Christina Mandara is a USA TODAY bestselling author and tends to write dark romance with lashings of kinky naughtiness. Her favourite pastime is travelling, and if it involves sun, sea and… sand then it’s all good.
In her spare time she’s usually cuddled up with a good book, exploring the countryside or baking in the kitchen. In fact, she loves her kitchen so much she’s one of few woman who wouldn’t mind being tied to it! Her first and foremost love is writing, however, and more often than not you’ll find her on a laptop spinning tales of romance, erotica or dark, paranormal fantasies.
She's a big fan of BDSM in all of its glorious forms, and her favourite item in the toy closet (a box simply isn’t big enough) is her riding crop.
Strong men, super-sexy women, good stories, and incredible sex scenes! What’s not to like? Great variety of genres and plots, and despite the short length of the stories, the characters are well-developed. Well done!
A marvellousy naughty read. Secret rendez-vous meets, BDSM, pet play, paranormal... there is a little bit of everything in this book and when pulled together, it's a pretty magical read :)
Beautifully written stories from some of my favorite authors. Excellent...and HOT! MASQUERADE offers BDSM, pet play, paranormal, ménage, vampires, zombies, contemporary and so much more.
This anthology is comprised of eight erotic short stories of varying sexual intensity. These are each written by different female writer and as such they all have a completely different feel to them. Trust me when I say there is something for everybody here. A common thread running through each story involves sexual encounters while wearing masks, hence the title. Some of the stories are more stand-alone than others and they will be continued. True to most sexual encounters, the action satisfies you temporarily, but leaves you wanting more.
The back stories are very unique and well written showcasing each writer’s expertise at more than just sex scenes. I found the collection to be very enjoyable and look forward for future installments when the time comes.
MASQUERADE makes me want to don a mask and join the fun.
An eclectic smorgasbord of erotic fantasies. Each story incorporates the Masquerade theme. I enjoyed the variety and professional writing in this collection. I have read stories by some of the authors but am happy to add some new ones to my favorites lists. Anyone who enjoys well written erotic will enjoy this box set.
In this Anthology is 8 short stories in various genres of Romantic Fiction with the only similarity being, yep, you guessed it a Masquerades.
As always these will be spoiler free reviews.
Dancing with Death By CP Mandara
Although paranormal is not my usual genre I did enjoy this story. However, it was a little TOO short for my liking.
Violetta is a vampire huntress famed for her success in this field.
Monsieur Martinet is no ordinary vampire, he has a special 'gift', that & his many, many years make him a much sought after 'prize kill' for Violetta.
The images the writer conjures are amazingly detailed, drawing you in completely.
Masked Desires By Alisa Easton
Clara is a rather shy, quiet girl so when her friend Jenna suggests they go to this masked event Clara tries to get out of it. However, with Jenna's help & persuasion they get ready & set off.
What happens there is beyond anyone's expectations! This girl is in need of a cold shower!!!
Secrets By Paige Matthews
Wow this tale is all kinda HOT!
Bella embarks on a daring night, although planned out months beforehand it is no less nerve wracking. No names, no identities just one night of fun, fantasy & pleasure. What unfolds will have your heart & panties igniting.
Under Cover By Glenda Horsfall
While Jed is away on business Laura has missed him terribly, she can not wait for his return but when he gets back things do not go how she has expected at all.
Not quite sure I could have followed through with these orders but that's irrelevant, can Laura? Will she manage to sate his disappointment?
Gah, keeping these spoiler free gets more & more difficult with each new story!
Optical Illusions By Gale Stanley
Maggie had a rather sheltered upbringing, at the mercy of strict parents which led to a wild child phase. As time goes on there are certain events that have Maggie afraid of this side of herself so she buries it deep & moves on as best she can.
What happens when a, too good to miss work opportunity arrises? Will a glam new dress for a swanky function give Maggie the confidence to let lose of just one night?
The Iron Maiden By Kayla Lords
Baby girl & Sir embark on an eye opening night at the Iron Maiden, a BDSM club. What transpires is truly eye opening. The dedication needed to see through with this lifestyle properly is remarkable.
Dominating Justice By Dakota Skye
Melinda works hard as a defensive attorney by day while living a secret life with her sisters at night. Everything is compartmentalised & kept in strict order, until one wish changes things drastically.
Brad is a hard ass judge who seems untouchable but has had several 'blips' in his personal life, or is he really just THAT stern?
What happens when two strong personalities clash? It's definitely worth the read to find out.
Fables Deux By Hunter S Jones
This last part of the anthology is actually made up of 2 shorter 'teaser' stories.
They both feature the fantasies of our leading lady Mary. The first is in Victorian London with Pierre & Jean Paul, the second is set in Las Vegas 2014 with James & Thomas.
This is not so much the fantasy themselves being played out but the anticipation & build up, which can be more exciting & daring than the actual event. I personally would love to see how these scenes played out but that's just me being greedy ;-)
To all the authors who participated, I would like to THANK YOU.
The next RA Jones Anthology will be released in February 2015
These eight stories are sexy as sin, and the variety is a real plus. Despite having a common theme, each story is so unique. BDSM, menage, paranormal, there's something for everyone. Some of the writers were familiar to me, some were new, but they’re all on my TBR list now.
I don’t want to give away too much, but I will say I was hooked on page one by the excellent “Dancing with Death,” the story of a vampire out for revenge. I loved “Optical Illusions,” a contemporary story about seduction and innocence lost. And it was a delightful surprise to see the return of Pierre von Minxle and Mary Montague, the time traveling zombies in “Fables Deux.”
The other five tales were just as tantalizing. Honestly, if you want a quickie, you can’t go wrong with any of them. Each gem deserved a five star rating on its own. Together they were one heck of a bargain at .99. If you’re looking for sizzling sex scenes, and good story lines, you won’t be disappointed.
The common element running through this anthology of 8 stories has to be the mask, used in some explicit and not so explicit sexual encounters.
Each story has its own uniqueness from the story of a vampire out for revenge to a more poignant tale of innocence being lost by seduction.
This was an extremely entertaining and well written collection by some very good authors making names for themselves. The fact that the stories had differing themes also appealed to me, and made me look at each story with fresh eyes. An excellent anthology, put together in an unforgettable, hot and steamy way. Congratulations.
Posted my review on Amazon and it got pulled (!), so I'll do my best to reconstruct a little bit of what I wrote there...
Eight awesome authors come together in the Masquerade anthology to deliver a nice treat just in time for Halloween. No matter what your taste buds (light romance to witchcraft to dark vampire lust), you just might find a story that "suits" (pun intended) you.
What's also a great deal is the low price of the anthology to try out new authors (I only read one author's work before the anthology came out). Not only were the reads delightful, I also found a few new authors to follow.
I bought this anthology as I noticed Gale Stanley had a story in there and I've grown to love her brand of storytelling. This was not a disappointment.... The sex scenes were hot, but there was so much more to the story. I love seeing a flawed character grow and develop. It adds to the believability. After all, nobody is perfect. And despite being a short story, I think Ms. Stanley did a great job showing Maggie’s growth, while still keeping things sexy. As an anthology there were one or two stories I felt didn't work but all in all this is a great varied read.
"Masquerade: A Ra Jones Anthology" is a selection of eight excellently written erotic short stories. Each with their own unique and exquisite cover and character they blend together very well. Strong and dangerous desires, such as the one by a Vampire for a sexy Vampire huntress, fantasies about being loved by two men, domination and surrender are among the themes in this varied mix of stories. All have a scene with a mask in it, but each story is unique, making for a pleasurable reading experience. For fans of well written erotica this is a must read. Compelling, sensual and original.
I recognized some of the authors and decided to give this one a shot. It’s an entertaining read. I was amazed how uniquely different each story is. And each one is not only sexy, but also well written, with a good story line, and interesting characters. Well done!
Well written erotic short stories that are imaginative...each story being unique, but tied together by the common theme of wearing a mask to hide one's identity. I discovered a couple of new authors that dampened my panties and made me search out their full-length books.
A delicious treat of eight sensual and intriguing stories at an unbeatable price!
This is an amazing collection of eight unique, sexy, and tantalizing stories with one common theme: all stories feature sexual encounters while wearing masks. It is imaginative, well-written, with fascinating characters and an excellent balance of romance and steamy stories.
Impressive how eight talented authors combined their work and created this collection that has it all: romance, drama, conflict, witchcraft, BDSM, paranormal—a wide variety to please all whims and desires.
This collection is the perfect read for cold winter nights.
A few of the stories were stellar, but I ended up skipping through about half because they just weren't doing it for me. I think that's just a personal preference, and probably likely to happen in an unspecified collection centered around a vague theme. There was a lot of strong writing, but only a few pieces really spoke to me. Glad I was able to snag a free download when I could.
I wasn’t a bit sure about it at first. A stirring story maybe. But, er, is it a ‘story’, a narrative moving through time? And who is it about and how many characters? I first counted four, but, ah! was it really two? oh no again, maybe essentially just one person’s mind, experience, emotion? Not much time frame either or movement (a little) so could it be a narrative? a moment in time then, or rather across time, obliterating it? a mood, a poem? Best think Browning or Coleridge not Hunger Games or Game of Thrones.
I read it that way, not as at all the usual kind of narrative or love story.
The writing is beautiful. Take the opening – vivid indeed if read in a conventional way: a ballroom of golden chandeliers, silk drapes, the sound of flutes and violins, ethereal lights, a description very nicely written though perhaps nothing especially outstanding about it. Look a bit deeper and read on – is it not a picture of hidden decadence? And the liberated society, site of democracy and freedom, hurray they’re celebrating it and so should we – but, but, here is the shock, a society that has introduced slavery, a society of aristocrats unwilling to get their hands dirty, happy, taking it for granted, to live on the pain of others. And the curse of non-forgiveness. Is this then how it finishes, this triumphant free’d society?
And what of the central characters, Nikolai, the celebrated liberating hero, the one who’d saved them from the wickedness of the banished witch, and Rose, sweet name sweet girl, beautiful? Ah yes, but his hollow eyes are hard, reflecting back the aristocrats’ empty expressions. And have not dictators from Augustus right on to those with us now, ever been those promising to free us from our chains? It’s a dystopian picture – the fashion in fiction that I do not myself warm to - but not, we see, a matter for uncritical celebration.
And she? Obsessed with him, with what he had done, tied in a faustian knot, her dilemma, her fate. And was she perhaps also …
But no spoilers, you must read it. It won’t take you long. A puzzle, yes, at first, but I suspect that, as for me, it will remain with you. What is this life of ours? Perhaps I read too much into it, but I end feeling that in its way it is, finally, a blow, a hope at least, for better, more open, times.