Tag: book reviews

Categories
holidays

A Lancaster Amish Christmas: 4 Romance Novellas 

451 pages Barbour Fiction September 1, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Christmas Is Simply a Time for Love 
Enjoy a simple Amish Christmas in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, that is sweetened by second chances, trimmed in love, and wrapped in faith.
 
Lucy’s Christmas Sunbeam by Anne Blackburne
When her parents suddenly died, Lucy stepped into the mother role for her infant sister with Down’s Syndrome. But Lucy’s boyfriend wasn’t interested in a readymade family. Living in the dawdi house on her brother’s farm, Lucy is happy with life—until she literally runs into the hardware store owner and desire for romance returns.
 
A Bird-in-Hand Christmas by Amy Clipston
After learning her boyfriend, Wyatt, was seeing someone else, Makayla moved across state and married. Recently widowed, she visits her parents for Christmas, only to find that Wyatt is still single and working for her father. When her five-year-old son instantly bonds with Wyatt, Makayla starts to hope for a second chance at love.
 
Christmas Lily by Amy Lillard
Seven-year-old Jacob Bontrager is working hard to help his lonely widower father find love again. He believes his pretty new teacher who has just moved to the community is perfect, but none of his matchmaking works until a snowstorm strands Lily Kate Troyer at the Bontrager farm. Could God and nature be on Jacob’s side?

Leaving Lancaster by Mindy Steele
The Wicky sisters didn’t expect their father to sell their thriving deer farm with plans to move them to Kentucky. Always obedient Louise fears for her growing jam business. Beth cannot wait to start a new adventure while her twin, Leah, is running out of time for a happy-ever-after. They have only one Christmas left in Lancaster. Can God deliver a Christmas miracle for all three? 

MY THOUGHTS

 I enjoy Amish books and to have the theme of Christmas was such a fun added bonus.


This book has four romance novellas centered around faith and Christmas.
Four well known Amish writing authors entertained me with light easy reading filled with Lancaster County, Pennsylvania couples.

These couples are courting, or it may be a second chance romance. Fun writing styles kept me reading. Sweet romance this book would make a fine gift for a friend.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHORS

Amy Clipston has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her fiction writing “career” began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories. She has a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan College and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America. She is the author of the bestselling Kauffman Amish Bakery series with Zondervan, which is part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. An advocate for organ and blood donation, Amy donated a kidney in 2011 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Through her donation, her husband received a second kidney transplant. Amy and her husband matched another couple and swapped kidneys with them. Amy’s memoir, A Gift of Love, will be available in early 2014. She hopes her story inspires others to become organ and blood donors. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and four spoiled rotten cats. You can find her on the web at http://www.AmyClipston.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AmyClipstonBooks.

Raised in Kentucky timber country, Steele writes Amish Romance peppered in humor, using her rural surroundings as her muse. She is a best selling author and the winner of the 2022 and 2024 FHLCW Reader’s Choice award for sweet romance. Steele creates realistic characters for her readers and believes in engaging all the senses to make you laugh, cry, hold your breath, and root for the happy ever after ending. Readers can find themselves, somewhere within her pages.

Anne Blackburne lives and works in Southeast Ohio as a newspaper editor and writer. She is the mother of five grown children, has one wonderful grandchild, and a spoiled poodle named Millie. For fun, when she isn’t working on Amish romance or sweet mysteries, Anne directs and acts in community theater productions and writes and directs original plays. She also enjoys reading, kayaking, swimming, searching for beach glass, and just sitting with a cup of coffee looking at large bodies of water. Her idea of the perfect vacation is cruising and seeing amazing new places with people she loves.

Amy loves nothing more than a good book. Except for her family…and maybe homemade tacos…and nail polish. But reading and writing are definitely high on the list.

Born and bred in Mississippi, Amy is a transplanted Southern Belle who now lives in Oklahoma with her deputy husband, their genius son, two spoiled cats, and one very lazy beagle. Oh, and don’t forget the stray kitty that has taken up residence on her front porch. ^..^

When she’s not creating quirky characters and happy endings, she’s chauffeuring her prodigy to guitar lessons, orchestra concerts and baseball practice. She has a variety of hobbies, but her favorite is whatever gets her out of housework.

Amy also writes contemporary romances under the pen name Amie Louellen.

An award winning author, Amy is a member of RWA and ACFW. She loves to hear from readers. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest. For links to the various sites, check her website: http://www.amylillardbooks.com.

Categories
historical fiction

The Poppy Sisters: Step into the past with this captivating historical novel, filled with heart-wrenching moments and unforgettable characters

375 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK

Phoebe is a volunteer nurse at a Base Hospital in Étaples, France, treating men who’ve served on hte Western Front. Their courage and resilience inspires her, and though she’s meant to keep her distance, Captain Archie Bailey soon captivates her heart.

Her younger sister Celia is a nurse at a POW camp on the island of Jersey. These men fight for the forces that bombed her brother and parents, but long hours spent healing them shows her they aren’t the monsters she expected.

Despite the miles between them, both Celia and Phoebe come to see the commonality in their experiences – the sense of community and friendship, the unexpected moments of love and laughter, and a bond so strong that even war can’t break it…

MY THOUGHTS

I enjoyed this historical fiction book and found it interesting and informative.

Phoebe, volunteer nurse at a Base Hospital in Étaples, France. Matron does her best to keep the nurses minds occupied with just nursing but there’s no counting on where the heart will lead. Phoebe soon finds herself falling in love with patient Captain Archie Bailey. Planning a life together after the war when he’s well enough he gets sent to the frontline then goes missing in action, presumed dead.

Celia is a nurse at a POW camp on the island of Jersey. She knows the men she is nursing back to health are from the same unit that killed her brother and parents. After getting to know these men she realizes they are just regular men with hopes, dreams and fears just like all of us. Falling in love with one of them shouldn’t have happened, but it has.

Phoebe and Celia are sisters with many similarities, they understand what the other is going through and know the fears they face. Heartbreaking……. there are no real winners in war, it just causes some to die earlier than others. Kept my attention as you can only pray for the best. The author writes such realistic work I could vividly imagine the scenes playing out as I read.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Deborah Carr is a USA TODAY bestselling author of historical fiction. She was born and lives on the island of Jersey, in the Channel Islands where she sets most of her books.

Her first book, Broken Faces was runner-up in the Good Housekeeping Novel Writing Competition in 2012 giving her the confidence to keep going. Her WW1 novel, The Poppy Sisters was an Amazon First Reads Editor’s Pick and The Poppy Field and An Island at War were USA TODAY bestsellers.

The Channel Islands was the only place in the British Isles occupied by German forces during WW2. This dark time in the island’s history is the setting for her latest novel, Neighbours at War. An Island at War and part of The Beekeeper’s War was also set during the Jersey Occupation.

She is the author behind the Mrs Boots trilogy inspired by Jersey woman, Florence Boot, the woman behind the Boots empire.

Deborah lives near the beach and begins each day walking by the sea with her three rescue dogs before sitting down to write.

Thank you for stopping in.

Categories
historical fiction

The Mapmaker’s Daughter: A most spellbinding and heartbreaking historical fiction novel

TRIGGER WARNING—— BLOOD SPOTS

375 pages Avon publisher September 1, 2022 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Could a rediscovered map show her the way?

Present day: When thirty-six-year-old Robyn Willoughby discovers an exquisite yet blood-stained Tudor map in her father’s antique map shop, desperate for a distraction from her problems, she decides to investigate. But as Robyn delves into the mystery, she finds herself caught up in a centuries-old secret – one that will change her life forever.

1569: Forced to flee Holland to escape persecution, twenty-year-old Freida Ortelius uses her mapmaking skills to start anew in London. Soon her rare talent catches the eye of Queen Elizabeth, who demands Freida’s help in fighting the Spanish threat. Freida must now embark on a deadly mission, the consequences of which will echo down the ages…

A sweeping and heartbreaking read, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley and Kathryn Hughes.

MY THOUGHTS

We have two strong women main characters, one in each time frame.

1500’s: Freida Ortelius a married woman with an infant son who she is afraid to let out of her sight. Her parents were killed while she was locked away in a cupboard as a child. She now fears those she loves will disappear as well including her seafaring husband.
Learning her skill from her father as a child, this cartographer is tasked by Queen Elizabeth to make a map for Sir Francis Drake.

Present Day: Robyn Willoughby lives with her father and is having a hard time in life accepting her husband is presumed dead, lost at sea as the seven-year period is almost here and she must declare him.
In her father’s antique map shop one day she finds a bloodstained Tudor map who neither have any memory of its receipt into the shop. Her story is the embarkment of fascinating historical research into this map and the secrets it carries.

Though both stories were fascinatingly intriguing I did enjoy the historical side more. Finished this in one day as I could barely put it down.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Growing up in Surrey, Clare always dreamed of being a writer. Instead she followed a career in IT, before moving to Norfolk for a quieter life.

