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Synopsis:

Earthly Pleasure By B.J. McCall
Renee Tremaine maintains a sanctuary, a place for celestial warriors to rest and recuperate on Earth. A late-night summons from a wounded warrior sends her rushing to his aid, but this wounded warrior demands more than medical assistance and his mission will change her life.

Chosen by the Celestial Council to seed the female called Renee, Itan intends to perform his task well and complete his mission. When his Earth duty transforms into heavenly pleasure this battle-hardened warrior is destined to lose his heart.

Erotic Sacrifice By Cynthia Rayne
As reparation for the Salem Witch Trials, the locals have made a pact with demons. The Dark Lord, the demon leader, demands a young woman. The Carnal Sacrifice will be used in a magical sex ritual that will bind the natural and supernatural worlds.

Mesmerized by the prospect of sexual pleasure and the chance to become better acquainted with the Dark Lord, Bronwyn volunteers to become his plaything for the night. But the bargain does not only involve her body but also her heart.

Note: This story contains group sex scenes.

Hot Under the Collar By Katie Blu
Emma Leeds can't get sexy Reverend Johns out of her mind since he appeared in her church a few months ago. If her bakery has upped the day-old bread donations, surely it's a coincidence.

Undercover cop Eric Johns has noticed the hot woman who gives donations selflessly. When the drug ring he's trailing uses the bakery as its hub, will Emma be able to prove her innocence while keeping the man she has come to love?

Incensed By Kate Hill
Cyril allegedly matches soul mates through the use of magical incense, but Cori doesn't believe it. When she challenges the handsome fraud to find her soul mate or admit his hoax, they're in for a surprise. Cori and Cyril are meant to be together, yet in spite of the pull between them, she is restrained by ghosts from her past. Only by allowing him to take control will she experience the pleasures she has denied herself. Cyril is willing to master his feisty mate and in doing so finally come to terms with his own tragic past.

Making the Madam By Delilah Devlin
Newly widowed Merry Winslow treks west to claim an unexpected inheritance. Upon arriving, she discovers she inherited a brothel! Rather than being dismayed, Merry's intrigued, thinking it the perfect way to shed the shackles of propriety that have subdued her wild and impulsive nature. Only problem is, she needs to learn to manage her new business. Nathan Boone is amused by Merry's determination and knows the perfect way to begin her instruction. When he opens the peephole for Merry to peer inside as one of the brothel's "soiled doves" pleasures a customer, he reveals the passion hidden beneath Merry's "widow's weeds".

The Emissary By Jenna Reynolds
In the far-distant future, Shina, a courtesan-in-training, is eagerly awaiting the ceremony whereby she will lose her virginity and become a full-fledged courtesan. But that ceremony may be delayed because the Hegemony has encountered its first alien race, the potentially hostile Kjartans.

The Kjartans send an Emissary to the Hegemony. Upon his arrival he requests the services of a courtesan. A virgin courtesan. Shina is chosen for the assignation. She will be the first human to have sex with an alien. Will she be able to please him? And, most importantly, just how inhuman will he prove to be?
 

SRR GRADE:  A-
 

In Earthly Pleasures by B.J. McCall, Renee and Itar appear to be brought together by chance, or do they? Life changes and decisions must be made by both, and things will never be the same again. Fortunately for both Renee and the readers, in Ms. McCall's world Itar's brand of convincing is frequent and hands-on making for a very pleasurable story. Cynthia Rayne's Erotic Sacrifice is also quite good, as we watch Bronwyn make what she believes is the ultimate sacrifice, offering herself to the town's head demon for the annual ceremony. Although we never actually see good fighting against evil in this story, it is interesting to note that the next story in the Anthology is Hot Under the Collar by Katie Blu and features an apprentice minister who has carnal feelings for one of his parishioners – or is all as it seems? That is for Eric Johns and Emma Leeds to decide. Just as the same fate and the same type of decision awaits Cyril and Lori in Kate Hill's Incensed as they decide if they are indeed fated to be together as suggested by the incense Cyril uses to make his matches. For Delilah Devlin, Making the Madam, inspired no such difficulties: Nathan and Merry are brought together by fate, tied together by circumstances and kept together by caring. The same can be said of Shina and Jihaud in The Emissary by Jenna Reynolds, with the obstacles being how they overcome their cultural and species differences.

The commonality between all six stories in this Anthology is the dominant hero and the equally strong, yet not quite as sexually "knowledgeable" heroine. These men are all as alpha as they come, yet they are secure enough to be sensitive for the women in their lives. I love each story, perhaps some more than the others however, there is not a bad or mediocre tale in the mix, and all are a testament to what a true romance story is supposed to be. If you want to experience a new author, or perhaps just reacquaint yourself with a favorite old one, I highly recommend this anthology.