Tag Archives: Barb’s Reviews

Mr. Nice Spy by Tiana Smith – Review & Giveaway

Posted on by
19

Mr. Nice Spy by Tiana Smith – Review & Giveaway

 

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Bookbub

Description:
When a pyrotechnic engineer discovers her biological father is an international criminal, she must work with a sexy CIA agent to take him down in this thrilling adventure rom-com.

Andee Paxton knows she’s good at her job as a fireworks designer. What she doesn’t know is that her biological father is Holt, a dangerous arms dealer who has escaped prison. And now he’s searching for his long-lost daughter-dearest.

After the CIA surprises her with this news, they drop another bombshell: they want to use Andee as bait to capture Holt once and for all. But before the CIA can even attempt to spring their trap, she’s kidnapped along with the very hot Officer Adam Chan—all because they were too busy flirting to worry about silly things like “safety protocol.”

A fake relationship—for their protection, of course—and just a few explosions bring Andee and Chan closer, but there’s more than their growing connection at stake. If Holt’s plan succeeds, the world will be brought to its knees. Andee and Chan must rely on each other to stop him…or else everything (including their feelings for each other) might just blow up in their faces.

 

 

 

Review:

Mr. Nice Spy by Tiana Smith is the 2nd book in her My Spy series. The story picks up where it left off, with the CIA still actively on the hunt to find Holt, the dangerous arms dealer. Andee Paxton is very good at her job as a pyrotechnic fireworks engineer and designer; the CIA is aware that Holt is looking for his long-lost biological daughter (Andee). Andee decided to do a DNA test, and learns that Holt, is her real father and a dangerous villain.

CIA Officer Adam Chan meets Andee, who is being set up as bait to catch her father; but to her surprise, she is kidnapped along with Chan (he pretends that he is Andee’s boyfriend). They are both drugged and flown to France, where Holt is hiding. Chan goes out of his way to play pretend boyfriend, as he is sweet and protective; Chan also has a hearing disability.  In a short time, they both begin to have feelings for each other.

Andee and Chan must find a way to stop Holt’s evil plans, as well as discover a way to escape, not to mention getting the CIA to help find them. They were trapped in the catacombs by the deranged Holt.   Andee and Chan must rely on each other to trust themselves, to secure their freedom; as well as both of them definitely have chemistry. Using the fake relationship, turned out to be fun, and I really liked them together.  The scary part is Holt’s villainy that will bring upon global destruction and chaos, bringing the world to its knees.  He has created a pill that will kill those who take it, as he is determined to destroy the world.

Mr. Nice Guy was an exciting, action-packed, captivating thriller, with a sweet spy romance story.  Mr. Nice Guy was very well written by Tiana Smith, with a wonderful couple and a steamy romance. If you enjoy a spy drama, I suggest you read Mr. Nice Spy.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

Tiana Smith’s publisher, Berkley, is offering a paper copy of MR. NICE SPY to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging onto the site, please refresh the page at the top of your computer.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please LIKE us on FACEBOOK and click GET NOTIFICATIONS

4. Please LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Please LIKE us on GOODREADS  for an additional entry.

6. Giveaway is open to USA only

7. Giveaway runs from November 6th to 10th, 2024

 

 

Share

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong – a Review

Posted on by
14

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Bookbub

 

Description:
Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells “small” fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.

 

 

Review:

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong is a standalone novel, which is a cozy fantasy. Tao, our heroine, is an immigrant fortune teller, who travels with her mule, into many villages, offering only small fortunes.  Tao was born as Shinn, but lived her whole life speaking only fluent Eshteran. The story follows Tao, as she finds herself a new found family, filled with adventure and friendship.

Tao meets Mash, is a mercenary, (who is looking for his 4-year-old missing daughter): and his friend Silt, who is an ex-thief, who is charming, witty and funny.  Together the three of them travel to different villages, with Tao tells small fortunes, with Mash and Silt traveling with her; especially Mash continuing to look for his daughter. After visiting a few villages, they come across with Kina, who is sweet and loves baking, and decides to follow Tao, and become a part of the group. A short time later, we meet Fidelitus, who is a magical cat.  As they continue visiting different villages, they all bond together, as their friendship becomes more like family.

Tao is approached by a mage, who wants her to join the Guild, but she manages to escape, and they all continue to avoid the mages, who are hunting her.  Tao faces prejudice, as she wants nothing to do with the Guild, as she only does small fortunes, knowing privately she does have ability to be a seer, which she avoids at all cost; as Tao is bitter and resentful against the Guild.

Eventually, the army and mage, will find her, and bring her to the Guild, as they need to use her true ability to help read the truths. When Tao meets the High Mage, she learns more secrets that they need her help with.  She realizes that she is able to be a Seer, and help the Guild truly discover if there is war on the horizon.  Tao manages to reveal the truths, and accepts the High Mage allowing her to move on, but be available in future cases.  She manages to get some money, and free her friends, as well as the High Mage willing to find Mash’s missing daughter.

The Teller of Small Fortunes was a warm, wholesome, funny, cozy and wrenching story.  It was an emotional and thoughtful story, that was a terrific read.  The Teller of Small Fortunes was very well written by Julie Leong. A emotional comforting tale, with new found family, and wonderful secondary characters.  I suggest you read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

Share

A Tribute of Fire by Sariah Wilson – a Review

Posted on by
16

A Tribute of Fire by Sariah Wilson – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / BAM / Bookbub

 

Description:
Lia is the princess of Locris, a dying desert nation cursed centuries ago by an earth goddess—one still worshipped by the thriving and adversarial nation of Ilion. Every year, Ilion offers the goddess a sacrifice: two Locrian maidens forced to compete in a life-and-death race to reach her temple. In a millennium, no maiden has made it out of Ilion alive. This year, Lia is one of the hunted.

An education in battle gives her a fighting chance, but the challenges are greater than she feared: Lia’s beloved but untrained sister Quynh has been put in the path of danger. The winding streets of Ilion itself have been transformed into a labyrinthine maze of countless choices and dead ends. And if the risks weren’t significant enough, Lia is reluctantly drawn to the commandingly attractive Jason, an Ilionian sailor she loathes to trust and desires like no man before.

The tribute game is on. It’s up to Lia to lift the goddess’s curse, restore Locris to its former glory, and change the fate of every young woman destined to follow in her path.

 

 

Review:

A Tribute of Fire by Sariah Wilson is the first book in her new series, The Eye of the Goddess. Lia, our heroine, is the princess of Locris; a dying nation that was cursed centuries ago by an earth goddess.  Ilion is another nation that thrives, leaving Locris suffering for over 1000 years; the rival nation of Ilion annually brings food, and chooses two Locrian maidens to compete in a brutal life or death race, with men chasing the maidens. Lia is chosen as one of the maidens, and to her surprise, her younger sister, Quynh is also chosen.

On the ship before they arrive at Ilion, Lia meets a sailor, Jason, who both become attracted to each other; during the time on the ship, Lia and Jason become closer, with both able to have a connection during their dreams.  Jason was sexy, intense and romantic; and Lia was totally into him.

The moment Lia steps off the boat, she knows that they need to find the temple, as they are being chased.   Ilion men who are chasing the maidens from their enemy nation, but allow a chance at freedom and serving their goddess as a priestess. Things are hardest as Quynh is not very good running away, with Lia doing her best to force her along, until an accident causes her to fail. Lia manages to find the temple and in time she will play a large part of learning the abilities. 

I loved how Lia became close to a group of girls, who considered themselves ‘sisters’.  It was a great found family trope, as the group shared a very close connection between them; the sisters, Io, Suri, Zalira, Ahyana, Demaratus and especially Kungburu (a special pet).  Lia’s training excelled, and she did have an enemy (Artemisia), who was determined to force her out of the temple. Though she was happy at the temple, and her wonderful friends, she was still on her quest to find a way to discover the powerful relic of the goddess, and save her people.

What follows is an exciting last half of the book, that had some surprising twists and turns along the way.   A Tribute of Fire was a wonderful romantasy mythology that had me unable to put the book down.  Lia was a terrific heroine, who was captivating and determined, as had a wonderful sister’s group. A Tribute of Fire was so very well written by Sariah Wilson.  I will say that the cliffhanger was a total surprise, which leads us to hope that Sariah Wilson will us book 2 sooner than later. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

Share

Only Cold Depths by Jennifer Estep – Dual Review

Posted on by
15

Only Cold Depths (Galactic Bonds 4) by Jennifer Estep – Dual Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Bookbub

Description:
A WOMAN WHO CAN’T CONTROL HER POWER . . .
Everyone knows the name Vesper Quill. I used to be a lowly lab rat working in a Regal-owned corporation, but thanks to my truebond with Kyrion Caldaren, I’m now one of the most wanted fugitives in the Archipelago Galaxy.

Kyrion and I have spent the last few weeks avoiding bounty hunters, along with the Arrows, the elite Imperium warriors tasked with capturing us. Now we’ve journeyed to a distant planet that’s supposed to be a refuge for truebonded couples, but when new enemies appear, we’re once again in grave danger.

As a seer, inventor, and engineer, I’m skilled at figuring out how things work, but I can’t quite understand my growing magic and newfound psionic abilities. The clock is ticking, and if I don’t figure out how to tap into my power, I’ll doom myself to a gruesome fate, along with Kyrion.

A MAN WHO CAN’T LET GO OF HIS FEAR . . .
As Kyrion Caldaren, I’m used to being respected and feared, especially given my telekinesis, telepathy, telempathy, and other powerful psionic abilities. What I’m not used to is being on the run, but as a rogue Arrow, I’ll do anything to protect Vesper.

Just when I think we’ve finally reached a safe haven, trouble finds us again, reigniting all my fears about losing Vesper.

When the cold depths of our enemies’ plan are finally revealed, the truth is more terrifying than anything I could imagine. Soon Vesper and I are fighting for our lives again, but even with our growing truebond power, this is one battle we might not survive.

 

Barb’s Review:  Only Cold Depths by Jennifer Estep is the 4th book in her Galactic Bonds Sc-Fi/Fantasy series. As noted, many times, I am a big fan of Jennifer Estep, having enjoyed all her fantastic series.  I was thrilled to learn that she was starting a different kind of new series, and after reading this second book, I can’t wait for more.

Vesper Quill, our heroine, is on the run with her truebond, Kyrion Caldaren; with both of them being the most wanted fugitives.  Always avoiding Bounty Hunters, Arrows, Psionics, and Imperium warriors determined to capturing them. They are now journeying to a different planet that welcomes truebond couples.

Vesper is a seer, as well as being a successful inventor/ engineer: but she still needs to increase her powers to use her magic or psionic abilities. Kyrion is also very powerful, maybe more so with his Psionic Arrow abilities; he is determined to protect Vesper at any cost.  Together their truebond continues to grow.

Vesper and Kyrion arrive at House Collier, who are accepted as they are truebond; the family allows them to live in their House.  Siya, one of the daughters, is in charge of the security, with her team using Hammers as vicious weapons.  Asterin, one of the other daughters, is friends with Vesper, and she helped solve some problems in past attacks in the Imperium. To Vesper and Kyrion’s surprise, they are invited to a ball, and they are shocked that House Zimmer was invited, bringing along Zane, Wendall and Beatrice. Vesper is not happy, as the Zimmer family have always ignored her as part of their family; but their appearance forces her to listen to some truths, which they want to bring her back into the family.  Of course, Vesper hates Zane, but by the end, she will begin to accept both Zane and Wendall. 

Vesper is early at meeting with Asterin, and notices someone is trying to steal equipment; which leads her to Esmine and Pollux, with their team.  Throughout most of the book, both Esmine and Pollux are determined to kidnap either Vesper or Kyrion, which will lead into and exciting, wild, suspenseful threat against Vesper, Kyrion, Zane and Asterin.  Will they survive?

What follows is an exciting, non-stop suspenseful, intriguing, violent captivating story that kept me unable to put the book down. Vesper continued improve her magic powers, as well as being mentally able to reach out to Kyrion. She was a fantastic heroine, smart, savvy, with amazing abilities. I loved seeing Vesper & Kyrion work together to fight against their enemies, with their truebond romance continuing to increase. The last half of the book was extremely tense and exciting, with some twists and surprises along the way.

Only Cold Depths was a terrific intriguing Space/Sci-Fi adventure filled with secrets, lies, betrayal, magic, elemental, tense and danger.   Only Cold Depths was very well written by Jennifer Estep.  I can’t wait to see what Jennifer has in story of us.

••••••••••

Sandy’s Review: ONLY COLD DEPTHS is the fourth instalment in Jennifer Estep’s adult GALACTIC BONDS sci-fi, fantasy , space-opera-esque series focusing on the former leader of the Arrows Kyrion Caldaren,and thirty-seven year old R&D tech specialist / seer Vesper Quill. ONLY COLD DEPTHS should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up after the events of book three ONLY HARD PROBLEMS.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Kyrion and Vesper) ONLY COLD DEPTHS continues to focus on the truebond relationship between our story line couple, a bond both are having difficulty accepting as true in the face of the unknown. A bounty has been placed focusing on our story line couple who seek respite and refuge on a distant planet but another betrayal threatens the lives of Kyrion and Vesper, who find themselves battling the enemy and the instability of their truebonded power.

Meanwhile, a marriage mart for the hand of Lady Asterin Armas, once again, brings Vesper’s half brother out of hiding, a brother she has never trusted, a man she believes is targeting our story line couple.

ONLY COLD DEPTHS is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and magic, greed and obsession, dysfunctional family values and deception. The premise is detailed, dramatic and inviting; the characters are animated and energetic; the romance is fated and seductive. ONLY COLD DEPTHS ends on a HEA for now-there is more story to be told.

Copies supplied for review

Share

Made for Mistletoe by Nan Reinhardt – a Review

Posted on by
13

Made for Mistletoe by Nan Reinhardt – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / Bookbub

 

Description:
This Christmas he has big plans until he meets a beautiful distraction….

Army reservist Cameron Walker loves everything about the holidays in River’s Edge—celebrating with his big family and carving out more time to work on his custom design furniture in his studio. But when he meets a visiting artist and niece of a family friend, he’s eager to break his work plans for play. He knows first-hand life’s short.

Teacher and artist Harper Gaines is bowled over by the handsome and friendly finish carpenter she meets during her vacation. His admiration for her art and his enthusiasm for life light her up, and remind her of how much she’s been missing since her soldier husband’s death. But when she discovers Cam’s also a soldier, she retreats, unable to risk another loss.

Cam has never felt such a strong connection, and he won’t give up without a fight. But will Cam’s persistence and the magic of Christmas be enough to convince Harper to take a chance on them?

 

 

Review:

Made for Mistletoe by Nan Reinhardt is the 3rd book of The Walkers of River’s Edge series.  We meet Harper Gaines, who lost her husband, stationed in Kuwait, in a truck accident caused by a major sandstorm.  Harper is still grieving almost 2 years later, and decides to leave her home town to drive away, and ends up in River’s Edge, where her two Aunt’s live.  Mary and Dot Higgins are happy to see Harper, and they offer her to stay at their place; though she is close to her aunts, all she wants is to be left alone to continue to grieve. Mary and Dot are determined to help her overcome her intense grief and learn to live her life again.

Cameron Walker loves everything about River’s Edge, always celebrating with his huge big family, as well as carving more of his custom design furniture at his studio. Cameron wants to find someone who can paint a chest for his mother for Christmas, and when he meets Harper, who is the niece of a family friend; he is determined to convince her to help him paint the chest. At first, Harper refuses to paint a chest, as she is not really familiar working on furniture. In a short time, Harper agrees to help, and they become fast friends.

As their friendship grew, Cam made it his goal to help Harper learn to live life again, and remind her what she is missing.  Cam knew he was falling hard for Harper, and hoped she would overcome her grief.  Cam was the prefect one for her, always happy with his life, and eventually winning her over with his kindness and heart. The people in River’s Edge were great, and slowly Harper began to feel accepted; meeting new women friends, such as Jazz, Anna, meeting all of the Walker family, getting an apartment over Mac and Carly place (giving her a place to sketch and paint). I loved seeing Harper begin to blossom and slowly find love with Cam, and making many new friends in River’s Edge. 

Made for Mistletoe was a wonderful addition to this wonderful The Walkers of River’s Edge series. Made for Mistletoe was a sweet romance, wonderful couple, fun, great secondary characters, and learning to move on from intense grief.  Once again, Nan Reinhardt gives us another wonderful story in River’s Edge, which was so very well written.  No surprise, as I love all of her previous books.  If you enjoy romance, great couple, wonderful secondary characters, and fantastic small town, I suggest you read this book.  Can’t wait to see what is next.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review

 

 

Share

Her Deadly Rose by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

Posted on by
14

Her Deadly Rose by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N

Description:
The girl’s lifeless body lies next to a scattered bouquet of crimson roses, the petals around her head like tiny pools of blood. Gripped in her hand is the note that came with the flowers, sent by someone who wanted her dead.

When champion figure skater Michaela Glover returns to her hometown of Woodbridge for a special performance, Detective Amanda Steele is part of the cheering crowds. But when Michaela is discovered dead in her dressing room after the show, Amanda is the first to investigate the shocking scene.

There is no sign of foul play, and the room is overflowing with flowers from Michaela’s adoring fans. But Amanda’s heart stops at the sight of a few roses tied with black ribbon and a note that reads “You’ll be sorry”. And when forensic tests reveal the ribbon was laced in something Michaela was deathly allergic to, Amanda is certain this is cold-blooded murder.

Desperate for a lead, Amanda dives into Michaela’s life to find out who could possibly want this sweet girl dead. She soon discovers that despite having a glittering future ahead of her, Michaela had a troubled past, and was surrounded by people jealous of her success.

When someone close to Michaela is discovered brutally murdered, Amanda is terrified there could be yet more innocent victims to follow. Can she uncover the twisted killer’s identity before they strike again?

 

 

Review:

Her Deadly Rose by Carolyn Arnold is the 12th book in her Detective Amanda Steele series. As I have noted previously, I am a big fan of Arnold, having read most of her books, and I love this series, which continues with another great addition.  Amanda Steele, our heroine, is a homicide detective in Prince William County, Virginia. Amanda is enjoying an ice-skating show with her daughter, Zoey, and her friend Patty; who is the aunt of local ice-skating celebrity Michaela Glover. After the show, they head to visit Michaela, and when no on opens the door, Amanda steps in to discover that she has been murdered.

There is no sign of foul play, but Amanda notices a bunch of roses, tied with a black ribbon and a note saying “You’ll Be Sorry”. Amanda calls her partner, Trent to come to the rink, and together they begin to dig into Michaela’s life, and who would murder her. Forensics discovers that Michaela was allergic to peanuts, which caused her death; someone added the nuts into her drink, and watched her die.

Amanda and Trent become buried in a complicated case with multiple suspects; as they learn more about Michaela’s trouble past. The further they investigate, there are themes of jealousy, manipulations, anger, grief, money and death. A short time after, Michaela’s agent was also found murdered.  Amanda and Trent find information on the agent’s phone about being blackmailed. The deeper they follow the suspects and clues; it becomes apparent that Michaela was not close to her family, other than her aunt Patty.  Amanda begins to put pressure on members of Michaela’s family to find the truths.

Amanda and Trent are a great team, and I like them together. Amanda is a great detective, very strong, independent, and always able to solve any case. Amanda worries about her daughter, Zoey, because she always busy on a case.  Her relationship with Logan, begins to cause problems, especially with her always busy solving crimes.  I also enjoy the various police team that we get to see in coming up with important clues.

What follows is an exciting, suspenseful, intriguing, tense mystery, that kept me unable to put the book down, as this was a fantastic thriller. To say too much more would be spoilers.  Her Deadly Rose was a fantastic crime thriller, that was another gripping addition to the Detective Amanda Steele series. It was a compelling, engrossing, intricate suspenseful plot. Another wonderful police procedural, with great characters, edge of your seat thriller, with some twists and surprises at the end.  Her Deadly Rose was once again so very well written by Carolyn Arnold, which is the norm for this author; as I am loving this series. If you like mystery thrillers, police procedural, then you need to be reading this series.

Reviewed  by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

Share

Lightning in her Hands by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland-Review

Posted on by
12

Lightning in her Hands by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland-Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Bookbub

 

Description:
Teal Flores is desperate for two things—control over her gift of weather, and a date to her ex’s wedding. The first isn’t possible until she finds her long-lost mother, but the second has a very handsome last-ditch solution: Carter Velasquez.

Carter needs Teal too. His chance at receiving an inheritance is dependent on him being married by age thirty (blame his traditional Cuban grandmother), so who better to pose as his wife than Teal? But fake marriage and cohabitation prove tricky when mutual attraction charges the atmosphere—quite literally for Teal, whose volatile emotions cause lightning strikes.

Together, Teal and Carter embark on a quest to find her mother and the answers she’s searching for. But along the way, they’ll discover something even better: a love that can weather any storm.

 

 

 

Review:

Lightning in her Hands by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is the 2nd book in her Wild Magic series.   Having read the first book in this series, I looked forward to Teal’s story.  Teal was only 4 years old when her mother left the family, and she was the only one who saw her leave. Each of the sisters have their own magical gift, with Sage (the oldest) having an affinity for plants; Sky (the youngest) has an affinity for animals; and Teal’s gift is the weather.  Teal has no full control over her gift, which responds to her emotions; but she learns many years later, that her mother took something from her the night she left; which causes her to feel unworthy; Teal also has a bipolar issue.

