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Book Boyfriend Starter Set
Looking for the perfect boyfriend?
Look no further than this Book Boyfriend Starter Set.
Between billionaires, mountain men, firefighters, bosses, curvy women, and insta-love, these stories will take you from your ho-hum workday to staying awake all night.
The Book Boyfriend Starter Set has ALL of your favorite tropes.
* enemies to lovers
* second chance
* workplace romance
* sports
* instalove
* friends to lovers
* small town
* fake engagement
Happily Ever Afters are guaranteed!
Look no further than this Book Boyfriend Starter Set.
Between billionaires, mountain men, firefighters, bosses, curvy women, and insta-love, these stories will take you from your ho-hum workday to staying awake all night.
The Book Boyfriend Starter Set has ALL of your favorite tropes.
* enemies to lovers
* second chance
* workplace romance
* sports
* instalove
* friends to lovers
* small town
* fake engagement
Happily Ever Afters are guaranteed!
941 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 10, 2022
219 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
Barbra Campbell
97 books393 followersBarbra Campbell writes dirty-sweet romance because she gets a kick out of helping couples overcome problems as they fall in love, even if it’s her fault they have problems in the first place.
After pursuing degrees in Genetics for nearly a decade, she realized the ‘chemistry’ of romance was a lot more fun to write about than the biochemistry of how our bodies work. She shared her stories with the world, was a finalist in a bunch of romance contests, and traded her lab coat for a laptop.
All of this was done with her college sweetheart by her side. He helps her pursue the HEA on a daily basis, even when she has her mind on sexy book boyfriends and cover models.
When Barbra’s not writing, she’s likely to be taking a walk, petting one or more of her many animals, or playing the cello! Visit BarbraCampbell.com for more.
Golden Heart Finalist
Sexy Scribbles Finalist
Hook, Line, & Sinker Finalist
After pursuing degrees in Genetics for nearly a decade, she realized the ‘chemistry’ of romance was a lot more fun to write about than the biochemistry of how our bodies work. She shared her stories with the world, was a finalist in a bunch of romance contests, and traded her lab coat for a laptop.
All of this was done with her college sweetheart by her side. He helps her pursue the HEA on a daily basis, even when she has her mind on sexy book boyfriends and cover models.
When Barbra’s not writing, she’s likely to be taking a walk, petting one or more of her many animals, or playing the cello! Visit BarbraCampbell.com for more.
Golden Heart Finalist
Sexy Scribbles Finalist
Hook, Line, & Sinker Finalist
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
in-collection-boxset
January 12, 202201/11/22 currently free https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...
The Book Boyfriend Starter Set has ALL of your favorite tropes.
* enemies to lovers
* second chance
* workplace romance
* sports
* instalove
* friends to lovers
* small town
* fake engagement
Want to read
January 11, 2022🎁 FREE on Amazon & on Apple iBooks today (1/11/2022)! 🎁
February 24, 2022
I was pretty happy to read the advertising blurb about this book. It sounded like fun. My only apprehension was with the short story itself. Writing a short story requires a skillset different from that used when writing a novel, and yet few writers seem to pay attention to this reality. Still, I was hopeful. I enjoy a good short story; it’s a small investment in time for potential hours of enjoyment. Within this anthology, there are a few good and a few dreadful stories, while most are unexceptional. It is extremely uneven.
Anthologies should lead and end with their best stories, kind of like fancy bookends. That doesn’t happen here, although the last story is one of the best. As a pattern, all but a couple of these stories feature sad little girls grown into sad, conflicted women with low self-esteem that can only be fixed by hot, gorgeous men who lust after curves (figuratively speaking). As each story follows a trope, or set of tropes, there is a distinct lack of creativity and a scarcity of meaningful characters. Once again, I let myself be deceived by the belief that short stories, as an art form, flourish. Well, they may flourish somewhere, but not within the covers of this book.
“Falling Hard” by Nicole Rose (2021) 3.5 stars
This is not my type of story, but it is very well written and I’m going to look for books written by Ms. Rose.
Adrian Kane walked away from a lucrative career in the NFL. Everyone wondered why. Stella Quinn is the reporter who tracks him down for his story, having met him back in high school when he rescued her from some bullies. The result of this second meet-cute? Insta-lust of course.
“Freedom in the Forbidden” by Khloe Summers (2021) 2.5 stars
It’s a very quick read but is so implausible that it just doesn’t click.
Lincoln Maverick is a writer contracted to write 11 novels in 2 years for $20 million. [Yikes! Bet that’s too fast for decent proofreading and editing, similar to problems in the entire romance genre.] Violet Pfeiffer is his first love who got lost in the dust of his fame and fortune. While it’s refreshing to read a story with little requisite drama imposed on the reader, it’s basically unbelievable and the ending is impossible.
“Layla” by Sadie King (2020) 2.5 stars
Argh…full of insta-everything…I’m not a fan. Insta-love makes me roll my eyes.
The eponymous Layla (no last name) is a baker who owns her own bakery/reading room. Kane (no last name) moves into the shop next door and makes a lot of bothersome noise. While I like the premise personally (because I love heroines who bake and own bakeries) the story is cheesy with unrealistic dialogue among all the rather one-dimensional characters.
“Protected by the Mountain Man” by Lana Love (no copyright given) 1.5 stars
Forgettable story loaded with errors. The premise is odd, filled with unbelievable circumstances and ludicrous dialogue.
New hire, Audrey Murray, meets mountain man, Owen (no last name), when she runs away from a team building back-to-nature outing after she overhears her boss talking on his phone about something that sounds illegal. Interesting that her phone barely has reception on the mountain, but her boss is able to make two incriminating phone calls without issue.
There are many errors in this little story. For instance, Owen introduces his dog, Kingston, to Audrey and a few pages later she asks what his name is. Is she forgetful, or is the writer? Also, there’s insta-sex between two strangers and no condom is used: that’s “stranger-danger” taken to a new level.
Typos abound; for example: “…Kingston lays out and my feet, rolling onto his back….” Maybe Kingston “lays AT my feet?”
And, “…he looks at me like he likes he sees me….” What…?
And, “I might kill me if I let you go.” The speaker does not appear to be suicidal. Perhaps, “IT might kill me if I let you go?”
If I list any more errors, this could get longer than the short story.
“Unleashed Love” by Ember Flint (2020) 3.5 stars
At first glance, it’s hard not to like a writer who knows the word, bistoury, and how to use it. In the introductory tropes, they’ve left out “Age Gap.” I liked the story a lot, but there are SO MANY errors in such a short story that it detracts from a pleasant read.
Tess Fetchin (quite the last name, eh?), newly minted veterinary surgeon, meets Axel Constant (oh my, ditto the last name), guide dog trainer.
I think the errors are due to a profound lack of proofreading (either lacking in skills or time). For instance: “…as she moves pass….” That should be “…as she moves PAST….”
And, “…nothing rational about this kind of things….” It’s either “this kind of THING” or “these kinds of THINGS.”
