Harlequin Tour Review - - A Proposal in Provence

A Proposal in Provence

by Donna Alward

Heirs to an Empire - Book 5

Publisher: Harlequin Romance

Release Date: January 25, 2022

Reviewed by PJ

 

An escape from scandal...rescued by the tycoon!

PR assistant Anemone Jones loves working in Paris for the glamorous Pemberton family...until she discovers she is in fact their half-sibling! When the scandal hits the tabloids, it's her gorgeous boss, Phillippe Leroux, who sweeps her off to his idyllic home in Grasse. Phillippe's proposal in Provence gives Annie breathing space to process her new life - - and even find a place in his...

PJ's Thoughts:

It's been more than two years since I boarded a plane, off to distant locales for new adventures. Is it any wonder I was all over this title when it crossed my desk? Glamorous events in Paris? Gorgeous fields of flowers in Provence? A sweet and sexy Frenchman to seal the deal? Yes, please!

I'll start off by saying that this is the fifth book in a family-centric series. It's written in such a way that I never felt lost or confused about the journey of the main couple. However, there are several family members who figure prominently in the story, in such a way that I wanted to know more about the motivation behind their actions and attitudes. They are the antagonists for much of the book but presented in such a way that I felt the need to dig into their layers and discover what had brought them to this place. I'll be going back to the beginning of the series and reading all of their books. 

I really enjoyed the relationship between Annie and Phillippe. I appreciated the way he put himself between Annie and the family who owns the company where they both work, the way he stood up for her as a valued member of his staff. I liked his integrity and his sense of honor. It meant a lot to me that he refused to engage romantically with her while he was her supervisor. 

Annie really was in a no-win situation. I liked her, respected her honesty, and understood her desire to know the people from whom she had been hidden. I enjoyed her interactions with Phillippe's parents and the seamless way she fit into the Provence life. I also liked the fact that when she made mistakes, she owned up to them quickly. 

The romance in this book was sweet, steamy, and heartwarming. I had no doubts by the end that Annie and Phillippe were exactly where they were meant to be, doing what they were meant to do. Annie's family situation was wrapped up a bit too quickly and neatly for me, considering what had come before. Maybe, after reading the earlier books and getting to know the family members better, I'll be able to buy into that conclusion more completely.

If you're in the mood to escape to the dazzling lights of Paris and the lush, fragrant countryside of Provence with a likeable couple who will have you cheering them on to their happily ever after, pick up a copy of Donna Alward's A Proposal in Provence and let yourself be swept away. 

A SMP Christmas: Part One - - Deck the Halls / A Season of You / Christmas at Two Love Lane

We're only a little over two months out from Christmas but we're already getting into the holiday spirit here at The Romance Dish thanks to several holiday-themed romances. Today, Janga and I are sharing our thoughts on four new books and two novellas from St. Martin's Press. The first three reviews are below. Be sure to check back this afternoon for the rest! 


Deck the Halls

By Donna Alward

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Swerve

Release Date: October 3, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

  

Donna Alward takes readers back to Darling, Vermont, for a Christmas novella featuring George Reilly, a formerly homeless veteran, and a woman from his past. Since he was first befriended by Aiden Gallagher and Laurel Stone (Somebody Like You), George’s life has gradually been transformed. When Laurel first offered him work at the Ladybug Garden Center, his responsibilities were light, but George has taken on more and more responsibilities until he is now Laurel’s trusted assistant set to assume even more duties as Laurel’s pregnancy progresses. He has VA assistance and a small apartment and has made a place for himself in Darling. He is even thinking of celebrating Christmas for the first time in thirteen years. Then Amy Merck shows up at the garden center, asking George to resurrect the past he has struggled to forget.

Fifteen years after the death of her twin brother, Ian, in Iraq, Amy and her parents are still searching for closure. George and Ian met right out of basic training, and the younger Ian became George’s best friend and the little brother he’d never had. Ian took George home to meet his family, and George basked in the warm welcome Ian’s parents gave him and delighted in careless flirting with Ian’s pretty sister. But when Ian died in Iraq, George felt responsible. He couldn’t face the Mercks. He hasn’t seen any of them in fifteen years. His own life fell apart, and it is only in the past six months that George has stopped drifting and found a home. He is terrified by where Amy’s questions can take him, but he cannot ignore her.

