Be Mine: Valentine Novellas to Warm the Heart

by Nicole Flockton, Emma Lea, Susanne Bellamy

A contemporary collection of Valentine romance novellas, each with an essential happy ever after.
This exclusive anthology from bestselling and brand-new authors from around the world is available for a limited time only.
The sweet stories are at the beginning, then we turn up the heat by degrees as things get hotter.

Featuring novellas from:
Nicole Flockton
Emma Lea
Susanne Bellamy
Alli Stewart
Maryanne Ross
Renee Conoulty
Monique McDonell
Ruby Rare
Heidi Wessman Kneale
Ebony Jean
Elizabeth Stevens
Renée Dahlia
Novalee Swan
Wanika Fazekas
Novalee Swan

Edited by Ebony McKenna

The majority of the authors are Australian, and this anthology was created during the late spring and early summer in Australia. Many of our authors were directly and indirectly affected by the catastrophic bushfires in their communities. There are details within the book for readers to contribute to relief efforts, should they be able to. Thank you in advance for your concern, good wishes and support.

Genres: Anthologies

Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2020

About the author

USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Flockton writes sexy contemporary romances, seducing you one kiss at a time as you turn the pages. Nicole likes nothing better than taking characters and creating unique situations where they fight to find their true love.

On her first school report her teacher noted "Nicole likes to tell her own stories". It wasn’t until after the birth of her first child and after having fun on a romance community forum that she finally decided to take the plunge and write a book.

Apart from writing Nicole is busy looking after her very own hero – her wonderfully supportive husband, and two fabulous kids. She also enjoys watching sports and, of course, reading.

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/NicoleFlockton/

VISIT MY AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE:
https://www.amazon.com/Nicole-Flockton/e/B009MQPJNG

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/NicoleFlockton

Also, stop by and check out my Reader Group: Nicole's Ninjas on Facebook!

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be Mine has a bunch of short stories that all have something to do with Valentine’s Day. And believe me when I say after reading them all you will definitely get all the Feels from this one.

* (3.5⭐️’s) Flight Bound - Monique McDonell
This was a really cute friends to lovers story about Tucker getting a second chance with Mel. When they were teenagers Tucker had a huge crush on Mel but never did anything about it until his family moved to the states. 16 yrs later we get to see him try again now that he’s back. Mel just got her heart broken and it takes her some time to understand her feelings towards Tucker. They start out as friends and after a bit become much more. My only complaint (hence the 3.5 stars) is that this story felt one-sided. IMO Tucker did everything to get Mel to love him but I didn’t see her doing anything for him.

* (3⭐️’s) Dancing in the Grass - Renee Conoulty
Libby and her daughter Chloe are at a music festival when she meets paul a bass player for one of the bands. I loved the connection between Paul and Chloe but I wish we got to see more Romance between Libby and him. I don’t even remember if they had a real kiss. I just needed more with this one.

* (4⭐️’s) How (Not) to make a Grandchild - Maryanne Ross
Lilac and Harry meet under unusual circumstances that had me chuckling. I loved how down to earth Lilac was and how much she loved her children. And Harry is so sweet and caring and has a lot of emotional baggage that he’s dealing with. Lilac was the perfect person for him and I loved the connection they have. Now I will say there was one scene that I liked and thought was well written it just didn’t fit with the flow of the rest of the story, if that makes any sense. It was one of those “where did that come from” moments that had me thinking maybe I missed something. But other than that I thought this was a really good read.

* (3.5⭐️’s) Healing Hearts - Alli Stewart
This was a story that has you feeling the feels. I felt sad, angry, shocked (not really) and happy. Meg is having doubts with her upcoming wedding. She hasn’t seen her fiancé in a year and with the death of her BFF shes confused and doesn’t know what to do. Chris is still recovering from a horrible accident that took his wife and left his son without a mother. They have their challenges to overcome but they all get their HEA at the end. I really enjoyed this story but I’m one of those people who don’t like seeing the H/h with OP after they already have an attraction/shows interest to each other.

* (4.5⭐️’s) Trapped by Cupid - Nicole Flockton
Lisa and Noah are co-workers at the same hospital. Noah has a bit of a reputation with the ladies and comes across as a flirt, when deep down he only has eyes for one Nurse. Lisa has always been attracted to Noah but doesn’t think she has a shot with him so she comes across as someone who only has eyes for her job when deep down shes a romantic. They both are working Valentine’s Day and end up getting trapped in an elevator together. Can you see where this is going? I loved this story. I was hooked from the very beginning but I have the typical Novella symptoms of wanting MORE!! I needed a bit more HEA. However, I will say you know this is a great story when the reader starts coming up with more books for these characters. I could totally see another book happening about them being together and his family causing trouble/getting in the way. Ooohhhh, I would totally read that.

