The Marie Sinclair Reader

by Marie Sinclair

The Marie Sinclair Reader: six stories and novellas that are the perfect morsels of romance. From first times and first loves to meet cutes, sensuous seductions, and second chances, these stories are sometimes sweet, sometimes steamy, but always with an HEA.

Might Delete Later: An epically clichéd breakup leads to the cutest of meet-cutes with love at first text, delicious pastries, and the best dog face ever.

Chef’s Kiss: A sensuous seduction of wine, food, and desire turns a failed romantic dinner into a brand new chance at love.

Man Down: Unrequited love and frustration as volatile as the whitewater rapids that bring a bar owner everything he’s ever wanted with his ex-head bartender if he can only let nature run its course.

Nothing Like a Summer Romance: First loves. First times. It’s everything you could hope for in a summer romance. Maybe.

Same Old Love: A former child actor turned winemaker and a spiraling, out-of-control rock star get a second chance at the love they were never able to have.

Voir Dear: Jury duty a bore? Not when you find yourself sitting next to the guy you haven’t been able to stop thinking about since he sent your travel mug flying into traffic.

Genres: M M Romance, Anthologies, LGBT, Novella

407 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2024

Reviews

[SJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am adding reviews as I read.
I’m stopping reading this. Reason at end of the review.

* Might Delete Later ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A nice story set in SF about a vet tech and his Insta full of doggy pics from around town. One of his photos goes viral and he meets the dog’s handsome owner. Attraction ensues, and some kissing.
* Chef’s Kiss ⭐️⭐️⭐️This had to be written with a thesaurus tab open. There are pages and pages of food descriptions of a four or five course meal being prepared by a private chef for a romantic dinner for two that never happens. Professor Beckett is basically dumped by his boyfriend over the phone. Hottie chef Simon offers to leave, but Becks says to go ahead and prepare the meal. Every ingredient and prep is detailed as is every wine that is swirled and tasted in pages of descriptions, even how it is eaten. This was okay because it was leading to sex, which was written as detailed and as lushly as the meal. Why did I find myself longing for a beer and hamburger hookup as I skimmed?
I think the author had fun with this, as it is full of beautiful and creative descriptions.
Ina Garten or Martha Stewart might enjoy this one.
* Man Down DNF Disliked the main MC. The story wasn’t that good, either.
* Nothing Like A Summer Romance
I was liking this a lot until it started getting so wordy and emotional. It is two college age guys, both super hot and with electric chemistry. Why surround them with acres of gooey words and feelings? I was getting a vibe from the story, like, where is this going? I read 10111111111’s great review of every story, and they were dismayed that this story ends abruptly with no resolution to many questions about this relationship. They also said this story is now a book that spans twenty years of Micah and Jake’s relationship and Jake has a no kissing rule with Micah and will break his heart and they have relationships with other people. Yeah, I’m outta here.
The stories are not giving the payoff that a reader deserves.

[10111111111 · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I received an ARC for an honest review.]
Overall Rating: 4.25 stars (8.5/10)
Overall Review:
This was a fun, eclectic collection of short stories and novellas. I felt like we got to see many different characters at various points in life: just out of highschool, middle of uni life, late 20s, late 30s, and a couple of older MCs. I enjoyed seeing each of these couples, their different situations, with some complete strangers all the way to lifelong friends. My favourite was definitely Chef's Kiss, that story was gorgeous, and it didn't leave me feeling like I needed more (I'd happily take more, but it was enclosed so well).

Might Delete Later
Rating: 4 stars (8/10)
Spice: n/a
Tropes: vet x college professor, cute dogs, cheating, meddling bakery worker, love at first sight
Review:
This was a really cute short story, one that I could see being an introduction to another longer story. Lucian found his boyfriend and best friend maybe weird amateur porn, and he knew his relationship was already on the way out, but he decided to swear off men; right until he saw the cutest dog in the back of someone's car, and the driver was also stunning too! This short is just the first date between these two, and it is very sweet and a little insta-lovey, but it was definitely a little dose of cute that made me feel good. Lucian made some offhand comment about being poly, so I could totally see this being a prequel to Lucian and Elliot getting together, and a full length story with the two of them finding a third. Who knows!

Chef's Kiss
Rating: 5 stars (10/10)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Tropes: cheating, proposal gone wrong, private chef x professor, age gap, food as foreplay
Review:
This short story was gorgeous and sweet and so sexually charged. I didn't like the way things went down for Becks with Richard, but Simon was so accommodating of the changes in plan, and the way in which Simon's craft and passion drew Becks in was beautiful. I don't think it's possible to read this without getting hungry, and the descriptions of the food and the wine and the memories and feelings each brought up was so fun to read - I really want to try a lot of these dishes and wine combinations, even though I don't really like wine 😂 and then the sexual tension just went through the roof, and I lived the way that it slowly unfurled, and the gentleness and reverence we saw in making and eating the food translated to exploring each other's bodies and making love together. I thought this was such a beautifully executed short, it left me completely satisfied, and even though I'd love to see more of their future, I was not left feeling like anything should've been expanded more, because it was absolutely perfectly balanced.

Man Down
Rating: 3.5 stars (7/10)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: boss x ex-employee, BDSM, white water rapids, pining, impact play
Review:
I was curious about the setup for this story, and I guessed pretty quickly where things were probably going to go, and they kind of did - except then things got a little out of hand, and suddenly we're on Corbin's yearly rapids retreat, and Jordan has come along to try and win him back. I would've liked an explanation for why Jordan did what he did at his farewell party, since I think we technically got one but I didn't understand it. I'm also not one for hardcore BDSM and impact play, so their dynamic wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but it was still an interesting story, and for only 30 pages, we got a lot of good story and smut too.

Nothing Like A Summer Romance
Rating: 4 stars (8/10)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: player x virgin, summer romance, probably aromantic MC, 'I don't do relationships', no kissing rule, drag awakening
Review:
I'm sorry, but how dare we end it so abruptly? This was going so well and I felt like we were about to get to the big climax of the novella and *boom*, it's finished 😰 this was a really interesting novella, and I felt like there was a lot of nuance to these characters, and we saw them develop and grow together so much. Jake really seems to be struggling with his feelings for Micah and what they mean, and I wonder if he is aromantic and hasn't figured out that's fine and he can still be in a loving relationship without that romance element. And Micah is sweet and caring and I loved seeing him bloom under Jake's care and how they kept exploring each other and learning more about each other. I refuse to believe this is not a teaser for a longer story Marie is going to write, because I feel like a clown after expecting more from the ending only got it to just suddenly stop. Like, what's going to happen now when Jake leaves? Will Jake tell Micah about his family? Will Jake allow Micah to top him? Will Jake ever explain the no kissing rule, or feel like kissing Micah is finally important enough to allow it? Will Micah express his feelings for Jake out loud? Did Jake hear Micah's whispered declaration? Do they have a LDR now, or even a relationship at all? Like please, I need all these answers, which is why I feel like this was a taste of something to come later. I really hope so, otherwise the ending felt way too abrupt and left too much out 😭 I really liked these characters and I loved seeing Micah gain confidence in himself, and now I need to see Jake have that same personal growth too. It was always sitting there, waiting to happen as Jake figured himself out, and now I want it.

*Edit: I found out this is, in fact, the prequel to a novel that follows these two over like 20 years, and I'm not sure my heart can take the fact that Jake is going to break Micah's at some point 😭 I'm hoping to read it when I think I can handle this idiot aro man eventually finding out what he has in his life 🥲*

Same Old Love
Rating: 4.25 stars (8.5/10)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Tropes: estranged BF2L, winery, fall from grace, second chance, rehab, musician
Review:
This was a cute little childhood best friends and co-child stars to almost lovers to estranged to lovers again story. Dillon has had big alcohol and drug problems ever since Ben left the spotlight because of severe anxiety, and he somehow ends up at Ben's winery. They sort through their past business, but Dillon still needs to work on his addiction. Marie achieved so much in this little 40 page short, and I really became invested in their story. I don't know how things go for them going forward, but I like the place the story ended, and I would never say no to a full-length version of this, or even some other little scenes from their future or even pasts.

Voir Dear
Rating: 4.5 stars (9/10)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Tropes: strangers to friends to lovers, jury duty, Valentine's Day dates, instant attraction
Review:
This one was so cute! Cameron's day is not going great, having been called to jury duty again, and then having a stranger accidentally knock his travel mug and coffee out of his hands and onto the road to be crushed. Except, said human obstacle is a gorgeous, endearing guy who is very apologetic - and also is called to jury duty too. They hit it off immediately and end up on a jury together. I loved the way their relationship developed, the melding of friend groups, the funny but kind support of the other jurors, the phone sex and dates and bathroom excursions. These two were really adorable, and I enjoyed that we got to spend a bit of time getting to know them and their lives and hobbies, seeing them learn about each other, including physically 👀 and to assist get a really sweet epilogue which brought the whole story full circle. I do wonder what went on with the defendant and their lawyer, as we never find out, and I'm curious if one of Marie's other stories follows that at all. This was a great choice to round out this collection, and I had a great time with it.

