Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Review: Naughty, Nice and Paranormal: A Touch of Holiday Magic Box Set


Book Description

Deck your e-readers this holiday season with 15 sexy stories from today’s hottest paranormal romance authors. From the very naughtiest to the mmm-mmm nicest, we’ve got shifters—wolf, dragon, feline, and more!—elves, ghosts, even a Virginia Devil Monkey and a very sexy Santa. This box set of sparkling holiday tales from bestselling authors gives the best gift any lover of paranormal romance could want: a little sugar n’ spice with a whole lot of naughty n’ nice.


My Review

I really enjoy paranormal reads and I also like holiday reads so when the two are mixed together in a box set, there's really nothing bad I can say about it. 


Once Upon a Fiery Christmas by Élianne Adams 

Chantelle and Sebastian have been flirting back and forth for some time but Sebastian doesn't want to give himself and his heart to Chantelle if she isn't his fated mate so he's kept a part of himself back. Chantelle plans to ask the elders to reveal who her mate is after the Holiday but can they wait is the real question. 

Chantelle wants to surprise Rhia with a Christmas Day party, complete with a tree, food and presents. But they don't have Christmas traditions where they are from so she's having to research it and guess at a few things. Rhia is human and misses home and was telling Chantelle about Christmas so now Chantelle wants to make the day special for her and Sebastian is helping. 

This was a really cute story and reading how people react to presents and tree's with ornaments on them when they aren't used to something like that was fun to read. 


Under His Skin by Kallysten 

Nathan is a powerful Mage and he and his sometimes lover Joshua both work for the Special Enforcer Agency. Nathan wants to give Joshua a special gift, his magic if just for a few hours. It was supposed to be a fun gift so that Joshua could see what's it's like to have magic for a while, something that he's wanted for a long time. But then they both get called into work and they have to work the case and keep a girl safe while in each others bodies. 

This one was kinda funny in that once they are in each others bodies and Joshua now needs help trying to do magic, Nathan is a little bossy about how to do it. I really liked the romance between these two but it really goes to show that there needs to be open communication between couples in a relationship so that things aren't misinterpreted. 


Wolf In Exile: Part 4.5 ~ Bound by Amber Ella Monroe

This story is a follow up story to the book, Wolf In Exile. Now while I haven't read that book, it in no way took away from this story at all. I really liked Thane and Kalena and it seems they have gone through some things before this book that I'm probably not aware of but I could tell that events were thrown in their way and even they weren't sure they would be able to make it through as a couple after the dust settled. 

Thane is a wolf shifter, he'd been in a fight, his wolf had died and only the man was left. The only choice left was to let one of the vampires turn him into one of them, Kalena gave her permission and their lives changed forever after that. But true love is strong and it shouldn't matter if he's a shifter or a vampire, right? 

This book pulled at my heart strings right from the very beginning. But as they say, when one door closes, another opens and that's exactly what happened in this story. 


Forgotten by Elle Thorne 

Anya Masenti is hired by the billionare Bryson Courtland but she doesn't want the job. She's a white tiger shifter with the nick name of Ice Princess and he's a leopard shifter with a daughter that needs protecting.

Anya was a bit of a mystery wrapped in a fragile blanket. While she was tough as nails on the outside she had something terrible happen to her when she was younger and while she missed the big deal of a huge Christmas celebration, she also had a reason for not celebrating the holiday. 

Pepper is Bryson's daughter and while she's a leopard shifter she's also something else and people want to take her away from her father because of what she is. 

This was my least favorite story from this box set. It started out really good but in the end left a few things unresolved and open ended. 


Christmas Wolf by J.K. Harper 

Ana Lyall is a member of the Black Mesa Wolf Pack, albeit the lowest ranked member as she's an omega. She fell for a human and broke it off with him about 4 months ago because they had no real future together. 

Mason Pearce is human and therefore not allowed to be with Ana because wolves are forbidden from being with humans. Not just looked down upon but humans are not allowed to know about shifters and if they find out, they have to be killed so the secret doesn't get out. So after months of sleeping with Mason, Ana breaks off their relationship and doesn't see him for a while...until she runs into him on the street.

Mason is so besotted with her that he won't let her go this time. He even gets himself invited to the Christmas party at her job. Ana doesn't want to give him up and her wolf doesn't want to give him up, so what is she to do. Sometimes secrets have a way to coming out at just the right time.


Festive & Seduced by Shelley Munro 

Camryn is human but her alien mate, Ry is not. He's an alien but they are very much in love and have two children together. But Camryn almost died giving birth to the twins and Ry has been keeping her at a distance ever since. He associated sex with having more kids and he doesn't want to chance her dying while giving birth. Of course it's driving Camryn crazy because she has no idea what's going on in his head. 

So in order to stay busy, Ry and some of his friends decide to try and recreate Christmas where they are. With a tree, ornaments and everything they learned about the holiday while they were on Earth visiting Camryn's brother and family. 

The healer/doctor has birth control shots but they aren't working and Camryn can still get pregnant. So while work is being done to find  birth control that will work, Ry is biding his time hoping he won't have to have this particular talk with his mate. In the end we find out that it's always better to have open and honest communication with the person you are in a relationship with. 


Unwrapping Mr. Roth by Holley Trent 

Gillian Wright just wanted another job so she could buy her students some gifts for Christmas. But she gets an offer she can't refuse and thinking that it will be only temporary, she agree's to marry her new boss. But Nicholas doesn't want this to be a temporary arrangement. 

Nicholas Roth is in charge of Santa Incorporated. He also wants to take over his father's throne as the King of Elves but in order to do that he has to get married. 

This was a really cute story with elves and a naughty Santa. This Santa was really something else. I'll never look at the fat man the same way again. 

So who knew that Santa was an Elf? A sexy, sarcastic, kinky, naughty as all get out...elf. Not that I'm complaining.


Season of the Wolf by Marie Mason 

Jason Durpee is a wolf shifter and the sheriff, his sister sent him out in the cold wet snow to pick up her Christmas guest. But one look at this mystery woman and Jason knows she is his mate. But he has some scars, some hidden and some not so hidden. He's not sure this newcomer will want him or see him as mate material. 

Priscilla Johnson is there to study wolf shifter mating habits and to spend time with her friend for Christmas. Even though wolves scare her she is fascinated by them and even more fascinated by Jason. 

Humans knew that shifters existed but there was still a lot of secrecy around them and how they lived. So the fact that the alpha had agreed to let Priscilla come and interview some of the pack was a surprise and not a common occurrence at all. But it sure made for a fun holiday for Jason who knew he'd found his mate, the one thing he didn't think he ever wanted to have. These two were wonderful to get to know and I love Jason, he's just yummy. 


Snowbound with Ghost by Ani Gonzalez 

Lily and Sebastian are snow bound in a cabin. They are stuck there until the snow lets up. These two were so funny together. They had a relationship in the past but they had broke up which is probably why they got along so well, so fast.

He's gone all Hollywood, nose in the clouds, I only eat whole wheat pasta blah bah blah. While Lily is still down to earth and even believes in creepy small town monster legends. So when she pulls out a brownie mix to make it and he says something about, "the brownies of death." I almost just gave up on him. I mean really? Who in their right mind doesn't like brownies?

But as time goes by they get to know one another again and his sexy side comes out and I liked him a lot better. These two characters are fun and just meant for one another. 


Order of Alphas: Ascension by Eris Sage 

Alexi found his mate three years ago but Iris was so deeply emotionally hurt that she couldn't acknowledge the mate bond so Alexi had no other course than to let her go. But he can't live without her so he goes after her, even if she isn't ready to see him, he goes after his mate anyway. 

Iris hadn't been born a wolf shifter, she had been made and against her will. She ran and made a life for herself with a shifter pack and then her mate came looking for her, to claim her and bring her home with him. Only one thing could ruin this...another male wanted her for himself. 

There were a few twists in this tale and it was interesting to see how some of the characters were related to each other and how they interacted with each other. It surprised me just how callous some of these guys were when they had the greatest thing right in front of them but couldn't see it because they were idiots. Family should mean a lot but some people and apparently some wolf shifters, don't seem to know that. 


Bear The Heat by Catherine Vale 

Sonya is sworn to be mated to Damien, the clan leader whom she hates. But fate has a way of turning in a way that makes life better. She has a house fire and the sexy firefighting werebears come to her rescue. Caleb scoops up the very naked Sonya and saves her from the smoke and fire and even lets her move in with him since she has no place to stay and she's a werebear too. He feels protective of her even when he finds out that she's to be mated with his sworn enemy. 

Sonya was promised to Damien a long time ago but he's supposed to wait until she is 25 years old until he claims her as his mate. With just a few days until her 25th birthday, she is being stalked by a couple of Damien's goons and they are keeping tabs on her. So when her house burns down and she ends up at Calebs house and then at Calebs safe house, Damien goes nuts and sets another fire. 

When Caleb was banished from his clan he wasn't strong enough to challenge Damien for leadership of the clan, is he now? You'll have to read the book and find out. This story has a great twist close to the end of it that really went well with the story. 


Stranded With A Cajun Werewolf by Selena Blake 

Kendall Carver and Burke Devereux meet on the road in a snow storm. They are both there for different reasons, she is on the run and he was running from his pack's match making. He's a wolf shifter and she's a human and that's a problem since he's sworn off humans, he doesn't get involved with them anymore. 

But this human needs his help and he gives it to her. After an accident on the road Burke brings Kendall back to his cabin to wait out the snow storm and to get answers about what or who she's running from. That's when things take an interesting turn because she's not exactly what she appears to be. 

They get closer to one another and the attraction between them can't be denied so while they are getting closer they also have to keep Kendall safe and he's just the wolf to do that. Life is all about twists and secrets and this story is full of them. I really liked that it took a while for everyone involved to get the full picture as to what was going on. It made for a very interesting story and a great ending. 


Doe and the Hunter by Kristen Strassel 

Chloe and Cain are a different type of shifter, they are deer shifters and just in time for Christmas. This really made me think of Santa and his reindeer since I'm writing this right before the holiday season. It's also the first time I've read a story with deer shifters and I have to say I really liked it. 

Soon the time of finding their mate will be upon them and the girls just have to wait a few more days but Chloe wanted to go exploring and that's when she finds herself in trouble and tranquilized. Thankfully Cain is there and he brings her back to his place so she can wake from the drug and go home. But they get to know one another and things are different from what they expected them to be.

It was a sweet romance that went in directions I didn't expect it to but ended up right where it should be.  


Beary Christmas, Baby by Sasha Devlin 

Liev Anker is a Polar Bear shifter and Sira Fekkai's right hand man as well as friend but he wants more from the Dragon shifter. Sira hates Christmas, she wants nothing to do with the holiday and Liev is the polar opposite to her. He loves Christmas and wants to show her it can be good, both between them and for the holiday. 

He wants to spend time with his family for Christmas and all she wants to do is work and have him there working and blowing off family time and Christmas with her. But he puts his foot down and one way or another, he's going home for Christmas. 

They had an argument, a small falling out and then there's a car accident. Liev takes her back to a safe place and they get to know one another a little better. So if you're looking for a sweet holiday romance, this is definitely one to read. 


Saving Christmas by Rebekah R. Ganiere 

Raine is a fae but has no magic except for the bad feelings she gets, so if she gets a bad feeling about something she knows to trust it. So when her ex, Gabriel goes missing she is hired by his mother to save him. Gabriel is next in line to be Santa Claus so of course there are people who would love to see him gone. Christmas might be ruined if she can't find Gabriel though so off she goes to try and find her ex.

Jordan loves Raine but she doesn't think he would stay with anyone but a weretiger and it wouldn't be fair to him since she doesn't think that his pride would welcome an outsider like her into the pack. But as Jordan helps Raine find Gabriel he lets more and more of his feelings for her show. 

I knew that this story was going to have some twists in it since there are two men involved and I was right but they totally make this story a lot of fun. I really liked the twist about who had Gabriel and how he got there.

This story had a lot of different characters, there's a fae guy with a foot fetish that she gets a little magic from...kinky. Not to mention the dragon that Raine has as a roommate. There were also some witches, Krampus and shifters. And my favorite part...there was a talking rat, a shifter I'm guessing. 


If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, you can find it here

Disclosure: I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.