Review - - Christmas Sweater Weather

Christmas Sweater Weather

by Jaqueline Snowe

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: October 8, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

 

Charlotte Calhoun has avoided Hayden Porter, her older brother’s sexy-as-sin best friend, ever since that mortifying night when he flat-out rejected her. Fine. Except this Christmas season, they’re thrown together at a snowy ski resort for her brother’s bachelor party, complete with mistletoe, cozy fireplaces, and adjoining rooms. She can tell herself to get over Hayden, but holiday cheer is turning to holiday lust every time he is within ten feet of her. 

Between being a full-time single father and his high-pressure college coaching job, a romantic relationship is off the table for Hayden. But he’s fought his attraction to Charlotte for as long as he can. A one-night stand is starting to sound like a good idea—as long as her brother never finds out. But with two long weeks until the wedding, hiding their growing feelings is going to take a Christmas miracle.

PJ's Thoughts:

If you enjoy over-the-top Christmas shenanigans, single dad heroes, heroines you'd like to be besties with, and steamy, heartfelt romance, you'll want to add Christmas Sweater Weather to your holiday reading list. It made me laugh, made me cry (happy tears!), and left me eager for the next Jaqueline Snowe novel. 

So many feelings in this book. It's fun, saucy, and funny but that's just the surface. There's an emotional depth to these characters too, especially Hayden and Charlotte, that adds layers to both the characters and their journey to a happy ending. Snowe takes her time with them, allowing their relationship to grow at an organic, relatable pace, especially considering the awkwardness between them as the story opens. Chemistry is never a problem but there are other issues to be addressed. I appreciate the time given for them to grow, both individually and as a couple, and the methods implemented to help them do so. I like the communication between them and how they handle issues when it lapses. And I love the supportive and caring family that surrounds them, both biological and chosen.  

I enthusiastically recommend adding Christmas Sweater Weather to your holiday reading list. It's a charming heart-tugger that kept me happily reading from start to finish. If you enjoy this one, I suggest you also check out Snowe's 2023 holiday novel, Snowed in for Christmas. Click the title to read my review. 

Review - - Passions in Death

Passions in Death

by J.D. Robb

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: September 3, 2024

Reviewed by Nancy 

 

On a hot August night, Lt. Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, speed through the streets of Manhattan to the Down and Dirty club, where a joyful, boisterous pre-wedding girls’ night out has turned into a murder scene. One of the brides lies in a pool of blood, garroted in a private room where she was preparing a surprise for her fiancée—two scrimped and saved-for tickets to Hawaii.
Despite the dozens of people present, useful witnesses are hard to come by. It all brings back some bad memories for Eve who once suffered an assault in the very same room—but she’d been able to fight back and survive. She’d gotten justice. And now she needs to provide some for poor young Erin.
Eve knows that the level of violence and the apparent premeditation involved suggest a volatile mix of hidden, heated passion and ice-cold calculation. This is a crime that can be countered only by hard detective work and relentless dedication—and Eve will not stop until she finds the killer who destroyed this couple’s dreams before the honeymoon even began…

 

Nancy’s Thoughts: 

Passions in Death delivers the tightly plotted murder mystery and engaging characters readers have come to expect from J.D. Robb’s series. This story is different, though, in that it also examines the different facets of friendship, healthy and not so. 

When Eve enters the crime scene, she finds Erin Albright’s body and a satchel containing items she later learns were part of an intended surprise for the other bride, Shauna Hunnicutt. Erin had intended to fulfill her fiancée’s longtime dream of a trip to Hawaii by giving it to her as a honeymoon. 

Since Erin couldn’t bring the satchel in without ruining her surprise, someone she trusted must’ve done so. Everyone in Erin’s friend group and Shauna’s denies having known about it. Someone must be lying. But who? And why? 

As Eve, Roarke, and the detectives of the NYPSD dig into the case, they find that everything among these groups of friends was not as it seemed. There were undercurrents of various feelings other than friendship, some of them not healthy. Whether the unhealthy ones were strong enough to spur a murder, though, Eve and her partner, Det. Delia Peabody, can’t easily determine. The quest to do so carries the reader through the book. 

In addition to Roarke and Peabody, the supporting cast includes, among others, Eve’s friend Mavis and her family, Leonardo and Bella, and Electronics division Det. Ian McNab. The last several books have had a plot thread running through them about Peabody and McNab remodeling an old house with Mavis and Leonardo. Peabody and McNab will live in one side, also providing security, while Mavis and her family, including an expected baby, will have the other side. The remodeling project now is nearly done. This thread provides a lighter, happier note that contrasts with both the grim investigation and the troubling undercurrents among Erin and Shauna’s friends. 

Eve and Peabody narrow their suspect list before the end of the book. My only quibble with the story is that I (who never figure out whodunnit) was pretty sure which one was the killer for reasons I think will also point them out for regular readers of the series. 

Despite my quibble, the story is engrossing, and the characters deliver their usual strong, steady performances. One of the things I like about this series is that Eve, Peabody, Roarke, and company not only pursue justice with iron resolution but also have empathy toward the victim and toward those wounded by the victim’s loss. 

Highly recommended. 

4.5 stars 

~Nancy

 

 

Review - - Love You a Latke

Love You a Latke

by Amanda Elliot

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: October 8, 2024

Reviewed by Santa

Snow is falling, holiday lights are twinkling, and Abby Cohen is pissed. For one thing, her most annoying customer, Seth, has been coming into her café every morning with his sunshiny attitude, determined to break down her carefully constructed emotional walls. And, as the only Jew on the tourism board of her Vermont town, Abby's been charged with planning their fledgling Hanukkah festival. Unfortunately, the local vendors don’t understand that the story of Hanukkah cannot be told with light-up plastic figures from the Nativity scene, even if the Three Wise Men wear yarmulkes.

Desperate for support, Abby puts out a call for help online and discovers she was wrong about being the only Jew within a hundred miles. There's one other: Seth.

As it turns out, Seth’s parents have been badgering him to bring a Nice Jewish Girlfriend home to New York City for Hanukkah, and if Abby can survive his incessant, irritatingly handsome smiles, he’ll introduce her to all the vendors she needs to make the festival a success. But over latkes, doughnuts, and winter adventures in Manhattan, Abby begins to realize that her fake boyfriend and his family might just be igniting a flame in her own guarded heart.

Santa says:

‘Tis the season, friends, and I couldn’t be happier. Pumpkin spice may be in the air but I’ll take the scent of latkes, those divine potato pancakes with a side of applesauce, any day of the week. And Love You A Latke by Amanda Elliot was just the book to put me in the mood. This book has all the magic of the season. A cozy New England town. A spunky owner of a darling coffee shop. A delicious cinnamon roll tech nerd. And New York City alight with holiday charm. It ticked off all my holiday romance boxes and then some.

Now. lest I paint too rosy a picture of this story…there’s so much more to it. The cozy New England town is struggling to come back from near devastating flooding and a noted drop in tourism, the town’s lifeblood. And maybe ‘spunky’, is too generous because Abby Cohen, our heroine, is pretty much the grumpiest coffee shop owner I have ever come across. To be fair, she has a lot on her plate with her business failing and the small business council’s president cheerfully lassoing her into a huge project. However, the cinnamon roll hero, Seth, is still delicious and is the polar opposite of Abby. He never fails to come into her store every morning with a smile on his face. Every. Single. Morning. And New York City is just as bright and vibrant as the giant menorah in the city's Grand Army Plaza. 

The town council meets to discuss what they can do to attract more tourists during the holiday season that is different from any other town. Lorna, the president, latches onto the idea of having a Hanukkah festival and who better to organize it than Abby who is the only Jewish person in the town, on the council and, seemingly, for miles around. Great! Just another thing to add onto her plate. She begrudgingly agrees but finds the usual vendors completely at a loss as to what to provide for the event. A tree lit up with blue and white lights and the shepherds with yarmulkes is not the vibe Abby wants to go for. 

