Unwrapping: Review of HOTTER ON THE EDGE 2, an anthology by Erin Kellison, KC Klein, & Jessa Slade

I love science fiction! Blend it with romance and I’m in Seventh Heaven – well, that’s what you get when you dip into the anthology, HOTTER ON THE EDGE 2 with three fabulous stories by Erin Kellison, KC Klein, and Jessa Slade. This is a continuation of the stories introduced to us in their first anthology, HOTTER ON THE EDGE, which I reviewed over three days in February 2012. If you’re interested in reading my reviews, simple click on the author’s name above to go to the review of her story. Since I have limited time on the blog lately, I’m going to review all three today. I loved them all and don’t want to skimp on my thoughts so it might be longer than usual. By the way, the lovely Jessa Slade created this awesome cover.

***eCopy provided by authors in exchange for honest and unscripted reviews.

GOLD LIKE THE SUN by Erin Kellison

Blurb for GOLD LIKE THE SUN:

It’s the wedding of the millennium! Princess Pilar Sol and Hakan Frust are celebrating their union with sector fetes full of celebrity and pomp. Theirs is an arranged marriage to preserve the vital commerce of the Nyer Transit Hub, and yet Pilar is madly, unreservedly, passionately in love. She has all the excitement she has long dreamed of—and a little more than she bargained for when she discovers that Hakan’s grasping family wants her dead.

Hakan has done everything in his power to save his inheritance—the bustling but impoverished Hub—including marrying a wealthy princess for her dowry. His heart isn’t supposed to be part of the deal, but Pilar has all the beauty and joy his life lacks. When Hakan runs afoul of his uncle’s associates—criminal in nature, violent in approach—he refuses to risk Pilar, not for money, not even for his life.

But Pilar is not so easily cast aside, and negotiations turn into a gamble with the future of the sector in the balance. Hakan is about to learn about the high stakes his bride will hazard, as he now has far more to lose—and win—than he ever believed possible: a future brighter than gold.

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Pilar married Hakan because she loves him and believes he loves her not just because it’s a political union that will benefit both sides, yet Hakan has put her on a ship heading home to Sol in the midst of their wedding celebration. Not willing to just leave without giving Hakan a piece of her mind after his family tried to kill her, she and her trusted companion and protector, Reina, return to the Nyer Transit Hub and discover that Hakan has become the victim of his power hungry uncle, Victor. Now on the run, looking for aid from even Hakan’s less than trustful cousin, Barton, they are determined to learn exactly who is pulling the strings on Victor and why.

GOLD LIKE THE SUN by Erin Kellison is an action-packed adventure through the back streets of Nyer as Pilar and Hakan try to figure out how to save themselves, two worlds, and figure out whom they can truly trust. Their love for each other, their families, and their home worlds drive this story of forgiveness, discovery, and a future greater and safer than either expected for the innocent.

I highly recommend this exceptional scifi romance, filled with danger, and a bit of unexpected violence. It is a wonderful sequel to Erin’s story, ALL THAT GLITTERS, her original story in the first anthology, HOTTER ON THE EDGE.  It’s not an absolute necessity to read the first story, but I greatly suggest you do.

TO KEEP A WIFE by KC Klein

Blurb for TO KEEP A WIFE:

In the shards of civilization ruined by a global war, Lake has gotten the life she never dared dreamed of—a safe haven, and the love of a good man, her husband, Hudson Black Creek. But Lake’s hard-won happiness doesn’t last long when powerful Elders lay siege on Black Creek Manor in retaliation for a past defiance. As Lake watches everything she loves go up in flames, she sacrifices herself for the chance to keep Hudson and her brother alive. Syon, a diabolic Elder with his own agenda, will push Lake to her breaking point, forcing her to compromise—heart and soul— in order to survive.
Hudson wakes from a head wound to find that his whole world is reduced to ashes. With no memory of why he’s sacrificed everything for a woman whose name is tattooed on his chest, Hudson is determined to make his heart match the emptiness of his mind, and wipe out everything except the hatred for those who are to blame—the Elders and the wife he sought to protect.

As evil and fear spread across a war-torn land, Lake and Hudson are tested like never before, and both will have to forgive betrayals and risk greater heartbreak if they want a chance at saving their lives… and their love.

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We met Lake and Hudson in KC’s story in the first anthology, HOTTER ON THE EDGE, in TO BUY A WIFE. A man who has a wife is revered with respect, envy, and believed to have great prestige in this war-torn society. We catch up with Lake, Hudson, and Lake’s little brother, Vonn, in the midst of an attack on the farm. Lake realizes that the Elders want her and will stop at nothing, and will spare no one, to get her in their clutches. She convinces a wounded Hudson to protect her brother, let the Elders take her, and come for her later. Things don’t work out exactly how Lake had hoped. Now a prisoner of the maniacal Syon, too much time has passed for her to believe that Hudson is ever coming for her. It’s just her again, alone to fend for herself, and her unborn child.

This story covers so much in so short a time that you will almost feel like you’re watching a film in your head. Whereas I bullied KC about Lake being on her own too much in TO BUY A WIFE, in TO KEEP A WIFE, KC Klein weaves a wonderful story about the fear of loss, fear of abandonment, and the wonder of how love can pull back loving memories from the darkness and bring a family back together. TO KEEP A WIFE by KC Klein is a the perfect finish to a story that began with a match not exactly made in heaven but ends with a happy ending that will lead us on even more adventures. I hope.

I highly recommend the short story, TO KEEP A WIFE by KC Klein but only if you’ve read TO BUY A WIFE, without that lead-in, the fast paced action of this one might confuse and sully the wonderful intricacy of this tale. Please read TO BUY A WIFE in the first anthology, HOTTER ON THE EDGE. (It's only 99¢.)

PRINCE OF PASSION by Jessa Slade

Blurb for PRINCE OF PASSION:

When mercenary raiders targeted the empathic crystals that imbue the legendary l’auraly lovers with extraordinary sensual prowess, Icere, the last male l’auralyo, helped destroy the crystals. Rather than let the source of uninhibited pleasure be corrupted into a mind-controlling drug, he allowed his passionate destiny to remain forever unfulfilled. Now, Icere channels his fury into revenge. Tracking the raiders through the interstellar sheerways to a watery world infamous for its aphrodisiac liqueur, he finds a queen—as adrift and alone as he—forced for years into a fate she never desired.

Saya-Rynn inherited duty, command and control from her cruel grandfather and fought to transform her dangerous planet into a paradise for her people—but the price was literally a poison that runs through her veins. Though she feels as ancient as the seas, she finds herself awash in the hot male potency of the young Icere. Still, she resists the chance for indulgence she thinks has passed by her. But when the raiders strike again, Rynn must embrace her troubled legacy, and Icere will find his place as a lover and a fighter. Together, the reluctant ruler and the deposed prince of passion find common purpose, combating the mysterious entity seeking to rule the sheerways, and claim a love as bright as the infinite stars.

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Jessa Slade blew me away with the imagery and science elements in this story about a May/December romance that develops between a Queen and an outworlder friend of her son when he comes to her water world fraught with all kinds of natural dangers.

Icere is the last remaining l’aurylo – a being born, sculpted, and infused with the purest of passions through the l’auraly crystal. He has come to Saya-Terce because he suspects the mercenary raiders, who tried to steal the l’auraly crystals from his home planet resulting in their destruction and the end of life as he knew it to be, were now after the Malac liqueur. There is no end to the dangers of what the aphrodisiac liqueur might be used for in altered forms.

Rynn, the Saya of Saya-Terce is suspicious of anyone wishing to get too close to her, or her children, after her own husband betrayed her home world and so her instincts tell her to question this beautiful young man’s reasons for being in the midst of the Malac Festival, and so close to her son. What she doesn’t expect is how sexually charged she would feel in his presence. Nor the need to which they would succumb to, after an accident during the harvest places them together and under the influence of the Malac liqueur.

PRINCE OF PASSION by Jessa Slade is an amazing sequel to ENSLAVED BY STARLIGHT from the first anthology, HOTTER ON THE EDGE. It’s even more illuminated than the first, with amazing imagery, incredible characters  and creature creations, and the danger that makes Icere and Rynn band together to save Saya-Terce. Their romance is powerful, insightful, and naturally believable. Rynn is a beautiful and powerful ruler with unusual abilities that make her more than just a queen but rather a part of her world. Icere understands her, even if she doesn't understand herself. Two of a kind, both more connected to their home worlds than to others, Icere embraces her, and her talents, in the same way he relates to his own home world and the crystal that is so much a part of him.

I highly recommend reading PRINCE OF PASSION by Jessa Slade, working well as a stand alone, I still recommend you read this entire anthology. For the greatest reading pleasure, I also suggest you start with HOTTER ON THE EDGE, the first anthology, but if you only read the second – HOTTER ON THE EDGE 2 – be sure to read this beautiful, imaginative, and incredible story by Jessa. 

HOTTER ON THE EDGE and HOTTER ON THE EDGE 2 - awesome reading at low prices. Go for it. If you love exciting romance, these are exceptional. 

Happy Reading Everyone!

