Review: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's love stories
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 29, 2013
PLAY WITH ME by Lisa Renee Jones is the first storyline in the HEATING UP THE HOLIDAYS anthology.  The premise focuses on Vegas casino CEO Damion Ward and Kali Miller.It is a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and we find Kali Miller starting a new job as secretary to the very sexy and very busy Damion Ward. But before the week is through, Kali will discover that there is more to the man and the job than meets the eye.  Damion is a man possessed and he wants Kali for his very own.The storyline is one of forbidden love and a building relationship.  Lisa Renee Jones pulls the reader into a sensual and erotic storyline about two people who will fall in love over Chinese food, secret pasts and, personal and business betrayal.The characters are as colorful as the world in which they work-it's Vegas, baby and no where is there a more interesting collection of employees with axes to grind and secrets to reveal.  And you will fall in love with Damion and Kali as they wind their way through a maze of potential heartbreak, embarrassing revelations and falling in love.PLAY WITH ME is another wonderful short story that will make you believe in fairy tale endings and happily ever afters._______________SNOWFALL by Mary Ann RiversSNOWFALL (written by Mary Ann Rivers) is the second storyline in the HEATING UP THE HOLIDAYS ANTHOLOGY and one that addresses a difficult subject-retinitis pigmentosis-an inherited disorder of the eye and one that will eventually lead to complete blindness.The storyline focuses on two people, who under any other circumstance would never have met had it not been for their connection to medical research and Jenny's slide into the dark.  It is a story of forbidden love; the thrill of the unknown; and a glimpse into the future for two people who have more in common than they had ever thought possible.The reader watches as one woman discovers the true identity of the man with whom she is falling in love and the reality of her waning sight.  The relationship develops slowly; the sex is passionate, hot and forbidden but in the end, it is just what the doctor ordered.The storyline is detailed in medical language and at times gets lost in the descriptive nature of the disorder but overall, Snowfall is a wonderful look at the possibilities for two people to fall in love.________________AFTER MIDNIGHT by Serena BellAFTER MIDNIGHT is the third storyline in the HEATING UP THE HOLIDAYS ANTHOLOGY and one that takes place from one New Year's Eve to the next.  Miles and Nora meet at a New Year's Eve party-there is great chemistry between the two-but no one bothered to exchange names and it would be months later before Nora discovers that someone has been looking for the woman from the year end party.Miles Shephard has been charged with embezzling and he has spent the last year caught between proving himself innocent and deflecting accusations.  Innocent of the crime, Miles will soon discover that not everyone is one hundred percent sure of his innocence including the woman with whom he is falling in love and the heartbreaking realization will find Miles confronting the reality with his co-workers and friends. Miles and Nora both have some major issues of trust and getting past these issues will be the first step towards a happily ever after for both.After Midnight covers a year in the life of two people who met minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve and have spent that year wondering about the what-ifs and why nots of a relationship that never occurred.  And in true romance fashion with a happily ever after, our couple will find each other but not before Miles must face the demons that have hounded his reputation and life.Copy supplied by Netgalley