Destination: Marriage

Two hits and a miss for this marriage themed anthology

4 stars

Trouble in Paradise – Jill Marie Landis

From the moment Carrie Evans arrived in Hawaii for her dream destination wedding things have started to go wrong. With the rain, a lost wedding dress and an awol caterer to mention but a few, Carrie is sure that the signs say that she really should be getting married at all. Her fiancé Kurt barely has 4 days to change her mind.

I was terribly disappointed in this top billed story. Kurt didn’t seem to care that the bride was flipping out and was only interested in getting Carrie into bed. And the games the pair played, rather than being amusing, made me think they shouldn’t have been getting married at all.

Biting the Apple – Jo Leigh

Aspiring journalist Trish Avalon has just won an all expenses paid wedding in New York. There’s just one problem – she’s not engaged. Determined to get to the Big Apple to start her new life, she convinces her high school sweetheart, and all round local boy Mark Reynolds to be her groom. But is it only for the week?

This was a great story about chasing your dreams and then realising that maybe they weren’t what you were really looking for. Sweet and romantic with great characters (and set in the decadent Hush hotel) – this was a fantastic short story.

A Venetian Affair – Jackie Braun

Dayle Alexander is planning her perfect wedding – so why isn’t she on top of the world? Her fiancé is stable and dependable – so unlike her unsettlingly hot business partner, Max Kinnick. When business takes the pair to Venice, Dayle begins to realise that her perfect wedding will only be if she can snag the perfect groom!

This was a stand out, adorable story. There was a good dose of emotion without being melodramatic and I just loved Dayle and Max as a couple. A great short romance – I’ll without doubt be searching out more of Jackie Braun’s books in the future.

With two out of the three stories really standing out – I would recommend this book if you’re looking for some fun, light and romantic short stories with a wedding flavour. Despite the first story – still worth 4 stars.

One Wild Wedding Night

Sizzling Hot & Romantic Stories

5 Stars

Leslie Kelly launches the new Blaze Encounters series with 5 short stories centring around 5 bridesmaids, and more specifically their super-sexy encounters on the wedding night.

Getaway

Sweet bridesmaid Bridget Donahue is the star witness in a trial and someone is out to get her. Luckily totally hot FBI agent Dean Willis is around to give her full body protection.

This was a fun story with a heroine who was shy but spunky and a delicious special agent with a big, soft centre. Hot sex, lots of fun and a sweet ending make this an excellent story.

Runaway

Stripper Leah Muldoon is so tired after the wedding that she accidentally gets into the wrong limo and falls fast asleep. When she awakens she realises she stumbled upon very sexy and very rich Slone Kincaid. What better to do than get very well acquainted in that back seat?

A cute, funny story with a stripper I surprisingly identified with and every woman’s prince charming with some naughty limo sex thrown in for good measure.

Three-Way

Big-city attorney Mia Natale dumped Brandon North because he was too nice. But he’s tracked her down and plans to show her what she’ll be missing if she walks out on him. But who is that other guy?

I genuinely never thought they would put a storyline like this in a romance and was waiting for the ‘only joking’ moment to come along. But it never did and I have to say I was shocked for a little while before getting into it. Maybe not a story for everyone – it was still romantic and enjoyable.

No Way Out

Black bombshell Vanessa McKee lives her life to the full and has done ever since she had her heart broken when she was but 15. When the man that did the breaking – delicious NFL star Stan Jackson – walks back into her life, she does what any heartbroken lady would do and punches him right in the face. Stan can think of better places to unleash that fiery temper – like in his hotel suite!

This story of a feisty woman and her first love is probably the hottest of all the stories in this anthology yet it still has a sweet, romantic edge. The characters are well suited and enjoyably don’t jump to conclusions where they might.

All The Way

Gloria Santori loves being a wife and mother but sometimes she really just wants to let loose and go a bit crazy – especially since it’s been such a long time since she had sex of any sort. So when a seductive European propositions her in a bar she jumps at the chance for some fun!

I really enjoyed this story and luckily the surprise wasn’t that hard to guess. It was more tender than the other stories yet still had a lovely hot sex and stunningly well-written sexual tension.

A sizzling set of stories full of hot encounters, wonderful characters and true love, Leslie Kelly doesn’t disappoint with this newest collection. Each story is about 50 pages long making it an ideal length for a nice quick read. The stories all centre round the wedding of Izzie Natale and Nick Santori (from previous Blaze novel Overexposed) and what happens to each of their bridesmaids on the wedding night. It was nice that all the stories were interconnected but not in such a way that each didn’t stand on their own or you wouldn’t understand them if you read them out of order. It was also nice to catch up with Nick and Izzie again.

With Leslie Kelly’s newest set of tales you get all the sex and sizzle you would expect from a Blaze novel coupled with the fun, humour and fast-paced action typical of a Kelly romance. 5 stars and definitely a recommended read.

Bad Girl Bridesmaids: Three All-New Erotic Tales

A reasonably enjoyable anthology

3 Stars

This is a set of three erotic stories, all written by Susanna Carr, showing just how naughty bridesmaids can be.

Serial Bridesmaid on the Loose

Kelsey Morgan is sick and tired of being a bridesmaid – especially when she realises that she’s only being asked so she can be treated as a slave. To stop the demands of the current bride, Kelsey hooks up with gigolo Zack Cooper to keep her occupied. Only Zack’s actually a multi-millionaire – and he’s not used to giving up the power and control.

The Bridesmaid’s Diaries

Two years ago Tara Watkins, the wedding co-ordinator at her family’s vineyard, had the most amazing sex with the best man at a wedding. Ever since then she’s been writing a Bridesmaid Blog on the net about her experiences. Now Luke Sullivan is back and determined to use the information gained from her Internet diary to relive that wild night.

Wedding Wrecker

Amber Hughes left her small town home after she ruined the wedding of a close friend. Now she’s back to be a bridesmaid again but this time sexy Josh Griffin plans to make this wedding crazier than her last – this time for all the right reasons.

All three of the stories in this anthology are fun, well-written and enjoyable. Mostly the characters are people you identify with and can root for although I wasn’t too taken with a couple of the heroes – far too domineering and arrogant for my tastes (and I generally tend to like an alpha male). And they do all suffer from the short length of the stories, as there is no real character or plot development. This also means you have to suspend reality in order to believe in the happy endings as love happens very quickly in each case.

And while these are billed as erotic stories, I found myself being slightly disappointed. All the words and actions were there in spades, but the actual sex scenes lacked any real sparkle or sizzle that would set them apart from other romance books.

Overall – if you’re looking for something light, fun and romantic then you should give this book a try. While perhaps not being the best example of erotic short stories, the writing is good, the stories hold your interest and they will take your mind off things for a while.