Review: Black Widow Trainer

Sorry this review is so very, very late. Better late than never, though, right? ^_^

Black Widow Trainer
by
Craig Odanovich

Genre: Erotic Adventure (from the book cover)
Source: The author sent me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 6.5/10
Buy the Book: Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million ~ IndieBound ~ Book Depository
Content Warnings: cussing, explicit sex, extramarital sex, some violence

Bored with tedium of her passionless marriage, Misty's life explodes after a weekend of mind-blowing sex with the man of her dreams. Exploring the physical limits of her newfound desire, she combines the lure of her honed, disciplined body with cunning business acumen and redefines herself as the Black Widow Trainer, a high-price personal trainer/escort. Negotiating an open relationship with her husband is the easiest part of her career move. Adjusting to the whims and demands of her well-heeled and imaginative clients, however, requires Misty to expand the limits of her sensual being.

The genre-busting novel features a cast of original, gritty characters, including an Alaskan sea captain, a pint-size satyr, and a genderbending woman, Misty's fantastic sexcapades in exotic locations around the world are hot enough to fire up anyone's sex life.

Book blurb from GoodReads.

Even though it's been a pretty good while since I read this book, I remember it pretty well. I had to skim parts of it to jog my memory of some facets. (Like the main character's name! Minor characters I can remember the names of, but not the main character. Why? I've no idea.)

I had mixed feelings about this book when I read it. I still do; I had to reread the ending to jog my memory before I could finish the review. o.O The concept is interesting; it intrigued me which was why I marked it as to-read on GoodReads. Which is what led to me getting the book.

What I Liked:

• Misty's growth. I didn't care much for her at first, but she experienced a lot of growth during the story. However, see below... (next section)


• Rob, Misty's husband. Other than being a pushover in the beginning, I enjoyed getting to know him in the scenes in which he played a part.


• The settings. She visited some exotic locales for her job. There were enough details about the various cities for me to get a feel for the culture, but not so many details that it bogged down the story.


• The secondary/minor characters. They were three dimensional and felt real. I can't tell you which ones were my favorites or that would spoil a lot.


• The ending. It made me smile.

What I Didn't Like:

• Misty. Though I ended up liking her (to some extent) for most of the book, she annoyed the heck out of me at first. Largely because of her treatment of her husband. Other things, too. Mostly her selfishness.


• That a married woman would seek out such a lifestyle. If you don't care for someone enough to stay faithful, don't marry them.


• "Passionless marriage". It takes two people to make a marriage work. It takes two people to allow one to fail too.


• That a husband wouldn't put up a fight over his beloved wife living this lifestyle. (Note: I have a first printing. The author has informed me that scene has been changed in later editions. Just not enough for my liking. The new version is better, but not enough better.)

Knowing What I Know Now, Would I Read This Book?

I'm not sure. I knew up front what I was getting into, but some parts still surprised me. The book was good, but it could have been better. Part of me wants to read the sequel. Part of me wanted to throw the book against a wall. I haven't done that since I was in elementary or middle school, if I ever have.

Should You Read This Book?

If you love both erotica and adventure novels, go for it. Otherwise, skip it.

Hunting the Darkness

The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, #1)
Marjorie M. Liu

Release Date: June 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 10/10
Source: Purchased
Buy the Book: Borders ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million
Content Warning: Foul Language

Silver smoke winds around my torso, peeling away from my ribs and back, stealing the dark mist covering my hands and lower extremities... tattoos dissolving into demon flesh, coalescing into small dark bodies. My boys. The only friends I have in this world. Demons.

I am a demon hunter. I am a demon. I am Hunter Kiss.

By day, her tattoos are her armor. By night, they unwind from her body to take on forms of their own -- demons of the flesh, turned into flesh. This is the only family demon hunter Maxine Kiss has ever known. It's the only way to live, and the very way she'll die. For one day her demons will abandon her for her daughter to assure their own survival -- leaving Maxine helpless against her enemies.

But such is the way of Earth's last protector -- the only one standing between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veil. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one moment -- and one man -- changes everything...

Darkness Calls (Hunter Kiss, #2)
Marjorie M. Liu

Release Date: June 30, 2009
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 10/10
Source: Purchased
Buy the Book: Borders ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million
Content Warning: Foul Language

They are the obsidian shadows of my flesh - tattoos with minds, hearts, and dreams. By day, they protect me. But when night calls to them, they leave my body, dissolving into their true form - as demons…

Nomad born and bred, demon hunter Maxine Kiss has always relied upon herself to fight the darkness that surrounds her, the predators-human, zombie, and otherwise - who threaten the earth. But one man has penetrated her lonely life: Grant, the last of his kind. With music he is able to control any living creature…including demons. And now his life is in danger.

Haunted by the past, determined to change the future, Maxine soon understands that to save Grant, she has only one choice-to lose control, and release her own powers of darkness…

(Darkness Calls blurb is from author website. The Iron Hunt blurb is from the back of the book, typed by yours truly.)

As an aspiring author, I envy Miss Marjorie her imagination. Also her writing talent.

This series is amazing. So creative... *happy sigh* I love it! I can't say enough good about it.

The story is deep, the characters real. Even down to the five demons who make up Maxine's tattoos, each character has a personality all its own. (Zee is my favorite demon. In this series.)

I really think everyone should read these books, but I know fantasy isn't for everybody. If you like urban fantasy, you HAVE to read this series!

Book 3, A Wild Light releases today (July 27, 2010)!

Now to talk the hubby into going to a book store... ^_^

Historical Studs

One Dance With a Duke (Stud Club, #1)
Tessa Dare

Release Date: May 25, 2010
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: 9/10
Source: Purchased
Buy the Book: Borders ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million
Content Warning: Explicit Sex, Cursing

True temptation begins at midnight…

A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members — yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing “Duke of Midnight.” Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke — until Lady Amelia d’Orsay tries her luck.

In a moment of desperation, the unconventional beauty claims the duke’s dance and unwittingly steals his heart. When Amelia demands that Spencer forgive her scapegrace brother’s debts, she never imagines that her game of wits and words will lead to breathless passion and a steamy proposal. Still, Spencer is a man of mystery, perhaps connected to the shocking murder of the Stud Club’s founder. Will Amelia lose her heart in this reckless wager or win everlasting love?

Twice Tempted by a Rogue (Stud Club, #2)
Tessa Dare

Release Date: June 22, 2010
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: 10/10
Source: Purchased
Buy the Book: Borders ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million
Content Warning: Explicit Sex, Cursing

How long could she resist him?

Luck is a double-edged sword for brooding war hero Rhys St. Maur. His death wish went unanswered on the battlefield, while fate allowed the murder of his friend in the elite gentlemen’s society known as the Stud Club. Out of options, Rhys returns to his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire, expecting anything but a chance at redemption in the arms of a beautiful innkeeper, who dares him to take on the demons of his past — and the sweet temptation of a woman’s love.

Meredith Maddox believes in hard work, not fate, and romance isn’t part of her plan. But when Rhys returns, battle-scarred, world-weary, and more dangerously attractive than ever, the lovely widow is torn between determination and desire. As a deep mystery and dangerous smugglers threaten much more than their passionate reckoning, Meredith discovers that she must trust everything to a wager her heart placed long ago.

(Both blurbs from author website.)

Since reading the ARC of Goddess of the Hunt (Miss Tessa's first print novel), I have bought each of her books as they released. I have never been disappointed.

Unlike her first trilogy, the Stud Club trilogy contains elements of intrigue. Not enough that I consider it romantic suspense, but a bit anyway. I love mystery and suspense almost as much as I love romance, so this is a definite plus for me.

Amelia and Meredith are both strong women, doing well enough on their own, thank you very much. Until each meets (or in Meredith's care, re-meets) the man who makes her long for hearth and home.

Spencer and Rhys made wonderful heroes. Each had a bit of the 'dark and dangerous' in him, but could be redeemed by love. Neither wanted to admit to his attraction - and attachment - to his lady until circumstances demanded.

These are just generalities, mind you. Each book is quite different from the other. Both are well worth reading. All of her books are, actually.

The third and final book in the Stud Club trilogy, Three Nights With a Scoundrel, releases tomorrow, July 27th! I'll hopefully get it soon.

Like a Phoenix From the Ashes...

The Key to the Golden Firebird
Maureen Johnson

Release Date: June 2004
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Rating: 6.5/10
Source: Library
Buy the Book: Borders ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million
Content Warning: Discussion of sex

On a perfect spring afternoon, May, Brooks, and Palmer Gold returned home to find an ambulance in front of their house and a swarm of family friends trying to tell them some terrible news. May barely remembers it all. Why would you want to remember every detail of the day your father died right in the garage, sitting behind the wheel of his prized golden Firebird convertible?


A year later, May is still picking up the pieces. Her family is broke, and the house is a wreck. Her older sister Brooks has given up on her main passion, softball, and drinks all the time. Her little sister Palmer is becoming a mute weirdo. And no one is around to teach May to drive, except for her life-long nemesis, Pete. It's like the entire universe is conspiring against her.

The Gold sisters have been changed irrevocably, and they are all but lost to one another, until the key is found. The key to their father's Pontiac Firebird.

(Blurb taken from author website.)

I'm with May. Who wants to remember every detail of the day a parent dies? I certainly don't. But, unlike May, I can't seem to forget. I envy her that.

I really enjoyed this book. I could empathize with the characters, especially May. I, too, lost my father while in high school. Unfortunately, I had already lost my mother at that point in time. I didn't have any siblings either. Maybe they would have made it easier, I don't know. I'll never know.

May reminded me so much of myself it was scary. She's the smart one in the family; so was I. She went numb when she heard The News; I did, too. (Later, that evening, though, when I wasn't babysitting anymore, I fell to pieces.) A year later, she's lashing out at those around her for no real reason. Yeah, I did that. I still do sometimes. (Sorry!)

Would I have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I didn't relate to it? Maybe. Probably. Miss Maureen's writing is brilliant, though not quite on par with her later books. (This was her first published novel, so it's to be expected.) Her characters and plot were believable; they felt real, like friends I'd forgotten I had.

I would recommend this book for anyone who likes young adult novels.


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Review: Night Myst (Indigo Court #1)

Night Myst (Indigo Court, #1)
Yasmine Galenorn

Release Date: 29 June 2010
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance (Adult)
Rating: 10/10
Source: Purchased
Buy the Book: Borders ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million
Content Warning: Language, Explicit Sex

Eons ago, vampires tried to turn the dark Fae in order to harness their magic, only to create a demonic enemy more powerful than they could have imagined. Having quietly amassed their strength for centuries, the Vampiric Fae are determined to enslave the world. Now Myst, Queen of the Indigo Court, is rising again -- and a long-prophesied war is about to begin...

Cicely Waters, a witch who can control the wind, has returned home to New Forest, Washington, after learning that her family is in danger. The Indigo Court holds the city in fear. People are vanishing, and strange deaths plague the town. And when she is swept into an unexpected and passionate reunion with Grieve, the Fae prince who taught her how to harness the wind, Cicely finds herself with a fierce and territorial lover.

But Grieve has become enslaved by Myst's court, and now, caught between two evils, the lovers must survive the machinations of the Vampiric Fae queen, even as Cicely untangles the hidden secrets to her own heritage.

Wow. I was blown away by this book.

Too bad I have to wait a whole year for the next one! I think I may go crazy. Okay, crazier.

Miss Galenorn does a fantastic job of drawing the reader into this world of magic. She paints pictures with her words. I could visualize the setting clearly. Her vampires and dark Fae scared me. Myst is one scary lady!

I empathized with Cicely and fell in love with Grieve - though he can be scary, too.

I'm afraid to say much more; I don't want to spoil the book for anyone. Let's just say this: If you like urban fantasy or paranormal romance (and don't mind not getting a happily ever after), read this book! The writing is amazing; the story, captivating.

This was the first book I ever read by Yasmine Galenorn, but it won't be the last! I have heard good things about her Otherworld books, but have yet to read them. Now that I know - and love - her writing, that will have to change.