Tag: Christmas Romance

It Must Be Christmas by Jennifer Crusie, Mandy Baxter, Donna Alward

Posted November 29, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: It Must Be Christmas
Series: -Anthology-
Author: Jennifer Crusie, Mandy Baxter, Donna Alward
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: October 4, 2016
Publisher: St Martin’s Paperbacks
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

t’s the most wonderful time of the year, when love is in the cold and frosty air—and desire reaches the boiling point. . .

Hot Toy
From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie comes a hilarious, sexy story about a determined shopper who grabs the last action figure off the shelf, only to find herself plunged into the arms of a sexy secret agent. Mayhem under the mistletoe ensues. Business as usual this Christmas season…right?

Christmas with the Billionaire Rancher
Nate wants to stay away from all the women who want his money in Mandy Baxter’s story set deep in the heart of Texas. But when gorgeous do-gooder Chloe Benson comes knocking at his door—in search of funds for her charity—Nate can’t ignore the passion he feels for her. Maybe love is priceless after all?

Christmas at Seashell Cottage
’Tis the season in Jewell Cove when local doctor Charlie Yang finds her quiet, steady life disrupted by both an abandoned baby in the nativity manger and ex-SEAL Dave Ricker. Are these turn of events too good to be true? Or is Christmas working its magic—for real— Donna Alward’s heartwarming holiday story?

Anthology

True-Blue Cowboy Christmas by Nicole Helm

Posted November 28, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Title: True-Blue Cowboy Christmas
Series: Big Sky Cowboys #3
Author: Nicole Helm
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: October 4 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

Thack Lane has his hands full. For the past seven years, he’s been struggling to move on from his wife’s tragic death and raise a daughter all by his lonesome. He doesn’t have time for himself, much less a cheerful new neighbor with a smile that can light up the ranch.

Christmas spirit? Bah, humbug.

With Christmas right around the corner, Summer Shaw is searching for somewhere to belong. When her neighbor’s young daughter takes a shine to her, she is thrilled. But Thack is something else altogether. He’s got walls around his heart that no amount of holiday wishes can scale. Yet as joy comes creeping back to the lonely homestead, Summer and Thack may just find their happily ever after before the last of the Christmas miracles are through…

Titles in this series include: Rebel Cowboy – Outlaw Cowboy – True Blue Christmas Cowboy (links are to reviews on Keeper Bookshelf)

Mistletoe Between Friends / The Snowflake Inn by Samantha Chase

Posted November 24, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Mistletoe Between Friends – The Snowflake Inn
Series:
Author: Samantha Chase
Genre: Christmas Contemporary Romance
Published: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

The holidays don’t have to be fraught with tension, as lifelong friends Lily Cavanaugh and Cameron Greene discover in Mistletoe Between Friends when they cook up a scheme to fool their family and friends.

The Snowflake Inn shows rivals Grace Brodie and Riley Walsh that Christmas is a time when dreams come true-even if you’ve given up on those dreams long ago.

This is a combination of two earlier novels by Samantha Chase… a more detailed cover description for each is below:

MISTLETOE BETWEEN FRIENDS

All lifelong friends Lily Cavanaugh and Cameron Greene want is a chance to enjoy the Christmas season. What’s stopping them? Their matchmaking parents who seem determined to set the two of them up on some of the worst blind dates in the history of dating.

They’ve identified the problem and have come up with the perfect solution – they will pretend to be dating in order to get their parents off of their backs and finally have a chance to enjoy a peaceful Christmas.

It was a simple concept; spend some extra time together pretending to like one another. But neither of them expected long-hidden desires to come to the surface or that a pretend relationship could suddenly feel very real.

THE SNOWFLAKE INN

A home for the holidays…

Grace thought she had finally found a place to belong. Coming off of ten years of tragedy and disappointments, her arrival at The Snowflake Inn finally gives her a reason to have hope for her future and the possibility of her forever-home. Until one man arrives with the power to take it all away.

Versus NOT wanting to be home for the holidays…

Riley’s world has been turned upside down. He’s back at the one place that he never wanted to return to and it looks like he may be staying longer than he had planned. Taking over The Snowflake Inn was never his dream, it was his family’s dream for him, and all Riley wants to do is cut his losses and leave. But one fiery red-head has him rethinking everything he had planned.

Both Grace and Riley had very different plans for their time at The Snowflake Inn but with the magic of Christmas all around them, and an attraction that they can’t seem to ignore, this could be the perfect time and place for everyone’s dream to come true.

A Very Jaguar Christmas by Terry Spear

Posted November 23, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Title: A Very Jaguar Christmas
Series: Heart of the jaguar #5
Author: Terry Spear
Genre: Paranormal Romance Shifter
Published: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

As a protector of all jaguar-kind, Guardian agent Demetria MacFarlane isn’t surprised to get a call near Christmas—but when she’s sent to protect a cub whose species she didn’t even know existed, her holiday season gets complicated. And it doesn’t help that her partner is a distraction of the hottest kind.

Hotshot JAG agent Everett Anderson can handle dangerous poachers and wildlife traffickers, no problem…but kids? Everett fears he’ll be stuck cub-sitting under the Christmas tree, but working with one sexy Guardian she-cat may be the best present he’s ever gotten

Titles in this series include: Savage Hunger – Jaguar Fever – Jaguar Hunt – Jaguar Pride – A Very Jaguar Christmas

The Christmas Tree by Allyson Charles

Posted November 22, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Title: The Christmas Tree
Series: Pineville #2
Author: Allyson Charles
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: November 22, 2016
Publisher: Kensington Books – Lyrical Shine
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

It was one little fender bender. Sadie was only in picturesque Pineville, Michigan, for a day, trying to handle the ramshackle house her grandmother left her and juggle the sale of her failing design business at the same time. Her debtors don’t care that it’s almost Christmas. But then neither does the big bad contractor whose truck got squashed.

Colt McCoy might be the least festive person she’s ever met. He’s gruff, rude, and way too upset about a minor accident. Of course, he is nice to look at, with dimples hiding in his scruffy beard and a body like a lumberjack’s. And Sadie will have plenty of time to enjoy the view, since their community service sentence has put the two of them in charge of Pineville’s jinxed Christmas tree.

But as their squabbles over ornaments turn to laughter, anyone can see Colt and Sadie have something electric. The hard part is guessing if they’ll light each other up—or just keep blowing the fuse.

Titles in this series include: Putting Out Old Flames – The Christmas Tree

Holiday House Parties by Elizabeth Mansfield

Posted November 21, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Historical Romance, Regency Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Holiday House Parties: Two Tales
Series:
Author: Elizabeth Mansfield
Genre: Regency Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Open Road Intrigated Media
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

In “The Girl with Airs,” Lord Dunvegan—Laird Geordie to his friends—attempts to persuade bluestocking Caroline Woolcott to give his besotted, tongue-tied friend Sir Archibald Halford a chance to win her hand in marriage. A Scotsman banished to England to cultivate a more genteel manner, Geordie has yet to meet a female who tempts him to settle down. It certainly isn’t the headstrong lass who wants nothing to do with Archie—or Geordie. But then Geordie’s father decides the standoffish Caroline would make an ideal bride for his wayward son, and a sizzling kiss in the doorway of a grand Lancashire estate turns two warring hearts to love . . .

In “A Sneeze on Tuesday,” Elinor Selby succumbs to the worst cold she’s ever known five days before Christmas, and her entire future takes a catastrophic turn. After an absence of five years, Elinor’s betrothed, Julian Henshaw, Lord Lovebourne, is due home any day. Were it not for her quick-thinking, curmudgeonly neighbor, Miles Endicott, on whom she’s relied since childhood, she might not be able to cope with the momentous reunion. But then an unexpected series of events forces Elinor and Miles to take part in a scandalous deception that will ignite a firestorm of longing and love.

Stand Alone Titles

Holiday with a Twist by Shannon Stacey

Posted November 21, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Holiday With A Twist
Series:
Author: Shannon Stacey
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: November 21, 2016
Publisher: Carina Press
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

After a messy breakup, Leigh Holloway is ready to start her life over. Until her parents put the family home on the market and call her back for one final, memory-making Christmas. The last thing she wants to do is deprive her mom of the perfect holiday, so she’ll lie her way through the visit and worry about her future in the New Year. Too bad the only bar in town is owned by a guy she seriously wronged in high school.

Leigh’s best friend broke Croy Dawson’s heart, and Croy knows it was Leigh’s fault. They’ve never liked each other, but Croy isn’t cruel: he’d never turn away a pretty woman in need of some family-Christmas fortification. He doesn’t expect her to drink just enough candy-cane martinis to tell him her secrets—and he definitely doesn’t expect to get caught up in her holiday madness.

Despite the surprising love and laughter, Croy and Leigh can’t escape the truth: he can’t walk away from his family obligations and she has a life and career to reboot. But anything is possible if your holiday comes with a twist…

Stand Alone Novella (at this time)

A Cowboy Christmas Miracle by Carolyn Brown

Posted November 20, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Title: A Cowboy Christmas Miracle
Series: Burnt Boot, Texas #4
Author: Carolyn Brown
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

It will take a miracle bigger than the state of Texas for these two feuding families to survive the holidays!

