Tag: Book Review

Book Review: Solo for the Season (Gift-Wrapped Romance) by Martha Keyes

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 206 pages
Author: Martha Keyes
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 8th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

MAGGIE

After being dumped last Christmas, I’m taking extreme measures to ensure nothing and no one ruins my happy holidays this time around. I’ll be safely wrapped in a cocoon of kitschy Christmas decor, complete with surrounding winter wonderland at the ultimate holiday mountain cabin. So what if the countless elf figurines make me a little uneasy or if there are a couple hiccups with cabin maintenance? There’s a bigger the assistant manager happens to be one of (many) teasing classmates from my childhood and my former crush. He keeps showing up to my cabin to fix things. I’m more worried about what he might break…. WES Here at Crystal Peaks Resort, I’ve got everything I tall trees, fresh air, and no cell phone service. This is my happy place, and if I prove to my boss I can handle the job, the management position here will be mine. Everything is falling into place. Until the newest guest arrives. The quirky cabin she’s in is the bane of my existence, causing issue after issue. But the more I’m there, the more I realize the real obstacle between me and my future proving to my boss I can keep a professional relationship with the guests. Or one guest in particular.

A Gift-Wrapped Romance is a five-part multi-author series that can be enjoyed in any order!

THIS WAS SWEET.

I love short and sweet Christmas romance books. This was a gem and I loved Wes and Maggie. The setting was fun with the explosion of kitschy holiday goodness and all of the snow that I’m grateful I never see in real life.

One of my favorite aspects was that even though Maggie was still a little affected by some of the teasing from high school she didn’t let that completely overwhelm her being kind to Wes initially. And the fact he gave her a genuine apology was beautiful. I love see characters act their age and to try their best to communicate instead of running away.

The only tiny thing I didn’t love was Brielle. The conflict that came to that added pages, but not content. I just could have done without.

That last 20% though? I loved it. I loved how not for one second did Wes try to hide that fact he had fallen for Maggie and that they found a way to make things work between them. It was precious.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Cait’s Greats 2023: Contemporary Romance

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I’m actually surprised by how many I loved this year from this genre. I’m notoriously cranky about reading them. BUT HEY. That means that these truly are top notch. I hope you find a book for your TBR next year.

Scroll down to see which books are open, closed or sweet romances!

Note: I didn’t count any rereads on this list.

adult Romance

Open Door:

  • Whispers of You
  • The Love Wager
  • Final Offer
  • Wing and a Miss
  • Echoes of You
  • Finding Gene Kelly
  • If Only You
  • Pier Pressure
  • The Seven Year Slip
  • A Little Magic
  • Things We Left Behind
  • Shadows of You
  • The Right Move
  • A World Without You
  • The Takedown
  • Last Call at the Local
  • The Catch

Closed Door

/Fade to Black:

  • Speechless
  • Desire or Defense
  • Practice Makes Perfect
  • The Blonde Identity
  • Flirtation or Faceoff
  • I Got You
  • The Last Love Note

Sweet:

  • Eloise and the Grump Next Door
  • Merritt and Her Childhood Crush
  • First to Fall
  • Royal Gone Rogue
  • Betting on the Boy Next Door
  • Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder
  • Kissing for Keeps
  • A Class of Her Own
  • How to Kiss Your Enemy
  • Hello Stranger
  • One Last Play
  • American Gauntlet
  • The Pocket Pair
  • The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley
  • Upping the Ante
  • How to Kiss a Movie Star
  • Just Don’t Fall
  • But He’s My Grumpy Neighbor
  • Can’t Help Falling
  • Heidi Lucy Loses Her Mind
  • Absolutely Not in Love
  • Cabin Crush
  • Emergency Contact
  • The One with the Kiss Cam
  • The Christmas Letters
  • The Duet
  • The Golden Goal

young adult/new adult Romance

Open Door:

  • The Deal

Closed Door/Fade to Black:

  • Tilly in Technicolor
  • Check & Mate
  • Even if it Breaks Your Heart

Sweet:

  • Running Barefoot
  • Safe Harbor
  • All Alone With You
  • The Getaway List

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Book Review: Merry Kismet (Gift-Wrapped Romance) by Anneka R. Walker

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 202 pages
Author: Anneka R. Walker
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: November 2nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

BRIE

Things I should never have done:

  1. Put my ex-boyfriend’s name on my Christmas wish list.
  2. Grin dumbly at him when he shows up at my door.
  3. Think it’s kismet that he’s staying on the other half of my duplex for the holidays and means we’re meant to be together. Because we’re not. He broke my heart in High School and never looked back.

ROCKWELL

Things I will never do:

  1. Move back to Bearwood.
  2. Repeat my parents’ mistakes by getting married.
  3. Kiss Brie Holland under the mistletoe. I know how good her kisses are, and if I want to make sure number one and two don’t happen, I’m going to have to keep her safely in the friend zone until I’m out of Bearwood for good.

LACKED CHEMISTRY.

I did think some of this was sweet, but the first half was hard for me to wrap my head around. I couldn’t quite get behind some of the thought processes and choices that ultimately had me frustrated.

There was plenty of good Christmas spirit and the tiny dash of magical realism was charming. I liked the main characters in general and the second half was much better. It’s a sweet and simple holiday read that might work for you more than it did me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: divorce

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Book Review: Cabin Crush (Gift Wrapped Romance) by Kasey Stockton

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 200 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can what happens at the Christmas cabin stay at the Christmas cabin?

Rachael
I’ve had a crush on my brother’s best friend my entire life. Once, in high school, I even got a taste of what it would be like to be with him thanks to some well-placed mistletoe: incredible and humiliating. We always spend Christmas with Max’s family at our cabin, and every year I have to suffer through a blissful week with him in a completely platonic way. His steady stream of girlfriends have made him off limits . . . until now.

It’s Christmas.

We’re at the cabin together.

And Max Dawson is single.

Max
I’ve never looked forward to Christmas less in my entire life. My parents’ holiday will be ruined after I tell them my news, and to make matters worse, I blabbed to Rachael on the drive out to the cabin. Now she has to keep my secret until I’m ready to share with my family.

Which is probably why she’s acting so weird. Watching me. Touching me. Flirting.

It would be terrible if I wasn’t enjoying it so much.

But her brother has made it clear she’s off limits. And besides, I kissed Rachael once, and we all know how that ended.

So we definitely shouldn’t do it again.

Right?

CHRISTMAS MAGIC.

Oh my gosh I adored this book. It’s a short and sweet holiday romance that was the perfect length. I loved watching Max and Rachael come together. They had some magnetic chemistry and the brother’s best friend trope was well crafted. I couldn’t get enough of the cozy cabin with the long time family friends doing all of the holiday traditions.

The romance was excellently swoony and sweet Max was oblivious and I loved it. There were plenty good forced proximity moments and I liked the growth for each character personally. For a short book (under 200 pages) I thought it packed everything needed for a complete story arc.

Definitely recommend for the holiday season!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: brief sledding crash
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of losing a sibling to cancer

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