HOTTER ON THE EDGE 2, an anthology by Erin Kellison, KC Klein, and Jessa Slade, available in ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobobooks, and Smashwords.

***click on links or covers for purchasing information. Awesome prices!

                                              

Unwrapping: JURY DUTY - A CHANCE TO TALK ROMANCE

Well, I had jury duty this week and who'd a thunk it that it would turn out to be a great chance to talk Romance Novels! If you've ever done your civic duty and participated in jury duty then you know that until things get going you have very little to do but sit. Of course, I came prepared with my ereader in tow.

It's very common for someone sitting nearby to notice when you're reading a book and ask what you're reading but I was surprised when they were also curious about what I was reading on my reader. When I told the lady who asked that I was reading an anthology of paranormal romance, she asked if I read a lot. Do I read a lot? It was the perfect opening!

I went on to tell her that I had a blog, that I read and review romance novels of all sorts, write about romance and before long, I was surrounded by several ladies eager to hear what was new. Many admitted that they used to read romance novels but had become bored with the stories. Well, I told them that things had changed. Anything they love in mainstream can be found in romance - historicals, adventure, suspense, spies, vampires and shape shifters, and steampunk. One lady was thrilled that there was steampunk romance, she was already a fan of the costumes and jewelry.

Being the smart person that I pretend to be, I had my business cards for the blog tucked into my reader and gladly handed them out. I hope they come visit and join the fun. I gave them recommendations for new novels coming up, my favorites from 2012, and told them that there were so many new authors to choose from that there was surely a series for each of them to fall in love with in the future.

Now, you're probably wondering if I got to sit on a case. No. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though. Well, I ended up only going on day one. The defendant plead guilty before the trial could even begin, thank goodness. The judge came in and explained why we were being released. I've never had a judge do that before - it was pretty cool but then we are a small jurisdiction. She told us that she was quite relieved that we didn't have to suffer through that case since the defendant had been charged with 35 counts of child pornography. I was very glad, too. I don't think I could've kept an open mind about that one. There were a lot of women in the room and I think he would've been going down for the count before we ever heard evidence. Perhaps his lawyer knew that too.

I've still got one more day to go later in the month and I'm curious to see if I get a case then. The last time I sat jury duty, I was put on a jury where this little guy was charged with assault and battery on this much bigger guy. Well, after hearing the evidence, we found the little guy not guilty of beating up the bully. This guy was such a bully that he actually threatened the jury members so that we were escorted to safety by the bailiffs. That was the big thrill of the day.

How about you? Have you ever been caught by the jury duty lottery? Did you get a case and was it worth it? Do you ever get a chance to talk romance - novels, that is??  *wink*

Well, it's been a strange week but I hope yours has been good. If you haven't stopped by the Wacky Wednesday post this week, there's a fabulous Giveaway going on provided by two awesome authors of paranormal romance, Jessa Slade and Elle James. They were kind enough to take over the blog for me on Wednesday in case I was stuck at the courthouse doing my duty as a good citizen. Please feel free to go by, read about their new books, magic and mayhem and enter to win a pack of goodies. The Giveaway ends January 19th so you've got plenty of time.  Click HERE to head over there to join the fun!

Happy Reading Everyone!!


                

Wacky Wednesday! MAGIC & MAYHEM with authors JESSA SLADE and ELLE JAMES

Jessa Slade and Elle James

Well, I had jury duty yesterday and I was on call for today - yep, they caught me! Lucky me, I didn't get called for today but to make sure that you were still going to have fun on this hump day, I'd already planned on turning the blog over to some friends who I know will make you smile - authors Jessa Slade and Elle James. These two incredible authors have some new books out and are here to talk about them, some magic and maybe cause a little mayhem.


Please welcome Jessa Slade and Elle James to UNWRAPPING ROMANCE and be kind to them. I'll be around but since I'm covered today, I'm going to take the day and do some writing. That's a good thing, right? Enjoy your day with these two fabulous ladies and be sure to check out their awesome giveaway! Jessa and Elle, welcome and thank you for taking over today.  xoxo


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Magic & Mayhem with Authors Unleashed!

 

Writers spend a lot of time in their own heads. Which is a good thing, because if they ever let us out…Step back! We always use our powers for good (well, we almost always try!) but watch out if you make a writer mad; you could end up in her next story and your ending may not be happily ever after ;) You’d think writers of paranormal romance -- like Elle James, author of The Witch’s Seduction, and Jessa Slade, author of A Little Night Muse -- might have some special powers. And you’d be right!

