Sally Bend's Blog, page 32

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

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 pick this week is a story about true love, magic, curses, and the hope that lies within the hearts of two women.

The Honey Witch

by Sydney J. Shields
Adult, Romance
Paperback and eBook, 368 pages
May 14, 2024 by Redhook

The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.

Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who’ve tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.

When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can’t resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home—at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

Goodreads

Book Review: Act of Defiance by Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson (thriller)

Title: Act of Defiance
Author: Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson
Publication Date: May 21, 2024
Genres: Thriller
Protagonist Gender: Female

Back in the day, I worked as a dishwasher in a greasy spoon diner that had an appointment-only bookstore attached. Whenever somebody was scheduled to explore the bookstore, I got to unlock it, tidy it up, and basically get it ready for shopping. That also meant I got to shop for myself, and that’s where I discovered authors like Craig Thomas, Robert Ludlum, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy.

The Hunt for Red October was, far and away, my favorite read to be plucked from those shelves, and the movie is one of my favorites as well, a must-watch viewing event whenever it shows up on TV. I haven’t read a lot of the Ryanverse/Clancyverse since Tom Clancy passed away, but when I heard that Act of Defiance was (1) a sequel to Red October, and (2) featured Katie Ryan, Jack’s youngest daughter, I knew I had to read it – and I’m glad I did.

At 560 pages, this is a far cry from the 1000-page doorstoppers that defined Clancy’s later days, and that works in its favor. It’s shorter, faster, and more intense. There are fewer characters, fewer side-plots, and much less technobabble info-dumping. It is indeed a direct sequel to Red October, and one that brings back some surprising characters from that book to help face the crisis, and presents us with a new adversary who has a personal connection to those events. Where it differs from the original is that its rogue submarine commander isn’t looking to defect, he’s looking to help a secret cabal with the Kremlin deliver a devastating nuclear blow to America.

Much to my delight (and relief), Katie is a true heroine, definitely following in her father’s footsteps, but very much her own woman. Like Jack, she’s less about out-fighting the enemy than out-thinking them, and she’s not afraid to speak her mind, even though she’s still green enough to be nervous before authority. The portrayal of women in the genre can often be problematic, but Andrews & Wilson hit the right balance here.

I raced through this, enjoying every moment, and I’ll happily be there for Katie’s next adventure. A great read and a worthy sequel.

Rating:

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

Announcing Holiday Erotica!

Two exciting updates for you this holiday season. First up, I have a new forced feminization story in the latest Forced Fem Quarterly from Candy Apple Press, and then I’ve added a holiday-themed update of a favorite femdom story to my Holiday Tales Erotica Bundle.

Forced Fem Quarterly December 2023
edited by Kylie Gable

Our latest quarterly features nearly 20,000 words, 7 stories, and 8 authors!

In our Forced Fem Quarterly books, the writers of Candy Apple Press write shorter stories to give readers a chance to sample their particular brand of feminization and female domination at a law price. From sissies being made to pose as a sexy female elf for Christmas cards, to a wife dressing up her husband with big plans for their New Years Eve party, to weak-willed sissies who find themselves at the mercy of a group of milfs, this collection has something for everybody. Some of our stories have a Christmas theme, but all of them are about powerful women and the men who are their playthings.

Included in the collection is Holiday Shopping, my kinky tale of women getting revenge against the young man who has been spying on them in the change room. Will his favorite outfits look as good on him as they did the women? Find out!

Holiday Tales Erotica Bundle
by Sally Bend

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, Yule, Solstice, Hogswatch, or Life Day, the holidays are a time for taking a chance on love.

Whether your tastes run more towards sweet transgender lesbian romance or gender-swap futa erotica, the holidays are a time for experimenting with kink. Whether desire leads you into straight-to-gay first-time encounters or femdom sissy submission, the holidays are a time for coming out celebrations.

The Holiday Tales Erotica Bundle is nearly 45k words of romance and erotica that’s equal parts sexy, silly, sweet, sensual, and sultry.

New for 2023 is Wants and Wishes, and erotic BDSM femdom romance about self-discovery, self-exploration, and the gift of acceptance. It’s an emotional tale, but one with many of will relate.

Fetish & Fantasy 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 Fetish & Fantasy 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.

While you’re on Amazon, if you’d like to support my stories, could I kindly ask that you give these a read/review? 

Enjoy!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller

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 choice for this week is the “the queer Zombieland you didn’t know you needed,” packed with action, humor, sex, drag queens, lesbians, and zombies!

The Z Word

by Lindsay King-Miller
Adult, Horror
Paperback and eBook, 256 pages
May 7, 2024 by Quirk Books

“Sexy, scathing, delightful, and intimately devastating.”—Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo

Packed with action, humor, sex, and big gay feelings, The Z Word is the queer Zombieland you didn’t know you needed.

