Kick @$$ [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

An anthology of 3 major fantasy romance author and one newcomer. This was a fairly good anthology though I found the newest authors story somewhat lacking and my usual beef with Mary Janice Davidson held true. While her stories are great, they are also ridiculously short!

The Bride Wore a .44- Maggie Shayne

Best known for her vampire series ( The Edge is fantastic!)Maggie gives us something right out of Alias. Our heroine is an amnesia victim after an explosion. She's about to wed a man she thinks is her long time fiance, but she's falling for her sexy wedding planner! The night before the wedding flashes of her former life as a spy start coming back and the ceremony is halted by a hail of bullets. Her wedding planner ( or is he her husband?!) and her fiance ( or is he the bad guy?!) are kidnapped and she straps on some Laura Croft like black leather and goes to save her perfect man. Which one is he again?

The Incredible Misadventures of Boo & the Boy Blunder- MJD

Very long title, very short story! Boo is a vampire slayer - the most prolific and heralded one of recent memory- who kills a vamp during his midnight munchies. He was chomping on a young male college student who realizes whats happening and immediately begins idolizing Boo. Much to her chagrin he tags along comparing her to Buffy & Batman. They go in search of her employer only to discover he himself is a vampire, though once a policeman and now an aspiring comedian. Eventually Boo can't help taking heer work (i.e. her employer) home with her and her sidekick comes along for the ride.

Warfem- Angela Knight

A story in the theme of her fantastic Jane's Warlord, this is set in the future with a part cyborg warrior heroine who is getting the crap kicked out of her. Just when she thinks she is done for, in walks the man that got away, fellow cyborg warrior Baird, to save the day. The two rehash old memories but he can't trust her for she's hiding secrets that could get them all killed. Just when she's about to confess the bad guys strike. Can they save each other? And what's our heroine's little surprise? Knight is an author never to be missed!

Painkillers- Jacey Ford

Well a supermodel turned spy on the set of an exotic island photo shoot is our heroine. Now if I can believe the vampires and the cyborgs I should have been able to find this believable...but sadly it really didn't capture my imagination. I do have to say the doublecrossing despotic bad guy was well done...but should that really be the highlight? And the romance was WEAK.

The book didn't close with a bang but it was an enjoyable way to while away an afternoon. The big names do deliver.

The Bride wore a .44 by Maggie Shane was a terrific story about a very unusual wedding situation. I haven't read Maggie Shane before but I will definitely be looking for more books by her after this story.

The Incredible Misadventures of Boo and the Boy Blunder by MaryJanice Davidson was another great story. It's set loosely in her "Undead and Unwed" universe and is a wonderfully original story and laugh out loud funny as well. Loved the Boy Blunder!

Warfem by Angela Knight is a steamy, fantastic story set in a time of genetically engineered warriors. I love Baird and Alina is a wonderful, kick ass heroine, and Galar is terrific! A sweet as well as sexy story.

Painkillers by Jacey Ford is about a supermodel/ spy on assignment on a tropical island.

This is an excellent anthology. Kick Ass lives up to its title!

I rather enjoyed the four short stories in KICK ASS, an anthology featuring romances between tough women and tougher men.

In "The Bride Wore a .44" by Maggie Shayne, the heroine has lost her memory and is about to get married to a fiancé she doesn't remember when a roguish wedding planner and well-armed thugs crash the wedding. I enjoyed the tension of discovering Kira's past with her and trying to figure out who were the good guys and who were the bad. She also had great chemistry with the wedding planner.

In "The Incredible Misadventures of Boo and the Boy Blunder" by Mary Janice Davidson, an albino vampire hunter acquires an annoying sidekick and falls for a vampire all in one night. It's a cute, funny story with good repartee between the three main characters - plus it brings us back into Davidson's hilarious vampire world first introduced in UNDEAD AND UNWED. If I had any complaint, it is that it was too short.

In "Warfem" by Angela Knight, we revisit the world of genetically engineered warriors from JANE'S WARLORD to watch love blossom between ex-lovers with secrets. While it was an entertaining story, I was a little put off by the fact that 20 years had gone by since the lovers had last seen one another and they were now in their 40s (which is too old for me). I also thought it was a little too heavy on extraneous sex scenes.

In "Painkillers" by Jacey Ford, a supermodel and her CIA agent partner run around a Caribbean island trying to prevent a coup d'etat and end up falling for each other. At first I thought it was a pretty cheesy story, but the more I read, the more I enjoyed. The characters actually mature in this story, which is something you rarely see. Plus, the action-adventure in this story was the most realistic out of all four stories, and the heroine was the most normal of the bunch, so she was easiest to relate to and enjoy. I am actually not partial to girls who kick ass (Davidson's vampire story was the reason I bought this anthology), so having a normal (non-kick ass) heroine was nice.

Again, I enjoyed all these stories, and would recommend them to readers interested in romance with a bit of supernatural and sci-fi thrown in.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars