Romance Wrap-Up 1/1/23-1/15/23

 Chick Magnet - Emma Barry

This romance follows Nicole and and Will.  After a disastrous, very public internet breakup, Nicole needs a fresh start.  She moves herself and her flock of chickens across the country to her grandmother's hometown. There, she meets Will - her neighbor and local grumpy vet.  He has certain opinions of Nicole and her chicken YouTube content - specifically about her lack of advocating for vet care.  While the two initially butted heads, they find themselves spending more time together through the coincidences of small town life.  I enjoyed so many parts of this book, but it just didn't come together for me.  I've seen a ton of folks loving this book and I think that's great since most of my issues are entirely personal preference.  My main issue that might just be a me-thing is that Covid is a pretty significant part of this book.  Nicole's internet stardom started when she lost her job due to Covid, she got into backyard chickens, and wanted to share/encourage anyone who was also getting into backyard chickens since Covid.  Also, Will's vet practice is going through some tough financial times due to Covid and the post-Covid economy.  This is the first book I've read where Covid was such an integral part of the plot and I'm just not in the right mood for Covid to become that much of a part of the books I read.  I loved Nicole and Will as separate characters and I thought their initial friction was super believable. They have a bit of a grumpy-sunshine dynamic going on, but both have some pretty significant baggage going on that they're working through with support from each other.  I loved the small town setting and how Nicole's personal connection to the town was played out.  While I liked Nicole and Will as characters, I did find myself not feeling the chemistry between them all the way.  I thought their flirting was fantastic and the chemistry for their makeout sessions was *chef's kiss* but when they actually got together and started a relationship I wasn't feeling it.  I liked their chemistry so much more as friends who sometimes made out for a while and that is so weird.  But, again, I've seen so many folks loving this that I think this just wasn't the book for me. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC. Expected publication date is January 24, 2023

Beard in Mind - Penny Reid

This is the fourth book in the Winston Brothers series and follows Beau Winston.  After seeing his twin and older brother happily pair up with their loves from the previous books, Beau is ready to settle down.  But when Shelly, a straight talking beauty who glares at everyone but shakes hands with no one starts working as a mechanic at his shop, Beau is confused at how one woman can infuriate and intrigue him at the same time.  As he and Shelly slowly start to warm up to each other, he starts to catch onto little details about her.  And when those little details bloom into the full complexity of Shelly Sullivan, Beau knows he doesn't want anyone else. But when they both have some unexpected family situations pop up, Beau and Shelly will need to navigate supporting each other while also dealing with their own issues.  I overall enjoyed this read, but it felt different than the other Winston Brothers books so far in the series.  We still get the Winston family dynamic and some small town antics, but I found those aspects to be overshadowed by the more serious topics of mental health and the increases of tension with the local motocycle group. I think Reid did a wonderful job handling these more sensitive topics but it wasn't as light and fluffy as I was expecting from the previous 3 books in the series. I don't think these more serious topics are out of place in a lighter romance like the Winston Brothers series, necessarily, it just wasn't what I had grown to expect over the past 3 books. This is also a long read - around 400 pages - and I don't think it quite found the balance between the romance plot and the other plotlines. It felt like the first 60% of the book was focused on the romance and then the last 40% was focused on these other plots. This split made it read very much like a middle book in a series where we needed to get all of this new information for the overall series story arc to progress but fitting that information into this book felt a little out of place. I did love the romance in this and how much character development we get with Beau and Shelly.  I loved the amount of relationship building in their platonic and familial relationships as well.  This story mainly takes place at the same time as Beard Science, so it was fun seeing some of those scenes from Beau's perspective.  I think Beau and Shelly's relationship felt well-earned and realistic in that they didn't get magically better or their problems magically solved just because they're in love.  The way Shelly's OCD and her therapy journey were woven into the plot was wonderful and didn't feel like just an add-on or afterthought like can happen with some stories.  

TW/CW: self harm (discussions of past behavior), parent death from cancer, infidelity, family estrangement, domestic violence (discussions of past behavior), mental health - OCD.

A Guide to Being Just Friends - Sophie Sullivan

This is the third book in the Jansen Brothers series and follows eldest brother, Will, and Hailey.  Hailey is new to town after a horrible breakup and is focused on making her business a success.  After their initial encounter goes terribly wrong, Will goes into her salad shop to apologize and the two strike up an unlikely friendship.  Neither one are looking for a relationship - each for their own reasons - but they both could use a friend.  As the two spend more and more time together over the following months, they grow closer but also let the other see parts of themselves they normally keep tucked away.  But when feelings inevitably grow, can they become something better than friends or will they end up brokenhearted and alone? I absolutely adored this read.  It is slow burn, friends to lovers perfection! Sullivan spends a good time building up their friendship and developing their characters separately as well as together and it pays off spectacularly at the end.  As this is the third and final book in the series, we do see a good amount of the previous 2 couples which is always fun.  I loved Hailey's friends-and-family support system and how the narrative supported her building her own support system in this new town before jumping into a relationship.  I thought the hurdles in the relationship were realistic and handled well.  I loved the declaration at the end (which made me cry) and how much these characters really came together in the end.  

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC.  Expected publication is January 17, 2023.

All the Dangerous Things - Stacy Willingham

 

This mystery follows Isabelle 1 year after her son was abducted from his crib in the middle of the night.  His case quickly went cold, but Isabelle has been spending her time investigating on her own.  Time that she has in abundance due to her insomnia ever since that night.  After yet another appearance at a true-crime convention, she agrees to be interviewed on a true-crime podcast. Isabelle has been sharing her story for a year, but as these interview questions start to expand from her son's case to her personal life, she gets nervous.  As more details come to light, Isabelle starts to doubt her own recollection of that night as well as some uncomfortable memories from her own childhood. As much as the truth may hurt, she's determined to follow the trail to solve her son's case.

I absolutely love the characters in this book - from Isabelle to all of the secondary characters.  Willingham does such a great job of describing these characters in such a way that I immediately got a good sense of them and was able to keep everyone straight.  Since the reader is coming into this story a year after the main event (the abduction), we're sort of playing catch up for the first bit of the book.  For example, we're being introduced to the detective on the case, but he is someone Isabelle has had a lot of contact with over the past year so she and him have an established relationship.  Being able to be plopped into the middle of those types of dynamics without needing a whole ton of backstory info-dumped onto the reader is fantastic.  I love the way Willingham writes these characters that we get an immediate sense of who they are while still moving the plot forward.  There isn't any clunky slow down of pacing for us to get a paragraph of description or backstory.  

I adore unreliable narrators in my mystery/thriller books but often that is a spoiler to mention because we don't find out their unreliable until the midpoint or end reveal.  In this case, we're told right in the description that Isabelle's insomnia is making her doubt her own recollection of the night her son was taken. I think the insomnia is a really great way to handle this type of unreliable narrator trope without it veering into potentially harmful stereotypes that we see somewhat often.  For example - a character has DID (Dissociative identity disorder) but doesn't know it and one of their personalities is violent. I think Willingham set this part of Isabelle's personality and past history up really well and I found myself questioning Isabelle before she starts questioning herself. 

The dual timeline aspect of this read was also really well done.  We're mainly following current-day Isabelle but we are also following the timeline of her and her sister when they are children.  At first, it isn't clear why we're being shown these past scenes since they seem pretty mundane.  However, they payoff really well at the end.  In this case, the dual timeline acts more as a way to show Isabelle's character growth throughout the story and is less directly related to the core mystery of her son's disappearance. It felt like the book was a 70/30 split between current day and the past, which I think is a good ratio to be at.  These past scenes were little moments of reprieve from the more emotionally heavy current timeline of the abduction.

