Sally Bend's Blog, page 24

Book Tour: The Paradox of Love and Death by Artemis Glass

Artemis Glass has a new FF contemporary romance out: The Paradox of Love and Death. And there’s a giveaway.

Funeral crashing has been the best way for Noemi Moretti to release her pent-up emotions after the death of her parents. But on the anniversary of their passing, she meets Amara Forsythe, a beautiful UCLA student mourning her grandmother. Fate brings them together again at another funeral, but Noemi hides her true intentions from Amara. As their relationship blossoms, so do the lies that threaten to tear them apart. Can Noemi find a way to make things right before it’s too late?

The Paradox of Love and Death follows Noemi as she navigates through her grief and falls for Amara. But with secrets and guilt weighing heavily on her conscience, Noemi must confront the consequences of her actions before it’s too late. Fans of emotional and thought-provoking sapphic romances will love this poignant tale of love, loss, and what it means to truly live. As their connection deepens, so do the lies, and Noemi doesn’t know how to make it right. She soon becomes caught in a tangled mess that threatens to tear her, and her burgeoning relationship, apart.

For readers who enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, you won’t want to miss out on this powerful and heartfelt novel. The Paradox of Love and Death is a profound and heart-tugging sapphic adult romance about death, love, and what it really means to be alive.

Warnings: grief, loss of loved ones, abortion, family dysfunction, depression

Get It On Amazon

Giveaway

Artemis is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47311/?

Excerpt

Amara looks at me and her eyes widen. “Oh my God. It really has. My grandmother’s funeral on the same day as my ex-best-friend’s funeral, and then I get caught up in the horribly tragic family soap opera that was his life? It’s been the shittiest day of my life.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say. I rest my right hand on her elbow as a gesture of sympathy and kindness. She responds by wrapping her fingertips around my wrist.

Her touch feels like something more than kindness. It feels intimate. It feels like an invitation.

“What I can’t understand,” she says, her voice shifting ever so slightly. “If it’s been the shittiest day of my life, then why do I feel so, I don’t know… like, jittery—but almost happy right now? Why do I feel like—like I have butterflies flitting around inside my ribcage?” I feel her graze the length of my fingers.

“Why do you have butterflies flitting around inside your ribcage?” I ask, my own heartbeat suddenly flitting wildly, too.

“Because,” she whispers. “I really want to kiss you.”

“Oh.”

“Is that okay?” I nod and let her tug me closer to her.

She wraps her fingers around mine and breathes in my hair. I feel the soft skin of her fingertips trace my jaw. She moans, and I feel my whole body alight with possibility.

I haven’t felt like this since Valeria—and we haven’t even kissed yet.

Fuck, is this really happening? I pull back. What am I doing? Am I really going to make out with a stranger at a funeral?

Her hands loosen in response to my hesitance. “Shit, sorry,” she says. “I thought I felt something between us. I shouldn’t have—”

“I want to kiss you, too,” I hear myself say, and then I pull her towards me. I place my lips on hers, and I feel her body relax and her mouth smile.

Our kiss is clumsy at first—we nearly bump noses, we’re both so nervous. Once we move past our awkwardness, though, we settle into each other’s touch, each other’s breath, each other’s rhythm. Amara’s lips are soft, her skin smooth.

The coarse tips of her long curls graze my cheeks, my forehead. Every time she steals another taste of tongue, every time she bites my bottom lip, ever so gently, she whimpers in pleasure.

My own body is enlivened, too.

It’s been so long.

This feels so good.

Fuck.

I am making out with a stranger at a funeral. This might be a new low, even for me.

Author Bio

Artemis Glass is a multi-genre author of sensually empowering queer adult romance who is on a lifelong journey to reclaim her sources of pleasure.

Her first full-length queer adult romance, The Paradox of Love and Death, is a profound and heart-tugging sapphic HEA about love, death, and what it really means to be alive. Available now on Amazon/KU.

Her Amazon bestselling series, Audrina’s Year of Yearning, follows Audrina Axler-Perez as she undergoes a funny, joyful, and spicy LGBTQ+ midlife awakening.

The novellas, Book 1: A New Year and Book 2: Valentines, Book 3: Lucky, and Book 4: True Colors now available! More coming all year. (Insert Michael Scott joke here.)

Author Website: https://www.artemisglassbooks.com/

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/artemisglassbooks/

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090104731744

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artemisglassbooks/

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24295606.Artemis_Glass

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/artemisglassbooks

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Long Live Evil & How to Become the Dark Lord (fantasy)

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

My choices for this week are both stories of the villain era, one with a woman who discovers herself the villainess in an Emperor’s tale, and the other a woman who tries to escape an endless time loop of heroic sacrifice by by switching sides.

Long Live Evil

by Sarah Rees Brennan
Fantasy – Romantic
432 pages, Paperback
July 30, 2024 by Orbit

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain’s shoes, for an adventure that is both “brilliant” (Holly Black) and “supremely satisfying” (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue’s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they’re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor’s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain’s shoes, for an adventure that is both ‘brilliant’ (Holly Black) and ‘supremely satisfying’ (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue’s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

THIS IS A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

by Django Wexler
Fantasy – Epic / Fantasy – Humorous
432 pages, Paperback
May 21, 2024 by Orbit

Groundhog Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy in Django Wexler’s laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time.

This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side.

Book Review: Wednesday Nights by Donna Jay (romance, lesbian)

Title: Wednesday Nights
Author: Donna Jay
Publication Date: March 16, 2024
Genres: Romance
Protagonist Gender: Female

Whenever you pick up a new Donna Jay novel, you know you’re in for a fantastic read. There are certain things she does very well – realistic characters, convincing drama, genuine relationships, and fabulous friends – that you can always count on. Then, of course, there are the things you don’t know – the erotica-to-romance ratio, the lesbian/bisexual mix, and the nature of the subtle but well-orchestrated themes – that are so much fun to discover.

Wednesday Nights is one of her lovers-to-friends romances, and I loved how proudly and confidently it moves from casual sex and exploratory BDSM kink, uncomplicated by feelings, to the first realizations of romance. The titular nights were never supposed to be about anything more than no-strings-attached intimacy, but Haylee and Angela are so perfectly paired, it’s not a question of if they’ll get together but when.

Tied up in all of that are a variety of themes, the most powerful of which revolve around the give-and-take of a relationship, pleasing others versus pleasing yourself, perceptions of ethical non-monogamy, and the interplay of caring for others and not wanting to be a burden. I mentioned subtle, and that’s part of what Donna always does so well. The themes are there, inescapable by the end of the story, but you never feel like she’s stretching to make a point.

There’s also an element of storytelling and roleplaying to the story that I thought was lovely, giving it an air of romantic fantasy that plays very well against some of the more sorrowful dramas of real life. I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going to end up, but I was entirely delighted with how it found its HEA.

Rating:   

My sincere thanks to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Freebie Friday – Putting the TG in TGIF!

Well, if it’s Friday, then it must be time to bend our way into the weekend with Freebie Friday!

Every Friday I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might be of interest to similarly bent readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Enjoy!

Book Review: The Dominion and the Sugilite ~ Episode 1 by B.J. Frazier (erotica)

Title: The Dominion and the Sugilite ~ Episode 1
Author: B.J. Frazier
Publication Date: March 17, 2024
Genres: Erotica
Protagonist Gender: Various

The Dominion and the Sugilite is a serialized erotic science-fantasy soap opera by B.J. Frazier, one set on a female-ruled planet where the power exchange is the foundation of a society fueled by the magic of gems known as sugilite.

This first installment serves as our introduction to the world, its history, and its characters, setting up relationship dynamics and social/political interactions. There’s a lovely mix of science fiction and fantasy to the story that reminds me of 70s pulp novels, but with a more contemporary FLR/femdom theme – not to mention an underlying conflict with a religious community.

I love how subtle that FLR aspect is, how the power exchange is just presumed, with no need to justify it. That’s not to say we don’t get to see very overt displays of it, though. This chapter is built around Attis Day, a holiday BDSM ceremony that involves some obedience, oral worship, and exquisite whip-play, with the winner awarded thigh-high boots so perfect that they learn and adapt to the wearer.

Like anything B.J. Frazier writes, this is fun and clever, with the power-exchange elements well thought-out, and I cannot wait to see where the subsequent chapters take us.

Rating:  

My sincere thanks to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: LGBT: Lust, Gore, Bloodshed, & Terror by Wol-vriey (horror)

Title: LGBT: Lust, Gore, Bloodshed, & Terror
Author: Wol-vriey
Publication Date: March 14, 2024
Genres: Horror
Protagonist Gender: Various

LGBT is a story of lust, gore, bloodshed, and terror featuring Lavelle (a lesbian adult film star with a problematic soulmate), Greg (a mature gay man with an unfaithful young husband), Bryn (a bisexual vampire seeking a soulmate of her own), and Tammi (a disgraced transgender influencer desperate for cash).

However, since this is a Wol-vriey book, it also features Mary Yang (a sweet lesbian with dark passions), Mr. Silence (a crazed torturer with a dark imagination), Lynch (a necrophiliac with dark lusts), and Rainbow (a colorful witch with dark power). It’s how and why those two groups of characters come together, however, where the story is to be found, with one poor choice compounding another, and one twist getting tangled up with another.

Yes, there are ghosts, vampires, and witches in the book, with dark magic enabling so much of the darkness, but it’s a very human story of mortal sins and failings. Everyone here has been seduced by something or someone, has given in to one baser urge or another, and they’re going to pay. Murder, torture, deals with the devil, it’s all here, but nothing ever goes quite as you might expect.

LGBT is dark and violent, but in a gleeful sort of way, inviting the reader to take a vicarious sort of satisfaction in seeing these characters get what’s coming to them. It takes a while to get going as we meet the characters and get involved in their lives, but when things start going wrong, the story careens along to one disaster after another.

Rating:

My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: T-Girl Tales – Family Values by Crystal Veeyant (erotica)

Title: T-Girl Tales – Family Values
Author: Crystal Veeyant
Publication Date: January 24, 2024
Genres: Erotica
Protagonist Gender: Various

This very NSFW bundle from Crystal Veeyant collects previously published tales, out-of-print stories, and even some new ones, a perfect treat for fans of her naughtiest stories of step-families and role-playing. Having had the pleasure of knowing her for (wow!) a dozen years now, I’ve had the pleasure of reading most of these, but it was still a delight to revisit her unique style and depraved imagination.

Shemale Stepmom is a story that moves from cute to kinky, opening with one surprise reveal, ending with another, and featuring some lovely, inventive quirks in between. Breaking In Brother is a fun story of female domination, feminization, and kinky sex, with a level of sensory detail that allows you to feel the story.

Mommy’s Sissy Slut is one of the new stories here, a fun fantasy about a college crossdresser, his pro-Domme stepmother, and their journey from discovery, through supportive experimentation, to a whole new life. Mother’s Jailhouse Shemale is a wild story, by far one the nastiest in the collection, with an exhibitionist angle that adds an extra level of kink.

Stepmom’s Sissy Whores doubles up on the role-playing with a pair of sissies, their MILF stepmoms, and horny old men who pay to see their fantasies played out. Travels with My Aunt is a deceptive, subtly twisted story, with set-ups and betrayals that are only clear in the final pages.

Dressing Up Daddy is a simple tale of a crossdressing step-father, his manipulative step-daughter, and her lesbian lover that, unfortunately, ends too soon. Sissy Nuns for Mother Superior, on the other hand, is just about perfect, full of kinky blasphemy, with erotic twists on religious practices and costumes, while striking the right balance between gleeful submission and genuine reluctance.

Mom’s Roadhouse Slut brings together characters from some of Crystal’s best stories, with a fantasy kidnapping scenario that she does oh-so-well. Sister’s Sissy Cheerleader takes all the familiar erotic tropes and mixes them up to create something fun, with levels of depravity that catapult the reader into sissy bliss.

Hypnotized Sissy Son is one of those stories that takes us from a young man’s worst day ever to a young sissy’s best day ever, courtesy of hypnotism and domination. Pirate Life is one of the most imaginative stories in the collection, featuring a perverted pirate, a misogynistic near-mutiny, and a sissy’s sacrifice – which, rest assured, she doesn’t mind in the slightest!

At 340+ pages,  T-Girl Tales – Family Values is not a collection to be rushed, but one to be savored, to be teased over multiple sessions. It’s sexy and naughty and depraved, but always in the name of good fun.

Rating:

My sincere thanks to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Freebie Friday – Putting the TG in TGIF!

Well, if it’s Friday, then it must be time to bend our way into the weekend with Freebie Friday!

Every Friday I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might be of interest to similarly bent readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Enjoy!

Book Review: Kitty’s Cream by Miss Irene Clearmont (erotic thriller)

Title: Kitty’s Cream
Author: Miss Irene Clearmont
Publication Date: April 02, 2024
Genres: Erotica, Thriller
Protagonist Gender: Male

Although surrounded by strong themes of female domination that will be familiar to readers of Miss Irene Clearmont, Kitty’s Cream marks something of a departure in that the story is driven by male domination at its core. This is a dark story of revenge, abduction, and transformation that may be a bit extreme for some readers – even I was shocked at one particular aspect – but it’s brilliantly done. Miss Irene has such a grasp of the mental and emotional aspects of the power exchange, she imbues her stories with deeper meaning than you might expect.

Charles is a lawyer looking to land a spot at a prestigious firm that he hopes will lead to a life of luxury. He’s spent weeks preparing for the interview, and has rehearsed answers to every possible question, but proves woefully unprepared for the shocking, vulgar request made of him. Instead of just walking away, he snaps back at the other man, insulting him and his company – and Justin is not the kind of man who takes such treatment lying down.

I loved how Miss Irene structured the tale here, drawing out not just the reader’s suspense, but that of Charles as well. He’s given just enough time and information to understand the kind of man he’s crossed, to begin to fathom the depraved kinks to which Justin and his wife are accustomed, before he’s abducted into their dark world of erotic pet trafficking. What follows is a story of physical and mental conditioning, feminization, body modification, and sexual slavery. He’s manipulated in ways that aren’t fully clear until later in the story, with some twists and revelations that undo your reading of the story as much as they do his reality.

What’s ironic is that, with its darkest aspects removed, this could be a safe, pleasant fantasy of erotic submission. There’s a guilty appeal to certain experiences, and that is precisely what makes it all so sinister. Miss Irene offers just enough of what her readers crave to draw them into the story, and only once she has us in her grasp does she reveal what we’ve gotten ourselves into. Kitty’s Cream is a wild, extreme story, as much a thriller as a work of erotica, but it’s so beautifully crafted that every scene is worth admiring.

Rating:

My sincere thanks to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye & The Price of Redemption (historical fantasy)

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

My choices for this week are both swashbuckling tales about women at sea – a pirate captain sailing the Caribbean and a sea captain (and sorceress) fleeing her homeland.

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye

by Briony Cameron
Historical / Sea Stories / African American / LGBT
368 pages, Hardcover
June 04, 2024 by Atria Books

This epic, dazzling tale based on true events illuminates a woman of color’s rise to power as one of the few purported female pirate captains to sail the Caribbean, and the forbidden love story that will shape the course of history.

In the tumultuous town of Yáquimo, Santo Domingo, Jacquotte Delahaye is an unknown but up-and-coming shipwright. Her dreams are bold but her ambitions are bound by the confines of her life with her self-seeking French father. When her way of life and the delicate balance of power in the town are threatened, she is forced to flee her home and become a woman on the run along with a motley crew of refugees, including a mysterious young woman named Teresa.

Jacquotte and her band become indentured servants to the infamous Blackhand, a ruthless pirate captain who rules his ship with an iron fist. As they struggle to survive his brutality, Jacquotte finds herself unable to resist Teresa despite their differences. When Blackhand hatches a dangerous scheme to steal a Portuguese shipment of jewels, Jacquotte must rely on her wits, resourcefulness, and friends to survive. But she discovers there is a grander, darker scheme of treachery at play, and she ultimately must decide what price she is willing to pay to secure a better future for them all.

An unforgettable tale told in three parts, The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a thrilling, buccaneering escapade filled with siege and battle, and is also a tender exploration of friendship, love, and the search for freedom and home.

The Price of Redemption

by Shawn Carpenter
Fantasy
368 pages, Paperback
July 09, 2024 by Saga Press

A debut female-led swashbuckling fantasy following powerful sorceress and sea captain Marquese Enid d’Tancreville as she is forced on the run where she meets a vast cast of characters perfect for fans of Patrick O’Brian’s beloved Master and Commander series.

Despite her powerful magic, Marquese Enid d’Tancreville must flee her homeland to escape death at the hands of the Theocratic Revolution. When a Theocratic warship overtakes the ship bringing her to safety, Enid is spared capture by the timely intervention of the Albion frigate Alarum, under the command of Lt. Rue Nath.

The strange circumstances make for an odd alliance, and Enid finds herself replacing Alarum‘s recently slain sea mage. Now an officer under Nath’s command, Enid is thrust into a strange maritime world full of confusing customs, duties, and language. Worse she soon discovers the threat of the revolution is not confined to shore.