Like all novellas, it's challenging to fit a decent plot into a short amount of space. With erotica, the focus is on the sex scenes and this book does have them in spades to the detriment of any plot, character development or compelling storytelling. 

Apparently Ben is on the autism spectrum or some other form of neuro-atypical condition. This is not evident in the story at all, and if the author intended this, then she should not have had his coworkers calling him the Troll in the basement. That's workplace bullying and not what you want to find in erotica. 

This is a definite miss for me, I can't recommend reading it. 

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Such a sexy cute read. A short fun romp that is filled with sweet holiday feels. I just wish there was more!

I liked this way more than I expected to. It was a quirky quick read, and while I found myself cringing at some parts (belly just isn't a sexy word), I did really like the characters. I'm a sucker for a nerdy, brooding, hottie.

As a librarian, this romance appealed to me. There wasn't a lot of depth to the characters (back story, drive, personality etc.) but for a romance novel that's not really required. I enjoyed it.

Love in the Stacks may be the best book so far in the Dirty Bits catalog. It is sexy as heck, which is exactly what the offering promises. It’s also thoughtful and sensitive, too, though. Those characteristics were unexpected bonuses. I genuinely enjoyed this read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Poppy is a circulation clerk, checking books out to the patrons of New Bedford. She loves people and Christmas. She's the one who volunteers to bring Ben up from the basement.
Known as "the Troll," Ben prefers to be in the basement, away from people. He's surprised that Poppy is in the basement but is immediately attracted. As she is to him. And when they're the only two people left in the library during a snowstorm, that attraction flares.
An okay story. Because it was so short, there wasn't a lot of character or relationship development.

Three stars
This book came out October 28th
ARC kindly provided by Carina Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I enjoyed this hot and steamy quick read. A great balance of heat and heart makes this a very swoony read. I thought Poppy and Ben were icredibly cute and sweet. Fast and flirty, this love in the library romance is a delightful fun.

Even though I’m happily wallowing in Halloween-themed romances, given my general love for the Dirty Bits line and romances featuring librarians, I happily snatched this Christmas novella up. There’s a Christmas party, complete with one of those annoying gift games, ugly Christmas sweaters, and then, as the piece de resistance, the main couple gets snowed in at the library. I’m such a sucker for library sex – don’t ask me why, thinking about people actually getting it on IRL at the library is pretty squicky.

For an erotic Christmas novella, the character development is decent. Poppy’s determined to hit on the hot but awkward new librarian who’s been holing himself up in the basement, so she brings him hot chocolate. Which, naturally, she spills all over the place, so naturally she has to take off her Christmas sweater. There’s definitely chemistry between her and Ben, but she can’t quite figure out if he’s in to her or not.

Ben’s not neurotypical, and one of the ways it shows up is that he doesn’t pick up on non-verbal cues. That misunderstanding provides a lot of the main stress on the relationship. Poppy’s confused by what she sees as mixed signals – he kisses her, but then scowls at her and refuses to talk to her. Once Ben explains, though, what follows is some pretty thoughtful (and sexy) verbal communication. The sex scenes are super hot and work well in the storyline.

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about Ben’s inability to understand non-verbal cues as the main impediment to the relationship. I liked seeing a neurodivergent hero, and I thought it did a good job showing how he cared for Poppy – for instance, buying her a tire gauge as a Christmas present when he noticed that her tires needed air. There is some anti-neurodivergent language – the other librarians refer to Benjamin as the troll since he prefers spending time in his basement office – and Poppy calls them on it, but it still felt pretty icky.

Overall, I did enjoy this, though I still have reservations about Ben’s representation and I'll be looking for some own voices reviews.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was the first book that I have read from this author and I really enjoyed this short story. It was a very quick, very hot read. Poppy and Ben work in a library and after the company Christmas party, they get stranded thanks to a snowstorm and spend a very unforgettable night. If you are looking for a quick read that will steam up your Kindle then this is the book for you.

Cute but very short. Ben is new to the library and really is quite reclusive to the basement archives and Poppy just wants to make sure he has a little Christmas spirit. Delivering hot chocolate doesn't go as planned and spills all over her and he shares his hoodie to keep her warm when she has to remove her sweater. This starts the courting? Next up is Christmas Eve and after some loving and a tryst in the stacks which is interrupted they are snowed in for the night. Can they and will they find their way to a relationship outside the library? This was the perfect length for a lunchtime read or an afternoon.

**Received this ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

Love in the Stacks was an impulse request from Netgalley. I saw that title and confirmed from the description that it was a romance novel set in a library (involving library staff, specifically. even better), and I was sold. A short and steamy romance, with the promise of an HEA? Perfect. Never mind that I’d never heard of the author. Librarian romances are pretty much my kryptonite.

Love in the Stacks did not disappoint! It’s short and sweet and steamy, with two likable leads, Poppy and Ben. Poppy seems like a pretty standard geeky white female librarian. (This is not a bad thing for me.) Ben is also a librarian, but specifically an archivist (Be still, my cataloging librarian heart!), and is neuro-diverse and secular Jewish. He’s also handsome and patient and thoughtful and a very clear communicator. Pretty much swoon-worthy.

