New Release: Christmas in Bayberry by Jennifer Faye

She’s trying to save the family candle company.
He’s trying not to fall for Bayberry—and her—again.

Kate Taylor knows what she wants in life: to one day run her family’s candle business, which is at the heart of the close-knit community of Bayberry, Vermont. But the company isn’t doing well.

Wesley Adams is on the fast track to be an assistant vice president at his financial firm in Manhattan. Before the promotion is announced, he’s sent to this small town from his past to do an analysis of the candle company.

He doesn’t expect to bump into his childhood crush, Kate, and when he does, sparks fly. As he spends time in Bayberry, he falls for the town’s Christmas traditions—and for her. But he has a responsibility to submit an honest report. Will it extinguish Kate’s dreams…along with any chance they have for a future together?

This heart-warming romance contains a free Hallmark original recipe for Cast Iron Beef Stew.

Paperback: 333 pages
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing (July 7, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1947892819
ISBN-13: 978-1947892811

Purchase here!

Shelf Control - July 8

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves sponsored by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. Here's how to jump on board:

• Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
• Add your link in the comments!
• Link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your own post.
• Check out other posts, and…

This week I am featuring a Kindle freebie from my TBR pile.

BLURB: For Holly Englehardt, Christmas has always been a special day filled with family, friends, and a wacky tradition of watching Breakfast At Tiffany's while dressed up in the stars costumes. . .…tiara tiaras and all.

Holly's biggest client insists on having a Skype call on Christmas day to secure a deal of a lifetime, which is fine with her, because this year she's going to make a new tradition. ; Celebrating Christmas alone with her cat at her snowy remote family cabin as family and friends go their separate ways to celebrate the holiday.

When things everything start starts to go array, Holly has to call on her hunky neighbor for help in order to secure the her deal of a lifetime.

Will it all work out or will Holly pull the quilt over her head waiting for Christmas to be over?

DATE BOUGHT: 1/7/2017

WHY I BOUGHT IT: I like seasonal romances. Christmas is my favorite time of year, so that's no surprise.

What do you think of this novel? Have you read it? Would you read it based upon the blurb? 

Seasonal Romance: Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne

Hearts are lighter and wishes burn a little brighter at Christmas…

Elizabeth Hamilton has been lost. Trapped in a tangle of postpartum depression and grief after the death of her beloved parents, she couldn’t quite see the way back to her husband and their two beautiful kids…until a car accident stole away her memories and changed her life. And when she finally remembered the sound of little Cassie’s laugh, the baby powder smell of Bridger and the feel of her husband’s hand in hers, Elizabeth worried that they’d moved on without her. That she’d missed too much. That perhaps she wasn’t the right mother for her kids or wife for Luke, no matter how much she loved them.

But now, seven years later, Luke finds her in a nearby town and brings Elizabeth back home to the family she loves, just in time for Christmas. And being reunited with Luke and her children is better than anything Elizabeth could have imagined. As they all trim the tree and bake cookies, making new holiday memories, Elizabeth and Luke are drawn ever closer. Can the hurt of the past seven years be healed over the course of one Christmas season and bring the Hamiltons the gift of a new beginning.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/33OudrF

 Harlequin → www.harlequin.com/shop/pages/christmas.html

Book Review: Season for Miracles by Marilyn Pappano

A touching seasonal romance comes to you from Marilyn Pappano.

Emilie Dalton flees Boston with her nieces and nephew rather than let them be placed into the same broken foster care system that complicated her life. Lost while driving in a snowstorm, Emilie and the children arrive in the small town of Bethlehem. Taking refuge in a vacant old Victorian home, the neighbors assume she is the mysterious owner finally coming to claim the house that has been empty since the death of Miriam Pierce. In order to keep the children safe and cared for, Emilie plays along with the charade, making friends and melting the heart of police officer Nathan Bishop. But what will happen if everyone finds out the truth?

I decided to read this book after seeing the Hallmark movie based upon it. You can read my review of the movie here. I am surprised how closely the movie followed the book. There are some changes: Emilie's last name is Thompson instead of Dalton; there are only two kids in the movie--Alanna and J.T.--whereas the book has two girls--Alanna and Josie--along with a brother named Brendan; and I don't recall there being a full explanation as to how and why Nathan ended up in Bethlehem. The presence of the angel is also clearer in the movie than in the book.

Some of the reviews I've read of Season for Miracles said they liked the movie better. I felt the movie storyline was a bit clearer, but Pappano has written a heartwarming story of one woman's unconditional love that is pushed to every limit. Emilie doesn't want to lie to everyone, but she has so few choices if she wants to keep the children out of foster care--a system she knows well, and one that practically destroyed her and definitely destroyed her sister, Berry, who has become a drug addict looking for love in all the wrong places.

From the moment I opened the book, I was captivated. Part of that was because I knew the story, but more of it was because I wanted to experience the characters the way the author fully intended. Pappano totally captured me with this romantic tale of the season. The book contains some sex scenes that weren't part of the Hallmark movie. I didn't find them necessary, since those scenes didn't have a great impact on the overall story. Nathan and Emilie's connection went deeper than their physical relationship, and with talk of God and the presence of the angel so important to how everything is resolved, that aspect of the book threw me off a bit.

If you get a chance to read Season for Miracles it will touch your heart.

Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Warner Books (December 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446603562
ISBN-13: 978-0446603560

I borrowed a copy of this book from the library. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

First Chapter Review: Unexpected Gifts by Elena Aitken

Maybe you're thinking I better reconcile myself to the fact that the holiday season is over and start reading something else, but I'm not quite there yet. I have tons of books set during different time periods once I'm ready, though.

TITLE: Unexpected Gifts

AUTHOR: Elena Aitken

BLURB: Let it snow! Cozy up to the Castle Mountain Lodge in the middle of the remote Canadian Rockies for Unexpected Gifts.

Christmas represents everything Andi Williams is supposed to have, and doesn't. Running away to a remote mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies, sounds like the perfect way to escape, until a mix-up finds her sharing a villa with sexy, rough around the edges, Colin Hartford.

Colin's determination to enjoy the holiday he’s missed for the last five years, sweeps Andi into a season of joy that she’s not sure she’s ready for. Can Andi open herself up to everything the holidays have to offer...including love?

COVER:  Not bad. You can definitely tell it's a seasonal story. It doesn't, however, tell me it's a romance novel. If you don't want to put a couple in a romantic setting on the cover, then why not a snow-covered log cabin nestled in the woods with smoke filtering out of the chimney. This would indicate not only the setting, but the smoke reminds you of warmth and the people who might be snuggling up by the fireplace. For a romance novel, this cover is kind of cold.

FIRST CHAPTER:  The reader meets Andi Williams and her business partner, Eva. They run a party planning business, which is doing so well they have hired two girls to help out. This makes it easier on Andi, who is dealing with a recent tragedy that has left her feeling miserable. She just wants Christmas to be over. An unexpected change in plans has her heading to the Castle Mountain Lodge to spend the holidays by herself curled up with a good book in front of the fire.

KEEP READING:  Sure. The scene has been set for what we know is to come--Andi meeting with "sexy, rough around the edges, Colin Hartford." You don't know yet how they are going to meet and what the immediate result will be, but you're certainly interested. The tragedy that changed Andi's life makes her a sympathetic character who you want to see find happiness.

Eva is funny and beautiful. She genuinely cares about Andi and hopes things will get better for her, which is why she suggests the free invitation from the lodge as a way to escape it all. This breaks the mold in that the female and male lead haven't met in the first chapter, but it is done so well that you are already captivated by the story and are eager for Andi and Colin to catch first sight of each other.


Publisher: Ink Blot Communications (November 11, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B0066HBGCM
SRP: $2.99

I downloaded a free copy of this book to my Kindle. I received no monetary compensation for this review.