The Name in Lights Collection

Name in Lights #1-3

by Kayley Loring

Hey. You looking for a steamy single parent romantic comedy? How about three single dad steamy rom coms and one single mom steamy rom com? The Name in Lights Collection contains three full standalone novels and a bonus novelette that's set in the same world. What's a novelette, you might ask? It's slightly shorter than a novella and longer than a short story, but equally as entertaining as a novel. Really! a single dad - nanny / brother's best friend romance Shane and Willa's story. This collection contains a bonus epilogue that is not included in the original publication. a single mom - rockstar romance Nico and Kat's story. a single dad - teacher romance Alex and Emilia's story. Get to know The Lazy Wingmen.PUMPKIN'S GOTTA GIVE a single dad - neighbor romance Damon and Nikki's story. Set during Thanksgiving--there's much ado about stuffing and there's a wiener dog named Dildo. You're welcome, world.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Rom Com

918 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2024

About the author

Amazon Top 25 and USA Today bestselling author Kayley Loring spent many years as a screenwriter (under a different name) in Los Angeles before moving to the Pacific Northwest to live out her childhood dream of being a Disney heroine who talks and sings to woodland creatures. When not trying to keep animals alive, she’s writing steamy romantic comedy novels, obviously. She’s breathing cleaner air, writing dirtier words, and staring at her computer screen until her eyeballs dry out instead of prancing around Southern California in miniskirts and going to the hair salon. Still waiting for the woodland creatures to clean her house, though.

Read or listen to Kayley’s books when you want humor, heat, and heart. You’ll enjoy top-notch banter, strong heroines, lovable characters you’d want to know in real life and you’ll swoon over perfectly imperfect book boyfriends. All Kayley Loring books are steamy open door romance. Be sure to check out her next-level audiobooks!

Learn more at www.kayleyloring.com
Come join Kayley in her Facebook reader group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/kayle...
Follow Kayley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayleyloring/
Listen to Kayley talk to the wildly talented narrators who narrate her audiobooks on the Multiple Eargasms with Kayley Loring podcast!

Reviews

[Callie Kakascik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute collaboration of Kayley Loring's rom-coms, and they were all pretty good. The series also includes some characters from her other books.

The "That's So Wizard" guys all find their matches in this one, and they all have plenty of spice, good character building, great chemistry between them and fun banter.

4 stars overall.

[Yael Levin Waknin · Rating 5 out of 5]

 
Sleeper -

Have you ever read a book that is so romantic, fun that it gives you chills while reading?

Wel, I did while reading this book.


Shane, single dad to twins. He played as a child with Nico, Willa's brother. Willa is going to work with Shane as a nanny for the twins. Willa had a bit of a crush on Shane when he was the star of a teen series (she was 12 at the time).


So Willa is the nanny of his children and think about becoming the kid's nanny for the man you had your biggest crush as a teen! 

Well, maybe not just as a teen? 

The twins - Summer and Lucky are 5 years old and they just the best! It's always fun to have playful and funny kids in the story. I love when it adds a layer to both characters. And it definitely brought something out of Willa and Shane. 


I really liked Shane and his honesty. I really liked his kindness too.

I didn't just say I had chills. This happened mostly in Shane's internal monologues.

Something about him was like such an open wound but full of emotions.

Willa's work was special! The author was absolutely brilliant here!

She went to Paris to study the art of combining scents. A kind of chemistry but of smells to produce perfumes, aromatic oils, etc.

The descriptions of scents in books, in my opinion, is a must, I mean it's important and I love that authors describe smells in books - for me it's part of scenery I see, feel and *smell* of the scene in my head. That's why I prefer books to movies.

But reading this book was a lot more than describing smells. I felt that I got a lot more focuses on scent but on an understandable, logical and fun way!


There was something very innocent about Willa and Shane's connection and at the same time there was something very sexy.

Their story felt like a fun combination of laughs, a little seriousness and a lot of romance...


Don't miss out on this book. Just read it! 


Charmer –


The second book in the - Name in Lights - series


In this book we get to know Nico a little more and discover that he is not as superficial as we thought. Well, as I thought 😏

We also get to know Kat and discover that there are those who know how to take Nico out of his comfort zone.


Nico is a singer - kat is a waitress in a café - Don't you just love it already? 


Nico has been famous since he was a child and is used the publicity and women always wants him... but with Kat it's not another fan.

He feels something different when he meets Kat and he obviously likes the fact that she doesn't likes him for his fame.

Or at least that's what it looks like to him... 


Nico offers Kat to come on tour with him and photograph him professionally after he realizes that she knows how to use a camera and not just as a hobby.

Kat lives with her 6-year-old son and her mother and Nico, to her surprise, offers everyone to come on tour with him.


Think about the almost impossible situation of writing a book where the characters have to get close personally, mentally and physically in a small space where both the heroine's son and her mother are.

And yet, this book is one of my favorite books by this author. and I love ALL OF HER BOOKS. 


Nico is truly one of the most interesting characters I've read.

He is a very famous since he was young and he is still very sensitive, warm, human and sweet.

He wrote beautiful songs along the way and his inspiration comes mainly from one place, or rather from one person.


Kat managed to be professional while being a devoted mom a fun and sweet daughter and she is still a woman who has feelings, thoughts and desires.


Their connection is so unexpected and at the same time so fitting! 


This book is both full of energy and quiet and calculated - a contrast that works perfectly.

There is no doubt that you must meet and fall in love with Nico and Kat. Like I did.




Pumpkin's Gotta Give -


So I love Kayley Loring's books? I dp. I really really do! 

Do I absolutely LOVE her novellas?? SO VERY MUCH SO! 


This short story was exactly what I needed right now! Short, funny (because it's Kayley Loring so obviously it'll always be funny), sexy, and it will pull your heart strings.


Damon is the character I always love to love. What can I say, give me those grumpy single dad that can't trust people and I'm a goner. 


Nikki is strong heroine who definitely don't need to be rescued - because "she can handle it" 


And you got yourself two angry neighbours, that somehow spend Thanksgiving together. 

Oh, and we have Brat. Which I think I love him more than everything! 


Another sweet, sexy and fun story by Kayley Loring. It's a short book that you'd want to keep reading. Believe me.

[Trish- Late Knight Luna Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Audiobook Review**

Three hilarious books plus one novella, what more could you ask for… The “Name in Lights” collection is a hilarious, steamy and fun series that I loved so much.

Sleeper

This was such a fun listen and had me cracking up from the start and to the end. Willa is quirky, kind and marches to the beat of her own drum. I loved how she knew exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up and was so passionate about perfume making. Willa was exactly what the twins needed when she showed up. Shane is a swoony guy who loves his kids so much and is trying to survive. The twins are well behaved but being a single parent, all of his worries kicked in for sure. I loved how Willa and Shane met when he was on “That’s So Wizard” with her brother and that interaction was so cute and funny. Willa is still very much attracted to him and it’s on such a different level now that they’re adults. Going to Paris helped her grow as a person and be confident in who she was. The chemistry between them was hot and I loved how tuned they were with each other. Shane is truly a romantic guy and it shows how he cares for Willa. The ending was so sweet and I loved the second epilogue, it was so cute.

Charmer

Nico was so swoony in “Sleeper” and I’m so happy he got his story. He has been famous since he was a teenager and has stayed grounded through it all. I loved how when he met Kat, he was all in from the beginning and no other woman existed…swoonnnn. Kat is an amazing single mother who put her son, Tate, above all of her needs first. Kat and Nico had fun banter and they truly started out as friends. The connection grew and the relationship came so naturally. Being with a single mom was new to Nico but he did all the right things. He bonded with Tate and made sure he knew he was important too. Overall I loved this book.

Troublemaker

From the beginning, I was hooked on Emilia and Alex. Emilia is a teacher who genuinely loves her job and wants to be the best teacher. I loved how she broke up with her boyfriend who didn’t want to support her career move. And her dog, Thatcher, being a service dog for kids who want to practice reading without judgement, had my whole heart. Alex is an amazing dad who loves Ryder so much and will always put him first above his career. He has a successful directing career and I loved how that came into play for his son’s school. Alex and Emilia had instant chemistry at the bar and it grew with the somewhat forbidden flirting they had. There were no rules for dating a parent but it was a little frowned upon. I loved the teasing and longing they had for each other and couldn’t wait for them to give into the attraction. My favorite part of how much of a family these three were. I loved this little family and the ending was sweet and funny, the perfect mix.

Pumpkin’s Gotta Give
A fun and quick novella that had me smiling and laughing through the whole story.

All the narrators were amazing and really brought each story alive. Every narration was full of talent and matched each character they were narrating for perfectly.

[Flora Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook and from start to finish (I don’t feel right leaving a review otherwise), I found myself annoyed with every single character and a few storytelling things. I was trying really hard not to look up info about the author before I was done listening, but a couple things were bothering me and so I was curious. The fact that she used to live in LA and was a screenwriter came as no surprise. The fact that she appears to be a woman of color at least explains why Audible’s algorithm suggested it to me, but it left me with way more questions since every single character is White. That’s not a criticism, it was just jarring.

I am a woman of color and very coincidentally live in LA and in one of the neighborhoods she mentioned (Toluca Lake), which is how I knew she lived here. I could also guess what industry she had been in because I am not in that industry, but I work with people in that industry who have a very specific idea of what LA is like, which I would say at least 80% of it is not like that at all. At. All.

Her bio says she lives in the Pacific Northwest now, which I’m guessing is probably Seattle or similar. I don’t like people who bash cities, and while I am perfectly aware of all the issues that LA has, I love it here. Why set an entire series in a city you had to “escape” from. I understand a city not being a fit for you, my sis lived here with me for about 6 years but it just wasn’t a good fit for her in the nonprofit world and so she moved back to Minnesota, but she doesn’t bash LA.

There were so many little things, but below are the broad strokes. The one constant thing that bothered me across all the books was how young some of the characters are.

In the 1st book, my biggest issue was the fmc’s attitude towards the mother is annoying, and having been a nanny in this city myself, when she took and posted a picture of the kids, even from the back, I was shocked. I don’t even post pics of my friend’s kids without express permission and there is no way I’d get with them if they prefer I don’t, because they are not my children.

In the 2nd book…who takes their child on the road for 2 months with a stranger? The thing that REALLY bothered me though was the fmc’s attitude about the baby daddy. First of all, what are you doing having unprotected sex with a stranger and then when you choose to keep the child, why expect somebody to want to parent as much as you? Should he bear financial responsibility? 100%. I have a friend who is a single mom from a similar situation and set the clear boundary that her baby daddy is in her child’s life or just not and that means no one has any expectations of what someone should or shouldn’t be doing. Oh, and I almost forgot, this book had the strangest, most anticlimactic ending of all of them.

The 3rd book just made it impossible for me to suspend my sense of belief. I have a number of teacher friends, and I shared some of the things that happened in this book with them and they just outright laughed.

Them’s my 2 cents.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series!

This series is so good. I loved these characters. Kayley Loring has such a knack for full circle story telling, jokes that carry, and wonderful romcom happily ever afters! This is the series that had me falling for this author.

Sleeper
I was looking for a listen/read from someone I don’t typically read and went into this story kind of blind, no expectations. Boy was I surprised at how good this story is. I loved both Willa and Shane as leads in this novel. He’s just a good guy, who does the right thing. She isn’t afraid to go after what she wants. They are super likeable apart and together. They were written as a great team when it came to taking care of Shane’s kids. There was some great laugh out loud moments, and some really great sweet and touching moments too. This book was RomCom perfection for me.

Charmer
Nico was likeable as the heroine’s brother/hero’s best friend in book 1 of the series, Sleeper. He is absolutely loveable in Charmer. You can tell immediately he has matured a bit, so it isn’t surprising when he has someone catch and hold his attention. This someone is a waitress, Kat, who keeps him at arms length for some time, and the wait is so good. Kat as a mom, I loved it. She felt real. Her struggles and insecurities as a mom were so relatable. Nico’s pursuit of Kat was so enjoyable. The focus the story had on his career was so good. He has his monolouge about why he because a singer/songwriter. It is really beautiful. And the songs, swoon. This story felt believable. The way Nico fell for Kat, the way he respected her and gave her the space and time she needed was fantastic. Kayley Loring did it so well with this one. She combines the right amount of humor, great characters both main and side, a lot of depth, a lovable lady and a swoony man!

Troublemaker
I’m not sure if it was intentionally written this way, my guess is it was, but Alex’s chapters felt like the story was being directed. We saw the big picture the way a director does. It sounds silly to say because it is a book after all, but this felt like story telling versus conversations and interactions. The story was more passionate this way and you really saw the deep feelings. I think the narration had a lot to do with creating this.

I liked that despite Alex being divorced and Emelia ending a relationship on bad terms, neither was afraid of love again. It didn’t feel like they were getting a second chance in that sense, it felt like they were getting their first shot at the real deal. Despite this being a story featuring a Hollywood director, it didn’t feel like a glitzy famous person book. It was more that his career helped form his character vs define the story. It made an elementary teacher and Hollywood director love story way more believable.

I have to say, Ryder was so lovable. He was his dad’s buddy, but also wasn’t over done. I feel like sometimes the child in a story feels so far removed from reality, but this was so perfectly real. Both Ryder as a character and as the son of Alex.

This story was really great. It gave me everything I love in a Kayley Loring story. Her books make me feel so completely entertained, and this one absolutely did the same. What a great ending to the series!

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite series by Kayley Loring—possibly my favorite series ever! And the bonus novelette is just the cherry on top.

SLEEPER, CHARMER AND TROUBLEMAKER ~ These books are all push-pull slow burn stories featuring single parents, precocious kids, irresistible heroines, and sweet heroes who don't ever give up. The three male leads are all linked via the entertainment industry so there's lots of insider Hollywood humor. These stories all make use of modern day epistolary plot devices to reveal inner thoughts, personality and wittiness of the characters, e.g. Sleeper—a sleep journal and a scent journal; Charmer—song lyrics, interviews and a film documentary; Troublemaker—emails, texts and journals. All of these elements make for the happiest of HEAs in these three whimsical, charming, and low angst romances.

PUMKINS GOTTA GIVE (bonus novelette) ~ Unbeknownst to a single dad, he is set up with a single lady from across the street by his precocious son for Thanksgiving dinner. There is also a dog. It's not an unusual trope but what makes this novelette so funny is the dialogue, both internal and external. This author has a gift for writing snappy, young, sarcastic, witty banter. She can even write puns that actually make me laugh! This is pretty much Kayley Loring in a nutshell, and for an hour of your time you can't go wrong.

[Beth C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection!!

What a fantastic collection of Kayley Loring’s books. Sleeper with Shane & Willa, Charmer with Nico & Kat , and Troublemaker with Alex & Emilia, and a super cute novella - “Pumpkins Gotta Give” with Damon & Nikki.
I loved each of the Books on their own when I read them, but listening to them with all these incredible narrators made them even better.
So much fun with the former teen heartthrobs from “That’s So Wizard”, who are now grown-up, single dads. Such fun characters and all the ladies are so relatable. Kayley Loring is so gifted and I’ll read anything she writes.

[Colleen Sartain-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

All 4 Are Must Reads

I put my reviews for the first three stories but they are 100% worth the mention here. I absolutely loved the way the characters are multi layered giving you the feeling that you are there with them in the conversation. They are all just amazing reads.

Now, when it comes to Pumpkin’s Gotta Hive, I’m going to need to know what I’ve been doing wrong booking Air B&Bs. That was so good!

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection! I had already read Sleeper, Charmer and Troublemaker ebooks but this time I read them with the audio whispersynced and let me tell you, it's sooo much better this way! Sleeper was by far my favorite book of the series but the audio for Charmer made me swoon with Nico's voice and singing! The novelette and the narration performance was delightful as well!

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This was a great read. All of these stories were a brilliant love stories. They all had their obstacles along the way but love won out in the end.
Narration was brilliant on all these stories.

[Andrea Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this series. Each book is equally charming, entertaining and heartwarming. I enjoyed going on each journey with these amazing characters finding their forever's. Great series!

[Marmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read and loved these but needed to read the pumpkin thanksgiving novella. It was so cute!

[Monica (The Accidental Romance Blogger) Barbosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have reviewed all three books separately. Believe me, you are getting the best deal with this. Plus the novelette that is hilarious! LOVED ALL THE BOOKS!
And the Wingmen....

[Quinn Fforde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a terrific set!

[Michelle Van Vleet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool feel good series. Love the lazy wingmen!! Hilarious. Good feels and nice palate cleanser.

[Kemt217 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great brain candy, funny, relaxing read.

[Dulce Keels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg! 🥵 These 3 standalone rom-coms about single parents are packed full of awws, oohs and gasps! They are funny and so spicy!!! 🥵🥵🥵