Customer Reviews

The Brass Bed

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

Chicago is being overwhelmed by magic seemingly being blown everywhere. The mayor orders his subordinates to conceal what is going on insisting he fears a panic. Chicago Department of Consumer Services investigator Jewel Heiss is unhappy with her boss; with all the goings-one he assigns her to perform surveillance of his wife, who happens to be her best friend.

Her surveillance introduces Jewel to Clay Dawes, who claims his magical brass bed will cure all female sexual problems by simply taking a nap in it. Jewel is upset with the scoundrel who charges an exorbitant fee, but takes him up on his challenge of testing the bed free of charge as long as he is in it with her. However, his brass bed also contains an incubus cursed in the nineteenth century for being a crappy lover while a genie is turning the city into a magical mystery mayhem tour.

The speed is hectic from the onset, but fans of urban investigative romantic fantasies will hop onto THE BRASS BED for the wild ride. Though at times wordy, the lighthearted story line has a lot going on so it bewilders the audience as it does the investigative heroine; who must decide between sexual curse and sexual fraud; either way she wants to test first her hand (and a few other body parts).

Harriet Klausner

This is the first book in Jennifer Stevenson's series, the second being, The Velvet Chair. And while both books are Urban Fantasies set in Chicago, that is about all they have in common. The story focuses on, Jewel Heiss, an investigator whose job it is to hide evidence that pertains to magic. The formula that worked well in the first books, however, doesn't work as well in the second. This is due, in part, to Jewel's assignment. She finds herself investigating an affair, and in doing so, meets a love therapist named, Clay Dawes. Clay Dawes, is an attractive therapist, that instructs Jewel to lay on a brass bed. She does, and has a "dream" unlike anything she has had before. Well, it turns out, the brass bed has a demon residing in it a "love" demon, if you will, was cursed to the bed by his mistress until he satisfied one hundred women. The spirit, Randy, has become attached to Jewel, who now finds herself attracted to Clay Dawes. Oh, what is a lonely girl to do? Well that is basically The Brass Bed. It is a fun, light read. The plot isn't the best, but it does lead you along nicely. Overall, not bad -- but by all means not the best either. If you are looking for a well-developed plotline, that masters the duel romance theme, I'd highly recommend JoAnna Wylde's novel, Price of Pleasure: Price of Pleasure my fav in the genre.

A friend who is always on the lookout for freebie Kindle books alerted me to this one, so I figured I'd give it a try. It certainly wasn't a book I'd ordinarily buy as I'm not usually a fantasy fan, but I did find it interesting. Though the premise of the sex demon trapped in a brass bed was far-out, the author did a good job of suspending disbelief with that story theme. I'm not sure if the theme of magic in the physical setting added to the book or detracted from the odd-enough-already theme of Randy (the sex demon), Clay (the con man) and Jewel (the slutty cop). I enjoyed the characters, I thought the book was well written and kept my attention, and wasn't over-the-top with the graphic scenes despite the subject matter.

The "pink stuff" was very confusing to me at first, as well as the theme of magic being prohibited in the town, what happened in Pittsburgh, and the "hinky" stuff. The pigeons with their nicotine addictions were amusing, as well as the genie in the bottle granting wishes. To be fair, I don't read many novels that deal with these themes! The ending fell a little flat for me. I didn't get a clear picture of the resolution to the story and it left me hanging a bit.

Overall, I think this is worth the read. The story will definitely stay on my mind for a while and I like the author's writing style! I'll keep my eyes open for her future work.

Sometimes you just need to read a book without putting a lot thought into it. This would be the perfect book to reach for. It's fun, funny and fascinating. It kept me laughing and smiling. You have to REALLY suspend all belief to get into this book, but it's about a sex demon trapped in a bed, ya know? The sex scenes weren't over the top and it had a good fun storyline. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys paranormal books and needs a break from the serious reads.

I picked this for free for my Kindle on Amazon... and the marketing idea worked. I finished this and immediately bought the 2nd book, The Velvet Chair.

First off, this is NOT a typical, boy-meets girl formula romance. It's a little bit out-there at times, but fun anyway. I found it to be well written, and the characters are interesting and likable. I enjoyed this book enough to buy the next two in the series (The Velvet Chair and The Bearskin Rug), and enjoyed them even more.

Okay - so there's some slang in the book - and it might take you a chapter or four to get in the mindset of a "magical" Chicago....but I have really enjoyed this book. I found it a quick and easy read that made me laugh out loud. Worth the minute I spent loading it on my Kindle, and the five hours it took to read.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a lot of fun to read. I enjoyed the humor in it, especially the running gag about the pigeons that smoke. The story line was different enough that it kept my attention, definitely not your run of the mill girl meets boy and they fall hopelessly in lust with each other and live happily together from then on. And the biggest plus... it's free. I will be reading the next in the series.

I was suprised by the number of mediocre reviews, but I suspect they come from people expecting something else out of this book. The Brass Bed really isn't exactly a romance novel, as I understand romance novels, which might account for some other reader's dissapointment. I'd call it solidly "light urban fantasy" and judge it against other such novels. With different cover art it could just as easily be marketed to a scifi/fantasy or contemporary fiction crowd of either gender.

It's witty, it's zany, I read it on the train and spent a happily distracted time. It takes place in a confused half-magical future Chicago where odd incidents (pigeons have started smoking cigarettes, some homeless kid has a Genii in a bottle that he's renting out, causing havoc) are never explained -- much to the betterment of the book, I think -- we're plopped into this world and not spoon fed. There are scenes in which sex occurs, but if you're looking for a bodice ripper with muscled pirate captians spiriting off feisty, repressed, school marms with lots of underlined passages, this isn't it. I found the characters delightful, the dialogue zinging, and the fast-paced leap from outrageous situation to outrageous situation refreshing.

This weird and wacky story had me laughing out loud. I liked Jewel and her cursed lover Randy, and I absolutely loved con man Clay. I didn't go into this e-book expecting much (it was free, so that was okay), but I was pleasantly surprised. This is not a "happily ever after" kind of story, it's just fun. I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

This was a cute bit of zany fun. The tension between the main characters put me in mind of Ranger, Stephanie Plum, & Joe Morelli. I think some of the other reviewers were taking this book way too seriously. It was supposed to be fun not major literature! There was a few weird spots, but overall I really enjoyed reading a paranormal romance that wasn't so dark and gory like so many of them are now. I enjoyed the characters and the plot and thought there was a satisfying ending, but one that left you wanting more at the same time. I will definatly pick up the next books in this series.