This novella is only 55 pages, so the time frame for the romance moves along at a slightly unrealistically brisk pace, but for once I didn’t feel like the brevity distracted from the story. Not a lot happens in this story, other than some holiday library shenanigans, lots of sexy times, and a sweet little love story, but those events are satisfying on their own. A lot of the sexy times occurred at the library, which is both of their place of employ, which not only stressed me out (What if they get caught?!), but was also a bit unprofessional. But I thoroughly enjoyed the story anyway. I especially enjoyed the little touches throughout the story that made it feel more realistic and fleshed out, without lots of detailed descriptions and world-building (for instance, Ben’s concern about Poppy’s car’s low tire pressure, or Poppy mentioning a cosplay outfit being warm/ causing sweating, or having a rude coworker or two.) Despite the brevity of the writing, the world and main characters felt real and enjoyable.

This is a small town romance, and often times “small town” is code-word for “super white/ no ethnic diversity”. Love in the Stacks doesn’t seem like a big exception to that stereotype–most of the characters as described sounded white-presenting–but the story is so brief as to barely describe the supporting characters, and the author clearly made an attempt to include some diverse representation, as Ben is both Jewish and neuro-diverse, and another staff member is briefly mentioned as being in a same sex marriage. The author even mentions having had sensitivity reading done for the story, to make sure her representation was accurate and respectful, which I very much appreciate. I’m hopeful that as I read more works by the author, there will be more racial diversity included as well.

I hadn’t heard of Delilah Peters prior to this book, but I plan to be looking up the rest of her work and reading through them all soon. I highly recommend this little romance (or mini-mance, as Carina Press calls it) to anyone who is a sucker for short and sweet and steamy romance, especially if you also have a soft spot for libraries and librarians.

Thank you to #Netgalley and Carina Press/ Harlequin for a chance to read #LoveInTheStacks in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ah, Ben and Poppy. So cute. So good together. I love that she recognizes his needs and that she is proactive and reactive in her interactions with him as needed. Great chemistry. Great underlying story. Great characters. Nice writing.

Our protagonists are Poppy and Ben. They are both librarians and work in a cute small-town library. As a librarian, I love this premise and go out of my way to read library romance. Poppy is super outgoing and kind of on the hunt for a man. She notices Ben right away and ignores the warnings of her co-workers that he is weird. They call him the troll in the basement. However, the reader will quickly find out that Ben has most definitely noticed Poppy and just really didn't know how to approach her. I like how the author wrote to be inclusive of different kinds of love and people. I'm guessing that Ben is a little on the Autism spectrum, though it was never explicitly stated in the story. The author had it in her notes at the end of the book. They are definitely hot for each other and the sex scenes were pretty hot. The one thing that stood out to me that I wish was a little different was some of the adjectives chosen. A few parts came across as a little bit cliche, that I think could easily be fixed with a bit of editing. Overall, I love the setting, characters and the chemistry between them.

This is a short office romance novella. I didn't love the couple. I didn't think they were very well matched. Maybe if it had been longer I could have gotten to know the characters better and would have liked them more. Not sure I would recommend this one.

I knew this was a novella, but think it could be expanded to show more of the relationship between the two main characters. I would read more by this author.

I didn't realize there was a first book when I asked for this one. It is what it is...a fun, steamy read. It was a quick story, and erotica lovers will really enjoy it. I wish it had more of a story, because that might make it more marketable to pure romance readers. I may never look at my library the same way again, though. LOL!

Loved this book. First book I’ve read by this author but won’t be the last. It was a funny. Flirty and sexy romance that just hooks you right in. You will find yourself swooning, laughing and smiling all the way through. Pick up this book today. Happy reading!!

I love these Dirty Bits books from Carina Press! What a great idea ! They combine a tight, interesting plot, appealing characters, along with a steamy romance into a well written and compelling easy read.

And, I love having the opportunity to try a variety of different authors who write these books. Hats off to whoever came up with this idea at the publishing house !

It's always the quiet ones that are the most interesting! Ben or "the troll in the basement" is quiet and seemingly shy without the urge to mingle with his fellow co-workers during the Christmas holiday. Thankfully Poppy took the initiative to get to know him a bit better! There meetings are hot and spicy! While I didn't care for some of the language, it didn't detract from the story-line or the hotness of their unions.

I absolutely loved the ending! Two souls that find each other and embrace their own nerdiness for their happily-ever-after.

I've read a few of these short stories from Carina Press. While they don't offer a long, in-depth story, they are a fun, quick read with lots of dirty bits as the title of the series would suggest. This is a very quick read, but for something fast and instantly satisfying, then you can't go far wrong here.
The story is about Poppy and Ben, who both work in the library in New Bedford. Ben has not been there long and works in the archives downstairs. He's a little different, being shy and reserved one minute, but once Poppy gets to know him, he's anything but and the sparks fly between them.
As this is quite short, there isn't a great deal of character development or plot here, but that doesn't really matter. It was still very enjoyable and I liked the growing relationship between the two.
The story is set at Christmas and even features a snowstorm that traps Poppy and Ben in the library together overnight. If you had a cold winters evening in front of the fire, then this book would be a great read to enjoy.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.