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Review: The Trouble with Mistletoe

11/26/2016

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The Trouble with Mistletoe
by Jill Shalvis

Synopsis

If she has her way . . .

Willa Davis is wrangling puppies when Keane Winters stalks into her pet shop with frustration in his chocolate-brown eyes and a pink bedazzled cat carrier in his hand. He needs a kitty sitter, stat. But the last thing Willa needs is to rescue a guy who doesn’t even remember her . . .

He’ll get nothing but coal in his stocking.

Saddled with his great-aunt’s Feline from Hell, Keane is desperate to leave her in someone else’s capable hands. But in spite of the fact that he’s sure he’s never seen the drop-dead-gorgeous pet shop owner before, she seems to be mad at him . . .

Unless he tempers “naughty” with a special kind of nice . . .
​

Willa can’t deny that Keane’s changed since high school: he’s less arrogant, for one thing—but can she trust him not to break her heart again? It’s time to throw a coin in the fountain, make a Christmas wish—and let the mistletoe do its work . . .

Review

Goodness me, how I love holiday romance novels. This was my first read by Jill Shalvis; I was encouraged to try one of her books when I listened to an interview of her by Smart Bitches Trashy Books's Sarah Wendell (if you are a fan of romance reads, you need to check out this website and podcast). Shalvis sounded down to earth, and her books sounded like the sweet contemporaries that I enjoy. So, when I saw that she had a holiday romance out, I could not resist. 

The Trouble with Mistletoe is a contemporary story about Willa and Keane. Willa knew Keane back when she was a new student at their high school. With a leap of faith, Willa invited Keane to the Sadie Hawkins dance back then, only to be stood up by the popular jock. Fast forward to the present, and Willa is the owner of the town's popular pet supply shop, and Keane is the local house flipper. Their paths cross when Keane is looking for a cat sitter for the day - except Keane does not recognize Willa. He does, however, notice the prettiness of her green eyes, and the strawberry blonde hair. 

                                            ***some spoilers ahead***
Aside from this story revolving around Christmas time, what I thought was novel about it was that Willa, as loving, and caring as she is, is the one that has difficulties with commitment. Not because she doesn't believe in it, or would rather "play the field," but because she's been disappointed before - by family, and men she's dated. Willa is cautious, and she panics about having "feelings." It was refreshing to read about real emotions that included anxiety. 

Keane also broke the mold that I'm used to when it comes to romance leading men. He starts off as the "usual" guy in these books with not wanting commitment, but as the story progresses, he realizes that the idea of commitment doesn't sound so scary when it's with someone special. But we also see Keane slowly adjust to commitment in other areas in his life, like his home, and with Petunia (a cat). I really enjoyed the development of both of these characters.

Due to this being a holiday read, it does move rather quickly (a few weeks?), but I'm willing to overlook that because it's a romance story, and....CHRISTMAS!

Plus - no outrageousness :D I'll let you fill in the blanks with that one. 

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Review: The Billionaire's Christmas Proposal

11/25/2016

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The Billionaire's Christmas Proposal
by Victoria James

Synopsis

​S​he’s everything he wants for Christmas…

Social worker Allison Barrington’s home went up in smoke, literally, a month before Christmas. Now the guardian of her teenage sister and a crazy pup, she shows up on the doorstep of the only man in the city she can trust.

Resisting Ethan Dane had never been easy, but luckily, Allie isn’t into cutthroat playboy businessmen. And Ethan is as driven as they come.

Ethan Dane has wanted Allie since the moment he laid eyes on her at their best friends’ wedding. Having her in his home is the perfect chance to prove to her that their chemistry can’t be denied, but when he finds out that the biggest business coup of his career means destroying the youth center where Allie works, Ethan is forced to decide what kind of man he wants to be…

Review

We all know by now that I am a sucker for a good romance read - what many may not know is what started this love of mine. There are actually two things I can accredit my love of romance reads to: one, is Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me (which, oddly enough, I have not reviewed on this site!), and two, are romances that take place during Christmas. There is something extra cozy and lovely about a romance that takes place against a snowy, and fire-place type of backdrop. 

The Billionaire's Christmas Proposal was appealing to me because (1) billionaire, and (2) Christmas, but turned me off because of (3) proposal. Anyone who has read my blog before understands that I have this slight bias against proposals in stories. A few times, it's worked in my opinion, and most of the time - I just find it a little more of a last ditch effort. With that said, however, I decided that I'd give the book a shot. And I am glad that I did. 

Reading about Allie and Ethan made me want to go back and read the first book where they apparently first meet. I haven't done so yet (it has more to do with the cover of the book than the actual book - I'll get over it and read it soon). They are two extremely likable characters. Allie is forever an optimist working as a social worker for the greater good of homeless teens. She enjoys her job - which is the best part, while realizing she cannot hurry anyone into feeling better. She takes care of her teenage sister Dani because their mother is pretty much not available to them. After a fire at their apartment, Allie pushes past her pride and asks Ethan for help. Apparently Ethan has been after her since they first met (in the first book), and he's more than willing to help her. I loved how there is no question about whether Ethan cares for Allie -  his character shows how much he cares about her. There is no second guessing for him - it's more like, how much should he let himself care about her. 

Both characters have some skeletons in their closets, and they are deep without being melodramatic. There is some honest character development on both their parts, and, well, what can I say? I really enjoy character development. It shows that the author cares about her characters.

Honestly, I could read about this couple for a very long time - but I am glad that I was introduced to them during a Christmas story. 
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Romance Read Thursday: Mr. Miracle

12/24/2015

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Mr. Miracle
by Debbie Macomber

Synopsis

Harry Mills is a guardian angel on a mission: help twenty-four-year-old Addie Folsom get her life back on track—and, if the right moment strikes, help her find love. Posing as a teacher at a local college in Tacoma, Washington, Harry is up to the task, but not even he can predict the surprises that lay in store.


After trying to make it on her own, Addie has returned home to Tacoma for the holidays, but this time she plans to stay for good, enrolling in the local community college to earn her degree. What she doesn’t plan to do is run into Erich Simmons.

Addie and her next-door neighbor, Erich, are like night and day. Growing up, he was popular and outgoing while she was rebellious and headstrong, and he never missed an opportunity to tease her. Now she intends to avoid him entirely, yet when they’re suddenly forced to spend Christmas together, Addie braces for trouble.

Perhaps it’s the spirit of the season or the magic of mistletoe, but Addie and Erich soon find they have more in common than they thought—and that two people who seem so wrong for each other may actually be just right. With a little prompting from a certain angelic teacher, the two are in for a holiday miracle they’ll never forget.

Review

Christmas is tomorrow, so it is only fair that this week's Romance Read be a Christmas Read as well. I haven't read many Christmas romance books, so I decided to try Mr. Miracle and I am glad that I did. I truly enjoyed reading about the two angels, Harry and Celeste, and their mission to help Addie. Addie is a woman who has returned home after the death of her father earlier in the year in hopes of starting over. She decides to enroll in a college level literature class in order to earn her last credit to get her high school diploma. Angel Harry is the teacher of that literature class and it is his job to get her to move forward. Part of moving forward involves Addie getting closer to Erich, her next door neighbor whom she's known since they were children. Erich used to torment Addie with his teasing, but now that he's hurt his wrists - she has been placed with the task of taking care of him. 

My favorite part of the book was the interaction of the two angels with each other and Harry's insight to being a human and how difficult it is. The idea of angels caring so much about one human specifically (and others, of course) is really beautiful. I also loved the idea of interweaving the story of A Christmas Carol (the book that Harry is teaching in his class) and Addie's transition to becoming the person she wants to be. 

Like everything, the story had its flaws. As much as I really liked a romance between Addie and Erich, I felt that it was not explored enough. I felt like I had missed when they started liking each other, only to realize that it just...happened - but not in a good way. I didn't have time to enjoy Addie and Erich falling for each other. I also felt that the story was so good and it ended so soon. I wanted to spend Christmas with Addie and Erich, but the story ended before I could really do that. I wish there was more romance. It may have meant that the book were longer - but that would have been fine with me!

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