Samhain Publishing, $2.50, ISBN 1-59998-593-4
Paranormal Romance, 2007

Sealed With a Kiss is actually a pun of sorts since the hero, Ocean O’Brian, is a selkie. Seal, get it? I don’t know if anything other than too much alcohol can explain the hero’s name though.

After succumbing to an ulcer due to overwork, Helena has come to Catalina Island for sun, sand, and fun and she has found fun in the form of Ocean, the hunky kayak instructor who is teaching her a thing or two about taking a paddle and rowing a boat. When she inadvertently gives off signs to Ocean that she may have an affinity to the sea, his interest in her kicks in. Helena decides that since she’s on vacation and there is a hot hunk interested in her, she may as well make a go for it.

This one could have easily been a straight contemporary since the selkie angle doesn’t add too much to the story. Like most short stories that attempt to be erotic, this one is heavy on the love scenes often at the expense of characterization and what not. However, the love scenes are quite luscious with some attempts made by the author to go beyond tired “insert A into B” mechanics by incorporating elements of outdoor sex and voyeurism. The heroine has the right attitude about life and sex – she makes this one fun – but the hero is unfortunately on the stereotypical side.

Sealed With a Kiss is a light and quick read, but clearly the author can do better than this.