Not Another Blind Date by Leslie Kelly, Janelle Denison & Jo Leigh

A good selection of Valentine’s stories

4 stars

This is Blaze’s annual collection of stories for Valentine’s Day all focusing on blind dates and what they can lead to.

SKIN DEEP by Janelle Denison

At a fancy dress party, good girl Jayne decides to give herself one night of craziness with a hot, bad boy. Jayne’s never enjoyed sex so hot but it was a one-time thing. Or so she thinks. When Jayne gets set up on a blind date with Brian she realises the Cupid has other ideas.

I really enjoyed this story as it was sweet and cute with some good heat running through it. Definitely the best of the book.

HOLD ON by Leslie Kelly

Shy Sarah Holt is enamoured with sexy Doctor Steve Wilshire but he doesn’t know she exists. So when a twist of fate allows Sarah to step in as Steve’s blind date she jumps at the chance and has the best night of her life. But will it last?

This was a good story if a little far-fetched. I liked the romance but I was surprised Steve wasn’t a little more angry when it came out who Sarah actually was which made the conclusion a little unbelievable for me.

EX MARKS THE SPOT by Jo Leigh

Paige Callahan has just lost a big break for her job so it’s the icing on her crappy week when her ex-boyfriend sets her up for a blind date on Valentine’s Day. But things start to look up when she meets sexy, wealthy, Noah.

I could barely finish this story as it was ridiculous – what ex-boyfriend, described as careless and thoughtless, would set his ex up on a Valentine’s date and what girl would accept? It was also boring and the ending was forced and unbelievable.

Overall, there are two good stories in this anthology and one that didn’t do it for me at all. Despite the bad story I’m still going to go with 4 stars as even if you’re not a fan of Valentine’s Day this anthology is worth a read if you get the chance.

Sinfully Sweet

Romance and chocolate

4 Stars

Harlequin Blaze puts together a collection of three Valentine’s stories that all centre around decadent chocolate.

WICKEDLY DELICIOUS by Janelle Denison

Sensible Rebecca Moore decides to shake off her sensible image and let loose at her sister’s wedding. With the help of some chocolate from a local shop, Rebecca decides it’s time to give in to her desires for millionaire playboy, Connor Bassett.

This was a fine story although I’m really not a fan of older woman – younger man stories. However it was still sweet, romantic and a good read for an anthology.

CONSTANT CRAVING by Jacquie D’Alessandro

Daniel Montgomery likes order in his life. Unfortunately his neighbour, Carlie Pratt is the complete opposite and constantly manages to disrupt his life. Just before he moves out of town, Daniel decides it might be time to see whether opposites do attract.

This was a sweet, uncomplicated story about two likeable characters. There was enough heat to keep it interesting and the ending made me sigh in happiness!

SIMPLY SCRUMPTIOUS by Kate Hoffmann

Hotel manager, Darcy Scott is stunned when she literally bumps into baseball star Kel Martin at the local sweet shop. The pair had a steamy one-night stand five years before and soon they are picking up right where they left off all those years ago.

While easily readable and ultimately enjoyable, this story was light on the emotion and realism. Having said that, it was still a good read and rounded off the anthology nicely.

Overall this was an enjoyable and interesting anthology. If you’re looking for some fun, short stories that are full of love, romance and chocolate – I would definitely recommend this Blaze anthology to you.

Christmas Fantasy by Janelle Denison

Hot, romantic read

4 stars

Austin McBride's business was fulfilling women's fantasies but the gorgeous Teddy Spencer had him doing some fantasising of his own.

Independent Teddy was too focused on her career for any sort of commitment but she did need someone to pose as her boyfriend at her company Christmas party and Austin was the man for the job.

But would one incredible night convince Teddy to hire Austin full-time?

This was a fine, hot romance set over the Christmas period. Despite the festive setting there really isn't much in the way of Christmassy references so if you're looking for that warm, winter glow then you might be disappointed.

Teddy and Austin are both enjoyable characters and the pair work well together. Austin is technically a stripper but it is never portrayed as seedy and I can't imagine many having a problem with his line of work as it is written so well. The pages heat up with the sex scenes and there are plenty of them which is never a bad thing.

The story is enjoyable and although not terribly fast paced - it keeps you turning the pages and has all the romance that you should require.

While maybe not a great book - it is nevertheless fun and sexy and is worth a read if you get a chance.

Secret Santa

Naughty but nice Christmas collection

4 stars

Secret Santa is a collection of three short stories all centred around the Secret Santa exchange at the New York offices of Connoisseur – a food and travel magazine.

He’d Better Watch Out! – Janelle Denison

Bosses daughter Amanda Creighton has always been a good girl – until she decides to put her name down as the Secret Santa for the office bad boy Christian Miller and give him a gift that he won’t be able to resist.

This story is enjoyable although I wasn’t sure about the angel and devil who advised the heroine throughout the story – that was slightly odd. But otherwise it was a sexy story with two enjoyable characters.

The Nights Before Christmas – Isabel Sharpe

Cathy Ann Johnson considers herself as quite an ordinary sort of girl – so when her Secret Santa gives her some sexy lingerie she decides it’s time to be a little bit naughty. So she seduces her Santa – only it’s the wrong Santa!

This story is more sweet and poignant than the others and although it does have it’s fair share of sexy scenes, it’s more of an emotional tale with a heroine you will no doubt identify with.

Mistletoe Madness – Jennifer LaBrecque

Tatiana Allen’s boss has decided to go all out with the office Secret Santa and have 8 days worth of presents and gifts. Unfortunately for Tatiana, she has to buy gifts for her office nemesis Cole Mitchell. But when they are thrown together for an assignment, Tatiana realises that this year she wouldn’t mind getting Cole in her stockings afterall.

This was definitely the best of the three stories offering arguing colleagues who change into something more. It’s funny, sexy and a really enjoyable story.

This is a sweet set of festive stories that you can’t help but enjoy even if they are quite light on that warm Christmas feeling in some cases.

Overall – although there maybe aren’t any classics in this anthology – it is a book that I’m sure you will enjoy whether it’s Christmas or not! Definitely recommended for a fun, light read.