4.5 stars

PERFECT FOR THE SEASON.

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SO CUTE. I am so pleased with this book y’all. It is what a Christmas book should be. All the warm fuzzies and happy endings. This was recommended by a friend (and is on Kindle Unlimited!) and I’m so happy I picked this one out as my first Christmas book of the season (which I realize this post is coming way after the fact).

The romance between Murphy and Hank was really sweet. I thought that for a book with a short time frame the way this romance played out was on point. I was smitten with the flirtatious banter of Hank and watching Murphy trying to figure out her feelings for him. They had a lot of tender quiet moments and perfectly swoony for the season.

It was also rewarding seeing Murphy find a place to belong and call home. After being forced to be a Cinderella at her own school I was intensely frustrated with her whole situation. Hand claps all around that this absurdness was rectified with a glorious moment brought on by Hank. I mean, could this guy get any better?

Atmospherically this screamed Christmas, and that was EXACTLY what I was going for. I feel that’s the best part of seasonal books. Really letting myself feel the spirit of the book made me appreciate and love it all the more.

I did take off a half star because there were a few noticeable grammar mistakes throughout. And I’m only mentioning it now because it happened often enough for me to really pick up on them. Otherwise, the writing was great and it was a super quick short read.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult contemporary [seasonal: Christmas]
- Language: none
- Romance: some kisses
- Violence: mentions of losing parents through a car wreck

MISSED ITS CHANCE.

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Not gonna lie, the more I sat on this review, the lower my rating went.

There was an incredible amount of potential here. I thought the premise was a fun take for a holiday romance, could have led to a lot of different avenues, and took me nowhere. Or more, took me everywhere at an intense speed I couldn’t keep up with.

Insta-love/connections can work. I have read many good ones, but I tend to struggle with them more quickly when it’s truly rushed. Before halfway our couple had already had the big “conflict fight” and went separate ways more the moment. But I realized that they had hardly spent time with each other, so I never formed a connection with them. The amount of telling vs. showing me feelings and moments ruined most of this for me.

I liked how it ended and the resolutions that were made on both sides. There was better communication and compromises on both sides that worked for the story. Just wish that was fleshed out a bit more and that there was more story and moments.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Holiday Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses

THIS WAS SWEET.

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A quick romantic novella on the East coast.

I liked the story and how even more a novella, I felt connected to the second-chance/childhood friends romance. Hayes and Pru had some tender interactions and really broke down some communication walls to discuss their relationship.

It was fun to have the other story line weave throughout. It highlighted what what Hayes and Pru were going through and added something more to the plot overall. I found this an easy read, plenty of holiday spirit and that cute happy every after.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Holiday Novella
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses

Thank you to Shadow Mountain publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own!

A HALLMARK MOVIE IN BOOK FORM.

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And boy did I really enjoy that fact.

This was such a sweet book. Oh so sweet. And I picked it up with that mindset which made me love it all the more. The atmosphere definitely screams holiday as this primarily takes place in the fall. It made me want nothing more than to curl up with hot chocolate and a sweater. Absolutely felt this setting.

I loved the way Riley and Mark’s relationship developed. It was wholesome and kind. I found myself smiling at their banter and interactions. This wasn’t something they just fell into, but had to work for, together. Riley struggling with commitment and finding a place to belong while Mark worked through PTSD and finding peace with who he is now. While communication wasn’t always entirely open, I thought everything felt real. The tender quiet moments versus the arguments was well balanced.

Riley’s character more often frustrated me because I just wanted her to see what was right in front of her. She had a good thing going, and still wanted to flirt with her old ways. These issues at least didn’t overshadow the story and I found everyone easy to love by the end.

There is a bit of Christian Christmas aspects, such as a main plot point circles around a nativity scene. I had no problems with this and didn’t feel like anything was in my face about religion. It was more subtle and fit in with the plot well. Miracle Creek Christmas was a beautifully written book that will definitely have me checking out more books by this author.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance (proper)
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: physical, see Trigger warnings
- Trigger warnings: PTSD from a near death experience involving a forest fire (and losing a loved one in said fire)

4.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for an eARC. All opinions are my own!

ADORABLE.

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This book was everything Christmas and romantic and I just loved it. I was incredibly excited when I got an ARC because I loved The Tourist Attraction and knew I needed to read Lana’s story as well.

I loved how Lana and Rick’s relationship developed. It could have been very insta-love, but didn’t come off that way at all. They were both sweet on each other and had the CUTEST interactions. I couldn’t help but smile at the antics they would end up in. And the conflict between the two (as expected in a contemporary romance) wasn’t silly or over-hashed. It really fit into their situation and understanding of the differences between them. Which made the ending even more tender and I am just smitten with Rick and Lana y’all. Opposites attract trope that I thought was perfectly well done.

