Lisabet Sarai

I became addicted to words at an early age. I began reading when I was four. I wrote my first story at five years old and my first poem at seven. Since then, I have written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – more than fifty single author titles including eight full length novels, plus dozens of short stories in various collections. My credits include contributions to the Lambda winner Where the Girls Are and the IPPIE Best Erotic Book of 2011, Carnal Machines. My gay scifi erotic romance Quarantine won a Rainbow Awards 2012 Honorable Mention. I have also edited a number of acclaimed erotica anthologies. Currently I am responsible for the charity erotica imprint Coming Together Presents, which as of December 2014 has published six volumes by top erotic authors, supporting causes such as Amnesty International, Planned Parenthood, and the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America.

I have more degrees than anyone would ever need, from prestigious educational institutions who would no doubt be deeply embarrassed by my chosen genre. Aside from writing, travel is one of my most fervent passions. I’ve visited every continent except Australia, though I still have a long bucket list of places I haven’t been. Currently I live in Southeast Asia with my indulgent husband and two exceptional felines, where I pursues an alternative career that is completely unrelated to my creative writing.

For more information about me and my writing, visit my website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com) or my blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com). Join my VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh I also hang out at Goodreads, (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/83387.Lisabet_Sarai) because I love the idea of a social network focusing on the love of reading. I’m not on Facebook, because I don’t trust it.

Website: http://www.lisabetsarai.com
Blog: http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com

http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html

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18th century    a christmas carol    a midsummer nights dream    a streetcar named desire    adventure    age play    aging    alice in wonderland    alien lovers    aliens    alt history    alternative history    amnesty international    amsterdam    anal sex    anal sex training    anonymous sex    anorexia    artificial intelligence    artist    asia    aspergers syndrome    astral travel    authoritarian    bach    baltimore    bangkok    bbw    bdsm    bdsm gay    bdsm initiation    bdsm romance    beethoven    bestseller    big cock    billionaire romance    bisexual    bisexual menage    black cat    black magic    black stud    blizzard    blood sports    blow job    blowjob    bollywood    bondage    bondage and discipline    boston    boy toy    bride    british empire    british india    burma myanmar    california    caning    cello    central park    cherry pie    christmas    christmas romance    classicial music    climate change    coeds    college boys    comedy of errors    compassion    consent    conspiracy    contemporary    cross dressing    crossdressing    cuckold    cunnilingus    curvy    daddy and boy    dalat    devonshire    dildo    diner    dirty politics    disability    dominance    dominance and submission    dominatrix    double penetration    dystopia    earth goddess    electric play    elemental    enemies to lovers    erotic    erotic fantasy    erotic noir    erotic romance    erotic surrender    erotic vampire    erotica    exhibitionism    exotic    exotic dancer    extreme sex    family    fantasy    fated mates    faust    fellatio    femdom    feminist    fetish    ff penetration    fire    firefighter    first time romance    flogging    floggingcaning    foot worship    free    gaia    gang bang    gay    gay anal sex    gay holiday romance    gay romance    gay sex    gender bending    genderbending    ghost    ghost erotica    gilbert and sullivan    gilded age high society    girl on girl    globe theater    gloucester mass    goth    greek heroine    group marriage    group sex    ha long bay    haiti    halloween    halloween bdsm    harem    high school sweetheart    highwayman    hinduism    history    homoerotic sex    homophobia    hong kong    hotwife    incubus    india    interracial    interracial romance    interstellar travel    intimacy    jamaica    jealousy    king george    kink community    kinky    kinky sex    la petite mort    labor activist    las vegas    lesbian    lesbian sex    lgbt    lgbtq    literature    lqbtq romance    magic    magician    maine coast    male egos    marthas vineyard    master and slave    master and sub    menage    menage group sex    metaverse    midsummers night    mile high club    milf erotica    militarism    military    minotaur sex    mistress    mm    mm romance    mmf    mmf romance    movie star    multicultural    murder    murder mystery    musicians    native american    natural power    natural submissive    nature god    nebraska    new england    new york city    newport rhode island    noir fiction    northeaster    nostalgia    older woman younger man    open marriage    operetta    oral sex    orgy    outdoor sex    outlaw    pact with the devil    paranormal    paranormal romance    paranormal shapeshifter    partner swap    pegging    pittsburgh    plague    poetry    polyamory    precognition    prejudice    prostitution    psychic talents    public sex    punishment machines    quabbin valley    quarantine    redcoats    refugee camp    ritual    rock star    role play    romance    romantic erotica    rough sex    ruddigore    rugby    sadistic sorcerer    safeword    sapphic    schizophrenia    sci fi    science    science fiction    scrabble    seacoast    second chance romance    secret agent    seduction    senior romance    senior sex    serial killer    sex    sex in space    sex toys    sexual adventure    sexy siren    shakespeare    shapeshifter    sharing    shibari    silicon valley    slavery    slut erotica    slut girl    snow storm    snowed in    sorceress    soul mate    soul mates    soulmate    space opera    space warp    spanking    spell    stage struck    starving author    steam punk    steampunk    steampunk erotic romance    steamy romance    strapon    strapon dildo    stripper    submission    succubus    succubus sex    summer theater    supernatural    supernatural powers    surrender    switch    taboo    tattoos    technology    telepathy    tentacle sex    testosterone    thai bar girls    thailand    the dakota    theater    therapist    threesome    threesome mmf    transgender    transsexual    travel    vampire    victorian    victorian bdsm    victorian era    victorian pornography    vietnam    virgin sex    virginity    virtual worlds    voyeurism    wedding    werewolf    whipping    white rabbit    wilderness    willing surrender    witch    wwi    zero gravty   

• Stripper or Nurse? on March 23, 2018
  
  Larry Archer’s erotic novel Stripper or Nurse begins with a heart attack. One of the patrons at The Fox’s Den, a high end gentleman’s club just off the Las Vegas strip, gets a bit too excited watching the lovely dancers and keels over. But never fear. All the strippers at the Den are trained in CPR. Dancers Peaches and Monique take turns working on the customer, keeping him alive until the ambulance arrives—though when he regains consciousness to find himself looking up at two gorgeous, naked girls, Tom wonders whether he has died and gone to heaven. Concerned about Tom’s welfare, the two girls visit him at the hospital, only to have a run-in with Tom’s rather conservative wife Suzanne. Both jealous and worried, she blames the strip club for her husband’s condition and verbally shreds the young women who actually saved his life. When Suzanne shows up at the strip club to confront the management, she discovers that that the place is not at all what she’d imagined. Instead of a sleazy establishment that takes advantage of women, objectifying them and forcing them into sex, the Fox’s Den turns out to be classy and relaxed, a haven for exhibitionist gals who love showing off. The sensual, sex-drenched atmosphere almost immediately starts to work its magic on the unsuspecting housewife. Before she knows it, she’s fondling the breasts of the scantily clad club valets, wearing scandalously revealing clothing, masturbating in public, and offering her body to men and women alike. Meanwhile, Tom receives very personal attention from a bevy of horny nurses, as well as Foxy Archer, wife of The Fox’s Den proprietor. Stripper or Nurse features almost non-stop sex, with a lot of girl-on-girl action and swapping of bodily fluids. At the same time, it’s plotted quite tightly. Larry Archer manages to keep the focus on Suzanne’s enthusiastic transformation from prude to slut. He does an excellent job portraying both her doubts and her irresistible attraction to her new identity as a perpetually-aroused, anything-goes hotwife. Overall, I really enjoyed Stripper or Nurse. I love the uninhibited sexuality in the story (indeed, in all Larry Archer’s stories), and the generous, affectionate mood. I’ve been turned off in the past by some “cuckold” tales that seem to belittle or denigrate the man involved. In this novel, Tom gets plenty of sex (despite being hospitalized through the entire book!), even as he watches (in high definition video) his wife get passed around to voracious females and well-hung males. I did find the ending a bit abrupt. Somehow I expected a bit more tidying of loose ends. In the first half of the book, Suzanne keeps talking about a Saturday Couples Night party at the Den, and meeting people who plan to join in the Saturday fun. I expected that to be the big-bang (so to speak) ending, so I was a bit disappointed when the tale ended after a more private sex scene—if you can call a video-recorded butt-fucking “private”! Anyway, I had a good time, as I almost always do when I enter Larry’s world of good-natured promiscuity. I’m certain I’ll be back.
  
• Different Senses on July 10, 2020
  (no rating)
  Javen Ythen loves his job as a cop, doing his part to foster justice and community safety. He also gets some satisfaction from thumbing his nose at his powerful father and high-society mother, who feel police work isn’t an appropriate occupation for the son of the state governor. When Javen is seriously wounded in the line of duty, his world falls apart – not due to his physical injuries, but because the trauma triggers his genetic predisposition for empathy. It’s bad enough having everyone’s emotions clamoring in his mind, but for Javen, being matos has far more dire consequences. First, his new talent is an unwelcome sign that he is not pure Kelon, but of mixed race, since only the despised banis people, indigenous to the planet, carry the empathy gene. Second, privacy laws mean he’s no longer welcome in the police force. Worst of all, his long-time lover Kirin breaks off their relationship. It seems the man can’t bear the notion of being emotionally transparent – or perhaps Javen’s newly revealed racial background has some influence. Depressed and bitter, Javen drifts into working as a private investigator. In his first case, he solves the mystery of a stolen jewel and clears the name of a young woman from the banis community. His new connections with the banis – or Nihan, as they call themselves - give him the opportunity to research his genealogy and find out more about his Nihani ancestors. He also begins to see, first hand, the many ways in which the original inhabitants of Uterden face discrimination and oppression from his own race. Over time, he adds Nihani interns and staff to his business, and as a result, becomes increasingly involved in their struggle for justice and equality. When a crooked court rules against Nihani interests and triggers violence and civil unrest, Javen finds himself in a life-and-death race to find the real terrorists, before the Kelon masters crush the Nihan and bury their aspirations for a better life. Meanwhile, throughout the book, Javen struggles with his desire for the clever but hostile Nihani lawyer Shardul Hema Rishabh. As the only member of his people to have a Kelon law degree, Shardul seems to be involved in many of Javen’s cases. There’s an undeniable attraction between the two men, but Shardul could never love a Kelon, even one with some Nihani blood. I downloaded Different Senses from Smashwords for free, during the Authors Give Back event, at the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. Though I’d never heard of the author, the book sounded appealing – science fiction is a long time favorite genre for me, and it had been too long since I’d read any MM romance. I’m so glad I followed my instincts. Different Senses is amazing, one of the best books I’ve read this year. I loved everything about the novel. Ms. Somerville builds a believable world and a complex society, complete with customs, religions and language – a world ultimately not that different from our own. Every character is richly imagined and skillfully drawn. This is true not only of Javen and Shardul, but also more minor players such as the voluble Doctor Nihar and the blind Nihan elder Roshni. Everyone changes and grows over time. In particular, Javen’s father gradually transforms from something of a villain to an unexpected hero. The oppression of the Nihan felt so familiar – especially given the events of the last month or so. The Nihan face the same sort of institutional racism endured by people of color in the United States. With few economic or educational opportunities, they’re viewed as backward and ignorant. Police and other representatives of state power are quick to suspect the Nihan of wrong doing and brutal in their reactions. At the same time, the Kelons admire banis artifacts, wear banis textiles, and create vast collections of works essentially stolen from the colonized culture. In a neat little twist, by the way, Ms. Somerville has given the Kelon master race dark skins. The Nihan are red-haired, fair-skinned and green-eyed. That doesn’t stop them from being viewed as barely human. The author doesn’t hit you over the head with this. There are no polemics in this book, although the underlying political themes provide one critical thread in the story. We learn about the Nihan situation through the eyes of Javen, as he gradually becomes closer to the people and their ways. The transition is subtle, sensitive, and extremely compelling. The copyright page of Different Senses makes it clear that the different “chapters” in the book were originally published separately. Despite this, the book feels unified and has an integrated narrative arc, with an overarching conflict and resolution. I’ve referred to the book as a novel because that’s what it feels like: the story of Javen’s cultural enlightenment and his search for love. Before concluding, I should mention the attitudes toward homosexuality on Uterden. The Kelons show themselves to be extremely prejudiced against the Nihan, but there’s no apparent negative feeling about same-sex relationships at all. Javen and Kirin are accepted as a normal family unit by everyone in the society. Javen and Shardul will have greater problems, due to their races, but not because they are both men. I loved this feeling of comfort. This is a fantastic book. I will definitely be checking out some of Ann Somerville’s other work.
  