My one complaint from this story was that there were too many moments where tense moments were killed before they had a chance to really make an impact.  The specifics of these would be spoilers, but the general trend happened a few times in the story.  It felt like Willingham spent so long and such care building up these situations and characters in a certain way that when the reveal came that all might not be as it seems, I was immediately intrigued.  I could envision how these reveals would have ripple effects throughout the entire plot.  However, it then seemed like only pages later these reveals would be sort of neutralized by a second reveal that while it didn't completely undo the information we learned, it certainly lessened the impact.  This could come down to a personal preference, but having this quick negating of tension really made the second half of the read feel a bit deflated.  I love mystery/thrillers that have really high tension and the initial reveals were spectacular.  I think if we got to sit in those high tension implications for longer before getting the resolution, it would have made for a more impactful read. 

In line with my previous point, the ending felt a little rushed.  We get a reveal of the solution to the mystery, then on-page conflict, then on-page resolution all within a handful of pages.  The reveal, itself, was fantastic - I loved the solution to this mystery and how it tied in a lot of ongoing threads in the story.  We do still get a satisfying ending and answers to all the questions, but I wanted to sit in that reveal and resolution for a little longer than we did. It felt like as soon as we got the big reveal, I had just enough time to go "oh, shit, that means...." and then we had a flash forward and some pretty quick wrap up explanation of the closing events of the book.

Overall, this was a really great, tense read. I loved the characters and the character choices that Willingham made.  I had some issues with the pacing for the more tense moments and would have liked them to be more drawn out, but the actual substance of those moments and reveals were fantastic.

TW/CW: death of a child, child abduction, post-partum psychosis, pregnancy, motherhood, infidelity, suicide, drug abuse, overdose

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC

Expected publication date is January 10, 2023

The Blackhouse - Carole Johnstone

 

This mystery follows Maggie MacKay as she returns to Kilmeray - a remote island off the coast of Scotland that she visited as a child after claiming to be a man named Andrew who had been murdered there. Now returning as an adult after the death of her mother, Maggie wants to find out the truth of if Andrew had actually existed and, if so, was he murdered.  As Maggie begins her investigation, she receives ominous threats that have her questioning just how much she actually wants to find the truth. We're also following Robert, 20 years prior, who has recently moved to Kilmeray. He hopes that this new life on the island with his wife and son will give him the safety and community he craves.  However, as he spends more time on the island, Robert starts to unravel and he believes his fate on the island cannot be escaped.

TW/CW: death of a child, drowning, Alzheimer's, suicide, death of a parent, mental health (bipolar)

The setting for this read was phenomenal.  The remoteness of Kilmeray is established early and we're reminded often in many different ways which really added to the overall atmosphere of the read.  We're told consistently about the dangers of the sea and since we're on an island, the sea is seemingly around all the time. We get a good sense of the small community there and we get a lot of important information while Maggie is walking around the island with various characters.  The setting is so atmospheric and I loved how integral the setting is to the plot as well.  So many of the plot points are directly connected to the elements and the sea that it just makes the whole story feel so cohesive. 

I loved the way the lore and supernatural elements were worked into the story.  We get a whole range of elements from Maggie's mother being a psychic, Maggie's reincarnation claims as a child, Norse mythology, and the superstitions of sailors. I loved the way the different elements came together and overlapped in a way that felt very real.  Like the people in these remote communities in these dangerous conditions don't necessarily care where the lore came from, only that they believe it will protect them on the boat when a storm blows in or will lead to a good fishing year. For some of these lore elements, the characters aren't entirely sure if these are good or bad things which I found really heightened the suspense of the story. I also loved how we do get some concrete explanation to some of the supernatural elements but others are left a little vague which made it feel overall more realistic in a way.  Investigating the truth behind her childhood added an extra layer to the mystery because while Maggie was researching dates and facts and tracking down witnesses, she was also figuring out if her being the reincarnated Andrew was true or not. 

The mystery investigation was a little slow to get going but it paid off big at the end.  Johnstone really took the time to lay out a solid foundation of this town and Maggie's own backstory and connection to this island. There are a lot of characters and places and they all play a role in the overall mystery investigation so it was good to get such a solid footing at the beginning.  I really enjoyed following Maggie's investigation because she isn't like a lot of mystery MCs where they are super clinical or meticulous during the investigation.  Maggie is coming to this island after some pretty significant changes in her life and as much as she wants answers, it is obvious that sometimes searching for those answers is also personally taxing so she isn't all go-go-go on the investigation.  I also loved how we, and Maggie, think she has found the answer to the mystery about 75% of the way through the book but obviously there is more book to go so there is more to be revealed. The reveals in that last 75% are fantastic and I couldn't put the book down until I had finished.  

I wasn't entirely loving the dual timeline aspect until about halfway through the book for the simple reason that I just wasn't as interested or invested in Robert's timeline.  We do find out the connection between Robert's timeline and Maggie's timeline fairly early on, but Robert's story was just not where I wanted to spend the time.  It felt like his timeline was just following him around the island while he was being moody.  But around the 50% mark, his timeline start to pick up and we can see some of the same interpersonal tension like we see in Maggie's timeline.  I did enjoy how the timelines were only 20ish years apart which lets us see some of the same characters in each which is always something I find super interesting. 

Overall, this was a fantastic, atmospheric, and suspenseful read.  I loved the way we get so many seemingly different pieces of this puzzle but they all come together so perfectly at the end. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC.  Publication date is January 3, 2023

The Villa - Rachel Hawkins

 

This mystery follows childhood friends Emily and Chess.  They used to be inseparable, but have grown apart in recent years due to demands in their professional and personal lives.  However, after meeting one day for lunch, Chess invites recently divorced and writer's blocked Emily to a trip to Italy to kick start the creative juices.  They're staying at Villa Aestas, a high-end vacation rental now, but was the scene of a murder in 1974 involving a notorious rock star, an up-and-coming musician, his girlfriend, and her sister. As Emily digs into the Villa's history, she realizes the horror novel written by one of the 1974 group might be more related to the events of that summer than she originally thought. As Emily's investigation deepens, the tension grows between her and Chess - and when secrets from the past are revealed, the villa might claim another victim. 

The dual timeline was used to perfection in this story.  I absolutely loved both timelines and the ways they intersected.  We are told the general outcome of the past timeline early on - someone ends up dead, there's a murder trial - but we don't know the details until later on in the book so it was fun following that timeline and trying to guess how it would all play out.  The present day timeline was more focused on the interpersonal dynamic/tension between Emily and Chess rather than Emily's eventual research into the events in 1974. I thought this difference was a nice touch because then we don't have too much duplication of seeing something happen in 1974 in the past timeline and then having to read about it again when Emily finds out about it. 

We have a handful of very colorful characters in this read which made it even more fun.  Emily is the most bland of the characters - but not in an underdeveloped way.  She's just simply the most regular person in contrast to all of these very colorful and enigmatic other characters.  Since she's the most 'normal' person as well as our main character, she easily acts as bit of a reader stand-in.  I think we get a good amount of Emily and Chess's backstory but I would have liked a little more from their relationship.  Early on in their stay at the villa, we do get a little bit of them reminiscing and I think more of that would have really strengthened their connection on-page for me.  I loved all of our 1974 characters and found them to be pretty colorful characters but managing to still feel believable and not cross the line into caricature.

There's a really interesting mix of tones in this book.  We get some good creepy gothic house vibes, especially when Emily is at the height of her investigation and she's searching the house.  But that is  contrasted with the rest of the setting being a luxurious Italian villa during the summer. I really enjoy these stories that have this mix, especially when the darker, gothic parts are the unexpected undertones.  This is my third read from Hawkins and I think this is a balance that she does well in a lot of her books and it always works well for me. This balance is also present in both timelines to different extents which, again, made this a really fun read. 

The ending reveal I think is going to be pretty divisive, but I absolutely loved it.  We get a couple of big reveals in pretty quick succession toward the end and while some were what I was expecting, a few were not. We also get a bit of a timejump at the end that I wish we had gotten a bit more of those events on page.  It felt like we fast-forwarded over the climax of the book and I was a little bummed. However, we do get the after-effects of those events which were interesting and left the ending a bit open.  

Overall, this was a really fun read and solidified Hawkins as an insta-read author for me. I loved the use of the dual timeline and the setting was fantastic. 

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC

Expected publication date is January 3, 2023

Holiday Romance Wrap-Up Part 2

 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

This real-Santa romance follows Cole and Kris on Christmas night when Cole slipped sidewalk ice.  Kris scoops her up and, after a bit of misunderstanding and a light stabbing, he takes her back to his apartment to make sure she's feeling okay.  As they talk into the night, they give into their lust and find out that they both have more feelings for the other than they expect.  I loved the world building in this read.  My favorite thing about these real-Santa romances are how each author pictures the job of Santa and the whole operation behind the scenes.  I think this Kris might be my favorite romance-Santa and I loved some of the little details that Morris was able to squeeze in (such as his affinity for puns, even in sexy situations. I wish we had gotten more character development from Cole, she just felt a little underdeveloped compared to Kris.  Maybe it was Morris leaning more into the character development for Kris because of the fantasy elements. I did really love Cole and Kris together and thought their chemistry was fantastic.  There was one part of the sex scene that made me blush and after reading so many romances (most of which are open-door), I'm always pleasantly surprised when one catches me a little off guard like this one did. 

The Holidate Season - Multiple Authors

This short story collection contains 6 holiday romances.  This was a mix of standalone and series-adjacent stories and I much much preferred the standalone ones.  This was a pretty mixed bag for me, but I overall enjoyed the reading experience.  

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.

Holiday Romance Wrap-Up Part 1

 Cole - Ellie Devine

This MMF holiday romance is the first in the Naughty List series and follows Cole, Grant, and Arianna. Cole leaves his small town and travels to Chicago for Christmas so he doesn't have to spend another holiday with everyone asking when he was finally going to settle down with a nice girl.  Exploring the Christmas market, Arianna finds him and invites him to get a drink.  But when her husband, Grant, shows up mid-makeout session, Cole finds himself going home with both of them. What starts as just some fun between the three of them quickly turns into more but with Christmas fast approaching, Cole starts to wonder if this might be just a bit of Christmas magic that will wear off soon.  I absolutely loved this read from start to finish.  This read is *steamy*, with more sex scenes than I thought would be possible in a 295 page book - but that's what I was expecting based on what I've heard from other readers.  What I wasn't expecting was how much emotion and character growth we get packed into those same pages.  Devine does a great job at making all 3 of our MCs fully rounded characters, but Cole is obviously the main-main character.  I absolutely loved how much of a cinnamon roll Cole is and how Grant and Arianna make Cole feel safe enough to finally be able to be his true self.  

TW/CW: BDSM, homophobia, biphobia, 

 A Kiss for Santa - Mia Monroe

This MM romance follows Luca and Magnus aka Santa. The two met years prior when Magnus delivered gifts to Luca's parent's house.  The to have seen each other only a few times over the years, but the strong feelings are mutual.  This year, Magnus needs to find a spouse or give up his job as Santa. He hopes Luca shares his feelings and agrees to marry Magus, but that would mean giving up his life in the human realm. This was a really cute romance, but it did feel like it tried to fit too much plot into this novella.  Despite our two MCs both being attracted to the other for years, they never really talked much so now that they're finally spending time together a few days before Magnus needs to be married, this feels more like insta-love.  There's also a small plotline of the attempt to sabotage Christmas but that never felt fully developed mostly because of the shorter page length.  That being said, Monroe does a really great job building this alternate world of Santa's workshop that I absolutely would love to see more of. I really liked the scenes with Luca and Magnus together and I think their chemistry was fantastic. I do think Monroe does a good job of giving us a good amount of character development before the romance began so we had a good idea of who our MCs are. I loved the scenes between the MCs and their families as well.  This was only 134 pages so, again, there was just a lot of plot to fit in.  I did like all the elements we did have in the story, I just wanted more of them or more time to explore them more fully.  
 

