As anthologies go, a volume that contains several different kinds of kink, tinged with a dash of Holiday cheer, makes for a very entertaining read. With a mixture of authors and situations, there is probably something here for everyone who wants to spice up their reading a little bit – or significantly, as the case may be. Some stories are set in the US, some in the UK, which proves (unsurprisingly) that variations of BDSM are alive and well on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tree Topper, by Jane Davitt
This couple presents us with an interesting problem: a sub and a Dom who have fallen out of synch. Stan seems to no longer respect his Dom, but keeps pushing; so there must be something more. Martin has never been a full-time Dom before. He loves Stan but has no idea how to recreate the bond and trust they need and want as a basis for their kinky play. Things come to a head when they decorate the Christmas tree together, and the series of questions and answers that lead to the final solution is very interesting. While the background is pretty serious and the psychology real, the action resulting from the discussions is very hot.

'Twas the Night, by Ava March
Percival, the sub, and Michael, the Dom, may be men of the Regency era, but their desire to submit and dominate, respectively, is the same as it would be were they alive today. The image of what a "man" should be like was even stricter back then, though, so Percival has a very hard time admitting he wants to submit. Ever the perfect Dom, Michael has figured this out and finds a "playful" way for Percival to communicate his needs. The resulting scene is as loving as it is hot.

Candy Caning, by L.A. Witt
This story is as funny as it is hot. Nate is very submissive, when he gets into his headspace, and needs a hard hand to keep him in line. Stephen doesn’t always give him what he wants, and that alone leads to lots of (very welcome) tension. The "will he, won’t he" is definitely part of this couple's recipe for success. The playful, and not so playful, mystery around the 3-foot candy cane and what it might or might not do to Nate's bottom once applied was playful, made me laugh, and ended up in a very hot scene. I'll never look at candy canes the same way again!

Submissive Angel, by Joey W. Hill
Ange and Robert's story is very touching and as much about love and finding that one special person and opening your heart to him as it is about kink and submission. What begins as an act of charity when Robert rescues Ange and takes him in, slowly evolves into the recognition that Robert is attracted to Ange. He hesitates to let himself go, to unleash his domination on the fragile-looking dancer, but eventually, he cannot deny they both want more than just friendship. A very touching story about the discovery of loves, as well as the realization both partners need more than a vanilla relationship – despite initial appearances to the contrary and old fears.

Ring Out the Old and In the New, by Alexa Snow
Evan has been traumatized, and is no longer the man Russell fell in love with. Nevertheless, the Dom stands by his sub, and even figures out a way to get them back on track. This goes to show that too much patience and understanding can be a bad thing – in any relationship but especially so in a D/s situation. Both Evan and anyone who reads this will see that sometimes pushing someone back into "normal", even though it hurts initially, can be the right thing to do. Thoughtfully written and very realistic, this story's moral is that hiding due to fear is never a good thing, and that sometimes we need help from those who love us to learn to appreciate the implications of that basic truth.

His Very Last Chance, by Kim Dare
With the typical Kim Dare touch of a "sub in trouble", she had me slightly worried for Drew's sake form the very start. The sub never really seems to know what's going on in her stories, and Drew is no exception. Kingsley has a definite agenda, and I really enjoyed finding out what that was as the story progressed. Not at all what Drew (or I!) expected, but delivered with a definite flair for the dramatic, the resolution was as hot as it was touching and emotional. The "misdeed" Drew thinks he is being punished for only gradually emerges, and Kingsley's solution may be surprising, but very much in character. It made me smile, and I thoroughly appreciated the developments as well as the ending. Nicely done!
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This was a fun anthology. For me, it broke down as follows:

Tree Topper by Jane Davitt was just ok, mostly because I didn't feel that connected to the characters. The wrapping paper was a nice touch, though.

'Twas the Night by Ava March might have been my favorite story in the whole book. I loved the setting, characters and their relationship. Beautifully written, very restrained. Hot. This story deserves 5 stars.

Fireworks by Katie Porter. DNF. Not for lack of trying but it was just too intense for me. I don't like humiliation or intense pain and even though the characters were supposed to be heartbroken at the start it just felt too much like anger to me instead. Not for me.

Candy Caning by L.A. Witt was another one of my favorites. I liked the humor and relatable every day life of the MC's. I could really feel the couples love for each other. Also? Hot.

Submissive Angel by Joey W. Hill. C'mon, it's Joey W. Hill. Need I say more? Loved it.

Open Return by Elyan Smith. I haven't read a lot of things where a trans* character was the main character, rather than someone on the periphery and I really enjoyed Zach's viewpoint. All of the characters' unease was palpable at the beginning of the story and translated well to me as a reader. A few minor quibbles with language & dialogue that was obviously European instead of American (the story was set in Illinois) but I was able to write them off in my head to the time Zach had spent in Melbourne.

Ring Out the Old and In The New by Alexa Snow. This was good. Once again I could feel the loving relationship between the 2 MC's which is a prerequisite for me to enjoy any story in this genre.

His Very Last Chance by Kim Dare. I wanted to like this one more than I did. I liked the setting and the plot and even the characters but the connection they shared just didn't translate to me as a reader.

On the whole a much better anthology than most. It's obvious time was spent on weaving these stories together PLUS part of the proceeds are being donated to charity. A win-win and I recommend it!

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Lots of fun story with lots of variety despite having a similar theme. ( )

This anthology of holiday-themed BDSM short stories all have some sweetness to them, whether dealing with love, redemption, or reuniting. I was most looking forward to Joey W. Hill's story (she's one of my favorite authors), and it did end up my favorite of the bunch, but none of the stories were disappointing. Most of the stories were M/M, with one F/F, and a M/M/F. A great collection for those looking for some holiday cheer in their BDSM.

ARC provided through NetGalley. ( )

Reviewed by: Sabrina
Book provided by: NetGalley
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

I LOVE this publishing house. The quality of work they put out is pretty amazing. And the quality of this anthology was nothing short of that. The diversity in the stories was good. The authors are all spectacular in their genres and I have a couple new authors to explore. My rating has nothing to do with lack of quality or reading the same thing over and over again. My rating has everything to do with the lack of “aww” from my feelings department. I got it from a couple of stories, but on the overall I found it lacking. That’s the biggest reason that I am not gushing over this anthology.

But here are the great things: The BDSM was so well done. I didn’t feel uncomfortable reading it at all. It ranged from fairly hardcore to scenes I would not mess around with. None of it made me uncomfortable. The stories were a good length so there was no feeling like this glimpse into the characters lives was too short. They were all happy endings which pretty much makes my day.

All in all, I do recommend this anthology. It will more than likely be a reread for me. Maybe I can find the “aww” I was looking for the second time around. ( )