Date by Mistake Anthology by Candace Havens w/Shannon Leight, Gwen Hayes, Jill Monroe and Rosemary Clement-Moore – Review

*Harlie purchased this anthology for herself and for the sole purpose of posting her review.  She was not compensated for her unbiased review.  Thank you.*

 

Date by Mistake

an Indulgence anthology by Candace Havens, Shannon Leigh, Gwen Hayes, Jill Monroe, and Rosemary Clement-Moore

Four stories. Four dates. How can these dates by mistake turn into love ever after?

 

Information:

Title: Date by Mistake (Anthology)
Author: Candace Havens, Shannon Leigh, Gwen Hayes, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Jill Monroe
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 277 pages
Release Date: March 2013
Imprint: Indulgence
Mr. Virile and the Girl Next Door by Gwen Hayes

Seduction is the name of the game when two rival dating advice darlings agree to be romantically linked to boost publicity. But all bets are off when they take the battle of the sexes from the web to the bed!

Review:  Good law I needed a fan after reading this one.  Dane and Holly were perfect for each other.  Dane, the man whore and will admit to it, is a blog writer and owner of a bar called Felony.  When his agent sets him up with a fellow blog writer, he is thrown for a loop.  Of all the people in the world, Holly comes in and throws out his rule book for just a taste.  Too bad Holly tells him not only no but hell no.  He is not getting into her pants until SHE says so, if at all. 

Wow, this book was too hot for my Kindle and the emotions that emerged from them becoming friends and ultimately lovers was completely realistic.  It was not rushed and the ending was perfection.  One issue I had, I need to see how their two agents fared.  Hint, hint.  🙂

Tycoon Reunion by Candace Havens and Shannon Leigh

Sparks fly when a project brings a heartbreaker back to town and into the path of the woman he left behind. He’s determined to win her over in the boardroom … and the bedroom!

Review:  Ms. Havens hit another one out of the park with Tycoon Reunion.  I’ve been reading Ms. Havens’ Blaze books for years and I was excited to see her write for Entangled.  Ms. Leigh brings a freshness to the party.

Jake and Annabelle are two people who fell in love in high school and but one fateful night, Jake disappeared and left Annabelle high and dry.  Ten years later, their feelings for each other have only intensified.  A chance meeting at a restaurant starts a chain reaction that neither one of them saw coming. 

Annabelle is my kind of heroine.  Strong, sexy, smarter than hell and snarky.  She isn’t afraid of Jake when it comes to the boardroom but she has closed her heart to his charms years ago.  Their ensuing battle over a project that Jake brings to the city council has Annabelle and Jake rethinking the feelings that they had for each other and how far they would go to end up together.

Jake was the perfect foil in some ways.  Seeing Annabelle has him feeling that the job is what he is not WHO he is and he just needs to prove it to her.  *sigh*  I wish more authors would write the billionaire like Jake.  Sure he’s flawed but in the end, the deal isn’t worth it…Annabelle’s love is.

I highly recommend Tycoon Reunion for the snappy dialogue, the intense emotional connection that Jake and Annabelle have for each other.  Oh…let’s not forget that the secondary characters in this story are PRICELESS! 

 

Passionate Persuasion by Rosemary Clement-Moore

A hot playboy who has left a string of hearts in his wake can’t forget the cellist who haunted his fantasies. Now it is his turn to use his power of persuasion to prove he’s the only man to keep her satisfied.
Review:  Oh my, my.  I hate to say that this is the “cute” story in the book but it is.  Its sweet, emotional satisfy and I’m a sucker for a musician that has grown up from the fresh off the farm college freshman to the sophisticated woman that she is now.

Kiara is a professional cellist with the local symphony and her ever kindly patrons have decided that she needed to go on a blind date.  She could handle a blind date but what she got was the college sweetheart that crushed her heart.  After the shock wears off, she doesn’t believe that he has changed from the VP of Keg Appropriation to upstanding bar owner and patron of the arts.

Alex has grown up a lot since college and realizing that he has been set up with Kiara, he does everything in his power to make her see that he has changed and truly feels bad for breaking things off with her in college.

I’m a sucker for the troupe of breaking up in college and getting back together years later.  I love that both Alex and Kiara have grown up since the break up.  Problem with that is Kiara didn’t realize that he still held her heart in his hands.  The dialogue between Kiara and Alex was spot on.  Snarky, emotional and thoughtful.  Yes, thoughtful.  Ms. Clement-Moore has penned a sweet, sensual story about reunited lovers that had some growing up to do so that they could get their happy ever after.  I love stories like that.  🙂

 

Date on the Run by Jill Monroe

When an reporter mistakes a hard-bodied military man for a crime source, she soon finds it’s just as much fun undressing her new bodyguard as it is uncovering her latest case…

Review:

Take one military man on leave with a broken heart and throw in a sassy, sexy reporter and what do you get?  Date on the Run.  Ms. Monroe has penned a great story about a military man protecting his broken heart on leave with a reporter that is tired of the pet stories that she is given.  

Nosing around to find the story that will break her out of the rut that she’s in, Juliet didn’t figure that she would be on the run from someone trying to kill her or with a hunk of man who stole her heart.  Juliet was fun from the beginning.  Unabashed in her pursuit of the story, she starts a chain reaction of events that she is not prepared for. 

Ezra, my Ezra…I just wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay.  Getting the Dear John letter while serving has thrown him for a loop and getting set up on a blind date was not what he mind.  But as his friend told him, find someone who would just use his body, not someone to fall in love with.  Oops!  Juliet is perfect for Ezra.  She’s not impressed with his military service, even though it does come in handy.  She likes him for him…the man.

The suspense element that was woven in was not overpowering but had just the right amount of tension to get Juliet and Ezra moving in the right direction.  I will admit that Romantic Suspense is my favorite genre and I like it when it is woven into a contemporary without the element taking over.  Thank you Ms. Monroe.

Great story between two people who weren’t looking for each other but in the end, love came looking for them.

 

Overall Review:

 

Run, don’t walk to pick up this anthology by Entangled.  It has something for everyone.  The billionaire tycoon that realizes his mistakes.  The college reunion between two people who never quite got over each other.  The blind date that turns into a suspenseful turn of events that neither one of them saw coming.  And let’s not forget the man whore that throws out his rule book to have the one woman that he shouldn’t want or need in his life.

The heat levels vary in the books ranging from sweet, Passionate Persuasion to ultra spicy in  Mr. Virile and the Girl Next Door.  These terrific stories are perfect to escape in and realize that sometimes blind dates do turn out to be the best thing that every happened.