Sunday, 22 February 2015

[REVIEW] Pregnant with His Werewolf's Baby (Lone Wolf Pack, #1) by Anya Byrne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Read from February 19 to 22, 2015 — I own a copy, read count: 1 


There are good and bad parts. Enjoyed a portion and the rest makes me cringe - especially the sex scenes; I could hear birds chirping, see unicorns prancing in the meadow with a brilliant rainbow background.

Then there's the usual glossed over mpreg technicality where one does not and should even start asking where's the womb and god forbid NEVER should you voice your concern over the birth channel. Just lay back and relax. Everything is going to be A-ok. You are carrying a miracle anyways.

A couple of the guys all of the guys in the book deserves a skirt each with a pack of complimentary tissues to catch those hormonal tears - pregnant or not.

Overall, the book gave me the impression of reading an online fanfiction rather than an actual book.


* Reviewed on 23rd February 2015



Saturday, 21 February 2015

[MANGA REVIEW] Pride & Prejudice (Manga Classics) by Stacy King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Kynthos-the-Archer by: ARC provided by Netgallery
Recommended for: Newbies to Jane Austen's work.
Read from January 26 to February 17, 2015 — I own a copy, read count: 1 

I am happy to award this manga adaptation of Jane Austen's famous romance 4 stars for the lovely artwork and smooth manga storyboard. I'd say it's a worthy purchase to add to your bookshelf. The cover itself would certainly look lovely on your shelf and the book would help ease the introduction of Ms. Austen's work to the younger generation.

Frankly speaking I am a newbie to Ms. Austen's stories. This manga adaptation of Pride & Prejudice is my first experience of her story. I haven't even watched any of the film adaptations. Nevertheless I am quite charmed by the storyline and Po Tse's lovely artwork. However there are times where I felt the characters' facial expressions to be a little overboard and this threw me off a tad. Aside from that, Elizabeth came out somewhat airheaded to me instead of displaying her reputed intelligence and her charming quick-wits. Perhaps this could be due to the manga compressed time frame which might have hampered the delivery of Elizabeth's feelings sufficiently. On the other hand, the presentation of Mr. Darcy is pretty well done. He is that handsome to a fault vainpot who is full of himself and that rich unpleasant dude who thinks that everyone else is beneath him. Yeah I sorta did a bit of research on the characters as a comparison guideline since I don't have any prior information on them to help me on the valuation.

Upon experiencing this famous classical romance via the manga adaptation I am now keen on reading the original novel itself. So bravo for a job well done to both Stacy King and Po Tse.


Introducing the lovely manga cover (softcover version):


Another colored artwork (hardcover version):


Meet the lovely Bennets sisters:


A sample page:
Darcy isn't as dashing here on this particular page. Sometimes he even looked a little villainous on the artwork. Other times he is a lady killer. Haha.

Do check out some more sample pages over at COMICS ALLIANCE


BOOK DETAILS:
Title: Pride & Prejudice (Manga Classics)
Author: Stacy King
Illustrator: Po Tse
Publication Date: August 19th, 2014
Publisher: Udon Entertainment
Type: Manga
Genre: Classical Historical Romance

Description:
Beloved by millions the world over, Pride & Prejudice is delightfully transformed in this bold, new manga adaptation. All of the joy, heartache, and romance of Jane Austen's original, perfectly illuminated by the sumptuous art of manga-ka Po Tse, and faithfully adapted by Stacy E. King.



WHERE TO PURCHASE:
★|| BOOK DEPOSITORY ||★
★|| AMAZON ||★
★|| BARNES & NOBLE ||★



* Reviewed on February 21st, 2015
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**ARC provided by NetGalley for reviewing purpose.**



Wednesday, 4 February 2015

[REVIEW BL NOVEL] Feng Yu Jiu Tian [ 凤于九天 ] 之二十一 疾风劲草 by Feng Nong

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Read from February 03 to 04, 2015, read count: 1


Nong-Nong, you are so merciless! *clutch chest in pain* Why? Why kill off so many innocent people? And they are such nice people too. *tearing up* Moreover it pains my heart to see Feng Ming suffer so much because of his kindness. Are you trying to taint his pure soul and damage it to the point of no return?

It was sure pure agony from Book 20 onwards and the situation is still pretty dire after the end of Book 21. I would advice to make sure you have secured Book 21 and 22 when you plan on starting Book 20. The extreme anxiety could really be too much for you to bear if you were to halt your reading midway after starting on Book 20. I am no longer sure if I am just reading a Yaoi (Boy's Love) Novel at this point. The story is too complex to be just a simple Yaoi fare. It was both character and plot driven. The author is very daring hence the plot was absolutely unpredictable. Which is why my heart was racing non-stop and my finger nails suffers numerous bite marks.

On a brighter note, Nong-Nong did insert a pretty hot H-scene (smex scene) between my favorite pairing, the Ruo Yan (若言) and Feng Ming (鳳鳴) pair as a side story which I presume was an attempt to appease her fans for ruffling their feathers so harshly. Fans would be delighted to know that there's actually a radiodrama of this exciting side story. You could listen to it here: 《凤于九天;夜宫》风弄原著耽美广播剧 . It's in Mandarin of course. Initially I could only understand about 70% to 80% of it but after reading the novel I find it more stimulating than before since now I could understand what's really going on.

I am off to Book 22 now. Not a minute to waste!




Ruo Yan (the one with white hair) and our beloved adorable uke, Feng Ming.



* Reviewed on 4th February 2015


Saturday, 24 January 2015

[REVIEW] Tame a Wild Human by Kari Gregg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommended for: M/M Erotica fans who enjoys depravity with their kinky reads.
Read from January 19 to 23, 2015 — I own a copy, read count: 1 


Tame a Wild Human is an unreserved hardcore wolf gangbang great for the spank bank. Downright primal, lustful and depraved. An unapologetic rape fantasy. Know that this is pure erotica, one that aims to get you off not the type to melt your heart with sweet romance. To be clear, there is not a trace of romance within its pages, just sexy dominance and submission cum with plentiful servings of humiliation and degradation. Come on, the poor guy was pumped full of cum inside out I am surprised he didn't drown. But of course I am glad he didn't else I couldn't enjoy more of his debasement in the hands of those insatiable wolves who'd relentlessly drills his abused hole and mouth every wakeful moment.

Wyatt Redding, a 28 years old nice straight guy with a budding career as a lawyer in a good law firm was betrayed by his only family member and found himself bundled up then abandoned in the forest during the fullmoon to be a werewolf pack’s sex toy, a cumhole for the pack to slack their heat. Then this newly converted cumhole grown attached to the man who introduced him to the magic of his virginal prostate. That’s more or less the gist of the story. Do we really need a whole slew of information to get us off? Especially when knowing it is a short story aiming for sexual gratification. In TAWH's case, I’d say bravo for not wasting time nor paper on the world-building and going straight to the juicy and meaty part. Of course such an approach could only work if the sex is good and the writing is as good. TAWH has no problem pulling this stunt off effortlessly. I must thank Ms. Gregg for the lovely alone-time I get while soaking up TAWH. Another plus point for such a book is the flexibility for impromptu re-reads whenever one gets horny and alone as we don't need to read books the size of a phone directory just to enjoy some great self-lovin' sex.

It is unfortunate but unavoidable for this book to encounter censure from part of its readership. The issue arises not entirely due to the hardcore explicit sexual content rather it is a classical case of 'the wrong book for the wrong reader'. Maybe it is due the book cover, TAWH was easily mistaken as one of those shifters romance which is NOT what it is at all! TAWH is out-and-out an erotica with heavy kink topped with non-consent, some dubious consent and explicit violence. In the hands of the right audience this book is a winner as it truly delivers what was promised without pulling any punches. Readers who are looking for some naughty fun with ample humiliation and degradation, master and pet dynamics with heavy handed dominance and submission would undoubtedly find TAWH to be a satisfying read. Those who hates romanticized rapes can rest assured that TAWH has none of it. The rapist remains as the rapist, the victim remains as the victim even-though there is the element of forced-seduction. Rather than romanticising the taboo relationship, the author uses a touch of mind-control with a bit of blood voodoo. I know, I know, it's not natural for a straight boy to suddenly be all willing to submit and be the fuck bitch of another man but hey he never did have a choice - even right down till the end. Those wolves never see humans as their equal, humans are just part of their possession. The wolves never cared or would ever care about the inferior humans. How is that a complex thing to understand?

For this book the most important element to measure is the heat level. I'd say the sex is scorching hot especially so in the beginning of the story when the gangbanging started. That slow fucking was E-RO-TIC like hell. I could almost feel it in my own ass. My body was tingling all over reading that intense fuck scene. Loved that bit of sensory deprivation with the blindfold. I do have to confess that once Wyatt submitted even not exactly by choice, my enjoyment of the sex waned as I liked it more when there's resistance, be it physically or psychologically. That of course is all personal preference.



