{"id":76550,"date":"2024-10-04T09:12:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T13:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=76550"},"modified":"2024-10-04T09:14:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T13:14:30","slug":"release-arc-review-a-very-no-strings-halloween-very-holiday-4-by-kayley-loring-connor-crais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=76550","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: A Very No Strings Halloween (Very Holiday, #4) by Kayley Loring & Connor Crais"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Very No Strings Halloween by Kayley Loring & Connor Crais is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A fun, funny and heartfelt love story for fan fave Billy Boston, in this neighbors-with-benefits-to-lovers romance<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/b><\/h4>\n
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Blurb<\/b><\/h4>\n

Halloween:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>it\u2019s a holiday where people shed their boring everyday personalities and become fantastic beings ready for an epic party. Well, guess what? That\u2019s Billy Boston 24\/7, 365, baby! It\u2019s who I was before I became a millionaire and it\u2019s who I\u2019ll always be.<\/p>\n

My beautiful next door neighbor, Donna, is a hardworking nurse who takes her job seriously and her fun even more so. All she wants is a no-strings arrangement and that\u2019s fine by me. It\u2019s<\/p>\n

Halloween for us every time we\u2019re together because she likes to role play. There\u2019s no way to get attached if we\u2019re both pretending to be someone else, right?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all smooth as a good whiskey until my married cousins bet me that I can\u2019t get a serious girlfriend by November.<\/p>\n

So, Donna and I make a deal: She\u2019ll help fix me up to be a proper boyfriend and I\u2019ll help fix up the farmhouse she inherited.<\/p>\n

The one she thinks is haunted.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not the scary part.<\/p>\n

Because I realize I\u2019m falling wicked hard for Donna. For real. She\u2019s spooked by the ghost, but I\u2019m afraid I\u2019ll spook\u00a0her<\/span> if I tell her how I really feel. We made a pact when we started this no-strings thing: If either of us gets serious, we have to end it.<\/p>\n

I have to\u00a0trick<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/em>Donna into thinking she\u2019s teaching me how to date, when really I\u2019m\u00a0treating<\/span> <\/em>her to dates with me.<\/p>\n

But if I screw this up, I\u2019ll lose the woman I\u2019m in love with.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019ll haunt me forever.<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

3.5 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

A fun, funny and heartfelt love story for fan fave Billy Boston, in this neighbors-with-benefits-to-lovers romance.<\/p>\n

Billy has been a standout character in the Very Holiday<\/i> books who, though distant, became a beacon of partying and wild times. He is a fun, wild, larger-than-life party boy, he loves his family dearly, and he lives life to the fullest, embracing every opportunity and relishing every moment. He even keeps his love life free and easy. He has a committed, no-strings arrangement with his neighbor, Donna, where they role play and enjoy wildly steamy sexy time but don\u2019t talk about anything personal whatsoever, and it suits him just fine\u2026 until it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

You see, all of Billy\u2019s cousins are now happily married, and they bet him that he can\u2019t get a serious girlfriend. He turns to Donna as the obvious choice to show him how to be the perfect boyfriend, and in return he offers to help her renovate an old, decrepit house that she has recently inherited. He thinks it\u2019s a simple arrangement, but it is far from that, with the two f**k-buddies finally spending actual time together and discovering a whole new side to each other.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t even know how there could be so much tension between two people who\u2019ve had sex as many times as we have. But it\u2019s there.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I loved the dynamic between Billy and Donna. Their sexual chemistry is crazy, and though they act all blas\u00e9 over the idea of spending time together, Billy is already feeling more for Donna than he ever expected to, and he jumps on the opportunity to show her that there\u2019s more to him than just his mad sex skills. She\u2019s obliviously keeping their relationship exactly as it is, and Billy has a tough job on his hands to convince her otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Donna and I might be pretending not to be in love with each other.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s a fun set-up and I loved watching Billy and Donna\u2019s story progress. They have this wild passion for each other that is demonstrated over and over (hot!!!), we get to see their fun and playful side when Donna joins Billy and his cousins on a wild night out, and the development of their romance is a sweet journey as Billy goes all out to win his girl.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t pretend anymore. I can\u2019t play the role of the guy who still has nothing to lose. I have everything to lose \u2013 the most amazing person I have ever met in my life.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This all unfolds while renovations on Donna\u2019s house are complicated by an actual ghost haunting the property, and while it gives Billy the opportunity to shine as the super sweet and supportive guy that he is, I could have done without the ghosty aspects to the story. It did lead to some funny moments (s\u00e9ance\u2026 hehehe), but to me it escalated to be over the top and it detracted from the pure awesome that was Billy and Donna together.<\/p>\n

But I did enjoy this book. It\u2019s fun and lighthearted, and I loved seeing Billy get his HEA. And can I just say that the cover for this book is pure perfection. It\u2019s so Billy Boston \u2013 from the shirt to the pose to the hair and the smirk\u2026 be still my heart!<\/p>\n

Such a fun read. 3.5 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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A Very Holiday<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Very Bossy Christmas (#1)<\/strong> (Declan & Maddie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon<\/a> |\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

A Very Friendly Valentines Day (#2)<\/strong> (Eddie & Birdie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

A Very Vegas St Patrick’s Day (#3)<\/strong> (Nolan & Cora) (co-written with Connor Crais)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

A Very Grumpy Father’s Day (#3.5)<\/strong> (Declan & Maddie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

A Very No Strings Halloween (#4)<\/strong> (Billy & Donna) (co-written with Connor Crais)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

A Very Snowed In New Year (#5)<\/strong> (Holden & Piper)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About Kayley Loring<\/b><\/h4>\n

\"\"Before writing steamy romantic comedy novels, Kayley Loring got a BFA in creative writing from a Canadian university and had a fifteen-year career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles (under a different name). She mostly wrote PG-13 family comedies that studios would pay her lots of money for and then never make into movies. In 2017 she decided to move to the Pacific Northwest and write about all the fun stuff that she wasn\u2019t allowed to write about in those PG-13 scripts. Now she\u2019s breathing cleaner air and writing dirtier words. It\u2019s an adjustment she\u2019s happily getting used to.<\/p>\n

Rest assured that her funny sexy sweet romances have no cheating or cliffhangers, and always have HEAs!<\/p>\n

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Instagram<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0FB Reader Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Audio Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0BookBub<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0TikTok<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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About Connor Crais<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Connor Crais is a classically trained actor living in the Midwest with his wife, two kids, and rescue greyhound. He has been both a stage and television actor, and before plunging into the romance genre, he had been narrating commercials, audiobooks, and explainers for well over a decade from his home studio. From alphas to bosses to cocky sports stars (a particular favorite), he loves sparring with beautiful, sassy heroines (and their talented narrators) but also loves winning them over and reaching that happily ever after. He is excited to now create those stories as an author.<\/p>\n

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Instagram<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0TikTok<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  A Very No Strings Halloween by Kayley Loring & Connor Crais is live! A fun, funny and heartfelt love story for fan fave Billy Boston, in this neighbors-with-benefits-to-lovers romance   \u00a0Amazon   Blurb Halloween:\u00a0it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":3.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,911,9,29],"tags":[59,1342,1140,48,1584],"class_list":["post-76550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lol-funny","category-no-strings","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-connor-crais","tag-kayley-loring","tag-review","tag-very-holiday"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/A-Very-No-Strings-Halloween.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-jUG","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}