This is a collection of three novellas by authors I generally enjoy. Even though there are overlapping characters that tie these three stories together, they also tie into the author's individual series. The first story by Kat Martin, which sets the connection for all of these, was honestly my least favorite of the bunch. I think it was for a couple reasons: 1. the couple was a new meeting at the beginning of the story, so getting to their HEA felt a little rushed since this takes place over less than 2 weeks; and 2. Ian was a bit alpha for my liking.

The second story by Rebecca Zanetti ties into her current Deep Ops series. In this story, we get Raider's foster siblings' story. We are introduced a little to Evan and Michelle in her other stories. This is a second chance story with people who have a long history and are finally in the right place and time to be together. We also get more of Wolfe, who I love.

The third story by Alexandra Ivy has a connection to her Agency novel, The Intended Victim. Again, it is a second chance story which I feel is better in a novella setting. For me, it allows forgiveness in not being able to spend a lot of time in relationship development.

I had the opportunity to read an early copy for review.

Pivot is a collection of three novellas by three of my favorite authors. Romantic suspense is my favorite and I loved reading these stories. They were each so,I’d, quick reads that I enjoyed reading.

AGAINST THE HEART by Kat Martin
4 stars
Meri and her daughter are running from her ex. She leaves L.A. and heads for Portland but she runs out of gas and money in Spokane. Ian, a former cop, now owns a security company. He is visiting his dad after not seeing him for two years. His dads house is a mess and needs to hire someone to help him. He meets Meri and can tell she's running from something and hires her to work at his dad's. While living then, Meri starts to fall for Ian but doesn't think he'll understand her background. When danger follows them, Ian will do anything to keep them safe. 
Short and a little sexy. Pretty good story.
SHAKEN by Rebecca Zanetti
5 stars
Michelle is a graphic novelist and was raised in foster homes. Her mother is a drug addict and drunk, when she shows up wanting money, Michelle has none to give her. Two guys bust her door in, roughs her up, demanding money from her mother that she owes, and stole her tablet that has her comics on it. She calls her foster brother for help but he's undercover, so he sends Evan. Evan is Michelle's ex, former military, and now sheriff. He has loved Michelle since he first laid eyes on her when they were in the same foster home. It's a race to figure out who sent the goons after Michelle and to find her tablet.
Freaking awesome with action and humor. Get to see a couple of friends, a dog, and a kitten.
ECHOES OF THE PAST by Alexandra Ivy
5 stars
Melanie runs a community center and as she's leaving one night, a young boy is chased by some big thugs and then forced into a vehicle. Not knowing what to do, she rams their car with hers, gets the boy out, and runs. When she hears her name being yelled, it's her ex Gray. Gray is there to find a boy and put him in protective custody while his father, who's in jail, gives them information on dirty cops. Gray is a cop undercover working on the case. They send the boy away while Gray protects Mel from the men wanting the kid. Gray broke Mel's heart once but can he get her to forgive him and keep her safe?
Action and suspense. Great story.
Three women who had rough childhoods and their hearts broke. Two guys trying to get their women back. One who has fallen for the woman he just meets.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley*

The idea of this book was a good one as described in the blurb. The issues that each story is only ten chapters; it's just not enough breathing room to fit a full thriller and romance with any depth or involvement with the plot or the characters. Repeat this with three couples, three separate storylines and it's doesn't really come together as a cohesive experience.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5* Has a very, very dated feel to it, and not all the tales segue perfectly. Blurb promises more than the tales deliver.

I think I made the mistake of seeing two fave authors' names here and deciding to ask for the ARC on that basis, not having read the blurb, which turned out to be quite a bit more than the book and individual tales delivered.

The Kat Martin one is first, with the Meri character. The tale is one that's been done before - a woman and her child trying to escape an ex go on the road and just happen to find a live-in job with a guy who's tough, ferrets out their secret and is willing to protect them. This was a really dated tale, like KM's books that I read some 20yrs ago. It's not a bad tale but we get told things, like Meri having a baby with a one-night stand who turned out to be the bad guy, her being taken in by another who dumped her immediately he seduced her, but we weren't in the tale at the times those events happened. The vocab dated the book; this was like reading an early 80s Silhouette Desire. The story took place over a matter of a couple of weeks, I think, and ended in a HEA that I couldn't see or believe in. 2.5*

The Rebecca Zanetti one is next, featuring Meri's friend Michelle. She's not really what I would have called lead material, as she was made out to be down on her luck, not a very strong character and drifting, rather than living. Yes, she, like Meri, had been in care but I'd have thought that that would have made her all the more determined to be more, do more. The romance was a non-starter for me, but, the leads had history and had been each other's first, so it ended with them together. 2*

The Alexandra Ivy was the best of the bunch, but again felt dated and not what I'm used to from her. Again the leads had history to make them work but we're given a backstory of the male lead getting engaged and his fiancee running off with his brother three weeks later, and now those guys are married and having a child, and yes, there's history with the female lead, but I couldn't see/didn't read where they were an item after the elopement, though logically they had to be. There was some danger that actually felt like danger, some believable bad guys but there were also TSTL moments (like taking someone to a safe place but not even thinking about turning off the phone to avoid their location being tracked by GPS), but the sex was straight out of... an 80s Silhouette Desire. 3*

Editing wasn't the greatest, as these tales were meant to be happening either entirely concurrently, or taking place with a couple of days' lapse, but there were inconsistencies.

Tbh, each of these tales would have been better fleshed out more and as standalones.

ARC courtesy of Kensington/Zebra and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.