Ahh, the old myth of Prince Charming. I´ve wondered whether he was based on a real person or was just a story someone made up for the bedtime pleasure of their child. With the real royal princes I´ve seen, I´m betting on the bedtime story. What is it about this that catches our attention and makes us with he were real? This week I´ve read two books, one with a historical Prince and an anthology with four modern Princes.

The first is aptly titled
Prince Charming by Gaelen Foley (Ballantine). This is the third in a series of books about the royal family of a fictional Mediterranean island. I have to admit, I got a copy of the galleys, and now I´m waiting for the book to hit the bookstores so I can buy it. Crown Prince Rafael Giancarlo Ettore di Fiore, aka Rafe the Rake, wants nothing more than to prove he is capable of ruling the country when his turn comes. Lady Daniela Chiaramonte is trying only to keep her grandfather´s home standing and to provide for the people dependent on her. The only way she´s found to do this is to become the Masked Rider, a Robin Hood of sorts, with her own band of Merry Men, or Merry Boys as the case may be. Except one night she makes the mistake of robbing Rafe, who catches all of the gang but the leader. Amid a plot to kill the king and depose Rafe, he does manage to catch her, and finds himself in a bit of a predicament. Then all heck breaks loose. This is a wonderful story, definitely a keeper. Of Cupid´s five arrows, this one gets four. Now I´ll be camped out at my bookstore waiting!

The second book I read this week is an anthology called
Sinful with stories by Suzanne Forster, Maggie Shayne, Lori Foster and Kimberly Randell. The connecting theme throughout these novellas is lingerie. If you´re a fan of Suzanne Forster´s steamy books, you might be surprised by her contribution here. It was very sweet, and not nearly as hot as her usual fare. Lori Foster´s offering is another of those gorgeous Winston brothers, Mack this time out, who´s stuck modeling men´s lingerie. I enjoy Ms. Foster´s Blaze titles immensely, and this is a very nice addition to the Winston family. Kimberly Randell´s novella has a woman who´s trying one last idea to get the man of her dreams, if only for a little while. Whew! Very sexy. And Maggie Shayne--well, suffice it to say that I have many of her books on my shelves. Her story involves a woman and her former boss whose post-working relationship gets off to an interesting start. This anthology is great and will be going onto my bookcase, for keeps. I´m giving this one four and a half arrows.

Let me know what you think of these two books.