Erika Almond is one of the authors who volunteered to take part in my Making Love 101 feature. She sent me her Steamy Love Scenes series to review as basis for my interview. The Steamy Love Scenes books are three novellas that take place over the course of week following the love affair of Josie and Miles and Josie’s interfering ex-boyfriend and charmingly immoral best pal Riley, who really has a history of following his weiner all over town. For the sake of my interview and review I’m going to look at this series together as a whole while focusing on parts of each book’s individual story.
Enjoy The Show, the first novella in the Steamy Love Scenes storyline, gives you the cake and the frosting of the entire Josie, Miles and Riley dynamic. Josie has known Riley for more years than dirt’s known Earth and she really should have known that while Riley Wanamaker’s heart is usually in the right place, his love-wand is more often than not visiting a warm and wet climate. He’s living with her and they are supposed to be in a relationship but he can’t even go a month when she finds out he’s banging another woman. This sends Josie fleeing from her home because she knows that if she stays Riley will not only convince her for one last roll in the sheets but he might possibly get her to let the entire thing slide too.
With all this going on in her head she finds herself in the arms of a B-rate movie star in the balcony of the town movie theater getting hot and steamy. Miles Masterson is there to watch a screening of the slasher movie he was cast in but he finds himself having crazy, sexy times with a beautiful townie girl in hot cowgirl boots. His movie might be a pile of crap but she is most definitely making the experience rate pretty damn high in his book.
Erika Almond does an incredibly smart thing with Intermission and she turns down the full on heavy erotica and she adds a deeper sense of sensuality and affection. This added dimension begins to show a connection growing between Miles and Josie. Of course Riley is there to add some tension–you wouldn’t have it any other way and neither would Erika. I know at some part in book two I started to fall for Riley and began to wonder if this was a Team Edward, Team Jacob thing. I’m Team Riley. Does he need a water girl? Or maybe a rub down?
Intermission starts to fill in a great deal of background for both Josie and Miles. It explains a great deal of the bond between her and Riley; where they developed the closeness they have and the trust between them. Not only do you find out a lot about the main characters but you begin to learn about Mayfield County and it’s people. It’s a great bridge novella.
This is my favorite of the three novellas. In Double Feature Erika switches up things and does alternating POVs. Whereas the other two books were all from Josie’s perspective, Double Feature is from Josie’s and Riley’s–Getting into his head is amazekittens! In the second book I began having a wee crush on the sexaholic, in this book I became a sexaholic for the sexaholic.
There is a great deal going on in Double Feature. Josie and Miles are trying to deal with Josie’s ghosts and the resistance is strong in this one. Miles is looking for his next great script because he doesn’t want to be cast in the same role in bad slasher film after bad slasher film. Josie just sees this as Miles on his way to abandoning her. Piles of poop all over the place. Big piles of steaming poop scenes.
Being in Riley’s head on the other hand is a little like Dr. Phil on ecstasy. If you could picture a walking talking one person Bacchanalia, that would be Riley Wanamaker. He helps the needy and those who can’t find the happy buttons of their lovers or themselves with a smile on his face and that isn’t a banana in his pocket. He gives advice, calls in favors and when desperate he breaks every law necessary other than not having his dog licensed; he would never risk Roscoe. He really does mean good; it’s just that he doesn’t mind getting dirty to do it. I can’t help myself–he’s sex on a stick and I just want to bite him.
The Steamy Love Scenes is a great novella series and if you were to read them straight through I don’t think it would take more than a nooner of your time. I think that the story continuity is great the plot started off slow for me but came together in book two and was unshakable by Double Feature. Character development was spot on and the only complaint I have is that Miles starts to become flat as Riley begins to become more and more alive throughout the series. Buy them… because you don’t need to waste that money on a Starbucks Mocha Latte.
This is a great novella series for you if you like Jessica Clare’s Bluebonnet Series.
Erika Almond’s Web Tracks:
Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Ellora’s Cave
Erika Almond on All The Things Inbetween:
He Said, She Said – Making Love 101: Erika Almond
If you are an Indie author and you would like to be part of the All The Things Inbetween Weekly Indie Word Slinger Project 2014. I’d love to hear from you! Contact me via email after reading the details on my Just The Facts, Ma’am post and we will get you sceduled for your own Word Slinger profile.
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