Mondscheinmorde: 3 Kurzromane in einem Band

by Linda Howard, Beate Darius (Übersetzer)

Book by Linda Howard

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Suspense, Anthologies, Paranormal

Paperback

First published November 27, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award.

Linda Howard lives in Gadsden, Alabama with her husband, Gary F. Howington, and two golden retrievers. She has three grown stepchildren and three grandchildren.

Reviews

[Mindy Lou's Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the fact that this had 3 separate short stories. The author did a good job of making each of them feel like a full story, so each ending was pretty satisfying. They were all pretty hot too. As you can imagine the romance had to happen quickly, and I felt they were all done very well. Great read!

[Sometime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set of novellas. Most suffer due to the shorter format. But it's Linda Howard so it's still better than most.

Lake of Dreams 3 stars
This was OK, although the supernatural elements were cheesy. Still, solid storytelling.

Blue Moon 3 stars
The story felt rushed, with not much character development and extreme insta-love. But it was a fun story. Shortest of the three.

White Out 4 stars
I'm amazed LH packed so much suspense and romance into such a short story.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, 4 stars and 2 stars for three stories.

This book contains reprints of three stories which were first published in the 1990s.

5 stars for WHITE OUT.
Loved it. Nice plot twists. Some suspense. Intriguing sex scenes. Hope runs a lake resort in Idaho. During a blizzard, a nearly frozen man knocks on her door and collapses. She drags him inside, removes his frozen clothes and gets inside a blanket with him to give him her body heat.

CAUTION SPOILERS:
After awhile, with his body warmed up, the first sex scene occurs. He was half awake and half asleep and probably didn’t know what he was doing. It was unexpected and very sensual. He tells her he is a lawman, but she starts having doubts when she hears that a dangerous escaped convict is in the area.

Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: three. Setting: current day Idaho lake resort. Copyright: 1997. Genre: romantic suspense.


4 stars for BLUE MOON.
My feeling at the end was awwww, that’s lovely. I loved Jackson’s passion. The story had wonderful sensuality. Lilah lives on the river with no electricity. Because Lilah sees auras, local people go to her when they are sick. She tells them to see a doctor when needed, or she sells them her medical herbs and poultices. That is how she makes a living. One local man is afraid of her and plans to shoot her. The sheriff, Jackson, is notified and heads out to stop the man. Jackson ends up being stranded at her place during a storm which is how they meet and fall for each other.

Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: three. Setting: current day small south Alabama county. Copyright: 1999. Genre: contemporary romance with a little suspense.


2 stars for LAKE OF DREAMS.
Just ok. Thea has been having erotic dreams about Richard, but she doesn’t know his name. She goes to a lake cottage for a few weeks to get some rest and hopefully stop the dreams. When she arrives, she meets Richard who is renting the cottage next door. He has been having the same dreams about her. They have known each other in past lives. I did not like the lack of normal communication on Richard’s part. He knew more about their past lives and reasons for being together than Thea did. When she asked him if he killed her in the past, he said yes, but he didn’t explain the circumstances. If he would have explained the past and been more open with her, there would have been no major conflict. I also did not care to read about Thea being weak, helpless, frightened, and hysterical. Sometimes weak characters are ok, but this time it didn't work for me.

Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day White Plains and a house on a country lake. Copyright: 1995. Genre: reincarnation, contemporary romance.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 Hot and steamy novellas from Ms Howard .
The last one being my favorite*.

Lake of Dreams ( Paranormal romance). ⭐⭐⭐
Blue Moon ( Romantic-suspense). ⭐⭐⭐
*White Out (Romantic-suspense ). ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[♥ℳelody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lake of Dreams 3 stars
Blue Moon DNF. I skipped it.
White Out 4 stars

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle edition. Three short stories, all written by Linda Howard, all previously published. The first two listed below have a paranormal edge. All three stories involve thoughts of conception and include explicit sex scenes.

Lake of Dreams: 2.5 stars. Not crazy about this one. Too much time spent in dreams, or in her head. She keeps seeing him murder her, but it's only in her dreams. Isn't it?? Very sexy. Nice ending.

Blue Moon: 4.5 stars. Loved this one!! A sheriff and a "different" woman who lives deep in the woods fall in love. She has a special ability. Wish it had been longer. It made me chuckle. The sheriff reminded me a little of the sheriff in Open Season.

White Out: 4 stars. During a snowstorm far from any city, a woman lets a popsicle into her home because he is in danger of hypothermia. She tends him, a stranger. He recovers and they make love. All seems peachy till a man knocks on her door... What to do, who to trust?? (a little too much sex, not enough talk, for such a short story)

[Cheesecake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boxset of short stories, all by Linda Howard
She is a fave author of mine so I didn't even bother to read the blurb. I think this made the stories more enjoyable and a less predictable, as they are quite short.
Overall 3.5 stars rounded up. Mostly because of 'White Out'.

Blue Moon *** 3 stars

A Blue Moon will bring out the irrationally violent side of otherwise moderately intelligent people.
This Sheriff Jackson Brody knows for a fact. But there are things he doesn't know...
Delilah is a recluse down the river in backwoods Alabama. Her neighbour fears her and decides to shoot her ass when the blue moon warps his clear thinking... well as clear thinking as he gets swilling beer alone in his cabin.

A wee bit paranormal but perhaps not what you expect from the title...
Even in short stories, Linda Howard doesn't cheat on the importance of character and setting. That said, I wish it had been a bit longer. Their romance was a bit rushed and the ending was conveniently wrapped up. But I still enjoyed it!

White Out ***** 5 stars

A nail biting roller coaster with a satisfying ending. I loved it!!!
Hope is all alone on the side of the mountain with only her dog, Tinkerbell for company. Price Tanner comes knocking, half-frozen, during a blizzard.
I won't say more because I don't want to give anything away. You may guess what's going on, but you won't guess how it ends ; )
A very satisfying (and steamy!) short story.

Lake of Dreams ** 2 stars

Thea has been having sensual and often scary dreams for a month now. She decides to go to the family lake house and relax. Not only do her dreams follow her there, but so does the stranger who lives in them.
It's a reincarnation story, so kinda cheesy but was short and kept me interested.
I didn't like Richard at first as he comes across as one of those know it all alpha types that always seems to have the upper hand. But turns out the story wasn't that simple.

[Catheryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 1/2026
Reread White Out. I still love it! I would boost all three stories to 5 stars.

***

Loved this one!

I really enjoyed all three stories and all three had different plots, which was nice.
Lake of Dreams: 5 stars
Blue Moon: 4 stars
White Out: 4.5 stars

Lake of Dreams was my favorite, it felt the most complete and the story was pretty unique. LH did a wonderful job at creating a story that was so steamy and full of suspense. I really didn't know how the story was going to go. This one has a bit of a paranormal element to it.

Blue Moon was interesting because we are thrown into a hectic evening of the local sheriff during a full moon. I liked this story and both characters. I just wish the ending wasn't so rushed. I didn't feel the suspense in this one as much as the first. But I did think that both MCs were very sweet together. A little less spice than the first one.

White Out had me on toes wondering what was going on. I really felt like we were right there with the FMC on wondering what was going on with the handsome stranger at her door. Another really good spicy suspenseful romance.

Overall, I really enjoyed these novellas and will probably do a reread soon.

[Corandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Lake of Dreams" 3.5 stars

"Blue Moon" 3

"White Out" 3.5 stars

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 interesting little short stories...I liked them all

[Tetty Marlinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

#82 for 2017 RC
Genre : Suspense Romance

This book consist of 3 short stories written by Linda Howard :
1.Lake of Dreams
2. White Out
3. Blue Moon

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up specifically for White Out, and that story did not disappoint. I thought the suspense and romance were both great, and I loved that it was a woman who rescues the man from the blizzard, bc I've only read stories where the roles are reversed. I didn't know what the other stories were about going in, and Lake of Dreams kind of threw me tbh. I didn't expect the supernatural element at all, so I didn't really feel the suspense bc I was just waiting for something else to happen the whole time. I get why these were combined into this anthology, but at the same time the vibes are so different I feel like they could/should stand alone.

[L Cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 short stories
Really enjoyed 2 of the 3.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was supposed to be reading a simple, cute YA in The Wrong Side of Right but for some reason, it wasn't compelling enough for me so I decided to take a break. I started other books but couldn't get into it as well. In the end I just picked up one of the the last few Linda Howard books I haven't read yet and what do you know, I finished without even updating my currently reading shelf. Lesson of the day: when in a reading slump, pick up any Linda Howard.

So onto the review!

I absolutely loved all three novellas. Lake of Dreams and White Out are tied in the first place while Blue Moon may not be as great but still enjoyable. All couples had great chemistry which really made the reading experience much more engaging.

Lake of Dreams. 4 stars. Super hot 'almost' sex scenes. Love the back and forth of the characters (Thea and Richard) and the mystery with a hint of fantasy the story revolves around in.

White Out. 4 stars. Again, super hot sex scenes. Hero (Price) is adorable but still alpha male. Heroine (Hope) is kickass amazing. Suspenseful. Riveting.

Blue Moon. 3.5 stars. Lilah and Jackson's story. Story is unique and the couple is adorable together. Not much suspense or steam compared to the first two but still a good read.

[Linda Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK - these aren't classic fairy tales but there is love and danger and magic and happy-ever-afters. Oh yeah, and lots more sex that the stories you grew up reading. Strangers in the Night is a collection of three novellas with the recurring theme of sex with strangers. In Lake of Dreams, the two lovers have been reunited again after many doomed reincarnations. They have one final chance to get it right. In Blue Moon, a sheriff meets a woman with mysterious gifts and falls hard. But is she a murderess? And in White Out, a young widow is stranded in a blizzard with the near-dead man who literally falls at her doorstep. She goes all out to warm up his frozen body and is happy in her belief that she has finally fallen in love again. Until she turns on her radio and finds out that three escaped convicts are on the loose in her neck of the woods. Strangers in the Night is not one, not two, but three great reads. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Shannon C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an anthology collection, these were surprisingly good. (I usually prefer full length novels.) I liked all three stories.

4 stars: Lake of Dreams
Highly original short story with a mix of suspense, romance, paranormal and horror. Kept me on the edge of my seat!

3.5 stars: Blue Moon
Short but sweet love story with an sexy small town sheriff and psychic heroine. This one ended a little abrubtly for me--would have liked for it to be longer. Good read.

3.5 stars: White Out
Heroine saves sexy hero during a blizzard. This one also seemed a little too short. Would have liked more to the story.

[Dede · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Nu ne-am cunoscut abia ieri. Ne-am cunoscut de o viață…”

Cartea prezintă trei povești de dragoste pe care le-aș fi vrut ceva mai aprofundate (Lună plină, Viscolul și Lacul viselor), dar așa se întâmplă adesea atunci când citești povestiri scurte. Ai vrea mai mult.

Nu cred că a fost vreuna care să mă fi captivat prea tare sau să îmi placă mai mult decât celelalte, deoarece acțiunea a fost redusă și nu s-a întâmplat mare lucru în niciuna dintre cele trei. Personajele mi-au părut banale, fără personalitate. Mă așteptam la mai mult de la Linda Howard, deoarece chiar scrie bine și îmi plac poveștile ei.

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for WHITE OUT. BLUE MOON and LAKE OF DREAMS reviewed separately.

MY RATING GUIDE: 3.5-4 Stars. I enjoy Linda Howard’s writing so I liked WHITE OUT. The ending could have been handled several different ways. I appreciated this angst-free direction. This is a novella so a quick read rather than a fully absorbing one. WHITE OUT was a reread for me, a revisit to a book purchased long ago. I felt it held up decently over time.

1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/fairly good; 3.5= I ENJOYED THIS; 4= I LIKED THIS A LOT; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I SELDOM give 5 Stars).

Hope Bradshaw, 31, is a widow of 5yrs preparing her home and out buildings for the onset of her 7th Idaho winter. The sudden blizzard didn’t surprise her. After all, there had been something different in the air. But the unexpected appearance of a frozen man on her door step soon afterwards did.

Comments ~
1) WHITE OUT is a short Romance Suspense standalone novella originally published in 1997 (27yrs ago!)
2) WHITE OUT might be best appreciated by readers willing to throw away certain caution & common sense, able to simply go along for the ride.
3) WHITE OUT is a quick read - one easily squeezed in at the end of a busy day or read as a light escape.
4) WHITE OUT has a somewhat Western, Ranchers life setting/tone.
5) A dog, Tink, plays a role in WO. Most Howard readers are aware she has had Golden Retrievers for years. As such, Tink is lovingly & perfectly depicted.

READER CAUTION ~ Not recommended tol those who prefer Clean fiction ir to YA readers.
PROFANITY - Yes. Strong language is used on occasion.
VIOLENCE - PG-13. Think Western with White & Black hats. Not particularly dark or graphic.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - Yes. Open-door intimacy scenes (2? or 3).

[Katherine 黄爱芬 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mungkin karena ada unsur supranatural, saya kurang bisa menikmati novella di buku ini.

Di Novella pertama, Danau Mimpi, ini sangat aneh krn heroine-nya ketemu bolak-balik, mimpi bercinta seksual terus.

Di Novella kedua, Bulan Biru, lebih baik sedikit, bercerita ttg sheriff yg bertemu dgn gadis yg dianggap penyihir oleh seseorg. One Night Stand terjadi dan kemudian saling jatuh cinta.

Di Novella terakhir, Kabut Salju, juga agak aneh dgn adegan agak ke non consensual sex yg berlanjut jadi marathon bercinta dan diakhiri dgn klimaks kecurigaan si heroine bhw si hero adalah narapidana yg kabur saat badai salju.

Semuanya terlalu enteng ceritanya dan menggampangkan. Not my cup of tea about romance.

[C.M. Chafin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t my cup of tea for dark romances; I’m not big on weak women.

Lake of Dreams: 4/5, interesting concept
Blue Moon: 3/5, hated the ending
White Out: 3/5, hated the ending

[Janine Ballard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would give the first two novellas 3.75 stars and the third 4 stars or maybe 4.25 stars. I may post something later.

[Christine Jalili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novellas.

I loved these three short novella’s. I had read the first two stories before but the last one was new to me. Loved how quickly all three couples fell so quickly. I highly recommend this book.

[Mindy Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of three very short stories.

Sexually explicit but not erotica.

Many holes in the stories. Just felt incomplete

[Taylor Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strangers in the Night is a story collection from Linda Howard. It contains three short stories written by this author. In my mind, there’s no better way to know if you like an author than to try a short story. It’s like the book equivalent of an hors d’oeuvre, small, delicious without any commitment.

The first story is Lake of Dreams and it’s almost a fantasy. It definitely has a fantastical element in it. Sick of not getting enough sleep, Thea Marlow goes to the cottage by the lake that has been the scene of most of her disturbing dreams. Unfortunately, instead of getting exorcising those issues, she meets a stranger who turns out to be the main character in her dreams.

In Blue Moon, Sherriff Jackson Brody is sent out to deal with a drunk man and ends up meeting the town’s odd lady, a so-called witch. Instead of a toad, she turns out to have a winning personality and feistiness to match his own.

Finally, in White Out, Hope Bradshaw offers shelter to a stranger in the middle of a blizzard and, when they share more than some body heat, suspicions start to rise as to his identity.

Linda Howard never disappoints. She writes consistently authentic characters that are fully developed and realistic. Already an absolute fan, I loved reading these short stories and watching her set the setting, introduce the characters and stir the plot in a few short sentences without making the reader feel robbed or rushed. If you’ve never tried Linda Howard, let me encourage you. She’s the number two most popular author of contemporary romance for a reason and these tiny stories are a great way to get to know her.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of three short stories by Howard.

Lake of Dreams was my favorite out of the three stories in this anthology. I'm usually not a big soul mate plot fan, but this time I didn't mind at all because of how well it was done. The suspense Howard managed to build up in about 100 pages was absolutely fantastic. It had me switching my opinions of Thea's "dream man" and biting my nails every time she let him within 5 feet of her.

Blue Moon was my least favorite story out of the three. It wasn't bad, it just didn't live up to the other two. Compared to "Lake of Dreams" and "White Out" there was very little actual plot going on. That little description for this one isn't that great. Brody gets called out to a remote house in the Bayou after receiving a tip off that a local red neck has headed out there with a shot gun to harass the woman who lives there. But upon getting to the cabin he finds the woman was quite able to take care of herself. A storm soon blows through trapping Brody and the woman together... mad-ness ensues. I enjoyed the paranormal aspect of this one and the heroine was pretty interesting other than that.

White Out was another good installment in this book. I really loved the snowed in storyline and the suspense surrounding whether or not Hope has just saved an escaped convict was fantastic. But what I liked most about this story was that Hope wasn't dumb when it came to survival instincts. When push came to shove she knew exactly how to take control of the situation and didn't let her emotions over rule her common sense.

[Adriana Fogaça · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strangers In The Night 3/3
White Out
Nevasca
Linda Howard
2002

Sou hiper-mega-blaster-suspeita, pra falar alguma coisa sobre este texto da LH, já li Nevasca, pelo menos umas 500 vezes, amo de paixão essa estória.

Pra mim é tão básico e primitivo... é como se o primeiro homem e mulher do planeta se descobrissem, da mesma forma, que a Hope e o Prince. Numa tentativa mais básica de salvar alguém.

Desde que o mundo é mundo não há maneira melhor maneira de se salvar alguém com o calor do corpo. E o que se segue a esse ″salvamento″ é tão natural, em momento algum fiquei chocada com a entrega dos dois.

É uma forma de celebrar a vida, não há nada mais natural do que fazer amor, para celebrar o ″nascimento″ e para produzir outra vida.

Putz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Não tenho mais argumentos.... quem tiver a oportunidade der ler, não perca tempo, vale à pena.

MARAVILHOSO!!!!

FANTÁSTICO!!!!

EXCELENTE!!!!

RECOMEDADÍSSIMO!!!

ADORO!!!

[Ren Puspita · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 bintang

Strangers in the Night atau yang diterjemahkan jadi Orang - Orang Asing ini kumcer yang memuat tiga novella dengan kesamaan semuanya CEPAT, PADAT, dan TEPAT SASARAN. Alias, semua tokoh - tokohnya langsung nafsu jatuh cinta pada pandangan pertama dan ga butuh waktu lama (cuma 1-2 hari) bagi mereka untuk menyatakan cinta satu sama lain. Suka slow burn? Sorry, sorry aja, berarti kumcer ini bukan buat kamu hehehe. Strangers in the Night ini juga awalnya diterbitkan tahun 200oan dan tahu sendiri lah romance jaman itu kayak gimana ditulisnya. Ibaratnya lu baru bisa dibilang happy ending ever after kalau hubungannya bakal membuahkan anak di akhirnya. Apalagi semua cerpen di kumcer ini entah kenapa adegan ranjangnya pada ga ada yang pakai kondom atau KB. Apakah saat nulis ini tante Linda Howard punya breeding kink, I have no idea.

Dream Lake - 2 bintang

Awal ceritanya emang udah hot parah karena FMC, Thea Harlow, mengalami mimpi erotis dengan pria yang ga jelas wajahnya. Frustasinya ga cuma secara seksual tapi juga ketakutan karena pria itu di akhir malah membunuhnya. Ternyata pria itu beneran ada dan apa di masa kini Richard Tanner, sang pria, akan membunuh Thea juga setelah menidurinya? Tema cerpen ini ada di reinkarnasi berulang dan sejujurnya gue suka - suka aja sih tema reinkarnasi. Cuman gue kurang merasa terhubung aja sama Thea dan Richard ini, plus beberapa hal agak kurang dieksplor. Kayak kenapa mereka reinkarnasi berkali - kali? Karma yang belum tuntas atau kehendak nasib?. Ending ceritanya sendiri happy kok. Kalau ga happy, nanti jatuhnya jadi horror.

Bulan Biru - 2,5 bintang

Nah, cerpen yang ini suspensenya mayan dapet dan kalau suka forced proximity dan only one bed, (mungkin) bakal suka. Sherrif Jackson Brody ga suka sama bulan purnama karena banyak kejadian aneh, tapi dia terpaksa berlindung di rumah Delilah Jones aka Lilah karena badai setempat. Lilah sendiri ternyata punya kemampuan baca aura dan juga punya sedikit kemampuan precog. Dia langsung tahu Jackson itu bakal jadi cinta sejatinya. Kemampuan yang menurut gue will come in handy karena menghindarkan dari patah hati berkelanjutan meski untungnya bagi Lilah, Jackson membalas perasaannya. Dalam waktu satu hari. Ingat, ini cerpen jadi ga ada adegan yearning berbulan - bulan antara dua karakternya wkwk. Satu hari cukup buat Jackson dan Lilah untuk nyatakan cinta, lalu bercinta sementara di luar badai bandang (trust me, I know what it feels, wkwk) dan tentunya tanpa pengaman jadi endingnya yah, you know lah. Aspek suspensenya sendiri baru ada di akhir - akhir dimana Jackson curiga Lilah jadi pelaku pembunuhan. Menurut gue, ini suspensenya juga karena di akhir2 jadi penyelesaiannya cepet pula. Kurang puas lah.

Kabut Salju - 4 bintang

Nah, ini cerpen yang jadi favorit gue dan bener - bener memperlihatkan kemampuan tante Linda dalam bikin romantic suspense yang balance antara romance dan suspensenya. Trope forced proximity masih digunakan tapi menurut gue ini lebih bagus ditulisnya ketimbang Bulan Biru. Adegan ranjangnya juga yang paling astaga panas membara walau ya rada - rada dubious consent lah. Bukan non consensual, karena FMCnya, Hope Bradshaw pun aslinya masih mau saat MMCnya, Price Tanner, tau - tau memasuki tubuh Hope, karena pria itu saat itu dalam keadaan rada setengah sadar dan mungkin juga insting alami tubuh yang abis survive setelah kedinginan sampai hampir mati. Secara karakter juga gue suka sama karakterisasi Hope dan Price ini dimana ciri khas tante Linda yaitu witty and playful banter sama tokoh pria yang bikin mendamba itu dapet banget. Gue sukanya juga Hope tipe cewek yang meski sempat panik tapi dia cukup tangguh bahkan ga segan - segan menghadapi Price saat dia curiga kalau Price itu buronan yang kabur dari penjara. Cerpen ini kalau ditulisnya jadi full novel menurut gue juga akan sama bagusnya.

Meski dengan segala kelemahannya karena formatnya cerpen, gue sendiri cukup enjoy baca Strangers in the Night. Semua tokoh - tokohnya pun di kisaran umur 30-an jadi ga ada tokoh - tokoh yang berlaku nyebelin atau kekanakan. Gue sendiri pribadi suka sama Hope, karena sebagai janda yang ditinggal mati 5 tahun dia pun ngerasa frustasi secara seksual jadi saat akhirnya bercinta sama Price meski kondisi mereka saat itu rada "dipertanyakan", gue ya nerima aja karena tahu lah rasanya gimana. Sementara untuk Thea sendiri sayangnya kurang banyak dieksplor dan gue ngerasa biasa aja ke Lilah. Untuk karakter cowoknya gue juga sukaan Price ketimbang karakter2 dari dua cerpen sebelumnya. Price ini ngingetin gue sama karakter di buku2 tante Linda kayak Mr Perfect, Dream Man atau Open Season. Flirty, charming tapi juga berbahaya.

Menurut gue terjemahannya sih oke dan masih enak dibaca. Cuma nih ya, gils adegan ranjangnya bener - bener diperhalus dari versi aslinya! Gue kan iseng cari info tentang novella - novella yang ada di kumcer ini dan pas ada yang kasih sample adegan ranjang di cerpen Kabut Salju (judul aslinya White Out), gue sampai bandingin. Selain diperhalus ternyata beberapa kalimat juga disensor dong! Mungkin karena sangat eksplisit kali ya wk. Inilah salah satu alasan kenapa kalau baca novel smut itu emang mending bacanya dalam bahasa aslinya karena kalau diterjemahin maknanya kadang diperhalus atau malah disensor sama sekali. Padahal udah ada keterangan novel dewasa lho di bukunya!

Eniwei, kumcer ini bukan karya yang terbaik dari tante Linda, karena semuanya dalam format cerpen jadi ya ceritanya pada cepet juga pacenya. Tapi kalau kamu ga keberatan sama insta-lust dan love at the first sight, kumcer ini boleh lah jadi bacaan ringan.

[Lyndi W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lake of Dreams - 3 stars
I loved the plot (especially the climactic twist), but I despised the h. She went right off the deep-end at the drop of a swim cap. Puns intended. But she kinda ruined the whole thing for me.

Blue Moon - 4 stars
I've read this one a number of times now and I still really enjoy it. The premise would be much better served as a full-length novel, but I think the h is developed enough to carry it as is.

White Out - 4 stars
It's a slow start with a lot of time wasted on the h's backstory, but once it gets going it's really engrossing.

[Beanse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, worst book ever. This might be my fault though. I picked this out because I saw Linda Howard's name on it. I did not know it was a collection of crappy short stories from the 90's jammed together in a horrible book. The female characters are so weak they needed crutches to stand on their own. It was awful! I might have been a kid in the 90's but I don't remember woman being that needy. At least the ones in my life were able to stand on their own. These stories should have been set in the 50's to make them believable.

[LaGaryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 3.5 stars ***

Lake of Dreams: 2.5 stars;

Blue Moon: 4 stars;

White Out: 4 stars