In Over the Edge Ty Hendricks has come back from his last tour of duty in Afghanistan a broken man, unable to maintain a relationship with a woman beyond sex. He works part time in investigations and security for his good friend John Malone. He's also working a gig on an oil platform, where he meets up with geologist Lauren Kincaid. They have a one-night stand, but Ty can't seem to walk away. He keeps coming back for more sexual encounters, which he believes is all he has to give her. Ty keeps his emotions on a short leash, and refuses to let himself get closer to Lauren. He tries to keep the relationship strictly sexual. When he begins to feel more for her, he devises a plan to drive her away. He arranges a menage with another Marine buddy named Sean, who has just gotten back from deployment. This plan backfires on him, as it makes him realize just how much he really cares for Lauren.

All on the Line overlaps On The Edge a bit, and picks up where that one left off with Sean's continuing story. This was a much more realistic story. Sean Winthrop had been in a whirlwind love affair with Abby Simmons before he left for his deployment. Fearing the relationship would never survive; he sent a terse email to Abby breaking it off with her. Abby, who had been deeply in love with Sean, was devastated. Sean is unable to forget Abby; so when he comes back home, he decides to try to make amends with her. Abby is having none of it; she refuses to risk her heart on him again. Sean persists in trying to win her back, and eventually Abby conceives a plan to get him to leave her alone once and for all. She has Sean enlist the aid of her sometimes 'hookup' lover Ben for a menage. She thinks that after she instigates the menage, Sean will leave her and move on. Sean, however, is willing to give Abby anything she wants to prove how much he really loves her.

Anne Calhoun is a talented, evocative romance writer, but there are two major issues with the stories; both of them have to do with the menage scenes. One, the two scenes in the separate stories are very much alike. They are both written as a plan to drive one of the participants away from a relationship, and the scenes themselves have a quite similar feel. Also, the scenes give off the feeling of being thrown in strictly for the titillation value, and do nothing to further the storylines. Anne Calhoun writes such powerful, sizzling , male/female dynamics. The menages just didn't quite fit here, and were absolutely not necessary to the resolution of the stories. The stories themselves were quite indicative of Calhoun's excellent writing talent, and could have well stood on their own without the added erotic stimulation.

Book Summary

From a "fresh and imaginative" (The Romance Studio) voice in erotic romance come the tales of two women, each daring to challenge the boundaries of the toughest of men...But in these edgy, heated encounters, the greatest thing each woman will risk is her heart.

In "Over the Edge," after a tragic incident during Ty Hendricks' last tour of duty, he cut off all connection with anyone he cares about—until a night with Lauren Kincaid draws him reluctantly back into the world. Lauren sees a wounded man in danger of losing everything to his inner demons, but the sensual, no-holds-barred fight for Ty's soul could cost Lauren her heart.

In "All on the Line," Abby Simmons fell hard for Lieutenant Sean Winthrop, but he sacrificed their relationship when he deployed to Afghanistan. Now he's home, full of regrets and intent on winning back the woman he never forgot. Abby gives Sean her body but holds her heart aloof, until one night of pleasure forces her to choose either her U.S. Marine...or life without him, forever