Naughty Brits
Publisher: No Bird Press
Release date: September 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Anthology, Contemporary, Erotic, Romance
Pages: 582
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon
Add to TBR: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon UK | Amazon US | The Book Depository
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Star rating:Heat rating:
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 . . .
The Faerie Queen’s review
I won’t lie… I got this anthology for Sarah MacLean’s story. I also have to be honest and say it’s been a few months since I read the book, so you’re about to get the lasting impressions review.
Anthologies can be a hit or miss situation for me. I don’t think they’re (typically) as heavily edited, and some stories are naturally going to work better for me than others. This was certainly the case for Naughty Brits.
As a whole, I did enjoy this collection. It did something I particularly love to find: all of the stories were connected in a way. A single event tied everything together, and small moments in one story affected the plot in another. Once I figured out the connection, I looked forward to seeing how each subsequent tale fit into the collective narrative.
But let’s break things down, story by story.
Sarah MacLean’s A Duke Worth Falling For
Tropes: mistaken identity, forced proximity, holiday
Like I said, Sarah is the reason I read this at all. She writes what I like, and she hasn’t failed me yet!
American photographer Lilah had to take a break from her celebrity life after an incident with a rich dude that killed her career. She ends up in the British countryside thanks to the offer of free accommodation from a friend, and after an encounter with some sheep, meets who she believes is just a farmer. Except he’s actually a duke. The two start off on rocky ground, but that attraction. chef’s kiss. It’s delicious. I loved the heat, but I also loved the encounters with the locals, who all knew who Max actually was but kept the ruse going.
Best story of the lot!
How is Sarah McLean so bloody perfect? I’m going to have a hangover from this swoonfest.
– Goodreads update, 22 January 2021
Sophie Jordan’s Better with You
Tropes: only one bed, road trip, hate-to-love, bodyguard
Vee wrote a book that made a lot of men angry (lol), so her publisher forces her to have a bodyguard while on a UK book tour. Her bodyguard ends up being a sexy Italian Brit named Luca. (His family has an Italian restaurant – always a bonus in a love interest!) She doesn’t want him around, doesn’t like how he invades her privacy, etc. etc. Makes sense, I wouldn’t like it either. But also, hello, you are getting death threats and actual incidents at events so please stop being so grumpy, Vee.
Anyway, I don’t remember too much of the details, but I do remember that this was maybe not suited to a short story. The rushed storyline made the sexual activities seem extra unprofessional for both of them. I don’t know. I feel like this kind of trope is better for slow-burn romances, not quick road trips. I just couldn’t get into this as much.
While I liked the premise, Sophie Jordan’s bodyguard story didn’t quite deliver. It felt rushed, with feelings ramping up unnaturally, and no real talking things out.
– Goodreads update, 23 January 2021
Louisa Edwards’ Not a Bad Boy
Tropes: movie star hero, curvy heroine
Thinking back to January, I remember two things I loved about this particular story: the heroine is curvy and nerdy, and the sexy action star hero loves dogs. I don’t have any other strong feelings beyond that, though it does make me want to get a puppy so I can take it to one of London’s nicer parks and see if I can run into anyone hot.
Curvy nonfiction author meets sexy but pained actor in Louisa Edwards’ offering, and yeah, I enjoyed seeing someone like me in a story.
– Goodreads update, 24 January 2021
Tessa Gratton’s Songbird
Tropes: public sex, hidden identity, military hero
I didn’t get this one at all. In fact, I remember forcing myself through the story while feeling mighty uncomfortable. There was a lot of public grinding and making a mess of one’s clothes. Maybe other people are ok with that, but I imagined being in those situations and felt gross. It’s not my kink.
That being said, I would love to go to Wales, and I also would love for pubs to play classical music. So there’s that. But I’m sad about multinational corporations taking over family businesses. What a downer.
I’ve been meaning to read Tessa’s YA books though. I have a feeling those will be more my style.
Too many things made me cringe in Tessa Gratton‘s story for me to say I enjoyed it. Like, what about the cameras in the museum?! What’s with this obsession of getting their clothes visibly covered in you know what???
– Goodreads update, 30 January 2021
Sierra Simone’s Supplicant
Tropes: second chance, wrong side of the tracks, revenge, forbidden love, alpha hero
The final story of the lot is for those of you who like your darker, sexier, D/S romances. I genuinely didn’t know how I was going to get on board with this one when it started out, as it involved a professor and his former student, who started their relationship when she was his actual student. I’m not ok with those dynamics. But she’s no longer his student in the present, and she’s pissed. The forbidden chemistry was fantastic, but her fury pushing him to redeem himself was even better. I need to read more from Sierra for sure.
…the surprise runner up for me was Sierra Simone’s dark and desperate but oh so hot story at the end. Delicious!
– Goodreads update, 31 January 2021
About Louisa Edwards
Louisa Edwards is an American author of contemporary romance novels. Before becoming a novelist, she was a book editor and restaurant reviewer, and her novels incorporate her love of food with their focus on chefs at high-class restaurants. Edwards also writes the Sanctuary Island series under the name Lily Everett.
About Sarah MacLean
New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestseller SARAH MACLEAN is the author of historical romance novels that have been translated into more than twenty languages, and winner of back-to-back RITA Awards for best historical romance from the Romance Writers of America.
Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place at the nexus of gender and cultural studies. She is the author of a monthly column celebrating the best of the genre for the Washington Post. Her advocacy for romance and the women who read it earned her a place on Jezebel.com's “Sheroes” list of 2014 and led Entertainment Weekly to call her "gracefully furious."
A graduate of Smith College & Harvard University, Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
About Sierra Simone
Sierra is a voracious reader of all things including the smuttiest smut, young adult, piles of non-fiction for research, and everything Bill Bryson (especially on audio).
She loves writing the dirtiest things that she can think of, King Arthur, sparkling water, Tarot, coffee, leggings, and learning new words daily.
Her previous jobs have included firing ceramics, teaching living history lessons in one-room school house in full, 1904-approved school marm attire, and working as a librarian for several years—not in that order
She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, two children, and two giant dogs. (And two cats, but they're so naughty we don't talk about them.)
The social media she cares about the most are Spotify and Instagram. Following her in those places is a true love language, indeed.
About Sophie Jordan
Sophie Jordan took her adolescent daydreaming one step further and penned her first romance in the back of her high school Spanish class. This passion led her to pursue a degree in English and History.
A brief stint in law school taught her that case law was not nearly as interesting as literature - teaching English seemed a natural choice. After several years teaching high school students to love ANTIGONE, Sophie decided it was time to pursue her long-held dream of writing. Two years later, she landed her first publishing contract.
Her first book, ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT, was a 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Nominee for Best First Historical. Her second novel, TOO WICKED TO TAME, released in March 2007 with a bang - landing on the USA Today Bestseller's List. A few books later marked her first appearance on the New York Times bestseller list with the release of IN SCANDAL THEY WED.
And as if she's not busy enough, Sophie writes young adult fiction for HarperTeen and contemporary paranormals for Pocket. Sophie resides in Houston with her family and loves to hear from readers. To learn the latest information about Sophie and her books, follow her on facebook and twitter.
About Tessa Gratton
Tessa Gratton is the author of adult SFF The Queens of Innis Lear and Lady Hotspur from Tor Books, as well as the YA series The Blood Journals and The United States of Asgard. Her most recent YA novels are the original fairy tales Strange Grace and Night Shine.from McElderry Books. Tessa’s novels and short stories have been translated into twenty-two languages, nominated twice for the Tiptree Award, and several have been Junior Library Guild Selections. Though she has lived all over the world, she currently resides at the edge of the Kansas prairie with her wife. Queer, nonbinary, she/her.
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