In reading this anthology, I realized why I tend to stay away from short stories: even good authors may be unable to create a worthwhile story in relatively few pages. There is definitely a talent and also a honed skill needed to accomplish character development and sufficient plot in the space allotted. I initially picked up this book because the title led me to believe that the stories might be fun, funny, amusing...which they are not in any way -- rather the stories are all quite serious and not what I expected (as others have noted the blurbs on the back cover are untrue.) In one story a woman wants to have sex with a male slut she somehow learned about because she thinks she is dying -- how is that naughty? In another, a woman trying to divorce her scary husband has not-very-exciting sex with a stranger in a bar and we then follow them as they try to extricate her from her marriage. The last story about the woman who has sex for the first time with a man who yelled at her for "encouraging" a near rape while sunbathing fully clothed left me cold. Susan Johnson is the first author in the book and recognizing her name and her usually good stories led me to expect a lot more than is delivered here. I usually enjoy her work, but in this case I actively hated the story almost by the 10th page. Johnson takes what I consider her worst characteristic -- a tendency to be a little too anatomically descriptive -- and makes it into the entire story. This piece consists of a couple engaging in constant unemotional sex without any foreplay, which is not of interest, I would think, to most readers in this genre. More importantly, the sex scenes are BORING! Then she throws in some military/political hooha just to give it some kind of plot. The story would have been much more interesting had it acutally followed the plot listed on the back cover in which debutantes make the bet, rather than bored society matrons in Vienna. Save your money and buy a good Susan Johnson book, rather than this anthology.

Although short stories aren't always the truest introduction to an author, I've read enough Susan Johnson to realize that I'm not going to read her anymore. She is the best-known author in this anthology, but her story is the worst. As another reviewer has already pointed out, the book blurb regarding her story is totally deceptive. Her characters are shallow, their relationship unfathomable, and the language used in the sex scenes is jarring, considering the time setting of this story.

The story by Leandra Logan, seemed as though there was too much story trying to be crammed into too few pages, so the story felt choppy to me. The initial sex scene set up as a one-night-stand didn't seem true to the female lead. There were some interesting secondary characters, but the story form is just too short to allow adequate development of that many characters.

I felt that the stories by Adrianne Lee and Anne Marie Winston were the best of the bunch. The characters were better developed, the sexual tension better maintained, and storyline flowed better. I would recommend the book for the sake of these authors. I don't know if they have written anything else, but I'm certainly going to find out.

I wanted this book for the story by one of my favorite authors,Susan Johnson, but to my delight I found "Winner Take All" by Adrianne Lee. This story really drew me into the characters. I found Mitch to be a totally believable hero. He struggles to prove an important point to his business partner (along with winning a bet!) and in doing so, matures as a "whole" man rather than a male lead by his "other parts". He finds himself confronted with a special woman who truly touches his heart...but she wants to touch so much more! Talk about FUN conflict! I was so impressed by Ms. Lee's characters I've decided to add her works to my "To Be Read" pile.