 A Merry Little Meet Cute - Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

This holiday romance follows Bee and Nolan as they film a historical romance movie for the Hope Channel.  Bee is a successful plus-sized adult film star with a dedicated fan following on her ClosedDoor account - and Nolan is one of those fans.  Nolan is doing this movie in hopes of rehabbing his bad-boy image from his years as a boyband member.  Things between Nolan and Bee heat up quickly and they soon find themselves keeping their budding relationship a secret.  But when a Hollywood gossip reporter finds the set, their situation becomes more complicated and if the truth of Bee's identity and their relationship is revealed, it might end this budding romance before it has a chance. I absolutely loved everything about this read!  The characters were fantastic and everyone was so unique and well-established that I could keep them all straight.  Bee and Nolan had such great chemistry that really went beyond the physical attraction.  I really enjoyed that we got enough background on the two of them to sort of explain the insta-love feelings that happened over the course of a week.  By far my favorite thing is that Bee's sex work was not the speedbump in the relationship that I was expecting.  Sure, her and Nolan do have to work out their relationship around her main job, but Nolan already knows who she is from the moment he sees her so it wasn't a big secret and he wasn't expecting her to quit that part of her job for him.  I loved the behind the scenes of shooting this low-budget movie and how much character development these extra scenes gave us.  This was a bit of a longer read at 418 pages but I was having so much fun in this world that I didn't mind at all.

TW/CW: mental health (bipolar disorder) of a parent, death of a spouse, death of a parent, fatphobia

 Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC

Publication date was September 20, 2022

 

The Mistletoe Motive - Chloe Liese

 

This enemies to lovers romance follows Gabby and Jonathan.  The two co-manage a bookstore together and have butted heads over the past year with their different management philosophies. But when the bookstore owners tell them that this holiday season will be the make or break time, Gabby refuses to lose the place that has become so special to her.  She proposes a wager that whichever of them sell the most books will be able to keep their job at the store.  At first, she's sure she'll win but as the competition continues, Gabby is sure Jonathan has some tricks up his sleeves.  Afterall, there wouldn't be any other reason for him to be nice or even flirt with her ... would there? This is my first Chloe Liese read and it will certainly not be my last.  I absolutely adored this read from start to finish, top to bottom.  Gabby and Jonathan were such well developed characters and I really liked how they worked to be friendly first.  This was told from only Gabby's POV, which did bother me a little in the beginning.  However, this is the first single POV romance that I've read where I think the single POV was the right decision.  I think Liese had such a fine balance between Gabby's mis-reading of certain situations but showing enough of Jonathan to the reader that we could see what he was thinking without actually being in his POV.  This is a bit of a slow burn romance and Gabby is specifically identified as demisexual and I think that since we had to see them go from butting heads to working together as friends before we got any overly romantic moments was really great.  I also loved Gabby's friends and how understanding and supportive they were.  This was also a low-angst read which I always appreciate.  There was plenty of potential for this to have two really big miscommunication moments but our characters actually talked to each other and knew each other well enough that they were able to discard their initial negative knee-jerk reaction.

 

Santa Daddy: Naughty or Nice - Hannah Murray

This romance follows Nick and Rebecca.  She's been his assistant for 3 years but she finally quit when she realized the job was taking up too much of her time and she didn't have a personal life.  Nick is shocked and disappointed for multiple reasons - she's his best assistant ever and he's been lusting after her for years. Little does Nick know that Rebecca is also attracted to him and the two share the same proclivity for BDSM.  Later that night, they happen to run into each other during a kinky Christmas party and now that they aren't employer/employee they're able to live out their fantasies. I liked this read, but I do prefer more Christmas in my Christmas romances.  This could have been the exact same story set on a random Tuesday and I like some more of that Christmas magic feeling.  But putting aside my own desire for more holiday cheer, this was a pretty fun and steamy read.  This reads more like an insta-love because while our MCs did work together for 3 years, we don't see any of those years on page.  They do both come to the realization that they'd developed feelings while working together so I guess it isn't ~techinically~ insta-love but it sure feels like it.  I also wanted some more character details from both of our MCs.  Outside of their shared kinky side, I don't think much else was given to the reader.  I fully acknowledge that I might have been expecting too much out of a 170 page novella - I understand that there's only so much plot and character development that can fit in those pages and novellas aren't my go-to reading length.  So I would recommend this for readers who want a well done BDSM novella with some holiday elements. The chemistry between Nick and Rebecca was spectacular and I loved how the BDSM elements were handled from the initial negotiations to safewords being used and respected, to aftercare. 

