Review - - Tangled Up in Tinsel

Tangled Up in Tinsel

By Candis Terry

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: September 26, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

         

Parker Kincade, the black sheep of his family for too many years, is doing his best to see that Sunshine and Vine, the restaurant that he is opening at the family vineyard is ready in time for the December wedding of his brother Jordan and Lucy Diamond (A Better Man), but renovating the barn his grandfather built as a restaurant site is no easy task—especially when he is still operating his food truck in Portland. Parker is determined not to let his family down, and Jordan’s groomzilla antics just add to the pressure. As if that were not enough, the Kincade siblings are still dealing with the recent death of their parents, the discovery of the vineyard’s precarious finances, and integrating half-sister Lili into the family. When Gabriella Montani shows up looking for a job, Parker knows that the sexy chef is one complication he does not need.

Gabriella is the daughter of celebrity chef Giovanni Altobelli. Estranged from her father since he and her mother divorced when Gabi was eighteen, she uses her mother’s maiden name. Gabi is driven by the need to prove her father wrong in his belief that she can never become a chef worthy of sharing his name. Knowing that she and Parker share the same philosophy about food, she sees a job at his restaurant as a way out of her stultifying job as personal chef to a lottery winner who views peanut butter and jelly as fine dining and as a way to establish herself as a chef independent of her father. When she offers to audition for the job by preparing a meal for Parker, she does not expect the potent attraction that flares between them or the passionate night that follows.

Parker and Gabi are focused on their careers, and neither is looking for a committed relationship. They agree on “One good night. A good time. Then tomorrow it’s back to business.” It turns out not to be that easy to keep their hands off each other and their hearts uninvolved. Just as they are on the verge of finding happiness they never sought, the secret of Gabi’s identity is revealed, and Parker, scarred from his parents’ deceit, rejects her. Parker and Gabi must learn to trust each other fully if they are to find their HEA.

Candis Terry once again displays her superb storytelling skills as she takes her readers to the Sunshine Creek Vineyard for the third time in Tangled Up in Tinsel. The central romance in this novel is an appealing combination of sizzle and sweetness. It is arguably the most sensual book in the series. Family drama adds conflict and interest. Parker wins hearts whether he is the sexy chef, the sensitive brother, or the lover, playful and intense by turn. Gabi has the strength to meet him as his equal in the restaurant and in their private life. They are both relatable characters, likable in part because their mistakes derive understandably from who they are. Parker’s declaration of love is a heart-melting, unforgettable moment.

The Kincades are all present, arguing, teasing, and supporting one another. Aunt Pippy is finally pushed into giving the siblings the details of their parents’ marriage, ending a thread that has run through three books. Gabi adds drama when she confronts her egomaniacal father, and her relationship with her Italian grandmother gives a needed softness to her story. These family contexts add depth to the story and to the characterization of the protagonists. Fans of the series will be pleased to be present for Jordan and Lucy’s wedding. The Christmas setting gives the book an extra sparkle, and Terry gives her readers the gift of some recipes, a fitting end to this foodie novel. I’m eager to try Nonni’s Ricotta Cheese Cookies with Lemon Icing myself.

If you like small-town romance that centers around the lives of a large, lively, loving family, I suggest you include this one among your Christmas reads this year. Counting half-sister Lili, there are four Kincades remaining. I hope Terry gives readers stories for them all. I haven’t been able to find out what is next, but I am most eager for the story of single-father Ryan, the eldest Kincade.

Review - - Perfect for You

Perfect for You

By Candis Terry

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: February 28, 2017

Reviewed by: Janga

    

 

When Declan Kincade’s executive assistant Brooke Hastings, offers to accompany him on a trip to his family’s vineyard in Vancouver, it seems the ideal solution to Declan’s need to be in two places at once. Brooke’s presence will allow him to be in Vancouver to do his part in keeping Sunshine Creek Vineyard operating in the black while Dec and his siblings deal with family issues and, at the same time, enable him to keep the wealthy clients of his LA financial investment and wealth management firm happy. But from the moment Brooke persuades him that instead of a quick flight from LA to Vancouver, they should turn Declan’s trip home into a road trip in a red convertible, Declan’s world begins to change. He has been having trouble maintaining a proper professional distance from Brooke since his twin brother’s careless comment about Brooke’s hotness, and the intimacy of the fifteen-hour automobile trip erodes his barriers between the personal and the professional.

Brooke has been dreaming about Declan for years and she seizes the opportunity of the road trip to push against his rule-bound ways. From her choice of clothing to bucket lists to unplanned stopovers in romantic settings, she challenges Declan’s habitual control. When the two arrive at the family vineyard, she has the encouragement of her boss’s rowdy brothers and imaginative teenage sister in shaking up Declan’s orderly world and forcing him to deal with feelings that move him well beyond his comfort zone. But when Brooke refuses to accept less from Declan than she deserves, he has to choose between the successful but circumscribed world he has created and the risk of a love that offers happiness he never thought could be his.

Terry’s second book in her Sunshine Creek Vineyard series (following A Better Man) takes one of my favorite storylines, the uptight, stuffy hero whose world is transformed by a determined heroine with a freer spirit and an optimistic outlook, and gives readers another winning tale. Declan has reasons for his reserve and limited focus, but he is strung so tightly that the tension is almost tangible. He needs Brooke even if he is slow to realize it. There is never any doubt that Brooke loves him and hopes for an HEA, but she is no spineless wonder who is willing to sacrifice all she is for love. I was thrilled with the way she deals with her disappointment.

The Kincade siblings, including Jordan and his fiancée Lucy from book one, add interest and appeal to the story without distracting from the central couple. More of the family secret is revealed, but there is enough left to hook readers on the continuing mystery. Despite these connections, Perfect for You can easily be read as a standalone. I loved Terry’s Sweet, Texas books and wasn’t certain this series could match it. Based on the first two books, I think the chances that it will are excellent. If you like contemporary romance that offers appealing characters and a mix of the lighthearted and the angsty, the sweet and the sexy, I recommend Perfect for You.  I’m adding the next book in the series, Tangled Up in Tinsel (September 26) to my TBR list. It is Parker Kincade’s story. A Christmas book with a chef hero—I am sold already.

Review - - A Better Man

A Better Man

By Candis Terry

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: March 29, 2016

NHL star Jordan Kincade is riding high. He has just helped his team win a game that puts them one step closer to playing for the Stanley Cup, and he is looking forward to extending the celebration to the team’s favorite sports bar. But his mood is shattered in an instant by a phone call from his older brother Ryan with the news that their parents have perished in a helicopter crash while in Hawaii on a 35th-anniversary trip. The loss of his parents makes Jordan realize that his absorption with hockey since he was drafted into the NHL at eighteen has created distance, emotional as well as geographical, between himself and his family. He is determined to change things and be there for his five siblings, even if doing so requires some compromises with his career. However, his resolution almost falters when Ryan asks him to tackle the problem of the youngest Kincade, Nicole, an angry, rebellious seventeen-year-old, beginning with Jordan’s presence at a conference with Nicole’s creative writing teacher.

Lucy Diamond loves being a teacher. She is committed to doing her best for her students. That includes addressing the problems of Nicole Kincade, problems that existed before the deaths of her parents and that Lucy believes are deeper than dropping grades. Lucy hopes that her conference with Ryan Kincade will be productive. To her surprise, the Kincade brother who shows up is not Ryan but Jordan with whom Lucy has a history.

It is hardly surprising that Ryan is slow to recognize that Lucy Diamond is none other than Loucinda Nutter, the quiet, brainy tutor whom Jordan persuaded to accept his invitation to the after-graduation dance, only to stand her up. Lucy has changed more than her name since high school, and the most obvious changes are not the most significant. Surviving a childhood with alcoholic parents and a bad marriage have made her much stronger and more confident than the high school student who worked at being invisible, but she hasn’t forgotten the heartbreak of the teenage girl that Jordan left waiting vainly that night.

Although Lucy and Jordan agree to move past their history and work together to help Nicole, the qualities that sparked an attraction between the teenage brain and jock are still there between the teacher and hockey star, an equally unlikely pair. Lucy wants to believe Jordan is just another celebrity with an oversize ego, but his every action challenges that view. Jordan starts out wanting to make amends for that long ago slight, but soon his involvement goes far beyond atonement. Can Lucy trust herself and Jordan enough to risk her heart?