Opposites might attract…
The Brennans and the Gallaghers put aside their one-hundred-year feud every Tuesday for their weekly poker game. This week, the stakes are sky-high. Goaded to recklessness, Declan Brennan bets one thousand dollars that he can woo the next woman to walk into the saloon. A minute later, fiery-haired Betsy Gallagher pushes through the doors. If Declan can tame this wild Gallagher, he’ll have earned every penny.

If they don’t kill each other first…
Betsy can out shoot anybody in Burnt Boot and loves ranching more than anything-until she falls for Declan. He’s fallen for her too. But when she discovers what sparked their courtship, Declan will need a Christmas miracle to save his hide-and his heart.

Titles in this series include: Cowboy Boots For Christmas – The Trouble With Texas Cowboys – One Texas Cowboy Too many – A Cowboy Christmas Miracle

Welcome Home for Christmas by Annie Rains

Posted November 11, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Title: Welcome Home For Christmas
Series: A Hero’s Welcome #4
Author: Annie Rains
Genre: Contemporary Christmas Romance
Published: November 8, 2016
Publisher: Random House Publishing – Loveswept
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

Three-hundred-and-sixty-four days a year, Allison Carmichael doesn’t mind being single. It sure beats dating another loser, and it keeps her heart safe. Then there’s that three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth day: Christmas Eve, the traditional time her entire family gathers together—and gangs up on her, demanding to know when she’s going to get married. This year, she swears, is going be different. And that’s why, at a charity auction she’s throwing on-base, she buys herself a man.

Sergeant Troy Matthews insists that he’s not for sale. His time is, though, and he’s happy to donate it. Happier still when he learns the identity of the winning bidder: the redhead with the killer good looks and smart mouth who runs the veteran’s center. Allison needs Troy’s help to fool her family into believing they’re an item, and he’s all too happy to indulge her. But by the time Christmas Eve rolls around, their little charade is working a little too well . . . because Troy’s falling head over heels.

Titles in this series include: Welcome To Forever, Welcome Home Cowboy, Welcoming The Bad Boy, Welcome Home For Christmas

Read on for my thoughts on Welcome Home For Christmas. No true spoilers, promise.

Christmas at the Castle by Melissa McClone

Posted October 18, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Title: Christmas At The Castle
Series: Ever After #3
Author: Melissa McClone
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: October 18, 2016
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

A royal wedding. A meddlesome mother. An unexpected union.

A European getaway during the Christmas holiday is exactly what veterinarian Katrina “Kat” Parsons needs. She can’t wait to be a bridesmaid in her childhood friend’s royal wedding, but she hopes to steer clear of the bride’s arrogant older brother.

Crown Prince Guillaume wants his younger sister’s wedding day to be perfect, but he’s suspicious of Kat. He and his mother on are on high alert, afraid Kat is not just there for the wedding, but also to find a prince of her own.

But when Kat’s kindness and generosity prove them wrong, the prince realizes there’s more to her than he ever imagined. Can he trust his heart or will he lose the one woman he can’t live without?

Titles in this series include: The Honeymoon Prize, The Cinderella Princess, Christmas at the Castle

Read on for my thoughts on Christmas At The Castle. No true spoilers, promise.

Cowboy Christmas Homecoming by Mary Connealy; Ruth Logan Herne; Julie Lessman; Anna Schmidt

Posted October 14, 2016 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: Cowboy Christmas Homecoming
Series: A novella collection
Author: Mary Connealy; Ruth Logan Herne; Julie Lessman; Anna Schmidt
Genre: Historical Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: October 14, 2016
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

They’ve weathered a lot worse than winter. For widow June Harper, another cold front is about to hit. Most call him Hugh. She’d call him Scrooge, except as the man ensures her needs are met, June can’t help but wonder how to meet the needs of his heart.

Netty Lewis can take care of herself, has for a while now. Some hired help over the holidays doesn’t change that. And even if Roy does take care of her, that doesn’t mean he cares for her or that he’ll stay past Christmas.

Pastor Colton McCabe is having the opposite problem. He’s not sure he’ll make it through the holidays with his new housekeeper. Grace can’t seem to do anything right but love. Perhaps being a homekeeper will earn her a permanent residence in his heart.

And no one longs for a home more than Connie Lancaster. She’s determined to return to St. Louis, and no cowboy can change her mind. But if Isaac can change her heart, maybe Connie will see the homecoming she’s been waiting for isn’t to a place but a person.

Stories in this novella collection include: Last Chance Christmas by Julie Lessman, A Cowboy for Christmas by Ruth Logan Herne, Longhorn Christmas by Mary Connely, Connie’s Christmas Prayer by Anna Schmidt.

Read on for my thoughts on Cowboy Christmas Homecoming. no true spoilers, promise.

Sleigh Bells Ring by Sandra D. Bricker; Barbara J. Scott; Lynette Sowell; Lenora Worth

Posted October 14, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Sleigh Bells Ring
Series: A Novella Collection
Author: Sandra D. Bricker; Barbara J. Scott; Lynette Sowell; Lenora Worth
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: October 14, 2016
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

Never mind a pony. The Tucker girls have inherited their father’s horse farm for Christmas. Make that . . . a run-down horse farm. It needs some serious TLC in order to make it sell-ready. Joanna knows that by recruiting her sisters and one handsome ranch hand they can fix up the place and even celebrate one last Christmas while they’re at it. However, to Isabella, returning to their home in Kentucky bluegrass country for Christmas seems like an impossible hurdle. Can her Chicago boyfriend make life merry and bright again?

One thing’s for sure—nothing is peace on earth for Sophia as a new beau brings up old wounds. And when the fate of the horse farm is put in jeopardy because Amy accidentally fraternizes with the enemy, tensions rise. But it’s not like the land developer stole Christmas . . . just her heart.

Can the Tucker sisters have themselves a merry little Christmas?

Stories in this collection include: All I Want For Christmas by Sandra Bricker, Her Old Kentucky Home by Lynette Sowell, Please Come Home for Christmas by Lenora Worth, I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Barbara J. Scott

Read on for my thoughts on Sleigh Bells Ring. No true spoilers, promise.

A Christmas Kiss by Elizabeth Mansfield

Posted October 5, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance / 0 Comments

Title: A Christmas Kiss
Series:
Author: Elizabeth Mansfield
Genre: Regency Romance
Published: Original 1970 – reprint October 4, 2016
Publisher: Open Road
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

After defending her virtue by striking the besotted son of her employer, Miss Evalyn Pennington is discharged from her position under a cloud of scandal. With no place to go and no prospects for the coming year, the impoverished governess accepts an invitation from Jamie Everard, heir to an earldom, to spend the holidays at his family’s estate. But Evalyn has barely settled in at Gyllford Manor when she catches the eye of Philip Everard, the fourth Earl of Gyllford—and Jamie’s father.

After his wife died, Philip vowed to never marry again, despite his sister’s best efforts to reintroduce him to London society. Then, his son brings a guest home for Christmas. Is the lovely, intelligent Evalyn the woman to make his footloose son settle down at last? But why does Jamie treat Evalyn in such a cavalier manner? And what is Philip to do about the reigning beauty of London who has set her cap for him—and is about to set in motion a scheme that will have far-reaching consequences for them all?

Read on for my thoughts on A Christmas Kiss. No true spoilers, promise.

A New York Love Story by Cassie Rocca

Posted October 2, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: A New York Love Story
Series:
Author: Cassie Rocca
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: October 1, 2016
Publisher: Aria
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

Giving a present is not always easy. Clover O’Brian knows that only too well: her job consists of helping people in the arduous task of choosing unusual gifts. Christmas is coming, New York is buzzing, and Clover, who has always loved the festive period, savors the atmosphere.

Cade Harrison already has everything in life. A Hollywood actor, he is handsome, rich, famous and popular. Success, however, has its downsides; having just emerged from a disastrous relationship with an actress, he feels a need to hide away in an area unfrequented by stars, in an apartment lent him by a friend, far from prying eyes – especially those of tabloid reporters. But as chance will have it, the apartment in question is right opposite the one occupied by Clover, who until now has seen Hollywood actors only on the big screen. Two quite different lives meet by chance, at the most exhilarating time of year.

Read on for my thoughts on A New York Love Story. No true spoilers, promise.

Holiday In Your Heart by Susan Fox

Posted September 28, 2016 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Title: Holiday In Your Heart
Series: Caribou Crossing #7
Author: Susan Fox
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: September 27, 2016
Publisher: Kensington Books – Zebra
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

As the holidays approach, the air is filled with the festive sounds of bells chiming and carolers singing. Maribeth Scott loves Christmas, but she’s pretty sure that after years of waiting, Santa isn’t finally going to gift her with Mr. Right. In fact, the only thing she truly wants for Christmas is a baby to love. At thirty-nine, she’s determined to become a mother and she will make it happen, even if she has to do it on her own.

When Mo Kincaid returns to the rustic town after almost twenty years away, he’s seeking redemption from his checkered past. The last thing on his mind is romance, and he’s certain he doesn’t deserve it. But now there’s irresistible Maribeth, showing him the true spirit of Christmas and winning his heart. For the first time in Mo’s life, the future looks bright. Only one thing stands between them: Maribeth’s deep desire for a child and Mo’s conviction that he’s too flawed to be a father. Is his world-weary heart ready to take the ultimate leap of faith?

Titles in this series include: Caribou Crossing, Home On The Range, Gentle On My Mind, Stand By Your Man, Love Me Tender, Love Somebody Like You, Holiday In Your Heart

Read on for my thoughts on Holiday In Your Heart. No true spoilers, promise.