The Toy King - Adriana Herrera

This is the second book in The Toy Runners series and follows Valente and Kessina.  Valente is on a run delivering toys and finds out that his father wants him to pick up Kessina and bring her back home to marry his brother.  Valente is initially annoyed with this surprise duty - until he walks in on her using one of the adult toys she designed. The two have a mutual attraction but have to leave before the snow storm outside gets worse.  They didn't make it out in time and end up stranded by the storm in the middle of the Andes for 2 nights.  Luckily, Valente's vehicle is well stocked for emergencies ... now they just need to find the best way to pass the time.  I read the first book in this series last year and I really loved the world building that Herrera did and this book is no exception.  I think a lot of the little details were great and I loved how easily the reader is able to settle into this world.  I thought Valente and Kessina were great together and really felt like they were kindred spirits.  This read is 85% sexy-times but there still managed to fit in a good amount of character exploration which I appreciated.  Another low-angst read that was just great.

 Small Packages - Drea Braddock

 This novella follows Bex and Matthew.  Bex is a navel intelligence officer and she's autistic.  Matthew is an engineer working for NOAA and he has some physical traits that makes dating challenging.  What starts out as a one night stand quickly develops into a relationship as the two find friendship, comfort, and lots of steamy time.  However, as their relationship progresses, Bex realizes Matthew doesn't let her touch him below the belt, she begins to worry he's keeping secrets that could ruin their relationship right as it is starting.  I really liked this read, but I do think it tried to cram in way too much into the 108 pages.  This takes place over the course of a few months and because of this, we get a lot of summarizing of events that I would have loved to see on page.  I did love the chemistry and connection between the characters and how we got to see them hanging out and having fun outside of the bedroom.  I also liked how we saw Bex's autism treated in a few different ways throughout this shorter read (acceptance and adoration by Matthew and her friends, not so nicely by other characters) so it didn't feel like a one-dimensional character trait.  We get a good amount of side characters as well which I always like since it gave us a little different perspective.  I loved that Matthew wasn't 'fixed' by love but rather Bex accepts that part of him and they have a supportive and open discussion.  There was a lot of great communication in this read and while the main conflict is due to Matthew not being able to communicate in the moment, I think they still come together in the end really well.

 

The Naughty, The Nice, and The Nanny - Willa Nash

 This is the first book in The Holiday Brothers series and follows eldest brother Maddox and Natalie.  Natalie is a last-minute replacement nanny for Maddox and when they meet she immediately recognizes him from high school and the massive crush she had on him.  He's now a divorced, single dad to a spunky 7 year old daughter and he's looking to move back home to Boseman, MT.  The job is only for a week but when Natalie takes on all the challenges of the Holiday family without batting an eye, she feels like she's been a part of the family for years.  This was such a fun romance and I loved Maddox and Natalie.  Obviously, with the story taking place over the course of a week, this is solid insta-love territory.  However, the characters did have some backstory and since Maddox had been married previously, it felt like he could identify his feelings for Natalie faster because he could compare them to his ex-wife. We get a good amount of side characters and while Boseman, MT I think would not qualify as a typical small-town romance, we do get a lot of the typical small town romance vibes.  I also loved that Maddox's daughter wasn't one of those extra-cutesy kids that show up in a lot of romance books - she reminded me of some kids I babysat for back in the day. I would have liked some more scenes with Maddox and Natalie together, just the two of them to help flesh out their relationship a bit. 

Little Red House - Liv Andersson

 

This mystery follows Connie after the death of her adoptive mother, Eve.  Eve left the majority of her wealth and Vermont estate to Connie's twin sister Lisa while Connie got a little red house in New Mexico where Eve's daughter disappeared years ago.  Eve had never mentioned New Mexico or this house to Connie or Lisa but Eve's will has a long list of rules both daughters must follow and the two chalk it up to just another one of Eve's cruel psychological games that they grew up with.  But once Connie arrives at the house she finds a mysterious caretaker living in her back yard and a string of murders that no one in town wants to talk about.  As Connie starts to ask around town about these murders, she finds that these crimes and Eve might be more intertwined than she originally thought. 

TW/CW: death of a parent, suicide, sexual assault, psychological abuse, child abuse

I loved this twisty, dark read.  This story starts off a little messed up and pretty much just gets darker as it goes along and I was 100% on board for that journey.  From the title and cover, I wasn't expecting this to get as dark as it did.  This is not the darkest book I've ever read, and a lot of the worst stuff is done off page, but the whole book had a really great creep factor and twisty reveals.  I read through a few reviews after I finished and one said that this felt like a limited series on HBO and I very much agree with this.  

I really enjoyed the dual timeline of this read, especially since we know of the connection before Connie does.  This allows the reader to start guessing about connections and Eve's motivations before Connie can start piecing things together - which is always fun for me with these mysteries. We also get to see two versions of the same town and there are numerous overlaps between Eve and Connie's stories. We also get two sides of Eve - one from her timeline and the other from Connie's reflections on Eve as a parent.  I also liked how each timeline had their own core mystery that ended up being connected.  Sometimes these dual timeline mysteries can feel like watching two characters take the exact same steps, but in this case there wasn't a whole lot of overlap in the main mysteries (Eve looking for her daughter, Connie investigating murders).  Of course, the two timelines do converge but it didn't feel repetitive when the story flipped back and forth. 

This book is full with complex, often unlikeable characters which I'm finding is my preference with these gritty, darker mysteries. I loved the way the townfolk treat Connie as an outsider where they are generally polite, but also everyone tells her that she'd be better off leaving for various reasons.  Connie does her best to integrate into this town and she slowly does find some sort of community in this town.  This is contrasted by Eve's visit where she was more concerned about finding her daughter than with making friends in this town. We didn't get a lot of fluffy details about the side characters, but the details we do get are pretty significant and again highlight the horror under the surface of this town.  I also enjoyed how the characters we see aren't overly concerned with being liked.  Eve, Connie, and the side characters were all unapologetic and weren't interested in sugar coating anything.  This type of character dynamic made for an interesting mystery read because while the puzzle pieces we do get are few and far between, it made each step forward in the investigation feel like a real win. 

This is one of those mysteries where there are a lot of plot conveniences that, in hindsight, maybe don't feel entirely 'realistic'.  There are some reviews out there that point these instances out as something that they didn't like.  For me, however, I wasn't bothered by these because of the way the whole story was built up in layers.  One non-spoilery example is that no one in the town wants to talk to Connie about these murders, but yet many people would give her little tidbits of information - just enough for her to research and further the plot.  Is this dynamic a little strange?  Sure.  Did it bother me?  Nope.  Andersson spends a lot of time slowly exposing the underbelly of this town and, by the time we finish with the end reveals, it did feel like everything made sense in this world and I could understand why these characters didn't want to talk to Connie. 

Going back to my opening comment about this feeling like a limed HBO series, the reveals and solution to the mystery do lean toward the dramatic and there are specific examples where I do question how believable that situation would be. However, Andersson does a good job addressing and explaining the more over-the-top scenarios on the page.  That being said, I was fully invested while I was reading and these thoughts only really came once I finished the book and was gathering my thoughts for this review.  A lot of my enjoyment of these mystery/thriller books come from being surprised at some (or all) of the reveals and this book certainly hit that mark.  Andersson has done such a great job of building up the layers of this mystery between the two timelines and by the end, I was itching to see how it all comes together.  There were a number of loose threads that came together at the end and I really think it worked on all fronts.  I also loved the way some of the reveals answered one question, but then also caused other questions to be raised immediately. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and had a great time.  I loved how dark and sinister the story got and how this little town was the perfect backdrop for this creepy story.  Sure, some of the plot points and reveals might lean a bit too far into coincidental-territory for some, but I had such a fun time reading and I was so invested in the story that it didn't bother me at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC

Expected publication date is December 6, 2022