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