Hello, and welcome back! Summer has made a very early appearance here, and, with the excessive heat advisories the last few days, we're staying indoors with the air conditioner cooling the house. Maybe next week it'll be cooler here. In the meantime, I'll be inside, reading.

This time out, I have The Power of Love (Berkley), with stories by Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, Toni Blake, Dianne Castell, Karen Kelley, Rosemary Laurey, Janice Maynard, LuAnn McLane, Lucy Monroe, Patricia Sargeant, Kay Stockham, and J. C. Wilder, all revolving around women changing their lives for the better, and all with the help of a good love. Lori Foster leads things off with 'Sweet Dreams', and Cara Compton coming to terms with her love for her buddy Jamison Lawton, who's tired of waiting for her to figure out on her own that they're perfect together one hot summer night. McCarthy's 'Unpredictable' has psychic Hannah running into cop Luke Warner and his partner-dog Ralph during a criminal chase. Of course, Luke doesn't believe in psychics, and Hannah's ability isn't very well developed, so she doesn't know that she can be much help to the police, but she's willing to try. 'After Hours' by Blake has Marla Shepherd lusting after her boss Michael Gates but still planning to leave to take another job. Then a misunderstanding gives her Michael, but can she give up her other dreams for him? Castell's 'Last of the Red-Hot Mammas' sends Gloria to a meeting with a client and winding up in bed with the sexy new principal at her daughter's school. Oops. 'Salesman of the Year' from Kelley hooks Jennifer up with Devon, her first love, when he's showing her and her fiance homes, but Devon doesn't intend for her to live in any of them with the new man. Laurey's 'Dance the Fandango' shows us Magda Stephenson's struggle to get her new love Juan and her overprotective children together without too much upset. This one is a lot of fun. 'The Girl Next Door' from Maynard has Felicity Jones determined to get her man Jason before he leaves town forever, but she's running out of time. McLane's 'Chicken Soup for Annie' has single mom Annie lusting after Josh, the minister she'd intended to ask for help. Monroe's 'No Angel' has Cheryl and her boss Zack working out the issues keeping them from being more than co-workers. 'Angel in the Alley' from Sargeant has Sara Barber determined to make it on her own, despite her ex's interference, and she's got Raphael, a very intriguing homeless man, helping her with her new bakery. Stockham's 'Hannah's Choice' has Hannah going back to her small hometown and running into her first love Mitch when she's on a rescue mission. But Hannah broke Mitch's heart a long time ago, and he's not going to give her a chance to do it again. 'The Mouse Who Roared' from Wilder has Amy Mouse deciding to make herself over after hearing her boss's opinion of her, moving forward with her life plans sooner than she'd intended, as well as letting Jack, the fireman she's been interested in forever, persuade her to become romantically involved with him. My favorite stories were the Foster, McCarthy, Laurey, Wilder, and Kelley. But all of the stories are good reads, and the proceeds from this anthology will be put to good use: the YWCA Battered Women's Shelter of Cincinnati. All around, a good read and a good cause. This one gets four of Cupid's five arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!