Dark Diva Reviews

Do cops always want to protect and serve?

Gerald Dixon is a wounded cop shot in the line of duty. He was tired, hurt and confused. He’d been a cop most of his life and was now being asked to retire early and was sent Louisiana to heal and think it over.

Margarita Malveaux was a ghost killed by voo-doo. The spell that killed her had a loophole that could save her: a stranger, who didn’t believe in voo-doo, had to willingly go through 3 challenges.

Would Gerald be up for a physical challenge, a mental challenge or a challenge that would push his own belief system to the very edge? Could Margarita convince him to take on the challenges that would free her, giving her the peace she longed for and bring him the happiness he didn’t know he needed?

 Review:
Gerald is one of the nation’s hero's- a policeman, wounded on the job. Some time at his twin sister’s house outside of New Orleans is just what he needs. The healing process is long and arduous.

A day trip, which includes the tour of a old house, reveals his destiny- to serve, and protect, a freed-slave turned mistress named Margarita. Three challenges must be overcome to reverse the bad Mojo- does he have the strength or the fortitude for this mission?

This short, cultural story has a good storyline. The mystery of the ghost and her past is intriguing. Readers will find a strong hero and a charming heroine in Dana Littlejohn’s Cajun Magic. A little touch of voodoo makes reading this short a worthwhile read. 4.5 Divas

Selkines Ondine, a minor noblewoman without the means to fulfill her hunger for knowledge and power, faces a lonely life in service to the Aratriconian Church.

To avoid this fate she makes a pact with Abryax, a fallen angel who defied the god Aratricon at the dawn of time.

In exchange for bearing the demon's child she willreceive on wish for anything her heart desires.

Selkines plans to use this wish to gain the wealth and power that society denies her. But the archbishop of the Church has a secret agenda: an interest in Selkines that goes far beyond the religious. And the servants of Heaven will do anything to keep a soul they have set their sights on from Hell's grasp.

Meanwhile Selkines's longsuffering admirer, the poet Erasmus sets out to win her hand as well, unaware that his competition is a creature of ancient and terrible power.

Abryax's motto is that Hell gives us exactly what we want. But Selkines learns that what we want may come in a form we never expected or desire. Heaven and Hell ultimately gather for a showdown with Selkines's body as the battlefield, but Selkines is shocked at the depth of her own capacity to love when Erasmus selflessly enters the conflict for her sake as well.

Review:
Never in my life have I ever said a book was to long and I’m not going to start now. But I will say unless you are a fast reader, set aside some time to sit down and enjoy this book. Tyree has built an interesting and creative world, filled with intriguing characters. Throw in some scorching sex and you have a fantastic book. The religious icons and order he’s created are intriguing. The book interests you in the beginning and makes you want to read more. I found it especially interesting that at times I wasn't quite sure who was the protagonist, but I won't give any thing away I'll let you read it and make your own decisions.
I give this book 4 ½ Delightful Divas.

This collection of horror/erotic short stories includes five pieces – the title story, The Jar, The Featured Entertainer, Made to Order and Love to Stay Up For a Spell. The first story, Ghost Lover is a Halloween tale centering around twenty-two year old Ryan waking up in the back of his friend Chad’s car following a horrific car accident on a desolate country road.
The crash, which leaves his three friends Chad, Ashley and Kathy dead, fills Ryan with a serious case of survivor guilt.
Believing their ghosts to be angry that he has survived the accident, Ryan goes off in search of help…finding unlikely and sympathetic aid in the arms of Sonia Fortunata, a woman twice his age.
In The Jar, attorney Ray Alderman has started a new relationship with sexy, vibrant Ruthie, but he is plagued with suicide threats by his loony former lover, Nadine. A mysterious jar appears in his home and when Ray opens it, he discovers Nadine has wreaked revenge on Ray in a very painful way.
The Featured Entertainer is the mysterious Serena…a hypnotic, bitchy stripper in a club who is getting all the patrons’ attention and more importantly, their money too. While the other strippers hate what she’s doing their careers, are also irresistibly drawn to her like moths to the proverbial flame.
In Made to Order, balding, stuttering love loser Frank Putman is tired of striking out with real women, so he buys a life-like sex doll. Loretta might have been made to his specifications but…is she more woman than Frank can handle?
Love to Stay Up For a Spell is the story of Lisa Richardson, a divorced middle-aged woman who has been using men to keep the wrinkles at bay. When a bible basher turns up at her door, she finds new and inventive uses for him…until she discovers you really can’t judge a book or its basher by its cover.
 
Review:
Christopher Newman knows how to mix horror and sex in a gripping, page-turning way. The hooks to each of these pieces are intriguing. Each tale has a well grounded, apparently normal setting with genuine moments of creepiness thrown in the mix.
Of all the stories, Made to Order is a well-paced, very riveting read. It’s disturbing and satisfying with a brilliant ending. It’s a toss-up between this and Ghost Lover for which is the best, but these two stories alone rate this collection highly.
The heart-felt, clever twists in Ghost Lover could easily make for a longer, even more satisfying read in a novel.
Ghost Lover is very original and has many compelling elements, worthy of the likes of Stephen King. This book could easily be turned into a high concept movie.
The Jar was also an interesting concept and like the others, laced with lots of hot sex, but needed a better ending. The Featured Entertainer felt very well researched and the characters of the various strippers were very good. You could feel the strippers’ tension as the countdown for Serena’s dancing began, but once again, the ending was a bit flat.
Love to Stay Up For a Spell was the first story to use an amusing setup that tickled this reviewer’s funny bone. A bizarre, amusing tale.

For centuries the dragon has protected the village. Each year a new woman is chosen by lottery from among the unmarried women to appease
him by mating with him. Gabriella hates the idea of being chosen, not just because she loves Jason, but because the man who is also the dragon has been lusting after her for years and she wants nothing to do with him.

Her worst fears seem to be realized when Gabriella is chosen, but she discovers something about the legends she hadn’t known. The woman born with the mark of the dragon is destined to be his forever—and she was born the mark.

Review:
This is a lovely short story about true love. It has a tear jerking story, spiced up with some sensual sex. My only complaint is the ending seemed a bit too convenient. I give it 4 delightful divas.

Four male witches. Two Sets of twins. Born with a dark curse. Unlimited power bequeathed to the four when used together. A seductive power that over time will destroy their souls. To fight the prophecy they are forced to live separately to save themselves. When a Tarot Historian shows up with stolen family cards and a theory of balance, all hell breaks loose as Graelen and Rena race to uncover the clues that will break the curse. First of a series.  

Review:
Wealthy Graelen Scott is a powerful witch, living with a family curse that also affects his three brothers. Rena Gallagher is a historian researching an ancient deck of tarot cards that has his family crest on them. One card in particular, the Ten of Pentacles, brings her to
Graelen's door step for some answers, only to find out the tarot cards were stolen from his safe months before.
Rena refuses to divulge her benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous. And when someone tries to kill her she finds herself a
guest in Graelen's mansion, and in his control. Their situation is intensified by the unexplained energy that sizzles between Graelen and Rena every time they touch.

Why would a man wealthy enough to live in a mansion drive a mustang?
I questioned that but it in no way makes this story any less
terrific. I found Pentacles of Magick very entertaining and the
steamy sex scenes between Graelen and Rena are hot enough to leave you breathless! If there was anything disappointing about this book it was that it finishes too soon, and leaves you itching to get your hands on the next installment so you can see what happens!
4 Delightful Divas

A research grant takes Agnis Fitzgerald to western Ireland where she evaluates the possibility of reintroducing wolves to the coastal habitat. It's an uphill job, and the superstitious residents fight her every step of the way. They’re afraid…of werewolves.

Reynardine O’Brien has a secret. He’s the big black wolf that’s been hanging around Slieve Callan. More than that, he’s cursed to pass on his shapeshifting to his firstborn son. Determined never to let another O’Brien suffer as he has, Rey avoids serious involvements.

Until he meets Agnis.

Danger and destiny, sex and superstition…can Rey survive the hunt for the black wolf to claim Agnis as his mate?

Review:
I am happy to say I have a new appreciation for the name Agnis. I used to associate it with a granny like figure, but I’ll never look at this name the same again. I enjoyed Reyardine because there were subtle differences I haven’t found in many stories. Agnis, for one, is a take charge siren in the bedroom from the get go. Her character is a far cry from the fragile, passive heroines featured in so many other books I have read. Both heroine and hero are strong in this story, and they fit well together. The chemistry between the two was hot, hot, hot! The action in the story kept me on my toes and reading well into the night just to see what would happen next. Reyardine is definitely worth picking up!

 Four and a half Delightful Divas

They came from two different worlds.
Ramses was a werelion. Shana Tory was human. The Dreaming foretold them as soul mates.
So Ramses tracked her down in America, and when he found her, made her his and brought her back home with him to the South African Bushveld.
But others from his pride, led by one evil lioness, do not want them together.
Besides their lives, will their love survive the coming war?

Review:
Ramses and Shana have been dreaming about each other
for years. Ramses is a werelion, the king in a pride
of lions who are able to shape shift into human form.
He purposely lets himself get captured in order to
cross the Great Water from his home in Africa to where
his mate lives. Once there, he claims Shana, a human,
and easily convinces her they belong together. Their love for each other is instant and binding and they return to Ramses homeland where he's prepared a home for Shana on the Savannah he roams.

Unfortunately, their happiness is threatened by Kaket, a werelioness who wants Ramses for herself. She intends to kill Shana and turns some of the pride against Ramses when he rejects her. They kidnap Shana and war breaks out, but for Ramses there can be only one outcome. Kill or be killed.

This erotic love story is sure to feed the beast in all of you! I only wish it had been longer. Given that it's only 42 pages, Miss Phelan did a fabulous job of explaining the almost instant relationship that develops between Ramses and Shana. While making the world of wereanimals a fantasy easy to believe in. If you like a hot romance that's fast paced and to the point, with steamy love scenes that leave nothing to the imagination then get your copy of Beast Magic.