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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spellbinding, 19 Oct 2008
I got this because of the Emma Holly story which continues exploring her Yamish Demon World, however all the stories are entertaining. Which ones are your favourites is likely to be influenced more if you know the authors' work already.
Emma Holly - The Countess's Pleasure
Set in the anything goes human city of Bhamjran, a widowed Countess decides to investigate the performance in The Ladies Lotus and discovers a whole lot more than she bargained for. She's immediately drawn to the Yama who is performing, to such an extent that she offers him a proposition. In their own ways these two are looking for freedom. She from a life and a secret that she has left behind when she journeyed to Bhamjran, he from paying restitution for a crime his mother's been convicted of. This is both a really sweet romance, and very sexy too. Even in the shorter length of a novella, you get to know and care about the characters.
Lora Leigh - The Breed Next Door
The title really says it all. This is part of a series which I confess I've no familiarity with, and I can't say that I feel compelled to investigate further - it was ok but not that great for me. Tarek is a Breed assassin, who has moved into a neighbourhood to complete his assignment. Lyra is his next door neighbour. They are attracted to each other, and we meet them when she's raking him down for butchering her roses. A perilous situation forces him to protect her, at which point he discovers that she's his mate. Despite already being attracted, he's secreting an aphrodisiac from glands under his tongue which will make her completely mad for him. Needless to say there's a lot of sex in this story, as well as a deadly showdown.
Meljean Brook - Falling For Anthony
Apparently this is the first story in a series about Guardians (think Guardian Angels). Like the Emma Holly story, this has a historical setting, during the Napoleonic Wars. Anthony is a doctor about to set off for the battle fields. Before he does, he has a surprising encounter with his best friend's sister, and makes her a promise to come back and marry her. There's a lot going on here: a Nosferatu attack which leads to Anthony becoming a Guardian; a Demon making trouble; an almost-Vampire. I found this very atmospheric, and romantic as well as sensual. I will definitely be looking out for other stories in this series.
Shiloh Walker - The Blood Kiss
Roman is a Werewolf King, who discovers that the neighbouring Vampires have imprisoned his brother for entering their territory. Roman has history with the Vampires, whose leader he holds responsible for the death of his father. He decides to rescue his brother, and joins a Vampire party where he spots a woman who he was attracted to earlier in the day. She only happens to be the Vampire leader's daughter, Julianna! It's clear to him, though, that this is not a happy lady. An encounter with her leads him to discover that she's being faced by her father with two equally unpalatable choices. Instead she chooses a third option - and helps Roman free his brother. Her decision unleashes a terrible punishment from her father, fortunately for her (though she doesn't like it), Roman has decided to take her prisoner and back to his own territory. There's plenty of crackling sexual tension in the dialogue between Roman and Julianna, before the two actually get together. If this is part of a series, I will be interested to investigate more.
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