A review by beckymmoe
1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Eight by Riley Hart, Liliana Hart, Jennifer Lyon, Christopher Rice, Melissa Foster, Rebecca Zanetti
4.0
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.
[b:Kiss the Flame|23737465|Kiss the Flame (Desire Exchange, #1.5)|Christopher Rice|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418186728s/23737465.jpg|43349371] 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 [b:The Flame|20648770|The Flame (Desire Exchange, #0.5)|Christopher Rice|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390955519s/20648770.jpg|27670308] and novel [b:The Surrender Gate|23737313|The Surrender Gate (Desire Exchange, #1)|Christopher Rice|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418186170s/23737313.jpg|43349212]) and cannot wait to find out what Lillianna's mysterious note means--hopefully we'll find out soon!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
[b:Daring Her Love: A Bradens Novella|23668746|Daring Her Love A Bradens Novella (The Bradens #12.5; Love in Bloom #22; 1001 Dark Nights #30)|Melissa Foster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417664465s/23668746.jpg|43275943] 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
[b:Teased|23737023|Teased (Dark Protectors, #7.5)|Rebecca Zanetti|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418185229s/23737023.jpg|43348977] by Rebecca Zanetti
I accidentally read the second book in this trilogy ([b:Tricked|28151360|Tricked (Dark Protectors, #7.75)|Rebecca Zanetti|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449650720s/28151360.jpg|48165365]) 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+
[b:The Promise of Surrender|23799136|The Promise of Surrender (The MacKenzie Family #13.5)|Liliana Hart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418454249s/23799136.jpg|43413276] 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+
[b:Savaged Surrender|30988380|Savaged Surrender|Jennifer Lyon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1468367904s/30988380.jpg|51614257] 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
[b:Jumpstart|30830789|Jumpstart (Crossroads #3.5)|Riley Hart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475249830s/30830789.jpg|51425344] 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-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
[b:Kiss the Flame|23737465|Kiss the Flame (Desire Exchange, #1.5)|Christopher Rice|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418186728s/23737465.jpg|43349371] 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 [b:The Flame|20648770|The Flame (Desire Exchange, #0.5)|Christopher Rice|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390955519s/20648770.jpg|27670308] and novel [b:The Surrender Gate|23737313|The Surrender Gate (Desire Exchange, #1)|Christopher Rice|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418186170s/23737313.jpg|43349212]) and cannot wait to find out what Lillianna's mysterious note means--hopefully we'll find out soon!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
[b:Daring Her Love: A Bradens Novella|23668746|Daring Her Love A Bradens Novella (The Bradens #12.5; Love in Bloom #22; 1001 Dark Nights #30)|Melissa Foster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417664465s/23668746.jpg|43275943] 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
[b:Teased|23737023|Teased (Dark Protectors, #7.5)|Rebecca Zanetti|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418185229s/23737023.jpg|43348977] by Rebecca Zanetti
I accidentally read the second book in this trilogy ([b:Tricked|28151360|Tricked (Dark Protectors, #7.75)|Rebecca Zanetti|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449650720s/28151360.jpg|48165365]) 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+
[b:The Promise of Surrender|23799136|The Promise of Surrender (The MacKenzie Family #13.5)|Liliana Hart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418454249s/23799136.jpg|43413276] 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+
[b:Savaged Surrender|30988380|Savaged Surrender|Jennifer Lyon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1468367904s/30988380.jpg|51614257] 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
[b:Jumpstart|30830789|Jumpstart (Crossroads #3.5)|Riley Hart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475249830s/30830789.jpg|51425344] 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-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.