Friday, December 31, 2021

2021 Reading Stats

 As much as I like looking forward to and setting goals for the new year, I love breaking down my reading stats over the past year even more.  I tracked my reading separately on an Excel sheet for the first time ever this year so I have some extra fun breakdowns plus the ones provided on Goodreads and/or StoryGraph. For my reading, I have everything basically split between romance and "other" (primarily mystery/thriller/horror). 

I do have both Goodreads and StoryGraph accounts, they're linked below (the ratings and reviews are identical between the two sites)

2021 Reads on Goodreads

2021 Reads on StoryGraph


Top books read in 2021

For my top books, I made a little bracket and picked my favorite read from each month.  I narrowed it down to my top 3 choices per grouping and highly recommend any and all of the books that show up on either list!  I've linked the corresponding blog post for the top 3 in each category but I do have reviews of all books listed on the blog.

Mystery/thriller/horror:

Top 3: 

Blood Parish by E.J. Findorff

A Dark and Secret Place by Jen Williams

The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix 

Honorable mentions:

Point Roberts by Alexander Rigby  

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

The Liar of Red Valley by Walter Goodwater

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

Welcome to Cooper by Tariq Ashkanani

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (ARC, pub date January 11, 2022)


Romance:

Top 3

All the Feels by Oliva Dade

In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish

Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
 

Honorable mentions:

Office Grump by Nicole Snow

Like You Love Me by Adriana Locke 

Her Soul to Take by Harley Laroux

Stud Muffin by Jiffy Kate

Baking Me Crazy by Karla Sorensen

Cinnamon Roll by Anna Zabo

Tie Me Down by Melanie Harlow

 

Top Authors:

In 2021, I read from 164 unique authors.  Here are the ones I read multiple books from (non-romance authors are highlighted in orange)

 

 

 Reading/Rating Breakdowns


# Books Read Total: 193

# romance read: 115

# mystery/thriller/horror: 78

# DNFs: 5

 

Where sourced books from:

8 audiobooks from Audible

62 ARCs (from either NetGalley or BookSirens)

78 from Kindle Unlimited

22 from my local library


All up average rating: 3.84

Average romance rating: 3.81

Average mystery/thriller/horror: 3.88


All up 5 star: 47 books

5 star romances: 21

5 star mystery/thriller/horror: 26

 

ARC Stats:

Total # ARCs read: 62

# NetGalley ARCs: 83

# Book Siren ARCs: 9

 

# Romance ARCs: 10 

        Average Rating: 4.2

# Mystery/Thriller/Horror ARCs: 52

        Average Rating: 3.86

 

Financial Stats:

When I was tracking my reading this year, I also kept note of the prices of the books (Kindle/paperback/hardback).  Not every book had a paperback/hardback price, but all of them had a Kindle eBook price.  I looked up the prices on the day I wrote the review so prices could be higher/lower now but this was just to get a ballpark.  I used Amazon for my pricing details because I do use KU/Audible so some books I read were exclusive to the Amazon platform so I just kept it consistent across all books.   

(all costs are in USD)

Total cost if all books were purchased as Kindle eBooks: $1285.78

                Cost of all romance as eBooks: $463.90

                Cost of all mystery/thriller/horror as eBooks: $821.88


What I spent:

Stand alone book purchases: $0.00

KU membership: 9.99/mo * 12 months = $119.88 for the year

Audible membership: 15.85/mo * 12 months = $190.20 for the year

Total spent: $310.08



Month by Month Breakdown


That's all the stats I have for 2021.  I added a few extra fields to my spreadsheet for 2022 so I can hopefully have some more fun data to play around with next year (page counts, trope/subgenre, etc)


Wednesday, December 29, 2021

2022 Reading Goals

 'Tis that time of year again already!  Time to set some reading goals.  

I set some goals for 2021 and, to be honest, they did not go the way I had planned.  While I did not meet those goals, I did use my attempts at meeting them as a learning opportunity.  For example, I wanted to branch out and read some fantasy books and I had a few picked out that sounded interesting and had good reviews.  However, when I would pick them up I just couldn't get into them and I just realized that I really prefer my fantasy in my TV/movies and I like reading romances and mystery/thriller/horror.

So for 2022, my goals are more focused around doing things I already like doing/reading and just wanting to do more of them.  So here they are, in no particular order:

 

Goal: More participation in read-a-thons/reading challenges!