Even as separate characters they kept me interested. I didn’t mind which point-of-view I was reading because I was invested with both. The pace moved quickly and even side stories fit in well (hellooooo the cuteness that is still Graham and Zoey).

This is such a good Christmas-time read and am so happy I found this series. I can’t wait for more stories because I want to know about all of these characters. These books are easy to read, add just enough drama, and make you have the biggest smile.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance [Christmas]
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses / make-outs; a closed door scene
- Violence: a tranquilizing gun accident, a side character in a nearly deadly car wreck
- Content warnings: brief sexual harassment of a side character, a near drowning of a child

A CHARMING NOVELLA.

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This is one of the few novellas I can think of in recent memory that I truly had a good time reading. It was sweet and I was easily smitten with Hoyt and the entire town of Winter, Montana.

I think this book was able to get a lot fit into a small amount of pages. I felt the characters were well developed and the plot worked well to provide a charming meet-cute and other meetings. The plot focuses around acting/movie making and what I loved was that there wasn’t any actual scenes from the movie depicted. I feel like that always takes up unnecessary space so it was a nice breather to focus on the characters rather than the movie filling up the plot.

The romance between Reba and Hoyt was simple and sweet. There wasn’t a ton of nonsensical drama and they actually had some really cute moments together. The Christmas/winter vibes really added a cozy touch to them. Going sledding, walking through a tiny town down Main street. So precious.

If you’re looking for something holiday related, clean and sweet, definitely a good pick.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance novella + holiday
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: falling from a ladder
- Trigger warnings: cyber-bullying used to manipulate someone

INFINITELY BETTER AS IT WENT ON.

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So close.

This was another so close to DNF. I have unfortunately hit a streak of these, but luckily I am still giving them a chance! I started this as an audio book while owning a copy. I did NOT like the audio. I have no concrete reasons, couldn’t connect with the narrator, hated the MC and there was too much language for me to listen comfortably.

So I turned it off and instead tried reading the book. I read it over a month in short spans when I didn’t have to pick up my next book immediately. Did this help? YUP. Game changer.

Laurie really annoyed me at first with her inability to chill about Jack. I couldn’t handle the crazed enthusiasm to find this ONE GUY after seeing him ONE TIME. Then her continual pining for him while he was dating her best friend really bothered me.

Finally, finally. Laurie grew up a bit. Accepted the fate in her hands at present and went about her life. They all did. And from there I saw a growth in friendships, relationships, work, family, many areas! It was terribly difficult to watch the struggles, pain, and hardships that these three had to fight through. The story really blossomed and I was falling hard for Laurie, Jack, and Sarah.

By the end, the story had wrapped around my heart and held it in a tight grip as the movie-like ending rolled on the page. IT WAS SO PRECIOUS. And while cheesy was exactly what this book called for and made me hand over four stars. Why four? I personally could not handle the unnecessary use of language. It was flagrant, out of place and I didn’t like it. Also, since it took so long for me to go give this story a chance I knocked it down a bit.

If you’re like me and curious about this book, I would definitely give a try! Reese Witherspoon picked this book for a reason!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary fiction romance
- Language: a lot of strong language
- Romance: kisses, make-outs, love scenes (ranging from fade-to-black to mildly descriptive)
- Violence: car wreck, physical, emotional
- Trigger warnings: cheating (by way of kisses), cheating (emotionally attached to someone while with someone else, yes, I do count this as a form of cheating)

3.5 stars

A MIXED BAG.

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To break this down, what I enjoyed was the romance. I thought the chemistry and relationship between Eliza and Aiden was sweet. It moved well for the short time-period and I was invested. The banter, passionate kisses and everything was great.

I also really enjoyed the setting. The small town, holiday/Christmas vibes was perfect for the season. With an awkward meet cute and lovable family members it made for a good started book for the series.

What I struggled with was the tragedy that enveloped every single person. Each one of them (as in, each character) had a backstory that was intense and took away from the story. It was then repeated way too often and sentiments were added every time they looked at another character. Repeat this scenario every few pages and I was exhausted from it all.

A bit good, a bit eh. It was a nice quick read though. I flew through it and it was overall enjoyable to check this off of my holiday TBR read.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: main character with cancer, loss of a loved one(s), a child with a life-threatening condition, getting hit by a car

This was a really sweet novella! I already finished the main series, but wanted to go back and read this one to really complete all of the books.

I do recommend reading this in order (so BEFORE Falling for Your Best Friend). It really fits in there perfectly and I wish I had done that myself.

Loved getting Taylor and Weston's cute and sweet story. Gave me all the Christmas vibes and I feel ready to pull out my sweaters and warm up some hot chocolate.

Trigger/Content Warnings:cheating significant other