Stroke of Midnight

New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite occasions, and when I heard what Stroke of Midnight was about, I ordered the book before a review copy even came in. Big mistake. This anthology could be subtitled “Three impossibly perfect men pursue a trio of weepy messes.” It’s a prime example of the highly sexual Blaze premise clashing with the traditional values of how a Harlequin heroine should behave. Instead of confident women, the book’s three heroines are portrayed as scared little girls. They may find sexual pleasure on New Year’s Eve, but the authors make it a joyless affair by burying these women under so much angst and neuroses the stories are no fun whatsoever. Why have sex if it’s going to make you this miserable?

One New Year’s Eve, three women meet at the famed Venetian masked ball of shoe mogul Rafe Monticello. They all wind up alone at the end of the evening, and agree to meet the following New Year’s Eve if they’re all still single.