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Title: Twice the Pleasure: Bisexual Women's Erotica
Editor: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Format: Paperback, 232 pages
Pub. Date: April 9th 2013
Source: Rachel Kramer Bussel
★★★★
Four stars.
Twice the Pleasure is an anthology that contains 22 erotic short stories that all, in some way, contain scenes with bisexual women. Though not all of the stories in this collection scratched my particular itch, a majority of the stories proved to be quick, steamy, enjoyable reads.
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+Though I'm not going to critique each and every tale in this book, I'd like to give a tip of the hat to the authors of my three favorites. The first story in my top picks is The Robber Girl by Lori Selke. This story contains sizzling scenes involving the mild use of blood and knives, giving a darker feel. The next story I liked best was Seduction Dance by Dorothy Freed, in which a curious, playful female pet explores her desires for another girl at a BDSM party, at the encouragement of her Master. The BDSM air of this story is one that I seek in adult literature, and I wasn't disappointed. The final story that rounds out the top three is The State by Tahira Iqbal, which contains a sexy female security guard in her undies with a gun- need I say more?
+ A majority of the other works in this collection were solid three stars- enjoyable but ones that will fade from my memory when I read another story.
-The stories that I didn't like (which I'm not naming in particular) each contained flaws that didn't personally rub me the right way. One contained an abundant use of an offensive gay slur which not only has negative connotations but shows lazy writing. Another was written from a perspective using "you", which made it hard to follow. Others still involved kinks that are not my forte, such as bathroom bodily fluids.
Overall, this is an anthology that I would read again, and recommend to other women in the LGBT (though primarily B) spectrum. Whether your thing is historical stories, trans*, crossdressing, BDSM, knife play, voyeurism, or more caring scenes, there is a story in this collection for you. The pros far outweigh the cons. This isn't my first Rachel Kramer Bussel collection and definitely won't be my last. This book fills a much needed hole in erotic fiction by focusing on bisexuality.
If LGBT scenes, kinky sex, or vulgarity aren't your pleasure, don't get this book. If you like a lot of steam in your short stories, with an extra helping of girl-on-girl play, than this book is one not to be missed.
Thank you to Rachel for my copy.
Title: Unwilling (Highland Historical #2)
Author: Kerrigan Byrne
Format: Kindle Edition, 92 pages
Pub. Date: June 13th 2012
Source: Amazon freebie
★★★★
Four kilt-wearing stars.
Lindsay was promised to another when she becomes the prisoner to a ruthless Berserker killer who claimed her in the midst of a battle. She refuses to acknowledge her feelings for him, keeping to herself and keeping him at bay. But how long can she stay away from the devilish, rogue charm, and when his life is laid in her hands, what will she be willing to risk to save her captor?
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This short story was my first introduction to the "men in kilts" genre that seems to be trending lately. Upon reading it, I now understand the need for highland romance. Though short, this story has a decent plot and steamy scenes that may require the reader to fan themselves after.
+Let's get the dirty bits out of the way- I enjoyed the way that the sex scenes were written. They were well written with a diverse vocabulary that made each scene unique, avoiding the monotony I sometimes feel while reading romances. They were steamy but not overly crass, nor overly glossed over.
+I liked the almost fairy tale like plot of beauty and the beast. I don't know if that's what the author intended, but that's most definitely what I compared it to. A beast like, strong, alpha male who cannot always control himself and claims a pretty girl as his own. A pretty girl who is stubborn at times and comes to his library in search of a book.
-At some parts, there were spelling errors in addition to grammatical ones. The main ones I found were fragmented sentences. Though there weren't many, it did make me reread parts now and then and generally cut away from the flow of an otherwise good story.
If you're a fan of quick steamy romance or strong men in kilts, than this is the book for you. If sex or violence aren't your kind of deal, then give this book a pass.
Title: Monster High (Monster High #1)
Author: Lisi Harrison
Format: Paperback, 272 pages
Pub. Date: September 5th 2011
Source: Gift from Emily
★★★
Three stars.
Melody needs to get away from Beverly Hills and start over. An ex-dork, she's looking forward to being in the fresh air of Salem, Oregon (to help her asthma) and where people don't know her nerdy past. This is Frankie Stein's first year attending school in Salem too, only for way different reasons. She was only just created in a lab by her parents a few weeks ago, and they now deem her ready for the world. All is well until monster sightings start popping up around town, making the paranormal families who live there uncomfortable, and leaving their youth- like Frankie- torn between staying safe and being proud of who they really are.
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Ughhhhhhhhhh. First, let me just say that despite my age, I love Monster High dolls. I'm in college, and I have Draculaura in a stand on my desk. As one who identifies as goth, I love that this series tries to incorporate classic horror with the girliness of Bratz or Barbies. But these books? Oy.
-This book is essentially a commercial. Now, if the commercials were only for Mattel products, I would be forgiving. It makes sense that a company would plug its own products. But it got to the point that I actually started taking a tally of how many times product brands or designers were dropped into the story. McDonald's, UGGs, Sephora, Tropicana, Bose, the list is endless.
-Along a similar line, celebrities, tv shows, and movies are constantly mentioned. Now when it comes to horror movies and the like, there's a free pass. I think it's cool that these are brought into the story. My main problem with doing this in a book is the fact that it dates the author and the book both. This book was obviously written when Lady Gaga was crazing the US, since she's mentioned a million times. Justin Beiber, The Black Eyed Peas, and countless others make their appearance too. But what happens when they never make another album? It will make the book seem ancient and passe instead of hip.
