Unwrapped Anthology

Available: Now Amazon/B&N

Type: Christmas Romance Anthology

Publisher: Brava

My Copy: Sent

From the streets of Chicago to the back roads of Kentucky to the wild dunes of a Scottish isle, mistletoe and mischief are this season’s hottest gifts…

Blue Christmas

New York Times bestselling author Erin Mccarthy

While a blizzard blankets the world outside, Blue Farrow burrows into the arms of her highway hunk at the No Tell Motel. The road might be closed for dangerous conditions, but the couple navigates their own Kentucky Christmas curves. Nice and oh-so-naughty, Blue and her man open up to each other as they keep the Yule log burning.

Santa in a Kilt

USA Today bestselling author Donna Kauffman

The wind-whipped December sands of the isle of Kinloch invigorate Kira McLeod as she sets out to tame rugged Shay Callaghan, a Scottish bachelor as wary of a wedding ring as a snowman is of the hot sun. It’ll take all the wiles of the canny islanders to weave a perfect Celtic Christmas for all….

Snow Angel

National bestselling author Kate Angell

Snowed under in Chicago, free spirit Allie is trapped in Dutton’s department store on Christmas Eve when the lights go off and the holiday romance heats up. Our snow angel finds herself face to face with the dashing Aiden, the heir to the retail riches and her host for a night of winter wonder…

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Blue Christmas by Erin McCarthy- Loved this one!  Erin McCarthy is one of those authors who can take a novella and make me feel like I am experiencing a full length novel. I loved Blues funky personality and her ability to make Christian care for her so quickly. She was spunky and real and I felt like she was wrote with a completeness not often found in short works. Her mothers selfish Christmas traditions had left Blue feeling disconnected with the holiday spirit. Christian took it upon himself to give his stranded motel companion something to make her memories of Christmas a bit better…something to warm her up.

One night together (which was filled with oh my lord hotness) and Blue was hooked on Christians fun loving personality….as was I. Together they were just, more. Christian was just an overall awesome guy. Big kid, daddy material, smokin hot AND funny? This is a awesome holiday novella you need to read!

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Santa In A Kilt by Donna Kaufmann – While I enjoyed the scenery and descriptive writing style of Donna Kaufmann I couldn’t get into this story and ultimately didn’t finish it. I think the accents of the characters (Scottish) got in the way as I was often thinking it sounded very historical. Now, never having been to Scotland or even being around someone from Scotland I couldn’t say either way whether this was true or not…but for me, it was a distraction that I could not get past.

Shay is a typical, not ready for commitment, man. He uses his job as a divorce attorney as the reason behind his feelings but deep down he knows it’s just him. His internal struggle got to be to much for me and I didn’t find him to be gravitational enough for my interest to be piqued. I wanted Kira to stop being so understanding. She was a incredibly sweet girl and I thought she shouldn’t have put up with so much from him. It felt at times like he was toying with her feelings just to appease his own carnal wants. This novella was a DNF.

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Snow Angel by Kate Angell- This was my very first Kate Angell book and I enjoyed this one a lot! Allie and Aiden together worked really well and loved the idea of a accidental re-meeting of lovers years later. After the first initial encountered at a ski lodge Allie and run from Aiden without even giving him her last name. Having nothing to go on he created a fragrance in her image, a sun kissed, fresh, snow bunny. Years later Allie happens to get stuck in his store during a monumental snowstorm and they reconnect. Allie has no idea that the upscale fragrance was made in her honor, or that Aiden is actually heir to the store she has been stranded in.

Snow Angel was well thought out, wonderfully written and a great addition to this compilation of authors! I loved Aidens easy going nature and found his way at soothing Allies fears commendable. Allie was skittish from watching her mothers parade of men while growing up and Aiden knew laying everything on the line early would only send her running again. I felt for Allie and her views on men and was so glad she took a chance with Aiden to learn to love.

I give the Unwrapped anthology 3.50 stars!

Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy (Fast Track #2)

Available: NOW Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Borders

Type: Erotic Novel

Publisher: Berkley

My Copy: Library

Grad student Imogen Wilson is researching the dating and mating patterns of stock car racers. Sexy and reckless Ty McCord is the ideal test subject, until Imogen falls for him-hard and fast.

 

I found this book while perusing the library and I must admit the cover drew me in..hook, line and smoking hot man. I had no clue that this was a series, or that this wasn’t the first in that series. Oopsie. It didn’t take away from the book so it wasn’t a deal breaker…but damn I hate when that happens LOL.

Imogen (and wow that an original name) is  clinical, brutally honest, sexy lady that doesn’t see herself in  nearly the same light as those of the opposite sex. Does she have the body of a surgically enhanced female counterparts that are lusting after all the men at the racetrack? Certainly not, but what she lacks in the fake body parts department she makes up for in curiosity and an adventurous personality that allows her to do pretty much anything sexually. Except anal sex..and yes she actually says that out loud. No, I’m not joking. She reminded me over and over again of Temperance Brennan from Bones.Just saying whatever is on her mind. Zero filter between brain and mouth.

Imogen is writing a thesis on how to land a race car driver and if  following the rules of the aptly titled book “How to Marry A Race Car Driver in Six Easy Steps” actually works. But when she herself starts to fall for Ty, the playboy of the race car world is the only thing on her mind.

Ty isn’t the playboy he’s depicted of being in all the books. It’s not that he doesn’t want to get married, just hasn’t found the right woman. Imogen isn’t the type he normally dates and that intrigues him thoroughly. At the height of his career he has nothing to fear, except having the rug swept out from under him by the smart, classy woman he is quickly coming to love. Showing Imogen the way to her sexuality is the best finish line he’s ever seen.

 

 

Hard and Fast was a cushy romance that was endearing as much as it was sexy. It was the perfect book to read in between two YA’s which is exactly why I did it. Imogen and Ty were totally cute together and had really good chemistry. There were a few sex scenes that had me going “wahhhhhhh?” As in how could that one be pulled off? But I guess that’s what erotic romances are for right?

I found Ty to be very sweet and I loved the added complexity of the fact that he couldn’t read because dyslexia. Imogen was a quirky loveable character herself, even if I said several times “omg why would she say that”. Overall Hard and Fast was the perfect weekend getaway book. A book you pick up to escape the drone of your everyday life and in between more serious books. It’s a book about release. And it accomplished that for me.

And just because I can…here is my favorite line from the book:

A shiver went up her spine at that promise. “Am I going to be uncomfortable?” she asked. Thinking about the hard ground and her head driving into it.

Ty threw open the flap to the tent “Only if having a dick buried in you makes you uncomfortable”

 

I give Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy 3.75 stars.