I've not read a collection like Heat Wave before: all three stories followed the same setting on a reality TV show, with all the characters as participants. Of course, the characters were unique to each author's story, though there were a few carry-over secondary characters. It made it fun to have them all connected and to see how they all approached the story differently.
My favorite story was by Katie MacAlister (or Marthe Arends, which was the name her story was sold under, as stated on the copyrights page, which I read). I think that people (read: I) tend to undervalue humor. I know I'll spend money on quality--I'll pay more for a BMW than a Prism, more for a Vera Wang dress than a Issac Mizrahi dress--but I don't always think about spending money the things that make me laugh. I'm more likely to see an action film in the theater than I am a comedy because somehow a comedy doesn't rate the same crazy-high theater prices as the action film does. MacAlister's novella made me rethink this logic. (Of course, I do tend to snatch up everything she writes, and all her writing is funny, so maybe my priorities aren't so skewed when it comes to reading choices.)
Jennifer Archer and Sheridon Smythe wrote the other two novellas. Of the two, Archer's was more my taste. Smythe's novella was well-written, but I didn't care for the characters. Archer's characters were fun. Still, neither could hold a candle to MacAlister.
Do I recommend this book? Yes. Did I remember to mark my favorite lines (all from MacAlister's story)? No. There is, however, a gecko that wears a bowtie at one point. Need I say more?
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