Overall rating 4.5 rounded up to 5 Stars

The Magician and the Mortician 5 Stars
A.E. Wasp is one of my favorite authors and in this story she once again hits a grand slam!

The Professional Gamer and the Paranormal Photographer by Allison Hendricks 4.5 Stars
Coincidentally the book I just finished before this one was my first Allison Hendricks read. I really loved that one and feel the same way about this short story. Have to admit at the beginning I was kinda wondering how this pairing would work... but it did and very well!

The Assassin and the Dog Walker by Charlie Cochet 4.75 Stars
Prior to this story the only ones by Ms. Cochet that I had read were her North Pole City Tales, which I loved to death. This story is very different theme wise however it still has the amazing heart and incredible story-telling the other had. She had me by my heart and balls throughout this short story and the payoff at the end was awesome!

The Criminal and the Sommelier by Chris Owen 3 Stars
This is my least favorite story thus far... I thought that the chemistry between the 2 MCs was great and the story itself was very interesting. The deal breaker for me was how quickly Phillipe tossed out his issues with Angelo breaking the law so easily and quickly as if just becausae Angelo was sweet and charming that made him being a thief ok.

The Superhero and the NSA Agent by Hailey Turner 5 Stars
First time read of this author... gonna read a lot more of her work! This story was awesome! The verbal banter between the 2 MCs when they meet in the Emergency Room at Harbor/UCLA was so hot it was practically a sex scene. What they got up to after going back to Shane's condo makes this story the hottest thus far in this collection!

The Tattoo Artist and the Writer by Lily Morton 5 Stars
Another new author for me and another reallly awesome story. This one definitely had it scorching moments, but it gets the 5 stars for being the sweetest, most tender and most tear-inducing story. Noah and Sage are incredible!

The Uber Driver and The Phone Sex Operator by Lucy Lennox 4.5 Stars
Lucy Lennox is one of my top 5 fav gay romance authors so I had high expectations for this story. She certainly met and exceeded them! Travis and Azrael were so awesome and so very real. The sweetness and tenderness of this story made me feel all snuggley. And the hot parts... I'll just say they worked just as well!

The Baker and The Seal by May Archer 4.5 Stars
First time reading something by this author... not the last. This was likely the shortest work in the anthology but have to give kudos to her because it was also one of the best. Good things definitely can come in small packages!

The Event Planner and the Electrician by Poppy Dennison 4 Stars
First time to read something by Ms. Dennison, this was good as far as it went but I think it really needed to be just a bit longer to truely feel like a complete story. I liked the 2 MC's a lot, especially Harvey.

The Lawyer and the Lobsterman by Ruthie Luhnow 4 Stars
Sexy and sweet, but too short. So much potential here for exploration. I loved what there was of it. I am confused a bit cuz I would have thought that all authors participating in this would have been asked for approxiamately the same length to there stories. Yet some were much longer than others.

The Florist and The Lawyer by Sloane Kennedy 5 Stars
This is one of my most favorite stories in this anthology. It is sweet, tender and tear-inducing. I loved, loved, loved it!

Setup and Aftermath by ??? 4.5 stars
Really loved these sweet and sexy bookends of the anthology, whoever wrote this did a great job!

What a fun and entertaining Valentine's read!

So I got the chance to read this book early in order to review the contribution of one of my fav authors, Hailey Turner, but I have to say this - I loved the whole frickin' thing! The premise of the anthology is cute and quirky - a dating app that is debuting for Valentine's Day has some glitches due to a romantic situation that starts the anthology between the app programmer and a window washer. Distracted by the hunky window washer, our cute computer geek might have not been as thorough in his beta testing as he should have been ::wink wink:: and now the app's algorithm is setting up matches that may not be the perfect 'Mr. Right' for the paired person... or is Cupid just working his usual romantic mischief and using this mistake to make the best matches of all?

So let me start with Hailey's story in the Anthology - The Superhero and the NSA Agent. OMG, I have epic geek gurl love for this story! It's Hailey's first foray into contemporary lgbtq2s romance and she !

The story starts out in a seedy dock area of the Port of Lose Angeles where NSA Agent Shane Parson and his partner Laura Tavers are playing eyes and ears for a joint operation cartel bust that he provided the research and intel on. As they wait for the bust to go down we learn that Shane is a consumate workaholic and hasn't been on a date in FOREVER but his hilarious, ball-busting partner Laura has signed him up for the Heart2Heart dating app without his knowledge and arranged for him to have a date that night - Valentine's day night. Laura, Shane's FBI friend who is leading the bust, and a number of other co-workers are all too happy to heckle Shane and place bets on whether or not he'll make the date while they wait for the bust to go down.

Eventually it does but as can happen, the bust goes FUBAR and Shane ends up in the ER. Where he meets his date, Damian... or should I say "Superman". Damian is a mild mannered law librarian by day and a cosplay superhero volunteer by night. Sparks fly as Shane and 'Supes' meet. The 'good meds' might have helped lower a few inhibitions along the way. The end result of the 'app-tastrophy' is Shane and Damian finding out that despite having nothing in common on paper, they really are the perfect match... thanks to Heart2Heart!

And that is just ONE of the stories in this anthology, y'all! The whole thing is chock-a-block full of hilarious situations and bizarrely perfect pairings that make your heart melt like the most decadent valentine's day chocolate!

Here are some other stories that really had my heart strings tugging and me going 'awwwwwh' as I read them:

- The Tattoo Artist and the Writer by Lily Morton was just so effing sweet - and hot!

- The Magician and the Mortician by A.E. Wasp was another scorcher that had me going awwwwh.

- The Uber Driver and the Phone Sex Operator by Lucy Lennox had me in stitches (and being grateful that we're having a cold snap coz daaaayam son, HOT!)

- The Baker and the Seal by May Archer - shout out Rochester, NY!!! and omg, those two are on FIYAH!


Actually... I could probably list all the stories here because they were all just the perfect romantic and sexy read.

Seriously - read this anthology. You'll thank me!

Cliffhanger with Trent. I was dying to know what happened...ahhhh...

The story definitely was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. I was expecting Jefferson Lee to facilitate on trying to find out more about Troy through more nefarious means but Clover was the ringleader. I thought she would have been the stickler for keeping Jefferson Lee in line.

I was glad to see Clover finally have someone interested in her. I look forward too seeing more of Zane and Jefferson Lee and their motley gang of friends.

I really enjoyed revisiting them and seeing this aspect of their relationship and how it was after a month of knowing each other. That there were a lot of insecurities and they were willing to work at their relationship.

3.5 stars

Cute. Quirky. Fun.

Definitely still enjoyed this small town and its residents. Including Mr. Hartman's dog *lol*. Jefferson has a mouth diatribe that entertained the hell out of me. I loved reading his dialogs *lol*.

I really liked the fact that Jefferson and Zane actually talked out their trust issues -- even though it happened AFTER Jefferson and Clover got into trouble (of course). With books that feature same couples throughout, I love to see they progress to the better, and them talking is definitely the step towards a more solid relationship.

But man, that ending. What the hell was that?!? Urgh, book #3 better not be released next year or something O_O

Fabulous revisit with Jefferson Lee and his hunky cop boyfriend, the good Sheriff Zane, and all the characters from Holly Creek.

Jefferson Lee is busy planning another festival, Zane is busy being the long arm of the law, and both are busy with each other. Except Zane starts hiding some phone calls he's getting, and Jefferson Lee's jealousy flares to light.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, their antics, the brilliant Southern Charm, and all the people, including Tall, Dark, and Handsome Mr. Stranger who stands no chance, none whatsoever, when Clover sets her sights on him.

Wonderful, giggly fun, with two men hot and heavy in love who both still have a thing or ten to learn, but who are working their way through the murky waters to strengthen their relationship.

And all because they finally really communicate with each other. Who'd have thought?

Seriously, if you loved Dogwood Days, you're not going to want to miss this one!

My only complaint is that it was over much too quickly. I hope the author decides to write us another story from Holly Creek!


** I received a free copy from the publisher. A positive review was not promised in return. **