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Naughty Or Nice? A HarperImpulse Christmas Anthology
Enjoy this free festive treat from the HarperImpulse authors this Christmas!
Inspired by roaring campfires and the cold nights of the Pacific Northwest, a group of HarperImpulse authors came together to write their own round robin style romances.
In this special festive Written Fireside, the authors ran a competition to give a reader the chance to start each story in the anthology with their own opening paragraph. Georgia Beyers was the winner and now you can find out how each author followed that paragraph with their incredible storytelling.
So settle down, grab a mince pie and join us for a Christmas by the fire...
Inspired by roaring campfires and the cold nights of the Pacific Northwest, a group of HarperImpulse authors came together to write their own round robin style romances.
In this special festive Written Fireside, the authors ran a competition to give a reader the chance to start each story in the anthology with their own opening paragraph. Georgia Beyers was the winner and now you can find out how each author followed that paragraph with their incredible storytelling.
So settle down, grab a mince pie and join us for a Christmas by the fire...
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2014
50 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Lori Connelly
7 books28 followersI've a tendency to daydream, entertaining myself with the random ideas dancing through my imagination. As far back as I can remember I made up stories, to calm my sister after a nightmare, amuse myself in boring classes, and write in countless notebooks.
I earned a BS from Eastern Oregon State College and married my best friend over twenty years ago. I've three brilliant, handsome sons, a beautiful granddaughter and two spoiled dogs. When not writing I love to read, hike, camp, rock hound, and take long walks with my husband just after it rains.
I earned a BS from Eastern Oregon State College and married my best friend over twenty years ago. I've three brilliant, handsome sons, a beautiful granddaughter and two spoiled dogs. When not writing I love to read, hike, camp, rock hound, and take long walks with my husband just after it rains.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 30, 2015
5 Words: Christmas, romance, love, relationships, magic.
Each of these stories is all different, despite them all being inspired by the same prompt. In short, it was awesome. A perfect Christmas read.
Perhaps my favourite thing about these was the fact that I could read them during my breaks at work. They're the perfect length for a cuppa and great for cheering you up.
Best of all? FREE!
Each of these stories is all different, despite them all being inspired by the same prompt. In short, it was awesome. A perfect Christmas read.
Perhaps my favourite thing about these was the fact that I could read them during my breaks at work. They're the perfect length for a cuppa and great for cheering you up.
Best of all? FREE!
December 23, 2014
A lovely collection of short stories, some better than others, one or two okay, but with one really outstanding story that simply blew my mind away:
PERFECT by Linn B Halton
This is an absolute gem of a story. Crisp writing, a wonderful idea behind the story and just perfectly executed. It had me close to tears in places.
That story alone deserves 5 stars.
PERFECT by Linn B Halton
This is an absolute gem of a story. Crisp writing, a wonderful idea behind the story and just perfectly executed. It had me close to tears in places.
That story alone deserves 5 stars.
December 6, 2014
I'm one of the authors in this anthology, the five stars awarded here is for Georgia Beyers. She's the author who won the competition to write the opening paragraph, for each of our stories.
What a wonderful kick off point, that resulted in so many diverse stories.
So five stars to you Georgia Beyers.
And P.S. the actual stories are quite good too ;)
What a wonderful kick off point, that resulted in so many diverse stories.
So five stars to you Georgia Beyers.
And P.S. the actual stories are quite good too ;)
February 26, 2015
I'm a contributing author to this anthology.
I'm awarding 5 stars to my fellow authors for their thoughtful, entertaining stories that transported me in small bites to the emotional landscape of Christmas.
Many thanks to Georgia Byers, who provided the excellent kick-off paragraph, and to author Lori Connelly for curating this collection.
I'm awarding 5 stars to my fellow authors for their thoughtful, entertaining stories that transported me in small bites to the emotional landscape of Christmas.
Many thanks to Georgia Byers, who provided the excellent kick-off paragraph, and to author Lori Connelly for curating this collection.
December 13, 2014
What an interesting idea, to take different authors and see what they do with one starting paragraph. Diverse ideas celebrating the varying styles. A seasonal morsel of emotion from all.
January 7, 2019
All in all it was a great collection of contemporary romantic short stories. There were two or three I loved so much I'm sure I'll re-read them in the future if I need a short burst of happiness or something uplifting but as well there were two I won't read ever again and one I'm not sure about yet (though that's mostly because of the genre and not the story itself)
It was very interesting what an author can do with a given starting point and how many different ways there're to go in so very different sub-genres or romantic entanglements.
I can recommend this collection to all interested in romance and am sure everyone finds something to love :-)
Third Time's The Charm by A.J. Nuest 23 pages - 3* - 12/6
slightly paranormal second chance romance
What Happened In Vegas by Aimee Duffy 15 pages - 4* - 12/7
secod chance romance
The Misfits Of Christmas by Angela Campbell 19 pages - 5* - 12/20
chick-lit/second chance romance
Charlotte's Christmas Aria by Carmel Harrington 13 pages - 5* - 12/24
YA/second chance romance
The Christmas Burn-Up by Charlotte Phillips 19 pages - 5* - 1/1
second chance romance
Naughty or Nice? by Erin Lawless 9 pages - 5* - 1/2
chick-lit
All I Want For Christmas… Cuddle Up By The Fire by Jane Lark 20 pages - 3* - 1/2
sizzling romance
'Perfect' by Linn B. Halton 10 pages - 6* - 1/3
chick-lit - really great story line
Christmas Wishes by Lisa Fox 11 pages - 4* - 1/3
friends to 'lovers' romance
The Best Present by Lori Connelly 19 pages - 6* - 1/4
chick-lit - my very favortie story, great story line, sweet romance
Permanence by Lynn Marie Hulsman 19 pages - 2* - 1/5
second chance and romance
Home for Christmas by Mandy Baggot 16 pages - 5* - 1/5
YA romance
Down the Chimney by Romy Sommer 12 pages - 5* - 1/6
insta-love romance
Naughty But Nice by Teresa F. Morgan 6 pages - 5* - 1/6
insta-love romance
Threes by Zara Stoneley 17 pages - 2* - 1/7
What was that? So not my cup I suppose you could shelve it as chick-lit
It was very interesting what an author can do with a given starting point and how many different ways there're to go in so very different sub-genres or romantic entanglements.
I can recommend this collection to all interested in romance and am sure everyone finds something to love :-)
Third Time's The Charm by A.J. Nuest 23 pages - 3* - 12/6
slightly paranormal second chance romance
What Happened In Vegas by Aimee Duffy 15 pages - 4* - 12/7
secod chance romance
The Misfits Of Christmas by Angela Campbell 19 pages - 5* - 12/20
chick-lit/second chance romance
Charlotte's Christmas Aria by Carmel Harrington 13 pages - 5* - 12/24
YA/second chance romance
The Christmas Burn-Up by Charlotte Phillips 19 pages - 5* - 1/1
second chance romance
Naughty or Nice? by Erin Lawless 9 pages - 5* - 1/2
chick-lit
All I Want For Christmas… Cuddle Up By The Fire by Jane Lark 20 pages - 3* - 1/2
sizzling romance
'Perfect' by Linn B. Halton 10 pages - 6* - 1/3
chick-lit - really great story line
Christmas Wishes by Lisa Fox 11 pages - 4* - 1/3
friends to 'lovers' romance
The Best Present by Lori Connelly 19 pages - 6* - 1/4
chick-lit - my very favortie story, great story line, sweet romance
Permanence by Lynn Marie Hulsman 19 pages - 2* - 1/5
second chance and romance
Home for Christmas by Mandy Baggot 16 pages - 5* - 1/5
YA romance
Down the Chimney by Romy Sommer 12 pages - 5* - 1/6
insta-love romance
Naughty But Nice by Teresa F. Morgan 6 pages - 5* - 1/6
insta-love romance
Threes by Zara Stoneley 17 pages - 2* - 1/7
What was that? So not my cup I suppose you could shelve it as chick-lit
December 26, 2014
All the short stories in this eBook anthology stay with the same paragraph, the authors then develop their own story. I'd not heard of this way or writing before, but found it really interesting and enjoyed finding out how each story developed from that simple starting point.
Some of the stories were rather predictable, but still fun to read, light and festive.
Some of the stories were rather predictable, but still fun to read, light and festive.
December 9, 2014
I love the premise of this short story collection - all the contributing authors start their stories with the same opening paragraph.
All of the stories are appealing and helped me get in the Christmas spirit.
All of the stories are appealing and helped me get in the Christmas spirit.
December 18, 2014
3.5 stars from me. I read it because Angela Campbell is becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved her humorous story in this and enjoyed discovering some new authors at the same time. There was only one story I didn't really connect with, but the rest were fast, enjoyable and festive.
December 8, 2014
A solid 4.4 out of 5 stars for this anthology. It was better than a handful of Chex mix for breaks between cleaning and working (fewer calories too).
The tie between these stories was that they all started with the same paragraph. This kept me from reading more than three stories at a time because all the Charlottes and Daniels kept running together in my mind.
I adored "Third Time's the Charm" by AJ Nuest. It had a touch of the magical which I adore in Christmas stories. Was it Santa? Was it an angel? Who cares! They live happily ever after.
"Home for Christmas" by Mandy Baggot had me crying. The romance was only hinted at, but the story problem centers on what is at the heart of Christmas - giving to others.
At first, I thought all the stories might have Daniel and Charlotte getting back together, so I was happy to see that some writers took the plot in a different direction. Several writers used the opening paragraph as if it was part of a book the heroine was reading, and the characters weren't Charlotte and Daniel at all, which relieved my poor, overloaded brain.
If you need something to rev up your Christmas spirit, I recommend this anthology. For those of you who aren't inclined to read erotica (like me): only one of the stories had an erotic bent and it wasn't too graphic.
The tie between these stories was that they all started with the same paragraph. This kept me from reading more than three stories at a time because all the Charlottes and Daniels kept running together in my mind.
I adored "Third Time's the Charm" by AJ Nuest. It had a touch of the magical which I adore in Christmas stories. Was it Santa? Was it an angel? Who cares! They live happily ever after.
"Home for Christmas" by Mandy Baggot had me crying. The romance was only hinted at, but the story problem centers on what is at the heart of Christmas - giving to others.
At first, I thought all the stories might have Daniel and Charlotte getting back together, so I was happy to see that some writers took the plot in a different direction. Several writers used the opening paragraph as if it was part of a book the heroine was reading, and the characters weren't Charlotte and Daniel at all, which relieved my poor, overloaded brain.
If you need something to rev up your Christmas spirit, I recommend this anthology. For those of you who aren't inclined to read erotica (like me): only one of the stories had an erotic bent and it wasn't too graphic.
December 22, 2014
Considering this is free I think e everyone should download it, as there is something to please all here! It's also a really interesting idea; starting from the same paragraph for each story but a lot end up very different! I think it was the ones which were a bit different that I liked best. A J Nuest's story was most likely my favourite as I loved the touch of magic, it makes a Christmas story complete! Although I also particularly loved Angela Campbell's, Lori Conelly's (which made me tear up a bit!) and Mandy Baggot's stories. 'Down the Chimney' was also fun. But really they were all good! Must find more like this.
January 14, 2015
Interesting Collection
Each novella starts as a writing prompt about Charlotte, a heartbroken Daniel, and a rescued cat Each writer was able to determine who each character was and whether or not they ended on the naughty or nice list. This combination created a plethora of decision making situations. Although the ones where Charlotte ended on the nice list were cute and heartwarming, I quite rather enjoyed the naughty stories.
Each novella starts as a writing prompt about Charlotte, a heartbroken Daniel, and a rescued cat Each writer was able to determine who each character was and whether or not they ended on the naughty or nice list. This combination created a plethora of decision making situations. Although the ones where Charlotte ended on the nice list were cute and heartwarming, I quite rather enjoyed the naughty stories.
April 2, 2015
A lovely selection of stories and what is unusual is that all of them are started with the same paragraph, the authors then weave their magic and tell their own story. It was interesting to see all the different stories that came about from the same opening.
December 21, 2014
a very interesting way to have multiple authors work on a story.
February 8, 2016
Great to read stories that took the same start and ran with it. Each story was unique and I enjoyed them.
A very nice Christmas book.
A very nice Christmas book.
November 22, 2016
This review is featured on my blog: writerlybookishstuff
I was intrigued by the interesting concept of the writing prompt. The authors held a competiton for the prompt, and the winning prompt was used and adapted by every author in this anthology. As a reader, you get taken on many varying tales from that one prompt.
I had to pace myself when reading these stories because a lot of the Charlotte characters started blending in to one. A couple of the authors handled the prompt imaginatively and worked out a narrative to include protagonists with names other than Charlotte or Daniel.
Okay, so there were a lot of cliches for Christmas romance shorts, but that’s what we dive in for. It’s a ‘curl up with a mince pie or box of chocolates read’ that you can pick up and stop as and when you like. There were a few stories that were a little too predictable, and one where Daniel’s name suddenly changed to Ben??? How was that not picked up in the edit? But otherwise, a fun read to get me in the Christmas spirit.
I was intrigued by the interesting concept of the writing prompt. The authors held a competiton for the prompt, and the winning prompt was used and adapted by every author in this anthology. As a reader, you get taken on many varying tales from that one prompt.
I had to pace myself when reading these stories because a lot of the Charlotte characters started blending in to one. A couple of the authors handled the prompt imaginatively and worked out a narrative to include protagonists with names other than Charlotte or Daniel.
Okay, so there were a lot of cliches for Christmas romance shorts, but that’s what we dive in for. It’s a ‘curl up with a mince pie or box of chocolates read’ that you can pick up and stop as and when you like. There were a few stories that were a little too predictable, and one where Daniel’s name suddenly changed to Ben??? How was that not picked up in the edit? But otherwise, a fun read to get me in the Christmas spirit.
December 29, 2018
Fantastic collection of Festive tales- spicy and fun to behold.
November 16, 2016
had this book since last year and since it's almost Christmas, i wanted to make sure that i read it this time.
the book is good. i like some of the stories and some I don't. this is the reason why it took me awhile to finish. it just began to drag for me even though they are short stories. some stories are just focused on the romance, some have more to offer. I did like the idea that the authors had to maneuver themselves to a specific paragraph. the challenge is pretty good.
a good book, something to kill the time with. and i just love the Christmas theme!
the book is good. i like some of the stories and some I don't. this is the reason why it took me awhile to finish. it just began to drag for me even though they are short stories. some stories are just focused on the romance, some have more to offer. I did like the idea that the authors had to maneuver themselves to a specific paragraph. the challenge is pretty good.
a good book, something to kill the time with. and i just love the Christmas theme!
December 27, 2014
Contemporary holiday short story collection.
This was a collection of 15 short stories developed by authors using the same opening paragraph. The results are uneven. Some of the stories are very good, with well-developed characters and plot, while others are sort of like the result of a school assignment. But overall, it wasn't a waste of time.
This was a collection of 15 short stories developed by authors using the same opening paragraph. The results are uneven. Some of the stories are very good, with well-developed characters and plot, while others are sort of like the result of a school assignment. But overall, it wasn't a waste of time.
December 23, 2015
This is a series of short stories all by different authors. They were all given an opening paragraph which then inspired their interpretation / continuation of the story about Charlotte & Daniel just before Christmas. This is a really quirky and nice idea for a series of short stories, was ideal to read on my lunch break. I have now chosen to read books by the contributing authors.
January 10, 2015
It was an ok read. Handy if I didn't have long because each story could be read quickly. Some better than others. Like how different authors used the same start to the story and then the reader got their interpretation of it
December 28, 2014
Too trite for words, and needed a bloody good proof read. halfway through one story the lead character switched names from Daniel to Ben and then back again!
Probably the worst book I read all year.
Probably the worst book I read all year.
November 23, 2015
Great Shorts!
These are wonderful short stories, progressing to hot in the back pages! Thanks for all the happy endings! Merry Christmas.
Enjoy!
These are wonderful short stories, progressing to hot in the back pages! Thanks for all the happy endings! Merry Christmas.
Enjoy!
November 25, 2016
I wanted some of theses stories to be longer or have a spin off. Others were a bit weird. Mostly a good read though.
December 30, 2016
An eclectic mix of stories which all have the same beginning but are written by different authors and have different endings.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews