1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Nine Kindle Edition

This bundle was incredible, I read a few of my all time favorite writers and fell head over heels with some new ones I've never seen before. I would happily recommend this to anyone who loves a great romance and us looking for their next book boyfriend. ;) I just love getting my HEA {happy ever after} thanks for delivering that and more.

A wonderful selection of romance stories, ranging from okay to great, but overall well written and worth reading. One of my favorite characters was a man with obsessive compulsive disorder who also suffered from anxiety.

🔹 SOME SORT OF HAPPY By Melanie Harlow
4.5 Hearts

Some Sort of Happy is the first book in the Happy Crazy Love series. It is a complete standalone but it will make you want to read the other books about Skylar's sisters. I actually did this backwards and read the others first. I have been wanting to read Sebastian and Skylar's story so I am so happy that I finally did.

Skylar didn't know where her life was going. She was back home after ten years and feeling like a failure. She was living with her parents. Single. And at twenty-seven she didn't know what to do next. She was feeling insecure and needed time to herself to think. And that led her to the beach and falling on her face in the sand. Which caused her get the attention of one hot guy that would change everything...

Sebastian hasn't seen her in ten years. And of course she didn't remember who he was. He didn't blame her. He wasn't exactly popular in high school. But, she was always nice to him. Nice to everyone. And beautiful. He had a crush on her then and now it was more. She still made him nervous. And when she shows interest in him, he doesn't understand why someone like her would want a man like him. Especially when knowing about his OCD and anxiety. He knew he should stay away. He tried to but she wouldn't let him. She wanted to help him lighten up. To show him that he was worth it. But when he has his bad days and could be an a-, will she still feel the same way?

Sebastian and Skylar's relationship isn't easy but it's real. They both have their insecurities. Worries about the future. They also need to work on communication. The thing they don't need to work on is their passion for each other in the bedroom. But, to have a future, you need more than that. Can Sebastian let Skylar in? Into his thoughts before it's too late?

I thought it was awesome that Melanie wrote a character with a serious case of OCD and anxiety. It was more than just having a clean house or washed hands. Sebastian could be an a- on the outside but he had his reasons on the inside. He hates it. Hurting someone he cares about. Mix signals. Two words that explain the man. It's frustrating but thankfully you get his side too. Anyway, it's not just about his issues but about Skylar's next phrase in her life as well.

Overall...it was awesome! It was real. Beautiful. Frustrating. Sexy. Funny. And different.

Quotes:

“How are you?”
“Good. I’m just looking for a screw.” My eyes went panicky wide as I realized what I said. “For some screws, I mean. Not a screw.”

“I’ll never apologize. Never.”

“I’m particular, but I’m not totally insane.” He paused. “Usually.”

🔹 MAGNIFICENT BASTARD by Lili Valente
5 Hearts

I have read all of Lili's books and have loved each and every one! Her serial series' are hot as hell, suspenseful, and twisted. Magnificent bastard is too but in a more beautiful, and hilarious way. It was awesome to see the other side of her writing. It is my favorite novel of hers to date...Now onto buttercup and her bastard's story!

Sebastian, aka, Bash is in the business of helping women seek revenge on the men that broke their hearts. His favorite part of his job is to build their confidence, to make them feel powerful, beautiful, and worthy of love with the right person. Not the loser that dumped, cheated or abused them. He has been the chief executive of Magnificent Bastard Consulting for two years, and has never once broken the rules he has set in place. The number one rule being, do not go past kissing a client. You can not get attached, and don't let them get attached. But, when his virtual assistant and one of his best friends becomes a client, he wants to throw those rules out the window, drive over them, and take them home to burn them. From the moment he meets Penny for the first time, after two years of goofy and flirty texts, silly phones calls, and knowing she is the clue that keeps him together, he wants her instantly...and so does Incredible Bulk.

Penny has been a hermit for the past two years. Her only real friends are her boss, Bash, and Ben & Jerry. But now, she is forced to go to a wedding where her ex will be, front and center. The only way she could go through with this week of wedding prep is to enlist Bash as the magnificent bastard that he is. And after finally meeting him and feeling the heat between them, she also has another proposal, she wants him. Hard, fast, and filthy. It's been to long since she has been touched. She is not ready for more, and she knows Bash isn't either. What could go wrong with a friends with benefits relationship?

Six days. They have six days to pull this off and only two days to prep. Four days of staying in Southhampton for wedding activities. It's also four days of hot sexcapades, confusing feelings, and drama. In between their own conflicts, will Penny get exactly what she wanted when asking Bash for his help. And what will happen when they go home? Is six days all they can give each other before going back to being boss and assistant?

I loved. Loved. Loved this book! It had everything I love in a book. It had naughtiness, comedy, twists, and beauty. The characters are amazing. Their story sneaks up on them and it's beautiful, and sexy as hell. They just get each other but does it mean it's love or just a very close friendship?

Overall, it's a story about friendship, love, laughter, and letting go. I laughed like crazy, got hot and bothered, and cried real tears. And for the first time ever in the history of my reading, I teared up during a pleasuring ones self scene! The writing is amazing!! I felt like I was in the book right along with Bash and Penny. And the emails/text. Brilliant!

P.S. I went straight to the store to buy ice cream when I finished.

Quotes:

“I’m here to do a job, Penny, not blow smoke up your a-. And even if I weren’t, I wouldn’t let you leave the house in that dress. Friends don’t let friends wear goldenrod.”

“Thank you, Bash.” A sweet, vulnerable, heart-stopping grin lights up her face. “But I’m warning you, if you keep saying things like that, I might just start to believe them.”

“Today, I’m in control and you’re going to do what I tell you to do. And in exchange, I’m going to make you come until you can’t remember your own name. Can you get on board with that?”

What's better than one story by one author that you love? A whole bundle of them, together in one book. The 1001 Dark Nights series is a take on the Arabian Nights, where tales were told for 1,001 nights to keep the heroine from a horrible fate. Bundle 9 in this series is a compilation of some of my favorite authors, and a great way to find several really great stories bundled. Below are just a few of the stories you'll find in this bundle.

SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst:
Connor Dunkle wasn't looking for a lesson on women when he enrolled in teacher Ella Blake's English class. No, what Connor wanted was to ace the class so that he could graduate and get on with his life. But Ella isn't settling for anything but Connor's best, and she'll get it from him no matter what. And when the two find themselves far more involved in each other's live than they'd anticipated, both Connor and Ella find out things about themselves that they weren't expecting.

Author Jennifer Probst is a favorite of mine. Her stories are always so full of heart, of self-discovery, of learning to trust the safe place offered by someone completely unexpected. Written as part of the 1001 Dark Nights novella series, SEARCHING FOR MINE is a story in Jennifer's Searching For series, and is a sweet and sexy addition.

There were times that I just wanted to pinch Connor. He comes across as sort of superficial, especially where women and relationships are concerned, something that really drives Ella crazy. For her part, Ella has been disappointed by life and love, and doesn't do much to mask her disdain for Connor and the way that he's living his life. She refuses to let him skate by or take the easy way out, and ends up teaching him far more about life and himself than he ever expected when he signed up for her class.
I love the back and forth between Ella and Connor, and Ella's son, Luke, is both sweet and snarky, completing the circle of family that is built in this story. SEARCHING FOR MINE is an easy 4.5 stars for me, and I recommend it for fans of Jennifer's books.

MAGNIFICENT BASTARD by Lili Valente:
Got an ex that needs to be taught a lesson? Need a love connection intervention? Look no further: Sebastian 'Bash' Prince, head honcho and Magnificent Bastard extraordinaire, is your man. With the help of his Girl Friday, Penny, Bash will help you have the last laugh as you leave your former Prince Charming in your rear-view mirror. But what happens when the master of the art of magnificent bastardry falls hook, line, and sinker? Ah, the tangled web of love...

There isn't one book that Lili Valenti has written that I have not absolutely loved. Stories filled with intrigue, white-hot passion, and angsty characters never fail to satisfy my yen for a darker read. But, guess what? Lovely Lili has outdone herself with this one. MAGNIFICENT BASTARD is, and I do not say this lightly, probably one of my favorite of her books to date, hands down, and one of my favorites of this year.

While I love a darker angstier read, it's no secret that I am also a huge fan of the books that leave me with a light heart, where everything comes together just like I hoped that it would, where everyone ends up just where they should be, and all is right with the world, a feel-good book, if you will.

I was not prepared for how much I would adore Bash and Penny. These two, well, they are wonderful. The chemistry and connection, the humor, the passion, all come together to create a story that had me at the first paragraph. This story, like all of Lili's, is one that sucked me right in and kept me turning pages until the very end, completely captivating me along the way.

I really love that MB is written from Bash's point of view. It's always interesting to me to see how the man views things, especially in a romance, because, let's face it, we're like polar opposites when it comes to love so much of the time. Lili nailed it here, writing the unfolding of events completely engagingly, while managing to stay true to a male perspective.

And, Penny. It's impossible not to love Penny, in all of her madcap perfection. That she's able to maintain her sense of humor after having a mother like Anastasia, an ex like Phillip, and the childhood that she had, makes her all the more lovable, and strong as heck. She's just what Bash needs, even though he takes a while to realize it. There really ought to be more Pennys in the world.

Kudos to Lili for this gem of a book, with its lovable kookiness, its wonderful secondary characters (everyone needs a Francis and Eddie in their lives, for real, and, Aidan, yum!), and lots and lots of ice cream. 5+ stars for this one, lady. It's simply magnificent.

DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice:
Telling her how he really felt should have been the last option. The absolutely dead-last, nuclear apocalypse option. And touching her? Well, that was beyond the nuclear option. That was a "zombies are breaking down the front door and the only way out is through the nearest window" kind of option.

Amber and Caleb have known forever that their feelings for each other were something special. But just when they were beginning to let each other know, life events changed everything, making anything other than a platonic kind of love unacceptable. True love, though, cannot be denied, and sometimes the heavens smile down on lovers after all.

I was lucky to happen upon one of Christopher's earlier books in the 1001 Dark Nights series, and really enjoyed it, so when DANCE OF DESIRE came along, I put it right at the top of my TBR list. This little book was a true delight to read. Christopher's combination of humor, steamy sexiness, and heartfelt emotions, along with great characters and a realistic story line made this one of the most enjoyable, feel-good books I've had the opportunity to read lately. The relationship between Amber and her mother had me laughing out loud, and Belinda, Dora, Amanda, and all of the supporting characters are just great. I enjoyed every single bit of this book, and would be happy to see more of these folks in future. 4.5 stars for DANCE OF DESIRE; add this one to your reading list, because you will thoroughly enjoy it.