The Highest Bidder: Cariad Singles

by Sommer Marsden

Recent widow Casey Briggs is all about her upcoming charity bachelor auction. She doesn't have time for dating. Her heart isn't strong enough yet. But when one of their bachelors is arrested and she finds herself a hunky guy short, she employs her best friend Annie to find her a new guy pronto. Enter Nick Murphy - handsome, kind, and not very hard to look at, thank you very much. And he quickly makes her feel things she hasn't felt in a while. A very long while. Casey's not sure if she's ready for it - the whole moving on thing. But as she prepares to auction Nick off, she's discovering that her first hunch was correct - he's damn near priceless.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Erotica, Ebooks, Contemporary

78 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2012

About the author

Professional dirty word writer, gluten free baker, sock addict, fat wiener dog walker, expert procrastinator. That sums it up.

Sommer Marsden has been called “…one of the top storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and "Erotica royalty..." (Lucy Felthouse). Her erotic novels include Restricted Release, Restless Spirit, Boys Next Door, and the Zombie Exterminator series. Sommer currently writes for Harper Collins Mischief, Ellora's Cave, Xcite Books, Pretty Things Press, Excessica and Resplendence Publishing.

You can find Sommer's short works in well over one hundred and twenty-five (and counting) erotic anthologies.Visit her at Unapologetic Fiction http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. Casey is supposed to be a widow needing to regain her confidence and put herself back on the market, and yet she continually bounces back and forth between jumping Nick and then being embarrassed by it. Her character lacked the complexity to reconcile the two; it seemed predictable and insincere. Likewise, he's a good guy who doesn't think he's good enough but there's not really enough character development to make him the hero. It was ok, just not great.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story idea of raising money for charity by bidding off hot men for a date night set the stage for a fill-in man when they came up one man short in The Highest Bidder. Nick, the replacement found by her friend, is tall, with dark hair and bright blue eyes and nice too. (Wouldn't we all like to find a dream man like this? Oh, yeah!) Casey works at this charity auction to raise money for the disease that killed he husband about a year ago. Everyone who looses a spouse that they truly loved goes through a period of being alone and recovering from their loss. One of the other reviewers said, 'You only love once,' and that it is impossible to love again. From what I have read in scientific studies, is that if you love once, you have a better chance to find love again. One of my favorite sayings is "Love isn't love until you give it away." Casey mentioned counseling techniques, was active in her community and obviously ready to move on with her life, if reluctant to take the first step. Her first step was a big one and the relationship development was fast but when you find the right guy, which is okay. The closet action was hot and all the sex made this a enjoyable fictional story.

[Danielle Tiegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recent widow Casey Briggs is all about her upcoming charity bachelor auction. She doesn’t have time for dating. Her heart isn’t strong enough yet. But when one of their bachelors is arrested and she finds herself a hunky guy short, she employs her best friend Annie to find her a new guy pronto.

Enter Nick Murphy – handsome, kind, and not very hard to look at, thank you very much. And he quickly makes her feel things she hasn’t felt in a while. A very long while. Casey’s not sure if she’s ready for it – the whole moving on thing. But as she prepares to auction Nick off, she’s discovering that her first hunch was correct – he’s damn near priceless.

Okay, this is a short story. A predictable plot. But it is an easy read, and I would recommend it.

[SW · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read. Some really hot and steamy sex but that's about it. The story line was just meh. A widow of 1 year and still full of guilt is extremely turn on when her friend just describes her neighbor. And gets all flustered and ends up having all these crazy sex dreams about him and then just basically jumps his bones and then runs away crying because she's so full of guilt. And this whole time i'm reading it i'm just thinking to myself, REALLY? I don't think so. Kind of disappointing since I've found most of the other Xcite Romances enjoyable.

[katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick hot short read, likeable characters. I would like to have read a little more storyline. However whats inside is certainly intriguing and hot..

Nick was certainly a hotty , Id bid on him to..

Freebee via amazon > I will be reading more of this authors works in the future. I enjoyed what she put forth into such a short story.


3 1/2 stars ;)

[Char (1RadReader59) · Rating 4 out of 5]

SWEET, FUNNY, SAD, HONEST, HORNY, & SEXY SHORT STORY. WOW, did I cover it all? If I didn't you will have to fill in the rest of the adjective to describe Casey (the horny widow) & Nick (the. Bachelor). I thought it was a very cute story but I thought the ending could have been more evolved. Otherwise there were some very funny parts but never a stunt bed was ever involved or injured. ;)

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot and sexy, fun read! Short but satisfying.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

want some hot sex? well here`s alittle book for ya :)

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and steamy. One of my fave Xcite books.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free on kindle. Cute and funny short story. There was no time to develop feelings, but a cute story.

[Elaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing