ARC Review: Hockey Holidays Anthology by various authors

From The Blurb:

**100% of the proceeds from sales of this anthology will be donated to charity.** 

This holiday season unwrap a brand-new collection of hockey romances that includes humor, drama, love, and - of course - hockey! 

Each book is EXCLUSIVE to the anthology and NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED by USA Today, New York Times, and all your favorite bestselling hockey romance authors. 

When You're Ready by Toni Aleo 

He knew she was the one, she wasn't so sure, which is why Grace and James' love story is one for the ages.

A Second Shot by Shannon Stacey 

She was the one who got away, but when their paths cross once again, all he wants for Christmas is the chance to take another shot at love. 

A Wolfe Brothers Christmas by Jami Davenport  

Spending their first Christmas together in years, the Wolfe brothers fumbling attempts to create good memories go awry. 

Christmas Crosscheck by Jaymee Jacobs 

Bryan's planning to propose to Georgiana on Christmas Eve, but will the chaos of their families’ first holiday together ruin their special moment? 

Final Slapshot by Jean C. Joachim 

Harry "Deke" Edmonds hides his secret, hoping for a Christmas miracle. When confronted with the truth, will his heart-breaking decision cost him everything? 

Lucky Holiday by Jennifer Lazaris 

Tyler Quinn made the biggest mistake of his life when he broke Ella’s heart, and he’ll need more than an ace up his sleeve to win her back in time for Christmas. 

Dmitri's Christmas Angel by Kat Mizera 

Two women. Two surprise pregnancies. Dmitri Papadakis is screwed. 

His Christmas Cinderella by Kate Willoughby 

When Gideon Aguilar mistakes Bailey Peng for his Uber driver it leads to a night he can’t forget. But after she disappears the next morning will he be able to find his perfect fit? 

Red-Hot Trouble by Lily Harlem 

Sophie Delaney never intended to walk into ‘that’ locker room, at ‘that’ moment, but she did, and now she’ll never be the same again. 

Christmas Interference by Lisa B. Kamps 

Shane Masters no longer believes in happy-ever-afters. Can the woman who knew him best thaw his heart with a little holiday magic before it's too late? 

The Devoted Father and the Introvert by Mary Smith 

Elexis Dunaway loves Twitter and work. Dag Limon loves his twin boys and playing professional hockey. Soon their worlds will collide with one simple tweet. 

Her Best Worst Boyfriend by Melanie Ting 

This Christmas, Em Davis is bringing Mr. Wrong home to prove a point to her parents, but Ian Reid might turn out to be Mr. Right. 

Icing isn't Only for Cookies by Melody Heck Gatto 

Avery James wasn’t looking for love when tall, dark, and deliciously handsome hockey player Kyler Wilson walked into her bakery. 

Dallas Christmas by RJ Scott 

Logan knows lusting after his captain's brother can only lead to trouble. But when fate throws them together, it’s hard not to fall in love. 

The Playboy by Stephanie Julian 

Kyle is back in the minors to rehab his career but that's not all he's hoping to fix. Convincing the girl he left behind to take another chance on this former playboy will be harder than resurrecting his career. 

All I Want by Stephanie Kay 

When fate brings first loves Maggie and Alex back to the same city, will Maggie be brave enough to give the relationship she never forgot a second chance? 

Holding On Tight by Susan Scott Shelley 

For defenseman Vince Forsberg and his boyfriend Joseph Parelli, the pressure to make their first Christmas together perfect leads to a lot of chaos, holiday mishaps, and some unexpected results. 

A Star-Crossed Christmas by V.L. Locey 

Two years ago, Mitch shared an explosive kiss with his childhood friend Shaun. Will Christmas be the time for the two men to find a future together that works?

Karen's rating:

What can I say besides...
'I am Canadian' so when a book about hockey and my favorite holiday came on my radar I could say nothing more than 'please and thank you'.

I'd love to say that I read the entire anthology but that was not the case at this time...will I go back and read some if not all of the rest...hopefully at some point I'll find the time to do so but for now lets start with the stories that I read. In all there were 3.  Most of the stories in this anthology are m/f, however, there were 3 that are m/m and two of them are written by a V.L. Locey and R.J. Scott the authors of 'The Harrisburg Railers' a series that I have absolutely loved and the third story is by Susan Scott Shelley author of the 'Buffalo Bedlam' series. So my rating for this anthology is based strictly on these three stories and I will also include a brief review and an individual rating for each of these stories...

4 stars for 'A Star-Crossed Christmas' by V.L. Locey
This one is 'A Cayuga Cougars Holiday' short story and while I haven't read that series I really enjoyed this short holiday story and even though I haven't read this series I had no problem following this story as the characters from this story don't seem to have been central to any of the previous Cougar stories.

Mitch was the  back-up goalie for the Cougars after August Miles gets called up to the pros and when he returns home for the holidays he sees the opportunity to re-connect with his best friend Shaun. Someone he shared a kiss with two years early...a kiss that left Mitch in emotional turmoil as he realized that he wasn't as straight as he thought himself to be and maybe it's time he and Shaun found out if a kiss was just a kiss.

This one is the quintessential friends to lovers story and was simply delightful. A feel good story filled with the magic of the holiday season and a grandmother with a quilt fabric store...I want Shaun's grandmother to adopt me...I won't even try to be subtle about that one. There's not a complicated or convoluted plot here and for anyone wanting to just read a sweet, feel-good holiday story about two friends finding love together this one's a good choice...definitely recommended.

4 stars for 'Dallas Christmas' by RJ Scott
Logan plays hockey for the Burlington Dragons...how can you not like that team name? I mean really, is that the best or what? Anyways back to Logan. It's been about a year since things ended between Logan and Archie brother of the Dragon's Team Captain because you know...you can't play hockey and be gay...a sad but true reality of our world and one that will hopefully disappear from the world of sports sooner rather than later.

It's a year later and Morgan finds himself spending the holidays in a rental house with 3 of his teammates when his past walks in looking every bit as hot as Morgan remembers him being. Archie's feelings for Morgan haven't changed. As Christmas approaches and the men do their dance around each other and everything that's between them. Morgan finds himself faced with feelings he doesn't know how to handle and decisions that he doesn't want to deal with but time waits for no man and Morgan has to figure out what he needs and what he can live without now and not when it's convenient for him.

Morgan for me was every young gay man who ever laced on a pair of skates wanting to make it in the NHL, wanting that symbol of success for themselves and knowing that to have one dream they needed to deny another...the dream of having that one person in your life who makes your world right and is there for you no matter what.

Archie loves Morgan and he's willing to stand beside him, fight for what they can have if only Morgan will say those 3 precious little words that would let Archie know it's all going to be worth it.

I really liked these two and would thoroughly enjoy a longer story about them. One that gives us more of them as a couple dealing with living life on their own terms and not anyone else's...maybe Morgan could go to the Railers...it's just an idea ;)

3 stars for Susan Scott Shelley's 'Holding On Tight'


A short story from 'The Buffalo Bedlam' series.

Ok first off I'm going to say I think a good portion of this is on me. 'Holding On Tight' is about Vince Forsberg and his boyfriend Joseph Parelli as they share their first Christmas together as partners.

This one was sweet and had some adorable moments and some holiday moments that I'm sure we can all relate to. Those disasters that try as we might seem to be unavoidable. Again I liked this pairing but I didn't share feel the same connection to them that I did with the couples in the first two stories and I think that's a little bit due to the fact that this is a new to me author...so, I wasn't as comfortable with their writing style as the other two authors...that's not me saying good or bad just not familiar but more importantly Vince and Joseph are the MCs from 'Skating On Chance' the 4th  book in 'The Buffalo Bedlam' series and I think had I read that book at least I would have found a stronger connection with these two MCs. So we're going to wrap this one up at 3 stars with strong potential to have been more.

If you're looking for some short sexy holiday stories to read and especially if you're a fan of hockey, holidays and read both m/f and m/m this one's going to give you a lot of bang for your buck. While 2 of the 3 stories that I read were about characters from existing series they are written to work as standalone stories and while I may have wanted to read the previous story in one case the Christmas story worked on it's own and I had no confusion about characters or events in the Christmas story.

In summary based on the stories that I read if you're a fan of hockey and want some short, sexy reads that offer a chance to revisit some favorite authors and check out some new ones...this one might be just the give to give yourself and enjoy on a cold winter's night or two...maybe 3 because it comes in at 755 pages according to Amazon and 930 according to my e-reader...either way it's a lot of reading pleasure! Happy Holidays!

*************************

A copy of 'Hockey Holidays' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Buy this book:

Reading gives us someplace to go, when we have to stay where we are.  (Mason Cooley)

Buylinks are provided as a courtesy and do not constitute an endorsement of or affiliation with this book, author or booksellers listed.