Kat Mizera

Sometimes the issue with anthologies is that I find is that I only enjoy a couple of the stories. Yet, with this anthology that was not the issue. I enjoyed the majority of them stories in this one. Of course, my favorite authors did not disappoint with their contributions...Lasairiona McMaster, Victoria Denault, and Sierra Hill.

The other authors I have heard their names or are new to me and it was great to be introduced to their worlds from their various series or new series. I was intrigued enough to read out full length books from these authors. A nice variety of stories for all types of readers.… (más)

Sergei comes to Las Vegas to pick up his son after his hockey season ended to find his son calling a woman Mama D. He is upset because his wife died. He takes his anger out on Dani, his son's Mama D. She lets him know she does not appreciate his attitude. When he decides he needs to go back to Anchorage, Alaska, to get ready for next season, he convinces Dani to come with him as the nanny for his son. She agrees but only until she needs to go to Colorado in September to get ready for the Olympics hockey team. Will they become more than nanny and employer? Will Dani leave in September? Will heartbreak be in their future?

I liked this story. I liked Dani. She is strong and independent. She loves Nico, Sergei's son, and the feeling is reciprocated. She has a clear picture of where she is going. Sergei, while I like him, becomes a roadblock. I could feel the warring inside of her. She dictates what he will do but she is not happy with it. He is willing to do whatever she wants. He is no pushover. I liked his teammates--Aaron and Jake. They speak directly to him, no rambling about what he should do. They call him on his BS. I liked Aaron's solution. He seems to be trouble. I was glad everything worked out.

I look forward to reading the rest of the series and learning all the guys stories.… (más)

I paid ninety-nine cents for this, and finished it fast so I could return it because frankly, free would be over-priced. While there's potential here, there is so much wrong that I made three and a half pages of notes - and I think that's the only reason I finished reading it. It desperately needed a technical edit for facts, like Hitler's hate started spreading in the '30s, not the '40s. Same-sex marriage became law in 2015 - this was published in 2017, which means Jamie did not have to be as stupid as he was. Repeatedly. Over and over.

But he is stupid. Later on, he should've called the police. He knew he was outnumbered.

Readers who five-starred this? WTF - did you even read this book? What else is wrong? Oh. So much. Given their histories, neither guy should be so casual about threesomes. And yet. Dante is a dick and apologizes with money. There is casual misogyny everywhere, like dandruff, and the author has a horrible head-hopping habit. It's one of the laziest things a writer can do to readers: we do not experience other people's thoughts, only our own. When presenting a character, and then mid-scene wandering off to another character's thoughts, the writer violates our trust. If we can see anyone's thoughts, why invest in what's happening? There won't be any mystery. The timeline is confusing, the who-what-where of threesomes is confusing (I presume it makes more sense if I'd read book 1, but frankly had I done that, I never would've read another one. Dante is a dick), and Jamie treating Viggo like a yo-yo was cruel. Jamie's whining about his manhood got really, really old. Best scene was Viggo calling him on his bullshit. I'm skipping a lot of notes because there are so many. I get the whole bi confusion as presented by Viggo who tries to give Jamie space to accept it too. But Jamie acting like he can somehow escape falling in love just because he wants a heteronormative family unit "some day" is very dorky, and repeated ad nauseam. Also the 'hockey is all I know' mantra. This book cries out for an editor. The author is not very good at tension. She substitutes repetitive angst and throws in skinheads and it just isn't ... great. None of this is great.

I was hoping for something even approaching polyamory, but even when they almost sorta-kinda get there-ish, the ex-wife runs away. I don't care why. The BDSM rep is... not good. There's a disclaimer, but it's lip service. When I, not into it, know more than the author? Yeah. Not good. Really, neither is the m/m sex rep. Anal sex is not the epitome of sex any more than vaginal penetration is. Serious lack of imagination/experience/research here.

There is a Worst Thing. It's this charity they suddenly invent in the last chapter. I quote: "The money we raise will not just bring awareness, it will help eliminate labels like gay, bisexual, transgender and more. Our goal is to make the idea of love simply that—love. No labels, no differences, and absolutely no hate."

I...what? There ARE differences! LABELS AREN'T BAD!!! and if you're eliminating labels, then you'd better include straight! And Transgender is not a sexual orientation. LOOK IT UP.

In other words, I do not recommend this series. At all.… (más)

DNF at 33% Could have been good. Gets bogged down in repetition and an unawareness of its own potential.

This being the sixth book in a series, and hardly the author's first set of works, I expected better. But I did not get better at all. It's nicely formatted, but it cries out for an editor who loves red pens and demands excess verbiage and nonsense phrasing be upgraded to meaningful prose and unique, intriguing phrasing. And cut out the annoying repetition!

I think a lot of authors don't know how FAST readers read. We'll remember, okay?

MISSED POTENTIAL:
Both these characters are demisexual, but the author seems unaware what that can mean. As a demisexual, I assure you it's no hardship to avoid sex until you get your emotional needs met. It's as common for men as women, just commit to it already.

There are more comments in the highlights.… (más)