Customer Reviews

Men at Work

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Men At Work anthology sizzles from the first page.

Slow Hands by Janelle Denison is a titillating story about Tess Monroe and Morgan Kane. Tess is back in town after being away since high school. She had left Morgan behind with his heart broken. Now Tess has come back and has hired Morgan to repair her grandmother's house. The sparks between these two really fly. WOW. Slow hands is another keeper by Janelle Denison.

Nina Bangs brings a taste of the supernatural in Color Me Wicked. Amanda Harcourt has come back to help redecorate The Castle of Dark Dreams. She has to work with painter and former lover Conleth Maguire. With a nosey physic cat, plants that thrive when lovemaking is near, this is a fun filled, lusty story. Amanda and Con really do liven up this castle.

The Fixer-Upper by MaryJanice Davidson is another witty, sexy read. Cathy Wyth is exciting to be a new homeowner. Cathy feels another presence in her home but its seems to be a friendly spirit. Upon moving in she meets her neanderthal neighbor Ken Allen. Ken takes over helping Cathy move in and get the shock of his life. Little does Cathy know but her friendly ghost now lives in Ken's hot body. MaryJanice Davidson delivers a funny, lively, hot story.

There is nothing like a man stripped down to only a pair of well-worn jeans and his leather boots, with muscles bulging from hard work to bring on thoughts of: hot...sweaty...rough...sex! Welcome to the world of Men At Work!

Tess Monroe is coming home after being away for eight years. She is only staying long enough to get her grandmother's house in shape and ready to sell. There is one person that she will seek out is her old love, Morgan Kane. Tess needs his help with all the numerous repairs. Boy, he looks even better now than he did eight years ago!

Slow Hands is by author Janelle Denison. This is an outstanding erotic tale of past lovers finding their passionate flame had not gone out. From the moment this story starts until the very end, the characters are like a well-worn pair of shoes, they are comfortable and convincing. Ms. Denison, this is a heartwarming and superbly written erotic story, and people should buy the book just for this tale of love!

Sparkle Stardust, a cosmic troublemaker, is about to start some sexual trouble for old high school lovers, Amanda Harcourt and Conleth Maguire. Sparkle will pair them together to redo her newly acquired, Castle of Dark Dreams (like an adult fun park). Conleth and Amanda will have to work together to get the job done - coloring this castle with their own sexual vibes!

Color Me Wicked is by author Nina Bangs. Ms. Bangs' writing style is out in leftfield and distinctly different, which this reader loves. No one writes quite like her. Between the out-there imagination and outrageous erotic wording, Ms. Bangs has backbone, and it has not left the building. If you are looking for an unusual story, look toward Nina Bangs to deliver it!

Catherine Wyth is now a proud homeowner of a fixer-upper project. What she did not know before she bought this house is it has a ghost named Jack, and her next-door neighbor, Ken, is foul-mouthed and tacky. If only that hunk Ken was not so obnoxious and crude. One never knows how a shot of electricity can change a man's entire outlook on life, can one?

The Fixer-Upper is by author MaryJanice Davidson. Okay, this story might not be as erotic as the other two, but this jaded reader has not laughed so hard as she did with this tale of haunted love and a love-hate relationship between best friends; it kicked this story up to hilarious. You just have to read this tale to appreciate Ms. Davidson's absolutely kick-butt - delivered on dry toast - sense of humor.

Though this book is an overall entertaining read, it is not what the front cover or blurb on the back of this contemporary anthology suggested. Slow Hands by Janelle Denison was the only story that fit into the anthology's pretext of rugged and sexy, blue-collar men that work with their hands. The other two remaining stories are paranormal type tales of otherworldly beings and did not fit into the contemporary category. Now that you know the true contents of this book, you can make an informative decision whether to buy it or not.

Reviewed by © Janalee Ruschhaupt, 2005
Courtesy of Love Romances www.loveromances.com

Denison. Though in love as high school sweethearts, Tess Monroe, encouraged by her grandmother, left Morgan Kane behind in Wynhaven to go off to school and be somebody. Eight years later, she is back to sell her deceased grandmother's house that needs restoring; Morgan's company is doing the work. Both realize the spark remains fiery between them, but Tess plans to leave once her work is finished.

Bangs. Cosmic troublemaker extraordinaire Sparkle Stardust mentors klutzy Deimos on how interfering in human relationships is the most fun in the universe. Her targets are former lovers Amanda Harcourt and Conleith Maguire. Interior designer Amanda is back in Galveston restoring the Castle of Dark Dreams having left town and Conleith for New York ten years ago. Conleith's firm has the painting contract on the restoration project. Both realize the spark remains hot between them, but Amanda plans to depart once her work is finished.

Davidson. Temporary worker Cathy Wyth buys a late nineteenth century fixer-upper before realizing what a foul mouthed obnoxious neighbor Ken Allen is or that she has a kind hearted resident ghost in Jack. As Cathy and Jack begin to fall in an impossible love, Ken turns even more nasty and boorish if that is possible.

The male blue collar restoration themes connect these wonderful contemporary novellas that cross sub-genres from second chance to paranormal with twists. The lead couples are wonderful pairings including the ghostly hunk and the support cast solid as each author provides a superior entertaining contribution.

Harriet Klausner

This was a fun set of stories with a little something for everyone. I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite as all three stories were different but offered fun qirky characters and fun storylines.

Two of the stories (offered by Nina Bangs and MaryJanice Davidson) are paranormal. Ms Davidson's trade mark wit and humor are more than evident, and Ms. Bang's trademark sensuality is buring hot and bright. Ms. Denison brings back together two lovers that have not forgotten the other...nor the hurt that caused them to separate. But fear not they both take advantage of the second chance they are offered.

These were not "blow your mind reads" but they were good from some of today's best authors. Why not a higher rating than? Well, since they are such talented authors and I've read several of their full lenghth stories I expected a little more from them. Still this was a fun book if you are wanting a book to read that will not be time consuming and quick than this is the read for you.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

**** There's something for pretty much anyone and everyone here. For those who are not huge paranormal fans, Slow Hands, a story of homecomings and second chances fits the bill nicely, thanks to Ms. Dennison. For the paranormal crowd there are two stellar entries. First, Color Me Wicked, features a cameo by Sparkle Stardust, the feline trouble maker extraordinare' Ms Bangs introduced us to in her most recent book. This time, Sparkle is a bit more in charge, appearing just long enough to send Deimos on his mission to handle Con and Mandy's lives as the two work on making Sparkle's Castle of Dark Dreams live up to its name- in multiple ways. In the debates email loops engage in about which literary cat is the best, if they don't vote Nina's felines at the top, there was a miscount. They rule. Finally, Ms Davidson takes a break from vampires to give us an extraordinarily sastifying ghost story with a twist. While anthologies in general seem too rushed and brief, there are exceptions, and this is one of them, standing out as an example of what they all should be. ****

Normally I enjoy anthologies and understand that there will not be a lot of character development but this book was truly dreadful.

Denison's story was so full of stereotypes and cliches I was completely disgusted. I've never read her before and this story convinced me I wasn't missing anything. I could go on and on about how much I disliked the story but it isn't worth my time. 0 stars for her story.

Bang's story was the best of the bunch but only if you've read her others that feature Sparkle Stardust and have a general idea of what is going on. Otherwise you'll be left thinking "huh?". 3 stars because of the fun sex scenes.

Davidson disappointed me the most. I've come to expect funny sexy stories from her but this one fell flat. Perhaps it could have been funny without the excessive use of the "f" word and other vulgarity. I don't mind a few well-placed expletives but she went a little to far for my personal comfort this time. I was put off rather than entertained. She skipped right over the sex scene so it wasn't even sexy. 1 star because she had a good idea - it just didn't work.

Don't waste your money on this one. Thankfully I got it from the library - perhaps you can too.

Men at Work was a fun anthology to read. You get three novellas about gorgeous, sweaty men doing a lot of work with their hands in more ways than one. I loved Nina Bangs's feline novella called Color Me Wicked. It is based on a series that I have not read, but the novella is a great stand-alone with a sensual male character to boot. And I adored MaryJanice Davidson's Fixer Upper. This is a unique love story about a woman who buys an old Victorian house. She later finds out that the house is haunted. But Jack the ghost is far sweeter and considerate than the obnoxious, vulgar, but gorgeous neighbor Ken. The development of this story is quite interesting. I loved the characters and their quips, especially Nikki. This is the creative Davidson that I know and love. Fixer Upper is my favorite novella in the anthology. I found Janelle Denison's Slow Hands boring at best. The story of a woman who reunites with her sexy ex is not unlike every Denison story I have read. Her descriptions and characters' lines are so repetitive. But I do like the way she writes her erotic scenes.

I recommend Men at Work if you're in the bargain for fun, no-fuss escapism. This Berkley anthology sort of reminds me of Brava's bad boy anthologies, except that they allow the writers to be more creative here. As said earlier, Fixer Upper is the best in this collection and I recommend this anthology for that story alone.

This book is very good. I had difficulty putting it down. Even though some parts were kind of confusing over all I found it very sexy and full of romance!

**spoiler alert** About MaryJanice Davidson's

My first thought when Jack took over Ken's body was "Wouldn't that be funny if he had cirrhosis of the liver and Jack dies again soon?"

And if Ken was 'riddled with STDs' than I hope the sex scene involved a condom.

Hello, I love anthologies because I get to read lots of writers in a short amount of time. I thought Janelle Denison's contribution was the best. Nina Bangs' story added a supernatural element unnecessary to carry the story. I think MaryJanice Davidson's story shied away from love scences. Isn't that how romance writers gain notoriety and fans? It's about 3.5 stars in my book, so read at your own risk.

R