Dream lover - erotic fiction by Cleis Press Inc. - review by Tuesday

Kristina Wright is a writer and editor who also teaches college courses. Her first book, Fairy Tale Lust, was nominated for a Reader's Choice award by RT Book Reviews. She is also the winner of the Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense.

Dream Lovers is classified as a romance novel, yet it seems to fit within the subgenres of paranormal romance or erotic romance also. The seventeen short stories in this book each involve two main characters. Either one or both characters is not human or a non-human force compels the actions of the human characters except in one case which involves telepathy.

The theme of a strong male character aggressively pursuing a female character who sometimes resists, but wants physical intimacy as much as he does, is present in many of the stories. The female always gives in and is blown away with how fantastic the experience is.

Flowery descriptions of the sexual encounters appear in many of the stories: for example, this one from Freeing the Demon:

She sobbed in frustration, thrusting frantically against him, and he raised her again until his hardness teased, stroked, licked at her, flooding her with wetness and sensation.

"Love Resurrection" - A woman is happily seduced by a poet's ghost and takes extreme actions to keep seeing him.

"Dreaming by the Sea" - A woman's former suitor finds her and seduces her forcefully, but there's a twist.

"Devil's Food" - A fairy seduction.

"The Rainmaker" - A woman saves the day and ends a drought through sex.

"Shattered Belle" - A woman and a priest with a surprise ending.

"Living off Lovers" - A story that initially seems to be about voyeurism, but progresses into a twisted tale about ghost lovers in an apartment building and the current residents.

"Where the Heart is" - Love with a half feral man.

"Freeing the Demon" - A gargoyle takes care of a hooker's problem clients then becomes her lover.

"Old-Fashioned Glamor" - A witch must choose between keeping her charms and protections or being with the lover she desires.

"Moongirl Meets Wolfman" - Were people find each other.

"Vanilla" - A woman telepathically feels the pleasure her lab partner feels kneading cookie dough. Never mind that he has just told her how good kneading dough feels before her telepathic revelation. This works into both characters feeling physical pleasure.

"For Humans, Love is all About Weight" - A woman experiences ecstasy and warm love with a magical bird man.

"Succubus Comes Home" - A powerful female succubus sleeps with a conquest who turns out to be her best friend and perfect incubus love match.

"Folly" - A woman is drawn to a stone man, releases him from stone, is rewarded with a night of blissful passion, then must go to great lengths to save his life.

"Lust as Old as Us" - A loving, kindhearted vampire waits for a woman to fulfill her dream of having a husband and children before inviting her to join him in vampirehood. This vampire is not evil and this is actually a sweet, engaging story.

"The Eye of the Pearl" - Magical creatures - are they flying gladiators? acrobatic demon slayers? - fall in love in the most athletic tale in the book. Take home lesson: Don't underestimate women.

"Thief of Dreams" - Nicely written story about a fallen angel and how his life must intertwine, but happily so, with that of the woman he protects. This story offers non-vanilla sex.

On the whole this is a good collection for those who enjoy romance writing.

This is an oversize paperback novel of 234 pages with an introduction by the editor and a forward by erotic romance writer and best selling author Megan Hart.

The front cover shows an attractive man and woman who appear to be about to kiss in a smoky, foggy backdrop. The back cover shows a darkened version of the same photo with a paragraph to entice you about what the book contains and several recommendation quotes.