Charlotte Emory and her four best friends call themselves the Fabulous Five. Charley and her girlfriends have been living by a list of Dating Rules. A potential romantic interest must meet the progressing (not progressive!) criteria of the rules before he can advance to the next "round" of interaction with one of the Five in a their dating game of elimination. I'm not a fan of Sex in the City or things of that ilk, so I struggle to connect with these shallow young women and their frivolous rules. I do like the Girl Power vibe that underlies their friendships, though, and heartily endorse their sisterhood.

Charley has a brief encounter with a mystery man and a club. Mr. Mystery invites her for a slow dance and they share a single melting kiss on the dance floor. She is separated from him when the club shuts down for the night, however, and he disappears. Charley is reduced to trying to track him down using a Missed Connections ad. Egged on by her friends and their rules, she manages to connect with Mr. Mystery and yet keep him at arm's length.

There's a fun underlying puzzle to Mr. Mystery that is teased out just so, and provides a lovely fillip to the story. As usual for Kennedy's writing, the erotica portions are well done but not overpowering. I appreciate authors who provide solid underpinnings of a real storyline to support the sex scenes. Mr. Mystery slowly teases Charley into following him along the path toward a true relationship, and because I like him, I cheer for their HEA. Kennedy's LAST DANCE is a quick bite of delicious eroticism.

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