Review: Three naughty little romps through the cafe
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 7, 2012
Long Shots, Books 1-3 by Christine d'Abo4/5 starsSource: Netgalley*this is a collection of three erotic novellas for adults only*Welcome to the Pulled Long café, home of owners Sadie, Paige, and Ian Long.  Sadie is the baker, Paige is the manager, and Ian is the totally neurotic about the perfect cup of coffee barista.  Each of the Long siblings works long hours trying to make their café successful and forget about the fact that each of them has absolutely no social life.  Unfortunately, that last part is pretty hard to do when your café is just down the street from the local sex club, Mavericks.Mavericks is the secondary setting for each of the three novellas and is a fascinating and disturbing place all at the same time.  Mavericks is a super-exclusive high end establishment where the security is tight and the inhibitions are not.  Each of the Long siblings not only has friends among the Mavericks staff but they each also have either experience a club members or a distinct interest in becoming a member.  That is, if the right partner comes along and they can move beyond their respective pasts.  As you might suspect, each of the three novellas follows one of the Long siblings as they face their pasts, their presents, and their futures.  One of the highlights of this series is how the three novellas are separate in order to accommodate one siblings' complete story but still connected to the other novellas with the connectors being the siblings, the café, and Mavericks.I thoroughly enjoyed these three quick reads for a variety of reasons including the relationship between the Long siblings, the significant others who appear, and of course the naughty bits.  Here's the breakdown: each of the Long siblings are all just a little bit broken but each knows they have the complete support and backing of one another.  For the record, there are a few totally typical sibling bits thrown in that will make you laugh.  Seriously, what sibling wants to know about the naughty bits of their brother or sister? The significant others who appear in the lives of Sadie, Paige, and Ian are as significant as they are deliciously hot.  I really liked the fact that each of the partners understood the broken parts of their respective Long sibling and worked to help each one overcome the pain of their past and move into a bright future with a caring, compassionate, and passionate partner.  All three of the partners are divine, imaginative, and totally drool-worthy.And finally, dear reader, the part you have been waiting for, the erotica.  This series has a little bit of everything including a bit of light bondage (can bondage be light?), fun with toys and some same gender sex.  From my particular perspective none of the sex scenes were disturbing or pornographic just goooood.  But, even though the sex is steamy, therapeutic, and sometimes occurring with an audience in a sex club it never overwhelms or overshadows the story.  d'Abo has definitively proven that erotica can still be very good erotica without sacrificing the quality of the characters and/or the plot.Bottom line: Long Shots isn't going to be for everyone especially if you are a part of the under 18 age group.  The sex is varied and certainly not modest but isn't pornographic and as such will likely appeal to a wide range of erotica readers.  d'Abo has an easy writing style and has created characters that are interesting, funny, and fully developed despite the length of the stories.