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charms1976's review
2.0
First, this is a very short story. It is a novella that is Part One in a series by author Morgana Black. When I mention short story, I mean “chapter-like” short story. I can understand it being short for a series or parts, but this could have been one chapter of a novella. With that being said, you can understand the frustration at the speed and abrupt ending the reader is left with.
Short stories need to tell quite a bit in a short amount of time. I understand that. Really, I do. Yet as a reader, I still want parts of my story to be full and give me an experience of connection with each character. I know that is a lot to ask for, but with Ablaze, I couldn’t find myself finding the footing needed to ground myself to the two characters of Luke and Cheyenne — At lease not with this small sample of a story. When the two start to warm each other up during the snow storm, it was rushed and I still didn’t find myself really excited about it. It was rushed and then we get the big regrets from one of the involved people. With little background on the characters, it made the connection hard for me. I am not going to be waiting on pins and needles for the next in the series, but I am still a little curious as to see if the author will bring some background to the characters and see if a spark finally ignites for me.
Short stories need to tell quite a bit in a short amount of time. I understand that. Really, I do. Yet as a reader, I still want parts of my story to be full and give me an experience of connection with each character. I know that is a lot to ask for, but with Ablaze, I couldn’t find myself finding the footing needed to ground myself to the two characters of Luke and Cheyenne — At lease not with this small sample of a story. When the two start to warm each other up during the snow storm, it was rushed and I still didn’t find myself really excited about it. It was rushed and then we get the big regrets from one of the involved people. With little background on the characters, it made the connection hard for me. I am not going to be waiting on pins and needles for the next in the series, but I am still a little curious as to see if the author will bring some background to the characters and see if a spark finally ignites for me.
caseroo7's review
3.0
Ablaze is the first part of a short erotic romance serial by Morgan Black. This one originally drew me in because of the super hot cover, but I also thought that the blurb sounded really promising. I am not usually one for novellas or short stories, but this one for seemed different. I have some mixed feelings about this story, but I am really glad that I took a chance on this one. I am looking forward to reading more as this serial progresses, and I can't wait to see what happens.
Looking to get away for the weekend, Cheyenne decides to go to a cabin on her family's land. She is meeting her not quite boyfriend, although she tells her family that she is meeting her friends. To get to the cabin, it is three hours by snowmobile and her family doesn't want her to go by herself. So they send her with a ranch hand Luke to make sure that nothing happens to her. Cheyenne has a bit of a crush on Luke, but is committed to her future with Collin. Once her and Luke reach the cabin, the weather starts to get worse. Cheyenne receives a call from her boyfriend saying that he can't make it. Luke begins to head back to the ranch, but he runs out of gas and can't make it back. So he heads to the cabin to wait out the blizzard. Cheyenne and Luke spend their time getting to know each other and before long they are giving in to their attraction.
I liked both Luke and Cheyenne. Since this one was so short, I feel like we didn't get a chance to get to know the characters that much, but I found them interesting. Cheyenne is basically entering into an arranged marriage with Collin and Luke seems to have a lot of preconceived notions as far as Cheyenne goes. It will be interesting to see how things play out between them. Luke and Cheyenne had a lot of chemistry though. I am looking forward to reading the next part, Flames. I would recommend this one if you are looking for a really quick read that will be continued. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and we are left wondering what will happen next. Overall, I think that this one was a promising start and I am curious to see how this story plays out.
**ARC Provided by Mark My Words Book Publicity via NetGalley**
Looking to get away for the weekend, Cheyenne decides to go to a cabin on her family's land. She is meeting her not quite boyfriend, although she tells her family that she is meeting her friends. To get to the cabin, it is three hours by snowmobile and her family doesn't want her to go by herself. So they send her with a ranch hand Luke to make sure that nothing happens to her. Cheyenne has a bit of a crush on Luke, but is committed to her future with Collin. Once her and Luke reach the cabin, the weather starts to get worse. Cheyenne receives a call from her boyfriend saying that he can't make it. Luke begins to head back to the ranch, but he runs out of gas and can't make it back. So he heads to the cabin to wait out the blizzard. Cheyenne and Luke spend their time getting to know each other and before long they are giving in to their attraction.
I liked both Luke and Cheyenne. Since this one was so short, I feel like we didn't get a chance to get to know the characters that much, but I found them interesting. Cheyenne is basically entering into an arranged marriage with Collin and Luke seems to have a lot of preconceived notions as far as Cheyenne goes. It will be interesting to see how things play out between them. Luke and Cheyenne had a lot of chemistry though. I am looking forward to reading the next part, Flames. I would recommend this one if you are looking for a really quick read that will be continued. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and we are left wondering what will happen next. Overall, I think that this one was a promising start and I am curious to see how this story plays out.
**ARC Provided by Mark My Words Book Publicity via NetGalley**
jbquinn's review
1.0
Hmm...where don't even start. I wanted to like this quickie because it sounded pretty good & the cover is hot. You figure hot cover, hot & steamy book. Nope. That wasn't case here. The 1 sex scene was mediocre at best. I can't take a sex scene seriously when the heroine says something like, 'I felt him shoot his warm seed into my body...' I hate when authors use the word seed instead of cum. If you're only going to have one sex scene, at least make it good. Also, the characters were extremely one dimensional. No substance to them at all but, how can they with a 30 page quickie. I usually don't mind quickies but, this seems like the kind of story that needs maybe a novel to get the reader invested. The length of a novella would even do. After reading the 1st page I knew where this was going. It was very predictable.
Cheyenne is the heroine and she comes from a very wealthy ranching family. Her life has been planned out for her down to who she's going to marry. She tells her dad that she's going up for a girls night at their cabin that's on their property. Only, she's really planning on meeting Colin the guy she's supposedly going to marry. Luke who she has a crush on & is also one of the ranch hands is the one who's going to be taking her to the cabin. Only a major snowstorm is on it's way (see where I'm going with this). Needless to say Luke doesn't make it back to the ranch & Colin doesn't make it to the cabin because of the snowstorm. So, Cheyenne & Luke are now stuck with one another until someone rescues them.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend this quickie. If you do read it I recommend that you wait till the series is over because this does end on a supposed cliffie. It wasn't a major one though & unless there's a wicked major twist somewhere down the line, I can pretty much guess what's going to happen.
Cheyenne is the heroine and she comes from a very wealthy ranching family. Her life has been planned out for her down to who she's going to marry. She tells her dad that she's going up for a girls night at their cabin that's on their property. Only, she's really planning on meeting Colin the guy she's supposedly going to marry. Luke who she has a crush on & is also one of the ranch hands is the one who's going to be taking her to the cabin. Only a major snowstorm is on it's way (see where I'm going with this). Needless to say Luke doesn't make it back to the ranch & Colin doesn't make it to the cabin because of the snowstorm. So, Cheyenne & Luke are now stuck with one another until someone rescues them.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend this quickie. If you do read it I recommend that you wait till the series is over because this does end on a supposed cliffie. It wasn't a major one though & unless there's a wicked major twist somewhere down the line, I can pretty much guess what's going to happen.
denizyildiz's review
2.0
I have a confession to make: I was a total cover slut when I requested this one on Netgalley. I know; shocking! I blame it on the flu! I was momentarily impaired by flu attack.
Well, seriously. I did like the cover. Its HAWT, which is not why I requested it, but why I did read the blurb.
This is the first of a serial. And I kinda like the idea of serials. It rminds me of Dumas, since it was his way of publishing his books. But this was definitely way too short.
If we talking novella? This should have at least17500words, for some reason I doubt it has half. We talking not more than 50pgs - at best.
And this is one of my biggest issue actually. It felt rushed. It barely started, then there was smut, and poof it was over.
I didn't expect this to have a finished storyline. But this was way to quick for me. Considering that this is supposed to add up to a book... If it were a book it would be totally on the borderline of becoming a DNF at the moment.
In such a short time there is little character building that can happen. But seriously I am not sure I care for Cheyenne. She is rather melodramatic and seem really imature.
The writing style was really not my cup or tea. And here lies the true problem. It felt scripted. Sound weird saying it about a book, I know. But this is supposed to be written from Cheyenne's POV, its written in direct narrative, yet she says things like;
"His gray eyes searched my body and his hands curved around my voluptuous breasts. "
who speaks like that about their breasts?! sorry, no one i know does.
Then we come to the whole romance thing. In my opinion this is not just insta -everything; love, lust, you name it - but there is no chemistry. Now we all know how keen I am on insta-love.. so let's just not go there.
"I had made my decision. My previous innocent crush for Luke had turned into a severe lust that I couldn't control any longer."
Just one example of the odd insta thing thats going on.
But Luke is just sketchy at best and Cheyenne is really needy, I didn't feel any chemistry between them, the smut honestly made me crinch.
Will I read the next installment? well, I might give it a try. Because I do like the cover and I like the idea of the serial. Plus I have hopes that it might get better?
I think this is a fun little serial for serious romance lovers, people who don't mind any of the above mentioned.
ARC was provided by Publishers through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
flosmith's review
4.0
I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.
I would actually give this book 3.5 stars but I rounded up because I did really enjoy it. This book is billed as a novella but its more of a teaser. You just get a taste of the story and then its over. You get a good introduction to the characters and the storyline and one good sex scene and then it leaves you hanging.
Cheyenne is dutiful daughter of the wealthy ranch owner. She's engaged to the guy her dad has picked out for her but she's got a big crush on Luke who she ends up trapped in the cabin for a weekend. Luke is a nice guy with a mysterious past and is really hot.
This book is a good introduction to the series. I like the characters and their romance is promising and the triangle intriguing. Its hard to say if Cheyenne will choose love or duty before the story ends. The one sex scene is hot but not over the top,(personally I don't mind a few more details), but this makes it feel more of a romance and less of an erotica.
I'm looking forward to seeing where this story leads but I think it could have been better if more of the story was published at one time.
I would actually give this book 3.5 stars but I rounded up because I did really enjoy it. This book is billed as a novella but its more of a teaser. You just get a taste of the story and then its over. You get a good introduction to the characters and the storyline and one good sex scene and then it leaves you hanging.
Cheyenne is dutiful daughter of the wealthy ranch owner. She's engaged to the guy her dad has picked out for her but she's got a big crush on Luke who she ends up trapped in the cabin for a weekend. Luke is a nice guy with a mysterious past and is really hot.
This book is a good introduction to the series. I like the characters and their romance is promising and the triangle intriguing. Its hard to say if Cheyenne will choose love or duty before the story ends. The one sex scene is hot but not over the top,(personally I don't mind a few more details), but this makes it feel more of a romance and less of an erotica.
I'm looking forward to seeing where this story leads but I think it could have been better if more of the story was published at one time.
librarianryan's review
2.0
I had hopes for this title, it has a catchy cover and says read me. However the story says put me back on the shelf. Chyenne is setting up a secret rendezvous with her soon to be betrothed Collin. Its a stormy and snowy night and she can not wait for them to be snowed in together. Her plan back fires when Collin stays at home and she gets stuck in the cabin with sexy ranch hand Luke.
The ingredients are there, but the writing is not. You do not know the age of the characters but based on the story you can guess them to be between 23 and 28. The problem comes when the narration makes it seem like they are barley in high school. It makes it seem like a bad CW teen oversexed teen drama rather than an adult erotic title.
The ingredients are there, but the writing is not. You do not know the age of the characters but based on the story you can guess them to be between 23 and 28. The problem comes when the narration makes it seem like they are barley in high school. It makes it seem like a bad CW teen oversexed teen drama rather than an adult erotic title.
gerireads's review
3.0
3 stars!
I enjoyed this novella a lot. A lot. The only problem is that it was way too short and was over way too soon. I wanted more of Luke and Cheyenne. And that ending? Ugh! When is book two coming out? I need it like yesterday.
Putting the ending side, this was a wonderful teaser though. I say teaser because in this book, we only get a glimpse of Cheyenne and Luke's character. Cheyenne is an okay character for me. I know she's a rich girl whose life was pretty much mapped for her already. She did what was expected of her. One of them was to marry a guy befitting her status in society, in other words, a guy that her daddy approves.
Luke is the mysterious ranch hand who came to work for Cheyenne's family. He came to work for them under such unbelievable circumstances that I don't quite know what to think of it yet. But Luke is definitely mysterious and I felt like there is more to him that he's letting on.
The other guy mentioned in the book was Collin, Cheyenne's almost boyfriend. I don't want him to be a total douche but abandoning your almost girlfriend in the middle of a blizzard without informing anyone was just unacceptable. But I am interested in finding out more about him.
Overall, a good way to start a series. I'll definitely look forward to the second installment. What can I say? I'm hooked. ♥♥
*A copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this novella a lot. A lot. The only problem is that it was way too short and was over way too soon. I wanted more of Luke and Cheyenne. And that ending? Ugh! When is book two coming out? I need it like yesterday.
Putting the ending side, this was a wonderful teaser though. I say teaser because in this book, we only get a glimpse of Cheyenne and Luke's character. Cheyenne is an okay character for me. I know she's a rich girl whose life was pretty much mapped for her already. She did what was expected of her. One of them was to marry a guy befitting her status in society, in other words, a guy that her daddy approves.
Luke is the mysterious ranch hand who came to work for Cheyenne's family. He came to work for them under such unbelievable circumstances that I don't quite know what to think of it yet. But Luke is definitely mysterious and I felt like there is more to him that he's letting on.
The other guy mentioned in the book was Collin, Cheyenne's almost boyfriend. I don't want him to be a total douche but abandoning your almost girlfriend in the middle of a blizzard without informing anyone was just unacceptable. But I am interested in finding out more about him.
Overall, a good way to start a series. I'll definitely look forward to the second installment. What can I say? I'm hooked. ♥♥
*A copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
inlibrisveritas's review
4.0
3.5 Stars
Ablaze is a bite sized morsel that left me wanting to know more about the characters and what would come of them in book two. Obviously this is a rather short story but instead of rushing the reader along until the sex scene, Morgan actually spent most of the time letting us get to know Cheyenne and Luke. Cheyenne has a rather interesting life, being the daughter of a weathy rancher she has had much of her life handed to her and while she knew of the lack of freedom she never had a reason to doubt her happiness.Until she winds up stuck in a blizzard with a ranch hand named Luke. I really liked seeing them slowly get use to each other’s company, before succumbing to alcohol induced passion. I look forward to seeing how Cheyenne deals with her parents and Collin (her somewhat assumed match), and how well her and Luke will keep it a secret.
Ablaze is a bite sized morsel that left me wanting to know more about the characters and what would come of them in book two. Obviously this is a rather short story but instead of rushing the reader along until the sex scene, Morgan actually spent most of the time letting us get to know Cheyenne and Luke. Cheyenne has a rather interesting life, being the daughter of a weathy rancher she has had much of her life handed to her and while she knew of the lack of freedom she never had a reason to doubt her happiness.Until she winds up stuck in a blizzard with a ranch hand named Luke. I really liked seeing them slowly get use to each other’s company, before succumbing to alcohol induced passion. I look forward to seeing how Cheyenne deals with her parents and Collin (her somewhat assumed match), and how well her and Luke will keep it a secret.
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