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.

A Blazing Little Christmas: A Sizzling Christmas Anthology

Fun & Romantic Christmas Anthology

5 Stars

This anthology of Blaze stories all centre around Christmas at the Timberline Lodge in Lake Placid, New York. Owned by the sweet Mr & Mrs Krause – they are determined that their lodge will be the place for magic and love over the holidays.

Holiday Inn Bed – Jacquie D’Alessandro

Eric and Jessica are determined to spice up their Christmas engagement – especially since they haven’t been together in over a month. But their romantic getaway in a snowy, hide-away lodge is interrupted by their quarrelling relatives – and they have all just been snowed in together.

This was a sweet wintry story and I thought it was an interesting twist to have the main couple together from the outset of the story. It worked well and it didn’t make the story any less dramatic. Sexy, fun and snowy – a truly enjoyable short story.

His For The Holidays – Joanne Rock

Five years ago Heather Dillinger was left at dawn by her delicious army-guy one-night stand without so much as a goodbye. When she receives a letter out of the blue inviting her for a weekend at a lodge in Lake Placid with the same army-man – she sees it as a perfect way for some sensual revenge. But Jared Murphy is determined that this time neither of them will be saying goodbye at all.

I’ll admit that I was worried about this story as I haven’t enjoyed the longer novels by this author. However I am pleased to say that my opinion has changed as this was a wonderful story of forgiveness and second chances with a delicious dose of sex thrown in for good measure. Very enjoyable.

Dear Santa… – Kathleen O’Reilly

When a secret Santa invites Rebecca Neumann for a holiday getaway she needs no encouragement and heads up to the lodge. However, the man Santa had in mind isn’t the man that Rebecca bumps in to – sexy blast from her past, Cory Bell.

This story had to be the strongest of all three and definitely was the most Christmassy. It was however, very different from the other stories as it was highly emotional, very deep and at times quite heart wrenching. It was also sexy, sweet and absolutely adorable. A tortured hero and a heroine with scars find what they have been looking for in each other.

If you’re looking for some quick reads to fit in around all the Christmas madness then this is the perfect book for you. Snowball fights, roaring fires, romance, sex and love – what more could you want for Christmas? Definitely 5 stars.