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Taming the Fox
Taming the Fox
Amelia Bishop | 2023 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
TAMING THE FOX was originally an erotic short story but has been revised and re-released.

Harlan is a fox shifter, with no family and no clan, as he doesn't want to breed with a vixen. He has his family's cabin and lives alone, only going into town when necessary. Shane is a wolf shifter, from a rather well-to-do family, who visits his mother's old house and decides to live there, for reasons the same as Harlan's. These two meet and a spark of attraction is there immediately but, for 'reasons', Harlan won't do anything.

Now... I loved the premise of this book, and the characters are all great - apart from those that aren't meant to be. It is a long book, with plenty of time for you to sink into the story. BUT it didn't have to be. One of the reasons it is so long is because there is a constant back and forth as Harlan fights his feelings. For me, this went on too long, as it eventually took away from the story and made the impact of his feelings and the situation less than it should have been. After all that, the ending and the epilogue are done in just a couple of pages. Okay, slight exaggeration, but you get the meaning.

The focus of this story was definitely our two MCs, so enjoy what world-building you can. What is there, is done very well. There is angst here, but it is mainly internal by just one of the MCs.

A different story and one I enjoyed. Definitely recommended by me. Take a read for yourself and see what you think.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 17, 2023
  
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The Last Straw
The Last Straw
Ed Duncan | 2019 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
When I read the synopsis for this book, I thought “Aah, here’s a story with some oomph!” The book starts with the line “Perry Mason unzipped his pants…” and I thought “I didn’t think it was that sort of a book!” There were no erotic scenes though, but there was violence and drama aplenty!

The events in the book are sparked by the witnessing of a murder at a car hijacking gone awry. However, there is a snowball-come-avalanche effect for the surrounding characters. The central character is Rico, a hit man with conscience, albeit a very selective conscience. Rico’s sworn enemy is tasked with taking out the murder witness, but this puts a friend of Rico’s at risk, and tensions quickly escalate between the hit men.

There are countless high octane action scenes, and they are shocking! Rico often put me in mind of Jack Reacher, and his killer instincts mean the action scenes are so rapid that I found myself reading them twice to take everything in. And the death count becomes comparable to Game of Thrones!

In between the action scenes, a lot of background information is provided on the surrounding characters, such as the on the lawyer looking after the murder witness. And many of these characters are often working through their own moral dilemmas in relation to what’s going on. (As usual, NO spoilers in my book reviews!)

This book is the second in a series, and I usually start with the first in a series (unless I’ve seen the first portrayed in a film) but the synopsis had me sold! Much of what happened in the first book is explained in dribs and drabs throughout the second. You certainly don’t need to read the first book to enjoy the second, but I imagine you’d get more from it by reading the whole series.

It wasn’t always the most realistic story in places; like when Rico does nothing to cover his tracks after a hit, but then again we often read novels as a means of escapism, it’s not supposed to represent the real world. And in fairness, it’s done a damn good job of distracting me from my current worries. Recommended!
  
The Girl Before
The Girl Before
J.P. Delaney | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.7 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
Another day, another thriller with the word "Girl" in the title. There isn't really much to differentiate this one from all the others. We have a small cast of characters whose fates are intertwined and whose stories take place in alternating timelines as one learns more about the other. First up chronologically is Emma, who moves into One Folgate Street with her boyfriend after experiencing a violent break-in at her previous flat. The new house is modern and immaculate but is part of a beta-test for a smart-home concept that comes with a very lengthy list of rules, some stranger than others. Next up is Jane, who has her own reasons for needing a fresh start in a new place. She finds herself living in One Folgate Street as well, after the tragic death of its previous tenant. Also interacting with the 2 "girls" is the architect who thought up the home's whole concept, whose intellect and good looks attract both of them to him, despite his odd and aloof demeanor. You can probably guess where the plot is headed from here. Jane has a few odd encounters and they lead her to begin wondering what exactly happened to Emma, whose timeline chronicles the events leading to her death. Who killed her, or was it just an accident? Secrets come out and there are a few decent twists leading up to the somewhat abrupt finale. It was all compelling enough to keep me reading, despite a few odd moments that almost felt like something out of an E.L. James "novel". Nothing here was especially new or exciting, except for perhaps the house itself, and the implications it brings up about privacy in our current hyper-connected age. Though one could make the case that even that part, and possibly most of the rest of this book, was a little too close to the so-bad-it's-good 1990's erotic thriller "Sliver". If you're bored there are far worse ways to pass the time, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to read this one.
  
The Blue Room (2014)
The Blue Room (2014)
2014 | Drama, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Not Bad
Two lovers involved in an affair explore the possibilities of murder.

Acting: 10
Top to bottom the acting is absolutely magnificent. Each actor/actress excels in their role and gets you completely wrapped up in the story. There is so much intrigue and passion to convey in a story like this and this stellar group didn’t disappoint.

Beginning: 10
A steamy beginning introduces the characters and gives you a taste of what you can expect from the film. Again, this story succeeds by intriguing you from one moment to the next. The tone is set from jump, capturing your attention with the intro to the lovers and a police case we have yet to uncover.

Characters: 10

Cinematography/Visuals: 10

Conflict: 6
This is where the story loses me a bit. You can tell things are bubbling up behind the scenes, but I always had the strangest feeling that I was in for a let down. There wasn’t as much implosion as I was hoping for or that should come with a story of this magnitude. This man’s world is falling apart, yet it felt like the movie went through the paces for me at times.

Genre: 9
I think this scoring might be more of a result of not as many strong films in the genre. I classify this as an erotic drama or a drama centered around sexuality. It’s not a genre I’m well-versed in, but I will say that it’s one of the best I’ve seen considering the strong cast and overall appeal.

Memorability: 9

Pace: 5

Plot: 5

Resolution: 1
Shoddy and predictable. This film deserved better. Perhaps if it had gotten better, The Blue Room would have moved from decent to great. Seriously, it made the entire movie feel like a waste of time due to a lack of payoff. I don’t know what I expected…but it wasn’t this.

Overall: 75
While the film definitely gets a lot of things right with solid acting and beautiful shots that stand out in your brain, it lacks the proper punch to get it over the hump of mediocrity. While I would watch it again, The Blue Room won’t go down as one of my favorites.
  
Cave Man
Cave Man
Aedan Sayla | 2019 | Erotica, Religion
4
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
What I liked best was that the time and location of the story is well thought out. Taking place right after the fall of the tower of Babel was a great idea (0 more)
Being a modern woman there were multiple things that I did not like about the story. (0 more)
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Cave Man by Aedon Sayla is classified as an Erotic Christian Fiction. That being said this is not for anyone under 18 years old. Erotica and Christian Fiction are two genres that are not generally mixed. Readers should be aware that the events in this book are from biblical times and modern rules do not apply.

Alon is a captive of the King of Babel, Nimrod. He is set to be killed on the very next night when an angel shows up. The angel has come to save Alon before God comes down and destroys Babel. Alon escapes and goes to start a new civilization that honors God. Early on in his journey Alon comes across Ayangla who speaks a different language from him. Frustrated at not being able to speak to her the voice of God tells Alon that once his seed is deep in Ayangla she will begin to understand his language. He immediately takes her there on the ground and makes her travel with him as his wife. Over time Ayangla notices that Alon cares for her and comes to love him in return as he takes the time to pleasure her unlike those who had her while she was a slave under Nimrod’s rule.

During their journey, they meet up with Enais and his wife who had the same message about making a new civilization. The two couples decide to be a tribe and call themselves Alonai. The Alonai tribe ultimately end up in a land of plenty and set up a well-guarded home there for themselves and all of their children (there is a lot). The two men end up saving two women from a shipwreck one day while out fishing and bring them back to their home. Each man takes one of the two to become their second wives to share with the first and expand their families while making the new women a part of their struggle for survival. Through it all Alon constantly thanks The Creator for all of his blessings and all the things The Creator has worked for him and within him.

What I liked best was that the time and location of the story is well thought out. Taking place right after the fall of the tower of Babel was a great idea as many people are at least somewhat familiar with that story. The need for the main character to create a new civilization explained all the sex besides just plane lust. Being a modern woman there were multiple things that I did not like about the story. The first of which being Alon attacking and raping Ayangla, made all the worse by God indirectly suggesting it. Ayangla appears to have Stockholm syndrome as she falls in love with Alon who she calls master and husband interchangeably through the book. She seems to stay with him because she learns to enjoy the sex and because being with him helps ensure her survival. I also had a major problem with Alon purposely triggering Ayangla’s milk production for his enjoyment. This may be because I approve of public breastfeeding of children and seeing the production of breast-milk as a sexual act and a grown man breastfeeding from a woman as an orgasmic experience goes against the movement to normalize breastfeeding as a non-sexual act.

Target readers for this book are adults ages 18 and older. As this is considered erotic Christian fiction Christians may have more appreciation for this book than others. Readers should be ready for and expecting heavy sexual content. I ended up giving this book a rating of 2 out of 4. While trying to stay in the mindset of the target audience I still can not put aside my personal feelings about this book completely. It is not the rough sex scenes that was a problem as much as it was how they came about. If it wasn’t for taking the period the book was written in into consideration and how things would have been done then I would have failed this book completely. Content aside it was well written so an even half score of two is appropriate in my eyes.

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