Sugar Rush by Donna Kauffman

Delicious cupcakes but not enough action
2 stars

Leilani Trusdale left her high flying career as a pastry chef in New York to open a cute little cupcake shop in small town Georgia and she finally feels that she's where she belongs. If only she could put her sexy boss, fellow chef Baxter Dunne, out of her head for good.

Baxter is now a hot shot TV chef with his own cookery show and legions of fans. Dubbed 'Chef Hot Cakes', Baxter wants to film his next show from Leilani's tiny kitchen but it's not for the reasons she thinks. With things hotting up in the kitchen and an island rife with gossip, convincing Leilani that she and Baxter belong together will take a lot more than cupcakes and frosting.

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This is the first book in The Cupcake Club series which combines the two wonderful worlds of cupcakes and romance which are the two reasons I felt drawn to this book.

I've not had much luck with romance books that have a backdrop of food or restaurants but this one does manage to work that well into the storyline. The descriptions of the cakes sounded amazing and I like the fact that you get a couple of recipes (with frostings) at the back of the book to try yourself.

Apart from that, unfortunately I wasn't overly keen on the characters. I could identify with, and didn't dislike, Leilani but she didn't have enough sparkle to really make me root for her. Baxter wasn't my cup of tea for two reasons: 1) because he was 'British' which paved the way for embarrassing attempts at Brit speak and accents, although thankfully not so often as to make the book unreadable. The second reason is that right at the beginning it was mentioned that Baxter was younger than Leilani. Although it probably doesn't bother most people, and it was only by three years, I just don't like that dynamic and it made me disappointed from the start. It turned out to never be mentioned again which made me wonder why it was mentioned in the first place. There were some supporting characters but a little too many to really care for them and none that stood out except for crazy Alva.

The plot also fell a little flat for me as I just didn't feel that much happened. If Leilani and Baxter weren't discussing one thing, they were talking about something else. Sometimes Leilani would discuss things with her father or her best friend and then sometimes other people would discuss other things that were happening. I'm all for conversation and banter between characters but not at the expense of moving the story forward or having something interesting happen.

My last point - which didn't affect my rating of the book but still has to be mentioned - was the cover. The cupcakes on the front are to die for and I enjoyed staring at them and wishing I could eat them right up. On the back, however, is a photo of a couple and I swear that if they are a day over 18 I'll eat my hat. Perhaps that's just me getting older but they made me cringe.

Anyway - I wasn't much of a fan of this book so sadly can't recommend it. It wasn't terrible, the writing was okay but it just didn't capture my attention despite the delicious cupcakes. 2 stars.

Bad Boys Next Exit by Shannon McKenna, Donna Kauffman & E.C. Sheedy

What a waste…

2 stars

MELTDOWN by Shannon McKenna

Jane Duvall is a great headhunter and she’s determined to snag her next client even if it means stealing him away from hotel CEO, Michael “Mac” Mcnamara. Mac plans to find out what Jane’s really up to even if that means he has to seduce it out of her.

This story started of well but pretty soon turned into absolute trash. Mac was such a bully that it was uncomfortable to read. I like an alpha male as much as the next girl but Mac’s treatment of Jane was emotionally abusive and I was horrified that anyone would class this as romance. Dreadful.

EXPOSED by Donna Kauffman

All Delilah Hudson wants is to get home for Christmas – too bad she’s stranded on a train in the middle of a blizzard. As soon as photographer, Austin Morgan, spies Delilah he’s interested in capturing her in more than just a shot. Perhaps they can heat up the holidays together.

This was a fairly bland story with characters I didn’t empathise with, identify with or particularly care for. The sex within five minutes of meeting each other seemed seedy rather than sexy and the thought of a stranger taking naked pictures of me gave me the creeps rather than turned me on!

PURE GINGER by E.C. Sheedy

Ginger Cameron is fed up with being judged solely on her looks. So she decides to change her look to something a little more dowdy. Cal Beaumann needs to hire Ginger to do PR work but he doesn’t believe that this girl is as straight laced as she appears. So he sets out to uncover her secrets one by one.

