Dream lover - book discontinued by Cleis Press Inc. - review by hybridinsurge

I really enjoy paranormal romance. This anthology of seventeen short stories (two-hundred and forty-two pages in all) was no exception. They dealt with many different types of paranormal lovers. You have the standard werewolves and vampires but also ghosts, fairies, mermen, sorcerers, angels, demons, gargoyles and more. Thank goodness for that, because I have been getting sick of vampire and werewolf romance. I found the variety extremely refreshing.

I love the variety in the types of paranormal species, however, there is not much variety in the erotica itself. If you are looking for homosexual erotica or heavy BDSM erotica, then this is not the book for you. All of the sex scenes, while enjoyable to read, are fairly tame. They suited my tastes, but other readers may be left wanting. There were a number of detailed descriptions of oral sex being performed on female protagonists that I enjoyed.

The writing itself was pretty good all around, considering the genre. I did not notice any major grammatical errors or typos, which can not be said for all published romance novels. The stories were all very easy to follow. They had just enough plot sprinkled in with the sex scenes. There was a fair amount of range in plot types from creepy to adorable, romantic to depressing. A few of the stories used the 'long lost amnesiac lover' or 'long lost reincarnated lover' plot lines, which are just a major pet peeve of mine. For the most part, the stories have happy endings with the characters falling in love after knowing each other for a matter of hours. Realistic? No, but they may leave you with a satisfying fuzzy feeling.

I liked reading these stories by myself and with my BF to get warmed up for partner or solo play. I think the book serves both purposes well. The stories are all about twelve to fifteen pages long, which is short enough for my BF not to get TOO distracted while reading one aloud.

My favorite short stories from the collection included: Devil's Food, Rainmaker, Freeing the Demon, Moongirl Meets the Wolfman and Thief of Dreams. I am curious to see which stories other readers preferred, so please feel free to let me know.

This book is still a favorite! My boyfriend really enjoyed reading 'Succubus Comes Home' aloud to me. What a nice bed time story. I would still recommend this to fans of paranormal romance, or just romance!