Customer Reviews

Creepin': Payback Is A Bitch\The Heat Of The Night\Vamped\Balancing The Scales\Avenging Angel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

APOOO BookClub Rating: 4.5

Creepin' is an exceptionally fantastic anthology by a wonderful assortment of talented authors! Each of the five stories focuses on five women who were deceived and ultimately betrayed by someone they once loved with all their hearts. But what does one do when one has been betrayed by another; well revenge of course! It is best served cold and swiftly and with the strictest of vengeance!

Payback is a Bitch by L.A. Banks

Sidney Coleburn-West is a hardworking woman who is fed up with her husband battling her to try and gain every red cent of what she has worked so hard to acquire in their ongoing divorce. So, she goes to one of her friends, Leonora to ask her for help. Leonora sends Brick, an alpha werewolf to the rescue and rescue Sidney he does! Brick cannot resist the alluring pull of Sidney and soon he really shows her how a real man...werewolf? is supposed to treat a lady. But will he end up nicking her and turning her into something that she fears?

The Heat of the Night by Donna Hill

Christine has had fantasies of "being" with her best-friend Melody for the longest. But when she gets a taste of the mysterious and captivating phantom phallus she becomes obsessed. The incidents that occur with the phantom phallus are taking over her life. Once she becomes focused only one thing, achieving orgasm after orgasm after orgasm after orgasm, she becomes a prisoner of her own lust. But what will she do if her supreme pleasure giver goes away?

Vamped by Monica Jackson

Joy is secure and confident in her relationship with her fiancé, Andre, but he only seems to go to work and back home and nowhere else. Joy begs him to go out to a club so she can show him off but that is when things take a turn for the worst! Joy learns why her fiancé only goes to work and back home when they encounter a vampire who has marked Andre as hers. Between Joy and this vampire which one will be the victorious woman who gets to have Andre forever?

Balancing the Scales by J.M. Jeffries

Paloma Alexander is a talented woman who has achieved much fame and success but she is not happy, especially when she finds her husband in bed with some other woman. Paloma is outraged and that leads her to seek a divorce but she gets the shock of her life when she learns what else her husband has done to her. Not leaving anything to chance, Paloma heads to New Orleans for a little help that will do the job of making her husband pay for eternity. But what will Paloma have to lose in order for her revenge to be dished out?

Avenging Angel by Janice Sims

Sarai, a Nephilim being, devoted to God called Grigori, seeks to rid the Earth of all pedophiles. She makes it her mission to protect young innocents. Her life could not be any better than getting bad people off the streets and having the most wonderful husband in the world, Daniel. She has been happy with him for years and cannot wait to give him the wonderful news that they are expecting. Sarai's once love, Nighthawk, seeks to put a dent in that plan. Nighthawk, going on information given to him, wants Sarai to be his so that he can sire a baby with her. Will Sarai be able to rid her life of Nighthawk forever?

Each story in this sensually erotic anthology is a must read! These authoresses have definitely given a new meaning to the word Creepin'! They all blend the erotic and revenge notions with ease and precision. I recommend this anthology to readers looking for a sensual read that includes werewolves, vampires, fallen angels, phantom entities and a little bit of that voodoo from N'awlins y'all.

Reviewed by Chantay W.
APOOO BookClub

The authors alone made me interested in picking up this book and I was honored at the chance of reviewing it.

Reading it immediately brings on a hailstorm of lust. From the first attraction to the last breathless quaking of sex, Creepin is a must read twice book! (Not just once.)

I rarely pick up any book twice, but I found myself prone to re-read it, which is why the review took so long because I actually enjoyed myself - along with being turned on and just fasinated at how the strong female characters leaped off the page.

Sylvia Hubbard, Author of STONE'S REVENGE and Mistaken Identity

I loved this book..........each story was a surprise and it was not
hard core which gave the readers shero's to admire the first story
Brick is good the the lady of the story is Sidney the reader will love her
the second one is just as good Heat of the Night was Chris was a strange
woman...........you got to read it...........Vamp.....just read it
the next story........Paloma is a true diva.....read it
and Angel..........thank you Janice now I have more authors to look and to read.......................thank you for a GOOOOOD BOOk

If you are a big fan of supernatural fiction or authors like Tanarive Due, you might be tempted like I was to pick this book up. My advice is to just find a used copy or get it from the library. Of the five short stories included here only one, "Avenging Angel" even approaches the quality of Due's work. The rest of the stories are not well thought out or written. Though I was drawn in by the first few lines of "Payback" and "Balancing the Scales," both stories had very uneven and disappointing conclusions. There is a lot of graphic sex in these stories but almost every author uses the exact same unimaginative phrasing which makes for a boring read in my opinion. If you are a fan of mass-produced under edited "urban" fiction then you might like this book but the more discriminating reader is sure to be left unsatisfied. Two stars just for "Avenging Angel" which I found to be well written and imaginative. It's a shame that black readers don't have more to choose from when looking for paranormal titles.

