Entries Tagged 'Erotica' ↓
June 17th, 2009 — 2 Stars, 2.5 Stars, Acting, Book Review, Contemporary, Elle Amery, Erotica, Executive, Flaws, Friends, United States of America
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This was a very sweet storyline, but there are some flaws. Amery writes a light humorous story. She’s dead funny on BOBs and teenage girl crushes.
Jake is a former Broadway star. He’s one of New York’s up-and-coming directors. Legions of fan girls inspired that career sidestep, allowing Jake to enjoy the theater but without the scary mob. This weekend, he’s back home participating in a egad… bachelor auction all for his best friend’s little sister.
When Jake spies his high school ex waving her paddle, he knows he’s doomed. A beautiful blond in the back is his only chance. By only chance, I mean, the only option he finds acceptable. Mouthing the words, “Help me,” at her, Jake is relieved when she enters the bid war.
Sophie feels her blood shimmer at those words. She can hardly believe it, Jake was her high school crush, getting him to help out at the event was a feat but this… this could be the coup of a lifetime. Now if she could get him to break that no relationship rule…
Overall, I felt it could use more polish as there were several parts where I felt I was observing far above the scene instead of being a part of the scene. Does that make sense? Kind of like watching yourself dream, a bit out of body, not quite grounded in the tale. I wanted more sticky in the writing, something that would grab me and hold me in the moment.
Rating: 2-2.5 Stars
Buy Paperback: Saving Sophie
Buy Kindle: Saving Sophie
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June 11th, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, Bethany Michaels, Book Review, Contemporary, Erotica, Musician, United States of America
The first time she met Dex Wilder she was in a bed sheet and body glitter. The second time she was in handcuffs. Could a girl never catch a break?
Sydney Stratton is a tall honey-blond light blue-eyed struggling singer. She wants to make it big and doesn’t want to use her looks to get there. Sleazy talent agents, grabby hands and propositions are a hazard and ones she’s learn to avoid. When she isn’t with her band playing a gig in a seedy bar, she’s sleepy, writing music, or most likely working her tailbone off at a caterer job to make ends meet.
She meets Dex Wilder on the eve of his fame. They hit it off, attraction sizzling between the two enough to set her toga on fire (not literally). They have wild heart-pounding, breath-stealing sex, and when he wants her number she runs off. Sydney tried to relegate their fling into a one-night stand and forget him, but soon his picture is everywhere, his music everyone.
When they meet again, she’s still as she was, struggling to get her big break. The lust is at an all time high and it’s only ratcheted up a notch or two or twenty with the handcuffs. He’s still interested in her, wants to take her to dinner but the perils of his fame are already zapping. Scared and unsure of his sincerity, Sydney runs… it’s a good thing Dex has longer-legs or he’d never catch her.
My two favorite lines:
I instantly knew what sex with him would be like: hot, hard, and devastating.
Dex Wilder was definitely better than anything you could order from a catalog.
The story is good, solid, and sexy. The editing, not so much, which by now is a dead horse.
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars
Buy: Nashville Heat
May 27th, 2009 — About, Cecilia Tan, Erotica, Guest Blogger
Today’s article is by erotic romance author Cecilia Tan. Please join me in extending a warm welcome to her here at Love Romance Passion.
Our tale begins in 1970, which is the year some point to as the beginning of the modern romance genre, with the arrival of the manuscript The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss on the desk of editor Nancy Coffey at Avon. The book would be a huge bestseller, kicking off a new era of romance publishing, and Woodiwiss was the first of the “Avon Ladies.” In that year, the average age at which American women married was 20.6 years old.
But 1987 that average was up to 23.3 years old, and according to the US Census Bureau, by 2003 it was 25.1 years, where it remains today.
Meanwhile, the percentage of female teenagers becoming sexually active rose from 30% to 40% between 1982 and 1988, and now, 20 years later, the rate of high school students who have had intercourse is close to 50%. (They don’t count it as “sex” unless you have intercourse, you know.) In short, that means a lot of young American women, who used to go into their marriages with no sexual experience, now tend to have a significant amount of time as sexually active people before they marry–most as much as a decade.
Not only that, but as the generations have progressed from the swingin’ seventies to today, the kinds of sex that women are having has proliferated. The likelihood that they have experience with spanking, bondage, multiple partners, bisexuality, and other things that would have once been considered outre is now quite high as well, with 48% of people currently in their 20s reporting they have at least “experimented” with these activities.
Is it any wonder, then, that romance novels have changed, too?
This doesn’t mean that every romance reader wants in her life–or in her fiction–non-stop sex, kinky sex, or partner swapping. But the “bodice rippers” that were a staple of past generations are now often seen as either laughable or even anti-woman by modern readers, and the breathless euphemisms that used to be standard in the genre come off as quaint or unintentionally funny. The back cover copy on Woodiwiss’s “Flame…” speaks of “…the Carolina plantation where Brandon finally probes the depths of Heather’s full womanhood!”
We might make fun of the old style of marketing, but there is no denying that whatever language is used, romances have always been about passion as well as love. And just as fewer and fewer women would find a chaste kiss to be satisfying after a romantic dinner out, and now they want the same desires reflected in their favorite fiction.
But what distinguishes erotic romance from “erotica”(a broad term in itself)? Is erotic romance just a hybrid between romance and erotic fiction? In actuality, it’s the strength of the romance genre that allows so much flexibility in what we can call “romance” these days. The two unchanging aspects are the focus on love and the core relationship, and the happy/emotionally satisfying ending. That leaves a lot of room to have different historical settings, mystery subplots, fantastical aspects. As Beatrice Small wrote in a 2007 essay on the history of the genre, “[In the 1970s] romance [grew into] a billion dollar baby for publishing. It was a two-headed baby to begin with: Historicals and Category. But then as women’s palates grew more sophisticated, baby grew more heads. Historical and Category were joined by Western, Thriller, Paranormal, Glitz, Chick-Lit, Christian, Contemporary, and OHMYSTARS! Erotic, just to name a few. And the Historical sub-genre had sub-sub-genres. Regency. Georgian. Medieval. [and so on.]”
In other words, romance is a great-looking model on which you can put any kind of outfit, whether a medieval ball gown or six-inch spike heels and a leather corset.
For me, it isn’t the amount of sex in a book, nor how graphic it is, that makes a book “erotica” and not romance. I am one of those women for whom love and sex go hand in hand in my real life. I wouldn’t dream of spending my life with someone if I didn’t know we were compatible in bed. In a love story, especially a contemporary one, I feel like I need to see some erotic interaction between the characters in order to believe that their love is real and can work. In historicals I find Unresolved Sexual Tension more believable than in stories set in the modern day, but what I am still seeking is the ultimate release of that tension. I love writers who can wind the ratchet tighter and tighter, but just like someone who is great at teasing in bed, I want them to eventually deliver me that mind-shattering release.
More sex scenes do not necessarily make a “hotter” book, the way more salt and pepper doesn’t automatically make a meal taste better. What is most arousing is when the sex is convincing, when it makes sense with the characters and when it follows a logical progression through their emotional lives.
There are plenty of books of erotica out there. I know, because I’ve written them. Many of them are collections of short stories, because erotica can so often be about the fling, the one-night stand, the exploration of a character’s sexual growth, but doesn’t necessarily have to be about love. Short stories are flings, but novels are relationships. And just as I found I need to see some sexual interaction between characters for me to believe they are falling in love, I also have to see them falling in love in order to believe that they are going to keep having sex for the space of an entire novel! If they aren’t, if the plot is not a love story but just an vehicle to get us from one sex scene to another, inventive and arousing as the scenes may be, I’d classify a book as erotica, and not erotic romance.
When I sat down to write my book MIND GAMES
, which I’d classify as an erotic paranormal suspense romance, I had already come up with the characters many years before. I’d originally envisioned Wren and Derek as an established couple, and I was trying to write them in a kind of detective/spy scenario where their partnership and relationship were already long since established. But that idea never really firmed up. I kept asking myself how they had come to be a couple, and how did they find out that sex enhanced her psychic abilities? Ultimately I realized I couldn’t write what happens in their future until I wrote their love story and answered those questions.
It was an incredible experience writing them falling in love. After over a decade of writing and publishing dozens of erotic short stories, in places like Ms. Magazine, Best American Erotica, and Nerve, having the room to follow the characters from their initial meeting and spark of attraction, right through to their eventual emotional break-throughs, felt like a decadent luxury to me. I really was able to focus on the emotions, not just on Wren’s attraction and feelings of arousal, but also her conflicted feelings, her fears, her past wounds, and her determination to make this time different from the failed relationships of the past.
