I received a complimentary copy of Home is Where the Heat boxed set in exchange for an honest review. These were all short and sweet stories with predictable endings.

This was steamy and fun! My favorite story was the first one because it was second chance romance but also kind of a hate to love as well?
Loved how all of the stories intertwined with one another!

I enjoyed reading about the hearth and home cowboys and cowgirls! All extremely hot.
The first book Bring Me Home ⭐⭐⭐ was a second chance trope with Mia coming back to TX. Shawn and her have a lot to clear up, since she ran away to New York after witnessing and hearing no good.
Next up was Nick and Chloe in Lead Me Home⭐⭐⭐ where Nick digs deep thru Chloe's layers to find the real Chloe and all her wants, with a lot of heat, and more patience.
The third, Take Me Home ⭐⭐⭐⭐ has Cash going to New York to earn some fast cash to help his Gram. He meets Shawna, Chloe's assistant, and there's insta sparks even the camera can see. This one had a great personal, family touch. Cash loved his Gram, but could Shawna leave New York.
The best and last, IMO, Fly Me Home ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was a Cinderella style where Elizabeth gets a month away from TX to travel the world with Ian, who is the be all in the fashion world, his word is fashion make or break it. The depth to this one was incredible, and with surprises, laughter, tears and a bit of extra hot, it grabbed me in on all levels. Would've liked an epilogue to this one cos I'm still wondering how Ian and Momma are getting along lol.
I got a copy of this boxed set through Netgalley. All thoughts are my own and voluntary

If hot and steamy smut is what you’re looking for, then I recommend ‘Home is Where the Heat is’ by Candi Wall. These four romance stories are quick and primarily about sex.
But if you’re like me and prefer a deeper connection between the hero and heroine, then this box set is not for you. It lacks character-building, something I need in a novella and is filled with cliche after cliche.

Book 1 - Maya returns to her home town of Texas only to run into her high school sweetheart Shawn. The pair separated on bad terms after a miscommunication but soon begin a second chance whirlwind romance. A bomb is dropped, which explains why she left all those years ago, but it was too predictable. I also didn’t like her friend Chloe. She repeatedly hit on or came onto Shawn, and it felt out of place and weird. If that was my friend, I would have knocked her for a six and removed her from my life.

Book 2 – This book is about Chloe from book 1. She returns to Texas to visit Maya, and Nick catches her eye. I don’t know if my hatred for her carried over from the previous book, but by the end of her story, I hated her even more. When she struggles to get Nick out of her mind, she turns to another man, and a sex act takes place. Gross!! The ending also wrapped up too quickly. One minute Chloe is all about sex with no strings, and then she transfers to Texas to be with Nick.

Book 3 – Cash (Nicks little brother) and Shawna’s story. I got excited thinking Shawna was going to be different from the previous women, but alas, I was wrong. I like how she started off reserved and body-conscious, but then she flips between being a vulnerable nice girl to a hard one night stand kind of girl. It felt jarring and uncharacteristic of her. I also couldn’t understand why she’d never had sex with the lights on but was comfortable talking dirty.

Book 4 – My least favorite and the only one I decided to DNF. I felt absolutely no connection to the characters. There was an odd sexuality misunderstanding and a weird plane scene. Liz and Ian get undressed and change into robes. (This is when she thinks he is gay) She then drops the robe in front of him in order to be fitted for lavish new clothes he is going to buy for her. Is that a realistic scenario? Whether you believe someone is gay or not, do you really just strip off and flash your naked body to a stranger? And then proceed to have hot, naughty sex.

Overall I rated these books three stars. The sex scenes are top-notch, but the plot and character building is disappointing and drove my rating down.

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

3 1/2 Star Review.....

Home is Where the Heat Is contains four stories from Candi Wall, which were my introduction to this author. Books 1-3 were all a similar trope where the country boy, wins the heart of the big city girl, while book four went in a totally different direction. Overall, I enjoyed the concept of this boxed set, but found that the length of the stories often inhibited the character development and the depth of the storyline. I felt a few of the stories had so much more to offer and would have benefitted from a longer page count to adequately deliver a well-rounded storyline. That said, these novellas were enjoyable for short, and sometimes cliché tales.

3 stars with potential.

I stopped reading novellas and novella lites a long time ago. I was reminded why with this set; however, these stories have the potential for more. I could see the writer's growth from book one to four. Each subsequent book gave me a little more character development. My favorite couple was in book one, my favorite story was book three. Book four I almost DNF’d, due to a different feel, not the subject matter more style or voice.

I stopped reading short stories because the arc is too fast, and I am not a fan of insta-lust. I like to spend some time with the characters, develop feelings; make me like them, or hate them. Many times, these stories are cringeworthy, this author's scenes are definitely a blush and well written. I noticed the Copywrite date is 2017, and Ms. Wall has quite the backlist. I think I will take a chance on one of her more recent books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for the opportunity of the advanced copy for my honest review.