Fascinated

Rating:
Summary: Very Hot!.......Don't read expecting just "Romance"!
Review: Actually the only reasong this book got a four from me was because of the Thea Devine story "The Pleasure Game".

I love Susan Johnson, i actually own all but two of her books, but in this particular one i didn't enjoy her story all that much, it seemed to end way to quickly. Although i thought the idea was good, it seemed like the love thing just suddenly appeared, after all they had done was just have blissful sex, in a hotel no less!What a great way for her to repay a debt, is all i'm gonna say.

Small's "Mastering Lady Lucinda" was very devious and enticing. Lucinda, is an independent woman, now that her husband has died, and she doesn't want to marry again, except maybe for love, like her spouse advised. Her "Bishop" brother thinks she should be taught otherwise, so Lucinda gets "mastered" by a man who defintely knows how to please a woman.

I'm not a huge fan of Robin Schone, but i did enjoy her tale, "A Man and a Woman". She seems to be able to pull off the romance, and the erotica, which i've found most writers are one or the other. Megan is a widower, and she wants to experience the feeling of a man, just for "one" night. Muhamed is a Arab, looking for a prostitute to "teach" him how to make a woman feel pleasure, the ultimate pleasures. She becomes the prostitute he desired, and together they experience those ultimate pleasures.

My Favorite, like i said, Thea Devine's "The Pleasure Game", was a enticing little piece in which old friends become lovers. Jeremy, he actually has been asked by Regina's father to make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble, seeing as she has been heard talking about "wanting" a specfic rake,(by the way, Regina is a virgin, completely) and poor Regina, she overhears her father ask him this, so she makes a propostion, she asks jeremy to "teach her" how to be a mistress, along the way she decides she wants to be Jeremy's mistress. It ends with a twist, and the sex is hotter than hot..like watching a video with a lover almost. Grab your lover after reading that one...and use him.....or her....throughly.

All in all i loved this book, i'm totally glad i bought it...especially if i want to get into the mood really quick. It's wortht the read, although i wouldn't advice reading straight through it.....i know i couldn't have handled it...i would've died, from sheer pleasure. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: not your every day romance novel
Review: I have long loved Beatrice Small-she makes her characters so alive in your mind when you read her stories. I do have to say that this book had the same lively characters-but this is not your ordinary run of the mill romance novel. Get out the fans and the cold water. These stories sizzle!

Rating:
Summary: FASCINATED is all SIZZLES, TINGLES AND SPARKLES
Review: FASCINATED, spurned from its laudable predecessor, CAPTIVATED once again reigns as this year's one of the most erotic offering. FASCINATED is comparably more well-rounded to the first one with all 4 writers churning galvanizing reads.

Bertrice Small, for one, with her MASTERING LUCINDA shows the no-holds barred raunch and passion in the dark labyrinths of romance. The Master of the Devil's Disciple was initially hired to tame the arrogant Lucinda, and it was unexpected that Lucinda with her tenacious and enchanting wits manage to turn the tables around, and found herself a well-suited match in her brass. Compared to her previous prose in CAPTIVATED, this scored with more panache and romance element and most importantly discarded the abysmal thought of incest.

SUSAN JOHNSON keeps up with her usual stunning repartee and scorching hot heroes and heroines of rakes turned mellow when matched by true passion. Felicity, a desperate widow finds herself hopelessly addicted to the Duke of Grafton, a man who overwhelms her with his protection and tenderness. The fiery scenes in RISKING IT ALL, continues her tradition of raunchy tales and is an enjoyable read.

THEA DEVINE's brand of sensual writing is always subjective, and I personally find her italic writing a little too formulaic and the plot rather in shambles. The sex scenes are violent, dark and will mitigate readers with dangerous passion in their mind. It is nevertheless explosive sexuality written in an explicit tone. Jeremy and Regina, the characters in THE PLEASURE GAME are beguiling with their logic and I find it hilarious seeing both of them in this cat-and-mouse game of ensnaring each other.

ROBIN SCHONE, remains by far the most accomplished of the lot. Even though there were some critiques of this story about an enunch falling for a widow, this litany of grief and passion enchants not for its powerful eroticity, but rather the fusion of compassion and tenderness for both the flawed Megan and Connery. This in fact is much better than her novel, THE LOVER, whereby the poetic mood swings languourously to sweep readers with its poignancy. The daring paragon of passion is admirably well-done for its heart-rendering emotional drama.

FASCINATED treads a thin line between romance and being casted off as salacious porn which may throw off some readers. For the proponents of these 4 writers, it is a delicious treat of wild sex and fantasy and being rewarded to a genre that titillates and satiates the human sense. It is fascinating - even for the boldness and courage of the writers to strut off these stories with such ease and finesse.

Rating:
Summary: Erotic Excitement
Review: Small, Johnson, Devine, and Schone are not your average romance writers. These women are already known for turning up the heat an extra notch. In this, their second anthology, they drive the temperature up even hotter. In each story, the heroines are independent, spirited women. The heroes are determined, strong, handsome, yet vulnerable. By unleashing their deepest desires these women make their fantasies come true and show their men their sexual capabilities.

Again, this is not your average romance. It is not even your average story written by one of these wonderful authors. It is a sexually explicit anthology designed to excite the reader.... Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Erotic Anthology
Review: I too, was waiting impatiently for "Fascinated" after reading "Captivated" several times over. It didn't disappoint. Small's story was not as graphic as the one in "Captivated" which I appreciated but her mention of incest was a complete turn-off. Devine's story was also toned down as far as the S&M aspects and I enjoyed this story more because of it. However, I have to say that I didn't really relate to her characters much: the heroine's motives were confusing and the hero made even less sense. Johnson's story was amusing as always. I've always liked the dialogue and repartee her characters exchange. Her sex scenes are a little monotonous in this one though. Same old, same old. Schone's novella was wonderful in every way. Her characters were believable with emotions that we could all relate to. It didn't bother me that they were older than the usual. (and I am younger than them). I'd rather read about mature people having heart-felt and passionate lovemaking than some 16 year old girl/child with a 30ish man. The fact that he was a eunuch was no problem. In one aspect, so was the widow. She'd been made reluctantly celibate for so many years by a fanatic husband that she was not much different. Yes, the story is "dark" but the hunger this couple satisfied was much more legitimate than that of many "normal" people.

Rating:
Summary: The 4 Top Romance-Erotica Writers At Bat Again
Review: Erotica's problem is also working as fiction that has a plot, character development, and feeling. The only work for me that has ever totally transcended the stigma barrier of being erotica is my favorite film, "Last Tango In Paris." It manages to be a first rate work of art while also being sexually explicit and obsessed throughout. Its screenplay is also written for both men's and women's benefit. "Last Tango" need not fear any competition from this anthology. This anthology works fine as erotica for women but I doubt many men would like it because the point-of-view is slanted towards women being in control and power. This anthology cannot compete with well-written historical romantic fiction either. Robin Schone's novella is the best written and works best as fiction but does not work as well as erotica as Small's or Devine's. Small's novella is very kinky and the prose is so purple, I found myself breaking into laughter at certain spots. It almost reads like a parody of romance crossed with erotica. Small knows how to set an erotica scene though and play it out for maximum effect. I can see why she sells so many books. I can't take much of Thea Devine's writing but her stream of consciousness style also basically works as erotica. I also found myself breaking into laughter at several absurd junctures while reading Devine's work. I tried reading the Susan Johnson novella but found it boring. The Johnson scores the lowest for me, not working on any level. I didn't finish it. I'm not sure Robin Schone is doing herself a favor by featuring her work with the other three authors. She is the only one of the three trying to walk the tightrope between fiction and erotica, like "Last Tango In Paris" does. She succeeds better with her blended style when she is on her own and in novel length. I also wonder if she doesn't belong more in mainstream fiction since she prefers writing about unsettling themes and plots. I always have the sense with her writing that she's holding herself back, not delivering a one-two punch to the reader because she's trying to remain within the confines of the romance genre's formula. I believe she may do better artistically by abandoning any formula. I've read one novel apiece for each author prior to this anthology and have read several by Johnson. I've given three stars to this anthology. It is four stars as erotica written for women but only two stars as romantic fiction. The average figure between those two ratings is three stars and hence the grade.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Awful
Review: I generally like all four of these authors, however, this anthology was terrible. I had an extremely hard time finishing the book. There was no plot to any of these storys, and while I normally enjoy books with hot love scenes, this was too much.

Rating:
Summary: It Is Not Last Tango In Paris but....
Review: A huge problem that erotica, or even outright pornography, has is also working as fiction that has a plot, character development, and feeling. What it does best instead is sexually arouse you. The only work that has ever totally transcended this barrier is my favorite film, "Last Tango In Paris." It manages to be a first rate work of art while also being sexually explicit and obsessed throughout. "Last Tango" need not fear any competition from this anthology. This anthology is sexually arousing for women but does not take the place of well-written historical romance. The novellas are different enough that there is something for probably most women's sexual taste. Schone's is the best written and works best as romantic fiction but is not as sexually arousing as Small's or Devine's. Small's novella is very kinky and the prose is so purple, I found myself breaking into laughter at certain spots. In fact, it almost reads like a parody of romance crossed with erotica. However, from a sexual standpoint, it works. She sets a kinky scene and plays it out for maximum effect. I can see why she sells so many books. I can't take much of Thea Devine but her stream of consciousness style also basically works as sexually arousing writing. I also found myself breaking into laughter at several absurd junctures while reading her work. I tried reading the Susan Johnson novella but found it boring. I tried reading it after the Small and Devine though and it didn't compare well as arousing material to those. However, it was not balanced by being converted into otherwise readable romantic fiction either. The Johnson scores the lowest for me and I didn't finish it. I'm not sure Robin Schone is doing herself a favor by featuring her work with the other three authors. She is the only one of the four trying to walk the tightrope between romantic fiction and outright erotica. She succeeds better with her unique combination when she is on her own and in novel length. I've read one novel apiece for each author except Johnson. I've read several novels by Johnson and liked her earlier work very well but not her work written after her novel, "Wicked." I've put a four star grade on this work because I'm comparing it to other erotica. If I were compelled to grade it as romantic fiction and as writing, the anthology as a whole would probably only merit two stars.

Rating:
Summary: "FASINATED" BY BERTRICE SMALL,SUSAN JOHNSON,THEA DEVINE, ROB
Review: OUT OF ALL THE STORIES I READ, "MASTERING LUCINDA" WAS THE BEST, WHILE "RISKING IT ALL " WAS THE SHORTEST OF THEM ALL. THESE FOUR WRITERS EACH HAVE WRITTEN THE BEST OF EROTIC NOVELS THAT I HAVE EVER READ. I JUST WISH I COULD GIVE EVERYONE OF THESE FINE WRITERS 10 STARS INSTEAD OF 5, JUST BECAUSE THEY DESERVE IT.

Rating:
Summary: BLAZING HOT
Review: I have enjoyed all of these authors at one time or another but, I have to say in Fascinated: Johnson, Devine and Smalls shined.

I usually like Schone's books as she usually writes off beat and mature characters but I think this story should have been a full novel and I just couldn't relate to it. In Captivated I really couldn't relate to Schones story either.

These stories are not for the faint of heart who want nice safe relationships. These stories sizzle. Hopefully, Susan Johnson, Thea Devine, Bertrice Smalls and Robin Schone put out another anthology. PLEASE!!