Holiday Hideout by Various

A good set of cosy winter romances
4 Stars

This anthology pulls together three festive stories that all focus around one particular cabin that’s known to bring luck in love for all those who stay there. Perfect for warming up the cold winter evenings.



The Thanksgiving Fix by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Love is the last thing on Beth Davis’ mind when she takes a Thanksgiving break at a friend’s cabin to avoid being set up by her family. That’s until Coinneach “Mac” McFarland comes to fix a suspicious leak in the cabin and she discovers the best things are found when you’re not even looking.

This was a sweet story that worked even with the short time frame of the couple. I liked the setting that was built up in the story and as short stories goes I really enjoyed the story and the romance.


The Christmas Set-Up by Jill Shalvis
Competing architects Zoe and Jason have two weeks to come up with a design to win a coveted project in their architect firm. But when a snowstorm traps the pair in a remote cabin their real desires come to the fore. Will it be a merry Christmas for the pair?

I love a story of a couple that hide desire behind bickering and this one was great. It was funny, sweet and I very much enjoyed it. Would say that this was the best story of the three.


The New Year’s Deal by Julie Kenner
Five years ago Cleo and Josh split up but promised to meet up again for New Year’s Eve in a remote, romantic cabin. Their lives might have changed but the spark of desire is still there and they might just be able to make it work this time.

This was only so-so for me. I easily read it through but didn’t really care for either Josh or Cleo. Josh was a little too spineless when standing up for what he wanted and Cleo seemed a little fickle and lacking emotion. It just didn’t really do it for me, unfortunately.


Overall, this was a fairly enjoyable anthology. It wasn’t overly festive or filled with holiday cheer but you did get the sense of a nice cosy cottage on a dark winter night and that was enough to make my reading experience an enjoyable one. 4 stars.

Just Fooling Around by Kathleen O'Reilly and Julie Kenner

Basic stories – ridiculous premise
2 stars

This is a set of 4 short stories (or encounters) all based around April Fool’s Day and the Franklin siblings who are all cursed to receive bad luck on this one day each year.


CAM’S CATASTROPHE by Kathleen O’Reilly
The oldest of the Franklin siblings, Cam refuses to be laid low by a curse. So each April Fool’s Day he does something outrageous and laughs in the face of the curse that plagues his family. And each year he finds himself in the E.R. being cared for by Dr. Jenna Ferrar.

This story spanned about 4 years with the relationship building up over the space of a couple of hours over one day in each of those years. With that in mind, the fact that these two people could discover feelings for each other (or probably even remember each other) after such a teeny tiny amount of interaction made the story unbelievable and a little frustrating.


DARCY’S DARK DAY by Julie Kenner
Darcy Franklin is determined to visit New York on April Fool’s Day to show the curse can’t hurt her. Determined to save her from the curse, Cam asks his best friend, Evan, to make sure no harm befalls Darcy. But what Cam doesn’t know is that Evan has always had a crush on Darcy and this is the perfect opportunity for him to make his move.

Curse aside – this was a sweet story if a little unsatisfying in terms of romance. Not bad though and easily the best story of the four.


DEVON’S DILEMMA by Kathleen O’Reilly
In order to hide from the curse, Devon holes herself up in a fortress of a house in a remote town. On April Fool’s night she receives a visit from airman, Chance, who’s happy to take her mind off the bad events that are sure to follow.

It wasn’t the story that was ridiculous with this effort but the fact that Devon lived in such a state of fear from a curse that only struck one day a year. Regardless, Chance didn’t seem like long-term material and I didn’t believe in the romance.


REG’S RESCUE by Julie Kenner
Reg Franklin is the one sibling determined to find the cause of and break the curse. Because of the curse he let go of the only woman he’d ever loved to keep her safe. But now she’s back and the curse just might be ready to be broken.

While I liked this story and the two characters – to my mind Reg didn’t love Anne enough to be with her and it was only his lust driving him to get back with her. Disappointing.


I feel I could really have got behind the premise of a curse that inflicts a whole family for one day a year if it had been handled a little less clumsily and with a little bit more reality – as strange as that may sound. As it was, the whole book was fantastical, a bit baffling and utterly ridiculous. Shame, really. 2 stars and the extra one is only because I finished all the stories and didn’t mind Julie Kenner’s attempts.

Moonstruck by Julie Kenner

Enjoyable New Year romance

4 Stars

Claire Daniels is dateless on New Year’s Eve and not happy about it. When she sees her ex boyfriend with a new woman just as midnight strikes she grabs the nearest man to her and kisses him instead. Only, he doesn’t want to stop at just one kiss…

It turns out that the man Claire kissed is none other than Ty Coleman – club owner, multi-millionaire and the biggest, and sexiest, playboy in Dallas. Claire is happy to start her New Year with a bang but Ty is leaving in 2 months and it’s all fun and games until someone loses their heart.

This books follows on from Kenner’s Christmas romance, Starstruck, although it completely stands alone.

The book itself is well written and kept my interest throughout. The characters of Ty and Claire were both likeable and had good chemistry meaning that the sex scenes were nicely hot like you would expect from a Blaze romance. I could have done with a bit more emotional attachment and conflict. Although there was the necessary obstacle for the pair to overcome to make sure they could have their happily ever after, it wasn’t really something that couldn’t easily be solved making the conflict quite weak.

Overall, this was an easy book to read and a sweet, romantic story. If you’re looking for something quick to read on a cold night then I would recommend this to you. 4 stars.