-Along with that, who exactly is this book series written for? The drama is way more junior high than high school, and yet every one is making out with everyone, making it seem like high school is one big slutty free for all. Ludacris' album "Word of Mouf" is referenced as though it's topical. Hello, that album released over a decade ago. So not voltage. It's as if Lisi Harrison just shoved as many references from as many decades as possible in the hopes that someone somewhere would understand it. From Fred Astaire and Woody Allen to Alicia Keys and Taylor Swift, the pop culture references came off far more desperate and forced than cool and "in the know."
LOOK AT THEM ALL!!
-The aforementioned flaws make the novel come off as extremely fake, especially when mixed with petty characters. The "normies" aren't even believable- yes, in a book filled with monsters, the humans are the unbelievable part of this story. This one girl takes notes on every damn conversation and makes other girls sign documents. No wonder they have no friends, who does that? Once my friend starts being an obsessive freak like that, I say goodbye. Maybe I just went to a relaxed high school, but the girls' cattiness in this book is so melodramatic and over the top. Plus, half of the book is dedicated to their outfits, so you don't even get to learn about most of their personalities, which might have explained why they reacted that way, had the reader been enlightened with that information.
-Why is everyone rich and bougie in Salem? Melody said she left Beverly Hills, but everyone here drives flashy cars and own designer clothes. It makes sense for the old-money monster families, but what about everyone else? If this is such a charming, small town, then why the hell do these kids get credit cards and iPhones and Lexuses? (Maybe I'm a bitter old lady, but REALLY?)
-+ Neither positive or negative, I felt that this book had way too many characters. It was hard to keep track of them. I'm giving the writer the benefit of the doubt, though, since this is the introduction book. The others seem to narrow down a bit from here.
+I LOVED the parts when the author was describing the different monsters. I liked reading about their meetings, their ancestries, their legends. These characters were my favorites, and no doubt that was on purpose. I think that this is a cool twist to horror. No matter who your favorite classic monster is, from Dracula to Jekyll and Hyde, there's a character (or doll) for your enjoyment. It is for these characters only that I wish to read the rest of this series. And though I know this is a kids' series, I can't help but to hope that they'll eat all the human children that made this book half awful.
If you're older than junior high, I wouldn't give this a chance, unless like myself you are a fan of the dolls. If you're a die hard horror fan, enjoy gore, characters with depth, or reading books without watching/reading commercials, then give this book a pass. However, I think young girls will gobble this up, getting the references (at the time of this review, anyway) and feeling as cool as the dolls they play with.
Thanks to my girlfriend for getting this book for me after listening to me complain about wanting to read it <3
Title: How NOT to Train a Zombie
Author: Annie Rachel Cole
Format: Paperback, 182 pages
Pub. Date: February 10th 2013
Source: Word Spelunking blog
★
One star.
The science fair is coming up, and for eight grader Max that means one thing- a chance to become one of the most popular kids in school. The catch? Well.... He's going to have to break at least a dozen rules and laws. But in the end it'll be worth it, if he can just catch and train a zombie... Won't it?
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As with most zombie books, I was hoping that this would be the one to turn me. I thought that by maybe going towards a middle grade age, I would find the zombie genre cuter and more endearing. Unfortunately, my streak of bad zombie books continues. This book is written like an episode of Scooby-Doo... If Shaggy wasn't a cowardly lovable character.
-The lead character, Max, is a jerk. And he continues to be throughout the entire course of the book. It starts with him trying to peer pressure his best friend Chad into doing something against the law- catching a zombie and keeping it in his home. Max somehow paints Chad into the bad guy, even though he stood up for his morals and said that being popular wasn't everything, and that Max should just be himself. Then there's the fact that he hates on his mom for seemingly no reason. He's embarrassed to the point of anger because she.... Gardens? Not drugs, not stripping. But gardening. What?. Then, not unlike Golum from the Lord of the Rings, he becomes obsessed with obtaining a zombie. So, he decides to partner up with the class geek, since his dad is a certified zombie catcher. Eddy, the geek, makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with zombies, and yet Max emotionally manipulates him by using his dead mother into doing things that will only benefit Max. Time goes by, and a zombie is eventually obtained. Even when the geek agrees to help Max despite their falling out Max is still rude and insulting. Let the zombies get him, I say.
-Stemming off of that, this book isn't very believable. And yes, I am saying that about a zombie book. But the surrealism has naught to do with the undead, but the living. Max is supposedly this bottom of the totem pole level of popularity. Yet, when the bully (using gay jokes, naturally) starts trouble with him, he smarts off. Not only that, but he smarts off and then doesn't get his butt kicked..... If he's such a weenie, he wouldn't have been so, forgive my language, ballsy. And even if he was, the bully would have NO DOUBT found him. No convenient distractions or anything. Bullies fight. That's what they do. And then there's his mother's involvement with his friendships. My mother never questioned me when I stopped hanging out with people, just when I started hanging out with new ones.
-This book, ultimately, had a negative tone to it throughout. Max is a jerk, his best friend is somehow portrayed as one, his mom is portrayed as one, Eddy is snippy, and his dad is a villain out of no where (who actually uses the phrase "meddling brats"). It all seemed a bit thrown together and dark, with no major happy resolve...
-Unless you count the epilogue, which I do not, since it was essentially just a few pages to connect loose ends that weren't handled in the actual plot.
-+There's a few grammatical errors in the text, but it wasn't enough to deter from the story.
+Despite my issues with this story, I did like that each chapter started with a Texas state law or public service announcement regarding the dangers of zombies and the consequences of interacting with them. It gave a clear insight into the type of society this book is set in, and how much trouble Max was going to be in if he got caught.
Maybe I'm just a cynical old person now who can't appreciate kid's literature. However, I couldn't get past Max's insufferable-ness, and it disconnected me from the majority of the book. If I were to recommend this, it would be to kids/young adults in junior high, namely boys. I appreciate the concept of this story, but for me it just fell flat.
Thank you to Word Spelunking blog and the author for my copy.
