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• ***** "Sex as a Weapon" by Sasha White.

  Vanessa Lawson is the manager of the O Club, a BDSM club. She's also the Risque Robber: as a favor to their ex-wives, she seduces men into letting her tie them up, then cleans out their safes, leaving them bound for their new wives to find.

  Kane Michaels is the cop who's trying to stop her, and to that end he visits the O Club, looking for a woman skilled in shibari.*

  The sparks between Vanessa and Kane lead to more, and both of them are challenged by the directions their budding relationship takes them.

  This story--or rather, this author--is the reason I bought this anthology, so it's not surprising that "Sex as a Weapon" was my favorite of the three stories. Even in novella-length, these characters come alive and deal with not only the cop/criminal conflict but with the conflicts within themselves. There's a satisfying blend between the erotica/romance plot and the suspense plot, with developments in one affecting progress in the other, and neither being given short shrift.

  Sasha White is on my must-buy list, and I'm working on collecting all of her backlist.

  
  

• **** "Arrested" by Alyssa Brooks.

  Kirsten Montgomery left her ex-boyfriend after overhearing some scary and incriminating evidence. But she knows too much, so he reports the car he'd given her stolen, and Kirsten is arrested for auto theft by sheriff Reid Walker.

  The small town's jail is being remodeled, so Reid takes Kirsten home with him for the weekend, until authorities can arrive to escort her back to California.

  Kirsten believes her life is in danger, and she keeps trying to escape, but at the same time, she and Reid can't keep their hands off each other.

  This is a very steamy story, but I found myself frustrated by some of the non-sex elements--in particular, Reid's refusal to take Kirsten's fears seriously or even listen to them. Of course, a sheriff taking someone he's arrested home with him to await extradition is seriously unrealistic, but that didn't bother me so much--it was just part of the fun.

  I very much enjoyed the exciting, action-packed climax--I just hope Reid's learned his lesson about listening and not making assumptions.

  
  

• **½ "Detroit's Finest" by Renee Alexis.

  Tracey Shane has a job doing filing for the police department and has been lusting after Officer Troy Davenport for a while. She finally gets up close and personal with him when he stops her for speeding.

  So far, so good, until Tracey finds out that Troy is married, and not just married, but married to a woman with a gun: Tracey's bitchy boss Daisha.

  I have to say, this story would have worked better for me as a women's fiction, because from that point, it was the story of every woman who got involved with a married man and believed him when he kept delaying his divorce. I'd have been so much happier if Tracey had wised up and found somebody new, or just gone on her way happily single. Instead, she did everything she could to entice him, and settled for crumbs. Sexy crumbs, but I was so busy yelling at her to wake up that I couldn't really enjoy them.

  I don't often demand social responsibility from fictional stories, but in this case, I couldn't help squirming thinking of women who'd find hope in this story for their relationships with married men.

  
  

Labels: 2.5 stars, 4 stars, 5 stars, books, EroticRomance

// posted by Darla @ 1/29/2008 01:15:00 PM