Hot Desert Nights

In romances I do not usually expect in-depth discussions of current political or social problems. Some elements may be necessary, but not so much as to overshadow the romance. Still I was curious when opening Hot Desert Nights to what extent the authors permit realities of the present relationship between Western and Arab countries to enter into their stories. The answer is, even less than I thought. One novella is set in the past and features two British citizens, thus sidestepping the potential problems of an intercultural relationship. The other two stories, set in the present, don’t even skim the surface of what the alliance between a woman from the USA or the UK and a man from the Middle East might actually mean. Instead, they present a very pleasant and sensual if somewhat bland image of the Orient which calls for some willing suspension of disbelief on behalf of the reader, but makes for some nice fairy-tale reading in two of the stories. Quite frankly, it’s a shame the third is so very bad because it lowers the average of the entire anthology considerably.