Title: Stranded
Author: Arianna Hart
Published in 2003 by eXtasy Books
Genre: Erotic Contemporary
ISBN: 1-55410-036-4
There is nothing more Ciara wants to see than her sister happily married, and the wedding a beautiful and memorable success. She has worked hard and long, hoping for only the best for Molly. The day is only about two weeks away when she finds Molly and her fiancé, Lance, have pulled a very lowdown and nasty trick. There are a lot of things that she can tolerate, but Ross is not one of them. He is rude, overbearing, obnoxious, and what is worse, she hates him as much as he seems to hate her. The fact he is Lance’s best friend she can accept, as long as he keeps Ross away. What she doesn’t expect, is to be stranded in this hedonistic getaway in the New Hampshire mountains. What is worse yet, she is stranded by her loving sister with her worst enemy.
Ciara is definitely not a happy camper, but feels as though she can make it through as long as she can keep away, far away from Ross. Whatever Molly and Lance were thinking, she had no idea but those former thoughts have led to this week of misery. She feels that she will be very lucky if Molly and Lance return and find her alive. She has put up with his snide remarks, his cruel comments, and his physical and verbal slights, but to be with him a whole week just may be the death of her. The attraction that he holds for her is something she most definitely doesn’t want to admit, not to herself, or anyone else for that matter, and assuredly not to Ross. She finds the prospect of this week terrifying on an unparalleled level, both on the physical and an emotional. Either way, she is sure, certain to the point of betting her life, of one thing…the outcome will be devastating.
Ross doesn’t know whether he is in Heaven or Hell. The woman his best friend, Lance, and Lance’s sexy little wife-to-be, have stranded him with is the greatest shrew in the world. It matters not that she is Molly’s sister, Ross cannot stand her. She is not the kind of woman that Ross deals easily with, not the kind he really wants to deal with either. She is plain, overbearing, prudish, and a real bore, but the real problem is that she turns him on to a degree that he is not to keen on examining. He has been fighting his own demons for years, and he is really not anxious to face this particular one this week. He has things he should be doing, and the last one he would ever want to have to think about is Molly’s dowdy sister Ciara. She definitely hates him, that has been evident from the first day they met.
The only reason that he doesn’t leave, is that there just might be the chance, the one opportunity to really get her out of his system. The reasoning for this is sound. There have been times before, after finally getting what he so very much desired, he completely lost interest, and then feelings left, and there was nothing, no want, no longing, no attraction. This is what he may be able to accomplish this week. If he is lucky, he will survive, he will not kill her, she will not kill him, and he will no longer desire her with the most unreasonable lust that nearly knocks him to his knees every time he sees her. It is definitely something he has to get rid of, for that particular lust is driving him to the edge. Now the only problem he faces is how to get Ciara to play along….
Arianna Hart is a talented new voice in the world of erotic romance. She brings a lighthearted tale of seduction, and playful sexuality and mischief to the reader that will be a welcome relief to the staid norms of the “every day world.” By stranding two people who profess to hate each other, in a luxuriously appointed cabin in the middle of nowhere, Arianna sets the stage for a “sink or swim” scenario that will end up in an understanding one way or another. This leads to some very interesting and inventive maneuvers by both Ciara and Ross, and also to surprises for both sides. Seeing as how the owner of the cabin is a serious hedonist, the place is primed for pleasures of all kinds, and it is just the place that Lance and Molly hope will see Ross and Ciara through their dislike and into other areas.
Stranded is an exasperating read in some ways, but that is only because you really want the two of them, to get over themselves. The sense of anticipation is hard on the reader, but the results are more than rewarding. The book is a light read, filled with a myriad of emotions and fantasies. The only thing I found, was a fault of the editing, not the author, and those oversights were not enough to spoil the storyline that Arianna has so painstakingly laid out. For those who love erotic romances, Stranded is one book that you cannot miss adding to your collection. Stranded is available from eXtasy Books, a division of Zumaya Publications.
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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