Samantha Winston Reviews

Page Three

Added July 9, 2004

Taming the King

Author: Samantha Winston
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Available At: www.ellorascave.com
Publishing Date: June 2004
Genre: Romance: Erotic/Fantasy/Novella
Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML/LIT
Price: $2.99
ISBN: 1-84360-936-3
Author Email/Website: www.samanthawinston.com
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty

King Henri sat with his friends, the King and Queen of Erenoth. The events of the past few weeks had taken his toll him, especially when he thought of how determined he had been to marry his own daughter, Water Lily. Now that she was married to Prince Lupin of Erenoth, his mind felt clearer. He wondered if he'd been placed under some spell; there could be no other explanation. But who would want to do such a thing? As he pondered this thought, he called for the one person he knew was always around and who could also work magic, the fairy Violet.

Henri demanded to know if she had placed him under a spell and immediately regretted asking her. Violet had taken care of his daughter from the day her mother died. A fairy like his late wife Summer, she could have left at any time and returned to the fairy court but she chose to stay and raise his daughter. How could he doubt her loyalty? When he asks if she remembers his wife Summer Willow, she changes her appearance and at his request demonstrates different hair colors. At one point he mentions she looks like his late wife and they should get married, thereby fulfilling his wife's deathbed wish he marry someone who looked like her.

Violet had been in love with Henri from the time she first saw him at her cousin Summer's wedding. There were times when she wanted to return to her world, but she had made a promise to raise Water Lily and in her heart she couldn't leave Henri. So when he makes a joke about marrying her, she tells him they must first see if they are compatible. Naturally, he is confused, but decidedly aroused when she uses her magic to take them to his quarters and explains how they will decide on compatibility.

She asks of him one thing: to be her love slave. Will this proud, noble king obey her request and bring them both great happiness and pleasure? Yet will their happiness last when another fairy appears, looking just like Summer Willow, and demands Henri fulfill his vow and marry her?

Taming the King by Samantha Winston is a sexual romp through a world of magic. Henri is one of those heroes who melt your heart; he suffered, acted badly, and wants a chance at happiness, but a single event in his past threatens to steal his happiness. Full of honor, he wants to do the right thing while wanting only to follow the demands of his heart. From the start, you can see the love Violet has for Henri, how her love caused her pain while she cared for Water Lily, how it the thought of Henri married to another breaks her heart. The reader desperately wants a happy ending for these two remarkable characters.

The world of Princess Lily (found in the anthology Once Upon a Prince) and Taming the King is vibrant and has the possibility of many more novels. Even though we are given just a glimpse of this world in these two novels, this reviewer hopes Ms. Winston will continue to use it, as fairies have always been a favorite of mine. Don't miss this enchanting novella.

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Added April 1, 2004

Le Mystere

novella in Cajun Nights

Author: Samantha Winston
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Available At: www.ellorascave.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Romance: Erotic/Paranormal/Anthology
Format: Ebook download in Mobipocket/PDF/HTML/LIT
Price: $7.99
ISBN: 1-84360-665-8
Author Email/Website: www.samanthawinston.com
Reviewer: Lisa Lambrecht

Deep in the Atchafalaya Basin, where mysteries where abound, and the inhabitants (human or not) believed in the Gods that ruled this world, there was one woman who all others feared, who was able to talk with the Gods and do their bidding: the Mam'bo. One God, Ms. Charlotte, came to Mam'bo Rubie and forewarned her that soon three men would come to her seeking her help and that she was not to turn them away. Each of their stories is told in this anthology, Cajun Nights.

Back in 1977 one young woman was running for her life in the Bayou. Running from an evil man that she could not defeat and one that ended up taking her life. It is now twenty-five years later and she has come back to set things right and for revenge.

Luke has always lived in the Bayou, with deep and hurtful wounds from his past. Wounds that had not been healed in all these years. Luke now had a job with the Louisiana Department of Fish and Wildlife looking for poachers and such. He was out in the swamp and noticed something white off in the distance. When he got closer he noticed it was a young woman who seemed to be searching for something and had forgotten her past. Luke decided to take Jesse to his home to get her help but once there she disappeared. Luke decided to go to the mam'bo and see if she could help and learned that Jesse was a ghost who needed his help. Together they had to find her bones before the evil man who murdered her found them and burned them, forever keeping Jesse in the hereafter and the mysteries surrounding her death hidden. Will Luke and Jesse be able to solve the mysteries of the past and somehow find a life where they can be together?

Le Mystere is a wonderful tale that keeps you intrigued and hoping for a happily-ever-after. The characters are very lovable and ones you feel like you've known all your life. Samantha Winston did a remarkable job in writing this story and showing the readers that love can heal all.

The Cajun Nights anthology is filled with three terrific stories and one I very highly recommend.

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