If you are an avid romance fan, then you probably have stopped by the Harlequin Romance site and read some of their serialized stories - it's a fun way to catch a couple of quickie novellas by some of your favorite Harlequin writers, like Lori Foster, Tori Carrington, Joanne Rock, and so on. It's certainly a good way to start your adventures with this little bunch of friends - by the time you get to the next book, you know who is who and who's doing what, but not with whom and how. Yet. Get it? Good.

These stories begin with the Harlequin "Online Read", Roped into Romance, which introduces the first gIRL gEAR executive, Lauren Hollister. Actually, all four women are mentioned here - but it is Lauren who is the focus of this tale - she and her roommate, Macy Webb (yeah, she gets hers later), are about to buy their very own condo unit, and showing it to them is none other than gorgeously delectable Anton Neville.

Now, Lauren is very much an independent woman for the new millennium, and also one who enjoys the pleasures of being with a man - no inhibitions here! So she and Anton quickly drop into a relationship (don't miss the stuck-elevator encounter! Whooeee!) and matters progress naturally through the ups and downs of an affair from that point on. However, although a happy ending is certainly implied, it is easy to tell that it will be a rough road for these lovers - both Lauren and Anton have "issues" that they must resolve.

After Roped Into Romance, comes All Tied Up. Because Lauren and Anton are so deeply involved with each other, Lauren's roommate, Macy Webb, is a bit lonely! The Webzine Editor at gIRL gEAR, it's part of Macy's job to come up with fascinating features for her web-savvy readers, and games certainly play a large role in Macy's repertoire of articles! The one she comes up with for this book is a killer - a scavenger hunt. But not for stuff - for information. About one's partner. And in this case, Macy's own partner is gorgeous attorney Leo Redding. Unfortunately, Leo seems to be a fully-fledged, dyed-in-the-wool, stuffed shirt, while Macy is anything but! Free-wheeling, convention-defying Macy can't figure out why this guy turns her on!! Leo, for his part, is fascinated by Macy, especially when she crawls into his lap and lays a lip-lock on him that has steam coming out of his ears and his trousers melting!!

Is it love or lust for these two unlikely lovers? Can Leo adjust to Macy's games or will Macy start shopping at Ann Taylor instead of Whimsical Wardrobe, Inc.? It's sexy, it's fun, and might just lead to happiness for both of them once a period of adjustment takes place!! This book also introduces more guys - it's amazing what a good meal and the prospect of some hot babes will do to a man's lovelife!!

In No Strings Attached, we get the skinny on gIRL gEAR VP Chloe Zuniga. Brash of speech, and free with her favors, Chloe is not the most delicate flower in the bunch, and is in trouble because of it. To redeem her reputation, Chloe undertakes to be the model of propriety for some upcoming company events - she'll even bring an acceptable date. Who does she have in mind? Why luscious bar-owner Eric Haydon, her erstwhile partner in Macy's scavenger hunt! Eric agrees - on terms of his own, however. Having yearned to get that bodacious body up close and personal for some time, Eric grabs at the opportunity to squire Chloe around to some fancy shindigs - if she will return the favor! Unfortunately, Eric is not as specific as Chloe would like - is this going to turn into some kind of sexual fantasy? (We can only hope!)

While Chloe and Eric are having some very hot and sexy experiences (this book is probably the steamiest of the three), it's interesting to note that previously Happy Couple Anton and Lauren have split. We have to assume that Macy and Leo are doing fine - but in all fairness, the heat generated by Chloe and Eric kind of takes the mind off anyone else's problems. Chocolate and whipped cream are involved. Need I say more?

The last book is all about the Boss lady of gIRL gEAR, Sydney Ford. Cool, calm and collected CEO, Sydney joins her colleagues on an exotic vacation aware that among the guests is her one-time lover, Ray Coffey. It had been seven years since he took her innocence one night, but she has never forgotten him, and he, of course, has been unable to forget her!! Should she seduce him, spend some quality sheet-time with him, and get him out of her system once and for all? Should she wear an itsy-bitsy bikini or a reveal-all, painted-on maillot? How does a guy handle getting aroused when he's wearing nothing but a Speedo?? Fascinating questions answered in a fun way by the last book, Bound To Happen.

Will there be more? I haven't been able to find out, but you can bet your boots that if there are, I'll be reading 'em!! One character has emerged as a really interesting personality, and that is Annabelle (nicknamed "Poe") - yes there are literary references in romance novels! I would love to encourage Ms. Kent to turn her attention to this multi-faceted woman and giver her a man who can match her for strength, determination, ambition, and sexual bravado! Go for it, Alison - we're waiting!

Overall, these are delightful, effervescent reads, bubbling with enthusiasm for all things sexual. I have to confess that I doubt whether real executives spend quite so much time obsessing about their sex lives - these girls come very close to the "Ally McBeal" standard of whiny self-examination! They will take any simple occasion or situation and turn it into a drama - but then again, that's what these great little romance books are all about - the drama and passion of falling in love. None of these women would fall into the "Too Stupid To Live" class of heroine - each has a head for business and is not afraid to be intelligent, unlike some other heroines. Alison Kent has done a fine job of creating a world where the women are young and beautiful and play lots of sensual games with young handsome men (what a lovely fantasy - let's go!). Does it matter that their assorted backgrounds have weighed them down with a collection of phobias, issues and general psychological complexes? Nah!! I did want to smack a couple of them upside the head with a pair of Manolo Blahniks occasionally, but it seems that a reader reaction like that means Ms. Kent has done her job - I'm involved with these characters and am reacting to them as people.