Lisabet Sarai

In book 2 of the Toymakers Guild trilogy, engineer Gillian Smith belongs to a secretive, selective guild that only admits highly intelligent, open-minded, and sexually free people into the fold. Gillian has been with the guild for a few months, but she’s already been promoted to an esteem position and is tasked with contracting a potential new client who wants some sexual toys and the like created for a prominent London brothel. Gillian is more than up to the task, but her personal life soon clashes with what’s good for the guild and lands her in trouble.
I haven’t read the first book in the series, but I had no trouble following along with this one. Gillian is a great character. Her sexual adventure and lifestyle are entertaining and full of intrigue, pitfalls, heartache, and even love. This erotic romance veers more toward erotica than romance, however, so there isn’t a HEA or even a hero or second heroine to complement Gillian’s character. It’s truly Gillian’s story about desire, self-discovery, and finding family and acceptance. There are MF, MFM, MM, FF, and more couplings, so there’s no end to the variety of situations Gillian and her various partners find themselves in. Even though Rafe, a fellow journeyman, is set up to be her romantic love interest, I kept rooting for her to fall for Master Edward or the duke, Roderick, who happened to be the villain in the previous book. I always love stories that feature villains who turn over a new leaf, so I was a big fan of Roderick.
I enjoyed the story a lot, but the sheer number of sex scenes, while super hot and compelling, slowed the pacing a little. The description, detail, and language firmly set the story in late Victorian England, which was wonderful, and Ms. Sarai definitely knows her fair share about engineering to have given life to all the ingenious contraptions and inventions in her story.
If you like to read books that feature a strong female lead who’s not afraid to be herself and have lots of fun, sweaty romps, then I recommend you check out The Journeyman’s Trial. I’m more than interested to know what will happen next for Gillian and the rest of the guild.
5 Stars
… (mere)

Shania Williams is heading home after a long day at work when she feels an uncontrollable need to head to the park and check on her feral cat trap. There she finds a gorgeous black tom in the cage. She takes him home with every intention on taking to the animal shelter in the morning, but as she sleeps, the cat somehow escapes her apartment.

Tom the Cat is drawn to the kind woman who tried to help him, so he returns to her in his human form. The pain he’s endured is heartbreaking, and if his cruel mistress finds him, he might lose his first chance at true love and happiness.

What a great book! I absolutely adore cats (I have a black kitty myself), so I knew I’d enjoy this story from the get-go. Shaina and Tom were wonderful together. The sex scenes were both scorching and romantic. It’s told only in Shania’s POV, first person, but I got to know Tom very well through her perspective.

If you’re looking for a new shifter book that doesn’t feature the usual wolves and big cats, give The Eyes of Bast a try. It’s a fun, fast-paced erotic romance sure to entertain.

5 Stars… (mere)