Chaotic bisexual Wendy is trying to find her place in the queer community of San Lazaro, Arizona, after a bad breakup—which is particularly difficult because her ex is hooking up with some of her friends. And when the people around them start turning into violent, terrifying mindless husks, well, that makes things harder. Especially since the infection seems to be spreading.

Now, Wendy and her friends and frenemies—drag queen Logan, silver fox Beau, sword lesbian Aurelia and her wife Sam, mysterious pizza delivery stoner Sunshine, and, oh yeah, Wendy’s ex-girlfriend Leah—have to team up to stay alive, save Pride, and track the zombie outbreak to its shocking source. Hopefully without killing each other first.

The Z Word is a propulsive, funny, emotional horror debut about a found family coming together to fight corporate greed, political corruption, gay drama, and zombies.

Goodreads

Book Review: Dragonfall by L.R. Lam (fantasy)

Title: Dragonfall
Author: L.R. Lam
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Genres: Fantasy
Protagonist Gender: Male

Dragonfall was pitched to me as a queer dragon enemies-to-lovers fantasy, which was all I needed to want to read it, but it turned out to be a queer dragon enemies-to-lovers fantasy in a genderfluid world, and that was all I needed to love reading it.

Before I get to that, though, let me explore the more familiar foundations of the fantasy. As we discover in the first chapter (no spoilers, I promise), our story is set in two worlds, magically separated long enough for the sundering itself to become legend. On one side is humanity, with its veneration of long-absent dragons as gods, and on the other side are the dragons themselves, with their loathing for the humans who betrayed them.

So, when we talk enemies-to-lovers, we’re not just talking run-of-the-mill adversaries, we’re talking about epic enemies, the kind whose relationship threatens to destroy one world (or perhaps both) depending on how it develops. As much as we, as readers, want to see the romance be realized, we’re also painfully aware that there are consequences to their love that nobody can afford.

Tied up in the conflict and the affair is a daring heist tale involving ancient dragon artifacts, a den of thieves with entanglements of betrayal, and a mysterious assassin who doesn’t fully intersect the main story until near the end. It all sounds familiar, and on a strict plot level it is, but the personalities, the writing style, and the alternating POVs are what set this apart. For all its epic stakes, it’s a very intimate tale, and one that draws you in, making you care about (and for) the players.

Getting back to the issue of gender, it’s not necessarily a driving force behind the plot, but it’s a lovely bit of background that excited me.

“Some feel between, or outside of male and female, man or woman … You’d use neutral for children until they choose, whenever that might be.”

“I was never drawn purely to femininity or masculinity. Neither felt like me . .. Gender is both so important and yet inconsequential, in the grand scheme of things.”

I love stories that explore gender without being about gender, so this hit me right in the feels.

While the pacing lags a bit in a few places, when this gets going, it sucks you in and demands you hold tight through to the end. As for the ending, it’s an interesting sort of subversion of the whole story, but there’s a surprise twist that hits hard and nails the ending. Bring on Emberclaw!

Rating:

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

Fetish & Fantasy 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 Fetish & Fantasy 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.

While you’re on Amazon, if you’d like to support my stories, could I kindly ask that you give these a read/review? 

Enjoy!

Book Review: Phoenix Rising by Ryk E. Spoor (fantasy)

Title: Phoenix Rising
Author: Ryk E. Spoor
Publication Date: November 6, 2012
Genres: Fantasy
Protagonist Gender: Female/Male

I discovered fantasy in high-school, back in the late 80s/early 90s, so my fondness for the genre is firmly rooted in the likes of Weis, Hickman, Feist, Rawn, Lackey, Brooks, Jordan, Eddings, Donaldson, and others. I grew up with sprawling epics of magic and monsters, wizardry and wonder, where hope (and humor) tipped the balance of horror. I love its familiar tropes and its cliches, and its tried-and-true themes of heroism and sacrifice.

Sadly, stories that like have become the exception on shelves dominated by grimdark and historical fantasy, so when I find a book like Phoenix Rising, my heart swells and my imagination squeals like a teenager once again.

I was hooked by this from the first chapter. It has the settings, the mythologies, the characters, and the creatures that I so fondly remember. Ryk E. Spoor doesn’t just nod and wink to the reader, he welcomes us with open arms, giving us things like adventurer’s guilds and quests that are the stuff of roleplaying games. The stakes are cataclysmic, betrayal is everywhere, but you know from the start that goodness will prevail – it will struggle, there will setbacks and sacrifices, but goodness will win out.

By the end of this book we have our classic heroic trio fully formed: a highborn young woman imbued with the power of a magical knight, a noble questing prince from across the world, and a kick-ass intelligent toad who only fools underestimate. Quests are completed and villains vanquished, but the fate of the world still hangs in the balance, with two more books waiting to be devoured.

