are there is a beginning, a middle, and an end. If it is a spicy short read, I also consider if the scene is well developed or is the spicy scene(s) short, quick, and too the point leaving me as a reader disengaged and uninspired. Finally, I look at the overall development of the story itself. Some short spicy books, its all spice and no plot. That is totally fine. And often, it is what I want from a short spicy book.

*Minor Spoiler ahead* When I look at Matched with a Vampire, I do feel it is a well developed book. I do not necessarily need a happy ending, and if you are looking for a fated mates/the guy gets the girl etc, you won’t find that here. While, I like an ending where the MCs end up together, there is something special about a story about a FMC who is just out looking for hers, you know? I do feel this story does have some plot but also has some spice. And the spice nice ;).

I also like matchmaking services that involve the paranormal. While this is an escort matching service, the idea is still there. I really love that Dean was a fan of Liz’s historical romances and he had a book store and she was an author. That was such a fun dynamic. I hope there are more stories that involve Liz with some of the other monsters in the service.

If you are looking for a short book that packs a little punch, this one is a good one to pick up! I immediately started the second book. I am also looking forward to the other monsters!

Posted in Spicy Romance

The Ties That Bind

Posted on by Little Bee

By Piper Rhodes

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a dark romance novelette, roughly 75 pages. Short stories are often hit or miss for me because I feel there are too many plot holes. I did enjoy this dark little story, though I do feel it would have been 5 stars for me if it had a little more. Because it is so short, parts of it felt a little rushed or forced to fit together, when another paragraph might have helped bridge that connection a little more clearly. I feel this would be especially true with the relationship that formed between Elle and Alec. For me, I have a hard time believing in instalove or zappy connections between people in nonparanormal/nonfantasy books so some extra time on them would have helped.

The spice was good, quick lol. This is just another pitfall sometimes with novellas, a little more depth to the spice scenes would have made it feel less rushed. Overall though, I did enjoy the book and would still recommend, just wish there was a little more 🙂

Posted in Spicy Romance

In the Care of Magic

Posted on by Little Bee

By Robin Jo Margaret

Rated 4 out of 5 Stars

I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a short story, 111 pages. It is a no angst, easy read, with lots of spice. It follows a witch named Jillian. She lives with humans and they often take advantage of her. One day she breaks down and runs off for a period of time to get away and refresh herself. While at her childhood home, she summoned a sex demon, named Lyle. At first, it was to help her relax and fulfill needs she has not fulfilled in a while. Over time, Lyle came back to Jillian each night, and eventually Lyle started coming during the day as well. They began spending more and more time. Eventually, Jillian offered Lyle to be in her life however Lyle saw fit. Sex demons are aromantic, so Lyle could not give Jillian a relationship, but they could enjoy each other’s company.

This really is the whole story. There is a lot of banter between Jillian and Lyle. I do like that Lyle got to stick around and even went to work with Jillian once she went back to her little human town and her shop. Lyle is gender neutral, and can form his body to meet the needs of the summoner. Throughout the book, the pronouns xe/xem/xyrs was used for Lyle. These pronouns are newer for me, so I had a hard time with their pronunciation and it took me a little longer to read the story.

Overall, it was a sweet book. It was really just spicy times, while they got to know each other and developed a friendship as well. I wouldn’t say there is an HEA, just that Lyle got to stick around in Jillian’s life to provide that need for each other. I would say there is a lot of growth individually for the two as well. Again, there is no angst. Just a nice spicy read. I also wish the type of “toy” Jillian spelled together for Lyle was real and we could all have one as well LOL.

Posted in Spicy Romance

My Brutal Beast

Posted on by Little Bee

By Melissa Cummins

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

My Brutal Beast is a monster romance retelling of Beauty and the Beast. You can read the description of the book for more information, because I really want to talk about the content of the story as a whole.

Sometimes, novellas can be very difficult reads. They are short, sometimes have major plot holes, you feel like you are missing something, you want more, or all of the above at one time. This author created a well rounded story in just 77 pages. Do you want more at the end? Yes. But the depth of the plot and the development of the characters is pretty impressive for such few pages. This book had spice, murder, monsters, mayhem….what more can you ask for? The spice scenes are not fade to black. They are entire scenes. My only qualm is I wish I knew more about Raven. Maybe more novellas will be written about these monsters so we can learn more about them.

If you are looking for a quick read that packs a punch, this one was really good and I recommend.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Filthy Punk

Posted on by Little Bee

By Saint Bryde

Rating: 4 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Filthy Punk is a short novella, only 52 pages. I have not read any other of this author’s works, but I did enjoy it overall. Novellas are very hit or miss for me. It is very tricky to find that happy balance of plot, character development, and for spicy novellas, spice as well. This is considered a spicy novella that was supposed to be heavier on the spice and less on the plot. I am fine with less plot when it is heavy spice. However, I felt there was plenty of plot and could have used more spice, which is ultimately why I gave 4 stars.

If you are a looking for a quick read, this is a good one to pick up. It includes a tatted bad boy, a prim and proper (but not) FMC, some light bullying, and frenemies to lovers. There is a small layer of character development, but an appropriate amount for a novella. Again, I could have used a bit more spicy time but that is just me 🙂 If you don’t like heavy spice, and a couple of light D/S play is fine, then this would be more along the lines of 4.5-5 stars. The writing style was fine, it felt like I was in the heads of the characters, so it read like they were having a conversation or silent conversation. I did not catch any editing issues.

Thank you for this opportunity!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Beauty’s Beasts

Posted on by Little Bee

By Amy Pennza

5 out of 5 stars

This is a short read, of about 60 pages maybe. It follows Cordelia, Cade, and Levi. Cordelia is a rare female werewolf who is betrothed to an alpha who is totally disgusted by her. She overhears the fowl conversation between her father and him the night before she is supposed to get married. She decides that life is not for her and flees to the Free Zone, where there are not any packs. There she meets Cade and Levi. Levi is an alpha heir for the Mississippi Pack and Cade is his enforcer lover. They are bisexual, which is why they were kicked out of the pack by Levi’s father.

This book is definitely spicy!! It has so much spice from the very beginning. It has MM scenes and MMF scenes. After they have sex with Cordelia, an enforcer form the Mississippi pack begs Levi to come back because his father was killed and the next two in line after Levi. The enforcer indicated they were okay with his relationship with Cade. Cordelia and Cade convinced Levi to be the change werewolves needed and Cordelia agreed to mate Levi as required to be alpha. The three of them fall in love and care for each other. I wont give away all the juicy secrets 🙂

I really want more in this story, but I do not think there is another book. I am definitely going to read other works by this author. I got this book for free on booksprout and it is my first 5 star read this month (that I can rate, I did read one other book this month that was 5 star but I did not do a review on it…though I should go back and do it…). I would definitely assign this as 5 out of 5 peppers for spice! I liked the story as well. Even though it was short, I did not feel like it left anything out and was very clear from start to finish. Sometimes short stories can lose information along the way. I enjoyed the ending and definitely need and want more! The cover models are also sexy, so I can only imagine the sexiness of the characters. I am glad all three of them found what they were looking for in life 🙂

Posted in Spicy Romance

Viridios

Posted on by Little Bee

by L.A. Holloway

4 out of 5 Stars

This book is the first in a series. It is not a complete series at this time. It is set in the future after Earth has become overcrowded. Colonies of people are moving to new planets along with scientists to study the life forms. In this story, the main female character, Alaya, loves studying the ecosystem of the planet she is currently inhabiting. Alaya is not quite like the other humans who live there. They are very closed off and more extremist in their thoughts and approved customs. One day, Alaya is studying spores, when suddenly the ground rose up around her and a giant tree being sprouted. He captures her and tries to keep her as his pet. He does not understand why, but he has a strong desire to keep her and protect her. The story continues following through their growing bond and learning to communicate. I wont give any spoilers away 🙂

The story itself is quite unique. As someone who enjoys alien romance, this one was new to me. The trope is one you see a lot, insta love/fated mates, but I like how it was delivered. There was one sexy scene when he was still in tree form, which definitely was interesting! Steam wise, there is not a lot of spicy scenes, but the romance was still nice.

I gave the story 4 stars overall because of its uniqueness. It was also well written. It is not a terribly long read and can be read in one sitting. I hope more books come out in the series, because the ending set it up for more. If you are a fan of alien romance and want one that does not have much conflict, this is a good read to pick up. Sometimes having a nice palate cleanser between heavy reads is good, and this definitely helped! 🙂

Posted in Spicy Romance

Wolves Love Red

Posted on by Little Bee

Wolves Love Red: An Erotic Bedtime Story by C.C. Genovese

Rating: 5 stars

This is my first book I have read by this author. It is a quick read, but very intriguing. It follows a werewolf, named Valan, who catches the scent of Red, a rather ravishing woman. On the night the werewolf first gets a whiff of Red, he can hardly contain himself. He begins pleasuring himself in a nearby alley, however, he has to immediately run to the woods because when he orgasms, he howls, and he did not want to alert the town of his presence. He goes off into the woods where he has a wild romp with another wolf, named Fiona. Fiona asks about the woman who had him fired up like that, but he is reluctant to really give away anything.

The next day he goes looking for Red again, because he really wants her. He discovers she is bringing some sex toys to grandma’s house, who happens to be the town bicycle. He comes up with the idea to go to Grandma’s house to wait for Red to get there. Instead, he comes across Fiona. Fiona again is curious about the woman who has Valan so wound up. Fiona suggests taking Grandma off his hands, because Fiona heard she likes blonde bombshells, so that Valan can have his woman. Fiona takes Grandma and her current client off into another room, so when Red comes in and sees a very naked, human Valan, she becomes entranced. Valan is very well endowed, which is mentioned several times. So there is a lot of foreplay to help Red take him.

I will not give away the ending, because it was so amazingly unexpected. I really enjoyed this story overall. My issue I often have with short stories/novellas, is that many authors try to rush everything together. Some stories do not have a beginning, middle, and end. Wolves Love Red did have all parts to make a good story. It was easy to follow along with, it had the right amount of background information to set the scene, it had enough character development, and it didn’t feel like everything was rushed together. The sex scenes that were in the book were well written and very descriptive, so it was easy to imagine while you were reading it. Even though the story as a whole is good, the ending makes it all worth it. The ending is what takes this story out of the normal cookie cutter short story/erotic/paranormal/twisted retelling mold and makes it something completely unique.

Posted in Romance

Dead Over Heels

Posted on by Little Bee

Dead Over Heels by Theresa Braun

Rating: 5 stars

 

I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. 

 

Dead Over Heels is a short story, roughly 30-40 pages long. Unlike most short stories I have read and reviewed, this story had a start, middle, and end. It set the stage of the story, had a climax, and then ended leaving me with a “What the?” feeling. It is mind boggling how much information was packed into this story! The flow was smooth and easy to read. You root for the main characters because you want them to be a success, but also know, because of the type of book and the title, something bad is coming their way. All you can do is hope for the best.

Dead Over Heels is about Veronica and her journey to find love. She lights a hoodoo candle that is supposed to bring her true love…shortly after, here comes Sebastian, poor guy, I feel really bad for the end of the stick he got in this story. I feel if I give any further description, it will be spoilers, and this book is worth the read. That ending though!