Customer Reviews

Menagerie

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Menagerie by Lara Santiago
Oversize trade paperback release date: July 23, 2008
4 Stars

This book is an amazing futuristic romance with a big twist! The entire premise is a fun and highly erotic ride.

Valerie Thornhill is accidentally transported onto a spaceship where she must become a sex slave to 5 different men for 3 years! Each man has a very different personality and all of them are very attractive.

Valerie cannot help falling in love with one of the men! She is torn by her `duty' and any preference in her behavior which can undo the companionship of the group.

The different men and Valerie's growing dilemma make for HOT reading. It was surprising to discover which male Valerie gradually grew to love and her anguish over feelings she cannot control. I was touched by the relationship with her preferred lover. At first he seemed one-dimensional, but as Valerie grew to care for him, so did I!

Lara Santiago pulls you into her world. Her writing is deceptively clever as I never saw the surprise ending! If you are looking for a quick read with entertaining turns, this is the book. Another satisfying futuristic romance by Lara Santiago!

Reviewed by Steph at Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Valerie Thornhill's day can't get any worse. First she wakes up and finds herself looking at a man who is blue. Then, Mr. Blue had the audacity to tell her that she has to have sex with five different men in order to save their lives. Valerie has been abducted by aliens. Taken to their world, she is told that for the duration of her time on the spaceship she is to service five men sexually for five years. If she decides not to have sex with the men who pick her, they could die. She figures she will make a schedule and go about her duties without emotion. She doesn't count on the fact that she will want and desire each individual man, and she should, equally. Therein lies Valerie's problem. One of the men has become more than a scheduled liaison -- he has become the man she loves.

Good heavens above Menagerie made me squirm! From beginning to end I wanted to BE Valerie. Each male in her harem was deserving of love and I found myself individually loving every one of them. Add in the plot twist at the end and my heart smiled for a story well told. Menagerie is unlike any alien book I have ever read and the heat is out of this world. I will read Menagerie over and over.

Talia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Even though menage doesn't take me by surprise anymore -I've read so many erotic titles that I'm admittedly jaded, but Menagerie made this cynical soul sit up and take notice!

It was refreshing to see five males with five distinct personalities and ALL of them alpha! I cannot tell you how many MATE menage plots I've read and become turned off when one of the males comes off slightly beta or too sensitive.

Menagerie was nicely paced, the futuristic world well developed and the plot out of the norm. So much so that I couldn't put it down after cracking the first page...and thank goodness I didn't because I would have never guessed the surprising TWIST at the end. In my humble opinion it was like the time when I found out Darth Vader was really Luke's father!

This is my first book by Lara Santiago. I liked it. Well written and easy to follow. One reviewer compared her to Emma Holly and said that this book is simple compared to her stuff. I read alot of Emma Holly and that is actually what I enjoyed about the book, it was written well but not to over the top. And loads of different types of characaters, which was refreshing. There is a place for each of those types of books, over the top characters and more "human" characters. And I enjoy both.

I came across Lara Santiago by accident on an e-romance publishing site. This book was just recently released and it's worth the download time and money! While this is no in-depth romance Menagerie is quick paced, amusing and the steam fairly rolls off the pages. This is not a true menage book but would qualify as a multiple partner with a great twist in the end. Santiago is ingenius and in a pulp fiction world FULL of the same old stuff it's nice to see a new, refreshing idea. If you enjoy Kimberly Zant (be aware this isn't as dark as Kimberly Zant's stuff) or Kaitlyn O'Conner you will probably like this book. I'd buy it hardcover and give it a re-read and that's high praise from a jaded and frustrated e-romance writer herself! So grab it and enjoy!

Valerie Thornhill was out jogging. It was something she absolutely hated to do under any circumstance, but if she was to lose any weight, she had to do it, and according to her mother, it had to happen. Out of nowhere she hears gunfire erupt when jogging near the road, and the next thing she remembers is waking up in an unfamiliar place. She feels certain that she is in the middle of a very good dream especially when she hears she must have sex regularly with five different men. When Valerie meets her men, she is starting to believe her dream is in fact a form of reality in which she is no longer on earth. Hauser, Johnny, Frasier, Mark, and Dominick are beyond Val's wildest dreams. All of her men captivate her. They are all so different, but yet she is drawn to them all. Dominick is very large and imposing. While he made her nervous and a little frightened, Val felt drawn to him also.

Valerie was promised to these men for three years, and as they all got used to the arrangement, she found herself getting more deeply involved with each of them. Since she was sexually inexperienced, Val was learning more about herself and her men than she ever thought possible. Against all rules set forth for all of them, she found herself falling for one of her men. She was still wildly attracted to them all, but couldn't help the feelings developing for her special one. The guilt started setting in that she was somehow shortchanging her men, and when she started waking in the middle of the night screaming, Val knew something had to give.

I am not usually interested in futuristic stories, but decided to give this one a chance, and I am glad I did. It is a clever, humorous, and well-written story that grabs your attention. Valerie is a voluptuous woman that always felt like she wasn't good enough, but she blossoms under the love and attention of five very sexy loving men.

I was so disappointed reading this book. I read all the reviews and was looking forward to a hot sensational read; instead I just woke from a nap. Too much explanation of the "ailen rules" not enough sex and what little there is is boring and flat, rather clinical. The only menage is a rape dream-yuk! I really wish I had picked another book to buy in these bad economic times. I need value for the buck and a good fantasy to escape into. This book does not satisfy either category.

I really enjoyed this read. While I'm one of those readers who usually guesses the ending by the third page, this one surprised me -- happily. Creative idea, good characters, interesting premise. I really enjoyed this book and the relationships between the characters. When I lose track of time reading a book that means it's held my interest -- and this one did that. I would love to see a sequel to it (can't say more than that without a spoiler) and look forward to other works by the author.

This was a wonderful book and was a super hot read. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I highly recommend it.

This was my first Lara Santiago book and I thought it was very entertaining. The concept was fun and light and I liked the characters a lot. I agree with the other reviewer that the gang-rape scene was unsettling and to me it didn't seem to fit the story all that well - like she had to get a twist in and this idea worked for her. I liked the characters enough to keep reading.