*[Review] Alice Close Your Eyes by Averil Dean

With haunting prose and deft psychological insight, Averil Dean spins a chilling story that explores the dark corners of obsession–love, pain and revenge.

Ten years ago, someone ruined Alice Croft's life. Now she has a chance to right that wrong–and she thinks she's found the perfect man to carry out her plan. After watching him for weeks, she breaks into Jack Calabrese's house to collect the evidence that will confirm her hopes. When Jack comes home unexpectedly, Alice hides in the closet, fearing for her life. But upon finding her, Jack is strangely calm, solicitous . . . and intrigued.

That night is the start of a dark and intense attraction, and soon Alice finds herself drawn into a labyrinth of terrifying surrender to a man who is more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. As their relationship spirals toward a breaking point, Alice begins to see just how deep Jack's secrets run–and how deadly they could be.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 288 pages (paperback)
Source: Book I Own
Available Format: Print/E-book/Audiobook
Publication Date: December 31st 2013 by Harlequin MIRA

Rating: 

You know how people always stop to watch a train wreck? 

That is exactly how I feel about Alice Close Your Eyes. I have never found myself so confused by a book after reading it. I am well and truly lost at see with this one. 

I bought this book a couple years back and it's another one that has been sitting, gathering dust for way longer than it should have before I finally got to it. In an effort to clean out my books I'm trying to read a lot of my older titles which is why I picked this one up when I did. I thought, that given how intense the synopsis was that I was going to be getting a hard hitting, complex, angsty romance bordering on bdsm.

Unfortunately I had a barely pieced together story about a young girl with some very obvious mental health issues, a man with serious control issues and how they came to be...what ever it was they were for a time. I wouldn't say they were a couple, because apart from weirdly timed, poorly written sex scenes and some definite boundary issues on both their parts neither were developed as individual characters enough for them to actually have a relationship in the story. Alice, our protagonist, is in her early 20s and a cutter. Jack is a guy of unknown age and he's recently out of jail for maybe or maybe not killing his ex-wife (we were never told what happened to Rosemary). Neither were likable. I hated them both right away but, I kept hoping that maybe I was just in a mood. Sadly, this wasn't the case. There was a definite lack of character development for both of them. 

In fact, I would say this is one of the most underdeveloped books I've ever read. I finished Alice Close Your Eyes feeling as though this was a rough draft of a novel someone pieced together from the jumbled remains of someone's cast off ideas. I just didn't see the real purpose of the story because the author wrote the story in such a way that it was obvious what Alice wanted with Jack, though her motivations were very cloudy due to her own issues. She was just completely distasteful. She was written as a tough character but just came off as a whiny little girl with some very serious problems. I found the same problem with Jack, although he was even more underdeveloped as a character that he may as well have been a prop.

There was no romance to this story as there really wasn't much of a story. There were actions, very little dialogue, lots of unnecessary inner monologues, awkward sex and very little plot. This was supposedly marketed as a psychological thriller/erotic read but lacked in both these aspects. I spent all 6 hours it took me to read this either shaking my head in confusion or disgust due to Alice's and later on Jack's actions. There was no cohesiveness and the broken timeline also added to the confusion. One minute Alice is cutting, the next she's remembering poisoning a dog in an act of revenge for a childhood bully calling her mother names. It was so out of whack I had no idea what was going to happen next in the mean time. 

This is not a book I would feel comfortable recommending just because of the lack of any substance to it. There were no redeemable moments, just pure confusion and if I hadn't bought the book I probably wouldn't have stuck it out to read it in the end especially given how slowly the book went. 

Alice Close Your Eyes was a definite case of overreaching for me,  and I wish I could have enjoyed it more as I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately it didn't deliver and gets my second one star rating of 2018.

[Review]* Christmas in Mustang Creek (The Brides of Bliss County #4) by Linda Lael Miller

Summary:

True love gets a second chance this Christmas in Mustang Creek.

Growing up in Mustang Creek, Wyoming, Charlotte Morgan couldn't wait to escape to the big city. But with a job she doesn't love and a sense of loneliness she can't shake, life in New York is less fabulous than she'd like to admit—especially now that veterinarian Jaxon Locke has left town. 

Jax's move to Idaho to fill in at his dad's practice ended things with Charlotte just as they were getting interesting. But he didn't expect to miss her so much. So when Charlotte returns home to help care for the great-aunt who raised her, Jax is determined to get to Wyoming and do whatever it takes to win her back…and he'll start by giving her the most magical Mustang Creek Christmas of all. 

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 267 pages (Hardcover)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Brides of Bliss County

Available Formats: Print/E-book/E-Audiobook/Audiobook CD

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: September 29th 2015 by HQN Books

Add to Goodreads

I finally did it, last week after years of seeing people reviewing Linda Lael Miller's books I finally decided to bite the bullet after this one strayed across my path at the library a while back. I wasn't sure how Christmas at Mustang Creek would read since it is the fourth book in the Brides of Bliss County series but I was worried for nothing.

This was a quick and easy holiday read and one that I really needed. I'd read a pretty heavy sort of book and this was just the right amount of lightening up and it fit in perfectly with the season. I really enjoyed the small town feel of this book but I do wish it had been highlighted more because while I enjoyed the glimpses, they were all too brief and I found myself wanting to get to know they other characters in the town more.

I liked Charlotte and Jaxon together more than as individual characters, well that's not true. I like Charlotte better when she was with Jax as a couple because on her own she wasn't the most likable heroine for me. There was far too much inner dialogue on her end and her "rationale" to find reasons not to do things got annoying after while but I will say I loved how she took care of her elderly aunt, she loved her so much and that really came through and in the end when Charlotte opened up more I did come to like her.

Jaxon was a great hero all on his own. He's a vet, a country boy and he is completely head over heals in love with Charlotte, Mustang Creek and all the residents. He was such a sweetheart and he had no problem being henpecked by the women and being at their beck and call. In fact he seemed to really enjoy having women to take care of and I loved it. He was such a good guy and the way he delt with all the townsfolk was wonderful I'm glad he balanced out Charlotte.

Mrs. Klozz though was the true star of the book, with her baked goods, feasts fit for a king, a welcoming embrace, advice and some good old fashioned old lady meddling I couldn't not love her, She had a delightful sense of humour and she was such a lovely character she really made tied the whole book together and she embodied the feeling of Christmas for me.

This is one that was on the sweeter side of the romance scale and didn't delve into the intimate details much though there was a certain amount of sexual tension and and the odd innuendo but nothing you wouldn't be shocked by. It had all the fixins' of a holiday love story and while I did think Charlotte needed more character development and I wish we'd gotten to know more of the folks in the town.
I'm glad these two characters got their happily ever after.

I would definitely recommend this book to all fans of holiday romances. If you're a fan of Debbie Macomber's Call Me Mrs. Miracle books Mrs. Klozz is sure to remind you of them. Check this one out if you're looking for a quick and sweet read to snuggle up with for the evening. I can't wait to read more of this series and enjoyed my experience reading Linda Lael Miller's work for the first time.

Really Liked It

★★★ 1/2

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[Blog Tour: Author Interview & Giveaway]* Fa-La-Llama-La by Stephanie Dag

Summary:

It's very nearly Christmas and, temporarily jobless and homeless, Noelle is back at home with her parents. However, a phone call from her cousin Joe, who runs a house-and-pet-sitting service, saves her from a festive season of Whist, boredom and overindulging. So Noelle is off to France to mind a dozen South American mammals. She arrives amidst a blizzard and quickly discovers that something is definitely wrong at the farm. The animals are there all right, but pretty much nothing else, no power, no furniture and, disastrously, no fee. Add to that a short-tempered intruder in the middle of the night, a premature delivery, long-lost relatives and participation in a living crèche, and this is shaping up to be a noel that Noelle will never forget. Fa-La-Llama-La is a feel-good, festive and fun romcom with a resourceful heroine, a hero who's a bit of a handful and some right woolly charmers.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 165 pages (Kindle)

Publication Date:  October 15th 2016

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Welcome to Turning the Pages Stephanie, I'm happy to have you on the blog! Now lets get to some fun questions shall we?

1. How did you come up with the title for Fa-la-Llama-la?

‘Deck the Halls’ is one of my favourite Christmas carols, and the ‘Fa-la-la-la-la’ refrain changes easily to Fa-la-llama-la. I’ve been known to sing that to my llamas. The title is also a bit of a one-person rebellion! There are already loads of seasonal books out there with ‘Little’ and ‘Christmas’ in their titles. I could have jumped on the bandwagon and gone with ‘The Little French Llama Farm at Christmas’ but a) that’s far too long and b) I always prefer to be different!

2. Who was your biggest supporter during the writing process?

None of the llamas, I’m afraid to say. They weren’t impressed at all! Husband Chris is my greatest supporter and is always encouraging me to keep writing when, like all authors, the self-doubt creeps in. And I like to think the children are secretly a tiny bit proud of me. Maybe!

3. Do you use friends and family member as sound boards for ideas?

Not really. I tend to work away on my own and do a big reveal when I’ve written the last word. However, I do eavesdrop and people-watch and that can provide wonderful material for novels.

4. Do you have anything else in the works, if so can you tell us about it?

Yes, I’m close to finishing my cozy mystery, ‘Hens, Haircuts and Homicide’. This is the first in a series of three or four novels featuring Holly, a hairdresser, who inherits her cantankerous gran’s cottage in France. In the series there will be assorted poultry in cameo roles, crimes to solve and two handsome cousins, one a gendarme (policeman) and the other a farmer, vying for Holly’s heart. I’m having a great time writing the novel and I think it will make for fun reading, with plenty to chuckle about.

I’m also writing the sequel to ‘Heads Above Water’, which was the memoir of our first couple of extremely eventful years here in France. Renovating two hovels, starting a business, becoming a llama farmer and dealing with exploding toilets does make for an interesting life. The new book, ‘Total Immersion’, takes up where ‘Heads Above Water’ left off, as life continues to throw challenges and the unexpected at us. Never a dull moment.

5. What are your top three favourite holiday movies?

The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, Arthur Christmas and Love, Actually.

6. Do you like a white Christmas or one without snow?

Oh, a white one, please. We get long, cold, grey winters on the whole here in central France. There’s usually enough to snow us in for a few days, the record being ten

days our first winter here, but it tends to come in January. We had one white Christmas several years ago and spent the whole morning following animals tracks in our fields.

7. What inspired you to write your book?

Loving Christmas and owning llamas! I’ve started several Christmas novels but not finished them. This time I was determined to stick it out. And llamas are a bit unusual and also very characterful so I decided they’d be great to include. Over ten years of owning them, and running a llama trekking business for a while, I’ve accumulated a lot of experiences to weave into a novel.

8. If you could cast your characters in a movie or television show who would you cast and why?

Callan Mulvey as Nick, and Kaya Scodelario as Noelle. My llamas will play themselves!

9. What is your favourite Christmas tradition? Food? Song?

I love carols so we usually go to a carol service in the run up to Christmas. We have all the usuals food-wise for Christmas – mince pies, turkey (home grown), Christmas pudding and Christmas cake, and too many chocolates. We go for a family walk on Christmas Eve, although this year we’ll be one member short as my daughter is in Australia until next autumn. I guess it’s mainly the family togetherness that I like the most.

10. How have you found navigating the world of book bloggers, publishers and social media? Do you have any advice for new authors?

I’ve worked in publishing for thirty years, first as an in-house editor and then as a freelance, so I’m fairly au fait with the world of publishing. Most of my books have been traditionally published (I’ve authored 30+ children’s books that were published by presses in Ireland, where I lived for fourteen years). They’ve been translated into five languages. These days I tend to self-publish.

