Panting versus Plotting

The day's worth of 'American' football is almost done and now it is time to turn our attention to more interesting endeavors. Maybe something sweet, warm, and sensual, something perfect for Sensual Sunday? You all know what I mean. There is nothing like a cup of hot chocolate and a great book! And today's choice is most sensual. How can it not be when we are talking about an incubus, a male sex demon!


Save My Soul (Preternaturals Book 2)
By Zoe Winters
Publisher: Incubooks
Pages: 300

Great Plot

From Amazon:
     All he's asking for is her soul. After buying the antebellum home she's fantasized about since childhood, Anna Worthington discovers Luc, a dangerously seductive incubus who has been trapped in the house by a fifty-year-old curse.
To rid herself of her problem house guest she'll call on a priest, gypsies, ghost hunters, and the coven of witches from lust bunny hell. All she has to do is resist him long enough to break the spell so they can go their separate ways. If she doesn't, she could die. And that would be the best case scenario. HEAT LEVEL: Some sexually explicit content. 3 out of 5 flames.


About the Book:
    Anna Worthington returns home after the death of her father, never expecting to stay beyond the funeral. A stray drive up her old street lands her in front of the house she has always wanted and it's for sale! Having inherited a fortune from her father, she buys the house on an impulse - or was it a nagging whispering in her head that caused her to buy? Plenty of money and the house of her dreams - it could all be perfect if it weren't for the demon who keeps asking her to give him her soul or to at least burn her house down.
    At first a few things seem to be moved about, then there was a message on the mirror. Finally, on the night of her first date since returning to Golatha Falls, the demon bodily throws her date out the door. Later that night, Anna discovers what is really haunting her home. It is not the ghost of a former owner, Beatrice, who died in the house, as Anna had suspected. Rather the haunting is the work of a sex demon Luc, an incubus. It is then Anna learns Luc cannot leave the house because Beatrice, being a witch, cursed him.
    Anna tries everything to lift the curse so Luc can leave the house and leave her alone. Meanwhile, Luc must feed, and he feeds off the sexual emotions of his partners. Anna must keep him fed so he won't be tempted to feed on her.  So what does she do? What any reasonable woman with money would do. She hires five hookers to move into the house and keep Luc fed.  All he has to do is promise not to feed on them until they die.
     Meanwhile, Cain, another Incubus, and Luc's partner in crime, has become a big threat to Anna. So how does Anna break the curse on the house, keep Luc from feeding on her, and stay safe from Cain?


My Take:
     I've tweeted it and I will say it again. Zoe Winters can write. I was taken in from the first page. The writing is clear, quirky and fun; my favorite kind when reading light novels. I found the heroine quite believable and understandable with reasonable reactions to most everything that happens to her. My emotions vacillated when it came to Luc but I believe this was the intention of the writer.
    The bit characters in this book are extremely memorable because they are so much like the people everyone knows. Anna hiding behind her curtains from Bitsy and Mimi reminded me of the days when I lived in this tiny town, where I too, would drive home without headlights and not turn on any lights in my house so I could avoid my nosey neighbor. Tam has got to be the best friend most of us have had at sometime in our lives. 
   Most of you know that I dislike Romances. Actually, I kind of hate them - there is too much panting and not enough plotting. Winters work is nothing like that. It has plenty of plot, great characters, and a wonderful blend of words. It is quite likely perfect for this genre.  It does have a 3 out of 5 flames, indicating, I believe, how much explicit sex is included.  There is some fairly graphic sex and some profanity, the latter is sparse and, to my mind, justified.
   The best of the best is the twist at the end of the story. It took me by surprised, which seldom happens. I must say this was a well worked plot twist that left me saying, "Wow, I never saw that coming!"