11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spider-Touched by Jory Strong, August 5, 2009
This review is from: Spider-Touched (Mass Market Paperback)
Author Jory Strong has created a futuristic world of such vast scope, it's hard sometimes not to get lost in its stories. Her latest in the Ghostland World series is "Spider-Touched", a tale of two lost souls who aren't sure who or WHAT they are. The only thing they come to know during the story is that they belong together, regardless of their pasts.
The year doesn't matter. It's beyond the apocalypse of the last war when supernaturals came out of hiding and humans spent their technology and lives almost destroying everything. The remaining city enclaves that remain are in the hands of the ultra-rich and the 'church', and neither is immune from what ultimate power breeds--corruption.
Tir doesn't remember WHAT he is, just that he's NOT human, he can't be killed, his blood can heal, and he's living for the day he escapes to lay waste to his enemies...whoever they are. His hatred for humans is arrested when one touches him in a dream, and then frees him. For the first time in centuries he is able to breathe freely and finds his desire rekindled...but only for the woman who risked her life to free him.
Arana doesn't know her real name, just the name she gave herself to match the spider mark that moves on her body and protects her at the cost of her ability to touch anyone. She sees the man with the strange markings in a dream and, at the risk of capture, frees him. She knows he's not human because she can touch him without killing him. And not just touch him...caress him, kiss him, and finally...love him. On the run from corrupt groups looking to capture and use their talents for gain, Arana and Tir fall in love. But when the final truths about their natures are revealed, will love be enough to save them...from each other?
If you didn't read "Ghostland" this book will be difficult to understand. There's an overarching plotline that provides a little information about who and what each of the characters are, but if you read the first one, this book will make much more sense. Now, having said that, I wonder if reading this book without having read the first one would make it more realistic since neither Tir nor Arana know what they are or how their lives intertwine with a bigger picture of the upcoming war between supernaturals.
If you have a strong religious bent, you may be offended as this book portrays all the evil, and none of the good, of the established 'church' that holds power by using supernatural creatures to evoke miracles and healing and control the populace. If that will make you froth at the mouth...don't read this series!
Jory Strong writes stories with incredibly strong heroes and heroines...and really, really smoking hot sex! I wavered over calling this erotica since it's more smoking romance but there's just something 'naughty' enough about the situations and characters to justify the tag. The sex is copious and sizzling and does include some light consensual BDSM for those who need a warning.
Having said ALL that, I really, really enjoyed this read. It's not a casual, pickup read and will require some thought. I would also describe it as having urban fantasy elements. There's demons, vampires, shifters, gods, witches, angels, and probably a few I left out. There's also action, sex, suspense, good, sex, evil, romance, sex, and kickbutt magic. After reading "Spider-Touched" I'm even more anxious to see where Jory Strong goes next with this fascinating world.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dark and bleak...., August 4, 2009
This review is from: Spider-Touched (Mass Market Paperback)
In a dark, post-apacalyptic world, now inhabited openly by shapeshifters, werewolves and vampires and heavily policed by corrupt law enforcement, life is hard. No one knows that better than Arana. She possesses the mark of the spider upon her body - and not just any spider mark, one that moves, acts on its own and can transport her to a spirit world - and so she's been shunned, tortured and hunted for most of her life. She leads a lonely existence, for to touch her spider mark is to die, and the spider does not allow anyone to touch Arana.
Arana longs for the luxury of human contact, but knows that it is something she will never feel, until she releases a mysterious being from captivity, and finds that he alone can touch her without dying.
Tir has been a captive for thousands of years, held by humans intent on using him for their own selfish needs. He's long since forgotten what type of being he is, and counts himself lucky to remember his own name. After centuries of brutality, supernaturally bound and kept from his powers by the collar around his neck, Tir has almost given up hope of ever escaping - until an extraordinary woman releases him from his shackles and frees him to pursue the mystery of the collar's magical key.
Together Arana and Tir must try to find the secret of the collar's key before the evil forces surrounding them succeed in ending their lives forever.
SPIDER TOUCHED is a very dark novel. The world that the characters inhabit is both depressing and bleak, and the battle of everyday life for them is almost exhausting. Well-written, and highly imaginative, SPIDER TOUCHED will leave readers feeling a little disturbed and just a bit surprised at how the story wraps up.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't Connect With This Post Apocalyptic Erotic Romance (C Grade), August 22, 2009
This review is from: Spider-Touched (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the second book in Strong's Ghostland World series. Her first book, Ghostland was a very enjoyable read and recommended to those who like reading a post-apocalyptic world with heavy paranormal and erotic elements. (There was a great deal of wet panties and hard nipples in that read). Spider-Touched has an interesting character in that of Arana, a lonely young woman who has been very abused because of the spider mark on her body that can move anywhere on her when the need arises. The spider mark protects her and if she touches someone, the mark will kill them. Anara can't take the chance in touching anyone, so she keeps her hands to herself and wears a glove over her left hand to hide the brand that was burned in her flesh by a clergyman. The Church is considered to be one of the vilest of all in this world, even above the demons, vampires and other supernatural creatures that rule. Anara was taken in by two men who are pirates. They have come to San Francisco looking for more booty. And because the city is very dangerous, she is separated from them and taken captive and imprisoned where she will be involved in some sick games where she will be raped and killed all for profit.
Another prisoner, Tir, knows he is not human but has no memory. He can't be killed and his blood can heal. He has been held captive by the same ones who have taken Anara. These two are able to escape and now are on the run. And they run and run, hide and fight the evildoers and have sex whenever they can. For some reason because Tir is a supernatural being, he is able to touch Anara without being killed by her spider mark. For the first 150 pages these two work together to survive even though they don't trust one another. But that doesn't stop Tir from feeling the licks of flame along his cock when he is with Anara. She in turn welcomes Tir because he doesn't die a horrible death when they touch. Both win!
I really wished Spider-Touched would have worked for me. I just couldn't connect with Anara and Tir like I did with Aisling and her demon lover Zurael in Ghostland. The action was slow to build in Spider-Touched and I couldn't figure out what the motivation was for Anara and Tir other than fighting those evil individuals and engage in sexual pleasure every chance they could get.
Katiebabs
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