Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Review of A Private Collection by CJ Wetherby


A Private Collection by C J Wetherby
 
 
 
Blurb:
 
Do you have a hidden, secret, desire?
 
Are you a man who wants, desperately, to be a woman, or are you a woman who has deep desires to be made into something other than she is? Do you want to give pleasure to more than one other person at a time, or do you expect to find your fulfilment in complete subservience and slavery to a magnificent and dominant female? Perhaps you are just not sure quite who you want to be but only know who you want to be with?
 
What if you were lucky enough to find someone who would help you to become what you most need to be, and to find your true nature?
 
In ‘A Private Collection’ such a person exists, and her friends are eternally grateful to her.
 
Caroline and her companions were introduced in the first volume of the series ‘After the Dreams’. Then they were involved in pony-play, female domination, and sex-in-bondage as well as assisting those who were desperate to change their gender. This book continues the adventures, but – for those readers who want to read this one first - also contains a summary of what has gone before!
 
‘A Private Collection’ though, is not just a sex story. At the same time as Caroline and her friends are revealing their own sexual identities in sumptuous surroundings and elaborate transformation and body-painting rituals, they also become involved in a darker, more complex plot. The two aspects interact, and in this volume especially, are thrown into sharp and sometimes cruel relief in bursts of fast action.Themes of self and self-sacrifice, of revenge and reconciliation, and of hatred and of love are played out to their ultimate ends by people who are deeply sexual and who help others to achieve their own sexual fulfilment.
 
If you enjoy imaginative writing, and you don’t mind laughing, crying, and reaching ecstasy together with the people you read about, then ‘A Private Collection’, the second volume of ‘Caroline’s Company’, is for you.
 
Ravenz Review:
 
This is book 2 in a series titled Caroline's Company

I rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. I thought this book was well written with an intriguing storyline and very good character development. It follows the first book nicely and left me wanting to know what would happen next in book 3! The only down side I found was I thought there would be a few more explicit scenes considering this is Erotica but I didn't feel cheated because the plot is enough to keep the story going. I look forward to reading and reviewing book 3 shortly!
 
~This book was read and reviewed by Kerry Erickson and posted for Ravenz Reviews. The opinions in this review are solely my own and in no way reflect upon the other contributors to this site.~



Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Celtic Tapestry Blog Tour kicks off with Elodie Parkes


Moon Rose Publishing has just released their newest book, A CELTIC TAPESTRY! An anthology between eight authors, each one has taken their own twist on one of the Celtic festivals of the year. From sunny spring to chilly winter, everyone’s favourite season is given a fresh and enticing take in this wonderful collection. To celebrate, Moon Rose Publishing is also hosting a fabulous giveaway as part of the release!

Blurb

The wheel of the year turns, bringing the joy of spring, the warmth of summer, the richness of autumn, and the merriment of winter. But eight Celtic festivals link these seasons together, bringing with them romance, lust, danger, and even magic. From a city under threat from night-time creatures at Ostara, to a selkie caught by the light of the Lughnasadh moon, to a writer caught in the flames of a fiery goddess at Imbolc.

Eight authors have come together to give their own twist on these festivals, weaving each story with a blend of myth, magic, and contemporary telling…to create A Celtic Tapestry.

 The Trailer!



Excerpt (The Picnic, Elodie Parkes)
Morgan looked around at the saplings he had planted in the spring. They were healthy and strong, he decided. Summer was virtually over and he could see the first signs of autumn around him. He was in tune with the forests, and he smiled as he gazed around. To say Morgan was in love with trees and all the things that grew and lived in forests was an understatement. They were his reason for living.

He ran his hand through his thick dark hair and sat down on a nearby fallen tree. The trunk was still thick where he sat, but it was fragile further along. The tree had fallen from age. This part of the forest that Morgan tended had some of the oldest trees in the country growing within it. Morgan liked to think it was because of him that they achieved such great age. He took out his thermos of coffee and poured himself a cup. A leaf sailed down from a nearby oak. It was a pale, golden-orange color, and it landed at Morgan’s feet. He looked up at the vivid blue sky through the canopy of the trees around him.

“Give it another week, and there’ll be more leaves falling,” he said to the forest, and in answer a soft breeze ruffled the bright leaves of the nearby birch and Morgan’s hair.