* (4⭐️’s) Valentines Promises - Susanne Bellamy
I real like this one. We have Serena stepping outside of her comfort zone to help her stepfather and Luca who saves her in more ways than one. Luca almost runs Serena over with his motorcycle when she runs out in front of him trying to catch her bus that was driving away with all her stuff. While helping her out they get to know each other and love blooms. It wasn’t hard to figure out how it was going to play out in the end but I still really enjoyed it.

* (3⭐️’s) Be My Girl - Heidi Wessman Kneale
This was a very cute yet interestingly weird love story. A Valentines box gets delivered to Ros’s home for a person who doesn’t live there anymore. She goes to return the package only to fall for the senders roommate. They exchange numbers and start texting/dating. Stuff happens that has me LOL as well as questioning what I was even reading. There were some scenes that didn’t seem believable and made the characters come across as teenagers instead of adults, Ros specifically. She’s a smart woman who couldn’t have been as naive as the author portrayed her to be when it came to sex (the act not the feelings). I’m sorry but anyone who has had sex before (no matter how horrible it was) and watched porn before (no matter if you were into it or not) knows the basics and how things work. Yet we are supposed to believe that she didn’t. Even with all that said I can honestly say that I had fun reading this story. I enjoyed Everett and wished we could’ve gotten his POV. I even broke out google so I could understand Ros better and I ended up learning something new.

* (4⭐️’s) Twist of Fate - Ruby Rare
Love at first sight. That’s how I would describe this story. Caity moved to Hawaii for a fresh start. While there she meets a wonderful woman and her gorgeous and caring son. Harrison knew when he first saw Caity that she was something special. During a really bad storm they get to know each other better and decided to take their relationship slow. Weeks go by and they’re still going strong. But everyone knows that when your really happy something bad always follows. I really loved this story but I ended it with more questions than answers. I mean, I can assume how everything turned out by the way the story is told but I would have loved to have read it vs assuming it. Overall though this was a great read that had all the feels including love and a happily ever after.

* (4.5⭐️’s) Unbreak My Heart - Emma Lea
If you could have a second chance at love would you take it? This is the story of two people who deeply love each other but ended up apart because of a thing called trust. 9 months later they get a chance to see each other again only to have the feelings they wished went away come back full force. I loved how Trina and Tony knew what they did was wrong and accepted there part in the break up. This wasn’t a bunch of BS with them trying to avoid/ hide from each other or use OP to make the other jealous. If anything they wanted to talk and clear the air which made this story so much better. Yes there is a little bit of tug-of-war with what they want going forwards but what do you expect. There’s gonna be some fear and thats what both these characters had. Loved this story.

* (4⭐️’s) Cupid Games - Ebony Jean
This is an Enemies to lovers story about Anton being wronged by Cassidy and her family. Years later Anton is wanting his revenge and he has come up with the perfect plan. However, he wasn’t expecting to fall in love along the way and has to think if revenge is really what he wants.
I will admit I’m not a big fan of enemies to lovers stories so I was shocked when I ended up really liking this one. It wasn’t OTT with the hatred and the attraction/love they shared outshined all the bad IMO. I was really hoping something bad would’ve happen to Toby but I guess you can’t win them all.

* (4⭐️’s ) Ode to Banh Mi - Renée Dahlia
Bianca moved from the city to work for Etienne at his new restaurant as his Produce Gardner. Etienne was the owner as well as head chef at the restaurant. They bump heads all the time and when an opportunity comes his way to have his own cooking show he can’t turn it down. However they don’t just want him, they also want Bianca too. The only problem is that Etienne has always been attracted to her and has a rule to not sleep with his employee’s. It’s a good rule, if only he can stick with it.
There was a part in this story that had me thinking this was going to go a different direction but I’m glad I was wrong. I liked the flow of the story and the way Etienne ended the show.


Like with a lot of Novella’s your going to find typo’s but they weren’t bad and didn’t interrupt the flow of the stories. Now I’m not sure if this is because I received an ARC copy but not all the stories showed up on my version so I just reviewed the ones that did. So go and check this Valentine’s Anthology out. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Happy Reading Everyone🖤

**I received this ARC for my honest review and I honestly recommend**

[Michaela | Reading in the Heartland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of Valentine novellas. I liked that each one had it’s setting and heat level before the story started - I like knowing what I’m getting into.

