Esmerelda BishopCritiques

This was a free book from Smashwords.

I enjoyed this twist on the Classic "bodice ripper" Romance. Very clever idea since everyone has dreamed of stepping into a story and replacing the heroine. Now we find out it might not be so easy to get the story to go the way we'd like.

The short length of The Panther's Lair impeded my enjoyment of this story. There wasn't enough time for the characters to properly fall for one another and read as "love at first sight" which I'm not a real fan of. Also the plot involving the ex would have gone a lot smoother if the book had been longer. Other than that the writing was good and humorous in places. If you're a fan of [a:Moira Rogers|1441593|Moira Rogers|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1279392007p2/1441593.jpg] or [a:Shelly Laurenston|65137|Shelly Laurenston|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg] then you might enjoy this.

The story starts right off with the protagonist seeking to cure her conflict. Each page was interesting and the events were close and exciting. Good Read

Other than the very descriptive love scenes, this story was pretty good. I am not big on Erotica and this was my first erotica book, so I am not sure what to really write. LOL

Other than the very descriptive love scenes, this story was pretty good. I am not big on Erotica and this was my first erotica book, so I am not sure what to really write. LOL

THE PANTHER'S LAIR by Esmerelda Bishop is an erotic paranormal. It is a short story, its fast paced, full of steamy sex, shape shifter meets human soul mate,full of passion, and did I mention sexy love scenes. A sexy hero who is also a shape shifter looking for his soul mate. A heroine who is human, quick witted, only looking for sex and has a stalker. A boyfriend who hit her, she left him, he is stalking her now. She meets our sexy hero, who just happens to be a shape shifter looking for his soul mate. He finds her in our heroine, marks her but does not bond her to him yet. This is a quick read full of sex and passion but it also has a tender story of finding your soul mate, your mate for life and making them yours. This book was received for review from Net Galley and details can be found at Carina Press and My Book Addiction and More.½

Sydney Chase has sworn off all relationships after her most recent disaster of a now-ex-boyfriend. She decides that a one night stand will keep her going for a bit and finds herself in the mysterious Raimond Decoudreau's nightclub, The Panther's Lair.

Raimond is dark, mysterious, handsome, all that you would expect a romance hero to be. But he is also hiding a secret. A secret that he is not sure she will accept.

Another quick steamy book. It helped me pass by a long afternoon.

3/5

For a book that's all about the sex, thank goodness it's not really all about the sex. There's a decent plot threaded through the romance, and the bad guy gets scared out of his wits, which is nice. I *loved* Raimond's french accent, though I knew what the secret phrase meant long before the heroine, given my french classes. The book seemed awfully short to contain all the action that it did, but I'm glad it wrapped things up at the end.

I had a little trouble relating to the heroine, but then again, I've never been one to go out searching for sex. It was fun to read about, though.

As I've found with most romances that are unabashedly explicit, some of the phrasing used during sex scenes just makes me laugh, but for the most part the (very detailed) writing avoided flowery purple prose, so thank you. Interesting visual imagery. I will say, the sex scenes go in a direction not many will try, which is a good thing for the curious. The shifting seemed fairly commonplace (not a lot of room to develop the mythos in such a short story), but I'd be interested in learning more about the world.

Received as an eARC through Netgalley.com.½

Sexy men, amazing sex, and red furry handcuffs what more could a girl want? You agree, then you need to pick up The Panther's Lair, it is hot and steamy and I am not just talking about the mind-blowing sex.

Sydney has has a string of bad luck when it comes to men, and after her ex hit her she swore to have only no strings attached sex. But her plans fall flat when she goes to Panther's Lair with her best friend, looking for a one night stand, instead she finds Raimond.

I loved Sydney. She was so full of life, and took charge of her sex life. Many women could learn a few things from her. She is a strong character who wouldn't stay in an abusive relationship.

Now Raimond, oh my, after you finish reading The Panther's Lair you will want to find your own Raimond. Raimond is such a French gentleman, he is smart, and knows how to go about getting what he wants. I loved how protective of Sydney he was. I could picture him standing there staying sweet nothings to Sydney in French. I guess I have a thing for French men, they are just too sexy with their amazing accents. I was thrilled that he find his mon ame soeur (his soul mate) is Sydney. They made such a wonderful couple.

The Panther's Lair won't disappoint you. It is definitely a must read.