Title: Forgiving Valentine
Series: Conversation Hearts Anthology
Author: Michael Barnette
Genre: Paranormal Romance / Valentine’s Day
Length: Short Story (24 pages)
ASIN: B00IDX4WQE (anthology)
Publisher: Torquere Press (February 11th, 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2~2.5Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: Liam Wolfson and Valentine Rosetti have been together for three years. But vampires like Val seldom make long-term commitments and Val won’t agree to more than being lovers. Liam, a werewolf, needs a family, a pack, to call his own in order to feel secure. Can the pair come to an agreement when their basic natures are so different?
Purchase Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=4127
Review: What I expect from a Valentine’s Day story is for that special emotion, the sensuality and passion bursting through the read that will take me away and make me believe that love is in the air and it’s powerful, stands stronger than anything else is in the world. If not for Valentine’s, then when? But even as I thought I get that feeling I was let down in this story. Yes, the sweetness managed to make an appearance, but then every story in the romance genre is sweet. What I seeked for were the fireworks and they were disappointingly lacking.
This story was about Liam, a wolf-shifter, and Valentine, a vampire. The day before Valentine’s Day the lover had another fight, the topic the same. Liam needs a family, a pack, and Valentine’s not ready for such commitment. The next day when Liam comes home from work Val has gone so far as to take his things and leave the house. What was meant to be their anniversary and a celebration of love, turned into a miserable, dark, and full of hurt day for Liam. Val on the other hand cannot believe what he’s done. He doesn’t understand why he’s running away from Liam, even as he is sure that he loves him with all his heart. Is giving Liam a family so hard and scary that he’s willing to lose him once and for all. For it is sure that if Val doesn’t make the big gesture everything will end this time.
The story felt like two normal people having a fight and making up with that big question finally popping. But it was so flat and bland that the romance didn’t quite make it to the surface. In addition, there was the paranormal part I was constantly searching for but never found. If we take apart, the wrestling foreplay when Liam turned into a big goofy pup and Val let his fangs drop. There was nothing to indicate that these two creatures were creature of the paranormal world. I kept wondering – since there was mention, that both Liam and Val would live a long life – how were they supposed to make a family. Adoption and surrogation yes, but how would they explain their longevity and inability to change as they grew older, a fact that supposedly wouldn’t happen anyway. For me, for the story even, I feel it would be better if the paranormal was missing and so we’d deal with a contemporary love story where there is a spat, make up sex and everybody lives happily ever after. As it was, it simply raised more questions, not to mention the fact that the puppy play in the bedroom made me roll my eyes at the wolf’s depiction.
The erotic part was disappointing as well. Cliché and shallow exercises of BDSM are not captivating at all and simply made me wonder what on earth was that all about, why not keep it simple and be safe from the complexity that comes with the BDSM scenes, as the context failed to capture that eroticism one sees between kinky couples. I think my expectations were yet again too high and not met so.
But then again I’m fussy when it comes to wolves and vampires. If the above seems agreeable to you, then by all means you might find a nice enough read for the holidays.