romance

Review: Twelve Days of Christmas by Debbie Macomber

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A book about a blogger! With a meet-cute. And a smart, handsome, buff, broody guy in the same apartment building who likes Starbucks. Come on now, who isn’t signing up to be the girl in this girl-meets-boy?! 

THIS is my kind of Christmas chick lit. You’ve got your possibility of snow, your peppermint latte, some chicken soup, a job at Macy’s, struggles with a Christmas tree… I couldn’t have asked for even one more perfect scenario in this book. 

Twelve Days of Christmas is about, yes, falling in love, but more importantly, figuring out that the way to change a relationship is to become a better person, not try to change the other person. And telling the truth. That always helps. 

I really had so much fun reading this novel. Macomber put obvious effort into character development, authentic dialogue, and a natural trajectory for a growing romance. It’s chick lit, but it’s GOOD chick lit, complete with excellent writing, fun characters, and witty remarks. 

Enjoy! 

-calliope

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Review and Giveaway: The Bachelor Auction by Rachel VanDyken

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bach I always look forward to Rachel’s releases. When life gets to be a little too serious I can count on her to bring out the funny and make me smile. This newest book is no exception.

Blurb
Jane isn’t entirely sure that Cinderella got such a raw deal. Sure, she had a rough start, but didn’t she eventually land a prince and a happily-ever-after? Meanwhile, Jane is busy waiting on her demanding, entitled sisters, running her cleaning business, and . . . yep, not a prince in sight. Until a party and a broken shoe incident leave Jane wondering if princes—or at least, a certain deliciously hunky billionaire—maybe do exist.

Except Brock Wellington isn’t anyone’s dream guy. Hell, a prince would never agree to be auctioned off in marriage to the highest bidder. Or act like an arrogant jerk—even if it was just a façade. Now, as Brock is waiting for the auction chopping block, he figures it’s karmic retribution that he’s tempted by a sexy, sassy woman he can’t have. But while they can’t have a fairy-tale ending, maybe they can indulge in a little bit of fantasy . .

When I think of Cinderella, I definitely think of Jane. She gives and gives and never receives. This girl can never catch a break. She works tirelessly just to make ends meet, with zero help. I just kept waiting for her prince to come. At first I was irritated with her, for taking so much from her sisters and not giving it back to them, but then I knew there would be a breaking point. I just had to hold on and be patient.

Brock is a complex guy. He has a pain deep inside that he tries to hide. He’s afraid to say no, so he finds himself in a life that wasn’t of his choosing. And now he finds himself being auctioned off like a piece of art. But what he really wants is to take his Cinderella and live happily ever after.

The tension between Brock and Jane was off the charts. I was one very happy girl. And when you toss in Brock’s brothers, this book had everything I like. It had my emotions all over the place. I was happy, then angry, then I was swooning. So many feels. A great way to start this series. I can’t wait to read the brothers’ books.

~Melpomene

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Review: Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell 

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What do you get when you cross a secret advice columnist with an extreme adventurer? A lot of heart. You also get three beautiful relationships, complex subplotting, kooky exes, and the kind of meet-cute nobody wishes for but everyone would be lucky to experience. 

Jill Mansell continues to impress me with her masterful weaving together of many complicated threads to make one gorgeous and substantial piece of art. Her characters are perfect for each other, whether in friendships, professional relationships, or budding romances. And the believable creativity in how the characters’ paths cross is nothing short of amazing. Even though there are a dozen or more characters, I kept track of them easily because Mansell writes them as real individuals, not as stereotypes or personas.  I enjoyed the effortless reading of this ostensibly “light” novel that really is substantive in covering controversial social issues and difficult family relationships. The many layers of plots are clearly defined, easy to understand, and richly developed.  

Three Amazing Things About You is right up there with Millie’s Fling and my other favorite Mansells.  So. Good. 

-calliope

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Review: The Amish Christmas Kitchen by Long, Baker, Beckstrand

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This book is a collection of three novellas that center around Amish kitchens at Christmas time. 

Baking Love on Ice Mountain introduced Clara, who managed to bake up a storm even while grieving … and moving on. I enjoyed this well-written story and the mountain setting, as well as the wisdom of the older people being passed down to the next generation. 

