Review: Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology by Lily Morton, Eden Finley, et Al-vol 6

Rating: 4.25🌈

I love the Heart2Heart charity collections. They have a great selection of authors and stories to read.

This time there’s 14 in the collection. My favorites have ❤️ next to them. There are 2 I’m not a fan of. One because of the author’s very odd inclusion of a dog character and then it’s treatment in the narrative. The other because every element is a red flag, to my surprise. From the one MC to scenes I could write an entire review on.

But the majority are well written and warm-hearted in spirit.

See the lineup below and individual reviews below that.

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To those two little words, “what if.” Questions thrown at singles by the dating Heart2Heart app . These stories are the answers, kinda. Remarkably so.

Complete list of stories:

1. Thank You Heist of Hearts by Alice Winters ❤️

2. Keeping Him in Cornwall by Con Riley ❤️

3. Hate 2 Love U by Daryl Banner

4. Love Down Under by Eden Finley

5. Rock, Paper, Scissors by Kate Hawthorne 😐🤨

6. Dog Days by Kelly Fox ❤️

7. The London Chance by Lane Hayes ❤️

8. My Darcy by Lily Morton ❤️

9. A Drag Made in Heaven by Max Walker

10. Connection by Nicole Dykes

11. Worst. Date. Ever. By Onley James❤️

12. Down the Mountain by Rachel Ember

13. The Anti-Wingman by Saxon James ❤️

14. The Choice by Sloane Kennedy 😱🤦🏼‍♀️🤨

1. Thank You Heist of Hearts by Alice Winters ❤️

The question:

“In case of zombie apocalypse, what skills do you bring to the table?”

Reed and Dylan. Reed the former thief and Dylan, the former cop who arrested him. And a date gone spectacularly wrong. I love this so much. Fabulous dialogue and characters.

2. Keeping Him in Cornwall by Con Riley ❤️

Question:

“How do you feel about Cornish pasties?

Farmer Stef Lukens and Mark, Stef’s younger brother’s best friend.

OMG, Con Riley! How did you quietly wring so many emotions out of my heart with this gem of a story. Sweet, endearing, beautifully crafted and grounded in a farm we feel like we know by the sea in Wales. A must read and one I wish was longer.

3. Hate 2 Love U by Daryl Banner

“If Cerberus needed mouth to mouth resuscitation, which mouth would you give it to?”

Pete Knott, clumsy nerd vs Teague Jensen, jock superstar. Assumptions versus facts eventually turn into a relationship. Sweet.

4. Love Down Under by Eden Finley

“What animal do you identify with most?”

A Sloth. Those things are so pathetic, other animals take pity and leave them alone. Reminds me of how I survived high school.

Dorian, tour guide at Cassowary Rock Sanctuary meets Kero , a recent newcomer to the area and on the tour courtesy of his big brother. The location is a feature and the characters are great.

5. Rock, Paper, Scissors by Kate Hawthorne 😐🤨

Mountains, beaches, or both?”

Xavier with Bagel his late grandmother’s Australian shepherd who wears clothing aka bandanas

And adorable matching shoes to eat a doggy safe bacon donut every Tuesday . Big plot point that goes nowhere. MC seems annoyed with dog that his grandmother loved and left to him. And intends not to to really honor the will.

. Meet cute with bakers brother from the mountains, Bastian. Romance ensues.

Dog used as more as a contrived story prompt than an actual beloved character. This aspect made me dislike the story as the treatment of Bagel took me out of the romance. If a author must have a animal in their story, pls keep in mind that having their MC act indifferently towards it, forget it’s part of the story at times, and discard it altogether is never a good idea.

Not a fan.

6. Dog Days by Kelly Fox ❤️

“Kirk, Picard, Sisko, or Janeway?”

Alfie Fellows, family therapist and vol w/ small breed rescue

Judi Dench the teacup poodle mix

Gideon Northman, aka writer Everett Goodnight

Beautifully written, well crafted characters, with deep elements as well as a romantic aspect that makes this a well rounded story and a memorable one. The dog character is so well done and a great personality and part of the storyline!

7. The London Chance by Lane Hayes❤️

90s most underrated jam? Most overrated? Most perfect song?”

Chance Robbins, 35, California , sales and marketing, meets Roman Crawford, industrial engineer, a business owner from Toronto, living in London.

Finally meeting after texting thru the Heart2Heart app. Cute, funny, and romantic.

8. My Darcy by Lily Morton ❤️

“What is your most controversial opinion?”

Pure Lily Morton. I laughed, and found myself throughly invested in the romance of Freddie, a tailor who’s also a Jane Austen guide who likes to dress in Regency clothes, and his best friend since childhood, archaeologist Darcy Griffiths. As they guide a small group of widely entertaining tourists through a Jane Austin section of a literary bus tour, it turns into a romantic adventure for themselves too.

9. A Drag Made in Heaven by Max Walker

“If you were a drag queen, what would your name be?”

The characters had little chemistry. I was not pulled into the relationship or story. Even with Malik’s job at the Tampa Aquarium, it was one dimensional and lacked depth.

10. Connection by Nicole Dykes

“Do you believe in soulmates?”

Oliver, tattoo artist 25, meets Eli, traveling photographer 27 in Hawaii. Sweet romance with lovely characters.

11. Worst. Date. Ever. By Onley James❤️

“What’s the worst date you can think of and would you do it with me?

Cade, contract killer and Tris, 23, ADHD. Tris answered Cade’s H2H ad and got the date of a lifetime. A contract killer with a need for a alibi, the worst date ever, an assumed HEA as told by Onley James. Funny, dark, and murderous. ❤️

12. Down the Mountain by Rachel Ember

“What’s your favorite midnight snack?”

Vic Ricci sees his ex , Bennett Walker, alpine Skier Team USA, after 2 years absence from small town Garden, CO. Reunion and romance ensues.3 stars. Little feel for any relationship or chemistry.

13. The Anti-Wingman by Saxon James❤️

“Have you always painted your fingernails with yellow emoji faces on them?”

Effervescent , impulsive Kai needs a anti-wingman to keep him from repeating his relationship mistakes. Wry, cautious Ryland needs a wingman to jumpstart his journey into a relationship. A funny group of text messages starts a path to romance that utterly engaging.

1. The Choice by Sloane Kennedy😱🤦🏼‍♀️🤨

“If you could go back in time and make one different choice, what would that be?”

Hudson Warner, older boss and ranch owner , deeply closeted gay

Mouse aka Andrew , small, bullied employee, hidden identity

Cody, Wyoming

I could write an entire essay about all the issues with this story, it’s main character Hudson, and his relationship with his employee, Andrew. Frankly, the story made me queasy. There’s a huge difference in the stations, there’s a issue of power imbalance from social to monetary to business as Hudson is also Andrew’s boss. Even age as Hudson is considerably older than Mouse. Hudson has complete control over almost every aspect of Andrew’s life and acts without regard to Andrew’s personal finances and considerations (buys him a new car without asking permission, selling Andrew’s old car also without permission), but won’t (as a closeted gay man) keep his other employees from bullying Andrew when that’s exactly the one avenue where as a boss he might be expected to have the right to take responsibility for all his employees actions. Does that happen? No.

There’s also actionable events that occurred during a bar scene where Andrew’s PTSD was engaged as well as he was almost assaulted. It’s really one flag after another. But it’s insta love . SMH.

The most questionable decision here is why close out a romance collection with what has to be one of the worst stories , IMO, ( one of two) here. Usually it’s the strongest that’s selected.

All this does is leave me with a very bad impression and a need to go find something else to read so I can forget I ever came across this.

There’s a group of wonderful holiday stories here that I would recommend and a few I’d give a pass to. That’s the great thing about a collection, the ability to make choices. Or find new authors. Or new stories by authors you love.

Pick up Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology by Lily Morton, Eden Finley, et Al-vol 6 and decide what to read for yourself.

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showHeart2Heart: A Charity Anthology, Volume 6 by Leslie Copeland

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: The Humbug Holiday by Lane Hayes

Rating: 4.5🌈

Lanes Hayes has written a heartwarming holiday story in The Humbug Holiday. One of my favorites this season, it’s has a gentle romance between two men whose histories include adolescent pasts with deep emotional pain associated with the Christmas holidays.

One, Cameron Warren, a famous author of mysteries, has escaped his LA home , family, and notoriety for a newly purchased old Victorian in small town Fallbrook, Vermont . He’s there to write and hide from the holidays.

However, his elderly aunts have temporarily accompanied him to make sure he’s settled, alive, and decorated in his new home. One that needs a ton of work.

Joe Linton, Handyman, is hired by one aunt to help make the beautiful old house livable for the winter, and start with the crusade to get their nephew to decorate.

Hayes’ characters are real in their faults, charming in their own ways of thinking about life and their feelings for the holidays, decorating and the town. Each man’s story will slowly come tumbling out , piecemeal, as one writes, the other puts the house in order, and their relationship grows.

It’s warm, like sitting next to a fireplace, chatting, learning about someone. It’s believable and grounded in small town culture and the strengths of that lifestyle.

My heart was easily invested and flowed with the story, right through to the end. So charming and wonderful.

Perfect for the holidays and one I’m absolutely recommending.

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThe Humbug Holiday by Lane Hayes

Description:

Two grumpy bears and a holiday season neither will forget…

Joe

So this sexy silver fox rolls into my small New England town and buys a run-down old house in need of renovation. That’s where I come in. My job is to do some basic repairs, so he can write in peace. Yep, the hotshot is a bestselling author, but that’s not why I recognize Cameron Warren.

No worries, I won’t let a one-night stand make things awkward. I could use the work, but is he seriously asking me to help him buy a Christmas tree too?

No way.

Cameron

I’m a good-natured guy all year long, but I have to admit…I hate the holidays.

There. I said it.

This season, I’m hiding away on the opposite side of the country in a picturesque village. My family isn’t excited about my decision, and the only way to assure them I’m fine is to deck the darn halls. Or hire someone else to do it.

The handyman might not be the logical choice for an elf, but his grumpy act makes me smile. Which makes me think the holidays might not be so “bah-humbug” this year after all.

The Humbug Holiday is a bisexual, age-gap romance featuring two grumpy bears who find unexpected magic and learn to embrace everyone’s favorite time of year!

Review: His Last Christmas in London by Con Riley

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Con Riley has quickly become a go to author for me for contemporary romance. Riley’s characters and movingly detailed plots manage to capture my attention as well as my imagination. I end up loving the couples, their stories, and the cast around them.

His Last Christmas in London is a perfect example. After a bitter experience with a mentor who took credit for his work and then refused him references when he wanted out, Ian Fisher, photographer, is forced to face reality and a move back home to Cornwall. In a short period, Riley gives us a intimate glimpse into a man who is hurting, full of self doubt, and questioning his own abilities.

It takes his friends, and one last chance, a job for a well known food critic, for everything to change course, albeit slowly.

Guy Parsons, food critic, widower, man of amazing depths, if you can get the chance to see beyond his walls. Guy is another amazing character and one I could easily spend another book with. The two of them , together, exploring London, is magical.

I truly wasn’t ready to let them or their romance go. I wanted to tag along aside as they wandered through Cornwall, or perhaps France. It honestly didn’t matter. They charmed me.

I suspect they will you too.

It’s why I’m definitely recommending His Last Christmas in London by Con Riley. It’s a holiday read to take to heart!

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showHis Last Christmas in London by Con Riley

Description:

Falling for his final client won’t make leaving London easy…

Ian ~ A talented, young photographer desperate to stay in London.

Guy ~ An older, fierce food critic, determined to keep him in his city.

Ian shouldn’t be attracted to a scathing food critic like Guy Parsons, not after the last time he fell for someone older, arrogant, and gorgeous. He knows better than to let dramatic good looks sway him since his last heartbreak. Besides, he’s accepted a new job at the far end of the country and won’t be staying in London.

