Type: Contemporary Romance, Christmas
Heat: 2/3 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5Not bad. Not bad at all. To All A Good Night was a delicious holiday read filled with sexy men and spunky women. Lots of heat and delightful adventure. Basically it's some good not-so-clean Christmas fun ;) There's no real connecting theme other than, maybe, finding love when you least expect it? I really loved two of the stories (Shalvis and Dimon). Both are easily 5 star stories.
When Emma Lafferty is hired by a billionaire CEO to watch his pets over the holidays, she expects to enjoy a quiet Christmas in opulent surroundings. What she doesn't expect is to spend the week trapped in the mansion with the CEO's sexy great-nephew??-and heir-whose motives are as shady as his desire is crystal clear....
I loved the whole concept of a petsitter expecting a quiet week with her charges but getting a surprise house guest that runs amok trying to uncover a family secret. A winter storm knocking out the power and creating an intimate little world. Sounds like a good time. There were some great parts. The dogs, Jack and Martha, were adorable and so well written. The writing moved along nicely and was easy to read. Things were hot and steamy between Emma and Trevor and I LOVED their first meet up. They did hit on one of my pet peeves though. In less than 24 hours Emma and Trevor are madly in love, planning their future together and Emma is moving to a new state to be with him. Gah! Eye. Twitch.
The big problem though was that Trevor has spent more than a decade trying to uncover his family secret then as soon as the answer is right there in front of him he decides he doesn't want to know the truth because Emma's what matters to him now. Huh? I REALLY don't like unfinished storylines and to me this was unfinished. I wanted to know the truth even if Trevor didn't. Then the epilogue there's a random comment about an unknown "relative" some how finding out the family secret. And STILL we don't know what it was. Drives me crazy. Kauffman's story started out strong but in the end it pushed too many of my buttons and more or less fizzled.
Finding Mr. Right by Jill Shalvis (5 out of 5)
Brilliant chemist Maggie Bell has a knack for choosing Mr. Wrong, and with yet another lonely Christmas looming, she decides it's time to alter the equation-and seek out someone who seems totally wrong for her. Enter Jacob Wahler, the rough and rippling contractor who's about as far from Maggie's type as he could get. But suddenly what's wrong for Maggie seems oh-so-right....
The big problem though was that Trevor has spent more than a decade trying to uncover his family secret then as soon as the answer is right there in front of him he decides he doesn't want to know the truth because Emma's what matters to him now. Huh? I REALLY don't like unfinished storylines and to me this was unfinished. I wanted to know the truth even if Trevor didn't. Then the epilogue there's a random comment about an unknown "relative" some how finding out the family secret. And STILL we don't know what it was. Drives me crazy. Kauffman's story started out strong but in the end it pushed too many of my buttons and more or less fizzled.
Finding Mr. Right by Jill Shalvis (5 out of 5)
Brilliant chemist Maggie Bell has a knack for choosing Mr. Wrong, and with yet another lonely Christmas looming, she decides it's time to alter the equation-and seek out someone who seems totally wrong for her. Enter Jacob Wahler, the rough and rippling contractor who's about as far from Maggie's type as he could get. But suddenly what's wrong for Maggie seems oh-so-right....
Turns out Shalvis is just as good at writing a short story as she is a full length novel. The writing's excellent, the storyline creative and the characters lovable. I busted out laughing several times reading this one which earned me some funny looks from the herd. The chemistry between Jacob and Maggie was fantastic and there was even a little bit of a mystery involved which I really enjoyed. The ending was a little over the top but still an entertaining read that had me smiling and wishing it were just a little longer so I didn't have to give them up quite so soon. Overall this was pretty typical Shalvis: delightful, fun and a damn good time. Really can't ask for more than that.
Can You Hand Me the Tape? by HelenKay Dimon (5 out of 5)"So you wanted me to be your Mr. Wrong," he said. "To break your not-quite-two-year dry spell with some hot sex." He arched his brow. "Were there any particulars? Special requests? Kinks?
She sighed. "Do you have to be crude?"
"Oh, baby, if you think that's crude, then we're going to be in trouble when we get down to the doing."
Natalie Pritchard is desperate. It's a week before Christmas and she's lost the naughty tape she made for her now-ex-boyfriend. She's so desperate, in fact, that she'll turn to her nemesis Spencer Donovan for help. The sexy criminal defense attorney would be only too happy to assist-but can Natalie afford his price?
Ahhh. What a wonderful surprise! Dimon has definitely found a new fan. Her main couple was so much fun with their slightly antagonistic relationship. The chemistry was working for me and the sex scenes were steamy and well written. Watching their relationship change was very entertaining. One of the things I liked most about this one was that Natalie was a realistic heroine. She's a little overweight and even has stretchmarks. Spencer isn't the smoothest guy and he does manage to put his foot in his mouth more than once but he's such a good man and I LOVED how he helped convince her he wanted her just how she was. That he thought her body and everything about her was perfect. There's no real mystery or suspense but it's a great time and a fun read. Can't wait to see what Dimon can do with a full length novel because she totally rocked the short story.
"You have a sister?"
"Two." His mouth kicked up in a smile. "And parents."
"Oh." Of course that made sense on some level.
"You think I fell to Earth in a spaceship?"
"Kind of."
