Category: Winter Romance Wednesday

TITLE: Secret Santa
CHARACTERS: Various
AUTHOR: Michaels, Levine, Bostwick and Myers
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/29/13
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Christmas is the time for miracles, mayhem, and holiday romance in these wonderful stories from four of today’s most beloved authors…

“Mister Christmas” by Fern Michaels
A week before Christmas, attorney Claire O’Brien is summoned to Ireland to change her wealthy client’s will–only to encounter resistance from his handsome nephew. Will Claire be forced to spend the holidays up close and personal with her irresistible Irish nemesis?

“The Yellow Rose of Christmas” by Marie Bostwick
Though Miss Velvet Tudmore wrote off romance years ago, rumor has it she has a secret admirer. And when her surprise suitor promises to reveal himself at the annual Christmas ball in Too Much, Texas, Velvet starts to wonder: is it ever too late to find love?

“Nightmare on Elf Street” by Laura Levine
Aside from the mortifying costume, how bad can a gig as a mall Santa’s elf be? Jaine Austen finds out when she’s teamed up with the Santa from Hell. But things go from bad to worse when he’s found murdered on the job–and Jaine is a suspect. Now all she wants for Christmas is to find the real killer…

“Room at the Inn” by Cindy Myers
When a Rocky Mountain blizzard forces Barb and her husband to spend Christmas in a remote Colorado cabin with their fellow travelers, Barb struggles to cope–especially when her husband reveals troubling news. But sometimes a holiday shake-up is all a woman needs to discover what she’s truly made of…

REVIEW:
I was going to review each story separately but in all honesty they were all equally boring. There was no true connection between any of the characters. There was no real feel of the holidays either.

I just couldn’t get into these stories and I love the holiday stories when they come out. I’m sorry I just couldn’t enjoy this book.

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

TITLE: A Nantucket Christmas
CHARACTERS: Main Characters
AUTHOR: NancyThayer
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/29/13
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Known for her heartwarming observations of family life, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer showcases her beloved Nantucket’s snowy off-season in this emotionally gratifying and utterly entertaining story.

Holidays on this Massachusetts island are nothing short of magical, from the jolly decorations on the Brant Point lighthouse to the much anticipated Christmas Stroll, in which merrymakers promenade through quaint streets adorned with Yuletide cheer. The season’s wonderful traditions are much loved by Nicole Somerset, new to Nantucket and recently married to a handsome former attorney. Their home is already full of enticing scents of pine, baking spices, and homemade pie.

But the warm, festive mood is soon tempered by Nicole’s chilly stepdaughter, Kennedy, who arrives without a hint of holiday spirit. Determined to keep her stepmother at arms’ length—or, better yet, out of the picture altogether—Kennedy schemes to sabotage Nicole’s holiday preparations. Nicole, however, is not about to let anyone or anything tarnish her first Christmas with her new husband.

Nancy Thayer’s wonderful tale reminds us that this is the season of miracles. Before the gifts are unwrapped, surprise visitors appear, and holiday joy comes to all, both naughty and nice.

REVIEW:
Honestly this story is just sad. Yes it has a happy ending but most of it is just down right depressing. First it starts with Nicole and Sebastian who are an older couple finding second love and then Kennedy (Sebastian’s grown daughter) makes for trouble on the first Christmas for the older couple.

Kennedy is a spoiled brat. She acts like a child wanting her divorced parents to get back together and doing everything to drive away the new wife. For a grown woman with a child she is just obnoxious and unlikable.

To be fair the writing is good but I can’t imagine how it would get anyone into the holiday spirit.

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

TITLE: The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap
CHARACTERS: Varies By Story
AUTHOR: Kauffman, Angell & Kincaid
PUBLICATION DATE: 09/24/13
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
For friends Clara, Abby and Lily, only one thing is more delicious than the Pine Mountain holiday cookie exchange – finding the right man before they ring in the New Year!
Where There’s Smoke author Donna Kauffman
When flames from a recipe gone disastrously wrong send hunky firefighter Will Mason to pretty Clara Parker’s rescue, the sparks really begin to fly! And once Will gets a taste of Clara, he aches for more than just a little sugar from the famously single food columnist. .
The Gingerbread Man author Kate Angell
Folks have always told fun-loving Abby Denton that her anatomically correct Gingerbread cookies are. . .impressive. But those erotic cookies have nothing on the sexy stranger Abby saves from a snowy country road. Could Lander Reynolds be the Christmas treat she’s truly been longing for?
Sugar And Spice author Kimberly Kincaid
When caterer Lily Callahan goes up against hotshot pastry chef Pete Mancuso in the bake-off of the season, the stakes are high–and scandalously passionate. Will the gorgeous gourmand steal Lily’s heart–and the top prize in the Christmas cookie competition?

REVIEW:
This is a very cute anthology about 3 friends wrapped around cookies and great for the holidays. I was going to review each story separately but to be honest they all flow really well and fit together perfectly. The second story is probably the saddest of the three. And the first by Kauffman was my favorite but I really enjoyed all three stories equally.

The women of this story are strong and independent women and while none of them would mind a relationship it is nothing something they are focusing on which I was glad about. When you’re not looking is when love knocks I guess. The men if this story fall pretty quick but they are all sweet and loving and all very different.

This is a great holiday romance that is not overwhelming to try to read during this busy time of year.

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

TITLE: Sleigh Belles
SERIES #: Sassy Belles #3
CHARACTERS: Dallas & Cal
AUTHOR: Beth Albright
PUBLICATION DATE: 09/24/13
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
With her hair perfectly coiffed, nails freshly manicured and a heavy trail of perfume wafting behind her, local news reporter Dallas Dubois is sure she’s about to kick her career—and maybe her love life—into high gear. The director of the Tuscaloosa children’s Christmas play has fallen ill, and Dallas is ordered by her station manager to take the reins. Everyone is shocked—especially Cal Hollingsworth, who still remembers her as the Ice Queen from high school.

If nothing else, Dallas has never met a challenge that a little lip gloss and a Chanel knockoff couldn’t fix. But she has no idea how to relate to these kids, and their brutal honesty is giving her pause. Things are made even more complicated by the butterflies she gets whenever Cal is near….

But when long-lost family members re-enter her life, Dallas’s icy veneer begins to melt. And with Cal by her side, she soon realizes that it’s what’s under all the hair spray that counts.

REVIEW:
3.5 Stars I enjoyed this story all though it had many sad parts. I wondered if it really was a holiday story with home much sadness was going on. But in the end as with all holiday stories it has a happy ending.

Dallas is hard to like at first. She seemed so smug and stuck up but once the reader gets to know her and her story there is actually something that changes the way the reader sees her. Cal is a sweet guy and I enjoyed him but honestly this is not his story. It is Dallas’s.

I’ll be honest. There were a couple of things I did not like. I tried to figure out how to say it on here but it would be spoiler so I will not do that but lets say sometimes forgiveness doesn’t come with a bow. And I wish there had been a epilogue. I wanted to know what happened with Sara Grace. But maybe that will be told in the next book. But all that being said it ended up a heartwarming holiday story perfect for a winter day snuggled up in front of the fire that gets you into a holiday mood.

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

TITLE: The Memory Tree
SERIES #: Linden Corners #4
CHARACTERS: Janey & Brian
AUTHOR: Joseph Pittman
PUBLICATION DATE: 09/24/13
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Can they look to the future—and still celebrate the past…?

As the holidays descend upon Linden Corners, life becomes a flurry of cooking, shopping, and visiting friends and family—and young Janey Sullivan is worried her Christmas traditions may get lost in the mix. Though she loves her adoptive father, Brian Duncan, she longs for her birth parents and questions her past. But an unexpected yuletide visitor may have just the answers she needs.

Haunted by the loss of his soul mate, Brian is reluctant to test the waters of the dating pool. With his family all coming to visit for Christmas, he hardly has time to think about it anyway—until newcomer Trina Winter arrives in town. Now, as life moves on for everyone around him, Brian begins to wonder if he can do the same.

As they grapple with the pain of the past, Janey, Brian, and Trina will each learn to make the changes that could lead to a bright new future—and perhaps the family they’ve always dreamed of.

REVIEW:
This is a very sweet holiday story. Having read only the third in the series and now the fourth some of the history of this series is lost but it still makes for a wonderful tale. The third in the series (A Christmas Hope) had me bawling my eyes out (honestly) but while this one is sweet with a touch of sad it did not have the impact that the last one did. But that does not mean it is not good because it is. The other was just incredible.

The author is very…um…wordy. He likes to ramble a bit but his ramblings bring you into the picture of this quaint little town. I am sad at some of the turns this story took because the characters have already been through so much especially Janey but it did open up a new direction for the next story.

Someday I hope to read the first and second one in the series because I think the reader misses out on a big dynamic if the series is not read from the beginning.

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