Tag Archives: Christmas Story

Bound by Wish and Mistletoe by Kat Bastion – a Review

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Bound by Wish and Mistletoe by Kat Bastion – a Review

 

Bound by Wish and MistletoeLinks to order Bound by Wish and Mistletoe:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Description:
The holiday novella, Book 1.5, following the award-winning debut of Forged in Dreams and Magick in the Highland Legends Series:

Desperate to honor a life-long promise, Susanna MacEalan escapes her abusive clan with the fierce determination of never falling under the power of a man. Ever.

Aggravated by shallow-hearted pursuing lasses, Robert Brodie, commander of his clan’s elite guard, has foresworn scheming women. Forever.

When magick transforms Brodie Castle into a Christmas wonderland, the two despondent souls find solace in a most unexpected place . . . each other’s arms.

Amid a whirlwind of escalating events, Susanna’s traumatic past threatens Robert’s ability to protect the one woman meant for him. In a harrowing moment, as her fears and demons coalesce, will hope, faith, and love be enough to save them.

Review:

Bound by Wish and Mistletoe is a holiday novella in Kat Bastion‘s Highland Legends series.  This is a great Christmas story, wrapped up in the magic of Castle Brodie and the enchanting sparkle of Christmas celebrations.  Susanna MacEalan is on the run, running from an abusive father who has promised her in marriage to a ruthless man.  Susanna has been taught all her life that men are not to be trusted because all they do is hurt women.  She vowed to her mother that she would get away and she is making good on that promise. 
Susanna runs right into the arms of Robert Brodie.  Robert had sworn off women, he was sick of the shallow women that constantly pursued him.  But when he met Susanna, his manly world was turned upside down.  He knew she was not like the other women and he wanted to claim her for his own.  Susanna is terrified to trust anyone within Robert’s clan.  The only person she trusted growing up was her mom.  Once she is introduced to everyone, she is blown away by the kindness she receives.  She didn’t know what a real family was like and Robert wants to show her.  But he has to prove to her that he can be trusted and that he won’t turn into a horrible, abusive man.
 
This novella moves along quickly, never a dull moment.  That’s what I love about Kat’s writing, there is never any pages that I want to speed read through because it’s boring.  She writes her characters with such emotion that they come to life.  I really enjoyed Robert and Susanna’s love story, the passion jumped off the pages.  Bound by Wish and Mistletoe was the perfect blend of Christmas magic, romance and the real meaning of family.  What a great second edition to Kat’s introduction to the Highlanders, Forged in Dreams and Magick. 

 

Reviewed by Tricia

 

Copy provided by Author
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Starry Night by Debbie Macomber – a Review

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Starry Night by Debbie Macomber – a Review

Starry NightLinks to order Starry Night: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / The Book Depository

Description:
’Tis the season for romance, second chances, and Christmas cheer with this new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.
 
Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author.
 
Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a megabestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly declines to speak to anyone in the press, and no one even knows exactly where he lives.
 
Digging deep into Finn’s past, Carrie develops a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart.
 
Filled with all the comforts and joys of Christmastime, Starry Night is a delightful novel of finding happiness in the most surprising places.

Review:

Starry Night by Debbie Macomber is a sweet enjoyable contemporary romance.  Our heroine, Carrie Slayton works as a society reporter for a large Chicago newspaper.  Carrie is tired of handling the news & attending the events on the society front.  She wants to do real news, and when she approaches her editor, threatening to leave, he gives her an impossible task, which if she succeeds, he will let her do a high profile assignment.

Carrie must find the elusive Finn Dalton, who is the hero in Starry Night, and get an interview.  Finn is a best selling author, having written about survival in the Alaskan Wilderness.  But he prefers his privacy and no one knows who he is.  There has never been any luck in finding out who is Finn Dalton. But Carrie jumps at the chance, and does her own investigation.  She discovers by chance, a woman she thinks is Finn’s mother, and after speaking with her, Carrie heads to Alaska.  She convinces a friend of Finn’s to take her to his remote cabin on the other side of the lake.  Surprise..Surprise …when Finn sees this girl falling down in the ice and snow in front of his cabin.  Finn and his dog, Hennessy come to Carrie’s rescue, which is followed by a blizzard. 