Now that I think about it, I did the exact same thing in my second romance novel, THE HOT STREAK. If anything, THE HOT STREAK concentrates even more on the relationship because there is no mystery sub-plot. All the “action” revolves around our heroine falling in love with a baseball player and learning to negotiate the ups and downs of being a “major league girlfriend.” It’s a much more light-hearted book than MIND GAMES, but again there’s that theme of her not yet having found Mr. Right, and then all the doors it opens in her heart and her life when she finally meets him.
Ultimately, this is why erotic romance is still romance, because although we want him in bed, we still want Mr. Right. It’s just romance created to satisfy the women like me who aren’t satisfied by a story that doesn’t meet their own sexual reality, and those are the women I set out to please, too. And I’m sure as the needs and lives of women continue to change in the 21st century, the heroines and stories we find in romances will change to meet them.
–
Cecilia Tan is the author of the erotic romances MIND GAMES, THE HOT STREAK, and the forthcoming MAGIC UNIVERSITY series, as well as numerous books of erotica and baseball nonfiction. Read sample chapters more at http://www.ceciliatan.com/.
References:
“More Girls Are Sexually Active, Study Finds,” by Felicity Barrington, New York Times, November 10, 1990 (http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/10/us/more-girls-are-sexually-active-study-finds.html)
“Facts on American Teens’ Sexual and Reproductive Health,” Alan Guttmacher Institute, September 2006 (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_ATSRH.html)
“Most Americans Have Had Premarital Sex,” By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY, December 19, 2006, (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-12-19-premarital-sex_x.htm)
America transformed: sixty years of revolutionary change, 1941-2001, by Richard M. Abrams, Cambridge University Press, 2001
“A Brief History of the Romance Genre,” by Beatrice Small, Shorelines newsletter, August 19, 2007 (http://www.authorscene.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=60)
Photo Credits: Wiros, Oneras [what about peace?]
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May 20th, 2009 — 0.5 Stars, Book Review, Contemporary, Erotica, United States of America
I’m going to start off and say that this was a Did Not Finish for me. If it was a print book I would have thrown it at the wall. My biggest problem is the heroine. I just don’t get her. I can’t wrap my mind around a person willing to be that submissive to somebody else especially when humiliation and degradation is involved. The heroine infuriated me to the point where I was ready to grab all the reading material I could find on feminism and start up a local chapter.
As for the sexual content, I was warned by the author, but still I wasn’t prepared. I like to think I’m fairly open-minded when it comes to BDSM and the whole kinky sex scene but I draw the line at urination (which is mentioned as something the couple did in the past). Additionally as a heterosexual woman I was not at all interested in reading about the heroine’s submission under a woman (not once but at least twice with hints of future contact with Dom Blade) because her husband wanted to see it done. All in all the content wasn’t even close to be erotic for me.
Warning: STRONG BDSM, spanking, rope bondage, group sex w/ a single female, F/F & M/F scenes, public sex, voyeurism, domination, submission, side characters telling tales of sex parties, feasts, a girl who is and just wants to be Cunt the dog, etc.
The blurb on the site makes you think you’re getting into a fun sexy story about a married couple looking to explore their sexual horizons. I thought I was in for “Leslie has no clue about the BDSM, Phillip her husband wants to try it out,” but oh no-no…. not even close. Leslie and Phillip have been doing lots of BDSM and Leslie isn’t shocked she’s trained for it.
Meanwhile, readers get to enjoy a creepy pervert called Vincent. He’s strongly attracted to Leslie’s innocence as it were and wants to truly break her in all the way. He’s basically a stalker, identifiable to blinded (by a blindfold) Leslie by rank smell. I’m sure this comes to a head later but I couldn’t make myself read any further.
Rating: 0.5 Stars
Buy: Blind Seduction
May 10th, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, ARC, Alien, England, Erotica, Kidnapping, Kings, Princes, Sheiks, Chiefs, Knight, Magic Users, Paranormal, Politician, Queen or Princess, Rowena Cherry, Space, Stowaway, Warrior
Today I am reviewing Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry. This is my first ARC (advance review copy; official book release is September 30, 2008) and I eagerly read the whole novel in two days! Knight’s Fork is just one novel in the futuristic set series about the Great Djinn race. Knight’s Fork contains all the right stuff from a stowaway princess to a knight’s quest and the threat of death licking at their heels. This book and series would be great for any lover of alien paranormal romance or paranormal romance in general.
Watch out for the ‘Dj’ names! There’s quite a few to remember and follow! The romance novel is filled to overflowing with political intrigue and the key players are trying to play everybody else all at the same time to get their way. The main characters have to watch out for who their enemies are and who their allies are.
Cherry titles her novels after chess moves, and yes the characters do play chess and the move in question is used several times throughout the novel. Knight’s Fork in particular is about a choice between two evils – you’re going to lose something and the decision becomes which loss is acceptable?
This choice is ‘Rhett’s, a Saurian Knight, and it is between power and a female. Saurian is another alien race, but don’t let this fool you about this white knight. Back to the point - how can power or a female be a bad choice whichever you choose? A grab for power will set other leaders in a tizzy and the female is another male’s mate that’s how!
The rival male is King of another alien race, the Volnoth, and taking Electra could start a war on par with the ancient Greek war over Helen of Troy. It’s too bad for ‘Rhett that he’s tempted by Electra and not by the power offered. Far more tempting is that she wants him… for his sperm. What’s a knight to do?
This novel and series isn’t for the fainthearted that likes their romances to be mild and sweet. Urban colloquialisms for sex and emissions abound, the Great Djinn even regularly swear by Carnality! However for those who crave the contemporary slang and straightforward nature to the approach of sex Knight’s Fork is deliciously racy and erotic. The whole novel revolves around sex!
You could compare Cherry’s novel to Laurell K. Hamilton’s Meredith Gentry series about fairies because the Princess Electra seeks to get pregnant just like Meredith does. Or you could compare the novel to the Twilight Saga with ‘Rhett being a virgin, sworn to a vow of chastity, similar to Edward’s chase behavior. Whatever parallels you draw, Cherry spins a great story.
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars
Originally posted 2008-09-11 05:56:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter
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April 23rd, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Contemporary, Entrepreneur, Erotica, Inara Lavey, Pirate, Rogues and Rakehells, Spectacles, United States of America
Old School romance daydreams + embarrassing contemporary situations * 2 potential heroes = exponential fun.
Inara Lavey writes loving parodies of old school romance for Cassandra to daydream. Of course our plucky heroine (who is the very definition of spitfire) gets caught out time and again. She lands in some very funny situations as she sleep walks during some of them.
Cassandra Devon works in customer relations at a paper product company back in San Francisco and when her skuzzy boyfriend ditches weekend holiday plans she is determined it’s for the last time and dumps his sorry butt. Cassandra calls up her best friend Val and remakes plans to enjoy a holiday with her in Palm Springs.
There she meets:
Connor is the charming Irish rogue who’s passionate personality makes him the ideal romance hero.
Raphael (Rafe) is “the physical incarnation of every romantic hero who’d ever strode, seduced, stalked or swashbuckled across the pages of countless romance novels.”
What did I tell you about Lavey? That’s just a sample of her voice. Trust me, her writing is a hoot! Cassie’s internal dialogue is as sassy as any contemporary romance heroine and the daydreams are as equally riotous.
Now the only question that remains is who Cassie will choose: Rafe or Connor?
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars
Buy: Ripping the Bodice
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April 22nd, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, Angela Cameron, Book Review, Contemporary, Enemies, Erotica, Mistress, News, Paranormal, Police, Politician, Survival, United States of America, Vampire
Victoria (Tori) reminds me of Anita Blake
. Here’s why:
- She’s known for always wearing a gun.
- Not to mention she’s a police officer with connections to the vampire scene (not widely know to humans to exist).
- She visits vampire clubs.
- Tori brings her gun into the bathroom with her when she showers.
- Tori even resists Michael like Anita resisted Jean-Claude at first.
Michael reminds me of Twilight
vampires, because interestingly enough Tori smells to him as Bella does to Edward. He labels the smell of her to something akin to mimosas. Michael can also feel her feelings, like Jasper of Twilight, and project feelings onto her.
Vampire lore:
- All have mind reading capabilities.
- All are involved to some extent in the D/S scene.
- All possess a type of thrall called: affascinare.
- All have the ability to project feelings/sensations called: trucchi.
- All obey or follow the vampire code/law of Alleanza.
- Humans can bond with vampires as equals and as slaves.
- They can be warm/hot and have heartbeats.
- They breathe.
- They sleep?
The bad guys are particularly scary. They make the book very dark indeed. Think vampire Mafia with terribly nasty taste in sexual preferences (torture/slave).
Sex: D/S, voyeurism, good kinky fun
Overall it was a pretty enjoyable read but there were some problems in the story telling. For instance terms are not defined. As the first in the series they should have been. That’s not to say that quite a few can be derived from connotation but the nuances are lost. Additionally, while some of the Italian terminology is similar in format to the English translation, not all of them are.
A few inconsistencies and redundancies scattered the pages, ones that should have been picked up by an editor. They stuck out like a sore thumb in an otherwise seamless story. There is some great dialogue scattered throughout the book. One of my favorites was:
“I wish I believed you.”
“So do I.”
If you can get past the small annoyances it wasn’t half a bad read. The bad guy gets caught, the good guys triumph, the couple gets together, and you close the book happy.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: Blood & Sex, Volume 1: Michael
Buy Audio Version.
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April 13th, 2009 — 2 Stars, 3 Stars, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Contemporary, Cursed Lead, Erotica, Friends, Paranormal, United States of America, Writer
What is Opposite Sex about? The following phrase captures the idea nicely: “It’s like Freaky Friday
…with f*&!king!” It takes the fantasy one step further than What Women Want
where you can hear what the opposite sex truly think and let’s you experience things from their perspective.
Do you believe body switching is viable? It’s an interesting idea. I picked this book because it explored the concept.
Monica Westwood narrated Opposite Sex smoothly and naturally. I had no trouble following when Taylor and Jasmine switched bodies… it was effortless to pay attention and keep up, which is always a good thing when it comes to audio presentation.
The preternatural events leading up to the body switching involve sex, wish verbalization, and a smidge of role playing. McQueen wrote it believably or as believable as it can be written. I wasn’t required to make a large leap of faith or stretch my imagination beyond the realms of all possibility.
I disliked the Zack/Jasmine friends to lovers theme. It’s personally not my cup of tea, but you like it then you will enjoy the ending tremendously. I would have preferred Taylor staying the hero instead of slowly losing ground as the hero throughout the novel. I’m of the mind if two strangers can create sex magic and literally jump bodies, that it has to be a once in a lifetime sort of deal and the reason it can occur is because they’re meant for each other. Soul mates in other words literally and figuratively.
If you shy from curse words, this is not the book for you.
Favorite scene: Jasmine as Taylor trying to pass off as the author at the (Sci-Fi?) convention. When it got time for her to join the panel on erotica in books it gets even better. I was laughing uproariously at her thoughts on the philosophy of sex in books.
Writing: 4 of 5 Stars
Personal Preference: 2 of 5 Stars
Narration: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Overall: 3 of 5 Stars
Buy the Audio Version Here!
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April 7th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, 3 Stars, Another Planet/Dimension, Book Review, Dragon, Enemies, Erotica, Paranormal, Stella and Audra Price, Succubus
Fire in His Eyes is the first book of the Dragon Elementals in Stella and Audra Price’s Eververse. A complicated web of Afterverse and the real world, Eververse will introduce you the paranormal.
Char is the last of the reigning fire dragons and he has found his mate. He can’t do anything about it because she is the enemy, a demon succubus, one of the race that destroyed the dragons. It is forbidden to interact with demons! The edict of Fuerety, the King of Fire Demons, put Char and his compatriots all on the run. Dragons were to be killed on sight, no matter their loyalty. They are forced to appear human in order to hide. A demon that could call a dragon had full power over the dragon and the dragon’s elements. His mate is just such a demon that could call him and he could not take a chance that she might betray him.
Char has a unique ability as a fire dragon compared to other dragons. He can use flame to see across the world. A single flame in front of him can illuminate other scenes, so long as they too are lit up by fire. Char can even slip through these tiny flames and emerge on the other end. This leads to some highly erotic moments.
Alcyone Sterling is a succubus, which means she thrives on sex. Her sexual preference is men, but this does not exclude women. She runs a strip club in Shadow Heights called Pinkys and feeds off the sexual atmosphere. The Queen Succubus is one of her friends and past paramours. She senses Char at a masquerade party where after some mind altering sex she’s hooked. Something about Char just calls to her.
When dragons mate, they mate for life, like naked mole rats and some penguins. In addition when they claim their mate fully, they create a lasting bond between themselves and their partner. When Char performs this (during sex!) Alcyone receives a red and yellow dragon around her waist like a vivid tattoo. This explains the cover!
The language is a little crude for me; lots of swearing and oh gods/goddess. It was a distraction while reading and pulled me out of the story more than once.
Rating: 2.5-3 Stars
Buy: Fire In His Eyes
Originally posted 2008-12-08 06:42:17. Republished by Old Post Promoter
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April 6th, 2009 — 4.5 Stars, Book Review, Cinderella, Erotica, Historical Romance, Kings, Princes, Sheiks, Chiefs, Rachel Kenley, Revenge
Once upon a time, in a land far far away a beautiful girl by the name of Mariella decides to find herself a husband. Not just any husband mind you – but one that will be rich enough to provide her with a sense of freedom. She would love to wake up in the morning whenever she wanted to get up, spend the day pursuing whatever she felt like pursuing, and live a relatively carefree life that up to now she has not had. To find the husband she desires Mariella attends the balls set out for Prince Teodor’s wife hunt.
Never in all her wild imaginings did Mariella expect to find herself kissing the confused but eager Prince. She wasn’t looking to elevate herself in society to the point where wealth became an obligation – and with all the other girls vying for his attention she hadn’t expected him to gravitate toward her! What’s a girl to do when the devilishly good looking Prince proposes? By switching roles – I mean the rules – of course!
In the Glass Stiletto you will find what I think is light D/S. They play with ribbons and take turns being submissive (Teodor more so than Mariella.) Beyond that there aren’t any kinks that I think could possibly be offensive to anyone. There are a few words used in these scenes I would have switched out – surprisingly one of them is sexy; for the setting and the time period I felt seductive would have been more appropriate. Still, it’s hardly enough to nitpick.
I really, really, enjoyed listening the narration of the Glass Stiletto. It made all the difference. The acting in the bedroom was wonderful and a wicked thrill. Kenley knows how to tell a steamy tale that is for sure! If you’re listening in your car, the story may just fog your windows it’s so delightfully naughty.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Buy the audio here!
April 5th, 2009 — About, Erotica, Evangeline Collins
This post is in response to Historical Romance - How Much Heat is Too Much?
The original post is by Evangeline Collins, author of Her Ladyship’s Companion
(releases in May 2009).
In the comments I explored what I thought made the difference between a sexy romance and an erotica romance and then I thought it deserved to be explored some more.
I agree with Evangeline that the lines are blurring but will the line ever disappear? My guess is not anytime soon.
How are sexy romance and erotica romance the same or merging?
Both types of romances can have vanilla or kinky sex. It can be explicit and it can be blush inducing… it can turn you on and rev you up. Yummy.
How are they different?
As I said it’s not so much anymore that the sex is there and is explicitly described; both types of romance write it and write it well. The main difference that I see is language. The diction between sexy romance and erotic romance are two very different types of words.
Sexy romance still uses in many cases the tame terminology romance has used since the beginning. I say tame because it’s many times wrapped in euphemisms. It’s still polite.
Examples: cock, center, sheath, thrusting, pumping, bundle of nerves.
Erotica romance takes the words people use today and waves it like a banner. It’s not your mother’s romance in other words… pardon the pun. Modern/urban colloquial terms are the cornerstones of erotica.
Examples: cock (hey it’s versatile!), dick (even though old romances used it, it’s not used now in sexy romance [or if it is I haven’t seen it]), cunt, pussy, twat, fucking.
Wrapping up:
They are also different because erotica romance also has a history of ménage a trios/multiple partner sex. Same sex stories currently fall under erotica. Do I expect this to change? Yes and no. I expect the forbidden aspect will fall to the wayside and some sexy romances will start incorporating multiple partners/same sex. However, I doubt sexy romance which is firmly entrenched in romancelandia will ever buy into more than one soul mate at a time as romance’s cornerstone is the perfect match, the happily ever after.
How about you? Do you think the lines are blurring or have blurred all they’re going to blur?
Photo Credits: zenera
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April 5th, 2009 — 3 Stars, Alien, Another Planet/Dimension, Book Review, Contemporary, Erotica, Interracial, Kidnapping, Magic Users, Mistaken Identity, Paranormal, Politician, Rachel Kenley, Secret Agent, Space, United States of America, Virgin Heroine
Have you ever read your name in a romance book? How about with different spelling? I rarely do as my name is fairly unique. Listening to my name as a protagonist in Destiny’s Jewel was definitely a bit of naughty fun.
Rebecca Rogers, who narrated Maestro’s Butterfly, narrates Destiny’s Jewel and does another amazing job! Five out of five for steamy!
I recently went on a road trip to meet with some friends and Destiny’s Jewel was my trip companion. Who needs the radio? Seriously! Listen to some erotica instead - it’s sure to keep you awake and get your blood pumping.
Kyra L’orrac has been entrusted to guard a royal treasure, a giant sapphire known as the Stone of Destiny. It is her first big assignment under the Royal Special Forces (RSF). She is protecting it from the incoming vizier and magician Ellard J’aron, who seeks it for personal gain and power.
For Ellard it is imperative that he retrieved the star sapphire and its two sister jewels, an emerald and ruby respectively. If he fails to bring the trio home to Dolnair he faces execution and his family the ultimate disgrace. As if Ellard’s troubles aren’t enough he is under a very strict time limit and the pretty girl who holds the first of the jewels inspires passions he should not-nay can not-indulge, even if he wants too… desperately.
Rating: 3 Stars
Buy the Audio Version Here!
Side note: I marked this book as interracial because of one partner being magical and one partner being non-magical.
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April 4th, 2009 — About, Character Type, Erotica, Genre, Preference Type, Sheik/Desert
This question has been asked in one form or another since romance novels went mainstream. Authors have been dismissed because they write romance instead of science fiction or crime books or other normal genres. If the cover has bulging pectorals and swooning women then it must be girl porn. Shame on you, haven’t you heard the advice never judge a book by its cover?
Romance has been dismissed and labeled by many derogatory terms such as trashy romance novel, bodice-rippers, girl porn, chick porn, chick-lit, virgin bibles, horny hystericals, etc. Some of these terms like trashy romance novel have become a badge of honor to declare with pride by readers. i.e. “I love trashy romance novels!” Similarly there are people out there who will tell you they are proud that they don’t read them. Did you know that the romance industry sells over 50% of all paperback books? Looking at figures like those, it’s hard to mock romance.
Writing a romance novel takes a lot of work. What happens if you start off with characters and can’t make them come together romantically in a believable way? You’ll wind up with the square pegs in round holes syndrome and a book you can’t possibly sell. Just look at JKR’s Harry Potter Saga
- the best romance in the book is the only one she didn’t attempt to show or explain and that was James and Lily Potter. Clearly writing romance is not Rowling’s forte. So if a world renowned author can’t write romance believably wouldn’t that prove it’s a tough quota to fill?
To be able to repeatedly produce quality heroes and heroines that fall in love, have sexual tension, and resolve all their issues is phenomenal and should be awarded not punished.
But the sex and the sin!
A lot of people are under the misapprehension that sex, marital or otherwise in a romance is sinful and shouldn’t be read. Romance novels are only okay if you can read them to your grandmother. But what if you’re grandmother is particularly savvy and cool? Wouldn’t this test be disqualified?
On an interesting note the romance industry not too long ago, think 80s and earlier, thought premarital sex would turn readers away. This is where the term bodice-ripper is derived, specifically in conjunction with Desert and Sheik love.
Erotica writers take sex in romance to a new level - is this a bad thing? No, I say, it’s not. Sex has its place, so does plot, dialogue, and deux ex machina. It’s hard to write - just read the author interviews here on this website and you’ll see what I mean.
So I say to the unenlightened, this is the new millennia. Get over it or please tell me you only watch Bollywood movies where even kissing is taboo in most cases. (Though Bollywood movies can easily pour on the heat - it’s all that unrequited tension! Yum!)
