This morning’s erotica review is of Ghost Lover and Other Erotic Fantasies by Christopher Newman. Today I’ll leave the reviewing to an expert, A.J. Llewellyn of Dark Diva Reviews.
After that, my review for The Revenant by Janet Elizabeth Jones (also posted at Dark Diva Reviews).
Ghost Lover and Other Erotic Fantasies by Christopher Newman
This collection of horror/erotic short stories includes five pieces – the title story, The Jar, The Featured Entertainer, Made to Order and Love to Stay Up For a Spell. The first story, Ghost Lover is a Halloween tale centering around twenty-two year old Ryan waking up in the back of his friend Chad’s car following a horrific car accident on a desolate country road.
The crash, which leaves his three friends Chad, Ashley and Kathy dead, fills Ryan with a serious case of survivor guilt.
Believing their ghosts to be angry that he has survived the accident, Ryan goes off in search of help…finding unlikely and sympathetic aid in the arms of Sonia Fortunata, a woman twice his age.
In The Jar, attorney Ray Alderman has started a new relationship with sexy, vibrant Ruthie, but he is plagued with suicide threats by his loony former lover, Nadine. A mysterious jar appears in his home and when Ray opens it, he discovers Nadine has wreaked revenge on Ray in a very painful way.
The Featured Entertainer is the mysterious Serena…a hypnotic, bitchy stripper in a club who is getting all the patrons’ attention and more importantly, their money too. While the other strippers hate what she’s doing their careers, are also irresistibly drawn to her like moths to the proverbial flame.
In Made to Order, balding, stuttering love loser Frank Putman is tired of striking out with real women, so he buys a life-like sex doll. Loretta might have been made to his specifications but…is she more woman than Frank can handle?
Love to Stay Up For a Spell is the story of Lisa Richardson, a divorced middle-aged woman who has been using men to keep the wrinkles at bay. When a bible basher turns up at her door, she finds new and inventive uses for him…until she discovers you really can’t judge a book or its basher by its cover.
Review:
Christopher Newman knows how to mix horror and sex in a gripping, page-turning way. The hooks to each of these pieces are intriguing. Each tale has a well grounded, apparently normal setting with genuine moments of creepiness thrown in the mix.
Of all the stories, Made to Order is a well-paced, very riveting read. It’s disturbing and satisfying with a brilliant ending. It’s a toss-up between this and Ghost Lover for which is the best, but these two stories alone rate this collection highly.
The heart-felt, clever twists in Ghost Lover could easily make for a longer, even more satisfying read in a novel.
Ghost Lover is very original and has many compelling elements, worthy of the likes of Stephen King. This book could easily be turned into a high concept movie.
The Jar was also an interesting concept and like the others, laced with lots of hot sex, but needed a better ending. The Featured Entertainer felt very well researched and the characters of the various strippers were very good. You could feel the strippers’ tension as the countdown for Serena’s dancing began, but once again, the ending was a bit flat.
Love to Stay Up For a Spell was the first story to use an amusing setup that tickled this reviewer’s funny bone. A bizarre, amusing tale.
A lot of typos and some grammar issues a good editor should have corrected slightly marred these otherwise complex, engaging tales. Despite these small problems, this gets FIVE DELIGHTFUL DIVAS.
The Revenant by Janet Elizabeth Jones
Summary: For twenty-five years, vampire Ellory Benedikt has resisted a psychic compulsion to return to the beach in Maine where his mortal life ended. Now he can no longer resist. He is appalled to find the source of the summons is a mere human unaware of her power over him.
Talisen Davies’ only goal is to discover the fate of her hero, eighteenth-century sea captain Ellory Benedikt, who disappeared after his marriage to her distant ancestor. His story is the missing chapter in her late grandmother’s labor of love, the family history.
With the New England vampires challenging his right to reclaim his territory, Ellory doesn’t need a human poking into his past. But Talisen’s broken heart depends on knowing what happened to her beloved captain. Ellory longs to be that man, but regrets the price she must pay to learn the truth–that her captain is alive, and a vampire.
My Review: With Revenant, Janet Elizabeth Jones has probably written the best vampire novel I’ve ever read. And even if you don’t personally like vampire stories, you’re bound to love this one. The characters are so well developed and human that you’ll find yourself forgetting they are monsters.
The love story between the two main characters, Talisen and Ellory, is mesmerizing and timeless. Each of them would do absolutely anything for the other and they prove it. There’s a lot of humor between them too and when they finally make love, deep into the novel, the humor remains as it does throughout the book. The sex scenes are still steamy and arousing, well written and never gratuitous.
I said this before but I really loved this story! It took a while (20 pages or so) to get off the ground and hook me, but I’m so glad I hung in there. If I have any complaints, it’s that it could have used another chapter. I want to know what happens to Meical, the Alchemist and Shelby, and our heroes. At the end of the book I was left wanting more.
Perhaps a sequel? Let me know when it’s released. I happily give Revenant 5 Delightful Divas and a recommended read.
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