With A Better Man, Candis Terry introduces her new Sunshine Creek Vineyard series. Washington state may be a long way from Texas, but the new series promises the same warmth, wit, and rich family dynamics that made this author’s Sweet, Texas books a hit with many readers. In this first novel, Terry does exactly what a romance author needs to do when beginning a series: she hooks her reader on the world of the series while at the same time offering a compelling romance between the hero and heroine. Washington wine country and the struggles of a family-owned vineyard provide an interesting background, and the Kincade brothers are practically a catalog of favorite hero types. In addition to hockey player Jordan, the brothers include single-father Ryan, the eldest and general manager of Sunshine Creek Vineyard; Declan, Jordan’s fraternal twin and a multimillionaire financier; Parker, a successful chef; and Ethan, a wildlands firefighter. Nicole, Ryan’s nine-year-old daughter Riley, and eccentric Aunt Pippy round out the family. A mystery concerning money missing from the business adds a complication.

Intriguing as the family is, Terry keeps the focus on the second-chance story between her two likeable and humanly flawed leads. Their romance is tender and sexy, and their commitment to helping the troubled Nicole is real. I enjoyed A Better Man, not least because I love the romantic gesture and Jordan makes a grand one that is perfect for this couple. If you are a fan of contemporary romance, you should check this one out right away. It comes with a Janga recommendation. Meanwhile, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Ryan’s story is next.

 ~Janga

Review - - Truly Sweet

Truly Sweet

By Candis Terry

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: July 28, 2015

After a tour of duty in Afghanistan, multiple surgeries, and a stay in a rehab facility, Jake Wilder, the youngest of Joe and Jana Wilder’s sons, is back in Sweet, Texas. His family is overjoyed to have Jake home, and while the family has not ceased to mourn the loss of eldest brother Jared and patriarch Joe, they are ready to celebrate with a big Wilder bash that includes not only all the Wilders and their extended family but a host of friends and neighbors as well. Jake loves his family, and he is happy to be with them again. But he is not really in the mood to celebrate. Everyone sees the cane he uses and recognizes that his leg is not fully healed, but they can’t see the heavy burden of guilt that still festers in Jake’s soul. He cannot forgive himself because his best friend Eli Harris died in Afghanistan, leaving a pregnant wife to grieve him. Jake believes that when he failed to keep his promise to see that Eli returned safely to his wife, Jake forfeited his right to happiness.

Joe and Jana Wilder made Annabelle Morgan and her sister Abby feel like part of the Wilder family when the girls were growing up mostly ignored by their own parents, but Annie never looked at Jake as a brother. At sixteen, she had a crush on Jake. Although Jake may have treated her as a confidante, he never saw her as a partner in romance.  After Jake joined the Marines, Annie left Sweet determined to stop dreaming about Jake and build a life for herself in Seattle. That didn’t go exactly as she planned, and now she is back in Sweet, a single mother with a one-year-old son, waitressing at the diner and trying to get her candy-making business started. Her feelings for Jake are as strong as ever, but she is no more hopeful than she was as a teen that Jake is going to notice her.

Annie is wrong. Jake definitely notices that Annie is all grown up and just as mouthy as ever. He can’t ignore her, no matter how he tries. Not only does he find her too sexy for his comfort, but she doesn’t hesitate to speak tough truths when others are being overly cautious not to say the wrong thing. However, no matter how tempting he finds Annie, she makes it clear that she deserves better than being a booty call for Jake, and Jake thinks he can’t offer the forever bond that Annie wants.

Truly Sweet is the fifth and final book in Terry’s Sweet, Texas series. Jake is just as wounded, just as swoon-worthy, and just as reluctant to believe in happily-ever-after as his older brothers. His struggles to figure out what he is going to do with his life now that his war injury has rewritten his plans as well as to resist Annie who offers the healing he needs and sweet Max who captures Jake’s heart with his grin tug at the reader’s heartstrings. Annie is a wonderful heroine—tough and vulnerable, a dreamer with a strong streak of pragmatism, and a mother committed to seeing that her son has a childhood very different from her own. Both characters inspire affection and make it easy to root for them to find happiness together.

The Wilders are all present and accounted for in this book, from the widowed Jana, who gets a second chance at romance, to the newest additions to the family—human and animal. Readers will find much to smile about with the banter Jake and Annie exchange, Jana’s not-so-subtle meddling, and Miss Giddy the goat, who has her own secret.  But Jake’s connection with a dog that is, as Annie instinctively knows, just the friend the hurting marine needs may evoke tears, and I confess I needed more than one hanky for the scene with Jake weeping as he rocks his niece and Max. Terry also gives her readers an epilogue to delight the hearts of readers who love a big, satisfying, emotional finale to a series.

This is a series that has failed to get the attention it deserves. Fans of small-town romance with large and lively families, couples whose stories combine sweetness and sizzle, and a conclusion worth celebrating should definitely check out Terry’s Sweet, Texas books. And Truly Sweet may be the best in the series. It is on my recommended list.

~Janga

Guest Review - - Sweetest Mistake

Sweetest Mistake

By Candis Terry

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: December 31, 2013

Jackson Wilder and Abigail Morgan grew up together in Sweet, Texas. The Wilders made Abby feel like one of the family and gave her a sense of stability that her own materialistic, irresponsible parents did not. Abby loved all the Wilders, but her relationship with Jackson was special. They were best friends--sharing adventures and confidences, giving one another advice, and being present for one another in the needy moments. A few times their relationship moved to a more intimate level, but, afraid of jeopardizing their rare friendship, they always retreated to the familiar roles, viewing their time together as lovers as moments out of time, the one thing they could not talk about.

Abby kissed her friend Jackson goodbye when he headed off to war, and then she left town. Jackson never heard from her, not when he was in danger daily in Afghanistan, not when his brother Jared was killed in action, and not when his father died. He feels betrayed and angry by Abby’s disappearance from his life, but he has never forgotten her. Now, nearly seven years after she left, Abby is back in Sweet to prepare her parents' house for sale, and Jackson wants some answers. However, every meeting with Abby leads to another meeting and raises more questions for both of them. The only things they are certain of are the still-strong link their history forged between them and the still-explosive chemistry they share.

Reunited lovers and friends–to-lovers are two of my favorite tropes, and Candis Terry offers readers both in this book. While the story picks up at the point of reunion, Terry supplies enough details about Jackson and Abby’s past for readers to understand how rich and multi-layered the history between them is. I particularly liked that these characters are not frozen in time during the seven years that they are apart. They both try to create lives in which the other has no place, and they both make mistakes in choosing a marriage partner.

Abby tries on her parents’ values for size and marries a man who is fabulously wealthy and socially prominent, but it doesn’t take her long to discover that the things her parents covet leave her feeling empty when there is no real love or communication between her and her shallow husband who is more interested in image than in substance. Jackson marries a woman he loves, a good person with whom he has a child that they both adore, but he finds that loving and being in love are not the same thing. One of my favorite scenes shows him patiently allowing his three-year-old daughter to put hair accessories in his hair and makeup on him. Only a doting father who is totally secure in his masculinity would do that. I also really like that Abby and Jackson acknowledge their mistakes. While they each feel that the other contributed to their separation, neither tries to avoid his/her own responsibility. In other words, they have become grown-ups.

What separates Jackson and Abby is a misunderstanding of how the other feels that could have been cleared up with some honest communication. Usually such misunderstandings have me closing the book and muttering imprecations, but Abby and Jackson are young and they value the friendship that has been important to them for much of their lives. Both these factors make me willing to accept the misunderstanding as more than a weak plot point.

Terry has a gift for creating small towns that feel real. I liked her Sugar Shack series, but I think the Sweet series is even better. The widowed Jana Wilder and her sons are all characters with a high credibility quotient and strong appeal, and Joe and Jared, whose deaths occur before the series begins, have a real presence in the books and in the hearts of the surviving Wilders. I’m eager to see the remaining brothers, Jesse and Jake, earn their HEAs, and I am equally invested in seeing the hints of Jana’s romance developed.

