Natalie Gibson's Satin Sheets Romance Review of Mirabella's Mardi Gras Menage by Louisa Bacio

The Vampire, The Witch and The Werewolf:
Mirabella's Mardi Gras Menage

by Louisa Bacio

75 page ebook
Erotica - Paranormal, Menage Romance
Publisher: Ravenous Romance

Buy Links:
Amazon
Ravenous Romance

Constantly under the watchful eye of her Voodoo priestess aunt, Mirabella longs to break free during the events of Mardi Gras. Escapades draw her into the arms of Marguerite, a fiery redhead with a passion for life, and Nick, a familiar vampire who’s haunted by his transformation and past. What starts as a new experience – a Mardi Gras Ménage – soon turns deadly, and none of their lives will ever be the same.

Natalie Gibson's Review

The blurb kind of says it all.  This is a short erotic piece set in New Orleans at Mardi Gras complete with a vampire, two very sexy ladies who want him, and the Voodoo priestess who wants to keep them apart.  I was intrigued enough to select it from our review submissions pile.  That in itself is quite an accomplishment.  This is part of a series but it stands well enough on its own.  The lore is nothing we aren't familiar with.

Mirabella is overprotected and sheltered.  She's an adult but has very little experience under her belt (pun intended).  Marguerite is a take charge woman who knows what she wants.  She wants Nick, until she meets Mirabella and then she wants both. 

The story isn't long.  Marguerite comes to Mirabella's aunt's shop to get love help snagging Nick.  Weird guy creeps Marguerite out at work and Nick walks her home to find Mirabella waiting for both of them.  Then, there's a few chapters of menage sex, a little back story, a reveal, climax, and more sex.  Menage is difficult to write.  With two 'his' or two 'hers' the pronouns can get a little confusing.  There were a few times this could have been clearer.  If you are looking for a menage erotic short, give this a chance, you might like it.  If you are looking for a vampire erotic read, you might be disappointed with the minor part blood plays in this.

I enjoyed it but had some issues with Mirabella's character.  She is supposed to be a virgin.  First times are awkward. Her first is with a man and another woman.  She was anxious, which is to be expected, and then she says stuff no virgin would say.  She worries when they try something a bit kinky if they are already bored of her but that issue was never addressed.  She abandons the only family she knows without really discussing her reservations with her supposed mates.  Menage romance can be believeable but this dynamic felt a little lacking. 

I will say again that I enjoyed this short story for what it was.  I am always looking for an excuse to read about vampires and menage.  Throw them together in the melting pot known as NOLA, and I'll bite.  I give this one 3.5 satin pillows and 4 candle flames.

Connect with this author:
On her website http://louisabacio.com/ 
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Leave a comment with your email for a chance to win one ebook from Louisa Bacio's backlog. 

Natalie Gibson's Review

The blurb kind of says it all.  This is a short erotic piece set in New Orleans at Mardi Gras complete with a vampire, two very sexy ladies who want him, and the Voodoo priestess who wants to keep them apart.  I was intrigued enough to select it from our review submissions pile.  That in itself is quite an accomplishment.  This is part of a series but it stands well enough on its own.  The lore is nothing we aren't familiar with.

Mirabella is overprotected and sheltered.  She's an adult but has very little experience under her belt (pun intended).  Marguerite is a take charge woman who knows what she wants.  She wants Nick, until she meets Mirabella and then she wants both. 

The story isn't long.  Marguerite comes to Mirabella's aunt's shop to get love help snagging Nick.  Weird guy creeps Marguerite out at work and Nick walks her home to find Mirabella waiting for both of them.  Then, there's a few chapters of menage sex, a little back story, a reveal, climax, and more sex.  Menage is difficult to write.  With two 'his' or two 'hers' the pronouns can get a little confusing.  There were a few times this could have been clearer.  If you are looking for a menage erotic short, give this a chance, you might like it.  If you are looking for a vampire erotic read, you might be disappointed with the minor part blood plays in this.

I enjoyed it but had some issues with Mirabella's character.  She is supposed to be a virgin.  First times are awkward. Her first is with a man and another woman.  She was anxious, which is to be expected, and then she says stuff no virgin would say.  She worries when they try something a bit kinky if they are already bored of her but that issue was never addressed.  She abandons the only family she knows without really discussing her reservations with her supposed mates.  Menage romance can be believeable but this dynamic felt a little lacking. 

I will say again that I enjoyed this short story for what it was.  I am always looking for an excuse to read about vampires and menage.  Throw them together in the melting pot known as NOLA, and I'll bite.  I give this one 3.5 satin pillows and 5 candle flames.

Connect with Louisa Bacio on

her website

facebook

twitter

Leave a comment with your email for a chance to win one ebook from Louisa Bacio's backlog. 

