"a well-crafted tale"
Exotica is a female sex demon from Middle Oea. She has
worked her way up from slave to the bedroom of the prince
of Oea and unwisely fallen for the detached and ruthless
royal. Exotica is also unique in that despite the
mandatory body scan performed on her by Oea's techno-
mages, she still has the capacity to care about and
sympathize with her lovers. This capacity makes her a
freak among her people and a liability in the eyes of
Prince Kaliban with whom she has been consorting for the
past year. This is before Kaliban decides that he doesn't
need her anymore and discards her to her own devices. Rejected and lovelorn, Exotica wanders the streets of the
Garden District where she stumbles upon an assassination
plot to ensure Kaliban's status as the future king of Oea.
The intended victim? An up-and-coming romance cover model
in the human world unaware of his half-demon origins. Not
only are Kaliban and his cousin, Duke Uriel plotting to
eliminate the prince's "mongrel" brother, but Kaliban
agrees to give Exotica to Uriel as his sex slave and as
payment for doing the deed. Determined to keep her hard-won freedom and secure her
place with the king, Exotica decides to find the cambion
before Kaliban and Uriel's assassins. Cambion St. Michael is a man who enjoys his solitude and
is uncomfortable with the trappings of his growing fame.
His spirit is restless, in search of an outlet other than
the monotony that his life has become though he can't
quite put his finger on what is "missing." He's never
dreamed a day in his life and though he finds this mildly
odd and frustrating it is the boredom that tortures his
soul the most. When the beautiful, cloaked woman appears on the balcony
where Cambion has wandered during an industry party, he
suddenly realizes what, and more importantly who, is
missing from his life. In the strange Exotica he senses
the excitement and pleasure his soul craves; in the
mysterious and dangerous creature, Cambion also senses he
has found his destiny. Only trouble is, destiny comes to
him delivering all manner of dire warnings and crazy
conspiracy theories about his heritage and impending
murder. Raquel Taylor has fashioned a tough and intelligent
heroine in sexy demon Exotica and a sharp-witted and
tenacious hero to match her in Cambion. Together Exotica
and Cambion make one sensual and obstinate pair with
explosive chemistry that only grows from their first
meeting to the exciting, action-packed climax. The sex and
bondage and submission scenes, in particular, are HOT,
each one more inspired than the last and escalating in
intensity until this reader was salivating and squirming
in her seat hungry for more. Highlighted by a tightly-woven plot, imaginative,
illustrative world-building and captivating, true-to-life
characters, THE CAMBION'S KISS is a well-crafted tale of
betrayal, loyalty, desire and love I'd recommend for any
fan of erotic romance but especially those who enjoy bdsm
and shapeshifter stories.
Reviewed by Gracie McKeever
Posted February 8, 2007
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