[Ro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews

This is a collection of short stories and novellas, so be prepared for that. I am a fan of both short stories and anthologies, so this was a happy thing for me! There are six stories here, all standalone.
Might Delete Later: Luc, a vet tech who adores animals, tells the story in first person. He works at an emergency vet and plans to parlay his social media presence into an animal care channel. To do this, he always takes pictures of cute animals and posts them on his IG. Typically, he asks for permission, but one day, riding his Kawasaki to work, he sees the most adorable dog in the back of a car and takes a picture. When he posts the pic, the owner ends up DMing him and they make a date. There is a cute little side story with Mrs Castellano, who owns the local bakery but there is also a seemingly unneeded side of Luc’s cheating ex, which didn’t add anything to the story. This is just their beginning and it’s a cute one.
Chef’s Kiss: Becks has hired Simon, a personal chef, to cook a romantic dinner so that Becks can propose to his boyfriend of three years, Richard. Simon is younger (I admit, it was driving me crazy that the book kept saying younger man), and is already setting up ”…when Richard’s first texts arrived. They were full of apologies and reasons…”. Simon has to tweak everything to push it back. This, after he had to switch cuisines because suddenly Richard is following keto. It’s a sign when Richard calls to be “working late,” and that’s the last straw for Becks. He invites Simon to make the dinner and eat it with him. Their conversation opens Becks’ eyes to the reality of his relationship with Richard. When Simon asks who would be Becks’ ideal dinner partner, “….then it occurred to me that, if I had my choice of dinner companions, Richard wouldn’t be my first choice.”
I like how Becks handles Richard and how comes to realize what his relationship was or was not. And I love how Simon is so introspective. “I never wanted to play with my cousins. I wanted to watch Omma cook.” It’s so sweet. This short is just a dinner, the very beginning of a hope, but it is lovely, and my goodness, the food sounds orgasmic.
Man Down: Probably my least favorite of the anthology. I felt like it had potential. Corbin is a bar owner, and despite being incredibly attracted to his master bartender, Jackson, he has been professional and has stayed away. Jackson is now leaving, and at his going-away party, the two hook up in Corbin’s office, and Jackson disappears. Corbin is upset and embarrassed. Fast forward to Corbin’s annual rafting trip (where the Man Down title comes from), and Jackson is there. For the length of the story, there was a lot of sex, and BDSM came flying out of nowhere, so be prepared.
Nothing Like a Summer Romance: This one is the longest story in the anthology and is about Jake and Micah. They are both friends of Alex – Micah a longtime friend, Jake Alex’s college roommate. They meet when Micah comes to visit Alex, and there is an instant connection. Jake is extremely organized, very handsome, dresses well, plays rugby and swims and “The hearts, the crushes, the feelings that made people giddy and stupid, all that made his skin crawl.” He has had a rough childhood that he doesn’t share and insists has nothing to do with how he feels. “Forever wasn’t in his vocabulary.”
For his part, Micah tries to be invisible. When he came out to his upper crust parents they made it clear they weren’t happy and Alex is aware, they keep up appearances in public and emotionally withdraw from Micah the rest of the time. Micah is a dancer and goes to Julliard and it’s so sad they don’t care. He is also a virgin, mainly due to being invisible.
When these two have this instant connection, literally speaking almost nothing but both feeling it, Jack is terrified and takes off. It is months later Alex surprises him with a trip to see Micah perform and again, that connection is so strong. Jake is spending a month there and during that time they take little tiny steps towards being together, sex and maybe a dinner and even holding hands, but it’s always with sex in mind. But it gets harder because Jake is still firmly no relationship and he can see the longing for one that Micah has. He doesn’t even kiss and I felt Micah needed that.
I loved Micah. I loved when he got brave, decided not to be invisible and went out for drag. I didn’t dislike Jake but it seemed like he was the cause of Micah’s sadness, which after his family history, he didn’t need or deserve. There is, again, a lot of sex in this story. It ends on a very barely HFN. I actually felt it was a cliffhanger, but apparently it is a prequel for another book, Nothing Like Forever.
Same Old Love: I had some trouble with this one. Ben and Dillon met when they were ten and were on a TV show, My Brother’s Keeper. They were immediately best friends, and after six seasons on the show, the two started playing in a band, which ended up being a boy band for real. Dillon loved it, the attention, the band, everything. Ben liked it, not quite as much, but he loved being with Dillon. What he didn’t like was the attitude of the fans. One beautiful kiss between them could have lead to more except a traumatic experience caused by fans was the beginning of the end and Ben had to walk away. “I truly thought we were going to die that night.” He started having panic attacks and had to leave. Dillon basically lied, denied and cut Ben off. It’s been five years, Ben owns a winery and Dillon is killing himself with drugs, booze, and parties. “I’ll use it, take it, drink it, smoke it, snort it. Anything and everything except shooting shit into my veins.”
After a raging party that he doesn’t even remember Dillon takes off. “As improbable as it seems, Dillon has finally come to find me.” So far, so good. But Dillon almost hurts Ben yet again, and then they are declaring and having sex. I felt like Ben, who has his life together, would have at least wanted more explanations, apologies, talking, something.
Voir Dear: Cam lives with his best friend since middle school, Marney, who I adored. Cam also adores her but in a strictly BFF way. Cam is always getting called for jury duty and yep, he’s been called again.
The anthology has some good ones and some not-for-me ones. For the length of most of the stories I wish there was less sex and more plot, talking and story. It is during jury duty he meets Ty. The story is pretty short, it’s a lovely meet-cute. There is quite a bit of describing the American jury system, how jurors are chosen and what you do there. It’s a sweet story and I liked both Ty and Cam, and to be honest, most of the rest of the jurors!

[Lady Macbeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
This is a collection of 6 standalone novellas connected with other Marie Sinclair's books.

Might Delete Later: it's a prequel of Love Comes In Three and we get to know how Luc and Elliott met. It absolutely adorable and I'm currently reading their book because they totally captivated me.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6398363160

Chef's Kiss: Beckes (Elliott colleague and friend) is about to propose to his cheating boyfriend but after the break up, he ends up being swamped by a sexy and charming personal chef, Simon.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6398869015

Man Down: my less favourite, it features Corbin and Jackson and has the boos/employée trope I enjoyed. My only problem was the heavy BDSM scene that I was not expecting and I didn't like. I'm a little disappointed there was no TW for it.

Nothing Like Summer Romance: it's the prequel of Nothing Like Foreve and it shows how Micah and Jake met and started their relationship.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6400976869

The Same Old Love: it's the emotional story of a rockstar on the verge of his fallout and his former best friend/bandmate who's now a successful wine producer. They have their second chance after 5 years but it will not be easy. The end was very beautiful and made me cry.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6401348894

Voir Dire: an unusual meet cute will bring two wonderful young men into each other's lives: between furtive glances and a lot of blushing, they'll finally have the courage to talk to each other and their days as juries will see them falling in love.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6402096585

I received an Arc of this book from ForewordPR and this is my honest review

[Enirehtak Melas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might Delete Later: 3/5 stars
I found the idea of a motorcyclist having an Instagram page dedicated to dogs to be super sweet. The meet cute of having him snap a picture of a dog and having the owner message him on Instagram is kind of rom com worthy. I think I would have liked this more if it were a longer story because I wanted to explore the characters more.

Chef’s Kiss: 1/5 stars
Interesting premise but somewhat lackluster. Setting up a surprise dinner for a boyfriend who is supposedly working late (shocking he wasn't) so that you could propose, only to find out that the said boyfriend is a cheat? Yeah, sounds like a juicy story. However, I didn't like this one. It was more focused on the smut aspect than the building into a romance aspect.

Man Down: 3/5 Stars
Super cute. The grumpy boss who has been crushing on his employee for so long is bound by his rule (which I respect) of never messing around with an employee. Only the employee won't be much longer under his employment, and finally sets things into motion!

Nothing Like a Summer Romance: 2/5 stars
Features college age characters which I am veering off of, so I struggled to connect with this one. I also could tell that Micah was going to get his heart broken. Turns out this is also a prequel to another book that features the same characters but 20 years later?

Same Old Love: 3/5 stars
Probably my favorite one of the bunch. It had the most depth in terms of character development and overall plot. A lot to do in such a short story too. However, it packs a punch!

Voir Dear: 3/5 stars
Not many would immediately associate jury duty with the perfect meet cute, but when the two main characters are called to serve jury duty, romance is in the air!

*ARC provided by Foreword Publishing and I have provided my honest and voluntary review.

[Linda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compilation of six short stories or novellas of gay romance
This group of stories ranged from sweet with little to no explicitness to highly provocative with an abundance of steam. I thought I would be able to choose a favorite after having read all the stories but I cannot. The range is so broad from sweet first-times to sad which fortunately gets to an HEA; from friends to lovers; from boss and employee; as well as age-gap. Some characters are young while others are older. No matter it is steamy romance in most for the two men involved. There was only one that was strictly sweet romance.
I only questioned two things from two separate stories. In “Nothing Like a Summer Romance” Jake is on the rugby team and a swimmer. That would be exceptionally odd since it takes two different body types to be good at those two sports. Then I question the age of the two men in “Same Old Love.” Personally, I think the guys should be older than the approximate 29yo (if my calculations are correct). Regardless, this is a good grouping of entertaining gay stories. I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through Gay Romance Reviews. Love the cover!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy the stories from this author. Characters are so well developed, relatable and believable and the plots seem very realistic. I had read Might Delete Later and Nothing Like a Summer Romance previously, but not the others. All were well written and drew me in right away.

I especially enjoyed Chef’s Kiss, the descriptions of the appearance and taste of the food, the cooking together, especially making the pasta, and the slow teasing/flirting was so sensual. I felt like I was almost with them at times.

I liked the instant connection between Tyler and Cameron in Voir Dear, the flirting and the chair messages, and the quick development of the relationship during that short window of time. Definitely a meet cute and a tale for the future.

I felt that the characters of Corbin in Man Down was a bit clueless regarding Jackson at times, but he got it at the end.

In Same Old Love, I was glad Ben got the future he wanted with Dillon, and that Dillon found his way back to his first love.

Enjoyable reads, all, when you don’t have time for a longer book.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

[Babara-Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A TASTE OF DECADENCE💕

These are introductions to stories by this author that will intrigue and titillate the senses to read the full stories to be fully sated!

MIGHT DELETE LATER is the prologue to LOVE COMES IN THREES where a dog in the back seat of a car is the catalyst to two men finding their happiness!

CHEFS KISS is the story where a jilted professor gets seduced by tasting sensual food by a sexy chef…

MAN DOWN starts off where an ex employee and his sexy ex boss indulges in their deepest fantasies during a farewell party and ends with a week long excursion with rapids and wet tents…

NOTHING LIKE SUMMER ROMANCE is the prologue to NOTHING LIKE FOREVER where a Aromantic meets a Virgin and this starts their twenty year journey… to heartbreak and love…

SAME OLD LOVE is the sweet heartfelt story of two best friend/actor/bandmates that finds each other again five years later after their paths divided with drug addiction and anxiety…

VOIR DEAR is the story of how two men found love during jury duty and a Valentines date!

I voluntarily received an ARC from Forward PR & Marketing for an honest review.

[S.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve not read any Marie Sinclair so this seemed like a good opportunity to see if I liked her work. Some of the novellas worked better for me than others – I enjoyed Voir Dear and Nothing Like a Summer Romance the most, although each story was written well. Considering they were novellas, each protagonist was well defined with appropriate backstory and motivations, and the background cast of friends/characters were well done. Occasionally the stories felt a little ‘dense’ descriptively – Chef’s Kiss went into SO much detail about the food and the wine, which for me felt a bit much – it felt like a lot of research went into it and they were determined to get it into the story. Overall, I think it was a nice introduction to the author for me and I would look out for other stories.

I received an ARC from GRR.

[Ana Nimity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Marie Sinclair's writing, and I enjoyed these novellas, maybe more than some because I've read the books that some of them go with.

I read Might Delete Later earlier this year and kicked myself for not reading it sooner as it's set before Love Comes in Threes, which I adore.

Nothing Like a Summer Romance set the scene for Nothing Like Forever, my favorite Marie book.

I'd previously read Same Old Love from a giveaway, I think, so that left me with

Chef’s Kiss, Man Down, and Voir Dear, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Great characters, excellent writing, and lots of queer representation. I always know that when I read one of Marie's stories, that it's going to challenge my intelligence regardless of how sweet or fluffy it may be.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compilation of stories/novellas written by Marie Sinclair. As per usual with this author, the stories are very well written and interesting. There's a variety of characters (old and new), tropes and spice level, i.e. there's something for everyone.
Some characters are connected to other books by this author and others are brand new stories. I loved reading all of them, specially the "Might delete later" story. Being a prequel to a book I loved was great to be able to read more about the characters.

