Customer Reviews

Naughty or Nice?

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been eagerly awaiting this anthology since I heard about it earlier this year. If it was anything like last year's ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS, it was going to be a book to keep me warm. I was not disappointed.
First up is SANTA, BABY by Patricia Ryan. It is about a PI that is hired to lure away the mistress of a married man. The PI reluctantly agreed to this because he was attracted to the heroine, who is the unenlightened mistress.While the writing was excellent, I did have some problem with believing that an intelligent, modern woman could not see the warning signs that her older boyfriend is married.

Next was LOVE BYTES. Great story. It is about two coworkers who fantasize about one another secretly. When the heroine gets the chance to "make-over" the hero, sparks fly between the two. It was entertaining, with a little humor thrown in. The writing was a little uneven, but over all was an excellent story. The only drawback was a little error in the epilogue about a cruise. I am surprised editing did not catch this.

The third story was NAUGHTY UNDER THE MISTLETOE. It is about a woman who is about to act on her fantasy about a man. But the man she kisses looks like her man, but is really his twin. The kisses turn hot and they embark on discovering one another. This story was my favorite of the anthology. The part of the story where they are playing billiards and afterwards is a scorcher.

The final story is A CHRISTMAS CHARADE. The first three stories were set in modern times. This is set in Regency times. I felt it was out of place compared to the first three, but a hot story nonetheless. It is about a couple who meet, make love and due to unforeseen circumstances do not see one another for several months. The ending love scene is hot.

On the whole, this was a good anthology. It did not exceed or disappoint my expectations of NAUGHTY OR NICE? They are, for the most part, well written and stories one can cuddle up with on a cold winter night. (On the other hand, you may want to have your significant other close at hand after reading these hot stories.) I recommend this anthology if you are looking to pick up one for Christmas reading and enjoy a little steam in your books.

I love anthologies and this is the best of the season so far. Hot and spice, it's guaranteed to stir up more than just eggnog.

I had a little trouble at first with Santa Baby's premise, but that was my own hang-up. I didn't like the idea of the set-up at all, but once I got past it, it was a delightful story.

Love Bytes was by far the best of the lot with some great laughs and steamy, steamy sex. Adrian is the kind of hero we all wish we could find under our Christmas tree.

Naughty under the mistletoe uses the staid and overused mistaken twin, but delivers a fresh twist on it.

A Christmas charade was very charming and endearing and hot. Definitely a story to roast chestnuts by.

Santa, Baby by Patricia Ryan
I confess this plot did not interest me, therefore I skipped over it after reading the first chapter, hopefully Ill get around to reading it in the future.

Love Bytes by Sherrilyn Kenyon*****
A must read! Tomboyish Samantha Parker has had the hots for her boss, Adrian Cole for over a year, what she does not know/believe is that he has felt the same way. Well, it all hit the fan when Sam gives him a kiss of comfort after witnessing an argument he has with his sister, Heather. Will he be her knight in shining armor or will he ignore the attraction in order to keep him job? Another hot contemporary romance by Ms. Kenyon, it will keep you captivated until the end.

Naughty Under the Mistletoe by Carly Phillips*****
Toni is attracted to her boss but has kept her hands to herself. Well now that she has earned a promotion and will no longer be working with Stephan Corbin, she decides to celebrate and bring in the New Year getting naughty with him at the company Christmas party. She had no idea that she really was not attracted to Stephan until after she mistakenly locked lips with his twin, Max in a very naughty kiss. Completely embarrassed, Toni makes a beeline for the Christmas tree and throws herself into being Santas elf. Max immediately hunts down his twin to stake his claim on Toni.

Even though this plot is the common mistaken identity of a twin, Ms. Phillips does a brilliant job with it. This is a fast paced, hot romance that will make you want to run out and get you some mistletoe.

A Christmas Charade by Kathryn Smith*****
Mrs. Vail aka Elizabeth is a spy for England on a mission to rescue a spy named Maxwell aka Garrett, Viscount Praed currently locked in a French prison. The couple is instantly attracted to one another and dont deny the lust they feel but agreeably act on it during their return trip on her boat. Mr. Maxwell is not married and doubts that there is a woman still awaiting his return from the war and Mrs. Vail husband died fighting for his first love-his country. Once the boat is docked, Maxwell is so enthralled by her that he invites her met him at the Pultney Hotel for dinner the following night. Elizabeth arrives at the hotel right behind Garrett as hes getting out of his expensive carriage-knew she was out of her league and after confirming his status quickly flees. After awaiting her for hours and an extensive search for her at the Home Office, Garrett admits defeat and returns to the war. Knowing she can not have him, Elizabeth gives up the spy business, sells her boat, goes to Devonshire and purchases a cottage in the tiny village near to coast of Exeter thinking it would not be close to Garretts home town. She has befriended Regina the wife of an earl that shuns societys ranks and accepts her invitation to spend Christmas with Reginas family. Garrett, Reginas recently betrothed brother is also en-route. What a surprise for them to unexpectedly meet again 8 months later.

Anticipation will keep you turning the pages of this hot historical romance.

It's rare I pick up an anthology and enjoy every story, but Naughty or Nice really put me in the holiday groove. Patricia Ryan kicks off her story, Santa, Baby, with the unforgettable line, "I want you to steal my husband's girlfriend from him." As it turns out the rather naive girlfriend is unaware of her suitor's irate wife, and the P.I. sent to steal her finds his heart in her hot little hands...

