I am a horrible person. I suppose that I should feel guilty about taking so much energy to rant about the horrible sh*t that went down in book 1 and book 2, when I'm about to majorly drop the ball on reviewing this book, which I actually did like.

It's not even that pointing out frustrations is more fun (oh who am I kidding; it can be), it's just that I still haven't had the time and/or desire to want to review much lately - even for books that made me happy. 

The lead female actually used her brain more than once. I know! I couldn't believe it either, after being so disappointed with Marie and Sophie in previous books. Em was a little bit stronger, a little bit tougher, and a little bit sassier.She also knew when to walk the hell away from a situation that wasn't good for her. *applause*

Hunter wasn't a role model, and that was okay for this particular story. Even with the continuation of the kidnapping plot (which I am thoroughly sick of in MC books), I felt like we got to see an admittedly damaged man come into his own in a way which felt somewhat believable. Hunter had issues, but he KNEW he had issues. He KNEW he was a stalker. He KNEW that he had to get Em off the crazy train. How much better would most super-heavy-drama books be if the screwed up characters actually took some responsibility for their shit? 

I loved watching Hunter grow. I loved watching Hunter's buried sensitive side come out. 

There was some great sexual tension, and much of it was fueled by Em. She already knew what being in the lifestyle meant and what the sacrifices would be, which made her acceptance of everything easier to digest than it had been with Marie and Sophie, who had gone along for the ride far too easily for my preference. 

I know a lot of people didn't like this book as much as the first two, but I felt the writing and characters were stronger on every level. I would rather read something that makes sense and has true character development over reading something that has no entertainment value outside of a drama/shock factor. At least this time, I didn't feel like I was being lead around through a mad house only for the purpose of waiting for a halfway decent sex scene. 

The bantering humor was a welcome addition. The sex wasn't as mind blowing as I would have liked, but the chemistry and timing was excellent, so the balance worked for me. 

My only gripe : I was very put off by the author note at the end, almost "apologizing" for the NA character ages. I agree that NA has a bit of a stigma right now, but don't justify writing what what you want to write. It only fuels the stereotype of certain things being lesser than others. While I do feel that there's a lot of crap NA out there right now, it has not ONE thing to do with character ages, and more to do with cliched and bad writing. If your book is good, it's good, regardless of character age. If the fans can't see that, shake it off and continue writing your next adult book. Please don't make explanations for what you want to do. *soapbox off*

I'm really looking forward to Picnic's book!

Very disappointed. I have enjoyed this series for the most part, and loved books 3 and 4. I can't believe I held off on reading Trey's book for so long, then ended up experiencing so much letdown.

I know that polyamory works for many people and that it can be a legitimate form of relationship(s). I have a couple of friends who live this way, so I've seen it firsthand. 

Unfortunately, it's rare that a book is able to convey this type of relationship in a believable light. The closest I've seen was in the book Rough, Raw, and Ready. 

Mild (nothing major) spoilers ahead.

Why Double Time did not work for me :

1. The insta-love was off the charts. I'm not anti-insta-love. In some cases, it's written fine. But we've seen it before (and done better) already in book 1 of this series. Considering Trey's backstory, it felt very bizarre that he fell in love with not only one, but TWO people so quickly. His journey to healing was too easily solved by finding Reagan. 

2. I didn't believe that the answer to Trey's heartache was to fall in love with two people. This story would have been more believable as a m/m book. Just because Trey is bisexual, it shouldn't have meant that the only way for him to be happy was to fall in love with both a man and woman.

If he wanted to live a poly lifestyle, I would have preferred him to have known this ahead of time and gone into the relationship with the female having her eyes wide open. For him to get involved with a woman, then tell her after the fact that she did NOT complete him - it made me shake my head. There are very few women people who could deal with being told that they are not enough for someone. The way that the situation was handled was the complete opposite of tactful. 

3. Trey didn't have the same uniqueness that I saw in the former books. He had lost some of his zing. I was completely bored with him outside of the sex scenes, which was not how things were before. Trey used to be my favorite character.

Things that worked for me :

Nothing. Not even the sex scenes. Something about Reagan bothered me (couldn't put my finger on it), so I couldn't even get into her head for the sex scenes. 

I'm sad that I had to end an enjoyable series on a sour note. Ah well. I've been trying to skim Sinners at the Altar and am not getting into it. Maybe I'm over the Sinners now. I don't even know why Trey's getting another book after this. Supposedly, his story wasn't wrapped up, but I'm pretty sure that I don't much care what happens next for him. 

I might still read Dare's spin-off book though. I do heart Dare.

Adult review for erotic content. Trigger Warning : Dubious Consent.

"Aidon, are you trying to recapture your youth with nubile young virgins? What's next, a new red chariot?"

The first thing you should know : Surrender of Persephone is PwP (Porn Without Plot) erotica. Here's where I pull out my apples-to-apples genre rating comparison because I'm only rating this compared to other PwP, not other "stories" in general. Now, PwP doesn't necessarily mean that there is no plot at all; what it generally means is that there is a higher ratio of sex to plot than a normal romance or mainstream erotica. In the case of Surrender, I consider the book to be one long rolling sex scene with some cool mythology references thrown in. Even though the story itself is sparse, the author still brought her own unique spin on the Hades/Persephone tale. If you've read into the darker tones of the myth involving the kidnap and conquering of Persephone, then you might understand why the author chose to take her story down the BDSM path.

His eyes glowed in the dimness, and he had a small, satisfied smile on his face. "You like the struggle, don't you?"

Now, as far as PwP goes, it's no secret that if I'm in the mood for it, I'll generally pick up Selena Kitt. Why? Because I like the way she writes sex. This woman writes sex how it feels, smells, sounds, etc. taking the reader to a place where it's not hard to imagine being there in the story.

In true Kitt fashion, there's always going to be a scene or two that runs over-the-top. In this case, the story's very first sex scene starts with spoiled little Persephone frolicking and engaging in a very giggly threesome with Artemis and Athena, sure to please any man's barely legal lesbian fantasies. 

They roll, tumble, twist their bodies in every position imaginable as three young, nubile young ladies get each other off over...and over...and over...

Yeah. I smile with amusement because it's kind of hot, in spite of how the girl-on-girl scenes in Kitt's books tend to run toward "oops, did I spill something on my see-through shirt?" kind of a blatant hook.

So I read through the "come on in!" intro and waited for the main event to happen - the appearance of Hades (translated to Aidon here) and his kidnapping of Persephone. Because that's when everything is going to change from giggly play to dark and dirty deeds.

"I will be the instrument of your greatest pain and pleasure."

Yep. That's where we're going. And clothing isn't optional - it's completely forbidden. 

BECAUSE IT'S EASIER TO HAVE NON-STOP SEX IF YOU ARE NAKED ALL OF THE TIME.

The sound of his palm biting her flesh made a resounding slap and she bit her lip, trying not to cry out. 

"I will be your sun...your moon...

Your day...your night..."

Persephone felt the impact vibrating through her. 

"Your heaven...your hell..."

Sure, there were cheesy sex terms aplenty. But I forgive some of it with Kitt's writing because I like the overall result. 

And for the glaring lack of plot, the mythology was surprisingly well-done. Each character's position and how they related to the Underworld was tied back to the actual mythology. The names weren't just thrown out there; each character was a fleshed-out representation of the god or being they were named after (well except for Athena and Artemis because they were just the barely-legal candy to get the party started). 

And I LOVED that Hephastus was put to good use making epic sex toys. This was never covered during my read of Percy Jackson (it was a joke, people - don't freak out). 

Do I have any Complaints? It's probably the usual one for books like these. I prefer my PwP to be shorter in length, if I'm going to read simply for titillation's (I can't even write this word without laughing) sake. It's always sort of strange to start a steamy read before bed, then find that you need to break and pick up the second half the next night. It's much more enjoyable if you can tackle the entire thing in one shot before drifting off to sleep and possibly some interesting dreams.

Adult review for erotic and/or questionable content. I apologize for the day-o-weird-erotica. I'll be back on the normal books tomorrow.

She was transformed by the love of one perfect monster, with three sexy heads and one fantastic heart...

...and the crowd goes aww...

Right? Uh...right?

No matter. I don't think this is meant to be an aww moment. Or maybe it is and I can't tell. Maybe EVERY little girl dreams of that moment when her very own monster will come and sweep her off her feet - scales and multiple heads and all. It's just like a Disney movie where the princess waits for her handsome prince.

WHAT IS DISNEY TEACHING US?!? LOOK at these monsters. Mike's giving the thumbs up...Sully's got that "you know you want me" look. 

Am I the only one seeing it?

I'm sorry, was that off topic? Just a little?

Back to the hydras. This chick named Dixie (yes, I did go there) went looking for her sister in this mythical place where hydras and other creatures exist. I think it's a park, or a zoo, or some other such nonsense. Supposedly, after dark, the creatures go on the hunt. 

Brave Dixie battles the dark in search of her sister. No, she's not stupid. Not at all. This is monster porn. There's no such thing as stupid in monster porn. 

She walks in on her sister getting pleasured by multiple hydra heads. What does she do? She WATCHES. DUH. Doesn't EVERYONE want to get aroused by watching their sibling get off?

You didn't know this was 2-for-1 slightly incestuous porn, didya? Score?

Never fear, the sisters do not actually want each other. They each get their very own hydra-prince-charming to pleasure them sexually. 

And it was kind of entertaining...in a disturbingly funny way. 

Hey, if these women want to be consenting adults with mythical consenting adult monsters, then who am I to judge? Apparently, these monsters have hearts, and brains...and multiple mouths. And are hung like monsters. If you can get past the weird monster-look thing, it's probably a good deal. Did I buy that one of the three hydra heads was a passionate kisser? Probably not. Yes, there was a point where it became too far-fetched. *snort*

So what if you don't speak the same language? The hydra can put images into your brain and show you what they want you to know. Same thing.

I would say don't knock it until you've tried it, but I can't say that I would know how to find a hydra to try out. I guess I'll have to stick to humans.

Adult review for erotic content. Warning : some spoilers will be present.

There are few story crimes greater than the one of wasted potential.



What I expected : Superhero by day. Sadist by night.

What I got : Passing mentions of a superhero by day. Manufactured Stockholm Syndrome by night.

This was dark erotica with no real direction. The book read like Batman fanfiction without the action and suspense. I need to make a superhero shelf at some point because I don't have it in me to shelve this as sci-fi. 

This book was about yet another TSTL female who couldn't make up her mind. It was about yet another TSTL female addicted to a man like he was a drug - for no reason other than he gave her an orgasm.

I'm not making this shit up. It's all right here in black and white.

My mind is as high as heaven...

"Fuck me," I tell him. "I'm so high on you."

I sigh, sated. "Is that what it's like to get high?"

His kiss is like a drug, feeding me, quenching my thirst, my never-ending thirst, my infinite void, and planting himself inside me again.

Prose, thy name is purple utterly fucking stupid. And don't get me started on the awkward ways the word "sated" was used. It was a verb, a noun, a thought, and a conversational reply.

Let me set the record straight. I like dark/taboo/mindfuck erotica - when it's DONE RIGHT. A big part of the draw when it comes to books like these is getting to dissect what makes a screwed-up character tick.

Hero himself wasn't the issue here. I knew what I was getting into when I picked up this book. I knew that he was a rapist. I knew that he was damaged. I knew that he was a contradiction between caring human and irreparable monster. I didn't flinch when he acted upon evil impulses...because...DUH. Taboo mindfuck erotica. It's an actual book category. I've read it many times before, and been able to (enjoy is so not the right word, is it?) understand the book for what it is.

It always comes back to idiot females. If a man rapes you and takes your virginity (oh and btw, you don't really know him, so there's no emotional connection to start) - that FEAR, that PAIN is real. 

It takes time to attach to an abuser. There was absolutely no time (I don't count the time she spent alone) for Cataline to attach. I'm thoroughly sick of dubcon being misused in stories as a means to jump ahead to an emotional attachment. The "no really means yes" type of story has it's own niche in erotica. No, it's not just used in monster porn (although, if I'm going to read dubcon, I'm more likely to seek it out in unusual places).

She got an orgasm, then turned into a cat in heat. The fear didn't even come close to overtaking her lust - not even for a second. The 

. She went from adamantly stating that she wouldn't give her body to Calvin, then begging for him to take her WITHIN A FEW PAGE SPAN. I'm not expecting full-on accurate realism in taboo erotica, but FFS, I want at least a shred of something that resembles how anyone (yes, even a damaged person) would react. Hell, let me give another taboo example to give some perspective. Take the bookComfort Food. In that book, it was at least explained how the chick would not be able to survive without human contact because she was internally wired to need the companionship of others, so she gave in to her tormentor out of fear of losing herself. It wasn't the most stable explanation, but AT LEAST IT WAS AN EXPLANATION. Cataline's reasons for wanting Calvin/Hero were shaky at best, and explained way after the fact, even though we were in her head and she didn't give me reason to believe she wanted Calvin, other than "it felt good."

Rapists - as long as they're hot and can get you off, it's all good. 

My brain hurts.

I wanted to like this story so much. With the right execution, we could have seen a good man fighting his demons with the help of a patient and caring woman. 

Taboo erotica is a viable subgenre of erotica. But it's not a trend to be written haphazardly. Unless a dinosaur is running up into the mix and causing havoc, there should be a rational thought process somewhere.

The "superhero" side of the story was COMPLETELY underdeveloped. Outside of a few small snippets scattered throughout the story and some explaining which takes place in the last 20% of the book, this could have been any other kidnap story. I say it all of the time with non-contemporary genres - RESEARCH, DEVELOP, COMMIT to the theme. If you're going to half-ass it, DON'T do it.

Did I mention already that the heroine was TSTL? That entire scene where she threw herself at Calvin and begged him for sex and told him she loved him after he left her alone for a while - that was simply painful to read. 

I never realized Hero was different from us.

Wait? Is this the same chick who kept WISHING FOR HERO TO COME SAVE HER? What kind of normal human comes to save the day when he doesn't know where you're at...unless he's DIFFERENT from the rest of you???

Yeah...Cataline. Not the brightest crayon in the box.

Surprisingly enough, the best and most emotional moments came from Calvin/Hero himself. Well, except for this gem of nonsense.
"I bet you taste like cotton candy."


He's the reason I'm not 1 starring the book. Sure, he was a rapist who gave his woman a serious bitch slap (I laughed, I'm not gonna lie). But I wanted to read about a disturbed man who had a shred of humanity deep down inside of him. And I got that.

If I let myself too close, there will be nothing to protect her from the monster that lives in me.

Every day I walk a line between my need to defend and my desire to hurt, maul, and kill. To kill a predator makes me high. What kind of a predator does that make me?

Cataline continues to shake, even after she falls asleep. Or maybe I'm the one shaking. I'm holding her tightly. Too tightly.

I've always loved you, since you were a little girl. I just didn't know I was allowed to.

If this entire book had been in Calvin's PoV and had a little more superhero action, it could have easily been 4 stars. The start of the book was interesting. The emotional connection at the end was actually engaging. 

It's really too bad Cataline was such a horrid character, which made being in her head a terrible experience...and it didn't help that most of the middle of the book was frustrating to the point of almost making me DNF.