A rape fantasy or a ravishment is a sexual fantasy involving imagining or pretending being coerced or coercing another into sexual activity. In sexual role-play it involves acting out roles of coercive sex. One form of sexual roleplaying is the rape fantasy, also called ravishment or forced sex roleplay. Ravishment has become a more preferred term in BDSM circles, as it makes a distinction between consensual role play and non-consensual assault. Though consensuality is an important component of sexual roleplay, the illusion of non-consensuality (i.e., rape) is important to maintaining the fantasy. Crossing the line may constitute an assault and result in arrest and conviction.

—Wikipedia

Rape fantasy role-playing has become a hot topic with the unexpected popularity of E.L. James’s Fifty Shades trilogy, as well as all the subsequent articles explaining and judging this popularity. When first hit with the notion that someone actually thinks about having forced sex, what comes to mind is, “Why would you fantasize about something so repugnant and possibly life-threatening?” It’s a touchy subject that requires some careful consideration. 

[Let’s give it that careful consideration...]

In need of some sexy reading material to fill your e-reader? I’m here for you. Each month I will bring you an assortment of erotic pleasure reads to tempt your palate—and your credit card....

Hot (very hot!) on the heels of J.R. Ward announcing the next book in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series will focus on the m/m romance between Qhuinn and Blaylock, we’ve got additional m/m suggestions for some erotic smutty goodness for your e-reader.

Ava March writes some of the steamiest, emotionally vested m/m erotic romances I have ever read. Set in the Regency era, she realistically shows taboo m/m romances trying to flourish amongst society’s prejudices. She has started a new series called the Brook Street Trilogy. I recently read Fortune Hunter, and as usual, was completely engrossed in Ms. March’s world.

[Resistance is futile—go ahead and click now...]

After scratching the surface in BDSM: Spelling It Out in Erotic Romance, I wanted to further explore the world of BDSM in an attempt to understand this alternative lifestyle and its appeal. There are many nuances to it that proclaim is as a culture all its own, including role-playing.

Role-playing is not exclusive to BDSM, but it is an important aspect in the lifestyle. Role-playing is the changing of one’s behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously or consciously, to act out an adopted or social role. In BDSM, sexual role playing is an erotic form of role-playing. It involves power roles and form part of the Dominance and submission aspect. Roles can be general designations of power positions, or very specific, detailed fantasies. The controlling player is often called the top or Dominant, while the controlled individual is called the bottom or submissive.

The sexual fantasy itself plays an important role in determining what a couple may indulge in and how far; the content and goals of the sexual fantasy vary greatly between individuals and are subject to personal desires. These fantasies range from the mundane to the bizarre, and a person may have none to a full desire to carry out an imagined act. Fantasies allow people to imagine themselves in roles they do not normally have, such as power, innocence, and guilt. Many couples share their fantasies to feel closer and gain more intimacy and trust, or simply to become more aroused or effect a more powerful physical response.

[Just imagine...]

Jennifer Ashley
The Duke’s Perfect Wife
Berkley / April 3, 2012 / $7.99 print, $7.99 digital

Lady Eleanor Ramsay is the only one who knows the truth about Hart Mackenzie. Once his fiancee, she is the sole woman to whom he could ever pour out his heart.

Hart has it all—a dukedom, wealth, power, influence, whatever he desires. Every woman wants him—his seductive skills are legendary. But Hart has sacrificed much to keep his brothers safe, first from their brutal father, and then from the world. He’s also suffered loss—his wife, his infant son, and the woman he loved with all his heart though he realized it too late.

Now, Eleanor has reappeared on Hart’s doorstep, with scandalous nude photographs of Hart taken long ago. Intrigued by the challenge in her blue eyes—and aroused by her charming, no-nonsense determination—Hart wonders if his young love has come to ruin him . . . or save him.

The Madness Of Lord Ian Mackenzie was the first book in Jennifer Ashley’s emotionally daunting and utterly romantic Highland Pleasures series, and each successive book has dealt with a Mackenzie brother, traveling through heartbreak and redemption to eventually find the one woman who will be able to offer the healing only true love can bring. What makes this series a winner is the characters themselves.

[Great characters welcome...]

Too often when I read a YA (young adult) book I am struck by how remarkably similar they are in plot and setup: The heroine is usually a quiet, socially lacking, economically poor but stunningly beautiful virginal young woman who is almost always the new student because of a tragic past. She meets and instantly dislikes the uber popular, stunningly beautiful, super-smart, messy-haired, sexually liberated hero. They fence with each other for a few weeks because they really don’t dislike each other. Oh, no. This is all love at first sight, but fictional teenagers aren’t able to handle love at first sight so they must react with hate and fear until the boy saves the female from a fate worse then death. Then cupid’s arrow hits them both right where it counts. BAM! What proceeds next is a merging of the heroine and the hero into one entity, like Bradgelina or Bennifer, and you can hear the faint strains of Helen Reddy’s “You and Me Against The World,” playing in the background for the rest of the book. Of course, there is the requisite mean girl(s) who hate the new girl for stealing their men and having the audacity to be beautiful not only on the outside but the inside too. But hey, when you have Helen Reddy on your side, you are pretty much invincible.

[But where’s the fun in that?...]

In need of some sexy reading material to fill your e-reader? I’m here for you. Each month I will bring you an assortment of erotic pleasure reads to tempt your palate—and your credit card....

Trust In Me (Dark Erotica) by Skye Warren, released 2/6/2012
I haven’t read this but have been hearing that it is HOT, HOT, HOT.

Mia longs for the daily torture to end, but one last task keeps her holding on. In a betrayal of the crime lord who pulled her from the gutter, she’ll free the shipment of human cargo, and if she’s lucky, die in the process. The alternative is unfathomable, even to a woman well-versed in erotic torture. But luck abandons her yet again when she meets the security expert in charge of the shipment and finds herself face to face with her childhood crush. The man she once begged for help. The man who failed her.

[Luckily for him this is Romance...]

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series not only brought us sparkly vampires and sexy werewolves but it also romanticised, what is in reality, an abusive relationship. Edward, Bella, and Jacob are all a part of a love triangle which pits vampire Edward against werewolf Jacob with the winner getting the quiet, stuttering, human Bella. There are many instances in the book that shows Edward controlling what Bella does under the guise of wanting to keep her safe. Breaking her truck so she can not go see her friend Jacob is one example. But we defend Edward because, he loves her and comes from a different era. Even with his condescending attitude towards Bella, his belittling comments about her fragility, his family having to babysit her, even the lullaby he writes her doesn’t make a dent in our love for him. Throughout the book Edward demands, threatens, and eventually forces Bella to do things she does not want to do and we all quietly sigh and exclaim, "Now THIS is love.”

Eventually, the books morph and we see Bella covering up injuries that she sustains from Edward and from their relationship. Still, Edward is considered da bomb and most readers think Bella is a klutz. Jacob isn’t a much better hero with his constant threats and trying to force himself on Bella, convinced if they just share one kiss, she will dump Edward and come to him.

[Love is NOT pain...]

The cover for Shiloh Walker’s newest romantic suspense book—Stolen—is being seen for the very first time here at H&H. YEAH! Stolen, which releases October 30, 2012, doesn’t even have a back cover blurb as of yet, but Ms. Walker was nice enough to share an excerpt she posted on her blog.

Stolen excerpt:

Coming in here had been a BFM. Big fucking mistake.  She should have just waited in the car…

“I miss you.”

Closing her eyes, she whispered, “Don’t.”

[Don’t WHAT?!? Click already!...]

Gay male romantic fiction continues to be a top read for me—I find myself more emotionally vested in their lives, as opposed to the heterosexual counterparts. I watch these couples meet, fall in love, and attempt to have a relationship amidst the insecurity, prejudice, and fear that often taints their lives, regardless of setting. I love watching them come to terms with themselves and each other beyond the bedroom. More often then not, the trope is a gay or bisexual man who is comfortably out of the closet who falls in love with a straight man who is so far in the closet he can’t find his way out. There is a faint forbidden vibe that clings these stories that only adds to the excitement.

Here are five hot male couples that hooked me as I followed their path from lust to love:

Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English and Jake Roirdan, from The Adrien English Mysteries, caused a lot of heartbreak and anxiety as I watched the story and romance unfold. There are five books in the series:

[What’s their story?...]

Thea Harrison
Oracle’s Moon
Berkley, $7.99, March 6, 2012

When Grace Andreas’s sister, Petra, and her husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister’s two young children—neither of which she is prepared for. Then Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn Prince of House Marid, decides to make himself a part of the household both as guardian and counterpoint to Grace’s impudence towards the Elder Races.

Thea Harrison’s series, The Elder Races is a paranormal romance series set in modern times, in a supernatural world filled with sexy over the top alpha shifters, intelligent, powerful humans, elusive vampires, snobby elves, and all manners of in-between. Suspense, intrigue, humor, and plenty of super sexy action combine for a delicious twist on the genre.

[Super sexy action is ALWAYS welcome...]

Nalini Singh
Angels’ Flight
Berkeley/Feb. 28, 2012/$7.99

Warrior angels, vampire hunters, and angels gone bad heat up this altogether sizzling paranormal alternate universe. This anthology of novellas features Angels’ Wolf, Angels’ Judgement, Angels’ Pawn, and the never-before-published Angels’ Dance.

I adore Nalini Singh’s Archangel series, which is dark and erotic. It’s set in an alternative version of Earth, with fantastical world building and peopled by angels, vampires, and humans. This four-story anthology tells the stories of four couples who are given a chance at love, if only they are brave enough to seize it. Each of these, except for Angels’ Dance, have been previously published.

The first in the novella, Angels’ Wolf,  reintroduces us to Noel, a vampire who was horrifically brutalized in Archangel’s Blade. He feels broken and unworthy, a feeling which is only intensified when Raphael sends him to another angel’s territory. Nimra is the archangel of Louisiana. She has had her own share of tragedy and now an assassin bids their time in hopes of ending Nimra’s reign forever. Angel’s Wolf is a perfect blending of loss and redemption, saturated with emotional turmoil. I found myself falling in love with our shattered hero and heroine. Each has suffered a horrific loss, and it’s only through their passion that are they able to overcome the past and look towards the future.

[Passion’ll do it every time...]

Shiloh Walker
If You Know Her
Ballantine, $7.99, Feb. 28, 2012

Nia Hollister doesn’t scare easily. Come hell or high water, she intends to find her cousin’s killer. She returns to Ash, Kentucky, for answers. What she doesn’t expect is to ache with desire every time she sees Law Reilly. If any man can help her escape the nightmares for a while, it’s him. But can she allow herself to take comfort in those strong arms when a murderer still roams free?

Unknown to Nia, as she quietly slips into Law Reilly’s home, is that she’s being watched—by someone who is waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Timing is everything, though he can’t wait forever. If she’s not frightened, she soon will be. Nia has made a vow to find her cousin’s killer. She should be careful what she wishes for.

If You Know Her is the conclusion to Shiloh Walker’s exciting, nerve-wracking, explosive, romantic suspense Ash Trilogy. Throughout the series, we’ve watched a town terrorized by a serial killer.

[Isn’t it romantic? It is! Read on!...]

Butch O’Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he’s the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who’s way out of his league. And if he can’t have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

But fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he’s found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, otherwise known as the BDB, is my personal literary version of crack. A paranormal romance series based on a group of sex on a stick, alpha overloaded, vampire race of men who protect their race and humans from a soulless race of minions, called Lessers. They and their boss, the Omega, seek to destroy the vampires and subjugate the humans.  From discovering the brotherhood in Dark Lover to finally learning John Matthews’s destiny in Lover Mine. I have laughed, cried, fumed, cursed, and even had a couple of, “What the ???,” moments throughout my adventures  with them. Would I spend my last $20 on a BDB book if I had no gas and needed bread and milk? Probably not. But there would be a couple of tense moments thinking about it.

[Should we be worried?...]

Jo Beverley
A Scandalous Countess
Signet, $7.99, February 7, 2012

Lady May is back. And so is the scandal that sent her tumbling from her position as the toast of London, when her husband, the Earl of Maybury, was killed in a duel. Even a year of mourning hasn’t quieted the rumors of her infidelity.

Georgia Maybury is determined to regain her position in the beau monde, but a scarred ex-naval officer threatens her plans...

Once again, Jo Beverley transports us back in to the decadent and dazzling world of the Mallorens. A Scandalous Countess is the second book in her intriguing Three Countesses trilogy. Set in the Georgian era, Ms. Beverley’s opulent descriptions of the glittering ton with its witty dialogues and lively dalliances continues to enchant. Dark intrigue and scandal only further enhances the experience and elevates this series above a normal historical romance.

[Dark intrigue is definitely...intriguing!]

The world of the Dark-Hunters is unlike anything you’ve every seen before. It’s dark. It’s gritty. It’s dangerous...

And it’s a whole lot of fun and a lot of laughs.

My name is Nick Gautier and this is the story of my life.

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series is one of the best-selling paranormal romance series to date, combining elements of Greek mythology and religion to create its own unique world. Though each character has a heavy following, one character that has had fans begging for more with each new installment is Nick Gautier. Nick’s a smoking hot, super sexy, dark-haired, beautiful-to-look-at Cajun, first introduced in Night Pleasures as a twenty-four year old man. He has been with Kyrian for over ten years as his squire. Throughout the series we have all fallen in love with Nick as we watch him live, love, and lose everything that ever mattered to him.

The Chronicles of Nick is Ms. Kenyon’s response to the begging and pleading of her fans—everyone wanted to know hows and whys that swept up Nick and deposited him in to the Dark-Hunter world. And there is a VERY interesting story here, which Kenyon has turned into a hilarious and addictive youth adult series.

A series that, in reality, gives us twice the amount Dark-Hunter deliciousness.

[Wait, what? Do explain!...]

Thank you, Ms. L’Engle.

As the 50th anniversary of Madeleine L’Engle’s science fiction classic, A Wrinkle in Time, approaches, I find myself thinking back to the first time I was introduced to the book. My mother read it to me at a very early age; so early, that I distinctly remember her telling me that we would try again when I was a little older. By age eight I had devoured this book, along with A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. It was only as I had gotten older did I begin to understand why I loved A Wrinkle in Time so much.

Not only did it begin my love affair with fantasy and mystery, but it also gave me my first look at a strong female protagonist who suffered from similar self esteem issues. I identified heavily with Meg Murry. I too felt awkward, unattractive, and was considered an odd one. Living life did not come easy for me. I was an odd duck and Ms. L’Engle made me feel like that she understood me.

[What a difference a book can make...]

Shiloh Walker
If You See Her
Ballantine, $7.99, Jan. 31, 2012

Hope Carson may not look like a survivor, but she has escaped an abusive ex-husband and recovered from a vicious assault. Now she endures the painful memories and suspicious rumors surrounding her involvement in the attack. Her ex is a cop, so the last people she trusts are law enforcement officials—and she certainly doesn’t trust how the local DA makes her feel inside.

Remy Jennings should know better. He has no business falling for a woman who he suspects may have a deeply troubled mind. And even if he did make a move, she’d bolt like a frightened rabbit. But how can he deny a burning desire that threatens to consume him? As Hope’s past catches up with her in the worst way, Remy is determined to break through her defenses, earn her trust, and keep her safe in his arms—before it’s too late.

If You See Her is the second in Shiloh Walker’s dark and gritty romance suspense trilogy. Not only does Ms. Walker continue to deliver her trademark scorching hot love scenes and dynamic, personable characters, but she raises the bar with more action and intrigue to keep you hooked ’til the last page.

[Who doesn’t love a good hook?...]

I grew up on fairy tales: Cinderella finding her Prince Charming; Sleeping Beauty being awakened with a kiss; Little Red Riding Hood learning the real reason you should never talk to strangers.

With the recent popularity of of television shows such as Grimm and Once Upon a Time bringing our favorite stories to life in modern settings, fairy tales have become a hot commodity. In these shows, sex and violence are layered over the original story to attract adult watchers—which is, in fact, how fairy tales were originally intended to be written and received.

Historically, fairy tales were extremely dark and quite scandalous. What your parents read to you as a child were clean, violently sanitized versions of what was originally written. Don’t believe me? Find a copy of an original Brothers Grimm fairy tale book published before 1912 or an original copy of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid.” Trust me, the Little Mermaid did NOT get her HEA in that one. Most of the stories were quite macabre and gruesome. Rape, sadomasochism, and torture ran amok in the earlier versions. It was only after negative reviews (and Disney’s sanitation department got involved) that the stories began to soften, becoming sweeter and moralistic, with sigh-worthy happily ever afters.

[But what about the sexy?...]

As a connoisseur of erotic books, I find that erotic anthologies are like ice cream sundaes—different flavors all mix together to offer a new and unique taste. Some you’ll like. Some you won’t. And some will become favorites to tempt you over and over again.

Anthologies, no matter the genre, offer a wonderful opportunity to meet new authors and to reacquaint ourselves with old favorites. I admit to occasionally buying an anthology just for one story from a favorite author; Jaci Burton, Robin Schone, and Anne Calhoun are just a few names which will guarantee I’ll buy the anthology. Below I have put together a sampling of “flavors” that I’m sure will tempt your erotic palate.

Laced With Desire by Jaci Burton, Jasmine Haynes, Joey W. Hill, and Denise Rossetti

Rough hands rounding the curves of a soft warm body-caressing, stroking, edging her toward exquisite pleasure. Seduction is a cinch in these four sizzling stories from the hot authors of Unlaced. And that’s not just talk. These women deliver...

Jaci Burton breaks the rule about mixing business with pleasure...Jasmine Haynes explores the lust of a former supermodel who needs to finally fulfill a no-holds-barred sexual fantasy...Joey W. Hill reveals the erotic bond between a master and the beautiful submissive who stole his heart...And Denise Rossetti goes beyond the limits of desire when she pairs a battle-scarred veteran of love and war with a woman who’s just as fearless and twice as dangerous.

[Double the danger, double the fun?...]