No fooling: hot sex is on the way!
Cam’s Catastrophe
A reckless adventurer, Cam is about to take the wildest April Fool’s Day risk ever: jumping into bed with Dr Jenna! But it’s her recklessness that amazes them both…
Darcy’s Dark Day
The clouds lift when Darcy has a sudden opportunity to reel in her long-time fantasy man, Evan! Who’d have guessed that a silly curse could set up this amazing sex…
Devon’s Dilemma
She’s about to take a sexy Chance…a sexy pilot called Chance? It’s a gamble. But it could transform Devon’s devilish dilemma into a delicious one!
Reg’s Rescue
Anne desperately wants Reg back in her life – for good! So she intends to help him break the family curse – just as soon as they get out of bed…
| Title: | Just Fooling Around: Cam’s Catastrophe Darcy’s Dark Day Devon’s Dilemma Reg’s Rescue |
| Author: | Julie Kenner Kathleen O’Reilly |
| Series: | Encounters |
| Pages: | 217 |
| Category / Genre(s): | Harlequin / Mills & Boon (Blaze) |
| Trope(s): | Family Curse |
| Point of View: | |
| Location: | US |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 1st April, 2010 |
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Basic stories – ridiculous premise
This is a set of 4 short stories (or encounters) all based around April Fool’s Day and the Franklin siblings who are all cursed to receive bad luck on this one day each year.
Cam’s Catastrope – Kathleen O’Reilly
The oldest of the Franklin siblings, Cam refuses to be laid low by a curse. So each April Fool’s Day he does something outrageous and laughs in the face of the curse that plagues his family. And each year he finds himself in the E.R. being cared for by Dr. Jenna Ferrar.
This story spanned about 4 years with the relationship building up over the space of a couple of hours over one day in each of those years. With that in mind, the fact that these two people could discover feelings for each other (or probably even remember each other) after such a teeny tiny amount of interaction made the story unbelievable and a little frustrating.
Darcy’s Dark Day by Julie Kenner
Darcy Franklin is determined to visit New York on April Fool’s Day to show the curse can’t hurt her. Determined to save her from the curse, Cam asks his best friend, Evan, to make sure no harm befalls Darcy. But what Cam doesn’t know is that Evan has always had a crush on Darcy and this is the perfect opportunity for him to make his move.
Curse aside – this was a sweet story if a little unsatisfying in terms of romance. Not bad though and easily the best story of the four.
Devon’s Dilemma by Kathleen O’Reilly
In order to hide from the curse, Devon holes herself up in a fortress of a house in a remote town. On April Fool’s night she receives a visit from airman, Chance, who’s happy to take her mind off the bad events that are sure to follow.
It wasn’t the story that was ridiculous with this effort but the fact that Devon lived in such a state of fear from a curse that only struck one day a year. Regardless, Chance didn’t seem like long-term material and I didn’t believe in the romance.
Reg’s Rescue by Julie Kenner
Reg Franklin is the one sibling determined to find the cause of and break the curse. Because of the curse he let go of the only woman he’d ever loved to keep her safe. But now she’s back and the curse just might be ready to be broken.
While I liked this story and the two characters – to my mind Reg didn’t love Anne enough to be with her and it was only his lust driving him to get back with her. Disappointing.
I feel I could really have got behind the premise of a curse that inflicts a whole family for one day a year if it had been handled a little less clumsily and with a little bit more reality – as strange as that may sound. As it was, the whole book was fantastical, a bit baffling and utterly ridiculous. Shame, really. 2 stars and the extra one is only because I finished all the stories and didn’t mind Julie Kenner’s attempts.
J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and International bestselling author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres. Her books have sold well over a million copies and are published in over over twenty countries.
Kathleen O’Reilly wrote her first romance at the age of eleven, which to her undying embarrassment was read aloud to her class. After taking over 20 years to recover from the profound distress, she is now proud to announce her new career – a romance author. Kathleen lives in New York with her husband and their two children who outwit her daily.
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