Tag: indie author

ARC Book Review: How to Kiss on Christmas Morning by Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Christmas Romance Novella
Length: 150 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 25th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s merry and bright. He’s… not. But something between them is warming up.

Megan Sheridan just landed the perfect holiday a quiet week in the mountains house-sitting an event venue while the owners are away. Check the mail, answer the phone, keep the pipes from freezing—easy.

The only trouble? No one told Megan she’d be sharing the farmhouse with a very grouchy, very handsome farmhand.

Noah Hawthorne is a cousin of the owner, so she can’t exactly ask him to leave. But if he scowls at her one more time, she’s tempted to pack her own bags. She’s not about to have her Christmas ruined by a grump, hot or not.

But then a snowstorm knocks out the power, and Megan is forced to rely on her begrudging housemate. She quickly learns there’s more to Noah than terse replies and guarded looks.

But trusting a man with secrets is tough, and Megan isn’t sure she’s willing to gamble on someone who won’t open up.

When the magic of the holiday fades away, will she be holding her future? Or nursing a broken heart?

How to Kiss on Christmas Morning is a standalone, grumpy/sunshine holiday novella connected to the How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother series. Read for forced proximity, snowed in at Christmas vibes and a closed door heat level with chemistry and tension but only kisses on the page.

Thank you Jenny Proctor for the eARC.

WELL THIS WAS ADORABLE.

The holiday season really lends itself towards fast paced novellas in the midst of all of the chaos of the month. I loved picking this up and being back in Jenny Proctor’s universe and seeing all of the connections and moments with previously loved characters.

I loved the banter between Megan and Noah. They have that moment of kismet and were sweet on each other. It was a quiet and soft holiday together and it just makes you feel good. It has quintessential hallmark moments perfect for the season.

Overall audience notes:

  • Holiday Novella
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: November 2025

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Celebrating another turn around the sun! I hit it hard with holiday romances and found a couple new gems! Future reviews will be out soon or check my socials to see more breakdowns.

  • Princess of Blood (The Shards of Magic #2) by Sarah Hawley
  • [ARC] We Fell Apart (We Were Liars) by E. Lockhart
  • [ARC] Coldwire (Coldwire #1) by Chloe Gong
  • Check the Halls (The Ottawa Otters #2) by K.M. Gillis
  • The Things Gods Break (The Crucible #2) by Abigail Owen
  • [ARC] The Wild Card (Sheet Cake #4) by Emma St. Clair
  • Soul Searching (Sweetwater Peak #1) by Lyla Sage
  • How He Got the Girl (Sweeter Than Fiction #2) by Amanda Schimmoeller
  • Mate (Bride #2) by Ali Hazelwood
  • Moth Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou
  • My Merry Mistake (Holidays with Hart #3) by Courtney Walsh
  • Thorn Season (Thorn Season #1) by Kiera Azar
  • A Wraith Beneath the Tides (Beyond the Tides #1) by Emilia Jae
  • Smoke and Scar (Shattered Crown #1) by Gretchen Powell Fox
  • The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs
  • About Last Christmas by Rachel Scott McDaniel
  • Never Over by Clare Gilmore
  • [ALC] Arrow of Fortune (The Raiders of the Arcana #3) by Jacquelyn Benson
  • Highland Holiday by Kasey Stockton
  • [ARC/ALC] The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews
  • That’s A Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You by Elyse Myers
  • Big Nick Energy by Kristen Bailey
  • Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms by Claire Kingsley
  • [ALC] Moms of Mayhem (Mayhem Hockey Club #1) by Aimee Vance
  • Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (Catching Feelings #1) by Kate Watson
  • Brimstone (Fae & Alchemy #2) by Callie Hart
  • Silent Heist by Jenessa Fayeth
  • [ARC/ALC] Better in Black (Shadowhunter Chronicles) by Cassandra Clare
  • [ARC] The Bodyguard Affair by Amy Lea
  • [Novella] The Holidate Switch by Torie Jean
  • [ARC/ALC] Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana
  • [Novella] Mistletoe Fall Out by Larissa Hommes
  • A Little Holiday Fling by Farrah Heron
  • [Novella/ARC] How to Kiss on Christmas Morning by Jenny Proctor
  • [Novella] Merrily Ever After by Catherine Walsh
  • Eclipse of the Crown (Villains & Virtues #3) by A.K. Caggiano
  • Please Don’t Go (Midnight Strike #1) by E. Salvador
  • [Novella] Snow Place Like Home (Home Sweet Holidays) by Laura Pavlov
  • [Novella] Merry and Bright (Home Sweet Holidays) by Ali Rosen
  • [Novella] All Wrapped Up in You (Home Sweet Holidays) by Rosie Danan

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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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ARC Book Review: The Wild Card (Sheet Cake #4) by Emma St. Clair

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 353 pages
Author: Emma St. Clair
Publisher: Self Publishing
Release Date: November 6th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Is twenty-three too old for running away? I sure hope not. Because, right now, that’s my current and only life plan.

Desperate to escape the dome of control my father has dropped over my life, I visit my brother in Texas–with no plans to use my return ticket home.

But after spending every cent of my savings to pay off my student loans, I need a job. Stat. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to ask my brother for help and admit how bad things have gotten at home.

So, when the production company I’m interviewing with in Sheet Cake, Texas wants proof that I’ve got long-term roots here, I invent a fake local boyfriend.

Which would have been fine had they not asked to meet him. Today.

I do what any woman in a desperate situation would I grab a man who’s giving off boyfriend vibes and ask to borrow him for an hour.

Too bad I didn’t recognize that man as Collin Graham, who just so happens to be the brother of my brother’s wife. (Confusing, I know–but the important part is that we are NOT related.)

When I finally realize who he is, two things are very he knew it was me the whole time, and this fake boyfriend thing is going to be a lot more complicated now that I actually got the job.

On the plus side, fake dating serves Collin’s purposes as well. We’re both a little lost, both deep in life transition–and apparently both struggling with the fake part of the relationship.

I hadn’t planned on coming to Texas and falling in love, especially not when the name of the game is playing pretend. But would dating Collin for real be such a bad thing?

That depends–on how long it takes the reasons we started faking to begin with finally catch up to us both.

The Wild Card is a fake dating (and fake fake dating) closed door romantic comedy with all the sizzle but none of the spice. Set in the fictional town of Sheet Cake, Texas, this rom-comcan be read as a standalone but pairs best with the other books in the series.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

GOOD TO BE BACK.

I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time and it was worth the wait y’all. I loved being back in Sheet Cake, and I loved seeing all of my favorite characters again. This is easily one of my favorite fictional small towns and I will come back again and again.

I loved this book was soft. It’s low angst but high in the tender and loving moments. Feeling seen and learning to trust and being open to communicate. I love the realistic and romantic nature of Collin and Molly’s relationship.

There’s the usual small town shenanigans and chaos. I love the text threads and family interactions, all of the fake dating schemes and how you know from the start nothing is fake. I’m so happy Collin got his love story!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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