When an author writes six books and brings another fellow author in, you expect the book to be hot. No, no, no. Hot doesn’t even begin to describe the works of Ms. Tressie Lockwood and newcomer Ms. Piper Daniels. Let’s say volcanic!

Ms. Lockwood presented her readers with her six novellas all in one juicy book: Cheating with Randy, Cheating with Randy 2, A Choice Between Two, A Friend and a Lover, Diamond, and Dreaming of Luke. She also introduces us to a rising author that needs to be added to your “One to Watch” list – Piper Daniels. Ms. Daniels’ contribution to the heat is Mia’s Dance.

The prevailing theme to all the stories were women of change and women learning the power that love can cross racial divides and make something beautiful and worth fighting for.

In Cheating with Randy, Alicia and Kate are best friends and roommates. When Kate marries Randy, Kate and Randy think it is a good idea to still have Alicia live with them because they are the only family she has. Kate wants to have a baby but since she went through chemo, she is now barren. She then asks her best friend and husband to do what she can’t – produce a baby. How is Alicia to cope when her best friend wants her to have sex with her husband? Will she agree to the proposal and will everyone’s feelings remain loyal to the cause?

In Cheating with Randy 2, Alicia has had the baby, ran and kept it as her own and married her ex-boyfriend, Lamont. Things are not going so well between her and Lamont. She thinks he’s cheating. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t think about the love she and Randy felt while they were together. When Randy finds her and the baby, he tells her that Kate is dying. How can she not return to their home and see Kate and be there for her. Will she be welcomed back with open arms? Are Randy’s arms still open for her?

Reviewed by: Shira