In a desperate attempt to see if there are any other Jewish people she could tap, Abby signs up on a Jewish dating app. In a bizarre twist of fate, she is matched up with none other Mister Sunshine himself, Seth Abrams. Seth makes her a deal she can’t refuse. He will help her navigate the holiday scene in New York where he can help her source vendors and ideas. In exchange, she will pretend to be the nice Jewish girl her mother has been badgering him to bring home to their upper West side apartment to meet them. 

Seth’s parents couldn’t be nicer and embrace her as their own. His friends make her feel like one of the gang as they visit festivals, parks and bars that celebrate the holiday season in grand style. Abby and Seth slowly fall in love though Seth had a head start. It wasn’t just great coffee that brought him to her cafe. Abby also rediscovers her Judaism as she celebrates Hanukkah with Seth’s parents. Abby doesn’t really have any family to speak of. The less said about her parents, the better. Their psychological abuse left deep scars and Seth’s parents are the opposite of them in many ways. Seeing Abby’s healing and Seth’s growth throughout the story is just one of many touching parts of this book. 

If you are looking for a holiday pick me up, Love You A Latke is just the ticket. It is beautifully written and the characters beautifully drawn. I have learned that Amanda Elliot is a relatively new writer. Her other books have garnered some praise. I look forward to reading her backlist, too. Happy Holidays!

 

Review & Giveaway - - The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

by Julia McKay

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: October 8, 2024

Reviewed by Nancy

Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are bury-the-body besties. They’re so in sync, they even look alike. When Holly’s fiancé jilts her, leaving her in shock and with a nonrefundable honeymoon, Holly convinces Ivy to switch places. Ivy will go on the Hawaiian honeymoon her best friend can’t bear to take alone, while Holly escapes to Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to binge-watch holiday movies and heal.

But Holly’s wallowing is interrupted when her rugged Airbnb host turns out to be her high school academic rival who’s had a major glow-up. Meanwhile, Ivy’s (now Hawaiian) annual solo art retreat is upended when Holly’s ex-fiancé checks into the honeymoon suite—with a new woman. Raging and bed-less, the last thing Ivy expects is for the hot hotel bartender to come to her rescue. Against all odds, this Christmas might prove the most magical yet.

Nancy says: 

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch isn’t only a dual romance. It’s also an ode to friendship and a story about two women breaking out of their longtime patterns to become who they’re meant to be. Even though it’s written in present tense, which I prefer to avoid, I enjoyed it a lot.

Holly is a lawyer in a high-powered firm. She and Matt, her fiancé, have dated since college and drifted toward marriage. She has convinced herself that they’re in love. Deep down, though, she isn’t sure, and as the numbness of being jilted wears off, she begins to see her choices and herself in new ways.

Ivy is a gifted artist. Her work has hung in galleries, but she wanted more security than she believed her art could supply. And living in New York City, which she loves, is expensive. So she took a job as a brand manager at a PR firm to support herself and to stay in the city. Every year, she takes a two-week vacation around Christmas at some place that offers beautiful,

inspiring scenery she can enjoy drawing. Her first trip to Hawaii inspires her, and the people she meets cause her to wonder whether she should, after all, treat her art as a vocation rather than an indulgence.

The book opens with a prologue showing how the two women met and instantly became friends. Then it shifts to the night before Holly’s wedding. Ivy has misgivings but swallows them, as many of us have done with friends’ romances. Unfortunately, her misgivings bear fruit that spurs them to swap Holly’s honeymoon for Ivy’s annual art vacation. The stories diverge from there. 

Dual romances in a single book aren’t unusual, but this one is different in a fun way. As the blurb indicates, the two romances take place in very different, widely separated locations. Only Holly’s and Ivy’s texts to each other tie the two together until the end, when they’re both back in New York.

What makes this bifurcated story so much fun is that both the Hudson Valley town of Krimbo, New York, and the Hawaiian island of Kauai are beautifully depicted. There’s enough detail to make them feel real without being overwhelming or slowing the pace. Both places have wonderful and distinct holiday traditions.

Krimbo is a small town with endearing residents, some of them cheerfully eccentric, and a deep sense of community spirit. Its Christmas traditions and snowy weather help draw Holly and Aiden together. All isn’t jolly, though, because Holly grapples with the sudden onset of intense feelings for Aiden even though she was to be married to someone else about a week earlier. She also faces distrust and hostility from an important member of his family.