Having one month left doesn’t seem enough now Ian’s fallen in love with the city. Working as Guy’s photographer for December might help him afford to stay for longer, even if he hates Guy’s brand of restaurant reviewing. When Guy turns out to be worlds away from the last man Ian fell for, shared meals soon result in shared secrets and feelings.

More than attraction sparks between them as Christmas approaches. Intimate moments lead to intense passion, but is being well matched in the bedroom enough to stop the clock counting down to Ian leaving London, and Guy, for good?

♥ Steamy, snarky, and sweet, His Last Christmas in London is an utterly British, low-angst, age-gap, workplace gay romance set in London and Cornwall. ♥

Celebrate the holidays with a lovely long novella full of heartfelt hurt/comfort and second chances from Con Riley, author of the much adored Charles: Learning to Love.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: Winning The Season (Miami Piranhas Book 4) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 5🌈

I’ve been waiting for this story since I started the series. It’s been hinted at throughout each book and Coach Asa Dawson is such a powerful person that he’s been able to help make each couple’s story and romance more interesting and real as it developed through the framework of the team and game.

So the references to a past drama and a unrequited love story thread for Coach just drew me in. I wanted to know what happened.

Winning The Season, the penultimate book in the Miami Piranhas series, is Beth Bolden’s love letter to the Coach of this mixed team of players of all sexualities and athletic backgrounds.

He’s been the glue to hold them together and the force to make them into a winning team.

So now he gets his own HEA.

But not without several hurdles, a bunch of painful barriers to overcome, and major forgiveness over past years wounds to old relationships.

I really loved the characters here. They rang so true. Scott Callaway, the old friend since college. He and Asa a unit since their college football playing days, through the years as a team as coaches on the smaller fields as they worked up through to the university level, always together.

Their history, deep friendship, passion for the game and each other, it all comes through so beautifully.

As does the painful experience when it all goes so badly.

The reunion is not a happy one. Nor should it be. The path back to each other is tough and paved with arguments and bad feelings. Which makes the real shift back into a truce and then more so rewarding and heartwarming.

The ending will bring out the tissues and a few sniffles I expect. I wasn’t expecting that. But it was perfect.

Winning The Season is my favorite of the series. There is one more book to come. I can’t believe it would be any better a series finale than this but I’m looking forward to reading it.

Until then, I’m highly recommending Winning The Season (Miami Piranhas Book 4) by Beth Bolden.

Miami Piranhas series:

🔹Playing For Keeps #1

🔹Playing The Player #2

🔹Playing By The Rules #3

🔹Winning The Season #4

🔹Playing Deep #5 – Feb 15,2023

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showWinning the Season (Miami Piranhas, #4) by Beth Bolden

Description:

Coach Asa Dawson has fallen wildly in love only twice in his life.

First with football.

Then with Scott Callaway.

But Scott isn’t just the one who got away.

He’s the one person—the one man—Asa hoped might finally show him how all-consuming passion could be.

Instead, fate (and football) intervened and they never got the chance to explore their attraction. Their friendship ended in ruins, Scott left, and Asa’s been torn between hating him and loving him for the last seven years.

Asa doesn’t think he’ll ever see him again, but when his bad habits catch up to him and he doesn’t have a choice but to accept help, he’s horrified—and exhilarated—to learn Scott’s been hired to assist him.

With the final stretch of the Piranhas season falling during the holidays, maybe what Asa and Scott have needed this whole time was a little Christmas magic to remind them the most important job isn’t to win the season—but to finally win each other’s hearts.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: Kairo’s Billionaire (Shadow Elite Book 2) by Jocelynn Drake

Rating:4.25🌈

Kairo’s Billionaire slightly backtracks into the last pages of Charlie’s Doctor, recounting the events that happened to launch this story.

That would be the kidnapping of Kairo by unknown persons as he exited the bar where everyone was celebrating the success of the team’s mission.

I’m fully enjoying this series. Even though I’m aware of some of the issues with the realism of two billionaires kidnapped and no one realizes, the easiest escape ever, and other things that are still a wee bit of a stretch to believe in, it’s all such fun entertainment that I am willing to take it as such.

I just enjoy the characters, their relationships, the fact there’s a ferret element, a family of assassins (those that kill together ). I mean it’s just a general sense of mayhem on the loose I find so ingratiatingly satisfying.

Plus love , and HEA , is found for Kairos Jones and the billionaire Isidore Panopoulos. It’s a interesting dynamic . We get to know both men under duress, as well as Izzy’s sister, another wonderful character. This situation makes the quick development in their relationship believable as they are forced into learning about each other and having to trust each other to make decisions to ensure their escape.

The ending sets up Ed’s story, Edison’s Professor, as well as giving us a deeper perspective on Kairo’s life.

I’m looking forward to it.

If you’re a reader who enjoys action packed , ex military, espionage type of romance novels, then this is a entertaining and enjoyable book and series for you.

They should be read in order to understand the relationships and events that have happened.

Shadow Elite series:

✓ Charlie’s Doctor #1

✓ Kairo’s Billionaire #2

◦ Edison’s Professor #3 – Feb 10, 2023

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Kairos-…Kairo’s Billionaire (Shadow Elite Book 2) – Kindle edition by Drake, Jocelynn. …

Description:

Kidnapped.

Someone of his skill should not have been kidnapped at all. Let alone so easily.

But when Kairo Jones wakes up halfway around the world with a reclusive billionaire begging for his help, the mercenary knows he can’t say no.

He also knows that he might be in over his head.

While Charlie and the rest of the team race to locate their missing member, Kairo fights to keep the sexy man with the sad eyes alive long enough to get some answers.

Kairo’s Billionaire is the second full-length novel in the Shadow Elite series and features mercenaries, assassins, danger, explosions, a brooding billionaire with a battered heart, and love on the run in Greece.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: Christmas Spirit by Annabelle Jacobs

Rating: 4🌈

Christmas Spirit by Annabelle Jacobs is another delightful holiday romance. Set In Cornwall, a favorite location of mine, this low angst age gap tale has a bit of the magical holiday spirit that takes this a tad into the supernatural with a merry matchmaking ghost!

Dylan tears his Achilles tendon and ends up recovering at his best friend’s uncle’s house In Cornwall.

The uncle is younger that expected and hot! And someone Dylan had met-cute before arriving.

Gareth is drawn to his nephew’s best friend, the first one since his bad breakup. The vet has his newly purchased older house under renovation, with the help of his nephew and others . But it Dylan he can’t keep his eyes off.

The men maneuver through the minefield of emotions that’s the best friend/nephew’s feelings about them, the idea of any permanence, guided by the actions of a ghostly matchmaker.

It’s sweet, funny, and sexy. Accompanied by several side stories that involve Dylan’s dad and Gareth’s ex’s father about moving on with your life. Believable and lovely.

I’m recommending Christmas Spirit by Annabelle Jacobs as another heartwarming holiday read. Add it to your list!

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showChristmas Spirit by Annabelle Jacobs

Description :

Dylan’s Cornish retreat wasn’t supposed to include a hot bloke and a cupid-playing ghost…

After tearing his Achilles tendon, recuperating by the sea sounds like a fantastic idea, and Dylan happily accepts his best mate’s offer to stay with him and his uncle for a few weeks. But he hadn’t counted on the uncle being smoking hot, or the fierce attraction that blossoms between them.

Swapping the busy streets of London for the easy pace of Cornish life is exactly what Gareth needs to move on with his own life. His new home requires a little TLC, but he’d expected that. What he hadn’t expected was the ghostly resident already living there.

A ten-year age gap isn’t the only issue standing between Dylan and Gareth. Their time together has an expiration date. By Christmas, Dylan will be back home in Bristol spending the holidays with his dad, leaving Gareth all alone. Luckily for them, a matchmaking Christmas Spirit has other ideas.

A Christmas MM romance featuring a meet-cute, pining, a meddling ghost, a teeny bit of angst, and a festive HEA

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: Got Me Merry (Vet Shop Boys Book 6) by Casey Cox

Rating: 4.5🌈

A wonderful series just continues on its own hopeful, warm-hearted journey with two new characters and latest members of the Vet Shop Boys found family of vets and their partners and pets.

Well, almost latest. There’s been an Aussie vet with marriage issues added but his story is later.

Now we are treated to the heartwarming story of the deepest best friends to lovers romance and a renewal of the Christmas spirit for one and all.

The one lacking in holiday’s cheer (for all the depressing and heartbreaking reasons) is Lawson Barnes, last year vet student and best friend of the ever positive, very handsome Chester Mathews. Chess is also in his last year of vet school and they both apply for the one internship at the Vet Shop Boys. Their interesting interviews and Gus’s big heart sees both of them working together with two internships and suddenly they’re finding a new home and family around them.

The 2-person POV works beautifully to bring the initial mindsets of each man into clarity so as Law and Chess grow and change, we see it reflected in each other’s thoughts and emotions, and actions.

It starts with Chester’s plan to make Law learn to love Christmas, a season Law’s never really experienced due to his parental negligence and sad adolescence. He, obviously, pulls on all the other vets and partners to aid in his plan.

Cox’s storylines shine spotlights on the other couples while giving focus to Chester and Lawson’s journey to HEA.

This is full of fun, joy, love and a reminder of what the Christmas spirit is all about.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend Got Me Merry (Vet Shop Boys Book 6) by Casey Cox . Pick it and the rest of the series up for great contemporary romance reading.

Vet Shop Boys series so far:

✓ Got Me Hoping #1

✓ Got Me Wishing #2

✓ Got Me Looking #3

✓ Got Me Thinking #4

✓ Got Me Going #5

✓ Got Me Merry #6

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showGot Me Merry (Vet Shop Boys #6) by Casey Cox

Description:

Can my best friend get me to enjoy the holidays? Ho… Ho… Um…No?

Christmas just isn’t my jam. The crowds. The cold. That Mariah Carey song blasting everywhere I go. Thanks, but no thanks.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m no Grinch. The holidays are awesome if you have a great family and money to shower them with gifts. Unfortunately for me, I have neither of those things.

All I want for Christmas (great, now I’m quoting that damn Mariah song) is to focus on my internship at the Vet Shop Boys clinic and hanging out with my best friend and roommate.

Turns out Chester has got other ideas. Along with a crew of loved-up vets, he’s on a mission to get me to enjoy the holidays and fall in love with him.

Wait… What?!

There’s no way I’ll ever become one of those festive people who likes Christmas, but who knows? Maybe this will be the first holiday season that actually gets me merry?

Got Me Merry is book 6 in the Vet Shop Boys series and can be read as a stand-alone. Expect plenty of humor, found family, best-friends-to-lovers, a grumpy Christmas Grinch, a sunshiny Christmas lover, some very wacky Christmas traditions, a sizzling hot fun run on a freezing winter day, a two-legged dog with a heart of gold, meddling vets determined to add a sprinkling of love to the holidays, and a heartwarming happily ever after!

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: Fran Cuthbert Ruins Christmas by J. A. Rock and Lisa Henry

Rating: 2.5🌈

J. A. Rock and Lisa Henry are both excellent writers and their ability to craft believable characters is one of the reasons I automatically grab up any book they co-author.

Unfortunately in Fran Cuthbert Ruins Christmas, it’s one of their believable characters that’s the reason this was so close to being a DNF for me. I barely scraped by, hoping for some improvement in his personality. A false hope as it turned out.

The truth lies in the title. Fran Cuthbert not only ruin’s Christmas but this story. While the other mc is real, vulnerable, and engaging, Fran is that person you can’t trust or the character that begs the question why on earth would either writer craft someone like him to begin with as a main romantic lead.

He’s an inveterate lier, a outright thief of Christmas gifts, incapable of taking responsibility for any kind of irresponsible hurtful behavior on his part, passiveness in a manner that ends up being a weapon to hurt others, and a sense of humor that actually inflicts damage on someone he says he cares about. His only saving grace is his love for his twins girls that he’s so busy lying to.

Honestly. The authors thought Fran was someone we as readers should connect with? Find somehow awkwardly funny and adorable? Because he’s a toxic hot mess with a box load of red flags waving above him.

One of the worst things here? When his long time love (who he wronged), opens up and makes an extremely vulnerable confession to Fran, something that involves a sexual encounter that resulted in an accidental harm, what happens? Fran makes fun of him, makes Cass feel bad about himself and the encounter. By then I was done.

So am I recommending this? No. Only to those fans of these authors and I’m sure you have this on your TBR list already. For the rest of you, I’ll let you make the best choice.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: A Changeling Christmas (A Snowed Inn Romance) by Eli Easton

Rating: 4.5🌈

Easton has written an adorable holiday story, based on a switched identities theme, that’s a highlight in the Snowed Inn Collection.

Easton has such a light, lively touch with her characters and none is a better example of that then maternity nurse Felix Bordeaux, whose friends have sent him to the speed dating event at The Retreat to get him dating. It’s not going well when a chance encounter with Alastor Jeddard, brother/thief from Stop The Wedding, changes his life.

I enjoyed the crossover aspects of this book. Several scenes from Stop The Wedding appear here but , obviously, from the perspective of these characters. I enjoyed both viewpoints and the fuller details.

Felix is a lovely, thoughtful, and kindhearted man. The type Easton crafts so well that immediately engages a reader’s imagination and heart.

The man who’s been made to believe that Felix is actually a well-known criminal and needs to maintain a surveillance for security is Riggs Marsten, cop in small town NY. Aside from that name, which is a little too movie star for me for small town, Riggs is a good soul. A ex-Marine , Riggs can’t equate the humble, awkward, kind man he’s getting to know with the criminal record of Alastor Jeddard, a ruthless, hardened thief.

Their friendship and days spent together makes for a enjoyable and sexy read. The avalanche that causes the enforced togetherness for them and all the others on the mountain adds a certain level of intimacy as well as isolation.

The drama is automatically created by the theme of discovery. It’s just a matter of when and the events that happen next.

It’s the chemistry between Felix and Riggs that really matters here. It’s the focus and the reason the story works so well. The setting is gorgeous, the events and people involved are entertaining.

I very much enjoyed A Changeling Christmas (A Snowed Inn Romance) by Eli Easton and rank it highly among my favorites in this collection.

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showA Changeling Christmas by Eli Easton

Description:

An avalanche, a quaint Christmas inn, and an assignment to sit on an infamous jewel thief until the cops can arrive. What could go wrong?

Felix can’t believe his luck when a perfect stranger offers him the use of a pre-paid cabin at a mountain inn. He’d planned to ignore Christmas this year, working through the holidays in his job as a nurse in a Denver maternity ward. After all, Christmas won’t be the same without his beloved mother, who recently passed. But the inn, decked out like a Hallmark movie set, is the perfect place to soothe his heart, rekindle his Christmas cheer, and maybe even find romance? When a gorgeous ex-Marine befriends him and sticks by his side through a whole day of Christmas activities, Felix thinks he’s found true love.

Riggs’s plans for a ski vacation are buried when an avalanche blocks off the mountain inn where he’s staying from the rest of the world. A midnight phone call enlists Rigg’s help watching a guy on the FBI’s Most Wanted list who is supposed to be staying at the inn. The FBI and the police can’t get through until the avalanche is cleared. Riggs steps up to do his duty one more time. But the man who is supposed to be The Falcon, an international thief, has one hell of a Clark Kent type alter ego, because he seems like the sweetest man Riggs has ever met. The more time they spend together, the more attracted Riggs becomes to him, and the more determined he is to make The Falcon reveal his true colors.

Will love prevail? Or will the law?

A Changeling Christmas is a mistaken identity, snowed in together, rom-com romance with all the Christmas feels. All the books in the Snowed Inn collection are standalone stories and can be read in any order.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Snowed Inn story Collection:

All the books can be read as standalones and in any order and all are available to buy or pre-order

• RJ Scott – Stop the Wedding – https://books2read.com/StopTheWedding

• H.L Day – Five Night Stand – https://books2read.com/FiveNightStandHL

• V.L. Locey – Checking it Twice – https://books2read.com/CheckingItTwiceVL

• LC Chase – Breakfast Included – https://books2read.com/BreakfastIncludedLCC

• Xenia Melzer – The Real Kaimana – https://books2read.com/RealKaimanaXM

• Meredith Russell – Stuck With You- https://books2read.com/StuckWithYouMR

• Eli Easton – A Changeling Christmas – https://books2read.com/ChangelingChristmasE

Review: This Is Real by Barbara Elsbourg

Rating: 3.75🌈

I like Barbara Elsborg, so I didn’t want to pass up her latest holiday romance, This Is Real.

A contemporary romance, it’s got a late coming out element, a snarky Englishman, a closeted American actor and a holiday movie set that brings them together.

I found it entertaining and sweet with characters that engaged me with their different backgrounds . Pasts that included aspects to their histories that were painful and believably difficult so they felt realistic .

Murdo Jenkins is a maths lecturer at Harvard. He’s got a vacation booked to see his bestie who’s also an Assistant Producer on a holiday film. He’s English with a painful history as an orphan whose adolescence was one of torment and neglect. Christmas is not his thing for reasons that will be revealed.

I liked the character of Murdo, feisty and highly intelligent. He had a welcome depth and interest to his personality that kept me involved in his life.

Lukas Olsen, actor and deeply closeted gay man, was a bit harder to get into. Not that he wasn’t understandable but at first I simply didn’t like his character. That changes as the story progresses and we get more of the background that made him into the man he’s become.

Their relationship and developing romance is fun, the dialogue is lively, personable and charming. It pulls us into their lives with a warm immediacy. The pitfalls to trying anything with a closeted partner is out front in both men’s minds. It won’t work.

Obviously the obstacles and drama will occur to change that. It happens towards the end of the story and I suppose that’s where my issues set in.

I realize this and others like it are holiday stories. That they come with a certain amount of glow and holiday spirit that sometimes glosses over some of life’s harsher realities.

But maybe it’s a bit of the Scrooge in me that thinks a holiday spirit shouldn’t be the panacea for all the things the bad people do or troublesome events that occur in these stories. That there’s another way to work through these elements realistically without having to do the whole “ let’s forgive the incredibly stupid or highly irresponsible/illegal acts that happened “ in order to have that golden moment(s) at the end.

Spoiler Alert. If someone in a position of authority takes advantage of a severely wounded person to then use that to a monetary advantage to potentially inflict great emotional harm as well as huge damage in other avenues? Then it’s , aww , it’s the holidays, and his excuse, well , doesn’t hold water either. So no, please stop with this type of narrative nonsense. Just because it’s a holiday story doesn’t excuse this behavior. Let’s be real.

So you had me almost to the end. I liked the epilogue. It’s just that bit towards the end. Eliminate that or change how it’s handled, and my overall opinion would be different.

Maybe you will find that aspect not as off putting as I do and will love this.

I will leave it up to you. I did enjoy the majority of the story.

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThis Is Real by Barbara Elsborg

Description:

A snarky English nerd. A hot American actor. When Christmas brings them together, they have more in common than they know…

Murdo doesn’t do Christmas, but this year, he’s looking forward to spending time with an old friend. Elodie’s working on a film starring Murdo’s Biggest Crush, the gorgeous Lukas Olsen. When Elodie asks him to give Lukas a lift from Logan International, Murdo can’t believe his luck. Lukas might be straight, but ogling’s acceptable—right?
Lukas arrives at the airport to find a gaggle of fans but no driver waiting and when he does turn up, the snarky Englishman can’t even remember where he’s parked. When they finally reach their destination, Lukas tries to tip him and Murdo makes his current opinion of Lukas very clear. His crush is over.

Things move from bad to worse when Murdo tells the director that Lukas’s English accent isn’t authentic. But a pang of guilt, and maybe a remnant of lust, has Murdo offering to give dialect lessons to a resentful Lukas. Only once they’re in Lukas’s house, annoyance turns into something far more dangerous, because Lukas isn’t out and never will be. He has too much to lose: career, fans, family and friends.

Yet something about Murdo makes Lukas want to risk it all…

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