Tag: hallmark movie

Book Review: How the Grump Saved Christmas by Claire Kingsley

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 339 pages
Author: Claire Kingsley
Publisher: Always Have, LLC
Release Date: November 17th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Hardworking Isabelle Cook has a serious problem. Her family farm, site of Tilikum’s Christmas Village, is in trouble. Big trouble. And worst of all? The man trying to buy it is none other than the grumpiest, grinchiest man of them all—Elias Stoneheart.

That’s a big nope. She’s not letting him get involved. Not with his heart made of coal.

Elias Stoneheart is in the business of making money, not friends. Especially when his boss is promising a long-awaited promotion. All he has to do is convince one struggling family to sell their farm.

The problem? It’s Cook Family Farm. And Isabelle Cook is his ex.

He might have history with Isabelle, but this is just business. A Christmas-loving farm girl is not going to come between him and his ambition.

And Christmas? He hates it. Christmas Village needs to go.

But as Elias spends time in the small town, holiday spirit—and Isabelle—get under his skin. And she might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.

Author’s Note: a sassy farm girl takes on a grumpy businessman in this stand-alone, snowy, small-town Christmas romance. Saucy banter, a guard donkey, plenty of holiday cheer, and a heartwarming happily ever after that will make you believe in the magic of Christmas.

WORKED FOR ME.

I knowww some people will find this too Hallmark adjacent for them, but it hit all the right notes for me so I am here for it and here to recommend this one for romance lovers who want a dash of spice alongside their Hallmark movies [books].

We’ve got the small town, the millionaire coming home to see an old flame, a cute Christmas farm that needs saving and more. I enjoyed all of these tidbits and how the author put them together. Elias is written as a really great grump. I felt his Grinchyness and you could easily see the slow thawing of his heart.

I didn’t love how Elias and Isabelle re-started their relationship (benefits moments are never my thing) buuut I do admit that this worked out well enough that I had few complaints past that. They actually worked on their relationship and opened up about the past. There were a few key flashback moments that helped the details connect too.

Romantic and simple, with a level of spice that I prefer, definitely pick this one up for the season!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2-3 brief open; low explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: miscarriage (recounted briefly)

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Book Review: The Twelve Dogs of Christmas (Pine Hollow #1) by Lizzie Shane

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 357 pages
Author: Lizzie Shane
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: September 29th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A delightful holiday romance about a small-town single dad and an animal rescue owner as they try to find forever homes for a dozen lovable pups before Christmas.

Pine Hollow has everything Ally Gilmore could wish for in a holiday break: gently falling snow in a charming small town and time with her family. Then she learns some Grinch has pulled the funding for her family’s rescue shelter, and now she has only four weeks to find new homes for a dozen dogs! But when she confronts her Scroogey councilman nemesis, Ally finds he’s far more reasonable — and handsome — than she ever expected.

As the guardian of his dog-obsessed ten-year-old niece, Ben West doesn’t have time to build a cuddly reputation. But he does feel guilty about the shelter closing. So he proposes a truce with Ally, agreeing to help her adopt out the pups. As the two spend more time together, the town’s gossip is spreading faster than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. And soon Ben is hoping he can convince Ally that Pine Hollow is her home for the holidays… and the whole year through.

DID I JUST READ A HALLMARK MOVIE?

The answer to that question would be a resounding YES. That was a positive and a negative for me.

Positive wise it was exactly what I expected and knew going in would bring out all of the Christmas romance vibes. I did like the main characters. There’s even a really cute niece involved. Not to mention, there really were A LOT of dogs and I loved meeting all of them too. I adore a small town set-up and Pine Hollow was what I was looking for.

On the flip side, being Hallmark-esque meant there’d be some come on now issues. One of those being how clueless our love interest was. Ben could not see past his nose about too many things and I wish that hadn’t dragged out so long. JUST KISS HER ALREADY. And the drama was ramped up towards the end when it could have ridden off into the sunset.

The cute pups made me smile and I did enjoy how fast I flew through it. Perfect for the holiday season, and a sweet romance to boot.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: orphaned child (parents died off page, recounted), single guardian

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Book Review: Waiting for Tom Hanks (Waiting for Tom Hanks #1) by Kerry Winfrey

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary romance/Chick-lit
Length: 259 pages
Author: Kerry Winfrey
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: June 11th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can a romcom-obssessed romantic finally experience the meet-cute she always dreamed of or will reality never compare to fiction, in this charming debut adult novel from Kerry Winfrey.

Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight.

When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days…can he?

DID I JUST READ A HALLMARK MOVIE?

Yes, I’m pretty sure I did. This book was everything you expect when you choose to sit and watch a Hallmark movie (which I know we all do sometimes).

This was really cute. I was into the romance between Annie and Drew. They had some great banter and I could feel their chemistry with each other. Things felt like they developed at a good speed (even though it was only over a two week span, remember: Hallmark-esque).

I adored the side characters. She had a great friend who was truly their for her and helped Annie get out of her shell. Annie’s Uncle Don was fun too. He showed a lot of unconditional love and had some tender moments. They were both sweet and had enough pages in the story for me to feel connected with them too.

As someone who hasn’t seen any Tom Hanks rom-coms (don’t @ me), this was a bit heavy in the analogies to these movies. IT WOULDN’T END. I got tired of the crazy repetitiveness of her talking about romantic comedies. I get it, Annie is obsessed. This influenced her ideas and decisions so much that I would get frustrated that she couldn’t see past her rose-colored glasses. There were waaaay too many metaphors.

This is quick and charming. That’s its best feature. If you’re looking for something that has some witty banter and a cleaner romance this would be a good pick. I wish it was a bit longer so we got some more depth from the characters, but it’s fine! This was still a nice read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong language
  • Romance: some kisses, one love scene that has no details (literally says: “we had great sex last night” but that’s it for details – it’s very clean for a romance)
  • Trigger warnings: discussion of death of parents

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