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Book Review: Christmas Baggage (Christmas Escape #1) by Deborah M. Hathaway

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 302 pages
Author: Deborah M. Hathaway
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 19th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

If there is one thing she has learned in England, it’s that not all Englishmen are created equal.
Because this guy was turning out to be a real pill.

Tired of spending the holidays throwing up on cruises with her parents and, you know, being dumped by ex-boyfriends, Claire Frost is determined to change her luck this Christmas. Taking time off from her flower shop, she follows her friend to London, ready to enjoy all-things England. And boy, does she. The frost-covered flowers. The frozen green hills. The bright red telephone boxes. The festive Christmas markets.

Also the men. Definitely the men.

Except, of course, her friend’s cousin. Liam Everhart is super attractive, super swoony, and super English. Too bad he’s also a super jerk. A super jerk whom she now has to spend every minute with. What a blessed, blessed relief that his Darcy/Poldark looks are overshadowed by his Darth Vader/Malfoy personality. She had enough Christmas baggage to deal with, so why would she ever add a swoony Englishman to the mix?

This is a clean, sweet, wholesome romance set in present-day London, England that features the enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes, with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

SO SWEET.

I have been waiting for this series for months and the first book started things off fantastically. I adored it. Suuuper sweet and cuddly and makes me want to fly to London ASAP.

For a very (I’m talking a week) fast paced romance, I was pretty charmed by the connection between Claire and Liam. They met on a rocky playing field and found common ground wandering London together. Occasionally things read a bit too much like a travel blog, but when this duo would banter back and forth I was HERE FOR IT.

The kissing scenes were absolutely swoooooony. Good heavens. I love well placed heat in sweet romances. This one knocked it out of the park. I felt the tension and desire easily.

Pleasantly satisfied with no ridiculous third actness. It all fit into the story well and made sense for the characters at the time. I thought the ending was delightful and gave the resolutions needed for both characters to be together and get what they needed from outside their relationship too.

All sorts of holiday cheer abound (which is something I look for when picking one of these romances up). You won’t regret diving into this series!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: emotionally negligent parents, loss of a parent (off-page prior to book)

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ARC Book Review: Cabin Mate (Under Kansas Skies #4) by Leah Brunner

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 251 pages
Author: Leah Brunner
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: December 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When the woman of my dreams finally becomes available, all bets are off.

I lost a bet to my older brother. My evil, life-ruining older brother. (Okay, maybe that’s a little over-dramatic).

Now I can’t go on a date for FOUR months. I can’t even touch a woman. No hand holding. Forget kissing.

I’m walking the straight and narrow (AKA dateless and lonely) just fine. Until my best friend (the woman I’ve been pining over since college) gets her heart broken.

How can I say no to those big, gorgeous blue eyes when she asks me to fly to Vermont to attend her sister’s wedding with her? As her fake boyfriend.

Yeah, all bets are off. (Don’t tell my brother).

It’ll be easy… pretend to be my best friend’s boyfriend without holding her, kissing her, or falling even more in love than I already am.

But when we end up having to share a room at her family’s cabin, the line between real and fake becomes very blurry…and very tempting.

This closed-door romantic comedy contains mild language and references to alcohol. This is book four in the Under Kansas Skies Series, and will be most enjoyed if read after Check Mate.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

ADORED THIS.

Do you ever spend a whole day reading a book and just love it? That’s how I felt here. This was a fast paced read filled with lots of friends to lovers angst that I have been waiting to read for months. I loved Brooks and Molly’s story. They ended this series beautifully!

I loved Molly’s character arc. I tend to struggle with ridiculously dramatic, wealthy type family backgrounds and while yes I did have to push past that a time or two, I thought overall it was written well. Molly learned to find her own ground and when she stood up for herself (and Brooks) it made me want to give her a high five. YAY for boundaries!

Brooks is the goofy guy we’ve seen across all of these books and I enjoyed getting his POV this go around. His personality is so fun and let me tell y’all I was straight swooning at all of the little things he did for Molly. I love little gestures and they’re plenty here to melt your heart.

The faking dating, one bed, and friends to lovers tropes were all highlighted well. I did notice a few repetitive inner monologue scenarios, but in the end. I truly loved reading this and it was the best book for me to pick up.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warning: fatphobia, discussion of weight and food restriction, emotionally manipulative parent

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Book Review: Children of Fallen Gods (The War of Lost Hearts #2) by Carissa Broadbent

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 666 pages
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: March 31st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

No war can be fought with clean hands. Not even the ones waged for the right reasons. Not even the ones you win.

Tisaanah bargained away her own freedom to save those she left behind in slavery. Now, bound by her blood pact, she must fight the Orders’ war — and Max is determined to protect her at all costs.

But when a betrayal tears apart Ara, Max and Tisaanah are pushed into an even bloodier conflict. Tisaanah must gamble with Reshaye’s power to claim an impossible victory. And Max, forced into leadership, must confront everything he hoped to forget: his past, and his own mysterious magic.

All the while, darker forces loom — far darker, even, than the Orders’ secrets.

As Tisaanah and Max are ensnared in a web of ancient magic and twisted secrets, one question remains: what are they willing to sacrifice for victory? For power? For love?

WHOA.

I hardly noticed this was 600 pages I was enjoying the ride so much. This is a captivating fantasy series that I am allllllll the way here for. I can’t wait to get to book three.

I like that this didn’t have the dreaded sequel issues. While still slower in nature the plot kept moving forward in turns I didn’t see coming. I loved the character growth for Tisaanah and Max AND them together! I think I would have loved even more romance (those little quiet moments I love so much), but I’m especially grateful there’s not some dumb breakup involved in this story.

There’s a bunch of moving pieces that keep unveiling themselves. I was excited about the third POV wondering why in the world it was there, but trust me, IT MATTERS. I think this was a really exciting and interesting piece to add in because it provides a lot more sustenance to the entire story.

I’m nervous to see what darkness rises in book three, and to see how my sweet couple survives.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: two open door
  • Violence: med-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, war themes, loss of life, near death experiences, possession, medical experimentation

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ARC Book Review: The Two Bells of Christmas by Joanna Barker

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Holiday Regency Romance Novella
Length: 142 pages
Author: Joanna Barker
Publisher: Rose Petal Press
Release Date: November 21st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Christmas is the perfect time to fall in love—unless you’re pretending to be your twin sister.

Cassandra Bell is happy to stay in the shadow of her poised and proper twin sister. After all, her only goal for the Hastings’ Christmas house party is to not make a complete fool of herself. Vivian, however, has much higher aspirations—her heart is set on a proposal from the eligible Mr. Hastings himself. But when Vivian grows ill, she begs Cassie to switch places with her and keep the other conniving ladies away from Mr. Hastings. Cassie reluctantly takes on the role of her twin, certain the charade will end in disaster.

Anticipating a quiet Christmas in the country, Roland Hastings arrives home to learn his matchmaking mother has organized an entire house party to help him find a bride. The last thing Roland wants is to spend the Yuletide season fending off simpering ladies—that is, until he meets Miss Bell. Spunky and unconventional and refreshingly honest, Miss Bell sweeps into Roland’s heart like a whirlwind. A whirlwind he has no desire to escape.

Mr. Hastings is nothing like Cassie expected, and the closer she grows to her handsome host, the harder it becomes to hide her true self—and her true feelings. But falling in love was never part of the plan, especially since Roland believes she is someone else. With Vivian quickly recovering and the house party coming to a close, Cassie is torn between loyalty to her sister and the unexpected yearnings of her heart . . .

The Two Bells of Christmas is a sweet Regency romance novella that was previously published in the Timeless Regency Collection, A Christmas Promise. This edition has a bonus epilogue and new edits.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

LOOOOVED.

Joanna Barker’s books never let me down. Even her novellas are some of my favorites because she can captivate an audience beautifully with whatever romance she is writing. I AM HERE FOR IT ALWAYS.

I loved both of these characters. Roland and Cassie were the sweetest. There was plenty of interaction between them, lots of soft moments, and kisses in the snow. YAY.

The plot was handled amazingly too. I loved how the twin switch worked out between Cassie and her sister. I love when siblings love and take care of each other and this was no exception. Especially when the go get the girl line comes up? Done. I am a puddle of swoon.

All in all, perfect for the season. You’ll love these characters and this story and I hope it gives all the warm fuzzies it gave me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Holiday Novella
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: none

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