* * 1/2Three bestselling authors brings fans three classic stories of sexy Irishmen and the women who love them. Includes St. Claire's "The Sins of His Past", "Tangling with Ty" by Jill Shalvis, and "What Reilly Wants" by Maureen Child. Original.
The Sins of His Past by Roxanne St. Claire
For one incredible night, Kendra Locke gave Deuce Monroe everything she had. Then he walked away without a backward glance to chase his big-league dreams. Now after one too many daredevil stunts, he's back in his hometown ready to pick up where they left off—but Kendra has no intention of giving in so easily….
Tangling with Ty by Jill Shalvis
Dr. Nicole Mann, a child prodigy who graduated high school at the age of thirteen, has no room in her mind or her schedule for romance. But when the architect renovating her apartment turns out to have a charming Irish accent, all bets are off—and Ty Patrick O'Grady plans to use every trick in his book to stay in her life for good.
Whatever Reilly Wants by Maureen Child
Connor Reilly only has a few weeks to go in his "no sex for ninety days" bet with his brothers—and he figures no woman is safer to be around than his best friend, Emma Jacobsen. Until Emma shows up at a bar in a short skirt and high heels, and suddenly seems anything but safe!
As I mentioned previously, I am not a big fan of romantic
short stories or novellas. In the past I
have found that the shorter the story the less character development which
makes the romance unbelievable. But
after being wonderfully surprised by Boys of Summer, I decided to give this
collection a shot. And let’s admit
it. It has story by JILL SHALVIS and we
all know how fangirl the three of us (especially Shel) can get over Jill.
The Sins of His Past by Roxanne St. Claire – Deuce has
“retired” from his lucrative baseball career and has returned to his hometown
in Cape Cod with the attention of taking over
the family bar. But Deuce has been so
absorbed in his own life that he isn’t aware of the changes that have taken
place back home. What he finds when he
returns is that his dad is engaged and has allowed Deuces old flame, Kendra, to
take over the bar. Kendra is more than
half way through plans and renovations to turn the bar in an internet café and
the surrounding area into an arts center that will benefit the community. Deuce
has already turned her life upside down once before. Now his return threatens to turn all her hard
work on its head. When I started this
story I complained to Shel because Deuce was so selfish and arrogant and Kendra
seemed to be put up with too much. But
this was a surprisingly well laid out and developed story. By the end I was rooting for both of them and
their happily ever after.
Tangling with Ty by Jill Shalvis – Nicole has taken a vow of
singlehood. She has her career (every
hour of every day) and her family (when they are convenient) and her friends
(when she wants them). When you have
what you want on your terms why add something as uncontrollable as love? Ty has risen above his shady past. He is an architect and a wanderer. Picking up and moving when his current location
and friends cease to keep his interest.
When his current job brings him Nicole, he starts to rethink his wandering
habits. It pains me to say this but I
did not like this particular story. I had a hard time getting in touch with the
characters. Not that they were
unlikable. I just didn’t understand
them. And to be honest, Nicole
frustrated me. She was cute and her
flakiness was kind of adorable. But she
is a surgeon and she NEVER sleeps. Every
time she comes home from her time consuming job she is paged back to work or
she runs back to work to avoid something else.
I think she slept twice in the entirety of the story. All I could think was I would not want her
performing surgery on me - EVER. After
reading and falling in love with some of Jill Shalvis’s more recent novels, it
was disappointing to not fall in love with this one too. But I do have to remind myself that this is
an older story of Jill’s and her work has only gotten better over the years.
Whatever Reilly Wants by Maureen Child – Connor Reilly still
stands to win a $10,000 inheritance if he can manage to stay celibate for two
more months. Not an easy bet but one he
thinks he can manage. That is until his
best friend of two years, Emma Jacobsen, turns his head at the local bar. Emma is pissed that Connor plainly stated he
is hanging out with her more during the bet because she is safe. Not exactly the most flattering thing to say
to a girl. She decides to seduce him
into bed proving that she isn’t the safe bet he thought she was. What she didn’t plan on was losing her heart
to her best friend. This story was
cute. I am a sucker for best-friends-turn-lovers
stories so I was immediately sucked in.
Both Connor and Emma were likeable characters and the supporting
characters had surprisingly significant roles to play in this short story.
In the end, this collection met my previous expectations for
romantic shorts or novellas. It was an
ok read but not something I would re-read later as a comfort read like I do
with so many of my full length romance novels.
Nat
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