Review: A Wonderfully Sexy Set From Stellar Authors
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 2, 2013
This is an anthology of erotic romantic suspense. I will give a brief review of all the stories and then a final overall review.First Exposure by Elisabeth NaughtonThis is the story of Avery Scott, an all American actress, in search of her missing friend/assistant. The PI firm she hires assigns Cade Blackwell to her case. Avery and Cade have a history, a case of first love gone very, very wrong. The trail leads them to a swingers resort in Jamaica. It doesn't take a genius to see where this one goes.First Exposure set the tone for the rest of the anthology. Hot, hot, hot! Most of the story is set at an adults only resort where ANYTHING goes. I enjoyed this portion of the book. Avery and Cade were believable characters, although I would definitely have made Cade grovel.... A LOT. His overall demeanor in the beginning had me looking for my cast iron skillet. I would have liked to have seen Avery rub her success in Cade's face just a little. My vengeful wishes aside, this was a good example of a sweet story peppered with so e very steamy sex.First Rapture by Alexandra IvyMadison Phillips had a teenage crush on Luc Angeli that she made no secret about. On the night Luc finally gives in to Madison's crush, he leaves before the sweat had dried on their satisfied skin. Crushed and heartbroken, Madison has spent the following years dreaming of getting her pound of flesh and now she is ready to collect.I love a good revenge story and if that story has great sex well all the better. Once again however, The heroine, Madison is not quite as vicious as I would have liked. I mean, if a guy takes your virginity and then says basically "Have a nice life", well, I would have been out for blood, or even better, his prized body parts. Luc is repentant, to a degree. He decides he wants Madison back in his life and then goes about ensuing his desire. Hmmm, too easy.There is also the meddlesome best friend ( I am not a fan of these), who decides Madison doesn't know what's best for herself. Despite these minor glitches, Alexandra Ivy still spins a good tale and provided the reader with a good tale.First Taste of Darkness by Cynthia EdenJess Delaney has recently found out her fiancé was not the faithful soul he should have been. Heartbroken she decides to have a wild night in Vegas. She catches the eye of Blake Landon, a big fish in the Vegas scene. Always fearful of gold diggers, Blake is captivated by Jess's innocence. Jess gets caught in Blake's world of high finance and those who would try to take what Blake has built.This was an action packed story with great suspense and intrigue. Still managing to be an extremely sexy story, this section of the anthology had a truly enjoyable thread of mystery and as the title states, darkness. Jess was truly a fish out of water in this book. The world in which she finds herself is completely foreign and catches her flat footed. I completely believed the characters and there reactions to their circumstances. I would definitely have bought this book as a stand alone.First Ink by Laura WrightRush Merrick was one of the most sought after tattoo artist in the country. He has a waiting list a mile long and numbers many celebrities among his clients. Addison is the one that broke his young heart in a very public and humiliating way. After years of regretting her actions, Addison shows up at Rush's shop for a tat and maybe forgiveness.When I first started this book I discovered it was written in first person, and I was all like "No, Laura, No!". Then I discovered it was written from both POV's. This was an awesome surprise. One of the reasons I'm not a fan of first person perspective is not knowing why the other characters react the way they do. Laura dealt with this issue spectacularly. With her signature hotness, Laura spins the story of heartbreak, reunion and redemption with a master's touch. Rush was a totally sympathetic, but droolworthy hero. Addison not so much. Can you tell I'm a heroaphile? Addison does redeem herself in a most public way, which saved her IMHO. Once again, Laura Wright hits it out of the park.First Surrender by Katie ReusAt 22 years of age, Sierra is head chef at one of the top chefs in Vegas, an amazing achievement for one so young. She has had a major crush on the new head of security , Hayden, almost from the moment they met. Now best friends, neither realizes that they both want to move from he friend zone to the bedroom.I really liked all the books in this anthology and adore all the writers and their talent, but this was hands down my favorite story. I love a friends to lovers theme. I was totally into Hayden and Sierra's story and was sorry the book was so short, and shock of all shocks, I had not one single complaint about Sierra. First Surrender moves quickly without leaving important details behind. There were great secondary characters and a compelling tale in which the sex was an extra spice and not the entire dish. If I wasn't already a fan of Katie's, this book would have tipped the scales.First Temptation by Joan SwanZoe Brooks is a much respected Border Patrol Supervisor, but she is looking for a change. With a chance to work undercover on the capture of one of the biggest drug and weapons smugglers, she sees her chance. From the moment he laid eyes on the butch female, Taft Walker made no bones about the fact that he didn't believe Zoe had the chops to work this case. He made no effort at diplomacy and told her point blank that she wasn't woman enough to play the femme fatale. Boy, did he have that one wrong.It has to be obvious by now that I am all about the heroes. That being said..... I would have clocked Taft soon after opening his mouth. He did wind up eating his words, and then decided he wanted to get Zoe in the sack, no strings attached. Zoe handles the situation professionally, and with great aplomb. She is just as blunt with Taft about her " not with her co-workers" policy. Their journey together was sexy, danger filled, and with a great underlying humor. There is a very sexy pole dancing scene that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Zoe was most assuredly all woman. All in all this was a truly enjoyable ending to this anthology.This is a set of stories that I really, really regret was not in print. I would have paid the extra money in a heartbeat. To have all these amazing authors in one place is beyond the measly amount one would pay. While I did like some tales better than others, it's like comparing diamonds and sapphires, I wouldn't sneeze at either one. These are stories I will read and reread over and over and is a "must have" for lovers of erotic romance. Brava, ladies, brava.