Three-in-One Pride!
Okay, if you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know how much I love me a novella, and how much I love a shared world, too. When I had the opportunity to take part in a shared world trio of novellas, I was super excited at the opportunity, and the result was “Hope Echoes,” which you can find in Three Left Turns to Nowhere, alongside two other novellas by Jeffrey Ricker and J. Marshall Freeman.
One of the reasons I was so excited to take part in these is how often I’ve enjoyed them in the past. Novellas are a funny thing: they’re not exactly cost-effective to print, so unless they’re bundled up, they tend to exist in an e-format only (though there are exceptions, of course).
I love me a good bundle. I love me a good novella. So, today, for Pride Month, let’s talk about two three-in-ones I’ve read and loved…
Once, Twice, Three times…Okay, so, I know it’s June, but we all now how I feel about queer holiday romance novellas, so I’m guessing you can imagine how I feel about three sapphic holiday romance novellas in a bundle? Did you guess “eee!”? If you did, you are correct.
When I first read All I Want for Christmas a couple of years ago, I was in a reading slump, and these three were one hundred percent what I needed at the time. Basically? All three are low-angst, HEA, queer holiday joy. Even better? We’ve got a fauxmance, a meet-cute, and a forced proximity. It’s like a holiday trifecta!
In Triple Dog Dare by Georgia Beers, Sasha Wolfe has been talking up her new girlfriend to her overbearing mother for months, and when her skeptical sister dares her to invite this new squeeze over for family Christmas, Sasha accepts the challenge. After all, how hard can it be to bring your nonexistent girlfriend home for the holidays?
In Hustle & Bustle by Maggie Cummings, Hannah Monroe is ready to dazzle customers with her pop-up shop at NYC’s winter holiday market. NYPD beat cop Toby Beckett, who just wants to protect and serve, barely notices the spirit of the season until events keep pushing her into Hannah’s path.
In A Christmas Miracle by Fiona Riley, Mira Donahue’s bar, Mirage, is the hottest Christmas party venue in Boston, despite Mira’s secret: she hates Christmas. When self-described Queen of Carols Courtney Rivers books Mirage for her company’s holiday party, she clashes with Mira over the plans. Then a freak storm strands them in the bar, and more than miracles abound.
If you’ve hung out around here, you know I love me an Aurora Rey romance, and I’ll admit the sole reason I nabbed this collection was to get to Aurora Rey’s “Lead Counsel” into my eyeballs, but that’s another bit of joy we get from three-in-one novella collections: we get to read new-to-us authors!
While Office Romance isn’t always a theme I go for, the three different takes on this—professional encounters between former flings now co-workers, second-chance romance intersecting a big case, and an ice-queen thawing for her assistant makes for three different takes, and I appreciated how well all of them navigated the realities of the power dynamics in play (which is often my “eek” point with romances set in professional settings).
Going to work never felt so good. Three office romance novellas from talented writers Julie Cannon, Aurora Rey, and M. Ullrich.
In For Your Eyes Only by Julie Cannon: Dress for success takes on a very different meaning. CFO Riley Stephenson finds herself in a particularly difficult position when the stripper she’s fallen for shows up at her office – as her new employee.
In Lead Counsel by Aurora Rey: Attorney Elisa Gonzalez is happy working behind the scenes while still having time for a life. All that changes when her firm takes on a major case and Parker Jones, powerhouse litigator and her law school crush, is named lead counsel.
In Opportunity of a Lifetime by M. Ullrich: Luca Garner is eager and hardworking but her new boss is a total nightmare: snarky and uncooperative, not to mention an ice queen. VP Stephanie Austin doesn’t mean to be unkind but the last thing she wants is an assistant getting under her skin, especially one who is as attractive as she is kind.
Have you bumped into any bundles you’ve adored? Picked up an anthology for one author and found a new favourite? Tell me all about it.
