Review: A Fantasy Romance Must Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 3, 2012
Rating:  4 1/2 starsHearts Desire by Julie ReeceTessa Morgan is under the water swimming.  Is it a dream or is it real?  She seems to be swimming toward an underwater city.  It was interesting to see this underwater world through Tessa's eyes.  Almost made you wish that it actually existed.  Then the phone rings.That phone call gives her quite a shock.  When Tessa was fourteen she was at her family's vacation retreat.  She met a young man named Cameron.  When she last saw him he gave her a beautiful ring.  Now she's all grown up and back at the vacation retreat.  She's starting to have dreams and He is coming for her.Julie could have put a lot of sex in her short story but she didn't.  I was glad that she didn't because I think it would have ruined the lovely story.  Innuendo works - it gets our imaginations going.  She shows us what someone will do for the one they love.  What would you do?  This was over way too quickly - I wanted to read more.The Sweetest Song by Claire GillianPoseidon is very disappointed with Circe.  She's one of his sirens that lure ships to their doom.  She has until the next new moon to get her job done.Otis has a one bedroom apartment in Homer, Alaska.  He thinks of himself as being defective.  And, he's also the captain of the Calypso - Circe's current job.  Circe has come to spy on him.  Then she finds out why she has never succeeded with Otis.Claire is just like the siren in her story.  She pulls us into the story just like Circe pulls people in with her songs.  I found that I loved this story but just like Julie's it was over too quickly.  I wanted to see what happens next for Circe and Otis.Pearl of Pau'maa by Kelly SaidHarmon is seen going after his mother's heirloom pearl.  To do that he must pay his brother Creeb's debt.  Miki is a pearl diver and trap setter for her village.  Kelly's story is a little different because she uses actual sea creatures in her story.  They're just a little different.The pearl has traveled close to where Miki is and that is when Harmon sees her.  Harmon is not quite human so Miki doesn't believe what she's seeing.  Harmon has helped her and now she's starting to change.Kelly's story has greedy humans and even greedy sea creatures.  It also shows that true love does exist even for two people that are total opposites.  I would love to see what Kelly has in store for Creeb - he needs someone to bring him to task.The Undergarden by Jocelyn AdamsNixie is swimming toward a secluded bay - her favorite spot.  She thinks of us as pink creatures.  She mentally tries to connect with Wyatt to find out why he's so sad.  They meet when he was only nine years old.  They quickly become friends.  But then something happens and Wyatt can't come to the bay anymore.But life goes on and people change and grow.  Wyatt then returns as a young man.  We see how feelings can change from a child to a young person.  Nixie is very innocent of our human world and that innocence can make things hurt when a misunderstanding happens.Jocelyn's tale was very sweet but actually brought tears to my eyes.  It shows us just how short life is and that we can't waste time thinking we are doing the right thing.  If there is a misunderstanding between two people, you need to work it out and not wait until it may be too late.This anthology was great.  There is nothing bad that I can say about any of the stories other than that they were over too quickly.  I was just getting to know the characters in each of the stories and then it was over.  I can always hope that the authors will either carry the story over into a full length book or bring in a new character to carry on their story.If you are looking for a sweet fantasy, a paranormal romance, and no explicit sex this is for you.  If you only like a book for the sex, I'm hoping you will change your mind with this anthology.  If you want to fill in the blanks for yourself, that is what we have an imagination for.  These four ladies will not disappoint.  You will not be disappointed if you add this anthology to your collection.  You may even want to try something else that they have written.