Review: Hot Summer Read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 27, 2010
originally posted at:[...]Leigh is making some changes in her life. Newly divorced, she recently quit her job to start her own interior design business. Now if she can just survive the sweltering El Nino heat with out melting, she'll be happy. When she spies her new neighbor, her libido jumps into overdrive, in spite of the soaring temperatures. Her showers are spent fantasizing about the things the hot hunk could do to her.When he interrupts one fantasy moment, arriving at her door to borrow a bottle opener, she is delighted to join him for a cold beer. Jared is even better up close and personal, and just the summer fling Leigh needs to pass the time. When she discovers that he, and his on-and-off lover Matteo are interested in fulfilling all of her erotic fantasies, she agrees with no reservations.In lesser hands than Eden Bradley's, Summer Solstice would have been an adequate summer romance, with heat and sexy hunks. But Ms. Bradley creates such wonderful scenarios, and strong, charismatic characters, that this became one of my favorites of the summer so far. When Ms. Bradley talks about the heat, I can feel what Leigh is experiencing right along with her.I liked Leigh, a woman who is not afraid of her desires, and is willing to take a chance at a summer fling with Jared. She has no long-term plans, and she thinks she can head into this without involving her heart. Jared is such a completely delicious character, handsome, sexy and open about who and what he is. He could have hidden his relationship with Matteo, but instead was open and up front with Leigh from the start.When Matteo arrives, it is a delight to see that he is just as open and honest as Jared, and that both of them want Leigh, at least for the summer. I love that Leigh was able to admit she was interested in all they offered her, without going all shy and silly about it. She is a sensuous woman with needs and desires, and she is willing to explore those desires with these two gorgeous men. I loved how both Leigh and Jared went into this thinking they could keep their hearts out of the mix, and the realization that both came to was wonderful.I want to thank Ms Bradley for giving me one of the most erotic and romantic stories I've ever read, and I think this one will be read over and over for some time to come.