Jordan Castillo Price – A Bitter Taste of Sweet Oblivion (Review & Excerpt)

A Bitter Taste of Sweet Oblivion by Jordan Castillo Price
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Series: Channeling Morpheus, Books #6-10
Source: Review by Request
Copy Provided by the Author
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Staking a vampire isn’t so easy now that Michael’s got a vampire of his very own. Although killing them is no longer an option, he’s as determined as ever to stop the spread of vampirism.

Wild Bill is a lover, not a fighter–so he’s tickled when Michael’s new agenda, to dispense condoms and sterile phlebotomy gear among vampires, replaces the old “heads will roll” approach.

It takes courage to track down vamps in their own territory and deliver a lecture on safe sex, and more importantly, safe bloodletting. Michael’s never been short on audacity…but he’s finding that he and Wild Bill aren’t the only ones with agendas.

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Jordan Castillo Price – Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary (Review & Excerpt)

Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary by Jordan Castillo Price
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Series: Channeling Morpheus, Books #1-5
Source: Review by Request
Copy Provided by the Author
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Michael is a waif in eyeliner who’s determined to wipe vampires off the face of the earth. Wild Bill’s got the hots for Michael, and will stop at nothing to go home with him.

Forget about moonlit castles and windswept moors. These bad boys haunt all-night diners and cheap motels, cut-rate department stores and long, lonely stretches of the Interstate. Ride along with Wild Bill and Michael as the twists and turns of Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary unfold in America’s Heartland.

Ebook box set contains the following novelettes: Payback, Vertigo, Manikin, Tainted, Rebirth.

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Jordan Castillo Price – Criss Cross (Review & Excerpt)

Criss Cross by Jordan Castillo Price
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Series: PsyCop #2
Source: Personal Library
My Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

Criss Cross finds the ghosts surrounding Victor getting awfully pushy. The medications that Victor usually takes to control his abilities are threatening to destroy his liver, and his new meds aren’t any more effective than sugar pills.

Vic is also adjusting to a new PsyCop partner, a mild-mannered guy named Roger with all the personality of white bread. At least he’s willing to spring for the Starbucks.

Jacob’s ex-boyfriend, Crash, is an empathic healer who might be able to help Victor pull his powers into balance, but he seems more interested in getting into Victor’s pants than in providing any actual assistance.

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Lisa Henry & Heidi Belleau – Bliss (Review & Excerpt)

Bliss by Lisa Henry & Heidi Belleau
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Source: Review by Request
Publisher Provided Copy
My Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

They’re always happy.

Rory James has worked hard all his life to become a citizen of the idyllic city-state of Beulah. Like every other kid born in the neighboring country of Tophet, he’s heard the stories: No crime or pollution. A house and food for everyone. It’s perfect, and Rory is finally getting a piece of it.

So is Tate Patterson. He’s from Tophet, too, but he’s not a legal immigrant; he snuck in as a thief. A city without crime seems like an easy score, until he crashes into Rory during a getaway and is arrested for assaulting a citizen. Instead of jail, Tate is enrolled in Beulah’s Rehabilitation through Restitution program. By living with and serving his victim for seven years, Tate will learn the human face of his crimes.

If it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is. Tate is fitted with a behavior-modifying chip that leaves him unable to disobey orders—any orders, no matter how dehumanizing. Worse, the chip prevents him from telling Rory, the one man in all of Beulah who might care about him, the truth: in a country without prisons, Tate is locked inside his own mind.

Buy this book:
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Rachel Haimowitz & Heidi Belleau – Damnation

Damnation by Rachel Haimowitz & Heidi Belleau
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Series: The Flesh Cartel, Season 1: Damnation
Source: Review by Request
Copy Provided by Publisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Sublime service, made to order.” The Flesh Cartel: an international, multi-billion-dollar black market that trades in lost souls. Or more specifically, their bodies.

Highly organized and frighteningly efficient, the Flesh Cartel could teach even the KGB a thing or two about breaking a human mind. Fortunately for their ultra-rich clients, they’re just as skilled at putting people back together again-as perfect pets, well-trained and eager to please.

No matter what your secret tastes or dark desires, the Flesh Cartel-for the right price, of course-will hand-design the plaything of your dreams.

This collection contains:

The Flesh Cartel #1: Capture
The Flesh Cartel #2: Auction

Warnings: explicit violence, forced incest, non-consent

The First Season of the Flesh Cartel is one of the darkest, most twisted and terrifying openings for any series I’ve read. That’s not hyperbole. That’s fact.

This is a collection of the first two episodes of this series:
The Flesh Cartel #1: Capture & The Flesh Cartel #2: Auction

Sublime service, made to order.
The Flesh Cartel: an international, multi-billion-dollar black market that trades in lost souls. Or more specifically, their bodies.

Some books require a stern warning for the unsuspecting reader:
This book goes beyond graphic…
kidnapping and abuse…
gang rape…
forced incest…
emotional torture…
Proceed with extreme caution.

Highly Organized and frighteningly efficient, the Flesh Cartel could teach even the KGB a thing or two about breaking a human mind. Fortunately for their ultra-rich clients, they’re just as skilled at putting people back together again – as perfect pets, well-trained and eager to please.

As JaHy told me, this series isn’t just dark, it’s pitch black…

If you find the stomach to take on this series, then you’ll be rewarded with a tale full of intrigue which hooks you immediately. You can feel the darkness settle around you even after you’ve put the book down…

No matter what your secret tastes or dark desires, the Flesh Cartel – for the right price, of course – will hand-design the plaything of your dreams.

Brothers.
Mat is a MMA fighter.
Dougie is a PHD student.
They were struggling to keep their heads above water, and now they’re fighting for their lives. Ripped from their home by a group of strangers and forced to endure a series of unspeakable acts… Forced to watch each other suffer…

But Why?

I do not know what this series holds for Dougie & Mat, but let me be clear:
This is not BDSM Romance,
This is not MM Romance,
This is not Stockholm Syndrome disguised as Romance.

He almost whimpered Don’t hurt me again, but managed to bite it back. Like it’d mattered worth a damn anyway. Hadn’t yet. They actually seemed to like it when he begged.

Brothers Mat & Dougie survived a week in the brutal hands of their captors. Can they possibly survive what comes next? What lengths will they go to in order to survive?

The purpose behind the kidnapping and incarceration of the brothers finally becomes clear – they are to auctioned off as pets to the highest bidder.

Worn down by days of unrelenting fear and abuse, Mat and Dougie are packaged with the same ruthless efficiency as any consumer product: Dougie the pretty boy twink, Mat the rabid pit bull. They are led to the auction block as the showpiece of the house’s collection.

Trapped in adjacent cells awaiting their fate, the brothers are achingly close – close enough to hear the other’s tortured moans – yet unable to see or comfort one another.

While Mat clings to the strength and endurance earned in this MMA training, Dougie is despairing only a few feet away.
Helpless…
Broken…

Will the brothers ever be able to escape this hell?
And will the ever be the same if they do?

Mat would rather be beaten to death than play the role of obedient slave for sale, but Dougie, desperate not to be separated from his brother, strikes a deal with the pitiless Madame who runs the auction house and controls both their fates. It might just be enough to keep them together – slaves, but together – assuming Mat even wants to be after Dougie fulfills his end of his with the devil.

Each time I finish one of the Flesh Cartel episodes I find myself at a precipice…

Do I continue down this dark and twisted path to satisfy my curiosity? Can I possibly handle the increasing brutality which Mat and Dougie have been forced to endure? Because one thing is for sure – there is no light at the end of the tunnel for these brothers.

This is a thrilling, terrifying tale packed into an unassumingly small package…
And I can’t wait to go back for more…

***This book was provided to me by Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review***

Rachel Haimowitz & Heidi Belleau – Auction

Auction by Rachel Haimowitz & Heidi Belleau
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Series: The Flesh Cartel #2
Source: Review by Request
Copy Provided by Publisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In episode two of The Flesh Cartel, the dark purpose behind Mat and Dougie Carmichael’s abduction is revealed. Though Dougie is protected from the worst of the guards’ brutality, he’s disgusted to find himself halfway to broken—despairing of escape and terrified of pain. Mat holds onto hope despite repeated rapes and beatings, but threats toward his brother teach him well to lay aside his pride and pick his battles carefully.

Worn down by days of unrelenting fear and abuse, Mat and Dougie are packaged and marketed with the same ruthless efficiency as any consumer product: Dougie the prettyboy twink, Mat the rabid pit bull. They are led to the auction block as the showpiece of the house’s collection.

Mat would rather be beaten to death than play the role of obedient slave for sale, but Dougie, desperate not to be separated from his brother, strikes a deal with the pitiless Madame who runs the auction house and controls both their fates. It might just be enough to keep them together—slaves, but together—assuming Mat even wants to be after Dougie fulfills his end of his deal with the devil.

(Publisher’s note: This title contains material some may find objectionable or trigger-inducing, including explicit violence, non-consent, and forced incest.)

Brothers Mat & Dougie survived a week in the brutal hands of their captors. Can they possibly endure what comes next? What lengths will they go to in order to survive?

The purpose behind the kidnapping and incarceration of the brothers finally becomes clear – they are to be auctioned off as pets to the highest bidder.

Worn down by days of unrelenting fear and abuse, Mat and Dougie are packaged with the same ruthless efficiency as any consumer product: Dougie the pretty boy twink, Mat the rabid pit bull. They are led to the auction block as the showpiece of the house’s collection.

Trapped in adjacent cells awaiting their fate, the brothers are achingly close – close enough to hear the other’s tortured moans – yet unable to see or comfort one another.

While Mat clings to the strength and endurance earned in this MMA training, Dougie is despairing only a few feet away.
Helpless…
Broken…

Will the brothers ever be able to escape this hell?
And will the ever be the same if they do?

Mat would rather be beaten to death than play the role of obedient slave for sale, but Dougie, desperate not to be separated from his brother, strikes a deal with the pitiless Madame who runs the auction house and controls both their fates.

I’d like to strongly warn readers of the following:
This book goes beyond graphic…
relentless abuse…
gang rape…
forced incest…
emotional torture…
sexual slavery…

I do not know what this series holds for Dougie & Mat, but let me be clear:
This is not BDSM Romance,
This is not MM Romance,
This is not Stockholm Syndrome disguised as Romance.
This. Is. Not. Romance.

It might just be enough to keep them together – slaves, but together – assuming Mat even wants to be after Dougie fulfills his end of his with the devil.

Each time I finish one of the Flesh Cartel episodes I find myself at a precipice…
Do I continue down this dark and twisted path to satisfy my curiosity? Can I possibly handle the increasing brutality which Mat and Dougie have been forced to endure?

Because one thing is for sure – there is no light at the end of the tunnel for these brothers.

***I read this book as part of The Flesh Cartel, Season 1: Damnation which was provided to me by Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review***

Rachel Haimowitz & Heidi Belleau – Capture

Capture by Rachel Haimowitz & Heidi Belleau
–
Series: The Flesh Cartel #1
Source: Review by Request
Copy Provided by Publisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this first installment of the exciting new psychosexual thriller, The Flesh Cartel, orphaned brothers Mat and Dougie Carmichael are stolen in the night from their own home. Taken to a horrifying processing facility, they are assessed, microchipped, and subjected to unspeakable brutality—all in preparation for sale to the highest bidder.

In a world where every person has a price, the beautiful and subduable PhD student Dougie is highly prized. His brother, a rough-edged MMA fighter, is less desirable—and potentially too dangerous—but he still has his own appeal.

Abused and locked up under round the clock surveillance, with no idea where they are or even why they’ve been taken, escape seems impossible, which leaves staying together their only hope. And after being separated once by the foster system, they’ll do anything to keep it from happening again. Anything at all.

(Publisher’s note: This title contains material some may find objectionable or trigger-inducing, including explicit violence, non-consent, and forced incest.)

Just like the main characters, I’m left terrified and looking for answers…

Sublime service, made to order.
The Flesh Cartel: an international, multi-billion-dollar black market that trades in lost souls. Or more specifically, their bodies.

Some books require a stern warning for the unsuspecting reader:
This book goes beyond graphic…
kidnapping and abuse…
gang rape…
forced incest…
emotional torture…
Proceed with extreme caution.

Highly Organized and frighteningly efficient, the Flesh Cartel could teach even the KGB a thing or two about breaking a human mind. Fortunately for their ultra-rich clients, they’re just as skilled at putting people back together again – as perfect pets, well-trained and eager to please.

As JaHy told me, this series isn’t just dark, it’s pitch black…

If you find the stomach to take on the seventy-five haunting pages of this story, then you’ll be rewarded with a tale full of dark intrigue which hooks you immediately. You can feel the darkness settle around you even after you’ve put the book down…

No matter what your secret tastes or dark desires, the Flesh Cartel – for the right price, of course – will hand-design the plaything of your dreams.

Brothers.
Mat is a MMA fighter.
Dougie is a PHD student.
They were struggling to keep their heads above water, and now they’re fighting for their lives. Ripped from their home by a group of strangers and forced to endure a series of unspeakable acts… Forced to watch each other suffer…

But Why?

I do not know what this series holds for Dougie & Mat, but let me be clear:
This is not BDSM Romance,
This is not MM Romance,
This is not Stockholm Syndrome disguised as Romance.
Not. A. Romance.

He almost whimpered Don’t hurt me again, but managed to bite it back. Like it’d mattered worth a damn anyway. Hadn’t yet. They actually seemed to like it when he begged.

This is a thrilling, terrifying tale packed into an unassumingly small package…
And I can’t wait to go back for more…

***I read this book as part of The Flesh Cartel, Season 1: Damnation which was provided to me by Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review***

Seth Grahame-Smith – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
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Series: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies #1
Source: Personal Library
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read.

This is one of a handful of non-erotic books featured on this site, but it is so entertaining, I couldn’t help but post a review!

“IT IS A TRUTH universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. Never was this truth more plain than during the recent attacks at Netherfield Park, in which a household of eighteen was slaughtered and consumed by a horde of the living dead.”

You should know that my enjoyment of this book was GREATLY enhanced by the fact that I re-read Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice before I read this, and I fervently hope you’ll do the same. The reader get’s a much better appreciation of the humor when the original is fresh in their brain…
LOL
Brains… you see what I did there?

To be clear, I’m not much of a Jane Austen fan… I appreciate her iconic work for what it is, but I was in no danger of being offended by reading a parody of her work.

This is a line for line retelling of Pride and Prejudice with Elizabeth and her sisters appearing as highly trained zombie hunters. The whole of the plot remains the same, but it so much more enjoyable with the addition of hoards of flesh-eating undead.

I adored 3/4 Zombie Mrs. Collins. Her character was the best in the book by far.

“What remained of Charlotte would liked to have believed this change the effect of love, and the object of that love her friend Eliza. She watched him whenever they were at Rosings, and whenever he came to Hunsford; but without much success, for her thoughts often wandered to other subjects, such as the warm, succulent sensation of biting into a fresh brain. Mr. Darcy certainly looked at her friend a great deal, but the expression of that look was disputable. It was an earnest, steadfast gaze, but she often doubted whether there were much admiration in it, and sometimes it seemed nothing but absence of mind. And upon imagining Mr. Darcy’s mind, her thoughts would again turn to the subject of chewing on his salty, cauliflower-like brain.”
…
“In her kind schemes for Elizabeth, she sometimes planned her marrying Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was beyond comparison the most pleasant man; he certainly admired her, and his situation in life was most eligible; but, to counterbalance these advantages, Mr. Darcy had a considerably larger head, and thus, more brains to feast upon.”

I laughed and giggled my way through this book. Well done!