Tricksy Tuesday

Via Carina Press

Naughty and Nice
Carina Press
Authors: Shannon Stacey, Jaci Burton, Megan Hart, Lauren Dane
Category: FICTION - ADULT: Anthologies & Short Stories: Anthologies (Multiple authors)
Kindle Ed. 498 KB
MSRP $9.99; Amazon $7.99
Made available by publisher through NetGalley
No remuneration was exchanged.

Oh My Precious! Well, if Golem had been a southern belle that's how it would have been said and the film would have been really strange. Today is tricksy because I made an assumption reading a series of Carina's wonderful holiday collection this year that all of the individual volumes of anthologies were Paranormal.

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Well,  I was halfway through the book, Naughty and Nice  when it occurred to me that not only is the book not genre but it is not spin-able into subtle magic or what more magical than...?  The book is divided into Nice, and Naughty. On the one hand in the Nice section of the book there is a lot on going back to one's childhood demesne for the holidays and discovering love and happiness, and I could say that that is magical. On the other hand, the Naughty section with some light BDSM in the first story and some more heavy-duty D/s-BDSM lovingly executed but still more intense, is pretty hard to spin that way. Adherents of the practice may be able to but I have never "gotten" it so I don't. It's hot but hard to spin into what I call "subtle magic of everyday life." 

I didn't stop reading Naughty and Nice;  Not being able to stop reading a book I am enjoying is a major character-flaw.  Also, at that pint I would have had nothing for all my very precious readers! Nor would I have read the whole set Carina made available. Here is the Publisher's description with my comments, in italics below each.


Section One: Nice

Holiday Sparks
By Shannon Stacey
House-sitting for her parents seemed like a good idea, until the microwave blew up and the lights went out.
Now Chloe Burke thinks upgrading the electrical system of her childhood home while they are away would make the perfect Christmas gift. Fortunately, there's an electrician in town who can get the job done by the holidays.
Scott Quinn has wanted to get his hands on the Burkes' wiring for almost as long as he's wanted to get his hands on their daughter. Chloe didn't notice Scott back in high school, but she's noticing him now, and soon they're indulging in a little festive fun: no strings, no expectations. After all, Chloe plans to get out of this goldfish bowl of a town and back to her real life in Boston by New Year's.
But Chloe and Scott discover they enjoy each other's company just as much out of bed. Could their holiday fling turn out to be the real thing?

My Take: This book takes place in Maine. I live in Maine. I adore Maine, but it is not the big city, no part of it is the big city. Thank goodness. Many authors and artists live here, but I am still thrilled and excited when anything I like that is set here. I lliked this and it is in Maine it gets rousing approval. In this case the story is arousing too. The intimacy is very hot and although I knew what was going to happen I still found the relationship and the intimacy between the characters enjoyable. I know people who have gotten it on with repair or delivery guys, in Maine no less, so this was a bit of a chuckle, a bit of "Ah, so that's how it happened."

All She Wants For Christmas
By Jaci Burton
Big Star, Small-Town Christmas

Country singer Riley Jensen would never have returned to her small Missouri hometown if her publicist hadn't come up with the scheme to tape a Christmas special there. So she never would have known that the man who broke her heart at eighteen-causing her to flee to Nashville-was now a widower with a seven-year-old daughter. Riley has ten years of angst-filled hit songs and Grammy awards to prove she doesn't need Ethan Kent. But suddenly, she can't help thinking of all she gave up by running away...

Ethan Kent knew Riley had the talent and the drive to make it as a singer. He also knew she wasn't going anywhere if she stayed in their nowhere town for him. Then one night and one huge mistake sent her running on the road to fame. Which doesn't mean he ever stopped loving her...

But with so much separating them, can Riley and Ethan find their way back together one magical country Christmas?

My Take:  Predictable, enjoyable, some cool plot and back story twists. I always think of Missouri being the deep south, but I have never talked to anyone from there with a southern accent. If the home state had been other I would have expected different speech patterns. Not accents but patterns. 


High School sweethearts still loving each other after ten years is a lovely but unlikely dream; much like hoping divorcing parents will reunite. And, that is the issue isn't it?  Even if the relationship is hot and they hook up, will they be able to get past ten years of hurt and anger.  The way they work it out is interesting.
  
Section 2: Naughty

Unwrapped
By Megan Hart
Naughty is Nice
Newlyweds Leah and Brandon Long are finally taking a honeymoon. But just a few days into their Christmas-in-Vail vacation, Leah takes a tumble on the slopes, severely spraining her ankle. Being stuck indoors isn't so bad though: the luxurious chalet boasts a hot tub and cozy fireplace. Besides, sitting with her feet up while Brandon serves her in every way a man can serve a woman is exactly how both of them like to spend their time.
Leah would be in heaven, if only Brandon didn't insist on playing with the dynamic of their relationship. With kinky sex and deep conversation the only things on the agenda, Leah can't avoid the discussion of how things might change. Will she be ready to take their marriage to the next level in the New Year?

My Take: Well, this is the first in the Naughty part. It isn't really that naughty.  The seem to have a lot of sex for characters that are not paranormal.  The man in particular must be part superhero or wolf or vampire.  They go from constant sex pretty much everywhere to talking about having kids.  Leah says that people with kids still have sex.  Wow, is she going to be disappointed —I don't have them but I listen to Ray Romano's comedy routine!  A bit lukewarm for me even with the BDSM.

Believe
By Lauren Dane
Their First Christmas, Bound Together...
All Jude wants for Christmas is Rori, all to himself. It's their first holiday season as a couple, and staying home, seeing friends and family, means they'll be surrounded by the memory of Rori's late husband. It's time for Jude and Rori to create their own traditions. Time for them to fully explore their most intimate desires to dominate and submit.
Rori is thrilled when Jude whisks her away to a luxury resort in the mountains. Spending Christmas away, just the two of them, is the perfect time to show him she's ready to give herself to him completely...

 My Take: He is the top and she is submissive.  Not just in the bedroom. He reminded me of Billy Bob Thornton back in the Angelina Jolie days—kind of creepy.  Also a man with tremendous stamina, apparently. I don't get their relationship. Her late husband had been murdered two years before and she has been with this guy for a while? If her husband had passed on in a way other than murder I may have believed it, but murder is going to leave you some major trauma. If you took up with another guy that fast they cops would be looking at both parties in the relationship. On the other hand, they knew each other a long time before and had all been friends. But, as I have said I don't get intense BDSM. If I did I would have liked this story more; it did not make my toes curl.  Some BDSM is arousing, but it has generally crossed some barrier and this one did not get past whatever that barrier is.