With a series of stories from the Golden Age, all set at winter holidays, this set of stories is a lovely tome to read in front of a roaring fireplace. The story from which this anthology takes its title is a locked room mystery that takes place when a group of railway travelers is stranded at a hotel that they are warned not to stay at. But what else are they to do?
Also included are stories by well-known authors and names that have been lost to the past alike, this is a lovely story for when the snow starts to fly.
Four stars
This book came out October 1
ARC kindly provided by Poisoned Pen Press and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own
Like most things in my life, my reading journey proceeds in a convoluted and undirected fashion. The reading cut ends up being about 75% romance, 25% everything else. Almost all of the books will have been supplied by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Saturday, October 5, 2019
The Unicorn Whisperer by Dana Simpson
Another winner from Dana Simpson. Phoebe and Marigold go through another school year including
Halloween. Phoebe goes... as herself but with super powers. She also has a sleepover with Max and gets a bedtime story from her dad. Marigold deals with Phoebe having to do homework and Phoebe works through Marigold finding a new friend (but not a BEST friend.)
Four and a half stars
This book comes out October 8th
Followed by Camping with Unicorns
ARC kindly provided by Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
Halloween. Phoebe goes... as herself but with super powers. She also has a sleepover with Max and gets a bedtime story from her dad. Marigold deals with Phoebe having to do homework and Phoebe works through Marigold finding a new friend (but not a BEST friend.)
Four and a half stars
This book comes out October 8th
Followed by Camping with Unicorns
ARC kindly provided by Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
The Christmas Project Planner by Kathi Lipp
I don't necessarily feel any pressure to prepare the perfect Christmas but I do generally love all things surrounding the holiday and thought this looked fun. And it was -- my favorite aspect was creating a mission statement for your Christmas. I think that very much helps keep people on track.
However, that was one of the things I liked least about this book as well-- it was sort of... corporate. Not in the things that Lipp suggested but rather more the suggestions of how to deal with the holiday. It's as if a regular planning tool (not even a personal one) was taken and given a veneer of Christmas. Good suggestions; nothing particularly new.
Three stars
This book comes out October 1st
ARC kindly provided by Harvest House Publishers and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
However, that was one of the things I liked least about this book as well-- it was sort of... corporate. Not in the things that Lipp suggested but rather more the suggestions of how to deal with the holiday. It's as if a regular planning tool (not even a personal one) was taken and given a veneer of Christmas. Good suggestions; nothing particularly new.
Three stars
This book comes out October 1st
ARC kindly provided by Harvest House Publishers and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Cowboy Christmas Redemption by Maisey Yates
Caleb Dalton fell in love with Ellie Bell the day he met her. Too bad she was always fated to marry his best friend, the eminently better man. But her husband died fighting fires and now Caleb is Ellie's rock and his family is helping her to raise the daughter her husband barely knew she was carrying. Without him, Ellie would have been lost. But now she's finally starting to come back to life, to feel as if she deserves something more. She's got a new job and she's ready to start dating. Or at least have sex. It comes as a huge surprise when Caleb is the one man who makes he feel lust. And while Ellie is coming to terms with falling in love with her husband's best friend, Caleb still has some things to work through.
I didn't love the last Big Misunderstanding - I didn't feel like it was consistent with Caleb's arc- but overall a nice Christmas read.
Four stars
This book came out September 24th
Follows Lone Wolf Cowboy
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my love
I didn't love the last Big Misunderstanding - I didn't feel like it was consistent with Caleb's arc- but overall a nice Christmas read.
Four stars
This book came out September 24th
Follows Lone Wolf Cowboy
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my love
The Write Escape by Charish Reid
Common romance trope: heroine loses both her fiance and her job in less than 24 hours. Job wasn't that great and the fiance was definitely a dud. It sucks, the reason that they break up, but it sure underlines Antonia's nervousness about getting married. She decides that, without a job or a husband, she might as well go on her honeymoon. She could finally work on her novel. But she doesn't count on her dick of a fiancee canceling her reservations. With the local festival going on, she barely finds a room in a cottages 30 minutes away. Tired beyond all belief, she barely realizes she's flirting with the cute Irish guy in line behind her at the grocery.
Cute guy, aka Professor Aiden Byrnes, only has a year before he's up for tenure and he's behind on his publishing. So it's a good thing he's got a week at his annual cottage getaway planned. He's not expecting to see the gorgeous American from the grocery store pounding on his door in the morning telling him that his music is too loud. He's delighted that she is as smart as she is beautiful and, before the week is over, he's plotting ways to help her to stay.
The book was a little cheesy and a little too judgmental of other romance novels but a fast, fun, and fluffy read.
Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 30th
ARC kindly provided by Carina Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
Cute guy, aka Professor Aiden Byrnes, only has a year before he's up for tenure and he's behind on his publishing. So it's a good thing he's got a week at his annual cottage getaway planned. He's not expecting to see the gorgeous American from the grocery store pounding on his door in the morning telling him that his music is too loud. He's delighted that she is as smart as she is beautiful and, before the week is over, he's plotting ways to help her to stay.
The book was a little cheesy and a little too judgmental of other romance novels but a fast, fun, and fluffy read.
Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 30th
ARC kindly provided by Carina Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
Friday, September 27, 2019
Tis the Season to Read Maisey Yates Sampler by Maisey Yates
A nice glimpse of two of Yates' upcoming books.
Cowboy Christmas Redemption
Caleb Dalton fell in love with Ellie Bell the day he met her. Too bad she was always fated to marry his best friend, the eminently better man. But her husband died fighting fires and now Caleb is Ellie's rock and his family is helping her to raise the daughter her husband barely knew she was carrying. Without him, Ellie would have been lost. But now she's finally starting to come back to life, to feel as if she deserves something more. She's got a new job and she's ready to start dating. Or at least have sex.
Came out September 24th
Rancher's Wild Secret
Holden McCall finally has the last piece needed for his plans and it involves Emerson Maxfield. The beauty wants nothing more than to earn her father's love but Holden thinks she should be working toward something more...
Comes out November 5th
Stay tuned here for full reviews!
Comes out November 5th
Samplers provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Once a Spy by Mary Jo Putney
If you've read previous books in the Rogues Redeemed series, you will remember Simon Duval, the man who has helped our other heroes find love. In "Once a Scoundrel," Susan Duval, widow of Simon's cousin, helps the heroine escape a harem, the same harem where she was held for years. It's sort of understandable that she's not real keen on sex at this point. But when Simon suggests they marry for companionship, Susan is read to do it. Shunned by the other French emigres, Susan is not sure about the marriage at first but then she meets his friends and realizes that not everyone is as close-minded. She decides that, if Simon is not serious about wanting intimacy, she's in. So they marry and Simon soon realizes that his desire is not as lost as he thought.
The two work through her issues even as they also have to deal with going to Brussels, even knowing that Napoleon has escaped and England may once again be on the brink of war. They are looking for Simon's cousin, Lucas, who disappeared from a war camp and now may be wandering the countryside as a Franciscan monk.
This is a typical Putney novel, generally fast, fun, and fluffy. There are some heavy themes in this book that aren't exactly treated lightly but they are sort of skimmed over. Readers will again experience an unusual bent into religion, something that happened at the end of the Lost Lords series. I say unusual because it doesn't happen in every Putney book but shows up unexpectedly here and there and I was surprised there wasn't anything about it in the author's note, why was this book different? This time it was a little less preachy and more in the line of miraculous. I don't mind it if it's used consistently in a series but am sort of bemused that we have several fairly straight-forward novels and then one with overt magical realism. It will be interesting to see if future books in the series continue this trend, especially if Lucas gets his own HEA.
Three stars
This book came out September 24th
Follows Once a Scoundrel
The two work through her issues even as they also have to deal with going to Brussels, even knowing that Napoleon has escaped and England may once again be on the brink of war. They are looking for Simon's cousin, Lucas, who disappeared from a war camp and now may be wandering the countryside as a Franciscan monk.
This is a typical Putney novel, generally fast, fun, and fluffy. There are some heavy themes in this book that aren't exactly treated lightly but they are sort of skimmed over. Readers will again experience an unusual bent into religion, something that happened at the end of the Lost Lords series. I say unusual because it doesn't happen in every Putney book but shows up unexpectedly here and there and I was surprised there wasn't anything about it in the author's note, why was this book different? This time it was a little less preachy and more in the line of miraculous. I don't mind it if it's used consistently in a series but am sort of bemused that we have several fairly straight-forward novels and then one with overt magical realism. It will be interesting to see if future books in the series continue this trend, especially if Lucas gets his own HEA.
Three stars
This book came out September 24th
Follows Once a Scoundrel
Followed by Once Dishonored
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
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