Amy has tracked George down, rented a house in Darling for two weeks, and made the seven-hour drive from her home in Brooklyn to find the answers she needs. George may no longer be recognizable as the young soldier she once crushed on, but he is the only one who can tell her about her brother’s last days and how he died. Amy will not give up on finding what she and her family need to put Ian to rest at last. And her heart won’t let her give up on George.

George and Amy are two wounded creatures who need each other, but before they can build a future together, George must forgive himself and accept that his guilt is self-inflicted. The hearts of the Merck family have always been open to Ian’s friend.

Alward’s novella will warm the hearts and activate the tear ducts of readers looking for a contemporary Christmas read with a big emotional punch. Fans of the Darling series will be particularly pleased to see George, whom they have followed from homeless man to productive citizen, get his own story. My only complaint is that the complexity of this story deserved a full novel. I liked the novella, but I was left wanting more.


 

Christmas at Two Love Lane
By Kieran Kramer
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Reviewed by PJ

Kieran Kramer takes readers to Charleston, South Carolina in this first book of her new Two Love Lane contemporary romance series which centers around the lives and loves of three matchmaking best friends and business partners. 

Rumored to be descended from Cupid himself, Charleston native Macy Frost takes her matchmaking profession very seriously even if she has serious trust issues and has never been in love herself. Sexy northerner, Deacon Banks has no interest in finding his true love but could use a few good dates while he's in town visiting his aunt over the holidays. His aunt raised him after the death of Deacon's parents and the only thing she wants for Christmas is for Deacon to settle down with someone who will make him happy, preferably someone well-connected in Charleston society. If Deacon gives the appearance of trying to find his "one," he figures it will buy him time with his aunt. Macy reluctantly agrees to find dates for him but only if he will agree to also give her a chance to find his true love match. Things go awry when Deacon begins to think the only good match for him is his matchmaker, Macy.

Kramer has created a sweet, humorous, leisurely story about two people resistant to love who just can't seem to stay away from one another. There's plenty of push and pull along the way, especially as the dynamic between Macy and Deacon begins to change. I enjoyed Deacon's relationship with his aunt, a character who adds a lot of spice, sass, and heart to the story. I also liked George, his aunt's cook/houseman who is quite the accomplished scene-stealer. Unfortunately, I had difficulty engaging with Macy and Deacon. I liked them but eventually became frustrated with their lack of forward progress. Part of the reason may be due to the length and pace of the story. It's very slow with a lot of two steps forward - three steps back which is not my favorite type of set-up. I probably would have enjoyed their story much more as a novella. But, if you like that pace, give this one a try. It has a lot to recommend it even if it didn't quite work for me. 

One thing I loved about this book was the setting. The author's love of Charleston comes through clearly, evoking the sights, smells, and sounds of this lovely, historic city on the South Carolina coast. It made me want to pack the car and drive down for a visit! 




A Season of You

By Emma Douglas

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: October 3, 2017
Reviewed by Janga

  

Mina Harper, the youngest child of rock legend Gray Harper, married her high school sweetheart when she was eighteen, shortly after the death of her father. Two years later, her husband, on his way home after a friend’s birthday party at the Salt Devil Distillery, was killed by a drunk driver.  Mina has spent the past three years as a semi-recluse, working her shifts with Cloud Bay’s search and rescue team and maintaining contact with her family, but spending most of her time in her cottage painting. Her yellow Lab Stewie is her closest companion. Mina has no interest in opening her life to someone else whom death might steal from her.

Will Fraser fell in love with Mina Harper when he first saw her. Knowing it was hopeless because she was happily married didn’t change his feelings. Neither does knowing that the last man a woman whose husband’s death was alcohol-related is likely to be interested in is the co-owner of a whiskey distillery. But when Will rescues Mina, she thanks him an invitation to the Harper Thanksgiving feast. Soon mistletoe and Will are giving Mina ideas. But while Mina is all for an affair that may make Christmas bearable, Will is thinking about forever.

Douglas’s second Cloud Bay book is set against the Christmas activities of this island community. Mina’s feelings about the holiday are significant to the story, and the conclusion is practically wrapped in a Christmas package and arrayed with stars. This sweet, slow-paced romance also has its share of sizzle, a combination sure to please readers who like a contemporary story with a real Christmas feel, a well-developed romance, and interesting family dynamics.

Have you read any Christmas themed romances yet?

Are there any in particular you're looking forward to?

Do you have any titles to recommend?

Review - - The Playboy Prince and the Nanny

The Playboy Prince and the Nanny

By Donna Alward

Publisher: Swerve

Release Date: August 1, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

 

 

Diego Navarro, second son of the King of Marazur, a small Mediterranean principality, is at an English bar with his best friend from his days as a Cambridge post-graduate when he hears a television blaring the news of the tragedy. A call from his sister, Luciana, soon confirms that the report is accurate. Cecilia Navarro, wife of Diego’s elder brother, Raoul, crown prince of Marazur, and Mariana Cortez, nanny to Raoul and Ceci’s two children, have been killed in an automobile accident. Diego may spend much of his time out of his country engaged in activities that have earned him the title “the Playboy Prince,” but he loves his family. He leaves for Marazur immediately.

Diego is eager to assume more responsibility in Marazur, but his father and brother are locked into the position they assumed twenty-five years ago when Diego and Raoul’s mother died: Diego is to be protected. That protection means limiting his role as a member of the royal family. But it is Diego who remembers that his young niece and nephew, grieving for their mother and their nanny, are in desperate need of a new caregiver. He takes it upon himself to hire a new nanny.

Rosalie Walters is an English nanny with impeccable references. She has worked for wealthy families and even minor nobility, but this is her first position as nanny to royalty. Rose is understandably nervous, and that nervousness increases when she meets Prince Diego. She met him once, and she is aware of his potent charm. But she expects him to be in South America where the latest paparazzi coverage has placed the international playboy. She is flustered to find him in the castle kitchen, teasing the cook and clearly ready to flirt with the new nanny. Rose quickly establishes a loving relationship with six-year-old Emilia and four-year-old Max. Prince Raoul is distant but pleasant, and the staff is kind and ready to help her adjust to her new position. Rose is set to enjoy her new role.

To her surprise, the most frequent visitor to the royal nursery is not the children’s father but their uncle. It is clear that Uncle Diego is a great favorite with the children and that his affection for them is genuine. The problem is that, try as she may, Rose cannot deny how much she enjoys Diego’s company. She insists on addressing him as “Your Highness” and maintaining a proper distance, but Diego refuses to recognize the barriers she puts in place. He finds a friend in the English Rose, one to whom he can talk about his frustration with his playboy identity, one who sees him as a man rather than a title. And the attraction that sparked between them in that kitchen meeting grows with each encounter. Just when it seems that the prince and the nanny may have their fairy tale ending, scandal erupts. Diego is MIA. A broken heart and a ruined reputation may be all Rose has to show for her time in Marazur.

The Playboy Prince and the Nanny is the first of a two-book set from Donna Alward. It is a sweet romance, but I consider it Donna Alward light. I liked Rose and Diego and felt great sympathy for Raoul and the children. However, despite the tragedy that served as inciting incident, the story lacked the emotional depth that made me a fan of Donna Alward’s books. This novel reminded me of the shorter category romances that require some suspension of disbelief, offer an entertaining few hours, but are not particularly memorable a few days later. I don’t intend that statement to be pejorative. Sometimes that is exactly the kind of book a reader needs.

If you like contemporary romance with a fairy tale element, heavy on genuine sweetness but light on substance, you may enjoy this book. I won’t be adding it to my best books of 2017, but I liked it well enough to note that Raoul’s story, The Crown Prince’s Bride, will be released January 9, 2018. And since I had a feeling that sister Luciana’s story had been told, I did some research and found that The Rancher’s Runaway Princess, a 2009 Harlequin Romance, is available for my Kindle. I will be reading that one too.

Review - - Somebody's Baby

Somebody’s Baby

By Donna Alward

Publisher: St. Martin’s

Release Date: April 4, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

    

Oaklee Collier, known as the “Social Butterfly” of Darling, Vermont, has had her fill of weddings and babies and the social events attendant upon both. She loves her job using social media and other methods of promoting her hometown, but it no longer hides the loneliness that pervades her life. Since her high school sweetheart left her waiting at a Las Vegas altar two years ago, Oaklee has guarded her heart carefully, avoiding not only romance but also close friendships and keeping even her family at a distance. Her life begins to change one night when one careless moment keeps her from braking in time to avoid a dog crossing the road.

