Hello, and welcome back! I'm much happier now that it's not so hot here, as it was last week. I'd like to enjoy spring for a while before summer rolls in and makes it miserably hot and humid. On the other hand, the rain that rolled in overnight will make baseball an impossibility today, which means a little more reading time for me, and that's a very good thing, since I have nearly thirty May books sitting here on my desk.

This time out, I have Baddest Bad Boys (Brava) with stories from Shannon McKenna, E. C. Sheedy, and Cate Noble. I'm always happy to see something new from McKenna, who I wish was much more prolific, and 'Anytime, Anywhere' kicks off this anthology. Robin MacNamara takes a chance when she sneaks off to her brother's fishing cabin to try to seduce her brothers' best friend, and her long-time crush Jon Amendola. Detective Jon is feeling stressed by the last case he worked and needs a little time off, but he hadn't planned on entertaining Robin in any way, let alone the one she's fantasized about. Though now that she's mentioned it, he can't stop thinking of the possibilities. Hot, hot, hot! And then there's the psycho on the loose, and Robin's brother, who won't be thrilled by their hook-up, adding to the tension.

'After the Lovin'' by E. C. Sheedy has Tommi Smith heading into the wilds of Washington state to stay with a friend's brother for a little while, to hide from a very dangerous man. Little does she know that Mac Fleming has plans for her, too, though his aren't deadly, just sexy. This is the most romance I've seen in any of Sheedy's books; they're usually more suspense than romance. But Mac isn't really a bad boy, which was a tad disappointing.

Cate Noble's 'Deal with the Devil' has Ellie McMann DeLuca agreeing to a week of hot sex with Max DeLuca, her late husband's brother, and the man she still loves. But Max's plans don't just include seduction, but protection for Ellie, a fact he neglects to share with her. Again, Max might be sexy, but he's not a bad boy either.

The best story here is McKenna's, though frankly that's not a surprise. She's a pro at putting together strong, smart women and sexy, dangerous men who'll go to any lengths to satisfy and protect their mates. What more can a reader ask for? The book is a keeper just for her story for me, though the other two stories were just okay. For Shannon McKenna's novella, this one gets four of Cupid's five arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!