Tag: Short Story

Posted in Spicy Romance

Contract of the Crown

Posted on by Little Bee

Elle Lacerta

Rating 4 out of 5 stars

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

This book is the first in a 5 book series that is dark/fantasy romance. For the quick and short of it, Iris is sold off to the Caed kingdom, specifically Roman. In order for her to gain access to the Academy, she has to serve him, in all the ways you can think of. She has daily chores and then “nightly” chores. She is given over to this ruling family to help pay off her father’s gambling debts.

First, I want to start out on the things I was not a fan of. While I get this was a short story, sometimes it was hard to keep up with how much time had passed, or did not pass. There seemed to be a massive jump between the time she is plotting their demise and her in bed with Rowan and the two falling in love with each other. I thought maybe something had gotten cut out or I missed it, but I felt lost during those parts. This is also true in the scene with Alex, and the level of anger Rowan had felt. I was a little confused there to, everything happens so fast. Also, the language used at first was incredibly flowery. I have ADHD and I found myself really struggling to get through the sentences, especially with words that are not entirely common ways to describe things. However, with that said, given the type of fantasy setting this book is referring to, the over descriptive words seems appropriate. It changes a bit throughout the book and is not a problem after that.

I like Iris, though I am a bit confused by her. She is a spitfire, a little bratty, but also really confusing. I am hoping as the story continues through, we will get more backstory on her and Rowan to understand them better. There is plenty of spice, some was fade to black (which is why I thought I missed something, because it is not clearcut fade to black). The scenes are not very long, but still spicy. I like how the BDSM elements are not overbearing. Sometimes the “Doms” in the book are incredibly toxic all around, and even though these Vampires are incredibly toxic, I feel like this is acceptable in fantasy romance novels that include the paranormal.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, but the books are set to release weekly, so if you pick it up, you should not have to wait long 🙂 I look forward to seeing the trajectory of the overall story. At this point, I am not sure where it is going…but I definitely know who the bad guys are!

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!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Hot for Xmas

Posted on by Little Bee

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Hot for Xmas by Trinity Blacio

Goodreads Rating 4 stars

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

 

The title Hot for Xmas is very true to it’s title. This is a short story about a social worker (an author after my own heart)named Emily who receives a case about a mother and her three children being badly beaten by the husband/father. This case happens to be a supernatural case, and it is her first of this type of case. While at the family’s house, the local Alpha pack (National Alphas) came and it was instant chemistry, as Emily was their mate. I really liked Baas’ character, though Sam is my favorite wolf for sure 🙂

My major reason for deducting a star, is that it is sometimes hard to follow. There were also some typos and structural errors that can easily be edited. Also, the biggest reason is in my copy, the little girl’s name was Rain when Emily first went to the family’s home, but later she was called Betsey. Also, in the beginning the younger brother’s name is Duke, where he is called Tucker later in the story.

This story has a suspenseful element, which I liked. There are a lot of steamy sex scenes, which includes some light BDSM. I enjoyed the mating ceremony, though it was a little hard to follow at times. I especially LOVED the playroom/cabin scenes. I definitely went finished this story needing a cold shower!! At this time it is a standalone,(I asked), but I would love to have some closure on this group as Emily is pregnant. I would actually like that closure in a few of the books I have read by Trinity Blacio so maybe in later books this can happen 🙂

Posted in Book Reviews

Bull Sharks vs The City of Chicago

Posted on by Little Bee

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

I received a copy of this Audiobook through Audiobook blast dot com from the author in exchange for my honest review.

I really like sonicmovies now. I think this is my third reviewing for the author and I have found that it is entertaining and his short stories are packed with excitement.

I like the humor he puts into each of his stories. I found myself laughing in Bull Sharks vs. The City of Chicago. I am really starting to feel sorry for Chicago….they seem to get hit a lot…Zombies….bull sharks…they can’t win 🙂

I look forward to listening to more of Yancy’s work!