Veterinarian Rory Gallagher the youngest of the three Gallagher brothers, lives in an apartment over the clinic where he works. The apartment has definite advantages, but being onsite when after-hours emergencies show up is a disadvantage. Nevertheless, he moves quickly when Oaklee shows up looking for help for the injured dog. Rory is all competence and assurance when dealing with the animal’s injuries, but he is uncomfortable dealing with Oaklee and the unwelcome attraction he feels for her. Not only is she his best friend’s little sister and as such off limits to him, but she is also not the woman for a short-term fling, the only kind Rory is interested in since he had his heart broken by his vet-school girlfriend who decided she didn’t love him and cut him out of her life and the life of her young son, who had also claimed Rory’s heart.

The dog, whom Rory names Buster, becomes the means of linking these two people who have good reasons to be in defensive mode. Oaklee had a crush on Rory when she was a young teen, and she is aware that the adult Rory is even more attractive. But she no longer trusts her judgment when it comes to men. Rory’s reputation as a serial dater makes her even more leery of him. However, when Rory persuades a reluctant Oaklee to foster Buster, the barriers around her heart take major hits from the dog and the sexy vet. The advance and retreat of the romantic relationship seems like an endless cycle until Oaklee and Rory separately experience an awakening concerning how much their fears can cost them.

Somebody’s Baby is the third book in Alward’s Darling, Vermont series. Despite Oaklee’s job, the town and its famous Kissing Bridge seemed less important here than in the earlier books. The cast of secondary characters, most of them familiar to readers of the first two books, provide substantial context for the story. The depth of Oaklee and Rory may surprise readers who encountered them in Somebody Like You and Someone to Love, where Oaklee was the perky, sunny tourism developer and Rory was the carefree younger brother. They are both engaging characters, and the history they share and similarities in their personalities and experience make it easy to accept their happily-ever-after as credible.

All the characters are likable, but Buster may be the biggest heart stealer in the story. Canines often have star roles in romance novels, but I think this is the first time I have seen the relationship between a lead character and a dog serve as a metaphor for the messiness, the risks, and the rewards of love and as a catalyst for advancing the hero and heroine’s relationship. Any reader who has ever had a dog who became family will laugh and perhaps shed a few tears with a particular sympathy.

This is a story that builds slowly, and, frankly in the early chapters, it was sometimes an effort to persevere in reading it, but the payoff is large for readers who stay with the story. Oaklee and Rory’s heartbreak stories are more than just two more somebody-done-me-wrong tales, and the gradual movement from characters with a history rooted in childhood to adults involved in a growing friendship with sparks to cautious lovers keeps readers invested in the story. This is my favorite in an appealing series, and I definitely recommend it for fans of small-town romance. I hope Alward will be taking her readers back to Darling for the stories of the three Gallagher sisters—especially Hannah. I really want to know more about Hannah.

Review - - Someone to Love

Someone to Love

By Donna Alward
Darling, VT - Book 2

Publisher: St. Martin’s

Release Date: March 7, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

  

 

A few years ago, Willow Dunaway returned to her hometown, Darling, Vermont, and opened The Purple Pig, a café that specializes in healthy delicious dishes made from local organic, and fair trade ingredients. The serene Willow, practitioner of yoga and meditation, whose appearance suggests she is a nouveau hippie, is quite different from the up-tight, high-achiever Willow was in high school. Because her best friend, Laurel Stone, recently married Aiden Gallagher (Somebody Like You), Willow is drawn into the circle of the exuberant Gallagher family. She and Hannah Gallagher become close friends, and Willow is warmly welcomed by the entire clan--except for the eldest son Ethan. Willow and Ethan shared an awkward moment at Laurel and Aiden’s wedding when she caught the bridal bouquet and he caught the garter. Unlike the rest of his family, Ethan seems cold and judgmental.

Ethan Gallagher, a widower with two young sons, Connor and Ronan, was not always a grump, but he is still grieving the loss of his wife Lisa eighteen months earlier. He is also burdened by his responsibilities as the boys’ sole parent and by the guilt he feels that his 24/7 shifts as a firefighter necessitate his depending on his family to help care for his sons. The somber Ethan writes Willow off as an idiosyncratic lightweight, but his sons fall for her free-spirited charm.

As Willow and Ethan are thrown into each other’s company, they are forced to acknowledge the chemistry between them, but neither is looking for a relationship. Ethan, still holding on tightly to his past with Lisa, has not yet come to terms with his loss, and Willow has a dark past that includes an indifferent mother, an eating disorder, depression, and a failed romance. Her focus is on maintaining the peace she has found through her new lifestyle. But as their initial impressions of each other are corrected, the attraction moves beyond the merely physical. Ethan is drawn to Willow’s whimsicality, generosity, and love for his sons, and she finds his sense of responsibility and surprising sense of humor immensely appealing.  But unexpected consequences jeopardize their developing relationship. Broken hearts appear more likely than an HEA.

Alward’s second Darling, VT novel is even better than the first. Willow and Ethan are both wounded characters who win readers’ hearts, although Willow’s wounds are more deeply hidden than are Ethan’s. The anguish and loss these two have suffered is real rather than a growing pain sometimes exaggerated to trauma as is sometimes the case in contemporary romance. Connor and Ronan are adorable, but they are also believable kids who can be rambunctious, competitive, and whiny when tired. They are more than generic cute kids. They are sweet and vulnerable and sadly in need of a mother figure, a role Willow falls into easily, and there is never any doubt that Willow’s relationship with Ethan includes Connor and Ronan as well.

Fans of the first book will be pleased to see more of Laurel and Aiden. The Gallagher family is fast becoming one of my favorites. I enjoyed them all. Kudos to Alward for dealing with birth control with a rare degree of realism and in a way that adds to the story’s strength rather than detracting from the romance.

If you like your romance with a delightful small-town setting, a cast of likeable characters, and an unusual blend of grittiness and heartwarming appeal. I highly recommend Someone to Love. You will also want to put the third book, Somebody’s Baby, an April 4 release, on your list. 

Donna Alward Winner

The winner of a print copy of

Donna Alward's Somebody Like You is:

Robin Brock

Congratulations!

Please send your full name and mailing address (U.S. addresses only) to:

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Blog Tour & Giveaway - - Donna Alward's Somebody Like You

Somebody Like You

By Donna Alward
Darling, VT - Book 1

Publisher: St. Martin’s

Release Date: February 7, 2017

    

Where do you go when your life has changed in ways that make it awkward and damaging to your self-esteem to try going on as if the changes are insignificant. If you are Laurel Stone, an employee in the same accounting firm that employs your recently uncloseted ex and his lover, a partner in said firm, you return to your hometown, Darling, Vermont, a New England town where everyone knows your name and most of your business, and you open a gardening center, hoping to find emotional satisfaction as well as economic success in your new business. Laurel is still sensitive to her recent divorce and the circumstances surrounding it making her the focus of gossip, but her business is going well. She has reconnected with Willow Dunaway, an old friend from high school, and life seems promising. Her confidence in that promise is shaken when her gardening center is the target of vandalism. Her stress grows when the investigating officer is Aiden Gallagher with whom Laurel has a long history. One particularly memorable bit involves a milkshake she dumped on him.

Aiden is no longer the immature kid who behaved like a jerk back in high school, but he knows Laurel may not be ready to believe he has changed. He doesn’t really expect her to be pleased to see him. He regrets that he hurt Laurel and would like to apologize for his immature behavior. When he sees Laurel and is reminded of all the reasons he once liked her, he is even more determined to make amends for the past. However, he is wise enough now to know that he has to move slowly.

Laurel, reluctant though she may be to admit it, also acknowledges that the attraction between them is still strong. She remains wary, however, and when she is approached about reenacting the iconic pose captured in Darling’s famous tourism photo (two five-year-olds, dressed for their parts as flower girl and ring-bearer in a wedding, kissing at the town’s Kissing Bridge where, according to legend, a kiss guarantees a forever love), she refuses. But as she spends more time with Aiden and discovers the kind of man he has become, her defenses weaken. Perhaps a new photo at Kissing Bridge is not a bad idea; perhaps that old legend is more than a tale for tourists.

Donna Alward is among the best at creating small towns that have the requisite quirkiness without losing authenticity. With Somebody Like You, she introduces her readers to a new series but one that has the same heartwarming appeal that made her Jewell Cove series a favorite with readers. The covers of the Darling, Vermont series are enough to make some readers fall in love with town, and the novel reveals a town that lives up to that impression.

Alward also takes common tropes of romance and gives them twists that make them feel fresh. The heroine’s returning home after a shattering divorce serves as the beginning of many a romance, but Laurel’s situation is more fraught than the typical case. The lingering effects of high school heartbreak is another much-used device, but Aiden has neither forgotten his actions nor does he avoid accepting responsibility for them. I found both Laurel and Aiden likable and sympathetic from the get-go, and I award major kudos to Alward for letting their relationship develop credibly rather than rushing to consummation. The love scenes include the sweet, the tender, and the sizzling plus a golf-course scene that is giggle-inducing.

Secondary characters are also important in small-town romances, and Alward gives her readers a cast designed to win hearts and pique interest. Willow Dunaway, Laurel’s bestie, is a delight with hints of depths readers will be eager to see explored in a later book. Aiden’s large, lively, loving family includes enough unattached siblings to keep the series going and readers intrigued for quite a while. George, Darling’s homeless man, serves not only to reveal the kind of man Aiden is but also to impress the reader with his humanity and dignity.

If you are a fan of small-town romance, I recommend you add this one to your list. I think you will be as eager as I am to pay a return visit to Darling, Vermont. Lucky for us, we don’t have to wait long. Someone to Love, the story of Willow and Aiden’s brother Ethan, will be released March 7, and Somebody’s Baby, a third book, with another Gallagher hero, releases April 4. I do love back-to-back releases.

 ~Janga

Are you a fan of small-town romances?

Do you enjoy a large secondary cast surrounding the main couple?

Is Donna Alward on your reading list? Do you have a favorite of her books? 

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment will receive a print copy of Somebody Like You. (U.S. addresses only) Deadline to leave a comment for the giveaway is 11:00 PM (EST), February 11, 2017.

Marti Corn Photography

While bestselling author Donna Alward was busy studying Austen, Eliot and Shakespeare, she was also losing herself in the breathtaking stories created by romance novelists like LaVyrle Spencer, Judith McNaught, and Nora Roberts. Several years after completing her degree she decided to write a romance of her own and it was true love! Five years and ten manuscripts later she sold her first book and launched a new career. While her heartwarming stories of love, hope, and homecoming have been translated into several languages, hit bestseller lists and won awards, her very favorite thing is when she hears from happy readers!

Donna lives on Canada’s east coast with her family which includes a husband, a couple of kids, a senior dog and two crazy cats. When she’s not writing she enjoys reading (of course!), knitting, gardening, cooking…and is a Masterpiece Theater addict.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

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Books-A-Million

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SOCIAL LINKS

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Review - - Christmas at Evergreen Inn and Hot Toy

Christmas at Evergreen Inn

By Donna Alward

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: October 13, 2015

The Evergreen Inn in Jewell Cove, Maine, with its lavish decorations may look festive and in tune with the Christmas season, but Lainey Price, the owner of the inn is definitely out of tune with all things Christmas. A year ago, she was looking forward to the wedding of her dreams—a Christmas wedding—and a happily ever after with the man she loved, but a week before the wedding, her fiancé told her he had fallen in love with someone else. Lainey spent the week before Christmas cancelling wedding plans. Even though she has moved on with her life, even accepting that it was best Jason broke things off before they married, Christmas has lost its magic for her. Her once favorite holiday is now just a reminder of the bleakest period of her life.

Police officer Todd Ricker is on his way home when he happens across a stranded motorist. With a blizzard headed for Jewell Cove, the wisest course of action seems to be to take the motorist to Evergreen Inn and hope Lainey has room for him. The inn is filled with others seeking shelter from the storm, and by the time Lainey finds a spot for her newest guest, there is literally no room at the inn. When it becomes clear that Todd can’t make it home, Lainey offers him the couch in her cottage, and Todd accepts gratefully.

Lainey and Todd have known each other forever. They both had a bit of a wild streak in high school, and when they found themselves at the same parties, they eyed each other, sensing the potential but not quite brave enough to act on their instincts. The attraction still simmers, and they enjoy flirtatious exchanges.  But neither of them is prepared for what one kiss can start. Lainey is wary because Jason has the reputation of a player, but Jason knows what he has discovered with Lainey is unlike his previous relationships: “From the moment he’d taken her in his arms, he’d known that this was something different. Something special that he couldn’t take lightly or laugh away in the morning. Something that had never happened to him before, ever. . .”  And he is not about to give up on what they can have together.

I’m a fan of this series and have been since I read The House on Blackberry Hill. Last year’s holiday novella, Christmas at Seashell Cottage, was one of my favorite reads of the season. Although I was not quite as captivated by this one, it is still a delightful story. Alward’s greatest strength is her ability to create characters that feel real, and she does that again with Lainey and Todd. The seriousness with which they treat their work, their banter with one another, and their reactions when they find their emotions more intense than they expected all added dimensionality to their characters. I found them likeable and engaging. Anyone who has ever experienced a great loss during a holiday season—whether the loss is a breakup or a death—knows that afterwards the holiday is tainted by remembered pain associated with it. Lainey’s reaction seemed quite credible to me, as did the way her relationship with Todd developed.

There were other things that I really liked about this story. Lainey is mixed race, and I appreciate that Alward makes Jewell Cove a community with some diversity. I liked the fact that this is a Christmas story not just a story that uses the holiday like a backdrop.  Fans of small-town romance, and fans of Christmas romances that offer a bit of sweetness, a bit of sizzle, and a lot to love will enjoy this one. For those of you who don’t share my series addiction, Christmas at Evergreen Inn can be read as a standalone.

Hot Toy

By Jennifer Crusie

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: October 13, 2015

(reissue of novella originally published

in 2006 anthology Santa Baby)

It’s Christmas Eve, and Trudy Maxwell is in a toy store desperately seeking a military action figure that spews toxic waste, the “Hot Toy” upon which her five-year-old nephew’s belief in Santa and the trustworthiness of adults depends. Predictably, the shelves where the toy was displayed have been wiped clean of any traces of the toy by other desperate parents and aunts. But Trudy refuses to give up. Her nephew, Leroy, needs this toy, and Courtney, his mother (Trudy’s sister) needs for him to have it.  Leroy’s father and Courtney’s husband recently abandoned his wife and child for Leroy’s nanny, and that loss has given the toy, which his father promised him Santa would deliver, a significance far beyond a mere gift from Santa. Trudy will not let them down. She is convinced that someone has secreted one Hot Toy on another shelf, and she ransacks the shelves to find the hidden toy.

While she is engaged in ransacking, she meets Nolan Mitchell, a professor of Chinese literature whom Trudy dated briefly. She had hopes that he was The One, but he dropped her with no explanation after four dates. When Trudy finds one of the Hot Toys at last, albeit last year’s model and minus the toxic waste, Nolan offers to buy it from her at increasingly inflated prices. It turns out that Nolan is a spy, and concealed in the toy Trudy has are—gasp—secret codes. Nolan is after the codes before they fall into the hands of a double agent. Danger threatens as Trudy tries to hold on to the toy and tries to make the right choice about whom to trust. Can all this possibly lead to an HEA, or even a HFN?

If you are tired of sweet Christmas romances with idyllic settings and an abundance of traditional trimmings, you should appreciate Hot Toy, a story in which faith in Santa may be lost, a mother is drunk on grief and gin, and the gingerbread house threatens to collapse. Trudy is a typical Crusie heroine, a wiseass with a big heart who has survived some slaps upside the head from life but who has the stamina to go a few more rounds if necessary. One the action starts, the pace is wicked fast, and the story has the over-the-top feel of a bad movie. Only here that feel is part of the fun, as is the Hot Toy, a MacGuffin. The name is a reference to the Hitchcockian term for a plot device that has no importance for what it is but only as it moves the plot. In Crusie’s hands, the MacGuffin is both an inside joke and a twist on Hitchcock’s definition since Crusie’s MacGuffin is important for what it is and for what it reveals, literally and symbolically.

Superficially a caper, the novella at its center is about believing. More than anything Trudy wants to protect Leroy’s belief in Santa and all that belief represents to him. Almost as much, she wants to cling to her own, almost lost belief in happy endings. Crusie also strikes a blow at the commercialization that has reduced the religious meaning of Christmas to snatches of an over-played song and hand-written words on wrapping paper.

Hot Toy is a great change of pace. It will make you laugh and may make you think. I definitely recommend it.

~Janga