Easily the best story of this anthology, I still couldn’t identify much with Ginger. It was all a bit ridiculous and the silly conflict at the end of the story was a bit high school for my tastes. Still the best but still not so great.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for years waiting to be read. I’m actually beginning to wish I’d left it there to gather dust because I really didn’t enjoy it. I’ve previously read other books in the ‘Bad Boys’ series and by these authors and enjoyed them so this book was a little bit of a waste. There are much (much) better romantic anthologies out there and I would recommend you give this one a miss and try one of them. 2 stars and the extra star is only for E.C. Sheedy’s tale which wasn’t too bad.

The Naughty List by Donna Kauffman, Cynthia Eden & Susan Fox

Mixed bag Christmas romance

3 Stars

This is Brava’s annual Christmas story anthology featuring three authors and three different stories all focussing on romance, heat and Christmas time.

Naughty But Nice – Donna Kauffman

Irishman, Griff, is in small town Hamilton to head up a corporate town-wide makeover. Baker Melody has given up her high flying career and now simply wants a quiet life so the pair are bound to cause sparks when they meet up.

This must be part of a series by Kauffman and I remember having similar problems with another of her stories in a previous anthology. It was so bogged down in detail about other people and back story that I got very bored very quickly. And Griff’s “Irish” accent was cringe-worthy in the extreme. Not good.

All I Want for Christmas – Cynthia Eden

Christie Tate is fed up with always being the good girl. So at the office Christmas party she decides to ask Santa for what she really wants – a really good time. But that’s before she realises that Santa is Jonas, her brother’s best friend and the guy she’s had a crush on since childhood.

This was a sweet, enjoyable and romantic story that’s perfect for this kind of anthology. It’s light and frothy with enough heat to keep you warm on a winter night. I liked both Jonas and Christie and it had a sweet happy ending.

Charlotte “Charlie” Coltrane is back in Whistler after promising herself she would never return. She’s immediately captivated by hot contractor, L.J. and is surprised to discover he’s the geeky kid she remembers from high school.

This was a sweet and slow paced story about a couple of misfits that find love. It wasn’t earth shattering but I enjoyed it and was happy at the outcome.

This book had, for me, one great story, one good and one bad. It’s a good read for a cold winter night or just for taking a break from things but nothing extraordinarily special or romantic. Only the middle story was the light, fluffy romance that I was expecting but the last story was still enjoyable while the first was just bad. Still, worth a look if you like Christmas romance despite the festive content being at a minimum. 3 stars.

Kissing Santa Claus

Pretty standard Christmas romance anthology

3 Stars

LOCK, STOCK & JINGLE BALLS – Donna Kauffman

Holly Berry hates everything to do with Christmas. So it’s no great joy to her when she inherits her mother’s Christmas shop in the small town where she grew up in and then left as soon as she was able. But her childhood crush Sean Gallagher is determined to make sure this is a Christmas season that Holly won’t soon forget.

This story lacked any sparkle, Christmas or otherwise. The plot was quite plodding, the characters lacking depth and the main focus of the story, a diary of secrets, was seemingly the prelude to another story by Kauffman. Disappointing.

BAH, HANDSOME! – Jill Shalvis

Hope O’Brien is struggling to keep her Colorado B&B in the black. She can’t afford to turn down any paying customers but when accountant Danny Shaw (who just happens to be the man who’s trying to put her out of business) turns up she might just change her mind. But the sparks that are flying aren’t out of anger so the B&B staff attempt a little holiday matchmaking.

This was an adorable story that kept my interest from beginning to end. I do love a sexy geek as a hero and Danny definitely was that. The couple had chemistry, there was humour and there was lots of snow. Not terribly Christmassy but it doesn’t matter when the story is as good as this one is.

IT’S HOTTER AT CHRISTMAS – HelenKay Dimon

Marissa just can’t believe her luck – all she wants is to leave Hawaii and head home to Philadelphia to enjoy some snow at Christmas yet she’s been the victim of two thefts and now can’t get a flight. The only person that can help her is police deputy Ted who is determined to show Marissa that Christmas doesn’t need snow to be perfect.

While I did enjoy this story, it didn’t really have any real excitement. The plot was predictable and quite unrealistic and the characters weren’t particularly endearing. It’s not a horrible story but not one I can really remember despite only finishing it a couple of days ago.

If you’re looking for some light, festive, sexy reads then this might be the book for you. For me, the Jill Shalvis story is excellent but I could take or leave the other two. 3 stars.

