Bad Boys with Red Roses (Brava) continues the 'Bad Boy' tradition with stories from Janelle Denison, Tina Donohue, and Sharon Cullars. Denison's 'Still Mr. & Mrs.' has Rachel Hudson heading to Vegas to get her teen love/husband to sign the annulment papers she'd thought had been dealt with years ago. Luke Kincaid isn't sure he really wants their marriage to be over after all. This one was fun, probably the best of the trio. Donahue's 'Tempt Me, Tease Me, Thrill Me' has Cait Campbell on the run from the way Sean Logan makes her feel, even after they've already spent one hot night together. Cait's reluctance here isn't very believable, but Sean is a lovely hero. Cullars's 'The Invitation' has Jeralyn Harris receiving a mysterious invitation, and a man who claims to know her from a long time ago. Adrian Vance says he just wants to keep her safe, but he still misses Jerri and he'd like to keep her this time around. This one's got a rather out of the blue mention of Jerri and Adrian being an interracial couple, but not much evidence in the story to support that. A little odd, I thought. Compared to previous 'Bad Boys', this collection doesn't measure up nearly as well, I thought. It's not a keeper, that's for sure. It's earned only three of Cupid's five arrows.
Satisfaction Guaranteed (Brava) by Lucy Monroe is next. Beth Whitney is not having a good morning. Okay, sure, the hunky Ethan Crane is in the agency office to help augment her rich fantasy life--which happens to center around him. But her ex-fiance is also there, and he seems to want to pick up the pieces of their relationship. Fat chance, after he left her standing at the altar. Then, her dad decides that she'd be perfect for an agency mission, despite her status as the office goddess, not an agent. And she'll have to work with Ethan. Oh, the hardship! Not. This one is an example of a good Brava romance: sexy hero, believable heroine, and plenty of sparks flying between them. The story is fun, and Beth and Ethan get plenty of 'screen time' even though there are some important secondary characters here. I liked this one a lot, and it's going to make a nice addition to my keepers. It's earned four arrows.
Until next time, happy reading!