Now writing full time, she lives with her husband and the youngest of her six children. Weekends are spent researching for her historical dual timeline books amongst the local castles and monastic ruins, or visiting the nearby coast.

Categories
holidays

Evergreen Christmas (Frosted Firs Ranch Book 1) Janet Dailey

290 pages Kensington Books September 24, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

The first in a new cozy Christmas series where the 12 annual Competitions of Christmas in the, close-knit town of Noel, North Carolina are underway! This year horse breeder, and newcomer, Jordyn Banks decides to take on the resident Christmas tree decorating champion, who happens to be her handsome next door neighbor.

Barrel racer Jordyn Banks is thrilled to discover affordable land for sale in charming Noel, perfect for breeding her horses. But that’s not all. A nomad with no family—other than her beloved Quarter Horse, Star—she also hopes to find a home within the close-knit Appalachian Mountain community. Yet Jordyn didn’t bargain on inheriting a controversial Fraser Fir—or falling for a handsome single dad whose adorable little girl tempts her to dream of being far more than a property owner . . .

Since losing his wife in childbirth six years ago, Nate Reed has devoted himself to their daughter, Roxanna, and built up their thriving Frosted Firs Ranch. For nine years straight he’s won Noel’s contest for the most perfect Christmas tree for the Town Square. It’s a tradition he began with his late wife. But this year, Jordyn Banks is determined to harvest her Fraser Fir and compete—meaning Nate will finally be challenged—in more ways than one . . .

Throughout the event, Nate can’t help noticing that Roxanna is dazzled by Jordyn’s strength, beauty, and quirky sense of humor. Soon enough, Nate is falling for her, too. But can a feisty wanderer ever really settle down? Is Nate ready to open his heart to someone new? And is it possible that sometimes love does grow on (Christmas) trees? . . .

MY THOUGHTS

Jordyn buys sight unseen a home for herself and her horse, she’s a former barrel racer, now retired. She has a beautiful white horse, and she just wants Noel to be the first place she can relax and call home. Growing up going through the system she has never had that.


I loved the Nana’s, four women, the grandma type who run the Noel Christmas festival and contest every year. They swoop in and give her loving advice on how to win as the same person has won many years in a row.


Nate is a widower of six years and still desperately grieving his wife’s death. His six-year-old daughter is smart as a whip and precocious.
The Nana’s are trying to matchmake between Jordyn and Nate but he’s not ready to move on.

There was an insta attraction between our two main characters, but I thought Nate was too slow and stubborn to move on. The book would have been enriched so much more if our MC’S had had a sweet Christmas romance right from the start.

I liked a lot about the book, the descriptions of decorations, the relationship Jordyn has with Roxie, Nate’s daughter, she’s so sweet and kind to her, the small-town vibes, the Christmas contest.

There were also some things I wasn’t crazy about, I didn’t particularly like Jordyn, she was too sugar sweet and didn’t seem to have a backbone and the book despite being in full gear with so much going on with the Christmas contests It dragged for me a good bit and I had trouble keeping my attention on it.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

About the Author

Janet Dailey was born and raised in the small farming town of Storm Lake, Iowa and attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska before meeting her husband and settling in southern Missouri. After publishing her first novel in 1976, she went on to become one of the top-selling female authors in the world, with more than 325 million copies of her books sold in nineteen languages in ninety-eight countries. Dubbed “America’s First Lady of Romance” because her groundbreaking novels celebrate the triumphs and struggles of working class women with American values and themes, she is known for her strong, decisive characters, her extraordinary ability to re-create a time and a place, and her unerring courage to confront important, controversial issues in her stories. To learn more about Janet Dailey and her novels, please visit JanetDailey.com or find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/JanetDaileyAuthor.

Categories
holidays

Christmas at Red Robin Cottage: An absolutely gorgeous and unputdownable holiday romance

252 pages Bookouture publisher September 30, 2022

ABOUT THE BOOK

Snow is falling on Little Newdale. Decorations are being hung and joy is in the air. But at Red Robin Cottage, single mother Sarah is feeling far from merry and bright…

Since her marriage went up in flames, all Sarah Dunne wants is a cozy festive season. Just her and her teenage daughter Ellie in their little cottage, watching all the classic Christmas films under piles of blankets in front of a crackling fire. On-screen romances only. Sarah will not be falling in love again.