And, “…I check his values, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing….” These are called ‘vitals,’ as in ‘vital signs,’ rather than values. It reads better as “…I check his vitals, blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing….” Although the number attached to each of the vital signs is indeed a value.
And, Didar, the Siberian Husky puppy “has more energies.” Hmmm. One energy is enough: he “has more energy.”
And, “Damn every time I see Axe interact with the injured puppy….” Pretty sure Tess isn’t damning Axel for interacting with the puppy. We need a comma: “Damn, every time I see Axe interact….”
And, “…they were both ran over by a driver….” The wrong tense is used; it should be, “…they were both RUN over by a driver….”
I have no idea what a “gimlet eye” is, but I love the grumpy tortoise who gives it to Axel.
Except for oh, so many errors and a tendency towards run-on sentences, this is an interesting story with an appealing premise and a pleasant writing style. The errors were so prevalent that they lessened the overall enjoyment of the story.
“Melt for You” by Fern Fraser (2021) 4 stars
A sweet story with a strong message and very few errors (nice!).
Gigi attends a New Year's Eve party with her cheating boyfriend, Emmett. Tanner rescues her and then she ghosts him. They meet again, of course. It’s a solid premise, well told. I loved the story until reaching chapter 7 when it appeared to devolve, to lose its momentum; it felt stuck. The sex seemed off, somehow, although the characters remained likeable. There are some very tender moments and deep generosity of spirit.
“A Great Catch” by Lia Violet (2022) 3 stars
Even a baseball backdrop (and I love baseball, particularly the minors) cannot bring life to this story. It is slow moving and filled with cardboard characters, no charisma, no chemistry.
Diana Turran and Hal Quentin meet again after her father dies and leaves them co-owners of a minor league baseball team.
While I like sports, I am not a fan of sport romances. Baseball aside, this story is…well…mmm…oh…boring. There’s no other way to put it. While there are some important issues brought up, and lots of characters populate the story, it was like reading Dick and Jane play baseball with Sally, Spot, and Puff. If you get that reference, then you understand what I mean, yes…?
“His Old Fashioned” by Frankie Love (2022) 2 stars
A very thin and predictable story brings lifeless characters together in a less than satisfying embrace. As advertised, this story is filthy, but it isn’t sweet.
Lucy the virgin waitress (and, yeah, her virginity is a key part of the story) meets Levi the mountain man at a bachelor party in Las Vegas held for Levi’s brother.
The story is told from two points of view (POV’s), Lucy’s and Levi’s. It does not help when the two POV’s get confused by the writer. One example is in Chapter 3, subtitled “Levi,” for his POV. We read what Levi is experiencing and thinking, then in the third paragraph, the view flips to Lucy without warning. The reader must stop and backtrack to figure out what’s going on…it’s off-putting.
It’s a ridiculous story. I get that the writer is making a point that there’s purity and goodness in waiting for marriage before having sex and losing one’s virginity…however…! Just grab a bat and smack the reader over the head several times to make the argument. At one point, Lucy asks Levi why he’s such a “good, honest man.” Really? He’s being neither good nor honest in his pursuit of Lucy’s virtue. He’s a hedonist and she’s being played and pushed into behaviors that she happily falls into. She insists these sexual activities are anathema to her core values, yet here she is, behaving in very unchaste ways. She talks a good game, as does he. But make no mistake, they are playing sex games.
As insistent as she is that there will be no sex until she’s married, they do indeed engage in sexual behaviors, morals and scruples aside. He touches her intimately and she happily gets off; she can’t return the favor until after marriage. You know, sex is an act even without penile penetration. They are both hypocrites.
“Owned by My Biker Boss” by Imani Jay (2021) 2.5 stars
Same old-same old trope: hot boss, weak female employee who loses the ability to think around his hot body. Objectifying overly much, are we?
I am tired of stories about women who are unable to work around a hot boss without turning into mush. Geez! Here’s a professional, accredited CPA who wants to be taken seriously. I don’t think so.
Sofia is that CPA who works for Ren McCabe (“Mac”), partner in a top California CPA firm and a confirmed biker. The writer doesn’t seem to take Sofia seriously so, why would her boss and why should we? We know more about Mac than we do the supposed heroine of this blessedly short story. And Sofia isn’t even given a last name.
To sum it up, Mac is the usual gorgeous male model-biker and Sofia is not independent, just stupid.
“Alek” by Brynn Paulin (2019) 2.5 stars
Caroline (“Caro”) Silver and Croatian eBuddy, Aleksandr (“Alek”) Lebedev finally meet after months of internet chatting. Purpose: lusty sex, of course.
I am a sucker for a heroine baker; I’m impressed by people who can bake well. At this point in the anthology, I’m tired of women with HUGE complexes and insecurities, often nearly debilitating. She fits right into this mold. Come on, writers! Use your imaginations and come up with better plot lines and character flaws. Argh…!
“Persistent Enough” by Barbra Campbell (2019) 2 stars
Extremely short story about the heroine’s inferiority complex and raging insecurities.
Big ol’ hunky, gorgeous (well, of course) firefighter Sawyer rescues a dog and puppies from a burning house and places them in veterinarian Misha’s hands. There’s a connection between them (of course) which Sawyer wants to pursue but which Dr. Misha refuses because she’s scared of handsome men, and she is debilitatingly insecure.
So, OK…the writer has pulled out each sad, unhappy, miserable, poignant, wretched encounter experienced by every woman larger than a size 16. The story is soaked in it and there is no room left for a sweet love story. Too bad. The writing is decent. The story considerably less so. It reads like unhappy confessions written in a diary. Dr. Misha’s insecurities far outweigh any hope for a love story and the unbalanced result is choppy and tiring to read.
“Cheeky Prince” by Megan Wade (2020) 1.5 stars
Hapless chick, Jill, leaves a cruise boat for singles because she hates the man she’s been paired up with and meets Dominic, the 5th prince of Casacco on the French Riviera…or some such. He thinks she’s a whore who happens to be a virgin. She thinks the captain of the cruise ship sent her to a place to stay the night before taking a boat to the mainland the following morning. Merriment ensues. Not.
So…OK…Jill’s a virgin and when Dominic shows her his penis, she’s happy and excited? Nope. Not buying this. And it gets worse. I am not a fan of insta-much. This one is insta-lust. The story is so unrealistic that it is unpleasant to slog through. It’s as if characters change based on the story’s need. For instance, at the end of the story, Jill suddenly becomes an economy expert with contacts that arrange for a multi-million-dollar deal that will save the economy of Casacco. Holy cow.
The writing style is not bad, but the subject matter is outrageously horrid. HEA, but totally unearned.
“Nothing But Trouble” by Ashley Bostock (2018) 4 stars
This last story accounts for 30% of the book. At 67,000+ words, it is not a short story. As a rule of thumb only, a novella is 17,500 – 40,000 words. A novelette is 7,700 – 17,500 words. And a short story is less than 7,500 words. Novels tend to be 70,000 - 100,000 words, so maybe this is a light novel?
Michael Vilander is a billionaire who has been left at the altar by his fiancée (his girlfriend of 3 years). He is portrayed as rich (a billionaire) and gorgeous. His girlfriend, Mindy, is portrayed as a gold-digger. What would possess her to leave a handsome billionaire who was in love with her? Well, yeah, nothing. Closed off after his heart is broken, Michael meets Sophia Baldwin online and they have an epically up and down relationship.
The unbelievability factor is very high in parts; for instance, how did intelligent Sophia miss that her job might negatively affect her billionaire boyfriend? She’s been portrayed as a smart, kind woman; as written, she would have realized the bind she was putting Michael in. But her job is crucial to the plot. It could – and should – have been written better.
There are punctuation and grammatical errors throughout the story, especially the use of past tense. For example, “…he’d never went ahead and ordered….” That should be “…he’d never GONE ahead and ordered...” or “…he never went ahead and ordered….”
And “…while Michael flied high with unlimited possibilities.” That’s “…while Michael FLEW high….” (The past tense of ‘fly’ is ‘flew.’)
“Maybe the crowd tonight is more into country, then…then, whatever it is you are trying to be.” When using a comparison, the word is “than,” not “then,” so it should be, “…the crowd tonight is more into country than whatever it is….”
And, “I’m going to weight an extra hundred pounds.” Pretty sure that’s “I’m going to WEIGH an extra hundred pounds.”
Proofreading is desperately needed here, and a bit of editing to tighten up this Cinderella story. However, the writing style is very good. The problem is the many mistakes that take away from the goodness of the writing.
The overall rating of this book is 2.7 stars which I arrived at by adding up the stars rated for each story, then dividing by 13, the number of stories in this anthology. I rounded up because the average was closer to 3 stars than it was to 2 stars. I was disappointed and think I’ll stay away from anthologies for a while. Only a couple writers held my interest enough to look for other books by them.
Anthologies should lead and end with their best stories, kind of like fancy bookends. That doesn’t happen here, although the last story is one of the best. As a pattern, all but a couple of these stories feature sad little girls grown into sad, conflicted women with low self-esteem that can only be fixed by hot, gorgeous men who lust after curves (figuratively speaking). As each story follows a trope, or set of tropes, there is a distinct lack of creativity and a scarcity of meaningful characters. Once again, I let myself be deceived by the belief that short stories, as an art form, flourish. Well, they may flourish somewhere, but not within the covers of this book.
“Falling Hard” by Nicole Rose (2021) 3.5 stars
This is not my type of story, but it is very well written and I’m going to look for books written by Ms. Rose.
Adrian Kane walked away from a lucrative career in the NFL. Everyone wondered why. Stella Quinn is the reporter who tracks him down for his story, having met him back in high school when he rescued her from some bullies. The result of this second meet-cute? Insta-lust of course.
“Freedom in the Forbidden” by Khloe Summers (2021) 2.5 stars
It’s a very quick read but is so implausible that it just doesn’t click.
Lincoln Maverick is a writer contracted to write 11 novels in 2 years for $20 million. [Yikes! Bet that’s too fast for decent proofreading and editing, similar to problems in the entire romance genre.] Violet Pfeiffer is his first love who got lost in the dust of his fame and fortune. While it’s refreshing to read a story with little requisite drama imposed on the reader, it’s basically unbelievable and the ending is impossible.
“Layla” by Sadie King (2020) 2.5 stars
Argh…full of insta-everything…I’m not a fan. Insta-love makes me roll my eyes.
The eponymous Layla (no last name) is a baker who owns her own bakery/reading room. Kane (no last name) moves into the shop next door and makes a lot of bothersome noise. While I like the premise personally (because I love heroines who bake and own bakeries) the story is cheesy with unrealistic dialogue among all the rather one-dimensional characters.
“Protected by the Mountain Man” by Lana Love (no copyright given) 1.5 stars
Forgettable story loaded with errors. The premise is odd, filled with unbelievable circumstances and ludicrous dialogue.
New hire, Audrey Murray, meets mountain man, Owen (no last name), when she runs away from a team building back-to-nature outing after she overhears her boss talking on his phone about something that sounds illegal. Interesting that her phone barely has reception on the mountain, but her boss is able to make two incriminating phone calls without issue.
There are many errors in this little story. For instance, Owen introduces his dog, Kingston, to Audrey and a few pages later she asks what his name is. Is she forgetful, or is the writer? Also, there’s insta-sex between two strangers and no condom is used: that’s “stranger-danger” taken to a new level.
Typos abound; for example: “…Kingston lays out and my feet, rolling onto his back….” Maybe Kingston “lays AT my feet?”
And, “…he looks at me like he likes he sees me….” What…?
And, “I might kill me if I let you go.” The speaker does not appear to be suicidal. Perhaps, “IT might kill me if I let you go?”
If I list any more errors, this could get longer than the short story.
“Unleashed Love” by Ember Flint (2020) 3.5 stars
At first glance, it’s hard not to like a writer who knows the word, bistoury, and how to use it. In the introductory tropes, they’ve left out “Age Gap.” I liked the story a lot, but there are SO MANY errors in such a short story that it detracts from a pleasant read.
Tess Fetchin (quite the last name, eh?), newly minted veterinary surgeon, meets Axel Constant (oh my, ditto the last name), guide dog trainer.
I think the errors are due to a profound lack of proofreading (either lacking in skills or time). For instance: “…as she moves pass….” That should be “…as she moves PAST….”
And, “…nothing rational about this kind of things….” It’s either “this kind of THING” or “these kinds of THINGS.”
And, “…I check his values, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing….” These are called ‘vitals,’ as in ‘vital signs,’ rather than values. It reads better as “…I check his vitals, blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing….” Although the number attached to each of the vital signs is indeed a value.
And, Didar, the Siberian Husky puppy “has more energies.” Hmmm. One energy is enough: he “has more energy.”
And, “Damn every time I see Axe interact with the injured puppy….” Pretty sure Tess isn’t damning Axel for interacting with the puppy. We need a comma: “Damn, every time I see Axe interact….”
And, “…they were both ran over by a driver….” The wrong tense is used; it should be, “…they were both RUN over by a driver….”
I have no idea what a “gimlet eye” is, but I love the grumpy tortoise who gives it to Axel.
Except for oh, so many errors and a tendency towards run-on sentences, this is an interesting story with an appealing premise and a pleasant writing style. The errors were so prevalent that they lessened the overall enjoyment of the story.
“Melt for You” by Fern Fraser (2021) 4 stars
A sweet story with a strong message and very few errors (nice!).
Gigi attends a New Year's Eve party with her cheating boyfriend, Emmett. Tanner rescues her and then she ghosts him. They meet again, of course. It’s a solid premise, well told. I loved the story until reaching chapter 7 when it appeared to devolve, to lose its momentum; it felt stuck. The sex seemed off, somehow, although the characters remained likeable. There are some very tender moments and deep generosity of spirit.
“A Great Catch” by Lia Violet (2022) 3 stars
Even a baseball backdrop (and I love baseball, particularly the minors) cannot bring life to this story. It is slow moving and filled with cardboard characters, no charisma, no chemistry.
Diana Turran and Hal Quentin meet again after her father dies and leaves them co-owners of a minor league baseball team.
While I like sports, I am not a fan of sport romances. Baseball aside, this story is…well…mmm…oh…boring. There’s no other way to put it. While there are some important issues brought up, and lots of characters populate the story, it was like reading Dick and Jane play baseball with Sally, Spot, and Puff. If you get that reference, then you understand what I mean, yes…?
“His Old Fashioned” by Frankie Love (2022) 2 stars
A very thin and predictable story brings lifeless characters together in a less than satisfying embrace. As advertised, this story is filthy, but it isn’t sweet.
Lucy the virgin waitress (and, yeah, her virginity is a key part of the story) meets Levi the mountain man at a bachelor party in Las Vegas held for Levi’s brother.
The story is told from two points of view (POV’s), Lucy’s and Levi’s. It does not help when the two POV’s get confused by the writer. One example is in Chapter 3, subtitled “Levi,” for his POV. We read what Levi is experiencing and thinking, then in the third paragraph, the view flips to Lucy without warning. The reader must stop and backtrack to figure out what’s going on…it’s off-putting.
It’s a ridiculous story. I get that the writer is making a point that there’s purity and goodness in waiting for marriage before having sex and losing one’s virginity…however…! Just grab a bat and smack the reader over the head several times to make the argument. At one point, Lucy asks Levi why he’s such a “good, honest man.” Really? He’s being neither good nor honest in his pursuit of Lucy’s virtue. He’s a hedonist and she’s being played and pushed into behaviors that she happily falls into. She insists these sexual activities are anathema to her core values, yet here she is, behaving in very unchaste ways. She talks a good game, as does he. But make no mistake, they are playing sex games.
As insistent as she is that there will be no sex until she’s married, they do indeed engage in sexual behaviors, morals and scruples aside. He touches her intimately and she happily gets off; she can’t return the favor until after marriage. You know, sex is an act even without penile penetration. They are both hypocrites.
“Owned by My Biker Boss” by Imani Jay (2021) 2.5 stars
Same old-same old trope: hot boss, weak female employee who loses the ability to think around his hot body. Objectifying overly much, are we?
I am tired of stories about women who are unable to work around a hot boss without turning into mush. Geez! Here’s a professional, accredited CPA who wants to be taken seriously. I don’t think so.
Sofia is that CPA who works for Ren McCabe (“Mac”), partner in a top California CPA firm and a confirmed biker. The writer doesn’t seem to take Sofia seriously so, why would her boss and why should we? We know more about Mac than we do the supposed heroine of this blessedly short story. And Sofia isn’t even given a last name.
To sum it up, Mac is the usual gorgeous male model-biker and Sofia is not independent, just stupid.
“Alek” by Brynn Paulin (2019) 2.5 stars
Caroline (“Caro”) Silver and Croatian eBuddy, Aleksandr (“Alek”) Lebedev finally meet after months of internet chatting. Purpose: lusty sex, of course.
I am a sucker for a heroine baker; I’m impressed by people who can bake well. At this point in the anthology, I’m tired of women with HUGE complexes and insecurities, often nearly debilitating. She fits right into this mold. Come on, writers! Use your imaginations and come up with better plot lines and character flaws. Argh…!
“Persistent Enough” by Barbra Campbell (2019) 2 stars
Extremely short story about the heroine’s inferiority complex and raging insecurities.
Big ol’ hunky, gorgeous (well, of course) firefighter Sawyer rescues a dog and puppies from a burning house and places them in veterinarian Misha’s hands. There’s a connection between them (of course) which Sawyer wants to pursue but which Dr. Misha refuses because she’s scared of handsome men, and she is debilitatingly insecure.
So, OK…the writer has pulled out each sad, unhappy, miserable, poignant, wretched encounter experienced by every woman larger than a size 16. The story is soaked in it and there is no room left for a sweet love story. Too bad. The writing is decent. The story considerably less so. It reads like unhappy confessions written in a diary. Dr. Misha’s insecurities far outweigh any hope for a love story and the unbalanced result is choppy and tiring to read.
“Cheeky Prince” by Megan Wade (2020) 1.5 stars
Hapless chick, Jill, leaves a cruise boat for singles because she hates the man she’s been paired up with and meets Dominic, the 5th prince of Casacco on the French Riviera…or some such. He thinks she’s a whore who happens to be a virgin. She thinks the captain of the cruise ship sent her to a place to stay the night before taking a boat to the mainland the following morning. Merriment ensues. Not.
So…OK…Jill’s a virgin and when Dominic shows her his penis, she’s happy and excited? Nope. Not buying this. And it gets worse. I am not a fan of insta-much. This one is insta-lust. The story is so unrealistic that it is unpleasant to slog through. It’s as if characters change based on the story’s need. For instance, at the end of the story, Jill suddenly becomes an economy expert with contacts that arrange for a multi-million-dollar deal that will save the economy of Casacco. Holy cow.
The writing style is not bad, but the subject matter is outrageously horrid. HEA, but totally unearned.
“Nothing But Trouble” by Ashley Bostock (2018) 4 stars
This last story accounts for 30% of the book. At 67,000+ words, it is not a short story. As a rule of thumb only, a novella is 17,500 – 40,000 words. A novelette is 7,700 – 17,500 words. And a short story is less than 7,500 words. Novels tend to be 70,000 - 100,000 words, so maybe this is a light novel?
Michael Vilander is a billionaire who has been left at the altar by his fiancée (his girlfriend of 3 years). He is portrayed as rich (a billionaire) and gorgeous. His girlfriend, Mindy, is portrayed as a gold-digger. What would possess her to leave a handsome billionaire who was in love with her? Well, yeah, nothing. Closed off after his heart is broken, Michael meets Sophia Baldwin online and they have an epically up and down relationship.
The unbelievability factor is very high in parts; for instance, how did intelligent Sophia miss that her job might negatively affect her billionaire boyfriend? She’s been portrayed as a smart, kind woman; as written, she would have realized the bind she was putting Michael in. But her job is crucial to the plot. It could – and should – have been written better.
There are punctuation and grammatical errors throughout the story, especially the use of past tense. For example, “…he’d never went ahead and ordered….” That should be “…he’d never GONE ahead and ordered...” or “…he never went ahead and ordered….”
And “…while Michael flied high with unlimited possibilities.” That’s “…while Michael FLEW high….” (The past tense of ‘fly’ is ‘flew.’)
“Maybe the crowd tonight is more into country, then…then, whatever it is you are trying to be.” When using a comparison, the word is “than,” not “then,” so it should be, “…the crowd tonight is more into country than whatever it is….”
And, “I’m going to weight an extra hundred pounds.” Pretty sure that’s “I’m going to WEIGH an extra hundred pounds.”
Proofreading is desperately needed here, and a bit of editing to tighten up this Cinderella story. However, the writing style is very good. The problem is the many mistakes that take away from the goodness of the writing.
The overall rating of this book is 2.7 stars which I arrived at by adding up the stars rated for each story, then dividing by 13, the number of stories in this anthology. I rounded up because the average was closer to 3 stars than it was to 2 stars. I was disappointed and think I’ll stay away from anthologies for a while. Only a couple writers held my interest enough to look for other books by them.
July 14, 2022
Collection/Anthology
Romance trope: insta-love +
Length: 941 pages
Collection includes:
Falling Hard by Nichole Rose: Stella, a reporter, is looking for an interview with her teenage crush, Adrian Kane. He stepped away from football suddenly and is now a celebrated romance novelist (who would normally never allow an interview). For some reason, he agrees to the interview and when Stella arrives, he realizes why - she's his one.
I don't think I've ever read a book that had Portuguese in it - that was interesting! I love all of this author's books - they're sweet and steamy with growly, j/p heroes and innocent, sweet heroines, and that just hits the right spot with me. I liked the callback to the heroine's high school assembly where she first met the hero, and the fact that he actually remembered her was even better.
Freedom in the Forbidden by Khloe Summers: Lincoln and Violet have been together since they were kids, but she let him go to pursue his writing dreams. Years later, she's still with him - as his assistant. He doesn't know where he went wrong, but she saw him changing from the boy she loved into a man she didn't recognize. Can a spontaneous work trip help them rekindle their relationship?
I didn't understand why she put him off him when they were kids - so he could follow his dream? But she went with him and spends every day with him anyways, so it didn't make sense. And he didn't fight for her, so that was the second point of confusion. And the fact that they crashed on an island and it just happened to be right next to a resort and they didn't know that until after they freaked out about survival - A little ridiculous!
Layla by Sadie King https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Protected by the Mountain Man by Lana Love: Audrey is at a team-building retreat for her new job when she overhears her boss on the phone; the conversation implies that he's involved in serious drug trafficking. When it seems her life is in danger, she runs and is rescued by Owen, a mountain man recluse. He takes care of her and keeps her safe until the law can deal with her boss.
Pretty improbable. Cell phones work out in these woods, and sometimes they don't.
Unleashed Love by Ember Flint: Tess is neighbors with Axel - a hot, grumpy, good guy underneath it all. He's struggling with two jobs - one paid, one unpaid. He trains guide dogs and one day, one of the dogs gets out and is hit by a car. He takes her to the vet and finds out that Tess is the vet surgeon. They strike up a relationship - will it be more than helping the dog recover?
Cute. I learned some stuff about training guide dogs (specifically about other people even in the family not being able to show affection; I can't imagine how difficult it must be to leave a dog for good after you've trained and bonded with him!). The relationship was pretty uneventful but the plot of the story that included the animals was enjoyable. I would read more about characters from the animal rescue.
Melt for You by Fern Fraser: Gigi ends up at a party with her boyfriend, whom she finds out is cheating on her. Instead of flouncing out, she finds a hot guy, Tanner, to make time with - but then she leaves without a word. A little while later, she finds herself with a new nursing job, at the home of a patient doing chemo. It turns out that it's Tanner's neighbor, someone he's helping out. Tanner has a lot of healing to do after his time in the army and losing his mom. They get to know each other a little more while helping the neighbor/patient and they each have some growing to do.
This one was sweet. Gigi really flaked without a real reason, but Tanner was understanding. He was going through a lot and in the end, she was there for him, which is what counts. Adding in the subplot with the neighbor was a good call, and the fun run with Spiderman was funny.
A Great Catch by Lia Violet: Diana's father died and left her half of his ownership in his minor league baseball team. He left the other half to one of the players, Hal. Hal and Diana had a night together a few years prior, but she left because it seemed like he was spiraling out of control. He seems better now, but she's not sure he's the person she should be working with. The will stipulates the partnership though, and she gets to know him and her father a little better while ironing out the details of their business.
I'm not a sports fan. I do like sports/athlete romances - there's potential for a lot of tension and character development. I don't like to read about all the particulars of the sports and/or business of sports. It bores me, which I know is a me problem rather than an author problem.
His Old Fashioned by Frankie Love: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Owned By My Biker Boss by Imani Jay: Sofia is an accountant working under Ren McCabe, and he is not very fun to work with - hot, but grumpy. But when she ends up at a biker bar that weekend with a friend, she sees a whole new side to Mac, and it turns out he's not just her boss but also her knight in shining armor.
Improbable, but fun. I wonder how many bikers have day jobs, especially professional day jobs like CPA. I guess it depends on what kind of MC it is. Sofia does the silly thing heroines often do, which is to go straight into danger after they've been told there's danger and to not go into it. Luckily Mac is there to save her because his magic power is to render the other guys vanquished with little to no effort. Insta-love, insta-victory.
Alek by Brynn Paulin: Caroline has been chatting online with Alek for several months now. She knows nothing could come of it, so when he wants to meet in person, she keeps putting him off. But while on a job (as a caterer), she meets a talented young musician, none other than Alek himself. Now that he's there, he just has to convince her that he's in it for good.
I always like stories with classical musicians in them, although the vibe I got from Alek was more Lindsay whatshername (you know, the violinist who dances around) than Yo-yo Ma. Anyways, gotta earn a living. He was sweet, and it's not often we get a reverse age gap. He was all in, and part of that was getting to know each other without worrying about looks - there's a lesson in there!
Persistent Enough by Barbra Campbell: Sawyer was a firefighter who rescued a couple of dogs from an apartment fire. He met the vet who was taking care of the dogs and fell in love. Misha wasn't sure that she could ever be enough for him though. Can he convince her that she's worth ins love?
She probably needed some therapy to help her out with her self-image. I'm not even trying to be funny or insulting, even though it seems like I am just by saying I'm not. She was the most down-on-herself heroine I've ever come across. She was seriously going to be alone forever. A hot, hunky fireman was telling her she was the best thing he'd ever seen and was trying to date her, pursued her with a vengeance, set up sweet romantic dates at her office, and she was all "no, he can't possibly like me." I just felt really sad after reading this.
Cheeky Prince by Megan Wade: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nothing But Trouble by Ashley Bostock: Michael has been a workaholic ever since his fiance left him at the altar three years prior. He has hookups instead of relationships, with plenty of rules in place to make sure he's never hurt again. Then circumstances lead him to Sophia, who ends up becoming his fake fiance. Even though he thinks he's starting to feel something more for her, his past continues to intrude. His past might cause him to lose his future unless he can find a way to overcome it.
