Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology, Volume 6

Heart2Heart Charity Anthologies

by Leslie Copeland (Editor), Daryl Banner, Nicole Dykes

Once upon a time, a bunch of authors wondered... what would happen if Heart2Heart, the dating app responsible for pairing up the quirkiest, most perfect couples, brought people together by asking the questions they never knew they needed answered?

From learning each other’s secret zombie survival skills, to disputing the greatest starship captain ever, to confessing their feelings about Cornish pasties, the characters in these fourteen brand new stories inspired by reader suggestions will learn that no matter how random the question… love is always the answer.

And, as always, all proceeds from this anthology will benefit LGBTQ+ charities to ensure that love in all its incarnations will be celebrated and protected every day of the year!

Stories included in this collection are :
Heist of Hearts, by Alice Winters
Keeping Him in Cornwall, by Con Riley
Hate 2 Love U, by Daryl Banner
Love Down Under, by Eden Finley
Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Kate Hawthorne
Dog Days, by Kelly Fox
The London Chance, by Lane Hayes
My Darcy, by Lily Morton
A Drag Made in Heaven, by Max Walker
Connection, by Nicole Dykes
Worst. Date. Ever., by Onley James
Down the Mountain, by Rachel Ember
The Anti-Wingman, by Saxon James
The Choice, by Sloane Kennedy

Genres: M M Romance, Anthologies, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Novella, Queer

812 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2022

Reviews

[Florence . · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suggest grabbing a snack and settling down, this won’t be a short one.

It’s no secrets that I absolutely adore anthologies and that I always read them. I just love reading new stories by authors I already know and love and mostly I love reading stories by authors that are new to me. The Heart2Heart anthology is one that I always go back every year, and this year was no exception of course.

The theme for this one was people who meet on a dating app by asking each other all sorts of really random questions and finding each other interesting based on the replies to said question.

———

Heist of Hearts by Alice Winters
Rating: 2 stars
Blurb: 
Reed has been chating with a nice guy online. They meet for a date and a lot of shenanigans ensues.

My thoughts: 
My only experiences with Alice Winters has been short stories in anthologies and I sadly don’t think they’re for me.

I was shaking my head and wondering what is going on so much while reading this story that I felt like my 80 years old grandma who watches a video of a music band I love and wondering why they’re screaming instead of singing and wearing makeup. I just felt so out of place and like I just don’t get it.

This story just left me very confused and to be honest, i’m still not really sure I understood what is going on.

———

Keeping Him in Cornwall by Con Riley
Rating: 4 stars
Blurb: Stefan and Marc have been pining for each other for a while and they finally get together.

My thoughts: 
This is a brother’s best friend story, with pining. Which are some of my absolute favourite stories to read about. So it’s not surprise that I absolutely adored this story. This just hit all of my buttons.

I just loved the set up of this story so much. This was just full of so much pining and longing and I loved every seconds of it. This is one of my favourite thing to read about and it was exceptionally well done in this story, it was just absolutely brillant.

The romance in this one was just brillant and I enjoyed every seconds I spent reading it.

———

Hate 2 Love U by Daryl Banner
Rating: 2.5 stars
Blurb: 
Peter is the nerdy guy, while Teague is the typical jock. They meet because they bound over Greek mythology and they fall in love.

My thoughts: 
As I mentioned before, pining and online dating are some of my favourite things in books. So I really enjoyed how there was on page online dating in this one, that just really worked for me. This story also had a lot of pining, which I really adored.

Also, I really enjoyed the greek mythology references in this one, that was super fun to read about.

My one issue with this story is that everyone was so angry with each other. Most of the story was spent with the main characters being super angry with each other and that just didn’t really work for me. I like angry scenes in books, but this book had about 8 angry scenes for 2 super cute scenes and that just didn’t work for me. I just wanted more cute stuff and romance.

———

Love Down Under by Eden Finley
Rating: 4 stars
Blurb: Dorian is a tour guide in Australia. One day he meets someone during a tour, Kerosene. And they end up falling in love.

My thoughts: 
Okay, I will admit, this story got me because of the setting. This is set in northern Queensland, in Australia. And it’s about exploring the area and taking a trip there. I have taken one really big trip in my entire life and it just so happens to be in this exact same place. And I have very found memory of this trip. So, the setting of this story just absolutely sold me and made it so much fun for me to read this story.

Oh I really enjoyed the romance in this one too. This was super cute and fluffy and it really worked for me. Also the banter was super fun and I really enjoyed it.

This story just put a really big smile on my face while I read it and it was very enjoyable.

———

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Kate Hawthorne
Rating: 3 stars
Blurb: Xavier is walking his grandma’s dog Bagel. He ends up going to the shop where Xavier works and they meet and fall in love.

My thoughts: 
I absolutely adore Kate Hawthorne and she has writen some of my favourite books of all time, but sadly this story just didn’t really click with me. This was a super sweet story and I really enjoyed the set up. I just loved all the dog theme and how present it was, it was so lovely and I enjoyed it a lot.

I also really enjoyed the characters in this one. They were super nicely developed and a lot of fun to read about.

I really liked the set up of this story. This type of story where there is a meet cute and then they fall in love are some of my favourites and I really enjoyed how this one was done.

Sadly, this story had a lot of strong points but it just wasn’t my favourite.
———

Dog Days by Kelly Fox
Rating: 3.5 stars
Blurb: Alfie and Gideon meet a the dating app because of a question asking who the best Star Trek captain is. They end up falling in love.

My thoughts: 
This short story is all about Star Trek, as thats why the main characters meet. And let me tell you, I fangirled when I realized that. I absolutely adore Star Trek and it’s always a good day when two of my favourite interests mix. And because of this connection, I ended up enjoying this story.

I also really enjoyed the romance in this one. I was a big fan of the main characters in this story and they really made the book for me. This was about a gentle and tattooed giant and the man who loves him, which is always a really good pairing in my book, and I expecially enjoyed it in this story. Also, the banter in this story was absolutely brillant and I enjoyed every seconds of it.

This was a super fun story. It wasn’t my favourite story as I wasn’t really a fan of some of the set up and some plot points moved too fast for me, but it was still a good time.

———

The London Chance by Lane Hayes
Rating: 2.5 stars
Blurb: 
Chance met a really nice man, Roman, on a dating app who lives in another continent as him. They end up metting in person and their first meeting doesn’t go well but they still fall in love with each other.

My thoughts: 
I normally really enjoy everything that Lane Hayes write but sadly this one just didn’t really work for me. It’s no secrets that stories about long distance romance are my favourite stories of all time because they remind me of my own life experiences. So I was expecting to adore this story because of this.

And while I really adored the premise of this story and I was a big fan of the set up of this story, something about the execution of it just didn’t really work for me. I thought that this story brought on too many themes for the length of the story and that because of that, everything just felt like it wasn’t explored as much as I wish it was.

The premise of this story was lovely and I really wish I liked it more than I actually did.

———

My Darcy by Lily Morton
Rating: 3 stars
Blurb: 
Freddie his in love with and pining over his friend Darcy, which he thinks he has no chances with. But they both realize how perfect they are for each other.

My thoughts:
I adore Lily Morton and this story is about a man who is a Jane Austen tour guide, which is something I absolutely adore. This story just sounded absolutely perfect for me based on these two things. And I just don’t understand what happened here, I should have loved this story but it was just missing something for me.

This story has my two favourite things in yhe world to read about, pining and cluesless idiots who don’t realize they’re into each other. And I absolutely adored this part of the story, this was just so much fun to me.

