Hot Phoenix Nights by Gabrina Garza

TITLE: Hot Phoenix Nights
AUTHOR: Gabrina Garza
PUBLISHER: Amber Quill Press (Amber Heat)
LENGTH: Short story (roughly 15k)
GENRE: Contemporary erotic romance
COST: $4.00

After walking in on her boyfriend with another woman, Josie Salazar decides to take advantage of a work weekend away in Phoenix to let loose. There, she meets Crow, the drummer of the band she’s there to review, and with chemistry sizzling between them, succumbs to a night of passion. And then another. But how long can it last when a good girl tries to be bad? Josie’s about to find out.

Short stories are hard. When they’re done well, they’re like perfect little gems you can tuck away to appreciate time and time again. When they’re not, the one thing you can be glad for is that at least you didn’t waste too much time reading them. And then there’s that gray area in the middle, where a story is good, but for one reason or another, just isn’t great.

Hot Phoenix Nights falls in that gray area, though admittedly, it’s a much stronger short than many others I’ve read. Written in 1^st person, the author gives her heroine a strong and entertaining voice that helps to draw the reader in. Josie is real and, more importantly for a contemporary, relatable. When she decides to throw caution to the wind and take advantage of her attraction to Crow, I was right there with her. I was even there with her when she had her doubts. I would have been there with her if she’d had another 20k of story, even.

That’s where the story falters. The author raises enough questions – and generates enough interest, frankly – in her heroine and her plight to warrant making this much more than a short story. We’re never allowed more than the quickest of peeks into Crow, so while he’s perfectly serviceable as an erotic figure, he suffers when a reader might want more from him. In essence, he’s foreplay. If that’s all you want, then great. If, though, like me, you want more, you’re going to be left wanting at the end. Because Crow never quite comes through with that wallop he promises. Not through any fault of his or the author’s, but rather through the lack of story that surrounds him.

Still, I enjoyed the story. A lot, actually. Josie is sharp and funny, which goes a long way for creating a pleasurable reading experience. Accept the whole thing as a taste of what the author can offer, and you should walk away satisfied.

Readability	8/10 – A fun voice for the heroine helps compensate the “sameness” feel the story has
Heroine	8/10 – Fun and likable, though I think the story’s brevity works against making her more sympathetic
Hero	6/10 – Hot as a one-night stand, but we don’t know very much about him otherwise to connect with him better
Entertainment value	8/10 – A fun, quick read, as long as you’re not looking for anything more
World building	6/10 – There’s barely enough room for the heroine in this, let alone painting a very good picture of her life and work
TOTAL:	36/50