A Mermaid's Ransom (Daughters of Arianne Book 3) by Joey W. Hill

I first discovered Joey W. Hill when she was actively writing her Nature of Desire series. I fell in love with her writing in that series - the characters, the emotions, and the trust she brought to the table in the relationships.

I have enjoyed her more mainstream books, but I've felt that they are missing the fire that was in her earlier books. After reading A Mermaid's Ransom I wondered if perhaps I'd imagined the difference, so I went back and read Rough Canvas again. I wasn't imagining it. The depth of character and emotion was better back then.

With that being said, I mostly enjoyed the story in A Mermaid's Ransom. It was a nice third book to the series. But was it a great book? Sadly, it was not.

While Alexis' character was drawn out in fairly good detail, I didn't really feel that I knew her. And I had a hard time seeing her as Jonah's daughter.

I did feel that we were given more of Dante, eventually. And I appreciated the fact that he wasn't just given a free pass, that he ended up being held accountable for his past actions. Even though part of me wanted to give him an excuse, a free pass. Ms. Hill did not, and I appreciate that.

Book Rating: A Mermaid's Ransom: 6 of 10

Series Rating: Daughters of Arianne: 8 of 10

1. A Mermaid's Kiss
2. A Witch's Beauty
3. A Mermaid's Ransom (Dec 2009)

Review: Branded Sanctuary (Nature of Desire book 7) by Joey W. Hill

Let me start out this review by saying I love Joey W. Hill's Nature of Desire series. After Rough Canvas, I didn't think a BDSM story could get any better - Rough Canvas had the need for submission, and the need for a submissive. It had the intense emotional connection that can happen between Master and submissive. And the scenes were smokin' hot. Rough Canvas was one of the best love stories I've ever read. Then I read Natural Law and, Oh my. Next I read Ice Queen and Mirror of My Soul and when I finished Mirror of my Soul I had to pick Ice Queen back up and start from the beginning. The story touched me in ways that can't be described.

So it is to be expected that when Ms. Hill finally found time to give us book seven of this series, that I read it the first opportunity I had.

First, let me say you should not read Branded Sanctuary until you've read Ice Queen and Mirror of my Soul. We first meet Brendan in those books, and there is much you won't understand in Branded Sanctuary if you haven't already met Brendan.

With that said, it is going to be very hard for me to talk about what I liked and disliked about Branded Sanctuary without putting some spoilers in. So if you haven't yet read Branded Sanctuary then you may want to stop reading here, just knowing that I give the writing a 10 of 10, but the story a 4 of 10, which is how I ended up with a Book Rating of 7 of 10.

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Second warning: There are spoilers past this point.

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Joey W. Hill can explain a submissive's mindset better than any other author I have ever read. Submissive people have a mind of their own that they are more than capable of using, they aren't stupid, they aren't worthless. They choose to gift their submission to someone they care for and respect. A healthy Dom/sub relationship involves a lot of feelings, and a whole lot of trust. The trust aspect was missing in this relationship, and that really bothers me - but the feelings were all there, times ten.

Chloe and Brendan both blew it in the trust department on several occasions, and I don't believe either did anything particularly noteworthy in order to prove themselves trustworthy once again. Brendan freaks and bails on Chloe emotionally once, and Chloe is about as untrustworthy of a Dom as I believe I've ever seen. And yet Brendan gives her complete trust. There is something broken in both of them, and I wanted to see them both healed. But I don't believe we saw that. I think Chloe is well on her way, but I'm not so sure about Brendan. I was made to care for these characters, and I wanted them to find peace and happiness.

As someone in the BDSM lifestyle, before I found my soul mate and married him, I met a few vanilla guys I liked and tried to make it work with them. It was a disaster. I cared for two of them deeply, but my needs were not being met and when I tried to tell them what I needed they couldn't handle it. I learned the hard way that a relationship between a vanilla and someone who is wired to be very un-vanilla just won't work in the long term. And so I can't bring myself to believe that Chloe and Brendan's story is one of Happily Ever After, but at best, Happy for Now. I understand that we are supposed to believe that Brendan is so submissive that he'll want whatever Chloe wants and will be fine just making her happy - but I just can't bring myself to believe he's never going to want to be flogged or spanked again, I can't believe he isn't going to miss the discipline of a Mistress who knows how to handle him, who knows how to give him those extreme sensations. I feel sad for Brendan that the woman he loves isn't going to be able to give him those things. Submissives have needs, too. Part of finding a relatonship that works for everyone means finding someone with needs the opposite of yours. If you like to be flogged, find someone who likes to flog. If you like to be bound, find someone who loves shibari. If you can't stand needles then stay away from the people who love to do needle play. Brendan can take a 10 of 10 on the pain threshold level, and it doesn't look like he's going to be getting anything worse than about a 2 or a 3 from now on, if that. I find that very sad. It's okay for a submissive to have needs that they want to make sure get met. I wish Brendan had healed enough to see that.

Here is the blurb:

Chloe has always been a creature of joy and laughter. Since a brutal attack nearly a year ago, the trauma she experienced has gotten worse. She has started hiding from her life, even putting up walls between herself and those she cares about most. During a panic attack one night, she impulsively calls a number that she’s had for many months. Chloe met Brendan at her boss’s wedding. With confidence and seduction, he easily steps into the role of helping her manage her fear. By the end of the long call, they’ve indulged in some serious flirtation and mind-blowing phone sex—and she’s feeling things she’s buried for too long.

The problem is that Brendan is the perfect male submissive—and Chloe isn’t wired for the D/s lifestyle. While their attraction is undeniable, Chloe doesn’t know if she can be everything Brendan needs. As a submissive, Brendan would never ask her to be something she’s not—even if it will break both of their hearts to turn away from how they feel about each other.

I know Branded Sanctuary wasn't written to be a tragedy, but I can't help but seeing it that way. I thought things were going to be okay when Chloe punished Brendan near the end, but then she has to apologize to him because she doesn't like to hurt him. That just tells us, the readers, that she doesn't have a clue what hurts him, she doesn't have a clue about what he needs. I just feel so sad for Brendan. Well, for both of them, actually, to be so in love with someone when the relationship is not going to be fulfilling for one of them.

So, as I said earlier. Joey W. Hill is an incredibly talented writer, and I give her writing a 10 of 10. But the story? The story only gets a 4 of 10, because I could only see tragedy in the ending, not the Happily Ever After that I thought I'd be seeing, based on the other books in this series. The book gets a 7 of 10, though I was tempted to give it a lower rating. I care for both of these characters, and I really wanted to see a happy ending for them.

Book Rating: Branded Sanctuary: 7 of 10

Nature of Desire Series
1. Holding the Cards
2. Natural Law
3. Ice Queen
4. Mirror of My Soul
5. Mistress of Redemption
6. Rough Canvas
7. Branded Sanctuary


You can see my ratings of the earlier books in this series here.

Book Covers: Tales of the Otherworld, Vampire Mistress, Dead in the Family

I wasn't terribly excited about the Men of the Otherworld book when it came out, and then I was pleasantly surprised by it. For that reason, I'm looking forward to Tales of the Otherworld when it is released on April 13.

The cover doesn't really tell us anything. It kind of looks like a younger girl, maybe a teen? Possibly Savannah? With that necklace it's likely one of the witches.

Here's the blurb for Tales of the Otherworld:

Have you ever wondered how lone wolf Clayton Danvers finally got bitten by the last thing he ever expected: love? Or how the hot-blooded bad-girl witch Eve Levine managed to ensnare the cold, ruthless corporate sorcerer, Kristof Nast in one of the Otherworld’s most unlikely pairings? Would you like to be a fly on the wall at the wedding of Lucas Cortez and Paige Winterbourne, as their eminently practical plans are gradually upended by their well-meaning friends? Or tag along with Lucas and Paige as they investigate a rather gruesome case that looks to be the result of a rogue vampire?

Now, Otherworld reader can share these moments with some of their favorite characters—as well as catching welcome glimpses into the minds of some of the lesser-known players. But even readers new to the Otherworld universe will find much to love in these seven tales of friendship, adventure, and enduring romance.

Anthology contains: Birthright, Beginnings, Ghosts, Expectations, Wedding Bell Hell, The Case of El Chupacabra and a new story narrated by Eve.

Vampire Mistress, the next Vampire Queen book by Joey W. Hill, is set to be released on May 4.

Here is the blurb for Vampire Mistress:

Sometimes desire works three ways...

Joey W. Hill returns to the dark and seductive landscape of her Vampire Queen novels as a desperate woman finds herself trapped between the desires of two men, each with his own mission of the night.

Gideon Green is a hardcore vampire hunter. But in the past year, his only family, his little brother, became a vampire queen’s servant – and then a vampire himself, giving Gideon a different view of the vampire world. Since Gideon’s sole purpose for over a decade has been killing vampires, the violence that has scarred his soul now haunts his conscience.

Then he crosses paths with sexy BDSM night club owner, Mistress Anwyn. Their connection is immediate and intense, but she has a silent partner--the vampire Daegan Rei. When Anwyn is viciously attacked and turned by a rogue vampire, Gideon and Daegan join to protect her through a dangerous transition. As the bonds between the three of them draw tighter, Gideon faces an unbelievable truth...that the path to meaning in his life may be found in surrendering to the desires and needs of two vampires.

Do I think I'll be reading Vampire Mistress as soon as it comes out? Ummm, yeah. I'm pretty sure I will. I first discovered Joey W. Hill with her Nature of Desire series, and I have to admit I've been a bit disappointed that she's chosen to be a bit more mainstream with her BDSM since then. This blurb sounds like she's returning to her roots. Maybe. You can read an excerpt of this book here. The excerpt just convinces me that much more of how much I'm going to want to read Vampire Mistress.

The 10th Sookie Stackhouse book will be called Dead in the Family and there is already a very nice blurb to give us an idea of what to expect:

Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. But all the other people in Sookie’s life – Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam – are having family problems. Eric’s maker shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place . . . or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives...

Sookie and Eric in a relationship? At last? Dead in the Family is due to be released May 4th, and that's way too long to wait for this one.

A Witch's Beauty (Daughters of Arianne Book 2) by Joey W. Hill

I didn't care much for the first book in this series, A Mermaid's Kiss. I hadn't actually intended to read A Witch's Beauty just yet, but it kind of fell into my lap. And I'm really glad it did. This is the Joey W. Hill that I fell in love with when I first read the Nature of Desire series. And this book even had an unexpected link back to that series. The kind of link that gives you goose bumps when you figure it out.... but I won't give spoilers by telling you what it is.

In this book I felt for David and Mina as I've felt for other characters written by Ms. Hill: Mac and Violet, Tyler and Marguerite, Marcus and Thomas. Characters with depth, with character. People who continue on, who have us cheering for them and hoping and hurting and loving right along with them, despite their faults, their baggage, their issues.

We met David and Mina in the first book, but we didn't really know them, understand who or what they were. Now? Now I feel that I know them both, inside and out. And what an unexpected turn of events, to go from the Mina and David of the previous book, to the Mina and David that exist at the end of this book? Wow.

Okay, before I blather on much more, here's the blurb:

Mina is Dark Spawn, half-mermaid, half Dark One. A sea witch who lives in the shadows, she is shunned by the merpeople. She seeks no friendships, however, no lasting relationships. Every day is about surviving, fighting the call of the dark blood within her, which demands she submit her ever-increasing powers to their cause. But Mina submits to no one. Until she meets David.

At thirty, David is one of the youngest angels in the Dark Legion, the angelic host dedicated to eliminating Dark Ones. Unlike many of his fellow angels who feel Mina-s death is inevitable, he believes her power can be used for good. When he entreats his commander to be assigned as her guardian against the Dark Ones, he also finds himself cast in the reluctant role of her executioner, if she turns to their cause.

The only problem is he is falling in love with the prickly sea witch. Which means he might risk the universe itself to turn her away from the darkness, and into his arms.

One thing I've noted is that while this series has a few elements of D/s, and A Witch's Beauty touched on pain as a control mechanism... these books are not BDSM, or even D/s.

I'm giving A Witch's Beauty a 10 of 10, and the series a 9 of 10. I didn't like A Mermaid's Kiss, but A Witch's Beauty was good enough that I don't regret reading the first book, as I had to have read the first book in order to understand the second. I'm looking forward to the third book, A Mermaid's Ransom, due out in December of this year.

Book Rating: 10 of 10
Series Rating: 9 of 10



1. A Mermaid's Kiss
2. A Witch's Beauty
3. A Mermaid's Ransom (Dec 2009)

A Mermaid's Kiss (Daughters of Arianne Book 1) by Joey W. Hill

I wanted to like this book. I really did.

I first discovered Joey W. Hill when I read her Nature of Desire series (my review). I loved those books. I've read some of them again and again.... Mac and Violet, Tyler and Marguerite, Marcus and Thomas. Mrs. Hill wrote those characters, and their stories, so well that I feel as if they are old friends. I feel as if I know them.

I was expecting something similar from this book, and I'm very sad to say I was disappointed.

I mean, I like Jonah and Anna, but I don't feel as if I know them. I wasn't drawn into the story, into their lives, as I was for Ms. Hills earlier works.

The story itself is kind of a remade fairy tale, and it was good in an Urban Fantasy sort of way. And the pacing was well done: action interspersed with talking, good stuff interspersed with bad stuff. So what was the problem? The inner dialogue and inner drama, I think, is what caused problems for me. It just didn't work for me, it seemed... I don't know.. forced? No, that isn't exactly the right word. Maybe... maybe it's that Mrs. Hill writes BDSM relationships so good, that a not-BDSM relationship is hard for her? There were elements of D/s in this book, but certainly no BDSM, and not really even D/s. I mean, sure, Anna considered herself as "belonging" to an angel, and she kind of gave herself over to Jonah, the complete trust in bed thing. But, most of the time Anna did whatever she wanted and went against what Jonah told her to do. She thought she knew better than him. And, most of the time, she really did know better than him. So, it wasn't a D/s relationship. Not really. Not even an "only in bed" D/s relationship, though it did skirt the edges of it.

I was pleased with the ending, and I'm curious about the next book, about Mina and David's story. I will likely read it, just not right now. Later, maybe.

I'm giving A Mermaid's Kiss a 6 of 10. Once again, I love Joey W. Hill's other writings, and it pains me to give one of her books a low rating. But this book just didn't work for me.

Book Rating: 6 of 10



1. A Mermaid's Kiss
2. A Witch's Beauty
3. A Mermaid's Ransom (Dec 2009)

Nature of Desire Series by Joey W. Hill

This is an incredible series. You don't expect BDSM erotica to have the level of character development and emotion and thought and, well, plot, as these books have.

And the scenes. My goodness, the way the scenes are put together, the way the Doms work the subs. BDSM is more mental than physical. Don't get me wrong, it is physical, but the mental is just as important, maybe more important. And these books have those elements. The physical is used as a doorway into the mental and emotional stuff.

But in between the heavy stuff we have light stuff. In Holding the Cards there is the scene on the beach making sand castles and sand sculptures, in Natural Law there is the picnic and the conversation in the car. The characters get to know each other outside of the scenes. That's important.

Series Rating 10 of 10

In Holding the Cards we see a damaged male submissive and an emotionally injured female Dominant find each other and get some healing in the process. And a friend who is there who also needs some healing manages to open his eyes, but we don't find out about that for another couple of books. This is a beautiful story on a private island surrounded by ocean.

Book Rating 8 of 10

Heat level 4 of 5

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In Natural Law we have an Alpha male who happens to be a sexual submissive, and a tiny female Dominant who is looking for a "pit bull" of a submissive. The Alpha male in the story happens to be a detective who is investigating a series of "S&M Murders". This is one of my favorite BDSM books.

Book Rating 10 of 10

Heat Level 5 of 5

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Ice Queen and Mirror of my Soul have to be read together. Two characters we've met earlier in the series, both Doms, kind of get thrown together. This is a very deep story. The BDSM is intense, but there are other elements even more intense. It's first and foremost a story of people and pain and healing and connections. The BDSM isn't the biggest part of the story (though, make no mistake, the BDSM is huge, can't be anything else with Tyler involved). This is another of my all time favorites.

Book Rating 10 of 10

Heat Level 5 of 5

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I did not like Mistress of Redemption. I love Joey W. Hill, but this is one book I'd have done just as well without reading. I'm not really big on non-consensual BDSM, even when the asshole deserves worse than he's getting. So, the story was good, but I just couldn't get into some of it. Others might be fine with it, but it worked against my psyche.

Book Rating 4 of 10

Heat Level 5 of 5

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But then we get to Rough Canvas. Oh. My. Goodness. This book is hot. It's two gay guys, so if that's not your thing then this one's not for you. But the love between them, and the Dom/sub dynamic, and the creative things Marcus does. Wow. The BDSM is heavy (and creative) in places, but this is a story about two men who love each other.

Book Rating 10 of 10

Heat Level 5 of 5

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1. Holding The Cards
2. Natural Law
3. Ice Queen
4. Mirror of My Soul
5. Mistress of Redemption
6. Rough Canvas

The author says she has plans for at least two more books in this series.