Destiny's Slaves

by Marilyn Lee

The Talisman The last thing Cassy Thompson and Chandler Raven expected was to find themselves battling a mutual and inexplicable case of Jungle Fever. Or it would be inexplicable, if not for the fact that they are the great grandchildren of Louisiana born and bred lovers who were forced apart by their families near the end of the nineteenth century. Before the ill-fated lovers parted, they exchanged two talismans, which were then passed down to their grandchildren, who used them improperly and spent their lives in an aimless search for love. Now in possession of the talismans, Cassy and Chandler begin having erotic fantasies and dreams of each other. As Cassy slowly succumbs to the lure of her talisman (a small golden figurine of a mating couple), the line between her feelings for Chandler and those of her long dead great grandmother for Chandler's great grandfather blur. Can a couple driven together by the power of magic remain together or have they, like their grandparents before them, become slaves to the talismans with the same heartbreaking results? Bloodlust - Conquering Mikhel Dumont Book One in the Bloodlust Series Schoolteacher Erica Kalai is always warning her female students against letting teenage boys sweet-talk them into bed. But on her 40th birthday, she encounters a man dressed as her favorite anti-hero, Dracula. One look at the younger, strangely compelling giant and Erica is soon out of her clothes and into his arms. It won't take her long to figure out, however, that she's put herself into the clutches of a real Dracula. Mikhel Dumont, half-blood vampire of the Dumont family, didn't want to go to a silly Halloween party. But something special will happen this night, or so his beloved sister Katie tells him. So, against his better judgment, Mikhel goes to the party just to please his little sister. Mikhel never intended to be drawn to a human female. After all, it was expected he would claim the full-blood Deoctra as his Bloodlust. Fate h

Genres: Interracial Romance

307 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

Marilyn lives, works, and writes on the East Coast of The US. In additional to thoroughly enjoying writing erotic romances in various genres, she enjoys roller-skating, spending time with her large, extended family, and rooting for all her favorite hometown sports teams. She's still celebrating the Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Championship.

Her other interests include collecting Doc Savage pulp novels from the thirties and forties and collecting Marvel comics from the seventies and eighties (particularly Thor and The Avengers.) Her favorite TV shows are forensic shows, westerns (Gun smoke and Have Gun, Will Travel are particular favorites), and mysteries (Charlie Chan movies in particular). Her all time favorite mystery movie is probably Dead, Again. She’s seen nearly every vampire movie or television show ever made (Forever Knight and Count Yorga, Vampires are favorites. She thoroughly enjoys interacting with readers either through email or via her Yahoo web group.

To subscribe to Marilyn Lee’s Love Bytes, marilynlee-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Reviews

[Caylah · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS GREAT..

IT INCLUDES THE TALISMAN AND CONQUERING MIKHEL DUMONT

THIS BOOK WAS SO HOT.. IT WAS SIZZLING ON PAGES.. DEF DEF DEF EROTIC ROMANCE..

IT IS A PARANORMAL/VAMPIRE NOVEL.

THIS WAWSA MY FIRST BOOK READ OF MISS MARILYN LEE.. AND IT MADE ME ONE OF HER NUMBER ONE FANS AND MADE HER MY FAV AUTHOR..

IF YOU ARE NOT AFRAID OF DETAILED EROTIC MOMENTS.. THEN YOU CAN READ THIS BOOK.. HAPPY READING!

[Jane Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ½ and 2 stars for two short stories mostly for explicit sex. There is taboo, kinkiness, and rape but low on sensuality.

2 ½ stars for THE TALISMAN.

STORY BRIEF:
Chandler is a 39-year-old white man who owns a computer consulting company. Cassy is a 28-year-old black woman who meets Chandler when she applies for a job as a computer technician. He is sexually attracted to her and hires her immediately. They both fantasize about each other for quite a while but Chandler resists because he doesn’t want a possible sexual harassment lawsuit. When she assures him this will never happen they begin an affair. Later he breaks off because he is concerned about interracial difficulties.

Throughout the story Chandler and Cassy feel influenced by two talismans. Their great grandparents were lovers in Louisiana who were forced apart probably due to race. (It wasn’t clear.) Chandler’s great grandfather was Philippe. Cassy’s great grandmother was Marie. Back then they each gave the other a magic talisman. The items were passed down through the generations and are currently held by Cassy and Chandler. Cassie’s talisman is a charm 1 ½ inches tall with a male and female making love. Chandler’s talisman is a statue of a black woman.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
The characters had potential. The story needed more development. The purpose of the book is erotic sex and it does ok with that. The sex is hot, frequent, and explicit and includes rear door activity. The paranormal element is mostly about the talismans. When Cassy looks at her charm, she sees the couple moving and having sex in different ways. The author describes the talisman as follows (page 17). “It has the power to bring you love, but there is a price to pay if you use it too often and unwisely. You must use it sparingly and carefully. Make sure that the man you use it on is the man you’ll want forever. Never use it otherwise. Used properly, it’ll bring you a love like no other. Used improperly, it will bring you a lifetime of grief.” This is quite a set up but the author ignores it. We never see Cassy “use” it. She just watches it from time to time and later gives it away. Apparently she finds true love but it had nothing to do with “using” the talisman. I also wanted to know how “using it” caused someone a lifetime of grief. It felt like bait and switch. It’s like the author had a good idea in the beginning, but couldn’t think of a way to use it, so she ignored it and wrote whatever flowed to her mind. This was an important flaw since the talisman is the title.

A second paranormal influence is a couple of conversations Chandler has with his friend Serge who is a vampire. But there is no other vampire activity in this story.

The great-grandparents’ story was not clear. I wanted to know more about it.

DATA:
Story length: 157 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 12. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 22. Setting: current day Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Copyright: 2002. Genre: erotic paranormal romance, erotic interracial romance, African-American, older man younger woman.

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2 stars for BLOODLUST: CONQUERING MIKHEL DUMONT.

STORY BRIEF:
Erica is a 40-year-old high school teacher. She has been divorced for two years and is yearning for sex. She goes to a Halloween party dressed as a hooker, hoping to find a man.

Mikhel is a half-vampire. His father is human, his mother vampire. He’s been looking for his bloodlust partner for over twenty years. Sex with other women has not been fulfilling. His sister has psychic abilities and tells Mikhel he must go to a certain party where he will meet someone important. He dresses as Dracula and goes to the party and sees Erica. From the moment he sees her it is “lust/love at first sight.” He tells her they must leave the party to go to dinner and spend the night together. She’s hesitant but says yes. She views him as a younger man since he appears to be about 25. This begins lots of sex for two days. Mikhel’s former-sort-of-girlfriend-vampire is jealous and wants to kill Erica.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
The older woman younger man idea doesn’t really apply. It’s defined, but nothing is done with it story wise, so I did not list it as a genre.

When I finished the story the main feeling I had was this woman is hungry for and can’t get enough of his (body part). There was a weird and “ew” factor when Mikhel’s mother watches Mikhel and Erica have sex. The mother says to Mikhel “Ah, my little one. You are enjoying yourself. Yes? Her (body part) is good. Yes?” Mikhel says “Mother, her (body part) is incredible…hot…tight…and so very hungry for my (body part).” I have never read a scene like this before, so at the least I have to say it was “different” but not something I would seek out.

Usually I give 2 stars when I wish the book would be over. That was not the case here, but the 2 stars is due to weak story. It was lacking in things, I’m not sure what – probably both plot and character development. It felt like events were added to fill space between the sex scenes.

There is a lot of sex which includes spanking and pretend rape. Erica’s favorite fantasy is rape. She tells Mikhel “I love the idea of you wrestling me onto my back, prying my legs apart and then forcing your big …I’d love to be repeatedly raped by you Mikhel.” It made me think of another story which had a rape, but the victim desired and liked it. It was hot. The pretend rapes in this book were not done as well as in the other book. There is also a scene with a female vampire raping a male which he physically responds to positively - against his will.

DATA:
Story length: 135 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 11. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 29. Setting: current day Boston and Salem, Massachusetts. Copyright: 2004. Genre: erotic paranormal romance.