4 stars for one story. 3 stars for the other two stories.
This book contains the following three stories.
4 stars for AFTER THE LOVIN’ by E.C. Sheedy.
Very enjoyable. Nice story. I liked the characters and plot.
Tommi (heroine) has evidence against Reid who stole money from her employer. Reid threatens her. Her best friend suggests she stay with his brother Mac for a while, which she does. Mac had a crush on her all through high school and is 5 years younger than Tommi.
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: three. Setting: current day Seattle and Vancouver Island. Copyright: 2008. Genre: romantic suspense.
3 stars for ANYTIME, ANYWHERE by Shannon McKenna.
I enjoyed it. Good characters. Pretty good plot. Very erotic.
Robin has had a crush on Jon who has been her big brother's best friend for 14 years. Jon is 9 years older than Robin. She learns that Jon is going to a cabin in the mountains for some recuperation time after a tough case. Jon is a cop who just got a serial killer sent to prison. Without his knowledge, Robin goes to the cabin to be with him and hopefully lose her virginity.
CAUTION SPOILER:
I did not like one part of the plot. After Robin and Jon get together, Jon runs out of condoms. Robin tells him that's ok since she's on the pill, and he doesn't need to use condoms with her. He gets mad saying she should never have unprotected sex, not even with him. She should never trust any man, including him. She is hurt from his yelling and leaves him. This was not a reasonable reason for a fight. If the author needed a way to separate them, I wish she would have used something different, for example: a power outage, a fire started by lightening, other damage from a storm, a wild animal causing a problem.
Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: ten. Setting: current day Portland, Oregon, Oregon mountains and San Francisco. Copyright: 2008. Genre: romantic suspense.
For a list of my reviews of other Shannon McKenna books, see my 5 star review of “Ultimate Weapon” posted 11/15/08.
3 stars for DEAL WITH THE DEVIL by Cate Noble.
Better than average. Good story. I liked it.
Ellie, the heroine, was a little too wimpy and fearful for me. I didn't like that she would run away from situations rather than stay, get the facts and make rational decisions.
Ellie and Max had a brief romance when Ellie was 19, but they were separated by relatives' deaths and circumstances. Ellie later marries Max's brother Stefan who dies. Stefan and Max owned equal shares in a shipping company. Ellie offers control of her voting stock to Max in return for one night of sex. He counters the offer saying he'd like one week of being together, not just one night. Max's ex girlfriend shows up and causes trouble.
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day Boston and a private island. Copyright: 2008. Genre: romantic suspense.
For a list of my reviews of other Cate Noble books, see my 2 ½ star review of “Deadly Seduction” posted 2-9-10.