Tag: Anne Douglas

What I Read Last Week

Posted April 26, 2010 by Tracy in Reviews | 16 Comments

Yo Babies!
How the heck is everyone?  Did you have a nice week last week?  Mine was pretty good. I was under the weather on Thurs, Fri and most of Saturday so that sucked but I’m all better now.  
My dad had to go to the Cardiologist last week because he wasn’t feeling well. He ended up having 4 angioplasty with stent procedures.  He had 5 blockages in his heart but they were all in the same artery ( they didn’t do the 5th because it was very old and not a problem).  It was very scary but he came through with flying colors and he is already up and around.  For a 75 year old man he has more energy than I do! 🙂  
I want to put an apology out there to a fellow blogger.  She was nice enough to give me a blog award and email me to let me know.  I went to the site but didn’t have time to comment.  Uh, I accidentally deleted the email when I got a little delete happy and I can’t remember the site, the blogger’s name or the name of the award.  I suck!  So thank you so much to whoever it was that gave it to me – it really is appreciated!  And if anyone knows who this is (it happened about a week ago) please let me know. 
Have you all heard about Boobquake?  Unfreakinbelievable.  Unfortunately I just heard about it this morning so didn’t get a chance to dress provocatively (not that my work would have allowed it) but it just cracks me up anyway.  Check it out.
Ok – On to what I read this past week:
First up was One Enchanted Evening by Lynn Kurland.  This is one I read for The Book Binge and you can read my review here.  This was another time travel novel .  3.75 out of 5

Next up was Leave Me Breathless by HelenKay Dimon.  HelenKay was nice enough to give me a signed copy when I met her in February and the book somehow made it on to may “already been read” shelf.  When I was looking for a book to lend to my mom I found it and was horrified that I hadn’t read it yet.  Sorry HelenKay!  That being said…I think this has to be my favorite of her books that I’ve read so far.  The story followed a judge who was being stalked and his female bodyguard.  They eventually gave into their lust for each other despite her bosses protestations.  Her boss was the judges brother and he himself was in love with yet another judge.  The problem here was that both brothers were completely emotionally unavailable and it made for some good reading.  You can read Lori’s review – which pretty much covers my thoughts to a T. 4 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read/DIK Challenge read/FTSP read for the week was Ride the Fire by Pamela Clare.  I’ll be posting my review of this one on Thursday.

I’m in an m/m group on Goodreads and every month they have a pick it challenge.  So that means that someone got to pick a book for me and I got to pick a book for someone else.  The person who got to pick for me chose Tempestuous by Morgan Hawke.  This was a fantasy yaoi novel where Rusty was almost killed when he was a senior in high school.  A kitsune saved his life.  After the incident Rusty made a fox mask and put all of his energy into the mask.  Because of this he’s practically dying. Shiro, the kitsune who saved him finally finds Rusty many years later and claims him and takes him to where the Shiro lives, in an alternate universe.  It was a good story, but not great for me.  I didn’t particularly care for either of the men so it made it difficult to love it. The story, though it had some things not all tied up was ok.  3 out of 5
Witch Vamp Were? by Anne Douglas was another of my FTSP reads.  A continuation of of the Huntingdawn pack series this books covered the story of Shaun, Rob and Jak.  Shaun is bound and determined to find out if more paranormals live than just were-beings.  She quickly gets to know her grandmother many times over – cuz she’s a ghost and Jak who is a vamp and friend of Huntingdawn pack alpha, Rob.  But both men soon discover that Shaun is mate to both of them and the three of them are the next portion to the prophecy that was discovered in Accidentally Were?.  This was a cute book but I felt my self slightly dissatisfied at the end.  Yes, all 3 of the main characters were living together at the end of the book and had all agreed to be mates but there was no talk of love.  Yes, it’s an erotic book but I still was wishing for their HEA.  The story also left things blatantly wide open for the next book in the series which kind of rubbed me the wrong way.  But the menage sex was very hot as were Rob and Jak.  There was a m/m fantasy that Shaun has which I expected to come to life with Rob and Jak but it never went there.  Bummer. lol  3.5 out of 5
This brought me to Saturday where I decided to catch up on my manga reading for the yaoi swap so I could get all the books out to the other people patiently waiting for them.  I ended up have a yaoi marathon and about O.D.’d on boy love…
First was the Steal Moon books (vols. 1 & 2) which were sci-fi novels.  Street fighter Nozomi loses a fight to Coyote and agrees to be his servant.  Coyote sells him to “Digital Angels” where anyone can see them on the internet.  Only this is just a cover for Coyote and his cohort Hermes are trying to get computers activated with Nozomi’s DNA.  Second book was better than the first.  Sci-fi’s not really my thing but the story was pretty good along with the  graphics. Volume 1 – 3.5 out of 5…volume 2 3.75 out of 5
Next up was Blue Sheep Reverie volumes 1 & 2 by the same author as Steal Moon, Makoto Tateno.  This was the story of Kai who was in love with a woman, Maria, but she was murdered.  He didn’t see the murderer but she had a ring that looked like a blue sheep’s eye.  He sees the same ring on the head of the Sarte group, Lahti, via television and decides to get into the group to kill the man who he thinks killed his woman.  But things are not what they seem and Lahti and Kai end up together.  This had good graphics like the Steal Moon books but the story felt unfinished. I liked the first one much better than the first. These two character also show up in Steal Moon. Volume 1 4 out of 5…volume 3.75 out of 5
Next was Desire by Maki Kazumi.  This was about a total playboy, Ryoji, who gets turned on by his best friend Toru.  Toru is in love with Ryoji but not about to spew his feelings for fear of rejection.  Ryoji gets Toru to agree to have sex with him to see how it is.  Huge misunderstanding between the two but Ryoji comes through for his friend in the end.  I didn’t love the story.  I thought Ryoji was a jerk and Toru could have done better for himself.  And why, in so many yaoi novels or mangas, does the uke hate sex and they’re constantly telling the seme to stop which the seme doesn’t do?  But yet the uke keeps having sex with the seme even though it hurts and they hate it?  I just don’t get why that’s a near constant in these books. 3 out of 5
Next was Ichigenme: The First Class is Civil Law volumes 1 & 2 by Fumi Yoshinaga.  I really liked these books.  They told the story of rich, gay Tohdou and Tamiya who become friends during a seminar at law school.  Tamiya does not like women but says he’s not gay.  Tohdou loves Tamiya and is determined to be with him.  It’s a very sweet story and I enjoyed it and the graphics a lot. 4 out of 5 for both volumes.
Some of my reviews for The Book Binge posted this week.  (the link to the Kurland title that posted is above)
Hide Out by Katie Allen (using this review as part of my m/m challenge as well)
Happy Reading!

