Light My Fire: A Mental Health Charity Romance Collection

by Sharon D. Michalove, Cynthia Terelst, Anna Klein

Bonfire Night, Homecoming, Harvest Festivals, whatever the reason – ‘tis the season to sparkle.

Gather your nearest and dearest (or those who you wish were) close as we fan the flames in this collection of stories from USA Today best-selling and award-winning romance authors curated by The New Romance Café sure to warm your heart…and maybe other places.

All proceeds go to charity in the fight for mental health support and suicide prevention.



L Mad Hildebrandt

Julie Halperson

Ryleigh Sloan

Anna Klein

Jeanna Louise Skinner

Shelby Gunter

Zoey Zane

Heather Scarlett

Cynthia Terelst

Cara North

T.S. Simons

Susanna Eastman

A McCarty

Sarah Stein

Sharon Michalove

Katina J Rose

Sharon Wray

Michelle Moncrieff

Meg Napier

Angelica Kate

Gabbi Grey

Chele MacCabe

Niki Trento

Angela Breen

Cecelia Conway

Lila Grey

Jewelz Baxter

Gabbi Powell

R.L. Merrill

Kat Long

Bonnie Poirier

Elaine Reed

J. Keely Thrall

Fiona Fairhame

Colla Triti

Goshawk

Juls Berghammer

Charlotte O’Shay

Kelly Renway

746 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2024

About the author

Sharon Michalove grew up in suburban Chicago. She received four degrees from the University of Illinois because she didn't have the gumption to go anywhere else, and spent most of her career at the university, eventually earning a PhD, working in departmental administration, publishing and libraries. Her specialties are 15th-16th century European history, polar exploration, and food history. She may be one of the few people in America to never live outside her home state.

In graduate school, she met and married the love of her life. They shared a love of music, theater, travel and cats. He died in 2013.

Sharon also loves hockey, reading, cooking, writing, and various less elevated activities like eating cookies and sampling gins and single malts. After spending most of her life in a medium-sized university town she moved back to Chicago in 2017 so she could go to more Blackhawks games and spend quality time at Eataly. She hopes to accomplish a lifetime goal by publishing a book this year. Unfortunately her other lifetime goal, to be English, is likely to remain unfulfilled.

Reviews

[Imogen Dior · Rating 5 out of 5]

Birds of a Feather by Cynthia Terelst was a super good short read! It was written very well and for a short story you didn’t feel like it was unfinished, it was wrapped up perfectly. I loved reading Lily and Jack’s origin story. I loved reading how they met, meeting Sammie and watching how Lily and Jack fell in love. If you’ve read Seal of Approval also by Cynthia you see cameos of Jack and Lily when they are older and learn a bit about them then too.

[PelicanFreak · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review specifically is for Birds of a Feather by Cynthia Terelst
If I read the others, I'll be sure to update.

*
Loved the beach vibes, being transported back in time a bit, the hilarious meet cute and very self-aware, nerdy male lead. Both leads were very lovable and I’d happily read more of them and/or the town they met in, any time.


Summer/ holiday /vaca setting.
Meetcute.
Broken heroine.
Abused hero.
Set in the 1990s.
Virgin leads.

It’s also just really cool that we (fans of Terelst) even got this story—to my understanding a lot of us asked for it and she delivered.

Absolutely adorable—4 stars.

[Teri Ruscak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharon Michalove
Light My Fire: A Mental Health Charity Romance Collection (Romance Café Collection Book 41)
Tis the season!

Authors:

Julie Halperson
Ryleigh Sloan
Chele MacCabe
L Mad Hildebrandt
Sharon Wray
Meg Napier
J. Keely Thrall
Fiona Fairhame
Cecelia Conway
T.S. Simons
Gabbi Grey
Cynthia Terelst
Sharon Michalove
Susanna Eastman
Shelby Gunter
Zoey Zane
Heather Scarlett
Alice Dashwood
Cara North
Anna Klein
Katina J Rose
Michelle Moncrieff
Niki Trento
Jewelz Baxter
Gabbi Powell
R.L. Merrill
Kat Long
Bonnie Poirier
Elaine Reed
Kelly Renway

I found some great new authors!

