Tag: Xcite Press

His by Elizabeth Coldwell

Note:  Review copy of this ebook was provided by the publisher.

Title: HIS

Author: Elizabeth Coldwell

Genre: BDSM

Length: Novella (61pgs)

Publisher: Accent Press Ltd & Xcite Ebooks Ltd (18th Jan 2011)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥1Heart

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: When Sean Bradley gets an invitation to Dante’s, the most exclusive gay club in town, he doesn’t realize it will change his life forever. This is no ordinary club, and its world of decadent delights is designed to pair wealthy dominant men with cute young submissives. The club’s owner, Dante Capello, is immediately taken with Sean, and sets about leading him into a world of BDSM pleasures, where he will learn how to receive the strictest of punishments and obey without question. But though Dante is a demanding master, he has a reputation for keeping his emotional distance from the boys who submit to him and discarding them after a weekend in his servitude. How far is Sean prepared to go to truly become his?

Warning: This book contains sexual practices that some people may find offensive. Humiliation, unsafe sex, voyeurism etc.

Review: Ok, I have read a lot of BDSM and D/s books and I have never found them offensive, but this book I was disgusted with.

Sean is a relatively innocent young man.   He’s dared one weekend, by his flatmate, to go to a club and that’s when his life changes forever.

The story is quite smooth and moves quickly, Dante was the perfect image for a Dom/Master but his practice was all wrong for a sub/slave that was new to the scene.  No matter what, any Dom/Master or sub/slave has to play safe especially if you have never played with them before; the Safe word is there for a reason.  Sean is a perfect sub/slave but everyone knows that a sub/slave has to find their own level slowly.  the author paid lip service to this then ignored it.

This is the type of story that gives BDSM a bad name.  An innocent walks in off the street and the Dom swoops down, snatches him up, and gives him no choices.   Doesn’t explain what he wants or expects, then proceeds to humiliate him and then throws him away. Yeah, really feeling the love. I don’t know where you did your research, Ms Coldwell, but all those that I know that are into the scene would kick this Dom to the curb and he would be banned from any reputable club. And as for the unsafe sex in the club, do you really think that by saying they get tested monthly is going to make them safe? Geeze, they could be having sex with people not connected to the club, bring a disease in and infect everyone before the next monthly test. Do not even get me started on the naked men being paid to fight and the loser being f***** by the winner.

I would recommend this to people who like the kind of things described above, if you don’t like any of the above then steer clear.

The Egyptian Slave by Alcamia Payne

Title: The Egyptian Slave

Author: Alcamia Payne

Publisher: Xcite Books (January 30, 2011)

ISBN: ISBN: 9781908086402

Genre: Historical (ancient Egypt)

Length: 5000 words

Heat level: Moderate

My Rating:  ♥♥♥♥3 1/2Hearts

Reviewer: Artemis

From the Publisher:  Mem, favorite of the pharaoh, has one problem; he seems to have lost his mojo. One day, he gives in to impetuosity and buys a new slave girl, Toomela at the slave market. For some reason boyish Toomela excites Mem, but he can’t think why, especially since she seems to irritate him. However, when Mem decides to indulge himself with the girl he gets more than he bargains for, as Toomela exposes her dark and erotic soul and turns out to be a boy. It seems at last, Mem has found the answer to all of his sexual fantasies.

About the Author:  I can’t imagine not being an author, since I grew up around books and come from a long line of self-confessed book addicts. I actually started writing the moment I could pick up a pen and quickly won numerous small competitions for creative writing which involved flights of fancy and fantasy. After university I did a number of stimulating jobs in translating, medicine, teaching and later as a metaphysician. Always though, I was the frustrated writer and spent all of my spare time scribbling away. I eventually gave vent to my creative passions by writing for the romance and science fiction markets.

My Review:  This was my first experience with a short story so I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of character development and plot. The premise of the story is simple…Mem (a very important man in this ancient Egyptian society) is in an extremely bad mood because he has lost all interest in sex. As a very virile, handsome, and important member of society he USED to bed every slave girl possible but none of them stir his passions at all anymore. He seeks the council of the Pharaoh, physicians, astrologers and the great seer Oba. Mem doesn’t understand why the little slave girl Toomela seems to stir such interest in him. She has no hips, no girlish figure, and is rather impudent!

When Mem decides that Toomela needs a little bit of training on how to be an obedient slave girl, his libido comes back in full force. A little bit of time helping him bath and relax with a massage has Mem ready to believe that his problem is solved. Toomela keeps it hidden quite a while into their sex play before it is finally revealed that SHE is actually a HE and Mem is thrilled with the discovery!

This is a very short story so there really isn’t enough time to develop a plot but the characters are quite enjoyable and the writing is descriptive. I could definitely see a longer story based on this one with some sort of plot twist to liven it up a bit.

There is some light dominant/submissive play and despite the short acquaintance that Mem and Toomela have there seems to be some genuine caring and tender feelings between the two in the end. Overall a very quick read (19 page…under 30 minutes of reading time) but an enjoyable one.

Ferryman by Sommer Marsden

Title: Ferryman

Author: Sommer Marsden

Genre: Erotica

Length: Novella (65pgs)

Publisher: Accent Press Ltd & Xcite Books (22nd November 2010)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating:   ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Some MMF scenes, voyeurism and some D/s gone wrong.

Blurb: Charon’s only job is to make another man happy. No matter what. Even if the demands of his rock star boss twists his heart until he admits to himself exactly what he wants, Graham for his own. Against all odds.

Review: Graham is a problem rock star, he signed a contract and now he has to hide who he is and do what they want. Charon has been hired by the record company to watch over Graham and he finds it torturous within the space of a few hours.

I found the interaction between these two quite good, Graham living his life in confines but breaking out in his own way and Charon who lives a very straight-laced life repenting against an incident in his past. There are some sex scenes involving Graham and other’s but these are because he is trying to provoke Charon. All the sex is hot and one in particular that lands Charon running to the rescue.

These two damaged souls come together and start to heal each other in a way, and Charon’s story is touching.

So what would I recommend … I think that if you like hot sex, touching truths and a bit of a bad boy then you will enjoy this.

Portia’s two cents:  I found this book to be a breath of fresh air.  I kept getting little rushes when one of the guys would make another step towards emotional wholeness.  This could have ended up a really sappy read; instead it had just enough angst to keep me interested without feeling like I’d fallen into a Lifetime movie.

Marsden is a mistress of the novella format.  This story definitely has a beginning, middle, and ending.  The characters are realistic and the dialogue is top-notch.  Loved the way each man was a catalyst for the other, without taking over and setting up a co-dependent duo.  Each had issues that they had to deal with and I think she revealed their flaws and strengths brilliantly.  A very satisfying read, which I wholeheartedly recommend.

 

Riden Hard by Elizabeth Coldwell

Title: Ridden Hard
 
Author: Elizabeth Coldwell
 
Genre: BDSM/Contemporary
 
Length: Novella (65pgs)
 
Publisher: Accent Press Ltd & Xcite Press Ltd (12th March 2011)
 
Heat Level: Explicit
 
Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥ 3 1/2Hearts
 
Reviewer: Pixie
Caution: This book may contain scenes that offend readers Voyeurism and slight humiliation.
 
Blurb: Jamie Desmond has lied about his ability to ride to land a film role, and now his lack of horsemanship has been exposed he’s scared he’ll be kicked off the set. Luckily, riding instructor Andrej is on hand to give him tuition – but dominant Andrej recognises Jamie’s latent need to submit, and his lessons are about to show Jamie what it means to be ridden hard …
 
Review: I actually quite liked this book there were a few things that niggled but otherwise it was a good story.
Jamie Desmond lied on his resume and now he’s landed a role where he will have to ride, Andrej is the handler for the horses and he discovers the truth and decides that Jamie will just have to learn. Andrej takes Jamie in hand and shows him exactly what he can do.
The story is interesting and it could have been longer as the two main characters didn’t interact that much besides the riding lessons and sex, so I was a bit disappointed when they declared their love for each other as they didn’t know anything about each other. Again I was not impressed with someone being thrown into BDSM without a safety net and again with the unsafe sex.
But saying that, I would recommend this book for those who like BDSM, D/s, hot sex and a happy ever after.