Hello, and welcome back! We got a little more snow here, enough to cover all the mud again, and enough to shovel, which requires me to come inside and start the teapot. Darn. Ha! At least this sinus thing is nearly gone, which means my concentration level is back up to normal.

Because of that, I've also been doing a lot of reading this week, and am nearly through the March stack of releases. This time out, I have three new contemporaries to share with you, starting with the anthology
Dare Me (Signet Eclipse), with stories from Cherry Adair, Jill Shalvis, and Julie Elizabeth Leto. My favorite is 'Playing for Keeps', from Cherry Adair, with Danica Cross and her ex-husband Jon Raven finding a second chance, thanks to a terrorist. In Jill Shalvis's 'Nothing to Lose', Jade Barrett and Will Malone find each other, thanks to a criminal trying to use her antiques business. That one's fun and steamy. In Julie Elizabeth Leto's 'Dare to Desire', former lovers Macy Rush and Dante Burke have to work together to save the world, but Dante's conditions might be a little too much for Macy. Macy comes across as hard and unlikeable to me, so this one wasn't my fave. The anthology as a whole, though, is fun and steamy, so it's earned three and a half arrows.

Next is Geri Buckley's
For Pete's Sake (Berkley). Pietra 'Pete' Lang is just trying to keep up with her life and finding a dead body in the freezer complicates things immeasurably. Danny Benedict's arrival doesn't simplify anything, least of all her tangled family ties. This one is quirky. I wasn't in the mood for the 'hip' tone, however, so this one is definitely not a keeper for me. Also, the convenient way Pete ties up that last loose end was unconvincing. I'm giving this one two arrows.

Finally, we have Carla Cassidy's
The Perfect Family (Signet Eclipse). Marissa Jamison has had a hard year, with the death of her beloved husband. Things are finally starting to turn around, though, with the arrival in town of her high school sweetheart. But someone else wants Marissa and has waited a long time to have her. As with her last one, this is more suspense than romance, and the story doesn't just belong to Marissa and Alex but to the psychopath stalking her. If you're looking for a decent suspense novel, you might want to check this one out. If you're looking for good romantic suspense, look for something else.

Until next time, happy reading!