What do you think?
Not Another Blind Date...: Skin Deep / Hold On / Ex Marks the Spot
These Valentine's Day dates have all the markings of blind-date disaster! Or do they?
Skin Deep by Janelle Denison
Who says nice girls can't have fun? And Jayne does--dirty dancing and a lot more!--with a hot bad boy one night. Still, it was a onetime thing. Really! But when she's set up on a blind date with her sexy stranger, she realizes Cupid must have other ideas....
Hold On by Leslie Kelly
Shy Sarah Holt has a bad case of unrequited lust. She's hopelessly enamored with a client--sexy Steve Wilshire. So, when she gets the chance to impersonate the very kissable doctor's blind date, she takes it....and has the most torrid night of her sheltered life. But will Steve still be "holding on" when the truth comes out?
Ex Marks the Spot by Jo Leigh
Oh, no. Paige Callahan just got set up on a blind date--arranged by her ex-boyfriend! But potential catastrophe turns into flirty fun--and then some!--when she meets sexy, very wealthy Noah Hastings.
Skin Deep by Janelle Denison
Who says nice girls can't have fun? And Jayne does--dirty dancing and a lot more!--with a hot bad boy one night. Still, it was a onetime thing. Really! But when she's set up on a blind date with her sexy stranger, she realizes Cupid must have other ideas....
Hold On by Leslie Kelly
Shy Sarah Holt has a bad case of unrequited lust. She's hopelessly enamored with a client--sexy Steve Wilshire. So, when she gets the chance to impersonate the very kissable doctor's blind date, she takes it....and has the most torrid night of her sheltered life. But will Steve still be "holding on" when the truth comes out?
Ex Marks the Spot by Jo Leigh
Oh, no. Paige Callahan just got set up on a blind date--arranged by her ex-boyfriend! But potential catastrophe turns into flirty fun--and then some!--when she meets sexy, very wealthy Noah Hastings.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 17, 2011
About the author
Janelle Denison
161 books559 followersIt’s hard for me to imagine that I’ve been writing romances for over twenty years now! I started at the young age of 21, just after I got married. Reading romances, and then writing them, came about as a result of having too much time on my hands. When I first married my husband Don, I was working a regular nine to five job and he worked swing shift, from four in the afternoon until midnight. It wasn’t an ideal schedule for newlyweds, and in order to pass those hours when I was alone I started reading romances, and eventually tried my hand at writing them.
The road to publication wasn’t an easy one. It took me five years and dozens of rejections to make my first sale, which was to Harlequin for their “Stolen Moments” line. THE FAMILY MAN, written under the pseudonym Danielle Kelly, was one of the twelve novellas published in 1993 for this promotional line.
It took me another two and a half years (and more rejections!) to sell my second book. HEAVEN’S GIFT (written under my own name) was published in October 1995 by Leisure Love Spell for their “An Angel’s Touch” series. Another two years passed of collecting even more rejections before I finally sold to Harlequin Romance and Harlequin Temptation. At the time, writing for both Temptation and Harlequin Romance provided me with a wonderful creative outlet for both my modern, ultra-sexy stories, and my warmer, traditional romances. But as the years passed, I realized how much I enjoyed writing the sexier stories and streamlined my career accordingly so that I was no longer writing the sweet traditional romances, and instead focused on the hotter, sexier stories for Temptation and Blaze.
After writing over two dozen books for Harlequin, I decided to branch out. I wanted to write anthologies and single titles, and came up with an idea about three sexy brothers with the last name of “Wilde”. Little did I know that those Wilde brothers would become such a sensation with readers. In the second Wilde book, WILDE THING, four Wilde cousins were introduced, and readers started writing in for their stories, too. It’s been a joy and pleasure to write each of the Wilde stories, and I want to thank everyone for purchasing those books and putting them on the USA Today Bestseller list!
I’ve been a full-time writer for years, which consists of being deep in deadlines, writing proposals (growling at the husband to fix a glitch in the computer so I can get back to work!), perusing contracts, line-edits (stressing over a scene that won’t work or characters that just won’t talk or cooperate with my plans for them!), galleys, art-fact sheets, promotion, and other publishing paperwork. Admittedly, I wouldn’t trade all the craziness in for pantyhose, rush hour traffic, and a nine-to-five job again. Writing is hard work, but I find the rewards are well worth the effort. Fan letters are one of those priceless rewards, and can keep me on a high for days! I’ve met the most wonderful people through my books, some of which I now consider good friends.
The road to publication wasn’t an easy one. It took me five years and dozens of rejections to make my first sale, which was to Harlequin for their “Stolen Moments” line. THE FAMILY MAN, written under the pseudonym Danielle Kelly, was one of the twelve novellas published in 1993 for this promotional line.
It took me another two and a half years (and more rejections!) to sell my second book. HEAVEN’S GIFT (written under my own name) was published in October 1995 by Leisure Love Spell for their “An Angel’s Touch” series. Another two years passed of collecting even more rejections before I finally sold to Harlequin Romance and Harlequin Temptation. At the time, writing for both Temptation and Harlequin Romance provided me with a wonderful creative outlet for both my modern, ultra-sexy stories, and my warmer, traditional romances. But as the years passed, I realized how much I enjoyed writing the sexier stories and streamlined my career accordingly so that I was no longer writing the sweet traditional romances, and instead focused on the hotter, sexier stories for Temptation and Blaze.
After writing over two dozen books for Harlequin, I decided to branch out. I wanted to write anthologies and single titles, and came up with an idea about three sexy brothers with the last name of “Wilde”. Little did I know that those Wilde brothers would become such a sensation with readers. In the second Wilde book, WILDE THING, four Wilde cousins were introduced, and readers started writing in for their stories, too. It’s been a joy and pleasure to write each of the Wilde stories, and I want to thank everyone for purchasing those books and putting them on the USA Today Bestseller list!
I’ve been a full-time writer for years, which consists of being deep in deadlines, writing proposals (growling at the husband to fix a glitch in the computer so I can get back to work!), perusing contracts, line-edits (stressing over a scene that won’t work or characters that just won’t talk or cooperate with my plans for them!), galleys, art-fact sheets, promotion, and other publishing paperwork. Admittedly, I wouldn’t trade all the craziness in for pantyhose, rush hour traffic, and a nine-to-five job again. Writing is hard work, but I find the rewards are well worth the effort. Fan letters are one of those priceless rewards, and can keep me on a high for days! I’ve met the most wonderful people through my books, some of which I now consider good friends.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 23, 2016
Overall Rating: 3.0 Stars
-- Skin Deep by Janelle Denison | 3.0 Stars
-- Hold On by Leslie Kelly | 3.5 Stars
-- Ex Marks the Spot by Jo Leigh | 2.5 Stars
This was a cute little romance anthology to pass the time, especially when you're in a reading slump and you just need a fluff piece to keep you going. Some of the ideals and scenes and dialogue in these novellas felt a little dated, but this IS a category romance from Harlequin Blaze, so I don't ever expect much from them aside from a cute little romance. And that's exactly what I got, so I'm content.
Leslie Kelly's novella was my favorite of the three and showcased what I love so much about her writing. It kind of reminds me of a romantic comedy movie, actually; especially the ending that's all giddy and cute and sweet, but not drawn out or cheesy.
Janelle Denison is a new author I've never read before, but I really DID enjoy Skin Deep, even if there were a few things I didn't quite care for, such as the drawn out angst.
I've read Jo Leigh before in another anthology, but I don't remember anything about what I'd read. So she's still akin to a new-to-me author for me. To be honest, her story felt boring.
Anyway... Again, this is a nice romance collection to pass the time with, if you want so good fluff.
***
2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• COYER Summer Vacation 2016
-- Skin Deep by Janelle Denison | 3.0 Stars
-- Hold On by Leslie Kelly | 3.5 Stars
-- Ex Marks the Spot by Jo Leigh | 2.5 Stars
This was a cute little romance anthology to pass the time, especially when you're in a reading slump and you just need a fluff piece to keep you going. Some of the ideals and scenes and dialogue in these novellas felt a little dated, but this IS a category romance from Harlequin Blaze, so I don't ever expect much from them aside from a cute little romance. And that's exactly what I got, so I'm content.
Leslie Kelly's novella was my favorite of the three and showcased what I love so much about her writing. It kind of reminds me of a romantic comedy movie, actually; especially the ending that's all giddy and cute and sweet, but not drawn out or cheesy.
Janelle Denison is a new author I've never read before, but I really DID enjoy Skin Deep, even if there were a few things I didn't quite care for, such as the drawn out angst.
I've read Jo Leigh before in another anthology, but I don't remember anything about what I'd read. So she's still akin to a new-to-me author for me. To be honest, her story felt boring.
Anyway... Again, this is a nice romance collection to pass the time with, if you want so good fluff.
***
2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• COYER Summer Vacation 2016
January 28, 2021
A good selection of Valentine's stories
4 stars
This is Blaze's annual collection of stories for Valentine's Day all focusing on blind dates and what they can lead to.
SKIN DEEP by Janelle Denison
At a fancy dress party, good girl Jayne decides to give herself one night of craziness with a hot, bad boy. Jayne's never enjoyed sex so hot but it was a one-time thing. Or so she thinks. When Jayne gets set up on a blind date with Brian she realises the Cupid has other ideas.
I really enjoyed this story as it was sweet and cute with some good heat running through it. Definitely the best of the book.
HOLD ON by Leslie Kelly
Shy Sarah Holt is enamoured with sexy Doctor Steve Wilshire but he doesn't know she exists. So when a twist of fate allows Sarah to step in as Steve's blind date she jumps at the chance and has the best night of her life. But will it last?
This was a good story if a little far-fetched. I liked the romance but I was surprised Steve wasn't a little more angry when it came out who Sarah actually was which made the conclusion a little unbelievable for me.
EX MARKS THE SPOT by Jo Leigh
Paige Callahan has just lost a big break for her job so it's the icing on her crappy week when her ex-boyfriend sets her up for a blind date on Valentine's Day. But things start to look up when she meets sexy, wealthy, Noah.
I could barely finish this story as it was ridiculous - what ex-boyfriend, described as careless and thoughtless, would set his ex up on a Valentine's date and what girl would accept? It was also boring and the ending was forced and unbelievable.
Overall, there are two good stories in this anthology and one that didn't do it for me at all. Despite the bad story I'm still going to go with 4 stars as even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day this anthology is worth a read if you get the chance.
September 14, 2011
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, usually you only find one good story and the rest are just fillers, but this was a very good book, all the stories were fun and easy to read surrounding Valentines Day. I didn't give the last story by Jo Leigh 4 stars because it was moving too slowly for me and for being a Harlequin and an anthology, I was expecting a quicker pace. Also, I never fully figured out the motive for the Ex-boyfriend to set heroine up with hero. It was just guesswork and I am still curious to know. Overall, worth reading!
Skin Deep by Janelle Denison - **** (4 Stars)
Hold On by Leslie Kelly - **** (4 Stars)
Ex Marks the Spot by Jo Leigh ***.5 (3.5 Stars)
Skin Deep by Janelle Denison - **** (4 Stars)
Hold On by Leslie Kelly - **** (4 Stars)
Ex Marks the Spot by Jo Leigh ***.5 (3.5 Stars)
April 30, 2012
Valentines Day antholgy with 3 stories. All the stories were pretty good - what you'd expect from a Blaze book.
Janelle Dennisons story covered Brian and Jayne meeting at a fancy dress party, then not meeting again til set up by a mutual friend.
Leslie Kelly's tale of Steve and Sarah had Sarah taking over a blind date, cue omissions, comments about deception, running away and smoochy reunion.
Jo Leigh's story of Noah and Paige who are both art lovers, was perhaps the least exciting story but i liked it the best.
Nice, quick reads
Janelle Dennisons story covered Brian and Jayne meeting at a fancy dress party, then not meeting again til set up by a mutual friend.
Leslie Kelly's tale of Steve and Sarah had Sarah taking over a blind date, cue omissions, comments about deception, running away and smoochy reunion.
Jo Leigh's story of Noah and Paige who are both art lovers, was perhaps the least exciting story but i liked it the best.
Nice, quick reads
February 8, 2011
Wow!! I was completely surprised and blown away by this one. The last few of these Blaze anthologies had been unimpressive so I wasn't expecting this!! I loved all three of these stories. The romance, the couples, and the sexual tension was outstanding.
April 29, 2011
Three cute novellas about meeting The One on a blind date. My favorite was Jo Leigh story. It showed tons of emotion and keep me interested through out the story. I was very impressed with entire book.
August 3, 2014
A really cute collection of novellas featuring sexy blind dates. These were all new to me authors, I enjoyed the chance to try someone new. Each of the stories had some fun build up, some smexy times, and I feel each of the characters did a great job to build to a HEA. Fun read!
February 27, 2011
Enjoyed these stories. Successful women...not afraid to go after what they want...not that it is easy.
September 4, 2011
What can I say but cute Harlequin all the way! These Valentine's Day dates have all the markings of blind-date disaster Or do they? "Skin Deep" by Janelle Denison 2 other stories as well.
February 18, 2013
I love this anthologies series, especially from Blaze, kind of rare for me to find good read from Harlequin Blaze.
May 5, 2013
2.5*
The first and third story were okay but I think the second one definitely let the book down.
The first and third story were okay but I think the second one definitely let the book down.
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May 26, 2016Hot!hot!hot!
February 2, 2014
They were ok for short stories.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews