Who needs mistletoe?Most people wouldn’t think of a bad Santa case as the perfect Christmas gift. Then again, Molly Malone, office manager at Hunt Investigations, isn’t most people, and she could really use a distraction from the fantasies she’s been having since spending the night with her very secret crush, Lucas Knight. Nothing happened, not that Lucas knows that—but Molly just wants to enjoy … that—but Molly just wants to enjoy being a little naughty for once . . .
Whiskey and pain meds for almost-healed bullet wounds don’t mix. Lucas needs to remember that next time he’s shot on the job, which may be sooner rather than later if Molly’s brother, Joe, finds out about them. Lucas can’t believe he’s drawing a blank on his (supposedly) passionate tryst with Molly, who’s the hottest, smartest, strongest woman he’s ever known. Strong enough to kick his butt if she discovers he’s been assigned to babysit her on her first case. And hot enough to melt his cold heart this Christmas.
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#ElfingFavorite!!! This is the sixth in the Heartbreaker Bay series. I’m about to wrap-up my Christmas-theme reading for the year. I’ve got a confession to make…most of my holiday reading has been the Heartbreaker Bay series. I was going to start off with The Trouble With Mistletoe but then realized that was book two in the series. My kinda, sorta OCD wouldn’t let me start with book two. Then I was in a quandary, Christmas-theme or not? Then I noticed that most of the Heartbreaker Bay series is set during Christmas. Problem solved. I started with book one, Accidentally On Purpose, and haven’t stopped reading the series yet.
Hot Winter Nights is my new favorite of this series. It’s all about Molly and Lucas. Molly is the sole woman at Hunt Investigations, an elite security firm, and is trying to prove she’s ready to do more than answer phones and handle research from her desk. She’s ready to take on a case of her own. There’s just one problem, well two or three problems. First, there’s her brother, Joe, then her boss, Archer, and finally Lucas. None of them are ready to put Molly in any situation that could remotely put her in danger. When one of her neighbors turns up at Hunt Investigations and asks for help with “Bad Santa,” Molly commits to helping. Lucas is promptly put in charge of being her silent (as in don’t tell her) partner. What could possibly go wrong?
Get ready for a wild ride in Hot Winter Nights. Molly is full of snark and sass. Lucas gives it all right back, but there is a side to him that he never shows. Molly is able to bring it out in spades. Lucas will melt your heart in this one!
These characters are terrific! Their story is sweet, sexy and completely engrossing.
Hot Winter Nights by Jill Shalvis
Series: Heartbreaker Bay book 6
4.5 Stars – This was another great book in the Heartbreaker Bay series, honestly I love them all. Lucas and Molly were a wonderful combination. The chemistry they shared was really good, along with their wonderful tension and witty banter, made for an easy enjoyable read for me.
I loved seeing all the characters from the previous books, and I also liked that while both these characters had scars to live with, they were accepting of each other and yet it didn’t leave them completely hung up on them and wallowing in self pity.
This is a series I often recommend to my friends when they are looking for a fun, solid romance.
~Paragraphs and Petticoats~
Loved curling up and getting cozy with this hot winter read! Highly entertaining, sexy, heartwarming and thrilling romantic adventure filled with danger, mystery and passion. This emotional journey is filled with some interesting and hard to resist charters, loved them all! Looking forward to more Heartbreaker Bay visits to come!
Molly Malone works for Hunter Investigations but not in the capacity she’d like. We learned a little of Molly’s back story in her brother Joe’s story About that Kiss. Molly’s brother is uber protective because of an episode in their childhood where Molly got hurt and having Molly take on a more active role at work goes against those protector instincts. Lucas Knight, another investigator in the company, has always had a soft spot for Molly. When one of her neighbors asks for her help with a situation at work Lucas is “assigned” to keep watch and make sure Molly stays out of trouble.
The Heartbreaker Bay series is about a group of friends that all work in this small community of buildings. I love how we meet future couples in previous novels so that when their story arrives, you already know something about them and you don’t need half the novel as set up. Hot Winter Nights jumps right in. We know Lucas as an attractive guy who doesn’t like more than one night stands, and Molly as the younger sister of Joe who has a bum leg from a past run in with a gang. A few sentences in and the back story comes immediately to mind and I can easily immerse myself into their story.
I’ll admit the mystery was a little hokey with a Christmas theme with some geriatric elves and a mob like Santa. Even though the mystery was a little silly it did allow for some great scenes between Molly and Lucas that added heat to the themed story. The best thing about Jill Shalvis’ books are the fact that the characters are easy to like and have a lot of heart. I also love that it’s a group of friends who stay connected through love for each other, literally and figuratively. I wish I had a group of friends like this myself and anyone who reads these novels thinks the same thing.
I love everything Jill Shalvis! This book is romantic, fun, and just plain enchanting.
Humor, romance and adventure are all part of this delightful series. Molly has worked her way from receptionist, to office manager and now also IT researcher. But her brother Joe, and the other alpha males that work at Hunt Investigations are not ready to allow her to go into the field in any of the investigations. When her neighbor comes to her with a case, but Archer turns it down because they are already over booked, she decides to take the case herself. Smart enough not to go it alone, she blackmails Lucas into helping her, not knowing that as he has still not been cleared for duty, still recovered from the bullet wounds received in the previous book, Archer has assigned him to keep an eye on her. They both have had loss and hurt and believe that love hurts too much, but since this is a romance, find that they can’t ignore the attraction. Which almost gets them killed. But nevertheless, there is a HEA.
It’s been forever and a day since I read a Jill Shalvis contemporary romance. I’m so happy to jump into her brand of romcom again with Hot Winter Nights, the sixth book in her Heartbreaker Bay series. I haven’t read any of the previous books in the series, but that’s okay because Hot Winter Nights can be as a standalone.
Our heroine Molly Malone is the lone woman in Hunt Investigations, a security and investigative firm, where she works as the office manager for the past two years. Molly enjoys her job, but lately she’s not satisfied just working behind a desk gathering intel from a computer–she wants to join the men on a job outside the office. But, her boss Archer Hunt and her older brother Joe Malone, who also works for Archer, do not believe she’s ready and are quite protective of her.
When Molly’s neighbor comes to her for help about a bad Santa who may or may not be swindling his employees and who may or may not be part of the mob, Molly agrees to help and also jumps at the chance to prove her investigating skills to Archer and Joe. Archer knew she’d take on the case with or without his approval so he calls on our hero Lucas Knight to assist her on her first case without letting her know that he’s actually her glorified babysitter.
But, after being shoot on the job a few weeks earlier, Lucas had been sidelined and was bored out of his mind. When Archer tasked him with looking after Molly, he reluctantly agreed since it’s better than sitting at home twiddling his thumbs. However, Lucas and Molly were in for some awkwardness as the morning after a drunken night where he remembered nothing, Lucas had found Molly in his bed. Lucas knew he’s a dead man if Archer and Joe finds out, but Molly wasn’t about to tell him that nothing actually happened. She’s having to much fun torturing the sexy man she’s had a crush on for forever. Lucas was attracted to Molly too, but secretly, in respect to Joe, his co-worker and friend. However, as Molly and Lucas work on the bad Santa case, Lucas may not be able to resist Molly after all.
Overall, I enjoyed Hot Winter Nights. I especially enjoyed the first ten chapters when we first meet the Hunt Investigations team, our hero and heroine, Molly’s friends, the elves (aka the women who worked for the bad Santa)–there were some great comedic lines and banter between them all that’s pure Jill Shalvis. But, once Molly and Lucas got deeper into the case and we delve more into their pasts, things got more sober and serious and I missed the fun banter. I did enjoy the mystery of the bad Santa though.
And Lucas and Molly themselves were great! I liked Lucas right away, but there were times I got annoyed with Molly when she’d take stupid chances and put herself potentially at risk thinking she could handle herself. I liked Molly, but her stubbornness and no-one-tells-me-what-to-do attitude was at times frustrating.
If you’re a fan of Jill Shalvis, definitely pick Hot Winter Nights up. It was an entertaining weekend read, with a great cast of characters–if you read the other books in the series, you’ll especially enjoy the cameos from characters in the previous books–and a fun mystery.
Lucas and Molly are a great couple. Molly shows Lucas and everyone else not to underestimate her.
I really like this book, I loved the suspense and mystery as Lucas helps Molly with her first investigation into Bad Santa. Great characters and hot romance all wrapped into one. I was completely captivated by the story line and couldn’t put it down. Jill always has you laughing and swooning thru the whole book.
If you’re a fan of the Heartbreaker Bay series, Lucas and Molly’s story will not disappoint.
Friends/coworkers to lovers is a classic trope for a reason. As always, Jill Shalvis handles the story perfectly with her signature humor and swoon-worthy romance.
Like any great romance couple, Lucas and Molly each have their reasons for why falling in love would be a huge disaster. It takes some time for the complete backstory to unfold, and by the time it does, you’ll be all in with the couple.
As an added bonus, there’s the mystery of what’s going on with Santa and why he’s not paying his elves. Like the other books in the series, there are some tense moments, but nothing that’s going to make you want to put the book in the freezer for another day.
If you’re looking for an alpha male with a good heart and a sassy heroine who both deserve all the love in the world, look no further. A fun, quick read that will help you transition from summer to almost winter.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I confess that this is my first Jill Shalvis book. This is the 6th book of this series but can be read as a standalone and I vouch for that since I read it and understood perfect well even without reading the prior novels.
In fact, this book only made me curious to read the others because what I can see from this one, I just loved the characters and the story.
Lucas and Molly did not have it easy on them and suffer losses and hurt, but together they are a great team. Their story is so full of love, sexy scenes and suspense. I don’t want to spoil much but I really loved this world and this couple. It is worth reading.
I haven’t yet read this book, it’s not released yet, but I’ve heard that Amazon has wiped all pre-orders, they just went missing and aren’t recoverable. Jill is a favorite of so many people, if you pre-ordered this book, please pre-order again. I believe it’s releasing this Tuesday.
It never gets old diving into a Heartbreaker Bay story, and Molly and Lucas’s book is no exception.
I am a little bit addicted to the people who live in this building/work at this business.
I want to be friends with Molly. She is badass, snarky and doesn’t take any of the crap from any off the guys at Hunt Investigations.
Lucas is one of the big bad alphas in the office – and kinda sorta has a thing for our girl Molly
And when they work together, boy do spark fly.
There is a perfect balance between romance, humour and mystery suspense in Hot Winter Nights.
And I love love love that it is set around Christmas time – my favourite holiday of the year!
Sexy, sweet and fun, Hot Winter Nights was just what I needed for the cold winter afternoon here.
I can’t wait to see what Ms Shalvis brings us next.