Quickies

Off-Campus #3.5 - The Incident

by A.L. Jackson, Aly Martinez, Blair Babylon

This new collection of romantic stories from your favorite romance writers, and performed by popular narrators, features sexy little scenes to whet your appetite.
Authors romance you with stories inspired by some of their bestselling works. While they may be quick pieces, they’re packed with passion. Some of the stories are fun, some of them are naughty, and some of them are just plain filthy.

Includes:
Cash Final Voicemail (a voicemail left by Cash van Amsberg) by Blair Babylon (inspired by Working Stiff), narrated by Joe Arden (26 mins 12 secs)

Then You Kissed Me by Willow Winters (prelude to Tequila Rose), narrated by Brian Pallino (18 mins 26 secs)

Forever Girl by Kate Canterbary (inspired by Before Girl), narrated by Jason Clarke (20 mins 54 secs)

Scene Red by A.L. Jackson (A Where Lightning Strikes short story), narrated by Blake Stanton (27 mins 36 secs)

Holiday Outtake by Helena Hunting (inspired by Only You), narrated by Jason Clarke (32 mins 56 secs)

Shopping for Quickie by Julia Kent (featuring Declan & Shannon McCormick from her Shopping for a Billionaire series), narrated by Tim Paige (35 mins 42 secs)

The Bet by Rebecca Yarros, narrated by Teddy Hamilton (31 mins 18 secs)

The Incident by Elle Kennedy (Bonus Scene from The Score), narrated by Kit Swann (15 mins 27 secs)

Prom Night by Sarina Bowen (inspired by Fireworks), narrated by Blake Stanton (30 mins 15 secs)

Hoodlum Heat by K. Webster (a Hood River Hoodlums short story), narrated by Jakobi Diem (38 mins 14 secs)

Ultimately Sated by Carrie Ann Ryan (inspired by Sated in Ink), narrated by Tor Thom (12 mins 41 secs)

If I Only Knew by Corinne Michaels, narrated by Shane East (13 mins 16 secs)

Carnal Comfort by Susan Stoker (inspired by her Team Delta books), narrated by Joe Arden (17 mins 5 secs)

Love and Freedom by Aly Martinez (a Release short story), narrated by Jason Clarke (18 mins 41 secs)

Bonus stories
Kennedy's Aussie Fling by Nana Malone, narrated by Emma Wilder & Shane East (1 hr, 12 mins, 29 secs)

The Rule of Always by Kennedy Ryan (inspired by her Grip series), narrated by Kit Swann & Jakobi Diem (1 hr, 16 mins, 26 secs)

QUICKIES is a follow up to the FILTHY audiobook anthology.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Anthologies, Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Contemporary Romance

8 pages, Audible Audio

First published April 22, 2020

About the author

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, BLEEDING STARS, FIGHT FOR ME, CONFESSIONS OF THE HEART, FALLING STARS, REDEMPTION HILLS, TIME RIVER, and MOONLIT RIDGE novels. Start your binge with the first book in her latest series, From Here to Eternity! A broody single dad, a heroine on the run, and all the steam and suspense!

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

GET TO KNOW ME EVERYWHERE

Website: www.aljacksonauthor.com
Facebook: facebook.com/aljacksonauthor
Twitter: @aljacksonauthor
Instagram: @aljacksonauthor
Snapchat: aljacksonauthor
Newsletter: http://smarturl.it/NewsFromALJackson
Reader Group: http://smarturl.it/AmysAngelsRock

Text "aljackson" to 33222 for special updates!

Want to know what music inspires my books?
I have book specific playlists on Spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/user/1255231879

Represent by Brower Literary & Management
subrights@browerliterary.com

Reviews

[Sondrea]

Since the titles of the short stories are not mentioned in the official blurb, on the publisher's site, or anywhere else I could find, I listened to the narrator's intro to each story and typed up a listing, which is shown below in the order they appear in the recording.

Includes:
Cash Final Voicemail (a voicemail left by Cash van Amsberg) by Blair Babylon (inspired by Working Stiff), narrated by Joe Arden (26 mins 12 secs)

Then You Kissed Me by Willow Winters (prelude to Tequila Rose), narrated by Brian Pallino (18 mins 26 secs)

Forever Girl by Kate Canterbary (inspired by Before Girl), narrated by Jason Clarke (20 mins 54 secs)

Scene Red by A.L. Jackson (A Where Lightning Strikes short story), narrated by Blake Stanton (27 mins 36 secs)

Holiday Outtake by Helena Hunting (inspired by Only You), narrated by Jason Clarke (32 mins 56 secs)

Shopping for Quickie by Julia Kent (featuring Declan & Shannon McCormick from her Shopping for a Billionaire series), narrated by Tim Paige (35 mins 42 secs)