I know these aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I participated in a few read-a-thons this year and I had a really fun time with all of them.  I really liked participating and seeing what other people were reading (plus adding quite a few books to my TBR list).  I don't take these challenges too seriously so if I don't complete all the squares of a bingo board, for example, it doesn't bother me.  I've mostly used them as a way to have fun with books I was already going to read and work through my TBR a bit.  For this year, the ones on my radar currently are:

Year of Smut by @ratetheromance on Instagram

Nordic Noir November by @readbydusk on Instagram

2022 POPSUGAR reading challenge 

And others as they pop up. I know last year there were a few weekend read-a-thons that I participated in and even those shorter ones are really fun.

 

Goal: More audiobooks!

One of my personal New Year's resolution is to get back into a lot of hobbies I've let slide in the past few years (knitting, cross stitch, gardening, painting miniatures, etc).  I have a ton of books I want to read and the past year has pretty much been mostly just reading as a hobby so I think listening to audiobooks while getting back into other hobbies would be a good compromise to reach.  Also, I do pay for an Audible membership that I really need to use more to make it worthwhile.  I have a goal of reading at least 1 audiobook per month.  (As of Jan 1, 2022 I have 15 unread audiobooks already purchased and 6 credits to use)


Goal: More backlist reading!

This one is two-fold.  

First: I want to read more backlist from authors I really love.  This is mostly romance-focused because so many romance authors that are new to me have huge backlists I can sink into (but I do have a few thriller/mystery writers in mind as well).  I was really focused this year on trying new to me authors and reading widely but there are a few key authors that I would really love to go through their backlist and pick up some of their older titles.  

Example authors would be: Lucy Score and Peter Swanson (I already have 2 of his books in my audiobook pile above)

Second: I want to read more publishing backlist, which for me in 2022 would mean reading books published in 2020 or earlier.  For this past year, only 26% of my reads were published in 2019 or before.  I know there's so much focus on new/upcoming releases but there are so many great books coming out every year that I want to not lose sight of them just because I didn't get to read them right away.

I also have a good number of physical books that I own that I really want to get around to reading and most of these I've had on my shelves for the past 5-10+ years.  I have a goal of 1 physical read from my current collection per month.  (as of Jan 1, 2022 I have read 25/59 of my physically owned books - marked with red dots below)


Goal: More fun reading projects!

I did one reading project for fun in 2021 (Final Girl vs Final Girl vs Final Girl) and I had a fun time with it.  I'd like to do more posts like that in 2022.  I know these sort of reading projects videos are popular with bookish accounts on YouTube so maybe I'll see if some of those projects would do well in a written format.  I do have two projects in mind already:

First: reading through the Robert Hunter series by Chris Carter that comes highly recommended by @seb.reads on Instagram. It is a police procedural/serial killer series following LAPD detective Robert Hunter and the reviews on Goodreads are absolutely stellar for all the books in the series.  There are currently 11 books in the series - the first published in 2009 and the most recent in 2020. I really do love detective series but it can be so hard to get into them when they are this far along and while most of them have standalone mysteries in them, the overarching plot and characters are a real draw for me.  So I'm planning on reading 1 book from this series a month this year.

Second: I've also noticed that there are a number of movies and TV shows coming out recently based on books that were vaguely on my radar.  I think it would be fun to pick a few of them to read/watch like I know a lot of people are doing right now with The Wheel of Time/Dune/The Witcher.  I'm thinking maybe once a quarter?  Basically this idea is just floating around in my head at the moment and I'll need to think about it a little more before deciding on anything.


Those are my big goals for 2022 and I'm feeling a lot more positive about these goals than my 2021 goals because these are focused on doing the things I already like and just doing more of them!

Monday, December 27, 2021

Planet Lara: Sanctuary - Eliza Gordon

 

This is the third and final installment in the Planet Lara series and picks up where book #2 left off.  Since this is the third book in a trilogy, spoiler alert for books #1 and #2 (no spoilers for book #3)Finan is gone, Jacinta has disappeared, and Lara is holding on by a thread.  Her and Finan finally reconnected only for him to be taken and Lara is determined to get him back by any means necessary.  She thinks she knows who is behind the kidnapping, but when a new threat comes to Thalia Island, Lara will have to team up with the last people she would have expected.  In this explosive conclusion to the Planet Lara trilogy, long kept secrets on all sides are brought to light and Lara will have to team up with her island family to bring one of their own back home.

