Under His Everything: Hybrid Heat Book Seven
This is a Her Tangh-i-ness Approved read. I’ve read this book from beginning to end twice. I’d been reading Kiki Burrelli for awhile. I am also a Black FemDom, so Sibelius is the kind of character I felt represented me as an ethical Dom.
Yes, Ken and Karen, there are such things. Anyhoo, this is about the lovestory at the center of a M/M Mpreg Alpha/Omegaverse where I first started reading Kiki’s Wolf’s Mate, then the Den Series, then Hybrid Heat, and fell deeper and deeper into her story worlds.
First off, I appreciate Kiki for writing Sibelius, a Black man as a MC who didn’t make me want to throw a book across a room. Positive Black MC characters are an exception still, not the norm, in too many genres. Sibelius has control issues. What Dom…ahem…human doesn’t?
I appreciate Sibelius’s nonBlack mate, Griffith, for being a reflection of a real struggle that submissive males have. Yes, Ken and Karen, Griffith likes giving it up to Sibelius. He has wanted nothing more than to do so, but the problem is Sibelius thinks he knows what’s best for the both of them.
One can argue this is a classic case of Topping from Below, but I think it’s more a case of how ethical Doms and subs are like magnetic poles that learn to harmonize with each other. These two love each other and for those of us who are kinky and think men should get pregnant on a regular basis, all we really want is some angst, a few action set pieces, plenty of NSFW Perv moments on their way to the knotting that leads to a healthy, happy little offspring.
Her Tangh-i-ness definitely thinks Sibelius and Griffith should return in a series of their own. Hint. Hint. Kiki are you listening?
Note: This Under His Everything: Hybrid Heat Book Seven was a self-purchased digital title. Her Tangh-i-ness usually reviews on a for-the-love basis. No lucre has been involved.
Showing posts with label Shapeshifting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shapeshifting. Show all posts
Monday, July 27, 2020
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Book Review: Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff
'Lo People,
I am so overdue for this review. You ever read a book or watch a movie where you were yelling at the main character? Grrl what are you doing? Yup. Becca Thornton did that me. I remember hearing about the book from the author. I'm definitely in the target audience being perimenopausal, a female, and a fang-carrying, lifelong member of the shifter tribe. I am down with the Werefolk. And I'm heteroflexible enough that I can enjoy lesbian characters discovering themselves. Her Tangh-i-ness's motto is be who you be. Love is Love. Anyhoo….
I appreciate Silver Moon too for offering a different vision of femaleness. Too often, the woman as a warrior, or even viewed as an elder, as a social force driven to protect and nuture takes a second stage to Romantic entanglement. There is light Romance in Silver Moon. There's also an interesting depiction of the poison of self-hate.
8/20 Update: (The character has been renamed. The writer is a true ally. She understood why the adjustment was needed and took action)
My one quibble with the earlier version of Silver Moon had been in the use of a goddess's name for a difficult character. The antagonist took it as their "warrior" name. The character says, "Remember me: I am the wind that brings change."
As someone who is a shrine keeper in a West African tradition, seeing that name in this context just tossed me out of the story just as Voudun practitioners cringe at non-devotees' depiction of their faith I had a reaction. Uhhhh...Ile Ife, we have a problem. Make of my reaction what you will. Please remember the I found the remainder of this story satisfying and absolutely worthy of a re-read.
*Spoiler Alert*
Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pithy plot summaries. However, for those who must have a virgin reading experience, read no further, and eyeball elsewhere.
*Spoiler Alert End*
Becca works in a hardware store in a town called Wolf's Point, is a member of a local women's club, and is going through the change. She's also feeling feelings for her female neighbor after her divorce from a man. It's Becca's first time considering that she is attracted to her own sex.
Becca learns the women's club she's part of isn't just a case of running with the wolves. The women become wolves. Becca finds this handy when she has to defend a kidnapped boy from a child predator. My girl Becca dispatches the predator human and brings the boy to safety. Yay!
I loved that Shelly Peterson, the Alpha of Wolf's point, was a Native American woman. I loved that Lizzie Blackhawk, Shelly's cousin was the town Deputy. Even the female antagonist with the goddess's name is a Native woman. So can we talk about Erin? "She grinned her slow lazy smile that always made Becca think about cowboys. Cowgirls. Whatever. Maybe it was her neighbor's long lean body or her short-cropped graying hair." So I'm looking at Erin too and I'm liking what I see. Nice to know Becca has good taste. Erin is the love interest by the way.
Becca and her pack have to stand firm against the machinations of the female antagonist and her crew. The crew calls themselves Nesters. Becca even runs away from what she's become and the pack. That lasts two minutes. Becca's running away earns the first of Her Tangh-iness's severe talking tos. Grrrrl, have you lost your mind? Becca returns to Wolf's Point after a think.
Becca meets the female antagonist with the goddess-name and learns the woman believes the women wolves killed her parents. Erin, Shelly, and the rest of the female elders of Wolf's Point and members of the pack show up to welcome Becca back. Lizzie brings Becca to the secret painted cave where the ancient spirits first put the magic into Wolf's Point that transforms its women into wolves. Becca learns she might lose her home to an ex-husband interested in selling it off so he could support himself and a new pregnant wife. The women of Wolf's Point decide to assist her in keeping it and to train her in using her new-found transformative powers.
The Nesters burn the women's club building down. The antagonist with the goddess-name turns out to be another of Shelly and Lizzie's cousins. She also has a drug that can overpower the urge to change into wolves. Complicated. Complicated. Becca commits herself to the fight when she tells Erin, "You're going to make me the best damn werewolf this town has ever seen."
Meeting with the Pack at the secret painted cave sends Becca into a panic attack but Shelly and the others guide Becca through it. Becca can do cool partial transformations: not quite wolf and not quite human and not always on the full moon. Becca makes some poor decisions (which does not include her first kiss with Erin) and earns being put under watch by her Alpha Shelly. The Nesters escalate their efforts to recruit new members by forcibly "changing" them.
Shelly the Alpha disappears. The Nesters have an injectable "cure." Becca finds herself on the receiving end of a needle. The antagonist with the goddess name says, "I see that you were wavering, but I knew we could save you. And we did. We will. You'll see: it'll be better now. We'll keep helping you." Becca gets herself taken prisoner by the Nesters in a bid to find out where they might have stowed Shelly.
She escapes and reunites with the Pack. Becca finds Shelly and Erin. The Pack elders have given Shelly and Erin the means to counter the Nesters effort to halt the change. Becca, Shelly, and Erin return to the cave with the painted walls. Together, they wield the magic to overcome the antagonist with the goddess-name and her male companion. Erin is wounded yet again. Becca finds that although the magic can defined against Nesters, it can't halt the sale of her home. But she could always move in with her next door neighbor Erin couldn't she?
C'mon, this can't be the last we've seen of Becca and the wolf-women of Wolf's Point…. I swear I can hear howling in the distance.
Note: This copy of Silver Moon was a hard copy purchased by the reviewer. Her Tangh-i-ness usually reviews on a for-the-love basis. No lucre has been involved.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Book Review: Scheherazade’s Façade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-dressing and Transformation
Book Review: Scheherazade’s Façade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-dressing and Transformation
Edited by Michael M. Jones
© 2012
Circlet Press
*Spoiler Alert*
A description of Adult material follows. Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pithy plot summaries. However, for those who must have a virgin reading experience, read no further and eyeball elsewhere.
*Spoiler Alert*
Introduction • Michael M. Jones
Many are familiar with The Thousand and One Nights and the premise of keeping an king engaged with a story or losing one’s life. Here an editor explains what went into keeping an anthology alive. Perish the thought that there wouldn’t be any anthos with Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing or fluidly Changing from one sex into another celebrated.
The Secret Name of the Prince • Alma Alexander
Start with someone in trouble. Check. Life and death kind of trouble. Check. Start with a frightened brother and sister swapping genders and roles as the protector and the protected. Check. Throw in the power of Naming to determine a character’s purpose and destiny and a reader will be ready to appreciate the retelling of entire backstory of The Thousand and One Nights squeezed into an adolescent’s coming-of-age. Check. Read it? Reading the review does not count. Then mark off as many check marks as you like.
