The Devilin Fey by Jess C Scott

The Pagan & The Pen Book Reviews

Title: The Devilin Fey
Author: Jess C Scott   

Author Site

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Publisher: CreateSpace

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Length: 134 pgs.
Reviewed by: Karmyn Klein

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 3

Presentation: 3

Editing: 4

Story: 3

Writing Ability: 4


Overall Score:

                                


The Book: 
A paranormal romance novella of two stories, featuring an incubus and succubus. Story #1 features a demure young woman unleashing the "devil in" her, through the intimacy with an incubus. Story #2 features a voyeuristic succubus driven by jealousy and a dangerous fixation.

The Review: 

The heroine, Caitlin Fey, is a reserved, good girl who is all about her job, and somehow, against character, allows herself to be duped and seduced by an obvious playboy sleaze-ball, Zac Walsh. After the substandard round of sex is over, Caitlin feels not only disappointed but guilty for “cheating” on her dream lover, a man who has been visiting her while she’s asleep.

Deciding she needs to clear her head, she takes a walk on the beach and encounters a man who resembles the man from her dreams. For a moment she thinks he has wings on his back, but in the next moment they are gone and she dismisses the idea as a fantasy.

Lucius and Caitlin talk long into the night, both falling in love with the other.

When Caitlin discovers that Lucius is a Succubus, she’s okay with it at first but soon realizes she is developing the same sexual powers Lucius has. He tells her she is becoming part Incubus and she has to decide what kind of Incubus she wants to be—one seeks vengeance or one who brings passion and joy?

I enjoyed this story. The author did a wonderful job making the characters feel real and flawed. The relationship between Caitlin and Lucius was a little thin and kind of boring after their first meeting. I kept waiting for things to pick up between them, for them to go through the intensity of feelings and expressions of falling in love.

 
Tongue-Tied

In Tongue-Tied, the heroine, Amanda, is looking for a connection and tries to find it through sex. Unfortunately, she’s less than satisfied. The spying succubus, who watched her get it on, thought the sex was lackluster as well, and wonders why Amanda chose a man who was incapable of satisfying her. She knows if she were given the chance, she would be able to satisfy the lovely Amanda so she invisibly follows her and watches as Amanda gratifies herself, and then approaches her when Amanda is half asleep. To her immense surprise, Amanda not only sees her, but kisses her.

Soon the succubus finds she can’t stay away from Amanda because she is haunted by the question of whether or not Amanda “likes” girls, and more than that, likes her, the succubus. When it becomes apparent that Amanda does in fact like girls, the succubus becomes determined to be the girl in Amanda’s life.

While this was a short, fast read and had interesting characters, the story was also confusing as many things were hinted at but never explained, or simply left unsaid. The characters are worth reading about in Tongue-Tied, just as they are in The Devilin Fey. 

Pagan Elements: N/A 

A Player’s Agenda by Ambrielle Kirk

PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: A Player’s AgendaBr
Author: Ambrielle Kirk

Author Site

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Publisher: Breathless Press

Genre: Contemporary/Erotic/Interracial/Romance

Length: 23 pgs.
Reviewed by: Karmyn Klein

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 4

Presentation: 4

Editing: 3

Story: 4

Writing Ability: 4

Overall Card Rating:

About The Book: Mariah has had to work hard for everything in life, and that includes her MBA in Accounting. She doesn’t have time for promiscuous sexy jocks with only one thing on their mind. She’d have to be content with daydreams about former football player Damien, whose nightly sexual conquests made the campus rumor mill. No one is more surprised than she, when Damien approaches her after class one day with a lust-filled agenda on his mind. Does Mariah have the right mix of bedroom moves to tame this player…forever?

The Review: In A Players Agenda, big time player and all around hottie Damien Peterson is obsessed with his classmate, the sexy and seductive Mariah Coleman. Unable to concentrate on the class lecture, he decides he needs to make his fantasies into reality.

Like every other red-blooded woman on campus, Mariah has lusted after the delectable Damien, but she’s a realist. Damien probably doesn’t even know she exists. Mariah wonders what would a rich white boy want with a poor black girl?

In Ambrielle Kirk’s short story, opposites not only attract, they have some serious sexual chemistry. Both characters are realistic for the college scene. Damien is ruled by his sex drive and Mariah by her insecurities, not very likable but definitely relatable. And while love at first sight is a hard sell (unless you’re Shakespeare), Ms. Kirk did an admirable job of showing why her characters are compatible and how they just might make it in the long run.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. Kirk’s steamy stories as she progresses as a writer.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Blackened by Christina Jade Loren

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Blackened
Author: Christina Jade Loren

Author Site

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Publisher: Breathless Press

Genre: Gay/Erotic/Paranormal

Length: 22 pgs.

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 4-I like the mood the cover creates with the dark, moon-filled sky. The cover model is not only cute but obviously a vampire, so the reader knows right away that it’s a vamp story.

Presentation: 4-Easy to read and understand. A page and a ½ blank at the beginning so you have to scroll to find the start of the story, which isn’t marked in any way.

Editing: 4-Easily read. A few grammatical errors only.

Story: 3-While I liked both romantic characters, the conflict was flimsy and easily resolved with a simple conversation at the end, which left me feeling let down. The resolution reminded me of an after-school special, preaching on the dangers of addiction and failure to communicate with your significant other. When the after-school special resolution ends, the characters jump right into a rough sex scene, and I felt disoriented by the mood/tone change.

Writing Ability: 3-The author does a good job expressing the characters’ thoughts and emotions when they are alone. However, when the characters are together, the action and dialogue reads choppy and emotionless in places. Weak plot and minimal setting.

Reviewed by: Karmyn Klein

About The Book: Damien loves every aspect of his life as a vampire, except feeding time. That’s when his conscience decides to turn on, and he must face his dark cravings—alone. He had it all under control until Nathan disappeared one night. Damien’s control is slipping on the beast inside, and he needs Nathan now more than ever. If only he didn’t suspect his lover of betrayal.

Two battles must be fought. One of the heart, and one of the soul. Will Damien’s fear become a reality, and the urge to kill blacken his heart before Nathan can bring him home?

The Review: Blackened, third in a series, begins with a jolt of adrenalin as Damien, a newly made vampire, fights the urge to kill his human meal. Feeling the absence of his lover, Nathan, he struggles to do what’s right when everything feels wrong.

While Damien is likable, Nathan is a dark, conflicted character, emotionally and physically distant throughout much of the story. However, through Damien the reader can see and feel a past filled with love for Nathan and hope for the same in the future.

A fast and easy read with strong characters who live in an interesting world but lacking a strong plot with an exciting/fulfilling ending. Both of Damien’s problems—trouble controlling his urge to kill while drinking blood and the doubts about his relationship with Nathan—are easily resolved by simply having a short, quick conversation with his lover.

The erotic sex scene that follows the resolution between Damien and Nathan wasn’t the emotionally fulfilling make-up sex I was expecting but, instead, felt more like a rough-and-tumble quickie the couple might have any other day. Despite this, the strong likable characters make Blackened worth reading, and I look forward to more of Loren’s stories.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Storm Riders by Crymsyn Hart

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Storm Riders Book 1
Author: Crymsyn Hart   

Author Site

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Publisher: Aspen Mountain Press

Genre: Erotic Contemporary / Paranormal

Length: 105 pgs.

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 5

Presentation: 5-Everything from the color scheme to the cover models drew me in. Great cover!

Editing: 3-Quite a few easy-to-fix errors that were left unedited. For example: long passive sentences that could easily be made active and more concise; an absence of physical description when characters are introduced; repetitive word choice, lacking paragraph breaks for better readability.

Story: 5-Full-bodied, lovable characters .Fast-paced and exciting story / plot.

Writing Ability: 4-Crymsyn Hart is a wonderful storyteller. Storm Riders is a fascinating and fantastic read. My only gripe is the excessive amount of back-story / info dumping done at the beginning of the story, which slowed down the pace considerably and made it difficult to fall into the tale right away. Everything else—her characters, her plot, her world building—is mesmerizing. Storm Riders is a must read for lovers of paranormal romance.

Overall Card Rating: 4

Reviewed by: Karmyn Klein

About The Book: George has been searching for a way to predict tornadoes that mimics her inherent ability. Her encounter with a handsome cowboy that drives away a twister has her stumped.

Wyatt and Landon are Storm Riders assigned to wrangle cyclones. When they both meet George, they’re driven to possess her even offering themselves to her for a wild, stormy night of passion. When their boss, Raul gets wind of this, he demands they cease all contact. Neither Wyatt nor Landon can stand to think she won’t be part of their lives. She’s turned their worlds upside down and each craves George’s touch.

The Review: Georgiana, nicknamed George, chases storms, but what she’s really after is an answer to why she has the innate ability to sense when a storm is coming. With her assistant Jeremy by her side, she races toward a tornado only to run into a man on a horse who has the ability to control storms…and disappear?


Wyatt and Landon may look like cowboys but they wrangle twisters not cows. No longer human but immortal storm riders, they are both inexorably drawn to the enigmatic George. Risking months of torture or worse, losing George, the men search for a way for all three of them to live and love together.


Endearing, captivating, and original, Storm Riders is a new twist on the classic love triangle that will leave the reader wanting more. Crymsyn Hart has done it again—telling a story that will make her readers fall in lust and in love.

Pagan Elements: Yes, George is a weather witch who senses when and where storms will occur, while Wyatt and Landon are storm riders, immortals who can control storms (specifically severe storms and tornados).

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Jen's Tale by Christopher Newman

PAGAN & PEN REVIEW

Title:  Jen’s Tale

Author:  Christopher Newman 

Author Site

Buy Link

Publisher: Red Rose™ Publishing

Genre: science fiction, futuristic, romance, erotica 

Length: 97 pgs.

Other:  M/F

Pagan & Pagan Elements: no/no

Reviewed by: Karmyn Klein

About The Book: Is love enough to save us?

Jennifer Allen is not who she seems to be. Her friends, family, and neighbors all think they know the twenty-six year old automobile engineer, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Jen isn’t even human. Sent by her government to explore Earth and its global warming crisis, she is to report back if conditions are right for her aquatic species to colonize the world.

She is dedicated to her mission, until she meets Brent Ashcroft, a handsome and sexy biology graduate student. Jen can’t deny her attraction to him. Will she endanger herself by loving Brent or will she help usher in an alien invasion?

The Review:

Christopher Newman’s book, Jen’s Tale, is quirky, funny, and sexy. There were places in this book where I laughed out loud at the main character, Jen’s, observations and actions. I became completely immersed in the story. Christopher Newman did a great job of throwing me off the scent of how it would end, as well as keeping me fully engaged and wanting to read more.

The mix of quirky romance and sexy science fiction is well balanced and a lot of fun to read. And while the science fiction and romantic elements are wonderfully detailed, the main attraction is the all-too-human voice and heart of Jen the alien. A fully developed character who will make you laugh, groan, and sniffle. While there were times when Jen’s voice became a tad bit overbearing (interruptions to the story in the form of puns), she still totally won me over. This book was a wonderful read. I definitely recommend it.

Pagan Elements: None

Cover (Rated 1-10): 6 The font is awful, but I appreciate that the cover shows this book is clearly a science fiction romance novel. No guesswork here!

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & the Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.