Posted in Book Reviews

The Cat’s Guide to Human Behavior

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

Narrator: 5 stars

I received this book from audiobook blast (dot) com in exchange for my honest review.

I found this book to be very entertaining. I do not own cats, but I have friends that have cats and it made me giggle the whole way through. This book honestly reminded me of my Scottish Terrier..they have very similar personality characteristics!

This was a short quick listen. The author narrates the book in a very entertaining manner that keeps you listening. I look forward to listening to more of her books!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Exploit Me!

Posted on by Little Bee

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Exploit Me! By Nicola Diaz

Goodreads Rating: 2 stars

Audible Rating: Overall 2 Stars, Narrator Rating: 3 stars

I was given this Audiobook free for my honest review. I have not been paid in anyway for this review. This opinion is my own.

First, I want to say, the narrator, Sunny Tusker, was great, but the story was a little off for me. This is supposed to be in the realm of BDSM, and though some of the acts were BDSM, it was less D/s and more bondage and masochism. When I read the description, I guess I expected something completely different, that included more D/s in it, but there isn’t any of that at all in it.

This story actually is about a girl who gets fired from her waitress job, she then finds out she is 2 months behind on rent and will be evicted if she doesn’t cough up the cash fast. So she goes to the local coffee shop and looks at the help ads posted and comes across a bdsm type photo magazine ad. She tears the back ad page searching for new models, and the remaining part of the story are 2 live sex shows in which the boss takes photo/video. Reminds me of the Live Sex Acts club on Bourbon Streets. I have never been there…but similar concept, minus the some guy taking pictures (well I guess maybe except they have PR people that might).

It felt missing a lot. I believe this story continues on, but I am not sure how promising it feels. The flow of the story was a reflection. It starts out with Kelly going out on stage for a show and she is reflecting back on how she got her start. The bondage scenes were not very hard and could use a little more excitement. More character description would help as well. It is hard to visualize what is going on when you do not really know what the characters look like.

Posted in Spicy Romance

In The Heart of the Blizzard

Posted on by Little Bee

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In The Heart of the Blizzard by R Scott

Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars

Audible Rating: 2 stars

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast.com

One of my favorite kinds of movies or fantasies, was the one where the male/female character got lost in the wilderness and stumbled upon the lone house of the other character. I am not sure why that has always been my ideal fantasy or favorite storyline, but I always felt an author could go any direction with this start as their base. In the case of In The Heart of the Blizzard, R. Scott took it a different direction than I was expecting. The ending left me with a WTF look on my face for a while. Writing this review, I still have a WTF look on my face.

The story was okay. I thought the sex scene could have been steamier. I think my issue that really ruined it or dampened what the story could have been was the narrator. I think someone with a sexier voice would have done this story more justice.

This was a quick listen, and I appreciate the author giving me the opportunity to listen to it for my honest and unbiased review. That ending is still a shocker! I can’t even.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Dinner for Three

Posted on by Little Bee

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Dinner for Three by Neneh Gordon

Goodreads Rating: 1 star

This book. I am not even quite sure where to start with this book. Basically, Julie’s two boyfriends are going to meet for the very first time in order to see if the three will work in a more poly type of relationship. The sex scene wasn’t that great and I felt could have been much better. I have read some really great sex scenes, even for free books. I felt that I couldn’t wait for it to be over and it was just uncomfortable. Not so much uncomfortable because I am a prude (I mean, just give a scroll through some of the erotica I have read or listened to and you will know and understand that I will read or listen to just about any book…smut or not.) I just thought this was more on the trash side, and not the good kind of trash.

Sometimes my boyfriend will say things like “you and your books” after our own sexytimes, because that is what “those books” should elicit out of it’s readers, and this book did nothing of the sort. If an erotic book cannot make a reader feel tingly inside, even in 12 pages (let’s face it, porn mag ‘articles’ are shorter), then maybe a re-work and re-wording of the story should be considered.