This is the second installment of the series, and like its predecessor has three retellings of classic fairytales with an erotic twist. The first offering by Ms. Rose is Red and Wolf. The retelling of the classic Red Riding Hood is just delightful. I loved Wolf. Red is a tempting lure to him at first, but quickly becomes his obsession as he tries to coax her to stray from the path. Wolf is barely in control of himself the entire time, making him dangerous and delicious. Red is destined to be his downfall. The story has perfect little details peppered into it that make it as amusing as it is lusty and dark.

Next we have Beautiful Passion, a wholly standard retelling of Beauty and her beast. Linda is the youngest daughter of a merchant who picks a fated rose from the garden of the cursed beast. Now he must barter away the girl who asked him for it. Linda is destined to make a beast dream for the impossible. With the exception of the erotic additions, this is a pretty standard regurgitation of the classic.

Then Ms. Rose goes for the ultimate classic with Lover’s Ball. Like the previous story, it is pretty much a standard retelling of the classic Cinderella, only with eroticism and a more detailed romance thrown in. Marie and William meet in the forest as she is fleeing her wicked, enslaving family. Their connection instant. But how is she to know he is a royal prince out for a lark? I found William to be tender and Marie to be stalwart. It’s the sweetness of this story that makes it a personal favorite.

Every tale is a classic, but only the first one had the enticingly unique touch I was craving from the author. They are all an enjoyable way to pass time, and a fine enough read, but as with the first collection, I feel she would have done the tales an even better service had she split them and given each a more enriching length and depth of attention. I find the author promising and that she is improving, but she should be careful of her repetition in her descriptive words. Reading the tales back to back as I have, I think it made the flaw more apparent.

Reviewed by: Catrina