Jill D.‘s guest review of the anthology Playing Easy to Get with stories by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jaid Black and Kresley Cole.

New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon and rising stars Jaid Black and Kresley Cole unlock the pleasures and perils of embracing the boldest and most powerful of lovers — 100% alpha males — in three sensually erotic tales. Discover the physical rapture of his muscular arms…. Become a prisoner of passion, swept away by an encounter with his primal side…. And get lost in the all-consuming thrill of white-hot pursuit by a relentless stranger who may be your most dangerous foe, the best lover you’ve ever had — or both.

Let your fantasies run wild with these unforgettable novellas where bigger is most definitely better — and playing easy-to-get is the only way to go!

Title: Turn up the Heat
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: 3
Sensuality: Hot

Allison George has had a hard life with one upset after another. She spent nine years caring for her ailing mother who had cancer since Allison graduated from high school. She also was unfortunate enough to find her fiancé in be with another woman. She now works at the local Walmart where she runs into an old friend from high school who convinces her to enter a contest. Allison wins an all expenses paid trip to a resort that specializes in making women’s “fantasies” come true. There she meets Vince Cappelleti and can’t resist his allure.

Vince wants out of the Mafia, only no one is allowed out. He knows his life is in danger but has no where to turn. Except his buddy Z shows up in the knick of time. He has the perfect hide-a-way for Vince; on his fantasy island.

What made this story was Allison. She was very likable with her down-to-earth personality. She was not going to let a little bad luck get her down. She is willing to take a chance on Vince when she normally wouldn’t. She is street smart and proves herself to be a real asset. The plot wasn’t bad. It actually had a purpose. The only thing that bothered me was the convenient, fairy-tale ending. Of course, this is a romance so what should I expect. I found Vince to be a little bland too. All in all, this was a quick, fun read.

Title: Hunter’s Oath
Author: Jaid Black
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 1
Sensuality: Hot

Sofia Rowley is headed to Alaska to identify her brother’s body. He died during a military mission and what is left of his body needs to be ID. He was her only living relative and now she feels lost, wondering how she will cope with his death. Shortly after her arrival to Alaska, she is kidnapped by her taxi driver. Then she is sold to Vikings. These Vikings in turn sell her as a bride. Johan Stefsson, a lord of the underground New Sweden buys her and makes her his bride.

Hunter’s Oath has an interesting concept of an unknown civilization of Viking warriors that live underground in Alaska and no one knows of their existence. The short length of the story did not allow for enough development of this concept, nor the people in the story. It fell about as flat as a pancake for me. Neither, the heroine or the hero had any sort of impact on me and I could have cared less what happened to them. In order to make this story work, every word would have had to count and they didn’t. There was unnecessary talk of Viking politics, when the relationship could have used more focus. It had a good concept, but a bad execution.

Title: The Warlord Wants Forever
Author: Kresley Cole
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 4.5
Sensuality: Hot

The Warlord Wants Forever is the first story in Cole’s Immortals after Dark series. Nikolai Wroth is a 300 year old vampire warrior. He has never taken blood that is considered “living”. The means he has never taken blood directly from the source. It is feared that this causes madness and bloodlust amongst vampires. Nikolai has never had the urge to take blood directly until he meets the Valkyrie, Myst the Coveted. She is his Bride, which means she is the one who starts his heart beating again. Vampires are Valkyries’ enemies. Myst will be ostracized by the other Valkyries if she stays with Nikolai. They have much to over come in this short story.

I was amazed at how much Cole was able to pack into this short story. Both Nikolai and Myst are well drawn characters. I felt that I thoroughly knew both of them and what they were all about. There was actually enough world building to create a sense of the lore. It wasn’t fully developed, but what was there was expressed well. There was even enough angst between Nikolai and Myst to keep me very interested in them and wondering how they were going to work it all out. The part I enjoyed the most was when Nikolai had an unusual power over Myst. I don’t want to give it away but it added a very fun twist to the story. A very satisfactory read, indeed.

Total grade:

3 out of 5

This book is available from Pocket Books. You can buy it here or here in eBook format.

Read more from Jill D. at Romance Rookie.