Book bloggers are wonderful and a total godsend for indie authors, who can struggle to get their book noticed. Thanks to these generous bloggers and their voracious appetite for books and their amazing enthusiasm in spreading the word, self-published writers can reach an audience. Readers can discover hidden gems they’d otherwise miss.

I’m not too bad with social media. I was the first in the family to get onto Facebook, and onto Twitter, but that’s it. I’ve toyed with Pinterest and Instagram, but that’s all. I suspect I’m simply failing to see their full potential. Maybe I’ll have another go with them at some point. I’ve blogged at www.bloginfrance.com pretty much since we moved to France in 2006, and I run a book blog myself at www.booksarecool.com.

Advice to new authors: build an author platform, be persistent, be as professional as you can when you publish (i.e. use an editor and be sure to produce a classy cover), and most of all, keep writing.

11. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice about writing your book, what would it be?

Publish it earlier than mid-October. I should have had it out early September, but I suddenly decided to rewrite the ending. I’m glad I did, but it made me run rather late with getting publicity going.

12. If you could tell your readers one thing about you that not many people know what would it be?

That I swam competitively until I was thirty-seven and have broken my nose twice in high-speed collisions with pool ends!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Hi, I'm Stephanie Dagg. I'm an English expat living in France, having moved here with my family in 2006 after fourteen years as an expat in Ireland. I now consider myself a European rather than belonging to any particular country. The last ten years have been interesting, to put it mildly. Taking on seventy-five acres with three lakes, two hovels and one cathedral-sized barn, not to mention an ever increasing menagerie, makes for exciting times. The current array of animals includes alpacas, llamas, huarizos (alpaca-llama crossbreds, unintended in our case and all of them thanks to one very determined alpaca male), sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, geese, chickens and turkeys, not forgetting our pets of dogs, cats, zebra finches, budgies and Chinese quail. Before we came to France we had was a dog and two chickens, so it's been a steep learning curve. I'm married to Chris and we have three bilingual TCKs (third culture kids) who are resilient and resourceful and generally wonderful. I'm a traditionally-published author of many children's books, and and am now self-publishing too. I have worked part-time as a freelance editor for many years after starting out as a desk editor for Hodder & Stoughton. The rest of the time I'm running carp fishing lakes with Chris and inevitably cleaning up some or other animal's poop. Visit her website. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter 

  BUY THE BOOK:

  Amazon.com 

 Amazon.fr 

 Amazon.co.uk

***

You can enter the global giveaway here or on any other book blogs participating in this tour. Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook, they are listed in the entry form below.

ENTER HERE

Visit each blogger on the tour: tweeting about the giveaway everyday of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time! [just follow the directions on the entry-form] Global giveaway - international: 1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card

***

CLICK ON THE BANNER TO READ REVIEWS AND AN EXCERPT

 

*[Review] Hidden Summit (Virgin River #15) by Robyn Carr

Summary:

Return to Virgin River with the books that started it all… 

When Connor Danson becomes an unwitting witness to a violent crime, he is forced to leave Sacramento and keep a low profile until the trial is over. He arrives in the tiny mountain town of Virgin River with a chip on his shoulder and an ache in his heart. 

Leslie Petruso didn't want to leave her hometown, either. But she can't stand another minute of listening to her ex-husband tell everyone that his new wife and impending fatherhood are the best things that ever happened to him. Virgin River may not be home, but it's a place where she can be anonymous. 

Neither Connor nor Leslie is remotely interested in starting a new relationship…until they meet one another. Even they can't deny they have a lot in common—broken hearts notwithstanding. And in Virgin River, no one can stay hidden away from life and love for very long…

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 320 pages (Paperback)

Available Formats: Print/E-Book/E-Audiobook/Audiobook (CD)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: February 23rd 2016 by Mira (first published December 16th 2011)

This is one Virgin River book I was ever so slightly hesitant in reading, unlike the previous books in the series the characters in this installment were both completely 100% new to the series and Virgin River. I love that we usually have an idea of at least one of the characters in the books are like before we get into them so things were a little different. Not in a bad way though, it was nice seeing some new blood in Virgin River.

