PARADOX

 

An ENE Review of two novellas:
Fly with a Dragon by Rosemary Laurey
Heart of a Raven by JC Wilder

 

Reviewed by JZ Sharpe

 
What's better than one good novella? How about two?
 
Paradox is a pair of erotic fantasy novellas: Fly with a Dragon by Rosemary Laurey, and Heart of a Raven, by JC Wilder. Both authors have written erotic fantasy before, but here they've paired up to create reading that's definitely meant to be enjoyed back to back.
 
Fly with a Dragon is the story of Myfanwy, a young woman who is about to be sacrificed to the dragons, in return for all the usual rewards a human sacrifice brings. However, she discovers, much to her great surprise and eventual delight, that the dragons in her neighborhood have received a bad rap over the years. Arragh, the dragon of her destiny, turns out to be more than she ever expected. If a dragon falls in love with a girl, can she return that affection?
 
Heart of a Raven also concerns improbable love, although the love interest in this tale is decidedly more human. Dani, born into poverty, becomes part of the payment in her father's gambling debt and, although it seems like a horrid turn of events at the time, it soon becomes her lucky break. She is adopted by an aristocratic household, and soon catches the eye of the household's head, Lord Haaken. In fact, he thinks she may be the One to break the curse, for if he can find his true love, he will not be relegated to life as a raven during daylight hours. Is Dani truly the One? Even she finds it a difficult role to accept.
 
If you love fantasy with an erotic vein as much as I do, you'll love this pair of novellas - and they really must come as a pair, although they are two unrelated stories. They share several traits, including some shapeshifting as an integral part of the story, and (of course), some well-written sex scenes. They both read like fine old legends! I have but one wish: that both books could be developed into full-fledged novels, especially Fly with a Dragon. This story seemed to stop just as it was truly getting started. Many fantasy writers can get entire trilogies out of a single story line, and I'm sure that could be done with both these titles.
 
Wow, I sure do love a good fantasy yarn - and these stories reminded me of that fact! If you do, too, get them both under one cover in Paradox.
 

Paradox is available at LTD Books

 

For the past five years, JZ Sharpe has been making up for the time she lost in a 20-year writer's block. She lives in the Pennsylvania mountains, where most of her friends and coworkers would be shocked and amazed by her secret life as a writer of erotica and science fiction. JZ Sharpe is a regular contributor to ENE. You can also find her work at About's Amateur Erotica, Adult Story Corner, Biblio Eroticus, Blood Moon Zine , Dare , Erotica Readers Association, HotErotica.Com and Scarlet Letters . Get lashed by the Sharpe Tongue.

 
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