Dragon Forge by J.C. Owens

J.C. Owens - Dragon Forge CoverTitle: Dragon Forge

Author: J. C. Owens

Genre: Fantasy

Length: Novel (224pgs)

Publisher: Etopia Press (March 24, 2017)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3.75 Hearts

Blurb: The dragons are dying. Now a talented blacksmith and a betrayed prince must find a way to save them…while saving each other.

Bren, a blacksmith in a small town, longs to escape his drunken, abusive father. His world is turned upside down when legendary dragon riders arrive and discover Bren is a chosen one. He’s taken to the great mountain fortress to imprint one of the new hatchlings by none other than Kyralian, the dragon prince. After the hatching goes terribly wrong, Bren struggles to recover by losing himself in his metalwork, taking on apprentices, and ignoring all dragons. But he soon realizes that Kyralian, seemingly so powerful, is in real trouble. The prince and his male dragon are treated like property, mated as a prize at the end of a yearly chase. Bren will do anything to keep the prince and his dragon safe…even if it costs him everything.

Kyralian is desperate to save the dragons of his colony. He’s searching for answers to the failing dragon lines, but the ruling council only wants to use his dragon for breeding. He can’t defy them because he’s bound by duty and his love for his people. Yet he’s never felt more alone, more caged by his obligations to the colony. Now his growing feelings for the blacksmith have endangered both their freedom and their lives. The prince’s dragon is the last male in the fortress, his value beyond price, and there are enemies who will do anything to make the prince submit…

ISBN: 978-1-944138-89-9

Product Link: http://www.etopiapress.com/dragon-forge/

Reviewer: Shorty 

Review: I have no idea what to write in this review. I’m emotionally drained from all the ups (which were few) to the downs. I loved Bren. He was kind, sweet and determined to help Ky despite Ky being what I consider aloof a lot.

I realize that both characters have been through traumatic events. One even going through physical abuse and rape most of his life. But the way Ky just seemed to distance himself from Bren but expected him to still be there pissed me off to no end.

As a result of Ky’s actions I ended up not liking him at all. Bren was always there for Ky no matter what. I did feel bad for both but at the same time felt Ky really offered nothing to the relationship expect depression and misery.

It was an o.k. read. Warning Emotional, physical, mental abuse as well as rape (which was off page but you still know).

On a Lee Shore by Elin Gregory

16757396Title: On A Lee Shore

Series: NA

Author: Elin Gregory

Genre: MM Historical Romance

Length:  Novel (289 pages)

Publisher: Etopia Press (December 12th, 2012)

Heart: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

Heat: Low (most of the sex scenes are faded to black)

Blurb: Give me a reason to let you live…”

Beached after losing his ship and crew, and with England finally at peace, Lt Christopher Penrose will take whatever work he can get. A valet? Why not? Escorting an elderly diplomat to the Leeward Islands seems like an easy job, but when their ship is boarded by pirates, Kit’s world is turned upside down. Forced aboard the pirate ship, Kit finds himself juggling his honor with his desire to stay alive among the crew, not to mention the alarming—yet enticing—captain, known as Le Griffe. 

Kit has always obeyed the rules, but as the pirates plunder their way across the Caribbean, he finds much to admire in their freedom. He deplores their lawlessness but is drawn to their way of life, and begins to think he might just have found a purpose. Dare he dream of finding love too? Or would loving a pirate take him too far down the road to ruin?

Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/On-a-Lee-Shore-ebook/dp/B00ANV96ZG

Reviewer: Cat

Review: After being captured by pirates, Kit is forced into a dilemma in more ways than one.  Not only does he have to go against his principles and his Navy service and help the pirates, but he has to face the part of him that he hides deep inside of him. The part that the captain, Griffin wakens inside of Kit. Will he escape and try to save face with his country yet again or will he choose to stay with the men he now finds as friends and the captain that has stolen his heart?

This story is so beautifully written. It pulls you into the life of the pirates and makes you feel as if you are sailing on the stormy seas with them.  The characters are so interesting, some charming, some so mysterious, some filled with mixed emotions and need.  I loved the way it focused on Kit and Griffin but also told the stories of many of the other pirates as well.  There are many twists, lots of action and suspense, plenty of angst and a very slow unfolding romance that leaves you swooning. What more could you ask for?

Recommendation: If you love historical fiction, pirates, angst, action, suspense and sensual love with a very intriguing twist at the end this is for you!

Hearts and Flour by Tara Lain

17287966Title:  Hearts and Flour

Series:  Stand Alone book

Author:  Tara Lain

Genre:   M/M Romance

Length:  Novella (91 Page)

Publisher:   Etopia Press (February 1st, 2013)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Blurb:   A raw food fanatic and a cupcake baker—can two hearts rise above the flour?

Healthy, vegan food is Micah Truveen’s religion. So when his devoted customers start showing up with white flour cupcakes, Micah’s ready to scream. When he discovers who’s been spreading the cupcake poison to the community, there’s going to be trouble. And to make a bad day even worse, Micah comes home to find his boyfriend in bed with someone else—on the day before Valentine’s Day! In frustration, he throws the rat out and agrees to go to his friend’s orgiastic Anti-Valentines party. Not his style, but lately, his style seems to be crumbling around him like stale baked goods.

Southerner Quentin Darby wishes he could stop wearing women’s clothes. He desperately wants to live up to the glowing opinion his grandmother holds of him, so he’s never even told her he’s gay. And now there’s this guy from the party who makes him wish he could just be who he is—a man who likes women’s clothing, loves to bake, and thinks everything’s better with cupcakes. Until a man with an axe to grind decides the time to grind it is now…

Product Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-and-Flour-ebook/dp/B00B8UBC8A

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  Micah Truveen’s life is just about perfect.  The openly gay, devoted vegan runs a successful raw food restaurant, teaches classes on how to prepare raw food and has the best boyfriend a guy could want.  Or so he thinks.  First he catches his supposed vegan customer’s eating cupcakes, and then he walks in on his boyfriend with another guy. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Quentin Darby leads a double life.  By day he takes care of his grandmother and together they make the cupcakes that have Micah seething; by night he’s the cross dressing Queen.  While Quentin is a closeted gay, trying to keep up appearances with his grandmother, Queen waves her freak flag, proudly!  In her skimpy red dress, sky-high stilettos and sexy undies that drive Micah crazy and make him see double.

Micah spots Queen at a friend’s Anti-Valentine’s day party and he’s instantly enamored with her… him.  It doesn’t take long for Micah to figure out Queen is a guy, and it takes even less time before these two are trying to devour each other!  When Micah finally learns that Quentin is the infamous cupcake baker, is the relationship doomed before it even starts?

All along the way Lain gives us not only some knock your socks off romps in white sheets, but she also touches on hatred, bigotry, blackmailing and stupidity.  When Micah finally figures out he’s no better than everyone else by being completely closed-minded about the cupcake issue with Quentin, will it be too late for him to have a second shot at happiness with him?

Philip's Watcher by Dianne Hartsock

Title: Philip’s Watcher

Author: Dianne Hartsock

Genre: Fantasy

Length: Novella (90pgs)

Publisher: Etopia Press (7th September 2012)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2 – 2 ½Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Can passion melt a heart of stone?

Darkness is spreading in the world with only the powerful Agenor family to oppose it. In the guise of a stone gargoyle atop the castle walls, Adrian has protected Philip, the young heir, since birth, watching him grow from childhood into a strong but lonely man without love.

When the clan chief, Philip’s father, is murdered by those he trusted, Adrian resumes his human form to better protect his beloved Philip. And finds his love returned. As lovers, their passion is all-consuming, but as they fight against treachery from within, will their love be enough to stem the dark tide sweeping the land? And will it be enough to keep Adrian’s heart alive…

Purchase Link: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-philip039swatcher-937624-142.html

Review: Adrian was made a Watcher to watch over Philip, the Heir to the Agenor family. Philip’s family has fought against the Dark forces, but their losses are piling up with the loss of Philip’s father. Adrian is betrayed by the one he loved many years ago and he has to give his all to ensure that his beloved Philip survives.

This is one of those books that has huge potential, but fails in the world building and background story. Adrian is Philip’s Watcher. He has to help protect Philip’s family in their fight against the Dark forces, but when an unexpected attack comes from one who he thought was an ally and a lover from his past, he feels that he has failed in his duty to his beloved Philip.

I was intrigued by this story at first and thought that I was in for a treat, but I was disappointed by the way the story started to go into Adrian’s remembrances of the past and also of the imagines implanted by Jaimin (Adrian’s lost lover and Philip’s enemy). There was no real relationship building between Philip and Adrian, other than Philip talking to Adrian in his stone form, and Adrian watching over Philip from afar. We see more of Adrian and Jaimin’s relationship than was needed.

As I said there isn’t much world building, we are thrown in the deep end and have no real clue why good and bad are really fighting, just vague references, and we get a vague sense that Adrian was transformed into a watcher somehow. There are some very erotic moments in a dreamlike quality but they aren’t between our heroes, and those moments seem to pop up for no reason at all.

I admit that there was a lot of potential for this book, but it needed a lot more detail and world building to carry it off. I found myself wondering if I hadn’t got the blurb wrong a couple of times and it was really about Adrian and Jaimin and forgiving love etc. But, no. It was about Adrian and Philip.  Unfortunately, I didn’t feel any connection between them, except for when they did the spiritual thing and then I felt the connection.

So, I will recommend this if you like gargoyles, fantasy, hot erotic sex, magic and a happy ending.

 

 

Dominion of the Eth by J. C. Owens

Title: Dominion of the Eth

Series: Wings 02

Author: J.C. Owens

Genre: Fantasy

Length: Novel Plus (317pgs)

Publisher: Etopia Press (7th October 2011)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: The collar would stay, for Rylis would never free Tamrin…

Childhood memories of the Eth did no justice to what Rylis Tanyan would encounter in the depths of the Teeathun forest. But what he had treasured before had betrayed him, and now he must fight to escape the confines of the forest and his feelings for Tamrin, the Eth whom he’d loved long ago…

Purchase Link: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-dominionoftheeth-610323-143.html

Warning: Some scenes of Dubious consent/rape.

Review: Commander Rylis Tanyan met an Eth long ago, and now, many years later, he is called to a village on the edges of the Melan kingdom and the Teeathun forest to sort out the problems they are having with the Eth. But, he is surprised by what he finds and ends up captured by the very Eth he once briefly met, and he will repay the betrayal with one of his own.

This is a very good novel where we meet Rylis Tanyan (Wings) again and gives us his story in all it’s mixed up glory. Rylis met an Eth when he was very young and that encounter has always stuck with him. When he is called in to a small village to find out why the Eth are now attacking it, he is shocked at his discovery. But, that is nothing to the betrayal he feels when he is captured by the very Eth, Tamrin, he met in his youth. When Rylis is released, he takes Tamrin with him, positive that he knows what is best for Tamrin. But, his love is tainted.

Well, I have never read a story where I have such mixed feelings for a character to this extent before. Rylis Tanyan seemed like such a compassionate person at first, but then later as the book progressed I saw the man I recognised from Wings and oh my god what a selfish self-centered man. The only thing that redeemed him was that he finally realized what he was doing, rectified it and then spent thirty years beating himself up about it. That isn’t to say that Tamrin was an innocent in all this, he could have easily put a stop to it, but didn’t as he was carrying his own guilt… this story is the perfect example of two wrongs not making a right.

This story is of tangled love. Just what do you do for the one you love? Take control, take what you want in the name of love and decide what is best for someone? Or do you give the person you love complete control? Take everything they do to you in the name of love and what they say as a show of their love for you? These two characters both mess up in what they think love is and it comes out in an emotion filled twisted love story where they both nearly lose what means the most to them. This story is filled with angst, abuse, dubious consent/rape and two beings that confuse what love really is.

I have to recommend this to those who love fantasy, angst, a twisted love story, dubious consent, regret, realizations and a very happy ending.

 

The Jerk by Michael Horton

Title: The Jerk

Author: Michael Horton

Genre: Suspense, Thriller

Length: Short (35pgs)

Publisher: Etopia Press (17th February 2012)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: The worst job could become one worth killing for.

JJ is a twenty-eight-year-old male whose resume consists of IT consultant, prostitute, and–most recently–assassin. After an uncomfortable encounter with a client results in the death of a secret agent, JJ finds himself taking the agent’s place at ORKA, the Organization for the Recruitment of Killers and Assassins. JJ has done plenty of things to plenty of people, but he never thought he’d kill one. Still, he’s not one to pass up a job, and working with some of Atlanta’s top assassins could be the chance of a lifetime. Could the promise of wealth and power be enough to stir the demon inside, or is JJ just one failed mission away from being replaced himself?

Purchase Link: http://www.omnilit.com/product-thejerk-723688-145.html

Warning: This is not a romance.

Review: JJ (Jabul Janek) is drawn into the world of assassins, when he accidentally kills one when he is leaving his last prostitution client. He is dragged into ORKA, the Organization for the Recruitment of Killers and Assassins to replace the one he killed and now he has choices to make.

This is quite an interesting story, of how a man who is in a profession he hates gets dragged into another profession that just might kill him. JJ is bi-sexual and has used that to his advantage when he falls on hard times. He has used prostitution as a means to an end, now though he is given a new opportunity when he accidentally kills an assassin. With a huge pot at the end of a mission, he thinks he just might be able to do what it takes, but first he has to survive.

This story is basic in what it provides, a short summary of how JJ becomes an assassin and leaves prostitution behind him. It also shows briefly how JJ feels about how women react to him being bi-sexual. There is no sex, no steamy scenes and no romance; it is just a very brief account of a time in JJ’s life when he has a choice to make. We have a scene where JJ is with a client, but no details, other than him using his hands, vaguely. I thought he could have been a masseur.

So this is a cool book to read if you are into assassins, secret organizations, and a slightly obnoxious MC’s (his code name is The Jerk) and an ending that makes us wonder if we will be seeing JJ again.

 

 

Timshel by Lillian Turner

Title: Timshel

Author: Lillian Turner

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Length: Novel (265pgs)

Publisher: Etopia Press (20th April 2012)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: To love is to heal…

The Cursed Ones. As the sheltered youngest son of a healer, Eiland of Summerton has heard of them all his life, the miserable creatures who share the great sickness brought down by the wrath of the gods. Yet unlike any of the illnesses Eiland’s father treats in the village, this one is not passed by touch or cough or poison. It’s given by the Cursed Ones. All it takes is three small words: I curse you.

It never occurred to Eiland that a Cursed One could be young. Or handsome. Until he meets Charon, a wandering outcast who bears the Curse. One stolen kiss changes everything for Eiland and sends the two young men on a dangerous journey that neither can hope to survive–unless they set aside their differences and give in to forbidden love…

Purchase Link: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-timshel-781443-143.html

Review: Eiland is a sheltered 17-year-old. He has never seen outside of his village and has only heard stories of the outside world. When he comes across another boy in the orchard, a stranger, he never realized that his life was going to change forever. Charon is a Cursed One. He is only sixteen. He has come in search of a healer who could help him. When he comes across Eiland, he is drawn to him, but he is Cursed and he can’t get his hopes up. But, Eiland knows much about healing, and Charon takes him on a journey that teaches them both the world.

This is a great YA story that takes two young adults on a journey that neither will forget. Eiland doesn’t realize that the boy he meets in the orchard is a Cursed One and treats him like he would anyone else. This bit of kindness will change his life forever. When Charon wants Eiland to come with him to show him how to make the salve that will help him, Eiland knows he doesn’t really have a choice. What a Cursed One wants a Cursed One gets. On the journey, Eiland realizes a lot about people, himself and the way of the world.  He sees, also, first-hand what a Cursed One goes through, and he begins to understand why Charon is the way he is and does the things he does.

I enjoyed this story. it didn’t just take us to a new world, it showed us the world and the people in it from the unique eyes of a young man who had always saw his world only one way. This story is all from Eiland’s POV, so you get a large selection of emotions that he goes through on his journey, fear, anger, sympathy, hope, happiness, loneliness and understanding. Charon, your heart will break for, he lives with The Curse every day and his story is a very sad one, being cursed at a young age for a simple mistake.

I must admit to wanting to know more about The Curse. Although we are given a vague idea about it, you don’t get a real understanding about it. It leaves you with many questions about it. This story is really well written and flows well. Eiland and Charon are two very interesting characters and although they do exchange kisses that is about the extent of the romance, although Charon is very interested Eiland is unsure. I don’t know what Timshel means or why the book is called that, it is never mentioned once and I would love to know where the title came from.

I will recommend this to those who love fantasy, Young Adult, unsure feelings, being torn with what you want and two young men who have a difficult time of it.

Nathaniel by Dianne Hartsock

Title: Nathaniel

Author: Dianne Hartsock

Genre: Fantasy

Length: Novella (101pgs)

Publisher: Etopia Press (2nd March 2012)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Only true love or magic could make the sex burn so hot…

From the moment Taden rescues Nathaniel from the Sutherlin soldiers’ torture, he finds himself caught in the gaze of the most beautiful eyes he’s ever seen; amazing eyes that hold him thrilled and confused. The Sutherlins are planning to invade the beautiful Tahon Valley, but as Taden secrets Nathaniel from their reach, he finds himself drawn to the young man. Not only does he feel the urge to protect him, but he feels an ache he hasn’t felt in many long years.

Nathaniel claims to be a traveler from a distant continent, saying he comes in peace. True or not, the youth has powers beyond anything Taden has seen—control over men and animals and the very weather. Taden falls hard for the strange traveler, protecting him not only from the Sutherlins but from his own mistrustful people, who don’t understand Nathaniel’s powers and accuse him of being a witch…

Purchase Link: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nathaniel-739041-143.html

Review: Taden is a lord who rescues a young man from enemy soldiers; he realizes later that the man has magic, which puts the man in danger in his land.  But, the man is running from someone from his own land, who has paid the Sutherlin soldiers to capture him. Nathaniel is trying to get himself and his friend to safety, but can’t seem to escape, when Taden offers his help he begrudgingly accepts, but nothing goes well.

This is quite a well written little fantasy. Nathaniel is running from something in his past and his best friend Miranda has run with him, as she can help to keep him balanced. Taden runs across Nathaniel and rescues him and offers him help. This is a story that should have been very good or even great, but for me lacked reason. Reason? You ask. Yes, reason, I say.  (lol I’m going insane).  you see, as this book progresses, even though the descriptions are fantastic and the plot good the execution failed a bit for me, as we have people following others blindly for no reason and accepting capture and falling instantly in love and then we get implausible reasons as to why they are running in the first place and why they are being chased… it was as though the author couldn’t quite make up her mind about what the story-line was.

Want me to explain. Well, here goes. Nathaniel has killed someone by setting them on fire, because they were touching Miranda. Nathaniel runs and Miranda goes with… they end up in Taden’s land and Nathaniel hides Miranda before the soldiers capture them.  Why do the soldiers want them? Well, because Nathaniel’s cousin wants Miranda (who left with Nathaniel because he is unstable and she keeps him calm). So, the cousin sets soldiers on them. Taden enters and Nathaniel takes advantage of the fact that the man fancies him. After Nathaniel and Miranda have fled, Taden for some reason goes with the cousin to find them.  Sorry, but there is just too much going on for a novella. If it was a novel and had another hundred or so pages then it would have been more spread out and we could have made some sense out of some of the actions.

So other than that it is an interesting story, but just too much so I couldn’t enjoy it at all. There were also some places where more detail would have been welcome; background on Nathaniel’s land and people, why Taden’s people feared Nathaniel’s, why were Taden’s people at war with the Sutherlin’s… those are details that I wanted, not too much going on with the characters.

I will recommend this to those who love fantasy, hot sex, an interesting story-line and lots going on with action.

 

 

Bedevil by Kiran Hunter

Title: Bedevil

Author: Kiran Hunter

Genre: Paranormal

Length: Short (57pgs)

Publisher: Etopia Press (11th November 2011)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 ½Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: A dream inheritance. A dark legacy. A new beginning.

We all have demons. They can be ignored, but they’ll surface eventually. Once they are out in the open should they be destroyed or tamed? Or perhaps they should be allowed free rein.

Harbinger House has a dark past. Shrouded in mystery, only rumors of what may have occurred inside its walls are left to fuel the local’s gossip. When Gareth Balaam inherits the house from a long lost relative he thinks his problems have ended. But it’s just the beginning. His partner, Tim, thinks the house is haunted. Gareth doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he does believe Tim is using the house as an excuse to not work on their relationship. Tensions rise as Gareth resents Tim for making him give up his lifestyle, and Tim feels Gareth doesn’t take him seriously. All the time they are being watched…

Luka is lonely and bored. Confined to the shadows of the house for decades, he has driven all the previous occupants insane with lust. Except the last. The one man Luka had loved had broken his heart and had left rather than lose his mind. The house stood empty, and Luka was alone. But not anymore. There’s life in the house again, two delicious lovers, two new humans to seduce. Except one refuses to play…

Purchase Link: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-bedevil-638236-140.html

Review: This is Kiran Hunter’s debut story and after reading this story I think I may just start author hunting (and they are in my neck of the woods bwahhahaha).

Gareth and Tim are moving into a house that Gareth has inherited.  It’s tucked away in a little village and Gareth thinks it’s the perfect place to show Tim he is serious about him.  After all, there is no temptation, no nightclubs and no men to cheat with. Tim doesn’t really want to be there.  He is having difficulty trusting Gareth and finds it very hard to believe a word he says.  He also feels that the house is haunted and really wants to leave. Luka is all alone when the two new men move in and he has hopes that that will change, but his presence spooks Tim.

I think that this story is well-written, well-plotted, has a good story-line and more than anything else it’s a teaser. It teases us with Gareth’s infidelity, it teases us with Tim’s difficulty to forgive, it teases us with Luka’s presence and it teases us with the mysterious old man in the pub. What we have here is a build-up of a spooky paranormal and I really can’t predict which way it’s going to go in the next book (oh yes I checked).  Will it tip towards a romance? Or towards horror? It has the potential to go either way and I have a feeling that no matter which way it goes it will be great.

Bondi Beach Boys by Rhian Cahill

Title: Bondi Beach Boys

Author: Rhian Cahill

Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Etopia Press (May 6, 2011)

ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-936751-29-7

Length: Novella

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥2.5Hearts

Reviewer: Artemis

From the Publisher:   What’s a girl to do with two sexy Aussie surfers? Ride the waves, of course…

After weeks of lusting over a couple of hot surfers, Piper Doyle has the opportunity to turn fantasy into reality. There’s just one problem—they’re her new clients. When the men offer a no-strings-attached affair, Piper has a decision to make, one her body made for her weeks ago when she first started watching “her boys.” She can’t risk the job that could make or break her career, but she sure as hell isn’t going to pass up this chance to live out her wildest dreams…

Sam Bridges and Nate Russo share everything, from their home to their business to the occasional woman. Even themselves. But they’ve never shared what they feel for Piper. What starts out as hot sex with a willing woman turns into something none of them expected—but what’s wrong with a few strings on a hot summer day at the beach…

About the Author:   Years of slavery to four young aliens and their sire failed to squash the love of writing or reading hiding behind the facade of a boring stay-at-home mum. Escaping from the mother-ship with vivid imagination intact, Rhian uses her superpowers for good.

Okay, so that’s not quite how it happened. Married to her very own hero for over 20 years and raising a family of four kept writing on the back burner but with more time to spend on the things she loves most, Mr. Muse and Rhian have taken over.

Writing a multiple of genres keeps life interesting and busy. Rhian can be found in numerous places online where her love of talking is well satisfied. An Aussie, who’s spent years living overseas, Rhian and family are now happily residing back in their native land of down under.

My Review:   This book started off on a very positive note. I could really imagine that I was sitting beach side and watching the waves, enjoying a fruity beverage, and ogling the sexy scenery as it walked by! As each character was introduced, they seemed very charismatic and I really wanted to get to know them all a little bit better.

What really bugged me was that by page 15 we have our 2 main male characters having sex. I am all for M/M sex but I like to get to know the characters in a book before they start fooling around…the buildup, the tension, the sexual frustration all makes that first sex scene something worth waiting for.

Soon after the rushed sex scene we had another one of my personal dislikes…a fainting female. Just the mere site of her object of desire causes Piper to faint right there on the porch step? Maybe it’s just me but I like my women with a little bit more backbone than that!

The story line itself was promising. Up and coming web designer gets hired by 2 cute male business partners who happen to enjoy each other’s company as much as that of a woman. I think more time should have been spent developing the story and really creating the characters. With the descriptive and smooth writing style that Ms. Cahill has, I think she could have really weaved a bit more story into the sex that is so predominant in this book.