Natalie Gibson reviews Blood Spirit by Gabrielle Bisset for Satin Sheets Romance Reviews

Blood Spirit (Sons of Navarus #3)
by Gabrielle Bisset

ebook, 205 pages
Genre: Paranormal (vampire) Erotic Romance

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http://www.gabriellebisset.com/




I am everything you seek. I am vampire.

Blessed with the gift of telepathy, Terek always knows what a woman wants. His gift has afforded him nightly sensual pleasures and exotic treats for centuries, but beneath the surface he yearns for much more.

Ilona can give him what his soul craves, but only if he trusts his heart. One fateful choice made out of desire puts all he cares for in danger. With a civil war and the threat of Archon hunters at every turn, this Son may lose everything if he can't find the balance between heart and mind.


Natalie Gibson's review:
This is the best of the three.  That may be because Terek is the most reasonable and understandable hero.  He is a sympathetic character.  He is a good man and a good sire.  He is misunderstood because of the way he chooses, makes and keeps his vampires.  He only turns females and he has them housed together in his places all over the world.  Other vampires call them Terek's harems but he does not see them that way.  He has a near partnership with his first few turned, but while he loves them all, he gives his heart to none.  He loved completely in his human past and it nearly killed him.  He is not ready to commit to one woman because that would make him weak and easy to attack.  His 'harem' talk constantly about 'the one' who will come along and change all that.  They recognize this in Ilona way before he can see that she is perfect for him.  Ilona resists him at every turn.  She is not happy with her conversion.  She never asked for it, but was turned as an alternative to dying.  Though Terek is a telepath, Ilona is completely blank.  He cannot read her and so she must overcome her own hangups before he can give her what she needs to come to terms with her new life.  What she wants is Terek - 100% of him.  She cannot share.  Their romance is realistic and their chemistry is genuine. 
Ilona has difficulty reconciling the man man he is with her, so sweet and patient, and the killer he has been and easily slips back into.  Terek was a monk who after being turned devoted his life to loving all women.  He faught wars against humans set on ending his kind.  He has many kills to his name and easily does what is needed to protect those he loves.  She has difficulty understanding how so much good and so much bad can reside in one soul.  She is afraid that the man she fears will replace the one she loves.
The overall story arc of the Sons vs. Archon advances slowly.  The Archon score some points but believe they are much further ahead than they are in reality.  They kill a vampire named Sampson, thinking he was a Son.  They attack Terek's vampires because they think the vampires belonged to Sampson.  The Sons make headway with the prophesy and the bad guy from book 2 moves up the Archon ranks.  His character is a little more flushed out and the reader is exposed to the Archons as a whole, who are much greater in number and power than we have previously been led to believe.  This is building to quite the showdown.

Blood Spirit is awarded 5 satin pillows.  It was a great read that not only fans of vampire romance but also fans of good old fashioned romance will enjoy.

It earned 3 candle flames from me.   Blood Spirit had graphic adult scenes and themes but was not as explicit nor as arousing as the first two in the series.

Natalie Gibson's Satin Sheets Romance Review of Blood Betrayed by Gabrielle Bisset

Blood Betrayed (Sons of Navarus #2)

by Gabrielle Bisset

Genre: Paranormal (vamprire) erotic romance

Length: 270 pages

Formats: ebook and paperback

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I am everything forbidden. I am vampire.

Haunted by betrayal, Saint hides in the human world, giving his heart to no one and finding the only solace from his past in the arms of human women. Now as the Archons begin their takeover of the vampire world, this Son of Navarus has been marked for death. 

Summoned to defeat the Archons by the world that shunned him, Saint must face his past and Solenne, the woman he loved and lost a century ago, for only in accepting her will his body and soul finally find salvation.

Natalie Gibson's review:

Book 2 is about Saint, a 100 year old vampire outcast for his 'crime' of violating the sacred bond between vampire and sire.  Not wanting to give too much away, I won't give a full summary.  Saint is somewhat of an anomaly in the vampire world.  He doesn't fraternize with other vampires.  Not sleeping with vampires, even ones he's made, earns him the nickname Saint.  He takes comfort in the momentary comfort with the human women he makes love to, giving them happiness, stealing some of that happiness for himself.  The Archons turn their attentions to killing him and he is forced into the arms of Solenne, the woman who he broke all laws to be with and then rejected him allowing him to suffer his sentence alone.

This book is much better than book 1, in my opinion.  The twists and turns, flashbacks and subtle undertones made it a great read.  The plot was well planned and the tempo was just right.  There were no out of place surprises that pulled me from the story.  The characters were fleshed and full, complex and complete.  There were no places where anyone acted out of character.  My one complaint is that the sex scenes with the human women were too explicit and frequent.  The point could have been made with one or two scenes or maybe the same number of women but with less detail.  It would have made the scenes with his true love a little more effective.  

All in all, I really enjoyed the book and would suggest it to readers who love vampire romance.

I award Blood Betrayed 4 satin pillows.

Blood Betrayed earns 4 candle flames - sex and language is hot, graphic, and plentiful.

Come back after Christmas for my review of book #3 of Sons of Navarus.  It is about Terek, a mind reading vampire, and is by far the best of the series.

Ava's Satin Sheets Review of Honeymoon Bite by Sharon Hamilton

Title: Honeymoon Bite

Author: Sharon Hamilton

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Website: http://sharonhamiltonauthor.com/index.html

Length: 264 Pages

Description:

Anne caught her husband cheating with the maid of Honor before their wedding cake was cut. She decided to take her planned and paid for honeymoon in Tuscany, alone. On the evening of what was to be her wedding night, she gets bitten by a female vampire.

Marcus Monteleone has waited three hundred years to find his fated female, only to discover her dying in his arms. He saves Anne's life by turning her, and then works to gain her trust, to cope with being a newly-formed golden vampire.

But when Anne finds out Marcus has not been completely truthful about his past, she vows to live as a human, and shuns the vampire world. Alone and unprotected, she falls prey to the very villainess who took her human soul, and who now takes the only man she’s ever loved.

Which lover will have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the other before they both are lost?

Review

An excellent paranormal romance that was exciting, romantic, entertaining and very satisfying to read. It had me anticipating what would happen next many times over, so much so I could not put it down and even finished it up in a day. The vampires in this book were different from your average vampire, but I enjoy different variations and changes to the same old stuff. It made for a more unpredictable read and more adventurous to explore! Vampire lovers, any paranormal readers and even those who love the romance genre will enjoy Honeymoon Bite.

Anne is a sweet, trusting and beautiful woman that just desires what many other women do. A happy marriage, family and a loving and loyal husband, alas, it’s not to be this way for poor Anne. The evening of her wedding she finds her husband in an intimate situation with her best friend. Tired of him and his infidelity, she takes the planned honeymoon trip by herself and lands in another situation that no one would ever ask for only to be saved by a man that now haunts her thoughts day and night ever since. Now alive more than ever, she chooses to actually live. She’s stronger, more determined and practically invincible. But her journey for happiness is a long way from her grasp. She has many new cravings and rules that stop her from taking exactly what she wants. Especially when what she wants is from her dream man.

Marcus is a centuries old vampire that has a true warm heart, a romantic soul and a yearning for his fated. When he finally finds her, he’s stricken with grief that his fated, the woman he’s finally found lays injured, close to dying. Determined to keep her alive he makes a quick decision to change her to be like him and hopes with all of his being that she will grow to know, love, trust and respect him as her fated. At times Marcus came off as overly obsessed with Anne, but I guess considering he’s waited as long as he has, it’s warranted. After all, Fate is something that's meant to be and he knows he's a very lucky male to have a chance to experience it.

Lies, deception, unfaithfulness, so many twists and turns in the journey for happiness and contentment between the two main characters. But the chemistry that flows between them is undeniable and something to be cherished, for all eternity :) 

4 Satin Pillows

Heat rating of 4 pillow mints

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Honeymoon-Golden-Vampire-Legacy-ebook/dp/B006QCMD6K/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324961060&sr=1-2

Author: Lauren Pilla

Title: A Vampire for Halloween

Print Length: 51 pages

Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing (October 1, 2012)

 

Alexis is obsessed with Halloween. With her house decked out to the nines no one could possibly disagree. Ghosts and vampires sway against her walls while a scarecrow guards her front yard. Alexis, however has no one to guard her subconscious and is pleasurably invaded by a dark, sexy and mysterious man night after night.

Luke Ellis is a 472 year old vampire who is madly in love with Alexis. He invades her dreams, knowing it’s the only way he can be with her, until he gets the brilliant idea to invite her to his annual Halloween party.

Alexis has heard rumors about the wild parties held at the Ellis mansion and couldn’t wait to attend. What she doesn’t know is her mysterious man is also there… waiting. Will she have a real life encounter with her fantasy man or will her dreams turn into a nightmare?

 

Natalie Gibson's Review:

 

It was enjoyable and cute even from the first page.  Many of us Halloweenaphiles can relate to Alexis.  She starts her decorating in September, late August if she can get away with it.  She immerses herself in all things fall, be it spice tea or roasted pumpkin seeds.  Luke is her dream man.  Quite literally, he is in her dreams.  It is a special ability he has on top of being a vampire.  They meet in the physical when Luke sends Alexis an invite to his annual Halloween party.  It is a culture shock to Alexis, the only human to ever attend, when she is thrown into a world of vampires, werewolves, ghosts and fairies. 

