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Unwrapped
For every woman who has better plans than sitting on Santa's lap, who fantasizes about washboard abs instead of a bowl full of jelly—here are hot and happy love stories for the holiday season. Reissue.
393 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
3 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
Nina Bangs
43 books673 followersTalk about misspent youth. What did I do during those lazy summer days of childhood when I could’ve been honing my writing skills? Nothing. Okay, so I spent a lot of time dreaming I was a cowgirl with a trusty black stallion. Oh, and I read every Walter Farley horse novel. I was an only child so I relied on my imagination to supply the excitement in my life.
By high school, I’d decided to trade in my lariat for a trench coat. I was into dark and dangerous. As an intrepid foreign correspondent, I’d stalk the mean streets of the world. Did I actually write anything? No, but I did read all of Agatha Christie’s mysteries.
I worked at a department store during college. My short stint in the accounting department taught me a lot about math. Three hundred-dollar shortages plus hysterical tears equaled instant move to gift-wrap. A career in math was not in my future. I didn’t care because I’d discovered “real” literature. I plowed through James Joyce’s Ulysses and Tolstoy’s War and Peace. If it didn’t make my eyes cross then it wasn’t worth reading. Yes, I admit it, I was a literary snob.
Nina and best buddy, Barbara Joyce.
Folk singers extraordinaire.
But there’s just so much “real” literature one person can take. I graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in English Literature and a determination to avoid books that induced eye crossing or had tragic endings. The only things I managed to write during those years were research papers.
I taught second grade for several years then spent two years in Dublin, Ireland. A friend and I supported ourselves by singing folk songs in Irish pubs. We weren’t great, but we were young, enthusiastic, and wore short skirts. It was obviously my destiny to be the next Judy Collins. I spent a lot of time poring through music books.
Returning to New Jersey and reality, I taught elementary school until I grew restless again. My cross-country odyssey included stays in Arizona, California, and Texas. Along the way, I indulged my love of horses. No black stallions, but I did have several beautiful Arabian mares. I read tons of books on breeding and showing.
Somewhere between California and Texas I grew addicted to romance novels and cats. The cat’s independent attitude was exactly the quality I admired in my romance heroes. And once I decided to try writing my own romances, I made sure a cat crept into each story.
Texas is my permanent home. I’ve come full circle. Born in San Antonio, I spent most of my life in New Jersey. Maybe the Texas in my blood accounts for my attachment to strong men, fast horses, and wide-open spaces. My love of cats? Haven’t a clue.
By high school, I’d decided to trade in my lariat for a trench coat. I was into dark and dangerous. As an intrepid foreign correspondent, I’d stalk the mean streets of the world. Did I actually write anything? No, but I did read all of Agatha Christie’s mysteries.
I worked at a department store during college. My short stint in the accounting department taught me a lot about math. Three hundred-dollar shortages plus hysterical tears equaled instant move to gift-wrap. A career in math was not in my future. I didn’t care because I’d discovered “real” literature. I plowed through James Joyce’s Ulysses and Tolstoy’s War and Peace. If it didn’t make my eyes cross then it wasn’t worth reading. Yes, I admit it, I was a literary snob.
Nina and best buddy, Barbara Joyce.
Folk singers extraordinaire.
But there’s just so much “real” literature one person can take. I graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in English Literature and a determination to avoid books that induced eye crossing or had tragic endings. The only things I managed to write during those years were research papers.
I taught second grade for several years then spent two years in Dublin, Ireland. A friend and I supported ourselves by singing folk songs in Irish pubs. We weren’t great, but we were young, enthusiastic, and wore short skirts. It was obviously my destiny to be the next Judy Collins. I spent a lot of time poring through music books.
Returning to New Jersey and reality, I taught elementary school until I grew restless again. My cross-country odyssey included stays in Arizona, California, and Texas. Along the way, I indulged my love of horses. No black stallions, but I did have several beautiful Arabian mares. I read tons of books on breeding and showing.
Somewhere between California and Texas I grew addicted to romance novels and cats. The cat’s independent attitude was exactly the quality I admired in my romance heroes. And once I decided to try writing my own romances, I made sure a cat crept into each story.
Texas is my permanent home. I’ve come full circle. Born in San Antonio, I spent most of my life in New Jersey. Maybe the Texas in my blood accounts for my attachment to strong men, fast horses, and wide-open spaces. My love of cats? Haven’t a clue.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 14, 2018
It seems to me that the theme of this book was "people pretending they're something they're not". That's by far the most irritating thing about every story. What kind of basis for a relationship is this? I felt like every single couple's relationship was based on lies and we're supposed to believe it just all goes well in the end? uhhh...
