Can a romantically inexperienced woman with abandonment issues know what she really wants in a man? And if she is indeed uncertain, could she accept true love if it were offered to her, even from the most appealing of suitors? Author Lora Leigh delves into these questions with Sealed With a Wish, a White Hot Holiday Quickie from Ellora’s Cave.

Cara Montgomery is a giving, compassionate woman, despite—or because of—the very lonely life she knew as an orphan being shuffled around from foster home to foster home. While Cara lives a sensible life, she’s never experienced love or the sense of being truly wanted or needed. One day, Cara dashes in front of a car to rescue a child. Although no one believes her startling tale, Cara cannot forget the child she very nearly sacrificed her life for.

Kheelan Matero is the guardian of the child Cara saved; a child prince from an alien race. Kheelan is strongly attracted to Cara, and has the ability to fulfill her most amorous dreams. However, Kheelan cannot accomplish this feat without first Cara wishing for it to happen. Cara’s damaged sense of self-worth makes her reluctant to believe that Kheelan or any man could be interested in her. But Kheelan has the resolve to use all his fine-tuned arts of persuasion to convince this woman in the power of a wish.

I will say that the plot of Sealed With a Wish held much promise, and the giving Cara and alpha-male Kheelan had prospects for being memorable characters.

With this said, Sealed With a Wish was a disappointment for this reviewer. I love explicit erotica, and even more so when that erotica is romantic; however, this story turned out neither erotic nor romantic. The overly fast-paced action did not allow depth of personality for either hero or heroine. The sex was abundant, but the author seemed far too comfortable with certain coarse terms when she could have been colloquially much more creative. And while some authors handle anal sex with arousing style, I didn’t find this the case with Sealed With a Wish. It also felt as if the entire story was cultivated to pivot the reader toward this single-issue scenario. Erotic encounters can be written with delicious variety, but I felt the author’s obsessions here pushed the story from the realm of erotica to tedious porn.

My final verdict: Sealed With a Wish by Lora Leigh had a good premise, and I feel the author has potential as a charming wordsmith. But with this story, what could have been a truly satisfying and provocative read was unfortunately sacrificed for exploitation.

Reviewed by Laurie
© February 2008