On the Naughty List by Lori Foster, Carly Phillips, Beth Ciotta, and Sugar Jamison
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: October 14, 2014
Date Read: November 17, 2017
Length: 352 pages
Source: NetGalley
★★★☆☆
The most wonderful time of the year is back with On The Naughty List, bringing perennial favorite holiday stories from Lori Foster and Carly Phillips, along with two Christmas stories that delighted readers a year ago. This sexy anthology will make you want to give your heart to Christmas again and again…
Lori Foster has two co-workers plan a Christmas party side-by-side-and discover a love worth celebrating in Christmas Bonus.
Carly Phillips explores a “mistletoe moment” when a no-nonsense lawyer intent on seducing her boss meets his twin instead–and gives him a scintillating kiss that leaves him begging for more in Naughty Under the Mistletoe.
In Sugar Jamison’s Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas, former wild child Dina Gregory returns home to New York to find the father of her young son. Instead, she finds his stuffy older brother, Ben. Ben can’t help but admire her tenacity–and her bold beauty. Could it be that Dina has reignited his Christmas spirit?
Beth Ciotta brings two friends who, after years apart, together at home for the holidays. They don’t seem to have much in common anymore, but when the two get stranded together during a blizzard, they are forced to reexamine if they are better off as “just friends”? Or could it be that true love was there all along? in Some Kind of Wonderful.
This was a nice enough read. I have had a review copy of this book for a couple of years but somehow missed reading it and it ended up buried on my Kindle. I decided to dust off as I was trying to get into the holiday spirit this year. I don’t know that it had any impact on my readiness for the holiday but I did find the book to be an okay read. I enjoyed all four of the stories pretty equally with nothing really standing out.
Christmas Bonus by Lori Foster
I am not always a fan of office romances but I thought this one worked. The couple in the story have known each other for a long time. They really did seem to work well together and I liked the chemistry between them.
Naughty Under the Mistletoe by Carly Philips
This one starts off at an office holiday party. Intending to finally make a move on her boss, the main character ends up kissing his twin instead. The couple has a lot of chemistry. I liked the twist on the office romance since she worked for his family but not him directly.
Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas by Sugar Jamison
This was another story featuring brothers. Dina decides to reach out to her baby’s father but finds his older brother instead. This was a fun opposites attract kind of story and I liked how the baby, Dash, played an important role in it.
Some Kind of Wonderful by Beth Ciotta
This was a fun friends to lovers story. The couple has known each other for years but they haven’t seen each other lately. They find themselves stranded in a cabin and realize that they both might feel more for each other than they realized.
I thought that this was a worthwhile anthology. I would give each of the individual stories 3 stars and really liked how different they were. I had fun sampling the writing of a few new to me authors and would definitely try their work again in the future.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.
About the AuthorsLori Foster is a New York Times bestselling author. She received the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Series Romantic Fantasy.
Carly Phillips has published over forty sexy contemporary romance novels, and is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.
Sugar Jamison is a Southern belle who spends her day at her very normal day job and night dreaming up sweet and sassy romances.
Beth Ciotta is an award-winning author. Beth specializes in writing romantic fiction.
It looks nice in a whole there!
It was pretty good overall.
I am so not gonna have time this year, even if I want. Next year
That is how I put it off for so long 🙂
Anthologies are usually hit or miss for me, but this one does sound cute. I like that all the stories revolve around the holidays. Great review, Carole! 🙂
It was a good read and I liked all of the stories.
I still haven't tried any of the authors so this might be a good way to sample them. I'll keep in mind that these are probably not going to wow me, but still sound likeable. Yay for getting an older book off the pile, Carole.
It feels so good to mark an older arc from the to read list, Sophia Rose!
That Carly Phillips one sounds really good! Too bad it's not a full story!
Great review.
I think all of the stories could have made great full length books if they were expanded.
I've read quite a few Lori Foster novellas, but I don't think I've read this one. In general I think she does will with novellas.
I haven't read much from Lori Foster but this was a pleasant read.
Anthologies are fun and I've found new great authors that way.
I think it is a great way to sample new authors.
I am a fan of two of the contributing authors, but anthologies are hit or miss for me. I do agree with you that it is a good way to sample new to you authors.
I have found some of my favorite authors from anthologies so I keep picking them up.
I don't read many anthologies, but it might be a good way to get a look at new authors writings. These all sound really good too. Thanks for sharing your thought on them. 🙂
I sometimes enjoy reading a short story when I don't have a lot of reading time so these are nice to have around.
I like romances with babies in them. I don't really know why, because I'm not a fan of kids (I just don't know what to do around them). These all sound really fun though. Glad you enjoyed it!
Kids in books can be good. Sometimes not so much but most times I do enjoy them as a part of the story.
I really want to try Carly Phillips and Lori Foster. These sound cute. Maybe not earth shaking amazing but definitely lots of fun!
It was a good way to give them both a try.
OMG! I want to try this!!
It was nice, Vanessa!
They sound like nice short stories. Definitely worth checking out. 🙂
It was a nice collection overall.
Foster does a great job with hers. She really is a fun author 🙂
I should really read more of her work.