Gwen’s review of When He Was Bad by Shelly Laurenston and Cynthia Eden
Contemporary paranormal romance anthology released by Brava 1 Jun 08

This is my kind of anthology – not too many stories and they’re long enough to be satisfying. With this book, we get two stories that are nice and long giving us time to really get to know the characters – shapeshifter and human alike. With one of the stories, this is a good thing. With the other, not so much. Read on to find out why…

Miss Congeniality by Shelly Laurenston

I LOVED this story. It was charming, quirky, sexy, and completely entertaining. Miss has a very different heroine and a typical alpha hero who loves the heroine’s differences. I laughed out loud several times when the heroine let loose with some of her unusual dialog (internal and external) or irrefutably logical conclusions. There’s steam, but no raunch. I loved the setting (late 1980′s) and that the epilogue (sorry, I love me some epilogues) shows their children. It’s an all around great tale that follows a logical story arc and emotional progression, has nice action and suspense elements, and is tightly written. I suspect any fan of paranormal romance will love Miss.

Grade: A

Summary:

It’s those damn stockings that get me every time. They have this sexy little line down the back and I can’t help but stare at her legs… constantly. And you’d think she’d be all over me like every other female in the Seattle area. I’m young, good looking, and one day I’ll be Alpha Male of my family’s Pack. But Professor Irene Conridge acts like I don’t even exist. How is that possible? Now she’s got enemies coming out of the woodwork and I have to protect her. Why? Because that’s the kind of man I am. Yes, I am that amazing. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that while I work to secure her safety, she’ll be hanging out at my house. That’s hours…days even that I’ve got Irene Conridge right where I want her.

Read an excerpt.

Wicked Ways by Cynthia Eden

I normally really like Cynthia Eden, but I really didn’t like this story. I didn’t believe in the heroine’s sudden acceptance of the hero’s nature and hated her TSTL moments. I didn’t believe in the hero’s acceptance of the heroine’s sudden insertion into the law enforcement sting to catch the bad guy. I just didn’t believe in the premise of the story. Perhaps if the heroine had an inkling before the beginning of the story that there was a whole new paranormal world out there, or perhaps if she had been law enforcement to begin with, I might have believed it. But as it is, it stretched my “suspension of disbelief” too far and it just snapped in two. I enjoyed the hero. But that was about it.

Grade: D+

Summary:

I’m too dangerous for her. I know it, but I can’t get my sexy new neighbor out of my head. When I hear her scream one night, the absolute last thing I expect to see is Miranda Shaw-star of my hottest fantasies-being attacked by a vampire. Now the undead jerk is after her, and I’m the only thing standing between the beautiful lady and a killer who just won’t stop. Well, too bad for him, because that vamp has just made the worst mistake of his afterlife-he’s tangled with a shifter.And Miranda, well, she’s so busy watching out for him that she won’t see me closing in on her-not until it’s too late-and I’m about to show her just how wild I can get…

Read an excerpt (scroll down).

Even with the slight mis-step on the second story, I recommend this book purely on the strength of the first tale, which I almost gave an A+, hoping that everyone would read it. I didn’t only because the paranormal elements might not appeal to everyone and anyone. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book purely on the strength of the first story alone.

Overall Grade: B-

Book Summary:

Two of paranormal romance’s bestselling authors combine their extraordinary talents and set the pages on fire with an after-dark anthology featuring Alpha males so hot, so wild, and so bad, they may just be the best you’ve ever had…