Musings and Ramblings

Hot Toy

Jennifer Cruise

Genre: Contemporary Romance Holiday Novella
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Date of Publication: October 13, 2015
Number of pages: 77

Previously published in the anthology Santa, Baby, HOT TOY is now available as a standalone e-story for the first time!

Mayhem ensues under the mistletoe as a determined shopper grabs the very last hot toy action figure off the shelf, only to find herself plunged into the middle of a real-life spy game and in the arms of a sexy secret agent...

This is a reprint from the Santa, Baby Anthology in 2006, so if you are a fan of Jennifer Cruise, this might be a reread. There doesn’t appear to be any updating, since there is mention in the story of it being Christmas 2006, but otherwise, there weren’t any seriously notable outdated issues to be found. This fun short reminded me of a cross between Jingle All the Way and the real life Snowden conspiracy. (Art imitating Life or Life imitating Art?)

There was plenty action mixed with a second chance at love romance. I loved how they split up because neither was true to themselves and tried to be what they thought the other wanted. But of course, they had to actually communicate honestly with each other to find this out. This lead to plenty of witty dialogue and snarky good times.

If you like a great mix of Action and Romance and don’t mind slightly older reads, this could be a great choice for you. I had a fast, fun, frolicking holiday good time and gave it 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the opportunity to read and review this book.