"Erotica with a Byte"

BAD BOYS ONLINE is a single-author anthology featuring three novella- length erotic romance stories.

Kindra Hill is caught cybersexing at work by co- worker/playboy Mack Stone-and dared into experimentation. Mack argues that real life sex is better than anything on screen, and Kindra gives him one night to prove his theory. Will their one night reach beyond sex and into something more?

Jared Kincaid and Candy Appleton are having problems working together, so their boss decides that they're going to have to complete an online counseling course. A slight mix up has them taking a COUPLES counseling course, and finding out more about one another than their boss ever intended.

Halley Conners is mortified when her website is hacked and her face appears on some other woman's naked body. To solve the problem (before she loses all her customers, preferably) she seeks out best friend Evan Barrett, her website designer. Sparks fly when Evan, who Halley has been thinking of as more than a friend all to often recently, answers his door in nothing more than boxers and rumpled hair.

BAD BOYS ONLINE is a hot read that's light on plot but heavy on relationship. McCarthy's characterization is varied and multi- dimensional. Each character is sympathetic, though none, including the geeky guys, are really geeks. All three stories have significant sexual content, none of which goes beyond contemporary category boundaries. The sexual encounters are, however, frequent and explicit. The stories are not connected in any way except the use of technology as a catalyst for a relationship in all three tales, and the workplace setting/starting point.

McCarthy's use and description of technology itself is a little shaky in places-technophiles beware!- but the stories themselves are enjoyable. BAD BOYS ONLINE is a great read for those times when you crave light and sexy.

Reviewed by Ann Leveille
Posted June 9, 2004