Review - DARK DESIRES: KEPT by D. Cristiana

Dark Desires: Kept
by D. Cristiana
Publisher: DelSin Publishing
Release Date: January 13, 2012

Leah and Kiyoshi have been inseparable since they were children. As best friends they turned into lovers and eventually soul mates. Life was beautifully simple until Kiyoshi had to go back to Japan and become heir to the same aristocratic family that disowned his mother over 20 years before for marrying his American father.

Even though Kiyoshi brings Leah to Japan with him, the distance between them is growing ever wider. Confused, lonely, and abandoned, Leah runs away from her beloved, only to have Kiyoshi catch her and force her back into her pretty cage. Soon familiar arguments turn into blazing passion as they seek to find their way back home in one another’s arms. . .

WARNING: This 8,000 word short story is intended for open-minded adults. Crude language and explicit descriptions of sexual acts are contained within.

I’m not normally a fan of short stories but I loved this one. I had a sense that something wasn’t quite right the whole time I was reading Dark Desires: Kept and that pulled me through this strange love story. 

The glimpse into Leah and Kiyoshi’s childhood was revealing. Kiyoshi takes on a bossy dominant role very early in their friendship and Leah does everything possible to make him happy. Their plans of marriage are put on hold when Kiyoshi is summoned back to Japan to take over the family business. When there are no more heirs left to take over, the forgotten son is summoned home. He has always disliked his Japanese family but duty and honor leave him no choice. He takes Leah with him but she is immediately homesick. Kiyoshi keeps her in a separate apartment as if she was his concubine. She feels like his dirty secret and arguments ensue every time they are together. Kiyoshi assures Leah that soon they will be able to live together again but she has to be patient with him. But Leah runs away from him time and time again. 

When Kiyoshi is gone for long periods of time the tether holding her to him begins to fray and Leah begins to wander away. It’s as if Leah disconnects from their co dependant relationship and her mind starts to unravel. She rages at him and begs him to take her back to America. But of course he cannot leave. He is both domineering and loving as he tries to calm Leah and make her see reason. The domination seems to calm her and she is appeased for a short while. But eventually her flight response is re-awakened and Kiyoshi must make time to calm her with his love words. 

The sex scenes are exquisite and the couple’s relationship is extremely emotional. D. Cristiana does an excellent job of expressing their deep love for one another through her writing. I was in love with the ending because of the mystifying subtext that was pervasive throughout this love story. As always this author amazes me with her uncanny ability to weave beautiful love stories around unusual characters and unconventional situations. Dark Desires: Kept is one of my favorite short stories from the mind of D. Cristiana/Claudia D. Christian.

Review: FORBIDDEN by Tabitha Suzuma

Forbidden
by Tabitha Suzuma
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June 28, 2011

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. The stress of their lives has brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love, and as the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

I don’t read a lot of YA books and when I do I almost never review them. But after reading Forbidden, I feel like I have to say something about it. This book was so dark and depressing and slow paced that you would think it would be an instant “Do Not Finish”. This was absolutely NOT the case with this novel. 

Forbidden is the story of two teenagers who are forced to take care of their three younger siblings after being abandoned first by their father and then eventually by their alcoholic mother. The story is told in alternating points of view by seventeen –year-old, Lochan and sixteen -year-old, Maya. For the last four years, Lochan and Maya have been raising thirteen year old, Kit; six –year-old, Tiffin; and five- year-old, Willa. In order to keep child protective services off their backs, Lochan and Maya become surrogate parents and cover up for their absent mother’s negligent behavior. They do all of this while still managing to attend school and maintain stellar grades. Lochan is on track to graduate at the top of his class and get accepted into University. He plans to go to college close by so that he can continue to help Maya with the younger kids. But with all the stress involved with his adult responsibilities, Lochan has developed a social anxiety disorder that shatters his self-esteem. 

Maya seems as well adjusted as she can be with the added responsibilities of raising younger siblings. She has a best friend to talk to but isn’t really able to express her innermost thoughts to her as she feels the only person she can truly trust is her older brother. Middle child, Kit brings even more stress to the family with his teenage angst and acts of rebellion. Having to take on the parental roles of mother and father to their younger siblings has made Lochan and Maya very close. They have both always held more feelings towards each other than just siblings. They feel more like best friends, like soul mates.

“Out of the millions and millions of people inhabiting this planet, he is one of the tiny few I can never have. And this is something I must accept -- even if, like acid on metal, it is slowly corroding me inside.” ~ Maya

Lochan and Maya are both confused and conflicted about these feelings for one another. The latter part of the book has the two just exploring their feelings for one another with stolen kisses and caresses. They profess their love for each other and acknowledge that what they are doing is illegal but eventually convince themselves that as long as they keep their love a secret and don’t actually have sex with each other then they aren’t hurting anyone. They vow to not reveal their secret feelings until the younger siblings are adults. Then they planned to run away together and live as a couple out in the open.  This new arrangement seems to give the two some peace of mind until one weekend they find themselves alone with the house to themselves. Their careful plan begins to quickly unravel when their mother comes home un-expectantly.

“We are being punished by the world for one simple reason: for being produced by the same woman.” ~ Lochan

The whole novel was heart wrenching but the last chapters broke my heart and had me sobbing. I wasn’t just sad for the doomed lovers but the whole family and the injustice of their situation. Tabitha Suzuma has written an incredible novel full of emotional turmoil and struggle. The children are broken and the mom was the least likable character I’ve read in awhile. You will connect with all the characters and want them to overcome their horrendous circumstances to get their happily ever after. I’m still feeling shattered and heartbroken after reading Forbidden. 

Review: THE KING'S PLEASURE by Kitty Thomas

The King’s Pleasure
by Kitty Thomas
Publisher: Burlesque Press
Release Date: December 17, 2011
Source: Review copy from Author

In the kingdom of Himeros, Abigail is despised for her gypsy heritage. Pushed to the fringes of society, she’s forced to break the law in order to help feed her family. When a castle guard catches her stealing bread, he intends to cut off her hand for the offense.

Niall has just taken the throne and is determined to prove he isn’t a monster like his father. Awakened by the cries of a gypsy, he spares her from the guard’s blade and takes her as his slave instead. When he learns she doesn’t understand the kingdom’s carnal ways, he becomes determined to strip her of all inhibitions until her every desire is in service to the king’s pleasure.

* This book contains master/slave, group sexual activity, mild sadomasochism, oral and anal play, exhibitionism, and voyeurism.*

The King’s Pleasure is the third novella in Kitty Thomas’ erotic fairy tale collection. This novella was my favorite one out of all of them. It pushed every one of my dark, erotic, kinky buttons.

I know I’m in for a sexy treat when opening up a Kitty novel. I almost always love her heroes and this story was no exception. Niall was a dominant & dangerous hero with a soft spot for his slave. Abby was a strong heroine who would endure anything to prove her love and loyalty to her master. 

Living her whole life on the fringes of the kingdom, Abby is ignorant of the hedonistic culture of the King’s court. After deciding to take Abby as his slave, Niall begins to teach her the carnal ways of the Himeros society. She gets indoctrinated into the sexually open culture of the kingdom rather quickly as guests start arriving to court and preparations are made for the weekend feasts and festival. And, oh my! What a wicked, sexy festival! Once night falls, children and citizens not wanting to participate in the evening’s orgies leave and the debauchery begins. The author joked that she must have been on horny drugs when she wrote the scene and I think she was! It’s a very intense erotic scene with lots of dirty explicit activities going on.

Shortly after the festival the story takes a dark turn when seeds of doubt are planted in Niall’s mind regarding Abby’s intentions. The latter half of the novella is a bit alarming and tortuous and my heart went out to Abby. I was so caught up in the emotional whirlwind that I worried about how the story would end. 

This was another amazing story from the beautifully erotic imagination of Kitty Thomas. The King’s Pleasure is highly recommended for every erotica fan who likes their stories a little dark and their boundaries pushed.