But sadly this one just fell a little off to me and I couldn’t get into it as much as I wanted to.

———

A Drag Made in Heaven by Max Walker
Rating: 3 stars
Blurb: 
Malik and Farrin have bad dating experiences under their belt and don’t really wanna date anymore but they meet each other and realize that dating is fun when you do it with the right person.

My thoughts: 
This was a good short story. I didn’t really click with it as much as some of the other stories but I enjoyed reading it. This was a super fair and good way of spending an hour of my time. This story probably won’t have a lasting impact on me, but I still enjoyed reading it while I read it, and thats all that matters to me.

This was my first read by this author and I enjoyed his writing style and the fondation of the story enough to check out some of his other books, so thats a win in my book.

———

Connection by Nicole Dykes
Rating: 4 stars
Blurb: 
Oliver is on a dating app to find his soulmate. He meets Eli, who doesn’t think he believes in them. But they end up realizing that when it comes to each other, maybe soulmates do exist after all.

My thoughts: 
I really enjoyed everything by Nicole Dykes that I have ever read, which is most of her books and this one was no exception.

I really loved the connection between the characters and the banter in this one. It was just an absolute joy to read. This just gave the story such a nice vibe and it made the story super enjoyable to read.

This story was about about they met and how their relationship developed and I think that it nailed this concept perfect. I just lovef how we got to see their relationship and their love develop through the pages. It was just really well done and an absolute joy to read about.

This was just such a fun short story and I had a wonderful time reading it.

———

Worst. Date. Ever by Onley James
Rating: 4.5 stars
Blurb: Cade is a hired killer and he needs to find an alibi for a murder. He meets a man named Tris on a dating app who asks him what is the worst date he could think off. So Cade invites Tris on a date as his alibi for a murder. They end up falling in love.

My thoughts: 
Onley James and I haven’t been on the same wavelength lately, but she’s still one of my top 3 favourite authors of all time and her name still comes to my mind first when i’m thinking of authors I love and have read every book they have ever written. I haven’t really enjoyed her couple of last books, which is a tragedy in my opinion, so I cannot even tell you how happy I am that I loved this short story. This was big enough to put the biggest smile on my face, i’m just so happy with this story and how much I enjoyed it.

This short story was a perfect combinaison of everything that Onley James excels at (psychopath main characters and the men who loves them, really good banter, a really fun set up, really well done chemistry, a ridiculous meet cute that just works and super fun and lively characters). This was just everything I wanted it to be. It was an absolute masterclass of everything Onley James is good at and it was so perfectly executed that I couldn’t help but love every seconds of it.

This will probably be my favourite story in the anthology. It was mostly just a really long meet cute and I adored that. It was just everything i’m looking for in a story and I adored this one.

———

Down the Mountain by Rachel Ember
Rating: 2.5 stars
Blurb: Vic and Bennet used to date but they broke up. This is their second chance at love.

My thoughts: 
This was a second chance story, which have been my favourite type of set ups lately, so I was very intrigued by this one.

I really liked the set up of this one but I felt like there wasn’t enough of it. I just needed more build up to the second chance and the romance to fully be invested in it. I never got into this story because I felt like a missed a lot of key details to really be invested in it.

Regardless, the couple was super fun to read about the romance was super Sweet. I really liked the two main characters in this one. They were super nicely fleshed out and felt like really lovely characters and they were a joy to read about. I just wanted more of everything really, because I did like the idea for this story a lot.

——————

The Anti-Wingman by Saxon James
Rating: 3 stars
Blurb: Kai is a chronic dater and he’s trying to stay single for a while. Rylan is his wingman in this quest. The only issue is, they fall in love with each other.

My thoughts: 
This was such a fun story. It was a super nice vibe and I really enjoyed reading it. This story was just a lot of fun and I truly had a lovely time reading it.

This was full of so much banter, which is something I absolutely adore in books. And the one in this story just really worked for me.

loved the characters in this one. They were so lovely. They both had such great personalities and they just worked so well together. They were a perfect match together and I really enjoyed them as a couple.

I really liked the idea of this story, but I wasn’t as into it as I wish I was. Everything just felt a little flat for me. I really enjoyed the idea for everything but I just didn’t love how it all was executed as much as I wish I did.

———

The Choice by Sloane Kennedy
Rating: 4.25 stars
Blurb: Hudson is the head of a cattle empire. He goes on a blind date with a guy he met on a dating app and that he really connected with. They end up falling in love.

My thoughts: 
This was my first experience with Sloane Kennedy ever, which let me tell you is a shame. Because this story was just a perfect mix of everything I enjoy reading about.

I love a good story with damaged main characters, expecially when it leads to a lot of hurt/comfort and this story offered me the perfect mix of everything.

I also absolutely adored the romance in this one. It was just so cute and romantic and it made my heart melt.

This was just the perfect mix of very good tropes and a super solid romance and I enjoyed every seconds of this story.

———

I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest opinion

[Kati *☆･ﾟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished reading it for now, with the stories by Kelly Fox and Sloane Kennedy being my two absolute winners so far.


━━━━━━━━━ ♡²♡ ━━━━━━━━━

♥︎ DOG DAYS by Kelly Fox

4.75 stars - As usual I fell in love with the characters immediately. So this was the most adorable story about the big, tatted and fearsome looking Gideon with a deep sitting fear of dogs and the dorky family therapist Alfie with a dad-bod and a hideous looking poodle-mix named Judie Dench.

My true dream man looks like he’d kill me but is really a cinnamon roll.

Ofc I love my ripped hotties with muscles and abs but I adore KF for choosing more regular body-types a lot for some of her characters too. ♡ The whole story, the characters and the funny banter was totally Kelly Fox and everything I love about her books.



♥︎ THE CHOICE by Sloane Kennedy

4.5 stars - this was pretty fantastic for a short story; a heartfelt, somewhat forbidden romance between two men who met on the H2H app, talking for weeks, already falling in love without realizing that they are boss and employer, rancher and young ranch hand, rich-guy and homeless runaway. I loved everything about Hudson’s and Andrew’s love story so very much; the mood, the hurt/comfort, the intense emotions and the love and care for each other. ♡

“You’re mine now, Andrew. Always mine.”

♥︎ WORST DATE EVER by Onley James

4.25 stars - Hitman Cade and his chosen alibi Tris on the worst (or best?) date ever in a Titanic museum. Entertaining and sexy af in typical OJ fashion!

“You’re staying the night.”
“The night’s long gone,”
“Then stay the morning and the afternoon and tonight,”
“Careful or I might stay forever.”
“That would be okay, too.”

♥︎ THE ANTI-WINGMAN by Saxon James

3.25 stars - Kai asks Rylan to act as his anti-wingman to prevent him from rushing into the next relationship head first. Pretty weird story but cute.



♥︎ ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS by Kate Hawthorne

3.5 stars - mountain guy Bastian and beach guy Xavier play rock, paper, scissor to decide who gets to top only then to let the hot scenes fade to black. Furthermore they try to answer the question asked on the H2H app Beach or Mountain? Or Both? - with going on two dates, one in each of their respective favorite places. Cute but nothing really exciting.



♥︎ HATE 2 LOVE U by Daryl Banner

dnf - yeah well, this story lost my goodwill (like any other did before it) when one character referred to Hades’ realm as hell (which is the author’s fault, ofc) - bc it’s just not. So stop it! *angry face - (it really is such a simple thing to know or to even google. No tolerance from me here bc I’m a Hades-girl ♡)




━━━━━━━━━ ♡²♡ ━━━━━━━━━

still to read:

♥︎ HEIST OF HEARTS by Alice Winters
♥︎ KEEPING HIM IN CORNWALL by Con Riley
♥︎ LOVE DOWN UNDER by Eden Finley
♥︎ THE LONDON CHANCE by Lane Hayes
♥︎ MY DARCY by Lily Morton
♥︎ A DRAG MADE IN HEAVEN by Max Walker
♥︎ CONNECTION by Nicole Dykes
♥︎ DOWN THE MOUNTAIN by Rachel Ember

[Megan [At The Cottage] · Rating 3 out of 5]

MM Romances

This had soooo many authors I love but most of the stories kind of bored me 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Ash🍉 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to GRR for the arc ❤️

I received at arc with 5 of the short stories from this book and I’ll be reviewing them as I read.

1. Heist of Hearts - Alice Winters: 3/5

I’ll be honest I thought this was by another author when I started reading it but half way through I thought to myself “this seems a lot like Alice Winters style of banter” and turns out I was right lol it gives off the same sort of vibes as the “Medium Trouble” series but the cop isn’t grumpy this time.

It’s hard to give too much of a description of this story without spoilers but it’s about a guy called Reed who has a job and a date all go wrong at the same time. It’s a fast paced story with a bit of steam at the end. I didn’t feel much of a connection with the characters or the plot, but it still wasn’t a bad read.


2. The London Chance - Lane Hayes: 3/5

“London Chance” starts off with Chance landing in the UK on a plane from the US. He’s there for work but he’s also been talking to Roman, who lives in London, for four months and they’ve decided to meet while Chance is in town. I felt like this was a more realistic take on how first meetings can go and it was refreshing.

Once again we have some insta-love which I guess can be a bit more forgiven since they had been talking online for a long time. No angst here either thankfully.


3. A Drag Made in Heaven - Max Walker:


4. Connection - Nicole Dykes: 3/5

In “Connection” we meet Eli, a travel blogger, and Oliver, a tattoo artist who lives in Hawaii. Eli happens to be in Hawaii for work when he starts taking to Oliver on the dating app and they meet up and honestly it’s a bit insta-lovey from there. This was a sweet angst free story just about two people meeting and falling in love. It was very event-free tbh, a bit too tame for my liking but good if you want something lighthearted.

On a side note I wish this wasn’t set in Hawaii, all the tourist comments felt kind of ignorant to the issues of tourism in Hawaii.


5. Worst. Date. Ever. - Onley James: 3.75/5

I haven’t yet read Onley James’s series “Necessary Evils” but this short story seems like it would fit right into that series. Cade, a psychopathic hitman, takes Tris on “the worst date ever” while also creating an alibi for a bit. There’s insta-love and “I’ve never felt like this before” but I still enjoyed it despite me not usually loving those tropes 😅

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worked out as 3.5 overall. Some of these stories were so good, but others just had really bad pacing and just weird story telling!

- Heist of Hearts by Alice Winters (3)
- Keeping Him In Cornwall by Con Riley (3.5)
- Hate2LoveU by Daryl Banner (3.5)
- Love Down Under by Eden Finley (4.5)
- Rock, Paper, Scissors by Kate Hawthorne (3)
- Dog Days by Kelly Fox (2)
- The London Chance by Lane Hayes (3)
- My Darcy by Lily Morton (3)
- A Drag Made In Heaven by Max Walker (2)
- Connection by Nicole Dykes (5)
- Worst. Date. Ever. by Onley James (5)
- Down The Mountain by Rachel Ember (4)
- The Anti Wingman by Saxon James (5)
- The Choice by Sloane Kennedy (2)

[taylor :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heist of Hearts - Alice Winters

5 stars. This was very funny. I laughed out loud a lot. Not much sex, but I’ll let it slide because this story made me :D

Keeping Him in Cornwall - Con Riley

3 stars. It was quite sweet, but too poetic for my tastes. Uses a lot of detailed words just to say someone is hot.

Hate 2 Love U - Daryl Banner

2 stars. Wasn’t a big fan of this one. Had its sweet moments, but it was really cringe city.

Love Down Under - Eden Finley

4 stars. This was soooooo sweet and so cute. But damn where was the sex?

Rock, Paper, Scissors - Kate Hawthorne

4 stars. I liked this one. More sex in this one than any of the others so far. I felt like the characters changed with the POVs if that makes sense. Like one dude was shy when it was in his POV, but when it wasn’t his POV, he wasn’t shy anymore. Odd, but still good.

Dog Days - Kelly Fox

3 stars. Very sweet, but I don’t like poodles. I especially don’t like when people dress their dogs up. Cringy. No offense. The sex in this was good, though.

The London Chance - Lane Hayes

5 stars. Absolutely loved this one. I adored this story, and the sex was fabulous. Probably going to check out this author’s other books.

My Darcy - Lily Morton

3 stars. Meh. Too much British/English/whatever slang. Too many references to past literary heroes. I was in a state of confusion this whole story. The sex scene was good, though.

A Drag Made in Heaven - Max Walker

3 stars. I liked the beginning, but the rest didn’t hold up much. Very cringey. Big sex scene, though.

Connection - Nicole Dykes

5 stars. Loved this one. This one felt like an actually full length book. I think because it had more chapters. It was very sweet and made me :)

Worst. Date. Ever. - Onley James

5 stars. I love everything this author writes, and this story was no different. I think I have a thing for reading about psychopathic characters. The sex in this was yum. If any of you know this author personally, tell her that I want to marry her. I’m thinking a summer wedding. Or we can elope in Vegas with an Elvis impersonator officiant. I’m not picky.

Down The Mountain - Rachel Ember

5 stars. So good. I loved this one a lot. I’m definitely checking out this author. The sex was FANTASTIC.

The Anti-Wingman - Saxon James

5 stars. This was very cute even though I don’t typically like books that have himbos. This kinda reminded me of Mr. Romance by Louisa Masters.

The Choice - Sloane Kennedy

5 stars. I actually really liked this one, and I’m surprised because I don’t like cowboy romances. It was very sweet and swoony.

[haletostilinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐︎ 3.5 stars rounded up! ⭐︎

RTC once I get my laptop back. Overall, some good ones, some alright one and some duds.
~*~

⭐︎ Heist of Hearts ⭐︎ - by Alice Winters ★★.5 Stars/5 Stars

This one was alright. I liked it well enough. There was more focus on the plot with the kidnapping than on the romance, though, which took away from my enjoyment. If we had gotten that first date between the MC's, I feel like I would have felt even more connected to them and enjoyed the plot all the more.

As it was, we barely got to know the MC's and what they're like and how they are together, that I was left feeling bereft at the end.

What we did get of them was alright, and I enjoyed it well enough. There just wasn't enough of it for me. These are already short stories, so to waste so much time on anything other than the main romance isn't a good idea, I feel. So 2.5 stars for me.

⭐︎ Keeping Him in Cornwall ⭐︎ - by Con Riley ★★★.5 Stars/5 Stars

I liked this. It was enjoyable and I liked our MC's together. There isn't much that happens and it all happens fairly quickly, but what we did get was interesting and I liked it. Could have been improved on, but it's enjoyable for what it is.

Skipped the Daryl Banner one

⭐︎ Love Down Under ⭐︎ - Eden Finley ★★★★ Stars/5 Stars

I enjoyed this one. It kept me engaged and I liked the chemistry and dynamic between our MC's. The connection was well done. The steam was well done. Definitely worth a read.

Skipped the Kate Hawthorne one

⭐︎ Dog Days ⭐︎ by Kelly Fox ★★.5 Stars/5 Stars

This was my first time reading this author and it was just...okay. It was entertaining enough, but there wasn't anything special about it either.

Also the whole Gideon is traumatized by dogs thing was handled...weirdly, to me. Him being traumatized was well enough, but when he has a reaction to Alfie's tiny tog, I think Alfie's initial reaction was understandable, but the reaction by Gideon and then by Alfie himself when he realized that Gideon had a serious problem with dogs, it felt...almost too PC, I'm sorry to say.

Gideon gets all upset that Alfie laughed at first, a perfectly human reaction at first to a big man being scared of a tiny dog, and then leaves the cafe they're at before he can give Alfie a chance. I get maybe being embarrassed or upset or what have you, but I still feel like he judged Alfie too hard right away.

I mean, it's not every day you see someone freak out over a tiny dog, so it's understandable to laugh at first. When Alfie realized it was serious, he stopped and tried to be as understanding as he could.

He even berates himself because he's a "therapist so should know better" or whatever. And he apologizes several times to Gideon as if did this horrible thing to Gideon instead of just making a mistake or not knowing any better and then learning Gideon's trouble's with dogs and doing better immediately.

It just felt like disproportionate response to the situation, in my opinion. Sometimes it feels like people have gone too "woke" so that people aren't afforded grace and the chance to learn or do better or show they didn't understand initially or just have a human moment where they don't react perfectly, etc etc. That felt like how the situation was handled in this story.

So 2.5 stars for me.

⭐︎ The London Chance ⭐︎ by Lane Hayes ★★★★★ Stars/5 Stars

I absolutely loved this one. I loved that they had a terrible date and got the wrong idea about each other, but then they saw that the person they were falling for over the app was there under the awkwardness of meeting each other for the first time.

I just loved their connection, and the author made the the most of the time she had with them in the short story and developed their connection so well. I really loved this one and is definitely a highlight of this anthology. Two major thumbs up from me!

⭐︎ My Darcy ⭐︎ by Lily Morton ★★★★.5 Stars/5 Stars

This was another win for me. It was an adorable, very well done friend-to-lovers short story. Freddie and Darcy have been best friends since they were toddlers, basically. They've both been scared to ruin the most important relationship in their life, so they've never said anything.

But they're both head over heels in love with each other, and though they've both been trying to move on through the App, they just can't get over each other.

Of course, it turns out that who they've been chatting with over the App is each other, and with some nudging from a tourist or two - seeing as Freddie is a tour guide and Darcy drives the bus they drive the tourists around in - these two finally admit their feeling for each other and get together.

I adored their connection and their romance was set up so well, and the steam between these two was well done as well. A definite win and two thumbs up from me!

Skipped the Max Walker one

⭐︎ Connection ⭐︎ - by Nicole Dykes ★ Star/5 stars

Unfortunately, I didn't feel a connection with this one. I was bored almost immediately, and it didn't improve. This story stalled my progress on reading this anthology.

I like this author when she does well. But I've also read a few duds by this author as well. It's really a mixed bag with her, which is unfortunate. I didn't want to give this story one star, truly I didn't, but I was just so bored throughout the whole thing.

I skipped a chapter or two near the end as well, and the last one or two chapters I read didn't reignite any interest either.

This one just wasn't for me.

⭐︎ Worst. Date. Ever ⭐︎ by Onley James ★★★★ Stars/5 Stars

This was pretty enjoyable. In keeping with a pretty common theme in her books...well, Cade is a killer, and Tris isn't, but he...ends up being okay with that fact haha.

I enjoyed these two together, though, and their connection and despite the fact that Cade is a diagnosed psychopath, he only kills someone if you pay them and Tris becomes the exception to Cade not feeling anything for anyone. Which, I love that rope. "I'll fuck anyone up...except you. Then I'll fuck up anyone who messes with you" yes, give it to me 😉

A definite plus in this anthology.

Skipped the Rachel Ember one

⭐︎ The Anti-Wingman ⭐︎ by Saxon James ★★★★★ Stars/5 Stars

I absolutely adored this one. I adored Rylan and Kai together, they had a wonderful connection from the start, and they were so adorable together. I adored Kai, he was just so sweet and adorable, and Rylan falling for Kai's adorableness made all the sense in the world.

They only know each other for a few weeks before they give into being together, and it just felt so right and natural and I had hearts in my eyes as I read this.

Definitely a great way to go out on in this anthology, for sure.

👍Two MASSIVE thumbs up from me!👍

Skipped the Sloane Kennedy one

Overall, this anthology could have been better, but there were a few really good ones buried amongst the okay ones or duds.

[ivy]

1. heist of hearts - dnf
2. keeping him in Cornwall - 2 ⭐️
3. hate 2 love u - dnf
4. love down under - 3 ⭐️
5. rocks,paper,scissors - dnf
6. dog days - dnR
7. the London chance - dnf
8. Mr. Darcy - dnR
9. a drag made in heaven - dnf
10. connection - 4 ⭐️ I knew Nicole wouldn’t disappoint.
11. worst.date.ever - dnR
12. down the mountain - dnR
13. the anti-wingman - 4.5 ⭐️ Saxon proves she is a seasoned writer.
14. the choice - dnf

dnR - did not read

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review

I received an ARC of 4 stories from this book and will review them as I read them.
Overall Rating - 4.25 Stars

1. Rock, Paper, Scissors by Kate Hawthorne: 4/5
This was a really sweet story with an adorable dog, a fun game of rock paper scissors and 2 MCs who can't stay away from one another! It was light and fluffy and makes for a great palette cleanser. Overall really enjoyed this one.

2. My Darcy by Lily Morton: 4/5
This was a really great British-esk book, I don't normally love pronounced British writing but this story was written wonderfully! It had great character and plot balance along with a fun storyline that flowed without any issues and was an all-round fun read!

3. Down The Mountain by Rachel Ember: 4/5
This was so cute and sweet it almost gave me toothache!! It was a great second chance romance between two souls who missed each other over the years, and a wonderful love story!

4. The Anti-Wingman by Saxon James: 5/5
Wow this was so dang perfect, I couldn't put it down from the first paragraph! It was funny and sweet and with it being slow burn, we got great character development in the short story. I'd love to read something similar to this again, it encapsulated the concept of the opposite of a wingman and was written wonderfully!

[Achim · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
This is one of the rare examples of anthologies where I don't have mixed feelings at the end of the book. Yes, some few are only your standard romance which could be also written by an AI (didn't mind as long as they are short and after all a standard isn't standard without reason) but all the others I really enjoyed.

[Rin (indefinite hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My stars are for the short by the author I received the arc from (Onley James), not the anthology as a whole.

I will also review the other author’s who’s stories I enjoyed and as an effort to not always be such a cranky reviewer, I’ll leave out my not so great reviews. Happy reading, friends.

Onley James 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This short combines some of my favorite things: the Titanic (the actual history, not the stupid movie), ADHD, and morally grey characters.

I love these two. They’re both distinctive characters and I loved their connection, which was so well done in such a short period of time. I really just wanted more.

Con Riley- 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ahhhhh yes thank you for the Cornish pasty love! We have a family recipe that goes back generations and it’s one of our favorite meals. That inclusion just made this story all the more special. This was SO SWEET and lovely.

Alice Winters- 3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s been a long time since I’ve read or enjoyed anything by Winters. This is her usual MO with the snarky little MC who talks too much and there’s whacky shenanigans, but it was entertaining I suppose.

Kelly Fox- 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
AH THE TREKKIE STUFF. THIS TREKKIE THANKS YOU. Story was absolute perfection.

Lane Hayes- 4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Soooooo sweet.

Max Walker-3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not to be a nit picker but octopuses don’t have tentacles, they have arms. Someone with a degree in marine biology would know that. 😉 ANYWAY. Cute story.

Nicole Dykes- 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pretty sweet. Pretty solid. I didn’t feel their connection initially. It was still pretty good.

[Leslie]

I’m not sure if I will read anymore of these. I only read Lily Morton’s story. Sadly it was just ok for me. There’s clueless and then there’s these two guys. Throw in a LOT of meddling (Like Lucy Lennox level) and I was put off. I need to contact the maker of the Lily Blinders and say they are defective. Oh wait. I’m the maker. Maybe that’s why the patent is still pending. Oh well.

[Renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating anthologies is always difficult because I never read the anthologies straight through, especially if the stories are from different authors. As such, I'll give this an overall rating (which is subject to change), and then an individual rating for each story in the review as I read them.

Worst. Date. Ever. by Onley James
4 out of 5 stars

I dowloaded this anthology specficially to read this story. I've read everything James has had published, and I've loved most of it. So while I knew nothing about this story, I was very excited to read it. And I honestly loved it. A psychopathic hitman and an adorable but anxious man get together for their first date and laughter, sexy times, and a little bit of action ensue. These two had amazing chemistry, and all of their interactions made me smile. I really hope this story is expanded upon into a longer novel or even novella at some point, because I want more.

Heist of Hearts by Alice Winters
4 out of 5 stars

This one was also a lot of fun. I've always been a bit hesitant with this author. I love a good comedic romance, but I there has to be something more to the story- a strong plot, great chemisty- something other than a list of one-liners. Luckily, this worked. Reed, our lead, was hilarious, but he was balanced by the plot and by his love interest. And his love interest, a former cop who'd previously arrested our lead, was genuinely sweet. Their connection felt real, even with the somewhat over the top plot.

[Heike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend these Heart2Heart anthologies, they give the opportunity to read novellas from different authors and one might find a new one to follow!
Unfortunately I am a bit disappointed in the stories in this one. Alice Winters and, unsurprisingly, Eden Finley had a couple of cute ones, the others have been from okay to cringe worthy to outright creepy.

But in a whole I enjoyed reading all these different stories, at least they were short enough for even the ones I did not like. :-)

Heist of Hearts by Alice Winters
Typical absolutely over the top funny story. I liked it :-)

Keeping Him in Cornwall by Con Riley
In a way this was second chance. Guy pinning for his brothers best friend for forever, but never made a move because a) brothers friend is younger than he is and b) "what would brother think!".
Turns out brother thinks it is okay, so he finally, finally, makes his move. So much wasted tiem for the couple!

Hate 2 Love U by Daryl Banner
Don't remember. Not sure if that is a good sign or a bad sign.

Love Down Under by Eden Finley
Not her best, but I enjoyed the story about the tour guide and reluctant tourist that hit it off but got lost in misunderstandings.

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Kate Hawthorne
Cute romance, the guys get to know each other over their love for beach (guy 1) and mountains (guy 2). Unfortunately I forgot how they solved that dilemma ...

Dog Days by Kelly Fox
*huh* I do not remember a thing. It was probably okay?

The London Chance by Lane Hayes
Long distance - why can't people stick to at least the same continent when searching apps? Nevertheless it was funny that they connected so well online and then the date in person was just super awkward *lol*

My Darcy by Lily Morton
Fun story with funny side characters.

A Drag Made in Heaven by Max Walker
I think that one was okay. It's so forgettable, I do not remember.

Connection by Nicole Dykes
That was somewhat cute. Travel blogger meets guy on his one-time stop in Hawaii. I do not care about long distance, though. I find that stressful ;-)

Worst. Date. Ever by Onley James
Setup is really weird (hired killer finds a date on a dating app that he wants to use as an alibi). And then they talk about marriage 6 hours after they met. Nope.

Down the Mountain by Rachel Ember
Second Chance romance that I skipped due to personal preference. I just don't care for second chance. So much wasted time for the couple.

The Anti-Wingman by Saxon James
Sorry, but the setup was ridiculous, I could not get into this.

The Choice by Sloane Kennedy
That was outright creepy. Rancher (author watched too much Yellowstone) and ranch hand. Lots of dom/sub vibes.

[Zaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeping Him in Cornwall de Con Riley - 5/5 (rien que ça oui !)
Une nouvelle parfaite, poétique, romantique, sexy ... Con Riley a de la magie au bout des doigts, en 5 chapitres elle créée une vraie ambiance et une merveilleuse romance qu'on voudrait voir durer encore plus longtemps ! ♥

Love down under de Eden Finley - 3.5/5
Une nouvelle courte mais très complète. C'est mignon, frais et dépaysant, bref, une bien chouette nouvelle de ce recueil !

My Darcy de Lily Morton - 3.5/5
Best-friends-to-lovers + road trip sur le thème de Jane Austen = ♥

The Anti-Wingman de Saxon James - 3/5
Un début improbable, une conversation initiale limite incompréhensible (hello covid brain !!), mais au final une nouvelle sympa, assez consistante, avec des personnages plutôt attachants.

The London Chance de Lane Hayes - 2.5/5
Hmmm ça commençait bien, puis d'un seul coup, le manque de transition entre ce rencard raté et la suite a pour moi tout fichu par terre, je n'y croyais plus. Certes c'est une micro nouvelle, mais pour moi, c'est trop précipité.

The choice de Sloane Kennedy - 2/5
Une nouvelle qui m'a rappelé pourquoi je n'accroche pas avec cette autrice : overdose de mélo et d'OTT, bref, pas du tout pour moi.

Down the mountain de Rachel Ember - 2/5
Lu en 3 ou 4 fois (malgré la brièveté du truc !). Je n'ai pas du tout accroché, comme une impression de lire un truc avec des personnages et situations que je suis censée connaître, tout en ignorant tout. Pas cool donc.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be the best H2H yet! (will add the rest of my reviews later)

Keeping Him in Cornwall by Con Riley
Rating: 5 stars
Review:I’m so glad I started with Con’s story because it has me so hyped for this anthology. While this is a second chance-ish story, rather than meeting on the app as I expected, it was absolutely all I could’ve wanted. Stef and Marc were perfect for each other and I adored the way March showed his love. My one complaint? It wasn’t a full length story, I definitely wanted more.
Hate2Love Your Daryl Banner
Rating 3 Stars
Review: It’s not the book, it’s me. Enemies to lovers is a hard sell to me, and it just doesn’t work for me personally in a novella format. I need more to see that there is actually a reason you’re no longer enemies! A lot of interactions seemed to happen off page, so the jump just felt unnatural to me. I still enjoyed Banner’s writing though, as I always seem to. If you’re a fan of enemies to lovers, YA/NA tales, then you will likely enjoy this one! (I’m also fairly certain it’s in present tense—I’m terrible at identifying tenses lol—but if you are not a fan of that, you may want to skip).
Love Down Under by Eden Finley
Rating 5 stars
Review: As an American, I’m obviously obsessed with Australia’s wildlife and Finley brought it out in full force! While only snakes were on page, we still got to hear about all the interesting critters and they were told by sweet Dorian who I just loved. And Kero? He seemed shy and meek, but don’t let that fool you! Eventually he comes out of his shell and it is everything. Love this story, love these two, and I think Eden should write a whole series of Australian tour guides.
Dog Days by Kelly Fox
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: This was a sweet little insta-love tale. I liked that this one had the most organic app meeting of the stories that I’ve read and each of the MCs were just adorable and honestly huggable. Especially loved Judy Dench, because I’m a dog lover at heart and she stole the show.
The Choice by Sloane Kennedy
Rating 3 Stars
Review: Sloane is kinda the best at writing these broken somewhat damaged characters and there was no exception here. I think for me personally these stories are just better when their lives can be more fleshed out so I feel more of a connection to the hurt. Still a great read though!

[Bookreader87(Amanda) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I want to preface this review by saying my overall rating is solely based on the shorts I was provided ARCs for. ARC Provided by GRR, this is my honest review.*

Rock, Paper, Scissors- Kate Hawthorne

2.5 stars

Xavier and Bastian meet at the donut shop Bastian's sister owns. She is in need of help so he came to help.
The two figure out quick they are both on the heart2heart app. There was a question of whether mountain or beach are better. The two decide to go on two dates one at the beach the other the mountains to see which is better.
The dates turn into more.
It was cute. Everything was a little too quick.

My Darcy -Lily Morton

4 stars

Freddie and Darcy have been best friends since grade school. Freddie has been pretty much in love with Darcy since forever. He has never expressed his feelings in fear of losing their friendship. Darcy means a lot to him. So to try and get over Darcy he has been using the heart2heart app to find someone who might eventually love him back. He thinks he has found the one but his love for Darcy is too strong.

The two work on a Jane Austen themed tour group together and one of their trips changes everything.

Friends to lovers is one of my most favorite tropes and Lily does an excellent job with this short.

Down the Mountain -Rachel Ember

4 stars

Vic is a bit of a recluse. He doesn't travel down his mountain often but a fundraiser for his friend brought him to town. At this fundraiser his former flame, Bennett, an Olympic skier will be the keynote speaker.

Vic broke up with Bennett because he couldn't handle all the attention. He wanted Bennett to succeed and be happy. He didn’t want to hold him back so he left. He never stopped loving Bennett so seeing him again years later is a bit nerve racking.

The two are forced to interact and things from their past are brought out in the open.

Love this short. It is second chance romance. It is also a first read of mine by this author and I'm definitely interested in reading more.

The Anti-Wingman- Saxon James

4 stars

Kai and Rylan meet on the heart2heart app. Rylan is looking for a serious relationship and Kai is looking for a hookup. Kai is constantly jumping from one relationship to another. He doesn't know how to stay single and somehow manages to enlist Rylan to help him last a month of singledom.

The two hangout and spend everyday together. Let's just say plans are ruined in the best way.

I really enjoyed this sweet story. Kai was so oblivious it was adorable.

[NicoleR.M.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a yearly cooperation between several wonderful authors. It contains sweet, low angst short story’s and all the benefits made will be shared with LGBTQA+ organisations. So, even if not all the authors are the ones you want to read, there’s still a very good reason to buy this book!

I received an advanced copy and my part contained the following story’s. I will review them separately.

1. Rock, paper, scissors by Kate Hawthorne ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was the story of Xavier and Bastian. One loves the beach, the other loves the mountains. After they meet, they try to convince each other of their own opinion. It was sweet and angst, but the story felt a little rushed. Of course it’s only a short, and I believe they’re the hardest to write, because how do you cram character development and a growing romantic relationship in just so few words? Anyway, this was enjoyable, but forgettable.

2. My Darcy by Lily Morton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I think it’s safe to say that with collaborations like this, you can always rely on an author like Lily Morton. She’s one who hardly let’s her readers down, and she doesn’t do that here either. Her story about best friends Darcy and Freddie is funny and sweet and it’s filled with her typical humour and secondary characters. I loved the idea of travelling through the country on a bus tour to visit places that are related to famous authors. The way Freddie finally realises that he wasn’t the only one with a crush, was done really sweetly. Really enjoyed this one!

3. Down the mountain by Rachel Ember ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another really lovely story! Bennett and Vic had a thing but that ended. Vic still thinks of Bennett, but he tries to move on and chats with someone new in the HEART2HEART app. At least, he thinks it’s someone new. When he and Bennett see each other again, Vic knows he’s still not over him and maybe that seems to be mutual. So what to do with the man who sends him these nice app messages? Even though this story was kind of predictable, it was also really enjoyable. I liked the characters very much, and well, it’s a second chances trope and this is one of my favorites.

4. The anti wingman by Saxon James ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Even though it was a little ridiculous, I still found myself enjoying this little story about Rylan and Kai, where Rylan must prevent Kai from stepping into a new relationship too quickly. It was funny and the characters were lovable and it was fun to watch how they grew to like each other so much without realising it happened.

I kindly received an advanced copy from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.

[Ana Nimity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally don't read these anthologies all the way through like a novel. I read two or three when it comes out, then work my way through the others when I want to read something but don't want to start a book. They're short - but they're supposed to be. Some are shorter than others, so I can choose the right length for the amount of time I have.


My 5-star review is for the concept, which in my opinion is a winner, and I'm being generous because shorts are hard to write, and shorts with setup like this one must be a real challenge, so everyone gets extra love from me.

In this edition, the now-familiar H2H app uses ice breaker questions to help the potential matches connect and the authors work those questions into their stories.

Here are the ones I've read so far:
*
Alice Winters - Heist of Hearts. Q: In case of zombie apocalypse, what skills do you bring to the table?
If you're a fan of Alice Winters' humor and penchant for taking her characters on zany adventures, you will love this short story. Reed isn't Leland, but could be related. At the very least, they're kindred spirits. The craziness begins on the first page and carries all the way, ending in a HFN that may leave readers wanting more from Reed and Dylan.
*
Con Riley - Keeping Him in Cornwall. Q: How do you feel about Cornish pasties?
Con never fails to deliver with her sweet, soft, yet not at all fluffy stories. This lovely brother's best friend tale has a bit of a twist, in that Stef's younger brother, Lukas, is pushing him to get with Marc, who's been like a family member to them for years, before Marc finds someone else with whom to settle down. The result made me hope Con's got more planned for this world.
*
Kelly Fox - Dog Days. Q: Kirk, Picard, Sisko, or Janeway?
As you may be able to discern, in Kelly's contribution, the MCs address one of the pressing questions of modern life: Kirk, Picard, Sisko, or Janeway? (If you know, you know. If you don't, that's because it's Star Trek.) They also face an immediate challenge when one MC runs a dog rescue and the other had a traumatic experience with a dog and does not deal well with them. As is typical of Kelly's work, the story is heartwarming, funny, and surprisingly sexy for a short.
*
Lily Morton - My Darcy. Q: What is your most controversial opinion?
I'm not an Austen fan, but I loved this cute friends-to-lovers story that had all the wit and snark you'd expect from Lily Morton. If you haven't read any of her work, this is a good introduction. Darcy and Freddie make a fun couple, and the other passengers on the Austen bus tour are a hoot!
*
Rachel Ember - Down the Mountain. Q: What's your favorite midnight snack?
I'm a huge fan of Rachel Ember's writing so I loved this sweet second-chance romance that involves an Olympic medalist skier returning to his hometown, an awkward reunion at a charity event, a pair of Standard Poodles, and popsicles.

I'm looking forward to the rest!

[Kathleen in Oslo]

I got an ARC from GRR that included the stories from Alice Winters, Lane Hayes, Max Walker, Nicole Dykes, and Onley James. So this review just covers that part of the anthology.

Even though these are all established authors, they are all new to me. I enjoyed this collection even though it was a bit uneven; and on the basis of these stories, I'll definitely be searching out more by Winters and James.

Standouts:

Heist of Hearts by Alice Winters: a fun, sexy crime caper featuring a thief with a heart of gold and a teddy bear ex-cop with extraordinary amounts of patience. All the characters are spot-on; the banter is terrific; the writing is clever and assured; and the chemistry delivers. A real treat.

Worst. Date. Ever. by Onley James: an engaging story set in James's world of murderous psychopaths. This definitely piqued my interest to check out the series, and will undoubtedly be a fun little morsel for existing fans. And for my money, this had the most fun prompt question: What's the worst date you can think of and would you do it with me?

Cute!

The London Chance by Lane Hayes: This was sweet; I liked it. A long-distance, whirlwind romance with a twist: the MCs flirt on the app for some months before meeting, but the first date goes horribly wrong . . . until a karaoke machine enters the picture. One thing I could have done without was Chance's dismay that Roman didn't disclose his previous marriage to a woman. This felt both entitled (people don't have the obligation to disclose personal information before they're ready) and somewhat bi-phobic (Chance was more hung up on the "woman" part than the "married" part). A discordant note in an otherwise nice story.

Connection by Nicole Dykes: Another whirlwind romance with long-distance themes. Cute and sweet. But do travel bloggers still get such awesome perks?

Not my jam

A Drag Made in Heaven by Max Walker: I liked that this story centered a bouncy femme guy, but the writing just didn't work for me. There also wasn't much happening: they meet, they fall in love, they HEA. Which I guess is kind of the trajectory of these things, but I felt like there could have been a bit more . . . action? Conflict? Plot? Anyway. Not my jam.

Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for the ARC! This is my honest review.

[S.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

You better believe when I saw that this was up for review, I sent in my request immediately! And I was lucky enough to get to read four stories including two by favourite authors of mine, plus two new ones.

Rock Paper Scissors by Kate Hawthorne
Bagel sounded absolutely magnificent in this story of which is better, mountains or the beach. This one started out as sex with no complications but pretty soon, feelings were being caught and things got a whole lot more complicated. I felt this one was more of a HFN rather than a HEA but it was a satisfying read and I liked the protagonists. ⟫ 3.5

My Darcy by Lily Morton
Typical Lily Morton with snarky banter, snappy dialogue and interesting side characters. Our leads were delightfully oblivious and if you’ve ever enjoyed any of Lily’s previous books, you’ll know exactly what to expect and enjoy this immensely. ⟫ 4.5

Down the Mountain by Rachel Ember
Second chance at love, very steamy but still quite heartfelt, I think this might be the first Rachel Ember story that I’ve read. I will definitely be looking out for other books as I really enjoyed the style of writing. ⟫ 4.5

Anti Wingman by Saxon James
As is often the case with characters written by Saxon James, Kai made me laugh my head off! He reminded me of an over-exuberant Labrador, with Rylan having to rein him in. A chance encounter on the Heart2Heart app which could have gone wrong in so many ways turns into a fabulous friendship that built into a beautiful relationship, even if someone had to let our leads know that they were in a relationship! ⟫ 5

I received an ARC of part of the anthology for review from GRR and will definitely be grabbing the whole thing when it’s released on 1st December. Overall score of 4.5 rounded up to 5 for the stories I read.

This is the second part of the review for this anthology – the original one was an ARC where I received only some of the stories.

Heist of Hearts, by Alice Winters
A bit of a comedy caper masquerading as a date. Reece is fast-talking and wise-cracking whilst Daryl is quietly supportive in a gentle giant kind of way. Not much in the way of romance and flashbacks explain their relationship. Sweet and funny, ⟫ 3.5

Keeping Him In Cornwall by Con Riley
This was sweet and relaxing to read. ⟫ 3.5

Dog Days by Kelly Fox
I haven’t read anything by Kelly Fox before but will be having a look at their back catalogue after this. This was a sexy, funny and touching read. The descriptions of characters – particularly Dame Judi – were evocative and I really enjoyed the story. ⟫ 4.5

Love Down Under by Eden Finley
This one made me laugh a lot! I have a great appreciation for snarky banter and sarcasm and this story had both of those in spades. The relationship between the leads was nicely done and I very much enjoyed their happily ever after. ⟫ 4.5

Hate 2 Love U, by Daryl Banner
Another nice, easy read. ⟫ 3.5

The London Chance by Lane Hayes
I didn’t connect to this one at all – in fact, I think it may be the only story in the anthology that I didn’t finish.

A Drag Made in Heaven, by Max Walker
A simple, sweet read ⟫ 3

Connection, by Nicole Dykes
Instagrammer meets tattoo artist on island paradise and they have a fling that turns into more. Sweet with some hot parts, but despite the title I felt it was a little ‘light’. Still enjoyed reading it though. ⟫ 3.5

Worst. Date. Ever., by Onley James
My favourite story in the anthology and could very easily fit into Onley’s Necessary Evils verse. A hitman uses a blind date as an alibi and everything goes – well, not wrong -- from there, but it definitely takes a turn! Laugh out loud funny interspersed with hotter than sin read and extremely satisfying read! ⟫ 5

The Choice, by Sloane Kennedy
Thought provoking story about the risks inherent in being your true self around people. I really liked the relationship between the two leads and would be interested in reading this if it was a full length novel rather than having to fit into an anthology. ⟫ 4

Overall, happy to keep my 4.5 rating for the whole anthology and pleased to have found a few new authors to follow.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first anthology I've read, and I loved it. I've read several of these authors and I loved getting to read more from there. I also loved that I got to read some things by authors I haven't read before. I'm excited to continue reading more from them.

[Bati · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank God it's for charity, because unfortunately this anthology sucks.

[Evelyn220 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some were better than others. My favorites were:

Onley James - so on brand for her. Darkly humorous and enthralling.

Alice Winters - funny and adorable. A house burglar who falls for the cop who arrests him, what’s not to love about that?

Sloane Kennedy - emotional, intense jealous/possessive vibes and sucked me in from the very beginning. I needed it to be 200 pages longer!

Saxon James - absolutely adorable! Grabs you from the first sentence. I wanted a full book of Kai and Ry.

[ML · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to review the authors I like. 🤪😉
Skipping the ones I don’t. I’ve read this anthology since book 1 and even have all the PBs.
They are HUGE tomes. 🙌😍
~~~All the novellas have the common theme of the H2H relationship app..

***I still have more to read and will add those reviews as I finish them.

Here is goes..

Con Riley:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stef and Marc. A sweet romantic story about falling in love with your brother’s best friend. Cornish style. Loved it!

Daryl Banner: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
NGL, I thought Pete was a huge meanie and didn’t deserve Teague. Lucky for Pete, Teague is a better person and persevered.
They fell in love slowly the whole summer and figured out some things that were originally secret.

Kate Hawthorne: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bastian and Xavier meet at a donut shop. Instant chemistry. One loves the beach, the other the mountains. Both try to convince the other of what was the best one. An interesting game of rock, paper, scissors decides.

Lane Hayes: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chance and Roman have their meet cute but it definitely doesn’t go as planned. BUT everything gets salvaged and leads to an epic romance. I loved these characters so much. My face hurts from smiling so much. Taking chances pays off. This was the perfect novella and their HEA was amazing.

Lily Morton:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Freddy and Darcy are life long best friends. Lily does her common thing of having the characters get interrupted every time a serious conversation is to be had. Thankfully, this is a novella so that plot device cannot go on long. Freddie is a bit dense and the misunderstanding that happens wouldn’t have happened had he not been. Lucky for him, Darcy is there to be the smart one. They realize they are in love with one another. The end.

Max Walker: RTC



Nicole Dykes: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oliver and Eli meet in Hawaii. A travel blogger and tattoo artist. One believes in soulmates and the other is skeptical. This is a sexy story to find out who is right. Loved it!

Onley Jame’s: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sex and murder. What’s not to love. Hitman Cade used his H2H app to claim an alibi. Tris was unaware but also a witness. The “victim” was a villain so all was forgiven. Tris and Cade made whip cream and waffles their reward.

Rachel Ember: RTC

[Thrudr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keeping Him in Cornwall, by Con Riley 3/5
Don’t really gel with the author and this short story was another proof. It wasn’t bad, but not my cuppa.

Love Down Under, by Eden Finley 4/5
I really enjoyed this story and even though it was short it felt complete and I LOVED that it had an epilogue.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Kate Hawthorne 3/5
It was a very Kate Hawthorne kind of story, very melancholic. I’m not sure if it was intentional or because it was short, but the MC, especially Xavier, felt really distant, like he was unreachable and like dropped in the story from another world. Hard to really describe it.

My Darcy, by Lily Morton 3.5/5
Lily’s usually British humor and characters were definitely present in this story as well. It was a cute story but I would have liked it to be a bit longer.

Worst. Date. Ever., by Onley James 3.5/5
How could I not love anything Onley James writes, especially her psychos. I wish the story was longer because I was really interested in both characters and definitely wanted to learn more.

The Anti-Wingman, by Saxon James 5/5
This is my favorite of the series. I thought Kai was just the cutest most lovable himbo ever and I absolutely adored the story. Such a delight.

The Choice, by Sloane Kennedy 1/5
This was the worst of the anthology. I really enjoy Sloane’s books and stories but this one felt like it was done just for the purpose of the commitment to appear in this anthology. It’s the shortest of the stories and although in her typical signature (older man protective of younger guy) it felt lifeless. I expected more.

The rest were a 3/5 which I guess averages the book at a 3/5.

It was fun, as always with heart2Heart. Definitely will be reading future volumes

[Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

One strawberry cream chocolate is perfectly pleasant. Two is being polite. Fourteen is...lots too many.

Having said that, no one forced me to read this in a night, though it was possible only by skim-reading dozen or so stories that were pretty unimaginative. Amongst which I include, unfortunately, the Lily Morton, whose offering ("I am unrequitedly in love with my best friend, yet bizarrely unware that he loves me, but let me tell you every half page what he is wearing.") differs from her recent stories only in the setting. It may or may not be relevant that an author visiting a potential story setting (say, on holiday) can off-set part of the cost of the holiday against tax.

The Daryl Banner & Con Riley stories were passable, leaving the Onley James ("Worst. Date. Ever.") as the only story with a spark of something different about it.

Proceeds from the book's sale, I kept reminding myself, go to charidee, though next time I may buy the book and not bother reading it.

[Teeny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be rating and reviewing as I'm reading the stories. For now though the rating and reviews reflect the ARC part of the anthology that I got from GRR. More to follow.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Kate Hawthorne.
This is one of the authors that I don't read, we all have our likes and dislikes. So I won't be reading nor rating because the author doesn't deserve to get a low rating because I knew going in I wouldn't like their story.

My Darcy, by Lily Morton.
Rating: 3 stars
Review: I'm floored I didn't like this more. The story started really great, and I loved that Freddie and Darcy were Tour Guides, especially since I have a frame of reference of how those tours works after my trip in Edinburgh in May for RARE2022. The point where the story lost me a bit was after the exchange that Freddie had with Darcy about his date with someone he met online. How Darcy connected the dots was beyond me, and then Joan convincing Freddie about Darcy feelings, ILUs started flying and really the whole thing snowballed. Yes I know those are short stories and need to develop fast, but it felt like steps were missed.

Down the Mountain, by Rachel Ember.
Rating: 2.8 stars
Review: This was my first time reading Rachel Ember, even though I have a couple of her novels lounging in my kindle. The story was a bit... convoluted(?). Vic's feelings of disquiet being around people or his panic about Bennett's appearance were coming across very loudly in total contrast to Vic or Bennett's feelings for their second chance at their romance. Still I won't judge the author from this short.

The Anti-Wingman, by Saxon James.
Rating: 5 stars
Review: That was absolutely perfect! Sweet and funny from page 1. Kai's exuberance and happy character was jumping from the pages and it was no wonder Rylan was swapped by it. It was equally lovely seeing Rylan open up under all that Kai sunshine. Saxon in such few pages not only managed to build their friendship to such a solid base that the end was inevitable but without not overmuch hinting their chemistry and them falling in love was organic and without question of it's truthfulness.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

From here on out the reviews and ratings are for the rest of the stories (that weren't in the ARC):

Keeping him in Cornwall, by Con Riley.
Rating: 2.8 stars
Review: My favorite hit or miss author! I never connected with the story nor its characters. I particularly didn't like Lucas the meddling brother. There was too much inner monologue going on, and I get that Seth was a quiet guy but it felt that he was a complete unknown, because we were in the middle of a change happening to him and not his past self nor his current one were gelling just yet.

Love Down Under, by Eden Finley.
Rating: 3(ish) stars
Review: I love everything that is set in Australia! They are quirky and fun and just the way they cut off words is a marvel. And this started out great! A funny tour guide and a spunky guest that's deathly afraid of water, so he is also a cranky guest. But they hit it off and it's great. But then the whole thing at the camp site happens, and after that the story just gets too common. I liked that the brothers talked it out a bit, but Kero and Dorian getting together was too cheesy and a tad dull.

The London Chance, by Lane Hayes.
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This was quite lovely, even though the beginning was a bit slow. Once Chance and Roman started going, they really hit it off in all ways. Great chemistry and banter, those two really clicked after the first hurdles, although what to say for their first disaster of a date. It's one of the first stories after a long while of Lane's that I truly enjoyed.

Worst.Date.Ever, by Onley James.
Rating: 5 (6) stars
Review: The best story in it!!!! Banter, chemistry and 2 characters I hope as all get out we'll see again! I loved Tris and Cade!!!

[The Word Nerd Reviews Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read all the stories in this anthology, but the ones I did read I enjoyed, overall the whole thing is a five star read. Of the stories I read (in the order they appear in the book):

Love Down Under - Eden Finley - 5 stars
The London Chance - Lane Hayes - 3.5 stars
My Darcy - Lily Morton - 5 stars
Worst. Date. Ever - Onley James - 3.5 stars
Down the Mountain - Rachel Ember - 4 stars
The Anti-Wingman - Saxon James - 3 stars
The Choice - Sloane Kennedy - 4.5 stars

I'm still going back to read the others when I'm looking for a quick read, will update as I go.