REVIEW: Strangers In the Night by Rosenthal, O’Neal, Johnson

I‘ve never been a big a fan of anthologies but the buzz around Ms. Rosenthal’s novella, The House East of Regent Street, intrigued me. I ordered it. Read it and Loved it. The Excerpt: Read it Here

The House East of Regent Street by Pam Rosenthal. I ordered this copy of this anthology (Strangers in the Night) based on another reader’s recommendation  and was so happy that I did. I can’t believe this is the same author! Oh. My. This novella is very well written and has a nice, delicious chemistry and hot love scenes. What makes this book a keeper for me is the characterization of Jack and Ms. Myles. The story is gripping and the insights into each character as to why their bond formed so strongly so quickly. The setting was nice. The author seemed to have captured the essence of her characters. Their vulnerabilities, dreams and hopes.

While both characters started from humble beginnings - each survived. There’s a sense of connectedness between them. An intimacy strikes up almost immediately. You feel for these two people and cheer for them. Did I mention that both characters are in their early 40’s? The story starts off with Jack Merion, a war hero, exploring a house that once was a brothel. He inspects each room and sees what once was a very respectable establishment that gentleman visited when Soho was thriving.

Now, the house is up for sale and the furniture is covered and dusty, a home looking for new owners. Jack is not moved to buy the property but when another competitor comes by to inspect the place - all bets are off. The other visitor is a Prince of some sort who is accompanied by his courtesan, the mysterious Miss Myles. Jack says aloud that he has offered so much money for the property and the Prince and his courtesan leave, knowing full well that they cannot counter such an offer. However, Jack feels as if some secret message has been sent and received between himself and Miss Myles. That very same night, the lovely and mysterious Ms. Myles shows up - knowing full well what Jack wants of her. Thus a bargain is struck and the story takes off from there.

I felt the story was refreshing and wish it could have been longer. The love scenes while hot were not very numerous compared to the other erotica I’ve read (cough). I liked that the author didn’t go into the “big penis” issue here which is typical of most romantica novels (hello Robin Schone). However, Ms. Myles did mention that Jack had enough to cause some trouble. I liked Ms. Rosenthal’s subtlety. I’m a big believer in less is more. Read this book if you can get a copy. I wish I could own a copy that contained this novella plus those novellas by Robin Schone which were very good as well - to put on my keeper shelf. I have about oh, 4 more pages left of A House East of Regent Street and want to take my time reading it. Must say that Pam Rosenthal was a definite miss for me. I didn’t much care for her first book, Almost a Gentleman, and skipped the second book. It was with great reservation that I bought the anthology. Well, the risk paid off. Was it a fluke? I hope not. I plan to read her next book and see what happens.