Bewitched, Bothered and Bevampyred
"After the Christmas 2004 tsunami, 20 extraordinary authors banded together to aid the International Red Cross by donating their talents and royalties -- and a portion of the publisher's profits! -- to the disaster relief fund. BEWITCHED, BOTHERED & BEVAMPYRED is the often hilarious, frequently touching, and always fabulous result."
MaryJanice happened to be one of those authors. This book was quite.. different. I've never read a book that showcased various authors stories revolving around the same town/idea/characters. It was hard at first to understand that this was not a book like most books were there was one set storyline from start to finish. This was more like.. a patchwork quilt.. and each piece told a different story than the next while still belonging to the same quilt. Not my cup of tea as it was all over the place. BUT it was/is for a good cause. So cheers to that!
Forgotten Wishes
This book has 3 stories by 3 different authors in it.
The first story, Love's Tender Fury written by MaryJanice Davidson, follows the life of a best selling romance author who despises her work. She is also still in love with her ex-boyfriend.. her gay ex-boyfriend. Her life is changed when two people enter her life.. and show her how to believe in herself, how to be happy and how to love.
The second story, Becareful What You Wish For written by Joanna Wylde, is about a massage therapist whos life drastically changes when she accepts a new client. A client who unknowingly gets her kidnapped and taken hostage by a dangerous felon who escaped from prison. Her life is changed forever when she falls in love with her kidnapper.. and vows to never let HIM go.
The third story, Threads of Faith written by Joey W. Hill, is about a young emphath/witch who creates a potion for a stranger that will be bring him his true love. Turns out, she is his true love. A lot of sex in this short story, almost too much for me.
I really enjoyed the first two stories of this book and the third.. not so much.
Bad Boys with Expensive Toys
Yet another book with 3 stories by 3 different authors.
The first story, The Fourteen Million Dollar Poodle by Nancy Warren, follows Vince a labor negotiator (nicknamed the Bulldog of his industry) who inherits from his late aunt her beloved toy poodle Mimi. Mimi inherits fourteen million dollars to continue on with her lavish French lifestyle. Vince quickly finds that caring for a French speaking spoiled toy poodle is quite hard for a very American speaking macho male and thus hires a French nanny for Mimi that he met one day at the park. The plot thickens with murder attempts and love. It all comes down to love doesn't it? Very cute story!
The second story, The World Is Too Darned Big by MaryJanice Davidson, follows Dr. Ben. An extremely gifted and intelligent man who specializes in designing gadgets used by the government in undercover field work. A field that he himself wishes to be in. Enters a beautiful blonde named Tara who turns Dr. Ben's world upside down when she informs him that one of his latest and greatest gadgets was bought by bad guys and NOT the government as his paperwork showed. Dr. Ben decides to tag along to help Tara get the gadget and to hopefully get the girl. Another great story.
The third story, Anything You Can Do by Karen Kelley, follows Alex a software designer by day and a playboy by night. Alex meets his match at his little sisters wedding and is 'pinky sweared' into not pursuing his sisters new husbands best friend Kagen. Imagine his surprise when Kagen shows up at the newlyweds apartment to decorate while they are away on honeymoon while he was supposed to be house sitting. This story gets steamy when Kagen tries to break Alex and ends up stealing his heart. This was probably my favorite story of the book.
I couldn't put this book down. I read it in one setting. Usually I'm not a big fan of books with many authors as not every story is as great as the rest. This book is one in which each story really holds it own and keeps you into it and entertained from start to finish.
