Dare Me

I normally shy away from novellas because; #1) I know I'll be lucky to find one good story of the three #2) the plots are so thin I find it nearly impossible to care about the characters #3) by the time I get into the story, it's over. What a pleasureable surprise "Dare Me" turned out to be! All three of these steamingly sexy, edgy adventure stories were great - the characters were easy to love, the plots quickly drew me in, stayed interesting and kept me clinging to their very satisfying endings. I'm still not sure how every author managed to pull this off, but they certainly did so quite successfully.

Dare Me is an anthology with three tense sexy tales. Cherry Adair's Playing For Keeps has flight attendant Danica Cross on a special flight. This flight carries the family of the President of San Cristobel. After a crash landing her soon to be ex Jon Raven rushes to her side. Something fishy is going on in San Cristobel forcing Danica and Jon to work together to get out alive. Nothing To Lose by Jill Shalvis. DEA Agent Will Malone hunting down the man who killed his sister Wendy. Jade Barrett's life has been turned upside down. Her ex has cleaned her out and now she finds out that he is the same man Will is hunting. These two form a partnership to bring this scumbag down. Dare To Desire by Julie Elizabeth Leo. Macy Rush is ready to close the deal on a house she must have. But an agent and former lover, Dante Burke has beaten her to the house. They both need to find a code hidden in this house to advert a disaster. Since the house is Dante's he makes a deal with Macy, she can only search a room after they make love in it. Each story is a page-turner. Loved the hot sizzle between each couple. This anthology is a winner.

Okay--I've died and gone to heaven. ALL THREE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS TOGETHER IN ONE BOOK!!! What more could a girl want in the middle of a Montana winter. HEAT!! and more HEAT!! and this book delivers!! Alpha-males who think they can do anything (and are usually right). Alpha-females who can take care of themselves (and usually do). Add steamy sex and three good stories and you have this book. Most anthologies usually have one or two stories I don't like. Not this one. Loved them all. Thanks Ladies and thanks Penguin for publishing this--lets do it again REAL SOON!!!

"Playing for Keeps" by Cherry Adair. The flight from San Cristobel to Miami was filled by the staff or family of President Pelacios when the plane crashed; flight attendant Danica Cross and the seven years old son of Pelacios miraculously survive. Her estranged husband Jon Raven pulls strings to see the woman he loves, but goes bonkers to learn she is back in San Cristobel. Not all the president's men or his personal physician can keep Dani safe; only Jon can and he will be tested to the max. "Nothing to Lose" by Jill Shalvis. DEA Agent Will Malone is unofficially chasing con artist Mario Alvarez who killed his sister Wendy. In Los Angeles Jade Barrett just broke off with Tomas only to find he looted her antiques store, her bank accounts, and her home. Will informs Jade that she was hustled by Mario and offers her a partnership to bring down this SOB; she accepts. "Dare to Desire" by Julie Elizabeth Leto. In New Orleans, T-45 Agent Macy Rush informs the realtor she will buy the house only to have Arm Agent Dante Burke tell her he already purchased the place. Macy hates Dante who betrayed her love nine years ago destroying her reputation and heart. Dante insists they team up as the count down to find the hidden code to avert terrorist use of an abandoned Russian missile in an unknown location has begun. These three romantic suspense thrillers grip the audience from the beginning and never let up until the climax. The lead couples are a delightful pairing and the action non-stopped as all three novellas are terrific tense tales. Harriet Klausner

Ms. Adair is headliner for one good anthology that fans of the romantic suspense genre will not want to miss. She is joined by Jill Shalvis and Julie Elizabeth Leto two ladies that can indeed hold their own when it comes to penning romantic yet suspenseful stories. Although these are short stories the reader will not be left feeling short changed. In "Playing for Keeps" Danica Cross and Jon Raven are given a second chance at love. Dani is a flight attendant and the plane that she is on crashes. It turns out that the plane was sabotaged in order to kill the President of South America's child and cabinet that were passengers as well. The last thing that Dani thinks of when the plane crashes is of her soon to be ex-husband. Jon Raven is scared to death when he finds out that Dani has been in a plane crash. He moves heaven and earth to find her and tracks her back down to South America where she has been taken by the Presidents people. Why has she been secreted out of the United States, and why is Jon being kept from her? The answers are almost more than they want to hear but while they are on the run they realize that they still love each other and that this is not going to end with a divorce. In "Nothing to Loose" Jade is an antiques dealer that has tangled with the wrong man. He has stolen from her and he has killed in the past. Her life is about to cross with Will Malone. Tomas has killed his sister Wendy and this DEA agent has spent the last six months tracking this killer. He will get justice. When he follows him to Jade's doorstep he is not prepared for what happens next. Before he knows it, they are an unlikely pair working together. What he doesn't expect is the play acting turning real. Will they be able to catch a killer and still find a happy ending? In "Dare to Desire" secret agent Dante Burke has his work cut out for him. He is on a life or death mission and it all rests on the success of a blackmailing scheme. Macy has tangled with Dante before. The last time left her reputation in tatters. Is she willing to tangle with the handsome Dante again? Or better question will she be able to survive with her heart in tacked if she does tangle with him? All three stories were page turners. This is always a gift when it comes to these types of books. I can honestly say that none of the stories were weak or better than another. I highly recommend this book and suggest that you check out any of the back lists that these authors have. Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com