Les Tales: Tempted to Touch

by Skyy, Nikki Rashan, Fiona Zedde

Three Urban Books authors join forces to entertain listeners with erotic tales of forbidden lesbian love.

Since childhood, Temple has idolized her favorite actress, Ursula Moore. She is stoked to find out that Ursula will be a guest at the Atlanta convention she's attending with fellow fangirl friends Cree and Nia. To Temple's surprise, more savory options than just getting an autograph are presented.

Taryn's and Nina's lives unite in an intense and fiery connection through their one common link: Layne, the woman they both loved. Taryn, a reserved wife, is unaware of her own astounding beauty and lurking alter ego. Nina is Layne's tempting mistress. With their damaged hearts, they challenge the unacceptable and cross boundaries into a disturbing affair that pushes the limits of erotic gratification and exploration. Secrets are exposed, hidden agendas are revealed, and the line to the forbidden is erased.

Chloe hoped that when she went away to college, her desire for her mother's friend Kai would go away, but when she returns home, she finds that her attraction is stronger than ever. When she runs into Kai at a local fair, the sparks fly between the two women in a way that cannot be ignored. Chloe becomes determined to seduce Kai, vowing to have the older woman, no matter the cost.

Genres: Romance, Erotica

410 pages, Paperback

Published May 27, 2014

About the author

Skyy is a 30-year-old writer from Memphis, TN. Her first novel, Choices, was released in 2007, and quickly gained popularity both within the gay and lesbian community and the urban fiction community. The highly anticipated sequel, Consequences, was released in 2009 with high praise, and rocketed to the top-10 best-seller lists on Amazon.com as well as at independent bookstores across the country.


Touted as the next E. Lynn Harris, Skyy blurs the lines between lesbian and straight communities in her fiction by speaking with intimate familiarity about the striking commonalities of loving and living as African American women in urban America. The books resonate with truismsamong women of all ages and gender identities.


Right now Skyy is working hard to bring her books to the screen.

In Skyy’s spare time. she enjoys traveling and spending time at home. When she is not on the road with her books, she is a club promoter.

Reviews

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed all three stories in the collection! Even though there are only three stories in this collection I the stories covered a lot of ground.

Number One Fan by Skyy
I was digging this story hard because who writes romance stories that takes place at a cosplay con?! I just want to say thanks to Skyy for making this world of people visible and loveable. As a fan girl of lots to different things I found myself cheering for Temple and her crew. I appreciate that this story is not just Temple story. We get a little about Nia and Cree too. They go to DragonCon to fan out but they all get more than they bargain for. I think that it's interesting that Temple thinks that she read more into things with Ursula than Ursula put forth. I think that's a lie. Ursula's words said one thing but her actions said another. She wanted the worship that Temple was giving without any sort of committment to Temple other than good sex. That didn't work for me. I think that if Ursula just wanted sex, she is a celebrity and could have gotten it from any woman. So that leaves why Temple unless she just wanted to mess with her head? And while I am glad that Temple makes changes in her life and chooses to look for a relationship with someone who values her, I think that choice is devalued when a year later she chooses to hook up with Ursula again. Yes Temple is ready for fun sexy times with no strings, so I can't begrudge her that but at the same time Ursula's not going to change and will sexy times be enough?

I think that this story if fun for the crazy experience of cons and the greatness of the personalities you can meet at a con. And while the three of them seem to find love that love is not easy or all that it seems.


Crossing Layne by Nikki Rashan
I wasn't ready for this story after reading the first story. This starts off so sad because Taryn's grieving the loss of a partner, but things become more interesting when you realize that her partner Layne was not all that she appeared to be. I finished reading this story feeling like Taryn was too good for Layne which is how Taryn's co-worker, Ms. Sheila, feels towards Layne as well.

I liked Taryn. I sympathized with her pain and I was surprised that she chose to meet her wife's mistress. She didn't want to fight she wanted to understand. And everything that happens after they meet is about understanding Layne but also exploring herself. So here's the thing. I had to set this book aside for a few days when Taryn and Nina meet. Even though I new they were going to be attracted to each other, I still didn't want it to happen. Layne describes Taryn so negatively and Nina so positively in her journals that I couldn't imagine how they could be attracted to each other. The fact that Nina introduces her to all things BDSM worked well for me but their sexual relationship bordered on the abusive instead of the kinky. I know that BDSM walks that line but I cringed a lot during their sex scenes. The part of the story that gets to me is how manipulative Taryn is in the end. Her payback was so unexpected that I was a bit mad at her for betraying Nina the way she did. I personally felt like it was uncalled for even though Nina was not the nicest person either. Layne was an ass even in death. I didn't feel bad that she was gone. Her ego based on her journals and interactions with others was epic. I'm not sure that Layne ever saw Taryn as a person in her own right and that's just a shame. If no one else sees you, your spouse should.

Oh and the side drama about Taryn's daughter and the daughter's father was a little intense. I was glad that it was part of the story. I think the author made it possible to sympathized with the dad and the daughter even though dad was trifling. In my eyes he's not redeemed but if he's daughter and her mother can still see the good in him I'm willing to let it ride.


Honey and Absinthe by Fiona Zedde

Soap opera is the first thing that comes to mind reading this story as well as the previous one. This particular story was one were I had to set it aside for a few days before I could finish it. First of all, I wanted to get with Kai because she's that hot. Who doesn't like a butch caring woman? I mean seriously! Secondly, oh the drama! Kai and Noelle are besties from way back when. This is important especially when you learn that Chloe has the hots for Kai. So I put the book down after I realized this. I just couldn't handle it. My problem is not that Kai is almost 20 years older than Chloe. I mean that could be an issue but it's not a major one. What I couldn't let go of was how can you have the hots for someone who's diaper you changed as a child? I understood Chloe's infatuation but not Kai's. I did feel for Kai though. How awful is it to be digging your bestfriend's daughter? That's got to be an awful guilt riddled experience. I will admit that by the end of the story I wanted Kai and Chloe to get together. Oh there's also the awful scene when the mother, Noelle, is beating the hell out of her friend and she accuses her of being pedafile like. I thought that was unforgivable of her. I mean you can be pissed but don't act like Kai doesn't have morals just because she sees your daughter as an adult and you don't. Seriously, I was amazed that Kai forgave Noelle because I wouldn't have.

I eventually picked the book back up. The story is told from the perspective of Chloe and she's tortured about being in love with her mom's bestie but I don't think that she really understands how much strife she will cause if she pursues Kai. I would love to say more about the relationship but everything I needed to say is in the spoilers.

All in all, I love this collection and would recommend if for people looking for fresh lesbian romance stories that feel like familiar stories.

[Rena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short story collection written by three talented ladies. I savored each story to the point that I think I'm having a book hangover. What do I read after this?

[kg · Rating 4 out of 5]

the reason i gave it such a high rating was because of the song story and even then it was more so because i got sucked into the drama than anything. the first story was boring. easy to follow along yes, but read like a 14 year old on wattpad wrote it (2016 wattpad , idk shit about todays wattpad) . this isn’t to say it was the worst thing on earth, but that it was pretty average

[Lara Okafor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure how to rate this one, because it’s a collection of three short stories and I felt very differently about each of them.

The first story wasn’t very enjoyable. I’d probably give it one star. I think I might have found more in it if I’d attended Dragon Con before, but I haven’t. As it is, I felt like I was reading fairly low quality fan fiction.

The second story was interesting, I actually quite liked the way the plot kept me on my toes. Probably four stars.

The third story was also good, but I’ve read one of Fiona Zedde’s novels with the same central issue, so maybe I’m a little spoilt. Fiona Zedde definitely knows how to write a sex scene. That’s actually quite a rare skill. 3.5 stars.

[Roxanne Wyndham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiona has a fascination with barley legal and groomingesque relationships lol but other than that hers was my favorite story.
Loved all of them though.

[Bad Cookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say that overall I liked the book, even though I didn't like one of the stories. The rating I'm giving this collection isn't an average of the ratings I gave each story. I gave one story one star, another three stars, and the third four stars. If I divided the total by three, I would have close to three stars-but not quite. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the three stories:

"Number One Fan" by Skyy

Rating: 1 star

I felt that too much of the story revolved around Temple's two friends Cree and Nia. Also, I didn't like Temple that much. She seemed stuck up and a bit lacking in self-respect. She wants more than sex, but that's what she ends up settling for with Ursula. Overall, I didn't find this story to be as much of an erotic tale as I was expecting- or at least not in the one way I was expecting. It doesn't feel like it belongs in this type of collection.

"Crossing Layne" by Nikki Rashan

Rating: 3 stars

The erotic scenes in this story were good and I would give this story a higher rating if it had ended with Taryn setting up Nina to get fired and lose Amber. What came after that was just filler. The confrontation between Jenna and her parents didn't add anything interesting to the story. I just didn't care about Jenna being reunited with her father. However, Taryn finding the letter Layne wrote to her was a nice touch.

"Honey and Absinthe" by Fiona Zedde

Rating: 4 stars

I really liked this story. It has great erotic scenes and a happy ending. The only problem I have is that Chloe and Kai stayed away from each other all those months for the sake of repairing their relationships with Noelle and out of desperation for her approval. I would have told Noelle to "like it or lump it" and continued my relationship with the person I loved. Yeah, she's Chloe's mom and Kai's best friend, but she already has the love of her life- let them have theirs.

[Aerion · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first experience with lesbian urban fiction and I would really just like to give a huge THANK YOU to the three authors who are representing and giving the women loving women books to read and get their juices flowing! I mean isn't that one of the purposes of urban fiction. It is so wonderful to read urban fiction that I feel like I can imagine myself experiences, having the feelings, and finding fulfillment in. Finally I see myself reflected in books, sans the drugs, violence, and constant degradation of women by men.

The story I most enjoyed was the DragonCon one, because I have been living in Atlanta and I know just how crazy labor day weekend is in the A! I have driven down in the GSU area and you can for sure see costumes everywhere, people partying for ludaday weekend, and pride! its just madness. I could really feel the spirit and vibrance like the author had experienced the fun of labor day weekend herself. And on top of that the story really was just captivating. Its the story that all of us with of dream celeb crush hope and wish for, and one lucky girl got it.

This composite of short stories was a lot of fun to read. I am trying to get my girlfriend to read more and watch TV less, and this was a great introductory. Now she's hooked and searching for her next read.

[Jessi Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of My Absolute Faves!

I loved, loved, loved this book!!! All three authors did such an amazing job in keeping me so absorbed in these short erotica stories that I lost myself in their worlds over the course of a few days! I found myself trying to read slower and take forced breaks, just to prolong the pages that I knew would end soon. My absolute favorite was Fiona Zedde's short "Honey and Absinthe." Let's just say I related to the characters in my own way. Fiona kept me hoping that the destiny of lovers Chloe & Kai would work out for the best, and by the last pages; I wasn't disappointed!!!

[Latoya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The First and and third story were the best. those were ones i wanted to continue

[si croom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Great collaboration, the depth of each story awesome. The authors took you into another world with each story. Left your mind wanting more. FABULOUS!!

[Krys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written by three amazing authors. Les Tales, takes you on a journey filled with ups, downs and constant plateaus in between. Good Read!

[Biaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a great book loved all the stories

[Calientell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't get in to this book
I will try again