THE GUY NEXT DOOR

Author: Lori Foster, Susan Donovan, Victoria Dahl ISBN: 9780373775569 3/2011 CONTEMPORARY ANTHOLOGY Publisher: HQN

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

In Ready, Set, Jett, Jett and Natalie are neighbors who have been engaging in a no-strings-attached affair, but Jett realizes he wants more.  He wants to get to know Natalie outside of the bedroom.  Natalie never stays over, doesn’t ask questions, and does not want to go out with him at all.  At the end of his rope, Jett devises a plan to get her to talk to him and finagles an invitation on her spring break trip. 

I wanted to read THE GUY NEXT DOOR because I’m a fan of Lori Foster’s, but I was a little disappointed.  Ready, Set, Jett, for me, was heavy on the sex, but light on everything else.  Once the couple was on their way to the vacation spot, more conversation occurred and the story got a bit better.  This story just seemed to be missing something.

Gail’s Gone Wild is next up in the anthology.  A college professor in a small town, Gail has just completed her Ph.D. when her daughter asks to go to Daytona Beach on spring break unchaperoned.  While Gail vetoes that idea, she comes up with an alternative—she’ll escort her daughter and best friend to Key West instead, a place she has always wanted to visit.  Upon arriving in south Florida, she meets her sexy neighbor, Jesse.  Though they are snarky towards each other in the beginning, a stolen kiss leads to Jesse being the dour guide for Gail’s celebratory spring break. 

Of the three stories, I enjoyed this one the least.  I found the story and characters to be a bit bland.  I didn’t buy into the long-term potential of the main characters’ relationship.  I may have liked it more if there had been some kind of past between them.

Victoria Dahl’s teaser into her new series was the pièce de résistance of this book.  Just One Taste starts with Beth and Eric meeting at a business conference.  The pair is immediately attracted to each other.  When Eric realizes she works at an erotic toy store, he decides not to act on his attraction, fearing the association would negatively affect a business deal he is working on for the brewery he runs with his siblings.  Beth, on the other hand, believes being seen with him will ruin the edgy persona she uses for work.  But the lust proves to be too much for them to ignore.  The love scenes are great, the tension between them comes through clearly, and the characters are likable. 

I loved this last story, and I feel like I should warn you that it isn’t complete.  Dahl leaves readers wanting more, which will come with her new series about the Donovan siblings.  I’m excited to see what else Dahl has in store for these two.

Christina Baker