Customer Reviews

The Transformation (Black Lace)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I think a reader might have missed the point of this book -- it is a wonderful, erotic retelling of 3 fairy tales in a contemporary setting which makes it a delicious mixture of classic and new. Plus the sex is both lush and arousing.

The story of the "frog prince" is my personal favorite, as Lydia and Nicholas's relationship is gorgeously written and highly sensual -- plus, i like the idea of a woman taking control of a man! And Nicholas is really adorably sexy.

Cassie's story is pretty good, but the story of Molly and her intro to kinky sex with the hot reporter is really hot. This is an exceptionally well-written, inventive erotic book and I would highly recommend it with a 5 star rating!

Three women, three stories, three transformations. Well I would not quite term them transformations, they are more a discovery of self and exploration of possibilities (smile). This is a great follow up to Ms. Rostova's first novel, The Captivation. I impatiently await her next book.

The three novellas in this book are all contemporary versions of classic fairy tales, which makes for a great twist on traditional themes. The stories are all intertwined through the friendship of three women -- Lydia, Molly, and Cassie -- who are all experimenting with their sexuality. The best story is the first one, Lydia's Transformation, based on the tale of the Frog Prince and involving a sexually-confident woman and a cute but nerdy bookstore owner. I especially liked the friendship among all the women, and the pan-sexual nature of the stories -- the writing is excellent, the characters interesting, and (as usual for N. Rostova), the sex is hot, varied, and satisfying. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of CAPTIVATION!

of an erotic novel but I certainly could not classify it as one of the best in the genre.

The story is based on the a few months of the lives and loves of three young professional women. Lydia the top exec at a womans mag, Cassie the English Lit professor and Molly the socialite that arranges parties debutante balls etc etc. If the HBO series of 'Sex in the City'comes to mind you are on target except that the book isn't funny.

The men are cut outs from Harequin novels from Nicalas the bearded geeky bookstore owner to Harker Trevane the strong willed author. Both of them of course have those rugged good looks and hidden sophistication and where would we be without the craggy lines around their eyes to show maturity. There are also of course younger men in the book, like Zack, who I believe were written in to provide filler and gratuitous sex entertainment. HO HUM .... YAWN

Except for Olive, the young clerk at the book store that stops Nicolas half way down the ladder for a 'snack' that refreshes I found the book has little eroticism but a lot of vanilla bean grade sex. I also got the impression that the three girls were very uptight no matter how many times they wear leather or get tied down.

Sorry haven't read the captivation, but I LOVED TEA AND SPICES by Nina Roy. Looks like the third is the charm for these authors ... now there is detailed and erotic book worth reading

Natasha Rostova's Captivation is one of my all-time favorite Black Lace books and I couldn't wait to read another one of her succulent novels. The Transformation was not easy to obtain, but I'm sure glad I didn't give up until I found it! This is a book about Molly, Lydia and Casey. Each woman embarks upon a sexual odyssey in which she will never be the same. All of the sex scenes are delicious and smoldering, but the ones with Lydia and Nicholas are the juiciest in the book. I love how the author wrote these intertwined stories in the form of a modern fairytale. It was wonderfully creative and exceptionally well written. The Transformation isn't as memorable as Captivation, but it's one of the best BL offerings I've read thus far. Natasha Rostova is in the same rank as Emma Holly and Portia Da Costa. Black Lace should reprint this wonderful gem. I cannot recommend this novel enough. But good luck finding it!

'The Transformation' is a stellar piece of erotic fiction. Positively literate and by turns funny and poignant--but always hot. Scorchingly hot. If you loved 'The Captivation', you'll love this one, too. And if you haven't read 'The Captivation'? Chide yourself and then go forth and buy a copy with all speed!

This is my first novel by Ms. Rostova and I could'nt have enjoyed it more. Although she was'nt exactly the 'warm and fuzzy' type of character, I found myself really rooting for Lydia.The promise of more on her relationship with Nicholas kept me going thru Molly's and Cassie's stories, neither of which held the same heat - although, a lack of heat was definately not a problem! All three storie gave a great glimpse into three friends who could not be more different yet, manage to get along so well. I look forward to reading more of Natscha's books.

Ms. Rostova has written another excellent book that is well worth reading and buying. I loved "The Captivation" so much that I could not wait to read "The Transformation." Now, I am anxiously awaiting all of Ms. Rostova's subsequent works!

An erotic delight. This book is composed of three linked novellas revolving around a trio of San Francisco friends: Lydia, Molly and Cassie. Lydia runs a fashion magazine. When her boy-toy photographer suggests a photo spread at Libri Antiqui, a used book store, Lydia has no idea she'll be so intrigued by the bookshop's owner, Nicholas. Lydia's frosty personality makes her tale the hardest for this reader to warm up to. Much better is "Discovering Molly," in which the auburn-haired socialite is challenged, intellectually and sexually, by an adventurer-journalist named Harker Trevane. Harker is part Anderson Cooper, part academic/adventurer (think Indiana Jones/Robert Langdon/Daniel Jackson/Alaric Salzman). He also has a BDSM streak, which he pushes Molly to explore with him. In the final story, Cassie, an English professor studying the three-way relationship between feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, poet/painter William Blake and painter Henry Fuseli, discovers her interest in Olive, Nicolas' assistant at the book shop. Scholarship imitates life as Cassie and Olive open up their new relationship to include Cassie's hippie research partner (and Tantric guru) Adler. In a neat little footnote, Adler intends to study the relationship between Byron and Shelley. There are no traditional happily-ever-afters here, but each woman enjoys the experience. Rostova acknowledges she based these contemporary tales on the skeletons of the classic fairy tales of the princess and the frog, the princess and the pea and Thumbelina. There are very few fairy tale elements in the resulting trilogy, but much to satisfy the grown-up reader of tales.

Ms.Rostova does it again! Ms.Rostova adapts three modern tales from older fairy-tales and creates a delightful trio of intertwining erotica tales of friendship, sexuality & transformation. Ms.Rostova leaves the reader breathless with a wide varity of sexual explorations and true-to-life characters that mirror today's woman. Brava! An engrossing & fun read! Brava!