Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Myths, Moons, and Mayhem: Paranormal Gay Menage and Erotic Romance
AUTHOR: Various Authors
PUBLISHER: Sexy Little Pages
LENGTH: 194 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2017
BLURB:
Myths, moons, and mayhem make the perfect threesome—and so do the men in this anthology.
Enjoy nine erotic stories of paranormal ménages a trois fueled by lust and magic, where mystical forces collide with the everyday world and even monsters have their own demons to conquer.
A werewolf gets a lust-fueled lesson on fitting in with the pack, a professor unlocks ancient secrets and two men’s hearts, and a pair of supernaturals find themselves at the erotic mercy of a remarkable human. Ghosts, fairies, aliens, and mere mortals test the boundaries of their desires, creating magic of their own.
Penned by favorite authors such as Rob Rosen and Clare London, as well as by newcomers to the genre, Myths, Moons & Mayhem is an eclectic mix of paranormal lust and polymythic beings that will spark your fantasies and fuel your bonfires.
Inside Man by Clare London—At a London pub, a tear in the veil between the dead and living opens up new possibilities for a ghost who could only ever watch the men he desired, but never touch.
The Secret of the Golden Cup by Rebecca Buchanan—A classics professor finds himself at the center of a magical war. With an unfairly attractive student and a campus janitor as his only allies, can he stave off the forces of evil?
When The Big Moon Shines by Carl Redlum—A college student is intent on hunting down the man who turned him into a werewolf. But his mouthwatering neighbors keep getting in the way.
Careful What You Wish For by Elizabeth Coldwell—Josh dreams of meeting Mr. Right, so his roommate offers help with a love spell. Neither man is prepared for what happens when the spell begins to work.
The Cave by Dale Cameron Lowry—Losing sleep to the sounds of his tent-neighbors’ nightly lovemaking has nature photographer Ethan at his wit’s end. What kind of magic can convince the two men he should join them?
The Endless Knot by Morgan Elektra—The fiery romance between a vampire and a werewolf threatens to burn itself to the ground until a human teaches them to temper the flame.
Squatchin’ by Greg Kosebjorn—Two Bigfoot hunters get more than they bargained for when they set out on an overnight camping trip to trail the legendary beast.
Celyn’s Tale by Rhidian Brenig Jones—A young Welsh farmer is haunted by visions of his future lover, only to discover that the lover is not one, but two—and not exactly human, either.
Close Encounter of the Three-way Kind by Rob Rosen—In this quirky comedy, aliens arrive from another galaxy, but they’re more interested in consensual exploration than invasion. Alien probing never felt so good!
ANTHOLOGY REVIEW:
Overall this wasn’t a bad collection of stories; there was a good variety in what was on offer and most followed the paranormal theme quite well. While I generally liked everything I read, however, there were very few stories that I really liked and even fewer that I’ve continued to think about days after finishing the book. The main draw for this book is the menage relationships with a little bit of paranormal to spice it up somewhat so there isn’t a great deal of world building or character depth to be found so if that’s what you really want out of your stories, you may be a bit disappointed in that respect. If you enjoy your men as a trio rather than a pair and are just looking for a variety of hot a sweaty ways for them to have a good time, however, this one may be right up your alley.
Inside Man by Clare London 3*
This was an okay way to start the book for me; an established relationship in trouble that manages to come back together with the help of a ghost. I liked the premise quite a bit, and the set up wasn’t bad, but I didn’t care for the characters themselves and wish I could’ve gotten more information about and/or backstory for the ghost in general.
The Secret of the Golden Cup by Rebecca Buchanan 4.5*
My favorite story of the anthology, hands down. The set up was great, the characters were interesting and I was drawn into the story from the very beginning. Add in a nice dose of action and magic in the middle with a solid ending and I can’t help but want to go back and read this one again! This is also the only story presented that would make an excellent full novel, if the author ever decided to expand it.
When The Big Moon Shines by Carl Redlum 3.5*
While no stranger to shifter stories of all types, I do like how this one played out in the end as it was much different than I had been expecting. Shifter are obviously known in this universe, if still feared, which was nice but I would’ve liked more details about the shifters in general. Word of warning since I wasn’t sure how to label this, however; there is a sex scene where the main characters are all shifted or at least partially shifted (I never really figured out what they looked like here) and that might squick some of you though it wasn’t what I would consider to be graphic.
Careful What You Wish For by Elizabeth Coldwell 3.5*
I really liked the use of magic here and the menage aspect was unique and well done, which was appreciated. The only thing I didn’t care for was how Josh’s roommate had a boyfriend in the beginning but it was kind of brushed aside by the end. Josh did get his happy ending, which was nice, I just wish it had been handled a bit better.
The Cave by Dale Cameron Lowry 3.5*
This is another story that had a great, unique use of magical abilities that made for an interesting read. I never really clicked with the main characters, however, which made this an okay read for me in the end. I liked that all three men wanted to spend more time together at the end but I think more character/world development would’ve done wonders for this one.
The Endless Knot by Morgan Elektra 3.5*
I always really enjoy shifter/vampire pairings; they just seem to feed off of each other (feed off of, ha!) beautifully. Add in a spitfire of a human and this was one of the better groupings in the book. For pure sexiness, this story has it going on but my interest was caught by the characters themselves and would’ve liked to have had more interaction between them outside of having sex.
Squatchin’ by Greg Kosebjorn 3*
My least favorite of the anthology this also had the least amount of any kind of paranormal element in it. Like, blink and you’d miss it at the end levels of paranormal which made it kind of pointless to include it at that point. I’d say this one is purely for the bear lovers out there but the story itself was kind of a flop.
Celyn’s Tale by Rhidian Brenig Jones 4*
I really enjoyed the set up for this story and there was enough world building with it that I didn’t feel it was lacking anything substantial. As this is the only story to feature the fae, it also made for a nice break from the previous offerings while still fitting in with the theme quite nicely. Well written and enjoyable.
Close Encounter of the Three-way Kind by Rob Rosen 4*
This was certainly a unique way to end the book so kudos to the author for that. I really enjoyed the set up for this one and the writing itself was great. The alien himself had a unique feature that I wasn’t expecting, which was nice for the surprise factor alone, but I do wish the author hadn’t given quite so precise a likeness for him; the person used just isn’t my cup of tea and I didn’t find that image sexy at all. *wrinkles nose* Still, an entertaining read and a good way to end the anthology.
RATING:
BUY LINKS:
I’ve been curious about this one!
Sounds like some interesting stories. Thank you for the review, Sarina
I had been curious about this anthology. Thank you for the review. I’ll be adding this one to my TBR.