Rating:  Summary: I, too, wasn't "delighted." Review: Perhaps the major flaw with this anthology is that the authors [and publisher] haven't caught on yet that many women require more than coupling in their soft porn. Yes, I too like the steamy sex and wild ideas I've never personally encountered. That said, I want story with my sex. There was little here. For me, it's not a keeper.
Rating:  Summary: I, too, wasn't "delighted." Review: Perhaps the major flaw with this anthology is that the authors [and publisher] haven't caught on yet that many women require more than coupling in their soft porn. Yes, I too like the steamy sex and wild ideas I've never personally encountered. That said, I want story with my sex. There was little here. For me, it's not a keeper.
Rating:  Summary: Out of the Storm by Susan Johnson is delightful Review: Susan Johnson's contribution to the anothology collection of stories to Delighted impressed me far more than her latest novel, Brava (Again and Again). In Out of the Storm, two strangers seek shelter from a storm in a gamekeeper's hut, finding instant passion with each other. Introduced formally two weeks later they discover a relationship by marriage (his father recently wed her mother). Ms. Johnson did an excellent job describing the characters' emotions: lust, shame, bewilderment, pride and pain. I would recommend Delighted for this story only.
Rating:  Summary: Susan Johnson's Out of the Storm.. Review: Was much better than her last novel Again and Again. The hero and heroine were much more likeable in this story and I actually found myself rooting for the hero to win his lady. It was refreshing to see Prince Radovsky stay faithful to Lulu even after the two part ways. In other Johnson books, the hero most likely goes out and has marathon sex with any willing female when there is a crisis which I find somewhat distateful and unnecessary. I loved the ending and will more than likely re read this fabulous, erotic and romantic story.
Rating:  Summary: Disappointed rather than delighted Review: While previous erotic romance anthology like Captivated and Fascinated blends seamlessly sizzling passion and poignant heartfelt characters, Delighted seems contented only to bombard the readers with sex and... more sex. You begin to wonder why Robin Schone - a frequent excellent contributor was excluded and brought in new entries from Nikki Donovan and Liz Madison. This is not to say the budding talents are not good. Liz Madison threw in an impressive debut with a medievial romance in England 1250 which tells of Victoria Woodville, a female warrior grappling with the daunting task of protecting her homeland from a despot who craves on territorial expansion. She falls in love with an ally - Stephen de Burgh of Normadic origin and learns to trust him in battling the enemy together. Her style reminiscent of Virgina Henley pleases but lacks the spark of originality and erotic abundance. Nikki Donovan pens "Enchanted" - a surreal tale about the intimidating Beast of Lord kidnapping the lady Esmay to remove his curse through carnal relations. The entry suffers from an overload of sex with a contrived romance between undeveloped characters to whack its flaccid premise. Veterans Bertrice Small and Susan Johnson scores better, both playing the elements of erotica and romance to a perfect pitch. Particularly Johnson in "Out of the Storm" who proves herself a maverick in creating sensual dialogues and a sizzling couple. She notches up the erotic atmosphere with an unconventional relationship between Lady Darlington and her stepbrother Prince Radovsky through a fateful meeting in the storm. Bertrice Small stretches the boundary with a love story between a courtesan and an enamored customer. It is erotically charged and her female protagonists is particularly strong and cunning though some may be put off by some debauched scenes of threesomes. The romance element is sadly missing in this erotic anthology which strays towards giving readers a hot sex read. They may be delighted but without a stronghold of memorable romance, it falls below the expectations. Disappointed is the word.
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