I have one word to describe Creepin'--WHEW!! I'm particularly partial to L.A. Banks' 'Payback is a Bitch'... this story was one helluva way to begin this particular ride. If you're looking for a little spice in your life, then this book is for you. Best read with a signicant other beside you to put out the fire that will surely ignite as you turn these pages!

Payback is a Bitch by L.A. Banks (3 stars)

This story was alright. I thought Sidney was rather pathetic however I did like Brick and Leonora. It was almost as if the author was trying too hard to make her husband as deplorable as possible. It was unnecessary, especially in such a short story.


The Heat of the Night by Donna Hill (0 stars)

I have not one good thing to say about this story. The Entity anyone?


Vamped by Monica Jackson (2 stars)

No suspense. Boring story. Lame ending. It was easy to read and fairly well written though.


Balancing the Scales by J.M. Jeffries (2 stars)

I like the idea behind this story however it fell terribly short when dealing with her husband and his newest little starlet. It could have been so much better. I did like the ending though.


Avenging Angel by Janice Sims (3 stars)

This story could have been much longer. The "bad guy" Nighthawk was not very convincing and Sarai's husband was a bit silly as well. Overall the story was worth reading and one that could easily become a series set in this world.


This was the first time I have read anything by these authors and I don't think I will seek any other of their books out based on the stories I read in this book.

I must admit I purchased this book because I simply love LA Banks. She was the draw, but every author who participated in this anthology is was talented, and I enjoyed all the stories immensely.

In the first story "Payback is a Bitch" (werewolves), by LA Banks, we meet Sidney, whose husband is not only cheating on her, but trying to take everything that she has worked so hard to get. Finding that she needs to beat him at his own game, she decides to follow her friend's Lenora's suggestion to hire "Brick", a sexy, mysterious PI (who also gets her juices going) to discover the truth. What he finds is more than anyone bargains for.

In "The Heat of the Night" (incubus), by Donna Hill, we find out just how far Christine will go to get back her phantom lover.

In "Vamped" (vampires) by Monica Jackson, Joy finds out what happens when you become the one thing that your lover hates.

In "Balancing the Scales" (witches) by JM Jeffries, we find out what happens when you are betrayed by the one that you love. Once Paloma, a rising singer/star, finds out that her husband is cheating on her and has stolen all of her money, she sets out on a plan for revenge that once executed can not be taken back. Just what would you be willing to give up to have your revenge?

In "Avenging Angel" (half angels) by Janice Sims, we meet Sarai (a Nephilim, part Grigori, part angel) who is a detective (she hunts child molestors) by day and is an avenging angel by night. She also has a problem with her ex-lover wanting her back after breaking up with her several years earlier because he, being half sorcerer/Son of the Morning Star, was forbidden to marry her because she was a Nephilim. What will she do once she finds out she has been seduced? What will she do to protect the ones she loves the most?

Five bestselling authors produce a collection of horror so eccentric and erotic readers will need an angelic moment.

'Payback is A Bitch' by L.A. Banks (Werewolves)
Hell has no fury like a woman played. Sidney Coleburn-West hires a detective to catch her cheating husband; he is out of control. From the first meeting, detective Brickland knows he is in trouble, Sidney pulls something out of him that very few people have seen. Mild-mannered, Sidney suddenly feels untamed; Brickland has awakened a dormant past that is foreign to her. But revenge is on Sydney's mind, and her cheating husband will learn that payback really is a ...

'The Heat of the Night' by Donna Hill (Paranormal)
Christine had to be losing her natural mind, the past few weeks have been something of an enigma. After lusting for Melanie, her best friend since high school, Christine is suddenly enjoying being ravaged, nightly, by a very large male member or something. When the incidents start on her job, she knows she needs help, but the truth is she really doesn't want help. Then something happens with her best friend and Christine goes over the edge.

'Vamped' by Monica Jackson (Vampires)
After too many bad relationships, Joy has finally found her soul mate, Andre. His one negative is he doesn't venture from home after work; but there is a reason he doesn't go out after dark. To show her home girls she really does have a man Joy convinces Andre to go to a night spot. With much reservation he acquiesces. Andre is afraid and rightly so, that night becomes a nightmare as Joy is introduced to a kind of living that really isn't living.

'Balancing the Scales' by J.M. Jefferies (Voodoo)
Arriving back in Las Vegas from a five day meeting that took two days, recording star, Paloma is excited about surprising her husband. But as she climbs the stairs to her bedroom, the surprise is on her. Fuel is added to the fire when she learns her husband has depleted all of her financial accounts and mortgaged the house. Murder is too good for him, he needs to suffer; a trip to New Orleans, to visit her aunt Odile, is in order. But Paloma will have to pay a precious price.

'Avenging Angel' by Janice Sims (Angels)
Detective Sarai Wingate is one of the best on the force, her specialty is capturing pedophiles. Her methods are unorthodox, but she always gets her man. Sarai is married to a human but her genetic make up is out of this world. She has an admirer whose heritage and genetic makeup are just as strong, but anthetical to hers; and he wants her bad. Her admirer visits a four-hundred-year-old sorceress to activate his obsession for Sarai. The terms of the spell are either he will get his desire or he will meet his death.

CREEPIN takes readers to a realm beyond the limits of their sensory imagination, where anything can happen -and does. Fueled by lust and deception the characters take journeys to the dark side of sexual decadence and other-world fantasies. To the five contributing authors, I raise my oven mitt, it was hot.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Let's just start from the beginning You'll know that what I say is true after you purchase this book. It will have you at a supreme state of lust. A true page turner chapter after chapter. The characters are so real and interesting. Leslie you started the heat and the others continued to burn my retinas to the core.

What happens when some of the best romance authors come together to write a horror anthology? You get a collection of short stories that's sure to please! Although all of the stories in Creepin' gravitate toward revenge, someone creepin' is what leads to the revenge, hence the title. So, if you plan on doing wrong to someone, then you really need to pay attention to what you read in this book.

Popular authoress of The Vampire Huntress Legend, L.A. Banks, kicks the anthology off with a very erotic scene in the first chapter of Payback Is A B!tch. In this story, Sidney Coleburn-West is a successful lawyer who has worked hard for everything she has, but is very unappreciated by her cheating husband, Douglas West. When Sidney wants out of her loveless marriage without losing everything she's earned, she turns to her best friend Lenora for help with hiring a special private investigator who they call Brick. Will Sidney receive justice?

In the erotic horror story, The Heat Of The Night, Donna Hill introduces us to a woman named Christine who has been having what she thinks are very vivid sexual dreams. However, it isn't until she realizes how tired she is in the mornings that she realizes the dreams are very real. When Christine lets these escapades take over her life, how far will she go to keep having them?

Popular romance author and the editor of Creepin', Monica Jackson, keeps the pace going with her story titled Vamped. This story is about a sista named Joy who is happily engaged to her fiancé, Andre. So happy, that she brags about him to her co-workers all of the time. However, because he never accompanies her to different outings, they believe that he doesn't exist. That's when she realizes how much they don't go out. When she finally convinces Andre to go out, their good time is short lived when a mysterious woman shows up.

J.M. Jeffries doesn't disappoint with their story titled Balancing The Scales. This story is about a singing diva, Paloma, who not only discovers that her husband, Keith, is having an affair, but has also spent all of the millions of dollars that she's earned over the years. Although she told herself she would never go back, she returns to the bayou of New Orleans to seek out the help of her Great Aunt, Miss Odile, to assist her in delivering justice New Orleans style. Is the price for revenge too high for Paloma to pay?

Avenging Angel by Janice Sims is a story about a Grigori named Sarai, who makes it her life's mission to protect innocent people. Sarai and her husband, Daniel, have been happy for years and are finally expecting. Just when she thought things were going well, an old flame of hers, Nighthawk, comes back into her life and he not only wants Sarai back, but wants her to have his child. Can Sarai succeed in getting Nighthawk to leave her and her husband in peace?

Each story in this anthology was well written and made you want to read one story after the other, nonstop. However, if I could bring one of these characters to life it would have to be Brick from L.A. Banks' story Payback Is A B!tch. Ms. Banks described him so well that for a moment, I wished that I was a character in that story just so that I could see him in person. I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology and if you read it, I'm sure that you will too.

Reviewed by LaShonda Bates
of Urban Reviews