BOOK DETAILS:
Author: Kari Gregg
Publication Date: January 19th, 2015
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Type: Novella (21,759 words)
Genre: Gay Erotica, Shapeshifter, Dystopia, Paranormal
Tags: dubious consent, non-consent, rape(s), gangbang, explicit violence, heavy kink, D/S, dominance & submission, humiliation & degradation, pain & pleasure, bondage, abuse, spanking, forced seduction, deep-throating, gagging, throat rape, master & pet, pet training, dystopia, inter-species, captive, captivity, confinement, sexual torture, sex pet, pleasure slave

Description:
Drugged, bound, and left as bait on the cusp of the lunar cycle, Wyatt Redding is faced with a terrifying set of no-win scenarios. Best case: he survives the coming days as a werewolf pack’s plaything and returns to the city as a second-class citizen with the mark—and protection—of the pack. Worst case: the wolves sate their lusts with Wyatt’s body, then send him home without their protection, condemning him to live out the rest of his short life as a slave to the worst of humanity’s scorn and abuse.

Wyatt’s only chance is to swallow every ounce of pride, bury his fear, and meekly comply with every wicked desire and carnal demand the wolf pack makes of him. He expects three days of sex and humiliation. What he doesn’t expect is to start enjoying it. Or to grow attached to his captor and pack Alpha, Cole.

As the lunar cycle ends, Wyatt begins to realize that the only thing to fear more than being sent home without the pack’s protection is being sent home at all.



WHERE TO PURCHASE:
★|| RIPTIDE PUBLISHING ||★
★|| SMASHWORDS ||★
★|| AMAZON ||★
★|| KOBOBOOKS ||★
★|| AllRomanceEbooks ||★


* Reviewed on January 24th, 2015
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Wednesday, 21 January 2015

[REVIEW] Feng Yu Jiu Tian [凤于九天] Vol. 11 - A King's Love [王者之爱] by Feng Nong [風弄]

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Read on January 21, 2015, read count: 1 


Book 11 could potentially be my most favorite volume in this series. It's certainly worthy of all stars in the universe! It is thought-provoking, profound and it has touched my heart and soul.

I am very excited and glad that finally Feng Ming is going to have a chance to develop and train himself to be more self-reliant. It's all thanks to his good fortune of meeting that oddball at the Aman River. If Feng Ming just continues to stay under the suffocating protection of his over-paranoid lover, his talent could never have a true chance to shine and all of Feng Ming's knowledge from the modern world could only stay as theories. More importantly he would be forever be viewed as the Achilles' heel of King Xi Lei and the kingdom will never be truly stable as long as he is with the King.

I believe with such a huge turn of event, it would surely bring forth even more excitement and thrilling adventures for us readers. I can't wait for Feng Ming to start on his second life changing journey!

Reading this novel series made me want to read the classical military themed historical novels like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Thanks to Feng Yu Jiu Tian, I am now quite fascinated by the military strategies of ancient China. Maybe I should even start reading . The Art of War by Sun Tzu.


* Reviewed on 21st January 2015



 

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Feng Yu Jiu Tian [凤于九天] Vol. 8 - Returning Trip of Swaying Air [荡气回程] by Feng Nong [風弄]

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Read on January 19, 2015, read count: 1 


The pair of lover was afflicted with a frustrating situation when they made a rest stop near Aman River. And Feng Ming’s mysterious parentage was revealed but reunion was not like how he imagined it would be. Rong Tian and Feng Ming is at a lost over their current dilemma. Would they be able to outsmart their opponent this time? Before they could come up with any brilliant ideas, misfortune as occurred again and Feng Ming was hurt?

This chapter reminds me of a plotline from Return of the Condor Heroes (a famous wuxia romance novel), where the main character, Yang Guo was poisoned by ‘Flowers of Passion' (Qing Hua) at the ‘Heartless Valley’ (Jue Qing Valley).

* 20th January 2015


[REVIEW] Feng Yu Jiu Tian [凤于九天] Vol. 9 - Nearby Danger Lurking in Shadows [咫尺危影] by Feng Nong [風弄]

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Read from January 19 to 20, 2015, read count: 1


Book No. 9 must by far the shortest one among the rest of the volumes I've read. It just picks up where previous book has left off. I am a little disappointment when it ended too soon before things has a chance to heat up.

The resolution of Feng Ming and Rong Tian's dilemma was a bit of an anti-climax. I did also made a guess that the small boy would be the key.

An old enemy resurfaced once again. I was waiting for that fellow to come back. He is an evil bastard but I like it whenever he is in close proximity with Feng Ming. ←~(o `▽´ )oΨ


* 20th January 2015