Does that mean that all sex is good sex in a romance or in other words when is sex gratuitous like a bathroom scene in a movie? The answer again is no. I think sex is gratuitous when it serves to just be there as page filler just like the bathroom scene in a movie.
Conclusion:
Clearly, I think the issue lies with personal phobias. The idea of being caught with a romance novel is embarrassing to some. These are the people I feel should most definitely be introduced to romance novels. It’s okay, we’re here to hold your hand and if absolutely needed, you have our permission to read it under the covers with a flashlight.
In the end I must ask, who’s out there demeaning men for watching dare I say it - man porn?
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-12-05 18:53:01. Republished by Old Post Promoter
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April 2nd, 2009 — 5 Stars, Book Review, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Dukes and Earls, England, Erotica, Isabel Roman, Magic Users, Paranormal, Scarred Hero, Survival, Victorian
Mmm-mmm delicious. I love the plot to this novel, which looks like it will drive the second in the series. I also love the romantic conflict- it’s simply too yummy. Roman certainly has a way with storytelling, twisting and weaving different threads into one cohesive whole. I listened to the audio version of this book and was tempted more than once to click double speed just so I could devour this novel faster. Of course, I didn’t, that would take out half of the fun. Medea Carter Beckett is truly the best narrator Ravenous could have found for the job.
Magickers are being hunted. In the age of the English witch hunts, known as the Great Purification, one man rises above the rest to the head of the assault. Nobody is safe while Corwin continues to breathe. He is clever and charismatic, wooing people to his viewpoint. A bill is in parliament and if the Magickers are to have any hope at all for survival it must pass.
Malcolm Wargrave, earl of Preston, is on the fence. He is neutral and has not taken a stance, either agreement or disagreement to Corwin’s speeches. He is Lady Raven Drake’s lover. They started their affair almost immediately after their mutual friend’s house party began. She was a virgin when they met, and while she gave him her virginity she could never be his as she belonged to another. That and because she kept a secret from Malcolm.
Gareth, Viscount Moore, is Raven’s intended. They are engaged for several purposes. Not only were they well matched as both were Master Magickers, but they also stood as the only defense for their people. As the heirs to two of the very last powerful lines of Magickers, their alliance would create a new line of Masters. Their children would be powerful. United in marriage, their union would be a beacon of hope to their people.
Raven will face the toughest decision of her young life – will she give into her heart or into duty?
Rating: 5 Stars
Buy the audio version here.
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March 25th, 2009 — Between the Sheets, Erotica
Welcome to the second article under Between the Sheets. Here we get to focus on going beyond the printed page to learn more about the industry, the parts usually forgotten by the time the product hits the shelves. Today’s special guest is Olivia Roland, narrator of Land of Falling Stars
. Please join me in welcoming her!
Q. — How did you get started in book narration?
A.– I started as a stage actor and learned of an opportunity recording books for the blind from a fellow actor.
Q.– What’s the audition process like for audio books?
A.– You’re asked to read segments from different genres (fiction, non-fiction) and submit a recording and will often do an audition to show your reading skills.
Q.– Were you required to do anything special for the audition because it was an erotica novel?
A.– No. We submitted material from a novel with a similar feel.
Q.– What’s your favorite part about narrating?
A.– I love being able to use all the ranges of my voice, and to be able to put my training with languages and dialects and acting to great use.
Q.– Did you feel strange narrating erotica at first?
A.– I’ve recorded romance novels and historical romances for over a decade and they have many explicit sex scenes, so I was accustomed to some of the material when I began to read for Ravenous Romance.
Q.– What other voice acting have you done?
A.– I’ve recorded hundreds of commercials for radio and television, industrials and training videos. I have also recorded several PBS specials and have been nominated for two Heartland Emmy Nominations for Best Narration.
Q.– And finally, why should people listen to audio books?
A.– Audio books are magical to me because you get the advantage of hearing them read by an actor, but at the same time you create all the images and imagine all the people in your mind’s eye all on your own.
You get the best of two worlds: an actor’s voice and interpretation and your own power of creativity and imagination as you hear a writer’s words. It’s the best kind of escape, anywhere you choose to have it!
Thank you Olivia! It’s been so good to talk with you. I couldn’t agree more with why people should listen to audio books. They are definitely magical.
Photo Credits: bondiben
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