MK Meredith

*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… (mere)

One of the foibles of humanity is making mistakes. Making a choice with the best of intentions but the execution ends up not working out like the plan. Drago in theory made decisions to help his family but along the way ended up hurting himself. While reading Seducing the Tycoon, I kept hearing the lyrics to Something Stupid in my head. The song is a cute twist on how an emotional bond and three simple words ("I Love You") can tie a person in knots and change the dynamic of their relationship. Chase got caught in the crossfire of Drago doing "something stupid" and neither would be the same. Ms. Meredith created an adorable story centered around a clueless hero and a insecure heroine. Humour, family, romance and wisdom - this story delivered on all counts.



… (mere)