To All A Good Night

Sexy and entertaining romantic anthology

4 Stars

UNLEASHED by Donna Kauffman

Emma Lafferty has just landed her biggest job to date – pet-sitting for a multi-millionaire in his remote, palatial mansion over Christmas. What she doesn’t expect is her peace to be interrupted by the billionaire’s rather distracting and delicious great-nephew Trevor whose reasons for being there are definitely suspicious. And that’s before the pair get trapped together in the house during a snowstorm.

An enjoyable story with two likeable characters and a romance that you can suspend belief and just believe in. While being wintry and a perfect story for a night in by the fire, it wasn’t at all Christmassy and I was rather irritated to find that the ‘great mystery’, which was the whole reason for Trevor being there, was actually just the premise for another of Donna Kauffman’s books.

FINDING MR RIGHT by Jill Shalvis

Brilliant scientist Maggie Bell is an absolute dating disaster, always managing to pick men who turn out to be Mr Wrong. Sexy contractor Jacob Wahler, despite being gorgeous and sweet, definitely seems like a Mr Wrong, but Maggie has decided that a Mr Wrong might turn out to be oh-so right.

Again this story wasn’t Christmassy but it had wonderful characters and was fun, sexy and romantic. Jacob is a hero to die for while Maggie was someone most people could identify with. The story of the ‘mysterious potion’ was funny and kept the pages turning.

CAN YOU HAND ME THE TAPE? by HelenKay Dimon

One week before Christmas and Natalie Pritchard is in a complete panic. The sexy tape that she made for her ex-boyfriend is missing and she desperately needs help to get it back. Unfortunately the only person she can turn to is her nemesis, deliciously handsome and sexy defence attorney Spencer Donovan but will Natalie be willing to pay his price?

This was a cute story about a curvy woman who is still coming to terms with the way her last relationship ended and her insecurities about her body. Spence is a great hero and perfect for Natalie but the story really does suffer from being so short and the Christmas theme is quite thin on the ground.

This set of three, sexy Christmas stories is let down by the lack of festive content, but all of the stories are still fun, sexy and very readable. These will still warm you up and are perfect for a cosy winter night by the fire. 4 stars.

The Naked Truth

Charming and Entertaining Contemporary Anthology

4 Stars

This is a collection of four contemporary novellas focussing on the misunderstandings between men and women on the path to true love.

The Winning Truth by Erin McCarthy

Tansey Reynolds has decided to swear off men until she can raise enough money to go back to college. But that is before she meets JT Kowalski in line for a radio station competition. In order to win $25,000 the pair must live together in a SUV where the prize might be even bigger than the cash.

This was a really simple story of a pair that meet and fall in love during a strange radio competition. It was a fine enough story but far from exhilarating or different.

The Naked Truth About Guys by Alesia Holliday

Newspaper humour columnist, C.J. Murphy is fed up with being treated like ‘one of the guys’ – even if she does tend to dress like one. So she enlists her glamorous best friend to give her a makeover. Soon she has two guys fighting over her but only Hugh sets her pulse racing. If only he can convince her that he likes her whatever she wears.

This was a fun, engaging and cheery story written in the first person. While enjoying the story immensely, for the first 30 pages I genuinely thought that a man other than Hugh was supposed to be the hero of the story!

Truth or Dare by Donna Kauffman

Soap Opera writer, Bailey Madison, has just landed her big break – ghost-writing the autobiography of the wealthy billionaire, Franklin Dent. Unfortunately for Bailey, Franklin also intends to shoot a documentary of his life at the same time and his filmmaker of choice just happens to be Noah Morrissey – the very same man that walked out on their 6-month relationship without a word.

I love a story where the characters get a second chance at love and this didn’t disappoint. It was entertaining, well-written story with enjoyable characters and an interesting plot.

Nothing But The Truth by Beverly Brandt

It’s Valentine’s Day and Madison Case has to organise three proposals to help with the promotion of Rules of Engagement – the marriage preparatory place where she works. Unfortunately, everything that can go wrong is going wrong except for the appearance delicious divorce lawyer Scott Seaver.

This was definitely the worst story of the anthology, in my opinion. The goings on seemed farcical, the hero and heroine spent little time together and I really didn’t like the fact that Madison’s ex-husband dumped her for her surgically enhanced sister on national TV and Maddie didn’t even hold a grudge.

Overall, this was an enjoyable enough set of three stories. Being so short, they did tend to lose a lot of the character and plot development you would find in a full-length story, but if you’re looking for a quick, fun read then you really can’t go wrong with this book.