Call Me Wicked by Jamie Sobrato

Someone wants Lauren Parish dead, just because she happens to a witch. Unfortunately her most recent lover Carson McCullen manages to show up at exactly the wrong time. While her world doesn’t approve of witches taking mortal lovers, Lauren is forced to take Carson with her, otherwise the witch hunters would kill him to get to her. Now forced to hide in a safe house, Lauren must remain celibate despite the hot guy with all the right moves sharing her room. Now assuming Lauren manages to escape the witch hunters, will she be able to protect Carson from the killers in her world?

While this story is a bit on the dark side, it was still enjoyable. Definitely worth reading for anyone who likes both Blaze and paranormals.

Details: Blaze #238, June 2007

Excellence Rating: Very Good

Steaminess Factor: yummy

A Whisper of Wanting by Jamie Sobrato

When Ethan Ramsey stumbled onto a bottle of something that supposedly guaranteed crazy-passion-hot-sex-multiple-orgasms, he didn’t plan on testing it on himself. He just wanted to drop it at the police lab and move on. Little did he know he’d run into the Nicole Arroyo, a girl he desperately wanted, but couldn’t have. Nicole never wanted to see Ethan again after his failure to perform, but for some reason she was overcome with an urge to drag him into bed. But when a killer from her past returns and threatens to kill her and Ethan, it makes sense to stick together. Now will Nicole have the strength to resist her urges or will she and Ethan fall victim to Lust Potion #9?

This is a cute story with hot characters and plenty of action. Adding in a bit of danger makes things even more interesting. The sex between the two is definitely hot, and I liked how Jamie worked in the bit about the forgotten condom. This is a great read and a must buy for any Blaze reader.

Details: Blaze #284, October 2006

Bottom line: A great book

The Sex Quotient by Jamie Sobrato

Macy Thomaston holds the key to landing the job of creative director at her advertising agency, an unpublished medical study proving that orgasms lead to a temporary loss of brain power. When her competition, Griffin Reed invites her to Las Vegas to study the hotel which is the focus of their next project, Macy decides to pull out all stops and have sex with Griffin until he becomes a babbling idiot. The only hitch in her plan is that she can’t have an orgasm; not even a little one. Now can Macy pull this off or will she end up or will she be the one losing IQ points and the promotion.

A member of the It’s All About Attitude collection, this is definitely one hot book. After working on some chapters for the Blaze Writers Round Robin, I was really looking forward to reading this book and it didn’t disappoint. It’s filled with lots of sex and sexual tension. Though I didn’t like the way the story ended for Macy’s friend, Lauren :( . So I’m hoping I'll be reading her story in the not too distant future :) .

Details: Blaze #266, July 2006

Bottom line: A very good book

Once Upon a Seduction by Jamie Sobrato

Skye Ellison’s day goes into the dumper when her ex-boyfriend’s landlord visits her at work and gets her fired - exactly what she needs shortly after her ex-boyfriend disappeared with her entire savings account. Then Skye learned that her ex also ripped off his landlord, the famous racecar driver, Nico Valetti. Together they decide to try track down her ex and before long they’re headed to Vegas. While Skye found Nico fun both in and out of bed, she knew they were never meant to be together – or were they?

One of the challenges for a guy trying to write romance is trying to understand out the different types of romance novels. One of the types that I’ve been trying to understand is chick-lit. I’ve read a few single title books from time to time and thought I was beginning to understand what chick-lit was all about. So when I saw the tag line, “Chick-lit, Blaze-style!” I knew I had to read it.

From what I understand, chick-lit is a book typically written in first person from the heroine’s point of view, with a down on her luck heroine. The heroine typically has some offbeat job, a collection of wacky friends and it doesn’t have the traditional happily ever after ending. Based on those characteristics, Jamie’s book isn’t chick-lit. While the heroine is somewhat down on her luck, none of these other attributes applies. On the other hand, if you judge the book by the usual Blaze romance standards, you have a very good story with an interesting heroine and hero.

Details: Blaze #237, March 2006

Bottom line: A very good book