 

Costumes, creepy feelings of being watched, Halloween and fall references...there were a lot of things for October lovers to enjoy.  This was a short story so I will keep my review short.  This one was all about setting and that was done well.  Alexis and Luke fall in love off screen, so to speak, in her dream scape, which is fine, but the story could have been enhanced by extending this and letting the reader see it.  It would also have been nice for there to be more conflict and perhaps another erotic scene. Those are my opinions. Over all, this is a good choice for a quick read around Halloween. 

 

A Vampire for Halloween is awarded 3 Satin Pillows. 

 

Buy Link
http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=420

 

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Satin Sheets Reviews Aphrodite's Hunt by Jennifer Blackstream

Title: Aphrodite's Hunt

Author: Jennifer Blackstream

Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance

Length: 235 pages

“When a vampire gets involved in a werewolf mating ritual, you know there’s going to be blood . . .”

Gia is a werewolf with a mission: to have a submissive mate who will never threaten her dominance. For years she has ruled as the lupa of her pack with just such a mate. Then one night her perfect little arrangement comes to an end when her mate betrays her with another woman. Outraged at the insult to their lupa, the pack calls for one of their most sacred rituals: Aphrodite’s Hunt. For three nights Gia will be the prey, hunted by the eligible males of her pack until one proves himself worthy by finding her and claiming her as his own. If Gia wants to escape the erotic ritual that even her own wolf longs for, she will have to find someone to protect her not only from her pack . . . but from her own carnal desires.

Sorin is a vampire with a secret. Haunted by the macabre sins of his past, he has sworn off blood, determined to stick to a diet of siphoned energy that leaves him too weak to pose a threat. When Gia comes to his door, possessed by a heated desire and desperate to make a deal, Sorin quickly turns her away. But he soon finds out that Gia is not a werewolf used to taking orders. One bloody kiss is all it takes to awaken the beast he has kept trapped inside of him for so long and suddenly Sorin finds himself swept up by a renewed hunger for the warmer things in life.

Now Gia wants out of the deal and Sorin wants . . . her.

Natalie Gibson's Review:

Aphrodite's Hunt was written for readers exactly like me.  If you like paranormal romance with vampires and werewolves, heavy on the erotic with plenty of blood drinking, wolf chasing and dominant males, then this is an excellent choice.  It was a quick and smooth read. The pace was steady but fast.  There was no slow build.  We are introduced to Gia on the worst night of her life.  Her mate has just cheated on her and her pack has called for an archaic (in her mind) ritual in which she must run and be hunted.  The victor will become her new mate.  To make matters worse, there is real magic here and her body betrays her at every turn.  She is aroused by the dominant males that would normally repulse her.  She runs to the only safety she can think of - the local vampire, Sorin.  Sorin is something much more interesting than a mere vampire and his condition complicates matters when all Gia wants to do is hide out in his home until the hunt is over.  Well, that's what she wants until she is actually inside Sorin's home.  Once there she is consumed by the need for him, and resist it though she might, she can't hide her arousal and increased heartbeat from a vampire.  

This book was well done for erotica that skirts the edge of horror.  I would say that a good 60% to 70% of the book was sex or thinking of sex, but maybe that was just me.  When it is not about sex, there is a lot of fighting, scrapping, and chasing (sometimes even those things are about sex).  This was an action packed read that I finished in just two nights. There is quite a bit of blood.  Sorin has lived in denial of his true nature for ages and when Gia comes in he loses all control.  He almost kills her several times, at least one of which is while they are having sex.  There is a lot of gripping of hips until they bruise.  Vampire/Werewolf loving...ah, sweet beautiful agony. 

The characters' back stories were wonderful and the creatures' mythologies were rich. Both main characters do a lot of real growth. They change throughout the story which made for a well rounded read.  Gia was just as strong as Sorin and that worked for me.  I don't enjoy wilting weeping female characters.  This had none of those.  It was well written and well planned.  I did not know what was going to happen next but I knew I had to keep reading.  I plan to read more from Jennifer Blackstream.  I've already bought, read, and reviewed the first in her Revenge in Vein Series.

Aphrodite's Hunt is awarded: 5 Satin Pillows...though, after a night with Gia and Sorin, they would probably be shredded to bits.

Connect with Jennifer Blackstream and check out her works.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Aphrodites-Hunt-ebook/dp/B009GVC91M/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1349835421&sr=8-3&keywords=jennifer+blackstream
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/aphrodites-hunt-jennifer-blackstream/1113017435?ean=2940015608465
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Aphrodites-Hunt/book-J33XgXU_6kSH5Q84hDmBzg/page1.html?s=Nw4n-bkj2EO1cWNJ7894FQ&r=5
AllRomance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-aphrodite039shunt-946820-139.html

Website: www.jenniferblackstream.com

The author is doing a giveaway of 5 free ebook copies of Aphrodite's Hunt.  Leave a comment with your email address and bingo, you are entered.  Good Luck!