ROPED IN: A Blacktop Cowboys(r) Novella by Lorelei James: When World champion bulldogger Sutton Grant is sidelined by an injury, he needs help keeping his horse in competition shape. London is humiliated when her boyfriend dumps her for a rodeo queen. What s worse, she s forced to see the lovebirds on the rodeo circuit every weekend. In an attempt to save face, London agrees to assist the notoriously mild, but ruggedly handsome Sutton Grant with his horse training problem on one condition: Sutton has to pretend to be her new boyfriend. But make believe doesn't last long between the sassy cowgirl and the laid-back bulldogger. TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT: A Midnight Breed Novella by Lara Adrian: Lazaro Archer, one of the eldest, most powerful of the Breed, is sworn to his duty as the leader of the Order s command center in Italy. When a covert mission takes a deadly wrong turn, Lazaro finds himself in the unlikely role of hero with a familiar, intriguing beauty he should not desire, but cannot resist. Melena Walsh has never forgotten the dashing Breed male who saved her life as a child. But the chivalrous hero of her past is in hard contrast to the embittered, dangerous man on whom her safety now depends. And with an unwanted yet undeniable desire igniting between them, Melena fears that Lazaro s protection may come at the price of her heart . THE FLAME: A Desire Exchange Novella by Christopher Rice: Cassidy Burke has the best of both worlds, a driven and successful husband and a wild, impulsive best friend. But after a decadent Mardi Gras party, Cassidy finds both men pulling away from her. Did the three of them awaken secret desires during a split-second of alcohol-fueled passion? Or is Mardi Gras a time when rules are meant to be broken without consequence? With the strike of a match and one tiny flame, she will call forth a supernatural being with the ultimate power the power to unchain the heart, the power to remove the fear that stands between a person and their truest desires. CARESS OF DARKNESS: A Dark Pleasures Novella by Julie Kenner: From the first moment I saw him, I knew that Rainer Engel was like no other man. Dangerously sexy and darkly mysterious, he both enticed me and terrified me. I wanted to run to fight against the heat that was building between us but there was nowhere to go. I needed his help as much as I needed his touch. And so help me, I knew that I would do anything he asked in order to have both. But even as our passion burned hot, the secrets in Raine s past reached out to destroy us and we would both have to make the greatest sacrifice to find a love that would last forever. Every Dark Nights tale is breathtakingly sexy and magically romantic."
Roped In by Lorelei James 3 Stars I liked the relationship between Sutton and London. For the most part. Admittedly, this was a novella, but their relationship did evolve way fast. Granted, their chemistry was amazing, but at the same time, they both acknowledged said chemistry and then ran away. I did like how they both had someone call them on their crap (London with her mother and Sutton with Tanna). I did kind of hate how Sutton was so unwilling to talk to London about her overall ideas regarding Stitch.
Tempted by Midnight by Lara Adrian 3 Stars I liked the way Melena called out Lazaro on his crap. He'd been running away for a while and was running away the entire time after he pulled her from the water. Yes, he had a bad thing happen (and isn't that always the way in these things?), but everyone seemed to see that he was running. Even if no one would actually say anything. I did find myself pegging the "big bad" pretty early; Melena made a comment about things and stuff just wasn't sitting right. At the same time, it did seem kind of out of left field. I found myself wanting a little more explanation on that; maybe it's something that comes in the rest of the series? One thing I wished was that there'd been a glossary or something in the back of the story. This is a novella in the middle of the series and there was a ton of stuff that was talked about, but in a way that the reader should have known what was going on. Some of it, I was able to infer, but I still would have like a description. I did like this and I do want to check out the rest of this series eventually.
The Flame by Christopher Rice 2.5 Stars This one...It was interesting and I did like the way Cassidy, Andrew and Shane all explored their feelings. But at the same time there was a little too much struggling for something that was supposed to be so "easy". If that candle was supposed to give them their desires, why all the backing and forthing? And I did kind of feel like the "ghosts" just didn't fit with the story. I think this one was part of a greater series and maybe there's more of a paranormal aspect there?
Caress of Darkness by Julie Kenner 3.5 Stars I actually really liked this story. The aspect of the Phoenix's was intriguing. And Raine's explanation of things was also highly intriguing. I found myself waffling between understanding Callie's fears/issues and wanting to have someone smack her. Yes, there was a lot going on and it was definitely a lot to handle, but she just kept running away because she couldn't handle it. In the end, Raine did end up essentially smacking her himself, but it was after he'd received an "you're being an idiot, go after her" conversation from Mal.
I've enjoyed some authors in this series (Larissa Ione), but by no means all of them. This one was a mixed bag. 1) Roped in: would give this one star. The writing was kitch, the story mundane and the physcial abuse they want to pass off as fun, just all in a days work "spanking" is just beyond tedious. Would pass on this one.
2) Tempted by midnight: I enjoyed this one and purchased several other titles by the author. I think the Midnight Breed series is light, sexy and good bedtime reading if your expectations are not high.
3) The Flame: definitely made me think. This was a story about a threesome just to prepare you. I thought it had a great premise and I enjoyed the read. Might read more from the same author, but not right away.
4) Caress of Darkness: men like this creep me out. I would not want to be anywhere near one, much less set up a homestead. In this case he isn't human. The story is a bit thin, but was OK for bedtime reading. Again, my standards are low.
overall, there was no DSMB and the stories were not good, but better than some of the others in the series. The editors tend to mix the good (Azagoth) with the bad (anything by Lexi Blake), so I think you just need to read some of them quickly and never go back to that author again. It's helpful to keep track.
Tempted By Midnight, A Midnight Breed Novella by Lara Adrian. Melena and Lazaro were a pleasant light and easy read. I adore the breed series and this novella’s inclusion was perfect.
Roped In: A Blacktop Cowboys® Novella by Lorelei James: When World champion bulldogger Sutton Grant is sidelined by an injury, he needs help keeping his horse in competition shape. London is humiliated when her boyfriend dumps her for a rodeo queen. What’s worse, she’s forced to see the lovebirds on the rodeo circuit every weekend. In an attempt to save face, London agrees to assist the notoriously mild, but ruggedly handsome Sutton Grant with his horse training problem on one condition: Sutton has to pretend to be her new boyfriend. But make believe doesn't last long between the sassy cowgirl and the laid-back bulldogger. Tempted By Midnight: A Midnight Breed Novella by Lara Adrian: Lazaro Archer, one of the eldest, most powerful of the Breed, is sworn to his duty as the leader of the Order’s command center in Italy. When a covert mission takes a deadly wrong turn, Lazaro finds himself in the unlikely role of hero with a familiar, intriguing beauty he should not desire, but cannot resist. Melena Walsh has never forgotten the dashing Breed male who saved her life as a child. But the chivalrous hero of her past is in hard contrast to the embittered, dangerous man on whom her safety now depends. And with an unwanted—yet undeniable—desire igniting between them, Melena fears that Lazaro’s protection may come at the price of her heart…. The Flame: A Desire Exchange Novella by Christopher Rice: Cassidy Burke has the best of both worlds, a driven and successful husband and a wild, impulsive best friend. But after a decadent Mardi Gras party, Cassidy finds both men pulling away from her. Did the three of them awaken secret desires during a split-second of alcohol-fueled passion? Or is Mardi Gras a time when rules are meant to be broken without consequence? With the strike of a match and one tiny flame, she will call forth a supernatural being with the ultimate power—the power to unchain the heart, the power to remove the fear that stands between a person and their truest desires. Caress of Darkness: A Dark Pleasures Novella by Julie Kenner: From the first moment I saw him, I knew that Rainer Engel was like no other man. Dangerously sexy and darkly mysterious, he both enticed me and terrified me. I wanted to run–to fight against the heat that was building between us—but there was nowhere to go. I needed his help as much as I needed his touch. And so help me, I knew that I would do anything he asked in order to have both. But even as our passion burned hot, the secrets in Raine’s past reached out to destroy us…and we would both have to make the greatest sacrifice to find a love that would last forever. Did not care for this set of stories as much, maybe it was because they are all from series I am not current in or don't read, but the stories did not connect with me the way I would want. I have also been really busy so maybe I was more distracted and that is why I didn't like them as much. My favorite was probably the 1st but none really wowed me. None of them were really awful either. I will probably check out the Dark Pleasure series, it sounded like it has potential.
s review is from: 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Three (Kindle Edition)
Each story in these books makes me fall in love each character. This series gives us so much to look forward and embrace with each telling that our minds drift to the story. This bundles of stories gave me so much insight on some of the characters for those authors that I now have a new lease on what each has to bring to the story. I'm looking forward next bunch of stories and to all the authors 2ho write for this series please continue to do so. They bring joy to my life to read. Thank you so much for a great experience. 5 starts for sure