The breeze flew on through the forest and down into the nearby town. It played with a discarded chocolate biscuit wrapper, pressing the silver and purple paper up against a railing before flowing on. As Ava came down the steps of the town council office it lifted her skirt. It heralded autumn, and yet summer had not been kind that year. Ava would have liked a little more warmth before the end of September, but it didn’t seem that was going to happen. It was just over a week to the autumn equinox, and Ava had noticed that already some trees in her garden were beginning to look a little less green and a little more golden.

She sighed, and her sigh was picked up by the soft breeze as it rounded the corner of the building and brushed her shoulder as she entered the car park. It took a tendril of her dark auburn hair, held back by a tortoiseshell comb, and wrapped it around her face. Ava pushed the hair back behind her ear and opened her car door. She threw her bag onto the passenger seat and slid her laptop case along behind it. She sat in her car for a few seconds, just looking out at the row of rose bushes that fringed the car park. The breeze was busy in the high street, where it had gathered speed and was whipping along a plastic bottle that once held spring water with a spritz of lemon.

Ava had driven home by the time the breeze had moved on down the valley to the next town. She opened the front door of her cottage, and after putting her bag and laptop down on the hall table, she shrugged off her jacket and stepped out of her high-heeled shoes.

Ava went straight into her kitchen and filled the kettle to make a cup of tea. As the water boiled for her tea, she ran up the stairs to her bedroom and changed into jeans and a jumper. She padded downstairs in her bare feet carrying a pair of socks, having decided to go for a walk. The meeting had been stressful, and she felt restless. She made her tea, and then sat down on one of the kitchen chairs to pull on her socks and the short boots she wore to walk.

She glanced at the digital clock inset in the glass door of the electric oven, and without drinking the tea she had made she picked up her keys and cell phone. She slipped them into her pocket and closed the cottage door with a small thud.

Ava lived only five minutes from her favorite walk. There was a path that crossed a field and then wound into the woods, and Ava took it. She liked the path through the field especially when the poppies grew wild as it lay fallow, but she didn’t classify her favorite walk as such until she was in the woods.

*‘Copyright of Elodie Parkes*
 
 
Author Bio



 
Elodie Parkes lives in south east, rural England, but close to a famous city. She works with antiques on the outskirts of the city in an emporium. She has two dogs, Dalmatians, Celt and Chaucer and says she would be lonely without them. She loves reading, movies and the countryside, and that’s where you will find her when she's feeling stressed.

Elodie writes romance, contemporary, and erotic with a twist of mystery, suspense, or the paranormal, now and then. She likes to make the story unusual in some way, by a quirk in the tale.

Author Interview
 
1. What inspired you to be a writer?

People and emotions inspires me. The complexity of life spurs me to write. People inspire me, just in general life. Art is a favorite of mine but it has not so far inspired a book. I think it’s life and the way we all live. I write romance, erotic romance because I think we need more love in the world. Real love I mean, acceptance, caring and camaraderie.
 
2. What does your daily writing schedule look like?
 
I write when I have the time between everything else.

3. What would you consider essential elements of a good story?

 A tremendously interesting plot. Very well drawn characters that readers can empathize with. A couple of twists. A shake of humor and loads of love.

4. What has been your most memorable interaction with your fans?

 A short message saying how much they enjoyed a book and that the story was so emotionally driven they couldn’t put the book down, that’s about The Horoscope Writer.
 
5. Would you like to see any of your books made into movies and if so, which ones?

 I’d like to see The Horoscope Writer and my story in A Celtic Tapestry.

6. What book would you agree to live in for a month and why?

 I’d live in The Horoscope Writer, Dominic is my wish he was real guy.

7. If you could co-write a book with a famous author, who would it be and why?

 That’s a hard one. Maybe Christine Feehan she can write a love scene that’s not between a billionaire and some sappy girl.

8. In your book Two of Them, which character do you favor the most, Jet or Falcon? Why?

 I can’t choose and I have to say both are my loves, my darlings just like all my characters. I might only wish Dominic was real but I still love all the others including the female characters.

9. The leading male character, Dominic, in your book, The Horoscope Writer, is an author himself. Did you base his character on your personal experience as an author?

 I didn’t really. I do know what a rave rejection is though LOL

10. Where did your inspiration for Millie Reinvented come from?

 I was talking to a young woman who was in the antiques shop where I work and she was buying a little sculpture of two lovers kissing. She said she had to have it because it was so nice to look at, as her husband didn’t even kiss her anymore. I couldn’t say anything I just wrapped the item, and stored the thought until the story burst out onto my laptop.

11. Your write an array of genres including romance, contemporary, erotic, mystery, suspense, and paranormal. What is your preferred genre to write and why?

 I write contemporary erotic romance with a twist of any of the above. I prefer contemporary erotic romance because I like to write love stories and happy endings.

12. Do you have a favorite book/series or author that you enjoy for pleasure reading when you’re not writing?

 I read heaps and sometimes far into the night which make it hard to get up the next morning LOL Here are some authors I read.
•Robert Goddard
•Ruth Rendell
•William Gibson
•Colin Dexter
•Philip K. Dick
•Sue Grafton
•Christine Feehan
•Sherrilyn Kenyon
•Keri Arthur
•Stieg Larson

13. What is your favorite type of genre to read?

 I read almost every genre, yes I just read a blurb if it grabs me, buy the book (smiles)

14. Do you buy books from second-hand bookstores?

 Not anymore. I only buy ebooks.

15. Do you let other people borrow your books?

 Used to: now no

16. If you could choose 1 supernatural creature to really exist, what would it be and why?

Dragons, the ultimate pet, hopefully. Optionally unicorn, I mean really how gorgeous.

Author Links:

Blog: http://elodieparkes.blogspot.co.uk/







 MRP Website Author Page: http://www.moonrosepublishing.com/#!elodie-parkes/cys4

Website: http://elodieparkes.webs.com/

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/114681167004175190514/posts


Book buy links:
MRP Website link: http://www.moonrosepublishing.com/#!a-celtic-tapestry/cayu







And now for the giveaway! Well, what IS the free stuff? Moon Rose Publishing, as part of the A CELTIC TAPESTRY tour, is giving away a ton of good stuff. You could win a print copy of A CELTIC TAPESTRY, a sticker pack, bookmarks, a beautiful necklace and jewelled bookmark from Tara S Wood, or an e-book of the anthology!

<a id="rc-7adce33" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7adce33/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>



https://www.facebook.com/MoonRosePublishing/app_228910107186452

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Christy Sloat and The Past Lives Series

The Many Lives of Avery Snow
by
 
 
 
 
Blurb: Avery Snow led a boring, no thrills life. After her father left the family when she was young, Avery's mother died when she was only twelve, leaving her all alone except for her Aunt Paulina. Now, at twenty-six, Avery is very used to being lonely. She enjoys her job at Sunrise Estates, it's the one place where she doesn't feel left out. Her boss, Kerri, is her best friend and Lucy O'Shea, a resident at the home, is a good friend to her as well. The night Lucy dies in Avery's arms she delivers a haunting message to Avery. She tells her that there is a man looking for her from a past life. And he will stop at nothing to have her. Now Avery is unable sleep for more than a few hours, her dreams are keeping her awake. She is too terrified to sleep for the dreams are too vivid and too real. The only catch? She cannot remember what they are about. Until her Spirit Guide, Ianni, comes to help. Ianni shows Avery her past lives and tells her about the man who is stalking her soul. Now Avery remembers every life she has ever lived and she remembers the man she shared them with. He will not give up until she falls in love with him. The problem is Avery is in love with someone else. Ianni must help keep Avery from making the wrong choice. One her soul doesn't want. She also must keep her safe from the Dark Guides who are after Avery. Now Avery must make choices she never has before. This once lonely girl is now surrounded by Spirit Guides, psychics, Demonic Angels and two men fighting for her love. Do you believe in reincarnation and a love that can last lifetimes?

 
My Review: I was particularly fascintated by this new series because its about past lives, twin souls or affinity's, as they are known. I feel the author really gave an acurrate description of what twin souls are and the connection, or pull, that these rare souls have in each life, always finding each other from one life to the next regardless of other lovers or spouses they would already have in that life.
In this intriguing first book in the series, Avery Snow is just an ordinary young woma, living an ordinary life, not much family to speak of except for her Aunt Pauline and a father she hasn't seen since she was a child. Her closest and only friend, Kerri, is also her boss. Avery is a caregiver at the local retirement village. Her favorite resident, Lucy, passes away suddenly and Avery's life starts going to hell. Lucy gives Avery a warning just before she takes her last breath, about a man named Cooper and someone watching her. After Lucy passes away, Avery begins having a hard time sleeping, sometimes only getting by with 3-4 hrs of sleep a night. Then one night, Avery recieves a visit from an unlikely visitor, her Spirit Guide, an angel named Ianni. Avery is convinced her encounter was just a bizzarre dream, but when the things Ianni told Avery start emerging and becoming true, Avery is just a bit freaked out. Before she knows it, Avery is in a bizzarre love triangle, with cousins; one man being Dallas, someone she's had a crush on for over a year, and Landon, her twin soul and husband/lover in her previous 3 lives. Avery must choose between what she wants and what she feels compelled or pulled to do and that is to stop fighting fate and join Landon in this life as well. Things become more difficult when Ianni feels it necessary to fill Dallas (Avery's crush and now boyfriend) in on this crazy situation and Dallas is actually supportive and willing to help Avery make the right decision. I like Dallas, he's really a stand up kind of guy. On the other hand, Landon is paid a visit from his Spirit Guide, Lillith, who wants Landon and Avery to be together again in this life and therefore shows herself to Landon, and tells him everything. So, now everyone is on the same page, but not necessarily wanting the same things. Avery loves both Dallas and Landon and both men love Avery, but more importantly, both men WANT TO BE WITH Avery. Everything is complicated and Avery is beyond confused. And if things couldn't get any more crazy, Dedrick and Benjamin, Dark Guides who thrive off of souls in sadness and despair want Avery and Landon's souls because Twin Souls, Affinity's, make these dark guides more powerful. All decisions on who she should be with are put on hold when Landon's soul is in jeapordy of being taken by Dedrick and Avery must enlist the help of an angel not afraid to break the rules, a psychic, a Watcher, and another Affinity.

This was a great story of love, loss, truth, and destiny. Anyone who is intrigued with past lives will love the accuaracy of this story and anyone who is not familiar with past lives will love learning about what Affinities are and how the people who are in our lives now have always been with us. I give this 5 stars.

Ianni (A Past Lives Novella)
 
 
 
 
Blurb: Ianni gave up her angelic existence to save a human soul. Killing the Dark Guides caused her to be banished from Heaven. Now she will be sent to earth to live as a human. But becoming a human is complicated. She must learn their ways and try to let go of her past life as a Spirit Guide. As if that wasn’t hard enough, now she learns there is a new threat to her friends. Will Ianni strive in her new skin or fail miserably?
Follow Ianni’s new path in this novella of The Past Lives Series.

My Review: This is just a short story of Ianni, Avery's spirit guide, and her journey from being cast out of heaven for using her Light to kill the dark guides that were threatening to take Avery and Landon's souls in The Many Lives of Avery Snow, to acclimating as a human and learning the ways and customs of humans. This is a great novella that ties the first book in to the second upcoming book The Unraveling of Avery Snow in which I will be reviewing next. We really see Ianni's personality emerge in this story. She falls in love with coffee and shopping, like most typical human woem, so she has no problems there. Kerri and Avery help her get a job where they work, at the retirement village, and the 3 girls become the best of friends. What Avery can't offer Ianni, Kerri makes up for, as with the love of shopping, something that Avery really doesn't care for. And though Ianni has her ups and downs with acclimating to being a human, feeling lonely at times when everyone around her seems to be happy and in love, she really does enjoy her new life. But being a human does mean she has her moments of saddness, something the Dark Guides thrive upon and so just when everyone thinks they are safe again after Dedrick and Benjamin's Deaths, Avery's Watcher and Ianni's friend, Mr. Grey, comes to warn Ianni not to let her guard down and keep a close watch on Avery. This novella is also great because it sets up the story for the next book. I give this 4 stars because I would have loved to see more from the author about Ianni as a human. I really think she could have expanded further on her acclimation, perhaps providing a stronger backstory or more ways in which Ianni struggles with her new life and her grieving for her old life. I truly enjoyed what I read and have no complaints on the content or storyline at all, I just wish there was more.


The Unraveling of Avery Snow
 
 
 

Blurb: As Avery Snow settles into her life and relationships with those around her, she fights to forget her past lives. All of which she spent with Landon, who still has no recollection of who she really is. It seems better that way. Even though she still feels a draw to his soul, she chooses to ignore it. For now everything is fine. Her boyfriend, Dallas, has opened a new restaurant. Her friends, Ianni and Kerri, are settling into their lives as well. But when news of a new Dark Guide is revealed, Avery is forced to start thinking about the life she truly leads. One that is very abnormal. One she is desperate to forget. This Dark Guide is determined to make Avery pay for the death of someone she held dear. Now Avery’s life has gone from seemingly perfect to falling apart. What will be at stake next? Her life? Her love? And who will be there in the end to help her up off the ground? Even the strongest love can unravel. Will Avery be able to hold it all together, or will she just let go?


My Review: In this follow up to The Many Lives of Avery Snow, Avery continues to struggle between her desire to make a life with Dallas and and her soul's desire to be with Landon. She loves both men and her heart aches for both of them. To make things more difficult on her, Landon's memories have been altered so that he doesn't remember her in this life or any of the others. He only knows her to be Dallas's girlfriend. So everytime Avery see's Landon, she knows the truth and knows why he walks around looking lost and alone. In fact, everyone (Ianni, Dallas, Kerri, Justin, even her dad) knows why Landon is the way he is.

Not only does Avery have to deal with knowing the truth while Landon does not, but she also faces other challenges in this book. Her relationship with Dallas is strained and she's constantly looking over her shoulder because of a vengeful Dark Guide named Sarafe, hell bent on avenging Dedrick's death. If you read The Many Lives of Avery Snow, you'll remember that Dedrick is the Dark Guide who wanted Landon's soul and was killed by Ianni when she used her Angel Light to destroy him and Benjamin. Now Sarafe has threatened to hurt everyone Avery loves as payment for helping destroy Dedrick.

Along with these challenges Avery faces, she must also deal with her own inner feelings and emotions, deciding that leaving California for somewhere more serene is her only option at this point. I really connected with this book because I saw so much of myself in Avery's situation. For me, this book touched me on a different level and I really embraced that. This sequel is by far my favorite in the series and I really hope the author continues the series, as I would love to see where Avery's life path goes. I give this 5 stars!

 
 

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Valerie Gilbert~Raving Violet




I'm a native New Yorker, passionate mystic, and introspective seeker of expansive and explosive fun. I believe the spirit world and physical world dovetail perfectly. They are designed to, and are flip sides of the same coin. We don't leave the physical world behind in order to "ascend." We raise our vibration physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually in order to bring Heaven down to Earth and meld the two spheres. We, the Human Adventurers, are the secret ingredient to create this Alchemy. And whoever has the most fun wins. Happiness heals. Joy is sacred. That's who I am, and that's what I write about!






Blurb: Dead Mothers, Missing Husbands, Disgusting Dates, Perverted “Reverends,” Seductive Gurus, Infamous Ingrates and Cheese Thieves. These are a few of the cast of characters that pepper Valerie Gilbert’s true tales in “Raving Violet.”

Enter the world of a solitary but intrepid New Yorker. Orphaned since (relative) youth, this divorced, smartass metaphysician has sought solace and insight from philosophers, séances, channels and mediums, a path that has, inevitably, led her back to her formidable fortress within.

Join Valerie as she scales the castle walls on her journey for love, sex, sass, a chuckle, and really good chocolate.

Love and Loss! Love and Glory! Love and Nausea! “Raving Violet” has it all.

“Valerie lives and breathes New York City. She’s Ms. New York, and my virtual sister. Damn, I’m so proud of her! You will treasure this book, re-read it repeatedly, and tell your friends to buy it. Yeah. She’s THAT good!” Bridgett Walther, author, "Conquer the Cosmos"


My Review:

Raving Violet is a collection of witty, no holds barred, blog entries from Valerie Gilbert's personal blog. These entries range from what New York City was like for a New Yorker post 9/11 to late in life parenting and the stigma attached to the decision to begin a family later in life versus beginning a family while still a teenager or living in an unstable situation. Gilbert tells it like it is, not really going for shock value but rather saying what we're all really thinking but too afraid to say for fear of offending "someone" because we all know "someone" who is easily offended by the tiniest things that have nothing to do with them. I commend Gilbert on her confidence to publish these blog entries. Some are funny and witty, some are a little more serious. Take your pick, she writes on a whole aray of topics to peak anyones interest. I give this wonderful and intriguing collection 5 stars.