Hello, and welcome back. I'm feeling a lot better this week though still coughing a little, but I'm digging into my TBR pile again--while watching things start to turn green outside my office window. The lilac has sprouted leaves and has fat buds coming out as well, and I can't wait for that to bloom. The flowers are popping up all around the house, and my hyacinths look as if they're going to be huge this spring. At last!

So, the Bad Boy in romance...he seems to be quite popular. I know I've got my favorites tucked away in the book room, and I'm sure many of you do as well. What's the appeal? The danger? The feeling of 'oh, I shouldn't be doing this'? Hard to say, but I sincerely hope bad boys stick around for a long, long time. Lori Foster does them especially well in her steamy romances, and this week I have the new Brava anthology
Bad Boys On Board, with stories from Lori Foster, Donna Kauffman and Nancy Warren. Ms. Foster's "My House, My Rules" leads the way with tough-guy cop Sam Watson lusting after Ariel Mathers, his brother's ex-girlfriend. When she interrupts a bust, he's furious, but it leads to the most incredible night he's ever had. Will it also lead to love? As always, hot, hot, hot. I can't wait for her next book.

Ms. Kauffman's "Going Down?" is next, with cautious, boring Callie Montgomery fantasizing about her boss's new partner, sexy, cool, Brit Dominic Colbourne, and when they get stuck in an elevator overnight, some of those fantasies just might come true. But it can't last any longer than one night, right? Dominic is charming, and quite adorable when he's uncertain. This one's fun.

Finally is Nancy Warren's "A Fast Ride" with Nell Tennant forced to care for the biker her aunt injured, a man who doesn't can't even remember his name now, but believes that Nell is his girlfriend. Nell indulges in a steamy summer fling with Wes, and when it ends, she'll just have to deal with her mistakes. Too bad she let her heart get involved, too. Sultry is a good word for this one. I'm giving the whole anthology four and a half of Cupid's five arrows. A definite keeper for lovers of super-sexy romances.

Next up is Sherry Lewis's
Only Time Will Tell (Jove Time Passages). Courtney Moss just wants to finish the chore of cleaning out her grandmother's house and get out of Virginia City. But when she gets yanked back in time, her life plans go a little awry. Heath Sullivan finds her story about being from the future a little hard to swallow, but he can't help being drawn to her. I've enjoyed Ms. Lewis's time travels in the past, but I had a hard time getting into this one. I found myself thinking "who cares?" about Courtney--I couldn't find a reason to care about what happened to her in the beginning, didn't find any compelling reason to cheer for her or sympathize with her, which made further reading a chore. And because I didn't care about Courtney, believing her transformation and romance were also difficult. Still, I hold out hope that I'll love Ms. Lewis's next time travel as much as I enjoyed her previous ones, but this one only gets two and a half arrows.

Finally, I have Christina Kingston's
Ride the Wind Home (Jove). Diana Huntley has no wish to be married off again, so she flees to her godmother--except she's not home and the butler doesn't recognize her, sending her away. Rescued by the Duke of Smythington, Michael David Lawrence--dressed as a sailor, and thoroughly unrecognizable to her despite her harboring feelings for the man--Diana begins a journey across the country. While I can understand her not recognizing the man she once knew as the Duke, I had a hard time believing that she wouldn't wonder more about some of the things that happened on their adventure, no matter what "David"'s explanation. And for him to let her marry him thinking him a commoner, without telling her his true identity, I didn't like at all. Not very heroic, no matter what his intentions. I'm giving this one three arrows.

I'd like to remind all of you that my deadline for the reader surveys is April 30, and that if you previously submitted one to me, please re-send it, since the technical difficulties a week ago ate all of the responses I had collected. Thank you all for participating in this. I'm finding the replies very interesting.

Also, come join the discussion on Bad Boys in the forum , or join any of the other discussions taking place there. And until next week, happy reading!