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Vanished
Lynne Temple is driving through the Appalachian mountains toward her new life. She's made grand plans to start fresh after her divorce, including settling into a new town. An overturned semi on the West Virginia turnpike forces Lynne to use a temporary detour through a remote rural area high up in the mountains... A detour from which she will vanish without a trace.
68 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
15 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Jaid Black
101 books747 followersJaid Black is the pseudonym of Tina Marie Engler—the founder/owner of the former Ellora's Cave Publishing. Engler has been featured in every major news outlet such as Forbes, Publisher's Weekly, Salon, and Time Magazine. Ms. Engler was officially recognized by Romantic Times Magazine with their first ever Trail Blazer award for being the mastermind of adult (erotic) romance as you know and love it today, as well as for the pivotal role she played in popularizing the e-book.
Writing as Jaid Black, her books have received numerous distinctions, including a nomination for the Henry Miller award for the best literary sex scene written in the English language. Most of her novels and novellas are a hybrid of sci-fi and adult romance. She is a proud member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA.)
Also writing as Jasmine LeVeaux
Writing as Jaid Black, her books have received numerous distinctions, including a nomination for the Henry Miller award for the best literary sex scene written in the English language. Most of her novels and novellas are a hybrid of sci-fi and adult romance. She is a proud member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA.)
Also writing as Jasmine LeVeaux
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 29, 2011
Really closer maybe to 1-1/2 stars.
Some spoilers below
It seemed like the author lacked the courage of her convictions here. He's an escaped convict, a serial rapist and murderer. But not really, he's innocent of course. He's totally into bondage. That's why he got fingered for the crime. But really just some pretty vanilla bondage stuff. The tie her hands over her head stuff. He didn't even really need to dominate her because she was falling to her knees every other minute to try to get him not to kill her when he hadn't even said boo to her. So we didn't even see him do any dominating at all. He just kind of took what she offered. The sex scenes were more embarrassing than hot. And the ending was of the "magic behind the green curtain" sort.
Some spoilers below
It seemed like the author lacked the courage of her convictions here. He's an escaped convict, a serial rapist and murderer. But not really, he's innocent of course. He's totally into bondage. That's why he got fingered for the crime. But really just some pretty vanilla bondage stuff. The tie her hands over her head stuff. He didn't even really need to dominate her because she was falling to her knees every other minute to try to get him not to kill her when he hadn't even said boo to her. So we didn't even see him do any dominating at all. He just kind of took what she offered. The sex scenes were more embarrassing than hot. And the ending was of the "magic behind the green curtain" sort.
January 9, 2017
How to rate an erotica?
There's the narrative, the plot, the characters... but let's face it, the enjoyment you get from it depends mainly if you're into the same kinds of kinks than the author... right ?
So here you've got a nice little story, not too tame, not too wild, not too dark, or the complete opposite of all this depending on your sensitivity.
Well... let's just say I'll read more from Jaid Black ;)
There's the narrative, the plot, the characters... but let's face it, the enjoyment you get from it depends mainly if you're into the same kinds of kinks than the author... right ?
So here you've got a nice little story, not too tame, not too wild, not too dark, or the complete opposite of all this depending on your sensitivity.
Well... let's just say I'll read more from Jaid Black ;)
June 27, 2014
3.5-4 stars
This was a pretty good story. I liked Lynne and Jesse and their story was enjoyable even if a point or 2 needed to be taken with a grain of salt.
Lynne is a nice lady that works in web design. She used to live in Florida but decided to move to West Virginia for a new start after divorcing her cheating slime-ball of a husband. Lynne had to take a detour while driving to her new home and lack of signs along with lots of snow and ice ends her up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Jesse is a good guy but he's a convicted rapist/murderer that escaped from prison. Jesse is actually innocent but was convinced with circumstance evidence, his penchant for bondage and a scar on his jaw (which apparently is similar to the real criminal). No one would believe Jesse and he was sent to prison where he spent 5 years. He managed to escape and get far away, staying in a abandoned cabin he found far out in the woods.
While on her detour, Lynne ends up spinning out of control and crashing in to a tree, causing her airbag to deploy and knock her out. Jesse happens to be close when she crashes and he rescues her, taking her back to his cabin in an attempt to save her life. He nurses her back to health over the span of 7 days and by the time she's awake and cognizant of her surroundings, Jesse has developed some tender feelings for her. The problem becomes that when Lynne wakes up, she recognized Jesse from the new stories about his capture and trial. Lynne thinks that Jesse is a sadistic rapist that kills his victims and is horrified, thinking she's in for torture before being killed. In an attempt to placate Jesse, Lynne gives him a blow job and Jesse knows he shouldn't take advantage of her fear but has trouble thinking straight when her mouth is on him. He plans to tell her he's innocent and that he wont hurt her but a bit more happens between them before that happens. When Jesse explains things to Lynne she doesn't know what to believe. Jesse has treated her with nothing but caring and consideration (outside of having sex with her under false pretenses) but Lynne thinks she'd be a fool just to believe him outright. They are together for a while longer and during this time, Lynne realizes that she believes he's innocent and also, she's developing feelings for Jesse. Once they're both on the same page they have to figure out where to go from there. Jesse's answer was a bit of a surprise but a good one. I liked his actions and how it made Lynne's actions possible. It takes a little bit but with some effort, Lynne and Jesse are able to get their well deserved HEA.
This was a very enjoyable story. I liked both Jesse and Lynne and loved how the story turned out. For the most part, the only real issue I had with the story is how fast the love developed considering the conflicting emotions that Lynne must have felt. I know it's possible but it didn't seem probable. Regardless of this point, I really liked how the story turned out and I ended it with a smile on my face. If you can deal with a fast fall in to love, I'd recommend this story. :D
This was a pretty good story. I liked Lynne and Jesse and their story was enjoyable even if a point or 2 needed to be taken with a grain of salt.
Lynne is a nice lady that works in web design. She used to live in Florida but decided to move to West Virginia for a new start after divorcing her cheating slime-ball of a husband. Lynne had to take a detour while driving to her new home and lack of signs along with lots of snow and ice ends her up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Jesse is a good guy but he's a convicted rapist/murderer that escaped from prison. Jesse is actually innocent but was convinced with circumstance evidence, his penchant for bondage and a scar on his jaw (which apparently is similar to the real criminal). No one would believe Jesse and he was sent to prison where he spent 5 years. He managed to escape and get far away, staying in a abandoned cabin he found far out in the woods.
While on her detour, Lynne ends up spinning out of control and crashing in to a tree, causing her airbag to deploy and knock her out. Jesse happens to be close when she crashes and he rescues her, taking her back to his cabin in an attempt to save her life. He nurses her back to health over the span of 7 days and by the time she's awake and cognizant of her surroundings, Jesse has developed some tender feelings for her. The problem becomes that when Lynne wakes up, she recognized Jesse from the new stories about his capture and trial. Lynne thinks that Jesse is a sadistic rapist that kills his victims and is horrified, thinking she's in for torture before being killed. In an attempt to placate Jesse, Lynne gives him a blow job and Jesse knows he shouldn't take advantage of her fear but has trouble thinking straight when her mouth is on him. He plans to tell her he's innocent and that he wont hurt her but a bit more happens between them before that happens. When Jesse explains things to Lynne she doesn't know what to believe. Jesse has treated her with nothing but caring and consideration (outside of having sex with her under false pretenses) but Lynne thinks she'd be a fool just to believe him outright. They are together for a while longer and during this time, Lynne realizes that she believes he's innocent and also, she's developing feelings for Jesse. Once they're both on the same page they have to figure out where to go from there. Jesse's answer was a bit of a surprise but a good one. I liked his actions and how it made Lynne's actions possible. It takes a little bit but with some effort, Lynne and Jesse are able to get their well deserved HEA.
This was a very enjoyable story. I liked both Jesse and Lynne and loved how the story turned out. For the most part, the only real issue I had with the story is how fast the love developed considering the conflicting emotions that Lynne must have felt. I know it's possible but it didn't seem probable. Regardless of this point, I really liked how the story turned out and I ended it with a smile on my face. If you can deal with a fast fall in to love, I'd recommend this story. :D
July 5, 2013
The end was like Prison Break's season 2 finale ;) For Link. I am not sure if you will like or not this one.
June 26, 2013
The story is quite thrilling at first, as I get excited with the synopsis given by the book. But later on, it gets a little cheesy for me. I can't get how daft the police is to not give thinking to the evidence that links them to the real suspect. I can't also get how the guy travels in freezing cold from his prison to the cabin. Anyway, it is nice to have a happy ending for him, and all the loose ends are seemed to be tied.
February 8, 2018
Super sexy ....and so much more
Well written captive romance ,initially with a bit non con and with light Bdsm. It ends up also being super sweet,bringing a tear to the eye with its amazing conclusion.
Well written captive romance ,initially with a bit non con and with light Bdsm. It ends up also being super sweet,bringing a tear to the eye with its amazing conclusion.
January 12, 2023
This book was originally recommended to me by a fellow reader in a similar reading group online. This short story had a promising start but the writing was not for me. At times, it felt like it was written by a man. And I’m not saying this to be mean, I know there’s plenty of very talented male authors out there. I say this because when some male authors pen romance (not all, but some), it doesn’t always accurately reflect a woman’s emotions and feelings, the body parts descriptions end up sounding ridiculously out of touch and silly, and the steamy scenes end up sounding, well, like they have been written in a very juvenile and childish way.
I don’t know how else to put it. I know that sounds really critical and harsh, but it is just my honest opinion. For me, the way the writing was, the immaturity of the characters, and extreme OTT naivety of the h (usually a sweet naive h is ok with me in books, but not like this. It was just too much and too little for me I’m afraid) and the descriptions of certain acts/things sounded cringey.
The constant announcements by the Hero that he was in fact, “coming”, were just too much, even for even me. Yes, I know this is “erotica” but I’ve read other pieces of erotica that are not written like this, so it just wasn’t my style is all.
I’m giving this two stars because I did like the tropes presented within the story and the plot idea. The h ends up lost on backroads and her car ends up smashed against a tree due to being distracted by an escaped convict in shackles who was in her path. This ends up being the H. This was an amazing plot concept. Sounds mysterious and promising, but that’s where the excitement ended unfortunately. After that, the story moved so fast and things seemed too rushed & unbelievable for me to truly connect with the story and the characters themselves. That and the H/h’s dialogue was immature and made me cringe.
I’d like to see a plot idea like this expanded upon in a full length story, where there’s more room to build upon the characters and the story events, and it isn’t packed all into a short story. There’s potential to make it really great with some more world and character building and taking time to build up to those steamy moments, even for an erotica piece. ♥️👍🏻
Breakdown:
Strangers to lovers
Forced proximity
Escaped convict H
H has snake tattoo on arm
H has a lightning bolt scar down his face
Captive romance
H nurses h back to health (she gets a head wound and passes out, he feeds h soup and makes sure she’s eating)
Somnophili@ (by H/h)
No barriers 🧤
H collars/chains up the h to keep her from running away
h thinks H is a serial r@pi$t, unaliver wanted all over her state
h is from Florida
h has never O’d before
h is driving home/gets lost on backroads
h crashes her car into a tree
H has been celibate for years
H’s girlfriend broke up with him while he was incarcerated
Bdsm elements
h is not reluctant at all, is quite OTT in her determination to please H and not be unalived by him
H was framed for a crime he didn’t commit
Short novella
Writing is stilted/immature/rushed
Hea
Standalone
Descriptive steamy scenes
I don’t know how else to put it. I know that sounds really critical and harsh, but it is just my honest opinion. For me, the way the writing was, the immaturity of the characters, and extreme OTT naivety of the h (usually a sweet naive h is ok with me in books, but not like this. It was just too much and too little for me I’m afraid) and the descriptions of certain acts/things sounded cringey.
The constant announcements by the Hero that he was in fact, “coming”, were just too much, even for even me. Yes, I know this is “erotica” but I’ve read other pieces of erotica that are not written like this, so it just wasn’t my style is all.
I’m giving this two stars because I did like the tropes presented within the story and the plot idea. The h ends up lost on backroads and her car ends up smashed against a tree due to being distracted by an escaped convict in shackles who was in her path. This ends up being the H. This was an amazing plot concept. Sounds mysterious and promising, but that’s where the excitement ended unfortunately. After that, the story moved so fast and things seemed too rushed & unbelievable for me to truly connect with the story and the characters themselves. That and the H/h’s dialogue was immature and made me cringe.
I’d like to see a plot idea like this expanded upon in a full length story, where there’s more room to build upon the characters and the story events, and it isn’t packed all into a short story. There’s potential to make it really great with some more world and character building and taking time to build up to those steamy moments, even for an erotica piece. ♥️👍🏻
Breakdown:
Strangers to lovers
Forced proximity
Escaped convict H
H has snake tattoo on arm
H has a lightning bolt scar down his face
Captive romance
H nurses h back to health (she gets a head wound and passes out, he feeds h soup and makes sure she’s eating)
Somnophili@ (by H/h)
No barriers 🧤
H collars/chains up the h to keep her from running away
h thinks H is a serial r@pi$t, unaliver wanted all over her state
h is from Florida
h has never O’d before
h is driving home/gets lost on backroads
h crashes her car into a tree
H has been celibate for years
H’s girlfriend broke up with him while he was incarcerated
Bdsm elements
h is not reluctant at all, is quite OTT in her determination to please H and not be unalived by him
H was framed for a crime he didn’t commit
Short novella
Writing is stilted/immature/rushed
Hea
Standalone
Descriptive steamy scenes
September 11, 2017
Mind blown in such a brilliant way that I had to re-read it immediately. Loved it!
November 2, 2019
Different plot.
Short and different storyline.
Interesting how this all played out and liked the ending even though more deaths had happened.
Read a few years ago but that review is missing.
Short and different storyline.
Interesting how this all played out and liked the ending even though more deaths had happened.
Read a few years ago but that review is missing.
January 7, 2024
5/5 ⭐️ || High 🔥 || No/Light 💀
Why was the ending so cute 😭. I LOVED the writing, hated the cover 🤓…
*warnings/tags: stranded, ex-con H (innocent), naive/sub h, bdsm
Why was the ending so cute 😭. I LOVED the writing, hated the cover 🤓…
*warnings/tags: stranded, ex-con H (innocent), naive/sub h, bdsm
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2012
3 ½ stars. Pretty good story. Not the author’s best, but I liked it.
Lynne gets lost driving on a mountain due to a traffic accident detour. Her car hits a tree and Jesse finds her and tends to her healing. Jesse escaped from prison and has been living in a cabin on the mountain. There is some bondage.
Data:
Sexual language: erotic. Number of sex scenes: eight. Setting: present day West Virginia, Appalachian mountains. Copyright: 2002. Genre: erotic contemporary romance.
This short story is also published in the anthology The Best of Jaid Black.
Other Books:
For a list of my reviews of other Jaid Black books, see my 5 star review of One Dark Night.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Lynne gets lost driving on a mountain due to a traffic accident detour. Her car hits a tree and Jesse finds her and tends to her healing. Jesse escaped from prison and has been living in a cabin on the mountain. There is some bondage.
Data:
Sexual language: erotic. Number of sex scenes: eight. Setting: present day West Virginia, Appalachian mountains. Copyright: 2002. Genre: erotic contemporary romance.
This short story is also published in the anthology The Best of Jaid Black.
Other Books:
For a list of my reviews of other Jaid Black books, see my 5 star review of One Dark Night.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
June 26, 2011
Good book Lynn was moving to her new life she had car trouble and comes across an escape convict and fainted . She is being held captive but all is not what it seems love it and the way it ended very short but worth the read. Sex was good
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Feel free to join my book group on Facebook (Romance Novel Junkies) and fan page ( Romance Novel Junkies Book Reviews). We have over 500 members, which includes well known and indie authors and avid readers as members who are apart of this group. We would love to hear about new books and thoughts. Also check out our kindle and ebook lending library. Twitter @romanceJUNKIES.
October 20, 2013
2·5 stars. Short. I didn't see the end coming. that probably says more about me not being into it rather than the author writing a good story. it wasn't really that great, not terrible either
p.s. it's expensive for the length and quality...just sayin'
p.s. it's expensive for the length and quality...just sayin'
August 19, 2024
Very steamy. Happy ending. He is an escaped convict and she is willing to do anything to survive.
March 31, 2012
Nice little read
December 1, 2012
Not what I expected. But much better. Good little short read. Nice.
January 23, 2013
This book is different. I am not sure as a woman I should like it but I did all the same.
March 12, 2014
Short.. and.. yeah.. not really sure I agree with the heroines actions. It worked for a short novella.. but still.
July 29, 2016
novella, in the beginning I don't like Jesse too much and I hate the author's use of 'hole' but overall it was a nice little novella.
January 17, 2016
Started out creepy; especially when you're lead to believe the male lead is an escaped serial murderer/rapist. Gradually it's revealed who he really is. Very, very hot.
July 13, 2012
Not a bad story but the ending felt too rushed to achieve a HEA and tie up loose ends.
Read
January 4, 2018DNF.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews