Stranded on a desert island. It's one of the mainstays of storytelling. From Danial Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (based on a real life Scot named Alexander Selcraig) to Tom Hanks (as Chuck Noland playing Castaway with his football/Friday on Monuriki island), there's a huge range of desert island vistas where imaginations run rampant. This title, Gillian's Island, seems as if it might be playing on the old Gilligan's island, but other than the way it hooks the ear, there's no connection.

On Lani Aames Pearl Island, there are no less than three couples stranded in this 39 page book. Four characters are shipwrecked when their boat capsizes during a freakish squall. Two on the island are ghosts.

As the story begins, Gillian's ankle is injured and her boyfriend of a year, Brandt is waiting with her. Paige and Tony who were with them on the boat, are walking to the opposite side of the island, looking for help. If it's the island they think it is, there's a city on the other side. Talk about shooting dramatic tension in the foot...

The characters engage in lots of...well, engaging. Stuff happens, but frankly I need more characterization and more story development to care enough about the characters to care. With all the plot this tale has, there should be enough content to last for hundreds of pages; but somehow with three whole couples (three-count-em-three love stories) the plot is very thin. For those who enjoy it, this is a semi-graphic story with some characters playing at roleplaying (i.e. not actually roleplaying, just making a stab at it.) Feel free to blame my disappointment on my dark side. As much as I want my real life to be safe, sane, consensual and civilized, I like my erotica to have some edge.

Maîtresse