This was an impulse buy. I saw it at the grocery store and was immediately drawn in by the dog on the cover. Even though I knew it wasn’t the first book in the series, it sounded like something a newbie should be able to jump into fairly easily.

Against the Paw is set in Fort Worth, Texas and stars police officer Megan Luz. Megan used to be partnered with Derek Mackey until he made one crude and sexist comment too many and she tased him. Megan was assigned a K-9 partner named Brigit, and Derek’s job was saved by his friendship with the chief of police. In this entry in the series, Megan and Brigit are investigating reports of a peeping tom at Berkeley Place. There’s a possibility these incidents may be connected to Ralph Hurley, a parolee who recently cut off his ankle monitor.

My latest Booklikes-opoly game roll asked that I read something tagged as a “cozy mystery” on Goodreads or elsewhere. Soon after I started reading, I double-checked that this was indeed marketed as a cozy mystery (Amazon lists it as such), because it had a few features that made me skeptical.

The big one was that one of the book’s three POVs was the peeping tom. I couldn’t recall if I’d ever read a cozy mystery that included the villain’s POV, and I found it to be an unpleasant surprise here (there are things I’m okay with in other mysteries or thrillers that I don’t particularly expect or want in cozy mysteries). Thankfully, for the most part it wasn’t quite as bad as I feared. The peeping tom’s efforts often went awry in some way. Unfortunately, there were a few more distasteful scenes later in the book - for example, one in which the peeping tom spied on a hijabi and got off on seeing her brush her hair, and one in which the peeping tom spied on a woman having sex.

The book’s other two POVs were Megan (first person POV) and Brigit (third person POV). The Brigit POV parts tended to be on the cutesy side but were usually too brief to be annoying, only a page or two long. They were kind of pointless, though. There were only a couple times when Brigit’s POV contributed a little extra information, and it was never anything that wasn’t covered by another POV later in the book. I suppose Brigit’s POV added a bit of extra humor to the book, but I only really laughed at one part.

Megan’s POV wasn’t bad, but she had some blind spots that bugged me. Some examples:

“Anyone who’d served his or her country couldn’t be all bad, right?” (95)

“[Derek Mackey] and Garrett Hawke were cut from the same cloth. Arrogant. Unreasonable. Uncompromising. Still, they worked to protect others. I had to give them that, even if I thought their reasons were less about concern for others and more about basking in hero worship.” (136)

Megan seemed to be prone to the belief that cops and soldiers were unlikely (or less likely?) to be bad people, even if she had evidence to the contrary. Sure, Derek Mackey was a disgusting sexist pig who apparently couldn’t go more than a few minutes without saying something horrible, but hey, he was also a brave cop. Personally, I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of how Derek probably handled rape victims (female or male) or, hell, female victims in general.

I did really like the partnership between Megan and Brigit, and the parts that dealt with Megan’s efforts to understand what Brigit was telling her were really interesting. There were a couple times when Brigit correctly identified the peeping tom and Megan misinterpreted her actions, but Megan did eventually catch on.

The characters were okay. In addition to Megan and Brigit, there was Seth, Megan’s boyfriend (still working through some personal issues involving his mother), and Frankie, Megan’s friend and roommate. I could tell I’d missed out on some relationship info by starting this series with the fifth book, but the author provided enough background that I didn’t feel lost.

I don’t feel particularly inclined to hunt down the rest of the series, but this was an okay read overall.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Brainycat's 5 "B"s:
blood: 0
boobs: 5
bombs: 0
bondage: 0
blasphemy: 2
Bechdel Test: PASS
Deggan's Rule: FAIL
Gay Bechdel Test: PASS

Please note: I don't review to provide synopses, I review to share a purely visceral reaction to books and perhaps answer some of the questions I ask when I'm contemplating investing time and money into a book.

If more erotica was written with as much insight, creativity and commmand of the language as Vanessa has, I'd read a lot more erotica. This collection of ten stories (all of them new to me; I don't believe any of them are in any of her other collections) is another set of knockout stories. Even the weakest amongst them are worth reading. The real standouts for me are Trebarthen Cottage, which blends the fantastical into the real seamlessly as Vanessa does in so many of her stories. The Shower Game by far the longest story in the collection, watches 2 relationships evolve around a mutual appreciation for voyeurism, and the story is handled quite deftly.

This collection doesn't really go into any of the taboo kinks that some of Vanessa's stories do, so this would be an excellent collection for the discerning reader looking for some top shelf, witty and well written vanilla erotica.

Chocolate on his Skin by Charlotte Mistry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Makes Me Craves for Chocolates on a Hunky Boyfriend. Sinful Whipped Cream on You-know-where. Decorate him with Juicy Strawberries, Dainty Cakes and Other Sweet Delights. Then Savour him Slowly.

Anders went into what he thought was a modelling deal for a dinner function at an upscale hotel. Several months worth of rental was not an offer he could say no to and not want hit his head hard on the wall later.

Only he really had no idea what he had just signed up for and just imagine his surprise when he was loaded onto...

I don't think he needs to worry too much, I am pretty sure he is the most delicious man in that conference room literally.

Jay and Thomas seems to agree with me wholeheartedly. Jay is such a wickedly perverse young man. He was hell-bent on enjoying Anders' body under any circumstances even a public setting was not a deterrence to him. Such a mischievous fellow. I am delighted he found Anders to be the ideal person to end his boredom and a good chance to tease his dear friend Thomas. Jay is impish while his friend Thomas was only a voyeurist enjoying Anders' helplessness towards Jay's lascivious attention.

Bon Appétit. 


Yum!


I am declaring this book to be the most mouth-watering story EVER. The food porn here is unbelievably hawt! Mistry sure knows what is erotic and sexy, she reads her readers well. The sexy and erotic part is good but the humor in it made it even greater. Reading it gave me a persistent goofy grin. I may look silly donning such a look at inappropriate venue but I don't care! I just love the fun too much.

Nuff said! This book sizzles and it makes me melt like chocolate in heat. Just a friendly warning though, DO NOT read this book with any kind of sweet treats around you. You might risk getting fat without even knowing how it happened. This is dangerous food porn not to be taken lightly but with huge servings of creams and come.

Someone took a delicate little cake from his shoulder. Another scooped fruit and honey onto a plate with the tines of a fork. It jabbed him, a little, and he tried not to wince. Someone laughed.
- This sounds pretty normal if the one that got jabbed wasn't lying on a platter as a desert platter. Lol

Imagine all these goodies spread on a gorgeous hunk covered with honey and chocolates...



Then imagine this... "Excuse me Sir, would you care for a bite of cum-filled pastry?". Just a joke of course. LMAO

There should be a sign on that buffet table that says: Please dine with caution. Do not rush to the table with sharp objects. Our model's wellbeing depends upon your discretion.


BOOK DETAILS: 
Title: Chocolate on his Skin
Author: Charlotte Mistry
Publication Date: July 28th, 2012 
Publisher: Self-pub
Type: Short Story, 4,300 words (approximate)
Genre: Contemporary Gay Erotica
Characters: Anders (a young male model), Jay/Jonathan Kells (Heir of a wealthy businessman) and Thomas (Heir of a wealthy businessman and also a friend of Jay)
Tags/Keywords: 

Description:
When Anders is hired to be the centerpiece of an upscale dinner party, he doesn't know what it's going to entail. Having people eat off of him is one thing, but when two bored businessmen's sons take an interest, can he keep himself under control? Warning: this 4300 word erotic short story contains public gay sex, food fetishism, voyeurism, feeding, and the inappropriate use of whipped cream!

Excerpt:

WHERE TO BUY:
 


* Reviewed on March 14th, 2014

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