Gwen’s review of Baddest Bad Boys by Shannon McKenna, E.C. Sheedy, and Cate Noble
Contemporary erotic romance anthology released by Kensington Brava 1 May 08
All three stories in this anthology has alpha males, damsels in distress, emotional tension, some drama. Oh, and hot hot sex. What more could you want from a summer read? And, bonus! They also happen to be written by some of our favorite people!
Anytime, Anywhere by Shannon McKenna
I like McKenna’s writing. The characters aren’t always sympathetic and the erotic scenes are seriously steamy and this story is no exception. I loved the heroine. She decides the burden of her virginity would be removed from her by the man she’s loved forever – the best friend of one of her brothers. the heroine has an irrepressible quality that just makes you like her. Here are a couple of sentences where she’s planning The Seduction:
She gave her body a critical once-over… Had the taut tummy and the boobs happening, thank God. They weren’t excessive, but they were perky and cheerful, and they did their divinely ordained boobly duty of filling out her bra and dragging mens’ eyes away from her face… Put those boobs to work. About time they stopped bouncing aimlessly around on her chest and started earning their keep.
And that right there is one of the biggest reasons this story was so fun to read – the heroine was just fun. The hero was hot, troubled, and very, very alpha. The villain was downright creepy, too.
A really good story.
Grade: A-
Summary:
For years, Robin MacNamara has been secretly in love with her big brother’s friend Jon Amendola, but the sexy cop has never seen her as anything but a kid. Until Robin follows him to an isolated cabin to prove she’s all grown up. Unfortunately, Jon’s last case isn’t quite closed-and someone wants payback…
Read an excerpt.
After the Lovin’ by E.C. Sheedy
This is a really cute story. As you could tell from my reaction to the first story, I love an ‘ugly duckling’ story. In this one, the hero was the duckling and he had always had a crush on the heroine. A crush that shamed him, making him behave abysmally to the heroine. Our story starts years later, though, and the duckling is now a hunk. A hunk who still wants to treat the heroine like shit but can’t.
These two characters manage to come together, defeating a very nasty villain at the same time. This would have made a nice book, I think.
Grade: B+
Summary:
In need of a place to hide, Tommi Smith finds herself on the doorstep of a high school classmate’s remote fishing lodge. Though Mac Fleming never trusted this knockout’s reputation for breaking hearts, nothing’s going to stop him from seducing her into his bed now. Until Tommi’s past comes back to haunt them…
No excerpt available.
Deal With the Devil by Cate Noble
This was my least favorite story of the three stories. It was readable, but I didn’t feel like the characters were sympathetic. The drama and tension were sporadic, and the villains were not very clearly drawn. Plus, the heroine was a bit wimpy.
Grade: C
Summary:
All Ellie McMann DeLuca wants is one night with the only man she’s ever truly loved-Max DeLuca, dubbed the Devil by the Italian paparazzi. Max agrees on one condition: they extend it to seven nights of sensual pleasure on a private island. But after a whole week of fulfilling each other’s deepest desires, how will they go back to the way things were?
Read an excerpt. You have to highlight the text to read it on the black background.
Overall Grade: B