Sherrilyn Kenyon delivers a sexy and fun tale of friends who've never dared to break the office taboo and connect, until one sizzling kiss and the promise of love convince them to risk it all.

In Love Bytes we discover the mouthwatering Adrian Cole, a smitten boy genius with a serious crush on his web designer. Color blind and clueless when it comes to impressing the opposite sex, he finally finds a way to connect with Sam, the girl of his dreams, when he submits to her makeover.

Already in love with Adrian, Sam falls even deeper when she sees just how well the man cleans up. But how will she keep him when the vultures start swooping in on the now gorgeous Mr. Cole?

Carly Phillips brings us a tale about a lonely lawyer intent on seducing her current crush under the mistletoe. But things go a awry when she finds herself kissing his twin instead...

Kathryn Smith entices us with a tale about a captured English spy and the daring rescuer who turns out to be more than 'he' seems...

Four novellas in one book. Each one is a story of how love was found between two special people.

The first story is "Santa, Baby" by Patricia Ryan. Jack O'Leary is a P.I. hired by a woman to lure Katherine Peale away from her husband.

The second story (my personal favorite) is "Love Bytes" by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Samantha Parker falls in love with her computer genius boss, Adrian Cole.

The third story is "Naughty Under The Mistletoe" by Carly Phillips. In this hot story Antonia Larson decided to make her move on her boss while they were under the mistletoe. Instead, her move was made on the twin brother, Maxwell Corbin!

And last, but definitely not least, is "A Christmas Charade" by Kathryn Smith. This story is the only one set in the past. It is set in 1815 during war time for England and France. It is also the only story set among danger! Elizabeth Vail is a spy who rescues Garrett Maxwell from a French prison.

**** See? I told you each story was special! Perfect reading for a special time of year. Hold these four delectable men within the palms of your hands and I do not believe you will be disappointed! ****

This collection of romantic short stories is a good pick-me-up for a bad or rainy days. All the stories are independent from one another. The only thing that links them all together is a Christmas theme.

The best story out of the four is Sherrilyn Kenyon's LOVE BYTES. It is story of two co-workers who are attracted to each other but their own personal insecurities keep them apart. Adrian is Samantha's supervisor and office relationships are discouraged. It is not until one of them is down and the other tries to cheer him up that their love blossoms. The story is nice and sweet even though there are some loose ends by the end of the story. This collection of novellas is fine as an escape after a bad or rough day but that's about it. It is not Masterpiece Theater

In this 4 novella holiday themed anthology I found a variety of writing styles and heroes.

Santa, Baby by Patricia Ryan features P I Jack O' Leary and high society femme fatal Kathleen Peale. His job is to seduce her and his reward will be $50,000. The writing was good. I liked reading Ryan's story. At times I wished there was more character interaction and less background, but even in short stories there needs to be a little background.

Love Bytes by Sherrilyn Kenyon was a complete departure from what I am used to. I like her writing about sexy, dangerous Dark Hunters. Still. I did enjoy her story involving Adrian the 6 foot 5 computer geek and Sam the chubby but cute employee. Sherrilyn makes me enjoy the characters first then tells the story. She's good with novellas, even if they aren't paranormal.

I skipped Carly Phillips novella b/c I had read it before. Naughty under the mistletoe is featured in another anthology I just can't remember which one.

The final story by Kathryn Smith titled The Christmas Charade was set in 1815 England. The whole historical theme is almost always lost on me. I toughed it out and found an author I'd want to look up for a full length novel. Or at least a theme with which I would be entertained by. Viscounts and the ladies they love.

Finally got around to reading this anthology. I put these in my purse for when I have to sit and wait but ended up reading the whole thing in a few hours. I thought I would like the contemporary stories better but ended up liking Kathryn Smith's Regency era story, A Christmas Charade, much more.

Very emotional with the hero actually being very sensitive and caring without being girly and the heroine being pragmatic without being considered cold hearted. Of course, being a short story, everything is resolved rather quickly in the end but I still felt satisfied and happy for the characters, with one of the end results being that I will now add Smith to my TBR shelf AND learn more about charades (at the time more commonly played with riddles rather than gestures) which she used to drive the story.

3 stars because of Ms. Smith.

The only thing you can say about Carly is sizzling! Once you start her books you can't put them down. This one is no exception.

Carly Phillips pens a short story at once incredibly sexy and incredibly pleasing. NAUGHTY UNDER THE MISTLETOE just goes to shop how a mistaken impulse under the mistletoe can lead to the love a lifetime.

Antonia Larson has been good for much too long. Unflagging dedication and performing to perfection have lead to a fabulous reward of senior associate to work in a new office. Naughtiness doesn't fit into the ladder of success. But now it's Christmas Eve, she's been assigned to a new office, and its time to play. Toni plans to to seduce Stephan, the firm's self-proclaimed bachelor.

Toni's elf costume only enhanced her charms, and Max can't resist what he sees. Never mind the most mind blowing kiss of his life was meant for his twin brother. Toni's mortification at kissing the wrong man comes second to the incredible chemistry they share. Now it's up to Max to convince her the kiss under the mistletoe can lead to something beautiful and lasting.

Author Carly Phillips has a knack for perfectly capturing the contradictions of love and career for successful women. Once again she creates a strong heroine who learns that love need not mean walking away from one's professional life. As the game playing escalates, walking a careful line between naughty and nice, everyone comes out a winner. Very highly recommended.