[J Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Birds of a Feather by Cynthia Terelst

A perfect love story. A walk on the beach brings Lily and Jack together. Quiet conversation, shared dreams, and a starry sky build a connection that can last a lifetime.

I really enjoyed this story and the setting is beautiful. Lily and Jack are a likable couple. It was fulfilling to see the budding relationship. I received a free copy, but my review is honest and voluntary.

[Danee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of different stories and from different authors is great. I liked the fact that they came together to raise awareness for mental health. All the stories were great and kept your attention. Highly recommended!


I received an Advance Reader copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review..

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection. All proceeds go to charity in the fight for mental health support. The Authors chosen charities for this anthology are Wounded Warrior and the International Mental Health Association. It’s going for a great cause if you decide to buy it. The stories were very enjoyable as well. I got a copy of the book and am voluntarily leaving this review.

[Dee Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Birds of a Feather by Cynthia Terelst.
A beautiful quick to read story of young love that is sweet and cute, full of wit and emotion with a pinch of spice and a chosen family making their own way.
Jack and Lily find each other by chance, on the last night of his vacation. Their connection is instant, the communication easy and deep. These two see each other when no-one else does.

[Barbara Lack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Bonfire Night To Remember by Sharon Wray

Another great Kingsmill book. This is the start of Trent Mosby and Ivy’s story. There is some drama with Damien. We learn the secret that Trent has been keeping. I love the citizens of the town. It’s a fast read that entertains.

[Jaime Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anthologies/collections, and the fact that this one is for a charity for mental health makes me love it even more. I love being introduced to new authors and getting a glimpse of their writing styles. I really enjoyed the stories and had a hard time putting it down. Recommend!

[Ashley Eppley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was transfix on how each stories flow well. The book illuminated, enraptured me giving me goosebumps from the whimper of pleasure. This book left me with a surge of warmth the brighten my face and eyes surging with curiosity of each story would pan out

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

These amazing authors have come together to bring us a wonderful selection of stories for this collection. Each story pulls us into the lives of the characters and does not let go.

I received a free copy of this book via Sofia's Cowboy Romance Lovers and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great romantic short stories collection. Enjoyed becoming immersed in each and every story. Thank you to authors for donating all the proceeds to charity in the fight for mental health support and suicide prevention.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for A Bonfire Night To Remember by Sharon Wray.
I loved this story, easy to read, wonderful characters, romantic with some misunderstandings along the way. In the end a chance at love, family and happiness.

[Susan Hamann · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review is for a short story that is part of this Anthology. It's Birds of a Feather by Cynthia Terelst. The story is the prologue to Seal of Approval, which is already released. Birds of a Feather is Jack and Lily's origin story. It's short and sweet, and enjoyable.

[Elitta Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light My Fire: A Mental Health Charity Romance Collection is an anthology of 26 short stories by different authors. I throughly enjoyed reading each of these stories. I found a list of new authors to read. I love that the proceeds of this stories go to mental health.

[Katherine Horvath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romance!

Light My Fire: All the authors did a wonderful job of writing these stories! I loved how each one was different in its own and how each author wrote them in their style of writing! This Anthology was for a wonderful cause!

[Laura Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories all have a bonfire theme. They are all well written and amazingly developed in such a short time!

26 authors! Great variety!

[Genoveva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please check CW and TW for each short story before reading them. Some of these stories were super spicy which I loved. It was difficult for me to pick just one as my favorite they each had something that i liked.

[mmreads430 · Rating 5 out of 5]

MM stories: Pumpkin Spicy by Gabbi Grey and Wildfire Will: a Forces of Nature Story by RL Merrill