The Flesh Cartel
(Season 2 : Fragmentation)
By: Rachel Haimowitz & Heidi Belleau
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Published: Jan. 7, 2013
Genre: Horror Erotica
Rating:
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Nikolai Petrovic is a man of refinement. He collects fine art, enjoys
gourmet cuisine, and trains boutique sex slaves for some of the
wealthiest—and most morally dubious—men and women in the world.
Charged
by a wealthy client to buy a man to train but not break—to shape into a
skilled, obedient slave who will yield with hatred rather than love in
his eyes—Nikolai finds the perfect raw material in Mathias Carmichael.
But there’s a problem: he was auctioned off in a lot with his beautiful
younger brother.
Douglas Carmichael is a lovely, trainable thing,
but Nikolai never takes on more than one slave at a time. As a master
trainer who’s never once failed in his task, he knows he’s up to the
challenge, but it will take formidable skill and planning to mold these
drastically different brothers into their best selves. And in order to
make them obedient to Nikolai and their future masters above all others,
he’ll first have to break their greatest loyalty of all: their
dedication to each other.
Episode #3: Choices
This is such a heart
wrenching story. Luckily the brothers get somewhat of a break in this
one (if you can even call it that). Their new Master is Nikolai, and he
kind of refurbishes the slaves he buys and molds them into what a
potential buyer would like. So unlike the brutal men who raped Mat and
Dougie, this man is all about training. His goal is to beat them down
and then reshape them into the perfect slaves for their owners.
Poor
poor Mat. Due to his fighters pride, he always seems to get the most
brutal attention. Nikolai is no exception. He plans to condition Mat to
keep his fighting spirit but to still be subservient to his Master,
which is proving to be a difficult task. Mat is shot up with drugs that
make his nervous system go haywire anytime he does something that
dissatisfies Nikolai. Meanwhile Dougie is isolated at treated like a
baby bird. He's cherished by Nikolai and is given a tender hand by him.
But of course, one wrong misstep on Dougie's part will come with
ramifications and he soon learns to make sure Nikolai is happy with him.
Episode #4: Consequences
The brother's are learning
their roles and realizing what Nikolai wants from them. Dougie is
turning out to be quite the little slave while Mat still fights against
Nikolai every chance he gets. However, Mat knows that escaping is a lost
cause and by not pissing Nikolai off too much, he doesn't have to get
injected with that horrible drug again. He'd do anything to keep that
from happening to both himself and his brother.
I thought it was
interesting the way Nikolai treated each of the brothers. He's
gentle with Dougie but the second Dougie does something that displeases
him, he is quick with a punishment but then turns around and comforts
him. However, with Mat, he's amused by the fight in him. He doesn't
coddle him or even try to show compassion towards him like he does
with Dougie. He seems almost, more real with Mat. He buys Mat all this
workout equipment to give him something to do and focus on. Nikolai is a
very complex character. He adapts himself based off of the brother that
he's dealing with. However, regardless of how he treats the brothers,
it's clear that he favors Dougie and is showing interest in keeping him
for himself.
Gosh, this was another great episode to the story.
It wasn't as horrific as the first season was but that could also be
because I knew what to expect this time around. I've never read a story
before that had me so shocked and disgusted the entire time but still
managed to keep me from putting the book down. It's like driving by an
accident on the road. We've all done it, rubbernecked to see all the
horrible details, this story is no exception.
"That's
what he was, wasn't he- what he's always been. The big brother. The
protector. That's what he would live for. Because obviously this whole
mess was bigger than him and Dougie. Was huge. Frighteningly organized-
he ran gentle fingers over his forearm, where the microchip sat just
beneath his skin- and nationwide at least. Maybe worldwide at least. So
he'd live, Dougie or no Dougie, to get out of here. To help everyone
else stuck in hellholes like this one and like Madame's to get out too.
He'd be the fighter Nikolai wanted him to be. Except secretly, he'd be
fighting for his own cause."
Curse Girl
(Blue Winter, #2)
By: Mark Mackey
Publisher: Jessina and Montalay/Trixie in the Mirror Publications
Published: March 23, 2013
Genre: Horror
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Amanda Hansen targets a
new student Julie Argyles whose ancestor just happens to be a witch.
Julie’s act of payback changes Amanda in a way she could not expect or
want, and now she and her friend Gillian must take a road trip to find
Julie before seven days pass, and Amanda is stuck the way she is
forever.
Feeling the cool fall air against her face stepping from the house gave Julie a strong incentive to continue what she set her mind on doing.
Starting to walk along a residential block with the street named Cylers caused Julie to feel excitement blossom in her at a rapid pace. The idea being in a new town would allow her to escape and be free of the constant torment of ridicule; this coming as a result of Sharon, Angela, Bridget and her being what they were. It sure would be something of a miracle if Blue Winter was void of pathetic, vile witch-haters like Tracy and Heather; the thought of this causing Julie to start moving faster toward the section of Blue Winter with stores and businesses.
As the hour progressed following departing her house, Julie arrived at her intended destination. What she saw brought her to be reminded of good old Darkwoods, Blue Winter and it bore one heck of an incredible resemblance to one another. In addition it was like any other quaint little suburban town, a mixture of old time dime stores, ice cream Shoppes, and the new, Starbucks and Subways. Now if there weren’t any pathetic witch-haters such as Tracy and Heather infecting Blue Winter, her life here would go perfectly smooth in this new town she and her parents had relocated to from Darkwoods.
Continuing to travel along, what snagged Julie’s attention, a store front music store with the name Rosemonts. If it was one thing Julie enjoyed besides spending an hour or so talking on the phone with Sharon, it was listening to and buying music.
“Hey new girl welcome to Blue Winter,” Maddie announced as Julie stepped in; “yeah I know you’re new all right, I have a talent of knowing each and every one of the teenagers who live in this town. It’s quite easy for me to do so since the only high school is Saint Anne’s. So what brings you here?”
“My Dad being handed the opportunity of running a branch of the company he works for,” Julie answered as she started heading toward the counter and Maddie and Dahlia.
“So what’s your name new girl?”
“Julie Argyles, and since your last name is Rosemont, I suppose you’re related to the owners of this record store?”
“Yeah uh-huh, it’s been in my family for generations now.”
“Well I’m glad to meet the two of you Maddie and Dahlia. Hey you think you could tell me a little bit about Blue Winter?”
“I should have expected that question next,” Maddie replied. “Julie this town isn’t much different than any other wholesome, quaint little American community.”
“What about the residents and others our age?”
“For the most part, Blue Winter’s residents are accepting of new citizens, but-” Maddie said, not finishing her sentence, but shooting a brief nervous glance at Dahlia.
“Okay what’s with you not finishing your sentence Maddie, is there something I should know about?” Julie asked with nervousness present in her voice.
“Just to give you a heads up before you start settling in and getting comfortable here.”
“Sure go on I’m listening.”
“Julie there’s a group of girls who Dahlia and I asked to join and had our invitation rejected, run by best friends Amanda Hansen and Kristen Flemings. Well just by Amanda now, since Kristen moved away only yesterday.
“What’s that have to do with me?”
“Oh come on Julie, you arrived here practically at the same time Kristen left. Are you seeing why Amanda might try and attack you in some way because of the hurt and depression she’s feeling over losing her best friend?”
Mark Mackey, I live in Chicago, I’ve won two screenplay awards, have
had four of my short stories published in four separate anthologies,
Without Title, Christmas Lites, All the Lovely Creatures, and the Perfect Christmas Stuffing.
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