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Selume Proferre
An-An Li-Johnson lives an easy-going, quiet life. She works part time at her friend's bookstore, is active in the local LGBTQ scene, manages to avoid the occasional crazy ex, and does temp work for the big name spell-craft firm Simon and Davidson. Then she's hired to work with M.C. Anderson, an up and coming exorcist at Simon and Davidson. M.C. is deeply involved in the world of high stakes spell-craft, determined to carve out a place for herself among the extremely hierarchical and old fashioned world of professional exorcists. As they work together on an intense case of demonic possession, An-An finds herself more and more intrigued by her new boss. But just as the relationship looks like it might be deepening into something more, the case suddenly takes a turn for the worse. Much, much worse.
98 pages, Paperback
First published November 6, 2013
229 people want to read
About the author
E.E. Ottoman
29 books346 followerswrites romance novels, wears pretty clothes, does history stuff.
he/him/his
he/him/his
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 9, 2014
This book was a first date when you have good conversation, find you like a lot of the same things, then you make out and it's really, really nice, and when you go to bed you think about the evening and feel happy.
I have a big crush on An-An and her cowboy boots and her strap on. The possession plot was just OK for me: a pleasant enough diorama in which the MCs could be displayed. The sex was a tantalizing taste, but hot. Definitely hot.
Recommended for anyone wanting to read about an "old-fashioned cisgender butch."
Also, if you're interested in gender issues, or romance as a genre, E.E. gives really good blog. There's a great post on lesbian romance here (also read the 63(!) thoughtful and informative comments).
I have a big crush on An-An and her cowboy boots and her strap on. The possession plot was just OK for me: a pleasant enough diorama in which the MCs could be displayed. The sex was a tantalizing taste, but hot. Definitely hot.
Recommended for anyone wanting to read about an "old-fashioned cisgender butch."
Also, if you're interested in gender issues, or romance as a genre, E.E. gives really good blog. There's a great post on lesbian romance here (also read the 63(!) thoughtful and informative comments).
June 12, 2016
Whenever I need a pick-me-up after a disappointing book, EE is my go to author because I am sure I won’t be disappointed…
Selume Proffere was exactly what I needed: a cute, smart, romantic, sexy, funny, and creepy time.
An-An and M.C. are such loveable protagonists :-) It was a delight spending time with them. I can’t even decide whom I love more. They had me both smiling the entire time. I dunno… they are awkward and different, kind and stand-offish, smart and sexy. A really intriguing mix. I love their clothes, too, and EE, I don’t want the day to come when you don’t write clothes porn, okay? I love your clothes fetish ;-)
The exorcism plot was creepy… Creepy good, alright? Just enough to make this interesting and suspenseful, not too much to make it horrific. I would have loved to read the showdown and not be unconscious during the actual exorsim, though.
The romance was just… awwwww :-) so lovely. I can see these two having a future together, they fit.
The sex… Hot as always! But, it seems I need to do research on strap-ons ;-) I was a bit… whoa, wait… um… she has a cock? O.o I mean… hot!!! But… I need to find out more, so… That was a first for me :-)
Yeah, so… I recommend Selume Proferre! 4 stars
***
P.s.: EE showed me this interesting article for a better understanding of strap-ons and blowjobs. Go read :-)
***
This book counts for my following reading challenges 2015:
- 100 books in total
- 20 books about a marginalised group
Selume Proffere was exactly what I needed: a cute, smart, romantic, sexy, funny, and creepy time.
An-An and M.C. are such loveable protagonists :-) It was a delight spending time with them. I can’t even decide whom I love more. They had me both smiling the entire time. I dunno… they are awkward and different, kind and stand-offish, smart and sexy. A really intriguing mix. I love their clothes, too, and EE, I don’t want the day to come when you don’t write clothes porn, okay? I love your clothes fetish ;-)
The exorcism plot was creepy… Creepy good, alright? Just enough to make this interesting and suspenseful, not too much to make it horrific. I would have loved to read the showdown and not be unconscious during the actual exorsim, though.
The romance was just… awwwww :-) so lovely. I can see these two having a future together, they fit.
The sex… Hot as always! But, it seems I need to do research on strap-ons ;-) I was a bit… whoa, wait… um… she has a cock? O.o I mean… hot!!! But… I need to find out more, so… That was a first for me :-)
Yeah, so… I recommend Selume Proferre! 4 stars
***
P.s.: EE showed me this interesting article for a better understanding of strap-ons and blowjobs. Go read :-)
***
This book counts for my following reading challenges 2015:
- 100 books in total
- 20 books about a marginalised group
March 28, 2014
Holy..Oh My.. *melts*
This. This story is EVERYTHING. It started out a little rocky but found it's groove and almost fucking killed me.
1.) Queer ladies FTW! Not just queer ladies but masculine-of-center ladies, a non-cisgender main character, and a yummy yummy butch woman in a cowboy hat. Hooray for something DIFFERENT and an author who's stepping outside of the box and whose writing is representing for some of the other letters in LGBTQ. WOOT!!
2.) An awesome, awesome world was set up in this little story. An-An works as a part time inscriber for spell-craft firms as an inscriber and sometime researcher. Spell-craft firms employ exorcism specialists, spellcasters and other magic-y people. Unlike in other books though, in E.E. Ottoman's world spell-crafting is a big business. The firms are kind of like law firms. I loved it.
So, An-An gets called in to work on a case with a super star in the spell-crafting world, M.C. None of the other inscribers will work with M.C. because she's, well, more than a little abrasive. They're also jealous of how far she's gone for being so young. Add to that that some people have an issue with the fact that she presents as masculine and you get why the firm had to call in an outside inscriber, An-An.
I loved the whole plot of this story and found it very interesting. It was new and engaging. I wish the climax had been a little more exciting but that's just a minor issue for me.
3.) Hot, hot, HOT ending. The issue I have with most f/f stories I've tried is that the sex is just not ummmm...down and dirty enough for me. I like raunch. Even though we don't get to see the full blown sex, what we do get to see had my damn toes curling. So good. So, so good. I can do without the sweet, soft touches. Give me wet blowjobs, hot talk, strap-ons and lust any day please.
So, yeah. I loved this novella and hope from here to etenity that we get more hotness from this author. Now, please excuse me while I attempt to find more stories like this one.
This. This story is EVERYTHING. It started out a little rocky but found it's groove and almost fucking killed me.
1.) Queer ladies FTW! Not just queer ladies but masculine-of-center ladies, a non-cisgender main character, and a yummy yummy butch woman in a cowboy hat. Hooray for something DIFFERENT and an author who's stepping outside of the box and whose writing is representing for some of the other letters in LGBTQ. WOOT!!
2.) An awesome, awesome world was set up in this little story. An-An works as a part time inscriber for spell-craft firms as an inscriber and sometime researcher. Spell-craft firms employ exorcism specialists, spellcasters and other magic-y people. Unlike in other books though, in E.E. Ottoman's world spell-crafting is a big business. The firms are kind of like law firms. I loved it.
So, An-An gets called in to work on a case with a super star in the spell-crafting world, M.C. None of the other inscribers will work with M.C. because she's, well, more than a little abrasive. They're also jealous of how far she's gone for being so young. Add to that that some people have an issue with the fact that she presents as masculine and you get why the firm had to call in an outside inscriber, An-An.
I loved the whole plot of this story and found it very interesting. It was new and engaging. I wish the climax had been a little more exciting but that's just a minor issue for me.
3.) Hot, hot, HOT ending. The issue I have with most f/f stories I've tried is that the sex is just not ummmm...down and dirty enough for me. I like raunch. Even though we don't get to see the full blown sex, what we do get to see had my damn toes curling. So good. So, so good. I can do without the sweet, soft touches. Give me wet blowjobs, hot talk, strap-ons and lust any day please.
So, yeah. I loved this novella and hope from here to etenity that we get more hotness from this author. Now, please excuse me while I attempt to find more stories like this one.
October 7, 2018
2.5 stars. Demonic possession and queer exorcists! This was neat, but it felt a bit thin. Ottoman has written some really amazing stuff, but this wasn't that for me. His writing style is usually pretty spare and pretty straightforward, but in this novella, it was a bit choppy. The characters were intriguing, but the the plot was not given much attention. The relationship came first in this story and the possession and exorcism (i.e., the fun parts) were kind of given short shrift, unfortunately. The action was put on the back burner in favour of relationship-building, which doesn't tend to be my favourite way of going about things. I wanted so much more from this story. It's very short and felt a little rushed and I think a bit more length and fleshing out of exciting plot stuff would have been a great thing. I'm a fan of this author, but this one is definitely not my favourite. This could have been so much better.
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January 21, 2016Not surprisingly, this was another case of "What's Not to Love" from EE Ottoman for me.
March 21, 2023
This book was a first date when you have good conversation, find you like a lot of the same things, then you make out and it's really, really nice, and when you go to bed you think about the evening and feel happy.
I have a big crush on An-An and her cowboy boots and her strap on. The possession plot was just OK for me: a pleasant enough diorama in which the MCs could be displayed. The sex was a tantalizing taste, but hot. Definitely hot.
Recommended for anyone wanting to read about an "old-fashioned cisgender butch."
Also, if you're interested in gender issues, or romance as a genre, E.E. gives really good blog. There's a great post on lesbian romance here (also read the 63(!) thoughtful and informative comments).
I have a big crush on An-An and her cowboy boots and her strap on. The possession plot was just OK for me: a pleasant enough diorama in which the MCs could be displayed. The sex was a tantalizing taste, but hot. Definitely hot.
Recommended for anyone wanting to read about an "old-fashioned cisgender butch."
Also, if you're interested in gender issues, or romance as a genre, E.E. gives really good blog. There's a great post on lesbian romance here (also read the 63(!) thoughtful and informative comments).
September 14, 2018
Neat to watch the characters work together and then quite a nice sex scene at the end.
September 27, 2014
An-An lives a rather casual life, happily doing her thing, involved in the LGBTQ community and working casually – when one of those casual jobs has her working for MC Anderson. MC is driven, determined talented and making a name for herself in the magical community. She’s an exorcist and an extremely good one
And she’ll need to be, because the demon she’s been called in to evict is not responding how anyone expected; though for all the curiosity, An-An is far more interested in her boss than any demonic activity
This book did a pretty awesome job of covering a lot within the format of a short story – cramming a lot in a short space without it feeling rushed or forced or out of place.
The world is painted pretty richly with just a few of these indications – the idea of magical universities, different branches of magic, the official qualifications and professional reputations of the magic users – the rather delightfully dusty, established-lawyer sense to the magical firm all excellently portrayed with just a few references. You don’t need pages and pages to describe magic as a legal profession – just these little hints really establish that aspect of the world
Similarly, the description of the several kinds of exorcism and the research into different kind of demons help reveal the full range of magic and creatures that our out there – by using a lens on a small section while implying that there’s so much more there the world is revealed without lots of minutiae that just aren’t necessary for the story and would bog it down. It’s a nicely restrained way to world build that works really well in the short story format where you have so little room to world build without bogging down your main characters.
The story itself was also well balanced – interesting enough to keep things moving and intriguing with just enough elements of danger and tragedy to pull things along and add some stakes to the plot. But, ultimately, neither complex enough nor involving people are who presented enough to create any real dominance. This is a character driven story, the story is there as a background to show An-An and MC get to know each other, it’s not there to be the main plot. In some ways that disappointments me – because the world setting and plot line deserves some development and could have been an excellent book in their own right. It’s well done to put the focus on the romance but, personally, I’d rather have had a longer book, more use of this excellent world than a romance story which was good, but entirely predictable.
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And she’ll need to be, because the demon she’s been called in to evict is not responding how anyone expected; though for all the curiosity, An-An is far more interested in her boss than any demonic activity
This book did a pretty awesome job of covering a lot within the format of a short story – cramming a lot in a short space without it feeling rushed or forced or out of place.
The world is painted pretty richly with just a few of these indications – the idea of magical universities, different branches of magic, the official qualifications and professional reputations of the magic users – the rather delightfully dusty, established-lawyer sense to the magical firm all excellently portrayed with just a few references. You don’t need pages and pages to describe magic as a legal profession – just these little hints really establish that aspect of the world
Similarly, the description of the several kinds of exorcism and the research into different kind of demons help reveal the full range of magic and creatures that our out there – by using a lens on a small section while implying that there’s so much more there the world is revealed without lots of minutiae that just aren’t necessary for the story and would bog it down. It’s a nicely restrained way to world build that works really well in the short story format where you have so little room to world build without bogging down your main characters.
The story itself was also well balanced – interesting enough to keep things moving and intriguing with just enough elements of danger and tragedy to pull things along and add some stakes to the plot. But, ultimately, neither complex enough nor involving people are who presented enough to create any real dominance. This is a character driven story, the story is there as a background to show An-An and MC get to know each other, it’s not there to be the main plot. In some ways that disappointments me – because the world setting and plot line deserves some development and could have been an excellent book in their own right. It’s well done to put the focus on the romance but, personally, I’d rather have had a longer book, more use of this excellent world than a romance story which was good, but entirely predictable.
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March 15, 2015Ottoman has some cool ideas, and I badly want more stories about characters like this. The descriptions of An-An's encounters with the demon were vivid and unsettling. Fussing about edits under the spoiler tag.
April 8, 2016
This was a good read, with great characters that were fun and interesting. I was gripped by both the characters and the world, the case they were researching. I felt there could have been more towards the end, because it felt as though a lot of the action and plot there was a bit skimmed over, but overall I would still recommend this book, because awesome queer exorcists and creepy demonic possession.
December 8, 2014
More like 3.5 stars. Love the plot and characters (and the author who is a twitter acquaintance) and the world was so interesting I just wish there was more world building. The writing was choppy and awkward at times, but the plot more than made up for it. Also, what a sex scene at the end my goodness.
April 2, 2015
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, I'm not a huge fan of this kind of supernatural book. But I trusted in my enjoyment of Ottoman's other works and thrilled by what I read. MC and An-An were great characters with some amazing nuances. My one complaint is that there wasn't ENOUGH, I really wanted more exploration of their relationship.
December 30, 2015
2.5 stars. Wonderful characters, interesting plot, but fell short on the execution. All of a sudden the case is over and the readers weren't there for what happened. So even now I'm a bit unsure. So not bad, just wanted something a little more finished.
April 4, 2015
review to come
October 23, 2015
Selume Proferre is a fabulous butch/butch romance in an urban fantasy setting with elements of romance. Both main characters are well-fleshed out, especially given the length of the story.
May 21, 2016
While the story about the exorcism was interesting, it felt more like a snippet out of a larger universe.
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January 14, 2019Enjoyable read! I was into the world building and liked the two main characters. I think it could have benefited from being longer and developing out more of the elements. I liked the 100 page version of this story, but think I would also really like the 300-400 page version.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews