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Book Review: My Merry Mistake (Holidays with Hart #3) by Courtney Walsh

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Holiday Sports Romance
Length: 412 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 1st, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sometimes the perfect gift is standing right in front of you. . . You’re just too stubborn to see it.

I don’t like to make mistakes. Ever.

Especially when those mistakes are witnessed by the same person—flirty Finn Holbrook—who can’t seem to leave me alone. Can I really trust him not to tell anyone that the night we met, I tried to kiss him? Or that I fell apart after I got fired from a job I loved? Or that I’m not as strong as I want everyone to think I am?

The simple fact that he’s boomeranged back into my orbit after all these years feels like a great, big cosmic joke.

Only now he’s a professional hockey player, and while he doesn’t look like the goofy college bartender I met all those years ago, he still acts like one—immature, flirty, and unable to take anything seriously.

Which is why I never, ever fall for his game.

I know better than to get swept up in romance. I don’t have time. I’m busy making myself irreplaceable in my new job with the Chicago Comets. Work isn’t just something I do, it’s who I am.

And while my sisters are constantly on me to slow down and take breaks, those things aren’t on my schedule, so . . . I push on. Do more. Load up my schedule. Overcommit. Until eventually, my stress lands me in the emergency room.

The prescription? A month off. No emails. No work. No distractions.

Unless you count Finn Holbrook, who keeps showing up at my door, determined to leverage his positive, golden retriever energy to show me there’s a great, big world outside that I haven’t bothered to explore, most of it covered with white twinkle lights and Christmas decorations.

I begrudgingly go along with his grand plans, and little by little, I start to see there really is more to life than work—and more to Finn than flirting.

Which makes me wonder . . . how can someone so obviously wrong for me start to feel completely right? And more importantly . . . how do I make those feelings go away?

My Merry Mistake is an opposites attract hockey romance with all of the sizzle but none of the steam. It’s the third book in the Holidays with Hart series, but can be read as a stand alone.

OH, OH THIS BOOK.

While highly relatable on many levels for I’m sure lots of people, this one hit me square in the face as a fellow eldest daughter. DAMN. The amount of times I’ve literally ran myself into the ground and ended up having to rest (which I hate resting sooooo). I GET IT RAYA. I GET IT.

But let me tell y’all FINNNNNNNNNNN? The softest of golden retriever’s EVERRRR. I loved his temperament and the fact that this man has been down bad for YEARS. I LOVE TO SEE IT EVERY TIME. The banter and ridiculous chemistry between Finn and Raya will have you begging them to kiss. The slow burn is torturous.

And there is definitely enough holiday cheer to say this is without a doubt a Christmas book. It had me craving everything December. I’m also obsessed with how close knit both of these families are too. I don’t think that’s written in books often enough and it is one of my favorite tidbits. The sibling dynamics, facetime chats and showing up in the hard moments made me want to sob. THIS BOOK WAS INCREDIBLE.

An official *all time great* for my holiday book recs.

Overall audience notes:

  • Holiday Sports Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: loss of a sibling (recounted), grief depiction

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Book Review: The Shadows Rule All (Dominions #3) by Abigail Owen

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Abigail Owens
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: November 12th 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This electrifying conclusion combines danger, action, and a heart-pounding romance wrapped up in a gorgeous cover package.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS ONE.

I wanted to finish this series even after feeling the second book was very lackluster. And while I never got upset I was reading this book I also don’t think I ever recovered from the middle book and wanted to get through this quickly to call it done.

Different aspects and plot choices were the same from book one and this is my biggest struggle with romance series vs. standalone. I think in fantasy books having the burn carry over into the next book is more beneficial because things feel less repetitive. Slow burns are okay!!

Anyways, past that tangent I don’t have much of anything else. It’s fine.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: vague open door
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: How He Got the Girl (Sweeter Than Fiction #2) by Amanda Schimmoeller

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 327 pages
Author: Amanda Schimmoeller
Publisher: ABS Publishing
Release Date: October 9th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A fake dating contract with the man who took me on the best date of my life and then ghosted me…what could possibly go wrong?

I’ve spent the past three years trying to forget Griffin Reynolds. But that’s become impossible to do when his infuriatingly handsome face starts popping up everywhere.

After a coffee shop mishap, I find myself in the arms of Hollywood’s hottest new actor. Now, my face is next to his on every tabloid, and his agent suggests a fake relationship to keep the publicity going since he’s up for his dream movie role.

I’d love nothing more than to tell Griffin where he can shove his money. But I’d be a fool to refuse the salary he’s offering me to post a few pictures on social media. It doesn’t give me back the last few years of my life, but at least he’ll be paying me back in some way for the damage he did when he disappeared without a trace.

I do my best to maintain my stone-cold demeanor on our dates. But Griffin must be as great of an actor as everyone makes him out to be with his love-sick looks and lingering touches.

At least, that’s what I have to believe. Because the alternative is that Griffin has real feelings for me…and I refuse to let him hurt me a second time.

How He Got the Girl is a fake dating, celebrity romcom with sizzling chemistry but no explicit content. It’s the second book in the Sweeter Than Fiction series, following four best friends finding love.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

HOW SWEET.

Amanda’s books just always bring a sense of soft joy to my reading world and I love that. I also love that this book felt like stepping into winter and even had some soft holiday vibes too.

Y’all know I’m down bad for a man down bad and Griffin fit that marker to a T. I loved his dedication and sense of self and was a genuinely good human. I loved the banter and all of the winter activities. The TS references are fun to catch throughout too.

I love good family dynamics and strong friendships and this book brought those out in full force. I love the support and the care. It sings to my soul every dang time.

A beautiful romance with true communication and making the hard things work because they are worth working for. Definitely a book to pick up y’all!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: Christmas With a Crank by Courtney Walsh

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Christmas Romance
Length: 366 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Sweethaven Press
Release Date: November 3rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A second chance with your first crush.

Doesn’t happen often.
For Liam Fisher, that first crush was his next door neighbor, Olive Witherby.
Childhood was lazy summers, treehouse stargazing, and endless games of hide and seek at Pine Creek, the Christmas tree farm that’s been in Liam’s family for generations.

When Liam moves away, he and Olive say goodbye the only way they know how—with a fumbling first kiss neither of them will ever forget.

Even though twelve-year olds’ promises of keeping in touch feel eternal, time and distance eventually make Olive and Liam practically strangers.

Twenty years later, Liam’s parents announce they’re retiring and selling the tree farm.
Twenty years later, Pine Creek is the last place grown-up Liam wants to be. Inherit this legacy? Not on your life.
And twenty years later, grown-up Olive is stuck.

Her work life is a lot like her love life—floundering. After a humiliating business failure, loads of debt, and one too many laughable first dates, she’s in no hurry to put herself out there again, in business or in romance.

When Olive is hired by Liam’s parents to rekindle the lost magic of the farm one final time before it’s sold, she sets out to make this the last, best Pine Creek Christmas, for the town and for a very cranky, not-so-talkative, surprisingly attractive Liam.

Part of her mission? Convince the crank to fall in love with Christmas.
The other part? Not fall head over heels in the process.

Christmas With a Crank is a grumpy/sunshine, childhood crush, opposites attract romance with plenty of sizzle but none of the steam.

IT WAS CUTE.

I love a good grump who’s actually grump and Liam delivered. Olive was the perfect counterpart in her cheery and optimistic ways, but also exhibited a lot of amazing self growth and discovery about herself and the way she wants to do life.

The Christmas tree farm was a great addition. I liked all of the cute moments and heated kisses. It’s definitely on the light side if you’re looking for something in that range right now. The plot doesn’t have a lot going for it but it is an enjoyable read for the season.

Overall audience notes:

  • Christmas Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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