The Bet by Rebecca Yarros, narrated by Teddy Hamilton (31 mins 18 secs)

The Incident by Elle Kennedy (Bonus Scene from The Score), narrated by Kit Swann (15 mins 27 secs)

Prom Night by Sarina Bowen (inspired by Fireworks), narrated by Blake Stanton (30 mins 15 secs)

Hoodlum Heat by K. Webster (a Hood River Hoodlums short story), narrated by Jakobi Diem (38 mins 14 secs)

Ultimately Sated by Carrie Ann Ryan (inspired by Sated in Ink), narrated by Tor Thom (12 mins 41 secs)

If I Only Knew by Corinne Michaels, narrated by Shane East (13 mins 16 secs)

Carnal Comfort by Susan Stoker (inspired by her Team Delta books), narrated by Joe Arden (17 mins 5 secs)

Love and Freedom by Aly Martinez (a Release short story), narrated by Jason Clarke (18 mins 41 secs)

Bonus stories
Kennedy's Aussie Fling by Nana Malone, narrated by Emma Wilder & Shane East (1 hr, 12 mins, 29 secs)

The Rule of Always by Kennedy Ryan (inspired by her Grip series), narrated by Kit Swann & Jakobi Diem (1 hr, 16 mins, 26 secs)

[Fanny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solo lei la historia corta de Elle Kennedy.

Muy breve y concisa. Me gusto mucho esta escena porque nos muestra el inicio de la relacion de Alie y Dean, el cual en su propia novela queda un poco en el aire, puesto que la autora no narro su primera noche juntos en The Score. No me hubiese importado de haber tenido el doble o el triple de paginas.

Definitivamente nunca me cansare de el mundo de The Briar University.

P. D. : Ojala Elle Kennedy escriba mas historias extras de este tipo, tal vez de Rupi y Hollis. 😁😳

3 Estrellas!

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initial reaction: Placeholder rating of 3.5 stars, but I'll have to think about it for a bit. This was a very wide collection of stories, not just in scope but also quality. I'm glad I picked it up ultimately, though I'll admit there were some stories that really understood the theme well, while others were far too "quick" to enjoy.

Full review:

So two quick things to preface this review - I'll admit I had no idea of the existence of this anthology since it was one of those compilations that was released in 2020, and I think it may have been one of the casualties of the pandemic overshadowing a lot of releases that year. But the other part was discovering the existence of "Hoodlum Heat" by K Webster and...well, it may be best to keep my reactions to when I talk about it for this collective review. I did post initial thoughts on my Twitter feed, but there's so much to talk about for such a "quick" story.

The central theme of this entire collection was to show quick, steamy romantic encounters between the leading characters in each featured story. I did have hope going into this that most of the stories could stand alone and be valued for their own individual experiences, but unfortunately the quality was rather wide and many of them couldn't really be appreciated unless you read the series they were based from. I'll talk about that more as I go through each story. Also, at least two of these stories featured in the collection don't even have an HEA or HFN, so I don't understand for a romantic/erotic collection why they were even included. But we'll get to that.

This book is only available via Audible and audio only, so that presented a challenge in terms of what stories were featured, so I'll go in order of presentation with the story, author, and narrator.

1. "Cash - Final Voicemail" by Blair Babylon. (Inspired by "Working Stiff") Narrated by Joe Arden

I'll admit I didn't like this particular story very much, not just when taking it on its own but also as a collective start to this particular anthology. This was a short story written to sound like a voicemail message in a workplace romance type setting where Rox, the heroine, ends up inadvertently living with Cash and caring for him, only to end up breaking apart. This felt like a summary to the full novel "Working Stiff" that this story is based on, and it's not really an HEA, just a lead-in summary of events. I appreciated some attention to detail with respect to Cash's trauma and situation, but it was so brief and "summarized." It didn't feel like an actual voicemail, and almost wish that it had actually been a series of voicemails that allowed an eye into both Rox and Cash's interactions with each other.

I felt the weight of the narration in this because Cash is narrating the situation and narrating the encounters that Rox has. I felt like I was being dictated to, it wasn't sexy as much as it was posturing, and I did not truly feel any of the intimacy these characters had. It didn't make me want to pick up the book either. Overall rating: 1.5 stars.

2. "Then You Kissed Me" by Willow Winters. (Prelude to "Tequila Rose") Narrated by Brian Pallino

So this story felt like the true start to the anthology, though fair warning, it's not really an HEA/HFN, it's just a lead-in to the author's book. Tells the story of Brody meeting Rose at a bar and their subsequent one-night stand after. I liked the attention to detail, sense of intimacy and the longing that Brody appears to have while wrestling with his respective conflicts. I felt like I wanted to follow where this couple went even after the encounter. There were still parts of it that I didn't care for, but at least I appreciated the immersion and it understood the theme of the anthology much better than some of the other stories featured here. Good narration from Pallino as well. Overall rating: 3 stars.

3."Forever Girl" by Kate Canterbary (inspired by "Before Girl") Narrated by Jason Clarke

So Jason Clarke did a great job narrating this, and it's intended as a follow-up story to the book "Before Girl" by the respective author. This has an HEA and can stand alone even if you haven't read the aforementioned story. Cal and Stella are in the midst of wedding preparations and can't seem to get any alone time to themselves, but Cal's pretty determined to change that situation. It was definitely quick and admittedly I wanted a little more from it since I wasn't familiar with the events of "Before Girl" or the characters, but I liked it well enough for what it offered. I'm picky so my rating might be lower than what fans of that book may give it. It seems like it would be a good conclusion story for that couple's arc, but since I'm not familiar with it...alas. Overall score: 2.5 stars.

4. "Scene Red" by A.L. Jackson ("Where Lightning Strikes" story) Narrated by Blake Stanton.

Not to pick on A.L. Jackson exclusively on this, but this is where I started feeling the weight of the notion "If you're familiar with these authors and their stories, you'll get more out of this compilation than other people will." I picked this up thinking that these experiences could stand-alone and unfortunately, not all of them do. This one does well for the stand-alone note because it sets the scene of Lyrik, the lead singer of Sunder, seeing a bothersome guy approach his wife Tamar in the club and is seethingly ready to let the guy have it. Blake Stanton fits the gruff voice and demeanor of Lyrik, so I was fine with the performance, but it did feel like the character was a bit too domineering for voice in terms of the writing.

This takes place after events in "Where Lightning Strikes", so it's meant as a follow-up story. I don't mind tie-ins, personally, but I definitely have my preferences when it comes to anthologies like this because I'd like the "quickie" to pull me in, even if I'm not familiar with the story it's based on. This was fine, just not my preference because jealous alphas protecting their spouses rarely do much for me unless I know the context. (Mainly because I have read so many situations where these relationships end up being abusive.) At the very least I got that Tamar was being heckled by this other guy for quite some time with Lyrik moving to protect her. After they reunite, Lyrik and Tamar find a space to engage intimately, so it fits the collection well. Just not my cuppa. Fans will appreciate it, though. Overall score: 2 stars.

5. "Holiday Outtake" by Helena Hunting (inspired by "Only You") Narrated by Jason Clarke

So, Jason Clarke is 2/2 for stories I enjoyed in this collection for narration, yay! And it also helps that I really enjoyed this story as a stand-alone, even with not being familiar with the series it's based on. This felt like a full story to me. I appreciated that I could dig my heels into the couple's experiences and family. For this short story, Randy notices that Lily is acting distant for some reason during a gathering with their family and friends. Complete with a dog named Weiner being dressed in something he doesn't like (poor doggo, lol) and having to briefly tend to a kid, Randy navigates the gathering and realizes that the secret he'd been trying to keep from Lily as a part of his own hesitation has created a misunderstanding between them. Conflict briefly ensues before the two have their HEA. Granted, there was some general cheese in this story that made me roll my eyes one moment and laugh the next, but I really liked it for what it offered. Overall score: 3.5 stars.

6."Shopping for a Quickie" by Julia Kent (featuring Declan and Shannon McCormick from "Shopping for a Billionaire" series). Narrated by Tim Paige.

May need to look at another series that Julia Kent has written to get a better idea of her work, because this wasn't my cuppa at all. Granted, I'm not familiar with the series. At least this story, unlike some of the others, sets the stage for the scenario and characters in a blurb, which I appreciated. This is the kind of possessive billionaire story that I outright don't like. Not my style, not my vibe, but others who know the characters will probably gravitate to it. I was not a fan of how arrogant Declan was and hiring a guy to track his wife's period cycles doesn't do anything for me. Ugh. Tim Paige's narration was good though, I'm not sure why he wasn't credited on the cover of the book. That was a major omission that I'm not sure if it was accidental. Overall score: 1.5 stars.

7."The Bet" by Rebecca Yaros. Narrated by Teddy Hamilton

Admittedly this short story felt a bit long in terms of the narration, but I appreciated what it did as a stand-alone story about a couple playing "hard to get". Avery makes a bet with River that has them pretending not to know each other at an event. River thinks he can win, but is easily proven wrong in the path to the HEA, lol. I really liked Teddy Hamilton's narration in this one, so it bumped up my rating for it. Overall score: 2.5 stars.

8. "The Incident" by Elle Kennedy. (Bonus story from "The Score") Narrated by Kit Swann.

This was okay. If you're familiar with the characters, you might appreciate this intimate scene between Ally and Dean. But I unfortunately couldn't connect with it on its own. It's a quick fling that fits the theme of the anthology and makes sense, but not one of the stronger stories. Kit Swann narrates well. Overall score: 2 stars.

9. "Prom Night" by Sarina Bowen (Inspired by "Fireworks") Narrated by Blake Stanton.

My favorite story in the anthology, not only for understanding the theme to a tee, but also for being a fully fleshed out story in which you get to watch the characters connect, have a side-plot that was actually really nice to follow, and feel like you would want to get to know them better. Sweet story of Benito and Skye having a long overdue, proper prom night. You can enjoy this one without knowing the series as it stands alone. The chemistry between the leads was good and it had several solid moments of character definition. Much preferred Blake Stanton's narration in this over the previous story. Overall score: 4 stars.

10. "Hoodlum Heat" by K Webster. ("Hood River Hoodlums" short story.) Narrated by Jakobi Diem. Edited by Emily A. Lawrence.

So let's dive into my thoughts about this one, because I have a lot. I'm glad Jakobi Diem was able to get another story in this anthology that made use of his talents and narration because this was not a good story. Easily the weakest story in this collection when you compare what the theme of this collection was and the quality of the experience when taken on its own.

Quick summary of this tale: Terrence - Black male, 18-year old, HS student - a member of the Hood River Hoodlums (a.k.a. "Delinquent Dirty Dickheads") has a one night stand with "Moaning Lisa," a rival white girl actually named Lacey. This story sets up a situation where it's a jock meets brainy girl that challenges his assumptions about her when he has sex with her, but it's full of so many lazy racist (and ableist - that's something I didn't mention in my thread) stereotypes. Someone needed to tell the author that having a Black character self describing himself as a "hoodlum" was...not a good choice. It's a common pejorative attributed to Black men, and often used to stereotype them as troublemakers or violent. (Shouldn't have to explain it, but doing it anyway for clarity.) When you learn that even his grandmother calls him "trouble", that he can't hold a job, and "has problems with authority" - like I said, playing into stereotypes. The author is probably used to writing white alpha male characters and bully romances. No one's saying you can't write a Black alpha male character who comes across as an asshole in a group of assholes, but there are things you have to think about with the portrayal of such a character that you may not think about writing white characters.

When the story starts, Terrence describes loving "basketball and his brothers" - not his actual brothers but teammates. They're all a part of the same crew that spends time at Hood River (Oregon). Terrence wastes no time showcasing how flawed they all are - from affectionately calling one of his violent brothers who knocks his head into a tree "our psychotic hoodlum", to one brother actively screwing one of their groupies who says he "doesn't mind sharing." Terrence eventually moves away from his brothers and meets Lacey by the river. Says "You know you're not supposed to be here. Your kind doesn't belong with people like us." - that was a very specific choice of words. Granted, you could argue it's meant to be in context of jock/nerd dynamic, but I cringed because it could also be interpreted as a slight against their IR relationship, a microaggression that the author probably didn't even think about. The name "Moaning Lisa" is given to Lacey because of her uppity personality and her passionate report on the Mona Lisa in one of their classes.

Eventually, the two hook up. The obligatory "Once you go Black... " is definitely used here (by him to her). He describes that he's used to being with a certain kind of woman (big breasts, ass), but can't stop talking about her "small tits" and going on about how "perfect" she is. A lot of comments about how big he is compared to her small frame, a protective thing. Terrence's commentary on his own body, her perceived desire for him, and need to protect her feel not only just like your typical copy pasta alpha white male hero, but playing into stereotypes about Black men regarding their bodies and how they are fetishized by white women. Even the statement: "I love the fact that she's been tainted by a hoodlum." Am I supposed to take a line like that and interpret it as this being a nerd girl being with the jock or are you saying that this white girl is tainted somehow by a Black guy? (Because it read as both here.)

This story ends on a note that's supposed to lead into the series itself with Terrence chasing after Lacey, not an HEA or an HFN, though. It didn't make me want to follow the series. Overall score: 1 star.

Because I'm running low on space to write this in my Goodreads review, I'm going to post my final, very brief notes for each of the remaining stories.

11. "Ultimately Sated" by Carrie Ann Ryan. (Inspired by "Sated in Ink). Narrated by Tor Thom

Ryan's short story was way too short despite featuring a polyamorous relationship. I felt like I went into it, came out of it and really didn't know much about the characters here despite some steamy scenes. I know that these are "quickies" but I mean...come on. Overall score: 2 stars.

12. "If I Only Knew" by Corrine Michaels. Narrated by Shane East.

Michaels' story, while it had nice attention to character details, couldn't make me get past the odd narrations of the arrogant hero. Like they're taking their daughter to a ballet and there's his appreciation of his wife and things here that are nice, but some of it is a bit too over the top for me. Shane East narrates fine, but it wasn't my cuppa. Overall score: 2 stars

13. "Carnal Comfort" by Susan Stoker. (Inspired by her Delta Heat series). Narrated by Joe Arden.

This was okay. It was a story of a soldier and the woman he's protected having a bad case of PTSD after reliving memories of her kidnapping and thinking her lover is in trouble. He asks what he can do to help and...um, she asks him to you know what. I was fine with the read, but I didn't feel like I could connect with it as much as I wanted to. Reflecting on it, I want to bump it up from my original rating because I appreciated the narration by Joe Arden and the fact that the hero really cares for the heroine. Overall score: 2.5 stars.

14. "Love and Freedom" by Aly Martinez. (A "Release" short story.) Narrated by Jason Clarke.

This was also an okay read for me, though it didn't engage me as much as I was hoping for a story of a hero who is finally off parole for the crime he did and spending time with the woman he loves. The intimate scenes are fine, and Jason Clarke does a good job narrating the tale. There are some fun banter between them like the heroine scolding him for not spitting out his gum and him reflecting on how it got stuck in her hair in one previous incident. Bumping up my original rating because upon reflection, it was fine, just not one of my favorite stories here. Overall rating: 2.5 stars.

15. "Kennedy's Aussie Fling" by Nana Malone. Narrated by Emma Wilder and Shane East.

One of two longer bonus stories included in the "Quickie" collection. This particular story meandered a lot. I think there was a bit too much fourth wall breaking and chasing for me to really love this. Like it was trying a bit hard to drive the chemistry. Story of two co-workers who broke apart when the heroine realized the hero was married. He chases her down in what is a marriage of convenience meets reluctant pinning situation. The narrators were good, but the scenario was...meh. Overall score: 2 stars.

16. "The Rule of Always" by Kennedy Ryan. (Inspired by her Grip series.) Narrated by Kit Swann and Jakobi Diem.

The audiobook narrators bump this up a bit and as I mentioned, I'm glad Jakobi was really able to shine with his narration in this particular story compared to the previous. Age gap, forbidden romance considering the hero is older, but the heroine was once his TA. It's well written and steamy, though not my cuppa for the relationship. I did like the writing and it's one of the better stories in this collection, ending the collection on a strong note. Overall score: 3.5 stars.

So if I'm taking the average tally of all the stories in this collection: I'll round up to 3 stars overall because I liked the audio narrators. It's okay, but I wish it felt like a fuller experience.

[crίѕтίŋα•●Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ●• · Rating 3 out of 5]

▪️ The Incident by Elle Kennedy - 3 stars ⭐️

“it’s just me and Dean at the house tonight. Dean, the arrogant wise-ass who thinks sport fucking should be an Olympic event. And me, the vulnerable tipsy chick who’s grieving for a failed relationship.
Not a good combo, folks.
(…) Break-ups really fuck with your mind.”
- Allie

[Mysti]

Yep this is a hard pass. I only listened to the first story before deciding to DNF. The first story wasn't even a story. It was a guy leaving a voicemail of all the things he wish he'd done with his girl. And it wasn't even good. Yep I'll pass on this.

[Deni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Всеки път, когато чета антологии в края си задавам един и същ въпрос: какъв е смисъла от тях?

Има автори, които са невероятни в писането на новели, но никакви ги няма в писането на романи. И обратното. Това са два тотално различни типа на сторителинг с всички прилежащи иструменти. Да накараш романист да ти напише новела и да очакваш да е добра за мен е доста безсмислено упражнение.

Новелите в подобен тип антологии са толкова кратки (, а в случая и извън контекст, тъй като са обвързани с романи на авторките, които ако не си чела, няма да се ориентираш като хората), че нито можеш да разбереш нещо от персонажите, нито от историята, нито от стилистиката и маниера на създване на сюжет. Ще са ок само за хората, запознати с творчеството на писателите и книгите, към които са съотнесени новелите. Което е доста, доста, доста малък читателски прицент.

Не мога да кажа, че е и добра представителна извадка на нараторските способности на каста в аудиокнигата. Да, наблъскан е с големи имена, но те нямаха време да разгърнат таланта си. Така, че и тук удряме на камък.

Единствените новели, които си заслужаваха (и то горе-долу) бяха тези на Ярос и Кенеди. Всичко останало беше безинтересно, безлично и безвкусно.

Та, пак питам: какъв е смисъла?

👉 Не открих нови автори;
👉 Не открих нови истории, които да ми представляват интерес;
👉 Не добих представа за способностите на писателите, които ми бяха непознати;
👉 Новелите ми бяха скучни, понеже им липсваше контекст, тъй като всички до една бяха обвързани с други книги и поредици, които трябва да си чел предварително, за да те ангажират емоционално;
👉 Не открих нови наратори, които да ме впечатлят с актьорска игра;
👉 Само затвърдих, че харесвам автори и наратори, които си знаех, че харесвам и преди това. Нямах нужда от подобна безсмислена валидация.

Явно отговорът е "никакъв" 🤷‍♀️ Освен печелене на пари I guess 👀

[Desiree M ~*~*~ LiveReadCollect · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall 3.5 stars.

As with all anthologies, I loved some and was more meh on others. I took super brief notes as I was listening. Mainly the title, narrator, and then star rating and sometimes a few words that summed up what I thought. So, I’ll put those down below.

Cash Final Voicemail by Blair Babylon: narrated by Joe Arden – 3 stars. Love the narrator. Meh story.

Then You Kissed Me by Willow Winters: narrated by Brian Pallino – 4 stars. Love the narrator.

Forever Girl by Kate Canterbary: narrated by Jason Clarke – 4 stars. Great narrator. Actually read Before Girl, there aren’t many books in this anthology that I’ve read the full book/series. Really fun seeing Stella and Cal again.

Scene Red by A.L. Jackson: narrated by Blake Stanton – 5 stars. Loved the jealous/possessive scenes and the narrator is great, a little too scratchy for my taste but still great. Really want to read this series/book sometime soon.

Holiday Outtake by Helena Hunting: narrated by Jason Clarke – 3.5 stars.

Shopping for Quickie by Julia Kent: narrated by Tim Paige – 3 stars.

The Bet by Rebecca Yarros: narrated by Teddy Hamilton – 4 stars.

The Incident by Elle Kennedy: narrated by Kit Swann – 2.5 stars. Eh, very short and it ended super abruptly.

Prom Night by Sarina Bowen: narrated by Blake Stanton – 3.5 stars. So sweet.

Hoodlum Heat by K. Webster: narrated by Jakobi Diem – 4 stars. Love the narrator and I really want to read this series soon.

Ultimately Sated by Carrie Ann Ryan: narrated by Tor Thom – 3 stars. Good but too short.

If I Only Knew by Corinne Michaels: narrated by Shane East – 2.5 stars. Don’t remember anything about this one.

Carnal Comfort by Susan Stoker: narrated by Joe Arden – 3 stars.

Love and Freedom by Aly Martinez: narrated by Jason Clarke – 3.5 stars. Liked this one. I think I would have liked it more if I read the series.

Kennedy's Aussie Fling by Nana Malone: narrated by Emma Wilder & Shane East – 5 stars. So good. I just wanted more with these two. I hope to read more Nana Malone soon.

The Rule of Always by Kennedy Ryan: narrated by Kit Swann & Jakobi Diem – 4 stars. Another wonderful story by Kennedy Ryan. Makes me want to get to the Grip series sooner rather than later.

[Veronica Ticker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very special review this time, because this anthology is an audiobook exclusive, and isn’t available everywhere.

From some of the best romance authors, narrated by some of the best romance narrators, a very interesting anthology of short stories. They’re all prequels or sequels or spin-offs or bonus scenes of other books from the authors, but since they are quickies about quickies, it doesn’t matter. You get enough of the characters and their story to enjoy their little romp in the wild.

I haven’t read or listened to most of the books, but I was quite happy to listen to Joe Arden in a bonus scene from Working stiff by Blair Babylon, where he details a little fantasy about Rox and the three males in the story: Cash (who isn’t yet her significant other) and his two friends, Arthur (from Stiff drink and Hard liquor) and Maxence (I haven’t read his story yet).

As my fave narrators, Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige deliver both sexy short stories that make me want to read the book they come from.

And I discovered Jason Clarke and Shane East–they’re both kind of a big deal, but I haven’t managed yet to listen anything by them (although that’s not quite right about Shane East, since I was there when Erin Mallon offered her live event of her hilarious play These walls can talk, played via Zoom by Andi Arndt, Shane East, Teddy Hamilton, Amy Daws, Joe Arden and Emmy Wilder–soon available on Audible drama, I’ll keep you updated on that).

[Joey Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorites:
Seeing Red-A.L. Jackson
Holiday Outtake- Helena Hunting
Hoodlum Heat- K. Webster

Other 5 stars:
The Bet- Rebecca Yarros
The Incident- Elle Kennedy
Love and Freedom-Aly Martinez
The Rule if Always- Kennedy Ryan

4 stars:
Then You Kissed Me-Willow Winters
Shopping for a Quickie- Julia Kent
Prom Night- Sarina Bowen
If I Only Knew- Corinne Michaels
Carmel Comfort- Susan Stroker
Kennedy’s Aussie Fling- Nana Malone

3 stars:
Cash’s Final Voicemail- Blair Babalon
Forever girl- Kate Canterbury
Ultimately Sated- Carrie Ann Ryan

[Natrina Felan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never read AL Jackson but after her short story I’m 100% reading the rest of her books.

[Melanie Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since it is a collection of stories from various authors, I found some stories better than others. However, overall, I enjoyed the collection.

[Felicia Olinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories were great and some were 1 stars so for an average I’ll rate this a 3.

[sofia (taylor's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ame leer el pequeño extra sobre lo que sucedió entre mis rubios fav esa noche. <3

[annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

actual: 4.00 (i think unless i did my math wrong)

Cash Final Voicemail (a voicemail left by Cash van Amsberg) by Blair Babylon (inspired by Working Stiff)
- 5 honestly it reminds me of quinn audios and i think in this short audiobook only format, a voicemail is really good

Then You Kissed Me by Willow Winters (prelude to Tequila Rose)
- 4.5 i like it - a one night stand is really good for this short format. i also read tequila rose and i actually do not remember it, but this was good

Forever Girl by Kate Canterbary (inspired by Before Girl)
- 5 this was cute!! i really liked them and want to read their book now. he’s so sweet wanted to just be near her at their wedding. also love the narrator

Scene Red by A.L. Jackson (A Where Lightning Strikes short story)
- 4.5 girl this was fun and lowkey all of these short stories makes me want to read the original work. the only thing i didn’t like was the narrator was a little too growel-y i think and sometimes he made it sound weird

Holiday Outtake by Helena Hunting (inspired by Only You)
- 4 hmm i think the way he was like women this and that was interesting (i’m grasping at straws here since they are so short and i know it’s short but also i feel like i didn’t get enough, but still cute. also one of the only ones that doesn’t actually have a sex scene in it.

Shopping for Quickie by Julia Kent (featuring Declan & Shannon McCormick from her Shopping for a Billionaire series)
- 3.5 this was okay. i love dave though. the quicky was actually so quick. and her being so needy even though he has work was annoying to me. like it was kind of weird..

The Bet by Rebecca Yarros (inspired by Ignite)
- 4.5 lowkey i liked this dynamic and the bet was fun. kind of felt like they stopped the bet very soon though

The Incident by Elle Kennedy (Bonus Scene from The Score)
- 5 i liked this one too!! it makes me want to read their book more than i already did. very quick but honestly it felt like i didn’t really need to know these characters that much to enjoy it

Prom Night by Sarina Bowen (inspired by Fireworks)
- 5 that was so sweet and cuteeee. i loved the background of prom and wished there was a little more of it but overall so cute and i really liked how much she was just a chill guy

Hoodlum Heat by K. Webster (a Hood River Hoodlums short story)
- 1 what the hell was this.. it’s the way this white author thought that writing about “the hood” and black characters in them… the aave usage was so uncomfy to me, not because of it, but because i imagine the author writing it.. also why did it seem like this white girl was like the savior for him, like there was this other girl in the beginning that was mentioned and we can assume she is black and the way they spoke about her was disgusting. and here comes this white girl that makes you basically see what love is.. girl what?? he also calls her moaning lisa and you still give him the time of day?

Ultimately Sated by Carrie Ann Ryan (inspired by Sated in Ink)
- 4.5 no plot, just sex and that’s fine with me. so fun!! i loved that the guys are actually interacting, i feel like a lot of poly or why chooses i see, the guys are always just doing it to the girl.

If I Only Knew by Corinne Michaels
- 3.5 this felt like a chapter of a book idk how to describe it. there’s not even sex and it’s just them going to ballet. love shane east though

Carnal Comfort by Susan Stoker (inspired by her Team Delta books)
- 3.5 the sex actually doesn’t seem very necessary. it could’ve been a cute sfw story with him taking care of her, but it’s just that she has a nightmare and the only solution to sooth her is sex..

Love and Freedom by Aly Martinez (a Release short story)
- 5 very sweet and soft. i loved their relationship and now this is making me interested of their actual story.

Bonus stories

Kennedy's Aussie Fling by Nana Malone
- 2.5 the extra hour did not help this story.. because what do you mean he fingered her and put his thumb up her ass before they even talked about why they broke up?? they annoyed me badly

The Rule of Always by Kennedy Ryan (inspired by her Grip series), narrated by Kit Swann & Jakobi Diem
- 3 i just don’t really like these tropes and something about her seducing him like this was weird to me, but i know that’s a personal problem.

[Digitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up to 4 stars, though I enjoyed some stories more than others.

This is an anthology so you get a lot of short stories in one, all by different authors. Some were very entertaining (had me laughing OUT LOUD at the descriptions), and some made me cringe at tropes I don’t believe I’ve read before (you hate me but you’re MINE and now I’m going to force myself on you instead of having a respectful conversation).

I liked how most of the stories got to the point (with the sexy times) so if you’re looking for that, then add this to your TBR!

It was an easy breezy read for driving and crocheting, and introduced me to some new authors!

[Sydney Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally reviewed on StoryGraph: 3.25 ⭐️ rounded down

I only listened to this anthology because I'm trying to read every Rebecca Yarros book and she was one of the authors featured. Some of the stories were really good and enjoyable, but I wish they were all standalone short stories instead of being connected to other books. I felt like I was missing too much of the story and context surrounding the situation. Also way too many of the stories revolved around pregnancy/children which is a turn off for me, but overall a decent listen.

[Emilye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook;3.5 ⭐️

An interesting cross-section that runs the gamut from epilogues to novellas and serve as introduction to ongoing series. Pay attention at the beginning of each offering; that’s when you find out who the author is and the series they are linking to. And it is only at the beginning.

There is a lot of heat to these, and it is handled fairly well. Almost all of these authors were new to me, and I may track their work, based on their writing here. But, it would be lots easier to work from a list.

[Charley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

This anthology had some really good spicy scenes and some that were just okay. It’s hard to really get into the spice when you have no idea who the characters are, but the scenes that had extra chapters explaining what was going on in the book were a little boring, so I don’t know what was better. A few books in here I’d actually read the whole thing, and others where this small excerpt was enough for me.

Narration was good by everyone involved, which was a lot of people.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded this because someone referred to a short story for one of Helena Hunting's books that they'd heard on here and I had to know. (Turns out, I'd already read that one, but I loved listening to it.) While I didn't love every single story, I definitely liked them all - and definitely want to take the time to look into a few of the series these are a part of.

[Lia · Rating 1 out of 5]

We’ll this was awful. And disappointing. The first voicemail where he feels the need to tell his coworker where she works and what work she does was dumb. Then there were chapter 11 which was awful. Full of negging and ashole behavior without any of the redemption.
Then the longer stories in the end. With the big age gap and uninspired sex.
Just bad all around.

[Lissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was mostly boring. I did like the Kennedy Ryan audioversion of Iz & Callie stories The Rule of Now/THe Rule of Always

included:
Willow Winter prequel to Tequila Rose
Elle Kennedy The Incident
Nana Malone - one of the London books (Big Ben, etc)
Carrie Ann Ryan - something in the ink series
k. Webster something in the hood river rats series

[Kaitlyn Pearson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this because I wanted more from one specific author. That said I don't think I was target demographic for this book. A majority of the stories fell flat and weren't quite the spice I was looking for. I'm not into the pregnancy trope nine out of ten times, that said I loved some of the more diverse stories in here.

[Emilie Bienhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an anthology of short stories, so it's really hard to truly judge it, but only a few of the short stories really grabbed my attention.  I think this would be better suited for someone who's read all the books these short stories relate to.  I rated it a 2.5, but rated up to 3 for Goodreads.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent audiobook anthology. All the narrators were wonderful and now I've added so many new authors and book series to my TBR lists because of how super hot these stories were to listen to. I highly recommend this to anyone that wants to get their sexy times audiobook fix.

[Gunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I just added a bunch of authors to my TBR. I a not a big fan of stories which are super short, but apart from a couple of stories, this actually pretty great!

[Ｋａｔｅ · Rating 4 out of 5]

💍🥂🍾 The Engagement Party 🍾🥂💍

Audiobook Short Story : Kate Canterbary

Stella and Cal, bringing the 🔥 and the feels.
Fictional or not, gotta be said that Hartshorn stills gives me a massive ladyboner… 😜

[Eva ✧ ࣪ ⋆ ⁺₊ ⋆ evathedreamer ₊˚.⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊ ✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was like a little taste test of the different authors - I did find some new books to read by some of them 😁
..but the stories were indeed quickies 😅 no real substance just short spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️ snippets

[Cindyann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio 3.5
When you haven't dedicated enough time to your TBR, you read what's available in your queue! A little something for everyone here. Some even better written than a standard book, tbh. Made the work day much more enjoyable..and thank goodness for earbuds!

[Kristin DeGarmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part these were good. I have to say the last few were probably the best. Some of them were a little cheesy and not my jam. Some of the narrators weren’t my favorite but all were good. My favorites were Shane East, Jason Clarke, Jakobi Diem, and Joe Arden. Worth the listen.

[Michelle Brantley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories were good cause I had already read the books associated with them. Most of them felt jumped in; hence, “quickies” lol and felt I had not clue what was going on. While some of the stories made me curious to read books they belonged to.