Elle's Thoughts:

If I could choose a magical power, wow, what would it be? I've always dreamed of flying. Sadly, I get motion sickness. Breathing under water? Again, motion sickness could be a problem. How about reading another person's mind? I can barely remember my character's names, think of the confusion! Throw fire? I've been burned...no thanks. Super strong? That might come in handy, if I ever needed to lift a car off a railroad track or sling a rogue demon across a room. How about super hearing? Nah, I like my quiet time. Ability to stretch like a rubber band? I think I'd have a hard time keeping it together. Maybe I need to look at other than super powers. How about being a vampire? Couldn't. I like sunshine and get depressed in the dark, although immortality is something I've often dreamed of and some vampires have highly sensitive sex drives...yum! Shapeshifting? You bet. I could like being able to run like the wind on all fours, able to sniff out bad guys in a single whiff. What about a witch? Casting spells to protect loved ones or to bring down the bad guys could come in handy. Having a specific skill like Deme Chattox with her ability to influence all things related to earth could lead to something twisted or down and dirty...A witch with magical abilities? Hell, yeah!

 

Jessa’s Thoughts:

The dark fey in my Steel Born series all have a knack, one special ability that is theirs alone. The knack is a private thing that they don’t share with just anybody, only with their closest companions. And I would totally not be like that! If I had a magical superpower, you can be sure I’d be running amok with it. So I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t have any special abilities outside of turning box brownie mix into drool-worthy desserts. (Hint: Get the 13x9 Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie mix. Use the “fudgy” directions and slightly underbake it. When it cools, slather half a jar of Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce over the top. Melt a couple rows of Trader Joe’s 72% Dark Chocolate Pound-Plus bar together with a couple tablespoons of butter and pour that over the top of the caramel. It’s magic, I tell ya!)

 

If I DID happen to get bitten by a radioactive mutant alien talking goldfish and get granted a magical superpower (yes, I know, I’m mixing my origin stories a bit) I’d want to be able to add time. Wouldn’t have to be much. Just, say, an hour, here and there. Like, to my reading time. I think most people would call me a hero ; )

 

 

If you had a magical ability or superpower, what would it be?

 

Leave a comment for a chance to win a print copy of

 

WITCH'S INITIATION by Elle James

 

and the first ebook in Jessa Slade’s Steel Born series,

DARK HUNTER’S TOUCH 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note from Amy: you're definitely welcome to leave a comment/entry here - I'll be sure that Jessa and Elle get them or you can just use the Rafflecopter. If you leave a comment/entry here, please remember the magic formula:

 

COMMENT + EMAIL ADDRESS = ENTRY

About the Authors:

Elle James aka Myla Jackson spent twenty years livin' and lovin' in South Texas, ranching horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus. A former IT professional, Elle is proud to be writing full-time, penning intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edge of their seats. She has 31 works with Harlequin, self published works under pen name Elle James, over 40 works with other publishers including Samhain, Elloras' Cave, Kensington and Avon and 18 works self-published under pen name Myla Jackson. Now living in northwest Arkansas, she isn't wrangling cattle, she's wrangling her muses, a malti-poo and yorkie. When she's not at her computer, she's traveling, out snow-skiing, boating, or riding her ATV, dreaming up new stories. 

 

THE WITCH’S SEDUCTION by Elle James

Deme Chattox is eager to return home and start her new job on the Chicago PD's paranormal task force. As a witch, she's got special insight into the city's supernatural underworld. And as an added bonus, her partner is also her lover, Cal Black.

 

Deme can't wait to pick up where their off-the-charts chemistry left off, but she senses a change in Cal. Though the sex is hotter than ever, she doesn't need mystical powers to know there's something he's not telling her. Something that threatens their budding relationship, and their latest case…

 

Available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jessa Slade writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy romance, and science fiction romance. Basically, anything with woo-woo and woo-hoo! She lives in the Pacific Northwest where the rain rain rain rain keeps her at her computer all day and all night. Jessa can be found online in all the usual haunts: Website, Newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads

 

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSE by Jessa Slade

 

Convicted of treason, Adelyn has been banished to the sunlit realm of humans—a fate worse than death for a musetta who exists only to inspire other phae. To reverse her exile, she must find a pair of lovers who have fled the court and return them to face the Queen's wrath. But once in the mortal realm, she meets a man who unveils her hidden desires…

 

When Josh Reimer discovers an ethereal beauty at a cabin near his ranch, he decides the neighborly thing to do is take her in. Adelyn inspires a passion unlike anything he's ever known and he vows not to lose the magic they've found together—even if that means she must choose between her home and their love.

 

Available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

 
    Rafflecopter Giveaway with Prize Totes of books and goodies from Jessa and Elle! Good Luck and Happy Reading Everyone!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unwrapping: 3rd Review of HOTTER ON THE EDGE, an anthology

This past week's reading has been such a delight that I wish there had been more than three stories in HOTTER ON THE EDGE. This science fiction romance anthology is a wonderful compilation of three talented authors' writing abilities. Science Fiction is not an easy genre to write, it takes not only imagination and skill but knowledge of scientific workings to pull it off convincingly. These three authors did it and did it well.  Ladies, thank you for that.


The last story in the anthology is ENSLAVED BY STARLIGHT by Jessa Slade.


Blurb for ENSLAVED BY STARLIGHT:

Transformed by empathic crystals into the perfect paramour, Benedetta Galil is the last treasure of her fading world. When raiders attack—seeking to corrupt the crystals and conquer all of charted space—she gives herself as a prize to the one man in the universe who values freedom over power. Mercenary sheership Captain Corso Deynah left oppression behind him on a burning planet and has no use for a sex slave, even one as seductive as Benedetta. But while he stubbornly resists her body, her fierce spirit tempts him, and he will risk everything—his ship, his seclusion, the very stars—to win not just her passion but her love.

Crystals that infuse into your body and make you sensual beyond sensual - where do I get me some of that?

The blurb for ENSLAVED BY STARLIGHT is one of the best I've ever read. It summarizes this story in a few lines just as Jessa Slade has taken a full-length story and condensed it into about 117 pages. ENSLAVED BY STARLIGHT is capturing, it's imaginative, it's so well written that by the time I finished reading it, I really had felt like I had read a full-length novel instead of a novella.

Qv'arratz is a planet on the edge of destruction and Corso Deynah knows the destruction of whole planets all too well, he bears the scars to prove it. When he gets a call for assistance from the last keyed l'auralya of Qv'arratz pleading with him to give them protection from possible Universal Union raiders  who are determined to steal their planet's greatest treasure, the crystal qva'avaq, Corso immediately refuses. He's fought too many lost wars and his freedom to roam the universe is too important to him to risk losing. But the l'auralya, Benedetta, is already two steps ahead of him and threatens to have his ship, Asphodel taken away from him. He now has a choice, risk losing his ship to battle with payment being only a not big enough sum of credits and the offer of owning a l'auralya or risk losing it to a conniving pleasure slave who holds the threat of decommissioning it over his head.

Through the two-way visual comm, Benedetta and Corso have seen each (in the case of Corso, Benedetta has seen more than she expected but it was well appreciated) but neither expected the intense physical attraction that bounced between them upon meeting in person. Once the decommissioning edict is voided, Corso agrees to hear what Benedetta and two other elder l'auraly have to tell him. Not really knowing why, Corso agrees to at least learn who the raiders are that intend to attack the vulnerable population of Qv'arratz until they give up and surrender the stunning crystals that infuse a person's nervous system leaving them capable of being enslaved. The crystals cannot fall into the hands of those who will make a weapon out of it. Corso understands that freedom is the last treasure of the universe and anyone who holds such a weapon would enslave anyone who gets in their way, including Corso.

Corso and the crew of the Asphodel soon discover that they are not alone in the battle. Benedetta and the other l'aurlya have skills and abilities that aid them in a way that their weapons don't. Working as a team and facing danger rocketing from the sky, the crew of the Asphodel and the people of Qv'arratz don't give up. Corso learns that freedom isn't what he thought it was and Benedetta discovers that freedom truly is the greatest cost.

ENSLAVED BY STARLIGHT is a truly wonderful reading experience. Jessa Slade has brought to life an imaginative world with triple moons, thin planetary rings of icy dust and caves of sharp dangerous crystals of intense beauty that can kill. These crystals, when blended or keyed with a person who can survive it, create a being so sensually sensitive that sex literally becomes an out of this world experience. Jessa packed more story into this novella than I've read in some full-length novels. Brava, Jessa, for taking this reader on a trip to a far off world wrought with danger, intrigue, and passion. I highly recommend this novella for anyone who has enjoyed science fiction romance in the past or would like to experience it for the first time now. Oh, and Jessa, your plot bunnies can come live at my house any time.

HOTTER ON THE EDGE, an anthology of novellas by Erin Kellison, KC Klein, and Jessa Slade is packed full with action, danger, intrigue, and passion. These three authors have pooled together to create an adventure into science fiction romance that I hope will be repeated again and again.

Happy Reading!

HOTTER ON THE EDGE, a science fiction romance anthology featuring novellas by Erin Kellison, KC KLEIN, and JESSA SLADE. Published by Hotter Edge, released on February 2, 2012, ASIN: B00757WOT6. Ebook format. Available at Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. Limited time: you can get it for $.99.