• Different Senses on July 10, 2020
  
  Javen Ythen loves his job as a cop, doing his part to foster justice and community safety. He also gets some satisfaction from thumbing his nose at his powerful father and high-society mother, who feel police work isn’t an appropriate occupation for the son of the state governor. When Javen is seriously wounded in the line of duty, his world falls apart – not due to his physical injuries, but because the trauma triggers his genetic predisposition for empathy. It’s bad enough having everyone’s emotions clamoring in his mind, but for Javen, being matos has far more dire consequences. First, his new talent is an unwelcome sign that he is not pure Kelon, but of mixed race, since only the despised banis people, indigenous to the planet, carry the empathy gene. Second, privacy laws mean he’s no longer welcome in the police force. Worst of all, his long-time lover Kirin breaks off their relationship. It seems the man can’t bear the notion of being emotionally transparent – or perhaps Javen’s newly revealed racial background has some influence. Depressed and bitter, Javen drifts into working as a private investigator. In his first case, he solves the mystery of a stolen jewel and clears the name of a young woman from the banis community. His new connections with the banis – or Nihan, as they call themselves - give him the opportunity to research his genealogy and find out more about his Nihani ancestors. He also begins to see, first hand, the many ways in which the original inhabitants of Uterden face discrimination and oppression from his own race. Over time, he adds Nihani interns and staff to his business, and as a result, becomes increasingly involved in their struggle for justice and equality. When a crooked court rules against Nihani interests and triggers violence and civil unrest, Javen finds himself in a life-and-death race to find the real terrorists, before the Kelon masters crush the Nihan and bury their aspirations for a better life. Meanwhile, throughout the book, Javen struggles with his desire for the clever but hostile Nihani lawyer Shardul Hema Rishabh. As the only member of his people to have a Kelon law degree, Shardul seems to be involved in many of Javen’s cases. There’s an undeniable attraction between the two men, but Shardul could never love a Kelon, even one with some Nihani blood. I downloaded Different Senses from Smashwords for free, during the Authors Give Back event, at the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. Though I’d never heard of the author, the book sounded appealing – science fiction is a long time favorite genre for me, and it had been too long since I’d read any MM romance. I’m so glad I followed my instincts. Different Senses is amazing, one of the best books I’ve read this year. I loved everything about the novel. Ms. Somerville builds a believable world and a complex society, complete with customs, religions and language – a world ultimately not that different from our own. Every character is richly imagined and skillfully drawn. This is true not only of Javen and Shardul, but also more minor players such as the voluble Doctor Nihar and the blind Nihan elder Roshni. Everyone changes and grows over time. In particular, Javen’s father gradually transforms from something of a villain to an unexpected hero. The oppression of the Nihan felt so familiar – especially given the events of the last month or so. The Nihan face the same sort of institutional racism endured by people of color in the United States. With few economic or educational opportunities, they’re viewed as backward and ignorant. Police and other representatives of state power are quick to suspect the Nihan of wrong doing and brutal in their reactions. At the same time, the Kelons admire banis artifacts, wear banis textiles, and create vast collections of works essentially stolen from the colonized culture. In a neat little twist, by the way, Ms. Somerville has given the Kelon master race dark skins. The Nihan are red-haired, fair-skinned and green-eyed. That doesn’t stop them from being viewed as barely human. The author doesn’t hit you over the head with this. There are no polemics in this book, although the underlying political themes provide one critical thread in the story. We learn about the Nihan situation through the eyes of Javen, as he gradually becomes closer to the people and their ways. The transition is subtle, sensitive, and extremely compelling. The copyright page of Different Senses makes it clear that the different “chapters” in the book were originally published separately. Despite this, the book feels unified and has an integrated narrative arc, with an overarching conflict and resolution. I’ve referred to the book as a novel because that’s what it feels like: the story of Javen’s cultural enlightenment and his search for love. Before concluding, I should mention the attitudes toward homosexuality on Uterden. The Kelons show themselves to be extremely prejudiced against the Nihan, but there’s no apparent negative feeling about same-sex relationships at all. Javen and Kirin are accepted as a normal family unit by everyone in the society. Javen and Shardul will have greater problems, due to their races, but not because they are both men. I loved this feeling of comfort. This is a fantastic book. I will definitely be checking out some of Ann Somerville’s other work.
  
• Juliet’s Diary: My Secret Plague Journal on July 16, 2020
  
  Juliet is a nineteen year old college student. She’s spoiled, selfish, lazy, horny, and bored by almost everything, except her girlfriend Romi – whom she met in high school when she was looking for someone to sell her the exam questions. Romi needed the money, but one thing led to another and now Juliet’s head over heels in love, or at least in lust, with her far more experienced lesbian main squeeze. All Juliet wants is to move into the group household Romi shares with her intentional family of queer and trans friends. To stave off this event, her wealthy parents have promised her a big chunk of money and a fancy new car, if she stays at home until she finishes her first year at university. Meanwhile the Covid-19 epidemic is raging, so she’s forbidden to even see the woman who dominates her thoughts. Not that Juliet’s all that likely to obey... Juliet’s Diary is a vivid and painful journey into the mind of a young woman who is so unlikable she could almost be a parody of how the privileged have dealt with the pandemic – except that Giselle Renarde has made her shockingly believable. Juliet, like most young people, figures she’s in no danger from the virus. Romi, who’s barely surviving economically, knows better. Romi’s housemates have various disabilities that make them especially vulnerable, but they’re all working their tails off trying to stave off eviction. Juliet is mostly oblivious to their problems. All she cares about is spending time with Romi, having sex with Romi, getting her girlfriend off and vice versa. Meanwhile, the world becomes increasingly alien, with social distancing, panic buying, and ultimately, friends and family dying. Juliet has a hard time adapting, though she half-heartedly tries. She even gets a job in a supermarket, in order to prove to Romi and herself that she’s not useless. She lasts exactly one day. As you may have gathered, this is not a fun book. One would hardly expect fun from a story sub-titled “My Secret Plague Diary”. At the same time, it’s an impressive book, a historical document that will serve to remind people, in the future, just what the first pandemic of the twenty-first century was like. Juliet might be extreme, but not so extreme that she doesn’t remind me of some people I’ve read about (fortunately, not people I know personally). Juliet’s Diary is also, perhaps surprisingly, a sexy book. I always find Giselle Renarde’s erotic scenes to be original, visceral and lush. This secret lesbian diary is no exception. The protagonist’s confessional complaints and annoyed musings are punctuated by the infrequent but intense encounters between the two women. Romi becomes increasingly exhausted, barely able to muster a bit of lust, but somehow Juliet’s desire for her never flags. I don’t think the author penned this book with the market in mind. It’s not a crowd pleaser. In fact, in some ways it’s a very difficult read, especially since we’re still in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. At the same time, Juliet’s Diary has a sort of brilliant intensity that might take your mind off your own problems.
  
• Prophecy of the Mayan Undead on Nov. 02, 2020
  
  Brilliant neurobiologist Keesha Brown is running for her life, though she doesn’t know who she is fleeing from, or why. All she knows is that they always seem to be one step ahead of her. She wakes up to find herself tied up in the trunk of a car driven by two thugs. Though her agile mind still searches for a way out of her dilemma, she fears her time is up. Then all hell breaks loose. A hero appears and crushes her abducters, but not before they shoot and fatally wound her. Century-old vampire Yuri Kozakov has been cultivating an intellectual relationship with the dedicated researcher; he hopes Keisha can answer his questions about his own origins. Meanwhile he finds the feisty dark-skinned beauty stirs him in distinctly non-intellectual ways as well. When she fails to arrive for their first real date, he realizes she must be in trouble. He manages to track her to lonely country road and to destroy her kidnappers, but it’s too late to save her. His only option is turn her into a creature of the night like he is. On the verge of dying, she accepts his offer of eternal life as a blood drinker, experiencing an ecstatic, arousing communion with her handsome savior. This is how Fiona McGier begins her novel Prophecy of the Mayan Undead. If you think this sounds like your typical vampire erotic romance, think again. Ms. McGier happily shatters all the Twilight-engendered stereotypes and tosses the pieces to the winds. To start with, her heroine Keisha is sassy, opinionated, sexually liberated and so smart she intimidates everyone around her. She doesn’t waste time worrying about her lost mortality, but applies her new powers not only to the scientific problem that has occupied her for years, namely how to increase human intelligence, but also to the puzzle of the vampires’ existence. Yuri is Norse-god gorgeous and inexhaustibly virile (of course...) but he’s not the brooding, moody alpha you might expect. Indeed, he’s in awe of Keesha, as well as in love with her, and though he’ll protect her with his life, he’s perfectly delighted to let her take the lead, both in her research efforts and in the bedroom. Together with two far more ancient vampires, long-time lovers Casomiro and Apolinar, they track the origin of vampires on earth to alien beings who visited the Mayan empire centuries before. These aliens transformed some humans, who spread vampiric spores around the earth. The Mayans worshiped the interstellar visitors as gods, turning their need for blood into the foundation of the culture’s cruel rituals. Mayans? Aliens? Not your usual pseudo-Gothic Bram Stokery! The author is delightfully creative in her mixing and matching of genres. Things get even wilder in the second half of the book, which features a female Chinese vampire who’s also a scientist – looking for ways to make the “human cattle” more docile and stupid. Abused all her life, repeatedly raped and humiliated, Niu Ying has a heart of stone and a bitter, vengeful spirit. Nevertheless, she falls in love with a representative from yet another extraterrestrial species, a highly advanced race who nudge the beings of lesser planets toward greater maturity. Ms. McGier’s sex scenes between Niu Ying and the blue-furred, laid-back creature outside time called Frank are some of the best parts of this lively book. ---------------------- Finally he moved away from her, and she watched through barely open eyes as he removed his jumpsuit. All of his skin had the same light blue tinge, but the parts of him that had been under the jumpsuit were also covered in a soft, darker blue fur. Ying reached out a hand to stroke his chest, then her hand moved lower and she grasped the organ that was much wider closer to his body, and thinner further away. There were horizontal ridges, leading to a head that was a knotted ball of veins. It was also responding to her every touch, twitching and moving as she stroked it. She looked up at his face and saw passion, combined with an infinite tenderness. He crawled up onto the cushions to lie next to her, leaning over to kiss her lips again, as his long fingers began to stroke the skin on the insides of her thighs. She gasped with pleasure, as skin cells that had never been touched sprang to life, and began to tingle and throb. ------------------- So what happens next? I don’t want to spoil your fun by telling you too much, but by the time you get to the end, we’ve got visitations from two alien species, a showdown at the United Nations, and a pretty effective attempt at saving the world. Does this sound silly? Prophecy of the Mayan Undead is unquestionably erotic romance, but it’s also fantasy. Some of the outrageous twists might seem implausible, but as a reader, you need to reserve judgment and hold on tight for a crazy ride. I guarantee you’ll have fun.
  
• The Strong Amongst Us on June 10, 2021
  
  History comes to life in J.A. Boulet’s debut novel The Strong Amongst Us. In vivid, sometimes heart-rending, detail, Ms. Boulet chronicles the struggles of a group of Icelandic immigrants who came to Canada in the 1870’s, fleeing volcanic eruptions in their own country that had devastated their homes and their farms. Manitoba, their destination, was a beautiful but sometimes cruel wilderness and their settlement of Gimli, on the western shore of vast Lake Winnipeg, a fragile outpost of humanity. Violent storms, life-threatening cold, famine and disease all threatened to erase their dream of New Iceland. The novel unfolds through the eyes of eighteen year old Nathan Olason, who leaves his mother and sisters behind to travel with his father and cousins to their new land. The Icelanders are tough and hard-working, but they’re scarcely a match for the challenges of the Canadian frontier. Nath becomes friends with a young Cree woman named Anwa, who teaches him how to hunt, to fish, to survive and to thrive in the land of her ancestors. Little by little, their friendship blossoms into a great love, but they must overcome the racism of his family and the colonialist politics of the province if they’re to be together. I really enjoyed The Strong Amongst Us, partly because I’d previously known nothing about this chapter in history. The author herself lives in Gimli; she knows the land she’s describing, simultaneously exquisite and harsh. I was touched by Nath’s growth into maturity and leadership, as well as the sorrows he must endure. The style of this novel struck me as somewhat amateurish, with its linear structure, unsubtle declarations of emotion, and frequent POV slips. Still, the sincerity of the author’s concern for her characters shines on every page. Despite a certain lack of craft, the reader is swept up in the dramatic events swirling around Nath and Anwa. I also appreciated Ms. Boulet’s unvarnished honesty about sex. She does not shy away from exploring the intensely physical bond between Nath and Anwa. I applaud her frankness. Although The Strong Among Us has a romance subplot, it lacks the happy ending required to make it a romance. Instead, we’re left with a far more nuanced and realistic picture of a life filled with adventure and labor, tragedy and joy. The author has succeeded in re-imagining this possibly forgotten story, helping us to understand the risks taken and the dangers faced by immigrants in their quest for a new home.
  
• For the Love of His Life on Aug. 31, 2021
  
  Hollywood darling Raul Roderick lives life in the fast lane. When he’s not working on a film, he’s out partying, drinking, doing drugs and engaging in entertaining but meaningless sex with adoring women who’ll do anything to bed him. He’s not really happy – for one thing, he tends to get type-cast based on his stellar good looks, not his acting ability – but he doesn’t know how to get off the treadmill of Los Angeles stardom. Underneath his charming and irreverent exterior, he’s lonely and insecure, marked by his difficult childhood as the illegitimate son of a Vegas show girl. Veronica “Ronnie” Sorrenson loves her simple, active, independent life in northern Minnesota, near the gateway to the Boundary Waters Wilderness area. She helps her grandmother run their lake-side family resort, works as an accountant to support herself, and spends her free time running in the woods or canoeing in the pristine waters. In the past, she’s had some relationships with men, none of which panned out. Now she’s content to live by herself, bake the pies for which the Sorrenson’s Family Resort is famous, and enjoy the wonders of nature around her. It’s hard to imagine two more different souls, but their paths intersect when Ronnie’s cousin Jared, a renowned director, asks Ronnie’s grandmother Marie to house Raul at the resort for a while so that he can sober up and get ready for the role of his dreams – playing Ronnie’s heroic great grandfather Hank Maynard, who founded the settlement of Grand Marais. Jared is convinced that Raul has the talent and emotional depth required for the wilderness-themed biopic, but the star needs to clean up his personal act as well as get in condition for the physically-demanding part. Raul, of course, notices the tall, shapely Valkyrie running the trails and swimming in the frigid lake, but his usual moves don’t work on her. Ronnie is not the sort to put up with any superficial nonsense. Still, they’re drawn to one another. He agrees to use her as his trainer. Together they run, swim, climb, canoe and fish, building the muscles and the skills Raul will need for the movie. And of course, gradually their mutual attraction turns to respect, then something deeper. When they make love for the first time, their mutual passion is a revelation for them both. Trust does not come easily, though. Raul and Ronnie must weather several crises before they find their happily ever after. The gaps between their experiences and their expectations are not easily bridged. I deeply enjoyed this book. For one thing, I can’t think of any romance author who does a better job writing wholesome lust than Fiona McGier. She expertly captures the joy as well as the pleasure of intimacy with someone who’s “right” for you. Her love scenes are simultaneously hot and sweet, explicit yet innocent. There’s rarely any angst. When two people belong together, in Ms. McGier’s world, their bodies and souls connect in a special way that erases doubt – at least while they’re physically connected. Another plus for me was the distinctive setting. Although I’ve never visited the Boundary Waters area, I could vividly imagine the environment, especially the resort. I could picture myself sitting on the porch, gazing out at the lake, the way Raul does – eating, no doubt, a piece of some creatively gooey pie! Ms. McGier’s secondary characters also add depth and interest to her stories. In particular, I loved Gram-Marie, with her passion for her family, her feisty disdain for “modern” films and her suspicions about Raul. In general, I’m not a huge fan of vanilla romance. I often finds it lacks erotic heat as well as being too predictable. With a Fiona McGier romance, one can’t complain about the former. Meanwhile, although as a reader you know that Raul and Ronnie will overcome their differences to build a life together, their reactions to the inevitable conflicts are sufficiently genuine that you feel their agony. In short, I can recommend this book highly to romance fans. And I’m looking forward to tackling the next story in her Minnesota romance series.
  
• Her Last Resort on Sep. 23, 2021
  
  Her Last Resort, the third book in Fiona McGier’s Minnesota Romance series, grabs you from the first paragraph. The author drops you into the middle of a scene in which the heroine, Stella Taylor, is defending herself against a knife-throwing would-be assassin who has sneaked into her suite. The young man attacking her has considerable skill, but he can’t match Stella’s thirty years experience at staying alive. After a career as an agent that cost her more than she’d ever expected – including her marriage and her relationships with her daughter and son – she has officially retired from the CIA. However, instead of the peace and stability she craves, she has become the target of a series of attacks on her life. Someone keeps sending promising young men to kill her – someone who seems to know how to find her even though she changes her location every two weeks. Stella is wondering about the motive for these attacks and trying to figure out how to stop them, when she gets a call from her daughter, popular movie actress Kelly Ann Sheridan. Kelly invites Stella to come up to northern Minnesota so they can spend a week together at her friend Ivan’s lakeside resort. The remote location seems like a good place to hide. Meanwhile, Stella is eager for the opportunity to spend some time with her older child and perhaps heal the emotional rift between them. She arrives looking for nothing more than some R&R – canoe trips and hiking, good food, good wine and some unpressured time in her daughter’s company. When she meets the charming, burly Russian proprietor of the resort, however, she realizes her vacation may turn out to include some unexpected pleasures. Ivan is immediately attracted to Stella. Indeed, he has the sense he has met her before. It turns out that this impression is accurate. Though he is now a U.S. citizen, running a legitimate business and offering employment to many of his relatives and compatriots, he spent thirty years working for the KGB. Years ago, Ivan had glimpsed Stella at an international summit between Reagan and Gorbachov; since then, the image of the elegant female agent in her revealing gown has haunted his erotic fantasies. Her Last Resort is Stella’s and Ivan’s love story. But romance is a lot different when you’re not a young hottie. Ms. McGier does a fantastic job building the erotic tension, a classic slow burn that makes you ache right along with the two protagonists. When they do finally make love, the scene has all of the author’s signature heat, but acknowledges the fact that men in their mid-fifties aren’t likely to get more than one erection per night, and that women in that age range tend to be dry and tight, no matter how turned on they might be. The sex is no less incendiary for being realistic; both Ivan and Stella have lived lonely and dangerous lives, and they find true comfort in one another. Though they were on opposite sides of the Cold War, their experiences were similar. Both of them have deep scars, both physical and emotional. The main conflict in this novel lies not within the characters, but in the external environment. With the help of Ivan and his friends, Stella tries to get to the bottom of the attacks. When she discovers the truth, she recognizes how deeply she has been betrayed – and how morally compromised she will always be. Only someone who has done what she’s done – killed more than a few of her fellow humans and sent others to certain death – can understand her. Ivan may be the only person who can help her heal – and vice versa. I’ve written favorable reviews of both the first and the second Minnesota Romance books, but I think I enjoyed this one even more. The pacing is excellent and the suspense is extremely well done. Furthermore, Ms. McGier does not sugar-coat her characters’ experience. Ivan and Stella both have committed crimes that they have to live with. Love and companionship will help – but the author never suggests love will absolve them of responsibility or totally erase the guilt and the pain. If you’d rather read about realistic relationships than total romantic fluff, I recommend this book.
  
• Heaven’s Diary: A Succubus Story on Oct. 30, 2021
  
  For young trans woman Heaven, buying a house together with her lover Terra and her best friend Elle seems a dream come true. When the three move into the house, though, Heaven discovers she’s caught in a waking nightmare. Her bedroom seems haunted by a mysterious presence that can make lightbulbs explode and bring Heaven to orgasms so intense they’re painful. In other rooms, Heaven sees things invisible to Terra and Elle, images that reinforce her sense that Terra is growing ever more distant. That suspicion is reinforced when Heaven discovers her housemates are sexually involved. Abandoned and rejected, Heaven finds herself more and more obsessed with the seductive but vicious creature who bestows awful pleasure in return for the chance to drain Heaven’s life energy. Heaven is caught in a deadly downward spiral, desperate for the attention of the succubus even as she understands that the malevolent being is slowly killing her. Heaven’s Diary is a fitting read for the Halloween season. Giselle Renarde evokes a choking sense of dread, an atmosphere so oppressive that I almost stopped reading due to my personal discomfort. The book is far more like horror than erotica, though it does include some supernaturally intense sex. The succubus is skillfully portrayed as enticing but utterly non-human. The scariest aspect of the story, though, is Terra’s cold treachery. Buoyed by love, Heaven might have the strength to fight the influence of the creature that haunts her dream house, but when she is betrayed and cast aside, she has nowhere else to turn. This book is part of Ms. Renarde’s Lesbian Diaries series. I was impressed by the fact that Heaven is unquestionably a woman, even though she still has male genitalia and indeed the succubus takes her as if she were a man. Her voice, her emotions, her feelings about her body, are all feminine. I am glad that I persevered and finished the book; I don’t think it’s a spoiler to share the fact that Heaven manages to escape and to heal. For one thing, I don’t want you to give up in the terrifying middle part of the book, when it seems that she’s doomed. I’ve been reading Giselle Renarde’s work for more than a decade and know that she’s remarkably versatile. She can write subtly emotional erotica as well as utterly filthy kink. Heaven’s Diary shows that she’s equally adept at horror. Be warned!
  
• The Watchmaker's Daughter on Jan. 21, 2022
  
  After years of apprenticeship to her father, India Steele is as competent a watchmaker as any in 1890’s London, but as a woman she’s prohibited from practicing her profession. When her father dies suddenly, her unscrupulous fiancé breaks off their engagement and assumes ownership of her father’s watch shop, which she’d assumed would be hers. In one fell swoop, India loses her beloved parent, her intended spouse, her home and her livelihood. Desperate, she takes a commission from a mysterious American visitor, Mr. Matthew Glass, helping him search London for the man who created his very special watch. Although Mr. Glass is in the prime of life and has a powerful physique, he is clearly quite ill. Somehow, his watch has the power to temporarily return him to health, but its efficacy seems to decline each time he uses it. India accepts temporary accommodation in her employer’s fine town house, which is also occupied by his peculiar associates: his cousin Wilhelmina, who wears male clothing and insists on being called Willie; his brash, foul-mouthed cook and deputy Duke; and his one-eyed driver Cyclops. As she assists Matthew in his quest, without any success, her suspicions about his true identity grow. A dangerous American outlaw is reported to be hiding out in London; everything seems to suggest that Matthew may in fact be that vicious desperado. India is torn between her increasing attraction to her enigmatic employer and her temptation to contact the authorities and claim the bounty for his capture. Twice a year, Smashwords runs a site-wide sale that makes it easy for authors to offer their books at a discount, or for free. I’ve found that this is a great opportunity for me to explore the work of new authors. I picked up a free copy of The Watchmaker’s Daughter, attracted by its lovely cover. The novel had me hooked from the first page. India is a delightful character, somewhat reminiscent of my own Victorian engineer Gillian Smith – though far more proper! At twenty seven, she’s considered an unmarriageable spinster, but she’s more concerned about the practical issues of supporting herself than about matrimony. Intelligent and level-headed as well as being technically skilled, India is bold in pursuing her objectives and not afraid to speak her mind. She is, nevertheless, a well-bred lady. She knows how to act malleable and polite when that is what’s required. Matt and his entourage of American misfits provide a great contrast to India’s quintessential Englishness. The novel suggests a considerable gulf between England and its former colony; Londoners seem to view America as barely civilized! As the book progresses, it provides a variety of surprises regarding Matt’s identity, as well as the history of his watch. When events accelerate to an exciting and satisfying climax, India proves herself to be a true heroine – and reaps her just reward. The Watchmaker’s Daughter includes just a hint of magic, which the author handles very well. I prefer stories where supernatural influences have clear limits to those where anything might happen. Overall, I really enjoyed The Watchmaker’s Daughter, enough that I may purchase the next book in the series (called “Glass and Steele”). Which is, of course, why authors give away their books for free!
  
• No More Secrets on March 20, 2022
  
  Oscar-winning actress Kelly Ann Sheridan is on location in Columbia, filming a new movie at the mansion of a wealthy oligarch. Though she takes her work seriously, she finds herself distracted by Felipe, temporary tutor for their host’s children. She’s eager to know Felipe better, despite her gut feeling that the Latin charmer is not who he pretends. Her instincts are on target. “Felipe” is in fact U.S. government agent Tomas Escobedo, who is working undercover in Columbia, looking for evidence to incriminate the vicious drug lord living on the neighboring hacienda. Tomas knows he shouldn’t get involved with the vivacious blond beauty – and certainly that he shouldn’t confide in her – but the chemistry between them is too strong for him to resist. She proves to be not just gorgeous, but also brave and clever. Together they hatch an audacious plan to acquire the proof Tomas needs – a plan that just might get both of them killed. Anyone who believes that vanilla heterosexual erotic romance is bland and unexciting should pick up a novel by Fiona McGier. She understands the way love can amplify lust, and vice versa. Most of her couples have active sex lives before they meet – in Kelly’s and Tomas’ case, very active! - but the whole experience changes when they connect with one another. What may start out as recreational sex turns into something very different, profoundly satisfying as well as exquisitely pleasurable. Ms. McGier probably wouldn’t use a term as cheesy as “soul mate”, but when Kelly Ann and Tomas finally manage to consummate their attraction, there’s a sense of emotional rightness, along with off-the-charts erotic heat. No More Secrets is the fourth book in Ms. McGier’s Minnesota Romance series. One of the joys in reading it was reconnecting with characters from previous books. I especially enjoyed the reappearance of Kelly Ann’s mother and step-father, Stella and Ivan from Her Last Resort. As former spies themselves, neither is enthusiastic about having an agent for a son-in-law. There’s a very funny scene when Stella and Tomas first meet. I won’t spill the beans by saying anything more, but if you’ve read Stella’s and Ivan’s story, I guarantee you’ll appreciate the interaction. Overall I liked No More Secrets. However, the character of Kelly Ann seemed to me to be implausibly immature. Based on the series time line, she’s supposed to be in her thirties, but sometimes she acts like a ditzy undergraduate rather than a seasoned professional who has spent more than a decade in the movie business. For instance, when Tomas takes her out for a tour of the local nightspots, she allows a bunch of guys get her so drunk that she’s too sick to act on her lust for Tomas. That’s not the behavior I’d expect, given her supposed age and experience. A woman in her mid to late thirties would have known better. My other, much more minor, complaint involves the author’s attempt to link this story with an earlier book in which Tomas first appears. I understood that Ms. McGier was trying to give readers a sense of his history, but the references to characters I hadn’t met and events I hadn’t read about just confused me. Fortunately this was a brief section of the book, and not really necessary in order to appreciate the rest of the story. Neither of these issues spoiled the book for me. If you like red-hot romance with sassy, self-confident characters, I recommend this novel. Actually, you should read the first three books in the series first. If you do, you’ll enjoy this one even more.
  
• Company Benefits on April 24, 2022
  
  When Reginald Watson is named Salesman of the Year and promoted to Executive Vice President, the first person he calls with the good news is his loving wife Jane. Reggie’s a go-getter, a closer, but he never expected such rapid advancement. He soon discovers that his new position includes an incredible range of perks – not just a luxurious top-floor office, an expensive laptop and the use of the company’s private jet to visit customers, but also a bevy of gorgeous secretaries and administrative assistants ready and eager to satisfy his every need – carnal as well as professional. When his curvy redheaded admin Monique welcomes him to his new status with a mind-bending blowjob, Reggie wonders whether he’s dreaming, or has somehow fallen into a porn movie. Meanwhile, Jane receives an unexpected visit from Richie and Randi, a sexy couple of pool attendants sent by the company’s Spousal Support Services division. Reggie’s company wants to make sure that spouses don’t feel neglected while their executive husbands fly off to make million dollar deals. Between Richie’s enormous cock and Randi’s agile tongue, Jane gets plenty of attention. Indeed, she’s a bit surprised by her lustful responsiveness, but she figures this is going to help her husband concentrate on his job. Reggie flies off to Buffalo in the company to finalize a huge order for snow plows. The assignment requires him to seduce the controller who’ll sign the check. This proves to be remarkably easy; Connie’s an attractive divorcée who despite her conservative appearance turns out to be a tiger in bed. Indeed, she decides to accompany Reggie back to his home, so that she can meet and have sex with Jane. I’m a big fan of Larry Archer’s free-wheeling erotic stories, but this was one of the best I’ve read. Reggie is a genuinely nice guy who’s amazed by and grateful for his good fortune. He – um- rises to the meet the company’s expectations at every turn. Jane is a classic Larry Archer MILF, initially a bit inhibited but quickly drawn over to the “dark side”. The scenes with her, the pool boy and the pool girl (who has a distinctly dominant personality) were among the most arousing in the book. I also got a huge kick out of the scantily dressed pilot and co-pilot on the executive jet, who tease Reggie into a sexual frenzy but who refuse to finish him until he gets the controller’s signature on the contract. Everyone gets what they want. Concerns about infidelity fly out the window as both Reggie and Jane discover that the joys of recreational sex only strengthen their matrimonial bond. And we know that Reggie is going to be a huge success at his new job. After all, satisfied employees are productive employees! If you like light-hearted erotic tales with appealing characters – appealing both physically and from the perspective of their personalities – you’ll probably enjoy Company Benefits as much as I did.
  
• Warrior Priest on July 22, 2022
  
  Ari Jade has dedicated himself to following the strict tenets of his Order. Like the other priests, he dresses in black, covering as much skin as possible and often hiding his face within a dark cowl. As a Shield of Heaven, Jade is a seasoned fighter trained to protect the innocent. He doesn’t hesitate to kill if necessary, even though each life he takes means he must suffer a painful branding as atonement. Orphaned at a young age and nurtured by the Order, he finds its ascetic values, austere rituals and firm rules comforting rather than burdensome. Selena also belongs to a religious community, but of a very different sort. She and her fellow priests and priestesses worship nature, enjoying the sensual blessings of physical existence. Her commune honors the earth and its bounty with song, dance and deeds of kindness. Devoutly pacifist, they eat no animal products and their most solemn vow is to never to take a life, even if that means sacrificing their own. When a cultural exchange project brings the two religious adherents together, they find little common ground. They come from separate worlds – literally, but also in terms of their beliefs and values. Selena views Jade to be unsociable, arrogant and violent. Jade thinks Selena’s an empty-headed, naïve sensualist. As they work together, however, each starts to appreciate the other’s strengths – and to question their own limitations and prejudices. Little by little, an initial uncomfortable fascination deepens to mutual love. Still, how can a priestess strictly forbidden to kill make a future with a priest whose beliefs may require murder? Warrior Priest by Kate Hill is an erotic romance with a doozy of a conflict. Selena’s and Jade’s world views are so radically different that only the greatest of loves could bridge that chasm. Ms. Hill does an excellent job making their gradual rapprochement plausible. Both suffer serious doubts about the wisdom and practicality of their committing their lives to one another. Since this is a romance with the required HEA, they do ultimately marry, but this requires some adjustments on both sides. The premise is believable at least partly because one sees the same issues in the real world. What happens when a Muslim man falls in love with a Hindu woman, or a Jew with a Catholic? At very least, there will be societal friction, community and family pressures, and so on. (In Warrior Priest, some of Selena’s comrades attack Jade for what they see as his murderous ways.) If the individuals involved are deeply observant, they need to search their souls in order to determine which mean more to them: their religion or their relationship. As a romance, Warrior Priest works really well. It’s less effective as science fiction. The world-building is sketchy at best. Given the speed with which people move around, I found it hard to believe they were journeying between different planets. The “shuttles” they use are “shot down” by enemy fire, not something that makes sense if they were traveling in outer space. Meanwhile the political situation, with “world governments” on the friendly planets while the totally evil Kimbrians try to take over, seemed simplistic and cartoonish. Fortunately, the scifi background is not terribly important to the story. The whole book could have taken place in different locations on the same planet without any real change. Certainly Earth contains as much diversity of beliefs, customs, environments and societies as the fictional universe in Warrior Priest. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and the heart journey of Selena and Jade. There were a variety of creative details that I especially appreciated. For instance, I loved the character of Soar, the mystical Tirips monk who seems to have the ability to bend space and time and alter perception. The Ceremony of Honor, where the Covenant priests are marked in recognition of both their courage and their guilt, is a brilliant concept. If you’re looking for a realistic science fiction romance, in which future technology or society plays a major role in the plot, you might want to choose some other book. If you’re focused mostly on the romance, though, and want a story where true love overcomes the obstacles of bias and inflexible ideology, you’ll adore Warrior Priest.
  
• Splendificent 3 on Nov. 20, 2022
  (no rating)
  When a power-mad elven Prince teams up with the original vampire to take over the world, expect murder, mayhem, madness and lots of wild sex. California girl Giselle Nyfall and her supernatural apartment-mates square off against a host of vicious enemies, mindless goons and lust-crazed hangers-on in Dacy Alex’s latest installment of the Splendificent saga. Chief among the villains are two individuals close to the Hot Squad: Prince Gorick Elvrina, Tristabelle’s bitter, near-psychopathic older brother, and Saint Lazarus of Bethany, father of vampire-succubus Fleur Flanagan. They’ve surrounded themselves with an army of nasty creatures, almost all of whom harbor an insatiable craving for Giselle and her bodacious besties. Not that the voluptuous fivesome are immune to the appeal of a rough tumble with a demon or a zombie... Splendificent 3 proceeds at a break-neck pace, with a battle on one page and an orgy on the next! Aside from saving the world, Giselle is also trying to figure out the true nature of her own apparent supernatural powers. Tristabelle’s brother Trygrr has taken on the task of training Giselle in the art of war, but finds himself succumbing to her brainless charm (and her magnificent boobs). He’s not her only admirer. Samurai warrior Arsen Holtz, gorgeous but dour, also wants a piece of her, while “Prince Charming” Krisdane wouldn’t kick her out of bed either. To be honest, I found much of Splendificent 3 bewildering. I chalk this up to my lack of familiarity with video games and popular culture. Still, I thought it was great fun. The brilliant initial scene, in which Gorick and Lazarus meet to rough out their plot, introduces the villains and their motivations as a way of setting the whole book in motion. In another favorite chapter, Tristabelle, Sofi, Fleur and Dusty pay a visit Giselle’s geeky friend Stuart to see if he can break into a computer stolen from the secret factory where the bad guys are brewing up variants of the lethal Rage potion. Inspired by masochistic lust, he succeeds brilliantly. A third memorable interlude occurs when Giselle visits an omnimancer, who conjure a creepy but erotic dream in which she’s having sex with a dark copy of herself, while Trygrr looks on. As I worked on this review, I went back to reread various parts of the novel. I should probably read the whole thing again; probably I’d make more sense of it the second time around. But (as Tristabelle so often demonstrates), you don’t have to understand something in order to enjoy it!
  
• Remnants of Fire on Sep. 09, 2023
  
  In the small town of Ralston, Ohio, young women who were formerly vibrant and healthy are inexplicably dying. Newly-arrived newspaper reporter Sara Wood finds herself blocked at every turn as she tries to track down the story of the latest corpse, discovered in a roadside snow bank wearing just a tee shirt and jeans. There are no wounds or signs of foul play. The police insist the death can be attributed to natural causes, but one look at the girl’s straggly hair, bleached-out skin and skinny body is enough to convince Sara there’s nothing natural about her demise. Many of the townspeople seem as eager as the police to dismiss the multiple deaths as simple coincidence. Only a few, like physician Dr. Rick Paulsen and Sara’s editor Gloria, seem interested in investigating further. The victims all have one thing in common. All were receiving treatment at the local Goldstone Clinic, which specializes in non-traditional therapies for pain, insomnia and anxiety: deep massage, energy balancing, even hypnosis. The beautiful Dr. Rufrei and her colleagues at Goldstone have an almost magical ability to soothe and rejuvenate their patients, as Sara herself discovers when she seeks relief from the lingering effects of an auto accident. At the same time, she can’t shake off her suspicions that she’s being manipulated and used for some nefarious purpose. When she tries to distance herself from the clinic, she experiences an almost irresistible compulsion to return, coupled with an agonizing surge in her symptoms. Bit by bit she uncovers the truth, not only about the clinic but about her own hidden powers. The creatures who run Goldstone believe that Sara holds the key to achieving their secret mission. Her own life as well as that of many innocents depends on her ability to harness her inner energies and foil their plan. Remnants of Fire by Alana Lorens is a compelling read with vivid descriptions and a complex, appealing heroine. Ms. Lorens succeeds in conveying an intense sense of dread as Sara gets pulled ever deeper into the darkness of Goldstone. “Don’t go back to the clinic!” you want to scream, as both Sara and her young colleague Debra struggle against the dual temptations offered by the blissful sense of relief and the clinic’s gorgeous and seductive practitioners. In fact, there are some gruesome elements in this tale. It is certainly not light entertainment. There’s also a romance thread, but like other aspects of the plot, this ends up twisting in unexpected directions. To avoid spoilers, I can’t give you any details, but the book’s conclusion involves a monumental betrayal. Indeed, after finishing the story, I found myself wondering about some of the events, which seemed a bit inconsistent with the final resolution. My own experience writing has taught me that you don’t always know when you’re in the middle of a book how it will turn out. I suspect some of this dynamic was operating in Remnants of Fire. Still, the core premise of the book is strong and engaging. If you enjoy dark suspense with an edge of horror, then you won’t be disappointed.