Rex on the Beach by Stephanie Bond

Lucy Bell is a private investigator that has been hired to find a runaway groom.  Rex McCormick is her best lead. Lucy is sure that the groom’s best friend, Rex, knows exactly where her target is and she sets out to tempt him into giving out the information she’s looking for.  Rex McCormick is taking some time out to decide if he really wants to take his relationship with his girlfriend to the next step, marriage, when he meets Lucy. It doesn’t take long before Rex knows that Lucy is what he wants and a commitment to another woman is just not in the cards, at the same time Lucy knows that she has moved way beyond using Rex to find her missing bridegroom and is falling in love.  When Lucy finds out that Rex has not been honest about his girlfriend and Rex finds out that Lucy is really a PI, can they overcome the rocky start to find each other?

Rex on the Beach is a wonderful beginning to this anthology!  Lucy and Rex are both hiding things from each other, but that doesn’t stop them from heating up the pages or feeling the building emotional connection between them. Stephanie Bond always delivers a romance that leaves me wanting more after the last page has been turned.

Getting Into Trouble by Leslie Kelly

Allie Cavanaugh has had her heart broken before and that’s how she ended up a single mother.  So, when she finds herself totally enthralled with carnival hypnotist, Damon Cole, she can’t believe it when she finds herself taking a chance on love and embarking on a steamy romance.  There are things about Damon that she doesn’t know.  Damon Cole was a social worker when a judge ignored his recommendation and caused the death of a child in his care.  Disillusioned, he feels as though he can no longer continue in his profession or take responsibility for the welfare of a child and he decides to spend time working in his grandparent’s carnival as a hypnotist.  As soon as he sees Allie he’s instantly smitten, but he’s still traumatized by the events of his past and determined to never have children.  Although Allie understands his reasons once she finds out the reason for his aversion to having children, how can she continue a relationship with him?

Getting Into Trouble proves that even with a short anthology story, Leslie Kelly is a must read!  Both Allie and Damon are victims of their past and I desperately wanted them to find a way around the problems separating them.  Worth a second time around, this story is perfect for beach reading!

Shaken and Stirred by Heidi Betts

Abby Weaver’s best friend, Rachel, has convinced her that a girl’s only week at the beach was the perfect place to get over the defection of her boyfriend.  At the last minute when Rachel is suddenly forced to work Abby finds herself alone at the beach.  While spending time on the beach she meets Marine Mike Mastriani, who is on leave and visiting his family.  Abby throws caution to the wind and embarks on passionate vacation affair with the too yummy for words Mike.  What begins as a vacation fling quickly turns into something much much more, for both of them. A trip to introduce Abby to his parents leads to unexpected complications.  Can Mike convince Abby that he was not playing with her and that he wants to take this much farther than a temporary vacation fling?

Shaken and Stirred is a sultry romance that is the perfect ending to this fabulous anthology.  Mike and Abby quickly had me absorbed and wanting more.  From the first page to the last Heidi Betts keeps the story moving so that I is unable to quit reading. Shaken and Stirred is simply an awesome story!

I can not recommend Heat Wave highly enough!  Readers will not be disappointed by any of the stories in this stellar anthology. Heat Wave will quickly be finding a place on my keeper self so that I can read it again and again!