Naughty & Nice

I had wanted to read this anthology because I have been wanting to read some good contemporaries lately and I have heard good things about Ruthie Knox and Molly O'Keefe and have enjoyed Stefanie Sloane's historicals so I was very happy to win a print copy from Goodreads First Reads program!  It gave me a great taste of each authors writing and I will be on the lookout for their full lengths now for sure!

Room at the Inn by Ruthie Knox
Carson and Julie have a past and every time Carson returns home, he ends up in Julie's bed...and then leaves her.  Well, Julie has had enough of her heart being battered and tries to take a stand against Carson but as he spends time helping her fix up her inn, the mutual feelings become far to evident again.  Will Carson chose his job or Julie?  This was the longest of all the stories so there was more time to explore the feelings and I really enjoyed it.  Yes, it is a story told many times over but if this is a taste of Ruthie Knox's writing, I know I am in for a treat!  Heartwarming, sexy and a delight.  4 stars

All I Want for Christmas is You by Molly O'Keefe
Maddy is about to turn eighteen and marry her hockey player boyfriend, Billy.  All she needs to do is tell her parents, who want her to go to college and follow her dreams, not set them aside for Billy.  Will Maddy follow her heart and defy her parents wishes or take a new path?  This was a prequel of sorts for Maddy and Billys full length story, Crazy Thing Called Love (out Jan 29th) and I will definitely be picking it up now to see how this couple grows and finds each other again.  It is short but sexy and has good writing and a nice sense of family.  Looking forward to more.  3 1/2 stars

One Perfect Christmas by Stefanie Sloane
I did think it was odd having two contemps and then a historical romance but as Stefanie Sloane was the only author I was familiar with beforehand, I was looking forward to it.  Lucas and Jane are friends but when Jane gets jilted she drinks a bit too much and confesses her true feelings for Lucas...whose feelings just happen to be the same.  Yet Jane bolts early in the morning and refuses to talk to him.  What becomes clear to all around them is the feelings between Lucas and Jane and they do what they can to push them together.  A sweet, delightful Regency Christmas tale that could definitely have benefited from being a bit longer and having more of their backstory told.  Still, I liked it!  3 1/2 stars

Overall, a nice blend of Christmas romances and samples of these talented authors writing.  I know I will be picking up more from each one of them

All I Want for Christmas is a Duke

Merry Christmas, Mrs. Robinson by Delilah Marvelle
I really enjoyed this one!  Lady Jane defied her father and became an opera singer and in the process, started receiving letters from the mysterious Mister X.  Thinking she found the writer, she marries him only to be deceived.  Now, widowed and living close to poverty, she guards her heart and when her childhood friend, Martin Pierce, Duke of Somerset, appears and reveals the truth she is hurt to be deceived all over again.  I loved that shy Martin grew up in the years apart and was determined not to let his love slip away again.  Jane realizes that the younger Martin has turned into a dashing man and is no longer a young boy.  Watching them re-connect was a joy.  This was a enjoyable, fresh (we do not get to see many older woman falling for younger men) holiday novella from the talents of Delilah Marvelle filled with heat, tenderness, humor, heart, forgiveness and a dash of holiday cheer.  4 stars

The Twelve Days of Seduction by Maire Claremont
This is a classic story of a governess falling for her employer and vice versa.  What makes it different is all the details that Maire Claremont adds.  The history of the governess, Adriana Flint is sad and heart breaking but it has shaped her into the woman she is today and she refuses to lose her job to the most wonderful little girl just because the Duke of Berresford has found out her past.  When Alexander proposes a plan for her to stay, she agrees as long as he tries to seduce her...and in the process they both lose their hearts. Adriana helps Alexander see that the lower class are people too and he in turn helps her see that it is ok to let the wall down around her heart and let someone in.  Strong writing, unique details and the hope of the holidays with a nice dash of heat add up to a winner.  Looking forward to her debut full length to see more of her writing!  4 stars

Overall, a lovely holiday treat that will leave you wishing for your own Duke for Christmas with holiday cheer, heat and love.

The Knitting Diares by Debbie Macomber, Susan Mallery, and Christina Skye

The Twenty-First Wish by Debbie Macomber

This is a sweet follow up to a main storyline in Twenty Wishes about Anne Marie Roche and her young daughter, Ellen. This is a very typical Macomber story, clean and sweet so I am not going to say much about it. If you read this as a stand alone, you probably are not going to enjoy it as much as if you had read the previous novel because there really isn't a whole lot of back story explained, just enough to refresh your memory. Overall, though, still cute. 3 stars

Coming Unraveled by Susan Mallery

I mainly read this anthology for Susan Mallerys story, as she is a favorite of mine and she did not disappoint with this one. Robyn Mulligan returns home after her dreams of being a Broadway star fall through and she runs into the last person she expects to see in her grandmothers knitting store, a handsome, hot-tempered man by the name of T.J. Passman. T.J. has done his research on Robyn and knows she has not succeeded to the extent that Robyns grandmother and two dear friends believe and he lets her know straight off he doesn't like her for misleading these women he has come to love as they helped him through a terrible tragedy in his life. Secrets are explained quickly and Robyn and T.J. soon develop a steamy relationship that is helped along a bit by Robyns grandmother and friends, who were some great characters! Good, quick, fun read which would have been a great full length I think. 4 stars

Return to Summer Island by Christiana Skye

This was my first taste of Christina Skye and I enjoyed it. Caro McNeal returns home from her hectic life after a devastating car crash leaves her with the possibility of never knitting again. Needless to say, she is determined to prove the doctors wrong as knitting is an escape from life for her. When Lieutenant Gage Grayson stops by on his way to active duty to pick up a painting from Caros aunt, they both feel the attraction right away and spend the day together, along with Gages children, his beloved cat and dog. As Gage leaves, they exchange emails and begin their correspondences. Caro includes pictures she has drawn of Gages pets that help him out while he is deployed. This was a very sweet, love at first sight story mixed with the powerful attraction of a pets love for their owner, no matter the distance. I really enjoyed this one and it left a smile on my face and a curiosity about more books by Ms Skye. Not much heat though, so I will need to do some research into that...as in is that normal for her or did it just not work for this story? 3 1/2 stars

Overall, not a bad anthology. I enjoyed each story and came away with a smile on my face for each one. Being that Macomber and Skyes were both tame and Mallorys was a bit steamy, they didn't really seem like three authors that fit the best together, in my opinion though. 3 1/2 stars

I received this ebook via netgalley.com

Midnight Kiss by Robyn Carr, Jean Brashear, Victoria Dahl

Midnight Confessions by Robyn Carr

This is a sweet short story in the wonderful Virgin River series. I'm not going to say much about this one because if you have read the previous books you will read this one to get a quick glimpse of what Virgin River is up to on New Years eve. If you have not read the series, this is just an all right read probably about two people trying to heal over getting left at the alter (her) and a broken engagement (him). It takes place over only one day, which I did not like, and its only 100 pages so I was left wanting more....which hopefully I will get in this new set of books coming out this year! 3 1/2 stars

Midnight Surrender by Jean Brashear

This was a pleasant surprise for me. I have not read anything by this author but I will be looking into her other books because Ms Brashear did a great job telling a sweet, hot love story in about 100 pages. Jordan comes off pretty stuck up and bitchy but sweet Irishman Will persists and helps Jordan discover that love isn't all that bad. I wish this would have been a full length novel because I would have loved to have seen more interaction between these two! 4 stars

Midnight Assignment by Victoria Dahl

This was another winner from one of my favorite authors. We meet Noah and Elise, FDIC agents, who are about to take over a failing bank. Having worked at a bank that changed hands recently, I was really intrigued by the storyline and felt Dahl did a great job with it. Noah and Elise had worked together before and shared a kiss but parted on uneven terms and need to overcome those terms this time which leads to some steamin romance. I also would have enjoyed this one as a full length novel but this short story was excellent and hot. 4 stars