Hello, and welcome back! Even though Mother Nature seems to think we don't need winter here, I've still been keeping the soup pot and tea kettle busy, and, since it's still only January, I have hope that she may yet give us a little snow before the season changes. This week, I have two soon-to-be-released books to share with you.

Playing Easy to Get (Pocket) has novellas by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jaid Black and Kresley Cole. The first, 'Turn Up the Heat' by Kenyon, is another of her B.A.D. tales, with Vince Cappelleti trusting an old friend to hide him safely and finding himself on a deserted isle with Allison George looking for a hero. I'm not a fan of the BAD stories, but this is the novella in the anthology that I disliked least, unfortunately. Ms. Black's 'Hunter's Oath' is next, with another of her underground Viking stories. My biggest problem with these is how the women start off smart enough and then turn into porn-star-wannabees as soon as their man does his thing, and they forget all about wanting to escape back to the real (normal) world. Yuck. 'The Warlord Wants Forever' is last, with an immortal valkyrie and the vampire fated to be her mate. Aside from my dislike of most vampires, this one has a hero handicapped with some old romance novel stereotypes and a story beset with misunderstandings. Sadly, this collection is not for me, but I know we have plenty of readers who happen to like these sorts of stories.

Master of Darkness (Pocket Star) by Susan Sizemore is the next in her popular vampire series with vampire hunter Eden Faveau about to come up against the vampire Laurent--only she doesn't realize his true identity. Again, not my cup of tea, but I know we have lots of readers who're vampire fans, so I'm sure this one will do just fine.

Until next time, happy reading!