Aria Kane

Thank you, Aria Kane, for sending me this ebook copy of Love and Other Games for an honest review.
I loved how these individual stories flowed together with characters from one story being mentioned in another and how each story shared similar settings, locations and the Lucky Torch. They don���t need to be read in order as printed in the book but that���s how I read them anyway.


4 STARS!!!


My Reviews...


SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!


Trouble with Gold by Melinda Dozier is the first novella in the anthology.

Nadia Hoffman is a straight-laced, career-orientated Swiss woman who dreams of making her father and family proud by landing a prestigious job at the official Olympics Committee Headquarters. She meets US Snowboarder Ty ���Trouble��� Madsen after his teammates chain him up outside in zero degree weather as an initiation prank. They are instantly attracted to each other but she refused to have anything to do with a man known for causing trouble. Soon after, Nadia is upset that her friends called her ���no fun��� and decides to prove them wrong. So, instead of following her head, she followed her heart and jumped into a free-spirited, spontaneous relationship with Ty. What started as a winter fling soon turned into something much deeper than either Nadia or Ty expected. Even though the couple never said the words ���I love you���, they clearly felt it.

The author wrote these characters with so much feeling that I easily identified with both Ty and Nadia. I understand his need to have childish fun but he was also professional businessman. I also understood why Nadia was so straight-laced���pride means everything to her���and Ty was the perfect guy to help her cut loose.

The only issue I had with the novella, which is a very little issue, is that they fell head over heels for each other way too fast. Then again, love at first sight does happen in the real world, and Nadia and Ty were so perfect and great together that it made sense.

I really enjoyed this short story.

~~~~

Ice Gold by Kara Leigh Miller is the second novella.

Brenna Jessup despised the Olympics and the athletes more than anything else. She believed that the athletes are spoiled and that they only care for themselves. When the business she works for lands a high-stakes deal, Brenna becomes the official photographer for the US Hockey team against her wishes.

Colton Campbell, the newest starting center on the team, is everything she despises. Cole is used to getting what he wants, including women, but Brenna doesn���t fall under his lustful spell. He���s determined to win her over using any means necessary. What he doesn���t expect is that Miss. Prim and Proper fights back. After minor pranks on each other escalates into Brenna accidently injuring Cole during practice on the rink, Brenna finally lets down her icy guard and Cole acts human, instead of an egotistical horn dog.

The author wrote completely believable characters and the spark between them was flaming hot! I laughed so much as Brenna found out what Cole did with her camera���God, I wish I had those pics!���and I especially loved the scene when Cole and Brenna were stuck in a closet for almost an hour.

The love that blossomed between them happened gradually over the course of about a week. They got to know each other on a level that most people didn���t see. Once she finally opened up about why hated Olympic athletes, he finally realized Brenna was the woman for him. Even though she was emotionally distant and unavailable, he taught her that not all men are untrustworthy, that some men, like himself, can change for the better. By doing so, she ended up taming the playboy and his wild ways.

My only problem was an editing problem. I don���t understand why semi-colons were often used when commas would have worked better. Then again, I read an ARC, so hopefully those little issues were fixed in the final product.

Anyway, this was a great book.

~~~~

The Girl Behind the Gold by Aria Kane is the third novella.

Evangelia Milonas is an excellent skier but she���s so shy that she doesn���t have many fans and people think she���s a snob. At first, so did I. She acted haughty and superior but you soon learn that it���s all a fa��ade. She���s a private yet very emotional person with a caring family and a sense of honor. She���s the kind of person you���d want for a best friend.

Brandon James had it rough as a kid and now, as an adult, he���s determined to be the best at what he does. As a journalist, top in his field, he���s not afraid to stomp toes and hurt feelings to get what he wants���and he wants Lia���s story, with or without her approval.

He tricks Lia into trusting him���which I admit was pretty clever and funny at first���but he started feeling guilty about it too late in the story in my opinion. It really irked me that it took him so long to realize what he was doing was very wrong and to finally admit the truth, which he did only after she found out from other sources. Yet, even though he started out as selfish, he really came through in the end. He was her hero���just as he vowed to be. Without his help, Lia and her family would have lost everything���their farm and pride���and without him apologizing in the amazing way that he did, he would have lost her forever.

I connected very deeply with Lia. I loved the family dynamic and how much they supported her. She was so mature and dedicated to her sport. I got the feeling that she couldn���t enjoy skiing and being at the Olympics as much as she should have because of the stress she felt to land a sponsor and to save the family farm. She went through a lot of that worry on her own. Even though Brandon irritated me, I understood his reasons and motivations for his lies. If I had been in his shoes, I would have done the same thing. He was desperate for a great story to save his career. The author did a wonderful job describing each character so well that the reader just can���t help but understand and fall in love with both Lia and Brandon.

The ending with this story differs than with the other three. Lia and Brandon agree to spend the next year together to work on a new project���their strong feelings for each other will obviously bloom into love���but there was no guarantee of anything permanent after a year. Of course, a HEA isn���t needed to make a great ending for a great story. The book is perfect just the way it is.

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Worth More than Gold is the fourth and last novella in this great anthology.

Amy Peirce met a charming, drop-dead gorgeous foreigner at a party and the sparks flew. The next morning, however, she woke up in his bed and he���s gone. Mortified by what happened, she ran out as quickly as possible. It took sexy Norwegian ski jumper Erik Andersen two days to find the shy redhead. Once he explained why he ���ditched her���, as she claimed, and they make up, they slow down their hot and steamy relationship to get to know one another.

Amy is overly protective of her little sister, who is a 17 year old Olympic figure skater; Erik doesn���t expect to win a medal because of an accident at the last Olympics, yet he is completely fine with that. He���s at the games to support his team and to watch over his younger teammates. They both have dreams in life but they let other people or things hold them back. Together, however, Amy learned to have fun and Erik gained more confidence and improved his game.

Erik is adorable!!! I love tall, blond men with a sexy accent. Amy and her best friend call him the Viking and that description fits���other than Vikings having tempers. He���s so calm and peaceful. He���s also very blunt, which makes him seem so innocent. He doesn���t speak English fluently so his conversations with Amy were at times either funny or problematic. He doesn���t explain himself well sometimes and she overacts, leaving him completely confused. The language barrier was the greatest threat to their budding relationship. Other than that, there wasn���t anything else standing in the way of their happiness.

The author did a great job matching these two people together. They both are business-oriented���meaning she has a business degree and he plans to open a ski school���so their future together is destined. They just really clicked, even beyond great sex, and made each other happy outside the bedroom.

I really loved this book.



Thank you, Aria Kane, Kara Leigh Miller, Ana Blaze and Melinda Dozier for these wonderful stories.


… (más)

Thank you, Aria Kane, for giving me an ARC, ecopy of One Lucky Night, for an honest review.
First of all, I love how all five of these stories are connected. All five couples find love on the same night, at the same place. Events from one story will coincide with events in another. At times, the reader will get to see the same event through multiple view points throughout each story. It made for a very entertaining read.
Also, I loved that the old man with the white beard, gray three-piece suit and green tie appeared in all the stories. His sage advice helped all the couples and, although this anthology isn't a paranormal story in the least, I liked how he magically vanished only to reappear, and then vanish again later. He was like an Irish love spirit sent to Earth to bring people together. It was very romantic.
Although there were typos and grammatically-incorrect sentences (mostly in story 5 that I could tell), it didn���t take away from the book. I just hope that the editors will fix the problems during revisions and final edits.

Lucky Break by Aria Kane

Andrea Rivera and Derek Chase have a shared past of romance and heartache. I admired both characters (especially her strong-willed personality and his innate nature to protect no matter what) even though their actions stopped them from being together for four years. They finally reconnect over a broken dishwasher that wasn���t even broken. The sparks fly and the claws shred light into why their romance failed.
This was a beautiful story of second chances, the importance of honesty and the fact that tragedy can either bring people closer together or tear them apart.
4 Stars.

Lucky Star by Grace Teague

Charlotte Price and Tommy Leung are best friends and he���s the one she calls after a frightening encounter with a mugger. She reevaluates her whole life and realizes that her biggest regret if she had died was that Tommy didn���t know that she was in love with him. She set out to tell him but one disaster after another stopped her, until everything blows up in her face.
I really liked Charlotte and Tommy���s banter and their very close yet platonic friendship. The POV is entirely Charlotte���s and she puts Tommy on a pedestal (and downplays herself) which kinda annoyed me after a while. Anyway, I won���t give away the ending (ie: Tommy���s reaction to her admission once she finally tells him) but there is a HEA.
3 Stars.

A New Tune by Ana Blaze

Holly Hall and Cian O���Neill have spent the past few months flirting but now she avoids him like the plague after a surprise kiss on New Year���s Eve. She���s a waitress at the bar, he���s a musician who performs at the bar, so they constantly see each other. She���s dealing with a fair share of embarrassment and heartache from past mistakes and she refuses to let him close. Cian is determined to break through her walls with soulful, romantic songs. I admire his tenacity and the fact that he never gives up on Holly even though she has given him countless reasons to do so.
Their romance is slow to build but once it does��� wow, it���s sizzling. I love stories with musicians, especially honorable musicians like Cian who doesn���t sleep with every hot girl who bats her eyelashes at him. It was very refreshing.
4 Stars.

Lexi���s Chance by Constance Phillips

Sean Whelan is one of the brothers who owns and operates The Brazen Head. He���s sexy, confident and a total flirt. Lexi Mattson runs a homeless shelter and, because of past trauma, she takes her job far too seriously. She���s wary of falling for Sean because he flirts with most of the women in the bar but she soon realizes that he���s more than he seems.
Sean is my favorite hero of the series. I think the other men���s personal trauma was worst than his but Sean���s sincerity and sexy actions regarding Lexi pulled me in like a moth to the flame.
4 Stars.

Drink or Dare by Melinda Dozier

Killian Whelan and Rachel Robertson have an academic rivalry. They both want to be the best so much that they have overlooked a potential romance for months, until Rachel walks into Killian���s family pub and sees him in a kilt. Killian lost a bet with his brother, Sean, and has to wear the sexy Irish kilt all night. Her friends instantly see their attraction to one another and set out to force them together through a series of flirtatious dares.
It was fun to watch Rachel break free of her demure, shy demeanor and take a chance. Killian has a huge crush on Rachel and finally expressed his feeling for her through teasing banter. Their romance plays throughout the whole story for a hot climax at the end.

4 Stars.… (más)

Sibilance by Aria Kane

Paranormal shifter romance. Contemporary.

Sophia is on the move, running from a con game gone wrong. She ends up in an Emergency clinic with silver poisoning where she learns the town of Willow Creek is filled with shifters. She’s only ever known two shifters: her mother and herself.
Desmond is the doctor that helps Sophia. He’s interested in her and when he realizes she may be in danger, he’s first on the list to help.

I loved Desmond. He’s a bit of a prankster and his humor is treaded throughout the story.

I received this book as conference swag years ago. I put off reading it because something about the cover was too creepy for me. So even though I’m a huge fan of paranormal romance, It sat on the shelf until now and a reading challenge.
I’m glad I finally read it. It was entertaining and captivating with a few twists that were amusing.

A few typing errors in the print book that I’m hoping have been fixed since the 2015 publication date like the doctor’s name on the very first page! Push past it. It’s worth the read.… (más)

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review. I rated it 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

A collection of four short stories taking place during a fictional Winter Olympics, Love and Other Games by Ana Blaze, Aria Kane, Kara Leigh Miller and Melinda Dozier is light hearted, full of spicy romance and a fun read. The authors remind us that even though the athletes are serious about participating in their sport, and their pursuit of a gold medal, they are also there to have a good time. And what could be more fun than falling in love during what is guaranteed to be a once in a lifetime experience. I’ll be doing mini reviews of each novella below.

Trouble with Gold by Melinda Dozier
A cute story featuring Ty “Trouble” Madsen, a member of the US Snowboarding team, and how he meets Nadia Hoffman, a reception and protocol volunteer, while he’s handcuffed, and only wearing boxers, to a fence in the Olympic village. Bringing together a guy who’s as serious about having fun as he is competing and a woman who’s forgotten how to have fun in her pursuit of landing her dream job with the Olympic committee, Ms. Dozier reminds us why opposites attract. Ms. Dozier does a good job developing the romance between both characters and while the ending is not a HEA – it is a Happy for Now with the possibility of more.

Ice Gold by Kara Leigh Miller
A spicy romance between two Americans at the games, Ice Gold features Colton Campbell, the star of the US Men’s Hockey Team, and Brenna Jessup, the official photographer for the team. Bringing together an athlete who’s not used to hearing the word no with a woman who avoids athletes on principles, Ms. Miller reminds us that athletes are real people too and that the “image” the press gives us is just a part of the picture. The romance that develops between Colt and Brenna is smoking hot and the end of their story was just right.

The Girl Behind the Gold by Aria Kane
A heartwarming love story between a Greek aerial skier and an American reporter, The Girl Behind the Gold is perhaps my favorite story in this anthology. Ms. Kane does a wonderful job using “mistaken identity” to bring her characters together. Once again the “lucky torch” makes an appearance, and gives aerial skier “Lia” Minolas the push she needs to be open, friendly and honest with Brandon James, a reporter she has mistaken for a sponsor. While Brandon falls in love with the woman behind the skies, he scrambles to help the athlete get the attention she needs in order to help her get sponsors and save her family’s farm. I was really sorry to see the story end and hope we get to see these characters again so that I can get the rest of their story. While we don’t get an HEA, we do get a Happy for Now with the promise of more.

Worth More Than Gold by Ana Blaze
A more comedic story than the rest, Worth More than Gold gives us the instant romance between Amy Pierce, the sister of one of the US Olympic ice skaters, and Erik Andresen, a Norwegian Ski Jumper. Used to being the responsible sister, Amy attends a party away from the athlete’s village and meets Erik. Instantly attracted to each other, they hook up and then continue to hookup even as they try to figure out if a relationship between them could work. With language issues, and “good luck charm” issues come and go between them, it was clear to me that they were fated to meet and fall in love. I was sad to see their story end and hope we get to see them again, especially since it seemed they were definitely headed to the HEA that Amy deserved.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this anthology and look forward to reading more of these four author’s work.… (más)