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"...strong heroine's and hero's which are just a bit different make this book shine."

Sweet Strangers: Head of Security for Anodyne, Renee Jardin, is on the run. She doesn't know how her company's top secret new drug got in her bag and when she tried to return it she was fired. Now she has no idea what to do with it or how to get out of this situation with every law enforcement agent in the area after her. Approaching the businessman had seemed like a good idea at the time, after all, everyone was looking for a single woman. Problem is Eric Axelrod is one of the bad guys...erm, good guys...whatever!

Lovely Lies: Peter Random was in charge of bringing Renee Jardin back to Anodyne and recovering the drug she stole by whatever means necessary. But the way things had turned out offended his moral code -- and yes he did have morals. They might not have been the same as everyone else's but he did have them. Now he was only concerned with what the winning lottery numbers were and how he could avoid his landlady. He knew Lorie Jamieson was trouble when he found her passed out in the back of his car but there were those damned morals again...

Delightful Deception: Dr Thea Foster a.k.a the Ice Queen, or I.Q. for short was worried. As the creator of the wonder drug PaceIC she should be sitting pretty right about now. If the drug had still been the sole property of the company along with the billions of dollars of profit. But the secret was out and Anodyne had a new boss; Dr James Scrye, Boy Genius all grown up (OK, mostly grown up!) who may well fire her and her entire team. Anodyne was in the red and desperately needed another big discovery, but would I.Q. be the one to make it, or would Jimmy have his own ideas.

Mary Janice Davidson makes her debut into the print publishing world with this anthology of linked contemporary stories. The reader will be hard-pressed to decide whether they prefer the wise-cracking security agent and the smooth private investigator, the runaway heiress and the tough-guy with the soft centre or the ice queen and the child prodigy. The characters find themselves in hilarious situations and the laugh-out-loud dialogue keep things moving at a fast pace. Those who like a bit of heat in their romance will not be disappointed either as the love scenes sizzle.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories in this book though I do wish that they had been a bit longer. I would have loved to spend more time with the couples and see more of the intriguing supporting characters. I particularly liked the way that the three tales were linked. After reading the first story I was keen to see how the author would manage to turn two unsympathetic characters into the leads in the second and third. The trio of strong heroine's and hero's which are just a bit different make this book shine.

Reviewed by Barbara Small
Posted November 6, 2003

Renee Jardin never meant to become the world's most sought-after thief. But the minute she walks out of her biotech firm accidentally carrying "The Cure"— the most important scientific discovery of the century— she's on the run from ruthless bioengineers, cops, and the U.S. government. Desperate to lose her trackers, Renee lays a full-body kiss on the first gorgeous guy she sees...a kiss that she gets back with a toe-curling vengeance. N.S.A. agent James Axelrod never thought apprehending his suspect would be so easy, and so sinfully arousing...or that he would consider taking her into custody in the privacy of his own bedroom...

Peter Random lost everything when he was outwitted by that goody-goody Renee Jardin. Late in his rent, his job gone, Peter vows he'll never let anyone get close enough to burn him again. So why can't he seem to tell Lori Jamieson and her troubles to hit the road? It isn't just her hot bod and full lips—although those have a magic he can't deny. Something about the damsel in distress makes Peter want to wrap her in his strong arms and prove that a bad boy can be very, very good, especially when it's between the sheets...

At the biotech firm, they call her Thea "I.Q." Foster— "I.Q." for either Intelligence Quotient or Ice Queen, depending. Slipping the Cure into Renee's tote bag was satisfying revenge, but now that the fun's over, Thea sets her sights on a new challenge: sarcastic, secretive Jimmy Scrye. Cracking open his hard shell would be a real game, but Jimmy's more than Thea's match. He's got a few ideas for turning the tables on the brainy scientist...sensual, erotic fantasy ideas that just might change those letters in her name to "Incredible," "Insatiable," and "Quivering with delight"...