Well, I haven’t been much tempted by the recent books at Siren, or elsewhere, but this week I found 2 I thought might be worth it. All I can say is, MEH!
- Title: Claiming Their Dream Weaver
- Author: Cooper McKenzie
- Type: Erotic contemporary romance
- Genre: Ménage with a paranormal edge
- Sub-genre: Fated mates
- My Grade: C- (2.6*)
- Rating: xxx
- Length: Novella at 26,000 words for $4.50
- Where Available: as an ebook at Siren publishing (link for convenience only)
- FTC Disclosure: purchased ebook on line
Claiming Their Dream Weaver is rather short novella that’s long on sex and short on substance, but there is a modest storyline to hold it together. Suz Bowen Black has an unusual heritage, she’s a Dream Weaver, something she never understood or fully believed, But her great-grandmother Ruth is dying and she’s been called back to New Bern, North Carolina. Suz left New Bern behind years ago, pregnant and married. Divorced from an abusive husband who beat her till she lost their child, she went through wild period searching for an orgasm, but never found one.
Waiting for her at Ruth’s house were the MacKenzie twins, Penn and Liam. Suz had ‘claimed’ them when she was a little girl. When Suz was 18, she asked them to take her virginity and the twins, who had promised their father not to claim her till she was the Dream Weaver, turned her down, but made her promise them all her future orgasms. After years in the SAS, they came to New Bern to help Ruth and wait for Suz to come back, but she never did. Now they make things right and claim their Dream Weaver.
The story was too short for any depth or substance, but it has enough that to make it interesting. Its soap opera worthy plot plays out quickly over a very compressed time frame and reading time is very short. Not worth $4.50.
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- Title: Table for Three
- Author: Missy Martine
- Type: Erotic contemporary romance
- Genre: Ménage; Older woman younger men
- Sub-genre: Wounded dove and twin brothers who share
- My Grade: C- (2.7*)
- Rating: xxx
- Length: Novel at 76,000 words for $6.50
- Where Available: as an ebook at Siren publishing (link for convenience only)
- FTC Disclosure: purchased ebook on line
This role reversal May-December ménage romance has some very good story elements and some very weak ones. Cassandra ‘Cass’ Abernathy is woman in hiding and recovering from an abusive marriage. Her now ex-husband, Eric, is getting out of jail and she’s still so afraid of him she’s hidden herself away as best she can. When a lawyer tries to contact her, she is very cautious. She has her best friend call him to see what he wants, meets him well away from her residence, and is very reluctant to believe his claim that she’s the sole heir of an uncle she never knew. Cass was raised in the foster care system and never knew anything at all about her family, least of all any living relative, one that never contacted her.
I have several problems here with the plot, my biggest being the dangling of having Eric come after Cass, but his never appearing, the very fast ‘courtship’ period – measure on a clock, not a calendar – and Cass’s fast acceptance of two strangers as her lovers. All that aside, what drove me crazy was the changing point of view that made scenes ‘replay’ from one character to another. As a writing device, this is tricky to pull off well and it can get annoying fast. It also led to some very strange places where one chapter ended and another began. I liked the older woman/younger men, thought Cass developed well as a character, but the time compression of the story arc of just a few days really stretched believability to the breaking point. The conniving lawyer adds a bit of interest, but past the very good setup, the story starts to skim the surface of the characters and falls into a rather predictable ménage. I found that disappointing and was hoping for more developed story. I also didn’t care for the dangling plot line of the legal secretary who wants the twins calling Cass’s ex-husband to let him know where she was. Neither her actions or what happens with the ex-husband get resolved. If this was to be the first of a series, the ending didn’t indicate that.
Table for Three was a slightly below average read. It had a strong beginning, average middle and annoying ending with unresolved issues. The story arc time line just wasn’t believable. Was it worth $6.50? I don’t think so.
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