Book Review: (Not So) Alone for Christmas by Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance Novella
Length: 95 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Four Petal Press
Release Date: December 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Problem number one: Maddy’s family is NOT at home. A surprise Christmas visit to Charleston only works if the family you’re surprising hasn’t decided to spend the holidays in Hawaii.

Problem number two: Maddy is stranded. There is snow on the ground in Charleston, a city that doesn’t even own a snow plow. Flights are grounded, and the power is out. Maddy isn’t going anywhere.

Problem number three: Bo Bradshaw, Maddy’s old high school crush, is stranded with her, and he is hotter than ever.

(Not So) Alone for Christmas is a standalone, sweet romance novella that will leave you craving Christmas cookies and a cozy fire.

ALL THE HOLIDAY SWEETNESS.

This is one of those, sit and read in one evening, kinda novellas. I love reading these sometimes! And this was a fantastic quick paced romance that I thought was well written and gave me all the necessary Christmas vibes.

I like that that this was a childhood friends / second chance-ish romance. These seem to work best for something so short. The immediate need to feel a connection between the love interests was there and I was whole heartedly for Maddy and Bo. I love a good forced proximity moment as Christmas plans fell through and they got a chance to reconnect.

Super short. Super sweet. A great read for the season. Highly recommend if you’re looking for something in that category!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance Holiday Novella
  • Language: none
  • Romance: make-outs

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Book Review: The Serpent and the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia #1) by Carissa Broadbent

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 532 pages
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: August 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Human or vampire, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.

But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in a new series of heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue, perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

IT FINALLY HAPPENED.

I have been on this eternal quest to find a vampire book worthy of my own five star rating. AND IT’S HERE. 2022 IS THE YEAR. This book deserves all the love and I beg of you to give it a chance too!!

I enjoyed Broadbent’s first series, but this already feels leaps better in the writing and world building, characters, everything. Her storytelling is even more impressive and that’s what had me fall in love with this book.

Oraya was such a force. I loooove morally gray characters and this woman is swimming in the color. She was someone I easily wanted to root for and loved the start of her character arc. Watching her loyalty to one side, and the slow unraveling of everything she knew is only going to make book two that much better.

The romance with Raihn? AHH. Slow burn perfection. The movement from rivals to reluctant allies to friends to lovers was fantastic. There were so many good moments between these two. I could not get enough of them. I liked the way they communicated and opened up and slowly learned to lean on another another through the fearsome trials they were going through.

AND THAT ENDING. Well timed reveals and betrayals abound and I am HERE FOR IT. Throw in one of my all time favorite tropes that I can’t wait to see play out and I am an official fan girl for this series.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: two open door; med-high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: battle scenes, loss of life, creature attacks, physical and magical altercations, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Thriller
Length: 352 pages
Author: Simone St. James
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect–a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion.

Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases–a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea’s surprise, Beth says yes.

They meet regularly at Beth’s mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she’s not looking, and she could swear she’s seen a girl outside the window. The allure of learning the truth about the case from the smart, charming Beth is too much to resist, but even as they grow closer, Shea senses something isn’t right. Is she making friends with a manipulative murderer, or are there other dangers lurking in the darkness of the Greer house?

A true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for while interviewing the woman acquitted of two cold case slayings in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.

GREAT AUDIOBOOK.

I love a cast in an audio read and this hit the mark for me. I flew through it in that regard because I can’t get enough when the narration is on point.

Story wise, the first half was GREAT. I was perfectly spooked (because I like my thrillers on the mild side of scary). Very much intrigued by what was happening and how these two women’s stories were going to collide.

Buuuut, maybe I just have an issue with ghosts in books? I don’t know. When the ghost came out to play I found myself more detached from the novel. Or it could be that the second half was super predictable so it draaaagged a lot. This combination led to my disenchantment by the end.

I liked the extremely subtle romance and the back story behind the main character. This actually wove into the rest of the plot well as to why Shea was making certain decisions.

While a bit of miss for me, it was still a good read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Thriller
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder (with graphic descriptions), child sexual abuse, alcoholism, miscarriage mentioned, gun violence

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Book Review: A Very Grumpy Christmas by Jerica MacMillan

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 317 pages
Author: Jerica MacMillan
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: November 22nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

My neighbor is a Grinch.

Since I run the Christmas Emporium and sometimes moonlight as an elf, that’s kind of a problem for me.

No surprise, though. When I brought over cookies to welcome him to the neighborhood this summer, he slammed the door in my face.

Until he brings his kid to visit Santa one of the days I’m working as an elf, and I realize there are key parts of their story I’m missing …

1. The little girl is his much younger sister, not his daughter.
2. He’s her guardian since their parents died in a tragic accident.

Now all of his handsome, broody glares make so much more sense. As one of Santa’s elves, I make it my mission to make this Christmas as special for them as possible. Which somehow includes trespassing on his property to hang Christmas lights and braiding the little girl’s hair regularly.

Despite his glares and grumpiness, I discover the soft underbelly of the beast. Will this Grinch’s heart grow three sizes as well? And if it does, will it have room for me?

A Very Grumpy Christmas is a standalone, small town, neighbors to lovers romance featuring a grumpy single dad and the sunshiny neighbor who’s determined to make his Christmas better. Full of heat and heart with an HEA guaranteed! 

IT WAS GOOD.

Three stars is mostly a case of not exactly for me, but could be for you so take this review for what you will.

This was a pretty good holiday romance. I loved the Christmastime set-up with the emporium and that the heroine’s Dad actually plays Santa Claus really added to the spirit of the season. Another sunshine/grump trope (common for the holiday reads) was used here too.

I didn’t love the friends with benefits trope. It’s just not for me. And things were waaaaay past my comfort zone for spice and I had to skip a lot more than I hoped/expected. So if you love both of those things, I would say try this out! The writing is good, and the larger story is very heartfelt.

The moments between Shane, Sarah and Sophie were incredibly sweet. Probably my favorites in the entire book. I love watching them become an unconventional family in the midst of tragedy. Sarah worked really hard to light up there lives in anyway possible and it played out well for the story. The conflict wasn’t overdone and led to a nice ending.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple very open door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of both parents, depictions of grief (most often in a young child)

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