‘She was what anchored him to this world. She was his lucky hook and, dammit, he didn’t want to let her go.’

I know that sweet romance isn’t for everyone. I understand that, for some, a lack of angst, grittiness and graphic scenes makes reading a bit of a bore.

I am, however, not one of those people. I love love; how it reading about it makes me feel. I love to smile and swoon and enjoy simple, steamy romance, and I kind of love doing it while reading a book by Annie Rains.

Stolen Kisses definitely fit the bill. It’s the second book in the Blushing Bay series, which means it’s a small-town romance, as well as a friends-to-lovers romp, and it’s pretty much adorable. Krista and Noah have the friends thing down pat, but experiencing the thrill of new feelings (and/or unrequited feelings become not-so-unrequited) alongside them was a treat.

A true treat. Though I felt like Stolen Kisses slowed a touch through the middle—and that there were a couple of minor things left without total closure—I also felt like this book, this couple, this cute coastal town was a fun, flirty way to pass my afternoon.

In fact, I know so.

“Are you crazy?”
“Crazy in love with you.”

~ FOUR STARS ~

DNF @20%. This just wasn't for me. Krista was supposed to be 28 but she acted, and thought, like a teen. She's been pining over a guy for years, is jealous of anyone who spends time with him (including her brother), and gets upset that her boss calls her out for inappropriate behavior at work. He wasn't much better, suggesting that any time he messes up he just buys her ice cream and she'll forgive him. Not my thing.

I'll admit to being a sucker for Annie Rains' books. They are light, entertaining, and romantic. Krista and Noah have always been friends but are they really something more? You know what the answer is going to be but if you're like me, you'll keep reading nonetheless. There's a time for a book where the foremost concern is a stolen kiss ( ;) and that's when you should pick this up. Don't expect any deep revelations just a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is book 2 of Ms Rains series, Blushing Bay, but if like me , you haven’t read book one, rest assured this is definitely a stand alone and you will be fine.
The book centers around Noah Sawyer and Kristal Nelson. They have been best friends since childhood . Kristal has had a crush on him for years, but did not want to lose her friendship if things went further than that. Well, destiny interferes and a night when Kristal had one too many glasses of wine, Noah takes her home and they end up kissing. That was an awakening for Noah, and this leads to a fragile “friends with benefits”. Neither wants to lose the friendship. Besides, Noah has commitment issues due to past experiences he has never divulged.
It was fun and touching to see these two interact. The secondary characters, like Adam, one of Kristal’s pediatric patients, Joey, Kristal’s brother and Noah’s brothers were all interesting characters.
If you are looking for a sweet ,heartwarming story filled with family and friends, this one is for you.
I was gifted this copy by Netgalley and Loveswept.
The opinions expressed are solely my own.

I felt more than a bit disappointed at the conclusion of Stolen Kisses because I kept expecting something to happen. I expected Noah and Krista to be more interesting than they were because they seemed like they could be from the first Blushing Bay novel. I expected them to communicate. I expected something fun and romantic and ...I don't know, something more, something to *happen.*

For the first third of the novel, Krista who has been crushing on Noah for a while just keeps lamenting that he'll never see her in the same context as the women he dates. These are not new thoughts for this particular trope (friends to lovers) and it grew repetitious. It would have been more interesting for her to actively make something happen rather than just date someone else to get him jealous. Again, nothing new.

And then bam, they're together.

And then they semi-pull away.

And then I didn't care

although I did...

Still, I'll read the next one and hope that Sam and Abby have lots of sparks.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Awesome! This was my first book by Annie Rains, it won't be my last! Krista and Noah are characters that you fall in love with along with their families. I would highly recommend this book!

"Kris has always been just one of the guys." Talk about a dagger to her heart. Krista has always been in love with Noah but she's settled for friendship. Noah isn't the type to settle down & Krista doesn't want to lose him. Noah has been attracted to her but he doesn't want the awkwardness when he walks away. He doesn't do forever. Can anything change their minds?

Annie Rains has set up a wonderful story. Krista always lays her heart on the line whether with Noah or her patients in pediatrics. She knows she can get hurt but loves knowing she's laid it all on the line. Noah holds everything back & has trouble expressing emotions. I loved being along on his journey as he realized the emotions he has felt for Krista all along were not friendship but love. The interactions between them made me laugh, cry, get angry & feel joy. A book that is not to be missed!!

Annie Rains has really out done herself with this book Stolen Kisses! This is such a sweet romance that will make you laugh, cry a little, and just really root for Noah and Krista to go the distance!

Enjoyed reading this sweet best friends to lovers romance. Krista had loved her best friend Noah for years and he didn't have a clue. He thought he was the non commitment type and always would be. But maybe his best friend could change that.

I love a friends-to-lovers story, and this one didn't disappoint. Krista is a strong, compassionate woman. Noah is a thoughtful and kind person. Together, they have a fun and sweet relationship. The secondary characters in the story only add to the strong bond that the two share.

I did read the first book in this series as well, but it is not necessary as this works as a standalone. It was an fast-paced story that had entertaining banter among the characters, sexy times, sweet times, and even a few emotional times. I recommend this book and look forward to the next in the series (hopefully Abby and Sam!).

Stolen Kisses
Blushing Bay #2
Annie Rains
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is Krista and Noah's story which was such a sweet read. Best friends turn into lovers. This is the second book in this series. I didn't get the chance to read the first book which was Noah's brother Jack's story. But you meet the characters is this book. I look forward to reading about the 3rd brother, Sam's story in book 3.
Thanks NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a sweet book. A friends to lovers romance. Noah and Krista are such a great couple. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. This is a great book to curl on the couch with a cup of tea and spend an enchanting afternoon.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.

Great read! Great story. The plot tended to drag a bit but the love story also a nice twinge of humor and laughter.

Krista and Noah have been best friends since they were little. She knows that Noah has always seen has as another one of the guys and Krista is tired of it. She has been in love with Noah most of her life and wants him to see her as more. When Noah shows up to their weekly Wednesday Wing Night with a date, Krista knows she needs to get her life together. Noah is clueless and finally figures out that Krista was upset by his bringing someone else to their night out. Krista is also gunning for a promotion at work and feels entitled to it since she has been there the longest and knows more than the other nurses.

Noah has never wanted to be tied down and makes no bones about it. He even lives on a houseboat so as to be able to move on a whim. He is now the skipper of his own boat and spends his days on the water bringing in fish and supporting his family business. Noah knows that he hasn't always been someone people count on, but he has changed and is miffed when no one seems to notice.

Noah and Krista have a stolen kiss that causes a shift in their relationship. Krista knows that Noah does not have the same life goals as she does - a home, marriage and babies. When these two do decide to try out a relationship, Krista spent most of the time waiting for Noah to screw up. She was a bit full of herself and kind of whiny throughout this book. Noah didn't need to step up and be the man of her dreams just because that's what she was looking for. Instead of asking him, Krista treats him like a child, makes decisions on his behalf and then proceeds to dictate what she thinks is right for him. I didn't care for that and found her to be in need of a good wake-up call by someone in her life. She was definitely a caring person, but that didn't make her perfect by any means. The fact that she viewed a baby as an instant blessing without a regard to whether or not Noah was ready was telling to me. She needed to grow up and realize that in order for a relationship to work, both partners need to talk and both of their dreams need to be addressed. She didn't seem to grasp that throughout almost all of this book and I was kind of disappointed in that. The ending was nice. You will need to read the book to see how it all plays out.
I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

This is the first book that I have read of Annie Rains and I loved it. I want to read all of her other books. This book is about Krista and Noah who were neighbors and best friends growing up and still are. Krista actually has feeling for Noah but he doesn't know it. Noah treats her like one of the guys and is a serial dater.

Noah is the youngest of three boys. His mom died during childbirth with him. Noah knows he wasn't to blame for his moms death but it still bothers him. He feels like a screwup and that nobody believes he is dependable.

Krista on the other hand is an over achiever and helps everyone and is a fixer. She is a nurse and goes above and beyond her jobs requirements.

This is a very sweet book with tons of romance, dual POV and friends becoming more. I couldn't put this book down. I love books where one of the characters is clueless to the other one feelings and they both get their happy ever after.

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

This book was exactly what I expected as a fan of Annie Rains sweet love stories. Stolen Kisses is a friends to lovers story that revisits a couple we briefly met in the first book. There is a slow burn type of angst, particularly from Noah's viewpoint, and I'll admit by the time any real action happened I was feeling a bit desperate.
I enjoyed this one and it really piqued my interest for the third brother's story which we can all safely assume will be a second chance romance.
That said I was really enjoying Krista's brother in this one and wouldn't be mad if his story popped up in this series as well.

What a sweet friends to lovers story.. Noah and Krista have been friends since they were little. When they finally let their feelings known can they make it work or will they ruin everything?

Review by Amber for Love Romance Books Blog

Krista has loved her best friend Noah forever, but has been afraid to say anything because she is afraid to jeopardize their friendship. Little does she know, Noah feels the same way. When Noah brings a date to his weekly wing night with Krista, Krista decides she can't take it any more and leaves. Noah isn't sure what happened, but slowly realizes their relationship is changing into something more than friends.

I could tell this wasn't the first book in this series, but I haven't read any other books by this author and I thought it did fine as a standalone. I liked the characters, and it was cute story. I would give this book 3.5 stars. I was asked by the author for an honest review.

Stolen Kisses tugged at my heart-strings. I wasn’t ready to enjoy this book as much as I did. I should have been. I liked Forbidden Kisses when I reviewed it a few months back. Also figuring in my surprise is that the sophomore books in a series usually aren’t as good as the first books. It’s like the author’s creative juices got sucked up by the first one. Then when writing the second one, they were doing enough to get by. Let me make it clear that Stolen Kisses is not such a case. The author had plenty of creative juice to write this book.

The plotline of Stolen Kisses was pretty straightforward. It is a story about two best friends who finally fall for each other. There are some drama and tears in realizing that they want each other and that they were in love with each other. It was that story that made it so much fun to read.

Stolen Kisses is most definitely a romance. Everything about this book screamed it. The storyline reflected it. What also made this book so good to read is that there was nothing else to distract from the plot line. I do like it when books are multi genre, but sometimes I need a good romance that I can sink into. I got that with Stolen Kisses.

Krista was the main reason I started reading the book. I couldn’t imagine crushing on my best friend and having to hide it. It must have been exhausting. I also like that she was a pediatric nurse who loved her job. My oldest was hospitalized when she was 2 1/2 months old and I had the most miserable nurse…ever. So, when I read the Krista loved her job, I started to love her a teeny bit. I completely loved her when she decided to face her feelings for Noah. I did a mental version of a fist pump when she did that.

I liked Noah but wish that he had realized his feeling for Krista sooner. I also wish that he had gotten over his chip on his shoulder (read the book) and his near miss (read the book) a tad bit sooner too. I was a little surprised when he didn’t tell Krista what happened in college. His relationship with Krista’s brother was hilarious. My cheeks hurt from giggle fits as I was reading their interactions. From now on, I will never think of the phrase “super sonic hearing” the same way. I also liked the dynamics in his relationships with his own brothers. It reminded me of the way I interact with my sisters.

Noah and Krista have a lot of sex. It did take them a bit to get to that moment but when they did, they were like bunnies. All over the cabin and using the spiky condoms that were part of a bridal gift for Grace and Jack. They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other and that was super hot. The sex scenes were burning too.

I don’t have any complaints that will take points off of my review. I do think it was unfair to end the epilogue where it ended. If there is a book 3 (please let Abby and Sam have their time!!), I will have to wait until then to find out what happened.

The end of the book was everything that I thought it would be. I also loved the epilogue. Like I said above, I can’t wait to read book 3!!

4 stars

My Summary of Stolen Kisses:

Stolen Kisses is a sweet romance that will sweep you away. I couldn’t get enough of Krista and Noah’s story. This has to be one of my favorite books that I have read to date!!

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Language and sex

I would like to thank Annie Rains, Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept and NetGalley for allowing me to review Stolen Kisses

All opinions expressed in this review of Stolen Kisses are mine and mine alone

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

This is my first book by Annie Rains.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Friends to lovers
Part of a series: Blushing Bay
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading more from this author.