Voyages of the Heart
Cities around the world have their own charming allure which pulls you in, allowing you to enjoy their secrets. They offer love, passion, laughter, healing, and even heartbreak. The authors have penned these emotions and more into their stories one page at a time. Pack your luggage to join us on our voyage of the heart. Our next destination: New Orleans!
With Love From New Orleans
Romance in the “Big Easy” isn't for the faint of heart. The mystery hidden in the worlds created by VOTH's authors will keep you enthralled in each and every tale. The only promise on this voyage of love is that we’ve sealed each story with a kiss of passion which will entice you to come back for more. Welcome to New Orleans where every page reveals a new secret as we explore the city's round-the-clock appeal.
Review
With Love From New Orleans by
Jade Royal
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
With love from New Orleans
BLOOD MAGIC BARGAIN by Annelise Alexis
I had mixed feelings about this one. Lenny is in trouble and out for a good time before the law catches up with her. After a night of heavy drinking, she finds herself in the hands of a group of wolves. Despite being human she seems to be the mate of pack trouble maker Jules. I enjoyed the building of the story between the two as they worked out how to be together. I also liked the building of the world, which is always difficult in such a short story. The only slight problem was that with it being such a short story, I was left wanting to know a little bit more. What happened after they sorted everything out? I'd also have liked to see a little bit more between them as they got to know one another. Overall, a good read though.
DANI'S MASQUERADE by Brian Miller
This was a bit of an unusual story. Dani the lead is an escort, she has friends who she works with as a waitress, but they don't know about her other work. This is a short story, so I don't want to give many more details of the plot, for fear of giving the whole story away. I quite enjoyed it in any case.
A BITE AND A MARK: A STORY FROM THE GRID by Jaz T Ward
Oddly enough, this is the third story I've read recently where our two main characters wake up handcuffed to one another and with no idea who each other is and how they got there. This time the two characters in question are the IT expert from paranormal enforcers the grid and a young female vampire. I enjoyed this story and as it was the first that I'd read from this series or by this author, it was a good introduction.
DUPLICITY by Roux Cantrell
This is a short story with a bit of romance and a bit of murder in it. The murder doesn't take part until the later part for the story, although it becomes clear fairly quickly who is likely to be murdered and roughly why. The romance is perhaps the more important part of the story. It was a good read, although there was a little too much telling rather than showing which made it slightly less engaging than it might otherwise have been.
THE FRENCH QUARTER QUEEN by Patricia D. Eddy
This is a second chance romance, although the two characters only knew each other as teenagers. Even though they were both seventeen when they met and took part in a chess tournament Emile and Serafine have never forgotten about one another. When Serafine returns to New Orleans fifteen years later, she's attacked and beaten up by Emile's father, Emile rescues her and nurses her back to health. Despite the violence, this was quite a sweet love story and I enjoyed reading about what happened to both of them.
BLAME IT ON THE SPRING FLING by Natalie-Nicole Bates
I enjoyed this little story. I usually quite like second chance romances and this one was particularly good. I loved the idea of the hero Drew pretending that he was Lena's love slave because of a love potion, even though it hadn't had any effect on him at all. Great quick read.
SERENDIPITY by Maggie Adams
It's nice to read a romance about a couple who are a bit older than we usually come across. In this case, our hero and heroine are old enough to have grown-up children but certainly more than young enough for some passion and romance. I quite enjoyed this little read.
BENEATH AN IRIDESCENT SKY by Bella Emy
Sometimes I get a bit sick of the inexperienced woman meets a man who sleeps around storyline. Fortunately, this story is far from that. After her relationship fell apart Misty (Melissa) has been jumping from man to man for a quick hook up. While on holiday in New Orleans, she runs into old friend Liam and things soon heat up and become more interesting between them. I enjoyed this little romance.
SUGAR MAGNOLIA by Lily Black
Sugar Magnolia is the story of Ellen and Roman. Ellan longs for children and marriage, so much so that she is willing to enter into a fake marriage with a man she thinks is gay, just to be married to someone and have kids. Just before the wedding, she meets Roman, who is all she has ever dreamed of. I liked the way this story played out over six days. Roman was lovely and they both deserved to find what they were looking for.
LOVE BLOOMS by Carrie Humphrey
I've read a few dragon shifter romances, but this one was a little different as the couple dragon Nassir and Child of Gaia Hazel have been together for a long time. She helps to settle the Earth and help nature while he protects her. I enjoyed this short story that had New Orleans magic bringing them together.
DAMNED by Alyssa Drake
This was a little bit of an unusual paranormal romance, as one part of the couple Julien is a ghost. This doesn't stop him from falling for Violet, who has recently had her heartbroken. It was a fun read with an interesting storyline. I enjoyed this unusual romance.
HEALING YOU by Autumn Sand
I'm not sure what I would do if my marriage broke down and my children blamed me. But that's what happens in this story to Sian. Left alone in a strange city, she stumbles across a musician who tells her of a place he used to play before the owner Just's wife was murdered. Sian and Just are both damaged, but together they can help one another heal and find happiness. I liked this story of making the choices that work for you and help you to become the people you are meant to be. The love aspect of this story was quite sweet too.
HER REVENGE by Ashlee Shades
This is an unusual 'love' story, as most of the action takes place before the final couple gets together. The story starts with Victoria being very much in love with her husband Ayden. She discovers that he has been unfaithful to her and decides to take her revenge. This was a very short story and quite different from the others in the book so far. An interesting change.
BEHIND THE FLEUR DE LIS: A CLOCKWORK GUN SHORT STORY by Katherine Le White
This was quite a strange one, not a love story as such, or at least not a falling in love story. I don't know if this is part of a bigger series or something, but it seemed like I was missing something somewhere along the lines. Even so, it was an interesting tale and well written.
BACCARA by Tamsen Schultz
This was the author and story that I originally got this collection for. I've read a few of her Windsor series and although this isn't part of the same series, it is similar in some ways. What I enjoy about this story is that it is both a crime story and a romance. It isn't that one part of the story takes the lead and the other part is just an add on. Both parts also work well together. I enjoyed this one.
FOUND YOU by Maria Vickers
Found you is a m/m romance between Jordan and Archer. It is a side story to Unbreak Me, but I haven't read that and it didn't matter. I enjoyed this romance. Archer is a bit all over the place when we meet him, but the two work well as a couple.
LOVE CELEBRATED by Amy Allen
This one wasn't for me. I'm not sure what was going on, to be honest. It said that it was set in the early 1800s but apart from the odd word (one in every few pages) there was nothing to suggest that, the main female character was even called Brandi. I think it might be part of a wider series or something, but it did nothing for me.
ENEMY MINE by Nia Farrell
This story has the highest heat level of any of the books so far, I think that there can be only one or two to go, so suspect that it might be the hottest one here. This is an enemies to lovers story in the most real sense of the term. Henry and Ophelia aren't personal enemies, but as they are on different sides in the American civil war, they are enemies in a bigger sense. I enjoyed this story, it was a bit of a different style to many historical romances.
REDEMPTION IN NEW ORLEANS by Jade Royal
This story is a continuation of one that appeared in the With Love from London collection (which I haven't read) and it doesn't finish in this book but will be completed in the next one. It would have been nice to see a conclusion to this little story but to be honest, I didn't mind too much. It was quite an enjoyable story but I would like to find out what happens with Raphael and Anise.
ONLY FOOLS WALK FREE by Sandra R. Neeley
This is a supernatural romance story. Sam's soul has been trapped in a crypt after he was attacked by his lover's father and he made a deal to keep her safe before he died. As the years pass he watches over her until she is an old woman. Years later they get a second chance. This was quite an unusual romance all about soul mates, quite enjoyable.
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Carter by A.M. Salinger
