Mini Review: Take the Heat by Skye Warren

Title: Take the Heat
Editor: Skye Warren
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: September 9th 2014
Source: Netgalley Invitation & Aspendawn Books

Description via Goodreads:

The ultimate bad boys, criminals capture our attention and awaken our darkest desires. Celebrate the illicit in this romantic suspense anthology, where handcuffs are used for more than play. These stories are shocking, sexy, and thought-provoking.

In New York Times Bestselling Author Skye Warren’s Magnolia Hotel, meet the heroine who pays her brother’s debt to a loan shark—who happens to be her childhood crush. Find out if the jury made the right decision in Acquitted by award-winning author Giselle Renarde. Explore a dark and sensual psychology with New York Times Bestselling Author Pam Godwin in Unlawful Seduction.

Ride the edge of desire and see if you can TAKE THE HEAT…

Skye Warren – Magnolia Hotel
Cynthia Richards – Captivated
Pam Godwin – Unlawful Seduction
Sheri Savill – Slipknot
Shoshanna Evers – This Might Hurt A Bit
Candy Quinn – The Bombshell
Tamsin Flowers – Playing with Fire
Elizabeth Coldwell – Disposing of Donnie
Audrey Lusk – Surprise Witness
Trent Evans – Last Day
Giselle Renarde – Acquitted

★★★

Because this is a collection of short stories, this will be a short overview/review to match.

I was impressed by how many different styles of short stories were put together in this anthology. There's ones that are more of a thriller/suspense vibe, ones that lean towards the kinkier/BDSM side of things. I will say that each story stood out from the others and brought something unique to the table, so to speak. The unifying theme of this collection of short stories is crime and criminals, and the overall tone of this entire set is dark. I was surprised but not unpleasantly so.

This book falls in the middle of the road for me because like almost every other anthology, there were stories that I really, really enjoyed, and then stories that I didn't care for very much at all. That being said, I do think that it is worth reading overall. The good outweighs the bad, and the bright side is that the bad will only last ten pages or so. That's not to say that these stories were badly written, per se, but some felt rushed or had kinks or themes that I'm just personally not into.

This is a solid collection for readers who enjoy dark romance, erotica, BDSM, short stories, and their bad boys in the form of criminals. Thanks to Netgalley and Aspendawn Books for my copy in exchange for my 100% honest review.