Bewitch (Vampire Erotic Theater #5) by Felicity Heaton

Title: Bewitch
Series: Vampire Erotic Theater #5
Author: Felicity Heaton
Genre: Erotic Romance/Adult/Paranormal

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES
Initial Rating: 3/5
Technical Rating: 3.5/5

My Quickie Synopsis: Payne, both vampire and incubus, is on the hunt for a solution to his friends' problem. He quickly realizes that the charming witch Elissa may hold the key to uncovering what he seeks. Elissa is harboring secrets of her own and agrees to help Payne only to aid in her own quest. After an explosive night of passion, the pair must work together to overcome the obstacles standing not only in the way of their goals, but each other.

My Initial Response: Have you ever read any of the stories posted on eHarlequin or in the romance section of Literotica*? No? Oh, yeah. Me neither, ha!

I need a break from all that hot steaminess!

Ah, but in all seriousness, this story feels a lot like those stories. Don't get me wrong; there's some pretty good writing to be found throughout, but it's with one heck of a sexual charge. There's a time and place for that; better yet, there's a mood for that. Honestly, I just wasn't into it. There are a lot of graphic scenes, and for a book that's so short, it feels like it monopolizes the story. They were well-written, but I found myself skimming over a lot of it towards the end.
I read Ms. Heaton's first book in this series a long time ago, but I couldn't remember my impression of it. However, after finishing this story, I understood that my lack of recollection was due to how overly blase Ms. Heaton's writing can be at times. Bewitch just isn't, well, bewitching. It's simply a nice light read for those in the mood for smut with a paranormal edge.

*Literotica is most certainly a soft-core erotic story website. So 18+ only! Don't stray too far from the romance section if you visit, because some of the stuff on there is more than a little shocking. Just a warning!*

Character Building: 0.5/1
Payne's character is fantastically built. He's understandable. I think Elissa's character could have used more work though. For a story that really only focuses on two characters, I don't think that it's much to ask that those characters both have strong presentations. There aren't any supporting characters that can really fill in the blanks either, which is unfortunate. There's an expansion of the character base towards the end, but it's just frill by that point.

Plot Strength: 0.5/1
The plot isn't terrible, but some of the elements felt slightly underdeveloped. It's not the most interesting story to follow along with, but then again, I think this book is mainly out there for erotica fans. I can't give it full marks, but I also can't completely discredit a book simply for sticking to what it does best.

Sincerity: 1/1
I'll say this; it's not as if anything in the story was unbelievable, I just ultimately didn't care. Perhaps it's because I didn't make a good connection with the characters, or perhaps it's because I found the story generally lacking. Either way, I know the sincerity was there, so full point there.

Editing: 1/1
Editing was fine; nothing was glaringly awful.

Pacing: 0.5/1
My only issue here is that I wish that sex wasn't the name of the game in this story. Yes, the hero is a partial incubus who thrives on passion. Yes, the heroine seemed hot and randy for the hunky male.Yes, it makes sense, I know! But don't jump down my throat just yet! I think the pacing got bogged down by the lengthiness of some of the sexcapading. Were the more intimate scenes important to the overall story? Absolutely. But it just needed to be a little bit more balanced in terms of how it drove the plot, that's all.

My Icing on Top:
Don't read this for the plot, read this for the smut. I think there's really nothing else to be said for Bewitch. Although, what is up with her covers for this series all being the same? For some reason, that kind of irks me. It doesn't have any bearing on how I read the book, but sheesh. At least have them in a different position from book to book ;-). I may try Ms. Heaton's full length novel series though, just to see if there's any improvement there. Fingers crossed, right?

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K