Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: Jingle All the Way by Debbie Macomber

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Rating: ☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 272 pages
Author: Debbie Macomber
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: October 13th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A young workaholic avoiding home for the holidays discovers that you can’t run away from who you are–a heartfelt Christmas novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

Everly Lancaster always dreamed of leaving her hometown in rural Illinois. Now she helps run a burgeoning startup in Chicago, where her professional goals leave little time for friends…or a vacation.

When a massive snowstorm hits, Everly’s mother urges her to come home for Christmas, but she hesitates to return to the life she’s worked so hard to escape. Searching for other holiday plans, Everly tasks her assistant with booking her a cruise–the perfect getaway. Embarking on a weeklong tour of the Amazon guided by charming naturalist Asher Adams, Everly slowly but surely begins to realize that relationships are more important than work–and just might decide to journey home just in time for Christmas Day.

Debbie Macomber’s signature wintry warmth shines in this holiday delight.

MISSED ITS CHANCE.

Not gonna lie, the more I sat on this review, the lower my rating went.

There was an incredible amount of potential here. I thought the premise was a fun take for a holiday romance, could have led to a lot of different avenues, and took me nowhere. Or more, took me everywhere at an intense speed I couldn’t keep up with.

Insta-love/connections can work. I have read many good ones, but I tend to struggle with them more quickly when it’s truly rushed. Before halfway our couple had already had the big “conflict fight” and went separate ways more the moment. But I realized that they had hardly spent time with each other, so I never formed a connection with them. The amount of telling vs. showing me feelings and moments ruined most of this for me.

I liked how it ended and the resolutions that were made on both sides. There was better communication and compromises on both sides that worked for the story. Just wish that was fleshed out a bit more and that there was more story and moments.

Overall audience notess:

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

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Book Review: Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Sarah Hogle
Publisher: G.P Putnam
Release Date: April 6th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can you find real love when you’ve always got your head in the clouds?

Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start.

Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn’t the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who’s as grouchy as he is gorgeous—and it turns out he has very different vision for the property’s future.

Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other dying wishes Great-Aunt Violet left behind. But when Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley’s scowls, and as the two slowly begin to let their guard down, they might learn that sometimes the smallest steps outside one’s comfort zone can lead to the greatest rewards.

SECOND HALF SAVE.

I went in really wanting to love this book after having mixed feelings over You Deserve Each Other. Fortunately, this was leaps and bounds better for me personally and I look forward to seeing what Hogle writes next.

Now to this book specfically, the first half was ehhhh. It was slow and the one thing I didn’t love over the entire book was Maybell’s alternate universe? I thought it was odd, took me out of the book every time it happened and didn’t fit well.

Besides that, when the second half hit things picked up beautifully. Wesley IS SUCH A CINNAMON ROLL. My poor heart swooned at each confession and realization of how much he was doing without Maybell knowing. It was incredibly tender and kind. It was a dash of enemies to lovers with forced proximity that hit, and hit well. It was flippin’ adorable. Just all of it. He’s honestly the real gem here.

I like the anxiety representation here too (often specifically, social anxiety). It’s been awhile since I have truly felt seen by an author’s words and that was the case here. Feeling and knowing those exact emotions made this story even deeper for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE how the communication aspects (for both Wesley and Maybell) played into this. I thought it was heading for a crash and burn, but NO. It was perfect. It was everything I would want to hear in that situation and I couldn’t believe the pure love and kindness shown to both characters. Gahhh, the sweetest.

It was all so wholesome and full of heart. I’m so glad the second half opened up. I about teared up many times and WOW I JUST LOVE THEM OKAY.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses to mostly closed door scene
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a loved one, catfishing

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Book Review: Christmas Cliche by Tara Sivec

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 159 pages
Author: Tara Sivec
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: November 19th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

‘Twas the week before Christmas
and all through L.A.,
Allie Parker’s famous twin sisters
were driving her cray.
She fled to the mountains
with a hostage in tow,
hoping to sleep through the holidays,
which were a sh*t-show.
A crash in a blizzard,
and a hot mountain man,
definitely wasn’t part
of her evacuation plan.
Santas, and stockings,
and creepy nutcrackers too,
everywhere she looks,
it’s a crazy Christmas zoo.
But there are hugs, and smiles,
and a beautiful view,
kisses and laughter,
and no time to be blue.
Maybe this family,
with their hot mountain man,
will make this a Christmas
Allie can actually stand.

CHRISTMASY & SWEET.

A hidden gem I found on Kindle Unlimited! I really like this y’all. Super quick read. Sweet romance that for someone picky about insta-love enjoyed the way it was portrayed (it was more insta-attraction and it worked well!).

Allie has a ridiculous best friend who made me laugh out loud multiple times. This book has an air of ridiculousness to it that fit into the story. I found myself wrapped up and charmed by the whole plot.

The romance was precious. Jason was this rugged mountain man that was incredibly kind and truly listened to what Allie had to say. I love all the little things he did for her to help her have a nice holiday away from her family.

It was a group of lovable characters working through family ideals. What they want to do, should be doing, and what’s best for all. These scenarios woven in to this Christmas read set a mood that had me not wanting to put this down.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: Kisses, make-outs; a few mild detailed open love scenes
  • Violence: car wreck (nobody injured)
  • Content warnings: drug use

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Book Review: Snow Angel Cove (Haven Point #1) by RaeAnne Thayne

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 378 pages
Author: RaeAnne Thayne
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Release Date: October 28th, 2014
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne welcomes you to a small town full of big surprises that are both merry and bright…

Nothing short of a miracle can restore Eliza Hayward’s Christmas cheer. The job she pinned her dreams on has gone up in smoke—literally—and now she’s stuck in an unfamiliar, if breathtaking, small town. Precariously close to being destitute, Eliza needs a helping hand…for her sick young daughter’s sake as well as her own. But she’s not expecting her holiday hero to almost run her down with his car!

Rescuing Eliza is pure instinct for tech genius Aidan Caine. At first, putting the renovation of his lakeside guest lodge in Eliza’s hands assuages his guilt—until he sees how quickly he could fall for her. Having focused solely on his business for years, he never knew that what his life was missing was Eliza and her little girl. But is he willing to risk hoping for a yuletide romance that could lead to forever?

A MIXED BAG.

To break this down, what I enjoyed was the romance. I thought the chemistry and relationship between Eliza and Aiden was sweet. It moved well for the short time-period and I was invested. The banter, passionate kisses and everything was great.

I also really enjoyed the setting. The small town, holiday/Christmas vibes was perfect for the season. With an awkward meet cute and lovable family members it made for a good started book for the series.

What I struggled with was the tragedy that enveloped every single person. Each one of them (as in, each character) had a backstory that was intense and took away from the story. It was then repeated way too often and sentiments were added every time they looked at another character. Repeat this scenario every few pages and I was exhausted from it all.

A bit good, a bit eh. It was a nice quick read though. I flew through it and it was overall enjoyable to check this off of my holiday TBR read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: main character with cancer, loss of a loved one(s), a child with a life-threatening condition, getting hit by a car

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