WINTER'S COMING!

WINTER IS COMING SO WARM IT UP WITH...

5 LOGS ON THE FIRE for:

HEATING UP the HOLIDAYS

 Featuring: Lisa Renee Jones
                       Mary Ann Rivers
                Serena Bell


PLAY WITH ME
Lisa Renee Jones

Okay, so I'll admit to it up front...I'm a HUGE Lisa fan! And I mean HUGE!! So imagine my delight in her sexy, naughty addition to this fabulous anthology. I will try not to be biased but I have to be honest, even before the first word was read I was squealing with glee.

Kali Miller takes a chance at finding herself and some much deserved happiness and takes a job in the land of sin...Las Vegas, only when she arrives said job disappears like a coin in a slot machine. She has left everything behind and needs a job, needs to feel empowered and in charge of her life again. This drive pushes her into Damion Ward's world. A world that she's been immersed in before, so it leaves her leery at first.

"I'm bruised, not broken..."

High stakes, overload of power and a man that asks no questions, only demands that everyone fall in line has Kali questioning every moment they spend together. As she tries to examine Damion's actions and the ever present, ever undeniable lust that flows between them she also is trying her best to keep her head above water and do the job to the best of her ability.

"...the scent of him seems to chase me. It's spicy and wintery, stirring the oddest memory of a candle my mom used to burn during the holidays..."

These two are combustible! The heat and lust is a living breathing character within the story. Lisa's incredible talent to make you feel every nuance and desire makes this a decadent holiday treat. Kali is not a broken woman and she stands up to Damion at every turn forcing him to take down the walls he's built up in his life. The only problem with that is that this spunky reporter is pulled in much deeper, much faster than she could imagine. She definitely bites off more than she thinks she can chew. Damion pushes and Kali pushes right back, each what the other never knew they needed most in life.

 "I would have liked that but the staff gave me the impression they thought I was the newest chick chasing the millionaire CEO."

I loved this story! Loved that Lisa gives us a woman who needs a man to support her and not make her. I love that this wonderful, sexy and intelligent man is a broken boy at heart. What I did not love was the ending...or lack of it! Yes I'm a greedy girl and I want more! I want to know what happens next, I want to know that the secrets they share do not break them. Mostly I want to see their Christmas! Thank You Lisa and NetGalley, once again it is FABULOUS!

SNOWFALL
Mary Ann Rivers

OMG!! Why have I never heard of this woman before? Where has she been hiding and how can I make her my new BF? I am speechless...completely and utterly speechless. Yes, that is how good this short story is! I am a mom of an only...and I felt the love flow with each word. I read this over a week ago and am still surrounded by the love and fear that I felt within these pages.

"We share the same philosophy, which is that whatever it is you're doing, you do for love. Your work, the friendships you extend, the person you fall for and hope is the one-start with love."

Yes, I know...and that little gem is only page 5! It is a beautifully written heart-filled story of love and hope. Jenny; super smart, undeniably beautiful (even if she's clueless about it...especially since she's clueless) and in the fight of her life. Hundreds of miles from home, from her anchor and alone in dealing with a life changing ordeal. Or so she thinks, having moved far from home to research at the lab of her dreams Jenny hasn't let anyone in. Her fear takes control of her life and makes everything else even worse.

"My mom is connected like that, she wants to understand why people do what they do and love what they love."

She shuts out the world as hers narrows even further and finds a connection of sorts on-line. It starts out innocently and builds into something steamy  and yet empty. Still she shuts everyone out. I hate spoilers and with this story especially, I refuse to deny anyone the joy of reading this masterpiece. So, it's fair to say that a relationship that only exists within the blinking cursor of a cold laptop I no relationship at all.

Fear not, because even when you shut yourself out there are still people waiting for you to notice them and when you do it makes life worth living again. Evan does that, he pushes and challenges Jenny to be what he sees in her. He is loveable and awkward and just wonderful. My God he loves her mind! Like is totally hot for her brilliance. I love him. Evan's confidence and lack there of on occasion was sweet and real. Don't get me wrong I love an Alpha, but its also nice to have a guy who's just head over heels stupid with love.

"I feel like it was like, this aperture. Like you couldn't, at first, handle too much light, you'd be exposed, Lincoln was a way to let in just enough, and then maybe, I hope maybe, you can take in more light, and be Jenny, with me, who was always Evan. It was always me. And my amazement is so connected to all of it, to all these tiny moving parts that added up."

This is an intelligent, heart-filled story about life. About the things and people that anchor you when the world is dark. Ms. Rivers brings to point that its the people and moments that fill up and illuminate your world. So I'm going to hang my lights (tons of them) way up high for all to see. Because I'm here and I'm okay and I love my life. Thank you Mary Ann for the best early holiday gift I've ever had!

AFTER MIDNIGHT
Serena Bell

It's New Year's Eve and you'd rather be anywhere but here. We've all been there, running away from problems only to be confronted with how much worse it could be. Miles' life is falling apart; his job and reputation are in danger and his heart still aches from the stomping it was given. Nora is trying to prove a point; to herself to the world...who cares, all that matters is that he did not break her. So together they are trying to hide their pain and melt into the crowd unscathed until midnight. But what do you do when the attraction is undeniable and inescapable.

"They probably put some crazy pheromones in that stuff, grizzly-bear sex-gland extract or something."

This is a hilarious read. Between the serious, hurt Miles and the impulsive, beavis and butthead musings of Nora I laughed my way through a wonderful love story. These two are the example of animal magnetism, but never take it too seriously. It so worked for them, neither wants to be too heavy even if they both want nothing more than to lay themselves bare for the other. It was heartbreaking to move from his to her point of view.

"It's possible midnight will never come...It's possible we'll be stuck here like this forever..."

All that's left unsaid and unexpressed. I yelled and shook my e-reader in frustration. Always the sign of a good read in my opinion. Nora is life in Technicolor and Miles needs that in his life, badly. I read on with frustration and desperation. Why wouldn't he answer his phone? Why didn't she just tell the truth? Why the hell would anyone screw either of them? But, and I don't like spoilers...I loved it. Every frustratingly steamy funny word! I'm looking forward to some more fun, unavoidable love from a wonderful author. Serena, thank you so much for a New Year's Eve worth staying up for!