max_pink's review against another edition
5.0
So...this is a perfect erotic romance. I have no notes.
Friends to lovers, all the smut you could want, solid emotional development, all packed into a very small amount of pages. Truly, you should pick it up.
Tatiana Sokolov did a great job as the narrator, as well.
Friends to lovers, all the smut you could want, solid emotional development, all packed into a very small amount of pages. Truly, you should pick it up.
Tatiana Sokolov did a great job as the narrator, as well.
beckanne86's review
3.0
A mostly fun read. I enjoyed the plot of the book, and I'm always down for sexy lumberjacks. The dialogue of this book was annoying though. Witty banter is fun, but it was ALL the time and after a bit, it just felt repetitive and boring.
hannas_heas47's review against another edition
5.0
I can see why this lovely story was picked up by blaze because I was singed by this erotica compilation. Love this author and this was a great find for my shelf!
emilygaynier's review against another edition
3.0
Okay so this book in my opinion was odd. I think it would've been better as a romcom with no spicy scenes because the spice wasn't very good. I actually really like the plot and most of the character, but every conversation sounded exactly the same. I almost wish I had read this a few months back because I might've liked it more then.
I'm putting most of my thoughts behind a spoiler warning because my mom follows me on this site along with other family.
Also the banter and flirting in this book gave everyone the same tone. It cooled down the sex scenes and made it sound like the gay men getting married were flirting with everyone and everyone was flirting back. I get that three of the characters have know each other since high school or before, but even if people talk similarly, the reader should be able to tell who is talking in any given scene.
I really did enjoy the plot. I kind of wish this had focused more on a woman getting away after ending her relationship and finding love during her long vacation. Something a lot more slow burn
I'm putting most of my thoughts behind a spoiler warning because my mom follows me on this site along with other family.
Spoiler
The sex scenes read like the author wanted to be kinky but also really laid back about everything. In the first spicy scene, the Hero basically is like it's not gonna suck itself and is really "commanding". I don't mind crudeness in my romance books, but it wasn't sexy. Also him telling Joey what to do in the bedroom wasn't any more intense then some average or basic spice scenes. I mean, I do about that level of commanding in the bedroom!Also the banter and flirting in this book gave everyone the same tone. It cooled down the sex scenes and made it sound like the gay men getting married were flirting with everyone and everyone was flirting back. I get that three of the characters have know each other since high school or before, but even if people talk similarly, the reader should be able to tell who is talking in any given scene.
I really did enjoy the plot. I kind of wish this had focused more on a woman getting away after ending her relationship and finding love during her long vacation. Something a lot more slow burn
sarful's review against another edition
5.0
A perfect fantasy of read. Man is Tiffany Reisz good.
After a bad breakup Jo goes home to attend to her wounds and her brother's wedding, only to find the love her life, and ultimately her future. I dug every moment.
After a bad breakup Jo goes home to attend to her wounds and her brother's wedding, only to find the love her life, and ultimately her future. I dug every moment.
karlainromancelandia's review against another edition
3.0
Cute, fun, and steamy… but ultimately not super memorable? Still would recommend for a quick fun read.
aquietglow's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, the dialog and all the relationships are fantastic.
sandlynn's review against another edition
2.0
Needing a book that featured Halloween in some way for a reading challenge, I picked up Tiffany Reisz’ Her Halloween Treat, published in 2016 from Harlequin’s Blaze line.
I hadn’t read a book from the Blaze line — which is a category, sexually explicit romance — in many years, and to be honest, they don’t always work for me in terms of balancing the sexual content with every other aspect of the plot. However, I had read Tiffany Reisz once before —> The Bourbon Thief, a novel published by Mira that I gave an A-. That story was described as a southern gothic and it lived up to it in many ways with its juicy and “twisted” plot. Reisz could definitely tell a story. So, even though categories are more strictly defined and the reader knows something of what they are getting, I thought that Reisz would find a way to make Her Halloween Treat an enjoyable read.
In Her Halloween Treat, Joey Silvia, the heroine, is traveling from Hawaii where she works in PR for an airline, to Oregon - where she grew up - to attend her brother’s wedding. On the way there, she decides to stop in Los Angeles to surprise her boyfriend of two years who lives half of the time in L.A. and half in Hawaii. When she arrives at his home, a woman answers the door and Joey is shocked to find that her boyfriend has a wife! (I’m not spoiling anything; that’s literally in the blurb.) Devastated by his deception and her stupidity, Joey commiserates with her best friend, who advises her to quickly get over this guy by getting intimate with another.
In Oregon, Joey arrives at an old cabin of her family’s that she spent many a summer at as a child. She’s shocked to find that it has been completely and beautifully renovated. In fact, she walks in on the handyman who has worked this magic to find that its an old friend of her brother’s from high school, who she also used to hang with. Not only has Chris Steffensen renovated the cabin, he hasn’t done a bad job on himself. He has definitely filled out and become more attractive than she remembered. Heeding her girl friend’s advice, it doesn’t take long for Joey and Chris to jump into bed together with no plans for anything more. They are strictly going to accompany each other to her brother’s Halloween-themed wedding with a little sexual satisfaction on the side — well, actually, more than a little.
For me, this would have been a better story if the author had shown us more of Joey and Chris’ interactions outside of the bedroom. Scenes of the past that establish their teenage relationship are told to us instead of shown. Then, we hop right back into a sex scene, in the present day, instead of seeing them get reacquainted as adults. Chapter after chapter of sex, with Joey telling herself, her friend, and Chris that there can be nothing more. Well, there was nothing more … that we saw. It’s only later in the book that we learn about Chris’ hopes to get Joey to stay in Oregon and why, and his work for her brother, renovating cabins and creating a backwood's cabin vacation destination. All of this might have been brought forward to give some depth to the story. The part of the book I most enjoyed were the scenes with Joey, Chris, and her brother leading up the wedding. Also, the wedding itself was a delight and quite funny, which made me realize what this could’ve been. With more of that instead of pages and pages of sex, *I* would’ve been satisfied. I would give this one a gentlewoman’s C.
I hadn’t read a book from the Blaze line — which is a category, sexually explicit romance — in many years, and to be honest, they don’t always work for me in terms of balancing the sexual content with every other aspect of the plot. However, I had read Tiffany Reisz once before —> The Bourbon Thief, a novel published by Mira that I gave an A-. That story was described as a southern gothic and it lived up to it in many ways with its juicy and “twisted” plot. Reisz could definitely tell a story. So, even though categories are more strictly defined and the reader knows something of what they are getting, I thought that Reisz would find a way to make Her Halloween Treat an enjoyable read.
In Her Halloween Treat, Joey Silvia, the heroine, is traveling from Hawaii where she works in PR for an airline, to Oregon - where she grew up - to attend her brother’s wedding. On the way there, she decides to stop in Los Angeles to surprise her boyfriend of two years who lives half of the time in L.A. and half in Hawaii. When she arrives at his home, a woman answers the door and Joey is shocked to find that her boyfriend has a wife! (I’m not spoiling anything; that’s literally in the blurb.) Devastated by his deception and her stupidity, Joey commiserates with her best friend, who advises her to quickly get over this guy by getting intimate with another.
In Oregon, Joey arrives at an old cabin of her family’s that she spent many a summer at as a child. She’s shocked to find that it has been completely and beautifully renovated. In fact, she walks in on the handyman who has worked this magic to find that its an old friend of her brother’s from high school, who she also used to hang with. Not only has Chris Steffensen renovated the cabin, he hasn’t done a bad job on himself. He has definitely filled out and become more attractive than she remembered. Heeding her girl friend’s advice, it doesn’t take long for Joey and Chris to jump into bed together with no plans for anything more. They are strictly going to accompany each other to her brother’s Halloween-themed wedding with a little sexual satisfaction on the side — well, actually, more than a little.
For me, this would have been a better story if the author had shown us more of Joey and Chris’ interactions outside of the bedroom. Scenes of the past that establish their teenage relationship are told to us instead of shown. Then, we hop right back into a sex scene, in the present day, instead of seeing them get reacquainted as adults. Chapter after chapter of sex, with Joey telling herself, her friend, and Chris that there can be nothing more. Well, there was nothing more … that we saw. It’s only later in the book that we learn about Chris’ hopes to get Joey to stay in Oregon and why, and his work for her brother, renovating cabins and creating a backwood's cabin vacation destination. All of this might have been brought forward to give some depth to the story. The part of the book I most enjoyed were the scenes with Joey, Chris, and her brother leading up the wedding. Also, the wedding itself was a delight and quite funny, which made me realize what this could’ve been. With more of that instead of pages and pages of sex, *I* would’ve been satisfied. I would give this one a gentlewoman’s C.
jamietherebelliousreader's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars. I really like Tiffany Reisz's writing but it definitely was not up to par here. The dialogue was terrible. So incredibly corny, try hard and cringey . I couldn't take it when Chris and Joey opened their mouths to say things to each other because I would just cringe. It was terrible especially during the sex scenes. Just completely ruined the mood with dumb dialogue. I hated it. Also, Chris was a rebound and I felt bad for him in that sense but other than that he and Joey were annoying. I didn't care for either of them and the relationship felt hollow. Very disappointed.
{Challenges completed:
✔For Love of a Book: Jack-O’-Lantern Challenge
✔For Love of a Book: Baking Challenge
✔For Love of a Book: Camping Team Challenge}
{Challenges completed:
✔For Love of a Book: Jack-O’-Lantern Challenge
✔For Love of a Book: Baking Challenge
✔For Love of a Book: Camping Team Challenge}