Of course, since they are snowed in, no chance for Finn to kick Carrie out.  Well at least not yet.  What follows are two people who do not like each other from the beginning.  Carrie finds him rude, and unfriendly.  Finn just doesn’t like or trust any woman.  Only Hennessy and Carrie hit it off immediately, much to Finn’s displeasure.  Carrie tries to be friendly, trying to explain, but Finn refuses to talk to her, giving her the cold shoulder.

Since he wouldn’t talk, and she had to sleep on the couch with Hennessey, it was funny and I totally got a kick out of it, Carrie talks to the dog as if she was talking to Finn.  Even Finn laughed at her responses, speaking for the dog, and eventually he came out of his shell to talk more.  Over the next couple of days, Finn opens up to Carrie more, telling her some of the secrets as to why he is a loner.  He blames his mother for leaving his father when he was a child, and has had bad experiences with women.  Therefore, he swears off all women.  Carrie manages to get Finn to talk, and has enough information to write that article on Finn.  When the snow is cleared, Carrie heads for home, but not before they both know there is something between them.  As she prepares to leave, Finn tells her not to publish the article on him.  Carrie must make a decision to grab the opportunity of a lifetime, or do what her heart tells her is the right thing to do.

It is a fun story, as both Finn and Carrie text each other daily, and talk on the phone.  A wonderful moment when he surprises her with a visit during Thanksgiving in Chicago, and he meets her friends.  Just when they both know they love each other, something happens to break it apart.  Carrie, though heartbroken, works her own plan to try to get Finn back and make him rise above the issues that have haunted him all his life.  A very nice romance that ends during Christmas time. 

I enjoyed reading this book, as it was a sweet simple romance, and a great couple. If you are looking for steamy romance, this book is not for you. But if you want to read something that is pure romance, a fast enjoyable read, with an unlikely couple that you know will end up together, then read this book. This is after all true blue romance and a HEA is a must.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Edelweiss and Publisher

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All She Wants for Christmas/A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton-a review

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All She Wants for Christmas/ A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton- a review

All She Wants for Christmas/A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton-a review

Description from website:

All She Wants for Christmas by Jaci Burton -The Kent Brothers Series book 1

Main Characters: Ethan Kent and Riley Jensen

Ethan Kent – Youngest of the Kent brothers, he was in love with Riley in high school, but made a foolish mistake and lost her. With Riley back in town, he has a lot of mistakes to make up for. But his heart has always been with Riley.

Riley Jensen – She followed her heart as a teenager, but when Ethan betrayed her, she followed her dreams instead. Now she’s back and everything about Ethan has changed. Is she willing to give him a second chance?

Review:

So far I’ve only read one Jaci Burton book (Taking a Shot from her Play by Play series) and enjoyed it, so I thought what the heck, lets check out her Christmas series about the Kent brothers. So far I’ve only read this one, but I plan to read the other two, as I enjoyed this one so much.

All She Wants for Christmas was a touching, heart warming story about love lost, heartache, forgiveness and love found again. The storyline, actions and the characters are real, and Burton did an amazing job of capturing them just right and letting them unfold on the pages. You feel the emotion of the characters and the storyline rolls off the page.

I really enjoyed the characters of Ethan and Riley. You can’t help but fall in love with them instantly and root for them throughout the book. Throw in a cute adorable seven year old Zoey to the mix (Ethan’s daughter) and you have yourself a winning combination for a holiday story. Not only are Ethan, Riley and Zoey lovable characters, but so too are the secondary characters. I absolutely loved the Kent’s mom, she is a no nonsense type person and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. The scene with her and Ethan talking about his feelings for Riley and what mom thinks he needs to do had me chuckling. I could just see that scene so clearly, I was actually waiting for her to take him by the ear and drag him over to Riley and have him admit his feelings to her. The ear pulling didn’t happen, but in the end Ethan does finally admit his feelings in a most touching and made my eyes mist up kind of way. His words to Riley were so beautiful and tender that it made me wish for an Ethan of my very own.

I think Burton did a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the holidays in a small town, as well as the magic the holidays bring. At times it reminded me of my own small city where everyone knows everyone, and you can’t blink without someone noticing. The interaction between the characters is well written, and makes you feel like you are there watching the events unfold from the sidelines. This story will definitely put a smile on your face, and have you thinking warm and fuzzy thoughts while putting you in the holiday spirit. If you’re looking for a heartwarming, sweet story just in time for the holidays then this one’s for you. This is one holiday story I highly recommend, and now I’m off to read the second book in this holiday series, A Rare Gift.

ORDER LINKS: Barnes and Noble / KOBO / Amazon

A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton – Book 2 in The Kent Brothers Series

Main Characters: Wyatt Kent and Calliope Andrews

Wyatt Kent – Divorced and bitter about it. Oldest of the Kent brothers, he runs Kent Construction with his brothers, mostly keeps to himself and doesn’t get involved with women anymore since his bitter divorce. Until he meets the whirlwind that is Calliope, who refuses to let him drown in his bitterness and forces him to come to life again.

Calliope Andrews – Younger sister of Wyatt’s ex-wife, she had a crush on Wyatt years ago, but it’s the more mature Calliope who sees the potential in Wyatt’s sense of humor and how much he has to offer. She wants to help him let go of the past so he has a chance at a future.

Review

I knew after reading the first book I’d have to continue with this series. Let me tell you I wasn’t disappointed, and glad I followed my instincts. Wyatt’s story is just as cute and heart warming a read as the first book. Once again Jaci spins a story about love lost, trusting one’s heart again, yearning for love and finding true love with the right person.

At first I thought it might be a bit awkward with Calliope being the little sister of Wyatt’s ex(Cassie), but Jaci does an excellent job of dealing with that situation. It wasn’t awkward at all for me, in fact it was the exact opposite. Jaci had me captivated with Wyatt from the get go and had me cheering him on to shed his grumpy ways, trust in love again and give Calliope a chance. The way that Jaci wrote this book, and dealt with Calliope and Wyatt’s relationship allows the reader to settle back and enjoy a good story.

Watching Wyatt go from a grumpy, bitter man to one full of life, laughter and love with Calliope is a fun adventure. It was funny and sweet all at the same time watching Wyatt slowly fall for Calliope all the while thinking he shouldn’t be feeling this way about her because of his past with Cassie. Due to the way the situation was left between Wyatt and Cassie, it’s no wonder he’s a bitter, grumpy negative man. However, thanks to Calliope, her never say never attitude and fiesty personality, poor Wyatt doesn’t stand a chance. I really enjoyed Calliope’s character, who wouldn’t when the heroine can say this to the man she’s been in love with all her life;

“I can’t believe a big tough guy like you is afraid of a little thing like me, Wyatt.” Then she stepped back, her gaze traveling halfway down and staring at the part of him she had no business staring at. When she lifted her gaze again, she grinned.
“I know you have balls in there. Why don’t you try to find them? When you do, it’s your turn to come ask me out.”

LOL!! Calliope is a riot and just the right woman for Wyatt. She brings, love, trust and laughter back into his life. More then that she makes him realize he’s been wasting his life long enough being lonely and realizes that what he wants and needs is staring him right in the face.

As in the first book, Jaci once again captures her characters personalities perfectly and the emotion and playfulness between Wyatt and Calliope just role off the pages. You can’t help but cheer these two characters on throughout the book, hoping that Calliope’s plan to put the past between Wyatt and Cassie to rest succeeds, so that he can finally move on and have the life he was meant to have with Calliope. The ending of the book is wonderful and seeing Wyatt finally happy and in love with the right woman is just the icing on the cake. If you are looking for something fun, sweet, with a touch of Christmas tossed in for good measure, then this one’s for you. I also know I’ll be following up with the third book as soon as I have the time. 😉

ORDER LINKS: Barnes and Noble / Amazon / KOBO

Happy reading and Merry Christmas

The Kent Brother’s Series;

All She Wants for Christmas
A Rare Gift
The Best Thing (Dec, 2012)

Reviewed by Marcie

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