Tag: holiday romance

Book Review: Lord Farleigh and Miss Frost (Clairvoir Castle Romance #4) by Sally Britton

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Holiday Romance
Length: 253 pages
Author: Sally Britton
Publisher: Pink Citrus Books
Release Date: November 21st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An Irish miss and a duke’s son have little in common, but Christmas at the castle has a way of bringing the most unlikely people together.

Isleen Frost wishes her family had stayed in Dublin for Christmas but understands it would have been folly to decline an invitation to the Duke of Montfort’s Christmastide house party. Isleen refuses to allow the opulent castle and powerful duke to impress her. But the duke’s eldest son, Lord Farleigh, is another matter entirely.

Raised as the heir to a duke, Simon Dinard, Lord Farleigh, has learned to project a calm self-assurance despite an inner fear he will never be as confident a leader as his father. When a friendly wager and a spirited Irish lady challenge all his unspoken thoughts, he determines to prove her wrong—and ignore the growing attraction between them.

Christmas celebrations at the castle are always full of surprises, but Isleen and Simon are not at all prepared for the feelings the season inspires between them. An Irish miss and a duke’s son have no business falling in love. But the magic of sleigh rides, snow-covered hills, and mistletoe might change their minds…

This novel is a sweet Regency romance and can be read as a stand-alone, though readers of the previous books will enjoy seeing old friends again.

SWEET FOR THE SEASON.

Another enjoyable read in this series. I’ve been saving this book for the holiday’s and it did not disappoint! I like how easy these books feel and give off the cozy historical romance vibe that will make you smile.

I adore this whole family and love all of the castle adventures. There’s cute moments between the main couple, Isleen and Simon. I liked their banter and their willingness to admit wrongs and how entirely cute they were together.

It’s a sweet and quick read that if you’ve liked the rest of the series you’ll love this one too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: The Rules of Mistletoe by Taylor Epperson

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 203 pages
Author: Taylor Epperson
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: October 5th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s got a list of rules and he’s about to break them all.

Rules for my future boyfriend (husband):

3. He always opens doors for me
6. He has to lean (like in While You Were Sleeping)
8. He has a good relationship with his mother
11. He loves watching romcoms and thrillers (because I have excellent taste in movies across a variety of genres)

I, Holly Nelson, have been dreaming about the perfect romance my entire life. You know the kind: guy and girl have an adorable meet cute and slowly, over the course of the movie, fall madly in love. I have spent hours of my life watching romcoms and I now have a list of qualities and rules for my perfect man.

I finally found him, but I haven’t figured out how to get him to notice me. Instead, I’m stuck with Drew Rossi.

Andrew (Drew) Rossi doesn’t fit a single item on my list and yet he’s coming home with me for Christmas, posing as my boyfriend. He breaks every single one of my rules, well, except for maybe #5, because he does have an arm full of tattoos. But Drew is not my perfect guy, and we both know it.

This fake relationship started because of a misunderstanding, but when Drew agrees to help me land my dream man & he agrees to follow my rules, I reluctantly agree. We don’t actually like each other, so what could go wrong?

FLOUNDERED.

I wanted to love this, instead I really struggled with multiple aspects and unexplained plot points that were never resolved. Why the list? Why did we never get more true details about it? Those are the beginning of the questions I have.

There’s plenty of holiday cheer and I like seeing big families come together for the holidays. I will say there were a few cute moments between the main couple and it is dual POV which is always a nice bonus in a romance.

The third act aspects also didn’t quite make sense. I felt like there was an imbalance of “heavy” topics and the “light Christmas rom-com” vibes that I thought this book was going for.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: recounting loss of a mother, mentions of cheating (in the past)

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Book Review: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:
She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.
He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.
She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Assuming they don’t kill each other first.

IT’S A VIBE.

I liked this one! I don’t think it had the same break-out five star feel AC’s previous book did but I had a hoot listening to this one. I loved the winter and holiday vibes and even though I haven’t seen Knives Out, I understood the assignment. There was also a Clue-esque feel to it that I liked too.

And I am a sucker for a dual POV romance with some very specific types of reveals and this one had those (!!!). I swooned so hard and I loved the hate to love dynamic between Maggie and Wyatt.

It’s a quick read and I felt like it fit the holiday atmosphere well. The mystery came together in the end well and I look forward to more books by this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Mystery Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Lindsey Kelk
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: November 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Newly single lawyer Gwen Baker is hoping that a family Christmas—countryside, a mountain of food and festive films—will salve the sting of her career hanging by a thread and her heart being trampled on. Because everyone else has their life sorted: even Dev, her boy-next-door crush, is now a tall, dark and handsome stranger with a fiancée. She can’t help wishing her future was clearer.

Then Gwen wakes up to discover it’s Christmas day all over again. Like Groundhog Day but with eggnog. And family arguments. On repeat.

As she figures out how to escape her own particular Christmas hell, Dev is the one bright spot. He might be all grown-up but underneath he’s just as kind and funny as she remembers.

Maybe, just maybe, her heart can be mended after all.

But how do you fall in love with someone who can’t remember you from one day to the next?

UHM.

This one might be all on me. I’m not usually a groundhog day trope reader. And I went into this one not knowing that information and got bogged down by the repetitive nature of day after day after day of Christmas drama.

I did find this book truly funny though. The wry humor and jokes landed and I found myself laughing multiple times. I ADORED Manny and loved their cousin relationship. There were some cute moments with the love interest too (it just took too long to get there). And I did like seeing Gwen reconnect with her family. Everyone was basically awful to each other for a good portion of this book and I was happy to see that dissipate.

While not my personal favorite, I know others have enjoyed it much more than me!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 1-2 fade to black; light innuendo
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating boyfriend (recounted), death of a loved one

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