Synopsis:
Six Dark Tales. Six Sensual Stories. Six Page Turners.
Kiss The Flame by Christopher Rice
Laney Foley is the first woman from her hard working family to attend college. That’s why she can’t act on her powerful attraction to one of the gorgeous teaching assistants in her Introduction to Art History course. Ever since he first laid eyes on her, Michael Brouchard seems to think about little else but the two of them together. And it’s become harder for Laney to ignore his intelligence and his charm.
Daring Her Love by Melissa Foster
Kat Martin knows what she wants in a man—someone stable and adoring, definitely not the type of guy who sleeps around. After all, Kat rarely does the wrong thing—until she meets seductively enticing Eric James. When it comes to his career, race-car driver Eric James is intense, obsessive, and passionate, but when it comes to sex, there’s only one kind—daring, unbridled, and no-strings-attached.
Teased by Rebecca Zanetti
Chalton Reese has left war and death in the past. His fingers now protect with a keyboard instead of a weapon. Until the vampire king sends him on one more mission; to hunt down a human female with the knowledge to destroy the Realm. Olivia Roberts has eyes like emeralds, a brain to match his own, and a passion that might destroy them both—if the enemy on their heels doesn’t do so first.
The Promise of Surrender by Liliana Hart
Mia Russo spent ten years working undercover before handing in her shield. Opening her own pawn shop is a piece of cake in comparison. Until the day Zeke McBride walks into her shop. Zeke knows Mia has every right not to trust him. He was the one who chose the next op instead of her. And all he can hope is that somewhere under the snarl and cynicism is a woman who can forgive.
Savaged Surrender by Jennifer Lyon
Bad boy Ethan Hunt is tainted by a past he can’t escape. Good girl Ana Kendall is a wicked temptation impossible to resist. She’s too innocent for him, so he leaves, joining the security team for the famous rock band Savaged Illusions. Since moving in with her dad at fourteen, Ana’s been the perfect daughter. But perfection sucks. It’s time to shed her good girl persona and go after what she wants—Ethan.
Jumpstart by Riley Hart
Motocross star Beckett Monroe is in need of R&R, not only to adjust to his new out-of-the-closet status, but in hopes of reigniting his passion for motocross. Support shows up in the way of Christian Foster, his childhood best friend and first love. Spending time with Christian is the jumpstart Beck’s heart needs. But even if Christian can forgive Beck for hurting him years ago, do they stand a chance against the obstacles in their path?
Every Dark Nights tale is breathtakingly sexy and magically romantic.
Reviews:
The 8th bundle of 1001 Dark Nights novellas is a nice mix of stories that can serve as intros to authors and/or series or just be enjoyed on their own.
Kiss the Flame by Christopher Rice
I couldn’t put this one down! Mr. Rice seriously had me at the word “ghosts”–adding in Laney and Michael, a couple it was easy to root for, was just gravy! The spooky candle store, the angsty forbidden romance, Laney’s insecurities and fears, Michael’s nonstop awesomeness…all good things. I absolutely have to go back and read the first two books set in this world (novella The Flame and novel The Surrender Gate) and cannot wait to find out what Lillianna’s mysterious note means–hopefully we’ll find out soon!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
Daring Her Love: A Bradens Novella by Melissa Foster
Instalove, public bathroom sex (twice! just, NO), and a lack of any real story conflict beyond can-this-former-player-be-true-to-one-woman? made this one the weakest of the bunch.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars / C
Teased by Rebecca Zanetti
I accidentally read the second book in this trilogy ( Tricked ) before this one–realized it about halfway through when everything started sounding vaguely familiar (so I jumped on Goodreads to confirm, found my ecopy, and then re-read first 10% of Tricked just to remind myself of how much I liked it and its characters)–not a huge deal, and since I’d wanted to read Chalton and Oliva’s story anyway to see what Ronni and Jared had been talking about, it ended up being a win-win situation.
I definitely need to back up and read more of this series, because I really enjoy the world that Ms. Zanetti has created here. Everything moves pretty fast in this one due to the novella format (though the third brother, Theo, will have somewhat of a history with his heroine–not really a good history, though sometimes that does make for the best reading ;)) but the supernatural element does help to make the instalust/love element seem a bit more believable. A nice blend of action, family drama, and romance make this one an entertaining read, to new readers and series fans alike.
Rating: 4 stars / B+
The Promise of Surrender by Liliana Hart
A novella from the MacKenzie family world, The Promise of Surrender worked fairly well as a standalone, since the main characters aren’t MacKenzies. A few come up in the story, but not to the point that you’d need to know their stories ahead of time.
Promise is a second chance romance–a troupe that works well in a shorter (ie novella) format, since the h/h already have a history. In this case, it’s been seven years since Mia and Zeke have seen each other, since he let his job come between them and she left. But now circumstances (only somewhat orchestrated by Zeke) have thrown them back together, and he at least is determined that they’re going to make up for lost time.
Enjoyable characters with a decent amount of suspense–however, while the romantic plot ends well, the suspense one felt unfinished. Still, this could be a good intro to the series for newbies.
Rating: 4 stars / B+
Savaged Surrender by Jennifer Lyons
A second chance romance heavy on the “erotic” and with a touch of suspense, Savaged Surrender was an enjoyable, though not terribly memorable, read. Both Ana and Ethan are likable characters, though his instance that she was to good for him got to be a bit wearying…and then he got over it, fairly abruptly. (So it was kind of yay! but…)
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B
Jumpstart by Riley Hart
A best-friends-to-lovers, second chance romance! Beckett and Christian had been friends for years and then secretly became more, until Christian was accidentally outed and Beckett kept his distance, choosing his up and coming Motocross career (and, in a way, his family) over Chris. Fast forward ten years–they’re both successful, neither currently in a relationship, and Beckett’s come out as bi and is starting to feel unfulfilled in his career. One phone call leads to another, which leads to…
Jumpstart worked well as a standalone, and as an intro to the author and (Crossroads) series!
Rating: 4 stars / B-
Overall rating: 4 stars / B
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
