Elizabeth Lynx

*This is a review of Playing By Heart by Sylvie Stewart - part of the Holiday Heart-On Anthology.

Cute and sweet
5 stars

I’m a big fan of Sylvie Stewart - she’s great at filling her stories with a combination of comedy and likeable, relatable characters. While this is the first short story of hers I’ve read - she still manages to make it everything I hoped and expected. But that’s not to say it didn’t leave me wanting more - but in the best possible way.

At a Christmas in July pet pageant (I mean, why the hell not?) Kat luck turns around when her crush turns up with his adorable dog. Better yet, he’s in a bind and the only one who can help him out, is Kat! And cue the music!

I liked both our characters instantly and they have the cutest chemistry. It’s quite nice to read a story with such innocent smittenness. It’s not that the story is innocent (although there’s only kissing), it’s just that they’re so totally adorable that it feels fresh.

For such a short story, I still definitely believed in their connection. Of course I wanted more. And of course I wish it was longer. But I was sucked in immediately and was left satisfied and with a smile on my face. I couldn’t ask for much more.

—-

Playing By Heart is Sylvie Stewart’s contribution in the larger Holiday Heart-On anthology. This set of 18 festive stories has been pulled together to raise money and awareness for women’s heart health. 100% of proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women® movement. There’s a whole set of different stories (averaging around 40 pages each) with different styles, tones and steam levels.

In this anthology you’ll also get:

🎅🏻 Playing by Heart by Sylvie Stewart
🎅🏻 Better than Christmas by Brenda St John Brown and Serena Bell
🎅🏻 Hang Your Heart by Arell Rivers
🎅🏻 Hockey Hotties Heart-On by Piper Rayne
🎅🏻 Hell of a Heart-On by Marika Ray
🎅🏻 Hardware Hard-On by Tracey Pedersen
🎅🏻 Christmas Eve with KXBZ by Roxie Noir
🎅🏻 Heartly in Love by MK Meredith
🎅🏻 Love by Chance by Claire Marti
🎅🏻 Christmas Cabin by Elizabeth Lynx
🎅🏻 Mistletoe Wishes by Stina Lindenblatt
🎅🏻 Rock Hard Around the Christmas Tree by Tawdra Kandle
🎅🏻 Always Be My Babka by Melonie Johnson
🎅🏻 Hooking Her Heart by Sophia Henry
🎅🏻 Santa Claus is Coming by Hope Ellis
🎅🏻 Heart-On for Her Beaver by Dylann Crush
🎅🏻 Heart Healthy Hot Sticky Buns by Kameron Claire
🎅🏻 Ants in Santa’s Pants by Amy Award… (altro)

Laura is jilted by her boyfriend who becomes engaged to her heiress cousin. She is fired from her job because his father is her boss. She's invited to the wedding and ends up making the wedding dinner filing in for the chef who quit. Trouble follows but Rock, the owner of the wedding venue, accepts her explanation and lets her stay to help him out. He temporarily hires her. They end up acting on their attraction. Then she is offered her old job back, will she take it? Will he let her go?

This book was so much fun. Laura just lets her mouth go and what comes out is not what she should say. I chuckled and laughed throughout the book. I liked how each chapter belonged to either Laura or Rock. I liked knowing what they were thinking. They were perfect for each other. I also liked his brother James who points out the obvious and makes plans for them. When she yells at Rock as he is trying to rectify his error towards her, I loved it! I cannot wait to read more of this series. This is a feel good book.… (altro)