Between the Frescoes by Kay Berrisford

kb_betweenthefrescoesTitle: Between the Frescoes

Series: N/A

Author:  Kay Berrisford

Genre:  Contemporary

Length:  149 pages

Publisher:  Loose Id (September 9th, 2014)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥4.5 Hearts

Blurb: UK grad student Mark is taking a huge step in his life. After years of suffering from anxiety and depression, he’s summoned the courage to travel to Florence and give his first public lecture. Distraction from his nerves comes in the unexpected form of Doug, an American guy who sweeps him up into a whirlwind romance on the journey to Italy. But after a scorching one-night stand, Mark discovers Doug is not just a fellow student, but a fierce rival, and everything falls apart.

Doug is studying in Europe, but his commitments are back on the other side of the Atlantic. He’s attracted to Mark yet soon decides Mark’s hang-ups and competitiveness are more than he can handle. The idea of a holiday fling sours further when he hears his younger brother has gone missing. He just wants to get home to Minnesota and be with his mom.

But the magic of Italy keeps pulling Mark and Doug back together. As the passion between them rises, they must find a way to put aside their enmity and help each other through their troubles —a difficult journey, even in the most romantic city in the world.

ISBN:  9781623004958

Product Link: http://www.loose-id.com/between-the-frescoes.html

Reviewer:  Kenna

Review:  I enjoyed the hell out of this book.  The blurb was intriguing to me.  I love the whole enemies to lovers trope.  I also love stories that are short, sweet, and to the point.  Boy meets boy.  Boy likes boy.  Boy and boy get hot and heavy.  Boy has issues with boy.  Boy and Boy make up.  So, “Between the Frescoes” made me a very happy woman.

The summary is pretty simple.  Two men meet in an airport and discover they’re heading to the same conference in Italy.  Mark has been holed up doing nothing but pursuing his advanced education.  He’s written a paper about his research he’s quite proud of.

One of the reasons he’s closed himself off from the world is his depression, anxiety, and sadness over a humiliating review of his work several years back.  He bears a hatred of this man, but he’s decided it’s time to get out in the world. Doug is heading to Italy to present a paper about HIS work as well.  He feels an instant connection with Mark, just as Mark felt connected with him.

They get to know each other a bit on the long flight, and by the time they get to Italy, Mark has offered to let Doug stay in the apartment he’s rented because Doug will be too late to get to his hotel.

The story really takes off from there.  Mark and Doug are SO hot together.  Their first makeout session was fantastic, and it only get better from there.  Yes, there was the inevitable conflict, but the resolution came about quickly enough I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the angst.  The background characters were well written and contributed to the book, rather than detract from it.

The bad guys were sufficiently bad, and the good guys (or girls) were awesome.  Other than Mark and Doug, the best character was Italy itself.  It’s obvious Kay Berrisford has been there herself, or at least done a LOT of research.  Her descriptions of the locations were vibrant and detailed.  I could close my eyes, and I could “see” in my mind what was happening.

All in all, this is an excellent read.  As I mentioned, it was short and sweet.  I read it in a little over and hour, and I was very satisfied with it.

I highly recommend you pick this one up.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

Bad Slave by Kay Berrisford

20526359Title: Bad Slave

Author: Kay Berrisford

Genre: Fantasy, BDSM

Length: Novel (189pgs)

ISNB: 978-1-62300-690-7  

Publisher: Loose Id (28th January 2014)

Heat Level: Moderate – Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3 ½ – 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: When the king commands former war hero Captain Jay Ghair to find him the perfect royal sex slave, Jay’s quiet new life, as a librarian is shattered. Jay discovers the boy he’s looking for in Alix, a lowly miner and wannabe court scientist, whom Jay can’t help but secretly adore. However, teaching the rebellious Alix to be a docile slave is difficult. Alix will behave for just one man, and it isn’t the king. It’s Jay.

Standing by while the king’s treatment of Alix becomes cruel is torturous for Jay. He longs to return to his library, yet he can’t bear to leave Alix, or his people, unprotected. To rescue Alix—and save the realm from the increasingly tyrannical king—Jay must confront the demons of his military past and take up the sword again. But his most important battle must be won through returning Alix’s love and learning to master this bad slave who submits only for him.

Purchase Link: http://www.loose-id.com/bad-slave.html

Review: Since the end of the war ten years ago, Captain Jay Ghair has lived the quiet life as a librarian in a quiet town, but his quiet life is shattered when he receives a summons from the king and discovers he is being tasked to find the king a new sex slave. Disgusted, Jay sets out to find the king a new slave and discovers him in a man about to be lynched, but getting Alix trained isn’t easy when the only man he will respond to and obey is Jay. While the despot king’s behavior becomes more erratic Jay has to stand by and watch as Alix is treated like an object and treated cruelly, but when the behavior of the king puts the people and the kingdom at risk Jay has to face his demons and also accept his feelings for Alix, the bad slave.

Hmmmm fantasy, a kingdom at risk, a cheeky bad slave and a reluctant war hero, mix them together, throw in a dash of BDSM and we get a wonderful story that has you hooked. Jay is a man of high principles, after retiring he has settled into a quiet life but when he is dragged back to the capital, he is disgusted by what he finds. Having no choice but do as his king bids Jay does his best, but as he grows closer to Alix, the thoughts running through his head would have him killed. Alix is a miner when one of his experiments goes wrong and he is rescued by Jay, he jumps at the chance to serve the king, Alix sees it as a way to get patronage for his scientific experiments but it isn’t long before he realizes he would much prefer to serve Jay.

Well, I have to tell you that Alix in no way comes across as a submissive of any kind, until he is under the gaze of Jay and then he turns into an eager student but only for Jay. When we first meet Alix he is a wily young man who will risk his life for his experiments, so when he eagerly accepts the role of sex slave to the king you aren’t really surprised, especially with all his thoughts focusing on worming his way into a patronage. But, Alix soon learns that a king who is focused only on his own pleasure will never see him as anything but a plaything. Jay does his best with Alix but a twisted king is far from easy to please. Alix and Jay’s relationship is one of instant attraction on both sides but neither man thinks there could be anything more for them, so don’t be surprised if the gushing of feelings doesn’t happen until near the end of the book.

I have to admit to really liking the action in this story but I was also drawn to the tension between Alix and Jay, them having to hide their feelings from the king so he couldn’t exploit it but them also hiding them from each other as well. This is a very good story where there is also concern about an outcry from the people as the king’s tyrannical behavior pushes them too far, but the kings’ solution places everyone in danger and it is our quite Captain who has to save the kingdom again. Perfectly written, nicely timed, and paced with some angst and danger but with some beautiful D/s moments. And yes, there are some sever punishments from the king that while shrouded by BDSM is actually twisted torture.

I recommend this to those who love medieval type fantasy, delicious D/s, brutal BDSM, a great storyline, a hot hero and an ex-miner finding love… oh and rescuing a kingdom!  

Locking Horns by Kay Berrisford

kb_lockinghorns_coverinTitle: Locking Horns

Series: The Greenwood 04

Author: Kay Berrisford

Genre: Historical (1804), Paranormal

Length: Novella (79pgs)

Publisher: Loose Id (25th June 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 ½ Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: England, 1804. Herne the Hunter has roamed the forests for hundreds of years and he’s known love with fellow half stag-shifter Tam for the past two centuries. The passion between them sizzles hot as ever, but times are changing. Greenwood magic is fading—threatening both Herne and Tam’s immortality and the bond between them.

After Herne discovers the Greenwood fairies are dying—and dockworkers felling oaks to build warships might be to blame—he wants to fight the modern world with his warrior’s sword. Tam, who embraces all things new, desires a dominant partner, not a brute who wants to drag England back to the Dark Ages. Soon the Wild Hunt—Herne’s ancient army of doom—are back, tempting him to unleash his wrath, and the rhythm of Herne and Tam’s lovemaking seems broken for good. When Tam’s plan to reinstate a spring ritual goes awry, only Herne can save him. Herne must choose between his past and future, and they both must decide what matters most—eternal life or eternal love.

Purchase Link: http://www.loose-id.com/the-greenwood-locking-horns.html

Review: This novella can be read as a sequel to Bound to the Beast, a prequel to Bound for the Forest, or an introduction to the Greenwood series. Herne the Hunter is returning to the Greenwood with his demispirit lover, Tam, after an absence of a hundred years and discovers that the magic of The Greenwood is fading and the oaks are being felled to build warships. Their passionate lovemaking is thrown off rhythm as disquiet threads through both of them. Herne and Tam clash horns as Herne is tempted to call The Wild Hunt and Tam wants to reinstate a spring ritual to save Greenwood and the fairies. When Tam misjudges in his plan, Herne will have to resist the call to hunt and listen to his love to reclaim his demispirit.

Ahhh, Herne and Tam return to us in a fantastic addition to The Greenwood series, Herne that big sexy brute and Tam the sexy lithe temptation crossing horns as they both react to the destruction of the oaks and the fading fairies. Herne doesn’t want to embrace the present or the future like Tam does, he prefers the long distant past. All Herne sees in this time are the land-grabbing people who are destroying the forests and he is finding it hard to resist the pull of the Wild Hunt. Tam embraces each passing age and he welcomes the changes, he can see why the forests are being sacrificed and thinks there might be another reason why the fairy folk are fading. Tam is hurt and shocked that Herne is even thinking about calling the hunt and challenges Herne, Tam might like to be dominated by Herne, but he wants no part of a brute who would call the Wild Hunt.

I really did enjoy this story with the history being woven with myth once again. There is a threat from the French and good oak is required to build the warships. The fairy folk are fading because people no longer believe in the old ways. Herne and Tam return to the devastation of the Greenwood and they both have different ways they want to fix it, Herne wants to go in and wreak havoc on the shipbuilders and Tam wants to remind the villagers of the old celebrations. As they both have different ideas, on a solution they clash, Tam endangers himself, and Herne has to rethink his temptation of the hunt to save Tam.

The conflict between Tam and Herne radiates from the pages, they adore each other, but the state of the Greenwood has them conflicted. These two characters are incredibly passionate and it reflects in how they react to the threat of the Greenwood and the fairies, they are explosive together especially when they play with a ribbon *fans self*.

I have to recommend this if you love slight kink and D/s, myths and legends, sexy brutes, a hot lithe beauty, a gruesome Wild Hunt, fairies, explosive sex and a happy ending.  

Lord of the Forest by Kay Berrisford

Lord of the Forest - Kay BerrisfordTitle: Lord of the Forest

Series: The Greenwood 03

Author: Kay Berrisford

Genre: Historical (1217), Fantasy

Length: Novel (200pgs)

Publisher: Loose Id (9th April 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: England, 1217. Dark forces are rising. In the Greenwood, foul spirits grow powerful, and greedy barons plunder the lands. Only one man dares fight back–Robin Hood.

Robin’s band of brothers is broken. Now a lone warrior, he denies his famous name and laments the friends and lovers he’s lost. When the fair folk capture Cal, a beautiful young forester descended from the Greenwood’s ancient protectors, Robin rescues him and forges a new alliance.

Despite a sizzling attraction, Robin senses Cal isn’t like his old comrades, and he’s right. Cal’s been raised as a royal spy. He plans to seduce and betray Robin, but can’t harm the man he’s falling hard for. Mistrust and arguments spill into passionate lovemaking, as Cal learns the meaning of loyalty, fighting beside Robin, the only friend he’s ever known. Even the enchanted forest seeks to bind Robin and the returned protector ever tighter.

Their connection will be tested by nature’s wildest forces, Robin’s past, Cal’s lies, and in a baron’s darkest dungeon. To survive, Robin and Cal must admit their love and embrace their true destinies. Only then can they save England and each other–and win their happiness ever after.

Purchase Link: http://www.loose-id.com/newest/current-month/the-greenwood-3-lord-of-the-forest.html

Review: This book is part of a series, but can be read in any order. Robin Hood’s friends are all gone now, dead or starting families. All alone, he now wanders no longer with a focus. Entering the Greenwood, he just might find a new destiny at hand. Cal is a royal spy, trained to use anything at his disposal to ferret out the secrets of the Barons. From a young age, his mother warned him about the Greenwood and the warnings were dire. Now, trying to find a new secret leads him into the Greenwood and to Robin Hood. But, the fair folk are not happy to see him and his deceit and lies come back to haunt him. Robin knows that Cal might betray him, but fighting and loving together brings trust. Until outside forces seek to rip them apart and they have no choice, but to trust in each other if they are to survive.

Although this story is marked BDSM & Fetish there is no real BDSM or Fetish in this story. I think they have labeled it so because there is some fantasy tree sex (it is the Greenwood), a bit of spanking and a bit of a torture scene (involving whips). Robin Hood is alone and lonely.  His entire old band has gone. Finding himself in the Greenwood has him meeting folktales, an old enemy and a young man he shouldn’t trust. Cal’s mother fled the Greenwood when her lands were seized. She warns Cal never to go to the Greenwood, but an assignment forces him to and the fair folk have no forgiveness for traitors. Sometimes nature can be at odds with itself and can be less than forgiving. As Robin and Cal struggle to find their footing in the situation, their love grows. But, can they overcome lies, deceit and their pasts to embrace their true destinies?

Ah. The Greenwood that fantasy forest of the Green Man, Wild Men, Niogaerst, fairy Queen (Elfaene), Herne the Hunter and the water spirit, Sulis. We are pulled into a wonderful new story that combines fantasy with history, myths with facts, and legends with historical figures. combining everything together to give us a new spectacular Greenwood story. Robin Hood, one of the greatest English legends of all time, Cal a royal spy in the employ of William Marshal the Regent and Baron Odo, Robin’s greatest enemy and a thorn in the crowns side, put them all together and we have loyalties shifting, doubts played upon, lies and manipulation, greed, need, betrayal, lust and love. Robin and Cal make surprising discoveries and it is far from easy for both these characters as they make decisions that could drive them apart.

I will recommend this story to those that love history mixed with their fantasy, who love folklore and legends, hot sex and a happily ever after.  

 

 

Catching Kit by Kay Berrisford

Title: Catching Kit

Author: Kay Berrisford

Genre: Paranormal

Length: Novella (120pgs)

Publisher: Loose Id (24th July 2012)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3 ½Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: He was supposed to trap him, not fall in love.

When government agent and Ethereal Being hunter, Denny, has to imprison an elf in his garage overnight, his life spins out of control. Caught and cuffed on the London Underground, Kit shatters everything Denny’s been taught about elves. How can Kit be a dangerous, mind-reading cipher who preys on human emotions? Kit’s gorgeous and funny, and he’s got a cute arse. He even shares Denny’s quiet kinks for bondage and cross-dressing. Or so Kit claims.

When Kit wiles his way into Denny’s house for a session of mind-blowing sex, the elf seems too good to be true–until reality strikes. Denny’s fucked an elf. A prisoner in his charge. If he doesn’t take Kit to the containment depot he’s in big trouble, and Kit’s about to drop an equally devastating bombshell.  The elf’s been searching a thousand years for a bloke like Denny. He ‘gets’ Denny’s kinks, adores role play and women’s panties, and now he needs Denny’s love to survive.

Is Kit preying on Denny’s emotions, or can Denny trust him? If so, dare Denny break the law and gamble his life to save the Ethereal Being in his bed?

Purchase Link: http://www.loose-id.com/catching-kit/

Review: Denny is a hunter, an Ethereal Being (Elves) Hunter. It is his job to round up the EB parasites before they bleed the emotions from humans. But, when he catches one on the London Underground he discovers that the EBs might not be the dangerous beings that he has been led to believe. He falls rapidly for the cute elf Kit. But, what is he supposed to do now? The Being he has fallen for is supposed to be a danger to humans and there is no way the government is going to let them be.

This is a great novella that shows us a different take on Elves, and the view that humans have on them. Denny is just doing his job, but when he comes across Kit the last thing he wants is to do his job. In fact, he has to resist the temptation that the elf poses, but it is a losing battle. Especially, when he discovers that they share a love of women’s underwear and slightly kinky sex. All Kit wants is for someone to love, and not to fade. He thinks he has found that with Denny, but he has to convince the sexy hunter not to take him in.

Kit and Denny come together very quickly and the main story is spanned out over just a couple of days. It is an interesting story-line and could have been fleshed out quite a bit more. I wanted to know more about the elves and how they came to be, it was very vague. The humans way of dealing with them was, well, to be expected really, but again, I would have liked to know more about exactly what they do and why. Denny’s background was interesting and I liked that it seemed to be quite involved with his decisions.

Denny and Kit were hot and sexy together and I must admit I do like a man who wears women’s underwear. The slinkier the better. And, I really liked that Kay Berrisford had a man’s man wearing them, as it hits closer to reality then it always being slinky, feminine men wearing them. The epilogue was interesting and I would love to actually read a story based on it and the struggles they faced in being together and campaigning against the government for EB rights.

So, I will recommend this to those who love the paranormal, elves, secret government agencies, hot sex, a touch of kinky sex, hot men in women’s underwear and a very happy ending.

 

 

Bound for the Forest by Kay Berrisford

Title: Bound For the Forest

Author: Kay Berrisford

Genre: Historical (1817), Fantasy/Paranormal, BDSM

Length: Novel (218 pgs.)

Publisher: Loose Id (13th September 2011)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer:  Pixie

Blurb: England, 1817. Ex-soldier Melmoth Brien returns to his ancestral home in the ancient Greenwood, intending to retrieve his family’s valuables and get the hell out of there. When he’s beaten to it by Scarlet, a young woodsman turned thief, Brien overpowers him and ties him up, demanding he help get the family fortune back by leading him deep into the forest. The flash of sexual fire between them is undeniable, but a force more powerful than rivalry or lust is ratcheting up the tension.

Brien’s family are Protectors of the Greenwood, a responsibility he has discarded like every other in his life. To Scarlet, whose very life-force is bound to the Greenwood, this makes Brien a traitor. He would use anything, even his body, to drive him away. After all, a traitor may stir the fouler Spirits, who will demand blood. And Scarlet knows he is marked for sacrifice…

Lured ever deeper into a realm of ritualized sex and magic, bondage and blood, the fighting gives way to rampant lovemaking, but Scarlet needs more than just sex to survive. Can Brien admit his identity as a Protector and bind his underling forever, or will the Greenwood Spirits enslave them both?

Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: BDSM theme and elements, dubious consent, ritualistic sexual practices, ritualistic impalement, sex in partly shifted tree form, violence, and voyeurism.

Review: Melmoth Brien wants just one thing and that’s his family’s hidden treasures so he can pay his debts off before he is dragged to the debtor’s prison.  His plans go awry though when he comes across a young woodsman about to set fire to his old family home. Scarlet has to drive out the intruders before they damage the forest but he never expected Melmoth to appear and ruin his plans.  Now he needs to get rid of Melmoth as he is a faederswica (a traitor) before the bad spirits take over.

This has some fantastic world building and really draws you in to their world.   The characters are well written and interesting and the basis for the Greenwood Lore and its protectors is a good concept. Melmoth is a strong hardy man who has a wanderer’s heart.   He can’t settle anywhere and I think the explanation for this was good.   Scarlet is a strong but submissive man, he will stand up for what he believes in and won’t take any crap from Melmoth.   He also knows that even though he longs for Melmoth, Melmoth will leave and Scarlet has to stay. The conflict between them is good, they don’t have it easy and they both try to fight the attraction and that attraction is scorching.

The sex is hot between the MCs and you can see how their feelings change throughout the book.   There is a slight BDSM theme and the scenes are light BDSM which is worked in quite well.   There are also some scenes that are slightly disturbing that include Scarlet with the Green Man and then the Wild Things.

So I recommend this if you like fantasy/paranormal, light BDSM, hot sex, a sexy lithe man and a hunky ex-captain.