Book Review: Cabin Crush (Gift Wrapped Romance) by Kasey Stockton

December 24, 2023October 31, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 200 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can what happens at the Christmas cabin stay at the Christmas cabin?

Rachael
I’ve had a crush on my brother’s best friend my entire life. Once, in high school, I even got a taste of what it would be like to be with him thanks to some well-placed mistletoe: incredible and humiliating. We always spend Christmas with Max’s family at our cabin, and every year I have to suffer through a blissful week with him in a completely platonic way. His steady stream of girlfriends have made him off limits . . . until now.

It’s Christmas.

We’re at the cabin together.

And Max Dawson is single.

Max
I’ve never looked forward to Christmas less in my entire life. My parents’ holiday will be ruined after I tell them my news, and to make matters worse, I blabbed to Rachael on the drive out to the cabin. Now she has to keep my secret until I’m ready to share with my family.

Which is probably why she’s acting so weird. Watching me. Touching me. Flirting.

It would be terrible if I wasn’t enjoying it so much.

But her brother has made it clear she’s off limits. And besides, I kissed Rachael once, and we all know how that ended.

So we definitely shouldn’t do it again.

Right?

CHRISTMAS MAGIC.

Oh my gosh I adored this book. It’s a short and sweet holiday romance that was the perfect length. I loved watching Max and Rachael come together. They had some magnetic chemistry and the brother’s best friend trope was well crafted. I couldn’t get enough of the cozy cabin with the long time family friends doing all of the holiday traditions.

The romance was excellently swoony and sweet Max was oblivious and I loved it. There were plenty good forced proximity moments and I liked the growth for each character personally. For a short book (under 200 pages) I thought it packed everything needed for a complete story arc.

Definitely recommend for the holiday season!!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Holiday Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: brief sledding crash
Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of losing a sibling to cancer

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Honorably Engaged (Bradwell Brothers #3) by Kasey Stockton

October 3, 2023June 23, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 324 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Golden Owl Press
Release Date: April 10th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Henry Bradwell has a secret, and Marianne Hutton is the only one who knows what it is.

Henry has worked hard to maintain his secret identity, keeping his occupation private from everyone, including his family. A chance encounter with a family friend, Marianne, reveals far more than he’s comfortable with. Now he’s not the only person who knows and Marianne’s discretion comes with strings attached.

Marianne needs a little help of her own and devises a scheme that will benefit both of them: her silence in exchange for Henry’s escort throughout the Season. A few months of courting, then they go their separate ways. But what happens when the secret is too much to bear and the fake relationship doesn’t feel quite as fake anymore?

BOOKISH.

I always think it’s kind of fun when a book is about books. And these two writers had me pretty smitten with their romance.

The fake dating/engagement worked well here and I liked all of the forced proximity moments it added. It was sweet seeing both Henry and Marianne realize their feelings towards one another and how the mutual pining turned into love.

It was a fantastic audiobook with dual POV narration that I loved. I’m very grateful that the author is able to have the audio release so close to the book release.

There was good tension and I loved seeing the Bradwell family again. The Pride and Prejudice references made me smile and I loved seeing Henry and Marianne work together. The whole story flowed beautifully between them.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: low-moderate
Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, carriage accident, loss of life, recounting loss of a father

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Cotswolds Holiday (Christmas Escapes #7) by Kasey Stockton

December 19, 2022December 2, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 350 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Some people face their problems head-on, other people run . . .

When my ex-boyfriend sends me his wedding invitation eight months after breaking up with me, and the bride expects me to be in the wedding party, it’s time for my tried-and-tested party trick: disappearing.

And nowhere is better to escape to than the cozy English Cotswolds in the middle of December.

Everything goes according to plan until I arrive in the Cotswolds. Snow is more slippery than I expected, my room is nothing like the listing described, and my pub owner landlord—well, he steps directly from my lumberjack fantasies and into my heart.

The only problem? I can’t fall for an Englishman who lives on the other side of the world from me. Not even one who has Dr Pepper on tap and kisses like it’s an Olympic sport. It’s much harder to run across the pond, and all good things must come to an end . . . but what if I can’t say goodbye?

Part of the Christmas Escape series, Cotswolds Holiday is a clean Christmas romance where an American girl runs off to England and tries not to fall in love.

SO I LOVED THIS?

And I’m so glad I did! I did go back and forth A LOT on a few aspects so lets get into those.

There is soooo much drama involving ex’s. And at times it felt like too much, yet in the same breath, I was reveling in the drama of Luna and Rhys finding there path to be together. I know it’ll be a polarizing type of read for that. I’m just reallll dang happy it worked for me (though it is the reason I took off 1/2 star).

Rhys was SWOONY. Every near touch, stolen kiss, and whispered endearments had me glued to the page. I loved his character. I enjoyed Luna as well. She’s a runner (meh), but I do think it was handled well enough for me to roll with. There was pretty solid communication between them and I loooove a get your girl moment and I was squealing when it happened.

The setting is perfect. A quaint pub in the countryside. I loved the side characters and the shenanigans that went down. Plenty of holiday cheer and perfect for the season.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Holiday Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: divorce, cheating (off page)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: All is Mary and Bright (Belles of Christmas: Frost Fair #2) by Kasey Stockton

June 28, 2021November 20, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Regency romance
Length: 243 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Golden Owl Press
Release Date: October 24th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He’s found the woman he wants to marry—it’s a shame she is already engaged to someone else.

Belles of Christmas: Frost Fair

Sweet, Regency Christmas Romances

Five Christmas romances and the Frost Fair that started them all

This is the second book in the clean and sweet Regency romance Belles of Christmas: Frost Fair series. Although this forbidden love romance is a stand-alone novel, the books are best enjoyed when read in order.

HAD ITS MOMENTS.

This was cute, but definitely didn’t love it as much as the first in this series (and I have now put together that each book is by a different author too). There was charm here, I was hoping for a bit more though.

The plot dragged throughout. There were continual tangents about Pride & Prejudice. And I didn’t feel like it even fit in the story? I get where some allusions were made between the two novels, but it took me out of the book each time it talked about P&P.

I enjoyed Andrew so much. He was an amiable and alluring love interest who really seemed to mesh well with Mary. I liked how they bounced off each other and were able to communicate about there pasts and the things they struggled with. I don’t think it needed the extra fiance (not a love triangle, it was a contract of marriage for convenience) to make things come together.

The atmosphere is incredibly Christmas and holiday. I love that and it has me wanting to continue this series. Quick romances with a lot of pleasing aspects overall. Can’t wait to continue!

Overall audience notes: