Iron & Velvet by Alexis Hall

I chose to read Iron & Velvet because I loved Hall's  debut Glitterland. Superficially Iron & Velvet have very little in common beyond both being romances set in England. Iron & Velvet is the first of new Paranormal romance series following Kate Kane (Batwoman reference?) a hard-boiled half-fairy P.I., who is bullied into investigating the death of Werewolf at Vampire club. The investigation leads her to her tangling with blood witches, face-sucking tentacle monsters, spectral deer and pissing off her mom, The Wild Hunt, all while getting involved with a centuries-old-former-ninja-nun Vampire Prince. 

What both Glitterland and Iron & Velvet have in common is that they are deeply funny, sometime surreal  books with self-loathing main characters that are a joy to read. I am curious what sort of mayhem Kate will set in to motion in the next book, but most of all I can't wait to see what Alexis Hall does writes next.

4.5 out of 5
Publication Date Dec 16, 2013
Digital ARC provided via NetGalley for review purposes by Riptide Publishing

Five Weeks in December by Blue Kincaid

Harry is Dom that was hasn't been dominating anyone recently, not since the day he lost both his confidence and his fiancee when she died while on her way to cheat on him with another Dom. Through a friend of a friend he hears about December a professional submissive, who might be able to help him work out his issues and figure himself out again. December is superficially free spirited young woman, controlled and determined, but silently carrying emotional scars of her own. 

The first half of this book really worked for me. Harry coming out his grief, rediscovering himself a changed man with different tastes and needs, while December get to know him and what makes him tick.  The second half of the book when we finally start confronting December's issues was markedly less interesting.  December as free-agent submissive has never had to confront her trust issues, instead choosing relationships where she can fix other people and be free to move on as soon as things get to personal. She ends withdrawing  and running away too many times to sustain my interest.  

3.5 out 5 stars

Publication Date Jan 31, 2014
Digital ARC provided via NetGalley for review purposes by Painted Sky Press

Misbehaving by Tiffany Reisz

Tiffany Reisz is best know for her "Original Sinners" series of novels that love to push boundaries and taboos. Misbehaving is departure from that deeply emotional, transgressive and  sometime traumatic series. Misbehaving a is modern-day Shakespearean romp, loosely based on "Much Ado about Nothing", that keeps all Reisz sense of humor and good deal of naughtiness.

Beatriz is on about to leave her  foster sister's wedding when she is given a last minute assignment by her editor to review a sex-position manual.  As sex-education blogger and adult toy reviewer she isn't terrible put out by this except for the fact that she is heading to this wedding without a boyfriend or even date. So Beatriz needs a wedding weekend sex-partner, and luckily for her college crush Ben is also flying solo.  Ben is the best-man and her sister's Claudia's fiance Henry's best friend since their college days. He has also been fascinated with Beatriz since they first met, but never made a move on her because Henry did want him to endanger his then new relationship with Claudia.  Sexy-times and nearly wedding derailing misunderstanding over a box of sex-toys ensue.

This was a fun, funny light romance about second chances at love, that was not light in character building and development.  I loved how real the characters felt, and how well developed their relationships and backgrounds were, something rarely found in a romp. For example Bea was born in El Salvador, but fled the political upheaval in that country as child and while she longs to return knows that is unlikely and that experience shapes her and her work as does Ben's back-story.

4.5 out 5 stars 

Publication Date Feb 11, 2014 Digital ARC provided via NetGalley for review purposes by Harlequin