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

November 25, 2022January 2, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

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: The Holiday Switch by Tif Marcelo

November 14, 2022December 29, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 272 pages
Author: Tif Marcelo
Publisher: Underlined
Release Date: October 5th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A paperback original romance about a bookish Filipino-American girl who crosses paths with the innkeeper’s aggravating nephew–but when they accidentally switch phones, their newly discovered secrets draw them together.

Lila Castro is ready to take on her last winter break of high school. The snow is plentiful, the mood is full of holiday cheer, and she’s earning extra cash working at the cozy local inn. But her perfect holiday plans crash to a halt when her boss’s frustratingly cute nephew, Teddy Veracruz, becomes her coworker. When they accidentally switch phones one afternoon, they both realize they’ve been hiding things from each other. Will their secrets–and a dash of holiday spirit–bring them closer to love?

Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.

SURFACE LEVEL.

That’s what this book was missing. A deeper dive into the characters. I thought it was a cute holiday romance that definitely fit the season, but it was nothing memorable enough for me to recommend it to everyone I see.

I did love reading about a book blogger and rock climber. Those were fun anecdotes that were different from the day to day YA contemporary romance. I didn’t ever fully understand the “switch” concept? They traded phones on accident once, buuut that was a super small scene in comparison to everything else that happened.

Lila and Teddy had some cute moments and I overall liked the development of their relationship. A bit dramatic at times with a good conclusion. A simple, lighter read with a bit of holiday flair.

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: very little
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: discussion of previous doxing & internet stalking

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ARC Book Review: Scrooge and the Girls Next Door by Melanie Jacobson

November 8, 2022November 6, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: November 8th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When the sunniest woman in Creekville buys the house next to the grumpiest man on the street, sparks fly . . . and not just because she keep blowing his fuses…

Paige Redmond has done everything the hard way, from her wild child past to being a single mother raising her own delightful wild child now. But since landing in Creekville, she’s turned it all around. With her newly-inked college degree and her shiny new job title, nothing can get in her way, not even the fixer upper cottage she bought on a whim. It’s the worst house on the best street in town, and she can’t wait to give Evie the Christmas of her dreams in their very own home.

Paige tackles the holiday with a Clark Griswold-level of Christmas spirit, amusing the entire town who cheer her on–everyone except for her humbug neighbor, the reclusive, grumpy, and deliciously handsome professor next door.

Can Paige and Ellie win over the town’s biggest Scrooge? Or will he pull the plug on their first solo Christmas?

Experience the laughter and magic of a Creekville Christmas from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Jacobson today!

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THOUGHTS.

I started out really enjoying this. Easily a holiday read, I liked the grump and sunshine set up (with easy nods to The Christmas Carol). Single mom trope is here too and I love a great kid in a book too.

There’s some good humor and I loved the slow burn romance. It was a well accomplished age gap and I was head over heels for Henry. He reminded me of Temperance Brennan (Bones from Bones). A very dry sense of humor and the way he viewed the world. I thought this was spot on and his growth was solid too.

Paige grew on me but we had some learning curves too. I struggled with her absolute inability to let others help her even though they’ve literally been helping her for years. It was a stubborn clash that made me shrug my shoulders a bunch.

Some of the trauma felt like it was approached with a bit of insensitivity. I think I got what the author was trying to do, but it was a miss for me.

It does have the perfect amount of holiday cheer and I thought the ending was really sweet. There’s a good combination of things here even if some of the stuff wasn’t clicking for me.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Holiday Romance
Language: very little
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a grandparent (recounted), brief mentions of substance abuse, grief

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Book Review: Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis

November 7, 2022December 29, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Women’s Fiction + Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Lia Louis
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: September 28th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this romantic and heartwarming novel, two strangers meet in chance circumstances during a blizzard and spend one perfect evening together, thinking they’ll never see each other again. But fate seems to have different plans.

On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear.

The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence. With plenty of charming twists and turns and Lia Louis’s “bold, standout voice” (Gillian McAllister, author of The Good Sister), Eight Perfect Hours is a gorgeously crafted novel that will make you believe in the power of fate.

A GREAT WINTERY READ.

I couldn’t put this one down. I’m not big fan of women’s fiction, but the inclusion of the perfect amount of romance made me love this one. It had many memorable moments and I finished this in a day.

I loved the journey Noelle went on. Over the season she really grew and found her footing in the bigger world outside of her home. I loved how compassionate she was towards her mother and the stumbling it took to work through her life with her old flame. This was a love triangle that worked out sufficiently and never felt like an annoying tidbit you want to skip over.

The soulmate/fated kind of love Noelle had with Sam was adorable. I loved how they kept clashing into each other and how there story kept unfolding. Moment after moment brought them together and the tender kisses and quiet behind the scenes were incredibly sweet.

It was feel good and heartfelt and I thought this whole read was such a gem.

Overall audience notes: