I’m back with another blog tour today with Rachel’s Random Resources for The Little Swiss Ski Chalet by Julie Caplin. Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Be sure to click on the banner below to check out the other bloggers on tour!
Goodreads: The Little Swiss Ski Chalet Release Date: 30 January 2021 Genre: Women’s Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance
Panda Rating: (3.5 pandas)
It’s time to pack your bags and head to the breathtaking, snow-covered peaks of the Swiss Alps for velvety hot chocolates, delicious cheeses and a gorgeous love story…
Food technician Minna has always believed that chocolate will solve everything – and it’s just what she needs when her latest relationship mishap goes viral! So with her bags packed and a new determination to sort her life out, Minna decides to drown her sorrows with the best hot chocolate in the world at her godmother’s cosy Swiss chalet. Chocolate: yes. Romance: no. Until she has a run in on an Alpine train with a mysterious but oh-so-gorgeous stranger…
With his smooth talk, rugged good looks, and deep pockets, native Texan Boone McBride appears to be a man who has it all. Few people know about the heartbreak behind his decision to leave home, family, and career for the isolation of a small town in the Colorado Rockies. Luckily, time and life in Eternity Springs has worked its healing magic upon his wounded soul, so when he meets obviously troubled Hannah Dupree, Boone sees a chance to pay his good fortune forward. The last thing he anticipates is tumbling into love.
Tragedy has taken everything Hannah loves, and her will to keep going is failing. So when Boone strides into her life determined to save her, it’s easier to go along with him than to resist. Soon she is drawn into the fabric of life in Eternity Springs, and as her spirit begins to heal, her strength returns, and she’s able to go toe-to-toe with this hardheaded, big-hearted Texan. But just when love blooms and happiness is within their grasp, shadows from the past threaten. Hannah and Boone must stand strong and united in order to defeat old ghosts—if they are to create a brand-new life together.
CW: mentions of suicide, child abuse, and death of a child and partner (all instances occurred in the past and off-page).
I’ve been on a serious fantasy binge over the last few months and I only recently started reading romances again when this book came onto my radar. Boone is the third book in a series and can easily be read as a standalone, but my curiosity was definitely piqued about the first two books because the characters make appearances and I was intrigued by them.
I’m back with another blog tour today with Rachel’s Random Resources for In Pursuit of Happiness by Freya Kennedy. Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Be sure to click on the banner below to check out the other bloggers on tour!
Goodreads: In Pursuit of Happiness Publisher: Boldwood Books Release Date: 15 December 2020 Genre: Women’s Fiction / Chick Lit Panda Rating:
The world is waiting…but just outside of your comfort zone.
Jo Campbell is perfectly content in a perfectly structured life. Nothing ever changes in Jo’s life, and she likes it that way. Or at least, she tells herself she does.
Most of the time, she manages to push down the tiny voice that tells her to chase her dream and maybe, just maybe, open her battered and bruised heart up to love. But to chase her dreams she needs to take chances that are way out of her comfort zone and learn to not put other people’s happiness above her own.
Most of all she has to learn to trust her heart, which may just be the biggest challenge of all.
Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?Here are the rules:
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!
First lines:
“There was nothing cute about the first time Kerry Fuller met Jesse Strong. He broke her glasses; she bloodied his nose and they both ended up in a tangle of yarn on the floor in the loft space of Strong Knits being scolded by Mama Joy.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
Don’t fall for your roommate…especially when he’s your best friend.
Cooper Bennett is my best friend. That’s all he is and all he ever will be. Nothing will change that.
Accidentally seeing him naked? Please. So not a big deal. Having less-than-tame thoughts? I mean, have you seen this guy? Who could blame me? Kissing him? It was a one-time mistake, and it will not be repeated. Falling into bed with him? Uh-oh…
It’s fine. We’re fine. We’re Caroline and Cooper. Best friends until the end. Nothing has ever come our way that we couldn’t survive together. Surely, we can handle this too…
I’m a Missouri-raised gal, but currently live in North Carolina with my US Marine husband and 9-year-old dog. I spend my days begging him for a cat, and I survive off coffee, pizza, and sarcasm. When I’m not writing, you can find me binge-watching various TV shows, especially Supernatural and One Tree Hill. I like cold weather, buy more paperbacks than I’ll ever read, and I never say no to brownies.
Writing is my passion, and this is just the beginning of my journey.
TL;DR: I loved Caroline and Cooper! Their friendship was so real and you could tell they genuinely understood and respected each other, despite any mistakes that were made. Their connection and especially their chemistry was incredible and oof, the steaminess in this one! It’s an 8/5 on the steamy scale. Overall, this romance was a solid win for me, I definitely enjoyed it more than the first, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the Roommate Romps series!
I didn’t plan on reading this so quickly but once I picked it up I didn’t want to put it back down! Am I glad I read this or what?! Reading Love Thy Neighbor gave me the same feelings I had when reading Hunter’s Texting series, two of which are part of my all-time faves, so you know I was totally here for the swooning and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this friends-to-lovers romance!
So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is:Holiday/Seasonal Freebie (holiday books/covers/titles, wintry reads, snow on cover, cool color covers, takes place in cold settings, cozy scenes on cover, etc.), so I’ve gone for Christmas Romances that I hope to be reading!
Since it’s a holiday/seasonal freebie today, I was debating whether to do a post on the books I want to read before the end of 2020, but I thought it’d end up being not very festive, so I decided to share ten Christmas romances that I’d like to read at some point this month (but also maybe even in January). I’m quite new to seasonal romances but I went a bit wild last year looking at all the gorgeous Christmas covers, and ended up snagging a fair few for 99p on Kindle! I can’t remember what many of these are about but just looking at them gives me those cosy and comforting feels. As with many holiday themed things, I find that sometimes holiday romances can get a little cheesy, but y’know what? We’re here for the cheesy feel-good vibes, especially when so much has been a hot mess this year!
So… Who loves a fast-paced, chemistry-laden and steamy romance featuring headstrong and outspoken ladies and burly Scottish Highland lords? Apparently, I do! 🙋🏻♀️ You might’ve notice that I’ve recently got into historical romances and so I thought I’d share more mini-reviews for two of the books I read in the Lords of the Highlands series by Amy Jarecki. I read these completely out of order although they can definitely be read as standalones, but these two do have closely connecting characters (they’re siblings)! I actually read #8 before #5 but I decided to share the reviews in reading order.
She is the daughter of his sworn enemy. Famed for his fierceness, Laird Robert Grant is above all a loyal Highland clan chief. But when redcoats capture his rival’s daughter, he sets aside their feud and races to her rescue. Aye, Janet Cameron is beautiful, cunning, and so very tempting, but a Cameron lass is the last woman he should ever desire.
He is her one hope of happiness. Janet refuses to meekly surrender, not even when surrounded by foes. She takes every chance to escape, first from the English soldiers and then from the wickedly handsome Robert. Yet with each day they spend together, his unexpected gallantry chips away at her reserve little by little. As danger and treachery loom, can she trust him enough to choose love over vengeance?
This is my second taste of historical romance set in the Scottish highlands and I’ve really enjoyed how Jarecki brings that era to life. While the romance is obviously the main plot, we still learn a great deal about society, as well as the increasingly tense political situation between Scotland and England.
Robert and Janet were great characters! Robert is definitely of the ‘gruffer’ and domineering sort and while Janet comes across as very prim most times, she also has a delightful rebellious streak that makes her so much fun to read about! There’s a long history of feuding between their clans, so it was very much a forbidden-lovers romance, which upped the stakes and added a touch of angst to the story. They initially deny their chemistry but once they give into it… Oof, lemme tell ya! That was some sizzling chemistry and it ended up being even steamier than I expected!! I loved how well they complemented each other, brought out the best in each other, but also allowed the other to flourish in their own way without setting expectations on each other.
TL;DR:I’m definitely looking forward to trying the other books in this series because I’m really enjoying them so far! There’s lot of fast-paced action, steamy connections, characters you really come to care about and romances that will leave you swooning!
Emma Grant has been sheltered and underestimated her entire life. Her blindness may set her apart, but she’s just as fierce and loyal as any of her clansmen. So when she catches word that her brother’s best friend is in jail, she doesn’t hesitate to race to the brawny Highlander’s rescue.
Laird Ciar MacDougall is on a vital mission for Scotland when he witnesses a murder—and then is blamed for the death and thrown into a Redcoat prison to rot. He never thought he’d be broken out by a slip of a lass and her faithful hound. But now they’re outlaws on the run. And as their enemies circle ever closer, he will have to choose between saving his country or the woman who’s captured his heart
I’m a big romance fan but I don’t read many historical ones, and this was also my first taste of a historical Scottish romance. You can definitely say I’m sold and I’ve already got another one of these books lined up to read soon! It was full of action and adventure, not to mention the chemistry between our hero and heroine was pretty damn fire 🔥 It got pretty steamy too and I’d put this at close to 4/5 on the steamy scale.
I really liked Ciar and Emma! They were wonderfully written characters who complemented each other so well! Ciar was known as a ‘beast’ thanks to his stature and gruff looks but you wouldn’t know that considering how gentle he is with Emma. I swooned at how supportive he was of her and how he was still able to look out for her, without smothering her need for independence and adventure. He really understood her and unlike others who defined her by her lack of sight, he didn’t do that. I absolutely adored Emma’s character. She’s young and there’s a natural naïveté about her but it doesn’t come across as annoying. I love her passion for life and how she really doesn’t let her disability keep her from experiencing it in her own unique way, despite being raised under her overprotective brother’s charge. In all the years they’ve known each other, Cair always treated her kindly and didn’t make her feel like she wasn’t capable of doing anything she wished, which is really all she wanted. So it was especially heartwarming to see them come together and get a HEA! They really brought out the best in each other and their characters fit together so perfectly.
TL;DR: There was plenty of fast-paced action, sweet flirtations, and a surprisingly steamy romance, all set against an interesting historical backdrop. Cair and Emma were wonderful characters who stole my heart and who absolutely deserved their HEA.
Is there something about men in kilts… or is it just me? 🙈 Do you like Scottish Highland romances? Have you read this series? If you’re a fan of highland romances, I’d love to hear your recs! 😉
Tricked into marriage five years ago, Thomas Devereaux, Lord Rockbourne is suddenly a widower. Rumors abound that his wife’s death may not have been an accident and given the troubling secrets Thomas keeps buried, even he isn’t entirely sure. But when a woman sees what happened, he agrees to accept her help to disguise the facts in exchange for not divulging her suspicious behavior. Their arrangement grows more complicated under the force of a scorching mutual attraction.
Abandoned by her father—a duke—after the death of her mother—his beloved mistress—Beatrix Linley has fought to become a daughter he could be proud of, that he would regret leaving. She becomes the toast of the Season until her penchant for pilfering pretty things threatens to expose the illicit past she needs desperately to remain hidden. Soon the scandal and darkness both Beatrix and Thomas fear comes to light, compelling them to finally face their demons—and potentially driving them apart forever
How the moose (almost) stole Christmas. Lana Montgomery is everything the quirky small town of Moose Springs, Alaska can’t stand: a rich socialite with dreams of changing things for the better. But Lana’s determined to prove that she belongs…even if it means trading her stilettos for snow boots and tracking one of the town’s hairiest Christmas mysteries: the Santa Moose, an antlered Grinch hell-bent on destroying every bit of holiday cheer (and tinsel) it can sink its teeth into.
And really…how hard could it be? The last few years have been tough on Rick Harding, and it’s not getting any easier now that his dream girl’s back in town. When Lana accidentally tranquilizes him instead of the Santa Moose, it’s clear she needs help, fast…and this could be his chance to finally catch her eye. It’s an all-out Christmas war, but if they can nab that darn moose before it destroys the town, Rick and Lana might finally find a place where they both belong…together.
It took a little while for me to get into the story but when I did, I fell hard and fast for these two insanely adorable and incredibly weird (like, really weird) characters! I didn’t think this level of weirdness would work for me initially but y’know what? It did and I really enjoyed it! If there was ever a couple that was destined to be together in all of their glorious oddity, Graham and Zoey would be IT. I also need to give an honorary mention to JAKE, the most adorable doggo in the doggo-sphere because I literally died of cuteness overload whenever he would appear, and he appeared often!
Welcome back to Goodreads Monday! It’s been a very hot minute since I did one but I figured I might as well get back into it! This weekly meme was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners and it invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.
This week’s featured book is The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez. This is a contemporary romance that while fun and flirty, also covers the more serious topic of infertility. It has a 3.89 star rating on Goodreads with several thousand ratings and reviews.
dinipandareads 