Hello, and welcome back! I hope you're all making the most of your last few weeks of summer, but still keeping some time to savor a few of the new romances flying into the bookstores this month. This week is our vacation week--day trips with the boys again this year--so I don't think I'll be getting in too much reading time. But since I finished reading all our August books already, that's not a problem.

As the title of the article promises, I have the collaboration between Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway to share with you this week: Once Upon a Pillow (Pocket Books). There's no clear delineation as to the author of each story, at least not that I could tell, so unless you're a die-hard fan and can differentiate between their styles of writing, you'll be in the dark like me. But that doesn't matter, because all of the stories in this tale of a bed are delightful. Framing the first three stories of the bed's past is the modern-day manageress/tour guide at the Masterson house, taking her final tour through--the house's new owners will no longer be permitting tours, and Laurel is going to miss the house terribly. She may even miss the sexy handyman Max who keeps interrupting her tour and flustering her. Though if she knew the true stories about the legendary Masterson bed, surely she'd be more flustered. I believe you'll enjoy these stories, from the builder of the Masterson bed to the Masterson who kidnaps the wrong damsel--who may really be the right damsel-- to the young woman whose protective instincts toward her brother have her capturing the Masterson who's captured her heart, and finally to the modern generation to be affected by the Masterson bed. These stories are fun and touching and sexy, a great way to while away a summer afternoon. Of Cupid's five arrows, this one's earned four.

Hope Tarr's new book, Tempting (Jove) is a different twist on the myth of Pygmalion, with Simon Belleville, a man who's come a long way from his past, and Christine Tremayne, a young woman on the run from her own past. Working with Disraeli to stamp out the vices sullying London, Simon discovers Christine locked in the attic of a brothel. But what is he to do with this hellion who attacks him in self-defense? Take her home and try to help her change her fate? Based on his past, it's not an unreasonable thing to do. But that attraction he feels to her is downright frightening for him, and completely unacceptable. Christine feels it, too, but she must be careful to keep her secrets safe. But we all know the past doesn't go away, and in some cases, it catches up with you--at the most inopportune moments. Nevertheless, Simon and Christine will find a way to work around it to their happy ending. I have to say, I enjoyed this one far more than Ms. Tarr's last book, which makes me exceedingly glad. I hope you'll enjoy it as well. I'm giving it four and a half arrows.

Until next week, happy reading!