Publisher: Harlequin, 2009
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: Erotica, Western
Rating: 3 1/2 pints of blood
If this were marketed as a romance, I would be taking the mickey out of the gratuitous chestiness, especially since half-naked cowboy dude has no face. It is, however, an erotica, so the "HERE THERE BE HAWT SEXXIN" seems more than a little appropriate. I do have to ask, though, what's up with the faded spot at his crotch? Is he caught in a waist-high dust storm? Or are his jeans just in serious need of being washed? Because either way, that's kind of a mood killer.
Those who have read Dahl's Talk Me Down will remember the heroine of that book, Molly, writes erotic fiction for a living. Her first story is based on her fantasies of the small town police chief and creates a pretty big stir when it's discovered.
In a bit of cross-promotion that's equal parts brilliant and fun, that novella has just been released under the name Holly Summers (Molly's pseudonym). The bonus is that even if you've never heard of Victoria Dahl or Talk Me Down (and if you haven't, you are in severe need of education, my friend), The Wicked West is an entertaining, standalone romp. With rope. And spankings.
Lily Anders, proper English widow, has just arrived in small town Wyoming. Her late brother left her a house, and she's taken the opportunity to claim a bit of independence for herself. She's also got an eye on the sheriff living next door, who looks like he might know a thing or two about how to dominate a woman in the bedroom.
Sheriff Hale is doing his best to keep order in the town and protect his neighbours, especially now that some of his men are getting killed trying to track down the cattle gone missing recently. The sheriff feels like a sham in his role as protector, though, knowing he has some dark and kinky desires he's never let himself act upon. Even so, his wife left him claiming he was too rough with her, and he's spent a long time alone, afraid of his own desires. If she's not careful, though, that new widow next door just might push him over the edge, especially if she keeps leaving her bedroom window open that way...
Those wary of S&M can rest assured there's nothing extreme in this story. Lily is tied with rope, spanked, given sexy instructions, and performs a sexy peepshow in what has to be the most erotic scene I've ever read where the hero and heroine aren't even in the same room. Everything's clearly consensual, and while the characters perceive what they're doing to be more than a little naughty (which is to be expected, considering the historical setting), the sex is never presented as anything but joyful.
Readers of Talk Me Down will definitely see shades of Ben in the quiet Sheriff Hale. Burdened by his duty and a need to be seen as respectable by the townsfolk, he's been repressed for so long he has a hard time recognizing the opportunity Lily is dangling in front of him. As his balance, Lily is a wonderfully complex character, a woman who knows exactly what she wants and is willing to go after it, in spite of her proper upbringing and societal rules. Although she's sexually submissive, she really has all the power in the relationship from the very beginning. She's accepting of her desires and goes about trying to convince the good sheriff to accept his.
The plot with the nefarious wrangler felt like it kept wanting to push the novella into a full-size novel, which would probably have added more suspects and drama, although since any time the action veered from the Lily/Hale dynamic I got impatient for their return, I'm kind of glad it didn't.
Final word? This is a sweet and sexy read, well worth the time. And hey, since it's a novella, it's being sold for a sweet price, too.
The Wicked West is available in e-book format only.
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: Erotica, Western
Rating: 3 1/2 pints of blood
If this were marketed as a romance, I would be taking the mickey out of the gratuitous chestiness, especially since half-naked cowboy dude has no face. It is, however, an erotica, so the "HERE THERE BE HAWT SEXXIN" seems more than a little appropriate. I do have to ask, though, what's up with the faded spot at his crotch? Is he caught in a waist-high dust storm? Or are his jeans just in serious need of being washed? Because either way, that's kind of a mood killer.
Those who have read Dahl's Talk Me Down will remember the heroine of that book, Molly, writes erotic fiction for a living. Her first story is based on her fantasies of the small town police chief and creates a pretty big stir when it's discovered.
In a bit of cross-promotion that's equal parts brilliant and fun, that novella has just been released under the name Holly Summers (Molly's pseudonym). The bonus is that even if you've never heard of Victoria Dahl or Talk Me Down (and if you haven't, you are in severe need of education, my friend), The Wicked West is an entertaining, standalone romp. With rope. And spankings.
Lily Anders, proper English widow, has just arrived in small town Wyoming. Her late brother left her a house, and she's taken the opportunity to claim a bit of independence for herself. She's also got an eye on the sheriff living next door, who looks like he might know a thing or two about how to dominate a woman in the bedroom.
Sheriff Hale is doing his best to keep order in the town and protect his neighbours, especially now that some of his men are getting killed trying to track down the cattle gone missing recently. The sheriff feels like a sham in his role as protector, though, knowing he has some dark and kinky desires he's never let himself act upon. Even so, his wife left him claiming he was too rough with her, and he's spent a long time alone, afraid of his own desires. If she's not careful, though, that new widow next door just might push him over the edge, especially if she keeps leaving her bedroom window open that way...
Those wary of S&M can rest assured there's nothing extreme in this story. Lily is tied with rope, spanked, given sexy instructions, and performs a sexy peepshow in what has to be the most erotic scene I've ever read where the hero and heroine aren't even in the same room. Everything's clearly consensual, and while the characters perceive what they're doing to be more than a little naughty (which is to be expected, considering the historical setting), the sex is never presented as anything but joyful.
Readers of Talk Me Down will definitely see shades of Ben in the quiet Sheriff Hale. Burdened by his duty and a need to be seen as respectable by the townsfolk, he's been repressed for so long he has a hard time recognizing the opportunity Lily is dangling in front of him. As his balance, Lily is a wonderfully complex character, a woman who knows exactly what she wants and is willing to go after it, in spite of her proper upbringing and societal rules. Although she's sexually submissive, she really has all the power in the relationship from the very beginning. She's accepting of her desires and goes about trying to convince the good sheriff to accept his.
The plot with the nefarious wrangler felt like it kept wanting to push the novella into a full-size novel, which would probably have added more suspects and drama, although since any time the action veered from the Lily/Hale dynamic I got impatient for their return, I'm kind of glad it didn't.
Final word? This is a sweet and sexy read, well worth the time. And hey, since it's a novella, it's being sold for a sweet price, too.
The Wicked West is available in e-book format only.
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