Meet Me in Los Feliz - Kelly Reynolds
This romance follows Nora and Bowie as they both find themselves single over the holiday season. Bowie used to date Nora's roomate's sister but after an amicable breakup, he's still invited to the family and friends holiday dinner. There, he meets Nora and is smitten immediately. But Bowie is a chronic-relationship guy and he wants to try a holiday-fling. This works perfectly for Nora who is working as a nanny while pursuing her acting career and doesn't have time for relationships. But even the most casual plans are no match for when feelings get involved. This was a good mix of cute and spicy, but for some reason the chemistry between Nora and Bowie wasn't clicking for me. I could see all the points on the page but it was missing that extra little ~something~ and it is frustrating that I can't put my finger on what I was missing. I felt their sexual chemistry more than their emotional one, but both were still a bit underwhelming. I loved Nora and Bowie on their own and they did have great communication in their relationship. The friend group surrounding our MCs was also great and I think we get a good balance of the MCs talking to their friends. I was also surprised at how much outside-plot their was for a novella. We get a good amount of plot from Nora's jobs, Bowie's jobs, and the friend group planning an event. I picked this up based on some glowing recommendations on Instagram so I know folks are loving it - I just wish I was one of those people.
Santa Baby - Cassie Mint
This age-gap romance follows Jack and Clara. Clara works at Jack's bar and lives in the apartment above it. They both have a crush on the other, but neither thinks the other would reciprocate the feelings. But on Christmas Eve, when the bar is closed, they'll find out just how wrong they both are. I almost didn't pick this up based on page length alone - only 62 pages - but I'm glad I read it. This was a really solid short and spicy read and I loved how much character backstory Mint was able to fit in. Ideally, I would have loved to have seen more scenes with Jack and Clara interacting at the bar - maybe even little flash backs over the course of the years Clara has worked for him. I think seeing these scenes might have helped with my main issue of the pacing. Both Clara and Jack have such a strong attraction/crush on the other but both of them think there's no way the other would be attracted to them because of their significant age gap. Then, once they do both confess their feelings, it is straight to bone-town and it felt like they suddenly knew a lot more about what each other liked in those activities than I found reasonable. They did have great chemistry, I overall enjoyed the read, and I appreciated how the epilogue gives us their HEA despite the low page count.
From Cocktails to Sleighbells - Wren K Morris
The Holidate Season - Multiple Authors
Get Sleighed by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
"When my ex dumped me right before Christmas, I was left with a luxury, all-expense paid trip for two to Cabo—private jet and all. Somehow, my best friend roped me into giving away the other half of the trip as a contest prize on her podcast."
I enjoyed this, but something was missing for me between our MCs. They do get off on the wrong foot and I don't think there was enough of them getting back on the right foot for me to really feel their connection. I did like the overall premise and the scenes where their attraction gets the better of them have great chemistry. I do think the overall premise is fun, but this might have worked better for me as a longer novella where we could see some more of the vacation antics and feelings develop between our MCs.
3/5
Christmas in Birdville by Jewel E. Ann
"Henry Bechtel’s mom is coming home for Christmas. Only, he lost the family house in a game of poker. Days before his mom’s arrival, he meets the new owner and seizes the opportunity to coerce her into letting him move back “home” for the holidays. What he doesn’t know is that she has questionable motives, too."
This read like a Lifetime movie more than a Hallmark movie and was a heavier read than I was expecting. TW/CWs for cancer, death of a parent, death of a child, death of a sibling, death of a spouse, and gambling addiction. Jewel E. Ann was the only author in this collection that I haven't read anything from previously so I'm not sure if this is her typical style/content or not. I did really enjoy the character development and I thought the MCs had a great relationship that, while it developed quickly by nature of this being a short story, it felt very natural for their characters. The family lore behind the house and the connection between the MCs was really interesting. My personal preference is for lighter romances so this was just a bit too heavy for me. However, I think other readers who do enjoy this type of read would really enjoy this story.
3/5
The Lucky One by Sarina Bowen
"Finnish hockey player Ivo Halla is new in town. He can't speak the language, he can't understand the coach. Life is hell until he walks into an Italian cafe (thank God "pizza" is the same in Finnish and English) and falls for the waitress. He'd better learn the language soon, or she won't agree to date him."
This was an adorable romance and I loved the way the slow burn was handled. I think the language barrier is an interesting way to tackle this trope without it feeling too forced. I also found the language learning to be really relatable and I can 100% remember being on a trip to Mexico with my high school Spanish class and getting that mental burn out. I really enjoyed Ivo's relationship dynamics with his teammates as well and how that changes over time as he gets settled in this new city. I do think there was maybe a bit too much time to cover for a short story, but Bowen does handle the time jumps well so they weren't too disruptive overall.
5/5
First Holiday by Katee Robert
"After a year of turmoil, Hades and Persephone prepare for their first holiday together."
I loved Neon Gods so I was interested to see Hades and Persephone again but this story really didn't do anything for me. It felt incredibly bland and I didn't get anything that I loved in Neon Gods in this story. While we do see Persephone go shopping at the Christmas Market and decorate the house, it didn't feel particularly Christmas-y.
1/5
A Cloverleigh Farms Christmas by Melanie Harlow
"Christmas Eve at Cloverleigh Farms is even more exciting this year, thanks to a blizzard, a power outage, and a baby that wants to make a dramatic entrance."
I loved the whole Cloverleigh Farms series and Harlow is an auto-buy author for me. I liked that we're able to catch up with all the couples from the original series. However, I think this story moved too quickly to really get much of a reunion feeling. Also, we were focused on Meg's pregnancy which, since I'm not someone who really likes babies, didn't do much for my overall enjoyment.
2/5
Have Yourself a Grumpy Little Christmas by Pippa Grant
"Trevor Stafford hates Christmas. But his best friend’s little sister, whom he stupidly agreed to take in as a temporary roommate when she got a new nannying gig down the street from him, loves it ... He’s had a crush on her for years, and there’s no amount of annoying holiday cheer that can cure him of his attraction. If anything, watching her in her natural element is making it worse."
This was grumpy/sunshine perfection! I've read a handful from Pippa Grant and I've really enjoyed them all and this was no exception. I loved how easily Grant was able to incorporate the backstory and years of friendship so easily in such a short timeframe. As much as I love grumpy/sunshine as a trope, I'll admit it can sometimes feel a bit over-the-top and turn the characters into caricatures. However, I found each of them to have a realistic amount of grump and sunshine and they worked together so well. This was my favorite story in the collection, hands down.
5/5
Wrapped Up in You - Talia Hibbert
This friends to lovers romance follows childhood friends Will and Abbie. Will has returned to his home town for Christmas after quitting his acting career. His next goal: getting his childhood friend to fall in love with him. Abbie is 2 years post-divorce from her abusive ex and she's finally starting to feel like herself again. But when Will tells her he likes her, she starts to spiral. The pining is mutual, but her anxiety is throwing Abbie for a loop. Luckily, Will knows his friend and when a blizzard blows in, he'll have the perfect opportunity to show her how he feels. I absolutely adored this read and I think it has some of the best communication I've read in romance. I loved the amount of backstory Hibbert managed to fit into this novella and how that backstory was used to move the relationship forward. The whole story was Will and Abbie figuring out their feelings and getting on the same page, which was well done, but I would have preferred to see a scene or two of them going on a date. I loved the integration of therapy into the story as a tool for the characters to use instead of an 'insta-fix' like it can come across at times. I loved the whole family dynamic, especially Abbie's brothers (and I especially loved that they weren't weirdly overly-protective of Abbie)
In The Event of Love - Courtney Kae
This FF romance follows event planner Morgan as she returns to her hometown to recover after her latest event crashed and burned in a very public manner. While driving up to the mountain town of Fern Falls, Morgan's car spins off the road and she crashes into the one person she was hoping to avoid - her ex best friend Rachel. Now that she's back in town and working with Rachel to save her family Christmas Tree Farm, and the town overall, the two women rekindle their friendship and more. I absolutely adored this read and it is pretty much everything I want in a Christmas romance. I loved the small town setting and how much the town and the other townsfolk were integral to the plot. We get the stereotypical evil corporate entity trying to commercialize the quaint small town which I know some may find overdone or corny but I like it. Moran and Rachel's backstory was well integrated throughout the first half of the story so it didn't feel like a big info-dump. I also really liked how all parties involved - Morgan, Rachel, and others - all had grown as people in the years and could all apologize for their actions. There was some really great character moments with Morgan where she would have a knee-jerk reaction to something and then we'd get her logically walking back from that huge reaction to a much more reasonable level. This was only from Morgan's POV and while I generally prefer dual-POV romances, I think it really worked since she had so much to work through on a personal level. I loved the chemistry between Morgan and Rachel and really appreciated how their romance blended sweet moments with the spicy ones so it made them feel like a real couple who do the little cute things for each other as well. Overall, this was fantastic and had a set up for a second book following a different couple that I hope we get in the future because I'd love to return to Fern Falls.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC. Publication date was August 30, 2022
Tinsel & Tentacles - Kate McDarris
This MMF monster romance follows rockstar Barney, his manager Marci, and bodyguard Ryder. The three have worked together for years and are at the end of Barney's most recent tour in NYC at Christmas time. Barney's one wish, he says, is to see the Christmas Tree so Marci and Ryder hatch a plan to give Barney what he wants. After a magical few hours together, they can feel something has changed between them and Barney's real Christmas wish - for Marcie and Ryder to be his - might just come true after all. However, there is the one issue of his secret tentacles that could ruin everything before it even begins. This was a super cute read that really cranked up the heat at the end. I loved the pre-romance relationship dynamic between our MCs and how naturally those relationships turned romantic. I do wish we would have gotten a bit more info from a world-building perspective in relation to Barney's tentacles that could have explained more about why he chose to keep them a secret or what other implications there might be. We alternate through all 3 MC's POVs which I liked. However, the characters all sounded the same so there were multiple times where I got mixed up on which POV we were in. I also got confused with some of the physical blocking during the sex scenes but I find that happens more frequently with these MMF romances. I loved the amount of holiday cheer we get in this and it is a really low-angst read.
No comments:
Post a Comment