Felicity and her Golden Retriever, JJ, work with special needs children in the school district. They are both super sweet souls, and from the very beginning, I knew I was going to love them. My heart broke for her when she found out that her birth mother had died - she not only mourned the person but the future possibilities of getting to know her better.

As she digs deeper into her birth mother’s life, Felicity is convinced that she didn’t commit suicide. Everything about her personal belongings and journals points to a woman content and happy with her life. But there’s only one person who thinks she might be onto something. Thankfully, that’s Officer Darren Willis, the detective in charge of the investigation. But his boss is pressuring to close this supposedly open and shut case quickly.

Felicity digs in and keeps looking, finding herself the target of several deadly incidents. Darren and Felicity come together through the tragedy and danger - with JJ right by her side - and find their feelings for each other growing daily.

Unfortunately, I figured out the who-dun-it way too early. The only reason this didn’t get a 5-star review. I like to have the mystery remain just that - a mystery - until the characters are just about to figure it out - not right at the beginning of the case. The romance though - the romance was strong in this one, and it was lovely. I highly recommend if you don’t mind figuring things out too soon.

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

A bit of a damsel in distress, Hanna, needs to be rescued story, but the rescuer is her grandfather’s golden retriever, Bella, who starts the book out with a bang by rescuing her from a getting hit by a car. This sets off a bit of an adventure as Hanna tries to avoid her crazy stalker ex-boyfriend with the help of Blake, the son of a friend of the family and a private investigator on vacation.

This had the potential to be a really amazing story, but Hanna wasn’t what I needed her to be. She was too headstrong and unwilling to take the advice of the experts who trying to protect her. Putting herself in danger and staying by herself even though she knew her ex was looking for her and had found her several times already.

Blake is also trying to avoid an ex, but for very different reasons. She cheated on him but his family is determined to help her win him back. Now I really don’t like his family at all, and Hanna’s family was sort of in the same area with their feelings towards Hanna’s ex. Everyone was just not very good. Blake’s ex quicky notices his developing feelings for Hanna and uses his family to make it look like they are happily together still, but Hanna never really questions it or looks beyond the surface.

While in the end Hanna stood up for herself and started becoming the intelligent and self-sufficient woman I feel like she should have been the whole time, it was too little too late.

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

Willow is not your typical celebrity, but she does seem to have some of their same troubles. Her morning talk show is losing ratings, which means she may be losing her job. Her last chance to keep it means becoming the host of the new dating show. A show she needs to figure out fast before it doesn’t take off at all.

Willow really impressed me with her taste in dogs. Her pick of the “litter” of golden retrievers was quite refreshing. And the bond she formed with Buddy from the moment they met was everything I wanted it to be.

Caleb, the bodyguard hired to protect Willow after she receives threatening letters, was another story. Ya, I loved that he loved Buddy, but his predisposition to assume all celebrities were snobs and brats really put me off. Especially when he continued to hold that position after meeting Willow and Buddy. Yes, eventually he realizes that not all celebrities are like that, but then he decides that Willow can even be his friend because he can’t focus on protecting her if she’s more than just a job.

The story really seemed to get caught up in Caleb’s head for a long time. It took too much of the focus off finding the bad guy, and too much into Caleb’s insecurities. The bad guy was super obvious to me right from the very first letter he sent. And his big appearance at the end of the story was a tad unbelievable.

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

I really enjoyed the concept behind Seductive Secrets and I wanted to fall in love with it so much, but there was just too much I couldn't connect with. From the characters themselves, to them falling in love, to the grand solving of the mystery - it was never quite right.

To start with, Lady Willow came off as a brat. She couldn't keep herself away from the men long enough to have a conversation with her family - and she was totally surprised when she found out people thought she was a loose woman. Her attitude towards Sir Conrad tipped her into the "she doesn't deserve him" category as she degraded and talked down to him every chance she got until *poof* she was suddenly in love.

Sir Conrad started off really well, but after the incident in the cabin - well - he found himself in "he doesn't deserve her" territory. So now I have heroes who don't deserve each other and are at the same time undeserving of each other. They both really needed to grow up - which they just started to do by the end of the story.

The missing ruby was a great twist to the story. I had no idea who took it until Willow and Conrad had their own ah-ha! moment. That was an amazing part of the story (but Willow's prior sleuthing only made her seem more like a spoiled child). However, this wonderful moment was ruined by their plan to return the stone and make everything right again. No one in their right mind would have believed what they presented as the truth - let alone a castle full of knights and nobility.

Not the book for me, unfortunately.

Amina is special - or as her father would say - a freak. With the ability to move things with her mind, she dreams of joining the Interplanetary Peace Squad, but her family won’t hear of it. So she sneaks away one night, takes a leap of faith, and joins the training program. This beginning portion of the book was a bit choppy and rough. The initial interactions Amina had with people at the training program were a bit cliched. They were very stereotypical - the shy girl, the flirty rich girl, the cute slightly older guy every girl wanted.

Once we got more into the heart of the story, things took a really great turn for the better. People started becoming a little more dynamic (but still a tad on the cliche side), and personalities started showing up. Amina is assigned her first training mission, and she has a chance to show the crew and her captain (the hot guy everyone wants) that she can handle herself. And she handles herself well, but not perfectly - which is great.

The romance that has been budding throughout the story didn’t always seem to fit in. There were too many times that the mission should have fallen apart because of the flirty-times going on. Eventually, the romance starts to straighten itself out, and by the end, I felt more like it was a natural thing between the two characters. But getting there was a bit rough.

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

I did not like Nicole Hawkins. She made a brief and very unappealing appearance in a previous Gold Coast Retrievers story, and she left a bad taste behind. Becky Muth does a great job of trying to redeem her, even bringing in the prior couple to forgive and sort of awkwardly befriend her, but it didn’t work for me.

Her co-star in the romance, Arnold, seemed very flat. He was loads of fun in the previous book, and I was excited to see a story for him. I hate to say his pet stole the show (and it wasn’t even the dog co-star). In fact, the dog co-star is seen very little and there were times I wondered if this really fit in the series.

What I did like a lot was the positive message the book tried to convey regarding scarring and injuries. Nicole faces a lot of adversity after she almost dies in a fire and is horribly burned. The scenes of her dealing with the aftermath - while a bit quick - were heartwarming and allowed me to start disliking her a little bit less.

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

Karma has not been nice to Harper Evans, but she isn’t letting that stop her. She is a very strong female character that got caught up in a bad situation. You can feel the love for her son on the pages, and her determination to anything and everything she can for him are what really won me over. It didn’t hurt that she was willing to sacrifice for others - the true holiday spirit. And I was happy when karma finally came calling back to deliver her rewards.

Part of her reward was a whole slew of new friends, starting with the waitress at the diner who talks her into trying for a job as a housekeeper for a local rancher, Logan. Logan is sick of housekeepers trying to turn themselves into his girlfriend. Reading the last evening with his most recent one was hilarious and quite messy in a not-fun way. He’s your typical tough guy rancher. I don’t think he was as unique a character as Harper, but definitely a good guy through and through.

They have a lot to work through, the biggest being Harper not mentioning her past or her child when they first become close. She’s certain it will be the end of everything for them. The town and its citizens were amazing. I loved all the unique characters and personalities. Some surprised me, and some were a bit more expected, but they made a community that I’d love to be a part of more often.

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

Angie is your typical girl floating through life without having much of a purpose. A little snarky, a little sarcastic, and suddenly able to talk to an old dead woman’s cat. Her shock was quite genuine, and her introduction to Octo-cat was charming, comical, and started the book off on a really great note.

Octo-cat is full of himself and forgetful, which sounds just like the wonderful furr-babies I have at home. This doesn’t mean he’s not good. It’s just how cats seem to be, but Octo-cat is still incredibly loyal and wants to help his new human find out who killed the woman that was his for so long. He’s even willing to suffer a few car rides to solve the case.

A little over the top, even for a kooky cozy mystery, the book was still a very fun read. There were several side characters that I look forward to seeing more of, and I wonder what antics are next in line for this crazy duo.

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

Finding Lady Enderly is not your typical romance. It starts as a sort of rags to riches story, with Raina being swept up like Cinderella to the ball, her rags turned to silk and suddenly she’s the Lady. But it isn’t all diamonds and fancy dresses. Her new life is a lie, and it weighs heavily on her shoulders. Her struggle wasn’t just with God and her spirituality, it was with the morality that she felt was the right thing to do.

The romance of the novel is a little more subtle, as it draws heavily on the love of Raina’s life, lost to her in the past. But he is no longer there to rescue her from her predicaments, and she finds that she needs to play the part of rescuer instead. Every day she spends as Lady Enderly pulls her further into danger and deceit.

There are so many amazing romantic gestures that made my heart swoon. Communicating to your love by marking lines of text in classic novels from Bronte, Austen, and Dickens is a surefire way to a booklovers heart. Add glances across the room, glimpses of a familiar face in a crowd, and song that will move your heart, and even though we don’t see his side of the romance, we don’t really need to. Raina shows us his love in every moment together.

The ending has several unexpected moments. Surprises and twists on what I thought was going to happen. In many ways, these were amazing, but I did feel a little cheated on my happily ever after - it didn’t happen soon enough, and the author made us wait until the very very end. The story ends in a way that vividly reminds me of the classics used in the story, with a more settled feel and deliberate feel to it, but heartwarming and satisfying in its own way.

Jenna Monroe isn’t really looking for an adventure, but she sure finds one when she takes a temporary teaching job in a small town. She’s far from prepared for the weather, the roads, and the animals - mostly the domesticated type. But she tries to take it all in a stride of her high heel boots until she starts to fall in love.

Wyatt Langford thinks he’s all his daughter Bailey has left. As a single dad, he’s very protective of her and will do anything to keep her from getting hurt. But when Jenna takes over as Bailey’s teacher, they all start to fall in love. Bailey knows that Jenna is just what they need to make their family whole, and she will do anything (including some really cute Valentine’s ideas) to make it happen.

The town is on Bailey’s side. All of the residents see what Jenna and Wyatt refuse to admit to anyone. They were meant to be. The town is one of the many reasons I loved this book. I really hope that Hallmark finds a way to turn this into a bit of a series. I’d love to come back and visit to see what everyone is up to.

There were a few times I felt like Wyatt’s refusal to accept Jenna into his heart went on a little too long. You’ll hear me say this often about fictional couples (and I’m sure it’s true in real life as well): You’re the adults, have a conversation and figure it out! But then we wouldn’t have quite the same story, would we? Overall this definitely hit the mark as a fun winter-themed romance with a dash of Happy Valentine’s.

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