cover image The Guy Next Door

The Guy Next Door

Lori Foster, Susan Donovan, and Victoria Dahl, HQN, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-373-77556-9

Spring flings are the theme of this sexy escapist anthology from romance stars Foster (Bewitched), Donovan (Ain't Too Proud to Beg), and Dahl (Talk Me Down). In Foster's "Ready, Set, Jett," teacher Natalie Alexander is enjoying a no-strings affair with her private investigator neighbor, Jett Sutter, until Jett decides he wants more from their relationship. Professor Gail Chapman takes her teen daughter to Key West and falls for author Jesse Batista in Donovan's "Gail's Gone Wild." Dahl pairs up straight-laced brewery owner Eric Donovan with Beth Cantrell, manager of an erotic boutique, in "Just One Taste." Donovan's easy, breezy story best captures the sun-toasted, sand-crusted feel of a traditional spring break, while Foster's is much more serious and Dahl's mostly feels like a tease for her forthcoming novel. (Mar.)