At Castle Bloomingdale, all the women seem infertile. Ara, the woman always giving favor, as she's one of the youngest, decides, and announces, that the champion is the cause. Ulrich has won the last few tournaments, and when Ara proclaims that he may be the cause of the infertility (she doesn't care for the hulking giant), he takes offense. He refuses Ara, and the keep's council give him Maryam, a woman who had borne several children, including a rare girl child. She's retired, but she can't very well refuse. And Ara is given to the man in second place, Quinn. He's more to her liking, but she can't figure out why he doesn't seem eager to bed her.

Because of the infertility, Bloomingdale requests assistance from M'Cee's healer and Jewel is sent out of the keep to find Bloomingdale. Instead, Mio finds her, and makes a bargain. He'll take her safely to the keep in exchange for her favor at anytime during the journey.

Every Good Boy Deserves a Favor is a very engrossing short story. It pays the most attention to Maryam and Jewel, but it hints that Ara may play a more central role in coming books. I say coming books due to the cliffhanger ending; nothing whatsoever is resolved, and it's obviously for a second book. I'll be waiting eagerly for the next book, and if it doesn't come out, I may just throw a tantrum. Every Good Boy Deserves a Favor is the start of a promising serial. I enjoyed the characters, the story, the lovemaking, and the emerging plot(s). Mio and Ulrich were very good heroes, both were alternately passive partners and dominating partners. I loved that in them; it allowed the relationship between each couple, sexually and otherwise, to explore more dimensions than I usually see in short stories. In short, I really enjoyed this story and recommend it for someone looking for a serial that promises to be good and a little different.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Tara Black
August 11, 2004