The Christmas Bakery on Huckleberry Hill is by one of my most favorite authors, Jennifer Beckstrand. Beckstrand didn’t disappoint, bringing her signature silly grandparent pair Anna and Felty to Katie’s life, ready to be matchmakers once again. I loved that they maintained a sense of humor even when the wrong boy was trying to court sweet Katie – for the wrong reasons… her triple chocolate cakes! 

The Special Christmas Cookie contained a fun twist on one of my favorite tropes – governess/nanny/tutor falls in love with guardian of a sweet child. Problem was, the writing was sloppy. Many repetitive paragraphs and pages should have been cleaned up during editing – especially when it came to telling (in addition to the already sufficient showing) how independent and strong Jonathan wanted to be. 

The three authors send a common message with these novellas: loneliness can be overcome by taking a step forward. Each novella had a character that suffered loneliness because he or she was afraid to reach out. Once they could extend themselves, they found a brighter, more joyful season waiting for them. 

And at the end of each novella, you’ll find a recipe waiting for YOU. 🙂

-calliope

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Review: The Confectioner’s Tale by Laura Madeleine

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What a lovely story! I keep saying I don’t like flashbacks in a story but I think I do like it if done well. Laura Madeleine does it well! I adored the story of the poor country boy falling in love with pastry and Mme Clermont. Author Madeleine painted 1910 patisserie life with just the right amount of romance and beauty, and juxtaposed it perfectly with the grit of railroads, brothels, and street thugs. 

Flash forward to 1988 where phD student Petra gets sidetracked trying to clear her grandfather’s name and unravel the great Clermont mystery… I just as much enjoyed Petra’s phone calls and literal legwork trying to figure out clues about her grandfather. I was psyched for Petra’s ride on the back of Alex’s motorbike, and glad to see that the romance of 1910 carried over to modern times. 

I think I would have been able to get more lost in the story if Madeleine had stuck with the 1910 matters, but it was gratifying to see how it all played out in the end – a type of closure I wouldn’t have been able to experience unless the 1988 story existed as well. 

Brava! 

-calliope

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Review: The Sheriffs of Savage Wells by Sarah M. Eden

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01 aa What a fun book! This is not your usual damsel in distress story. Quite the opposite. This story is about a girl who believes a girl can do anything a man can do, and she’s out to prove it.

Cade O’Brien is done with the loud and crazy towns. He wants peace and quiet and a new start. So he sets off to Savage Wells in hopes of becoming their new sheriff. But what he doesn’t expect is a woman already doing the job, and quite well, if he must admit. This spit fire of a woman gets his blood boiling in more ways than one, so he needs to keep a clear head whenever she’s around.

Paisley Bell has been acting sheriff for quite some time now and she’s not happy that the town is determined to fill the position with a man, instead of her. But when Cade comes into town, she knows that her work is cut out for her. He knows what he’s doing, but he doesn’t know this town better than her. But she’s not giving up. She knows she can do this job just as good as anyone else.

I must admit, I fell in love with this town and all it’s quirky, but lovable characters. I wish I lived there. They care a great deal about each other. Watching Cade and Paisley both interact with them, made me smile. They knew how to help everyone in very unconventional ways. It made my heart squeeze.

Watching Cade and Paisley banter made me smile. He’s not used to a woman in this position, so he’s a little slow in accepting. They go at each other quite often and I found myself giggling. As with many relationships, once the bantering starts, it’s over. They’re sunk. They learn to help each other out and in the midst of that, they start to grow closer and soon find themselves completely smitten. When he calls her love, I swoon. Let me tell you, butterflies were fluttering in my belly. Such a sweet romance.

This story is another in the The Proper Romance family and I know you’ll love it just as much as I did.

~Melpomene

Buy The Sheriffs of Savage Wells HERE

Review: Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

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Cutie pie Pru learns to be very independent when her parents die in a car accident. She single handedly makes reparations to all those affected in the accident… and then she realizes she’s crushing on one – namely, Finn. 

I love the names Pru and Finn, and all the other character names too. They totally fit in to the “Melrose Place” type of setting and made this a very fun story to read. I wasn’t totally invested in the crew though, much like the Melrose Place television show! I’m hoping that with such an awesome cast of characters, this initial book in the series was serving as an introduction to the ensemble, as well as telling Pru and Finn’s story. If Shalvis can give me more of Elle’s and Sean’s snappy wit, and some more complex sub-plots, this series will be a winner. 

