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Playing Easy to Get
written by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kresley Cole, Jaid Black
Studio : Pocket
by Pocket
Publisher : Pocket
Released : 2006-02-07
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781416510871
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 38 reviews)
List Price : $14.00
Our Price : $7.39
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Product Description |
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Dallas Homicide Detective Rachel Collazo is one tough cop---as foul-mouthed as she is beautiful, and almost fanatical about her work. When a woman comes to the station with suspicions about her sister's death, Collazo jumps on the case. |
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Trio of Hot Tales |
Playing Easy to Get
2006
Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jaid Black, Kresley Cole
This anthology of three erotic romance tales brings together some of the most well-known names in romance -- Sherrilyn Kenyon, author of paranormal "Dark Hunter" series (among others); Jaid Black, founder of popular "Ellora's Cave Publishing"; and Kresley Cole, who made her debut into the supernatural with the first installment of "Immortals After Dark".
Turn Up the Heat
Sherrilyn Kenyon
"Playing Easy to Get" opens with a fun, if slightly convoluted, entry into Sherrilyn Kenyon's wickedly-acronymed "BAD" (Bureau of American Defense) series.
Novellas are always tricky for me to review -- and Kenyon does manage to pack a lot into less than a hundred pages (especially in regard to her hero), but the characters' evolution on the whole and the evolution of their relationship is so fast that I had trouble swallowing it. I'm all for reading about realistic, no-strings-attached physical intimacy -- and I think it makes for more believable dimensions in fiction -- but there was very little bridge from sex to "true love".
Vince Cappelletti is ex-mafia-turned-good-guy who gets signed up to work undercover as security on what amounts to be Fantasy Island. Allison George is lucky Georgia girl who wins a trip to said Fantasy Island. Needless to say, things go to hell in a handbasket quickly when Vince's past catches up to him, and Allison ends up caught in the crossfire. The two end up on the run, and romance grows.
Not too bad, overall, and entertaining to take up an hour or so -- Kenyon's usual romp of violence and hotness.
6.5/10
Hunter's Oath
Jaid Black
I'm usually not a fan of Nordic settings, but Black offers enough twists on the usual tales to keep her offering fresh.
Sofia Rowley, after losing her brother and with him the last member of her family, is taken captive by neo-Viking warriors and auctioned off at the block. As she soon learns, she is no slave, but rather the bride of a warrior whose nearly-instant love for her starts to warm even her own frozen heart.
As mentioned already, this novella has a neat concept, and in a longer length and with a bit more fleshing out, it wouldn't be too bad. It has a little too much of a male-centric feel, though certainly not misogynistic, and the development between characters happens far, far too easily. Take a read if you're already buying the anthology.
5.5/10
The Warlord Wants Forever
Kresley Cole
The longest, last, and by-and-far best tale in the book is penned by then-newcomer to the paranormal scene, Kresley Cole. "Immortals After Dark" was not yet one of the best-selling series on the market, but this is without a doubt still worthy of the same accolades.Cole introduces -- and does a remarkable job of -- creating an entire paranormal realm in under two-hundred pages, while fleshing out a believable, hot romance.
Varying factions within the "Lore" -- the supernatural side of our world -- are battling for power, even amongst their own species. Nikolai Wroth, soldier in a "good guys" vampire army bent on destroying the killers of their kind, stumbles across a conundrum of a female who just might be his predestined mate.
Unfortunately for him, Myst, a Valkyrie and immortal warrior, has other plans for the vampires she finds, and it takes all of Wroth's resources and strength to even keep her around long enough to seduce.
I loved this story, and while all of Cole's following books are good, this little tale which introduces it all is one of the best nuggets in the series. Whether or not you liked the full-length novels, this is an exercise in "how, properly, to write romance" -- not to mention "how, properly, to write erotica". The tale's hot as hell (with all puns intended), with hints at D/s and fiery power-play -- this is not to be missed.
8.8/10 |
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Wish I could rate by story... |
Ok, the first two stories are horrible..., but this is worth getting just for Kresley Cole's first introduction to her Immortals After Dark series. That story and the whole series is addictive! I'm already freaking out waiting for the next book!
Anyway, the first two stories are just bad. I even tried to read more Kenyon (Dark-Hunter Series) and I just can't get into her writing. I just could care less about her characters. As for the Viking story...I don't even know where to begin. Suffice it to say, I'm not interested in even trying out more Jaid Black writing.
At any rate, Kresley Cole's story is so good, it's worth it to buy this whole book. |
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OK intro to Usually Great Authors |
Kenyon: BAD series is good, this is OK intro to it.
Black: OK intro to series.
Cole: Fans of the series always wanted to get the Wroth and Myst story since it is referred to so mush in other books. Good Story. |
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4.5 Stars! |
Turn up the Heat by Sherrilyn Kenyon: Vince Cappelleti is an ex-Mafia hit man who is now being sought by his prior employer. Vince knew too much. He had done too much. When "Z", Vince's brother-in-law, sends him to a (sort of ) Fantasy Island to hide for awhile, he is grateful. But the island caters to the winner of the Hideaway Heroine contest. Vince is to pretend to be just one of the island's actors. It is the least he could do for Z. But when the winner, Allison George, steps out of the plane and onto the island, Vince feels as though someone has knocked the wind out of him. Ally is gorgeous and does not even seem to know it. Soon the two cannot keep their hands off each other. Problem is that Vince's former employer has found out where he is and the assassins are already on the island with them.
***** An excellent plot, full of extremely hot romance and equally as extreme danger.
Hunter's Oath by Jaid Black: Sofia Rowley's brother, a U.S. Army officer, has been lost in a deadly helicopter crash in Alaska. Sofia flies up to help identify his body, but ends up being kidnapped by the taxi driver. Instead of going to Fairbanks, Sofia finds herself sold (by a bride-hunter, one who steals single wenches from above ground for the Vikings) and taken deep below ground when Viking clans still live and reside by the rule of forgotten gods. Sofia is sold to Lord Johen Stefsson, commander of the independent sector of Hannu, and becomes his bride. So much is happening and the ways of the people are strange. Can Sofia live with these people or should she take desperate measures?
**** An interesting plot, though not very believable. More time is spent on the erotica romance than on plot development. ****
The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole: Nikolai Wroth is a ruthless vampire warlord. He is but one of the walking dead until he finds his predestined Bride and she "blooded" him fully. Once blooded, he will be rendered truly alive. His Bride turns out to be Myst the Coveted, a Valkyrie seductress. During his fevered chase, he must also fight to help reclaim Kristoff's crown from his uncle Demestriu, who'd stolen the crown centuries ago.
***** In my opinion, this is the best of the three. A complex plot that can be used in the author's future stories. This story will leave you begging for more! *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews. |
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Not So Good Erotica |
While I'm not usually in the mood for erotica, I was today and made a mistake in picking up this book. In fact I read the Kresley Cole story because I had heard some positive things about her, then skimmed the other two.
Ok, erotica requires a lot of sexual activity, but it doesn't require that the author toss out all plot and character development for sexual activity. The Cole story started out kind of fun-- I was even tolerating the characters names pretty well although they are hokey-- Wroth and Myst-- really! At the moment when I realized Myst, the heroine, was just a fake rake-- instead of all the lovers that had been hinted at there had been only a couple, including a long distance relationship with a warlock when it took half a year to get to his place-- insert rolling eyes.
I don't know why so many romance authors are so willing to allow male characters their sexuality but have to put limits on female characters. Cole also takes the easy way of giving specific names of creatures from legends-- Valkyries for instance, then mixing up the cultures and the stories involved. Sloppy world building.
Then the story ended up as sort of a spin on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Altogether disappointing. |
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