Fun and sexy short stories, 3 stars for some, 4 stars for others. Some were complete little capsules, but I definitely want to read a full-length book/continuation of The Hand-Off by Ellory Douglas. Also wanted to keep reading the archeologists story from Ivy Dawes. I received this as an ARC from Victory Editing Co-op via Netgalley.

This was my first time picking up an Anthology, let alone a romance Anthology, and I loved it so much!

Luna Day did a fantastic job with Stupid Cupid. I loved that Cupid finally had Valentine’s Day work out in his favorite! It was super spicy and hot from the beginning!

Ellory Douglas really had me wanting to watch Rugby with The Hand-Off. Noah and Maisie almost had my talked into a fling until Griffin decided he was ready to take matters into his own hands and have Maisie for himself. Loved the Age gap and forced proximity!

Love Ink by Marlee Ryan was probably my favorite short story! I loved the best friends brother trope, the tattoo shop setting, him acting out and being jealous but admitting “it’s always been you!” I ate this story up!

All My Love by Mimi Gunn had me in my feelings the whole time! Julia’s Grammie was the sweetest, and funniest, even though she was passed away! I loved watching Julia and Harry’s relationship evolve. Harry was a real gentleman too!

Skeleton MDS4N by Ivy Dawes was the paranormal short in this anthology, and aside from the opener and the ending, it felt more like a rivals to lovers romance with a paranormal pull. The intro was a little confusing until the ending, but after that it all made sense.

Be Mine by Violet Pearce was a short snowy adventure! Mr. Man Bun, Aka, Frank really gave us that small town guy feel and showed Samantha how “neighbors help neighbors.” He was a cinnamon roll MMC and he loved dogs, what’s not to love!

I loved all the spice in these stories! Even Mimi’s story, which is labeled as a one in the index left me warm because they all had the right amount of heat and the perfect amount of mutual pining, lusting after one another and sexual attraction without even having to touch! I loved all of it!

Thank you Luna Day, Ellory Douglas, Marlee Ryan, Mimi Gunn, Ivy Dawes, Violet Pearce and NetGalley for letting me read Love Between the Lines in advance for an honest review!

This was such a different read to what I’m used to and I loved it! I often find myself pining for the steamy parts of romance novels and find they can take too long to get there and once they do it won’t be spicy enough. This was an epic collection of 6 stories that gave you the overall plot you would get from any romance novel but all of the steam and still the same depth of storytelling. It was one of the few times a book left me wanting to know more about what happens at the end of the story as opposed to wanting more from the character development, plots and individual scenes. I also found it amazing how at the beginning it rates the hotness/spice of each story with a brief overview.

1. Stupid Cupid: 3 stars. Wanted to know more about Cupid and found the plot lacking. Spice level was also around 3 stars for me.
2. The Hand-Off: 3.5 stars. Found the plot tried to go into too much detail than the length of the story allowed. Feel like the author should have added more spice and more rivalry between the two rugby players. Liked the twist of the plus sized love story and the one player secretly pining for the other but found it didn’t fit with the plot at all. Spice was 4.5 stars.
3. Love Ink: 4 stars. Plot was great, flowed really well and the hidden love between the main characters was introduced and developed to a greater depth that made it so easy for the reader to see their perspectives and allowed the tension to increase and made the sex scenes even better. Spice was 3.5 stars.
4. All My Love: 5 stars. Plot was perfectly balanced between the characters, backstory, setting, challenges and budding romance. Spice 4 stars.
5. Skeleton MDS4A: 4 stars. This was a really cool twist on what I’m used to reading within romance! Similar supernatural vibes as the Stupid Cupid story but more grounded in reality which I loved. Spice 3 stars.
6. Be Mine: 2 stars. Found the main character to be overly and unnecessarily rude? Blonde man bun guy was uncharacteristically nice in response to her rudeness. No build up of sexual tension or connection at all from either character and then it jumps from them hooking up to all of a sudden he’s her man? Spice 3 stars.

Thank you #NetGalley and #VictoryEditing for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review of #LoveBetweentheLines

Love Between the Lines: A Romance Anthology
by Luna Day, Ellory Douglas, Marlee Ryan, Mimi Gunn, Ivy Dawes, Violet Pearce

This collection of short stories offers a nice quick read, with a well-rounded variety of stories. While not specifically listed Valentine’s day themed, it is releasing in time to get you in the mood for the holiday, with some stories taking place on V-day. There's likely one or more that any romance reader will enjoy any time of year.