It's been a while since I've hated an H so much. He was pretty awful. He was obviously still hung up on his ex-fiance(the one who left him at the altar with little explanation). He thought about her a lot for someone who was three years past the breakup and often thought about how good the sex was, to the point that when she was trying to get back with him, he allowed her to corner him in his office, take down his pants, use her hands on him, and nearly get her mouth on him. And only then did he say, "wait, no, not that." He thought about her when he was also thinking about Sophia. He even thought about how he still loved her. When his ex told him that Sophia was a golddigger, he was like, "yes, that must be it," and no matter what Sophia or anyone else said, he believed it until his ex told him she was lying and Sophia wasn't a golddigger after all - he only believed Sophia when his ex confirmed her version of the story. That was almost at the end of the book - at that point, he was still not anywhere close to boyfriend material, as far as I'm concerned. I really think he went beyond a$$hole territory. His redemption? "I'm sorry and I guess I can try to be better" and then he painted, badly, at the charity and then threw away their supplies. I just can't even imagine what Sophia saw in him. Should she have told him about her stripping job? No. They were fake dating and had only known each other less than a month. Why would she owe him all of her personal life? She was probably afraid he would react badly. And guess what? When he found out, he reacted exactly the way she probably imagined. His ex doxxed her, and he didn't even care about that; he was selfish, oblivious, and a lot of other things that aren't fit to print. I don't feel like there was a whole lot of character development; he seemed like basically the same person he was at the beginning. And Sophia? The author did something with her that I absolutely hate, which is when the hero is the one who obviously messed up, and the heroine takes the blame: "Oh, I'm acting just like he did, how can I blame him, let's just start over because we've both made mistakes." No. You took a job at a strip club because you're a grown woman who can dance naked if she wants, and you did that to pay for your grandmother's medication (since American health care/insurance is a dumpster fire that lets people die bc medication is so expensive). You decided not to tell him because you barely knew each other, it wasn't his business, and you knew he would freak out. He freaked out and was awful to you. Not the same. Not your fault. That's gonna set up a whole life full of bad patterns in that relationship. Whew, sorry, that was long. It's just that I stayed up really late to finish this story and just ended up mad.
As is the case with most anthologies, the quality is hit or miss. Most of the stories needed another pass with a proofreader. I don't know if each author is responsible for their own editing or if there is another editor who does the whole anthology, but in some cases, the mistakes were egregious, and in some cases, there might just be one or two mistakes. I try not to get frustrated, but these stories have been published before and I hate the thought that they weren't edited well. I always think anthologies should have one more overall proofreader, just in case, since not every author is diligent; if I were one of those who were diligent about it, I would be mad about the others who weren't. I let a lot of mistakes go, but sometimes it's just too much.
Anyways, if you like insta-love novellas, this is a great collection. My favorite was the Nichole Rose story.
Romance trope: insta-love +
Length: 941 pages
Collection includes:
Falling Hard by Nichole Rose: Stella, a reporter, is looking for an interview with her teenage crush, Adrian Kane. He stepped away from football suddenly and is now a celebrated romance novelist (who would normally never allow an interview). For some reason, he agrees to the interview and when Stella arrives, he realizes why - she's his one.
I don't think I've ever read a book that had Portuguese in it - that was interesting! I love all of this author's books - they're sweet and steamy with growly, j/p heroes and innocent, sweet heroines, and that just hits the right spot with me. I liked the callback to the heroine's high school assembly where she first met the hero, and the fact that he actually remembered her was even better.
Freedom in the Forbidden by Khloe Summers: Lincoln and Violet have been together since they were kids, but she let him go to pursue his writing dreams. Years later, she's still with him - as his assistant. He doesn't know where he went wrong, but she saw him changing from the boy she loved into a man she didn't recognize. Can a spontaneous work trip help them rekindle their relationship?
I didn't understand why she put him off him when they were kids - so he could follow his dream? But she went with him and spends every day with him anyways, so it didn't make sense. And he didn't fight for her, so that was the second point of confusion. And the fact that they crashed on an island and it just happened to be right next to a resort and they didn't know that until after they freaked out about survival - A little ridiculous!
Layla by Sadie King https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Protected by the Mountain Man by Lana Love: Audrey is at a team-building retreat for her new job when she overhears her boss on the phone; the conversation implies that he's involved in serious drug trafficking. When it seems her life is in danger, she runs and is rescued by Owen, a mountain man recluse. He takes care of her and keeps her safe until the law can deal with her boss.
Pretty improbable. Cell phones work out in these woods, and sometimes they don't.
Unleashed Love by Ember Flint: Tess is neighbors with Axel - a hot, grumpy, good guy underneath it all. He's struggling with two jobs - one paid, one unpaid. He trains guide dogs and one day, one of the dogs gets out and is hit by a car. He takes her to the vet and finds out that Tess is the vet surgeon. They strike up a relationship - will it be more than helping the dog recover?
Cute. I learned some stuff about training guide dogs (specifically about other people even in the family not being able to show affection; I can't imagine how difficult it must be to leave a dog for good after you've trained and bonded with him!). The relationship was pretty uneventful but the plot of the story that included the animals was enjoyable. I would read more about characters from the animal rescue.
Melt for You by Fern Fraser: Gigi ends up at a party with her boyfriend, whom she finds out is cheating on her. Instead of flouncing out, she finds a hot guy, Tanner, to make time with - but then she leaves without a word. A little while later, she finds herself with a new nursing job, at the home of a patient doing chemo. It turns out that it's Tanner's neighbor, someone he's helping out. Tanner has a lot of healing to do after his time in the army and losing his mom. They get to know each other a little more while helping the neighbor/patient and they each have some growing to do.
This one was sweet. Gigi really flaked without a real reason, but Tanner was understanding. He was going through a lot and in the end, she was there for him, which is what counts. Adding in the subplot with the neighbor was a good call, and the fun run with Spiderman was funny.
A Great Catch by Lia Violet: Diana's father died and left her half of his ownership in his minor league baseball team. He left the other half to one of the players, Hal. Hal and Diana had a night together a few years prior, but she left because it seemed like he was spiraling out of control. He seems better now, but she's not sure he's the person she should be working with. The will stipulates the partnership though, and she gets to know him and her father a little better while ironing out the details of their business.
I'm not a sports fan. I do like sports/athlete romances - there's potential for a lot of tension and character development. I don't like to read about all the particulars of the sports and/or business of sports. It bores me, which I know is a me problem rather than an author problem.
His Old Fashioned by Frankie Love: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Owned By My Biker Boss by Imani Jay: Sofia is an accountant working under Ren McCabe, and he is not very fun to work with - hot, but grumpy. But when she ends up at a biker bar that weekend with a friend, she sees a whole new side to Mac, and it turns out he's not just her boss but also her knight in shining armor.
Improbable, but fun. I wonder how many bikers have day jobs, especially professional day jobs like CPA. I guess it depends on what kind of MC it is. Sofia does the silly thing heroines often do, which is to go straight into danger after they've been told there's danger and to not go into it. Luckily Mac is there to save her because his magic power is to render the other guys vanquished with little to no effort. Insta-love, insta-victory.
Alek by Brynn Paulin: Caroline has been chatting online with Alek for several months now. She knows nothing could come of it, so when he wants to meet in person, she keeps putting him off. But while on a job (as a caterer), she meets a talented young musician, none other than Alek himself. Now that he's there, he just has to convince her that he's in it for good.
I always like stories with classical musicians in them, although the vibe I got from Alek was more Lindsay whatshername (you know, the violinist who dances around) than Yo-yo Ma. Anyways, gotta earn a living. He was sweet, and it's not often we get a reverse age gap. He was all in, and part of that was getting to know each other without worrying about looks - there's a lesson in there!
