Mary’s review of Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance
Supernaturally sensual and captivating, Dream Lover is a feast of fanciful delights. Kristina Wright, editor of the popular Fairy Tale Lust, presents a potent potion of fun and sexy tales filled with male fairies and clairvoyant scientists, as well as darkly erotica tales of ghosts, shapeshifters, and possession. Dream Lover asks the reader to explore the realm of the otherworldly and answer the question . . . who is your dream lover?
Dream Lover is a collection of seventeen quite short but red-hot and steamy stories, each with their own little paranormal twist. From a ghostly encounter with a dead poet to a mermaid and her lost mate, a rainmaker who just needs her man, to dead lovers reuniting through new lovers there’s something for everyone.
When you pick up this collection, be sure to read the foreword by Megan Hart, which is so very well written. I love what she has to say about fantasies and how, “in fantasies, we’re safe.” The experience of imagining the forbidden is so tantalizing, especially when we know it can’t possibly come true. She says that “darker fantasies blend boundaries of reality.”
While I didn’t enjoy every story—there were a couple that kind of creeped me out—there are some that I really love.
DEVIL’S FOOD by Shanna Germain: In a town filled with humans, angels and demon-kind, everyone needs a little something sweet to eat and Lire runs the bakery that fulfills that need. When a man stumbles in her door craving sugar, she satisfies his need. When he returns, she gets to satisfy her own needs. Yahoo, hot bakery sex. Even better when the guy tastes like dark chocolate with a touch of sea salt. I loved the humor in this one and the pure fun Lire has with Thadeous. Plus, there’s a talking toad who just doesn’t know when to shut up.
VANILLA by Victoria Janssen: Two researchers find love in a kitchen which, of course, leads to hot kitchen sex. Woo-hoo! Louisa’s a dedicated researcher looking for tenure and devoting all her energies to her programs. But when she runs across Devlin, a fellow researcher, making cookies in the communal kitchen. As he goes about combining ingredients, including the seeds from a vanilla bean, she senses his sensual pleasure and, drawn in by the scent of vanilla, she makes the first move. This one was sweet, with a bit of geek love.
FOR HUMAN’S, LOVE’S ALL ABOUT WEIGHT by Lana Fox: Hettie inherits a strange bird from her neighbor, a bird that comes with only three instructions: don’t open the cage, don’t sing in front of him, and don’t ever kiss him. Of course, she does all three and wakes up to find the cage empty and a birdman sitting at the end of her bed. This leads to a bit of flying and a balancing act in a tree and… well, it’s interesting to say the least. I liked how the birdman was written to be very bird-like including molting and migrating. His devotion to Hettie is a little saccharine but, considering she saved him, understandable.
FOLLY by Kate Pearce: Rose is drawn to a crumbling old house and, once she finally gives in and goes through the gate, she finds a carving of the most beautiful man she’s ever seen. And he’s talking to her. Says he’s been calling to her. All he asks is a kiss, which Rose gives and nearly face-plants into the wall he’s carved on. Her kiss sets him free for the night (ooh, what a night!) but he can only be truly free with the sacrifice of a life. I liked this one because it was more like a legend and I’m a huge sucker for myths and legends.
Overall, Dream Lover has some great stories of lovers reuniting and finding new love, all with paranormal twists.
Rating: 3.75/5.0
This book is available from Cleis Press. You can buy it here
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