TW/CW: torture, animal harm, sexual assault (groping)

This was a really fantastic end to this romantic suspense series (here are my reviews of Book #1 and Book #2).  I've said in both previous reviews that I don't generally read series but I'm glad I gave this one a chance.  The main issue for me was the pacing which was a little off for me reading this book (but made a lot of sense when I was thinking back over the trilogy as a whole).  This book really hits the ground running and there's a lot of really great tension, suspense, and mystery elements.  As this is a romantic suspense series (and thus should not be a surprise to anyone), Lara and Finan are reunited and then the last 30%ish of the book is a lot of wrapping up and checking in with all the different characters and seeing how everyone is recovering after the events of the book.  As a single reading experience, having this much wrap up at the end really felt like it messed with the balance of the book and the pacing dragged a little bit in comparison to the pretty non-stop pacing of the first 70% of the book.  I really liked getting to see how all these characters we've grown to love finish up their individual stories but I did have the thought a few times of "wow, this is really a lot of wrap up/resolution for a book".  All that being said, when I then think about that 30% of wrap up in comparison to the whole trilogy, then it does feel like a more appropriate proportion of the narrative is being spent in this phase.  For example, in a stand alone romantic suspense book, we would only get a chapter or two (or maybe just the epilogue) of this resolution phase which would maybe only be 5%ish of the total book.  Again, this might just come down to me not being used to reading series but this pacing quirk was the one thing that didn't quite feel great while I was reading.

I really enjoyed the characters and how much we got to see Lara's interactions with the other townsfolk.  Lara's character growth over these three books is really fantastic and there's a stark difference between book 1 Lara and book 3 Lara and I think that difference and growth is really earned on her part. We really see her come into her own as a person finding her way in life and figuring out what is important to her.  The trilogy takes place over about 4-5 months but there's a lot of plot stuffed into that time period.  I really enjoyed seeing Lara's relationship with the other people on the island grow and change as well.  I always like when the main characters in any book (but especially a romance) have a lot of interactions with side characters because it usually allows us to see different parts of their personalities.  I think this choice also made Lara's character arc and growth feel more realistic because we can see her from different perspectives and interactions.  The book is from Lara's POV so we quite literally don't see much of Finan for the majority of the book.  Most romantic suspense books that I've read have the love interests paired up to fight together against the bad guy (which was the case with books 1 and 2 for the most part).  However, having Finan out of the picture and having Lara team up with the rest of the island to bring him back really emphasized that Lara had grown to love this island and the residents there despite her initial reluctance way back in the beginning of book 1.

Gordon does a fantastic job with the suspense elements in all three books but I think her efforts really came though in this final installment. I mentioned in my book 2 review that I felt like a lot of that book was rehashing the events/information we saw in book 1 and I was a little worried we'd get that same issue with book 3.  However, we really jumped feet first into the situation and drama of trying to find Finan as well as figure out how all these different secrets are involved in this situation.  I was really pleased with the twists the mystery/investigation took and how Gordon was able to pull in so many different seemingly unrelated aspects and weave them all together.  I was a little worried at one point that some plot threads would be sort of 'hand-waved' away because they seemed so big and introduced relatively late in the story but I ended up being entirely satisfied with how everything wrapped up.  There was a really good balance of the high-tension suspense elements with some quieter moments especially between Lara, Harmony, and Humboldt that I think worked really well to give the reader a bit of space to breathe before the next plot point gets dropped.  

Despite my earlier explained issues with the pacing of the ending, I thought the resolution for the series was perfect.  I think, overall, it was a good choice to have such a long resolution section that also allowed us more time to get back into the 'romance' side of this romantic suspense story.  I especially loved how we got to see not only Lara and Finan's romance resolution but also relationships and friendships of all types across the other characters.  I 100% cried at the ending which if that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is. We also got some answers to questions I didn't even know I had so those were fun surprises to get.  I think the ending also did a good job balancing the realities of going through these events with the fluffy romance elements and ending we all expect. For example, Finan does have some moments of PTSD-type reactions (although he isn't specifically diagnosed in the book) and some of the secrets do shatter the illusion that Lara had about certain people in her life.  That being said, the ending is overwhelmingly lovely and heartwarming.

Overall, this was a really strong ending to a great series.  Books 1 and 2 do end on cliffhangers, but now that the trilogy is finished, you can just read straight through!  I think it can sometimes be hard to get the balance right with romantic suspense books but Gordon does a great job at developing both sides well.

