Hold on to your cardigan! This small-town Christmas is about to get steamy… The most recent addition to New Bedford’s crack team of small-town librarians is Ben, a mysterious, tight-lipped recluse who prefers cataloging in the basement to interacting with his eccentric coworkers. Poppy, the intrepid circulation clerk, is content to let him brood alone…at first. As Christmas Eve approaches, … As Christmas Eve approaches, Poppy braves Ben’s prickly demeanor–and the spooky basement stairs–with offerings of hot chocolate and friendship. What she discovers at Ben’s dimly lit desk is an endearing, complicated man who always expresses exactly what he wants.
Or would, if not for the constant interruptions that keep him from touching her.
When an unexpected snowstorm traps the potential lovebirds in the library overnight, Poppy and Ben finally have a chance to explore the energy that crackles between them.
Is it just epic sex? Or is it love in the stacks?
This book is approximately 15,000 words
The Dirty Bits from Carina Press give you what you want, when you want it. Designed to be read in an hour or two, these sex-filled microromances are guaranteed to pack a punch and deliver a happily-ever-after.
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid Reader –
M/F Romance
Poppy loves her job. She works with some amazing people. When they get a new person, especially an attractive man, she wants to know more about him. While her coworkers are fine to let him be in the basement, doing his job, Poppy sees something more.
Ben likes his job. He is new to the city but knows his job well and isn’t too perturbed by the talking that goes on among the staff about him. He knows that he can be awkward and shy. It’s something he’s dealt with all his adult life.
When Christmas approaches and the library puts on a holiday gathering, Poppy and Ben have their chance to really talk. However, talking isn’t what’s on their minds.
These two really steam up the library books and despite the story being short, it’s full of steamy scenes. What you lack in length of story, you make up for in the characters’ connection. They can’t seem to stay away from each other and once they’ve tasted each other, all bets are off.
Ruthie –
This is a super short book which still packs a goodly amount of punch. If you are ready to start thinking about the good bits of Christmas, then this is a good place to start!
We get to meet a number of people who work in a library approaching Christmastime. Two of them are most definitely interested in each other but one, Ben, is new, shy, and works in the basement, and the other, Poppy, is surrounded by “friends” who do not see Ben’s appeal. Luckily, they both ignore the notions of others and when snowed in, take full advantage of the chemistry between them.
Perfect lunch break length and just naughty enough to give you a smile on your face before dealing with the reality of the afternoon!
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
I enjoyed this hot and steamy quick read. A great balance of heat and heart makes this a very swoony read. I thought Poppy and Ben were icredibly cute and sweet. Fast and flirty, this love in the library romance is a delightful fun.
Cute but very short. Ben is new to the library and really is quite reclusive to the basement archives and Poppy just wants to make sure he has a little Christmas spirit. Delivering hot chocolate doesn’t go as planned and spills all over her and he shares his hoodie to keep her warm when she has to remove her sweater. This starts the courting? Next up is Christmas Eve and after some loving and a tryst in the stacks which is interrupted they are snowed in for the night. Can they and will they find their way to a relationship outside the library? This was the perfect length for a lunchtime read or an afternoon.
Love in the Stacks is a enticing and spicy read! I thoroughly enjoyed this story of two unique librarians that were perfectly made for one another! They were sizzling and burned up the pages of the stacks in the library!
Poppy and Ben are librarians who come together in the basement stacks one Christmas Eve. The events leading up to it create sexual tension and it was adorably shy until they couldn’t contain it any longer!
If you want a bit of heat and looking for a quick read, this is your ticket! I adored the characters and it was a fun read!
I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley. The rating and review are my opinion.
As a bookworm, I can totally appreciate both the characters and the setting. These two are quirky and mildly awkward (I feel ya!) And it takes place in the …library! What’s not to love!?!
I seriously hope you have a sense of humor because awkward coupling is about to happen. Beware librarians get it on in the pages of this book. If you fear for the pages of literary masterpieces, relax only calendars were defiled in the pages of this book. I repeat not literary greats, including Far Side calendars, we’re harmed in the writing, action, and reading of this book. It is safe for impressionable collectors, they won’t wince or cry.
Had this been a test of you library’s honor system, you would have failed. Fortunately, we have bigger things to worry about- like wrappers left in couch cushions.
Ben a librarian who is shy and standoffish and gets the surprise of his life when Poppy enters in world. This story is on the shorter side but there is no lack of heat and passion. I loved the idea of a gruff librarian getting hot and heavy in the stacks! It’s a classic tale that’s well written here.
I thought the characters were well fleshed out and I loved that they were complete opposites. Their tension made the story that much hotter!
The story is a standalone and fun to read. I enjoyed the HEA. This is my first from this author but not my last. I really appreciate these hot short reads that give me a recharge during my day! I received an ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review.