Today is the release day of Love and Other Games. And to celebrate that I am going to share my review with you today
Love and Other Games (Collection)by Melinda Dozier, Ana Blaze, Aria Kane, Kara Leigh Miller
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
Blurbs:
LOVE AND OTHER GAMES is a collection of four sexy new adult stories centered around athletes competing in the Winter Games by Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane, and Kara Leigh Miller.
Worth More Than Gold by Ana Blaze
Amy Pierce, the klutzy sister and manager of America’s Skating Sweetheart, is used to being invisible. But when a friend drags her to a party near the Olympic Village, Amy catches the eye of a sexy Norwegian ski jumper. It’s a magical night, but an awkward next morning has her running. Everyone knows Erik Andresen’s best shot at an individual medal was back in 2010, before an injury pulled him from the competition. He’s there for his team, but a hot night and a remarkable final training session have him wondering if a gorgeous good-luck charm could give him another chance at the podium. With a little bit of luck, these two might have a shot at something worth more than gold.
Trouble With Gold by Melinda Dozier
US snowboarder and notorious prankster, Ty (Trouble) Madsen is only getting a taste of his own medicine when his Olympic teammates shackle him to a fence wearing nothing but his boxers. Reception and protocol volunteer, Nadia Hoffman, gets up close and personal with the sexy snowboarder to rescue him, but she’s not the kind of girl who lets her hormones get in her way. A professional performance could help her land her dream job at Olympics Committee Headquarters, but her new assignment supervising the rambunctious US Snowboarding Team is making that difficult. Can she see behind the snowman in the community center bathroom and into the warm heart of the man everyone calls Trouble?
The Girl Behind the Gold by Aria Kane
Greek aerial skier Lia Milonas’s parents are about to lose the family farm. Saving it means medaling and landing a huge sponsor. While her no-nonsense attitude has her well on her way to a medal, it hasn’t won her a place in fans’ hearts. “Come back with a story that will make readers cry, or don’t come back.” This is what Brandon James’ boss told him before he left New York to cover the Winter Games for Moment Magazine. With a wink and a smile, he can charm his way into any invite-only party, but that career-making story is nowhere to be found – until he meets Lia. The two strike a deal that should get them both what they want – but neither would have guessed they’d also find what they need.
Ice Gold by Kara Leigh Miller
Colton Campbell thrives on the fast paced, adrenaline rushed lifestyle of being an Olympic hockey player. Despite Brenna Jessup’s abhorrence for the games and the athletes, she’s hand-picked as the official photographer for the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. When a faux pas by Brenna almost costs Colton his career, she owes him. Too bad for her, Colton doesn’t want apologies — he wants retribution! And he knows just how to get it — and her — in the process.
My Review:
I got a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This review consists of a short review of each short story and a summary at the end. This is the first contemporary short story anthology I read and I really enjoyed it.
Trouble with Gold by Melinda Dozier
Trouble with Gold was a fun and enjoyable short story. A bit too short and a bit predictable, but lots of fun. Ty is a trouble maker and falls in love with Nadia, who is only there for work. It was nice to see how Nadia changes and finally had some fun, although the changes did happen a bit fast. The ending was nice, although I would’ve liked to know how the story continues and what happens next.
Ice Gold by Kara Leigh Miller
I really enjoyed this short story. I loved the writing style and wanted to keep reading. It is short, but sastisfying and has both love and lust. Ofcourse I think it was too short. I liked both characters and was amazed at how much we learned about them in such a short story. The focus was more on the characters than on the rest of the story. I also liked that this story takes place at the same time as the first story and the characters of the first short story are mentioned in this one. I hadn’t expected that, looking forward to reading the other 2 stories and seeing how they connect to the rest.
The Girl behind the Gold by Aria Kane
I really enjoyed this short story and read it in one sitting. I really liked the romance and the passion between the main characters. And I liked seeing Lia develop and change. And her background story was great and sad. And the ending was so well done, really beautifull. I really felt like I got to know a whole lot about these two characters in such a short story and ofcourse thought it was too short, but most of it was nicely wrapped up by the ending.
This is my favourite short story of these 4.
Worth More Than Gold by Ana Blaze
I enjoyed this story. I liked that Amy had a sister and I liked seeing their relationship develop a bit in this story. This story felt too short for any real development and while there was obviously passion between Amy and Erik, it just felt like there wasn’t enough getting to know each other. Nevertheless an enjoyable story.
To conclude: I really enjoyed these 4 short stories, they are a bit predictable and too short and due to the lenght there isn’t much room for slowly developing a relationship. Nevertheless is Love and Other Games a very enjoyable collection of 4 short stories centered around the Olympic winter games, I did like this setting and how eahc short story made a mention about one or two of the other short stories, so it really felt like this all took place at the same time. Definitely worth the read if you are looking for some short, hot romances set in a winter setting.
You can add Love and Other Games to your to-read list on Goodreads
You can buy Love and Other Games here:
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo
About the Authors:
About Ana Blaze:
Ana lives just outside Washington DC with her very supportive husband and three rather demanding cats. She loves the ocean, Indian food, Ikea, and cooking. Ana admits to watching too much television and she swears that someday she’s going to learn how to play the guitar resting on the bookshelf in her office
You can find Ana here:
– Website
– Twitter
– Facebook
About Melinda Dozier:
Melinda lives in Guatemala, Central America with her husband and three boys. She teaches English to middle schoolers during the day and finds time to write at night. Melinda has always been an avid reader and writer, enjoys watching reality tv, blogs, and relaxes with Zynga games.
The Boy Next Door (Prequel Novella) April 29, 2013
Time Changes Everything, May 13, 2013
Breaking the Rules, July 8 2013, Crimson Romance
Love and Other Games: Trouble with Gold, October 1, 2013, Swoon Romance
You can find Melinda here:
– Website
– Twitter
– Facebook
About Kara leigh Miller:
Born and raised in the small town of Mexico, New York, Kara was an only child who was forced to find ways to entertain herself. Playing make believe with her Barbie dolls and stuffed animals was her first real taste of storytelling before she became old enough to develop a love affair with the written word.
In early 2010, Kara picked up her very first erotic romance novel, and she was instantly hooked. She loves to write contemporary romance, erotica, and young adult romance. Currently she has several full-length novels in the works, a series of novellas, and a handful of short stories. Kara is an active member of the CNY Creative Writers Café and the CNY Romance Writers.
Today, Kara resides in New Haven, New York with her husband, five kids, and three cats. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s thinking about reading and writing. And when she’s not doing that, she’s spending time with her family and friends.
You can find Kara here:
– Website
– Twitter
– Facebook
About Aria kane:
Aria Kane is a recovering mechanical engineer and romance writer. As a military brat, she grew up all over the country, but now lives in sunny Florida with a 60 lb mutt who thinks he’s a chihuahua. She’s the author of ONCE UPON A DARKNESS and A TITAN FOR CHRISTMAS. You can learn more about her at www.ariakane.com
You can find Aria here:
– Website
– Twitter
– Facebook
And there is a giveaway to celebrate the release:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hi Lola! Thanks for helping with our release day celebration. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Ana :). I am glad I could help with the release day of this awesome book!
Thank you for reading and helping with release day!
I am glad I got a copy to read and review, I really enjoyed it! Good luck with the release day!