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#MyReads: Erotic Urban Legends: Taboo, by Alexa Nichols

Alexa has been on my list of want-to-read authors for quite a while and I’ve finally gotten around to purchasing one of her books.

Update: My review….

I love the writing style, it’s just that this was perhaps the wrong book to be my first “Alexaverse” read, despite the author’s note that I should not need to have read any of the other books to understand this one (I’ll also note that if you’re going to have a “preferred reading order” list for a connected universe, the best place for it is at the beginning of the book, not the end).

As for this story specifically, it left me feeling sad and uncertain how much of it was real, versus illusion being imposed on the main character. Perhaps I would have more certainty if I had read what came before it or that question would be answered by later books.

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#MyReads: WWW: Wake, by Robert J Sawyer

WWW; Wake Cover

I do still read books which are not erotica, and this one is a doozy of a science fiction novel. It’s actually been sitting in the TBR pile in my office for quite some time, so it’s about a dozen years old now, so some of the tech in it might seem a bit dated, but it’s an astonishing accomplishment, well deserving of a Hugo nomination for best novel. It’s the first in a trilogy.

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#MyReads: The Shepherd of Ashburn Court — Ben Shepherd Series, Book 1

Book 1 of one of the best series I’ve ever read on Literotica is now available on Amazon! Even though I’ve read it, I’m happy to shell out $3 to support this author, known as Burnt Redstone on Lit, but going by just B. Redstone on Amazon. I’m glad to be able to add his book to my #MyReads page.

Ben Shepherd’s life was finally going to plan with a lucrative career, a comfortable nest egg, a family home, and a loving wife.
Then her betrayal ripped that life away.
His heart shattered, Ben’s life fell into limbo until tragedy strikes his neighborhood and he’s forced to step up to support those left behind.
Ben finds purpose and learns to love again.

From that beginning premise, Ben finds himself supporting, saving and falling in love with multiple women in his neighborhood at once, despite his own resistance and belief that he’s not deserving of their love, admiration and particularly their belief that he’s a hero.

The blurb doesn’t touch on it, but there are recurring elements of PTSD and BDSM in the story as well as some violence, which might justify trigger warnings for those elements. Ben is a survivor of repeated traumas. Multiple times in the story, flashbacks lead to him acting (heroically, usually) on autopilot, after which he can’t remember his recent actions. This becomes an escalating problem for him in the story as his repressed memories resurface. There is also a repeated pattern of the women around Ben ignoring his boundaries and even his consent, in initiating sexual contact with him. While lots of apologies (and a good bit of hot angry sex) usually follow, it could be a bit much for some.

Even with that, the characters are all well drawn, with their own motivations for pursuing Ben. Ben himself is pretty easy to like, although you do begin to worry about his mental health and whether he might wind up hurting someone he cares for, instead of saving them.

I’ll promise you this, though: Once you meet Ben Shepherd, you’re not going to forget him.

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#MyReads: Midnight Masquerade: Charming Desires (Torrid Tales Book 5)

By Cate McKoy

A re-imagined Cinderella

At the strike of midnight it’s all over!

Cinde R. Ella puts it all on the line to win back what is rightfully hers, which was stolen by her evil stepmother.

In one night at a secret masquerade ball she makes a deal with a masked stranger. Can this magnetic stranger give her what she wants?

One deal. One night. Winner gets everything.

Cinde is willing to make a deal and barter with the only thing she has of her very own.

Can she make the deal of her life all before the strike of midnight?

Amazon.com

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#MyReads: Little Red (Torrid Tales Book 4)

By Dawn Sumner

A man with a dark past.

A girl in deadly peril.

Vennik and Rebecca hail from two different worlds. A twist of fate brings them together.

A beast.

A monster.

Vennik’s secrets are even darker than Rebecca could have imagined. Can she come to accept him for what he is? Can he allow himself to be loved by this beauty? And what of the emerging figure that threatens them both?

In order to save his future, Vennik must face his past.

Amazon.com

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#MyReads: Goldilocks and the Three Bear Brothers (Torrid Tales Book 2)

By Pebbles Lacasse

Goldilocks is about to have the hike of her life!

The sexy as sin Bear brothers have always been the forbidden fruit. Goldilocks has always been the good girl, never dating a man not approved by her parents. But now she is sexually frustrated and longing to walk on the wild side.

This story answers the question…

What if she decided to take a bite of the sinful fruit and visit the Bears?

Amazon.com

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#MyReads: Behind the Veil, Beauty and the Daemon (Torrid Tales Book 1)

By Lasasha Flame

A reimagined Beauty and the Beast Tale.

Zahak the former Daemon Prince of Sheol is obsessed with a human woman he is not supposed to have but just can’t let go.

He is the lesser of two evils but evil nonetheless. Ashamed of what he is, Zahak hides behind a skull mask and centuries of walls he erected to hide from his own truth.

After all, who could love a monster like him? Certainly not a Beauty named Petra

LaSasha Flame’s Torrid Tales is a 5 book collection put together by Pebbles Lacasse, Jennifer Johnson, Dawn Sumner, Cate Mckoy, and of course LaSasha Flame. We each took a classic fairytale of our choosing and gave its a sexy new upgrade!

Amazon.com