I’m Dreaming of an Undead Christmas by Molly Harper
Blurb:
It’s Christmas in Half-Moon Hollow and newly turned vampire Iris Scanlon-Calix wants to make Gigi’s first visit home from college as normal and special as possible. It’s taken months for Iris to work up the nerve to spend time around her baby sister after her vampire transition, so she enlists help from Jane Jameson and Company to keep her blood-thirst under control and assure Gigi’s safety.
Gigi, on the other hand, has problems of her own, including the demise of her relationship with high school sweetheart, Ben, and a looming job interview with Ophelia Lambert, the scariest potential employer in the Hollow. And then there’s the small matter of the handsome, frustrating vampire who keeps appearing in Gigi’s peripheral vision, then disappearing before she can talk to him.
Can the Scanlon sisters negotiate romantic problems, vampire politics, and Christmas cookie disasters and enjoy a relatively normal holiday?
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A fun read for fans of the series, though it’s really an elaborate teaser for the next Half Moon Hollow book, which will star Gigi Scanlon. It’s definitely worth a listen before that book comes out–I mean really, it’s Molly Harper, there’s many, many laugh out loud moments–but it probably shouldn’t be the first of her books that a person reads. It’s definitely geared toward those who already know and love the previous books–both the Half Moon Hollow and the Jane Jameson series.
B+ rating.
Audiobook version was free to members on Audible this season–thanks, Audible!
White Lie Christmas by Christine Bell and Riley Murphy
The holidays are here, and Leah Latrelle has made a mess of them. When her out-of-town parents’ concern over her non-existent love life threatens to interfere with her father’s health, she invents a boyfriend who quickly turns into a fiancé. Her family is thrilled, and they change their Christmas plans last minute to meet their future son-in-law. Now Leah has no choice but to come up with the goods. She needs a man, fast.
When her friend and business partner, Mick, offers himself up as a sacrifice, she’s all over it. He’s handsome, dependable and available for the job. What could go wrong?
Tis the season, and Mick Kilpatrick can’t say no to a damsel in distress. Especially when that damsel is his luscious business partner who has been the object of his reluctant desire for the past year. He hasn’t pursued anything because being a dad is still priority number one. A sexy woman like Leah will only distract him from what’s really important and he can’t have that. He’ll pretend to be her fiancé, but when it’s over, everything will go back to normal. Sure, he’s fantasized about her once or…a million times but that doesn’t mean he’s in love with her. Does it?
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this novella–the fake fiance storyline always makes for a lot of fun opportunities, and it was definitely used well here. It’s also a friends-to-lovers story, which definitely adds to the enjoyment. The Christmas setting was like hitting the holiday novella trifecta 🙂
I enjoyed the two main characters, Mick and Leah, a whole lot–but because of this, I felt their story deserved to be longer! Since he’s a devoted single dad, I would have really liked to have seen Mick’s son play a bigger role. The easy relationship between him and Leah was alluded to a few times, and seeing it play out alongside the rest of the story could have been really satisfying.
Still, this was a nice way to fill a few spare moments in the holiday season; a quick and entertaining read from authors I’ll be looking for more from in the future.
B- rating.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Letters from Home by Bethanne Strasser
Blurb:
An Army doctor, Lena Rodriguez has always been too busy with school or the Army for romance. But the letters she received during deployment have captured her heart. Back home for the holidays, she awaits Christmas morning to meet the man who has turned her life upside down.
When Zack Benson watched his best friend’s sister Lena leave for Afghanistan, he knew he had to tell her he loved her. So he sent her anonymous love letters. Now that she’s home, he realizes he’s made a tactical error. Lena has fallen for the man in those letters but still thinks of him as a brother. He has to convince her otherwise because if he succeeds, he’ll get the best Christmas present ever. But if he fails, he could lose her for good.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved the premise of this one–falling in love through a year’s worth of love letters, one per month plus an extra one on Lena’s birthday. Add to that the fact that the letters are written anonymously and that they’re from her brother’s best friend, and the delicious factor ratchets up a notch. Great plot!
I really liked both Lena and Zack–Zack especially is just so adorably romantic–but at times their stubbornness became a bit frustrating. His insistence on waiting until Christmas morning for the big reveal when she was home for days before that and was leaving two days after made me want to give him a friendly but firm push in the right direction. There was also the possibility that Lena might be too hung up on her mysterious letter writer to give the flesh and blood guy in front of her a chance–would his reveal come too late?
Overall, though, this was a satisfying read. I loved the plot and liked the characters, and definitely will look for more from this author in the future.
B rating.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Second Chance Christmas by Ellen Butler
Blurb:
Prominent DC attorney Emma Taylor is pulled away from a promising date the week before Christmas to pick up her ex-fiance from the ER after a bar fight. She’s in no mood to re-open old wounds, but it’s Christmas and she can’t just leave him alone and injured.
Eight hundred eighty-four days. That’s how much time has passed since Major Colton Evans made the biggest mistake of his life. Even after two tours of duty and too much shrapnel in his leg, it’s still the loss of Emma that haunts him. And if he can win her back, he’ll take any chance.
When she insists he stay with her during the holiday, they put out enough sexual electricity to rival the most decorated house on the block. But will it be enough to light the way to a future together?
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I liked this one a whole lot, with only a few reservations. I loved that Colt knew to the day how long he and Emma had been apart–right from the beginning that had me in his corner. I stayed firmly there throughout the whole novella, rooting him on. Emma, while I did like her character, seemed to be too hung up on how she thought everyone would be perceiving her because of what had happened eight hundred and eighty-four days ago–it just didn’t seem in keeping with her prominent attorney persona at all.
Overall I really enjoyed this novella, especially when Emma got over herself and really paid attention to what everyone around her was saying and doing, not just what she thought they were going to say and do. A fast and satisfying holiday read.
B+ rating.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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