My first anthology!! Fun book! If you are looking for something easy and quick to read with romance and spice here is this cute read with 6 different stores written by 6 different authors. I enjoyed a lot of these! I have only read 2 of the 6 authors before and it was great to be able to discover new authors ! I rate this 3.5-4 stars overall!

Individual Ratings per story.
Stupid Cupid: I loved the idea of this story, Cupid finding his soulmate , it was something different and unique. The spicy scene was spicy , but the cinnamon glowing cum just through it off for me personally.
2 ⭐️
4🌶️

The Hand-Off: This story was spicyyyyyy the anticipation and need/ want Oulalala. I loved the plus size representation of Massie! I really thought this one would end in a 3 some LOL.
3⭐️
4🌶️

Love Ink: Best-friends brother! / Enemies-ish to lovers! This one was very cute! I loved the setting in the tattoo shop and how jealous and shy he was. And the storage room sex was hot! , the sister locking them in to basically say “get it over with already!” Was funny!
3.5⭐️
4🌶️

All My Love: This one was my absolute favourite of them all! I loved this one so much, it was so heartfelt and emotional for me. I actually ended up crying..thinking of the memories baking with my grandma ( I will miss these moments when it’s her time). I loved the letters, I found that so special. Harry was such a golden retriever and a caring soul. I felt like this one actually had a great story line that had everything we needed and wasn’t as fast as the others. The neighbour , the date , the romance … ugh!! Also, I felt this one had an ending that satisfied me. The spice in this one was more “gentle” if that makes sense.
5⭐️
2🌶️

Skeleton MDS4A: The idea of this one was cool, the treasure hunting and mystery. I had a hard time getting through this one though it was slower for me and didn’t grasp my interest as much. I am not familiar with these kids of topics so some of the things and words used I had to look up.
1⭐️
2🌶️

Be Mine: As soon as this man was described as a Charlie Hunnam viking , I was done for. I felt like his character gave off a goofball / caring guy and I loved that. The spice scene in this one was so hot I was blushing lol. Him having the same name as her grandpa after they slept together was WILD haha.
3.5⭐️
4🌶️

LOVE BETWEEN THE LINES:
Six short stories by six authors (many of whom are local-ish to me!)
*Read as an ARC via NetGalley (thank you!)

These stories are coming out just in time for Valentines day (release Jan 27, 2025) and are all about LOVE FOR EVERYONE! So here is a little love for each of these short stories 😍

💜Stupid Cupid by Luna Day: Short and sweet and sexy! This was just enough to make me care about the characters, but not too much that I needed more- I do want more, but I wasn't left feeling like it left me hanging. Also, the *special jizz* IYKYK! ;)
Favorite quote: “Forgive me, but wouldnt it be your fault if Valentine’s Day sucked?”

💜The Hand Off by Ellory Douglas: The way this author writes curvy girls is perfection! … and I wanted more!!!!! Please turn this into a full length novella! I need to know about Noah!
Favorite quote: “Maise didn't feel small very often, but these men were huge. Like snap her in half and use her femur as a toothpick huge.”

💜Love Ink by Marlee Ryan: first and foremost, this book also made me want a new tattoo... maybe for Valentine’s Day?! The way they got together was both cute and funny!
Favorite quotes: "For a supply closest, its shockingly bereft of cleaning supplies”

💜All My Love by Mimi Gunn: Grammie - what a wingwoman, even from beyond! I liked that they didn't just jump into bed and the ending for this one - it felt complete even though it was short.
Favorite quote: “She was a hot mess cuddling a stranger, and for some reason, Harry didnt seem to mind.”

💜 Skeleton MDS4A by Ivy Dawes: I appreciated how the FMC was the one who made the first move. I also really liked the intro to this book - it set the mood, but I also kind of wanted (dare I say, expected) some paranormal mummy sex.
Favorite quotes: “If you don't hate me, then prove it. I whisper.”

💜Be Mine by Violet Pearce: I’m a sucker for a book with a dog for comedic relief and cuteness; this one had two!
Favorite quotes: “I eye his man bun. He looks like Charlie Hunnam and a Viking gave birth to a national surfing champion. Neat.“

this version posted to Instagram. Extended version posted on Goodreads (just a few extra sentences and quotes that wouldn't fit in IG post!)

OVERALL impression - I enjoyed these six stories more than the recent Christmas ones!

This was such a great anthology heading into Valentine's Day. Each short story was about half an hour read time - perfect for in between other reads or bust weeknights. Some stories were 3 stars and others 5 stars, but overall I enjoyed reading new authors, diving into some well crafted short stories, and having a few quick steamy reads.

Many thanks to Luna Day, Victory Editing Co-Op and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Six different stories. Six chances to fall in love.”

Every short story in this anthology was a banger! 😜 from a ride with Cupid on a magic motorbike, to rival archeologists unleashing more than feelings at a dig site! With varying spice levels, there’s a little something for everyone in this collection!

Featuring stories from:
Luna Day
Ellory Douglas
Marlee Ryan
Mimi Gunn
Ivy Dawes
Violet Pearce

I was already a Luna Day girlie, so it was great getting to experience new authors. The fact that they’re all also in Canada was icing on the cake ☺️I immediately knew I wanted more from Ivy & her dark academia rivals-to-lovers story 😍

This anthology is perfect for Valentines Day, picking up in between other reads or reading one after the other.

This anthology is such a great way to be introduced to multiple authors. Some of these authors I have read before while Love Between the Lines was my first exposure to others who have now become favorites.

The anthology includes such a great variety of stories with sports, Cupid romance, home renovation romances, tattooed FMCs, plus sized FMCs and so much more. Perfect for mood reading or when you're a lover of all things romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This anthology contains six stories each story follows its own set of tropes (these are listed on the contents page).

Some stories are definitely better than others as it is with every collected works.
Does it read as Fanfiction/Wattpad? Absolutely. I struggled with it a lot in some parts and starting skim reading. Considering they are incredibly short that is a terrible thing. If you’re just looking for a very short story full of spice then this is probably for you.

Love Between the Lines is a romance anthology featuring some very cute and spicy romance novellas.

Stupid Cupid follows a meet cute in a bar, with actual Cupid, who is burly and rides a motorcycle.

The Handoff follows an athlete and a trainer (and one other athlete pining after missing his shot).

Love Ink follows two tattoo artists, business partners and friends, becoming more.

All My Love features a set up from a dearly departed grannie, with the boy next door.

Skeleton MDS4A follows an excavation site and a mummy with a curse?

Be Mine follows two new neighbours, one a grumpy workaholic, the other a golden retriever.

Each of these stories was pretty great. I really enjoyed Stupid Cupid and Be Mine. I liked Skeleton MDS4A but also I wanted so much more. I would definitely read a longer novel with the concept!

Overall, a pretty great anthology, yay for more Canadian authors!

I have never read an anthology before, so this was my first. Each story was so different and I love that there's something for everybody in here! The contents section at the beginning was really neat. It gave a spice rating and list of tropes for each story, so you can pick and choose based on what you're feeling.

Stupid Cupid by Luna Day
Tropes: fated mates, strangers to lovers, mythical romance
I love the premise of this. Cupid in the modern world is really neat. Plus he had some *interesting* things going on... Trust me, you want to find out.

The Hand-Off by Ellory Douglas
Tropes: age gap, athlete x trainer, sports romance
I've read other books by this author and really liked them, so there's no surprise that I enjoyed this one too. I'm really hoping that this will become a full length novel because I already love the characters. The ending was also quite open-ended and I need to know what happens.

Love Ink by Marlee Ryan
Tropes: best friend's brother, forced proximity, contemporary romance
I really enjoyed this one. The flashback gave us a deeper look into their relationship which I really liked.

All My Love by Mimi Gunn
Tropes: matchmaking, strangers to lovers, small town romance
This was cute and sweet. I loved the little notes her grandmother left for her. This story brought up a lot of emotions as she navigated the loss of a loved one, but her grandmother made sure she wasn't alone.

Skeleton MDS4A by Ivy Dawes
Tropes: paranormal, rivals to lovers, dark academia
Okay, I am always up for a good paranormal story, so this was great. Again, I'm hoping for a full length novel because I want to know more!

Be Mine by Violet Pearce
Tropes: small town, black cat x golden retriever, romantic comedy
I am a sucker for the black cat fmc x golden retriever mmc trope and I will never get enough of it. Samantha had me laughing, especially her inner thoughts.

Overall, I really enjoyed these and have found some new authors to check out! If you're looking for something short and sweet (or short and spicy) then give these a try. They would also make for good Valentine's Day reading.

Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Six romance stories are included with this anthology. I enjoyed some more than others. I think it was a good idea to have a variety of themes inside one collection. All were written well. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

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.