Kauai offers a sharp contrast. Instead of evergreens, a Christmas tree farm, and snow in a small town, it gives us sunshine, a gorgeous rainforest, and lots of beautiful beaches. Exploring the island together creates a bond between Ivy and Oliver, the hot bartender. The attraction between them deepens because he also is an artist, a commercially successful nature photographer. What she sees as his nomadic lifestyle reminds her of her often-absent parents, and she takes it as a sign they could never work as a couple because she likes being settled in New York. Meanwhile, she creates beautiful landscapes that Oliver and his friend Larry (a nickname for Larissa) encourage her to see as valuable, not just a holiday indulgence.

The blotch on this Hawaiian paradise is the presence of Holly’s ex, Matt, and his new girlfriend, Abby. There’s just enough of them to remind a reader why this holiday switch occurred. Ivy and Oliver keep running into them. When she finally confronts them, the encounter doesn’t go as she expects.

Ivy’s dealings with Matt and Abby didn’t entirely satisfy me. First, he said he was on his honeymoon, but there was no indication he and Abby had actually gotten married. If they had, they would’ve done so very quickly since they apparently left New York the morning after he broke up with Holly, on what should’ve been his wedding day. After he said he didn’t know where his relationship with Abby was going. He uses the word honeymoon more than once, and Ivy never calls him on it. Second, she never points out that his using the planned honeymoon is doubly low because Holly’s parents paid for it. I wanted her to smack him with both of those points, and she never does.

My other problem with the book is that it feels stretched. The type is largish and looks like it’s space-and-a-half between lines. This makes the paperback look longer than it actually is. I wouldn’t let that stop me from buying the book, and it doesn’t stop me from recommending it. I do find it annoying, though, to have a $19.00 paperback feel like a short novel. It seems overpriced for the amount of story it delivers. If I were buying this, I would buy the ebook at $12.99 instead of the print. 

Overall, despite my issue with Matt and Abby, The Holiday Honeymoon Switch is a fun, endearing holiday romance. The heroines are likeable, with a friendship anyone would be lucky to have. The two women have more baggage than their charming heroes. This works because their internal conflicts are depicted in believable, sympathetic ways and work to cause hesitation about seizing the chance to see where their romantic attractions could go. The supporting characters are varied and interesting without drawing the spotlight away from either couple. The roles they play in the two romances make sense.

I highly recommend the ebook version of this novel.

4 stars

~Nancy

Readers, have you read any books by Julia McKay?

Do you enjoy switching places books or movies? Do you have any favorites you would recommend?

One person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, October 13 will receive a print copy of The Holiday Honeymoon Switch.

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

 

 

 

 

Tour Review - - A Highland Family Affair

A Highland Family Affair

by Lisa Hobman

The Scottish Highland Series - Book 3

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Release Date: October 5, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

 

Can people ever really change or are family ties always set to unravel?

After inheriting Drumblair Castle over her older brother Kerr, Lady Olivia MacBain has had to forge a new life for herself far away from New York and her dream career in fashion. She fears her brother’s bitterness has fractured their relationship to the point of no return and is still clearing away the devastation he left when he disappeared.

Kerr’s unexpected return and supposed change of heart raises eyebrows. He is now seeking forgiveness and to rebuild the bridges he previously wrecked, but can he be trusted, or is it all just smoke and mirrors?

While her friends are settling down, Olivia patiently waits for childhood sweetheart Brodie to propose and wonders if she will ever get her happy ever after.

Can Olivia find a happy future or are promises always made to be broken?

PJ's Thoughts:

Can people really change? That's the question Olivia MacBain faces when her estranged brother Kerr reappears in her life in this third book in Lisa Hobman's The Scottish Highland series. 

I enjoyed the first two books in this series and have been looking forward to Olivia's HEA with Brodie, the childhood friend she reunited with in book one. What I did not expect when I began reading A Highland Family Affair was a possible reconciliation and redemption arc for Kerr. Of course, that part of the journey is filled with ups and downs, as I would expect after Kerr's actions earlier in the series. I really enjoyed the way Hobman laid out that part of the story. There were enough twists along the way to make things both realistic and relatable while also keeping me guessing how things would turn out right up until the end...with Olivia's relationships with both Kerr and Brodie. 

Hobman excelled in bringing both her characters as well as the Scottish setting to life in this series. The descriptions of Olivia's family castle and estate are so vividly depicted that I could easily picture it...and want to visit. The characters are complex and fully developed with complicated back stories and relationships, both present and past. I love Olivia's friends - in both Scotland and the US - and the love and support they all give one another. Bestie Bella's Granny Isla is another favorite. She's back and as hilarious as ever in this book. 

The romance between Brodie and Olivia has been a heartwarming,  though by no means easy, journey and their hard-won happy ending is tearfully sigh worthy. I especially enjoyed the tie-in with some of the characters from Glentorrin from Hobman's The Skye Collection series, a special treat for fans of that series.

I'm going to strongly recommend reading the three books in Lisa Hobman's The Scottish Highland series in order. I think it's essential in order to fully understand the journey these characters have taken and be able to appreciate the evolution of the relationships, both familial and romantic. 

Click the titles to read my reviews of books one and two in this series.

Coming Home to the Highlands

Chasing a Highland Dream

Hurricane Milton

 

Hello, everyone! 

For those of you who don't know, I live on the east coast of Florida. Hurricane Milton is heading our way and my town is currently in the center of the cone. Being on this side of the state, the impacts are not expected to be as devastating as on the west coast but it's expected to still be a Cat 1 or 2 when it reaches us so power outages are likely. I wanted to give y'all a heads up in case I'm not able to post for a few days. 

We are not in an evacuation zone so will be riding out the storm at home. We've done all we can in preparation. My sister-in-law has lived on this coast her entire life and is also the daughter of a Meteorologist. She takes no chances. Also, I have two kindles fully charged and ready to go. I know my priorities. ;-) 

For any of you impacted by Helene or in the path of Milton, my prayers and good wishes are with you. Please check in when you can once the danger has passed. I will do the same. 

Hugs,

~PJ

Review - - The December Market

The December Market

by RaeAnne Thayne

Shelter Springs - Book 2

Publisher: Canary Street Press

Release Date: October 8, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

 

Amanda Taylor isn’t a fan of Christmas, but as the owner of a local soap shop, ignoring the holiday season isn’t an option. To forget the pain of Christmases past, Amanda focuses on making the season bright for her customers at the Shelter Springs Holiday Giving Market. But when her beloved grandmother, Birdie, starts dating the dashing new resident of the Shelter Inn retirement community, Amanda smells trouble. Fortunately, Rafe Arredondo, the grandson of Birdie’s charming suitor, is equally dubious of the match. Unfortunately, he's just as fiery as his grandfather—and Amanda has zero interest in getting burned.

As a single father, paramedic and assistant fire chief, Rafe has more than enough on his plate. Sure, he and Amanda share a common goal in keeping their grandparents apart. Still, that doesn’t mean he should allow himself to feel as drawn to her as he does. Even if she is great with his young son. Even if she does help the burden of his own painful past feel a little lighter… But when their paths keep crossing at the holiday market, it starts to feel like fate, prompting them both to wonder if taking a chance on love might gift them everything they’ve been wishing for.

PJ's Thoughts:

I can always count on RaeAnne Thayne for heart-tugging, feel-good stories that immerse me in the warmth and joy of the holiday season. Stories that include healing, romance, humor, family, and hard-won happy endings, all of which are front and center in Thayne’s newest holiday novel, The December Market. 

Rafe and Amanda have both had emotional baggage and loss in their lives. For Amanda in particular - for more reasons than one - it’s been difficult to move on from tragic events in her past and open her heart to the possibility of love. I enjoyed these two so much. Rafe won me over just as completely as he did Amanda. Though not without some ups and downs. There’s a lot to overcome here. It’s going to take a special man, an irrepressible six-year-old boy, adorable grandparents, and possibly Santa to fulfill a little boy’s wish and secure a happy ending for a most deserving couple. 

The December Market put me firmly in the Christmas spirit even though it’s only October. Pretty sure I’m going to be reading this one again. If you haven’t read last year’s Christmas at the Shelter Inn (Amanda’s brother Griffin’s story), check out my review. You don’t have to read the books in order, though characters and events from book one also appear in The December Market. I recommend both. 

Review - - Double Apex

Double Apex

by Josie Juniper

Frontrunners - Book 1

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: October 8, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

Phaedra Morgan is one of the best race engineers in Formula 1. She’s a math prodigy with dazzling skill, cutting wit, and no patience for matters of the heart. Of course, her job would be a lot easier if she didn’t keep butting heads with their team’s cocky and infuriatingly hot new driver. 

Cosmin Ardelean is intense and committed, but as famous for his off-track romantic exploits as his on-track wizardry. Yet his devil-may-care façade conceals a haunted past. When the pair strikes up a secret—and thrillingly forbidden—“arrangement” to improve their communication and bond of trust, the heat of their attraction turns to something more . . . 

But no secret stays hidden for long in the racing world, and soon things are spinning out of control. With everything on the line, will they be able to strip away all their defenses and go full throttle for a chance at love?

PJ's Thoughts:

I'm an avid Formula 1 race fan so you can imagine how excited I was to discover Josie Juniper was writing a series set in that wealthy, high-stakes, fast-paced world. Matching a new, hot shot, Romanian, playboy driver with his blunt, math-prodigy, socially-awkward, American team owner's daughter, race engineer? I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one.  

With this first book in her Frontrunners series, Juniper brings an intriguing, behind the scenes look at the world of F1 racing. I enjoyed the fact that the book takes place during the course of one season, with chapters set at different locations on the international circuit. It was also entertaining to watch team politics, adversarial relationships between drivers, the intense competitive nature of the sport, and Phaedra's role as a woman engineer in a predominantly male environment play out on the page. 

The romance is an enemies-to-lovers trope with plenty of friction between Cosmin and Phaedra that morphs into a singe-your-fingers, sizzling physical relationship before deepening into more. What I didn't expect was the incredible depth of emotion as well as the hidden layers within both main characters. I had some difficulties with both during the first part of the book - they were flat-out unlikable in spots - but that slowly begins to change with significant growth arcs over the course of the book. There's so much more to these two than is visible on the surface, with dysfunctional family dynamics, emotional baggage, and other issues contributing.

Juniper tackles some difficult topics through her characters including child abuse (in the past), sexual assault (not on the page), parental death, and grief. If those are triggers, this may not be the book for you.

While Cosmin - and Phaedra - both said and did things that I took issue with, those flaws made the evolution of their characters that much more satisfying for me. In the end, I was able to get on board with their relationship and cheer them on individually and as a couple. I'm looking forward to what Juniper has on tap for the next book in the series. There are some intriguing - also flawed - side characters I'm eager to learn more about. 

Review - - Take Me Home for Christmas

Take Me Home for Christmas

by Miranda Liasson

The Amazing Doctors of Oak Bluff - Book 1

Publisher: Hawthorne House

Release Date: October 4, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

She invented Mr. Right...just in time for the holidays.

Every tangled web starts with one tiny white lie. The kind you spin when you're desperate.

One day I, Mia D'Angelo, third-year pediatric resident, was telling my mom that I'd finally met the perfect guy. Gushing about how amazing he was. And how happy I was.

It was all true. Until my "perfect guy," Dr. Braxton Hughes, turned out to be my co-worker and my only competitor for a spot in the best practice in town...and then suddenly I was dumped...again. But I kept going with the stories, to get her through a very tough time.

My mom's health crisis ended, and just when I thought things had settled down, my family wanted to meet my wonderful boyfriend for Christmas.

So I asked (okay, begged) just about every male I knew under forty, except of course for Brax.

Don't get me wrong. I could always count on him in a pinch. At work, that is.

Brax is an amazing pediatrician, but he would never fit the bill as a boyfriend. Maybe in looks. And charm. And his big heart. The problem is that he's the biggest commitment-phobe this side of the Mississippi.