But Ellie is feeling the blues, facing the holiday without her father. Following the trail of fairy lights into the snowy village, Sarah is determined to find baubles, mince pies and stocking fillers galore to make this an extra-special family celebration. The last thing she expects is to find herself gazing into the soft brown eyes of her childhood sweetheart, Luke.

After so long apart, Sarah refuses to be swept off her feet by Luke’s easy laugh and kind smile, especially after her messy divorce. Even though her heart races every time they bump into each other at carol concerts, seasonal markets, and Christmas parties. And when Luke shows just how much he cares by picking out a gift guaranteed to put a smile on her daughter’s face, Sarah wonders if letting him into her life would make her wish for a perfect family Christmas come true…

But then Sarah discovers a shattering secret about Luke’s past that makes her question everything. Devastated, with her daughter in lower spirits than ever and Luke begging for a second chance, Sarah wonders if she was wrong to open her heart again? And will she ever be able to make this a Christmas to remember?

Grab a blanket and a mug of cocoa and curl up by the fire with this completely addictive festive romance. Fans of Cathy Bramley, Phillipa Ashley and Heidi Swain will love this charming, feel-good holiday read that proves you don’t need the perfect family to have a perfect Christmas!

MY THOUGHTS

Divorce doesn’t just affect the spouses it affects the children as well.
Sarah Dunne knows Christmas will be different this year without her ex-husband, but she tries to keep it merry and bright for her teenaged daughter Ellie. With twinkling lights, warm blankets and hot cocoa, snow softly falling and winter activities they try to make the best of the holiday season.


Ellie is going for it, a little but really misses her dad and seems to harbor the secret thought they can become a family again.
While out enjoying the festivities Sarah sees someone she hasn’t seen in a while, can it be, possibly? When it turns out to be a former flame, she is so surprised, and they seem to hit it off again.

With Ellie keeping a big secret is there a possibility this romance can have a little Christmas magic happen or will a big misunderstand melt it away like the sun during a spring thaw? Once again, another lovely and fun holiday book by a great author. I was laughing out loud reading and loved the characters.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Sue was born in Liverpool and moved to Lancashire as a teenager where she has lived ever since. Her twelfth book ‘Theres something about Greece.’ will be published on June 15th 2023, with another sunshine book scheduled for August!

When not busy writing, Sue spends her time with her husband Derek, and ever growing brood of grandchildren! In her spare time, she enjoys walking, watching films and travelling. Her first book ‘My Big Greek Summer.’ was inspired by frequent visits to the Island of Rhodes in Greece. All Sue’s books are available from Amazon in kindle and paperback format.

Have a beautiful day and thanks for stopping in.

Categories
holidays

The Christmas Tree Farm: (Dream Harbor, Book 3)

369 pages October 2024 publication

ABOUT THE BOOK

Every book in the Dream Harbor series can be read as a standalone.

Kira North hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good.

Bennett Ellis is on vacation in Dream Harbor trying to take a break from both his life and his constant desire to fix things.

But somehow fate finds Ben trapped by a blanket of snow at Kira’s farm, and, despite her Grinchiest first impressions, with the glow of the fairy lights twinkling in the trees, and the promise of a warming hot chocolate, maybe, just maybe, these two lost souls will have a Christmas they’ll remember forever…

The Christmas Tree Farm is a spicy romantic mystery with a HEA guaranteed!

Tropes:

Second Chance

Grumpy x Sunshine

Small Town

Forced Proximity

One Bed

MY THOUGHTS

After reading The Pumpkin Spice Café a few years ago I knew I just had to read another book by the same author.
This is the third book in the Dream Harbor series, each book is connected some with the same characters, but you don’t have to read them in order, and each has a standalone story.


This one is as Christmassy as it gets. I mean who doesn’t love the thought of a classic cut your own Christmas tree farm with dogs running around?
Throw in a grumpy Christmas tree farm owner, Kira who really doesn’t know how to promote her business.


When Ben takes his dogs for a run in the woods and meets Kira for the first time it’s not that flowery meet cute, we all dream about. She accuses him of trespassing, and he can’t wait to get away from her.

The book had me laughing out loud so many times. He’s fun and sunshiny, she’s the grump and despite him trying she’s really not interested in changing.
She’s a dog lover and I think his dogs may have swayed her to start coming around. He seems to just pop up everywhere she is and things just take off from there.


Loved seeing the Christmas tree farm coming to life and the towns people so happy and spirited and the Christmas spirit of the season hits them.
A spicy Christmas story full of warmth and charm.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Laurie Gilmore is a No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller and a USA Today bestseller who writes steamy small-town romance. Her Dream Harbor series is filled with quirky townsfolk, cozy settings, and swoon-worthy romance. The first book in the series, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, was featured on Good Morning America and was named the TikTok Shop Book of the Year 2024.

She loves finding books with the perfect balance of sweetness and spice and strives for that in her own writing. If you ever wished you lived in Stars Hollow (or that Luke and Lorelai would just get together already!) then her books are definitely for you.

Categories
Blog Blitz

Blog Blitz for Maddy’s Christmas Wedding by Rosie Green

ABOUT THE BOOK

Maddy’s Christmas Wedding

With the wedding of the year approaching, excitement is running high at the café! But there’s just one problem. Maddy is grappling with a secret. Could it derail all of hers and Jack’s glorious plans for their big day? Will there actually be a wedding?

MY THOUGHTS

Another book in the Little Duck Pond Cafe? Well then that’s cause for a celebration. These novella length books are like a party in a book, and I love that I can read them in an afternoon especially this busy time of year.
The characters……….. I love them and being back for another visit to them is such a fun thing.


At the end of the last book, we had Maddy’s father unsure about a health issue that had come up and we get an answer to it in this book.
Maddy is engaged to be married on Christmas eve, but a monkey wrench seems to be thrown in not just that plan but a few other things with Maddy as well.


Once again, the community rallies around Maddy, and also the Little Duck Pond Cafe has others picking up the slack when needed.
Charming, small town, friendly, generous and helpful folks, what’s not to love.


Maddy’s story is so realistic but she’s hiding something and it’s causing her a lot of stress. This is where her friend’s step in and reassure her. There’s a whole lotta romance and a whole lotta Christmas spirit and goodness in here. I love these books and am so glad the author will continue writing these because I consider these a smile in a book and these books are just my kind of thing.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own. +

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CR8BYQ1V

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR8BYQ1V

Author Bio – Rosie Green’s Little Duck Pond Cafe series of novellas is centred around life in a village cafe and most can be read as stand-alone stories. (‘The Sunshine Sisters’ is a trilogy within the Little Duck Pond Café series and it would benefit from being read in order: Aurora, Skye and Blossom.) Look out for ‘Cosy Nights & Snowball Fights’, and ‘Maddy’s Christmas Wedding’, both out later this year in time for the festive season!

Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green88

Have a super day. Thanks for stopping in.

Categories
historical fiction

An Honorable Deception: (English Historical Romance Series with Mystery and Private Investigators Set in Edwardian England) (The Imposters) 

400 pages Bethany House Publishers November 19, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

n the trying art of balancing investigations and love, a detective must determine his priorities when faced with dangerous circumstances that could threaten everything he holds dear.

As the leader of the Imposters, an elite private investigative firm, Lord Yates Fairfax has made an art of concealing his identity. But when his newest client, the beautiful Lady Alethia Barremore, is shot while leaving their meeting, he throws caution to the wind and rushes to her aid. Though Lady Alethia thought she was only looking for her missing former nanny, she has clearly stumbled upon something much more dangerous.

Lady Lavinia Hemming suspects her longtime friends hold more secrets than they’re willing to admit, and when she stumbles upon the truth that they’re the esteemed Imposters, she recruits herself into the firm. While she is happy for the distraction of an investigation, Lavinia’s own family secrets continue to haunt her. And the one thing bringing laughter back into her life–her friendship with Yates–lands her squarely on the disagreeable side of her best friend: his sister.

Tormented by a past she doesn’t dare voice aloud, Lady Alethia does what she can to help her handsome host, her new friends, and the investigators. But as clues lead them deeper into the dark side of society, Alethia, Yates, and Lavinia learn anew that the gentry isn’t always noble . . . even as they fight to hold fast to their own honor.

MY THOUGHTS

It seems like just yesterday I read the first book in the series and here we are finishing up the third and final book in the series. Though this and each book can be read as a standalone I highly recommend starting at the beginning and reading them in consecutive order for the full magnificence of the full series.


I enjoyed seeing some of the characters in all three books and a few have their own special story now finally. A series tie in with characters from another series by the author was a great addition.
The continued return of the circus performers was not something I expected but did enjoy.


This is my favorite book in the series if I had to pick one though I did love them all. We are treated to a delightful package of mystery, intrigue, suspense, reckoning, forgiveness, a greater understanding and romance.
There were some tough subjects tackled in this book, but the author handles them well and in a respectful way.


Very in-depth plot and realistic characters kept me glued to this hard to put down book.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at http://www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

Have a marvelous day. Thank you for stopping in.

Categories
Uncategorized

First Line Friday

Happy Friday & welcome to First Line Friday hosted at Reading is my Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line. Today I’m delighted to feature A Corpse Among the Carolers by Debra Sennefelder a book published in November of this year. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to read it soon.

276 pages November 12, 2024 Beyond the Page Publishing

First Line

Food Blogger Hope Early always gets a hearty holiday laugh knowing that the weeks leading up to Christmas are as frantic as they are festive.

Would you want to continue on with reading this? I probably would just based on the adorable cover alone. You’ve got to love Beagles.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hope Early is fully immersed in the spirit of the Christmas season, until the sounds of joyful carolers are silenced by the words “Ho-ho-homicide” . . .

Food blogger Hope Early always gets a hearty holiday laugh from knowing that the weeks leading up to Christmas are as frantic as they are festive. But in spite of everything she has to do, the one thing she always has time for is the annual Jingle Bell Stroll, a night when the community gathers to sing their hearts out and enjoy each other’s company. This year’s caroling feels especially heartwarming, until the final note lands with a thud when Hope finds the body of the man who’d volunteered to play Santa, a knife plunged into his back.

With virtually the whole town present at the caroling, the list of suspects seems endless. It doesn’t take long, though, for both Hope and the police to turn a sharp eye on the victim’s bitter and vindictive ex-wife, along with his new wife, who may have been after his money. Then Hope unearths a clue that suggests the dead man may have been hiding a sordid past and connections to unseemly characters. But as she closes in on the killer, they’re determined to wring her neck before she can ring in the new year . . .

Includes tasty and toasty holiday recipes!

About the Author:

Debra Sennefelder lives and writes in Connecticut, where she shares her home with her family and slightly spoiled Shih Tzu. An avid reader across a range of genres, mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. She’s the author of the Food Blogger Mysteries, the Resale Boutique Mysteries, and the Cookie Shop Mysteries. When she’s not writing, she’s either baking or reading. To learn more, visit her on the web at debrasennefelder.com.

Categories
Uncategorized

*Blog Tour* DESIGNS ON YOU by Jaci Burton (Berkley; 12/3/24) publication date

352 pages Berkley publisher December 3, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

About DESIGNS ON YOU

Natalie Parker is in her mid-thirties, divorced, and firmly focused on her newly resurrected career and her two children. When her sister asks her to help design the backyard in the new home she shares with her boyfriend, Linc, Natalie’s more than happy to take on the project. What she isn’t prepared for is Linc’s younger brother, video game designer Eugene Kennedy. He’s smart, incredibly good-looking, and constantly flirts with Natalie. He’s also too young for her, which makes him totally off-limits.

 Eugene is intrigued by Natalie’s beauty, smarts, and especially her sarcastic wit. When he teases her, she throws it right back at him. Besides that, they have an instant chemistry, but she keeps trying to get rid of him despite the sparks that fly between them. And Eugene never backs down from a challenge. 

Natalie is running out of reasons to think being with Eugene is a bad thing. Her kids adore him, her sister loves him, and even her always negative mother does, too. The only person holding her back is…her. Maybe it’s time she take that leap and design herself a love for the ages. After all, if she can create the perfect home, she sure as hell can design a happily ever after.

MY THOUGHTS

Interior designer Natalie Parker has had enough of men and feeling like she’s not heard or appreciated. This divorcee has two adorable children and a resurrected career. Though with children around which makes life hectic she’s able to get some me time in without her husband’s demands anymore.


Yeah, she’s an interior designer and can’t resist the chance to pop over to her sisters and look at her backyard of her new house and give a few tips on decorating and styling it. Not counting on seeing the most gorgeous man alive there, Eugene the brother of her sister’s boyfriend.


Telling herself she’s not getting involved in another relationship is like telling the grass not to grow. Shortly after meeting the book takes on an instalove theme between the characters Eugene and Natalie.

Things get spicy pretty quickly, but the book does have some substance to it. It’s a feel-good fun book, not one to be taken seriously but a great relaxation book when you don’t want a heavy read.

The relationship goes through its ups and downs, some growing pains and some things that need ironed out. I loved the addition of the two children and how much page time they had in book and how they were made to feel like important characters.
A book I enjoyed a lot.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

About the Author

Jaci Burton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Boots and Bouquets series, the Brotherhood by Fire series, the Hope series, and the Play-by-Play novels.

Photo by Zaksheuskaya on Pexels.com

Your blessings are many though you may not always see them.