CARROLL MAVIS-RAINE
ISBN: 1-59836-061-2
July 2005
Venus Press LLC
http://www.venuspress.com/
E-Book
$5.98
118 pages
Anthology
Rating:
Italian Pastry
Gold Medalist skier, Tomas Marcolini, has been known to play fast and loose with a
woman’s affections. At least he loves them well before he leaves them. One of the
women he left is dead, and some say he is the cause. On the plus side, he does get to
meet her very sexy sister at her funeral. Some men have all the luck.
Sharon Andrews is the sister of the girl who is rumored to have killed herself because of
Tony's playboy ways. Poor sweet innocent Carrie never really had a chance in reining
him in, but Sharon aims to try where she failed.
Sharon ensnares Tony with her mysterious allure before she leaves for an archeological
dig in South America. He can not forget her beauty and her confidence. So when she
calls him months later, he is willing and eager to take the next step hoping to purge her
from his thoughts and dreams. Little does he know she is much better in reality than in
his dreams or is it nightmares?
Sharon is wickedly cool and confident. Tony is also confident, perhaps too confident.
The sex within this story is hot and very much from a woman's point of view. I loved the
very satisfying ending.
Phantom Gray
Lindsey is running from her abusive husband, Steve. She is thankful for the refuge of the
house that was her Aunt Susie’s legacy. In the sanctuary of her new home, she hides
from the horror her life has become. However, it seems her haven is already occupied.
Evan comes to her in the night, like a dream. He is the perfect lover, slow, gentle, soft,
and sweet. He shows her the kindness and consideration that was so lacking in her
marriage to Steve.
However, Evan has a secret. He is a dream lover, a ghost that haunts the home he died
in loving the women of the house and giving them the love that was denied his murdered
bride. But can he protect Lindsey from the evil that closes in on her?
I loved the concept of this story, the twists and turns, and the surprising ending. You are
kept in the dark about a very important thing until the very end. Evan is wonderfully warm
and sweet and Lindsey is a wounded soul in need of the healing touch of a good man.
The Highwayman
Shelly Stearns rides through the night in search of her highwayman, the fantasy lover she
yearns for above all else, even reality. She is willing to give all her worldly possessions
just for his touch alone.
Blayne robs from the rich and gives to the poor. A noble thief, and not just of jewels and
trinkets, his teasing Irish brogue robs the ladies of their hearts as well.
Oh, but this is not your regular highwayman and lady story. You see, it all takes place on
board of the Starship Admiral in a virtual reality room called the Mirageodram. Here
Shelly becomes Shelaine, a nineteenth century lady on the prowl for the bandit who has
stolen her heart despite being only a computer program. But the program always cuts
off before she and Blayne can consummate their union. She must find out why and make
an important decision that will change her life forever.
A highwayman is always wickedly sexy and Blayne does not disappoint. With
contrasting scenes of the space ship and the dark roads of the English countryside, The
Highwayman is steamy and romantic. The end is a bit of a shock, but still manages to
satisfy.
Sky Eyes
Solveig is a widow in the wilds of nineteen century America. After losing her husband
and children to tuberculosis, she decides to begin her new life in California. Strong and
stoic like her Viking ancestors, she will not be broken by what fate has dealt her even
when she is taken captive by the Indians.
Known only as Sky Eyes because of the piercing blue color of his eyes, he comes to her
rescue and buys her from those who would torture her to death. However, he is not all
he seems and hides a great pain behind his silent demeanor.
Sky Eyes and Solveig are brought together by necessity, but she finds herself drawn to
him despite herself. She is his slave and he treats her as such, seemingly unmoved by
her. However, she is attracted to him despite this. Slowly but surely she draws him to
her culminating the dance between them with a fiery passion that marks her Viking
heritage.
This was a quiet story of learning to love again after being hurt by loss. Each time she
moved forward he moved away, as if afraid. The female was the pursuer in this story,
and she did it well. Both the hero and heroine were strong willed and stubborn each
determined to have their own way. The backdrop of the time period and the location only
emphasized the wildness of their union.
The Captain’s Widow
Leif Johnansen is a young Norwegian man sailing on his virgin voyage to America. It is
his ill luck that the ship hits a Northeaster and runs aground. Or perhaps it is not ill luck at
all, for he is found by the lovely widow who lives on the coast.
Shandeigh has only loved one man, her husband John. His ship was lost off the coast of
Africa and she still mourns him. However, Leif is handsome and virile and the nights are
lonely for a young widow.
Leif is shy and awkward, having never been with a woman before. He finds the widow
more lovely than his wildest dreams. He finally works up the nerve to approach her and
the sparks fly for the couple.
This is a soft, sensuous love story with a bitter sweet end that left me hunting for the
tissues. But it was also very realistic for the period in which it was told.
The Uninvited
Meg prides herself on being strong. On being able to weather anything even the loss of
her husband a year ago. She lives alone on the western coast of Ireland painting and
coming to grips with his death.
Sean MacCauley is a man on the run seeking refuge for the night. He never wanted to
be involved in the politics of his country, but sometimes you just get pulled in no matter
what. Can he trust the lovely widow not to betray him?
Meg is an American artist on an extended guilt trip that has taken her all the way to
Ireland’s west coast. Here, she is trying to find solace from the grief over the loss of her
husband and find out about her grandparents in the meantime. She never realized just
how lonely she was until Sean appeared on her doorstep one rainy afternoon claiming
that his car broke down. From the first she knows he is not giving her the whole truth.
However, neither can fight the attraction that begins from the first for both of them
despite the outside that tries to invade their refuge.
The Uninvited is a very compelling read that left me sighing over what could have been.
This was another bittersweet story of, if not love, then at least something that could
become that in time if the circumstances had been different. Sean and Meg are just two
real people finding themselves thrown together for a time to draw comfort from one
another in the only way they can.
Wildspitze
Jennifer Kristiansen is taking refuge from her estranged husband’s sudden death. She
married the race car driver because he was exciting, but he never gave her what she
really needed. Here in her father’s chalet called Wildspitze, she hopes to at least find a
little peace of mind. That lasts until she receives an unexpected visit from a mysterious
man who just appears out of the blizzard.
Loc McMatthews is a very intelligent man. He has had to be. He learned fast how to
judge situations in seconds. This stands him in good stead when he is confronted with
the beautiful Jennifer. He meets her moments after his arrival at the out of the way chalet
where he is taking refuge for reasons of his own.
Drawn together by both the storm outside and their own need for one another, the two
spend one hot night in the cold mountain lodge. Revelations that would break them apart
are left unspoken so that they may have this night out of time. From two different
backgrounds, worlds apart, once one of their secrets is revealed their refuge is blown
apart.
This story was fast and the people moved together fast. One night stands have a way of
coming back on you, but never in my wildest dreams would I imagine it would happen
like this. I liked the nice twist at the end, and felt the longing of the couples’ desire to be
together despite their circumstances.
The Carriage Ride
Despite the title, Veronica Whitby-Harris is no corseted maiden riding through the past
in her horse drawn carriage. No, she is a modern woman with modern tastes and
needs. She loves beautiful things like art and jewelry. She also likes beautiful men, and
she knows how to get them but what is a busy Washington D.C. career woman to do
about that when she barely has time for lunch?
His name is unknown, simply a nice looking young man who catches her eye. The
innocent Norwegian man is more than willing to follow wherever this beautiful American
woman leads him even if it is into a dangerously exposed sexual encounter that will fill
his dreams for nights to come.
They meet in the Smithsonian Institute which makes their encounter all the more naughty
and steamy. Though that encounter is brief, it leaves a lasting impression on both the
hero and heroine.
I can not really say what my favorite part of this story was without giving away the end.
However; I can say this, I laughed and then reread the whole thing with this new take on
it all. The fact that their encounter takes place in one of the museum’s exhibits made it
even more titillating to me. I loved this story.
The Lady and the Traveler
Lady Caroline Wainscot has it all; wealth, privilege, and a title. Unfortunately, she does
not have a real man to warm her bed at night. When she marries the newly widowed
Lord Edwin, she never imagined how dull and boring her life would become.
Stefan is a traveler or a gypsy. He is a free spirit who goes where the wind takes him.
When he and his fellow travelers camp near the Wainscot estate, he finds that the lady
of the house takes more than a passing interest.
The Lady and the Traveler is one of the classic stories of an English lady falling for a
common gypsy because he can give her what her husband cannot. There is the added
benefit of Caroline finding the strength to pursue her dreams and needs at all costs,
even the creature comforts of wealth and stability.
This story was very well written, making the reader identify with the heroine from the first.
The young wife of an older and much more conservative husband with two spoiled
stepdaughters who do not wish to make her one of their own. She searches for what
she needs outside of the bounds of convention and propriety. This leads to the climactic
ending that made me smile.
All of the stories within this anthology were written by Ms. Mavis-Raine. She does a
wonderful job of drawing the reader into the lives of her characters even if it is for but a
brief glimpse. Each short story stands on its own but all have two things in common: hot
steamy sex and vividly written characters that leap off the page. The hero and heroine of
each story come together and sometimes leave each other. Yet there is always a need
that is fulfilled, whether it is sexual, for companionship, or just a jolt to get started again. I
highly recommend Ms. Mavis-Raine’s Dangerous Men anthology for those who want a
taste of different love stories in various locales and circumstances. The overall rating
reflects the average of the ratings I gave each story.
Jenn
Reviewer For Karen Talk About New Books
Reviewer For Coffee Time Romance
