Reviewed by Taylor

TITLE: One Night Ever After Anthology
AUTHORS: Tere Michaels, Elle Brownlee & Elizah J. Davis
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 254 pages
BLURB: Just a Drive by Tere Michaels

After weeks of flirting, “One Night” Wyatt Walsh spends a fabulous night with his shy coworker, Benji Trammell. As Wyatt tries to sneak out the next morning, he receives a call from his frantic, very pregnant best friend Raven—she needs him immediately. With no other way to get from New York City to the Pennsylvania town where Raven and her husband live, Wyatt accepts Benji’s offer to drive him there. Wary and unsure of each other, they start the trip at odds, but as time goes on, the barriers that usually keep people at a distance fail. And what started out as “just a drive” becomes a step toward romance.

Just a Stranger by Elle Brownlee

The excitement of meeting a stranger in a club can’t be beat. Loud bass sets the rhythm to Michael Wiercinski’s primal urges as he flirts with Andrew, a cute guy offering the promise of a hot night with no strings, no complications. Still, when their night is done, Michael admits there was something about Andrew that left him wanting more. Months go by with no sign of Andrew until Michael moves back home to help after his father’s heart attack. Once there, Michael is completely amazed to find Andrew Lucas living in his hometown. Despite surprising “complications” in Andrew’s life, Michael vows to take advantage of this second chance to make Andrew more than just a stranger.

Just a Weekend by Elizah J. Davis

James is a homebody in a predictable, if not altogether comfortable, rut. He’d rather stay in with a book than brave the Seattle bar scene. One night, after allowing his friend Kara to coax him out for drinks, he meets Devin—charming, gorgeous, and way out of his league. With a little bit of help from Kara, James leaves with Devin to indulge in a night together, which is as much time as he’s bound to get with a guy as hot as Devin. He doesn’t expect the easy rapport that quickly develops between them, and when the weather conspires to keep them together, James wonders if this could be more than just a weekend fling.

REVIEW:

I often have a really short attention span, so these anthologies work great for me.  Overall, I really enjoyed this one, but the best story was the first one for me, and I started to lose interest the more I read.

Just a Drive by Tere Michaels

Just a Drive is the story of Wyatt and Benji that know each other through work dealings, and Wyatt plans on having a one-night stand with the handsome, younger man.  He receives a call from his best friend the next morning, and Benji offers to drive him out of state, and the relationship progresses from there.

This story made me cry…more than once.  That doesn’t happen.  Benji, sweet, perfect Benji.  That man has made it onto my fictional husbands shelf, and I could roll around in sighs forever for that man.  Patient, genuinely kind, funny, gorgeous, confident, but still has just that hint of insecurity that comes across endearing rather than grating.  And I related to Wyatt in many ways, and watching his walls crumble was beautiful and believable.  The scene at the piano??  Good heavens, pass me that Kleenex box.

Rated: 

Just a Stranger by Elle Brownlee

Just a Stranger is a story about cop Michael and businessman Andrew out at a bar and feeling completely out of sorts. The club life and partying isn’t what either of them is comfortable with and both meet each other in the corner of the bar.  They spend a night together, both wanting more, but Andrew feels his secrets will prevent him from ever dating someone seriously.

I thought this started out really great before the secrets came out, and then once that happened, everything kind of got maudlin and sappy.  Not bad mind you, but it wasn’t what I was expecting and the tension left the story.  I wanted more heat between the two characters, and Andrew and Michael are a bit like sugar all over the place.  It’s still enjoyable, but just go in prepared that the ‘secrets’ aren’t quite as tragic or mysterious as you’d think.  Also a lot of family members and little kids surround the two main characters,  and I would have liked more focus on just Andrew and Michael.

Rated: 

Just a Weekend by Elizah J. Davis

Just a Weekend is again a short that started off GREAT.  I loved both James and Devin and even James’ friend, Kara.  Devin is the younger, pretty boy used to a quick hook-up that isn’t really that picky when it comes to partners for a night.  James is just going through the motions, the dependable guy that doesn’t really think that he deserves or can get better than the occasional night of sex with his sleazy ex.

OK, so I enjoyed the premise, and I even thought the characters had some hot chemistry between the two of them, especially when Devin first went to James’ house and started looking around and climbed on top of him while on the couch.  But then…kids.  I get it; it’s my issue.  Look, I don’t mind kids and I certainly usually can take them in small doses like a short story, but I just love books with lots of unresolved sexual tension that isn’t because of kids running around.  This short was definitely cute and I loved Devin, but it got a little predictable, a little too sweet, and I wanted them to work for it a bit more.

Rated:

I’d still recommend this anthology when you want something nice and easy, and I’d absolutely re-read the first story any time I want a happy pick-me-up!!!

Taylor’s Overall Rating: 

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press

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Taylor is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.

To read all her reviews, click the link: TAYLOR’S REVIEWS
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