Playing Easy to Get

I was in a chat room, minding my own business, when Nicole cornered me and said I needed to read the anthology Playing Hard to Get. (OK, she didn't really corner me; she just mentioned it.) So I read the book this week and would describe it as pretty average: 3.5 out of 5.

From New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon comes "Turn Up the Heat,'' the story of an average woman who wins the vacation of a lifetime--a trip to Sex Camp. But what Allison George gets is a race for her life with none other than an ex-Mafia hit man who is now being sought by his prior employer. Vince Cappelleti knew the island was a risky proposition, but he'd run out of options. Now the only thing he wants in his sights is Allison, but in order to have a future with her, he must first deal with his past.

Jaid Black's sizzling hot "Hunter's Oath" sends grief-striken Sofia Rowley to the Arctic Circle, where her brother, a U.S. Army officer, was lost in a deadly helicopter crash. She's about to take a shocking journey into a secret underground world where Viking bride-hunters auction off their bounty . . . and where a strapping warrior vows to make this beautiful Outsider his.

Possession and passion entwine in Kresley Cole's sultry story, "The Warlord Wants Forever." Nikolai Wroth, a ruthless vampire warlord, searches for his Bride--the one woman who can render him truly alive. When his fevered chase leads to Myst the Coveted, a Valkyrie seductress who craves only freedom, a battle of domination and desire begins. Will the power of her seductive wiles overcome his strength? Or will she surrender and experience the deliciously agonizing lust that Nikolai has endured waiting for his one and only Bride?

"Turn Up the Heat" starts with an appealing fantasy--leaving an oppressive place of work to have your fantasies fulfilled on a private island. But the characters don't quite engage me. The story is just too short to create a solid connection with Allison and Vince. The pacing was good, and I wanted to know what would happen, but the story didn't quite cross the line from good to great: 3 out of 5.

I had a similar issue with the length of "Hunter's Oath." I was definitely intrigued by the story, although the Viking society is ruled by a bit too much testosterone. There's also a woman I wanted to bash over the head. (You'll know the part I mean when you read it.) There is a clash of ideologies as well. I thought it was resolved a bit too easily with only one conversation. Again, this is where another 20 pages would have helped: 3 out of 5.

It probably won't surprise you to know that the longest story is the one I enjoyed most. This is the first time I've read anything by Kresley Cole, and the world she creates in "The Warlord Wants Forever" is a compelling one. Neither Myst nor Nikolai are perfect characters, which is something I appreciate. In this case, I found my sympathy going back and forth between them: 4 out of 5.