HOT SUMMER NIGHTS Anthology-a review and giveaway
ebook only .99¢: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO /
Release Date : July 30, 2014
Welcome to the exotic paradise of Dasia Island. In the Elysium Resort, nestled among the lush beauty of the rainforest, adventure and romance await. In these nine short stories by bestselling and award winning authors, passion ignites between people from all walks of life, with stories ranging from New Adult to Erotic Romance, and even a bit of Paranormal and Time Travel thrown in—after all the island itself has a mystical history, with mysteries and legends to explore. Lose yourself in the magic of the island … you’ll never want to go home again!
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Beauty and the Brain-Alicia Michaels
She’s a rich, spoiled brat. He’s a smarmy know-it-all. Chloe Sanders came to Dasia Island to lie on the beach and go to the spa. Chase Watkins is roughing in the rainforest with a research group, studying wildlife. The two couldn’t be more different, but in the swelter and mystery of the island, opposites just might attract.
REVIEW: From the outset, our heroine Chloe Sanders, set my anxiety on overload-she is a self centred, immature, spoiled, designer wearing rich girl who acts more like a high school mean girl than a college graduate. The storyline finds Chloe vacationing on the island of Dasia where everything and everyone gets on her nerves. The secondary characters are colorful and have a difficult time handling Chloe’s attitude, judgment and behavior. Our leading man Chase is the tree hugging, organic loving vegetarian while Chloe is the complete opposite and makes her feelings very well known. Is it all an act? Has she been hurt before? What will happen once she leaves the Island? BEAUTY AND THE BRAIN reads more like a YA storyline than New Adult-it is an introductory novella to Alicia Michaels’s SHARING SPACES NA series and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
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The Laws of Attraction-Carly Fall
Criminal attorney Jared Greer cares about one thing: the next big case. He doesn’t think about right and wrong when taking on a client; he thinks of the paycheck and lives lavishly.
A potential client brings him to Dasia Island where he teams up with Monica, an island local. As they organize the case documents and explore the resort, their passion makes Jared reconsider his life, especially if he wants Monica in it.
REVIEW: The premise follows Jared Greer as he gathers information about a potential client in a wrongful death law suit against a toy manufacturer. When the temp agency sends in Monica to help with Jared’s information recovery all bets are off when their attraction to one another becomes more important than winning a client’s approval.
Carly Fall has the ability to pull the reader into a sensual storyline where opposites attract. Where Jared is quick to judge, Monica gives the benefit of a doubt. At times, Jared is cold and aloof but Monica will bring out something in Jared he hasn’t felt in a very long time.
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The Art of Losing Inhibition-Casse NaRome
One man’s trash is another woman’s treasure.
Reeling from the loss of her husband to a carefree socialite, uptight Kennedy retreats to Dasia island for a little bit of R and R. Will she learn to let loose in the arms of Basil, the wild-child trust-fund baby with a silver tongue?
REVIEW: Written from alternating first person POVs, THE ART OF LOSING INHIBITION is a F/F storyline that starts off rather quickly in the sex department. Kennedy is on the rebound from a disaster of a marriage and Basil is the current object of her affections on Dasia Island. Attitude and preconceived notions are the building blocks of heartbreak and betrayal, and in the end both Kennedy and Basil acted immature and rude. The secondary characters add color and some background information. The relationship and proclamations of forever are quick to develop.
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His Island Paradise-C.J. Baty
Gar Lancaster wasn’t depressed, no matter what his sister said. He didn’t need a trip to a tropical island to meet some guy for a vacation romance. But when Mike Peters kissed him on the balcony under a sea of stars with the pounding waves hitting the shore below them, things changed. Maybe, he didn’t need a happily ever after. Maybe happily for right now would be okay. Whatever happened, Gar was pretty sure he was in way over his head.
REVIEW: HIS ISLAND PARADISE is a M/M storyline that introduces Garland (Gar) Lancaster and Mike Peters. Vacationing on the Island of Dasia with his sister following the breakdown of his most recent relationship Gar Lancaster meets bartender Mike Peters and sparks fly. Mike is an alpha male who pursues Gar but seeing Mike in another woman’s arms finds Gar at odds with his feelings and attraction to the other male. What ensues is a case of mistaken beliefs and a declaration of together-for the remainder of the island vacation.
The sexual relationship is quick to develop as feelings of love and a possible future between Gar and Mike are dampened with Gar’s return back to the States. HIS ISLAND PARADISE is an introductory novella that focuses on two men whose attraction to one another cannot be stopped by distance.
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Life After Death-Elise Marion
The loss of their son in a tragic accident left Jameson and Victoria Blake’s marriage in tatters. Together they were never able to move past it, and they parted ways after a painful divorce. But in the wilds of the rainforest, the realization that love has never died between them will rise to the surface.
REVIEW: LIFE AFTER DEATH is a story of second chances for one couple. Following the death of their infant son, Victoria and Jameson’s marriage did not survive the fallout. Guilt, frustration, depression and loss had amounted to more than they could handle. Finding one another again, on the island of Dasia, sparks something between Victoria and Jameson that proves their love is as strong if not stronger than before the death of their son.
LIFE AFTER DEATH looks at the aftermath and resulting dissolution of a marriage destroyed by guilt and presumptions. There is heartbreak and sorrow for two people who have lost too much including one another. The secondary characters are a group of well meaning friends who have witnessed the demise of a once beautiful couple knowing that one day they would find one another –again. The beauty of the islands is the back drop to the beauty that is love between two people who never stopped loving one another.
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Layover-Kacey Hammell
Hand’s off. That’s Gemma Sands’ cardinal rule when it comes to dating co-workers. But she’d like to get her hands on Michael Harmon. Michael has his own idea about where he’d like to put his hands. But Gemma’s steadfast rule means Michael simply admires from afar. But when an unexpected layover on Dasia Island forces them to share tight quarters, they are unable to resist their passion, and finally surrender to every touch they desperately need.
REVIEW: LAYOVER is an erotic short story of forbidden romance between pilot Michael Harmon and Gemma Sands. After landing on Dasia Island, Michael and Gemma find themselves rooming together when the plane Michael was piloting had issues that needed to be addressed. A long night of passion followed by a day of sight seeing ends with a promise of something more.
The main focus of the story is our couple therefore the secondary characters are limited to Michael’s co-pilot and a few of the resort employees. LAYOVER is a romantic storyline with no anxiety or angst. It is a look at two adults who know what they want and go for it without any regrets.
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Woman in the Mist-Natalie G. Owens
Garrick Kaili ‘Kai’ Langston, heir to the 5-star Euthykhia Hotel, remains on Dasia Island out of loyalty to his family. But this building harbors some dark secrets—unsolved mysteries that haunt one of its oldest residents. Some say Poppy Drummond had been swallowed by the deadly mist near the Dasia ruins. Others claim such notions are merely the product of a crazy mind…But Kai is just about to find out—the truth is never what it seems when the walls between fantasy and reality crumble down.
REVIEW: WOMAN IN THE MIST is a paranormal/time travel storyline that focuses on a fifty year old murder and the disappearance and reappearance of Poppy Drummond in the fabled mists of Dasia Island. Kai Langston knew everything there was to know about Poppy Drummond –from the stories her now ninety year old mother had told-about the woman who disappeared fifty years earlier.
The storyline follows a time travel mystery that begins with a murder and ends when Poppy Drummond reappears from the mists that held her captive for close to fifty years. What ensues is a romance, a revelation and vindication for a family who have mourned the loss of a father and daughter. Because WOMAN IN THE MIST is a short story, the relationship is quick to develop; no one is completely surprised by the reappearance of the missing woman; and the guilty party is willing to complete what he started so many years before.
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Guide me Gently-Peggy Martinez
Alyssa Monroe always dreamed of escaping to exotic locales as a photographer. Unfortunately, she’s spent the last four years capturing a truly frightening species with her camera instead. Celebrities. When the opportunity presents itself to visit the exotic Dasia Island, Alyssa is thrilled. Now if she can just deal with the only guide willing to take her deep into a forbidden forest. A sexy, tattooed local who sets her blood on fire and gets her camera finger itching
REVIEW: GUIDE ME GENTLY is an contemporary, adult short romantic story, told from first per POV (Alyssa), that follows photographer Alyssa Monroe as she contemplates life and the future. With Benjamin as her guide, Alyssa will discover that the ancient ruins offer more than a mystical storyline but the beginnings of love and a HEA.
GUIDE ME GENTLY is a romantic tale about two people looking for something in their lives and finding is on Dasia Island. Alyssa has always followed order now she wants to follow a different path-one that includes Ben and a future they can call their own.
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City of Sin-R.K. Ryals
On Dasia Island, there’s a legend about a city of sin, a tragic story that ended in a mist of death. Haven Ambrose is a Journalism major on a mission. River Brayden is a meteorologist with a tropical system to follow. Their love is strong, but is it strong enough to survive a storm that leaves them stranded them with an ancient evil?
REVIEW: CITY OF SIN is a second chance/friends to lovers, new adult, contemporary paranormal storyline told from alternating first person POV (River and Haven). After finding the legendary Dasia ruins regaled by the Hamartia Legend, River and Haven are trapped by the mists and an approaching storm. As Haven chased a legend, River chased the storm bringing them together with the people who disappeared hundreds of years before. Their love broke a curse freeing the lonely people of the Hamartia Legend.
CITY OF SIN is another short story where love and romance overcome the impossible. Two friends whose love for one another has crossed distance and time, will free the lost souls whose myth and legend have cursed the Island for years.
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HOT SUMMER NIGHTS is a nine storyline anthology where each storyline is connected through Dasia Island or the mythological ruins of the Hamartia Legend but are NOT interconnected storylines. Each can be read as a stand alone. These are the stories where the past meets the present; where love binds the soul; where the lost are found. From romance to erotica; paranormal to fantasy; new adult to adult contemporary, there is a little bit of everything for fans of the romance genre. Each storyline has their own pluses and minuses with relationships that are quick to develop; some with awkward or uncomfortable moments; romantic entanglements or heartbreak; sensuality or erotic sex; but in the end everyone with find their HEA or their HEA for now.
I will be upfront and say it is difficult to review an anthology especially one with numerous short stories and novellas. It is almost impossible NOT to reveal some pertinent information but hopefully I have only skimmed the surface of each storyline and novella.
Copy supplied by the author(s)
Reviewed by Sandy
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