Flight Bound - Monique McDonell
A sweet and fun romance about childhood friends reconnecting after many years.
5

Dancing In The Grass - Renee Conoulty
A short and sweet novella with an interesting setting.
4

How (Not) To Make A Grandchild - Maryanne Ross
Interesting, unique, and full of humor. A strong landscaping design theme.
4

Healing Hearts - Alli Stewart
A novella of two friends, their respective romances, and a little boy.
4.5

Trapped By Cupid - Nicole Flockton
Doctor and nurse. Trapped in an elevator will the months of irritation morph into something more?
4

Valentine Promises - Susanne Bellamy
I love the Italian setting. This novella sure started out with a bang.
4

Be My GRL - Heidi Wessman Kneale
The demisexual aspect was not my cup of tea. The rest of it was good, though I wish it continued further in the story.
3.5

Twist of Fate - Ruby Rare
A great story of new beginnings in a tropical location. Wonderful characters and storyline. I’d love to see this made full length!
5

Unbreak My Heart- Emma Lea
An enjoyable small town, second chance romance. Some language.
5

Cupid Games -Ebony Jean
Revenge and it’s victims. Wonderful characters.
4.5

Ode to Banh Mi- Renée Dahlia
Cooking and relationships and work and tv show shootings - they all blend together into a superb ending to this Valentines boxset.
5

[Anna Theurer (Anna's Bookshelf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun collection of romances that sure to warm the heart!

Review is for The Romeo + Juliet Experiment by Elizabeth Stevens:
The blurb is what drew me in. The brilliant storytelling is what kept me entertained from the very first page until the very last word. Both skeptical of love as it pertains to the famous Shakespeare couple of Romeo and Juliet, Ryan and Jess are paired together on a rather unconventional school project. These two characters are hilarious! I found myself chuckling at their witty banter and sarcasm. The dialogue between the two of them as well as that between their teachers and their various friends were highly entertaining. The underlying romance is sweet and Jess and Ryan captured my heart. I found this novella to be cleverly written, sweet, humorous, and a great deal of fun. I would love for these two to have a full length book in the future.

I read an early complimentary version of this novella.

[Yvonne Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is a sweet group of novellas with the Valentine Day theme.
Because of the limited number of pages novellas have, I believe they are of the hardest to write. Characters and the plots don’t always get a chance to develop .
All that said, the authors all manage to quickly engage and entertain us from beginning to the end in their stories.
One of these stories is TRAPPED BY CUPID by Nicole Flockton.
It’s a busy Valentine’s Day night at the hospital. Nurse Lisa Wheeler is determined to keep herself busy this dateless night while handsome Dr. Noah Collins seems to be flirting with the other nurses. When they get trapped in an elevator, Noah’s secret is revealed and maybe they will find they can be more than colleagues.
Aside from the novellas, the anthology provides the readers sources to contact to assist those affected by the Australian fires. Some of them the authors of this book.
I was entrusted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

[Fleur · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of books to get lost in and find new authors to read and below are two stories I picked to review first and will add others as I read them.

Flight Bound by Monique McDonell
This is the perfect second chance/timing wasn't right the first time romance where Mel and Tucker meet again by chance years down the track when they are all grown up. Tucker has always had a thing for Mel but she was a bit too young now he wants to show her how much she means to him but Mel has sworn off guys. Tucker decides to try the stealth let me show you how good we are together move and it is fun to see how things pan out with his plans and will Mel finally realize the times together mean more than friendship.

Trapped by Cupid - Nicole Flockton
This one had me in a few giggles with Lisa and her sass to Noah as well as Noah's total awkwardness around her. This is a not realizing they are attracted to one another until they are literally forced together and can do nothing but talk and see where things go. This was super sweet and left me very very happy for Lisa and Noah.

[Anne Blyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely group of short stories based around Valentines Day. Each story is very different in the style of writing and the hero's and heroines are also very different characters. A great holiday read that leaves the reader feeling good and a fabulous way to discover new authors. I enjoyed the fact that while they were all in some way, set around Australians, some were set in other exotic locations to add just that extra dimension.

[Peni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please see individual stories for review.

[Christy L. Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Great collection of quick reads that has something for everyone. I enjoyed the stories in this collection. I love that even though they are short they are well written.