Another sweet glimpse into the Star Inn and Christmastime. Once again, plans go wrong and a very pregnant Mia finds herself stranded at the Star Inn with her friend, Jed. The set up for this was cute, but a bit cliche. With Mia's husband having died, Jed seems to swoop in to rescue her from all of the things. Yes, all of them. It was a bit much.

But Mia does her own fair share of saving while stranded in the little town. When a blizzard keeping the electricity out, her Red Cross training comes in handy in a very unusual way - and two little kids will never forget this Christmas.

I enjoyed the story, but it justs didn't stick to me. It wasn't as memorable or sigh-inducing as I had hoped it would be.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

The best in this little collection so far! I loved Sally, and the one that got away theme is always a favorite of mine. Sally is spunky and has a mission in her life. Life just may not agree with it. I loved her go-get-em attitude and would love to be bestfriends with her.

Rick was a tad cliche. But I've come to expect a little bit of that in a Christmas romance. He's always regretted letting Sally walk out of his life, but he still doesn't see any other choice. Their life goals were just too far apart. But what if all that changed? What if they could align their views and goals and find a way to make it stick this time?

A great second change romance with some really fun characters.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

This is the ultimate handyman romance come to life. There is just so much hot goodness in the little novella that I read it twice - back to back - which is unheard of for me! The witty and pun filled dialog was too good for me to walk away after the first time. And, like a good meatloaf, the seconds were just as good as the firsts.

But this book isn't all fluff and sexiness. Somehow, Nikky Kaye threw a couple little life lessons in there without me even noticing them at first. Sarah has a lot on her plate, and her way of dealing with things is to do them all on her own. I was rather impressed with her home improvement abilities and skill with tools.

But she does run into a project that's just too far beyond her skills and youtube tutorials. So she hires a handyman to show her how to do it. Which I love! He isn't doing it all for her, but teaches her along the way. And he's such a great teacher too!

But handyman Chris isn't exactly what Sarah thinks at first. She jumps to conclusions, feelings get hurt, and everyone comes out of the experience having learned a little lesson. So pick an afternoon and just curl up with Do It Yourself. Tell everyone you're furthering your home improvement methods and tune them out for a couple hours. You won't regret it!

I have read quite a few stories about World War II, but most were about events that took place in Germany or England. This was a very different one for me, taking place in Amsterdam. A place where the Jewish population was almost wiped out by the end of WWII. The people of Amsterdam never thought the war would come to them. They had lived peacefully for years and hadn't gotten involved in WWII. They thought it was pass them by.

But as we know, it did not just pass them by. Rachel Klein, a young Jewish woman, finds herself caught up in all of it. As she watches the Nazi's take over her city and country, she knows she can't stand by and watch it happen. When her friends and neighbors are hauled away to placed unknown to never be heard from again, she turns from an innocent girl without many cares, into one of the best messengers with the resistance.

Putting her life on the line countless times to help fellow Jews and those that support them, the time comes where it's too dangerous for her to continue and she goes into hiding with her family.

This was an incredibly uplifting story of how one person can make a difference in other's lives. But it was also an incredibly sad tale of one of the worst times in human history. Well written, and from what I can tell, well researched, An Address in Amsterdam was a chilling look into human nature and history that we should never forget.

This was an adorable spin on a Cinderella romance. Jane was the perfect mix of Cinderalla and modern woman. She was introverted enough that I could easily relate to her hatred of going out on the town, but not so shy that she didn't stand up for herself when push came to shove. She even owns a cleaning company - a great modern twist on the theme - and loses a shoe along the way.

The downside was Brock (I think). The hero was great. I loved him and his family, although they got a bit over the to towards the end. It was the names that did this book in for me. Even by the end I couldn't keep the brothers apart. All with similar names that start with B, and we meet them within pages of each other. The similar names just sort of merged into one giant Wellington son instead of one older brother and two younger twins. I made a cheat sheet half way through so I could keep them straight. I didn't like it.

The story was a lot of fun. There were some sad moments as both Brock and Jane deal with their past and how it has changed the way they cope with the present. There are happy and laughing moments that I didn't want to see end. But the whole brother name thing just hung over it all.

I'm hoping that book two helps to separate the brothers a little more for me because they were all a lot of fun and I really want to see how their separate lives all intertwine as they find their love.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

This book had a great set-up. We start with a hunky guy walking out of a burning field, rushed to the hospital, and Laura needs to know what happened. Somehow, he's not hurt nearly as bad as he should have been. But he's being hunted, and it puts Laura and the ones she's closest to at great risk.

Definitely an eye-catching story, but it wasn't executed as well as it should have been. There are too many things that just "happen" with no explanation. Like when he runs from the hospital - without unhooking the machines or IVs, without any alarms of any sort going off, that there wasn't a police officer waiting to talk to him about the accident..... It was something that really stood out to me. There are enough of these little mistakes that I really started to get distracted.

I really wanted to like this one, but I don't think I'll be continuing the series.

This was a super sweet romance. Two broken souls coming together over the holidays to find love and happiness. It might have been just a tad too sweet for me to really fall in love with the story.

Christie has a "thing" in her past that is horrible and she's basically run away to start over again - and I think that was the right thing to do. This "thing" is mentioned many times but we don't know what it is until near the end. I had a hard time relating to her feelings on this without knowing what it was.

Luke was in a crappy marriage and he's afraid to be hurt, and he's afraid to have his son hurt again. His protective instincts are amazing. I like the back and forth he has mentally over this - with his son firmly in the "go for it" camp. This was a very real struggle for him, and I imagine many readers would understand his hesitation and doubts.

In the end, there was a huge misunderstanding and a huge reconciliation. It was sweet and sappy, but a little much at times. I still enjoyed the story, just from the side of Luke more than Christie.

*I voluntarily read a review copy of this book*

This series takes a very dark turn in Mine to Fear. Things are not going well, and I'll warn you, the story arc does not end well. We do have a fairly decent HEA for the romance side, but the realm Chardonia is in chaos and it only gets worse.

The people of Envado are trying desperately to change things, and they are losing the battle. The Grand Chancellor is taking the country in hand by making drastic and severe changes that puts the lives of many at risk. It's scary, very scary, and you don't see much light at the end of the tunnel.

Waverly finds herself caught up in the war as she tries to free her friends from the tyranny of the Grand Chancellor and his friends that are determined to keep women and magic under the control of a very select male population. There's a lot to read between the lines here, and it was done very well.

My biggest complaint, and Mine to Fear may have gotten 5 stars without this, is the editing. There were some areas that were quite poorly done and it really did take away from my ability to just read the story. But it is one hell of a story.

The final book in the story of Chardonia is a sad one. Bethany has been captured, tarnished, and finds herself in a very very very very (I can't say enough very's here) bad place. But she's also in a good place to try and help the resistance from within the heart of Chardonia. But a lot of lives will be placed on the line because of it.

Unfortunately, the editing errors in this one were really bad. There were times I think she mixed up the two countries of Chardonia and Envado, because otherwise parts just wouldn't make sense. The ending was also a little off. It seemed to just "poof" wrap up with a nice bow. Yes, there was a lot leading up to it, but once we got to the top, it just all dropped off really fast.

I really enjoyed this series. It leans more towards a fantasy than a romance, but each story had a nice little romance that weaves through it and really made a different set of characters stand out in a nice way.

I really enjoyed this book while I was reading it. But for some reason, the story didn't really stick with me. I can't put my finger on why exactly. The storyline was one that I had seen before, but it did have a few twists with the characters to make it a little different. Both Jeremey and Kayla were more of a rough around the edges type - which I thought was unusual to see in both characters.

It just wasn't memorable enough to stand out from the field of Christmas romances out there this time of year.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book**