New Concepts Publishing – 3 Books; Erotica – Shapeshifter to Futuristic

New Concepts Press has several very reliable authors in their stable, the two I read most are Madelaine Montague and Kaitlyn O’Connor and this lot was no different.  NCP does not release books on any particular schedule, so it’s not a site I check on any regular schedule.

So here we go, with the Good, the Bad, and the Really Icky.

• Title: Dragon’s Blood
  
• Author:  Madelaine Montague
• Type:  Paranormal erotic romance; ménage or polyandry
• Genre: Dragons living hidden among Native Americans
• Sub-genre:  FBI recruit finds herself pregnant and confused about a bear attack
• My Grade: C+  (3.4*)
  
• Rating:  NC-17 to X
• Length and price:  Full novel about 80,000 words ebook for $5.99
• Where Available:  book available at New Concepts Publishing book store online
• FTC Disclosure:  purchased book from publisher’s website

Book Review: Beloved Vampire by Joey W. Hill

• Title:  Beloved Vampire
• Author: Joey W. Hill
• Type: Paranormal Romance
• Genre: Angsty vampire erotic romance
• Sub-genre: BDSM; I-suffer-because-I-failed-in-the-past
• My Grade: B- (3.8*)
• Rating: X for sex and violence, including gang rape
• Where Available: Everywhere books are sold

There are some books that I can honestly say are good, but I would never want to read again.  Beloved Vampire is one of them.  If there is one heroine I dislike more than the vapid  fashionista in so many chick-lit books, it’s the submissive masochist that has become the all to common centerpiece of many erotic romance novels.  The “hero” is one of those vampires who sincerely believes humans are lesser creatures.  In fact, the whole vampire culture is built on the absolute superiority of vampires over any human, even one that’s was not a willing ‘servant’ and badly abused.  Those things alone made me want to go sharpen some stakes.  That said, the story that Ms Hill weaves in Beloved Vampire is intricate, nuanced and, unlike most novels with a strong D/s theme, a worthwhile read for those who don’t mind dark, grim paranormal romance.  Jane at Dear Author did a review of Beloved Vampire last month. I’ll just hit some high spots that matter to my view of this.

BOOK REVIEW: Sweet Persuasion by Maya Banks (erotic romance)

Once again I find myself confronted with a book that is wonderfully well written that I disliked beyond redemption. I know my personal distaste for certain lifestyles influences this, but I simply cannot get past it. Of all the contemporary romance writers doing erotic stories, Maya Banks seems to be the most talented in creating characters and writing intelligent, highly sensual stories without getting trite or predictable. That said, she also goes places I just do not understand and I find myself so repulsed by certain events that I cannot enjoy the book at all.  Such was the case with Sweet Persuasion.

I have said many times I do not understand or enjoy BDSM. A little goes a long way with me and then I find myself angry at the protagonists. Actually, I was so distressed by one scene that I had trouble sleeping and woke with it praying on my mind. Some would say it speaks well that an author can create characters I felt that deeply about, but I’ve learned it’s because they hit a nerve that’s like a sore tooth I can’t leave alone. Even crappy writers can do this to me.