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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Posted December 21, 2009 by Tracy in Features | 12 Comments

Hi there!

How is everyone? Are you all ready for Christmas…well, the ones celebrating it, that is? 🙂 I think I am. Well, I need to wrap a lot of stuff but I can’t do that when the kids are around so I’m excused, right? lol

I’m out of whatever kind of reading thing I was in a couple of weeks ago. Thank heavens! I’ve had no problem picking up books this week. I think what did it was A) Your suggestions and B) reading a bunch of m/m. I love reading it…but sometimes it makes me long for a good m/f HEA I guess.

Anyway, on to what I read this week:


First up was Star Crossed: Demon Tailz by Reno McLeod and Jaye Valentine. This is an m/m novella that I was totally into up until the twincest started and I just couldn’t do it. I had to stop reading. I can read a lot of stuff…apparently that’s not included. Ew. DNF


I liked the writing by McLeod and Valentine so my abrupt halt in my previous read didn’t stop me from picking up Star Crossed 2: Opposite Ends of the Spectrum. This story involved a demon and an angel who meet while being held captive and were shown off at what appeared to be a carnival freak show. The two men escape and start a relationship. 10 years later and they’re still in love, but trouble is a brewing – how will the two work things out? I liked this book but was slightly confused by the end and the whole angel thing. If you’ve read this – we need to talk. lol 3.5 out of 5

Next up was Hell Cop by Astrid Amara, Nicole Kimberling and Ginn Hale. I really liked these story about 3 different cops who work in the city with demons and sorcerers and all kinds of various beings. They’re called hell cop’s because it’s pretty much hell working there. 3 really good m/m stories. 4.25 out of 5

Accidentally Were? by Anne Douglas was next on the list. Another impulse buy at ARe. It was the story of a straight laced woman who has a one night stand and now all the dogs in the area are following her around. lol She goes to talk to her best friend’s neighbor cuz he’s a vet. Well he just wants to do her on the floor of his house…so he does. See – she had had sex with a were-being of some sort and one of them had nipped her enough to change her and she happened to be ovulating so she was in heat and all the beasts in the neighborhood were following her scent. Sounds weird but it was pretty funny. The book has some hot sex, humor and of course twu wuv. 🙂 3.75 out of 5


Half Past Dead by Zoe Archer and Bianca D’Arc was a book I read for The Book Binge. If you like zombies you’ll want to read these two stories, maybe. lol I’ll let you know when my review posts.

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Seduce Me At Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas. This was Win and Kev’s story and I really liked it. I had read mixed reviews of the story and though the book made me want to crawl through it and smack Kev at times I really liked it. 4.25 out of 5

Bad Boys, Bad Boys by Mia Watts was my next read. Another impulse purchase (yes, I do that a lot) but it was pretty darned good. Two cops, best friends and partners, and one’s been having erotic dreams about the other. One night when Geo is drunk he puts the moves on his friend, Mack, and Mack’s freaked out, but can’t stop thinking how good it was. I loved how the two worked it all out. There’s one scene when they’re on a stake out and they’re in the car kissing, yet practically beating each other up as well. Great scene. Do I think it would happen when they were on a stake out? Probably not but that’s where suspension of belief comes in to play. 🙂 4 out of 5


Next was Jock Dorm: Dar and Gregg by Bobby Michaels. Dar and Gregg meet because Dar, a non-jock, gets put into the Jock Dorm. He falls hard for his roommate and they become great friends. But Dar can’t handle being in love with Gregg when Gregg’s not gay. Guess again. This part of the story was just cute. Gregg and Dar falling in love was pretty cool and I liked that part of the book. Their sex was hot too, the first couple of times, but then it was just too much for me. I think if the book had been shorter with about 1/3 of the sex I would have loved it. I’m sure there are others out there that loved the length of the book and the amount of sex, I’m just not one of them. 🙂 2.5 out of 5


And last but not least was yet another book that I read for The Book Binge, Smolder by Melina Morel. This one didn’t work for me – which was sad since I was looking forward to reading it. I’ll let you know when my review posts.

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Guest Review: His Intimate Submission by Anne Douglas

Posted December 16, 2009 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 3 Comments

Kati’s review of His Intimate Submission (Erotic Explorations, Book 1) by Anne Douglas

Months ago, on a hot Florida night, three friends explored one another. It’d been good enough that they’d explored together some more.

But while the sex is as amazing as ever between the couple, Jason’s shutting Lucy out of the everyday things. He’s searching. Lucy doesn’t know what Jason is seeking, but she’s scared that might mean leaving her behind. It’s time for her to pull up her big girl panties and figure out what’s wrong before things go really bad.

Jason surprises her—he’s not cheating and he’s not about to leave her, but he has an overwhelming desire he’s worried to admit. Lucy will have to demand her lover’s intimate submission to set them back on the path to happiness.

Lucy and Jason are back in this novella. Lately, Lucy has been sensing some distance from Jason. Is he unhappy in his relationship with her? Or is it something else? She resolves to talk about him, and he confesses with much trepidation, that he’s interested in having her dominate him sexually. Lucy agrees to try a Dom/sub relationship, but decides that she needs to do some research about how to go about dominating Jason safely and in a way that is fulfilling for both of them. Lucy speaks with a woman and her lover who have a Dom/sub relationship, and she finds that it’s very important for the Dom to be fulfilled by the actions that they are taking with the sub. And she goes to a sex toy shop and finds a variety of toys that she and Jason can use to increase the adventure in their play.

The story itself is very straightforward. Again, it’s short in length, 52 pages. But Douglas is very effective at building the foundation of mutual respect and desire between Lucy and Jason. It’s clear in how carefully Lucy researches the lifestyle that she really cares about Jason and wants the experience to be fulfilling for him. The play between the two of them features quite a lot of anal play, which I had no problem with. However, a large chunk of the story deals with, well, preparing for anal play, including a very detailed sequence with an enema, which I found not to my taste at all. I’d never thought much about the fact that an enema might be in order before prolonged anal play, but I have to be honest, reading about it exercised my squick factor heavily. I understand that this could very well be part of the lifestyle, but it’s one that I definitely prefer not to read about.

Overall though, the story features very hot sexual encounters between a couple who are both likeable and clearly seem to care deeply for each other. But for me the detailed description of one of the acts was really more than I wanted to read about and affected my final grade for the novella.

2.5 out of 5

The series:

This book is available in e-format only from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here.

You can read more from Kati at Katidom

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Guest Author: Anne Douglas – Submissive Heroes

Posted December 16, 2009 by Holly in Giveaways, Promotions | 14 Comments

Today we have erotic romance author Anne Douglas here to talk about BDSM, but from a less traditional angle. We’re very pleased to have her on the blog and hope you’ll help us make her feel welcome.

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When many think of a sexually submissive man they aren’t thinking of a roughly 6ft tall, tanned, with tousled dark-hair hunk.

But I was.

They also might be thinking leather, whips and 6inch stiletto heel dominatrix boots, or maybe a BDSM club with willing male slaves looking for a Dominatrix.

But I wasn’t.

The guy I was looking for was your fairly average guy (okay, just a touch above average), with a great job, great friends… and an awesome girlfriend who wasn’t afraid to fuck him in the arse with a strap on dildo (pegging, (linky: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegging_(sexual_practice)) for those of you not in the know).

Just a little different than that scene with those delicious black Dominatrix boots, right?

Often female domination comes with an expectation of weak, ineffectual, impotent men. Hmmm…yet women find strength and power through submission. How does that figure then? What’s good enough for the goose isn’t so for the gander? (But that, oooh, that’s a whole other post J). But what happens when the male sub isn’t weak or impotent or needing to be ‘shown’ submission suits him? What if he’s strong (although conflicted) and rather more than capable of getting the job done in bed, but most of all, really enjoys submitting to his partner? Where does he fit into the picture?

Not entirely all that well. It wasn’t easy to find what I was looking for – thank goodness for the Internet being filled with kink! I did eventually find a small handful (more like a couple of fingers) of websites/people/groups who are putting a positive spin on being a male submissive – those looking on it as a desirable thing, not an emasculating one.

Female Domination is often tied up with heavy bondage/discipline and I didn’t want that for His Intimate Submission (the original title of Subtle Domination will probably give you an idea of where I was going). I wanted to write about a man only just coming to the realization that he wants to be topped in bed; a woman who finds she’s quite happy to do so; and the way those things changed and evolved their relationship. In other words, curious but inexperienced people pretty much like you and me (well, most of the you’s out there, some of the other you’s are a pretty kinky lot!).

I’d love to hear others ideas, views or comments on female domination/male submission – I’m hoping there are a few other ladies out there like me who don’t particularly associate with a deep desire to relinquish control (my life is quite out of control enough as it is, thanks).

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Anne is a woman of many talents. Besides writing erotic romance she also handcrafts covers for the Sony eReader (you can find them here at Etsy).

Leave a comment telling us your thoughts on female domination/male submission and you’ll be entered to win your choice of an e-copy of His Intimate Submission or, if you own a Sony eReader, one a cover from Anne’s Addictions.

Contest will end Friday, December 18 at 11:59 p.m. by the time stamp on the blog.

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Guest Review: Curious Intimacies by Anne Douglas

Posted December 16, 2009 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Kati’s review of Curious Intimacies (Erotic Explorations, Book 1) by Anne Douglas

Ready for a night of sports and beer Shane’s straight best friend, Jason, throws Shane a curve ball with the words “Kiss me”. Shane’s gay, but Jason’s not…right?

Jason’s got a problem. His girlfriend’s got a strap-on, and she’s not afraid to use it…on him…and he likes it. Where does that leave him? Straight? Gay? Or in between?

Lucy’s not afraid of sexual experimentation in a safe situation. Who’s safer than your best friend—especially when he’s already curious about your sometimes not-so-private love life.

On a hot, humid Floridian night, friends find being curious can be very intimate indeed.

Lucy and Jason have a fantastic relationship. They’re adventurous in bed together, and are utterly in love with each other. But lately, Jason has been thinking that he might want to add a dimension to their sexual relationship. More and more, he’s been thinking that he might be bi-sexual, and he’s asked his lifelong best friend, Shane who is gay, if he might be willing to kiss Jason and see where it leads. Jason knows that Shane has a lot of experience and would be a great choice to have his first homosexual experience with. Shane cares about Jason and will take care of him.

Shane is shocked, and frankly, intrigued. He and Jason talk about it, and decide that they’ll initiate a sexual encounter. They have a very, very hot encounter, which Lucy interrupts. Shane is both horrified and intrigued that Lucy is so turned on by the encounter. While Shane has never had an encounter with a female, the fact that Lucy is so turned on, and that she’s interested in having sex with him is a turn on. Soon the three are having a very hot ménage a trois.

Anne Douglas has a strong imagination, and while this novella is only 44 pages, it’s well written. Douglas does a nice job of giving the reader enough information about Shane’s friendship with Jason, as well as laying the foundation of Lucy and Jason’s relationship, so that the encounter is plausible. The book is very spicy with several elements that could very well turn off readers who prefer their sexual encounters a bit more vanilla. But if you’re looking for a hot novella that features a ménage, this is a great choice.

3.5 out of 5

The series:

This book is available in e-format only from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here.

You can read more from Kati at Katidom

Be sure to stick around because Anne Douglas will be guest blogging with us later today. She’ll also be giving away a copy of her latest release, His Intimate Submission, the sequel to Curious Intimacies.

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