[Deb Kel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I had read some of these stories previously I really enjoyed having them all as a collection. Because they are all short stories it was nice to follow straight on to the next one. Being an avid fan of Marie's work I realise some are linked to other series but this did not impact my enjoyment of them and didn't feel like I missed anything. Overall a great selection of well written romantic stories that are thoroughly enjoyable and all have a hea.
I received an arc copy from GRR and this is my honest review.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starter set

I've read a couple of these stories already so was very happy that Maire had bundled these six into one book. They are all have a connection to other stories, except Voir Dear so far but Marie has said there will be more.
I really liked Might Delete Later and Voir Dear, and the others were good too. Marie's writing is very easy to read, with great characters and a lot of steam to enjoy. A perfect introduction to Marie's work and a hook for the other books these stories relate to.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of short stories and novellas. Marie Sinclair is a new to me author and this was a good introduction to her work.

I liked that each of the six novellas was a stand alone, so it was easy to read an entire story when I didn't have a lot of time to read. I appreciated the variety of genres represented in the stories, some worked for me and some didn't, but it was easy to move to the next story.

While my favorite was Voir Dear, I felt like there was something for everyone in this compilation and each of the stories was very well written.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Marie Sinclair Reader by Marie Sinclair offers a mix of short stories and novellas, each with its own vibe. Some hit the spot, while others miss it for me. Overall, Marie Sinclair knows how to write, but short stories just aren't my cup of tea. This book helped me figure that out. While I may not be a fan of short stories, I can appreciate Sinclair's skill in crafting engaging narratives and vivid characters. I'll keep an eye out for her work in longer formats in the future.

*ARC provided by Foreword Publishing and I have provided my honest and voluntary review.

[Jerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely collection of stories. They're all well-written, with believable characters you almost feel like you know personally.
My favorite story is Man Down. Corbin is a bar owner and Jackson is the bartender he's throwing a going away party for. The sparks that fly when they head to Corbin's office are fantastic, but then Jackson walks away. When they meet again... who knew Corbin had it in him?

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely collection of shorter reads, with a range of stories and novellas that include sweetness and steam and showcase plenty of charming characters. It’s hard to pick a favorite, as they all have their own unique draws, but special shoutout to “Voir Dear,” because making jury duty romantic is a task and a half, and turning it into a really sweet meet-cute scenario is too compelling not like.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Ida Umphers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed many novels by Marie Sinclair and was delighted to get a chance to read some shorter works. Not every author can pull off short fiction but I'm delighted to say Sinclair is definitely one who can. All the romantic couples are depicted in memorable detail and there's lots of good food and wine in the stories as well. My plan was to read these one/day and spread out the enjoyment, but they were so good I couldn't stick to that plan and binged them.

[Mandee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mix of short stories and novellas, some saccharine sweet, some downright steamy! I enjoyed the mix, some of the stories I enjoyed more than others, but I think they each held their own, and made sense in the collection.

I think my favorite may have been the first. A chance meeting over a cute pupper, a cliche break up, but maybe the right couple finally got together in the end.

[nic✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was blown away at how well written these short stories and novellas were. You get everything you want from a full length story in a small package filled with spicy goodness and heart wrenching emotions.

I enjoyed all of these but man down was so good.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories and novella’s, some are linked to other books by the author others are standalones. There are six well written stories that are all different and enjoyable. Good read.

[Reatha Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marie Sinclair is one of my favorite authors and I was so excited to get a book with a couple stories I had already read a few new ones. I absolutely loved everyone of them and can't decide which is my favorite.

[Bkwrm24 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars ⭐️

This was a great collection of sweet and sexy short stories. I would recommend, it was a really good mix of different tropes.

* I received an ARC from GRR, this is my open and honest review *

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a great collection to introduce Marie Sinclair. A great mixture of eclectic stories with characters that will steal your heart and leave you smiling. I am sure we will see some of these guys again in the long stories.

[Amanda Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely wonderful collection of sweet and steamy short stories that are well written.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice collection of well written short stories. I’ve never read anything from this author before but will be checking out her work because I enjoyed each of these shorts.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a collection of stories which pull you in and keep you there for each and every tale. They will each take you on a wonderful journey which will fill you with love and wonderment

[AMAO · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️

[Maggie]

Rokp

[Jennifer O'Malley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cute and sweet collection of Marie Sinclair’s short stories. I am not familiar with this author so this was a really good way to be introduced to her.

There are some really short stories and some that are a little longer. Something for no matter what kind of mood your in…