I’ll tell you what I absolutely enjoyed: Pru and Finn’s dates, the old guy by the fountain, the dumbwaiter, Finn’s ever-developing relationship with his brother, sweet Jake’s concern for Pru, and especially the way these friends always, ALWAYS, have each other’s backs. 

-calliope

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Series review: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt

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maiden-lane A while back, one of my book buddies told us that she was listening to a book in the Maiden Lane series. I’ve never heard of them, but she swore it was FANTASTIC. I like historical romances, so I figured I’d give it a shot. And guess what? I loved them. LOVE. What I loved most of all was that they all intertwined. I was so very tempted to skip to the one my friend was telling me about but she forbade from doing that. She said I must read in order. So I did.

This series has a a bit of intrigue mixed in, that makes you not want to put it down. Of course I’m all about the love and this series has an overabundance of that. The best part of this is that, just when you think the secondary characters are just for fillers, they end up getting a book themselves. It’s so exciting! I start to think, “Is he going to be with her?” Or even, “Why isn’t he doing anything?” I know who I want to end up with whom, but I have to sit and be patient. In my reading I’m finding myself asking my friends if so and so will be in later books, just to keep me happy. I want all their stories!

I realize this is a horrible review, cuz I’m not being very specific, but if you like historical romances, I highly recommend this series. Also, I’ve heard that the audible are super hot. So if you have extra credits, grab a book or two and see what ya think. I’ve read the first 7 books and I’m currently reading book 8. I think this one is going to tug at my heartstrings a bit. And I can’t wait!

~Melpomene

Grab all the Maiden Lane books HERE.

Review: Letters from Paris by Juliet Blackwell

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When Claire Broussard finds mysterious letters and a plaster death mask in her Louisiana grandmother’s attic, she takes it as a sign she needs to leave her directionless life and head for Paris. 

I was fascinated by the flashbacks to historical Paris, when artists “hired” models to live with them and be their subjects. It was fun to learn this bit of history and have it come to life in a work of fiction. Since I’m not usually a fan of historical fiction, even better was reading how it intersected with Claire’s life in modern times. I liked seeing the new excitement in Claire. Blackwell developed Claire’s character well, illustrating how being ultra focused on the mystery of the death mask was part of her grieving process… and proved to be cathartic. 

I loved the ending – maybe predictable for some, but I didn’t guess it ahead of time. I was too enamored with Claire’s new Parisian life – a testament to Blackwell’s ability to draw me in to every facet of the story and keep me there until the next chapter came along. 

-calliope

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Review: Torn by Carian Cole

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torn OH MY GOSH!! This book almost didn’t get read. Not that it was bad, but it was very taboo. Hang with me here. Last week I saw this picture on Facebook. It was a sponsored ad. I’ve never heard of this author. Heck, I didn’t even know what the book was about, but I thought the picture was just lovely. I posted it in one of my book clubs and then I found out what it was about. And I gotta be honest, I wasn’t going to read it after that. That was a little too taboo for me. I have certain things I won’t read about, while this wasn’t on my list, it was just something a bit too different for me.

Well, two of my friends decided to give it a shot and they loved it. They know what I like and they both told me to try it. They said it was tastefully done and quite romantic. *sigh* I love romance, and I’m a follower not a leader, so I did what they said. I bought it and read it. And let me tell you, I was sucked in from the very beginning. Here’s the picture I saw. Isn’t it beautiful? There’s something about boots and little shoes that’s just so sweet.
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This book was exactly like they said. It was beautiful. It was romantic. And it was written in a way they wasn’t creepy or gross. Even in the synopsis, it even says no underage sex. Once you read the synopsis, you’ll see why THAT was my biggest fear. I like my sexy scenes with people who are old enough to vote, thankyouverymuch.

I fell in love with all of these characters. Family was the main theme and everyone was so different, but in the end, it was all about love. The love of two people who were there for each other, all their lives. It was beautiful. And it was right.

So if you’re in the mood to try something new and different, read Torn.

~Melpomene

Buy Torn HERE