Category: Holiday

Feature Post and Book Review: The Wedding Dress Christmas by Rachel Hauck

Book Description

December comes to quaint Hearts Bend, Tennessee, with a blanket of white and the glitter of Christmas lights.

For JoJo Castle there is no place like home. Her onetime love of adventure ended when her life in the big city came crashing down. Now that she’s home, she never wants to leave again.

Country music sensation Buck Mathews has charmed the world with his smile and his music. However, news of his mother’s illness brought him home to Hearts Bend for the holiday season.

Working with her cousin Haley in The Wedding Shop, JoJo has no aspirations of love. But when her high school crush returns to town, her buried feelings surface.

Busy with his career, Buck hasn’t had time for family and friends, much less love. Seeing JoJo in The Wedding Shop reminds him there are things more important than his career.

But JoJo and Buck have opposing life goals, and there’s no middle ground. Can love, especially the kind that touches hearts at Christmas, overcome her fears and his quest for greatness?

With the help of a very special wedding dress, there just might be a Christmas miracle.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52742020-the-wedding-dress-christmas?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=TT5Vx9xTR4&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE WEDDING DRESS CHRISTMAS (The Wedding Collection Book #3.5) by Rachel Hauk is a heartwarming small town holiday romance novella. This story is a part of The Wedding Collection series which features a special magical wedding dress and while only novella length it packs an emotional punch. (Have the tissues ready.)

It is Christmas time in Hearts Bend, Tennessee.

JoJo Castle returned to the safety of her parents’ home after a horrific personal attack while working in Dallas. Her dreams of adventure and life in the big city are gone. While she is happy working with her cousin in The Wedding Shop and helping with projects around town, she has no interest in love or marriage for herself.

Buck Matthews left Hearts Bend with a dream of country music stardom. His dreams have come true, but he comes home for the holidays when he receives news of his mother’s illness. While his career is at its height, being home reminds him of the things that are missing from his life.

JoJo and Buck were close friends in high school, but life moved them in different directions. With opposing life goals and JoJo’s ever-present fear, can the magical wedding dress and the man in a purple shirt help these two realize a special holiday miracle?

For a quick novella read, this story has well developed characters, an emotional punch and a holiday HEA. Even though JoJo and Buck’s romance moves quickly, it is believable because of their previous friendship and the realistic adult discussion of feelings throughout. There are no sex scenes in this novella. The religious elements in this story are hinted at Christian values and not preachy.  I normally do not give novellas more than a 4-star rating, but this one deserves all 5. I am glad I gave it a try and now I want to go back and read the full-length novels in this series.

I highly recommend this beautiful holiday romance novella!

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About the Author

Rachel Hauck is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She is a Christy Award Winner and a double RITA finalist. Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times Book Club. She is the recipient of RT’s Career Achievement Award.

Her book, Once Upon A Prince, was filmed for an original Hallmark movie.

Hauck has been acclaimed for her split time novels and royal romances.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, and a former sorority girl, Rachel and her husband live in central Florida. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

In other news, she’s recently learned how to hard boil an egg. She’s quite proud.

Social Media Links

Website: https://rachelhauck.com/about-rachel/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelhauck

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelhauck/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-wedding-dress-christmas-by-rachel-hauck

Feature Post and Book Review: The Christmas Cottage by Jane Porter

Book Description

She’s ready for a charming Christmas in the English countryside…

It’s almost Christmas and Ella Roberts is ecstatic to be heading to Bakewell to spend the holidays with her sister and brother-in-law, the new Earl and Countess Sherbourne, and represent her family at the English wedding reception. Ella is looking forward to visiting the Sherbourne estate, exploring Bakewell, and experiencing a proper English Christmas. She just has two requests—that she stays in one of the historic cottages at Langley Park, and that the annoying best man not be invited to the reception.

Baird MacLauren was happy to serve as the best man to his closest friend from Trinity College’s wedding. The long weekend spent in the San Juan Islands celebrating his best friend was easy, but getting along with the bride’s mischievous sister who takes nothing seriously was an unexpected challenge. Baird thought he’d never have to see her again…until he spots Ella in Bakewell preparing for the reception.

To Ella’s dismay, her second request isn’t honored and now she’ll be spending Christmas with the most arrogant—and handsome—of Scottish men. Can they both keep their distance or will the magic of the season bring these two together?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122995195-the-christmas-cottage?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=bdOLpycCLe&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE (Love at Langley Park Book #2) by Jane Porter is the perfect holiday contemporary romance that will warm your heart as you curl up on your favorite chair on a cold holiday night. It can be easily read as a standalone as it is a complete HEA, but many of the characters are from the first book and I am glad I read them in order.

Ella Roberts is on holiday from her job teaching and working on her PhD and is excited to be traveling to Sherbourne estate in England to be spending the holidays with her sister and brother-in-law. When she arrives, she finds her sister on bedrest and pregnant and the historic cottage on the estate she wanted to stay in is being occupied by the annoying best man from her sister’s wedding.

Baird MacLauren has come to Sherbourne as a favor to his best friend from Eton to help with the holiday festivities until he can get there himself. When he sees the beautiful and memorable sister-in-law, he is once again feeling an intense attraction that he refuses to give in to. When she is assigned to the same cottage, they both refuse to leave and now he must spend his holiday with the infuriating American he cannot seem to keep out of his thoughts.

With an attraction that sparks, will they keep their distance for the holidays, or will the magic of the season bring them together?

I was so happy to read this romance and completely satisfied in the end. I enjoyed the first book, Once Upon a Christmas, and was excited to see what came next. This story also has realistic characters and believable situations that pull you right in. Ella is an intelligent and feisty heroine who is a wonderful foil to the jaded attorney Baird has become. The dialogue is witty and smart. There is only one sex scene towards the end of the story, and it is very sexy, but not overly explicit. It is enjoyable to also catch up with all the occupants of Sherbourne estate and their lives. This romance has everything I look for in my HEAs and I have found this to be true with all of Jane Porter’s wonderful romances.

I highly recommend this holiday contemporary romance, the entire series, and this author.

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About the Author

USA Today, and New York Times bestselling author of 75+ romances and women’s fiction titles, Jane Porter has been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award six times, with her Tule Publishing novella, Take Me, Cowboy, winning the Novella Category July 2014. Today, Jane has over 15 million copies in print, including her wildly popular Flirting with Forty, a novel picked by Redbook Magazine as it’s Red Hot Summer Read in 2006 before being turned into a Lifetime movie in 2008 starring Heather Locklear. In 2021 two of Jane’s Taming of the Sheenan romances were turned into original movies for the Great American Family Network. Jane holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and makes her home in sunny San Clemente, CA with her surfer husband, three sons, and three dogs.

Social Media Links

Website: https://janeporter.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjaneporter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorjanep

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jane-porter

Book Review: The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE BOOK CLUB HOTEL: A Christmas Novel by Sarah Morgan is a wonderful holiday women’s fiction/romance that is the perfect story to give everyone warm and fuzzy happy holiday feelings. This is a standalone story with memorable characters, and it is an easy, fast read that I did not want to end.

The Maple Sugar Inn is a picture-perfect historic Vermont inn that is especially magical around the Christmas holiday season. Widowed single mom, Hattie Coleman is the harried owner and is just trying to hang-on through the fully booked holidays.

Erica, Claudia, and Anna have been best friends since college and keep an annual week out of their busy lives to get together for their book club vacation at various hotels all over the country. This time Erica picked the Maple Sugar Inn and did not tell her friends why she decided on this particular inn. All three ladies are at critical points in their lives as they are turning forty and will need the support, they have always found in each other and they just may be able to help Hattie out with her problems, too.

I loved all the women in this story. They are all fully developed characters and while they individually lead completely different lives, they are the best of friends who will do anything for each other and the fact that they are brought together by books each year makes me love them even more. I also enjoyed Hattie’s sweet romance as she finally allows herself to love again. Hattie’s daughter, Delphi, was a delight and an engaging bridge between her mother and newfound aunt. A very agreeable HEA ending that is perfect for reading over the holiday season.

I highly recommend this feel-good story that is the perfect holiday women’s fiction/romance read.

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About the Author

Sarah Morgan is a USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of romance and women’s fiction. She has sold over 21 million copies of her books and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe.

Sarah lives near London, England and when she isn’t writing or reading, she likes to spend time outdoors hiking or riding her mountain bike.

Social Media Links

Website: https://sarahmorgan.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahMorgan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahMorgan_

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sarah-morgan

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: A Cowboy Christmas Carol by Melinda Curtis

Book Description

Christmas will come…

To even the most reluctant cowboy!

Rodeo roper Ryan Oakley may hate Christmas, but he still needs a miracle. Unfortunately, the only person who sells top-notch competition horses is Jo Pierce, his former high school nemesis. Now Ryan’s making the single mom a bargain: he’ll set her up with his twin brother, her longtime crush. It’s the perfect holiday plan…until the no-nonsense working cowgirl ends up lassoing his heart instead.

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Elise’s Thoughts

A Cowboy Christmas Carol by Melinda Curtis recalls the story of Scrooge, A Christmas Carol. In this case it is one of twin brothers, Ryan, wants nothing to do with the holiday. If readers want a story that will put a smile on their faces, they will want to read this because the banter between the characters is off the charts.

Ryan and Tate Oakley are twin brothers who are part of the rodeo circuit. They always come close to winning but never can achieve the big prize. Ryan feels it is because they need better horses. He decides to buy a pair of the best roping horses from the woman who was his nemesis in high school. Jo Pierce was expelled from school after an epic prank on Ryan and now she is a horse breeder and trainer while single parenting her twin sons. Because she has a huge pending balloon mortgage hanging over her head, she reluctantly names a price. As the two continue to negotiate and work to come up with a solution to both their problems, they learn the reasons for their animosity of the past.

Readers will enjoy taking a journey with the hero and heroine as their feelings begin to change, realizing that they both must let go of the past to find a future. This is a wonderful, sweet romance with delightful characters and a hilarious horse.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Melinda Curtis: I changed it to be a Christmas book. I watched on Apple TV, Spirited, played by Will Farrell. I love a Christmas Carol and played on it. I thought what is better than a grumpy cowboy who does not like Christmas. I gave him an emotional wound that happened at Christmas.

EC: How would you describe the twin brothers, Ryan versus Tate?

MC: Ryan is more protective, while Tate goes through life letting things slide off his back. Ryan sees it as Tate not taking life seriously or applying himself. Ryan cares more about Tate. Ryan is trying to have he and his brother move forward and create a good life for both.

EC: Describing Ryan?

MC: He is guarded, standoffish, cold, an introvert, and a planner. He is also stubborn and grumpy. He is referred to as ‘the not nice Oakley.’

EC: How would you describe Jo?

MC: Rough and tumble. She is also direct, prickly, obstinate, and can be grumpy. She has a father who tries to break her spirit but remains confident. Unlike Ryan, she loves Christmas. She does not want to break the bonds of family even if it is at the expense of the livelihood of her ranch.

EC: What about the relationship?

MC: She and Ryan bond because both came from divorced parents. In high school he was seen as not being very nice and she was seen as being a stubborn tomboy. The high school pranks they played on each other got out of hand, which affected their relationship. She now thinks of him as pushy. She has a crush on his twin brother Tate.

EC: The role of the twin boys?

MC: Max and Dean are the twin boys of Jo. I wanted to write them as a mirror of Ryan and Tate. One is more introverted and one out to have fun. It shows how Ryan and Tate would have turned out had they had a loving household to grow up in. Max and Tate are the extroverts who the girls gravitate too, while Ryan and Dean are the introverts and responsible.

EC: You also have a horse, Tiger, in the story?

MC: Horses are like dogs in they have different personalities. They can be troublemakers. I wanted an unusual looking horse. I modeled him after my daughter’s dog. He just wants to be with people, plays rough, and is an escape artist. Tiger was considered the companion horse, the family horse, and the ‘heart horse.’ There is a phrase in the horse community; this is my heart horse. The one I will remember always after they are gone.

EC: Next books?

MC: The next book in this series will be Tate’s book, titled, A Cowboy for the Twins, coming out March of next year. Readers will learn a lot more why he does not have a care. More of the Harmony Valley books coming up. This year I had a lot of releases.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Feature Post and Book Review: Christmas at The Shelter Inn by RaeAnne Thayne

Book Description

Growing up at the Shelter Inn hotel, Natalie Shepherd envied guests who could come and go as they pleased. So when it was time to finally leave for college and put the lush green mountains around Shelter Springs—along with the cloud of loss that seemed to follow her family—behind her, she swore she’d never come back. But now her sister McKenna needs a favor. On pregnancy bed rest at doctor’s orders, McKenna needs a helping hand with her two young daughters and someone to take over the inn during the hectic holiday season, and Nat can’t refuse. And just when things can’t get worse, she runs into her late brother’s best friend, Griffin Taylor… 

Griff has mixed feelings about Natalie’s return. She’s just as beautiful and full of life as he remembered, but there’s a secret he’s carried for years about her brother—and the guilt is eating away at him. Still, Christmas in this small town is filled with treasured traditions and new adventures that hold the promise of something sweet and lasting. From matchmaking seniors to rambunctious nieces, it seems everyone is hoping Nat and Griff will put loss behind them and find a happy new beginning…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75339222-christmas-at-the-shelter-inn?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=SXhz3Hbpbo&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

CHRISTMAS AT THE SHELTER INN by RaeAnne Thayne is a heartfelt emotional holiday romance/women’s fiction story set in an inn turned senior apartment complex in small town Idaho during the Christmas season. This is a standalone story.

Natalie Shepherd suffered several losses during her life and it has her leaving her small hometown as soon as possible to travel the world as a freelance writer and travel blogger. She also works as a pet and house sitter for wealthy clients. She never stays in any one place too long and while she has acquaintances, she never lets anyone into her heart. When her younger sister messages her for help at home at the Shelter Inn, Natalie immediately returns. She is helping with her two young nieces while her sister is on bedrest during her pregnancy and will leave again after the birth. What she does not expect is to discover the father who left the siblings after their mother’s death is in town for Christmas and her dead brother’s best friend is back in town and working as a local family practice doctor.

