Binary Stars 6 -- Butterfly's Effects and Jewels of Desire by Michelle Houston and D. Musgrave

Story: 7
Presentation: 9
Total: 16
Publisher: Phaze
Contemporary Erotic BDSM
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Blurb: All work and no play? Not in their offices.

Elaine's relationship with her office assistance went from a normal friendship to lovers, and they are both struggling to find the balance between their professional and personal lives together. Steve wants to take things public, but Elaine is worried about possible complications. So he decides to show her who's boss, with a little help from her submissive nature and a sexy new toy in Michelle Houston's "Butterfly's Effect."

In D Musgrave's "Jewels of Desire," Sabrina receives a special set of intimate jewelry. Intrigued by the possibilities, she decides to wear it to work. Can she maintain her composure while fighting the urge to give in to the desires the jewelry inspires?

Review: Butterfly’s Effect was as hot as it was entertaining. The sexual tension rivaled the fear of discovery. The sex was hot, the story solid and the D/s aspects contributed the needed elements to invest this romance reader in the emotional connection between Elaine and Steve. I thought Steve was deliciously naughty.

Jewels of Desire was a little more difficult for me to get into but once the story took off, I was feeling every little sensation of the jewelry. The story was like a string held taut and I kept waiting for it to snap. There were a few bumps along the way—places the story felt a little forced, but those few scenes didn’t ruin my overall enjoyment.

Healing the Fox: Animal Attraction by Michelle Houston

Story: 8
Presentation: 9
Total: 17
Publisher: Phaze
Contemporary M/M paranormal erotic romance
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Blurb: When an injured fox comes into the wildlife rehabilitation center, Scott knows he isn’t an ordinary animal, he’s a shifter. Taking him home, Scott does his best to care for the injured shifter, and finds himself falling in love.


Knowing it would be selfish to ask Christian to stay, Scott has to decide if he will let Christian walk out of his life, hoping that his love will return.

Review: While I found the opening a little hard to get into, once the connection between Cris and Scott is established, I was quickly immersed in the story. Healing the Fox is erotically sexy, poignant and even at times light-hearted. It taps into your emotions and makes you want for a true connection between Cris and Scott. I found their coming together to be intense, yet sweet. But yet for as hot and titillating as their encounters are, you’ll ache at the depth of Scott’s feelings. His is a selfless love and this story was a pleasure to read. It’s short yet delivers.

Blackout by Michelle Houston

Story 7.5
Presentation 8.5
Total: 16
Publisher: Noble Romance
Contemporary M/M
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Blurb: It's hell being in love with someone who doesn't know you're alive. Or rather, who doesn't see you as anything more than an employee. Just when he worked up the nerve to give his notice, a blackout trapped Alec with his boss, leaving him to explain to Nicholas why he has to leave a job he loves -- because he loves his boss more. He had it all worked out, except for Nicholas' reaction.


Review: Blackout plays on two well-explored topics, power outage and workplace romance. But Ms. Houston has done it with a fresh voice and a vividly described setting. (Although I wish more detail had been given on the characters.) I totally fell for Alec from the moment he’s introduced. The longing he feels for his boss, Nicholas is emotional and deeply felt. I could feel the ache through the pages…and the fear. Ms. Houston has penned a titillating story that while short, delivers on emotion, characters, a plot and a resolution. And some hot male on male sex.

All Alone in the Night by Michelle Houston

Story: 7.5
Presentation: 7
Total: 14.5
Publisher: Phaze
Sci-fi futuristic ménage m/m, m/m/f BDSM
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Blurb: Riana had almost given up hope of ever finding her lost comrades, and friends, when the Earth-Space Initiative finally decided to send her on a fact finding mission, almost two years after Braden and Davin had gone missing. They figured it was finally safe.


They figured wrong.

Now Riana is stuck on a strange planet, lucky to be alive after being sucked into a wormhole. And she wasn’t the only one stranded there; she had found the missing pilots. With no way home, and only themselves to answer to, they had plans for her; plans several years in the making.

Review: Riana’s devotion to her best friends is the stuff of epic love stories. Only you get it in a tight little short story. In her quest to find Braden and Davin, she finds herself lost with them. With no hope of rescue, these three have to find a way to exist in a triad.

Ms. Houston does a great job of giving us their history without bogging down the story. It has a nice set up and nice middle with lots of scorching hot sex. I loved Riana waking up to Braden and Davin making love. Yum. The sexual tension was thick and heavy. And top it off with an ending that really couldn’t be anything but what it was. Of course I won’t spoil the story by telling you everything. If I have a complaint it’s in the BDSM aspects of the story. I thought they were a bit out of place. I definitely felt the roles. Braden being the Alpha male, taking care of Davin and Riana. Their long term attraction makes the connections believable, but Braden shifted a bit for me. Yes, he’s strong and protective and determined, but then he went into Dom mode and he lost a bit of his appeal.

Even with that slight issue for me, this is still a book you don’t want to put down. As for the lower score in presentation, the editing is fine. A presentation score of 7/8 is nearly perfect. The cover for me is beautiful, but I didn’t feel was a good reflection of the story.

Caging the Tiger by Michelle Houston

Story: 8

Presentation: 8

Total: 16

Publisher: Phaze

Paranormal shapeshifter M/M erotic romance

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Blurb: Kyle thought that he was all alone, the only of his kind, until he attended a magic show and saw through the spectacle to the method behind the illusion. If he wasn’t wrong, Meric the Magician, in addition to being his best friend, was also a tiger shifter.

Review: Caging the Tiger is a perfectly package tale of risk, trust, love and finally having someone special. Meric truly is the only one who can really understand Kyle. Not only have they developed their friendship, but if Kyle can reveal his secret they might have a chance at love. I enjoyed this story. A little history for them both, a little action to get them together, good interaction between Kyle and Meric and a small dose of hot man on man..err…shifter on shifter sex. Excellent story, Ms. Houston. I look forward to reading more of your work