SATAN'S MISTRESS by Rachel Cosgrove Payes with Author Photos

PUBLISHER: Playboy Paperbacks, March 1981
SETTING: England, 1753
HEROINE: Fiona McQuade
HERO: Will Huxley
BODICE RIPPER? No
VIRGIN HEROINE: Yes
RAPED HEROINE: Yes
GRADE: C

FROM PUBLISHER: With dizzying speed, beautiful Fiona McQuade went from shopgirl to protégé of a duke and duchess. Dazzled by the luxurious living, Fiona forgot her lowly origins and even dreamed of marrying Viscount Will Huxley, the duchess's handsome lover. But of course the arrogant duke and duchess had other plans for the lovely Fiona. They all were members of the dreaded Hellfire Club: jaded nobility who satiated their decadent desires on the young and innocent. And so the unawakened Fiona was ravished by many men, the handsome Will Huxley among them. She had been sold into sexual slavery, and Fiona vowed they all would pay, even the man she loved.

This was meant to be a full spoiler summary that I did over ten years ago but I never completed it or wrote an actual review. I've posted it anyway.

PARTIAL SPOILER SUMMARY: Sixteen-year old Fiona McQuade came from Edinburgh. She is a shop assistant at her aunt Eulalia's 'exclusive' millinery shop. Fiona lives above the shop. She's running across the street in the rain to get back to the shop when she was almost run down by a carriage. Will Huxley saved her by pulling her out of the way. Will and his married mistress Sarah came into the shop to pick up Sarah's hats. Sarah likes Fiona's work and hires her on the spot to be her wardrobe maid. She goes to live with Sarah and her husband.

Sarah tells Fiona that she needs to get married so throws a party to introduce her to Sarah's friends. Fiona is attracted to Will. He danced with Fiona and Sarah caught him with his hands on her breast. Sarah plans for Fiona to go to a picnic with Thornton Werington, whom Fiona met at the party the night before. Medmenham Abbey is where they are to picnic and attend a masquerade ball. Before the picnic, a maid that Fiona works with tells her that Sarah's husband is a member of the Hell-Fire Club and that they kidnap virgins and rape them.

Inside there are people wearing costumes. Two women that are dressed like nuns come up to Fiona and Thorton and have Fiona follow them. They tell her to strip down and put on a habit too and give her drugged wine, which she doesn't know is drugged. They lead her into a chapel where there were monks. They laid her on the altar, opened up her robe, spread her legs for her and allowed the men to have their way with her. They didn't know they were raping her because she wasn't protesting. They always have sex with someone, so they think she's there willingly. She doesn't protest either because she's drugged out of her mind. As Will Huxley was about to rape her, the drug started wearing off and she did start to protest and claw at his face but he raped her anyway. Then she passed out.

The next morning, Sarah and her husband got on her case about being at the 'orgy.' Fiona told them she knew they'd arranged it. She packed her things and snuck out of the house. She went back to her aunt's shop to work. Sarah went there and asked about Fiona. The aunt said shw worked there. Sarah said if Fiona continued to work there, Sarah would take her business elsewhere and tell her friends not to shop there. Fiona got a new job. Sarah found out about it and told Fiona's boss that she is a slut who consorts with members of the Hell-Fire Club.

When Fiona found that job, Thorton Werington helped her move into her new place above a greengrocers. When Fiona got fired from her current job, she ran into him again while leaving the shop. He told her he'd get her a room at an inn. She was to become his mistress and he moved her into his home. Once in bed, Thorton wanted to have sex with her but she told him she was tired and he punched her in the jaw. The next day as she was tying his tie, he kept pinching her breasts.

Fiona wanted to know more about Will Huxley. Thor told her he wanted to take her back to the abbey, but not for sex. In hopes of finding out more about Will, who goes to the abbey, Fiona agrees to go. She plans to get revenge on him, Sarah and her husband.

JOHN HOLMES: A LIFE MEASURED IN INCHES by Jennifer Sugar and Jill C. Nelson

PUBLISHER: BearManor Media, 8/2008

GENRE: Nonfiction/Biography
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: A-

FROM PUBLISHER: Most people might, understandably, predict that the world's first porn star was a woman, but they would be wrong. John Curtis Holmes was just a simple country boy from Ohio when he moved to California in 1964. It was the infancy of hardcore, so in Holmes' wildest dreams, he could not have predicted the turbulent ride on which he had embarked by publicizing his private parts. With the fame he achieved by playing his most famous character - a gun toting detective named Johnny Wadd - came money.

Holmes was pleased to spend it on his wife and mistresses, but soon was in over his head after he became addicted to cocaine. Unfortunately for Holmes, in the years that followed, his addiction led him into several desperate choices - including setting up a robbery at the home of Ed Nash, a powerful L.A. nightclub owner. The robbery resulted in one of the most gruesome, unsolved, multiple-murders in Hollywood history. Amazingly, before his untimely death in 1988, Holmes regained his momentum, remarried and rebuilt his life and career. However, the grave consequences of his addiction, his association with the Wonderland murders, and his AIDS-related death made him an infamous figure in pop culture. Digging past the stigmas, John Holmes: A Life Measured in Inches - the first biography about John C. Holmes - unearths the human being behind the penis and proves that there was more to him than could be measured in inches.

This biography includes material from the authors' new interviews with: Laurie Holmes, Bill Amerson, Bob Chinn, Julia St. Vincent, Detective Tom Lange, Detective Frank Tomlinson, Paul Thomas, Ron Jeremy, Seka, Marilyn Chambers, Candida Royalle, Rhonda Jo Petty, Dr. Sharon Mitchell, Bill Margold, and many others! Also included is additional source material containing extensive interviews with: Sharon Holmes, Dawn Schiller, Dr. Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., and L.A. Times film critic, Kenneth Turan. With 114 reviews of John's most notable feature films, 86 loops synopses, 3 photos sections with rare nudes, and a 21 page comprehensive filmography.

MY THOUGHTS: This is a large, heavy paperback that is almost 600 pages long and weighs about 1 1/2 pounds. It contains many black and white photographs of John and his co-workers along with a lot of photos that were taken from his adult films. There are a couple nudes of just John by himself with his 'member' on full display.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was well put together. I didn't know much of him before reading this, except that he was a porn star, famous because of the size of his penis (there are more than a few photos of it in this book), and that he'd died from an AIDS related illness. The highlight of the book was hearing from his ex-wife, Sharon. I'd been curious about her since hearing of her in another book and was more than delighted that this book included many, many excerpts that she'd given to others in the past. My second favorite part was reading all the interviews from people who knew him, including other porn actors, some of which I've seen in action before or had heard of.

This was really just a sad story of a sex addicted man (a real whoremonger) who later became addicted to drugs. What some think may have caused him to get HIV is having sex with a male porn actor who died from AIDS three years later, which was the same year, 1986, that John was diagnosed with HIV. Personally, I think that if John had sex with a gay man on-screen, for pay, what in the world makes people think he wasn't doing it in private off-screen? I feel he was bi-sexual and wasn't comfortable with it, at least with people knowing about it, so he didn't let anyone know, including the people he was close to. So really, if indeed he did have sex with other gay men, he could have contracted HIV from any one of them.

My two complaints about this book is that I'd like to have heard from his mother and siblings about what they thought of him becoming an adult actor and I wanted to hear more about his abusive childhood. It was only mentioned that he had an abusive step-father. But most off all, I really wanted/want to know more about something that a man named Mike Sager said. He wrote an article about John in Rolling Stone magazine in 1988 though he'd never met John. Here's the quote from Mike that is in the book, "The main explanation was- he wasn't gay, but he did at a time, make money for sex- there were wealthy men that would pay to be with him." I want to know more about that. Who are these men and who knew about them? Have any of them ever been interviewed anywhere?

At the front of the book is a list of some of the people who were interviewed for the book or had been interviewed about John for other films and book publications. That is very handy. I have that section marked with a tab so I can filp to it faster when I need to. Pages 437-581 is a detailed filmography of John's adult films and there are some photos, some with nudity, throughout that section. I really like that the authors thought to add a filmography. It was a nice, helpful touch that I appreciate.

To read more, please visit the author's website. There you'll find photos, some of which weren't in the book and can only be found online.

Edit- The second edition was published in 2011 and is updated with new info and more photos.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

NUTRA SONIC ESSENTIAL BRUSH Professional Facial Cleansing System

 

THE UNIT: It's 7 1/4" long and is very comfortable to hold. With a brush and cover on it, it weighs 7.1 oz. The unit has to be charged for 24 hours before you can use it. I've been using mine for a full month. I use it about twice a week and it's still on it's initial charge. After it's fully charged, you don't need to store it on its base. I store the charger, cord and two other brushes inside the little bag that comes with it. I store the hand-held unit in a drawer when I'm not using it. It comes with a cover to protect the brush from getting mashed.

BRUSHES: It comes with three brushes, two of which are for the face alone: one for sensitive skin, one for normal skin, and a larger one for the body. I prefer the brush that's for normal skin. The sensitive skin brush seems to be a little too soft.

BAG: This comes with a silver metallic storage bag. It's 8" W x 6 1/2" H x 3 1/8" D. There's plenty of room inside to store everything.

HOW IT WORKS: The brush oscillates over 400 times per second. It moves so fast you can't really see it moving. It has four speeds: high, low, one just for the body and jitter mode. There's not much difference between them so I use them all. I like the jerky motion of the jitter mode so I've been using that one the most lately.

HOW TO USE IT: When you turn it on it's automatically on low speed. You can then choose from three other speeds. You wet your face, add your cleanser to both your face and brush and gently move it around without pressing it into your face. The spinning brush does all the work. Don't stand too close to the mirror because suds fly all over the place.

MY THOUGHTS: I love it. It's fun to use and you can see and feel results immediately. You can clean your face quickly, in under one minute, or you can take your time and spend a couple of minutes. It just depends on how sensitive your skin is. When you're rinsing your face off by splashing water on it and your hands touch your face, you can feel the smoothness right away.

I would recommend this to everyone. I have no complaints about it. You can buy it from Nutra Sonic's website but the cheapest I've found it online is at Amazon.com.

You can watch a video on this on Youtube.

I received this from the company in exchange for an honest review.

THE TREATS TRUCK BAKING BOOK by Kim Ima

PUB. INFO: William Morrow, Nov. 2011
FORMAT: Hardcover 159 pages
GRADE: A

From Publisher: Hi! My name is Kim (or the Treats Truck lady), and I love treats. I love them. A lot. And I’m very excited to share with you my favorite recipes for cookies, brownies, bars, cakes, pies, and specials from the truck. Mix and Match with your own touches as you wish! Bake for your friends and family! Neighbors! Coworkers! Classmates! Secret crush! Beloved great-aunt! (Or just for your own delight!)

CHOCOLATE CHIPPERS: This is your basic chocolate chip cookie. I made half the recipe, which made 26 and they turned out perfectly. They weren’t quite sweet enough so when I made them again I added an extra 2 T. of white sugar. This recipe is a keeper for me.

CHOCOLATE TRUCKERS: This is a chocolate sandwich cookie with a white cream filling. I cut way down on the cocoa powder, using just 3 T. instead of 16. Yes, you read that right. Unsweetened cocoa powder is very strong and I knew 3 T. would be plenty, and it was. I didn’t think to use extra flour in place of the absent cocoa powder so the cookies turned out a bit flatter than I liked. Instead of rolling the dough out and cutting out small cookies, I rolled the mixture into balls using a 1 t. measuring spoon. I ended up with about 33 sandwich cookies. I chose to use my own vanilla frosting recipe, which uses part margarine and part shortening, as I don’t like classic buttercream frosting, which is what the recipe in the book called for.

If you roll the dough into small balls instead of rolling the dough out, this is a very simple and easy recipe to work with. Next time I just have to increase the amount of flour to make up for lack of cocoa power I’ll be omitting and they should turn out less flat. This recipe is a keeper for me too.

SUGAR DOTS SUGAR COOKIES: This is a basic all butter sugar cookie recipe, pictured above as a sandwich cookie. Instead of rolling the dough out and cutting out cookies, I chose to roll the firm dough into small balls and flatten them with the bottom of a glass. Make sure you bake them until they’re a deep golden color around the edges. The cookies will be crunchy on the outside and softer in the middle. I thought they were a little too sweet so I’ll use 1/3 c. of sugar next time instead of 1/2 c. I’m not a big fan of an all butter sugar cookie but was impressed with the good flavor this one had. I made sandwich cookies out of this one and used my own white frosting recipe and added minced maraschino cherries to it. Next time I make these, I’ll not make sandwich cookies out of them.

OUR FAVORITE VANILLA CAKE: I made half this recipe and got 12 cupcakes. I followed the recipe exactly and added about 1/4 c. minced maraschino cherries to the batter. The cupcakes tasted OK but I didn’t like how heavy they were. I used my own recipe for white frosting.

I plan to make a few more things from the book. I like the smaller size of this hardcover. It’s heavy but not bulky. I’d have preferred more photos but felt it had a decent amount. All recipes were very easy to follow.

Catagories are: Cookies, Brownies, Bars and Squares, Cakes and Cupcakes, Pies. There’s also a recipe index in the back. I’m happy with this book and would recommend it it others.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All photos in this review came from inside the book.

THE VISITOR BY N.T. MORLEY

PUB. INFO: Fanny Press, 2009
FORMAT: Print and Ebook
GENRE: Erotica/BDSM
SETTING: England, not sure when
HEROINE: Cecilia Roswell
GRADE: C

From publisher: Virginal 18-year-old ingénue Cecilia Roswell is the illegitimate child of disgraced noblewoman Mary Drew, who has since been married off to the much older Lord Arthur Drew. Cecilia is shocked one afternoon to see her mother, disgraced noblewoman Mary Drew, misbehaving quite shamefully with a mysterious visitor, Mr. Beckwith. Cecilia is even more shocked when her stepfather, Lord Arthur Drew, invites Mr. Beckwith to stay at the estate for a few days. Before long, it becomes clear that Cecilia herself is the target of Mr. Beckwith’s interests, and that he intends to train her as a sexual servant through a scandalous regime of spanking, exposure, and steadily increasing erotic humiliation. As Cecilia slowly discovers her craving for these very treatments, she realizes that the life planned for her is not that of the hidden child of a noble family, for whom she is a mere inconvenience—but that of the submissive slave of a scoundrel who will stop at nothing to inveigle her into his web of sexual indulgence.

MY THOUGHTS: This is a short story, 155 pages, about a girl’s violent sexual awakening by ‘the visitor’, aka Mr. Beckwith. It was very heavy on beatings and the sex was very explicit. I’d have prefered the violence to be a little less severe. I wish Cecilia’s mother had been left out of the story. I was slightly creeped out by her participation. All that went down couldn’t and wouldn’t have happened without the mother’s help.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

CARRIE'S STORY by Molly Weatherfield

PUBLISHER: Cleis Press, 2002
GENRE: Contemporary BD/SM
NARRATION: First Person
GRADE: B

From Publisher: “I had been Jonathan’s slave for about a year when he told me he wanted to sell me at an auction. I wasn’t in any condition to respond when he told me this…”

So begins Carrie’s tale of uncompromising sexual adventure. Imagine the Story of O starring a Berkeley PhD in comparative lit (who moonlights as a bike messenger) with a penchant for irony, self-analysis, and anal sex. Set in San Francisco and the Napa Valley, Carrie’s Story takes the reader on a sexually explicit journey into a netherworld of slave auctions, training regimes, and human “ponies” preening for dressage competitions.

MY THOUGHTS: This was a disturbing story, to say the least. It wasn’t quite as sexually graphic as I’d expected and it certainly wasn’t erotic. I won’t even pretend to understand the whole ‘pony farm’ scenario or why someone would allow themselves to be abused in that way. It’s real sad and disturbing.

I never learned anything about Carrie’s childhood or how she came to be interested, then involved in, a BD/SM (bondage/discipline, domination/submission) relationship. I can’t understand why the author never let us in on it.

This book has a sequal called Safe Word. The author also writes historical romances under the name Pam Rosenthal.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

TABOO WISHES: VOLUME 1 by Brynn Paulin

PUBLISHER: Resplendence Publishing, 7/2011
GENRE: Contemporary BDSM Erotica
GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS:

Punished- Natalia Cooper lives life on the straight and narrow, never veering into naughty territory. But she wants to. Ethan Tavish can hardly believe his eyes when he enters The Dungeon to find his secretary, Natalia, bent over the spanking bench in a school girl uniform. He plans to give her what she wants…and a whole lot more.

Kidnap and Kink- Be Careful What You Wish For… Jenna Marks has a secret fantasy, to be kidnapped, tied up and seduced. She never imagines her wish might come true, but Rob Colvin has had his eye on Jenna for months. When he overhears her secret, he knows he’s going to be the one to deliver her fantasy—one weekend of her submission to him, her mysterious and masterful lover.

Yuletide Greetings- When Zach Colvin’s brother promised to send a package full of holiday cheer, Zach never expected it to be a near-naked woman. But Kate Morgan has made a mistake. She’s meeting a man for hook up, but she’s stunned to find a another—a man with a determined grin, mesmerizing eyes and a naughty penchant for spanking.

Mr. Smith’s Whip- Librarian Olivia McKinnion’s life rarely changes, but when Colin Smith takes up residence to research his latest book, everything changes. She’s heard whispers of Mr. Smith’s whip and his dominant ways. And more than anything, she wants Colin to show her the darker side of sex, bent over his knee and begging for more.

MY THOUGHTS: This anthology is comprised of four previously published short stories involving bondage/discipline, domination/submission, sadism/masochism or BDSM, for short. None of them are good. They’re goofy and disappointing and I couldn’t take the author seriously. How the hero and heroine met was just not plausible. I wouldn’t try this author again.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

THEIR LADY GLORIANA by Starla Kaye

PUBLISHER: Black Velvet Seductions 5/2011
SETTING: England, 1272
GENRE: Historical Erotic Romance
GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: In medieval times honorable men had to do what was required of them by the kings to whom they were loyal…

Thomas Lancaster, a widower with bad memories of marriage and a young son he barely knew was a hardened knight loyal to his king. In reward for his efforts fighting in the Crusades, King Edward gave him Middlemound Castle to hold for the crown. But the king decreed that he must marry the beautiful young widow of the castle’s previous lord.

Lady Gloriana Stewart had suffered brutally in her first marriage and had no desire to marry again. Yet she had no choice. She had to protect her people and obey her king.

All she wanted was for her new husband to give her a baby. Having already lost one wife in childbirth, Thomas refused to even consider it.

Sir Rowan Montgomery, Thomas’s first knight, friend, and lover complicated the situation even more. Thomas didn’t want to give up Rowan and Gloriana didn’t want to admit she had feelings for her husband and for Rowan.

MY THOUGHTS: I really liked this story. There were three main characters and all were likeable. The sex scenes between Rowan and Thomas were my favorite. They were very explicit and there were more between them than there were between them/Gloriana and Thomas/Gloriana.

Thomas and Rowan had been lovers for six months before Thomas married Gloriana. Gloriana never had a problem with their sexual relationship and was facinated by it at first. I wish the scenes between the three had been more detailed and longer. Perhaps if the story had been longer than 200 pages that could have happened.

I didn’t really care for the part about Thomas wanting his son back. I wasn’t all that interested in reading about a child. Overall I was satisfied with this story and would like to read a sequal.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

THE MEMORY PALACE by Mira Bartók

PUB. INFO: Free Press, 8/11
GENRE: Nonfiction/Memoir
GRADE: B

From GoodReads.com: “ People have abandoned their loved ones for much less than you’ve been through,” Mira Bartók is told at her mother’s memorial service. It is a poignant observation about the relationship between Mira, her sister, and their mentally ill mother. Before she was struck with schizophrenia at the age of nineteen, beautiful piano protégé Norma Herr had been the most vibrant personality in the room. She loved her daughters and did her best to raise them well, but as her mental state deteriorated, Norma spoke less about Chopin and more about Nazis and her fear that her daughters would be kidnapped, murdered, or raped.

The Memory Palace is a breathtaking literary memoir about the complex meaning of love, truth, and the capacity for forgiveness among family. Through stunning prose and original art created by the author in tandem with the text, The Memory Palace explores the connections between mother and daughter that cannot be broken no matter how much exists—or is lost—between them.

MY THOUGHTS: It was really sad to read about a schizophrenic person and even harder to read about Norma dying from cancer. I can't imagine what it was like for Mira and her older sister to have been raised by a mentally ill mother and absentee father, who's got his own set of problems.

Though I enjoyed the book I felt it was a bit disjointed, with random stories and incidents told in no particular order. I'd have preferred some sort of timeline.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

GOLDEN ROSE by Herbert Edgar

PUB. INFO: Pink Flamingo Publications, 8/2011
SETTING: 1800s
GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: While in agricultural school in the South of England, the randy John Beale satisfies his sexual appetites in the company of the nineteen lusty women residing in the girl’s residence. While John engages in nightly orgies, the dorm matron, Mrs. Entwhistle, watches through many cleverly positioned keyholes. After finishing college, John sets out to find the “good life” aboard the Kent Lady, which is headed toward the Far East. During a horrendous storm, the ship is destroyed, although John is able to get away before being taken down to the bottom of the ocean. He meets another survivor, Abraham, floating on a crate, which the man obsessively protects.

Several days later, the two finally reach land. Wandering off to search the island, John catches a glimpse of the beautiful and exotic Loridana while she bathes naked in the crystal waters. He is immediately struck by her beauty, and desires to have her. While the gruff Abraham zealously guards his crate, John and Loridana become embroiled in a torrid affair.

As the trio become more acquainted, Loridana relates the circumstances that brought her to the island. The ship on which she was sailing was overrun by pirates, and she was fortunate to escape in a dinghy. Hiding the dinghy in a safe location, she set up camp on the opposite shore. Abraham sees Loridana’s dinghy as a way to get off the island and continue with his endeavor. With his encouragement, the three agree to take advantage of the pirates that regularly stop at the island for drunken orgies. After hijacking their ship, they’ll sail to safety on the mainland.

As the trio’s scheme unfolds, Abraham must empty his crate of its precious contents; and John and Loridana are stunned to discover what he has so fervently guarded. Finally arriving on the other side of the island, Loridana and Abraham find to their horror that the pirates are already on shore. With eyes on the luscious female, the pirates take the pair aboard their ship. Following from behind, John watches in horror as the men prepare to ravage his lovely Loridana. Can he save her from the ruthless pirate crew? And what will become of Abraham’s valued treasure?

An Old World tale filed with romance, suspense and plenty of sizzling D/s sex.

MY THOUGHTS: This story started out good and juicy. When they became shipwrecked I didn’t enjoy reading it as much. It wasn’t as graphic as I thought it would be either. John, 27, was likable, as were all the characters. I just found the whole story to be unbelievable and a real letdown.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

INGENUE by Jillian Larkin

PUBLISHER: Delacorte Press, 8/11
SETTING: New York, 1923
GENRE: Young Adult Historical Fiction
SERIES: The Flappers, book 2 of 3
GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: In the city that never sleeps, Lorraine Dyer is wide awake. Ever since she exposed Clara Knowles for the tramp she was—and lost her closest confidante in the process—Lorraine has spent every second scheming to make her selfish, lovesick ex–best friend pay for what she did. No one crosses Lorraine. Not even Gloria.

True love conquers everything—or so Gloria Carmody crazily believed. She and Jerome Johnson can barely scrape together cash for their rent, let alone have a moment to whisper sweet nothings in the dark. And if they thought escaping Chicago meant they’d get away with murder . . . they were dead wrong.

Clara was sure that once handsome, charming Marcus Eastman discovered her shameful secret, he’d drop her like a bad habit. Instead, he swept her off her feet and whisked her away to New York. Being with Marcus is a breath of fresh air—and a chance for Clara to leave her wild flapper ways firmly in the past. Except the dazzling parties and bright lights won’t stop whispering her name. . .

MY THOUGHTS: I wasn’t as impressed or excited by this second installment as I was with the first in The Flappers series. The story takes place six months after Vixen ends. The entire plotline was about everyone trying to track down Gloria and Jerome for a past crime involving them. It got to be a bit tedious.

I found it totally unbelievable that all three main female characters, Gloria, Clara, and Lorraine all coincidentally ended up in the same place, New York. I wish the story had stayed centered in Chicago. I didn’t really see the need to move it to a new location. The location didn’t make the story any different and I’m not sure what the point was.

I didn’t find Clara or Gloria very interesting this time around. Lorraine is still as evil as ever and is still my favorite. She’s so jealous that I can’t help but like her. She leaves me wondering what dirty deeds she’ll be up to next. Poor Jerome wasn’t even in the story very much but his younger sister Vera was. She was featured in this book a bit more than the previous one. I like her a bit more this time.

Things came to a head at the end and though I was disappointed with the story, I’m very anxious to read the last in the series, Diva, due out next year.

Click here for my review of Vixen. Click here to visit the official website for the series.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

MADCAP MASQUERADE by Persephone Roth-M/M Romance

PUBLISHER: DreamSpinner, 2009
GENRE: Gay Historical Fiction
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: The Randwick family is as noble as any but lives in greatly reduced circumstances. When Loel Woodbine, Duke of Marche and heir to three fortunes, makes an offer for Miss Valeria Randwick's hand, it seems like a godsend, but the young lady has already promised her heart to another-and a commoner, at that.

Desperate to avoid the marriage, Valeria concocts a wild scheme that depends upon the good graces of her monastery-raised brother, Valentine. When the prospective groom sees through the ruse, he surprises Valentine by agreeing to cooperate. But can Marche and Valentine fool London society while dealing with an accusation of murder and the distracting fascination between them?

MY THOUGHTS: I must admit that the premise of this book sounded good. Unfortunately, the story wasn’t to my liking. The masquerade itself was totally unbelievable and I don’t think it would have worked in real life.

Both lead characters were very likable. Loel was attracted to Valentine instantly and didn’t hesitate to let him know. There were three or so very graphic sex scenes, which I enjoyed. They professed their love for one another way too soon.

I feel like the mystery as to who murdered a certain someone took over most of the story and that disappointed me. I wanted to read a romance, not mystery.

Both heroes ages weren’t given nor was the year this story took place. That info should always be given. Oddly and throughout the entire story, a word from a sentence would be missing for no reason. I’ve never encountered that before.

Overall, I was unsatisfied and I’m not sure if I’d try this author again.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

RAW DESIRE by Kate Pearce

PUBLISHING INFO: Aphrodisia, 9/2011
GENRE: Contempory Erotic Romance
SETTING: California, present day
HEROINE: Ally Kendal
HERO: Rob Ward
GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Ally Kendal knows returning to her hometown to sell her mother’s house isn’t going to be easy. She left in disgrace years ago and hasn’t been back since. But she’s never forgotten the one man who awakened in her a secret yearning for wildly erotic sexual pleasure…

Rob Ward is surprised at the surge of desire he feels when he first sees Ally after all this time. He’s gotten over the betrayal he felt when he found her and his best friend together on the eve of his wedding, but it’s obvious he’s never given up wanting her. And now that she’s back he’ll show her what she’s missed, how good he makes her feel, how easy it is for him to take control and bring her to the edge of sweet surrender…

Ally: She’s twenty-eight or so. She has long dark hair and gray eyes. She’s a childhood friend of both Rob and Jackson and is a recovering drug addict.

Rob: He’s a thirty-year old sheriff. He has pale blue eyes and dark hair. He’s beyond alpha.

Jackson: He’s Rob’s roommate and fellow sheriff. He’s half American Indian and has dark hair, brown eyes.

MY THOUGHTS: This is one helluva sexual book. I lost count of how many sex scenes there were. RAW DESIRE is the most perfect title for it. This is the unconventional love story between three people: Ally, Rob and Jackson. They all were involved with each other as teenagers. Once Ally comes back to town, the sex begins. Rob is still attracted to her and he lets her know right away. She’s very passive and submissive to him. He tells her that he wants Jackson to join them always when they have sex and both she and Jackson want that too.

There are sex scenes between Ally/Rob, Ally/Jackson, Ally/Rob/Jackson and my favorite of all, Rob/Jackson. The sex scenes are beyond graphic and intense and more that I ever could have hoped to read about. When I got this book, I had no idea it would be about a sexual relationship between three people. I loved it.

As for the underlying plot, with someone out to get Ally, I was disappointed with it. I had suspected two people and I wasn’t surprised to learn who it was. I didn’t like Rob’s bitchy younger sister, Lauren, either and didn’t see the point of her character. I was real irritated at how Ally let her talk to her.

This book is a true scorcher and anyone who is into reading about graphic sex shouldn’t find one thing to complain about.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

SEVEN YEARS TO SIN by Sylvia Day

PUBLISHER: Brava, September 2011
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: England, 1800s
HEROINE: Jessica Sheffield
HERO: Alistair Caulfield
GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: Seven years ago, on the eve of her wedding, proper Lady Jessica Sheffield witnessed a licentious scene no innocent young miss could imagine. Shocked, yet strangely titillated, she’d held her silence regarding scandalous Alistair Caulfield, and walked down the aisle as expected. But through years of serene, unremarkable marriage, Caulfield’s image remained burned into her imagination, fueling very illicit dreams. . .

Alistair ran far from the temptation of the prim debutante with the fire of passion in her eyes—all the way to the West Indies. As a successful merchant, he has little in common with the rakehell youth she knew. But when newly widowed Jessica steps aboard his ship for a transatlantic passage, seven years’ worth of denied pleasures are held in check by nothing more than a few layers of silk—and the certainty that surrender will consume them both. . .

MY THOUGHTS: I found Jessica to pretty interesting. She and her younger sister, Hester, were physically abused by their father. She’s now widowed and has developed a drinking problem over the years. She seems to do a pretty good job of staying away from it.

I liked Hester’s story much more than Jessica’s and Alistair’s. Hester is twenty-three and in an abusive marriage to Edward. Edward has a drinking problem, which makes their marriage a nightmare. Hester is terribly unhappy and it shows in her appearance.

Alistair is very handsome and was a gigolo. He’s always had an attraction to Jessica. What I like most about Jessica is that she’s not afraid to let her feelings for Alistair be known. They’re very straightforward with one another.

The sex was very explicit and there was plenty of it. I’m not sure what year this story took place or how old Jessica and Alistair are. That annoyed me.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

BECAUSE I REMEMBER TERROR FATHER, I REMEMBER YOU by Sue William Silverman

PUB. INFO: University of Georgia Press, 9/99
GENRE: Nonfiction/Memoir
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Link
GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: From age four to eighteen Sue William Silverman was sexually abused with numbing regularity by her father, a high-ranking government official and successful banker. Rendered in often graphic detail, her story annihilates our complacency about who among us could commit such evil – and who could stop it, for this is also a story of complicity, of the blaming silence with which Silverman’s mother met her daughter’s clear signals of distress. Exposing the inner contours of a family in crisis, Silverman shows how their situation persisted for so long – unreported, undetected, and unconfessed – and how the ordeal colored and controlled her life well into adulthood.

MY THOUGHTS: How the author could be so open and honest about something so horrible is beyond me. Not only was she molested for many years, beginning at the age of four, around 1950, she’s a recovering sex addict, ‘cutter’, and is still bulimic. She comes from a long line of child abusers. The book is very dark, very graphic, so be warned. Sue takes us on a disturbing journey through her life. She holds nothing back.

ABSOLUTE MAYHEM: Secret Confessions of a Porn Star by Monica Mayhem

PUBLISHER: Skyhorse Publishing, 10/2010
GENRE: Autobiography/Memoir
GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: So begins the no-holds-barred autobiography of Monica Mayhem—a porn star and proud of it. In her funny and disarmingly candid voice, she reveals the ins and outs of making it big in Los Angeles, the pornography capital of the world. Just how did a girl who was taunted at school because her eyes were “too big,” and who carved out a respectable career for herself trading oil futures in the financial markets of Sydney and London, go on to make over four hundred hardcore adult movies (and counting), win numerous industry awards, and even land herself a role in the first Sex and the City movie? From her troubled childhood to her first show at the famous Spearmint Rhino in London to her favorite sex toys, Monica reveals how she built her empire—which now includes hundreds of films, a website, and lucrative burlesque performances.

Absolute Mayhem lifts the lid on the sex, rock, and mayhem of Monica’s truly extraordinary professional life and unveils the private person behind it all.

MY THOUGHTS: Wow! This is one blunt, graphic, tell-it-like-it-is memoir. Monica is one smart, confident woman. She was born in Australia in 1978 to an abusive, pill-popping, alcohol addicted mother and absentee father. She grew up feeling unloved and unwanted. She has found success in a tough business and has achieved so much at a young age. She’s brutally honest with everything she talks about, including her continued drug use. She seems to have a really positive attitude and one helluva sense of humor.

This book was a true A-read. If, like me, complete honesty and openness is what you want in a memoir, this is a book you should read. I truly wish Monica the best and hope she continues to have a positive attitude.

You can read a bit about Monica here and see her photo.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A PROMISE OF TOMORROW by Rowan McAllister

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press, 9/2011
GENRE: Male/Male historical romance
SETTING: England, 1818
HERO: Lord James Warren
HERO: Kyle Allen
GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Lord James Warren, Viscount Sudbury, lives a quiet, safe, and predictable life alone on his estate in Suffolk, only traveling to London once a year to visit family and satisfy his more forbidden needs. But this year, his routine is shattered when his niece and nephew ask him to help a beautiful young man they’ve only just met.

Kyle Allen, alone and running from his abusive lover, stirs feelings in James he has long denied for fear of tarnishing his reputation and losing his family’s love. Though undeniably drawn to Kyle, James’s honor demands he keep that part of himself completely secret, even if Kyle is feeling the attraction as well, despite the pain and betrayal he’s recently suffered.

Assistance and a future for Kyle might be secured, but then they would face a choice: stay apart and continue leading half-lives… or risk everything for love.

MY THOUGHTS: James: He’s thirty-four years old, over six feet tall, has brown curly hair and brown eyes. He’s the youngest of two. He lives alone and is very close to his nineteen-year old twin niece and nephew.

Kyle: He’s eighteen-ish, has dark hair and green eyes. He grew up in his older brother’s shadow and could never live up to his parents expectations. He was in an abusive relationship with a much older man, Victor Weir, and has been raped by him.

What an interesting story this was. It’s a true love story and James and Kyle are a perfect match. James really tried to fight off his attraction to Kyle but Kyle wouldn’t let him. Kyle is very young and vulnerable to everything. He’s very passive and wounded. They have to hide their relationship and I was hoping they’d find a way to be together.

There are three very graphic sex scenes. Knowing Kyle has been abused, James is very tender with him. I felt they were a perfect pair and that made me enjoy the intimate scenes more.

My two complaints are that I don’t think James telling his niece about Kyle was believable at all. We never learned about how Kyle came to be involved with Victor in the first place and I’d like to have known about it.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.