12 Days: Day 4: Holiday Novella Review’s
I feel in love with this novella and got very hungry for French pastries! Rachel Smithson’s life is in a rut. As the holiday season approaches she is reminded of the loss of a beloved mother and just wants the whole season to go away. Luckily Rachel has friends in her English village who want the old joyful Rachel back. The have conspired to send her to a week long competition to be an apprentice to star chef Henri Salernes.
Once in Paris Rachel is overwhelmed. Her lodgings are disappointing and she finds her cooking skills sorely tested. In the midst of the pressure and a disastrous one night stand Rachel begins to find herself and opens her heart to all the memories of her mother and the gift those memories house. Really loved this! Its a perfect holiday read Oliver really captures the joys of the holiday season and makes you long for a Paris holiday :)
Harlequin
This sweet holiday novella is the story of Nash and Lady Juliana. Thee couple meet at a family house party and Nash finds himself drawn to Juliana's firm resolution that she will not marry. Nash challenges her that he will find her a suitable marriage candidate by twelfth night . As time passes Nash realizes he wants to be the man worthy enough for her heart and he wages a campaign to win her. Not overly passionate, but I enjoyed it overall. This Novella is currently free at Barnes & Noble
This was an unusual regency romance. Not only does the heroine Phoebe barely escape an assault in the very beginning of the story by some ruffians on the road, but her rescuer is a disfigured war vet : Captain Anthony Sterling who has lost a leg during the campaign in Trafalgar, only to come home and become jilted by his fiancé. Anthony has come to Phoebe’s small village on the request of a solicitor. It seems Anthony is the heir to a long empty keep . Though Anthony intends to finalize the paperwork and return to London he is captivated by Phoebe. His doubts about his worth as a husband due to his disfigurement but finds it increasingly hard to resist Phoebe’s innocent charm. This novella is currently free at Amazon
This novella had a lot more sexy times between characters and really captured the highland Christmas spirit.This story centers around Grim Mackintosh and Breena O’Doherty’s plans to bring Christmas back to the village of Duncreag. Since an attack on the clan their leader Archibald has banned the festivities. As the two visit nearby clans the romance between the two builds. As they come closer to achieving their goal the pairs happiness becomes threatened by the ghosts of Breena’s past. Really nice read. This novella is for sale and available on Netgalley
SO I have to confess this cover is very misleading. If you slap the cosmo label on the cover of something you would expect a lot more smolder. The confessions columns in the magazine are more racier than this story. That however doesn't mean the story wasn't good. This is the story of Aubrey a very talented window dresser and Detective Liam Flynn. Liam falls into Aubrey’s life when she discovers a singles card with Liam’s stats and phone number. Aubrey derives inspiration from Liam’s photograph and happiness once Liam himself is in her life and her bed. The couple however hits a rough spot and Liam must fight through Aubrey’s fears to create happiness for them both. This novel is currently available on Netgalley
Murder for Christmas! This is a nice little mystery novella . Socialite Claudine Burroughs has a privileged yet empty life. As she dreads another Holiday party with the same boring socialites she finds herself in the pleasant company of poet Dai Tregarron. The joy of the encounter however is destroyed when a questionable partygoer is found dead and Dai is the main suspect. Claudine cannot stop herself from investigating. She is convinced Dai is innocent and wont stop until she proves it.
I really liked the tension in this story and though their is a romance between some secondary characters the stars of this story are Claudine and the startling revelations she uncovers. This novella is for sale and available on Netgalley
I really couldn't get into these stories though there where a few bright spots. In the first story Joss is trying to avoid the holidays with a Mexican cruise only to find her self on the Christmas themed cruise from hell! There is a little joy in the appearance of handsome Irishman Patrick. The romance was ok but I didn't really connect with the characters.
The second story centers around Joss’s best friend Reese and her visit to her fiancé Damian’s family for the very first time. However the couple run over a deer and everything else seems to go downhill from there. I liked this characters a little more and the resolution was satisfying. This novella is available on Netgalley
Hope you check some of these out! Look at the post above for a chance to win a novella of your choice.
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