Review: Short But Satisfying
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 6, 2014
NOTE: The book was provided for free by the author in exchange for an honest review.This book is a collection of five short erotic m/m stories about vampires. All five are different in tone. The author does a great job with the twist at the end of each story, too. But most of all, except for the second story, she has a good balance of sex to plot with the sex not only being hot but also an integral part of the story line. That's not an easy thing to do.(~11k words)Natural Adaption (~3400 words)Vampires have taken over the human world except for one city. This story takes place on the eve of taking over that last city. The main character, a vampire named Terel, is to lead the attack. The vampires are cruel and ruthless masters.  Humans are thought of as meals, a few `lucky' ones acting as servants. I was actually taken by surprise in the opening of the story by Terel's request for a meal and how that scene played out.Although a short story, we quickly get a feeling for how the vampire hierarchy is set up, with the BroodQueen in charge, having vampires and humans enthralled around her to diminish the possibility of a takeover by another clan leader. Terel is a powerful vampire but has managed to keep himself from being enthralled. By her making him the leader of the attach, however, she's made him the Prime vampire. The author does a good job of `showing' us that being the Prime vampire is a high honor, a position of power over the rest of the clans.When Terel asks for a meal later in the story, things go differently than with the first meal. The sex is hot - I have a thing for vampires biting in places other than the neck. The end wasn't anything I expected, and I like a writer who can take me by surprise. She managed to do that several times just in this one story.There are a few typos (breath instead of breathe) and missing words, but not enough to diminish my enjoyment. This story gets 5 stars.Master Aviator (~1900 words)Although I liked this story I was a bit confused by the interaction between the two main characters. This was also pretty much just a sex scene and no plot but it was an interesting scene so I didn't mind there being no point to it other than hot, hot sex.Taking place in the locker room of an aircraft carrier, James feeds on the pilot, Leon. I'm not sure if my confusion about their relationship is actually because James is confused about what Leon wants. At first, it appears that Leon is feeding James out of necessity and isn't enjoying it. As things progress, suddenly Leon is no longer reluctant and becomes a willing participant. Since the sex is hot and there isn't much of a story here, I didn't really spend time trying to figure these two characters out. I'd have liked a bit more detail on how these two know each other and how they ended up on an aircraft carrier. 4 stars.An Executioner's Absolution (~2700 words)This story was fun to read, the only one of the five with some humor in it. Taking place in a medieval type world, the main character, Tiger, is to be put to death by bloodletting. The story opens with Tiger standing, blindfolded, on the executioner's platform. Tiger strikes a bargain with the executioner but the results aren't exactly what Tiger expected. Another story with several twists and hot sex, deserving of 5 stars.Mile High (~1250 words)I loved this story. Shortest in the collection but still interesting. The main character, Paul, makes a weekly business commute via plane to Milwaukee. On this particular flight, he sees a young man boarding and thinks the man looks familiar, but when the young man smiles at Paul, Paul realizes he doesn't know the other man. I don't want to spoil the surprise ending of this one, but because of the title, I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying the bathroom sex was hot. This is a story I'd love to see continued. 5 stars.The Catch (~1475 words)Dean, the vampire hunter - I would have named the main character something else, because all I could think of as I read this story was that it was a Supernatural fanfic. That's unfortunate because I thought the story was great. The sex was hot and sensual and the twist at the end shouldn't have been a surprise but it was.  I'd love to read more about this hunter's adventures, just give him a different name. 5 starsConclusionUltimately, how great a book or story is, is only one part of what gets me to buy it. Cover, price, formats, and whether I have read other books by the author also comes in to play. The cover of this book is simple, implying the darkness that goes with vampires. It's also available in various popular formats. The pricing may put some readers off, though. $2.99 for 11,000 words is somewhat expensive. I normally wouldn't buy something so short for such a price. Another two or three stories added to the collection might make the price a bit more palatable; however, I've read some of the author's other works and because of that, I would pay the price to have these stories. If you love a good vampire tale and haven't read this author before, you won't be disappointed buying this collection.