On Saturday last week, I ended up in the hospital and while waiting decided to click into something random on my Kindle, so I got my partner to pick a page number and a book number and it landed on Love in the Stacks by Delilah Peters. This was part of The Dirty Bits/ Love in New Bedford series published by Carina Press. This book also helps with being a Christmas in July-themed read as it is set at Christmas between two library workers. Ben and Poppy, this Christmas are going to both brave up and talk to one another and who knows what hijinks they might get up to between the stacks, especially after one Christmas Party that leaves Ben and Poppy stranded and stuck in the library overnight together. As a former librarian and a lover of books, I loved this read as it highlighted a few of my favorite things from librarians, quirky characters, love of Christmas, book recommendations, and romance between the stacks. The other thing too was that this book is a quick read that hits the spot at being novella length. Love in the Stacks is the perfect instalove sexy read without feeling too OTT smutty.

Ben and Poppy's story is wonderful & amazing. I Loved them and their sweet love story.

I Highly Recommend all Readers to read this book. It's a great read.

This was fun and entertaining. With it being such a short book, there really isn't a way for there to be much time for plot development or character development. You are introduced to the characters and that's about it. It's a fun time though.

Love in the Stacks is part of a series of erotica designed to be read in an hour or two - and it delivers high quality for this format! The cast of characters is kept small and is naturally focused on the hero and heroine. The scene is likewise kept small, with 90% of the short read taking place in the library where the couple both work. Despite the condensed form, the author manages to convey a sense of something other than "love/lust at first sight," as it is obvious that an interest and attraction had been growing between the two MCs, and that we are only seeing the climax (no pun intended) of that growing tension. The hero, Ben, is also neurodivergent in some way, and I appreciated the effort the author made to include this sort of representation.

Some of the "sexy times" language had me wincing - but these were probably just my personal caveats and preferences.

Ummm, if you want just sex this is for you because that seems to be all Poppy and Ben do......I think if there was more story to it instead of sex right away I’d have given another star ......it’s not bad but could be better

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

*~~*ARC kindly provided from the publisher/author to me for an honest review *~~*

Full review to come

5 stars

Such a cute HEA and love having a librarian narrator who doesn’t fall into the stale naughty librarian trope as the MC. I love the romance and that Ben is a character on the spectrum who is open about the difficulties he’s having with understanding others cues.

This series was a hit or miss to me. This little story was more on the HIT side in the category - fun, steamy, sexy and not complicated. Ideal for the end of the year.
The book served its purpose and I was in the mood for this kind of read so I hope that the next stories in Dirty Bits will be on the better side as well.
Development was something, that was not exactly here especially when it comes to characters and plot. It was on the more basic side of life.
Generally, it was an easy story with sex that was just a good break in between and served its purpose

This book had very little story line. What was there did not connect smoothly. I liked the general idea and overall plot, but it did not fill in the gaps. Book was more like a short story.

Ha! This one just did not work for me at ALL, probably because I'm used to a lot longer slower burn than is allowed in shorter form. Not my story, unfortunately.

This novella is a quick read. I think it took me about an hour. Not much plot, a lot of sex.
I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

This story was OK, but with very little between the main characters. Poppy basically likes Ben because he's under 60 and new in town. She doesn't know any of his likes, hobbies, etc, until they actually start interacting well after they make out in his basement archival lair. It was steamy, but felt more like a fling waiting to happen than a lasting HEA.
A thing that REALLY bugged me is that Poppy expresses her love of Ben's communication skills, but he sticks a finger in her @$$ without actually confirming that it's OK! He mentions that he WANTS to, but never actually discusses it with her. That's not communication.

This was such a fun little story and just what I needed. Lots of passion and love! These Dirty bits are perfect for a quick and dirty read.

The Dirty Bits line has been hit or miss for me, but this one was a hit. A quick and steamy novelette featuring library coworkers on Christmas Eve. They're scheduled to close the library together and then there's a heavy snowstorm... The hero is autistic and clearly explains that he needs the heroine to give him clear verbal cues, which is communicated as some excellent dirty talk. The whole thing takes place over the course of one night and I found it just Christmassy enough to be a quick holiday read.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance

Poppy loves her job. She works with some amazing people. When they get a new person, especially an attractive man, she wants to know more about him. While her coworkers are fine to let him be in the basement, doing his job, Poppy sees something more.

Ben likes his job. He is new to the city but knows his job well and isn't too perturbed by the talking that goes on among the staff about him. He knows that he can be awkward and shy. It's something he's dealt with all his adult life.

When Christmas approaches and the library puts on a holiday gathering, Poppy and Ben have their chance to really talk. However, talking isn't what's on their minds.

These two really steam up the library books and despite the story being short, it's full of steamy scenes. What you lack in length of story, you make up for in the characters' connection. They can't seem to stay away from each other and once they've tasted each other, all bets are off.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is a super short book which still packs a goodly amount of punch. If you are ready to start thinking about the good bits of Christmas, then this is a good place to start!

We get to meet a number of people who work in a library approaching Christmastime. Two of them are most definitely interested in each other but one, Ben, is new, shy, and works in the basement, and the other, Poppy, is surrounded by "friends" who do not see Ben's appeal. Luckily, they both ignore the notions of others and when snowed in, take full advantage of the chemistry between them.

Perfect lunch break length and just naughty enough to give you a smile on your face before dealing with the reality of the afternoon!

5/5 - Whenever Delilah Peters teams up with Carina Press, great things happen.

I honestly love the Love in New Bedford series. Such dirt-sexy romantic love happens in this town. This is a short read, about 55 pages. It’s a contemporary erotic romance so there is an HFN. It does have a jump in the epilogue. I liked the length but honestly I would read a full length novel about these characters.

Poppy and Ben are librarians. Poppy is a positive and friendly chick. She had her heart broken in the past and has lost confidence in herself but also takes initiative. Ben is the hot, sexy, cranky librarian that spend all his time in the basement stacks researching.

They have some sparks and then, Christmas Eve. They both have to work late together and alone. Their way of celebrating the holiday is all kinds of YES. There’s and snow storm and the power goes out. But the heat is turned way up!

Each of the books in this standalone series feature diverse characters. Either mental or race. Ben, represents neurodiversity — and it is so good. He’s so sexy and so in control but he also has very hard lines for himself which Poppy understands.

*I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review * Thank You.

This was fine for what it was, which is a short Christmas erotica more than a romance. Not a lot of character or plot development, but it does have a snowed in together trope! Points for having a neurodivergent MC, and then minus-points for the heroine and her BFF calling him a Basement Troll and being kind of gross about it... Overall a fairly enjoyable holiday romp about being snowed in at the library on Christmas Eve. ;)

This Christmas novella lays to rest the stereotype of the stuffy, strict librarian with an erotic love story between Poppy, the circulation clerk and reclusive Ben, the archivist dubbed a “troll” by thoughtless library staff members. Although not defined, he exhibits traits of high-functioning autism which makes him uncomfortable in public and unable to pick up social cues. Poppy sees beyond this into the soul of a kind, considerate, very sexy man, the polar opposite of the former boyfriend who emotionally abused and gaslighted her. Peters packs a lot into this story, including some very graphic, titillating sex scenes, but characters are multi-dimensional and the pacing doesn’t feel rushed despite the low page count.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Carina Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Emotion and passion come to a head in this little novella that was pretty good. I think that parts of this story could have been a little better but with only 55 some odd pages to tell it I could understand why it was so fast paced. Overall, it was an ok story if your looking for a quick romance.