Thanks to BookSirens and the author for the ARC - I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Friday, December 24, 2021

Romance Wrap-up Christmas (12/1/21 to 12/24/21)

 The Naughty List - Ellie Mae MacGregor

 

This short and steamy holiday romance follows single mom Kate alone on Christmas Eve night when Nikolai (the real-deal Santa) comes to deliver presents for Kate's kids.  This was a really fun short read.  I loved how MacGregor put so much thought into how Santa works in this universe and how he isn't an overly-cheery grandpa type character.  Who knew Santa would have a pierced nipple and tattoos.  This was a nice mix of light BDSM but overall had a lot of heart and sweetness - perfect for a holiday read.  Of course, since it is a 56 page story it is insta-love city which isn't my usual preference but Kate and Nikolai did feel really perfect for each other so I'm overall really happy with the reading experience.

The Geek Who Saved Christmas - Annabeth Albert

This story follow Gideon and Paul who have been neighbors for a few years.  Gideon has always wanted to get closer to Paul but his grumpy neighbor has always kept his distance.  This year when Paul's younger brother is coming to visit for Christmas and Paul needs Gideon's help to make his house a festive holiday home.  I really enjoyed this cute and low-angst Christmas romance.  Both Paul and Gideon are in their 40s so they're both pretty set in their lives.  I really loved how both of them thought they were fine with their lives but then being together makes them realize just how much they both want to be together long term.  I liked the amount of side characters we get to see (family and other neighbors) but I do wish we could see more of Gideon and Paul in their separate lives like going to work or doing stuff around the house alone.  We see a smidge of that in the beginning, but once they agree to work together on Paul's situation they are pretty much together for the rest of the book.  I really enjoyed how low-angst this was and how the characters were pretty good at communicating their feelings so I think the 'third act breakup' lasted all of 12 hours which I really liked.

Gifting Me to His Best Friend - Katee Robert

This MMF novella is the second in the A Touch of Taboo series and follows Emma, Grayson, and Derek on a snowy Christmas holiday in a cabin.  This year, Grayson wants to give his friend an unconventional present for Christmas - Emma and thirty six hours to spend doing whatever they decide.  A surprise snowstorm traps the group for some extra time and by the time the roads clear, all three are surprised at how close and how right the time at the cabin felt and maybe they can continue into the New Year.  This gave me everything I was expecting - fantastic characters, lots of spicy steamy scenes, and MMF Katee Robert sword cross guarantee.  But I honestly wasn't expecting this to have as much emotion as I got from the book - I teared up multiple times. The layering of history and years of friendship between all three of them was wonderfully done and the chemistry was popping off the page.  

Jingle Bell Beard - Julie Kriss


This is book #3 in the Kringle Family Christmas series and follows NHL star Matt Kringle and PR manager Jasmine.  The two were high school sweethearts until Jasmine broke up with Matt when they were seventeen.  Now, Jasmine has been hired for PR by the Kringle family business and she wants to get Matt to help. This was a really cute, small town, first love/second chance romance.  I haven't read any of the other books in the series but I wasn't lost at all.  I really loved the Kringle family dynamic between all the siblings and I love a good grumpy hero with a heart of gold.  Second chance romances are a bit of a hard sell for me, so I liked how the first relationship was all the way back in high school and the reason for that breakup was pretty mild so it didn't bother me that much.  Matt has been compared to Roy Kent from Ted Lasso and I haven't seen that show but it seems to be a real big selling point for people so I wanted to include it here as well.

Santa Daddy - Keira Andrews


This MM romance follows recent college grad Hunter returning to his high school job of being an elf for Santa at the local mall while he's trying to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life.  Nick got roped into playing Santa at the mall this year and he would much rather be at his cabin on his tree farm.  At least, he thinks that until he meets Hunter.  The two have a rough start to their relationship but when Hunter's car goes off the road during a snowstorm and he ends up at Nick's cabin for the night, they can't deny the chemistry between them (or the shared Daddy kink).  This read had a lot of heart and I really liked Hunter and Nick together - they really worked well as a couple despite their age gap.  I do wish we saw them interact with more of the secondary characters but we do see enough interaction to know people are happy for them.

Licking Her Christmas Cookies - Alina Jacobs


This is book #4 in the Frost Brothers series and follows Matt Frost - a certifiable Grinch - and Merrie - the embodiment of Christmas spirit.  Merrie opened up a Christmas ornament shop in a small town and now she's behind on her rent, a fact which her landlord Matt constantly reminds her.  He gives her until December 24th to pay her rent or else he's evicting her.  Merrie enters into a local baking competition but when she's paired up with Matt, the sparks and sprinkles start flying.  I enjoyed the premise and the characters immensely and with a title like this, there are a ton of Christmas/Holiday related sexual innuendos.  Matt is a mix of Ebeneezer Scrooge and The Grinch and Merrie is extremely bubbly and optimistic so this is a really solid grumpy/sunshine read.  I also loved the small town and the amount of characters we meet.  This was a long read (500 pages!) and I did feel like there was a bit too much repetition for my liking without much plot or character development as a result. 

TW/CW: infidelity 

Her Night With Santa - Adriana Herrera

This FF romance is the first book in the Toy Runners series and follows adult toy designer Farnaz Castillo spending a night alone at Santa's beach mansion.  Or, spending alone was the plan until Santa, herself (Kristina Kringle), shows up.  Farnaz and Kristina have an instant connection and spend a few hot days and nights together.  This was a really great short and steamy read that ends with the promise of these characters spending more time together.  My favorite part of the book was the world building that Herrera crafted and I've been hearing good things about the second book in the series as well so I'll probably put that one on my list for next year.

Pink Christmas - Tabatha Kiss

This is book #2 in the Pink Series and takes place 1 year after the first book.  Phoebe and her two boyfriends - Max and Thad - are spending their first big Christmas together and Phoebe is looking forward to her parents visiting.  But when they call and say they can't support her 'lifestyle' she's understandably upset so Max and Thad join forces to give Phoebe a Christmas she'll never forget.  This was a really great follow up to the first book (which you should read before this one) and just showed how strong the relationship between all the characters are.  Max and Thad are best friends since childhood and their dynamic together and with Phoebe is really great.  This really read like an extended epilogue and was filled with steamy MFM scenes and a whole lot more heart than I was expecting.

Charming Co Worker - Lauren Runow and Jeannine Colette

This is book #2 in the Falling for the Stars series and follows office friends and co-workers Hunter and Katie.  Katie has been nursing a pretty major crush on her boss for years and is finally ready to admit her feelings.  She asks Hunter to help her become a Christmas vixen and he agrees, only to sweep in later and declare the two of them are dating - in front of Katie's boss.  Now, the plan is to fake date and show the boss what he's been missing all these years.  Only, the more time Katie spends with Hunter and begins to see beyond his playboy reputation, the less sure she's becoming that her boss is the one she wants.  This was a great friends to lovers, fake dating, office romance.  I loved Hunter and Katie and their chemistry works really well.  I really liked how slow of a burn this is but it was a little infuriating to be in Katie's head when she's frequently putting herself down. This book is primarily from Katie's POV, but we do get one chapter toward the end from Hunter that lets the reader in on his history with Katie and that chapter really made me swoon.  

Faking Under the Mistletoe - Ashley Shepherd

This grumpy/sunshine romance follows Olivia and Asher.  She's an intern at a PR company and since she's the embodiment of holiday cheer, she's put in charge of the company's holiday festivities.  She's also Asher's assistant and when she's not out getting his very specific coffee order or writing up emails for him, the two are bickering like cats and dogs.  But when they run into Asher's ex during one of the holiday events, Olivia volunteers herself as Asher's fake girlfriend.  Asher protests, but Olivia is not swayed and as the two spend more and more time together, the bickering turns to banter turns to flirting.  As Christmas approaches, everything seems to be going well until rumors about a particular client of the PR firm start gaining traction and Olivia finds out some of the dark secrets of the PR industry that not even her Christmas spirit can clear up.  I loved the amount of banter and bickering in this book!  It is a pretty slow burn read but the gradual changes in their interactions really show how their feelings are developing.  I loved the amount of secondary characters our main characters interacted with and how much insight that gave the reader into the world and the relationship.  The subject matter does get pretty heavy but there is a good resolution by the end.

TW/CW: sexual assault, cover-ups 

Dipped in Holly - Dana Isaly

This short and steamy follows Holly just after she is dumped right before Christmas in a bar filled with her supposed friends.  She's hiding in the bathroom until the bartender/owner Nick comes to get her out so other patrons can use the facilities.  He insists on her staying and showing her good-for-nothing ex what he's missing and the two have a kinky and fun one night together.  The next day, both are wondering if one night is really enough.  I usually prefer my reads longer, but I'm finding these short reads that don't try to force an entire plot arc into the pages are my favorite.  I really loved Nick and Holly together and how their connection seemed completely genuine and not some sort of rebound situation.  I would have liked to get a better sense of both of their personalities because it really seemed like their connection was mostly physical so maybe a few more conversations between them to see more of that personality connection would have really been great.

Window Shopping - Tessa Bailey

This story follows Stella and Aiden who meet in front of a department store window display.  Aiden asks what she thinks of it and Stella doesn't hold back.  She finds out too late that Aiden is the owner of the department store but he wants her to apply for their new decorator position.  Stella is an ex-con who always dreamed of creating window displays before her life got a bit off track.  Now, she's focused taking the lessons she's leaned to move forward in a positive way for her future and find the person she is outside of the toxic friendship she's been caught up in for years.  The chemistry between the two is undeniable but they both try to keep their distance.  Aiden may seem like a cheerful elf on the outside with his many holiday themed bowties but he's got a naughty streak a mile wide that he's desperate to show to Stella if she'll have him.  Stella isn't sure who she is at this point and is even less sure if starting a new relationship with her boss is the best choice for her right now.   I really liked the way Aiden and Stella worked through their own relationship hangups together in a way that stayed true to themselves.  I really loved Aiden's naughty and nice sides and was so thrilled that Stella loved both sides of him as well.  This really felt like a case where both characters worked together so well.

The Christmas Blanket - Kandi Steiner

This second chance romance follows Eliza and River - high school sweethearts married after graduation.  They were happy for a while until they weren't and ended up divorced and Eliza left town for years.  Now, she's back for the first time in 4 years and when her car goes off the road in a snowstorm, the only person around is her ex husband and his small cabin.  The tension while snowed in the cabin is thick but when they start rehashing their past together and learning about the past 4 years apart, it becomes clear that the never stopped loving each other.  This was a really sweet second chance romance that I enjoyed.  I thought the relationship (past and present) between Eliza and River was really well developed.  I loved the almost claustrophobic atmosphere Steiner created in the cabin when the tension was at a high between the two of them.  Like I said before, second chance romances are a hard sell for me but I did like the idea that they both had to become their own people before they could come back together even better than before. 

Santa Material - MINK

This novella follows Mac and Jocelyn who are neighbors and both in love with each other but thinks the other could never see them that way.  Until Jocelyn accidentally kills Santa and is tasked with finding the replacement Santa in time for Christmas.  The two team up and quickly fall to the chemistry between them.  Turns out, maybe the next Santa is closer than they think.  I really enjoyed the world building in this story - there were some great details like the Jingle Phone.  This was an entire romance book arc in only 120ish pages so as a result the pacing was really fast and this felt very insta-love central.  I did love how Mac and Jocelyn were so oblivious to how the other felt about them (idiots to lovers might be a new trope to explore in 2022).  I, of course, would have preferred a longer read if we were going to get a full plot arc but this was a really cute and surprisingly steamy read.

Sugar and Spice - Rebel Carter

This enemies to lovers romance follows feuding bakers Daisy and Austin - the whole town knows them as enemies since childhood.  Only now, thanks to Daisy's assistant, they need to convince the town they're actually in love and married to win a reality show that will be filming in town.  Daisy is shocked at her assistant, more shocked when Austin agrees to go along with the plan, and even more shocked at herself when being with Austin feels so natural.  This was a really cute, low angst read with a great love confession by Austin.  There are some cute small town moments and I loved the interactions between Daisy and Austin.  There are some really great emotional moments as well which really makes the HEA hit that much better.

Santa's Helper - Shae Sanders

This holiday short follows Felina and Julian.  Felina is newly-divorced and takes her kids to the one Black Santa in the area, expecting to see the same man sitting in the chair she's seen over the years.  Only the Santa she was expecting has passed away and his son, Julian, has taken over.  The same Julian that Felina went on a few dates with in high school who is now a firefighter and she's newly single.  This was a really cute story where the two characters reconnect after so many years and find out they work much better together now than they did back in high school.  Their backstory was really well fleshed out and I loved how easy their chemistry and relationship developed.

Merry Inkmas - Talia Hibbert

This story follows Bailey and Cash.  She's a barista at the local coffee house and he's the mysterious stranger who has been coming in for weeks and only orders a 'surprise me' from Bailey.  After an incident at the coffee shop, Bailey finds herself in need of employment and Cash needs a receptionist at his tattoo parlor. Working together, the two of them grow closer, but each of them have their own relationship baggage to work through.  I really enjoyed this read but had a hard time with the very hot/cold dynamic of the main couple.  Sure, they both had pretty significant relationship trauma from their childhood but it was so significant that when the story ended, I didn't feel confident that these characters were going to have a HEA The epilogue did confirm they were happy and had a family 5 years later but they both read so differently in the epilogue than in the main story that I'm assuming there had to be some pretty significant therapy happening off page.  I did love all the side characters and it was refreshing to have a 'Christmas romance' not be so heavy on the stereotypical Christmas side (like many of the other books in this post)

TW/CW: domestic abuse


The Fake Santa Apology Tour - Julie Olivia

This enemies to lovers romance follows Birdie Mae and Nic. The two met twenty years ago on a Christmas Eve that changed both their lives.  Now, in a snowy small town, they reconnect. Birdie Mae says Nic is the person who cursed Christmas for the past twenty years and he's doing his best to get her forgiveness because she turned Christmas around for the better for him after that one meeting. This was a really cute read and I loved the small town aspect to it.  I loved Birdie Mae's interesting dating history and how complicated her feelings are around Christmas and Santa.  I did feel the chemistry between the two main characters was a little on the light side for me, but I loved the ending and how both of them rekindled Christmas magic for the other.

Lovelight Farms - B.K. Borison

This fake dating romance follows Stella and Luka - long time friends who start fake dating to win a competition with a large cash prize that Stella needs to keep her struggling Christmas tree farm running.  Stella has a significant fear of abandonment and the one thing she doesn't want is for anything to change between her and Luka that might push him away.  This is friends to lovers slow burn perfection.  I absolutely loved how effortless and genuine their friendship came across and how easy transitioning it to a full relationship was.  This story is told primarily through Stella's POV and we don't find out until later just how deep Luka's feelings go.  I can see why Borison would choose to keep this only from Stella's perspective but I would have loved to see more from Luka's side of the situation.  That being said, I think it was incredibly clear from the beginning of their arrangement just how head over heels Luka is for Stella and how happy he is for this opportunity to see if maybe she feels the same.  I really loved how their friendship stayed central to their relationship and how important it was for both of them.  

Merry Ever After - Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward, Lucy Score, Tijan, Kennedy Ryan, Marie Force 

This collection of holiday short stories was really great. There's a fantastic range of tropes that made for a very fun and varied reading experience.  All of these stories were great, low angst romances that 

Hot Item by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward - Getting into a fight with a sexy stranger over the last hot toy on the shelf was not the way I intended to spend Christmas Eve

Very cute single parent romance, really read like a Hallmark movie (4/5)

One Night Only by Lucy Score - After a Christmas Eve concert mishap, divorced Brooke finds herself snowed in with the silver fox retiring rocker she’s been trying to interview.

Steamy rock-star romance that took some surprisingly emotional turns. (5/5)

A Kellan Holiday by Tijan - Humans are so simple with their holiday traditions. They are ignorant of the powerful and majestic creatures among them, like me. I am the most powerful demon above the surface. Nothing can stop me...except, well, some stupid prophecy.

This is a sequel to Tijan's novel Evil.  I haven't read Evil and found the worldbuilding and explanations given in this story to be pretty sufficient but I do think I was missing out on some of the emotional background.  It was a good paranormal romantic suspense and I might pick up Evil down the line.  (3/5)

Holiday Swing by Kennedy Ryan - After trying everything with little improvement, our marriage counselor suggests we experiment to reignite our sex life. A swing party is my husband’s adventure of choice. Once inside, I can’t go through with it. Seeing him walk off with someone else, I realize we want very different things. Our marriage is over, and I have no intention of having a random hook up with a stranger. But then away from the noise and revelry, I find him.

HOT HOT HOT one night stand (5/5)

Nochebuena by Marie Force - Nochebuena is the Cuban community’s Christmas Eve celebration, and in this short story, the cast of Marie Force’s Miami Nights Series comes together to mark the holiday after a year of change that's touched nearly every member of the family. 

I haven't read any of Force's Miami Nights series but there was enogh background information provided that I had a good understanding of these characters.  It was nice to have such a family-focused story and the character dynamics were great so I'm putting the Miami Nights series on my TBR. (4/5)