Published by Indie/Self Published
Released on Semptember 29, 2020
Pages: 893
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
The Delight
Authors being generous by donating their hardwork aka book profits to charity will get me swoony every time. Add to that a hot and oftentimes whimsical holiday romcom collection by a great group of read and new to me authors and I am pleased as punch.
Review
Jingle Balls is a collection of twenty short novellas that bring together the themes of testicular cancer awareness charity and the holidays with romcoms from spicy to sweet. Some are from the world of a series, but all can be read standalone.
With a collection of twenty stories, I am not going to do mini reviews since I’m not breaking this review into parts. Instead, I’ll brush over the collection in a general sense.
I was only familiar with eight of the authors and was anticipating two stories in particular since they are from series that I follow, but I happily discovered a couple that I’ll be looking up their series when I get the opportunity.
I had my usual fun with anthologies of getting a grab bag of results. A very few were okay, others were good surprises that just needed a little something more, and about half hit me just right. I giggled or smirked often how they used the testicular cancer theme with the obvious jokes and innuendoes about balls, the comedic situations the romance pairs were in, and even some of the good banter. Grade school humor aside, these were for a serious cause and hit on that while keeping things light and, in a few cases, sweltering hot for the holidays. There were all manner of romance scenarios from second chances to enemies to friends to first meets in the country, the city, or sports for that matter.
My niggle on some is that they weren’t very developed and shot straight to sex (and many won’t mind this) or, in a couple cases, just felt awkwardly developed maybe because of the shorter story format. That said, I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to a couple that were more vignettes than complete stories that I’m betting get teased out later in follow up books.
For those wondering which ones I rushed to first, there was Ball Sacked by Christina Hovland from her Mile High Matched series. Got some good Babushka matchmaking fun. And, there was Blue-Balled Holiday from Dylann Crush’s Lovebird Cafe series.
All in all, this was a fun, early holiday variety of romcoms that I can heartily recommend and especially if you like reading for a cause like #Nuts4Books.
Challenges Met
New Release #156
Reading Assignment Fall #5 Professor Ann Thology
About the Book
JINGLE BALLS: A HOLIDAY ROMANTIC COMEDY ANTHOLOGY
Jingle those balls for a great cause and get a head start on the holiday spirit with this spicy collection of romantic comedy stories. Twenty of today’s most entertaining rom-com authors have teamed up to go #Nuts4Books to benefit the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation.
Curve Ball by Aidy Award
I Told You So by Serena Bell
Sleigh My Name by Kilby Blades
A Blue Balled Holiday by Dylann Crush
Jingle Ball Bender by Sophia Henry
Ball Sacked by Christina Hovland
Coldcocked by Saint Nick by Melonie Johnson
Under the Mistletoe by Tawdra Kandle
Decidedly for Christmas by Stina Lindenblatt
Licking His Candy Cane by Elizabeth Lynx
Wrapped Up With You by Claire Marti
One Jingle or Two by MK Meredith
Rockin’ Around the Jingle Balls Ball by Susannah Nix
Lick My Snowballs by Tracey Pedersen
Deck the Halls With Balls by Marika Ray
Not So Silent Night by Piper Rayne
Out of the Eggnog by Arell Rivers
Mistletoe Hearts by Brenda St. John Brown
Scoring a Holiday Match by Delancey Stewart
Nuts About You by Sylvie Stewart
Preview
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Sounds like you enjoyed this anthology. I like picking up an anthology now and then. They are a fun way to read more from authors you already know and sample some new authors. I usually have similar thoughts like you, with some stories not quite working, but also plenty that were quite right or only missing something. The short story format doesn’t always work for all stories or makes them feel rushed or underdeveloped. I am always impressed by those that can make the shorter format work. I am glad to hear you enjoyed this one and it sounds like… Read more »
Yes, it was a nice variety pack of stories. Even the under-developed ones were still fun so that was good.
That’s the thing with short stories, they can either be a hit or a miss. Glad you found some hits in this collection.
It really is, but I do enjoy finding the surprise ones that really hit my fancy. 🙂
These can be hit or miss due to length, but I love that its for a good cause 🙂
Yes, it’s a challenge to fit a well-developed story into a short format and I love that they did it for a great reason.
I get insta-lust and jumping the gun a bit. But if it felt awkward? IDK
Yeah, I think both happened in different stories because they were shorter novellas, but it was distracting. About half the stories were nearly perfect for me so I could forget about a few of the clunky ones. 🙂