If you are a fan of small-town romances with emotionally engaging stories and characters who will win your affection, I recommend Sweetest Mistake. The first book in the series, Anything But Sweet (Reno’s story) is also a good read, one with a rich vein of humor. Jesse’s story, Something Sweeter, will be released on June 24. It’s on my list for 2014.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Guest Review - - Second Chance at the Sugar Shack

Second Chance at the Sugar Shack
By Candis Terry
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Publication Date: August 9, 2011

Kate Silver is a city girl who lives a high pressure, chaotic life dressing rock stars and actors and reveling in her own designer wardrobe. Katie Silverthorne was a small-town girl who worked in her parents’ bakery, wore jeans and cotton blouses, and dreamed of escaping Deer Lick, Montana, and the mother whose approval she could never win. Kate thought she had left Katie behind forever, until the news of her mother’s death sends her home for the first time in ten years only to find Katie is still part of Kate.

Kate’s plan is to spend three days in Deer Lick and return to her crisis-a-minute job that keeps her flying from New York to Los Angeles. But when her prosecutor sister, who has a high-profile murder case in process, and her quarterback brother, who has an NFL contract that requires his presence on the football field, push her guilt button, Kate extends her stay to help out at the Sugar Shack and take care of her dad. Still, she’s poised on ready, planning to leave as soon as possible. But Matt Ryan, the boy she left behind, has her remembering what young love was like and discovering that the handsome deputy with his propensity for handcuffs is even sexier now than he was a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, Kate is finding a creative outlet in her baking, getting involved in the community, falling hard for a no-name golden retriever stray, and reconnecting with her best friend. Then there’s her mom. She keeps showing up when Kate’s driving her mother’s old Buick, or at least her mom’s spirit does, and she is as eager to advise Kate about life decisions as she ever was.

Matt is determined to avoid Kate once he’s made clear exactly how little he thinks of her now, but he can’t get her out of his memories or his fantasies. He’s angry that her presence in Deer Lick is playing havoc with his plan to find a sweet, proper wife who will help him get elected sheriff. He’s even angrier that his heart and libido won’t let him ignore Kate, no matter how determined he is that she has no part in his life.

Second Chance at the Sugar Shack is the author’s debut novel. This contemporary romance blends small-town coziness with a second chance story and a generous helping of sizzle and adds a dash of humorous paranormal to create a treat as sweet and unexpected as one of the heroine’s Sugar Shack deserts. I loved Kate with her strength, her ambition, her vulnerabilities, and her astringent humor. Matt failed to impress me as much. Ten years seems long enough for a wounded heart and injured pride to heal, and sometimes his behavior bordered on jerkiness. But he is good-looking and sexy, and he does prove himself a romantic hero in the end. And even though I like small town settings, I was also bothered by the small town equals good, meaningful life, city equals wicked, meaningless existence equation.

I’m not a paranormal fan generally, but the ghostly presence of Kate’s mother gave this novel a different twist that added sweetness and humor to the book. The healing of the hurt that Kate’s relationship with her mother had inflicted on both parties is touching, and the reader understands that Kate is indeed her mother’s daughter. This exchange after Kate has overindulged at a bar is typical:

“He? Him?” Kate’s brows lifted. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

Her mother released a heavy sigh.

Was that even possible?

“Boyfriend? I’m talking about soul mates, Katherine. That’s what my Bobby and I are. That’s why he’s going to be just fine. He knows I’m waiting for him—not that I want to hurry him up. But he knows our love reaches far beyond earthly boundaries. And that’s what you need to find.”

Kate shook her head and the vinyl seat squeaked. What she needed was another Guinness. She and her mother had barely spoken for ten years and the woman was worried about Kate finding a man? What about the argument that’d had before she left home? Sheesh. Still, if her mother wanted to discuss men, she’d try to comply. Arguing had never got them anything but estrangement.

“Mom, I barely have time for a dinner date let alone a soul mate. What I need to find is a way to help Dad get his life organized so I can get out of this hick—“

A sharp rap on the window startled her and sent her heart racing.

Kate looked up.

Through her side window, the white neon light from Bill’s Barber Shop reflected off a shiny pair of handcuffs that swung like a pendulum from a very large, very masculine hand.”

Second Chance at Sugar Shack is the first book in a trilogy. I expect Mom will be back to advise Kate’s brother, Dean the quarterback, and sister, Kelly the prosecutor. I’m planning return trips to Deer Lick too.

~Janga