Rating: 
Summary: Definitely Erotic but Romance????
Review: Mastering Lady Lucinda by Bertrice Small***
Lady Lucinda Harrington is a filthy rich widow and refuses to be made to marry again-unless it's for love. To avoid scandal, her brother, the bishop, demands that she live with his family until she is remarried. Sassy Luci lets her gentleman callers know she has no desire to marry any of them. If she can just get the last three candidates to accept defeat... Instead of giving up, these three decide she needs to be tamed into a proper lady and kidnaps her (with her brother's help) and sends her to The Master for the summer. Lucinda's heard about the Devil's Disciples but has no doubt that she will not be tamed. This historical romance is very erotic but needs more romance.Risking It All by Susan Johnson*****
Felicia Greenwood is about to lose Villa Paradise to her Cousin Dickie. She's had a year to come up with the funds, now down to the last week she is desperate. The only item of value left is aunt's diamond tiara, which she sells, and heads to the casino to win the additional fund to make her payment. This being her first time gambling, Felicia is soon wearing the face of distress. Flynn Suffolk noticed the flame-haired woman when she entered and watched her from afar while he continued his winning streak. Seeing her distress, he goes to her rescue and after helping her win, they retire to Hotel de Paris. Felicia has no idea she spent the night with the DUKE OF GRAFTON. This historical romance seems modern, at times. The hero is the usual rake that becomes possessed with a strong willed heroine, which Ms. Johnson always does a superb job portraying. The Pleasure Game by Thea Devine**
Lady Regina Olney is having her third season and has set her eyes on Marcus Raulton. Her father, Reginald recruits her childhood friend Jeremy Gavage to distract her. Regina overheard their plot and turned the tables on Jeremy by requesting he teach her how to become Raulton's mistress. It didn't take Jeremy long to give in to that temptation. This story was disappointing to me because the couple did nothing but copulate and even then the hero was cruel and selfish. The heroine was too submissive to his harsh handling. They fell in lust but never love. A Man and A Woman by Robin Schone*****
Mrs. Megan Phillins, the lonely 48 year-old widow of a vicar, has not been touched in 24 years. Her husband has been deceased for 2 years and she is still wearing her mourning clothes. She has checked into an Inn on her way to her homeland and overheard an Arabian man request for a prostitute. Wanting to have just one night of pleasure, she sits in waiting for the lady of leisure to arrive and pays her to leave and allow her to go the Arabian instead. Muhamed is a 53-year-old eunuch who wants just one night to know and pleasure a woman's body. I thoroughly enjoyed this story; this couple is so open to each other. They were involved not only physically but emotionally as well. He has a weakness she was determined to help him with and he was determined to please and reassure her.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, so it's not romantic... More like, um, erotic...
Review: I was a bit put off but the line under the title saying "Romantic Erotica" when my friend lent it to me for reading... I quickly got over it, being unable to tear my eyes away from "Mastering Lady Lucinda" the first short story in the book... The sex is hott, I savored every bit of this chapter... And to think I was worried that the sex would be underdeveloped... The others? Well, they're probably more of what people are used to, though I can't say for sure... And this comes from me, accailmed skeptic and one who thinks love is corny... The second story in the book didn't get to the sex quickly enough,in my opinion... The third took even longer, and with strange circumstances (and some very obvious foreshadowing)... The fourth story had me slightly confused and I don't think the eunich thing worked... I don't think very many women enjoy reading about eunichs... Now, *I* thought there was too much character development and I lent the book to another friend who agreed (she in fact flipped through the pages looking for the sex)... Yes, that's right lent the book that was lent to me to another friend... Amazingly we're all still friends, hmmm... This book is best read by a group of best friends, inside jokes will spring up everywhere and no one will have any idea what you're talking about (give yourself extra points in you confuse your current partner in the jabber with your friends)... Also good vacation reading... The bottom line? Well, yah, the phrase "love lance" and "love shaft" are hilarious (it gets hard to get back into the sex after laughing so histerically, but somehow, I did)... And the eunich thing is really STRANGE... But overall, it's a good book... It's not a masterpeice but any stretch of the imagination... Just think of it as sneaking into your best friend's breifcase (who just *happens* to be an editor) and spending an afternoon reading through her works in progress...
Rating: 
Summary: When does erotic romance become pornography or just weird?
Review: What is the difference between erotica and pornography? I find myself pondering the question after reading this anthology. My guess is that a book or story is erotica (or erotic romance) if there is more to the story than how this couple "inserts tab A into slot B," i.e. if there is some character development and plot line other than how the characters find ways to insert tabs into slots. That said, I found this anthology interesting in its variety. I thought Bertice Small's story, "Mastering Lady Lucinda" was S+M pornography with a "love" connecton thrown into the mix --all in purple prose of a kind I have not seen since Barbara Cartland (albeit pornographic Barbara Cartland). I mean, honestly, the hero did what with his "love lance"? I burst out laughing. Susan Johnson's story points out, once again, that she should stay away from writing short stories: quick plot and character development are not her strong suit and without the several hundred pages available in a regular-length book, her short stories tend to be boring. Thea Devine's story was definitely the hottest, IMO, and I wish it had been longer to create more back story which would have been more gratifying. I still don't understand why the heroine capitulated to the hero's sexual demands -- did she love him, did she desire him before he made them? I don't know. The last piece by Robin Schone was just plain weird. I don't have anything against older characters in romance novels and initially I thought, "Wow, this is a great concept -- romance and sexuality among people older than 30 and wow, even older than 40! I can relate." But, then... I couldn't: a EUNUCH for our hero? And the descriptions of the various kinds of eunuch-dom -- way more than I need to know! That was definitely not titillating or exciting or sensual. And the way in which the heroine physically manipulates the hero in order to bring him to satisfaction was, well, repulsive to me personally. This anthology is infinitely better than another supposed erotic anthology, <Naughty Naughty> (which also includes an infinitely worse piece by Susan Johonson).
Rating:
Summary: I disagree
Review: I disagree with what a few reviewers said about the short story by Robin Schone 'A Man and a Woman'. I've read so many romances that after awhile every plot and character start being interchangable, even in erotic stories. I kept this book BECAUSE I liked Robin Schone's story so much. First of all it shows real depth. You feel for the man and woman and really want things to work for them. I happen to like a man (or woman) in my story who's more than a superficial stereotype. The man in this story has such an unsual history, yet he's still a MAN, he still feels desire. But because of the labels pressed on him he's not allowed to explore it until a special woman comes along and helps him finally feel. To me EVERYONE deserves a chance to find someone special. And I think the story was totally plausible. So if you want the same old story and boring characters than dont read this one. But if, like me, you crave a real good read that you cant put down, buy this book if just for this story alone. Its worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Hot ! Hot ! Hot !
Review: This is the first book I had read by these four authors. Before this book the only historical romance I had read was written by Kathleen Woodwiss which by comparison is mild. The story by Susan Johnson reminds me of Legendary Lover, the dialogue is forced, the love scenes are not a tender as they could be. Other story left me breathless, I was very glad to have a husband at home.
Rating:
Summary: SO, SO STEAMY
Review: FASCINATED is a collection of four very sensual and passionate novellas by four of erotica's best female writers. Story One is MASTERING LADY LUCINDA by Betrice Small. All the beautiful, widowed Lucinda Harrington wants is her own home, away her brother. All her brother, the Bishop, wants is for Lucinda to be married and respectable. She refuses proposal after proposal by some of society's finest. Her spurned suitors, members of an "underground" club, think she needs to be taught a lesson in submission by the "Master." Little do they know that Lucenda is more ready for the erotic lessons than even the Master. Story Two is RISKING IT ALL by Susan Johnson. The young, widowed Felicia Greenwood could lose her home to an unscrupulous cousin. So she takes all she has and risks it in a casino game where she meets a very handsome, mysterious and generous stranger. Thinking she'll never see him again, she spends a passion-filled night with him. Neither of them is looking for a commitment or a long-range relationship. They are both surprised at what happens next. Story Three is THE PLEASURE GAME by Thea Devine. Oh, what a tangled web she wove. A silly, overheard, indiscreet statement to a friend gives Regina Olney a chance to play a cruel trick on her father and on her old childhood friend, Jeremy. But she and Jeremy haven't see each other in three years and they've each changed, growing much more seductive. Now things aren't going the way she planned and Regina has to wonder if the trick is being played on her. Story Four is A MAN AND A WOMAN by Robin Schone. This novella appears to be a continuation of Ms. Schone's very excellent novel, THE LADY'S TUTOR. Megan Branwell, the impoverished and very proper widow of a passionless vicar, throws caution away and disguises herself a prostitute so she can enjoy one night of lust. She hadn't counted on her one customer being Muhamed, a man who satisfies, but has issues of his own.
Rating:
Summary: It's halfway there...
Review: Of the four "super-erotic" stories in this book, only two are worth your time. Susan Johnson's "Risking it All" is standard writing for her - lots of sex, and a reasonably interesting story. This actually is not my favorite thing I've ever read by her, but after Bertrice Small's indescribably silly "Mastering Lady Lucinda," it seemed like a masterpiece. I will admit to not being terribly interested in bondage/kink, but even a friend who is into it found Small's story laughable. And please, Ms. Small, if you're reading this, do everyone a favor and stop using the phrase "love lance." I laughed so hard I spit out my beer when I read that. Thea Devine's "The Pleasure Game" is marginally better, but not much. Boredom set in quickly (the sex isn't good or original enough to make up for the lack of a story), and frankly I didn't even finish it - bad news in a short story. "A Man and a Woman," Robin Schone's contribution, however, was intriguing enough to make me want to read more of her writing. It is graphically sexual, but the story connected to it is subtly beautiful. Also, the writing is good enough to incorporate the sex into the story, rather than use the story as a pretext to have lots of sex.
Rating:
Summary: 5 STARS GOES TO BERTRICE SMALL AND THEA DEVINE
Review: I bought this for Bertrice Small and Thea Devine's contribution and I wasn't disappointed. They keep re-inventing erotic romance.Mastering Lady Lucinda is every woman's fantasy. Small knows hot to cater to women's secret desires but providing stories with delicious plots and love scenes. Thea Devine never loses her touch. A Pleasure Game is one hot sexy read. The interaction between the two characters are lusty and sinful. Susan Johnson's Risking it All is one boring missionary sex. As for Robin Schone, what else is new? If you've read all her other novels, you'll know what to expect. Her novel left me cold. To borrow one reviewer's comment."SHE'S ON HER WAY TO BECOMING A ONE-NOTE WONDER". All her stories are the same including the finger play.It lacks warmth and the sex scenes are so clinical like she's expecting you take notes. Her teacher student style is getting old.
Rating:
Summary: Hot Hot Hot
Review: Be warned!! This is not your everyday romance novel. I absolutely was intrigued by this work. All of the 4 stories were fascinating and erotic, although I didn't get into the last one by Robin Schone as much. I think it had to do with the age of the characters (I'm a wee bit younger, and so of course can't imagine older people engaged in..well, sex) Anyway, If you are looking for sophisticated pleasure, this is it. Try Captivated as well, the first collaboration from these authors. So pour yourself a bubble bath, a nice cool drink, and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating steamy short stories
Review: B Small is not a fav. I state that up front. While the weakest of the 4 offered here lets be honest this is erotica ladies and Small delivers here . Not nearly as offensive with her feminine portrayals as she usually is. The other comment I have to offer is that R. Schones offering is my personal fav. I disagree with those who were put off by the ages of the couple involved, and the depressing aspect. I thought the story (which continues the story of a character offered in "The Ladys Tutor" quite different and at times beautiful. Remarkable for a short story. Particularly Erotic Romance
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