Get a head start on the holiday spirit by reading for a great cause!
Fifteen of today’s most entertaining rom-com authors have teamed up on #Books4Paws.
This collection of festive shorts ranges from sweet to steamy and promises to entertain.
100% of the proceeds will benefit the Valley Humane Society, a no-kill animal shelter that has been caring for rescues and pairing them with their fur-ever families since 1966.
Bear Naked With the Bearded Baller by Amy Award
Hot Under the Collar by Serena Bell
Lady and the Scamp by Kilby Blades
Tess’ Tasty Treats by Kameron Claire
Santa Claws is Coming by Dylann Crush
Snaps With Santa by Hope Ellis
Ruff Day for the Rockstar by Christina Hovland
Too Nice to be Naughty by Melonie Johnson
Make Me Beg by Tawdra Kandle
Decidedly With Paws by Stina Lindenblatt
The Howliday Contract by MK Meredith
Doggy Style by Tracey Pedersen
Rescued Beats by Arell Rivers
Mutts About You by Brenda St John Brown
In Rover My Head by Sylvie Stewart
Review:
(I’m still working my way through this, so more individual story reviews will be added later)
I’m not at all exaggerating when I say I look forward to this anthology every year–the anthology names are always hilariously (in)appropriate, some of my favorite authors participate, and I really enjoy seeing how each one incorporates a fundraiser related to the real charity into their story. Plus, we get to read some sexy stories, and a real-life charity gets the proceeds. Win-win!
Bear Naked with the Bearded Baller by Amy Award was…OK. The epilogue was really cute, but the couple of chapters of story before that just went a bit too fast for my taste. Meet cute in the hardware store to full-on lust to s*x on the floor in practically no time at all–a little more substance, a little less instalust/love is really what I’m looking for, especially in such a short story. Am I crazy to have wanted more of the details that the heroine glosses over in the beginning of the epilogue? Or maybe even to see their first fundraiser together? It just felt like this story would have been more satisfying with more to it.
Rating: 3 stars / C
Hot Under the Collar by Serena Bell was fabulous. The meet cute had me LOLing (where can I get those t-shirts? My coworker and I think they’d be perfect for work) and the fake-date-no-it-isn’t that came about because of a meddling senior citizen and an adorable shelter dog were *chef’s kiss* perfect. A great addition to the author’s newest series!
Rating: 5 stars / A
Lady and the Scamp: A Canine Love Story by Kilby Blades was absolutely adorable! I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m just going to say–the romance in this isn’t what you might be expecting, but I was 100% on board with it <3
Rating: 4 stars / A-
Tess’ Tasty Treats by Kameron Claire is cute, but be warned–it’s nowhere near a complete story. It’s a 5-chapter teaser for Tess and Logan’s full-length book, coming out in November–not a complaint, just a heads up 😉
Rating: 3.5 stars / B-
Santa Claws is Coming by Dylann Crush was a cute fish-out-of-water story. Noelle travels to River Bluff, TN to help move her grandmother into assisted living and try to get all of her cat cafe rescues adopted. She’s “greeted” just outside the town by a traffic stop, and that’s just the tip of the holiday iceberg… This one leans heavily toward insta-everything but was fun.
Rating: 4 stars / B+
Snaps with Santa by Hope Ellis is a sweet second chance romance that left me with just one burning question–what happened to the kitten that brought these 2 former high school sweethearts back together? (Sorry, channeling my youngest there…but I really kinda want to know)
Rating: 4 stars / B+
Ruff Day for the Rockstar by Christina Hovland is a cute slice-of-life story featuring 2 of the author’s established characters who are already moving along on their HEA journey. They’re missing that special something in their relationship, though–something that Irina just might find at a holiday pet adoption event…
Rating: 4 stars / B+
Too Nice to Be Naughty by Melonie Johnson is a fun holiday novella in the universe of the author’s Too Wrong to Be Right . Funeral director Joseph O’Sullivan *thinks* he’s learned to expect the unexpected at work–until a new client brings him a proposal for a memorial event unlike any he’s ever seen before. One Santa suit and a few kisses later, he just might have found his own HEA…
Rating: 4 stars / A-