Every Square Inch - Claudia Dain
Mary Scott Burke, a young woman with a very lucrative career in stockbroking, has been married to David Adams for a short while before he is deployed with his SEAL team. Their marriage isn't as satisfying to her as it is to him, though, and she has actually started divorce proceedings in secret before he gets deployed. She even moves house away from Norfolk without telling him, to be closer to her mother in Raleigh. Then she gets the news that he has been killed, and the divorce is cancelled. Of course, David is still alive and shows up at her front door a few months later, and goes right back to taking over her life and not sharing himself with her beyond sex. Desperate to save their marriage, David suggests counselling with the local priest, and even will go so far as to deal with womanly things like "talking" and "emotions".
Surprise Package - Shirl Henke
Gilly Newsom, editor at a small romance book publisher, dreams of one day being employed at one of the big - and respectable - publishers. But for now she slogs through work, lives in a tiny crappy apartment in Yonkers, and deals with her abusive father who tries to get money out of her all the time. Jeffrey Lyle Brandt IV is a broke law student at NYU who first did a stint in the Navy. His dream is to be a DA's assistant and help people, although his parents have disowned him for not going to the university of their choice. To make ends meet he lives with a roommate and performs in a strip club. On a cold blustery day in NYC Gilly and Jeffrey literally collide on the stairs of the public library, and hit it off. But trying to impress each other, they both lie either actively or by omission - Gilly by saying she's already employed by a big respectable publisher and lies about her family being rich, while Jeffrey doesn't explain that his parents disowned him and the reason he's standing her up on dates is because he's stripping. These lies snowball until it all comes to a head.
Man With a Golden Bow - Nina Bangs
Jenny Saunders, virgin in her late 20s, accountant, is looking for a fling. And who better than her best friend's cousin, Sloan Mitello? He's not relationship-material, but she was attracted to him in the past, and he feels like a safe choice. Sloan Mitello is in the business of making dreams come true and satisfying desires (no, not a porn site, supposedly). He wants to make Jenny's dreams and desires come true in the worst way. They haven't seen each other in 10 years, is the spark still alive?
Every Square Inch - Claudia Dain
Mary Scott Burke, a young woman with a very lucrative career in stockbroking, has been married to David Adams for a short while before he is deployed with his SEAL team. Their marriage isn't as satisfying to her as it is to him, though, and she has actually started divorce proceedings in secret before he gets deployed. She even moves house away from Norfolk without telling him, to be closer to her mother in Raleigh. Then she gets the news that he has been killed, and the divorce is cancelled. Of course, David is still alive and shows up at her front door a few months later, and goes right back to taking over her life and not sharing himself with her beyond sex. Desperate to save their marriage, David suggests counselling with the local priest, and even will go so far as to deal with womanly things like "talking" and "emotions".
Surprise Package - Shirl Henke
Gilly Newsom, editor at a small romance book publisher, dreams of one day being employed at one of the big - and respectable - publishers. But for now she slogs through work, lives in a tiny crappy apartment in Yonkers, and deals with her abusive father who tries to get money out of her all the time. Jeffrey Lyle Brandt IV is a broke law student at NYU who first did a stint in the Navy. His dream is to be a DA's assistant and help people, although his parents have disowned him for not going to the university of their choice. To make ends meet he lives with a roommate and performs in a strip club. On a cold blustery day in NYC Gilly and Jeffrey literally collide on the stairs of the public library, and hit it off. But trying to impress each other, they both lie either actively or by omission - Gilly by saying she's already employed by a big respectable publisher and lies about her family being rich, while Jeffrey doesn't explain that his parents disowned him and the reason he's standing her up on dates is because he's stripping. These lies snowball until it all comes to a head.
Man With a Golden Bow - Nina Bangs
Jenny Saunders, virgin in her late 20s, accountant, is looking for a fling. And who better than her best friend's cousin, Sloan Mitello? He's not relationship-material, but she was attracted to him in the past, and he feels like a safe choice. Sloan Mitello is in the business of making dreams come true and satisfying desires (no, not a porn site, supposedly). He wants to make Jenny's dreams and desires come true in the worst way. They haven't seen each other in 10 years, is the spark still alive?
December 18, 2017
Unwrapped is an anthology of 3 contemporary romances set at Christmas time by 3 different authors.
December 29, 2012
This was a great Christmas romance read. All three stories were well written with lots of fun, romance and even a little steamy action. Perfect for a last holiday read.
December 21, 2009
This book contained 3 short stories and I have to say that all 3 were great. I really enjoyed them all.
March 28, 2010
Paranormal Christmas short stories by Nina Bangs, Claudia Dain, and Shiel Henke.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews