The story is told in alternating first person. I don’t mind this technique and I thought the author did a good job showing the distinct personalities through the varying narration but I did feel that Jack’s narration was a bit florid with unintentionally comic results:

The thought of her warm pussy sucking at my tongue had me returning to that fateful night four months ago.

“Pussy sucking” and “fateful nights” aren’t two phrases that I ordinarily would put together in the mind of one man. The paragraph goes on having Jack ponder their “intertwined destiny”. The problem with this story along with all but Dane’s is that the non stop sex (aka pussy sucking) overshadowed any character development (fateful nights). Carrina’s rationale for not wanting permanency with Jack was a common one (for romances) but not well developed which made her look foolish and sometimes mean. C-

Stripped by Lauren Dane. Dahlia is a burlesque dancer at The Dollhouse. She’s dancing to pay for graduate school. Nash Emery, brother of the owner of The Dollhouse, sees Dahlia and crassly hits on her, assuming that private performances can easily be obtained. Dahlia turns him down flat. Nash is intrigued and begins showing up on a regular basis and continues to pursue Dahlia.

The problem I had with this story was that it lacked conflict until the very last. It was a good conflict wherein Dahlia questions whether she, a burlesque dancer, can fit in with Nash’s upper crust, wealthy society crowd. I did feel this was undercut a bit by the fact that Nash’s brother owns The Dollhouse, but it was sold fairly well. The problem was that it was too little, too late. C

Red-Handed by Kit Tunstall. Amy and her cousin, Kevin, try to rip off The Liege and get caught. Amy is hauled to a back room and is threatened with owner and knife wielding maniac, Roan Cavello. Immediately upon discovering that Amy is a woman and not the young boy Cavello thought she was, he gets a hard on and starts thinking about “driving his cock into her pussy”.

“Torn between guilt and curiosity, he continued his perusal, deciding she had nice legs from what he could see under the baggy denim. In her current state, she was a six, but, with the right tools, she could definitely be an eight.”

So he carts the thief off to his bedroom where she bargains off her debt by serving as his sub for six weeks. At this point, the sexual tension was so contrived that I just had no desire to keep reading about these two. I know that space is short in an anthology contribution, but there was no transition from hating cheaters to enslaving them as a sex sub. Roan goes from holding a knife to her to calling her “Beloved little cheat” within the space of about five pages and Amy being told “Your body already knows who its new master is” within that same space. He’s lying on top of her, fondling her breasts and her body suddenly knows that there is a new master? That breast must be some kind of receptor. DNF.

The Deal by Anya Bast. Cassidy is a shill at The Liege where she goes around gambling with house money and encouraging patrons to play more freely. James carter was a dealer at The Liege and the best friend of Cassidy’s former fiance, Damian. Damian had stood her up at the altar much to James’ delight and guilt. Delight because James had always wanted Cassidy and guilt because he was happy that Damian stood her up.

James has been biding his time until he can approach Cassidy and once they physically get together, he believes the deal is sealed. Cassidy is determined that the physical aspect of their relationship not affect their friendship in anyway. James response to this is to bet Cassidy a card game where the winner gets to decide five nights of sex. I had no idea what the card game had to do with keeping the physical aspect of the friendship separate from the friendship. It seemed that it would only exacerbate the mixed feelings that Cassidy was trying to balance, but since this was an erotic romance, who cares about those nit picky plot things. Bast is actually one of my favorite erotic romance anthology writers but this one seemed all sex and no emotional connection. C-

What Happens in Vegas is an erotic romance but the emphasis was on the sex and not so much on the romance.

This book can be purchased in trade paperback from Amazon or Powells or ebook format.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Witch Fire by Anya Bast
2. REVIEW: After Hours by Jodi Copeland
3. REVIEW: Blood of the Damned by Anya Bast

I’ve read most of your backlist at Ellora’s Cave and really, your books have been the impetus for trying more. You have almost always been able to capture and convey the emotional connection while still bringing the heat. I think you are one of the best of the epublished authors and was not at all surprised that New York snapped you up.

Your strengths have always been the emotional connection of your characters; your weakness, world building. Most of your prior work that I have found so appealing have been your novellas. You pack a great deal of emotion in a short amount of space. Unfortunately, in novel length form, you seem to have lost your way.

Mira Hoskins is an air witch who had no knowledge of her powers. She was an ordinary woman, living an ordinary life: divorced and trying to make ends meet by waiting tables. Jack McAllister is a firewitch whose father is one of the worst, most evil men on earth. Crane, Jack’s father, killed Mira’s parents in a demon summoning when Mira was a young child. Jack witnessed this and it drove him to seek out the Coven, the “good” witches.

Even though Mira isn’t aware of her power, others are. Crane learns about her and dispatches his minions to capture her. He needs an air witch to sacrifice in order to call another demon for Crane is dying of cancer and a demon healing is his only chance.

Jack is sent by Mira’s cousin to watch over her, and to train her powers. He is certainly not to seduce her, not to fall in love with her. Mira is off limits, not just because Mira’s cousin is head of the Coven, but because if Mira knew that Jack was the son of the man who killed her parents, how could she ever love him?

The real problem in this book isn’t necessarily Jack and Mira although Jack does come off as the creepy stalker- like guy for the first half of the book. There was an interesting conflict and the love scenes are plenty steamy.

The story, however, was rife with unnecessary exposition and details of elements that were not relevant to the overall story. I.e., Mira, upon meeting her cousin Thomas, ponders on her cousin’s hotness, his full lips, his great body, his aura of command. To what end? There was no point. It didn’t advance the conflict between Mira and Jack. It was nothing more than sequel bait (and we did get several bulletins about the hotness of other characters so that we were suitably engaged for the next books).

The world building was particularly weak. There was no discussion of the source of the magic (.e. when Mira brings it up, she is told to talk to the Council about it but never does). There is no penalty for use of the magic. It makes one wonder why humans are still around if the only vulnerability the witches have are to someone who has greater power. There were no boundaries to this alternative reality which failed to evoke any type of otherworldly feel. Mira has lived into her twenties without even one clue that she is a person of power and it turns out she is a person of great power. There is little action in this book and the first half crept by fairly closely with the story reliant on unresolved sexual tension.

Worse yet, Mira veers into TSTL territory near the end of the book when she insists on keeping information from Jack which would enable him, the very best Coven fighter, to assist her in a mission.

There was a compelling conflict between Jack and Mira and I didn’t think it needed to be artificially enhanced by additional subplots. There’s no doubt that your ability to write steamy scenes is excellent. I would have enjoyed the story much more if there was better worldbuilding and a stronger focus on the plot. C.

Best regards,

Jane

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Blood of the Damned by Anya Bast
2. REVIEW: Tempted by Two by Anya Bast
3. REVIEW: A Change of Seasons by Anya Bast

Tempted by Two is a sequel and features Miranda and Theo who appeared in Seduced by Twilight. Miranda is a counselor at a local woman’s shelter. This is not just a career for her, but a driving need. Miranda’s mother was beaten and ultimately killed by her abusive father. While Miranda has recovered and now seeks to help other women be free of domestic violence, she still shies away from permanent commitments.

Miranda has just started seeing Theo. Theo is a full blooded Tylwyth Teg, a five hundred year old fae. The only way for the Tylwith Teg to achieve full grasp of their powers is to form a triad. A triad doesn’t necessarily have to have a sexual bond but it commonly occurs when the triad involves members of the opposite sex. Theo recognizes that Miranda is his third and one that will complete him, not only bringing his powers to fruition but also fulfilling long dormant emotional needs. The problem is that Theo isn’t quite ready to impart to the third part of the triad, Marco, that Miranda has been found.

One of the things I like best about this series is that it presents two alpha males acting like alpha males. Marco and Theo are jealous of each other and of the act of sharing. They also acknowledge having feelings for other women in the past, only not to the level that they feel for Miranda. Miranda has to overcome her fear of commitment to bond with not just one man, but two, both of whom could easily break her in two.

Another thing I appreciate is that you seem to anticipate the questions readers would ask about the characters. For example, when Miranda questions how convenient it is that both she and Olivia have fae blood, a rational answer that they probably bonded because of their subconscious similarities made sense.
As in other books, the world building aspect takes a back seat, but I am not reading your books for great world building. Instead, I read it for the rich emotional story that is combined with the spicy hot sex scenes. This story and its predecessor are what I look for in an erotic romance. It has just the right balance of emotion with titillation. B+

Best regards,

Jane

PS. Can we agree that there is some strange alien girl on your cover that has nothing to do with the book?

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Seduced by Twilight Anya Bast
2. REVIEW: A Change of Seasons by Anya Bast
3. REVIEW: Water Crystal by Anya Bast

I’ve kind of marked you down as a go to read. When I am looking for a hot but emotionally satisfying story, I generally feel that you will deliver. Alas, this was a misstep. I looked at the copyright on this one and it says January 2006. I can’t help but feel that your writing today is leaps and bounds different than even a year ago.

Blood of the Damned is book 4 of the Embraced series. I’ve not read book 1 through 3 as, well, this blurb appealed to me more. Niccolo is a Vampir who’s speciality is execution. Tired of that life, he allowed himself to be imprisoned and was let out only when needed for a kill job. Jade, a half fae, half human and Priestess of the Morrigan is sent to collect him from prison for the vampire world (the Embraced) are in need of him.

Maybe it was a mistake not to read the three other books in this series because the amount of information that you give about Niccolo and Jade, their motivations, their backstory, other than their desire to screw each other, was virtually non existant. I learned nothing about the Order of the Morrigan – what it did, what it was. I learned nothing about why Niccolo allowed himself to be imprisoned or why he couldn’t have escaped. I didn’t understand the concept of the Embraced or how they lived. How they came into being. What role the Order of the Morrigan had and so on. The world building was devoid of detail.

There were some good parts to the story. The villian wasn’t entirely evil. He had a horrific past and his turn to the dark side was a way for him to obtain control over his life, something he hadn’t had as a victim. All of the characters were victims at some point who had overcome their past to some degree. Jade was a strong female character.

But in the end, Blood of the Damned is a book about sex and virtually nothing more. The numerosity of the sex scenes subsumed any character development that occurred. Jade’s strength of character disappeared in the bedroom where the majority of the story took place. The acts themselves seemed seemed more gratuitous, particularly the late threesome introduced.

The gratuitous sex and the lack of chemistry between the main couple made for an arduous and disappointing read. C-

Best regards,

Jane

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: A Change of Seasons by Anya Bast
2. REVIEW: Edge of Sweetness by Anya Bast
3. REVIEW: Water Crystal by Anya Bast

This is a novella and when I first saw its release, despite my general appreciation for your work, I delayed in purchasing it because of its short length. However after trying to read a few other erotic romances and being disappointed, I broke down and bought it. Silly me. I should have known that it would be a good read with great sex between two likeable characters.

Ben is in NY for a business trip when he locks eyes with a woman and is intrigued, maybe more than intrigued but the moment passes when she walks away. About six months later, he returns to NY to work on a business deal and to meet Cindy, a woman he met online, to initiate her into the BDSM world. Ben had gained a reputation, both locally and online, for being a trusted Dom. Most of the women he had been with lately looked for very short term encounters and Ben has been feeling dissatisfied with his sexual lifestyle. At the hotel he smells the perfume of the woman he had spotted those 6 months ago.

Savannah, just out of a messy marriage, is looking for . . . something and she believes that maybe Ben can provide that for her. She propositions Ben and he immediately takes her up on the invitation.

“Peace is hard to find,” she murmured. “Can you put me in a place where I can't think anymore? Can you do that for me tonight?”

He paused for a moment, considering her words. “I can do that,” he answered. “If you'll trust me.”

Whether I actually believe that this is a true BDSM story I can’t make up my mind. It’s a bit too tame compared to Joey Hill, but as an erotic romance, it’s fulfilling. Savannah is a broken in self esteem and self worth and she finds, through this experience, more confidence and belief in herself. The fact that this type of storyline isn’t my favorite but still satisfying is a real testament to your writing. The novella doesn’t try to do too much and because of that it succeeds as a sweet, very sexy novella. B.

The book can be bought at Ellora’s Cave and read the excerpt.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Water Crystal by Anya Bast
2. REVIEW: A Change of Seasons by Anya Bast
3. REVIEW: You Don’t Know Jack by Erin McCarthy

If pressed, I would probably say that you are my favorite EC novelist. I am eagerly awaiting your Berkley releases. I bought Water Crystal during my Bast glom and thought, despite the title, that it was a contemporary given the cover. It is not a contemporary, but rather a futuristic. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is a sore lack of futuristics in the romance genre and so when I come across a decent one, I am probably more forgiving.

This is a slightly futuristic tale which involves some heavy duty worldbuilding. I am sure that someone more sophisticated than I will find flaws but for me, the world you created seemed full to me. An alien lifeform, known as Kiran, came to Earth when their own world began to die. In order to inhabit Earth, these aliens cultivated freysis bacteria which is toxic to humans. Freysis was loosed into the water system and ecology took over forming a continuous supply of freysis. To humans, enough exposure to water, even in rain form, will be deadly. When a strange virus attacked the Kirans and reduced their number to a quarter, the remaining humans were able to fight back and few enterprising folks got a hold of enough enhydro crystals which can purify the water. Some Kirans remain but many are in hiding as the memory of their attempt at colonization is not forgotten.

Finch runs the Water Company which is responsible for purifying the water for human consumption. He has only so many enhydro crystals to purify the water and the consumption of water is tightly controlled. Bianca Robinson believes that Finch has a water crystal that can easily reverse the freysis and make all the water safe for humans. She believes this because her twin sister, Calina, was forced to serve as Finch’s mistress. Through some twinicity, Bianca knows what Calina once knew. When Calina killed herself by going out into the rain, Bianca takes action. She steals the water crystal and attempts to return to her home sector.

Unfortunately, her theft does not go unnoticed. Guardians of the Order are dispatched to return Bianca and the water crystal. Angelo DiMarco is the head of the convoy sent to hunt Bianca. He is able to track her even though an ordinary person would have struggled. DiMarco is steadfastly a man of the Company having grown up on the fringes of society. Bianca does everything she can to get the Water Crystal away from DiMarco and back to her sector, from challenging his beliefs to using her body as a weapon. DiMarco was an honorable man but Bianca’s constant testing of him made it impossible to resist her.

The sex scenes, of course, were smoking hot. You did a pretty good job of integrating the sex into the action scenes although there were times in which I wondered at the actions of Bianca, in particular. I.e., she does a Jodi Foster type of dance-with-myself from Victim in the middle of being dragged back to the Water Company. Some of the story had heavy overtones of a post nuclear world that I have read before, but not in the romance genre. The villain was an over the top braggart. The story lagged in parts. The ending was pretty easily resolved given some heavy issues that should have provided a greater source of conflict. In all, however, this was a fresh story in the romance genre. Of all the erotic romance writers that I have read, you certainly belong at the top of the genre for your highly charged love scenes, emotional connections, and vivid imaginings. B-.

Best regards,

Jane

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: A Change of Seasons by Anya Bast
2. REVIEW: CB – Wager of Sin by Jess Michaels
3. REVIEW: CB- Perfect Timing by Crystal Inman

Add me to your list of fangirls. Not the kind that pretends to be more than one person but the kind that haunts your blogs and marks down release dates for your books. The kind that gushes on the internet and in person at the bookstore about how hot, sexy and emotionally fulfilling your book is. That kind of fangirl. Let me say that you can send me an ARC anytime.

A Change of Seasons is a fantasy romance set in some medieval time period (horses, castles, keeps, etc. – think Lord of the Rings without the dwarves but with the hot guys like Legolas and Aragorn, if they were taller, better built, with wings, and looked alike. So maybe think TWO Sean Beans, with wings). Excuse me for a moment whilst I fan myself.

Moira, in A Change of Seasons, is endowed with magick as a result of being a direct descendant of the first born ones of New Ecasia. Moira is empathetic and as her magick grows stronger, she is forced to move to the forest away from the villagers. She begins to have powerful visions of two men: Lord Cyric and Lord Dain d’Ange. Lord Cyric’s visage is cold and cruel but Lord Dain’s is even more frightening. He is known as winged devourer of women (and not in a good way, IYKWM, and I think you all do).

As the visions grow stronger, Moira becomes physically ill and fears for her life. She is determined to seek both men out believing that in doing so, the visions will cease. She travels first to Lord Dain’s estate despite knowing the history of Lord Dain. He is a warrior who helped win a war between New Ecasia and another country. It is rumored that when he returned from the war that he was crazed and magicked. Dain and others believe that his magick, aroused from deep passions, can kill. He believes he killed his wife with his magick and that it threatens the life of those around him.

It’s to your writing credit that I could shrug off the first meet scene where Dain envisions in great detail all of Moira’s physical charms and Moira suddenly knows in her gut that Dain is not dangerous to her. Dain and Moira become physically involved but Dain continually fights the attraction and uses his brother, Killian, as a buffer – both mentally and physically – between Moira and himself. The threesomes featured in this book are not only believable (and hot) but also emotionally satisfying.

There are some world building niggles and a few melodramatic hokey moments, particularly toward the end, that dragged the story down so I can’t give you an A, but it was a very good love story which also featured some smoking hot sex scenes between Moira and Dain and Moira, Dain and Killian. B+ for you. You are the kind of ebook writer that makes me feel sorry for those who don’t read ebooks. Boy are they missing out.

Best regards,

Jane

PS – The cover? It’s pretty good only it looks like its for a contemporary novel. I didn’t remember a scene that featured the garment the heroine is wearing which looks suspiciously like some very modern day panties and bra. Also, the man’s face to the left? weird.

No related posts.