Category: Holiday Romance

TITLE: Home For Christmas
SERIES #: Sanctuary Island #4
CHARACTERS: Libby & Owen
AUTHOR: Lily Everett
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/06/15
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Tis the season for family and love…

At least it’s supposed to be. For Libby Leeds, however, the holiday season is just another reminder of things she’d rather forget. When she left Sanctuary Island as an orphaned child, she never thought she’d go back except in her dreams, dreams she’s kept alive by writing monthly column of her fictional small-town life, until her publisher sends her back home for the holidays.

Owen Shepard is a fallen hero, wounded in action rescuing three of his fellow soldiers, but after a whirlwind of media attention, all this charismatic Army Ranger wants is to get back on his feet and make it to Sanctuary Island to be with his daughter in time for Christmas. What he didn’t expect was to be put on a crash course with a columnist hiding her past. Will the magic of Sanctuary Island at Christmastime allow them to find healing together?

REVIEW:
3.75 Hearts This is a very sweet holiday story. While a bit cliche’ it still brings you a feeling of warm and love while reading.

Owen is a wounded soldier. Libby is a writer who lives more in her imagination than reality and when she is forced to entertain him and his family for the holidays the romance begins.

Like I said the story is good even though typical of holiday romance. The couple of problems I had were the repeating of thoughts over and over. Owen told us at least 20 times how he had to get better to go back in the field. Libby equaled that with how much she didn’t have a loving family.

The one thing I really enjoyed about the story was the first chapter. It really showed the relationship that Libby was having with Owen even though she hadn’t met him yet. She had already started to fall for him just seeing his tv interview and I think we could feel her crush.

If you enjoy a sweet holiday romance you will enjoy this one.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Hot Toy
CHARACTERS: Trudy & Nolan
AUTHOR: Jennifer Crusie
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/13/15
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Previously published in the anthology Santa, Baby, HOT TOY is now available as a standalone e-story for the first time!

Mayhem ensues under the mistletoe as a determined shopper grabs the very last hot toy action figure off the shelf, only to find herself plunged into the middle of a real-life spy game and in the arms of a sexy secret agent…

REVIEW:
3.25 Hearts This is a short holiday story… sorta. It is about 50 pages and a very quick read. It was part of an anthology that I had not read even though I thought I had read all of Crusie’s books. I had a hard time getting started with this book. First Trudy is a bit well witchy. Nolan seems a bit immature and they didn’t have much chemistry. Then the story takes off a little and then it gets a bit better.

It is set in 2006 over “the toy to have” and back then that would have been a big thing alone but then there is a bit of a spy game going on and who is the bad guy and who is the good guy. If you want a quick read that is set at Christmas time and gives you more of the overload of the holiday than the romance of it than this is a great book…

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Christmas On Candy Cane Lane
SERIES #: Life In Icicles Falls #8
CHARACTERS: Tilda, Maddy & Ivy
AUTHOR: Sheila Roberts
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/27/15
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Icicle Falls is the place to be at Christmas…

Everyone’s getting ready for Christmas in Icicle Falls, especially on Candy Cane Lane, where holiday decorating is taken very seriously. Tilda Morrison, town cop, is looking forward to celebrating Christmas in her first house… until she discovers that she’s expected to “keep up” with the neighbors, including Maddy Donaldson, the inspiration behind the whole extravaganza. But this year, someone’s destroying Maddie’s precious candy canes! Thank goodness for the cop in their neighborhood.

Tilda already has her hands full trying to sort out her love life and fix up her fixer-upper. Oh, and won’t it be fun to have the family over for Christmas dinner? Not really… Then there’s her neighbor, Ivy Bohn. As a newly single mom, Ivy can sum up the holiday in two words: Bah, humbug. But she’s determined to give her kids a perfect Christmas.

Despite family disasters, irritating ex-husbands and kitchen catastrophes, these three women are going to find out that Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!

REVIEW:
This is a really wonderful holiday novel. It really puts you in the romantic Christmas mood.

First is Tilda. And Devon. This is the typical question of can first impressions be changed? Devon has changed and Tilda just hasn’t noticed but Devon is going to try to get her to change her mind while she changes the rest of her life.

Maddy and Ivy are Tilda’s neighbors that are dealing with the own situations. Maddy IS Christmas. She is all about playing Mrs Claus and making the holiday “perfect”. Ivy is having to make a great Christmas as a divorcee with children.

I enjoyed this story very much. There were a few weird things to me. I am not sure I have ever read a book by Roberts before this one and know I have not read any from this series but if you are looking for a nice read with a holiday feel this is a great book to pick up.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Christmas At Evergreen Inn
SERIES #: Jewell Cove #4
CHARACTERS: Todd & Lainey
AUTHOR: Donna Alward
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/13/15
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Welcome back to Jewell Cove, where this holiday season, there happens to be no room at the inn…

When a December Nor’easter roars up the eastern seaboard, Jewell Cove cop Todd Ricker spends his day off being a Good Samaritan to stranded holiday travelers. But when the roads close and Todd can’t make his way home, he discovers that the Evergreen Inn is full up. Until another Good Samaritan opens her doors and offers him a place to stay…

Lainey Price is not looking forward to Christmas, but just because she’s not filled with the holiday spirit doesn’t mean she’s going to turn Todd out into the stormy night. Even if it means offering the handsome police officer the couch in her tiny cottage. But when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the two are snowed in for a wintry evening by the fire. With Christmas only a few days away, can Todd convince Lainey to open her heart to the season…and love?

REVIEW:
This is a cute holiday novella. Only about 80 pages so a quick read. The story is set at Christmas but not much is Christmas related more winter related but even that is ok. Here is the thing. I think the synopsis is a bit deceiving. I had the feeling that Lainey and Todd had never met. Todd was just a good samaritan there to help out and Lainey an innkeeper. But the two have known each other all their lives. I think that makes a big difference when starting the story.

Once I understood the dynamics of the relationship it was fine and I really enjoyed it. Like I said it was quick and a light read. Good to have around for short spans of reading time this holiday season.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Wish Upon A Christmas Cake
CHARACTERS: Katie & Sam
AUTHOR: Darcie Boleyn
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/02/15
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
The most wonderful time of the year?

Katie Warham has just one wish this year…to have the best Christmas ever!

If only she could lock herself away in a cloud of flour and sugar at her cosy little tearoom, Crumbtious Cakes, instead of spending the festive season trapped with her judgemental mother, crazy Aunt Gina and loved-up celebrity brother Carl…

But Katie never expected her ex-boyfriend, widower Sam – and his two adorable children – to turn up on her doorstep. She didn’t think that any man could tempt her under the mistletoe this year, but Sam might just prove the exception! And as the snow begins to fall and Katie puts the final touches to her famous Christmas cake, she begins to wonder, could her Christmas wish actually come true?

This holiday season, snuggle up by a roaring fire with a mulled wine and enjoy Darcie Boleyn’s festive winter warmer!

REVIEW:
I had a bit of a hard time with this story. First it was set in first person and that, for me, takes away from the story. I never felt a connection between Katie and Sam. Katie is just a bit uptight to me. I never really enjoyed reading her and since it was first person it was hard to move beyond her and enjoy the story.

Katie has been pining over Sam for years and compared every guy since to him. Sure we all have “the one that got away” but it seems to me she is the one who let him go so why is she upset? I don’t know. While this story had a lot of the Christmas spirit in it for some reason it just didn’t work for me.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Evergreen Springs
SERIES #: Haven Point #3
CHARACTERS: Devin & Cole
AUTHOR: RaeAnne Thayne
PUBLICATION DATE: 09/29/15
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Celebrate the magic of Christmas in Haven Point with New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne, where hope, home, and happily-ever-after are as close as your holiday stocking…

Christmas is the last thing Cole Barrett is thinking about this year. He’s barely hanging on trying to care for his two grieving children since his ex-wife died in a tragic accident. For the reclusive Cole, this is no time for gift-giving and celebration—and certainly not for a sunny-natured optimist to blow into his screwed-up life.

In the years since her cancer treatments, physician Devin Shaw has researched the curative powers of Lake Haven’s mineral waters. Unfortunately, the hot springs are on Barrett property, forcing Devin to strike a bargain with the ranch’s attractively gruff owner: she’ll give Cole’s children the magical Christmas they deserve, and Cole will allow her patients access to the springs. But can she work her holiday magic to heal the Barrett family’s battered hearts—and her own?

REVIEW:
3.75 Hearts This is a sweet (sort of) holiday story. I say sort of because parts of it can be pretty heart wrenching. There is so much hurt in the lives of the characters that at times the story can be sad.

Cole is the father of two children whose mother (Cole’s ex) was killed in an accident and he is trying to raise them. He is estranged from his father,, who just moved back on to the property, and his sister has landed on his doorstep after running away from her husband because she is pregnant with twins that she believes he does not want. Plus he is a recovering alcoholic ex-con who can’t get past his own mistakes. Devon is totally the opposite. Devon sees the good in everyone. She had a hard life growing up but has come through it with flying colors, mostly. She is a fixer and Cole and his family are the ultimate fixer-upper. But how will it affect her heart?

As I said this is an enjoyable holiday story but I did have some issues with it. First the children do not talk like children. While the daughter is a little miss know-it-all she still is only 8 but she speaks like she is 15. The son who is only 6 speaks like he is either 10 or 2 depending on the circumstance. But that being said they are both cute children whom the reader ends up liking. The estranged father is a sad old man who I felt really bad for. And I really do not feel like we got a solid ending regarding him.

Cole is a bit of a hard person to like. He does warm up but he can be sweet to his children and sometimes to Devon but mostly he is a bit harsh. And finally, Devon. I liked her even when we met her in the last story about her sister. But I felt she was written a little wanting. She fell in love with the kids before Cole so it almost seems like he was a secondary thought to the children. She seemed a bit needy. Needing love and needing to help/fix the family.

Now all that being said and I did say a lot. I really liked the story. It is a wonderful little holiday story that will get you into the spirit. Sit back with a cup of cocoa and enjoy.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.