Review: Strawberries, Champagne, and a Sexy Man
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 13, 2011
Mia designs computer games and is a heroine for young gamers everywhere, but she has trouble meeting men.  Gavin hasn't invested in a new relationship since his failed marriage ended.  The two have enlisted the services of Madame Eve, a matchmaker, to bring them together for a night of mutual pleasure.A note about my review:  I'm an analytical person and I don't typically read these short stories because I need more things answered than an author/publisher wants to do in a short story.  Keep that in mind when reading my review.Taking this story for what it is, this was cute.  Honestly though, I wanted to know more about what would happen with Mia and Gavin once their one night stand was over.  The ending is appropriate given that the two only had a single night together, but a bit more promise of happily ever after would have made me happier.The book is part of a series.  I purchased the book (with no plans to purchase all the other stories) because the heroine is plus-sized and I felt as if I was missing some background information.  The story describes Madame Eve as a matchmaker of sorts, but it sounded as if the service just facilitates one night stands for people who might be compatible if they actually have a conversation between the bumping and grinding.  The two characters had no depth aside from Mia being a klutzy, reserved game designer and Gavin being a horny-for-curvy-chicks single father.  No size is given for Mia, which is relatively common because it allows the reader to imagine the heroine to be whatever size they'd like, but Mia had no body issues.  That part is not realistic, especially since the product description indicates that she has trouble with men in person.  Given the shortness of the story, I'd rather read about Gavin worshiping her curves than her self-conscious inner monologue, but this was another area in which I would have liked more development.There were a few grammar issues but not enough to detract from the pace or readability of the story.  The story is about a hour-long read, so it definitely could have been longer for the cost.  For me, this was probably a 3 to 3.5, but if I take it for what it is offered as (a short story about a curvy girl's one night stand), it's a 4.