Rating:

Book Review: Principle Decisions by Thea Belmont (romance)

Title: Principle Decisions
Author: Thea Belmont
Publication Date: November 29, 2023
Genres: Romance
Protagonist Gender: Female

Oh my, but this was a delight! Principle Decisions delivered on everything that I expected, but it also delivered some surprises as well. There were aspects of both Vivienne and the story that I wasn’t expecting, that spoke to me deeply, and I know that connection certainly flavored my reading of this.

The cover blurb describes Vivienne as icy, aloof, and sexually frustrated, but it’s so much deeper than that. Here we have a woman who has sacrificed for her family, given of her free time and relationship dreams, to care for her orphaned niece. Vivienne comes across as icy and aloof because she holds so much in, because she is so reluctant (and afraid) to allow any sort of human connection. She’s so committed to the roles of professor and caregiver that she hasn’t the time or space for a lover, or even friend. At first, I thought I disliked her because of how frustrated I was with her, but then I realized that what really bothered me was that she forced me to really consider how my family has felt about me – I saw aspects that I disliked about myself in her.

Like Vivienne, I find the role of submission, the act of being controlled, dominated, punished–and then cared for–to be extraordinarily soothing. We both come away from it with the same sense of a relief so deep, so permeating, that it’s hard to explain to others. It’s cathartic, and it’s also sometimes hard to remember professional boundaries.

And that brings us to Selene. She is, in a word, marvelous. All too often it’s the domme who is written as cold or stern, sacrificing a personality for a presence, but she comes across like someone you could happily sit and have coffee with and never suspect her other activities. She’s what I would call playfully stern, someone to be respected and admired, but also someone who doesn’t need to feel feared or to make a submissive feel humiliated in order to work her magic. The sparks are there from the start, and my heart was fully invested in seeing them achieve a happily-ever-after.

There is also a well-written subplot to this about Vivienne’s niece and her best friend, a transgender boy who is being bullied at school. It explores the overall novel’s message of tolerance, love, and taking responsibility in a sort of microcosm. That being said, I do feel like Vivienne’s family was the weakest link in the story, especially her sister, Hattie, who feels so timid and meek that I, once again, had to confront the sort of exhausting level emotional trauma we can sometimes inflict on our families. My spouse has told me that, since I’ve begun getting help for my anxiety, she not only loves me more but likes me again–and it’s hard to realize you were unlikable.

I’ve rambled on enough, and likely injected more personality into this review than most would care for, but Principle Decisions was a fabulous read. The BDSM scenes are delightful, the romance is scrumptious, and the drama that threatens to keep the lovers apart is genuine. Please, do pick that red business card from the book and give Selene a chance.

Rating: 1/2

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

Book Review: Eli Book Five – Triumph by B.J. Frazier & Jessie Spectre (erotica)

Title: Eli Book Five – Triumph
Author: B.J. Frazier & Jessie Spectre
Publication Date: August 21, 2023
Genres: Erotica
Protagonist Gender: Male

I actually finished this a few days ago, but needed some time to process it. If you’ve been following my reviews of the Eli series, then you know I’ve talked about the emotional roller coaster that B.J. Frazier & Jessie Spectre have taken us on. It’s been fun and fabulous, often inspiring and sometimes amusing, but there’s been this ominous feeling beneath it all, the dread of a looming confrontation at the end. The story could have sidestepped that darkness, snatched Eli away from the brink, but as much as I silently raged against B.J. and Jessie in reading this, I admire them for sticking to the story and where it had to go.

This final volume is the culmination of Eli’s journey in so many ways. It is an entirely satisfying conclusion in that it wraps up all the outstanding questions and issues, but it’s also a difficult one. Eli is forced to confront the darkness at the heat of Bernie’s plan, the violence that can happen when the rules and ethics of the BDSM power-exchange are discarded, and that went deeper and darker than I expected (or even feared).

It’s hard to say much without spoiling the journey that’s taken us to this point, but emotions are explored, agendas revealed, justifications offered, and excuses thrown up. This book really transforms the entire series, but it’s not so simple as that sounds. Even as we’re forced to confront the darkness beneath the story, B.J. and Jessie confirm that many of the emotions were genuine. So much of what we thought we knew about this world is flipped on its head, which may sounds like a cheat, but it’s not that at all. We’ve been experiencing the story through Eli and Bernie, and Eli’s perceptions are largely shaped by Bernie, so it makes sense that stepping outside them would reveal things we didn’t expect . . . and others for which we could only hope.

There were scenes here that made the squeal with joy (oh, how I wish I could spoil the secret in the basement!), and others that made me thankful for the bravery of friends (even those unexpected). For all the darkness, Eli is loved deeply, and when he needs it most, those who care the deepest are there. You’ll be surprised at who turns up, and even more surprised as how some of them turn up, but it all feels natural. There’s often a tendency to force too much into the end of a series like this, but this feels like a natural end – or, not an end, a transition to a new beginning.

I’m so grateful for being invited to explore this series, and for having the chance to share my impressions with readers. If you’ve been at all curious, then I urge you to give it a chance – you’ll be glad you did.

Rating:  

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