Stupid Cupid- A fun Cupid-themed bar hookup set at midnight after Valentine’s Day. It’s spicy and to the point, with minimal plot but some enjoyable modernized myth elements mixed in.
Spice: 4 | Plot: 2 | Writing: 4 | My Enjoyment: 4

The Hand Off-A sports romance with a love triangle involving a Canadian exchange student and a rugby team in a Downton Abbey-esque manor. Unfortunately, this wasn’t my genre, and the ending felt unfulfilling. Noah seemed unnecessary, and I was disappointed by his lack of inclusion.
Spice: 3.5 | Plot: 3 | Writing: 3 | My Enjoyment: 3.5

Love Ink-A workplace romance set in a tattoo shop. This sweet friends-to-lovers story had a cute setting and some funny lines, though the flashback felt out of place. It is set around Valentine’s Day with mentions of themed tattoos.
Spice: 3.5 | Plot: 2.5 | Writing: 3.5 | My Enjoyment: 3.5

All My Love -A granddaughter fixing up her grandmother’s house after she passes begins receiving notes from her. With a helpful neighbor, this had potential, but it missed the mark for me. I almost expected the MMC to be a serial killer, something felt off. The chemistry wasn’t there, the spice felt awkward, and the romantic dialogue came off as cringy.
Spice: 3 | Plot: 3 | Writing: 2.5 | My Enjoyment: 2.5

Skeleton MDS4A-If you can overlook the improper handling of ancient artifacts, this is a fun story. Despite the title, it’s not Medusa-related but instead a workplace archaeological dig rivals-to-lovers romance. The story is captivating, with nice spice and intriguing paranormal elements.
Spice: 4 | Plot: 4.5 | Writing: 4 | My Enjoyment: 4

Be Mine-A witty mountain man/cabin in woods romance with fun banter. The dialogue between the snarky FMC and cinnamon-roll MMC was the best part. While the plot was unoriginal, it was still enjoyable, with spicy moments that delivered. The epilogue style ending took place on Valentine’s day.
Spice: 4 | Plot: 3.25 | Writing: 4 | My Enjoyment: 4


These six stories combine a variety of romance genres and tropes, with common themes like Valentine’s Day, lock-and-key symbolism, tattoos, and grandparent loss. The lock-and-key motif is particularly fitting for love stories. The neon image page breaks were a nice touch, tying the stories together and adding foreshadowing through symbols connected to the cover images.

Trigger warnings would be helpful for readers with sensitivities. Some I noticed include loss of a parental figure, unbalanced power dynamics, mummified remains, and specific sexual triggers.
***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Reviews posted to Goodreads and personal blog

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This anthology truly does have something for everyone and I think that it’s the perfect book to pick up if you love love.

Lots of the stories left me wanting more, and if any of the authors decided to turn their short story into a full fledged book I would happily read it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC!

This was a really fun anthology! It was quick, sexy, and the collection of authors and stories really worked well together.

I initially had been interested as I've read a couple of Luna Day's other works as ARCs, so reading her again was super enjoyable.

Overall, this was a fun read and I definitely enjoyed it.

Cute and spicy. I loved all 6 of the short stories and I really really want some of them to be film length cause I just need more!

Right off the bat, I loved the contents section where it laid out the stories. Each one is presented with the title, three categories (ex: small town, paranormal, age gap, fated mates, etc), and given a spice level.overall it!! It’s such an inventive way to let the reader know what to expect. Can more authors do this?!

Individual Reviews:

Stupid Cupid: (5 stars) Oh good lord is it hot in here. For such a short story man is there some spice. I’ll never look at Cupid the same way again. It was such a cute (and hot) short story. I really enjoyed it.

The hand-off: (3 stars) I found this one interesting because it was a different spin on a sports romance. I didn’t like it too much because it was very open ended at the end and I didn’t quite get why we had Noah’s POV. That should have been left out.

Love Ink: (4 stars) The fact we got a backstory and a flashback in this one made me really like it but I actually wanted more! Still a great story.

All My Love: (2.5 stars) This one wasn’t my favorite. I like how there was a main conflict that the two leads had to work through to be together. I just didn’t enjoy it as much.

Skeleton: (1 stars) I’ll be honest with this one…I just didn’t get it. It started off super interesting with the archeological dig and discovering the skeletons. The chemistry between the leads made no sense. I don’t understand the FMC’s desire to unite the keys. Who opened the male’s sarcophagus at the end? The female skeleton? What happens after? It was labeled paranormal but it was just strange.

Be Mine: (4 stars). I’ll just say this: it’s always the golden retriever boys who are the dirtiest in bed. This was a great short story. I thought it covered everything and I was left happy with how it turned out. However, I never want to hear “lady garden” again lol.

Overall I loved this short story collection. If you’re looking for a way to pass a lazy afternoon, a chilly blizzard, or a light thunderstorm, check this one out.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.