Persistent Enough by Barbra Campbell: Sawyer was a firefighter who rescued a couple of dogs from an apartment fire. He met the vet who was taking care of the dogs and fell in love. Misha wasn't sure that she could ever be enough for him though. Can he convince her that she's worth ins love?
She probably needed some therapy to help her out with her self-image. I'm not even trying to be funny or insulting, even though it seems like I am just by saying I'm not. She was the most down-on-herself heroine I've ever come across. She was seriously going to be alone forever. A hot, hunky fireman was telling her she was the best thing he'd ever seen and was trying to date her, pursued her with a vengeance, set up sweet romantic dates at her office, and she was all "no, he can't possibly like me." I just felt really sad after reading this.
Cheeky Prince by Megan Wade: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nothing But Trouble by Ashley Bostock: Michael has been a workaholic ever since his fiance left him at the altar three years prior. He has hookups instead of relationships, with plenty of rules in place to make sure he's never hurt again. Then circumstances lead him to Sophia, who ends up becoming his fake fiance. Even though he thinks he's starting to feel something more for her, his past continues to intrude. His past might cause him to lose his future unless he can find a way to overcome it.
It's been a while since I've hated an H so much. He was pretty awful. He was obviously still hung up on his ex-fiance(the one who left him at the altar with little explanation). He thought about her a lot for someone who was three years past the breakup and often thought about how good the sex was, to the point that when she was trying to get back with him, he allowed her to corner him in his office, take down his pants, use her hands on him, and nearly get her mouth on him. And only then did he say, "wait, no, not that." He thought about her when he was also thinking about Sophia. He even thought about how he still loved her. When his ex told him that Sophia was a golddigger, he was like, "yes, that must be it," and no matter what Sophia or anyone else said, he believed it until his ex told him she was lying and Sophia wasn't a golddigger after all - he only believed Sophia when his ex confirmed her version of the story. That was almost at the end of the book - at that point, he was still not anywhere close to boyfriend material, as far as I'm concerned. I really think he went beyond a$$hole territory. His redemption? "I'm sorry and I guess I can try to be better" and then he painted, badly, at the charity and then threw away their supplies. I just can't even imagine what Sophia saw in him. Should she have told him about her stripping job? No. They were fake dating and had only known each other less than a month. Why would she owe him all of her personal life? She was probably afraid he would react badly. And guess what? When he found out, he reacted exactly the way she probably imagined. His ex doxxed her, and he didn't even care about that; he was selfish, oblivious, and a lot of other things that aren't fit to print. I don't feel like there was a whole lot of character development; he seemed like basically the same person he was at the beginning. And Sophia? The author did something with her that I absolutely hate, which is when the hero is the one who obviously messed up, and the heroine takes the blame: "Oh, I'm acting just like he did, how can I blame him, let's just start over because we've both made mistakes." No. You took a job at a strip club because you're a grown woman who can dance naked if she wants, and you did that to pay for your grandmother's medication (since American health care/insurance is a dumpster fire that lets people die bc medication is so expensive). You decided not to tell him because you barely knew each other, it wasn't his business, and you knew he would freak out. He freaked out and was awful to you. Not the same. Not your fault. That's gonna set up a whole life full of bad patterns in that relationship. Whew, sorry, that was long. It's just that I stayed up really late to finish this story and just ended up mad.
As is the case with most anthologies, the quality is hit or miss. Most of the stories needed another pass with a proofreader. I don't know if each author is responsible for their own editing or if there is another editor who does the whole anthology, but in some cases, the mistakes were egregious, and in some cases, there might just be one or two mistakes. I try not to get frustrated, but these stories have been published before and I hate the thought that they weren't edited well. I always think anthologies should have one more overall proofreader, just in case, since not every author is diligent; if I were one of those who were diligent about it, I would be mad about the others who weren't. I let a lot of mistakes go, but sometimes it's just too much.
Anyways, if you like insta-love novellas, this is a great collection. My favorite was the Nichole Rose story.
April 17, 2022
Book Boyfriend Starter Set
I absolutely loved reading every single one of this instalove stories!!!! I really liked Mac and Sofias story!!!! Something about a hot biker is sexy as hell!!!!! And he absolutely loves her and you can tell!!!!!!
I absolutely loved reading every single one of this instalove stories!!!! I really liked Mac and Sofias story!!!! Something about a hot biker is sexy as hell!!!!! And he absolutely loves her and you can tell!!!!!!
April 15, 2022
Loved the mini stories...they all had me in suspense wanting more for the ladies in the story! The very last story in the book really won me over and I wish I could continue reading their story about where they go after this!
Read
March 1, 2022
Looking for the perfect boyfriend?
Look no further than this Book Boyfriend Starter Set.
Between billionaires, mountain men, firefighters, bosses, curvy women, and insta-love, these stories will take you from your ho-hum workday to staying awake all night.
The Book Boyfriend Starter Set has ALL of your favorite tropes.
* enemies to lovers
* second chance
* workplace romance
* sports
* instalove
* friends to lovers
* small town
* fake engagement
Happily Ever Afters are guaranteed!
November 7, 2022
I really liked All the different stories in this collection
It's really like all the different stories in this collection and I think I found some new favorite authors of mine
lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
It's really like all the different stories in this collection and I think I found some new favorite authors of mine
lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
March 26, 2022
Hot!
A group of hot, sexy short stories by different authors. I read books by many of these authors, but found some new to me authors between these pages that I will definitely be reading more of their books.
A group of hot, sexy short stories by different authors. I read books by many of these authors, but found some new to me authors between these pages that I will definitely be reading more of their books.
January 24, 2022
This was a great way to learn about each author and a get a feel about they type of writer they are. I certainly added more authors to my TBR because of this series.
March 6, 2022
This was possibly the worst book I have read and that is saying something. In fact, I hesitated to even put on my GR and certainly not rate it, but I feel now like I should warn others at how every single story is awful. This book is free...it was discounted from it's regular price of 99 cents. That should tell you everything.
Let's get into it:
*Forget about prose that makes sense; that's out of here.
*Every. Single. Story. could have been redeemed with removing one or two sentences.
*Ladies!!! Quote-unquote "alpha males" aren't a thing.
*Consent? Never heard of her!
*Condoms? Pishaw that's for non breeders and every man in here apparently has a breed kink. There will be no kink shaming, but if that is your kink, safety first. Always AND THAT INCLUDES STDs
*Having sex with strangers is fun! I've done it! But normal Western society means not saying filthy, absolute mind numbing filthy things to a total stranger as your opening line and assuming you're getting laid in the next hour. Ew.
*One of the stories could be seen as grooming! What in the fuck? That goes from cringe to criminal.
*Going back to the breed kink again. 3/4 of these stories have an epilogue that includes 3-4 children conceived and delivered in 5 year spans. Nobody is tired or has postpartum depression or anything. Let's just keep fucking!
*I get the insta-love trope, not my favorite, but each of them handle it stupidly. One paragraph would have fixed each of these.
*The final story had two mentions of Christian faith by the guy and absolutely no context? Billionaire playboys don't have to be atheists by any means, but why??? Don't get my wrong, christians can get down and dirty like anybody, but why mention it so randomly? It literally makes no sense to include it in the narrative.
*I honestly don't know this, but are Western society women in the 21st century having such traumatic hymen breaks? Between bike riding, sports, tampons, gynaecological visits, and life in general is that still a thing? Breaking a hymen is a patriarchal construct, why feed it?
*WOMEN'S VAGINAS DO NOT SMELL LIKE CANDY OR COOKIES, NOR SHOULD THEY.
*Why do these authors conflate being dominant to being mean?? That's not how that works.
This is just mind numbing. I hate read it, all 941 pages because I currently have no life that's why. DON'T BE LIKE ME!
I wouldn't wish any of these "book boyfriends" on my worst enemy. There isn't enough therapy available.
And for the love of all things holy, do not give publishing contracts to a single one of these people.
Let's get into it:
*Forget about prose that makes sense; that's out of here.
*Every. Single. Story. could have been redeemed with removing one or two sentences.
*Ladies!!! Quote-unquote "alpha males" aren't a thing.
*Consent? Never heard of her!
*Condoms? Pishaw that's for non breeders and every man in here apparently has a breed kink. There will be no kink shaming, but if that is your kink, safety first. Always AND THAT INCLUDES STDs
*Having sex with strangers is fun! I've done it! But normal Western society means not saying filthy, absolute mind numbing filthy things to a total stranger as your opening line and assuming you're getting laid in the next hour. Ew.
*One of the stories could be seen as grooming! What in the fuck? That goes from cringe to criminal.
*Going back to the breed kink again. 3/4 of these stories have an epilogue that includes 3-4 children conceived and delivered in 5 year spans. Nobody is tired or has postpartum depression or anything. Let's just keep fucking!
*I get the insta-love trope, not my favorite, but each of them handle it stupidly. One paragraph would have fixed each of these.
*The final story had two mentions of Christian faith by the guy and absolutely no context? Billionaire playboys don't have to be atheists by any means, but why??? Don't get my wrong, christians can get down and dirty like anybody, but why mention it so randomly? It literally makes no sense to include it in the narrative.
*I honestly don't know this, but are Western society women in the 21st century having such traumatic hymen breaks? Between bike riding, sports, tampons, gynaecological visits, and life in general is that still a thing? Breaking a hymen is a patriarchal construct, why feed it?
*WOMEN'S VAGINAS DO NOT SMELL LIKE CANDY OR COOKIES, NOR SHOULD THEY.
*Why do these authors conflate being dominant to being mean?? That's not how that works.
This is just mind numbing. I hate read it, all 941 pages because I currently have no life that's why. DON'T BE LIKE ME!
I wouldn't wish any of these "book boyfriends" on my worst enemy. There isn't enough therapy available.
And for the love of all things holy, do not give publishing contracts to a single one of these people.
August 8, 2022
Collection of novellas
This is a collection of novellas. Some were great, some were super short, last one felt like it was never-ending. If it hadn't ended with the one it has, I probably would have rated it higher, but that last one's characters & need for drama just made me roll my eyes & start skimming so I could end the torture sooner. The books were fairly steamy, necessarily insta-love because of their length, and generally free of typos/grammatical errors. I got this for $0.99, so it was definitely worth it for the other gems on here.
This is a collection of novellas. Some were great, some were super short, last one felt like it was never-ending. If it hadn't ended with the one it has, I probably would have rated it higher, but that last one's characters & need for drama just made me roll my eyes & start skimming so I could end the torture sooner. The books were fairly steamy, necessarily insta-love because of their length, and generally free of typos/grammatical errors. I got this for $0.99, so it was definitely worth it for the other gems on here.
September 12, 2022
Great bunch of books
This has been a great collection of love stories all with wonderful happy ever after endings. I have enjoyed reading each one. I've met a great bunch of characters in each story as well. I know everyone who loves a steamy happy ever after will love this collection.
This has been a great collection of love stories all with wonderful happy ever after endings. I have enjoyed reading each one. I've met a great bunch of characters in each story as well. I know everyone who loves a steamy happy ever after will love this collection.
January 14, 2022
Please see individual stories for review.
February 25, 2022
Nichole:
I love the connection Adrian and Stella have. I also love the not slow at all build up, but the race to the finish beginning. Great story. Love love love.
Fern:
Frankie:
Megan:
I love the connection Adrian and Stella have. I also love the not slow at all build up, but the race to the finish beginning. Great story. Love love love.
Fern:
Frankie:
Megan:
Want to read
March 7, 2022
March 10, 2022
An uneven collection
This is a kind of uneven collection with some ok reads and others that were kind of cringe-worthy. Recommended for fans of the genre.
This is a kind of uneven collection with some ok reads and others that were kind of cringe-worthy. Recommended for fans of the genre.
Read
March 20, 2022Great selection
Great selection of short stories giving you an insight in to some of the authors around today. Some I'd never heard of before so for me it was a good intro
Great selection of short stories giving you an insight in to some of the authors around today. Some I'd never heard of before so for me it was a good intro
March 23, 2022
Yes!
All the instalove-y goodness! Such a great representation of all these authors! Most are my fave authors and some new that are wonderful!Must read!!
All the instalove-y goodness! Such a great representation of all these authors! Most are my fave authors and some new that are wonderful!Must read!!
April 8, 2022
I have struggled to finish this. There is always a degree of BS in these types of books, but the level of it was too much to handle
May 16, 2022
Good read
At first it was good , then it was just okay. This was great read by the end ,it was a definite 5 / 5.
Love story that was genuine
At first it was good , then it was just okay. This was great read by the end ,it was a definite 5 / 5.
Love story that was genuine
September 10, 2022
allemaal korte romantische verhalen die vaak ook nog erg steamy zijn. niet elk verhaal was even leuk maar wel van genoten.
March 15, 2023
Great collection that gives you an intro to several wonderful authors that will make you want to read the rest of their catalog.
Read
January 10, 2022⚡️💖 FREE ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY 💖⚡️
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Looking for the perfect boyfriend?
Look no further than this Book Boyfriend Starter Set.
Between billionaires, mountain men, firefighters, bosses, curvy women, and insta-love, these stories will take you from your ho-hum workday to staying awake all night.
The Book Boyfriend Starter Set has ALL of your favorite tropes.
* enemies to lovers
* second chance
* workplace romance
* sports
* instalove
* friends to lovers
* small town
* fake engagement
Happily Ever Afters are guaranteed!
Authors include Ashley Bostock, Barbra Campbell, Fern Fraser, Brynn Paulin, Megan Wade, Lia Violet, Lana Love, Ember Flint, Imani Jay, Nichole Rose, Khloe Summers, Sadie King, and Frankie Love.
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Amazon: https://geni.us/BBSS
*Unleashed Love 🐶🐾❤️ is included in this anthology!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews