Limecello’s review of Hot Nights, Dark Desires by Eden Bradley, Sydney Croft, and Stephanie Tyler
Contemporary anthology published by Bantam on 20 May 08

This anthology is hot, sexy, and has an edge, which meshes with its setting – New Orleans. The characters are all interesting and layered, and I enjoyed my introduction to two of the authors.

The Art of Desire by Eden Bradley

Sophie and Tristan have an instant connection, which makes sense because Sophie has a tattoo fetish, and Tristan is a tattoo artist. The two of them embark on a casual affair that quickly spins out of control. However, Sophie and Tristan each have a lot of baggage, which prevents them from truly committing to a relationship. While I enjoyed the writing and the characters, and their stories, it wasn’t my favorite in the anthology. A part of it, I think is that I’m rather indifferent to tattoos, and the story revolves around them. I understand how it made Tristan hot to be “branding” his “woman” – but otherwise, no big deal. Also, Sophie and Tristan both have a lot of guilt, which makes reading this novella something of a downer. Added unto the fact that Sophie feels that most of what she does is a “sin” and has an excess abundance of Catholic guilt, it made for an occasionally difficult read.

Grade: C+

In “The Art of Desire” a sheltered young woman turned on by the idea of getting tattooed dares to make her fantasy a reality. But as her arousing sessions with a dangerously handsome tattoo artist move from the tattoo parlor to the bedroom, they make an impression that’s more than skin deep….

Read an excerpt here.

Shadow Play by Sydney Croft

This novella is part of the ARCO series. Hex can see ghosts, and is a medium – but the catch is that he is only able to see them through the lens of a camera. One lucky thing is that he’s able to capture them on film. Brenna is a super model, who is being haunted by a jealous ghost who has begun blurring her image in all photographs. Again, a match made in heaven. An issue I had, however, was the characters themselves, specifically Brenna. She’s selfish and thoughtless. There are some reasons – she had a difficult past, but I simply didn’t really care for her as a person, which made enjoying her story a little bit more difficult than I would have otherwise.
However, the story is well written, the characters interesting, and I loved the secondary characters. Once Brenna realized what a jerk she was (and sometimes her self deprecating humor helped), I enjoyed the story a lot. The tension, drama, and events all charged and enjoyable.

Grade: B-

In “Shadow Play” an ex-supermodel desperate to revive her career seeks the help of a gorgeous, reclusive photographer with a special gift-and offers him anything he wants in return. The result is a series of erotic positions captured on film-along with a mind-blowing physical connection neither expected….

Read an excerpt here.

Night Vision by Stephanie Tyler

This was my favorite novella in the anthology. Catie has inherited a bar, with a rough and rowdy crowd, which leads her to hire Bat for his services as a cooler. The two are instantly attracted to each other, but they’re running from their past. Both Bat and Catie have roots in the area, and have avoided it for a long time. However, they begin to realize they’re ready to settle down.
Bat and Cat have explosive chemistry, and slowly work through their issues in a very believable, way. In the meantime, they have extremely hot sex, and find out who they are as individuals and what they were looking for. A well written story that I enjoyed reading.

Grade: B+

In “Night Vision” when artist Catie Lanford hires professional cooler Bat Kelly to whip the failing bar she’s recently inherited into shape, she’s not looking for a lover-until she lays eyes on the sexy wild man. Soon they’ve agreed to mix business with pleasure, and Catie discovers that Bat is just what she needs to set her artist’s imagination-and her body-on fire.

Overall Grade: B-

Pleasure comes in threes…

Inspired by the sultry heat and sensual ambiance of New Orleans , this steamy collection delves into the erotic underground of the Big Easy. Here is a tantalizing trio of stories by three rising stars that will tease your imagination-and seduce your senses.

Lush, haunting, and provocative, New Orleans has something to satisfy every desire-as three very lucky women are about to discover.

Abandon your inhibitions and excite your spirit with a gathering of tales that’s as sexy and spicy as the city of New Orleans itself.