"Six HOT novellas -- paranormal, futuristic, and contemporary"

Like most anthologies this one has some terrific stories and some not-so-terrific (but still eminently readable) tales. Overall, I had fun reading it and would happily recommend it to those who can't get enough of alpha males and heroines with strong wills and active libidos.

Sahara Kelly's "Joshua 4.0" is in a three-way tie for best story, with its amusing take on virtual reality and sex. Andy, a graphic artist, is beta testing a new program that permits the user to create a perfect man, using a basic model (a man Andy lusts after, even in his stripped state) and a table of choices for hair, skin tones, eye color, genitalia etc. She comes up with her own Mr. Perfect -- and her libido perks up. Poor Andy hasn't been laid in way too long, and even then, she couldn't find a man orally gifted enough to satisfy her -- but Josh 4.0 seems likely to do just that.

Unbeknownst to her, the model for the basic Joshua is tuned in to her session -- and is fascinated when she adds an image of herself to the mix. Things get really wild when the program fails on Andy and Josh has to come to the rescue. I loved Andy, with her brassy honesty about sex, her big pink vibrator, and her cheerful lust. Its not easy to write comical erotica, but this one is very, very good.

"Barbarian" by Kate Douglas is another one of my three favorites -- but a much darker, yet still very erotic tale. Two years earlier, Bry MacKenzie captured the Barbarian, leader of a galactic sex slavery ring that kidnapped her young sister. She strung him up and tortured him sexually for 15 hours, never allowing him release -- until she found out he was one of the good guys and a Fleet undercover operative. That news left her broken. Horrified by what she'd done, she resigned her commission and ended up on a backwater planet, drinking too much.

Jake, the agent she tortured, has been unable to have an orgasm since that time. Believing the only way he'll regain his manhood is to have an orgasm while making love to Bry, he kidnaps her and carries her off to his ship to put his plan in action. Only problem is, he can't go through with it as planned, because Bry is only too willing to do whatever it takes to expiate her misdeed..

Emotions run deep in this tale. The opening is horrifically erotic, as Bryn's torture of the Barbarian is portrayed in great detail, and with a realistic cruelty. Bry's heartrending disgust for herself is a good balance for Jake's angry need to reclaim the part of himself she ripped from him. His plan to do to her what was done to him flows into scenes which change from merely hot sex to love- making as the characters are stripped bare emotionally. You won't forget this eloquent story any time soon.

Ravyn Wilde's "Adam and Eve" is a fairly standard werewolf tale with a unique premise. In this world, weres search for their genetic mate on the night of the full moon, and the law states that a mate marked by the were is his legal mate for life. Eve, a geneticist, has made the mistake of not staying in a sterile chamber during the full moon -- and ends up marked by Adam. Having seen her scientist mother devolve into Donna Reed, Eve is NOT happy to be Adam's mate -- and even more unhappy to learn that news of her secret research project has been leaked to the press, putting both of them in grave danger from human supremacists.

I loved the premise, but found the execution less that thrilling. It's not badly done, but it felt a lot like an Anita Blake tale, without Hamilton's humor and sensuality. Yes, the sex scenes are graphic and well-executed, but the characters never quite came alive for me.

"Manimal by Lani Ames is another werewolf tale. Kelsey is taking refuge in a rustic cabin to get away from a suitor she's dumped, but who doesn't seem to take a hint. She wishes she had spoken to his bodyguard instead, a man who has haunted her more lascivious daydreams. On the way to the cabin, she nearly runs into a naked man with a wound in his side -- who just happens to be Durak, the studly security specialist. After she gets him back to the cabin, she learns he's a half-werewolf, and that he must make love to ground the excess energy -- probably the best pickup line in history -- before they can even begin to deal with the ptoblem of who shot him and why.

I liked Kelsey and Durak, and there is a scene in which Durak keeps partially switching from wolf to wolfman to human that I won't forget any time soon, although I'm not sure I'd have been as happy about it as Kelsey is. While the plot is slight, it's still a fun, fast read.

In "At His Mercy" by Doreen DeSalvo, an intuitive (AKA a psychic) named Faith meets with a university representative about grant money for a longitudinal study on young intuitives who would be trained to use their talents. The problem is that Jake doesn't believe in psychic powers. However, he's extremely attracted to voluptuous Faith, and tells her that if she can come up with a piece of information she couldn't possibly know, he'll okay the grant. Trouble is, it's very clear what's on Jake's mind.

This was my third tied-for-first story. Faith is an appealing heroine who is more than a little disconcerted by Jake's highly carnal thoughts -- and Jake is even more confounded by the fact that the woman he desperately wants to get into bed knows exactly what he has in mind. DeSalvo uses the psychic theme in a refreshing new way, and has created characters who keep the flames of passion rising.

My least favorite story was Lora Leigh's "Time-Share: Amelia's Journey". First of all, I'm a fan of real science fiction, and seldom read futuristics because all too often they are pirate stories set in outer space, with not even the vaguest attempt at using real science. This one lived down to my expectations. It's set on Venus 240 years in the future, and deals with an away team of researchers. Problem is, Venus has an atmosphere so hot that it can melt lead. Humans could never survive there. Despite this, Ms. Leigh describes the planet as a lush paradise. This is NOT a mistake I can forgive. I'm NOT a scientist but even I knew this. It's as bad as having your twelfth century French heroine swaying in a hula skirt to seduce the hero.

I didn't much care for the story either. It's very predictable (although I never would have put a pestle to that use, myself) and the characters are flat as paperdolls. The dialogue is uninspired, the sex graphic but uninspiring. This the weakest entry in a very good anthology -- it's not terrible, but it's not terrific either.

All in all, this anthology is well worth the price. There's lots of variety with 3 real winners, two ties for Miss Congeniality and one that didn't make it to the finals.

SENSUALITY RATING: HOTHOTHOT, including anal sex, masturbation and a threesome; one scene of sexual torture; bondage

Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted March 29, 2004

Available in both print and digital format.

Summary

A.D. 2203: Adam and Eve By Ravyn Wilde
Science has proven that Werewolves have but one genetic breeding mate, their mate can be another Werewolf, a human female or possibly a warm-blooded Other. Male Weres can only detect their mate's scent during the full moon, so females of all warm-blooded species who don't want to be claimed make a habit of locking themselves in "safe rooms" where their scents can't be detected. For all of her 38 years, geneticist Eve Longtree, an independent human female through and through, has never forgotten to lock herself into her saferoom during Lupine moon. Until now...

At His Mercy By Doreen DeSalvo
Faith Hartley is a researcher in the field of metaphysics - she's also a psychic. She desperately needs Jake McIntyre's approval for grant funds in order to continue conducting research at the university. Jake, a university board member and skeptical to the bone of psychic "charlatans", is ruthlessly determined that Faith won't get that grant money. He wants her to prove her psychic abilities before he'll even consider it. He wants Faith to read his mind, and he arrogantly believes she cannot. Faith can read his mind, all right. But the idea of admitting what Jake is thinking aloud is a bit unsettling. He's thinking of Faith. In wicked ways that would make even a Lady of the Evening gasp in shock...

Barbarian By Kate Douglas
Bryony believes her captive is the sex slave trader responsible for her sister's death. Holding him prisoner, she sexually "tortures" him for hours, getting him harder than steel but allowing him no release.
Innocent of her charges and obsessed with Bryony, Jake hunts her down. Two years later he captures his prey. And payback is a bitch...

Joshua 4.0 By Sahara Kelly
Joshua is everything a woman dreams of: gorgeous, sexy, and built with a body made for sin (and giving multiple O's). The problem is Joshua is a virtual reality computer program. He isn't real...or is he?

Manimal By Lani Aames
All Kelsey Locke wanted to do was get away for the weekend. She was sick to death of her ex-boyfriend and his irritating attempts to remain in her life. When a friend offered Kelsey the use of her secluded cabin for respite, she jumped at the offer. Kelsey was expecting snow, forest scenery, solitude to get some work done without interruptions, and not much else. Little does Kelsey know, someone - or something - is watching her. And his need to mate is strong...

Time-share: Amelia's Journey By Lora Leigh
Determined to make Venus habitable for humans, a spaceship of scientists head to the veiled planet to work. An unexpected crash separates the crew, leaving Amelia alone with Mike and Saber. Strange things are happening in the biosphere, a primal, primitive phenomenon that affects not only Venus' organisms, but its 3 human inhabitants, too. The need to mate, to be impregnated, overwhelms Amelia, and the desire to be the one who impregnates her overpowers both men. Mike. Saber. Two hot-blooded males in their prime. But just like with any other species of animal, only one man can be the alpha male.

Rated Erotic by the publisher.