Detailed reviews & ratings of individual stories below:
GETTING HER BACK by HB Jasick -2 stars
I’ve wanted to read something by Jasick for awhile, so I was excited to have the opportunity to read a short story to give me an introduction to her writing style. Unfortunately, if this is how her all of her books are, I will not be reading anything by her ever again. To clarify, I was totally consumed by the story from the start. Immediately I was sucked into the storyline, fascinated and entertained the characters and plot. The writing is good, that’s not the issue, the problem is that once I was fully immersed in the story, it ended. A cliffhanger in an anthology!?!?!? Obviously, this is not intended to be a cliffhanger, there is no part 2 somewhere out there, but this is 100% NOT a complete story/book! Also, this book is supposedly professionally edited, yet there are several obvious, distracting mistakes such as sentences with missing words (
”I’ll be glad when I’m finally able to take Taylor away this town.”
) and typos like,
“I keep my keeps squeezed shut.”
Soooo much potential, yet extremely disappointing in the end.
READY OR NOT by CF Rabbiosi - 4 stars
I love dark erotica and I am often frustrated by authors claiming to write “dark” then giving us fade to black or barely gray scenes. That is definitely not the case with Rabbiosi who is on the other end of the spectrum!! The very first scene in this story is a 14-year-old boy raping a nine-year-old girl!!!! Unfortunately, it isn’t a 5-star story, and Rabbiosi needs to learn how to use commas, but it does prove that Rabbiosi is demented and not at all afraid to go DARK! I’ll definitely be checking out her books!!
STOLEN DREAMS by Renee Dyer 3-stars
A college student finds out that his best friend and girlfriend are sleeping together. This scorned lover doesn’t do what you’d expect but goes to huge extremes! That’s pretty much the gist of it! It’s well written but for me, something was missing.
TWISTED LITTLE BIRD by JM Walker 3.5 stars
A detailed account of a rape… Or is it? Things aren’t always what they seem in this super kinky story! Although it didn’t give me the feels I was looking for, this story is definitely well written and demonstrative of what Walker is capable of.
WRITHE by Emery Leeann 5 stars
This is one of the most creative, disturbing abduction stories I’ve ever read – I loved it! After a horrific life of abuse, Albert now kidnaps women so he can transform them into his ideal mate, transforming them both emotionally and physically. This story deliciously dark and depraved, proving that Leeann isn’t afraid to cross boundaries. I loved how disturbing her mind gets and will definitely check out more of her books!
MINE by VIRGINIA JOHNSON 4 stars
I love the rare story where the sociopath is the female main character, not the male! I was super impressed by Johnson’s creation of Jane,
“a twenty-five-year-old with the mentality of a teenager and the homicidal tendencies of a Manson girl.” Jane is an innovative twist on the obsessed, delusional stalker, viewing relationships like video games, (“leveling up“ and “ hitting the reset button“, etc.).
THE SYNDICATE by Murphy Wallace 3 stars
Obviously I was wrong to be shocked earlier that an author would put a cliffhanger in an anthology since Wallace did the exact same thing with this story! ARGH!!!! I hate cliffhangers and I would not have wasted my time reading this had I known it was going to end with one! I don’t have the memory to retain storylines, so I intentionally wait until a series is complete before reading it. GRRRR!!! Anyway, I will try to be objective and review/rate what information was provided...
Wilder James’ boss gives him the job of being bodyguard/babysitter to his spoiled, impulsive, bratty debutante daughter Zoe. Even though he supposedly can’t stand Zoe, while guarding her on a trip to Ibiza, Wilder gets to “see the sweet girl that she is hiding under the smart-mouthed, bad girl image that she is known for.” Of course they can’t deny the sexual tension between them resulting in a very predictable romance. What’s not predictable is what happens when the bad guys decide to kidnap Zoe. Unfortunately, that’s where the story ends...