Teal has been best friends with Carter Velasquez most of her life, and when she moved on with a new boyfriend, their friendship fell apart. Now that Teal is no longer with her ex, she tries to convince Carter to go with her to her ex’s wedding, as she wants to resume their friendship. At first, he says no, but a short time later, he agrees to go to the wedding, if she will help him gain access to his inheritance.  Carter needs a marriage of convenience, and after some thought, she agrees to the fake marriage with Carter, especially with both gaining some money.  When they get married, both Carter and Teal begin to feel strong feelings for each other (as Carter has always loved her). Teal moves in with Carter in his gorgeous house. Along the way, the sex scenes between Teal and Carter are very hot and spicy; they were great together. 

Teal knows she lost something all those years ago, which causes her gift to not be where it should be. Teal, Carter, Sage and Sky embark on trying find her mother, to get her power in full control.  I was happy that Teal slowly knew she needed to improve herself, as well as being less selfish.  If they can find the missing mother, Teal will fully restore her ability.  The three sisters will find their mother, and they will need to get Teal’s full power back from the mother. 

Lightning in her Hands was an intriguing, fun, emotional, romantic and sexy story. Lightning in her Hands was very well written by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland. If you enjoy a paranormal fantasy, with terrific characters, I suggest you read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

Share

A Christmas Duet by Debbie Macomber – a Review

Posted on by
14

A Christmas Duet by Debbie Macomber – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Bookbub

 

Description:
Halley Morgan’s life has always revolved around music. She once had big dreams of becoming a professional songwriter, but the reality of life has led her to working as an assistant high school band teacher in Portland. As the holidays approach, Hailey dreads the annual tradition of spending Christmas with her family and dodging her mother’s meddling questions about her love life.

When Halley’s close friend offers her the use of her family’s empty cabin for a rejuvenating solo holiday retreat, Halley finally decides to do something to make herself happy. However, her arrival in the small town of Podunk, Oregon, is anything but peaceful when she discovers the cabin has been invaded by several wild animals. Luckily, Jay, the son of the town’s main store proprietor—and an incredibly handsome and charming former musician to boot—is more than willing to help.

Soon Halley and Jay are nearly inseparable, chopping down and decorating a Christmas tree, sipping hot cocoa in front of a cozy fire, and best of all, playing music together. Jay’s positive feedback and encouragement inspire Halley to believe she might succeed as a songwriter after all. But even in her snow-dusted oasis, family holiday drama still finds Hailey, interrupting and threatening her newfound peace and confidence. Meanwhile revelations from Jay present complications of their own. Suddenly her Christmas paradise has become a winter storm and Hailey must weather through the challenges to stand up for herself and embrace the holiday spirit.

 

 

Review:

A Christmas Duet by Debbie Macomber is a sweet wonderful heartwarming Christmas holiday story. We meet Halley Morgan, who has always dreamed of becoming a professional song writer, but she currently is an assistant high school band teacher in Portland. Halley isn’t happy to join her family on Christmas, since her mother keeps pushing Halley’s ex-boyfriend to attend Christmas. Her BFF, Katherine are both happy for the holiday break, and when Halley talks about her ex planning to come to their house, she is desperate.  Katherine suggests to her to use the family cabin in the small town of Podunk; enabling her to concentrate on creating her music.  Halley decides to take up Katherine offer and escape having to go to her family’s Christmas celebration, with her ex planning to attend.

 When Halley arrives at the cabin, she senses the feel of her journey in creating her music; but she also discovers some animals that seem to visit the cabin. When shopping at the town’s main store, the owner sends her son, Jay to help rid the animals; and Halley finds him to be charming and handsome, not to mention he too is a former musician. Both Halley & Jay play the guitar and are very passionate about creating music; though she loves writing songs, he is currently working on building his own company.  In a short time, both begin to feel sparks between them, with lots of delightful banter and their love of music.  Jay gives Halley encouragement inspiring her that she can be a successful songwriter, especially when she sang her song at the bar/restaurant, which became so popular, with videos opening up a possible career. Halley and Jay become inseparable, spending fun time together as well as playing music together.

I will say, I really did not like Halley’s mother, who was obsessive and determined to bring the ex-back into the picture. When the video of her song escalated, her parents found out where she was staying, comes to visit; of course, the mother lets the ex-know.   It will take Halley to tell the ex she does not want anything to do with him; especially since she finds herself caring about Jay. I really loved Hailey and Jay together. I liked Halley’s sister, Daisy, who had who came earlier, concerned about her own boyfriend being serious. 

A Christmas Duet was a heartwarming, charming, sweet, cozy romantic story filled with music and love.  It was really nice to see both sisters have their own HEA. A Christmas Duet was so very well written by Debbie Macomber.  I suggest you read A Christmas Duet, as you can n ever go wrong with anything by Debbie Macomber.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

Share