Scrooge & the Girls Next Door

I'm a long time fan of Ms. Jacobson, and this story lives up to her high bar. 

Lots of feels, great romance, humor, and how did I not see the grandma thing coming?! 

Also, I can totally relate to the laughing issue. This is a real thing. 

If you like enemies to lovers, holiday, and characters that grow, then you're ready to pick up this book. Be prepared, you won't want to put it down. 

AMAZON

When the sunniest woman in Creekville buys the house next to the grumpiest man on the street, sparks fly . . . and not just because she keeps blowing his fuses...

Twenty-six-year-old Paige Redmond, single mom and go-getter, can’t wait to give her daughter, Evie, the Christmas of her dreams. Nothing can get in Paige’s way, not even her newly purchased fixer-upper cottage needing way more fixing than she planned.

Paige tackles the holiday with Clark Griswold spirit, amusing the entire town—except for her humbug next door neighbor, the grumpy but deliciously handsome Professor Henry Hill. With the help of colorful friends and found family—plus a feral cat and a pancake snowman—Paige and Evie wage a campaign to cure the cranky professor of his Christmas blues.

When Paige's feelings for Henry wind up as tangled as her Christmas lights, there's suddenly more than Christmas spirit on the line. Will Henry pull the plug on their first solo Christmas? Or can Paige and Evie convince the town's biggest scrooge to open his grinchy heart to the holiday . . . and to them?

Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend

Liz Isaacson always delivers a good holiday story. 

This is a sweet small town, slow burn novel. It's part best friends to lovers, part second chance romance since one of them had romantic feelings toward the other long ago. And it's good in all the right ways a holiday romance should be. 

Settle in for good read. 

AMAZON

A cowboy returning to his hometown—and the best friend he left a dozen years before. This Christmas, can Graham and Laney build a family and find their happily-ever-after?

Graham Whittaker returns to Coral Canyon a few days after Christmas—after the death of his father. He's just found out his long-time girlfriend in Seattle has been cheating on him, and while Coral Canyon isn't his first choice of where to live, it's certainly the friendliest. He takes over the energy company his dad built from the ground up and buys a high-end lodge to live in—only a mile from the home of his once-best friend, Laney McAllister.

Laney returned to her family ranch after college, but her husband left Laney and their daughter, Bailey, to work the ranch themselves, which they've been trying to do. But with her furnace on the brink of failure and the snow falling faster than ever, Laney agrees to bring Bailey up to Graham's lodge for the holidays.

They were best friends once, but Laney's always entertained feelings for him, and spending so much time with him while they make Christmas memories puts her heart in danger of getting broken again.

Can they take their friendship to the next level and build a family? Or will Laney be risking her heart only to remain in the friend zone?

Man of My Dreams

It's challenging to write a review of Ms. Rabe's book without spoilers. 

Yes, there's a twist. And I struggled with it. Mostly because the genre of the romance wasn't accurately represented, and so I felt blindsided. 

Is there good chemistry between the characters? Yes. 

Does it follow the usual romance formula? No. 

Will you still like it? 

You'll have to read to decide. 

The writing is solid which is the most important part. 

I've enjoyed other books she's written better. 

AMAZON

On yet another pointless errand for her boss, Rory runs into the handsome, Dr. Camden. Despite knowing it might get her in trouble, Rory can’t resist falling for Cam’s refreshing honesty and easy-going attitude.

But Cam’s got a sticky past and before Rory falls for him, she has to find out the truth. Not only does she discover it, she uncovers a scary secret he’s been hiding that proves his life is not only in danger, but that also puts her heart in jeopardy of breaking.

The Fall of Lord Drayson

Ms. Anderson is a fabulous hitstorical romance writer. 

What an fun premise to base a romance on. The evictor gets amnesia and becomes the servant to the evictee. Brilliant. The characters are well thought out and their interactions are both fiery and charming. 

With more than one obstacle to overcome, cue the nosy neighbor, this book kept me interested from page one to the end. 

AMAZON

WHEN COLIN CAVENDISH, the new earl of Drayson, informs Lucy Beresford that she and her mother need to vacate the house they've called home for the past two years, Lucy is fit to be tied. They have no money, no relations they can turn to for help, and nowhere to go. How dare the earl break the promise his father had made to the Beresfords without so much as a twinge of conscience?

Fate plays her hand when Lucy discovers the earl unconscious and injured in the middle of the road. When he awakens with no recollection of who he is, Lucy seizes the opportunity to teach the earl a much-needed lesson in humility and tells him that he is nothing more than a mere servant. Her servant, in fact. And thus begins the charming tale of a pompous lord and an impetuous young woman, caught together in a web so tangled that it begs the question: Will they ever get out?

Kiss Me, Cowboy

Ms.McClone has crafted a story that won't disappoint. 

These two MCs had a lot of issues to work out. Sometimes I wanted to shake them and tell them to have a simple conversation. 

But that would've taken away the angst of the story. Things get interesting when Zack offers to help Charlie find the perfect man. 

If you're a fan of the cowboy tropes, including friends to lovers, you'll enjoy this one. 

AMAZON

It was one small kiss.
After all, a kiss is just a kiss.
Or is it?

After a passionate and empathetic kiss, dude ranch wranglers, Charlotte "Charlie" Randall and Zack Harris, are out of sorts as they pretend nothing happened. With too many demons to battle, Zack can't let Charlie get close. But it's too late, because she's fallen hat over spurs for the handsome military veteran turned cowboy. Taking a job in another state is the only way to protect her heart and finally move on.

But Zack can't let her leave, so he concocts a plan to find Charlie a boyfriend--a perfect match--to keep her in Montana. Until he realizes the only cowboy he wants her with is him. But it might be too late. Has Charlie made up her mind to put the kiss in the past and forget the cowboy who rode off with her heart?

 

Forgetting the Prince

Ms. Bastian brings her solid writing once again to craft a romance that keeps you turning pages. 

I really enjoyed the contrast of their worlds as the MCs came together to work for the greater good but struggled to bring their lives in alignment. 

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 

AMAZON

She's a scientist with no time for romance, he's a prince afraid of making a mistake, do they dare follow their hearts and give each other a chance?

Jenna is content with her research and doesn’t need a man. When she’s injured while hiking and is rescued by a handsome stranger, she starts to have second thoughts. But nothing more than a few stolen kisses could come of it since he’s only in town for a short time.

Stefan is in the United States to convince a scientist to help him establish a lab that will benefit the people of Durham. The last thing he needs is any romantic entanglements. Especially after what his older brother, the crown prince of Durham, has gone through. But when he rescues Jenna from a hiking accident he wishes he could throw caution to the wind.

When he discovers Jenna is the top research assistant, he jumps at the chance to hire her to set up the lab back in Durham. The more time he spends with her, the more he wants to push all the royal protocol to the side and go after his heart. Can Jenna see past the royal duty and allow herself to fall in love, or would she be better off forgetting him completely and keeping her heart locked away where it’s safe?

Crimson Collar

Bring on more of Ms. Rosewood's writing. 

Talk about enemies to lovers to the extreme! The fighting both verbal and physical is emotionally brutal but creates amazing chemistry between the MCs. 

The world building was incredible. Such an original take on The Little Mermaid, which if you've read the OG is pretty ugly. There's no Disney vibe here. There's cruelty and sensuality and the tension is off the charts. 

The writing is solid. I picked up on little breadcrumbs here and there but for most of the novel, I couldn't predict the twists or how it would end. A page turner for sure. 

I wasn't put off by any of the content but Ms. Rosewood does have warnings on her page regarding the novel so you can make your own decision. 

I'd love to see this in film. 

 

AMAZON

Sirens are fierce, enthralling predators.

Leira’s objective is simple. Go to the “land above the sea,” siren a demon for the yearly harvest, and drag it back to the sea kingdom. As long as the demon's powers are useful, her offering will be acceptable to the Sea King.

Unfortunately, this siren makes a grave mistake.

Not only does Leira fail to capture a demon, and much to the Sea King’s disappointment, she also brings a vampire—a prince—into Lunaris instead.

The sea can be cruel, but so can a vampire prince.

Prince Draven wouldn’t mind taking the exiled Sea Witch down a peg. Her presence on his throne has become a bane for him and his people. He’d sink his fangs into her neck if she wasn’t holding the lives of his foster parents in the balance.

He’s not liking the sea one bit. Nor his fishie jailor.

Tossed out like jetsam, Draven seizes the advantage when Leira grudgingly comes to his rescue. By using her as leverage, the vampire prince figures he can turn the tide and rid himself of the Sea Witch once and for all.

★★★★★

Crimson Collar is a vampire romantic fantasy inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. If you like a scrappy heroine, a snarky vampire prince, and an enchanting, reimagined fairy tale, then you’ll love this book by Emerson Rosewood.