The Daemons of Tairdean Town • C.S. MacCath-Moran
Her Tangh-i-ness has a soft spot for ugly, crippled girls. First person makes it easy to slip inside the head of a clairsentient one for a bit especially one who hasn’t lost touch with her inner male. An ugly, crippled girl who guides the living and the dying equally from their known life to and from the great, interconnected Is-ness. Wait. And of the Daemons? Remember the less popular, less intimidating, non-computer technology definition of the word daemon, insert the word anima/animus instead and a reader makes Jung proud. Plus there is juicy daemon sex.
Kambal Kulan • Paolo Chikiamco
Be a literary Armchair Traveler. Two is not always enough company. Another first person tale about the little known Fillipino art of curse blocking, falling in-love with unexpected objects of affection, and dealing with the aftermath of painful break-ups. Dare to repeat the word mangkukulam ten times. Her Tangh-i-ness adores these lines of dialogue, said by one man to another, “I hope you realize the irony of saying that while wearing a pink dress” then, “Most people are bi anyway….” Kambal Kulan’s theme seems to ask: Is love a curse or a good thing? Best of all, the story’s not over until there’s a threesome.
Driftwood • Tiffany Trent
Don’t leave the deeps, Maebelle. Let others fill their own hollow places. Let them rediscover their own Wo/man within. Weep for the Water-kin. Seal. Selchie. Selkie. Sad. Take the original ending of Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid for a close parallel. Behold the awesome terribleness of human fear coupled with distrust and intolerance. Dive into the gazes of those humans who live by the seashore separated by sand and surf from those who could help them return to any self they chose if the humans would only choose love. Remember Maebelle.
Pride • Melissa Mead
Her Tangh-i-ness knows some folks who would gladly down jana berry supplements should they ever become available outside the confines of this story. Fighting sticks help to equalize combatants of either gender. Animal-identified tribespeople choose to serve their village as lions, rhinos, baboons, snakes and elephants. Kayin hunts and wars together with them on the savannah. Never did Her Tangh-i-ness imagine she’d come across a story where menstrual cramps would be a celebrated thing. She predicts Pride will become required reading during mooncycles.
Keeping the World on Course • Tanith Lee
People doubt whenever dog meets cat that meeting will ever work itself without a lot of attendant growling and hissing. Now consider when bird meets cat. The World is absurd. Therefore, Her Tangh-i-ness must laugh. Tanith Lee fans notwithstanding, readers perk up at the mention of that author’s name in a Table of Contents. There’s bound to be brilliant, oddly amusing plot magic afoot. Who else could track the arc of Extreme Revulsion as it spins about into its opposite sentiment. Nope, this story doesn’t have a husband and wife with a gold watch or a head full of long tresses. Keeping the World on Course, however, shares a feel-good ending with another famous literary testament of situational irony.
A Bitter Taste • Aliette de Bodard
Like your fictional flavors hot and subtle as a curry? Her Tangh-i-ness adores Southeast Indian epics like the Mahabharata. Way to go, Alliette de Bodard, with this desperate act of a princess demigoddess pretending to be a common mortal in order to halt a heavenly war. Watch out for those Rakshashas. And still the Man-Woman rises. What price must Naryati pay in order to bring time and the worlds back into balance? What happens to avatars caught in unending conflict? Only a thorough reading will tell.
Going Dark • Lyn C.A. Gardner
Potent. This struck Her Tangh-i-ness as the ultimate Outsider-themed story of this anthology. It occurs in the hairline space between mixing the proper chemicals to develop a desired photographed image and creating a lethal chemical reaction. That Imogene got troubles. First person account of what it feels like to be not only to be genderless or male or female all at the same time but also an unintentional energy thief. Remember, through it all, Imogene is innocent. Imogene simply desires the freedom to be loved for being Imogene.
The Cloak of Isis • Sunny Moraine
Enjoyed the work of Sunny Moraine in a previously reviewed Circlet anthology: The Kitsune’s Laughter included within Like A Cunning Plan so the question becomes: can this reader be enchanted again? A lover of Quirky Romances nods enthusiastically. The Cloak of Isis shares with Melissa Mead’s Pride the wonder of shifting from male into female and an upbeat ending. Could this be a re-imagining of a tale from Ovid’s Metamorphoses combined with the backstory of a certain falcon-headed god who hailed from ancient Egypt? Ask Ianthe and Iphis.
How to Dance While Drowning • Shanna Germain
First person start tosses the reader into the dark waters of Showbiz. Behold those men who would be mermaids. Details such as the pliancy of a silicon breast firmly anchor the sensation of being mise en scène. Follow Dalilah: the makeup-artist witch and Jojo, and Gianna: the little Mermaids onto the stage. Marvel at the line “…may the best man drown so I can take his place.” Xenografted face transplants oust face-lifts in this desperate milieu. Fear the Colors. The spirit of Hans Christian Andersen sheds a tear.
Treasure and Maidens • Sarah Rees Brennan
Her Tangh-i-ness espies a dragon. Therefore, this tale must take place somewhere in Queens, NY. Why not share a bowl of Cheerios with a mythical, magical being? Apparently, jumping out of windows is the only way for dragons to get around in NY these days. They do it all the time. And I want to see the dragon cookbook that lists all the dishes prepared from maiden hearts. It can’t be that complicated. Unless your name is Emma. BTW, if there is daemon sex in this anthology then sex with shape-changing dragons becomes more than likely.
Lady Marmalade’s Special Place in Hell • David Sklar
C’mon. Just about anyone who has read a title like that wants to know what the heck is going on. Bet it isn’t just Patti LaBelle fans. Last story in an antho has the dual effect of being the last experience a reader takes with them and it answers and amplifies the tone set up by the first story. Marmalade AKA Roger marches into the Inferno as if s/he were born to be the top at the top. Kinky readers smirk knowingly. Wait…wait! But then, Marmalade finds her/his parents, a play/group space in Hell and forgiveness. Work that damnation, Girl, all the way to wherever and with whomever you choose to be.
Note: This copy of Scheherazade’s Façade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-dressing and Transformation was an electronic edition acquired from an editor upon the reviewer's request. Her Tangh-i-ness usually reviews on a for-the-love basis. No lucre has been involved.
Edited by Michael M. Jones
© 2012
Circlet Press
*Spoiler Alert*
A description of Adult material follows. Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pithy plot summaries. However, for those who must have a virgin reading experience, read no further and eyeball elsewhere.
*Spoiler Alert*
Introduction • Michael M. Jones
Many are familiar with The Thousand and One Nights and the premise of keeping an king engaged with a story or losing one’s life. Here an editor explains what went into keeping an anthology alive. Perish the thought that there wouldn’t be any anthos with Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing or fluidly Changing from one sex into another celebrated.
The Secret Name of the Prince • Alma Alexander
Start with someone in trouble. Check. Life and death kind of trouble. Check. Start with a frightened brother and sister swapping genders and roles as the protector and the protected. Check. Throw in the power of Naming to determine a character’s purpose and destiny and a reader will be ready to appreciate the retelling of entire backstory of The Thousand and One Nights squeezed into an adolescent’s coming-of-age. Check. Read it? Reading the review does not count. Then mark off as many check marks as you like.
The Daemons of Tairdean Town • C.S. MacCath-Moran
Her Tangh-i-ness has a soft spot for ugly, crippled girls. First person makes it easy to slip inside the head of a clairsentient one for a bit especially one who hasn’t lost touch with her inner male. An ugly, crippled girl who guides the living and the dying equally from their known life to and from the great, interconnected Is-ness. Wait. And of the Daemons? Remember the less popular, less intimidating, non-computer technology definition of the word daemon, insert the word anima/animus instead and a reader makes Jung proud. Plus there is juicy daemon sex.
Kambal Kulan • Paolo Chikiamco
Be a literary Armchair Traveler. Two is not always enough company. Another first person tale about the little known Fillipino art of curse blocking, falling in-love with unexpected objects of affection, and dealing with the aftermath of painful break-ups. Dare to repeat the word mangkukulam ten times. Her Tangh-i-ness adores these lines of dialogue, said by one man to another, “I hope you realize the irony of saying that while wearing a pink dress” then, “Most people are bi anyway….” Kambal Kulan’s theme seems to ask: Is love a curse or a good thing? Best of all, the story’s not over until there’s a threesome.
Driftwood • Tiffany Trent
Don’t leave the deeps, Maebelle. Let others fill their own hollow places. Let them rediscover their own Wo/man within. Weep for the Water-kin. Seal. Selchie. Selkie. Sad. Take the original ending of Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid for a close parallel. Behold the awesome terribleness of human fear coupled with distrust and intolerance. Dive into the gazes of those humans who live by the seashore separated by sand and surf from those who could help them return to any self they chose if the humans would only choose love. Remember Maebelle.
Pride • Melissa Mead
Her Tangh-i-ness knows some folks who would gladly down jana berry supplements should they ever become available outside the confines of this story. Fighting sticks help to equalize combatants of either gender. Animal-identified tribespeople choose to serve their village as lions, rhinos, baboons, snakes and elephants. Kayin hunts and wars together with them on the savannah. Never did Her Tangh-i-ness imagine she’d come across a story where menstrual cramps would be a celebrated thing. She predicts Pride will become required reading during mooncycles.
Keeping the World on Course • Tanith Lee
People doubt whenever dog meets cat that meeting will ever work itself without a lot of attendant growling and hissing. Now consider when bird meets cat. The World is absurd. Therefore, Her Tangh-i-ness must laugh. Tanith Lee fans notwithstanding, readers perk up at the mention of that author’s name in a Table of Contents. There’s bound to be brilliant, oddly amusing plot magic afoot. Who else could track the arc of Extreme Revulsion as it spins about into its opposite sentiment. Nope, this story doesn’t have a husband and wife with a gold watch or a head full of long tresses. Keeping the World on Course, however, shares a feel-good ending with another famous literary testament of situational irony.
A Bitter Taste • Aliette de Bodard
Like your fictional flavors hot and subtle as a curry? Her Tangh-i-ness adores Southeast Indian epics like the Mahabharata. Way to go, Alliette de Bodard, with this desperate act of a princess demigoddess pretending to be a common mortal in order to halt a heavenly war. Watch out for those Rakshashas. And still the Man-Woman rises. What price must Naryati pay in order to bring time and the worlds back into balance? What happens to avatars caught in unending conflict? Only a thorough reading will tell.
Going Dark • Lyn C.A. Gardner
Potent. This struck Her Tangh-i-ness as the ultimate Outsider-themed story of this anthology. It occurs in the hairline space between mixing the proper chemicals to develop a desired photographed image and creating a lethal chemical reaction. That Imogene got troubles. First person account of what it feels like to be not only to be genderless or male or female all at the same time but also an unintentional energy thief. Remember, through it all, Imogene is innocent. Imogene simply desires the freedom to be loved for being Imogene.
The Cloak of Isis • Sunny Moraine
Enjoyed the work of Sunny Moraine in a previously reviewed Circlet anthology: The Kitsune’s Laughter included within Like A Cunning Plan so the question becomes: can this reader be enchanted again? A lover of Quirky Romances nods enthusiastically. The Cloak of Isis shares with Melissa Mead’s Pride the wonder of shifting from male into female and an upbeat ending. Could this be a re-imagining of a tale from Ovid’s Metamorphoses combined with the backstory of a certain falcon-headed god who hailed from ancient Egypt? Ask Ianthe and Iphis.
How to Dance While Drowning • Shanna Germain
First person start tosses the reader into the dark waters of Showbiz. Behold those men who would be mermaids. Details such as the pliancy of a silicon breast firmly anchor the sensation of being mise en scène. Follow Dalilah: the makeup-artist witch and Jojo, and Gianna: the little Mermaids onto the stage. Marvel at the line “…may the best man drown so I can take his place.” Xenografted face transplants oust face-lifts in this desperate milieu. Fear the Colors. The spirit of Hans Christian Andersen sheds a tear.
Treasure and Maidens • Sarah Rees Brennan
Her Tangh-i-ness espies a dragon. Therefore, this tale must take place somewhere in Queens, NY. Why not share a bowl of Cheerios with a mythical, magical being? Apparently, jumping out of windows is the only way for dragons to get around in NY these days. They do it all the time. And I want to see the dragon cookbook that lists all the dishes prepared from maiden hearts. It can’t be that complicated. Unless your name is Emma. BTW, if there is daemon sex in this anthology then sex with shape-changing dragons becomes more than likely.
Lady Marmalade’s Special Place in Hell • David Sklar
C’mon. Just about anyone who has read a title like that wants to know what the heck is going on. Bet it isn’t just Patti LaBelle fans. Last story in an antho has the dual effect of being the last experience a reader takes with them and it answers and amplifies the tone set up by the first story. Marmalade AKA Roger marches into the Inferno as if s/he were born to be the top at the top. Kinky readers smirk knowingly. Wait…wait! But then, Marmalade finds her/his parents, a play/group space in Hell and forgiveness. Work that damnation, Girl, all the way to wherever and with whomever you choose to be.
Note: This copy of Scheherazade’s Façade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-dressing and Transformation was an electronic edition acquired from an editor upon the reviewer's request. Her Tangh-i-ness usually reviews on a for-the-love basis. No lucre has been involved.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Book Review: Like a Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Tales
Book Review: Like a Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Tales
Edited by Michael M. Jones
© 2012
Circlet Press
*Spoiler Alert*
A description of Adult material follows. Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pithy plot summaries. However, for those who must have a virgin reading experience, read no further and eyeball elsewhere.
*Spoiler Alert*
Introduction • Michael M. Jones
Deftly introduces the all female writers, the stories, and the editor’s personal experience with a certain Native American Trickster who shall remain unnamed. Read the rest of the review and the actual Introduction of the anthology to find out which one.
Winter Spirit • Nica Berry
Loved it. Talk about tortured journeys. The first story in Like a Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Tales proves worthy of its place. It prickles the emotions of the reader like a bamboo splinter beneath skin. Those who believe in the power of love might secretly wish there was someone who loved them enough to risk pursuing them even at the cost of their own soul. A teahouse, a kagema (male prostitute) and a kitsune (fox spirit) blend into a steamy, fictional beverage.
Good Bad Habits • N. Violett
Instead of being all about the bark, this tale is all about the bite. Mess with Coyote and get messed with and lose near every stitch of clothing you own. First person female protagonist and a dense, sensory-laden exchange between the protagonist and her tall, dark, and be-ringed quarry Lopez. Howl, people until you can’t howl no more. This is a blow-by-blow encounter of why some people show up in public buck-naked.
The Fox Hunt • Nadine Wilmot
One of her Tangh-i-ness’s other faves. Beware. Erectile tissue of both genders could become aroused. During a holy festival, animal masks worn by mutual predators serve as a thematic counterpoint to a tryst. A dove seduces a fox. A nobleman becomes relieved of much coin after he dares to take the virginity of another noblewoman. Loved the repetition of, “Are you well my Lady?”
Fools Rush In • Elizabeth Schechter
First person story again. A famous Master Thief promises to steal from a god in his own temple. Reminds me of a tale Robert E. Howard would have approved of. What the Master Thief didn’t count on was that the god wanted to steal him. Gave a big awwwww-that’s-so-quirky-Romantic sigh at the confessional-type ending.
Come the Revolution • Gayle C. Straun
Back to Classical Greece to witness the bondage and ravishment of the Lightning-Thrower and Thunderer by a fearless, female redhead. Consider this story payback for Io, Europa, Danäe, and Ganymede amongst others. This forms a fitting thematic bookend to the preceding story Fools Rush In.
Tricksters Are Made, Not Born • Kaysee Renee Robichaud
The Norse god Loki approaches his latest mortal quarry with a destiny-ridden suitcase. The unluckiest guy meets the son of Loki and after several sex acts later, learns that he’s also the spawn of a Norse god too. BTW, this is the second story in the antho where handcuffs figure at the post-coital climax.
The Kitsune’s Laughter • Sunny Moraine
Her Tangh-i-ness agreed with the editor’s choice to include two stories dealing with the same trickster figure. Finally, readers get to enjoy some sizzling woman upon transwoman action. A childless Japanese wife calls upon a fertility spirit, the Great Kami Inari to help her and a fox spirit comes to her aid with the necessary baby-making equipment. Hopefully, readers will be left with a vague desire to find someone of their own to share a tatami mat with in a favorite position….
Note: This copy of Like a Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Tales was an electronic edition acquired from an editor upon the reviewer's request. Her Tangh-i-ness usually reviews on a for-the-love basis. No lucre has been involved.
Edited by Michael M. Jones
© 2012
Circlet Press
*Spoiler Alert*
A description of Adult material follows. Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pithy plot summaries. However, for those who must have a virgin reading experience, read no further and eyeball elsewhere.
*Spoiler Alert*
Introduction • Michael M. Jones
Deftly introduces the all female writers, the stories, and the editor’s personal experience with a certain Native American Trickster who shall remain unnamed. Read the rest of the review and the actual Introduction of the anthology to find out which one.
Winter Spirit • Nica Berry
Loved it. Talk about tortured journeys. The first story in Like a Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Tales proves worthy of its place. It prickles the emotions of the reader like a bamboo splinter beneath skin. Those who believe in the power of love might secretly wish there was someone who loved them enough to risk pursuing them even at the cost of their own soul. A teahouse, a kagema (male prostitute) and a kitsune (fox spirit) blend into a steamy, fictional beverage.
Good Bad Habits • N. Violett
Instead of being all about the bark, this tale is all about the bite. Mess with Coyote and get messed with and lose near every stitch of clothing you own. First person female protagonist and a dense, sensory-laden exchange between the protagonist and her tall, dark, and be-ringed quarry Lopez. Howl, people until you can’t howl no more. This is a blow-by-blow encounter of why some people show up in public buck-naked.
The Fox Hunt • Nadine Wilmot
One of her Tangh-i-ness’s other faves. Beware. Erectile tissue of both genders could become aroused. During a holy festival, animal masks worn by mutual predators serve as a thematic counterpoint to a tryst. A dove seduces a fox. A nobleman becomes relieved of much coin after he dares to take the virginity of another noblewoman. Loved the repetition of, “Are you well my Lady?”
Fools Rush In • Elizabeth Schechter
First person story again. A famous Master Thief promises to steal from a god in his own temple. Reminds me of a tale Robert E. Howard would have approved of. What the Master Thief didn’t count on was that the god wanted to steal him. Gave a big awwwww-that’s-so-quirky-Romantic sigh at the confessional-type ending.
Come the Revolution • Gayle C. Straun
Back to Classical Greece to witness the bondage and ravishment of the Lightning-Thrower and Thunderer by a fearless, female redhead. Consider this story payback for Io, Europa, Danäe, and Ganymede amongst others. This forms a fitting thematic bookend to the preceding story Fools Rush In.
Tricksters Are Made, Not Born • Kaysee Renee Robichaud
The Norse god Loki approaches his latest mortal quarry with a destiny-ridden suitcase. The unluckiest guy meets the son of Loki and after several sex acts later, learns that he’s also the spawn of a Norse god too. BTW, this is the second story in the antho where handcuffs figure at the post-coital climax.
The Kitsune’s Laughter • Sunny Moraine
Her Tangh-i-ness agreed with the editor’s choice to include two stories dealing with the same trickster figure. Finally, readers get to enjoy some sizzling woman upon transwoman action. A childless Japanese wife calls upon a fertility spirit, the Great Kami Inari to help her and a fox spirit comes to her aid with the necessary baby-making equipment. Hopefully, readers will be left with a vague desire to find someone of their own to share a tatami mat with in a favorite position….
Note: This copy of Like a Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Tales was an electronic edition acquired from an editor upon the reviewer's request. Her Tangh-i-ness usually reviews on a for-the-love basis. No lucre has been involved.
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