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juushikaTitle: Witches' Mark
Authors: Amanda Gannon /![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
naamah_darling and Paul Batteiger
Published: Adventurotica Publishing, 2011
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 512
Total Page Count: 134,289
Text Number: 393
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook free on Smashwords during Read an E-Book Week
Review: When her grandmother dies, Stormy inherits Willowsong Hall—and, with it, her grandmother's friends and legacy: a battle with a warlock who wants to bring a demon into this world. Witches' Mark takes place in an urban fantasy setting reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Practical Magic, and Supernatural in turn, with one small change: people are nearly more likely to have sex than they are to talk. This is action erotica, colorfully peopled, highly plotted, and suffused with sex—and each aspect is well realized. Props for a female protagonist who is both fat and empowered; only one character caught my interest, but the cast has enough variety that most readers may find a favorite. Action plots aren't my style, but this one is high-energy and, though it fails to do anything unexpected, there's a rewarding connection between characters and plot, creating an emotional grounding for all that action. And the sex is creative and varied (save for a reliance on penetration), and engages sexualized violence and gray areas of consent without becoming outright problematic; it's also well-written, engagingly profane but never purple or purely tasteless. But at 500 pages, its events taking place over only a few days, it's all a bit too much: the plot has one climax too many, and the prevalence of sex scenes is exhausting and somewhat comical. The line editing is okay, but on the whole—however much it contradicts the Adventurotica label—the book wants to be scaled down to something a bit less exuberant and more refined. But I enjoyed this and recommend it, and I imagine I'll read more Adventurotica books in the future.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Authors: Amanda Gannon /
naamah_darling and Paul BatteigerPublished: Adventurotica Publishing, 2011
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 512
Total Page Count: 134,289
Text Number: 393
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook free on Smashwords during Read an E-Book Week
Review: When her grandmother dies, Stormy inherits Willowsong Hall—and, with it, her grandmother's friends and legacy: a battle with a warlock who wants to bring a demon into this world. Witches' Mark takes place in an urban fantasy setting reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Practical Magic, and Supernatural in turn, with one small change: people are nearly more likely to have sex than they are to talk. This is action erotica, colorfully peopled, highly plotted, and suffused with sex—and each aspect is well realized. Props for a female protagonist who is both fat and empowered; only one character caught my interest, but the cast has enough variety that most readers may find a favorite. Action plots aren't my style, but this one is high-energy and, though it fails to do anything unexpected, there's a rewarding connection between characters and plot, creating an emotional grounding for all that action. And the sex is creative and varied (save for a reliance on penetration), and engages sexualized violence and gray areas of consent without becoming outright problematic; it's also well-written, engagingly profane but never purple or purely tasteless. But at 500 pages, its events taking place over only a few days, it's all a bit too much: the plot has one climax too many, and the prevalence of sex scenes is exhausting and somewhat comical. The line editing is okay, but on the whole—however much it contradicts the Adventurotica label—the book wants to be scaled down to something a bit less exuberant and more refined. But I enjoyed this and recommend it, and I imagine I'll read more Adventurotica books in the future.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
