A Red Hot New Year

"New Year's Bites" by Cynthia Eden Leaving work on New Year's Eve to go to her friend's party, Anna Summers is attacked. She is not sure what attacked her but Anna is sure she was rescued by tall, sexy Jon York. The man she has been lusting after for months. The bite she received from the attack is changing her body. She is now more aware of the world around her. The attraction between Anna and Jon York makes "New Year's Bites" a steamy look at being bitten. Ms. Eden has written a hot tale of sex and animal attraction. The added suspense of Anna being stalked by a werewolf added depth to the tale. "Night Resolution"s by Diana Mercury Chantal felt the house party would be an excellent opportunity to seduce her lover Billy. Too bad it doesn't seem to be working as well as she wished. The house party had undercurrents of sex and intrigue that just do not seem to make sense. "Night Resolutions" was an interesting tale where a woman found out exactly where her life and her relationship were heading. It had interesting twists and turns and did not end where you expected it to end. A few spots were a bit rough but still an imaginative tale. "Snow Blind" by Virginia Reede Gerry and Jules have been good friends for years. The New Year's weekend spent at the cabin Jules gets for them and their dates is a time for the couples to bond and get to know and appreciate each other. Gerry and Jules end up taking their relationship to the next level. I found "Snow Blind" to be an intriguing tale of two people realizing they don't know each other as well as they could. The sex scenes between Gerry and Jules were sultry and hot. That said having two couples detracted from the beauty of the story as it turned the story petty at times. All in all, "Snow Blind" was a delightful tale. "Coming on Strong" by Denise Rossetti Gina McBride has lived her life knowing she is different. She becomes more and more dragon-like the more turned on she gets. Over time she has learned to accept herself even if she is not happy with herself. Sexy, smart Sam Jones brings out the beast in Gina. It thrills her even as it scares her. I found "Coming on Strong" to be an irresistible and intriguing story of a woman finding herself and what she is capable of in a unique and compelling way. "Coming on Strong" had me fanning myself as I read it and wishing that it were a longer story as I did not want it to end. A Red Hot New Year is a hot anthology that keeps the reader engrossed from the first story to the last. I found myself reading it from beginning to end as I did not want to and could not put it down. Barb Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

"New Year's Bites" by Cynthia Eden. On New Year's Eve, a wolfman bit Anna Summers changing her physically and mentally. Jon York saves her life and escorts her on her trek into becoming a "bad girl" with a bite. "Night Resolutions" by Diana Mercury. Chantal attends a New Year's Eve party hoping to find the passion that has vanished between her and her boyfriend, but instead his best friend heats her bones to the melting point. "Snow Blind" by Virginia Reede. Gerry and Maggie and Jules and Joe go on a New Year's weekend vacation at a remote mountainous cabin in Colorado. Although wintry, one of them brought shorts, but none of the foursome was prepared for the heat generated that keeps everyone toasted. "Coming On Strong" by Denise Rossetti. Angst laden Gina McBride rarely goes anywhere because she fears excitement, which turns her into a dragon. Sam Jones knows that there are two sides to Gina, but plans to excite her in ways she has never felt before. Although the tales range from fantasy to contemporary, A RED HOT NEW YEAR contains four delightful erotic romances that star solid characters who would be fun to read about even in not XXX settings. Harriet Klausner

Just in time for the New Year holiday, Avon Red brings us an entertaining romance anthology featuring four New Year's Eve stories. ~New Year's Bites by Cynthia Eden~ Attacked by a strange wolf in the parking garage at work, Anna Summers is rescued by the very man she has been lusting after - Jon York. But Jon was too late to prevent the life-altering wolf bite that sparks some very odd changes in the lovely Anna. Knowing what is coming all too well, Jon resolves to stick to her like glue, something he'd wanted to do from the moment he first met her! I can never resist a good werewolf story, and New Year's Bites was definitely enjoyable! Author Cynthia Eden offers up a nice bit of suspense in this shape shifting `whodunit' with a villain stalking the newly changing Anna determined to claim her for his own. And when Jon reveals his own secrets to Anna, it just proves that there is a reason for everything that happens in this universe ~Night Resolutions by Diana Mercury~ Chantal goes on a vacation with her boyfriend, staying in the castle owned by his best friend's uncle. She is determined to heat up their relationship on this trip, but once they arrive, she finds herself more than distracted by his best friend, Jake. She can tell he is attracted to her, but provoking him into acting on it seems impossible, even after she ends her relationship with his friend. Night Resolutions started out with a great feel to the story. I initially liked the characters of Chantal and Jake immensely, and was intrigued by the cast of supporting characters as well. Then the twists to the story came. Nothing is as it seemed at the beginning, and the characters turned out to be far different people than they were first presented as. Unfortunately, who they turned out to be was not quite so likable. On top of that, most of the twists were so abrupt in nature, they felt manufactured instead of organic, leaving me with the feeling that I'd read the first half of one story and the last half of a far different tale. ~Snow Blind by Virginia Reed~ Best friends Gerry and Jules have long spent their vacations and holidays together, along with their significant others of the moment. But this New Year's holiday changes their lives in ways neither of them anticipated, as well as the way they view each other... Virginia Reed's offering to this anthology, Snow Blind, impressed me in such a way that I will be searching for more of this author's books soon. I have a certain fondness for romances in which the characters have been friends for some time before they realize they are each in love with the other. In this story, both characters realize they love each other from the start, but it isn't until they find themselves unexpectedly alone in a hot tub in a remote ski cabin that they begin to realize that love has a more passionate side to it. Unable to stop themselves, they succumb to that passion in secret, worrying over the effect it will have on thei