He's the kind of guy I would definitely never take home for Christmas. There'd be no kissin' under the mistletoe, no canoodling under the tree—because my heart could not survive falling for him again.

My car is packed and I'm down to no one, when magically, there he is, duffle in hand, melt-me smile on his face.

Oh, joy.

Keeping it professional is going to be a whole lot harder than I thought. Especially when he charms my parents, my whole family, and even my dog.

And Dr. Wrong...well, he's suddenly looking awfully right.

PJ's Thoughts:

So. Many. Feelings. Miranda Liasson is an author who always takes me on an emotional journey but even in the midst of many keepers, this book stands out. It has so much heart, so many tender moments. I laughed out loud, shed  tears (both kinds), and fell head over heels in love with…well, pretty much the entire cast of characters. Okay, there are a few exceptions but everyone else. 

I want to hang out with Brax, Mia, Sam, Gage, and the rest of their hospital friends. I want to spend Christmas with Mia’s fun-loving family, join in all of their traditions, make cookies with her mom at daybreak, read The Night Before Christmas with her adorable niece, and tackle the scream-inducing sledding hill behind their house. I love the way Liasson portrays the love, support, teasing, and complications within this close-knit family that has suffered a grievous loss. I wanted to gather them all in and give them huge hugs, including Brax, who has never experienced a Christmas - or family - like the one gifted him by D’Angelos. 

Liasson tackles some tough topics in this book - including sick kids, grief, and cancer - handling them with thoughtful, hopeful, but also realistic care. It adds additional emotional layers to an already heart-tugging story and extra depth to the characters. I especially enjoyed the look forward six years into the future in the Epilogue. 

Take Me Home for Christmas launches Miranda Liasson’s The Amazing Doctors of Oak Bluff series and sets a high bar for the rest of the books. I feel like these characters have become my friends and am eagerly anticipating (hopefully) catching up with them again in book two. 

Review - - The Merry Matchmaker

The Merry Matchmaker

by Sheila Roberts

Publisher: MIRA

Release Date: October 1, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

Frankie Lane knows what’s best for just about everyone but herself. Her divorced sister, Stef, who is too young to give up on love; her shy employee, Elinor; and her daughter, Natalie, who works in Frankie’s shop, Holiday Happiness, and really needs to start her own business selling the delectable chocolates she makes at home; even her best friend, Viola, who is trying to renovate her old Victorian. Frankie knows she could help all of them, if they’d just let her—and if all of her help didn’t end in utter disaster. 

Then there’s Mitch Howard, the owner of the local hardware store. They’ve been friends ever since Frankie opened her store, nine years earlier. He got her through the nightmare when she lost her husband in a freak accident, and he’s her favorite shoulder to cry on. He’s been divorced for years, and it’s such a waste of man! Mitch is the fittest, finest man Frankie knows. He’s easygoing, wise and kindhearted. Mitch needs someone. And she’s determined to help him find that someone—whether he likes it or not.

PJ's Thoughts:

Sheila Roberts is back with another humorous, heart-tugging novel that is sure to put readers in the Christmas spirit. One of the facets of Roberts’ books that I most enjoy is the sense of community she creates, something that’s important in The Merry Matchmaker, with main character Frankie front and center. 

Frankie is that friend, family member, business owner that has her hands in just about everything going on in her small town. She’s the person who is certain she knows what’s best for everyone else and sets about making it happen…whether “everyone else” wants it or not. Where she’s completely clueless is when it comes to what she needs.

Roberts walks a fine line with this character. Her antics generate humor but also awkward situations, frustration, and occasionally hurt feelings. What saves her is the fact that everything she does comes from a place of genuine - if misguided - kindness. She may be fifty but she still has some growing to do, a journey that Roberts skillfully, and realistically, guides. 

The supporting cast of the book are all richly depicted, contributing humor, holiday fun, and, in some cases, life lessons along the way. Combining laughter, emotion, and those all-important lessons is something Sheila Roberts does exceedingly well. The touch of romance - between mature characters - adds another layer of enjoyment as does the community’s many Christmas events. This one is sure to put you in a holiday frame of mind.