Review: Witching Hours [The Preacher's Daughters 2] by Sheri Gilmore

Turning her back on the society she grew up in, Starr Chappel has to fight everyday to live the life she's chosen for herself, running a Pagan supply store in a small, southern town full of prejudice toward her religion, and gossip concerning the murder of her mother. A murder, she's sure, still needs to be solved in a discreet, investigatory manner.

But, the local preacher isn't helping her keep a low-profile. With his suave southern charm and warm as molasses brown eyes, he is fast melting her heart and resolve to keep all preachers at arms length. There's the vague impression that they've met before, but with his sexy looks and sizzling bedside manner, she's certain she would have remembered him!

Reverend James Edwin Mason III has never met a more enticing woman than Bay St. Louis's local witch, Starr Chappel. With her fiery, red hair, flashing green eyes, and luscious curves, she could be Lucifer, himself, come to tempt a less honorable man to his fate. But, Mason soon learns he's been less than honorable in more than one of his past lives in regard to the delectable Starr Chappel. Can he convince her of his sincerity this time around?

This book contains substantial explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Domination/submission, voyeurism.

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Rosalie's Review: 3.5/5


Truthfully, the stories to which I seem most commonly drawn are those involving forbidden attraction, often between mortal enemies. While The Preacher's Daughters: Witching Hours doesn’t contain anything so dramatic, it is a novel detailing the importance of life, love, acceptance, tolerance, and what it truly means to embrace one’s spirituality. These were all themes I didn’t expect to encounter upon adding this book to my shopping cart.

The Preacher's Daughters: Witching Hours tells the story of Starr Chappell and Reverend James Edwin Mason III. Starr is a practicing witch who often finds herself at odds with the town locals due to her religious beliefs. Mason is the town’s new preacher, though he hasn’t yet been fully accepted. As a man of God, he is expected to take a wife, and despite his spiritual reservations, the only woman in whom he’s interested is a pagan who seemingly wants nothing from him than a roll in the sack. Starr is not without cause for her prejudice against men of the cloth; her father was a minister, a skirt-chasing one at that, and drove her mother to an affair with her sister’s boyfriend. Starr has had more than enough of the preacher-type, but she can’t deny the way she reacts whenever Mason is around.

Unfortunately, Mason and Starr have more on their plates than they could have imagined. They were lovers once before: she, the wife of a colonial minister, and he, a philandering witch whose sexual appetite was not satisfied with just one woman.

This was a very good erotic romance wrapped in a morality play. It’s definitely worth a read.

Review: Lucifer's Daughter by Eve Langlais

Hi, I’m Muriel, the only white sheep in a sea of black ones, and a virgin to boot. I am determined to wait for love, but my Dad, more commonly known as Lucifer, just wants me to stop being an embarrassment. I’m hoping the hunk I met in my bar will turn out to be the one–just looking at him makes my insides melt like marshmallows over the coals of Hell, but trusting is hard when it seems everyone I get close to ends up trying to kill me.

Not only am I dealing with an extreme case of lust, there’s a new threat in Hell, one my Dad says to ignore. Something easier said than done since it seems everywhere I turn demons are trying to kill me. But I’m okay with that, because one thing I’ve learned being a princess of Hell is that sometimes I have to grab a demon by the horns and slap it around a bit.

A rebellion in Hell, demon assassins and scorching kisses, could my life get any more interesting?

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Rosalie's Review: 5/5


Angels, demons, and a plot to over-throw Hell. Oh my!

Meet Muriel, daughter of Lucifer and princess of Hell. Aside from being the white sheep in a family of black ones, she spends her evenings running her business and dodging the advances of the demons her father sends her way, hoping his half-human daughter will loosen up and start living up to the family name. Then she meets Auric and his two friends, whose secrecy and determination more than intrigue her. While in serious lust with Auric, Muriel is no fool. She’s been the target of too many assassination attempts and on the receiving end of just as many gomers who claim they are worthy of popping her cherry. From the get-go, Auric is different, and after passing a few of her “getting to know you” tests, Muriel begins to wonder if she might have just met “the one.”

Lucifer's Daughter is everything I look for in a book. Witty, engaging characters, true sizzle-off-the-page chemistry, betrayal, deceit, sex, lies, passion, love, all wrapped a well-written, involved plot that keeps you on your toes. This is truly one book you can’t afford to miss.

FIRSTS - NEW EXCERPT: R RATED

Author: Rosalie Stanton
Publisher: Loose Id
Length: Novella
Buy Link: http://www.loose-id.com/Firsts.aspx

Title: Firsts
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
Blurb: Savannah is looking at entering college as a virgin. After getting her heart shattered by one of the high school’s notorious playboys, she turns to her best friend, Thorn, and implores him to help her solve the tiny problem of her virginity.

What she doesn’t know is Thorn has been in love with her since the second he laid eyes on her, and asking him to touch what he can’t have is nothing less than torture. After succumbing to her advances, Thorn makes it his mission to convey everything he hasn’t been able to put into words into touch, hoping Savannah will feel in his hands and mouth what she has never seen in his eyes.




R-Rated Excerpt


“T-teach you?” Thorn repeated shakily, his hands balling into fists. He had to progress very carefully; the world could shatter with a bat of her gorgeous eyes. “Like…you want…”

“I figure I'll have to do this eventually,” Savannah explained hurriedly, her gaze darting to the floor, a warm blush spreading across her cheeks. “So…umm…I thought…if you want me to…”

He laughed nervously. “Savannah, I—”

“If you don't want me to, I won't,” she amended quickly.

The laughter kept coming. He couldn't switch it off, nor could he keep himself from saying something stupid. “Not want a gorgeous girl to wrap her lips around my prick? You really are new to this, aren't you?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He'd officially lost control over words. They lived on their own.

Savannah's face fell, hurt replacing nervousness, and Christ, it was his kryptonite.

“Never mind,” she said. “I just thought… You did it for me, so—”

“Kitten—”

Her head whipped up, her eyes blazing brilliantly. “Don't you 'kitten' me, you big…jerk guy! I don't… I thought you'd want something. I thought… I don't know what I thought, but I wanted to do something for you, and that seemed like the best thing, and if you can't be decent about it, then…” Savannah's face fell again when words ran empty, gaze redirecting to her bare, bronzed legs. She hadn't bothered dressing in his brief absence, and at the moment, he didn't know whether he should consider himself lucky. It was awkward enough between them without taking nudity into consideration. “I just thought…”

Thorn sighed harshly, running a hand through his hair and hating himself. “Sweetheart,” he said, his voice softer. “Savannah. Will you look at me?”

The request only hardened her stare. She didn't budge.

Well, if she wouldn't come to him, he'd go to her. He found himself kneeling before her the next instant, hands rubbing her thighs of their own volition, waiting for her to relax before raising a hand to her face.

“I'm an ass,” he said plainly.

She snickered.

“A good-looking ass, yeah, but an ass.”

Another snort. “Conceited much?”

“My beauty's a burden, love, not a perk.”

This time she laughed outright and looked up at last. He smiled when he had her eyes. Maybe there was a chance he could talk himself back from a full-blown train wreck…providing his dick didn't do his talking for him. “You made my brain short-circuit,” he said honestly. “Can't rightly offer a bloke a blow like that and expect him to be anything but…well, this.”

Savannah pouted at him a minute longer. “Jerk.”

“Yeah.”

“I am new at this.”

Thorn smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I know,” he replied. “And as much as I want to say yes, I don't want you to feel like you gotta do anything for me. I'm just happy to—”

Her eyes widened. “I don't feel like I have to.”

“No?”

“No, I just…” She licked her lips, and he bit back a moan. Just imagining those lips around him, that tongue caressing him, licking him, drawing him in deeper, deeper. Oh God. “I want to.”

Every muscle in his body tightened. His cock had hardened to the point he thought he'd bust his zipper. Her flesh against his…her skin…her scent…around him, sucking… “You want…Savannah… Oh God.”

“What?”

Rational thought fled the room. His hands closed around her face, and his lips crashed hard against hers. A long moan raced through her body, igniting his every nerve. She responded so wildly to his touches. Her kisses tasted hungered and desperate, mouth stealing aching, hot drags off his lips as her hands reached and grabbed. She explored him with boundless curiosity, fingers trailing up his arms and over his shoulders, down his chest and across his thighs. Her thumb brushed against his denim-clad cock once, and when he gasped into her mouth, she did it again with gusto. No part of her lacked fire or passion; she touched and discovered, leaving his skin feverish in her wake, and for one perfect moment, she belonged to him. Touching him, her beautiful, bare body his for the taking. She belonged to him. He could pretend.

He could pretend…

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Review: Ex Appeal by Cari Quinn

As the webmistress for one of the Northeast’s hottest dating sites, Hunk Du Jour, Jenny Talbot is no stranger to reading the applications of potential clients. But when the latest application that crosses her inbox belongs to Ty Randall, the guy she broke up with a mere twenty-seven days ago, she does a double take. Reading what Ty wants in bed not only gets Jenny hot, it also makes her rethink ending their relationship. All she longed for was a little more spice in the bedroom—okay, a lot more—but he let her go without an argument. Faced with the possibility that Ty may really be moving on, getting her ex back becomes more appealing than ever. But will revealing exactly what she needs allow Jenny to finally experience ultimate pleasure or will she drive away the man she loves for good?

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Rosalie's Review: 5/5


Ex Appeal gives us the sweet, heartwarming tale of two people who overcome trial and error and fight their way back to each other. Jenny has been with her boyfriend, Ty, for several years, and recently ended their relationship due to infidelity—that is, he had developed a love for his job that seemingly outweighed his interest in her.

This story drew me in for two key reasons: the strong emotion between Ty and Jenny, and the insights given to the nature of their relationship. Ms. Quinn successfully wove a realistic tale that was nearly bittersweet at first; we see misunderstanding has separated our lovers, but the passion they felt for each other had nowhere near subsided. Ty believes Jenny to have lost interest in him due to the changes she made, both cosmetic and in the bedroom. Jenny believes Ty to have lost interest in her, due to his lackluster response to said changes, which were designated to rekindle and save their romance. The realistic portrayal of a seemingly doomed relationship and the hopeful, not to mention hot as all get out, reunion was the perfect combination in any good erotic romance.

Ex Appeal is the uplifting story of rediscovering love, understanding the importance of communication, and the hope for what lies ahead. This is one that should go to the top of your TBR list.

POSSESSION - NEW EXCERPT: X RATED

Author: Rosalie Stanton
Publisher: Loose Id
Length: Novella
Buy Link: http://www.loose-id.com/Possession.aspx

Title: Possession
Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance
Blurb: Arianna is a demon hunter who isolates herself from society. Over the past few months she has become increasingly dependent on her uncertain alliance with Kade, a vampire informant who literally stepped out of the shadows and into her life.

On the night of a rumored attack from a group of demons, called Eros, who feed off passion for sustenance, Arianna meets with Kade to plan a counterattack before the demons can strike. However, upon retreating to Kade’s apartment for supplies, both Arianna and Kade are overwhelmed with a sudden rush of passion. Their bodies refuse to obey their minds, and before they can stop themselves, they are engaged in endless rounds of lovemaking. Lost to pleasure even as their minds fight sensation and each other, Kade surrenders to his love for Arianna, and tries to convince her he is what she’s needed all along.




Adult-Rated Excerpt


Arianna's face blanked comically. “I…I don't give you permission to read my thoughts!”

“I can't read your thoughts.”

“Then how—”

“They're called ears.”

“I said that out loud?”

“Yeah. And my ears are particularly sensitive, so I can hear even if you are muttering under your breath.” He smirked unpleasantly, palming his balls and giving them a good squeeze. “You want me back inside?”

Yes. She ached all over. She felt wet and aching and very much in need of him. She needed that cock inside her and not in his hand…no matter how hot watching him masturbate made her. Especially when his gaze flickered alternately between her breasts and her pussy. Especially when he licked his lips like that and snarled all predatorily.

She felt certifiable. Absolutely certifiable.

“The spell's over,” she said slowly. “We…we've done—”

“I don't know about you, Arianna…” Kade paused and sniffed at the air, his lips stretching into an obnoxious sneer. “Well, actually, I do know about you. You're dripping for me.”

“Ugh!” Arianna shot out a leg in his direction, only to have him seize her by the ankle with his unoccupied hand. She tried hard to ignore how good his fingers felt against her. “Get over yourself.”

“We're not done,” he replied softly.

Then he tugged on her leg, dragged her down the mattress, ignoring her surprised yelp, and positioned himself at her opening yet again. She felt certain that any second now her heart would leap out of her chest. She lay on her back, stretched out before him, and he had her pelvis lifted as an offering for his cock. He didn't touch her at all. His body didn't stretch above hers. His chest didn't press against her breasts. He held her only where he needed to, rubbing his length across her slit.

“You're mine, Arianna,” he said again. Slowly. Intently. He refused to look at her—his eyes were glued to her pussy. “For better or worse.”

“I am not yours.”

“I claimed you.”

“Not my problem.”

Kade's brows flickered with interest, but he didn't look at her. “You accepted.”

“You forced me.”

He sniggered. “Yeah. I've never seen anyone react to force so enthusiastically.”

“It'll go away.” The head of his cock brushed against her clit, and she trembled hard. Her body reacted in all the wrong ways. If this happened, she wanted body-on-body contact. She wanted him with her and not using her only for what lay between her legs. He didn't touch her, and she needed him to touch her. She needed to feel him against her. “It'll go—”

Kade tsk-tsked and shook his head, slipping his cock inside her again and tugging on her hard until her legs were wrapped around his waist. “Doesn't go away,” he replied, his voice distant. “Not after you accept.”

“You made me—”

“That point's fucking moot. You're stuck with me.” Finally he blinked and trailed his eyes up her body until their gazes clashed. Only Kade didn't look out through his own eyes. Not the Kade that had been with her all night. This seemed a different Kade. A Kade who guarded himself from her. “You're mine.”

Arianna shook her head and wiggled, earning little more than a sharp thrust and an enthusiastic gasp. “No!” she protested. “No!”

“Arianna—”

“You can't—”

She choked out a sob and reached for him, feeling idle and stupid. She needed him to be with her. This emotional-distancing crap would only kill them both. Her body didn't feel conditioned for sex without feelings; hatred and anger seemed preferable over nothing. She needed Kade to feel something. She needed him to touch her. She needed him.

Oh God.

Kade blinked hard. It took only seconds for the facade to melt. “Oh, Arianna.”

“Please?”

The next thing she knew, he'd slid his hands under her shoulders and lifted her into his embrace. Arianna linked her arms around his neck and swallowed him in a kiss.

Kade whimpered, his hands dropping to her ass, squeezing her encouragingly as she began to bounce on his cock with renewed enthusiasm. “Arianna,” he whispered, nipping at her lips.

“God…”

“Keep touching me.” She kissed him again, wiggling her hips. “Kade…keep touching me.”

He smiled kindly, wrapping his arms around her to hold her to his chest, and her heart melted.

“I'll never stop.”

Arianna cupped his cheeks and kissed him, banishing her thoughts.

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Writing status

I’ve completed two interviews in the past week and both have asked what I’m currently working on. It's a good question, but one I'm never really sure of how to answer. All the interviews I've given over the last few months have mentioned, in some way or another, the paranormal WIP I've been working on since February. It's been a struggle; I had a listless female protagonist, who was listless for a reason, granted, but she provided absolutely no drive or reason for me to come back…therefore I found myself apathetic, road-blocked, and incredibly frustrated. It wasn't until I participated in an author chat for one of my publishing houses that I decided the story was worth more than my original version of my protagonist and if it was to survive, I needed to man up and do some serious revising. Over the past month or so, I've completely rewritten the beginning of the book, adding in a prologue from my hero's POV and a new chapter featuring his first encounter with the heroine. It flows much better now, and it gave my character a voice whereas before she lacked depth.

I’m encouraged because I do truly care about this project and I’m not going to let the shaky beginning deter me from my goal. However, I’ve recently found myself bombarded with ideas for lighter stories that won’t take nearly as long to get out. Writing can be two things for me, and hardly ever at the same time: easy-peasy or “all work and no play.” Lately, it’s been the later. If I’m deeply invested in a project, I’ll obsess over it. After all, people with OCD are known for obsessing, and since I already obsess over everything under the sun, I have a tendency to stumble over sentences and self-edit as I write, which is something I know, I know, I know I shouldn’t do, but I find myself doing it anyway. No matter how many times I tell myself to worry about edits later, my brain doesn’t want to function that way, and since I care about this project, I don’t want my own neuroses to interfere with its progression. That’s where I believe lighter projects might help its progression. If I can get my mind out of the place where everything has to be “just so” and on a lighter, fluffier note, the blood might blow a bit easier, and I’ll have a real chance at tackling the story I really, really want to tell.

Anyone else out there have this problem? Please? Bueller? Bueller?

In other news, one of my interviews will go live soon. I’m thinking about doing a giveaway for those who comment on the blog it’ll appear on. Any takers? I’ll even take suggestions on what book to giveaway.

GIVEAWAY SPOTLIGHT!!!!

Centuries ago, Ravenna Mal was One of the Few, one among many sworn to protect the world from the night’s creatures. Her upbringing was unforgiving; as a warrior, she could form no close relationships, and she could especially never fall in love.

A vampire called Nicolai challenged everything she knew, introducing her to worldly sins, worshiping her flesh with his hands and mouth, and worming into her heart before she realized how painful love could be…especially when ripped away.

In the present, Raven Rayne has a problem. A new vampire called Nicholas in town; one who speaks to her without saying a word, one who stirs long-dormant feelings she can’t dismiss as dreams.

A chance spell reunites Raven with the past she never knew, and memories of Nicholas she couldn’t have dreamed. And though he doesn’t remember her, she knows she must do everything she can to remind him.

REVIEWS

4 DELIGHTFUL DIVAS: "Rosalie Stanton is a new and promising author. If you love an angsty vampire romance where love conquers all, then this is the book for you! Ripples Through Time was an emotional rollercoaster ride of love surviving death. The writing was poetic and expressive and allowed us into both the hero and heroine’s point of view. I look forward to more work by this passionate, new author." -- Stacey, Dark Diva Reviews

4 TEACUPS: "Romeo and Juliet have nothing on Ripples Through Time's Nicholas and Raven. I really, really, really loved Ripples Through Time. I went through so many different emotions reading this story, I laughed when Raven was sassy to her guardian and when it looked like Raven's desire to stay with Nicholas forever wouldn't come true, I was anxious, hoping that their love would be enough to keep them together. Miss Stanton is a really talented author and I look forward to reading her next masterpiece." -- Ashira, Happily Ever After Reviews

CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GIVEAWAY!!!

Review: Coercion by Lux Zakari

How far will one woman go for love?

Introverted and insecure Valerie Mercer was promised that during her senior year of college she would finally attract attention from boys…but never dreamed that would include Michael Vartanian.

Good looking, troubled and every parent’s nightmare, Michael is adamant on introducing Valerie to a world of both pleasure and, inadvertently, heartbreak. His interest in Valerie is dependent upon the mood and fidelity of his on-and-off-again girlfriend, Breeze.

Nevertheless, Valerie lets her hope and desire override common sense and soon finds she can’t deny Michael anything…no matter what’s at stake.

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Rosalie's Review: 5/5


I truly had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book, but what I received was something out of left field: a realistic coming-of-age story with characters so real you nearly expect to run into them on the street.

Coercion is a bittersweet tale about a shy young woman, Valerie, who enters her senior year of college, thinner and optimistic about her romantic prospects. She attracts male attention, which is foreign to her, and also encounters a high school crush – bad boy, bad-influence Michael.

Michael is everything Valerie is not. He’s not academically ambitious, not particularly driven by anyone or anything, a habitual drug user, and constantly on the outs with his longtime girlfriend, Breeze. Michael is particularly taken with Breeze almost to the point of obsession; they don’t get along most of the time, but mutual understanding keeps drawing them back to each other. They are routinely unfaithful while still remaining jealous of the other’s infidelity. Breeze goes through a number of both reputed and verified sexual partners, while Michael notices sweet Valerie, and proceeds to take her on a dark sexual journey, either unaware or apathetic that her heart is in the balance.

This book was—oh, what’s the word—fantastic. It typically isn’t my sort of story, admittedly, but I found I couldn’t stop reading. Every page, every word, hell, every syllable drew me in even more. What really propelled the novel forward were the characters. These were true people on a page, complete with their virtues and vices. I really loved Valerie, even in her weaker moments, even when I thought she was a complete moron for the way she allowed herself to be treated. Sometimes people are morons. Sometimes people are weak. Sometimes people make the wrong choice for the wrong reasons. Sometimes people do the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Sometimes, smart girls fall for the bad boy. And if we’re being truthful, the bad boy doesn’t always turn into Prince Charming. Sometimes it goes exactly the way it should.

This novel was a perfect blend of characterization, dialogue, writing, angst, realism, and the unexpected happy ending. Anyone who loves a good story will adore Coercion. I eagerly await Lux Zakari’s next work. This is definitely an author to watch.