Fish and Ghosts

Title: Fish and Ghosts

Author: Rhys Ford

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Publisher URL: www.dreamspinnerpress.com

ISBN/BIN: 978-1-62798-416-4

Genre: {M/M} Contemporary Paranormal Series

Rating: 4.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Dragon Minx

While growing up, the estate owned by his uncle is where Tristan found refuge and when he inherited it, his family wasn’t happy. Since childhood, Tris has seen ghosts. He’s now the estate caretaker, helping spirits move through the halls of Hoxne Grange and onto their destination in the afterlife. It’s a good life except for his meddling family who think he’s nuts. Now he has to agree to a paranormal investigator to prove the Grange isn’t haunted.

Wolf Kincaid takes his job of debunking everything supernatural very seriously. When he arrives at the Grange, he doesn’t expect to find anything more than another con job. Is he for a surprise? Not only is Wolf attracted to its sexy owner but it’s obvious on the first night that something otherworldly is going on. Then his assistants accidently release a serial killer. Wolf’s years of skepticism are at war with what he sees and feels. Can they defeat the evil trying to destroy them? Can he make a life with Tris work?

Fish and Ghosts is the first book in the new paranormal series, Hellsinger by Rhys Ford. It’s an entertaining read with a creative premise I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s also funny, quirky, has vivid description and some great characters with wonderful personalities and lots of action. Tristan and Wolf are great together and the bantering dialogue gave me more than a couple of chuckles. The relationship of our two guys is pretty balanced within all the ghostly problems and their physical attraction is steamy.

It’s a ghost story after all, so how many twists can you expect? Chuckle. Plenty. There are surprises, both with the ghosts and in the personal lives of the Wolf and Tristan, so anticipate to keep those pages turning. I also like the secondary characters, especially Wolf’s mom—she’s a hoot, and the Grange is a wonderful locale, rich in history and beauty. I wish we could have met Uncle Mortimer’s ghost. Oh well, maybe in the future. 

Yes, there are a few little inconsistencies and dangling threads but I enjoyed Fish and Ghosts so much that I don’t even care. I can’t wait to see what happens with this unique series next. Watch for it. I will be.

What Are You Wearing?

Title: What Are You Wearing?
Author: Iona Blair
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
Publisher URL: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/
ISBN: 978-1-60313-823-9
Genre: {M/F} {F/F) Erotica, Suspense, Adultery, Controversial
Rating: 2 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Goddess Minx

Meredith, an older woman unhappy with her marriage and her job as a realtor, has resorted to calling a telephone sex line for temporary relief of her sexual frustration. For a better life, Meredith knows she needs to make some changes but doesn’t know where to start. Her main focus is on getting an old mansion sold as soon as possible and the local media’s constant reminder of the death in the house is only making it more difficult.

At present, Meredith’s biggest problem is her sex-addicted husband and his perverted and bizarre demands. She finds herself unsatisfied by him and finally starts to seek pleasure in younger men. When she is confronted by one of her lovers, who wants more from her even though he knows she is married, things take a turn for the worst. When Meredith finds herself being kidnapped, she realizes that she should have done more to discourage the unwanted attention and been more careful in achieving her own needs.

What Are You Wearing? is a bizarre story of women who are sex-starved or never had a clear understanding of what making love was about. These women find themselves in situations brought on by their own making, and some of the scenes described were a little too much for me. When Meredith’s husband is making his demands of her, I could only think…damn. Did he really think she would keep doing what he wanted after twenty years of marriage and never say NO to him? I was very proud of her after the last episode of being forced to have sex and the threat to harm her, if she didn’t cooperate.

This definitely went down the path of sexual abuse and while Ms. Blair expressed a very descriptive behavior of how people can become obsessed with sex, it was rather unsettling, to put it mildly. There really was no plot, other than the young man’s belief that Meredith belonged to him and the kooks who were persistent in buying the house. If you are looking for a lot of phone sex or abuse sex, this is the book for you.