Once Upon a Halloween Night Anthology

by Lauren Helms, Aubree Valentine, Kate Stacy

Congratulations!

You’ve been invited to attend the exclusive Once Upon A Halloween Night bash.

This year, join us in New Orleans Warehouse District on Halloween Night for an evening of fun, costumes and… romance?

Wait. What?

That’s right.

The Indie Pen PR and Beyond the Bookshelf Publishing are proud to host Lauren Helms, Aubree Valentine, Kate Stacy, Mel Walker, Susan Renee, Kartina Marie, Courtney W. Dixon, and Louise Lennox - in this fun Halloween romance anthology.

So, throw on your best costume and get ready to sit back and enjoy eight brand new novellas to celebrate this spooky season with a romantic twist.

ebook

Expected publication October 3, 2023

About the author

Lauren Helms is a romance author her nerdy and flirty contemporary words. Lauren has forever been an avid reader from the beginning. After starting a book review website, that catapulted her fully into the book world, she knew that something was missing. While working for a video game strategy guide publisher, she decided to mix what she knew best--video games and romance. She decided to take the plunge and write her first novel, Level Me Up. Several published novels later, Lauren, with her book bestie, also formed PR company, Forever Write PR, to help other authors promote their books.

Lauren lives in Indianapolis, Indiana sharing her love of books and video games with her own Gamer Boy husband and three little kid nerds who will hopefully grow up to share the love of things that united Lauren and her husband on their own happily ever after.

You can connect with Lauren in the following ways:

Read her Books on Amazon!
LIKE on Facebook!
Subscribe to her Newsletter
Follow on Instagram

Reviews

[Simoné · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note this is a review for Courtney W. Dixon’s Masked Love.

Masked Love is a short M/M romance featuring a boss and employee (with an age gap), a Halloween party with elaborate costumes, witty banter, a steamy evening, and a swoony happily ever after.

Greyson’s been Xander’s personal assistant for two extremely busy months. Greyson’s looking forward to an evening off at a Halloween party with his friends, but Xander has other plans - he needs Greyson to attend a Halloween party with him. However, not everything is as it seems as Greyson learns that Xander’s invited him to the party under false pretenses. As the two get to know each other beyond their professional relationship, Xander is obligated to tell Greyson what his true intentions are…could this change everything?

“Well, I thought you were grumpy but hot as hell. I still think you’re sexy, but I’m glad you aren’t grumpy. And not just for me, but for you. You deserve to be happy, and I wasn’t sure you were.”

This was such a cute short story from Courtney W. Dixon! Despite the short length of the story, it had a great balance of steam, romance, and fun banter. It was a pleasure watching Greyson and Xander’s relationship develop as their quick story progressed and they both realized not everything that they thought about the other man was true. If you’re looking for a quick, fun read just in time for Halloween, consider giving Masked Love a read.

Do you hear that sound? That’s the sound of me falling harder.

I received an ARC of this story from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for Masked Love only, a novella by Courtney W. Dixon that is part of the Once Upon a Halloween Night anthology.

My constant complaint about novellas is that they seem unfinished or rushed. Masked Love is a happy exception. Xander is a boss in despair. He really needs a date to convince his grandfather he’s happily in love and in a committed relationship so he could get off his back. And handsome and obedient assistant sounds like a good idea to make his plan work. Maybe Xander abused his power and forced his employee to do something he didn’t plan, but Greyson was secretly happy that his boss chose him, because ever since he started working for Xander he couldn’t take his eyes off of him…

I liked everything about this story: boss/employee trope, secret crushes, Halloween party where not-so-dark magic happened, timid first kiss and steamy first sex, demanding and slightly untrusting grandfather and adorable coworkers turned lovers.

Once Upon a Halloween Night is a collaboration of authors of both MM and MF romance. It’s fun, romantic and not scary at all 👻

[Oceane · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I want love. A real relationship where my partner loves me back. Where we laugh, get along, travel together, kiss in public, sometimes we’re silly, or finish each other’s sentences.”

This review is for part of the Once Upon A Halloween Night Anthology.

"Masked Love" is a Halloween short story by Courtney W. Dixon that follows Greyson and Xander. The premise is simple; Xander needs a date to a Halloween party and Greyson, as his new PA, can't say no. The date would only be taboo if it were real. And it's not real... right?

This was a fun little story with a little bit of steam that left me wanting more. How does Greyson and Xander's story end? What does their future hold? It's quite the feat to get me to care about characters in such a short amount of time, but Courtney did it by creating two multidimensional MCs.

Thank you to Courtney W. Dixon for the ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

—Only read Masked Love by Courtney W Dixon—

Boss & employee
Fake boyfriend
J/P
Spanking
Age gap

Such a cute story! I loved the dynamic that Greyson had with Xander. Greyson is Xander’s PA and definitely finds his older boss attractive. When Xander demands Greyson’s attendance at a Halloween party as his date, Greyson agrees because he’s only been working for Xander for a couple months and loves his job.

Once in the car, Xander confessed that this is a bit more than just attending a function together—they need to convince a potential suitor of Xander’s that they’re boyfriends.

Throughout the night, the two men discover more about each other and their attraction. What starts as a fake boyfriend could turn into more.

[Babara-Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by author Courtney W. Dixon for Masked Love.

This was a sweet, funny, poignant and engaging read as part of the Once Upon a Halloween Night Anthology.

Grayson Everett gets tricked by his gorgeous older boss Zander Heys to attend a Halloween event with him, unknowingly as his fake boyfriend, until they reach the event…

This one Halloween night is the night that changes their destiny but will it be a good change or a bad change?

Get ready for some sexy shenanigans and surprises- when the masks fall off- Trick or Treat?🎃

[Rhonda Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC for Masked Love by Courtney W. Dixon..

I so enjoyed reading about Xander and Greyson's "date night". Even if it's a quick read Courtney doesn't disappoint with an enchanted evening!! Oh yes...did I mention...It does have some explosive chemistry between the boss and his assistant, witty dialogue..and..YES a super hot night, maybe two??..be ready for that cold drink to cool off those flames...you will not be disappointed with this read!! I highly recommend this read...just in time to treat yourself for October...

I received this as an ARC for free and leaving my review voluntarily.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Arc Review for Masked Love*
Masked Love by Courtney W. Dixon is an upcoming Halloween short story in the Once Upon A Halloween Night anthology that you don’t want to miss!

4.25🌟/ 5

This was such a fun and quick read that left my Halloween/fall obsession satisfied.

Greyson and Xander’s chemistry was jumping off the pages and I could not get enough! I loved how their personality’s blended well, the fake dating and the banter was just incredible.

[Crystal Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Masked Love by Courtney W.Dixon.I loved Greyson and Xander. Xander is Greyson boss and Xander doesn't trust anyone easy ever since he was a kid and he was in foster care when his parents died. Xander used his stats as the boss to get Greyson to go to a party with him and pretend to be his boyfriend so his grandfather will leave him alone

[Stephani Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by Susan Renee - Ghosted features Oliver, who we met in Unfair Game, and Scarlett. In typical Susan Renee fashion, this story is funny, steamy, and swoony!

Reading the other short stories included gives insight into how different people experience the same event. A great, fun read!