Puppy Christmas really brought all the good feels out. We have cuteness overload with a service dog in training and his new little girl, her dad (oddly named Ford Ford), and the puppy trainer they all fall in love with from the moment they set eyes on her in the super fluffy princess dress.

The characters in this book jumped right out of the pages into my heart. Ford and his flirty ways have most of the single moms in the neighborhood at his beck and call - but not in a creepy way. They love the guy and have taken him under their wings to help him care for his beyond adorable daughter, Emily, who is hearing impaired. The bond these two share made me jealous.

I also loved that there wasn't really a villain - just life and history and fear that was standing between Ford and Lila. Lila has a lot to learn about the more carefree side of herself, and Ford needs to learn to stop hiding behind jokes and flirting. Emily has her own vital role to play in all this as well, and I think giving her more of a primary role in the book was the perfect touch. This was the perfect way to start my Christmas Romance reading.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

This was my first book in the Wolfe Pack series by Kathryn Le Veque. When she says they can be read as stand alones - she's correct. While there may be a little family history that is missed, for the most part, I didn't feel like I was missing out for starting not at the beginning.

It all starts with a battle, leading to missing memories, deception, love, more battles, finding truths, and so much. Blayth is a bit of a mystery man, he remembers nothing of his life before a few years ago when he recovered from a very serious head wound. Everything he knows about himself has been told to him, and not by the most reliable person. His struggle to find who he really is, is a key part of the story. Le Veque did a fantastic job showing his struggle with reconciling what he is learning to be true with the lies he has been told.

The Dragon Princess is a legend in her own right. Asmara has worked hard to earn her name and place among the Scottish warriors - none of which have even had a chance at capturing her heart. But the strong and silent Blayth with the mysterious past works his way under her skin. She is instrumental in helping him discover the lies he has been told and finding the courage to look for the truth. I loved their conversations. Both the serious and fun only proved to me again that these two were meant for each other.

There were a few times that Asmara and Blayth had to lie as they looked for the truth - and those lies seemed to have caught up with the author. In a few scenes, people suddenly knew the truth when they had been told something different - nothing huge or story-breaking, but it did make me go a re-read part to make sure I hadn't missed something.

A lot is going in The Woman in the Window. Anna fox has experienced a trauma, and now she has very severe agoraphobia. She wanders her house alone (living with just her cat) drinking and not quite taking her medication correctly. The circumstances leading up to her situation are vague, and we slowly learn everything as the story continues.

She passes her time watching her neighbors – like hardcore spying on them with a zoom lens - playing chess and learning French online, and talking to other agoraphobics in an online community. She’s happy – mostly – and chats with her family quite often.

A.J. Finn does a fantastic job of drawing you into Anna’s strange world and making you doubt everything you think you know. As we spiral through life and the strange things Anna has witnessed right along with her. I enjoyed being able to follow her train of thought. It brought me into her mind and emotional turmoil when she started doubting everything about herself.

While most of the book is a meandering journey through potential craziness, the end was a heart-pounding rush leading up to a gentle settling of sorts. Don’t expect too much action and thrills from this one. But don’t discount its ability to test what you believe right along with all the characters.

My daughter bought me this book for my birthday – and she knows what I like to read. Fairy tale adaptions are sooo much fun, and this take on Beauty & the Beast did a fantastic job.

The atmosphere of the book was exceedingly gothic, and the people and scenery seemed very French (to my uneducated eye). So the stage was set – and in comes Lucie, a girl looking to escape her step-father and find a way to earn her way in the most respectable of ways. She manages to find a job as a cleaning maid at Chateau Beaumont only to find that Chevalier de Beaumont is a monster of a person. He enjoys the misery and pain of others and looks only to further himself.

Enter the curse – the one we’ve seen many times. And suddenly the Chevalier is no more, and in his place is Beast. Lucie watches over Beast in a transformed state herself, but this is where the story takes a new and exciting turn of events.

I love how Lisa Jensen incorporated the roses and Beast’s love for them. I love the little twists and turns she put on the curse to make it unique and surprising. And I loved it when she introduced Rose. So we have two potential Beauties, which is not a way to make this some kinky ménage. It’s just a way to show Beast’s desire for companionship.

The ending was nothing like I expected at all. And I will also add a trigger warning for rape, suicide, and abortion topics.

I picked up Tyrabbisaurus Rex for my eight-year-old at PennedCon earlier this year and read it once evening before dinner. It was such a fun book. As an adult, I really enjoyed it, and when I got home, and my son read it, he enjoyed it as well.

“Cuddles,” as the children have named him, is a class pet, a rabbit that truly believes that it is a T-Rex. The book alternates between his POV and those of the children in his classroom. The rabbit’s chapters and internal dialog are hilarious and very entertaining as he tries to escape his captivity and try new things to nibble on.

The children all have their own opinions about Cuddles, and their chapters show those very well. From absolutely wanting nothing to do with him, to thinking he’s pretty cool but not that interesting, to wanting to spend all their time snuggling him – the students and Cuddles interact along with the teacher to create an entertaining story that delicately touches on quite a few things. From making friends, death in the family, self-esteem, and self-image (of the rabbit).
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I highly recommend this for boys and girls in the early grade school years. It’d make an excellent read-along for adults and children to experience and talk about together.

I love a good holiday romance – especially one that manages to make the holiday an integral part of the story without losing track of the people and things surrounding it. A Dash of Christmas does an amazing job of bringing out the Christmas without letting it take over too much.

Emery Monaghan is having a really rough go of life right now – and because of her crappy fiancé’s governmental position, it’s all out there for the public to see. When she sees a chance to hide away from all the prying eyes and get away from her horrid family and maybe to a little good, she jumps at the chance. The chance leads her right into the not-so-waiting arms of Carter Montgomery – chef extraordinaire – who has promised to make a charity cookbook for his mother.

These two have a past, and it’s a fun one. Both jealous of each other for a variety of reasons, both secretly liking each other, but always seeming to be at odds and arguing with each other. As they work together, they open up about their dreams, desires, pasts, and present. All while planning a huge holiday dinner to test and show off the recipes they’ve planned for the charity cookbook.

But Carter is driven, and he has a new restaurant that he must open – to prove to the world that he will never stop succeeding. And Emery is determined to prove she can stand on her own and make her own decisions. But are exceedingly stubborn, and when an exceptionally heated argument drags into not speaking to each other, I began to wonder if it would all work out.

Samantha Chase does a fantastic job of bringing our couple together, pushing them apart, and making them better people. All while weaving an intricate web of family and holiday shenanigans around them, setting the stage for a beautiful romance with just the right touch of Christmas magic.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

I love the holiday stories in the Silver Town Wolf series. The festive atmosphere, the way the town comes together to celebrate, and, of course, the romance. I really loved that this one had quite a touch more of the paranormal than just the wolves. We got to see ghosts through the eyes of Meghan MacTire and her sisters. As Meghan tries to help the spirits move on, she worries about telling the love of her life (and potential mate) about her unusual abilities and other secrets from her past.

As she navigates these tricky conversations with Sheriff Peter Jorgenson (who’s hiding his own secrets as well), her past comes back to haunt her - only not in ghostly form. Real-life flesh and blood crazy people show up - one so much more so than the other - and begin the worst of the two has her death all planned out.

But he may have bitten off more than he can chew - because our super evil bad guy has a secret history of his own that’s about to come out. And if the town hadn’t already rallied behind Meghan and her sisters, well, they want their own revenge for past wrongs now.

There was plenty of action in Home for the Holidays, but there were also long periods of inactivity. I feel like the story was just a tad drawn out. While I loved seeing Meghan and Peter become more comfortable around each other, there didn’t see to be a real flow to it. It jumped along in fits and bursts, that if smoothed out could have made the story have a better flow.

I will definitely be reading more of the Silver Town Wolf series. The way you get to re-visit past couples and get to know the whole town is amazing, and I love to go visit.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Rescuing Riley was a fun and exciting adventure - even if it seemed a little over the top in the unrealistic realm of things. When Riley comes to visit her best friend Liza and finds out she’s disappeared, she is set on finding her and figuring out just what the heck is going on. But Liza’s cousin, Ex-Navy SEAL Joshua, along with his service dog are supposed to keeping an eye on her.

There are tons of roadblocks along the way, including an annoying assistant that never seems to tell the truth. And when Riley repeatedly runs headlong into trouble even though she’s warned not to - I started to get a little annoyed with her too. If the SEAL and the FBI are telling you it’s dangerous, then you might want to listen to them.

I enjoyed some of the story, and didn’t enjoy the rest of the story. I’m glad I read it because the Gold Coast Retrievers is a great series, and I love how the characters connect with each other from book to book. I just wish I could have liked this one a little bit more.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Pairing an adorable little girl with a cute puppy is the perfect recipe. Between Star (the puppy) and Clover (adorable little girl) almost steal the show from our main couple, but Ann Omasta somehow manages to rein in the cuteness and show us an amazing love story with a very unexpected couple.

When the local TV show’s host, Dash Diamond, is forced to share the stage with the cute Star, he isn’t too happy. But his career depends on finding a way to work with the dog - so he buckles down and moves in with her owner, Grace. Now, yes, this is a romance with no bedroom scenes whatsoever. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t sparks and some serious tension in the room between Dash and Grace.

Just as Dash is settling into a routine with the family (which includes the puppy), Star is kidnapped. As they try to figure out who could do such a horrible thing - they really start to learn a lot about each other. Dash isn’t all fancy celebrity, and Grace has a great sense of humor with a contagious laugh. Not to leave out Clover, the girl’s innocence and love of life just fly off the page and into your heart.

Dash and Grace will have a lot to work through if they will ever find a way to meet in the middle, but with Star and Clover helping from the sidelines, they might just make it.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Peyton and her dog, Gilda, are trained in search and rescue, and they are really good at it. So good, that Gilda manages to save a man without Peyton even realizing what was actually going on. Kurt, the man rescued, is rather annoyed with the pair because he didn’t realize he was being rescued either. They both walk away upset and hope to never see each other again. But we wouldn’t have much of a romance if that happened.

They find their paths crossing again when Peyton reports her brother missing. While Kurt (a police officer) isn’t directly assigned to the case, he finds himself wanting to prove to her and the rest of the department that he can be a good detective. The case is a tough one because Kurt seems to have vanished into thin air - not wanting anyone to find him.

The suspense and mystery in this sweet romance was just the right level. An intricate part of the story, but it still served to help bring our couple together. Peyton’s reasons for disappearing felt a little far-fetched, as do some of the scenes at the college he worked at. Peyton won me over from page one, and I felt every emotion right along with her through every page. While Kurt starts out as a bit of a jerk, he’s quick to admit when he was wrong, which is a huge mark in his favor. I loved these two together - hopefully, I’ll see them in the background of another Gold Coast Retriever romance.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**