Impromptu Romance Review

Katie: Fawkes Peak.. Or should we say twin peaks…is a novel written by Anna Leigh Keaton and Madison Layle. This is a short novella that looked like it was the right length to be part of an anthology but is offered as a separate item to purchase. It’s about, as the novel is suggesting, Snow, Pumas, two men and one woman.  What the cover doesn’t mention is that the Cougar is one of the men. Yes, this is another in a plethora of were stories featuring men that have a big secret of being a large predatory animal. Why there aren’t any novels of men turning into fluffy bunnies which have a notorious sex drive or pigs which have climaxes that last half an hour, I have no idea.
 
Heather: watch what you wish for. I saw an ad for a Changeling book that had a bunny.
 
Katie: Oh sweet baby Jesus… Rule 34!!
 
Heather: http://changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1574
 
Katie: Is this like the romance novel porn version of that movie Hop?
 
Heather: Even better. It’s a Godfather parody.
 
Katie: So… Watership down… with porn.  Got it.
 
Heather: Somehow I can’t picture Al Pacino as a bunny
 
Katie: And now….I am going to get some brain bleach. ANYWAY… back to the topic…The story, without giving anything away, is about an overstressed ad executive from Las Vegas coming to the resort town of Leavenworth for a ‘Girls Getaway’ to find she’s actually the third wheel when one of the girls drops out and the other brings her fiancé.

So she decides to have her destressing trip by heading off into the woods on a hiking trip with a Guy who is as sexy as hell and his pet cat… full grown cougar mountain lion. In the book you discover quickly that the men are “More than meets the eye.”

No…. not that. They are Catamounts - were men that change from man to giant mountain cat. Since this is a short novella, they need to get to the porn fast so she’s naked and having one of them ride her in the kitchen within 24 hours of them reaching the cabin and 48 of meeting.  Sans condom. But not to worry.  You can’t get pregnant unless you have both men inside you coming at the same time.

Yes.  This is a novel where a chick gets two men at the same time.  Which is normally sexy as hell for this reviewer… except the men are brothers.

In all seriousness, I can’t poke too much fun at the plot because this is really a novel designed to be ‘fun sexy romp’ where you don’t have to wait too long before being treated to hot steamy nookie.  Within those parameters, the novel does actually accomplish that if two men at once, weres is your cup of steaming lust.  If you can put “the men are related and seeing each other’s O face’ under the nice fuzzy blanket of suspension of disbelief it can be a fun read. My only real valid complaint is that I live in Washington state and have been to Leavenworth.  It is a really cute Bavarian-style town nestled in the middle of the Washington mountains.  The locals turned themselves into this tourist attraction when the logging and railroad industry started to wane.  It’s a very lovely getaway place from Seattle.
 
Heather: this wasn’t an issue for me because as a Florida girl, I’m clueless about what it looks like, other than Washington is generally pretty. And cold.
 
Katie: It deserved more than a sentence describing the gingerbread like houses of the town.  The author had done such a good job describing the situation the heroine found herself in as the third wheel I was looking forward to having a bit of the town described enough to trigger my memory of it as well as paint a picture for anyone reading it. However it’s described as a generic resort mountain town.  There was more than one place this lack of world painting occurred. 
 
Heather: However, I am disappointed by the lack of barbed peen.

Katie: Oh come on!  You know you dream of barbed penis!
 
Heather: so far, only if Lora Leigh is writing it.
 
Katie: Whether this is due to needing to confine themselves to a certain word count that caused choppy editing or if this due to a lack of knowledge of the town.  Or perhaps it was an author decision due to trying to convey the idea of a Bavarian style resort town in the middle of the Washington state. Either way, It was a bit disappointing to see good description some places and lack of it in others.
 
Heather: and I did like that the heroine had a backbone and was not afraid to ask for what she wanted in bed, and also that she wasn’t afraid to take time to consider whether she really wanted a ménage.

Katie: And at the end of the novel the heroine showed she was still able to rub two brain cells together even if the men made her bowlegged and went back to Vegas, because, realistically it was a whirlwind four day romantic affair. There isn’t a person I know that, no matter how good the sex was, would I give up the life I spent years building after a few good orgasms. The heroine wisely took the time to distance herself to see if this was a fling or if this was something more. Probably it was the lack of barbed penis that made her decide they were keepers.
 
Heather: all in all, I’d give another of their titles a try, probably in a longer format.
 
Katie: and it’s either one man or two men that aren’t related.
 
Heather: Yeah, that too, mostly because I don’t want my hubby flailing when I read passage aloud.
 
Katie: Seriously, when I thought about it I thought about sharing a hottie with my brother, and as soon as the idea of seeing my brother’s O face entered the picture, I never wanted to have sex again… ever.
 
Heather: “Tight, damp pussy” scarred him.
 
Katie: More than Glorious Glistening Manboobs?
 
Heather: No, that one scarred my son.
 
Katie: Well… what else is parenting for but to give your child something to talk to thier shrink about.
 
Heather: Exactly. My work here is finished.
 
Katie: Don’t you mean, “You’re spent?”

Heather: considering our topic…yes.
 
Katie:  Overall, I say this is a B- to Solid B.  Stepping away from this reviewer’s preferences, it did have steamy sex scenes, realistic character reactions that show a woman of sense and character. However, because of the choppy description issue, we cannot give it a higher grade.

Buy at: Carina Press - Kindle - Nook

I picked this up for the sheer cracktacular descrip of steampunky, gaslighty goodness, a cowboy shifter, and a non-shrinking violet heroine. I am about halfway through and so far I am not at all disappointed. :D

I am also reading What a Dragon Should Know by G.A. Aiken…but I have exhausted my bookbuying budget till payday next week, so I am trying to stall, because I know damn well I’m gonna download the next one as soon as I finish Gwenvael’s book. I can’t do that with Wilder’s Mate, because the next one isn’t out yet.

—Heather

Read it, loved it, and promptly downloaded the next Dragon Kin book. Annwyl is a badass heroine (I know, I know, you’re rolling your eyes if you read a lot of paranormal, but hear me out). Her nickname is Annwyl the Bloody, and she earns it on the battlefield against her brother, who is a tyrant who wants her dead, and the kingdom under his complete rule.

Our hero, Fearghus, finds her dying on the battlefield, toasts her enemies, takes her to his home and helps her heal. He’s fascinated by the little human who should have run from him in fear. When she asks for his help to defeat her brother, he decides to train her. In the book, it’s an unknown that a dragon may take a human form, so Fearghus tells her that he has a knight who will teach her to control her temper, which is her downfall on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Annwyl is torn by her love for the dragon and her desire for the knight.  There’s also humor in the form of Fearghus’ siblings, one of whom gets a bad case of indigestion from eating too many bad guys. The end of the book is a little choppy compared to the rest of the story, which is the only thing that detracted from it getting an A+. Also, if you’re used to your fantasy titles building slowly, you’ll find that Dragon Actually unfurls at a breakneck pace. This ain’t Lord of the Rings, guys.

Note: I read the nookBook version of this title, and it has two stories in one. I am not certain if the paperback version is the same. The second story is the backstory of Fearghus’ parents and their courtship, which was tumultuous. It’s a bit naughtier than Fearghus and Annwyl’s story – there’s some light bondage, so reader be aware.  All in all, I give Dragon Actually an A…because I don’t want Fearghus to eat me.

-Heather

I found Solstice Heat as an advert on the new aRe Cafe, and I was intrigued, especially since this follows on the heels of the Romance Club discussion on how very white white white the paranormal world is in Romancelandia. I love PNR, but the limited POCs kind of detracts from the thing that I like about PNR, which is that it’s our world, with a bit of magic. No POCs kind of zaps out the “this is the world we live, and you can just see out of the corner of your eye” kind of feel that a good PNR has, so I was very happy to find this book.

The book has an intriging premise: what if an Alpha male didn’t heal from his injuries? Jason, the hero, is an Alpha who had to step down from his duties because of a spinal injury. He uses a wheelchair, and Gio comes into his life via a flirtation with a woman online. Gio, the heroine, is her older sister, and when she finds out about the shenanigans, confronts him about flirting with her sister.

Gio brings out his inner wolf, and he shifts for the first time since his accident, bites and claims her. There is a lot of sexy sexing, for this is a Loose-Id title. *G*

The new Alpha wants to get rid of Jason, because apparently much of the pack would still rather have him as Alpha, and they embrace Gio as a sign that he may return to his old position.  Pack politics ensue, and Gio proves herself a worthy Alpha, and helps Jason reconcile his Alpha nature with his new body.

I really enjoyed this story, and my only complaint about it is that there were a few loose threads at the end - Gio’s sister is one, and a nasty pack female is another. Ms. Brown has the bones of a great longer version if she were ever so inclined - I’d love to read more about Gio’s past and how it made her the Alpha that she is today. I will peruse more of Leila Brown’s backlist, because I’d like to see what she does with a longer format. I give Solstice Heat a solid B, for a hot, sweet short.

*I will put this with the caveat of this is a high-sensuality title, and remark that it does not shy away from violence. Ms. Brown’s werewolves are not sweet and cuddly.

—Heather