Review: Darker Edge of Desire: Gothic Tales of Romance - Edited by Mitzi Szereto

Darker Edge of Desire: Gothic Tales of Romance

Edited by Mitzi Szereto 

Foreward by Kate Douglas, author of the Wolf Tales series 

Afterword by Rachel Caine, author of the Morganville Vampire series

ISBN: 978-1-940550-00-8

Published on the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2014 

 Love, passion and sex…it’s all here in Darker Edge of Desire.

Gothic literature has always possessed a dark attraction ripe with the promise of the forbidden and the sensual. In Darker Edge of Desire, Mitzi Szereto takes the sexualized Gothic and ratchets it up a few notches into the danger zone, opening the door into the darker side of lust and love that only the courageous dare to venture through. Venturing even further into the world of mystery and romance than she did in the critically acclaimed Red Velvet and Absinthe, Szereto creates an atmosphere with a distinct Gothic flavor where we explore our more forbidden desires. In these tales, love and lust (and kink!) know no boundaries, and all nature of beings—from vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, ghosts, succubae—abound.

Tread carefully, danger and desire lie ahead!

I wasn't really sure what I was expecting with this book but I really enjoyed it! It was definitely dark and sexy! Mitzi Szereto definitely knows her stuff when it comes to Gothic erotica. I didn't really think I could get into erotica involving vampires, werewolves, and the like but the way these writers unfolded these short stories really drew me in. 

My favorite story was by Mitzi. I loved reading about the trip to Transylvania; a place I've often dreamed about visiting myself. The two locals she meets and the adventure she has with them was also very steamy and sexy. And there's an unexpected twist that left me a little speechless. I wasn't sure whether to be turned on or terrified! It was definitely a once in a lifetime sort of trip that made me want a cigarette at the end! 

Reynold's Tale by Adrian Ludens also stood out to me because of a character who very closely resembles Edgar Allan Poe. VERY CLOSELY. I definitely would not have imagined that sort of scenario for a this character but it was intriguing. The only thing that bothered me is the fact that I never found out what the secret was Reynolds whispers in Poe's ear. 

If you're into the darker side of life, or are looking to expand your reading horizons and try something new, I recommend this book. These tales are sexy enough to have you craving the lights off but are spooky enough to have you thinking about turning on a night light. 

Happy New Year Book Rant

Happy New Year. 
Lieutenant Dan's face is pretty much how I feel right now about the new  year. 

I'm trying to be as incredibly optimistic as all the assholes on my social media feeds who are posting narcissistic "selfies" (what a horrible "word" added to the dictionary, by the way) of themselves getting ready to go out and get so trashed that they forget about all those resolutions of how they're going to be a better version of themselves in the new year. All these "millenials" who are finally old enough to drink are at the bar drinking themselves deeper and deeper into their delusions of entitlement. 

All the while, I'm getting grumpier and grumpier by the second. I've tried to distract myself by doing some writing on this bullshit I call a book and it's not working. Something was bothering me and I wasn't sure what it was until I got on Bloglovin' and started perusing other book blogs. I came across this Perpetual Page Turner End of the Year Survey on Cuddlebuggery.com where I saw a comment about Fifty Shades of Grey which lead me to this Review of Fifty Shades of Grey which summed up my feelings on that book so well that I thought I was Pennsatucky for a minute. 

And then it hit me. That's what's bothering me. From the book blogs to GoodReads to Amazon, I keep seeing these damn books that are thinly veiled mimics of Fifty Shades of Grey and that sparkly vampire shit Twilight. Billionaire abusive assholes who prey upon "plain" looking, insecure girls because they have some tortured past does not a book make. Oh, but as an author I can fix all of that by making him good-looking. You'll forget every single one of his negative traits and abusive behaviors as soon as I describe his chiseled jaw and washboard abs. You'll loose all of your cognitive senses and be hypnotized by him. 

Shut up. Just shut up. I seriously cannot deal with this level of bullshit. Emotional abuse and manipulation is never okay. Being good looking does not excuse that. Can please all remember that Ted Bundy was a good looking guy? 

I LOVE reading. I LOVE writing. But I REALLY hate this new trend I've noticed in popular books. It's shit. Pure shit. And more shit. And this is probably not a popular opinion and will probably alienate some people from this blog but that's okay. I'd rather be honest and have 1 reader than be fake and have a lot of readers. I am TIRED of vampires. I am TIRED of werewolves. I am TIRED of billionaires. I am TIRED of whiny, anorexic, hypocritical bitches who manage to land themselves as the lead of one of those shit stories. Not every book I read has to change my life. I sometimes read purely for entertainment. That being said, I want to be entertained not verbally assaulted by terrible writing. Is that too much to ask? 

Is anyone else suffering from an overload of book bullshit or is it just me?