In “Adam and Evil” by Jaid Black, Julia Cameron is tried of her overbearing father trying to set her up with workaholic men. When her dad’s man, Sam Adams, shows up at her Costa Rican home to escort her to NYC for Christmas, she’s furious at Sam and at her father for sending him.
Sam knows his high-powered boss wants him to marry his daughter, but Julia is not what he wants for a wife. She’s rude, opinionated, and not a pushover. After their plane crashes and they’re stranded together on a desert island, they soon realize it’s not a bad thing to be so much alike.
I liked the story, but surviving the plane crash and two days at sea swimming with sharks seemed a little unrealistic. By the time the H/h finally reached land, they were still in great shape, other than sunburn, and not sick at all.
Both Julia and Sam were strong-willed alphas. He was a dominant in life and in bed, and while she controlled her own life, she submitted pretty fast when it came to sex.
There are some unanswered questions. How did the plane seats leave the tube of the plane and turn into flotation devices? What happened to all the other passengers from the crashed plane? Were they rescued, or did they drown or be eaten by sharks? How will Julia and Sam work out the conflicts with their jobs (they live in separate countries) and his workaholic tendencies?
Anyway, I enjoyed the romance and verbal sparring between the H/h. They had strong chemistry and got along well once they realized they weren’t really enemies.
3 Stars

In “Holly” by Dominique Adair, Holly Broussard owns a bookstore in the French Quarter and loves it more than anything. Her life revolves around the store, and she avoids men like the plague. Though she’s a natural submissive at heart, she no longer participates in the BDSM and Master/slave lifestyle after her former master abused her and left scars on both her body and mind.
Real estate mogul Ethan Clarke has wanted Holly since he first met her at a bondage party the previous year. After he purchases the loan she has on her building, he makes her an offer she can’t refuse: spend the weekend with him in a Master/slave relationship and consider the loan wiped clean, or somehow pay him a lot of money in rent which would equal over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
I really liked Holly and Ethan. She’s strong and savvy in her professional life, but she can be submissive and obedient when she trusts the man she’s with. Ethan is patient and understanding, knowing all about her abusive ex. The couple didn’t talk much, but their emotions were always front and center during every sex scene, which there were plenty of.
Though I liked the book and the characters, I didn’t understand the real estate laws. Holly owed one hundred grand on her loan, but in order to purchase it, Ethan had to pay that amount plus another one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the original loan holder. It was his choice to pay that extra money, so he could hold the deed and title, so why would she be required to pay that extra money back to him since she had no say in him buying her loan in the first place? The whole scenario didn’t make sense to me.
3.5 Stars

In “His Christmas Cara” by Shiloh Walker, Eben Marley runs his advertising business with an iron fist. He doesn’t care about his employees or the holidays in favor of making money. Lots and lots of money. Though he secretly cares for the administrative assistant he’d used and since avoided a few years earlier, he doesn’t realize how lonely he really is until he’s visited by three Christmas ghosts ala A Christmas Carol.
Cara Winston gave in to temptation three years earlier and spent one amazing night in her boss’s bed, only to be brushed aside and transferred to another department the next day. Even after the horrible way he’d treated her, she’s still in love with him but resigned to the fact that he will never change or treat her as she deserves. When he shows up at the homeless shelter where she volunteers, she thinks maybe a Christmas miracle is in the works.
This is my favorite story of the three. At first, Eben is a cold, heartless scrooge who’s hurt a lot of people without ever realizing it. After seeing how his selfish choices had affected others in his life, he does his best to make amends and his generosity knows no bounds. Eben and Cara are great together. They have a lot of chemistry but past hurt and pain is still right below the surface. I love redemption stories, and it was fun watching Eben finally learn the meaning of Christmas.
4.5 Stars

All of the stories were well edited with no typos from what I noticed. The sex scenes were detailed and super hot, as it should be in erotica. I enjoyed this anthology and I’m glad I read it.

Book Overall – 4 Stars ( )