Author:Serena Shay
Source: Author request
Genre: Paranormal, Erotic
Length: 60 pgs
Release Date: 06/20/2011
Conleth “Cole” Douglas, warlock and vessel, needs a miracle. A destructive force has taken hold of his town and it will take more than just he and his magical Other, Cole, to eradicate the Evil. When an attempt to open his lover, Emterra, to their shared destiny fails, Conleth and Cole take extreme measures to stop the rising darkness. Their only option: take it, and themselves, into another realm.
Emterra “Irene” Azzurra, untapped witch and vessel, has given up on finding her own happy-ever-after. Devastated by the loss of her one and only love she becomes disinterested and remote, closed off from a life without Conleth. Even her job as the mayor of the dying town of Douglasville, MO, fails to sustain her, until she gets a blast from the past…
The Return
He’s back, alive and whole, but he didn’t come alone. The evil they’d hoped to contain in a distant realm has returned with him and is out to finish the job it started. There can be no failure this time, the now middle-aged, Emterra must accept her Other or doom the town to an agonizing death.
Skeptical of his sudden homecoming, Emterra is afraid to hope that his return could be true. She balks at the idea of opening her heart to him again. Especially when he looks like the same young Goth from ten years ago and tries to convince her she’s sharing skin with a magical being.
Can Conleth prove his claims of magic and the Others to be true? Can Emterra allow herself to believe in love and his wild claims? Or will the returning Evil finally swallow this town and all its inhabitants into the deepest realms of hell.
I'm not sure where to start for this review. I have mixed feelings. Overall, it was a good read, but I had a few issues that didn't work me. First, let me try to make it easier to understand. The characters are Conleth, Cole, Emterra and Irene. Conleth and Emterra are real people, Cole and Irene are their "Others". Conleth needs Emterra's help to defeat the evil that almost took over the town 10 years ago. They are the only ones that can do it , but Emterra has to accept the Other inside her first. With the little time Conleth has to convince a very skeptical Emterra that she has the power within to do the job, it still might not be soon enough.
Before I say what issues I had with this short story let me say that I think the author's writing is a great start and knowing that it will improve over time and future writings I look forward to reading more. With that being said here we go. The details where juicy and delicious and never crammed so it flowed very nicely, but introducing a multiple personality character can be tricky to begin with. Maybe a short story isn't the time to do it. I was just getting to know the main character when suddenly I was reading another name. I thought it was a misprint at first because they each talked about themselves in the first person interchangeably and the names were similar. Which is understandable, but WHAT?
This is strictly a personal preference, but I'm not a fan of characters sharing there minds with another person or being inside their head. It's confusing and hard for me to get into especially during a sex scene. No matter the good stuff, and there was good stuff. When you have a third or fourth party bumping around in the way that's too many heads for the pot. Now, the more hands the better, but you shouldn't have to argue with the "Other" in your head for control of your body especially during making out! I think the part where the story lost me was when Cole took over Conleth to help Emterra relax sexually so Irene could break through Emterra's mental barriers. Conleth, who couldn't feel to enjoy the moment, had to unwillingly watch himself, with Cole in charge, get Emterra off.
Like I said the good stuff was there and the short story is still worth taking a break to read, but when Conleth lost his control to Cole and Emterra lost hers to Irene that blew it for me. I was just getting into the scene and accepting the whole "Other" concept when suddenly Conleth talks about not being able to experience Em's pleasure with her. How does he think she would feel if she knew it wasn't the man she pined over for the last ten years touching her, technically speaking. I recently read another book, I won't mention the name, but it was by an established author from an ongoing series where that scenario was part of the story. It is still one of my least favorite books of the series.
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