Griffin Taylor always planned on returning to his hometown when he finished medical school. He is surprised when he runs into Natalie and is happy to see her, but he is also holding a secret about the day her brother died. Griffin’s grandmother lives at the Shelter Inn and so Griff and Natalie run into each other frequently as everyone gets ready for the holidays.

There is an attraction and chemistry between the two, but Natalie is used to everyone leaving her and she does not want to open her heart to the pain of loss again, so she refuses to let anyone completely in.

I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters in this story. Natalie and her sister have such a tragic back story and yet each moves forward in completely different directions. Her nieces are absolutely adorable, and I loved that all the residents at the Shelter Inn were like extra grandparents to them. I felt at times the story was predictable, and yet I was still very interested in how Ms. Thayne could bring such disparate main characters together. The romance is slow burn because both believe there is no happy ending if Natalie won’t fight her fear, open her heart, and stop always leaving. There are no sex scenes in this story. The relationship, or lack thereof between Natalie and her father is the emotional tearjerker subplot in this story. This holiday story is full of family love, growth, and forgiveness, friendship, community, laughs as well as emotional tears.

Overall, an emotional and enjoyable holiday romance/women’s fiction read to curl up with over the holidays.

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About the Author

#1 Publishers Weekly, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne finds inspiration in the beautiful northern Utah mountains where she lives with her family. Her books have won numerous honors, including seven RITA Award nominations from Romance Writers of America and a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews magazine.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.raeannethayne.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRaeAnneThayne

Twitter: https://twitter.com/raeannethayne

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/raeanne-thayne

Feature Post and Mini Book Review: Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

Book Description

Instead of presents this Christmas, a true crime podcaster is opening up a cold case…

Madeline Martin has built a life for herself as the young owner of a thriving business, The Next Chapter Bookshop, despite her tragic childhood and now needing to care for her infirm father. When Harley Granger, a failed novelist turned true crime podcaster, drifts into her shop in the days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up events that Madeline would much rather forget. She’s the only surviving victim of Evan Handy, the man who was convicted of murdering her best friend Steph, and is suspected in the disappearance of two sisters, also good friends of Madeline’s, who have been missing for nearly a decade. It’s an investigation that has obsessed her father Sheriff James Martin right up until his stroke took his faculties.

Harley Granger has a gift for seeing things that others miss. He wasn’t much of a novelist, but his work as a true crime author and podcaster has earned him fame and wealth—and some serious criticism for his various unethical practices. Still, visiting Little Valley to be closer to his dying father has caused him to look into a case that many people think is closed—and some want reopened. And he has a lot of questions about the night Stephanie Cramer was killed, Ainsley and Sam Wallace disappeared, and Madeline Martin was left for dead, bleeding out on a riverbank.

Since Evan Handy went to jail, three other young women have gone missing, most recently a young college dropout named Lolly. Five young women missing in the same area in a decade. Are they connected? Was Evan Handy innocent after all? Or was there some else there that night? Someone who is still satisfying his dark appetites?

As Christmas approaches and a blizzard bears down, Madeline and her childhood friend Badger return to a past they both hoped was dead—to find the missing Lolly and to answer questions that have haunted them both, discovering that the truth is more terrible and much closer to home than they think.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122494784-christmas-presents?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=LexYqxmNYl&rank=1

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My Mini Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS by Lisa Unger is a suspenseful thriller set a week before Christmas featuring the survivor of an attack from a sexual predator who killed one friend and is thought to be responsible for the disappearance of two sisters, also her friends, all on the same night. Now ten years later, she is having to relive that time in her life when a famous true-crime author and podcaster comes to town and is investigating the case. This story is a little longer than a normal novella, but shorter than a full-length novel.

This thriller is told by Maddie in the present and is interspersed with chapters that are memories from the past and then there are also chapters told by Harley as he tries to dig up new facts about the old case and the missing girls. There are plenty of plot twists that continually had me changing my mind about guilt and/or innocence of the suspects. Ms. Unger handled Maggie’s trauma and survivor’s guilt even these ten years later with empathy that made it feel believable. Overall, I was satisfied with the conclusion of the missing girls’ case, but unless I missed something somewhere, I do not understand who shot two characters at the end of the story. Other than that, I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller.

This is an engaging and suspenseful Christmas time short thriller.

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About the Author

Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty novels, including her latest SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX. With books published in thirty-three languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is regarded as a master of suspense.

Unger’s critically acclaimed novels have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times and many others. She has been nominated for, or won, numerous awards including the Strand Critics, Audie, Hammett, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Mystery and Suspense, and her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. Lisa is the current co-President of the International Thriller Writers organization. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

Social Media Links

Website: https://lisaunger.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlisaunger

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisaunger

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lisa-unger