Beg by CD Reiss

Beg by CD Reiss
eXcessica Publishing
Book One in the Songs of Submission
Erotica, Romance
Published April 13, 2013

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Blurb:

My name is Monica. I'm a singer born and raised in Los Angeles. 
I've stopped dating. When I cut a record, or win a Grammy, maybe then I'll be with someone, but every man in my past has done everything he could to make me submit myself to him, and it's gotten in the way of my career. I won't do it again.

But there's Jonathan. He owns the high-rise hotel where I work, and he is gorgeous and charming. I refuse to fall in love with him, even though when he asks me to submit to him, I want nothing more.


My thoughts:

My feelings about this episode of the longer e-serial Songs of Submission are so mixed I can't separate pros from cons without discussing them back and forth.

So, Beg introduces a struggling musician - Monica - working as a waitress to make ends meet. She and her friend (also her ex) are shuffling his sister back and forth between them to protect her from herself and the crippling depression she falls into when her meds aren't working. We also meet Jonathan, a wealthy fella who takes a liking to our heroine, and winds up having her under his control for a night of sexy games. 

Problem? He's still hung up on his ex-wife, who broke his heart. So no commitment for Monica. And she's got some relationship issues too. Plenty of tension to go around.

Now, I'm reaching my limit for these hyper-controlling alpha men. Jonathan walks the line for me, and I think if I read more in the series, he'd probably drive me nuts. But this isn't a failing of the book, necessarily. He's got issues, he's sexy, and he's entirely appropriate for the sub-genre, so I can't *really* complain here. 

Monica is a sassy heroine, easy to root for, except for the part where she plays a little loose with her responsibilities to hook up with Jonathan. Still, I liked her, and I'm interested in *her* story.

The whole piece has a certain rawness in tone - everyone's wounds still feel fresh and open despite how long they've been carrying them, there's angry words, jealous words, and plenty of attitude to try to mask how close to the surface a lot of the emotion and baggage everyone's carrying around is. Reiss' ability to manage that rawness alongside a slowly rising sensuality is a real credit. This entry into the series is pretty striking.

The thing that  doesn't work for me is the format for publication. This portion is only about fifty pages long in the e-format I read, and while it works as a short story with many loose ends, knowing that there's at seven more parts to Monica and Jonathan's story is frustrating. I guess because I like my erotica with a side of happy for now or happily ever after, I'd rather read the entire story in one go (with crossed fingers because neither HFN or HEA is requirement for erotica!).

Fortunately, Beg was originally published in April of this year, and it is now available with the two other "Songs of Submission" stories in a three-pack on Amazon and from other retailers. The other parts are also available now, so you can purchase the entire story.

Bottom Line:

Beg was intriguing with lots of different elements to latch onto - I just don't know if I'm in for the rest of the story. It feels like a commitment to follow them to the end and I've been burned on these multi-book erotica stories before - I need the series to end in a happy place!

Still, if you like your erotica with BDSM and alpha males and the like, then this looks like a solid bet, and certainly Beg is a well-rounded start!

The best part? If you don't want to commit to picking up the trilogy - Beg is available right now for *free* in the Kindle format from amazon.com . Check it out and then come back and tell me what *you* thought about it!

4 stars
For fans of BDSM erotica, the e-serial format, erotica with plot

Loving Lucas by AnnMarie Oakes

The Basics:

Loving Lucas by AnnMarie Oakes
eXcessica Publishing
Book One in the Ladies of Cascade Creek
Western Romance

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

Audra Canton's suitors have an odd way of making their case: they keep shooting at her. The Colorado Territory of the 1870s is tough on women alone; the two Canton sisters have no one but each other after the death of their father. All the locals want to marry Audra for the Canton homestead, and they're not above scaring her into it. Audra needs help learning to protect herself and her sister.

That's when Lucas Blake drifts into Audra's life. She takes him on as a hired hand, though he's anything but. He's a lawman hot on the trail of a hardened criminal, and working the Canton homestead is the perfect cover.

But just when Audra thinks she's out of the line of fire, Lucas accidentally puts her straight into the sights of a new, more deadly gun that makes her drunken suitors look like toy soldiers. Now Lucas and Audra must fight for their lives—and each other.

What worked for me:

This was a workable western romance. I haven't read a western romance in a while, so it was nice to dip a toe into that subgenre. 

The romance here is plausible, and there's some seeds of interesting things - two sisters trying to live alone while being harassed by local men who want access to their land (and them!) and the manly man who swoops in to help them.  

I did like the way that Lilah was written in terms of her flirtatiousness, and going after what she wanted. She was believable as a young adult trying to figure out her place in the world. She was the most interesting character in the book for me.

What didn't work for me:

Possibly because this is a short romance, there are some really abrupt shifts from chapter to chapter. The most jarring changes happen when the new chapter starts with a romantic scene. 

Audra comes across as pretty hypocritical as she lectures Lilah against falling for Lucas, while at the same time sneaking away to kiss him herself. 

I also didn't quite understand why Lucas had to lie about his last name to Audra and her sister. Not announcing his intentions to hunt down the outlaws made sense, but the women were so isolated that hiding his identity so carefully with them was really strange. 

Overall, it felt as though this was selected/edited from a longer novel, and I think it would have benefited from another 20-30 pages to flesh out the development of Audra and Lucas' romance and to give some more meat to Lucas' hunt for the outlaws.

Bottom Line:

A short read that passes the time, but doesn't leave a lasting impression. It read a little flat and workmanlike, but I didn't dislike it. My problem was that nothing developed at a pace to really draw me into the story.

2.5 stars
For fans of (short) western romances.

Perfect Mate by Aubrey Rose

The Basics:
Perfect Mate by Aubrey Rose
eXcessica Publishing
Erotica, Romance
Published September 25, 2013

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's blurb:

The standalone romance novella which follows the #1 Bestselling Shifter Romance Blind Wolf!

Julia always thought that she was human. When the blind leader of a pack of straggling misfits claims her as his one true mate, she accepts that she is in love with Damien despite their radical differences.

But after another shifter wolf attacks them, he points to her as he dies and utters words that will change Julia's life forever:


"...she's not what you think she is..."

What worked for me:

For a short novella, there's an actual plot here. It wasn't just a bit of fluff to satisfy readers with a happily ever after ending or to give us an x-rated follow-up to a tamer tale.*

There's definitely a big reveal in this story, and it makes me wonder how that plays out in the third book. 

I liked that Damien is a non-traditional hero. He's blind, and the book embraces that. Julia's also apparently a curvy woman, though I didn't really get that vibe in the novella. She *did* have a moment of self-consciousness and self-doubt but I didn't realize it was motivated by issues regarding her weight.

I liked Grandma Dee once I got to know her beyond her overprotective-without-upfront-explanation behaviour. It's hard not to like a tough, old broad though, right?  

What didn't work for me:

Possibly because I hadn't read the first book - Blind Wolf - I didn't really care for Julia. She seemed pretty passive in this book - maybe she was more active in the previous book? Or maybe she grows into being a more active character in the third book?

The erotica component was pretty tame, which was a bit of a disappointment for me. There was a connection between the two that allowed Damien some insight into what Julia was feeling, which I thought could have been used to even greater effect. Still, the sex wasn't poorly written, so this wasn't a big negative.

Bottom Line:

If you read the first book, Blind Wolf, and enjoyed it, I imagine you'll enjoy this as well. If you're looking for tame erotica, this might also be for you - there's no kink here, so it's not a bad place to dip your toes! 

3 stars
For fans of Blind Wolf, tame erotica, werewolves

*I don't know whether Blind Wolf was tamer or not. And, to be clear, I *thought* that Blind Wolf was actually a full length novel, with this novella as an add-on. Knowing now that it was roughly the same length, I'm curious about what the content of the first book was like.