Blog Tour + Review: "Naughty Brits"

I am pleased to take part in the blog tour celebrating the release of "Naughty Brits," a collection of contemporary romance novellas by authors Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan, Louisa Edwards, Tessa Gratton, and Sierra Simone. 

 

There's something about a man with a British accent that has always appealed to me, so it was an easy decision to pick up this anthology. I was even more excited when I learned that it contained a novella by Sarah MacLean, one of my favorite historical romance authors. I've never read one of her contemporary stories before (not sure if she's even published one, honestly), but her contribution to this anthology, "A Duke Worth Falling For," was wonderful and I enjoyed it tremendously. IMO, her story alone is worth the price of the entire book! "Not a Bad Boy" by Louisa Edwards was another delightful surprise, especially since Ms. Edwards is a new-to-me author. I'm generally a fan of romances featuring Hollywood celebrities, but this one was particularly enjoyable because of its endearingly awkward, incredibly relatable female lead.

I've included brief reviews of the individual stories at the end of this post, but overall, I'd give "Naughty Brits" a 4-star rating. I recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance, especially anyone who, like me, has a weakness for a British accent. ;-)

 

 

About "Naughty Brits"

Everything is hotter with a British accent…

Sarah MacLean - A Duke Worth Falling For:
Her career in tatters, celebrity photographer Lilah Rose retreats to the British countryside, complete with fluffy sheep, rolling hills…and Max, the stern, sexy farmer who tends to them. But their lazy days and lush nights aren’t as far from the spotlight as Lilah thinks, and Max will have to reveal the truth if he is going to convince Lilah that some dukes are worth the risk. 

Sophie Jordan - Better with You: 

When the author of a controversial self-help book starts receiving threats, she has no choice but to accept a bodyguard on her UK book tour. Vee Mathers is famous for asserting that women don’t need men—especially for sex!—but at security specialist Luca Moretti’s first, burning touch, she starts to think she might need to revise her theory...

Louisa Edwards - Not a Bad Boy:
Writer Mallory Pritchard moved to London for research—and to get over a bad breakup. When she (literally) runs into Hollywood’s hottest action hero, Ian Hale, at a dog park, she realizes her heart isn’t as broken as she thought! Ian is even more devastatingly sexy in person, which makes Mallory wonder...is there room for a regular girl in his glamorous movie-star world?

Tessa Gratton - Songbird:
Former American soldier Daniel Kelly’s mission is simple: close the deal to buy a Welsh pub on behalf of his family’s corporation, and survive another anniversary of the worst day of his service. Too bad that from the moment he sees the pub’s owner, Elspeth Gwenlan is the only thing Daniel wants to conquer—even if it means lying to her about his agenda.

Sierra Simone - Supplicant:
After being left at the altar by her cold and brilliant professor, Church Cason, Charlotte Tenpenny had to leave school to take care of her younger brother. But a fateful night brings Church—and his delicious, drugging kisses—back into Charlotte's life. And it stirs up a reckoning years in the making...

 

  

My Review

 

"Naughty Brits" was an excellent collection of contemporary romance novellas, and I recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance, especially my fellow Anglophiles. All of the stories stand alone, but I liked that they each built up to a common event, which made the collection feel very cohesive.

 

Sarah MacLean - A Duke Worth Falling For: 

This story was so cute! I loved main characters Lilah and Max, who were incredibly well-developed considering the length of the story. Their flirty, witty banter was fantastic from the moment they met, when Max rescued Lilah from one of his "attack sheep." Max was just the right amount of grumpy (my favorite kind of hero!), and I admired how strong and determined Lilah was in the face of adversity. It's worth the price of the anthology for this delightful story alone. 5 stars.

Sophie Jordan - Better with You:

This story was only OK, IMO. I think I would have liked it better if it had been dual POV. The male lead, Luca Moretti, was so taciturn most of the time that it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. I didn't really feel I got to know him or understand his feelings for the female lead, Vee Mathers. It also seemed strange to me that Luca never expressed concern about how unprofessional it was for him to get involved with a client. Shouldn't he have been worried about losing his job or not being able to maintain his focus while protecting her? But hey, Luca managed to fix all of Vee's problems in the bedroom in about 5 seconds flat, so all's well that ends well, I guess. 3 stars.

Louisa Edwards - Not a Bad Boy:

I'm generally a fan of romances featuring Hollywood celebrities, so I was excited to check this one out. Female lead Mallory was endearingly awkward and her insecurities about her body were totally relatable. Her love interest, movie star Ian, was surprisingly shy for such a major celebrity, and he was also a bit grumpy at times, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The ending felt a little rushed to me, but even so, I enjoyed this story and will definitely be looking for more books by Louisa Edwards. 4 stars.
 

Tessa Gratton - Songbird:

I skipped this story because the description didn't sound overly appealing to me, plus I was running out of time. I may go back and read it later.
 

Sierra Simone - Supplicant:

I gave this story a pass because it includes a couple of tropes I don't generally enjoy. However, I've heard good things about Ms. Simone's writing and that this story is H-O-T, so I'd recommend that fans of student-professor romances give this one a try.

*Review copy provided by the author via Candi Kane PR. All opinions expressed are my own.