ARTIFACTUAL - Alessia Brio & Will Belegon

Phaze - www.phaze.com

ISBN: 1-59426-908-0

March 2007

Erotic Paranormal Romance Anthology

Heat Rating: Nova

Present Day

Erotique

When Amanda Long inherits her Aunt Vivian's shop Erotique, the inheritance comes with a clause. Mandy must run the shop for a month and then spend one full night in the store alone. Mandy has always known that she'd inherit the shop and museum; she just didn't expect it so soon. Mandy works the shop for the full month and during that time she realizes that many of the pieces in the sex shop museum are more than simple artifacts -- some of them seem to have power. When the time comes for Mandy to spend the night in the shop, her best friend, Bruce Winfield, keeps her company.  Both of  them are in for a surprise when they find themselves drawn into the past that haunts the erotic museum pieces.  

Switch

Mandy has owned Erotique for some time and she and Bruce have moved far beyond just friendship. Mandy and Bruce now live together and often test out new products before introducing them at the store. Mandy's latest little gadget is electric nipple clamps. The night Bruce and Mandy decide to give the clamps a test run there is a monstrous thunder storm -- and when the power shorts out so do the clamps.   Suddenly Mandy has a penis and Bruce has breasts -- this only interrupts the action a moment before both realize they have the opportunity of a lifetime -- to see what sex is like from the other side.  

Amichu

In Amichu, Mandy and Bruce travel to Santiago and Easter Island at the behest of one of Aunt Vivian's old friends, Professor Eduardo Rojas Aguilar, to collect an ancient artifact for Erotique. When they set out on their journey neither Mandy nor Bruce thought their lives would be in danger -- or that someone would die.

Closing Arguments

Mandy has her hands full. A customer is suing Erotique claiming a high priced dildo she purchased has caused her irreparable harm. To make matters worse, Bruce is out of the state on an environmental law suit in California. Even though Bruce is her attorney and advises Mandy to settle, Mandy refuses, believing she will prevail against the sanctimonious witch suing her. This causes strife between Mandy and Bruce -- more because of Mandy's stubbornness than anything else. But with the help of Professor Eddie, an old Professor of Bruce's, and the ghost of Aunt Vivian, Mandy and Bruce will either prevail and come out stronger than ever as a couple -- or they'll end up killing each other.

ARTIFACTUAL is a highly entertaining erotic tale about a pair of likable people and a very unusual erotic shop and museum. The sex is sizzling, the dialogue witty and the character interaction charming. Watching the relationship unfold between Mandy and Bruce from a close friendship in Erotique, to a completely committed couple in Closing Arguments is the best part of the anthology. However, the evolving mystery about Aunt Vivian, Erotique, the shop, and the "haunted" sexual apparatuses in the museum is just as enjoyable. Secondary characters are not really present in the first two stories, but Professor Eddie features prominently in Amichu and Closing Arguments, and Aunt Vivian may be dead, but she's never really far away. While the sex is hot in each story, the last two tales focus more on plot and characterization than on sex -- my favorite of them all is Switch.  It was fun, different and extremely sensual.

ARTIFACTUAL is an enjoyable collection of stories about a couple who are realistically and lovingly portrayed with enough sizzling sex to please any reader. Don't miss this fun and sexy read.

Isabelle Spencer