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brandypainter's review
4.0
Like in [b:Rogue Desire|35654211|Rogue Desire|Adriana Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1500580790s/35654211.jpg|57106758], the stories in this anthology are diverse. Again, there were a couple I didn't read for reasons involving my own comfort level with descriptiveness. The rating is for the stories I did read. I thoroughly enjoyed all the ones I did. My absolute favorite of those was Emma Barry's story, which is unsurprising as I love everything she writes. But this story is about a journalists and I happened to be married to a journalist. The number of times the hero's professional thoughts and frustrations matched what I hear from my husband on a regular basis was amazing. I also really enjoyed the story by Jane Lee Blair too, which is fairly amazing given my total lack of caring about football. I just really love the way she writes and can't wait until she has more stories for me to buy. The other story that stood out to me in this one was Stacey Agdern's, which I found surprising since I liked her story in the first one just fine but didn't love it. I almost skipped it and I'm really glad I didn't.
araleith's review
4.0
There were a couple stories I didn't super love but most of this anthology was just what I needed.
briarsreviews's review
4.0
Dedication of a Lifetime by Tamsen Parker
I'm torn - I don't know how to feel about this story. I enjoyed it, but at the same time I was hoping for a little bit...more? Let me explain - I have many points!
1. I love Tamsen Parker and her writing style - she matches with me so well. So writing style wise, I really enjoyed this story. It is smooth and flows easily, which made it easy to read. She gets point for that.
2. But...I felt like there wasn't much of a plot. It felt more like a discussion, a few random situations, and lots of "sexy time". I couldn't see the plot line this story was following. It just seemed to random for me.
3. That being said, this may not have been the best time for me to read it. I'm incredibly frustrated at the moment and I thought some reading would help me. Also, the tablet I read it on now has a random crack and that put me in an even worse mood - so I kept looking at the little crack in my screen as I read it.... Sooooooo... I think I just threw all of my frustration at this story. I picked it apart WAY more than I typically do when casually reading. So keep that in mind...
So, in summary - this book is another great read by Tamsen Parker. It's an easy, contemporary (yet really sexy) read that is great for one sitting. It's nothing mind blowing - no crazy "Inception" like plots to follow, it's just a casual read. Which means, if you are looking for a nice, easy read that involves some heavy romance - you've got it!!
Four out of five Stars.
I also read through some of the other stories, so I will rate them as followed:
Ainsley Booth's Personal Proposal - 4 stars.
I have never read anything by Ainsley Booth before (not that I can remember, anyways) and I think I might have to pick up a few of her books/stories. This story was definitely within my my interests.
Side note: AND SHE HAS A CANADIAN EROTIC ROMANCE SERIES?! I'm totally in. Where can I find this lady's books?!
Olivia Dade's Work of Heart - 3 stars.
I spent way to long spelling Olivia as Olicia as I tried to write this review.
This story was cute and I enjoyed it! I just found that this story didn't wow my socks off. I would like to read more by Olivia to give her a chance because she seems like a really great author. I liked her writing style and the story moved at a good pace for me. I think if she had more room & chapters to expand her story, I would REALLY like her writing.
Kris Ripper's The President's Protector - 3 stars.
I'm not super crazy into political romances, but this story was a good read. It was very casual, and flowed easily. I liked Kris's ability to build characters within this short amount of time - I just don't think this specific story if my (personal) cup of tea. I would definitely suggest readers giving this story a try because it is REALLY good.
Amy Jo Cousins's Fallacies & Flirtations - WAS NOT IN MY COPY. It's in it when it's released. I'm kind of sad, I won't lie...but hey! You can't have everything, can ya? ;)
Emma Barry's The Fourth Estate - 4 stars.
I liked this story! I thought it was really sexy and I am determined to find more stories by Emma Barry! I love anthologies like this where I can find new authors easily by just reading little snippets of their work!! I really enjoyed reading about Drew and Brynn and their strange relationship. I would have loved for this little concept to be an entire book, because the writing was just fantastic!!
Adriana Anders's Such Great Heights - 4 stars.
Adriana Anders is another author I HAVE to read more by. I keep falling in love with her little stories - so at some point I will read her books!!! Adriana has a lot of writing talent - her writing isn't exactly my "style", but I still get hooked and addicted. It takes quite a bit for an author to do that - so I'm impressed! The story is smooth, it moves fast enough to keep my attention held and it's well written. Four stars Adriana!! Looooove it!
Kelly Maher's Dissent and Desire - 3 stars.
Kelly Maher has a great story within this anthology! She definitely is a writer to watch out for!!
Stacey Agdern's Mr. Klein Goes to Albany - 4 stars.
A Canadian hockey player turned diplomat...That alone got me hooked. I can't help it, my inner Canadian gets excited about Canadian centered stories (that doesn't mean every Canadian story is good, but this one was)!! This story had me hooked at the start and kept my attention all the way through. I definitely need to pick up more by Stacey! This story was a pleasant surprise! I'm always a little worried about silly Canadian stereotypes, but this story did not disappoint!
Jane Lee Blair's Take a Knee - 3 stars.
Another story where the author's writing shines through!! Jane's story telling is addicting... I'm really interested in the stories she can tell with her voice!!
Thank you Tamsen Parker for sending me this wonderful advanced reader's copy! It's a real joy getting these books BEFORE all the spoilers come out - I'm horrible at reading spoilers!! It'sj ust to tempting...
I'm torn - I don't know how to feel about this story. I enjoyed it, but at the same time I was hoping for a little bit...more? Let me explain - I have many points!
1. I love Tamsen Parker and her writing style - she matches with me so well. So writing style wise, I really enjoyed this story. It is smooth and flows easily, which made it easy to read. She gets point for that.
2. But...I felt like there wasn't much of a plot. It felt more like a discussion, a few random situations, and lots of "sexy time". I couldn't see the plot line this story was following. It just seemed to random for me.
3. That being said, this may not have been the best time for me to read it. I'm incredibly frustrated at the moment and I thought some reading would help me. Also, the tablet I read it on now has a random crack and that put me in an even worse mood - so I kept looking at the little crack in my screen as I read it.... Sooooooo... I think I just threw all of my frustration at this story. I picked it apart WAY more than I typically do when casually reading. So keep that in mind...
So, in summary - this book is another great read by Tamsen Parker. It's an easy, contemporary (yet really sexy) read that is great for one sitting. It's nothing mind blowing - no crazy "Inception" like plots to follow, it's just a casual read. Which means, if you are looking for a nice, easy read that involves some heavy romance - you've got it!!
Four out of five Stars.
I also read through some of the other stories, so I will rate them as followed:
Ainsley Booth's Personal Proposal - 4 stars.
I have never read anything by Ainsley Booth before (not that I can remember, anyways) and I think I might have to pick up a few of her books/stories. This story was definitely within my my interests.
Side note: AND SHE HAS A CANADIAN EROTIC ROMANCE SERIES?! I'm totally in. Where can I find this lady's books?!
Olivia Dade's Work of Heart - 3 stars.
I spent way to long spelling Olivia as Olicia as I tried to write this review.
This story was cute and I enjoyed it! I just found that this story didn't wow my socks off. I would like to read more by Olivia to give her a chance because she seems like a really great author. I liked her writing style and the story moved at a good pace for me. I think if she had more room & chapters to expand her story, I would REALLY like her writing.
Kris Ripper's The President's Protector - 3 stars.
I'm not super crazy into political romances, but this story was a good read. It was very casual, and flowed easily. I liked Kris's ability to build characters within this short amount of time - I just don't think this specific story if my (personal) cup of tea. I would definitely suggest readers giving this story a try because it is REALLY good.
Amy Jo Cousins's Fallacies & Flirtations - WAS NOT IN MY COPY. It's in it when it's released. I'm kind of sad, I won't lie...but hey! You can't have everything, can ya? ;)
Emma Barry's The Fourth Estate - 4 stars.
I liked this story! I thought it was really sexy and I am determined to find more stories by Emma Barry! I love anthologies like this where I can find new authors easily by just reading little snippets of their work!! I really enjoyed reading about Drew and Brynn and their strange relationship. I would have loved for this little concept to be an entire book, because the writing was just fantastic!!
Adriana Anders's Such Great Heights - 4 stars.
Adriana Anders is another author I HAVE to read more by. I keep falling in love with her little stories - so at some point I will read her books!!! Adriana has a lot of writing talent - her writing isn't exactly my "style", but I still get hooked and addicted. It takes quite a bit for an author to do that - so I'm impressed! The story is smooth, it moves fast enough to keep my attention held and it's well written. Four stars Adriana!! Looooove it!
Kelly Maher's Dissent and Desire - 3 stars.
Kelly Maher has a great story within this anthology! She definitely is a writer to watch out for!!
Stacey Agdern's Mr. Klein Goes to Albany - 4 stars.
A Canadian hockey player turned diplomat...That alone got me hooked. I can't help it, my inner Canadian gets excited about Canadian centered stories (that doesn't mean every Canadian story is good, but this one was)!! This story had me hooked at the start and kept my attention all the way through. I definitely need to pick up more by Stacey! This story was a pleasant surprise! I'm always a little worried about silly Canadian stereotypes, but this story did not disappoint!
Jane Lee Blair's Take a Knee - 3 stars.
Another story where the author's writing shines through!! Jane's story telling is addicting... I'm really interested in the stories she can tell with her voice!!
Thank you Tamsen Parker for sending me this wonderful advanced reader's copy! It's a real joy getting these books BEFORE all the spoilers come out - I'm horrible at reading spoilers!! It'sj ust to tempting...
theladyinreds's review
4.0
So far, I've only read Ainsley Booth's f/f story which I really really liked. Which isn't a shock really since I love her contemporary roms.
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