I have officially lost my Urban Fantasy Virginity. I feel so dirty. But in a very good way.
The Druid Stone
- Title: The Druid Stone
- Author(s): Heidi Belleau and Violetta Vane
- Series: Layers of the Otherworld, Book 1
- Genre(s): Contemporary, GLBTQ, Urban Fantasy
- Publisher: Carina Press, August 2012
- Source: NetGalley
- Length: 278 pages
- Trope(s): Time Travel, Other Paranormal Stuff About Which I Have No Clue
- Quick blurb: Tortured by murderous recurring dreams, “Sean from America” needs help from paranormal investigator Cormac to rid himself of a cursed Druid artifact.
- Quick review: Stayed up until 3 a.m. finishing this, and I don’t even LIKE paranormals.
- Grade: B
…Sean realized if he wanted to now he could push back, any time, because there was nothing holding him to the wall anymore. Nothing but Cormac’s unspoken expectation and Sean’s unspeakable desire to meet it.
I really hate it when I have to stop reading in the middle of a sex scene because I have to go back and highlight everything because the writing is so fucking good.
For the urban fantasy elements, I must admit that I am in no way qualified to judge the world-building, and I was pretty intimidated when the heavy-duty paranormal stuff kicked in. But after a few chapters, I figured out that reading the Irish mythology as a history lesson with some Harry Potter analogies helped keep me in the story.
I still hate time travel, though. All the “what if?” and “but what about…??? GAH!” moments put my brain in overdrive trying to make everything line up properly.
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Galway Bound
- Title: Galway Bound
- Author(s): Heidi Belleau and Violetta Vane
- Series: Layers of the Otherworld, Book 1.1
- Genre(s): Contemporary, GLBTQ, Erotica
- Publisher: Self-Published, October 2012
- Source: All Romance eBooks, 99c (part of the Cyber Monday Binge)
- Length: 32 pages
- Quick blurb: Sean and Cormac indulge in a weekend away to reconnect and celebrate their first year together.
- Quick review: If you think BDSM can’t be romantic, THINK AGAIN.
- Grade: A
Cormac knew he should pull back, delay this, let himself savor Sean’s submission just a little longer, but the truth was — the truth was — even though Sean gave him the drive to be strong, he also gave him the permission to be weak. And Cormac was weak. He was torturously, deliciously weak.
I read it, and then I read it again. Because OH. MY. GOD. *~*swoon*~* <thud>
“Unspoken expectation” + “unspeakable desire to meet it” = <3 <3 <3
I love thoughtfully chosen words.
I know *happysigh* – I’m putting that on my list along with your “erotic spectacle.”
Oh, also I saw your Cyber Monday haul and I want to put in a word for The Oil Tycoon and her Sexy Sheikh, which I’m reading right now. I had a feeling from the title that it would be my kind of thing, but it’s turning out to really be my kind of thing. Among other virtues, it emphatically passes the Bechdel test.
You’re getting a grip on how to write funny positive reviews. I laughed out loud reading this.
I’m also delighted you’ve found some good stuff to read – I always really feel for the book reviewers plowing their miserable way through horrific dreck.