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Publisher Ellora’s Cave continues their Ellora’s Cavemen anthology series with their fourth book. While not all of these stories may be everyone’s cup of tea, I think this series is a terrific way to introduce yourself to Ellora’s Cave authors you may not have read before.
Night Scream by Denise A. Agnew
Evelyn Layne, administrative assistant for the Section Chief of the Special Investigations Agency (SIA) and wannabe agent, has worked a lot of long hours lately. She’s tired, bored with life, and just wants to go home. When mysterious sounds start to echo through the halls, intriguing Special Agent Conall Tierney comes to her rescue. But from whom does she need to be saved more – Conall and his amourous attentions, or the danger stalking the building?
I loved the stapler-wielding heroine in this story. She made me laugh, and the hero and heroine’s banter was amusing to read. This was also a good action-adventure story, and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants something fun to read.
WARNING: Story contains mild anal play and oral sex.
Body Chemistry by Tawny Taylor
Office Christmas parties are dangerous – you never know what you’ll end up doing… or who you’ll end up doing it with. When genius scientist and slightly clumsy Lukas Brenner literally stumbles upon a chemical that turns women on, can he be sure that Allie Larson wants him for himself, or for his scientifically enhanced pheromones?
While I liked the premise and the author’s entertaining writing style, overall I was left somewhat disappointed by the story. The hero struck me as unbelievable because as soon as they went into the house Lukas immediately transforms from an awkward nerd to a dominating stud. I was also left wondering what happened to the couple’s earlier concerns about condoms, as the last love scene doesn’t even mention rubbers. This story was a nice try, but it didn’t quite succeed.
WARNING: Story contains anal play, mild domination, and oral sex.
Earthwork by Annie Windsor
Elemental magic student Keli Dunkirk has been intrigued by instructor Dram Wolfel since she first set eyes on him, and he’s been watching her too. Keli’s finally about to graduate, and Wolfel is ready to posses her in more ways than one. He’s holding something back however, and Keli’s determined to show she accepts all of him including his deepest, darkest aspects. Building trust is important – not only to cement their relationship, but so they can share their magic and fight the upcoming threat to their world.
The majority of this story is about Keli and Wolfel coupling, and there isn’t a lot of plot movement until the end of the story. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending of the story. It was very dramatic and unexpected, and made the story much more interesting than I thought it would be.
WARNING: Story contains mild domination/submission and oral sex.
Ghost of a Chance by Shiloh Walker
Lovers torn apart by tragedy have a second chance for love, but first they must confront the evil that is determined to keep them apart. CJ has inherited her estranged father’s home. Rumoured to be haunted, she can’t help but feel ghostly presences in the house. When she begins to recall memories from someone else’s life, she wonders if she’s starting to lose her mind….
This is a terrific love story, and is probably one of the best I’ve read in a while. I would highly recommend this story to anyone wanting to read about a true romance.
WARNING: Story contains anal play.
Past Running by Myn Hurn
When Aeryn Michael’s ex-husband Craig breaks out of prison, she’s scared not only for her family’s safety but also for her own life. It’s bad enough that everyone suspects she’s hidden the money Craig stole, but what is her jealous ex going to do when he finds out she’s dating the new sheriff?
This story may be uncomfortable for some readers due to the attempted rapes in this story. While they do make the story more realistic, it does ruin the romantic mood, even though these actions are not by the hero. I thought the things Aeryn did to signal the sheriff were clever. For a story that is supposed to be “romantica,” I think this story suffered from too much focus on the ex-husband and his actions.
WARNING: Story contains attempted rape and non-sexual violence, fetish and oral sex.
The Beckoned by Jaid Black
Jack Elliot has been a part of Wai Ashley’s life as long as she can remember. She’s only met him in her dreams. He comforted her when she was a child and now that she’s all grown-up, his actions towards her are increasingly more adult. His current carnal attentions are driving her nuts, and she just wants it to all go away. Jack has dreamed of Wai too, and when she suddenly appears before him he’s not about to let her go.
The premise of this story is of time travel. While I’m not particularly fond of time travel stories, I though this one handled the concept well. The story is well paced and easy to read, but may seem a little overdramatic in parts. This story also managed to set off one of my pet peeves about using too much modern slang in stories set in the past. For me, it’s a little too unbelievable to have a man from 1776 say the phrase “watching your sexy ass jiggle.”
WARNING: Story contains oral sex and references to anal sex.
Reviewed by S. Khaw
for The Road to Romance
January 10, 2005
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