As always Robyn Carr did a really great job in creating both Connor and Leslie. Both are new arrivals with no long term plans for staying in the quaint little mountain town and both are trying to escape some pretty rough situations and neither counted on falling in love with each other or the town. There's Leslie, office manager extraordinaire, trying to get away from her weirdo ex-husband and Connor, who is in Witness Protection after witnessing a crime and coming forward. Strange circumstances brought them to Virgin River, and while they didn't seem like they'd work at first I really did come to like them as a couple. 

Connor was very sweet. He would literally give the shirt off his back to help someone and he has the biggest heart. However, he's no pushover and gives Leslie just enough resistance so that she can't always have her way (though she gets it pretty often where he's concerned). He's funny and charming and while I thought at first that he was a bit too much of a goody goody I'm pleased to say you don't want to cross him.

Leslie, was a great character as well. After the muck up of her marriage to a complete idiot I can see why she wanted to pick up and move on. I just wish that she stood up for herself to her ex-husband (whom we meet) much sooner than she did and as much as I liked her I felt that sometimes she over thought things and got in her own way too much and that kind of detracted from the story.

I enjoyed seeing the usual cast of merry characters and hanging out at Jack's Bar again felt like I was coming home and having a nice catch up with some old friends. I enjoyed seeing everyone again and I loved how they extended the classic Virgin River welcome to both Connor and Leslie who needed some good folks to have their backs. 

This Virgin River installment had more twists and turns in it than the usual ones what with Connor being a witness to a murder and Leslie being harassed by her ex but it was a refreshing one nonetheless. My only complaint with this one is that I wish Leslie wasn't the forefront of the story and that Connor was. Leslie as much as I liked her character was a bit too woe is me at times and that detracted from the story a bit.

I would recommend this one to fans of the Virgin River series who haven't read it yet and to new fans. Each story is self contained and a little bit of backstory into the town and its inhabitants are always worked into the books so if you want this can be read without reading the previous books. If contemporary romance with a great setting and wonderful characters and lots of laughs are your thing pick this one up as soon as you can!

Really Liked It!

★★★★

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[Review]* Raising Kane (Rough Rider's #9) by Lorelei James

Summary:

She surrendered the reins. Now he's raising the stakes.

When a patch of ice sends attorney Ginger Paulson head-over-high-heels down a flight of stairs, she has no one to care for her young son and her invalid father - until lethally sexy Kane McKay shows up at the hospital, determined to prove his cowboy chivalry. Past experience has inoculated her against take-charge men, but even Ginger isn't immune to Kane's invasive charm and Built Ford Tough body.

For two years rancher Kane McKay has followed the Little Buddies mentoring program's cardinal rule - hands off his Little Buddy Hayden's mama. But one look at Ginger's bruised body and Kane is through watching the stubborn woman take care of everyone but herself. The feisty, curvy redhead needs his help, and he'll give her the hands-on type whether she likes it or not.

After Kane throws out doctor's orders and issues his own demands - her full sexual submission - Ginger realizes Kane's caring nature extends beyond just fulfilling her physical needs.

Can the former hell-raiser convince the gun-shy single mom to look beyond his past - toward a shared future?

Warning: Contains one sweet and hot hunk of cowboy manflesh who uses every sexual trick in the book to render a sassy, fast-talking attorney speechless and put a new twist on the term "binding arbitration".

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 252 pages (Paperback)

Available Formats: Print/E-book/E-Audiobook/Audiobook (CD)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: May 3rd 2011 by Samhain Publishing (first published June 29th 2010)

Lorelei James has been on my radar for several years but like many other authors she is one that kind of fell to the wayside when I started blogging so I was happy to borrow it from the library a week ago and was really excited to read it and ya know what I'm glad I did.

I liked my first dip into the Rough Rider's series, it was actually better than I expected and it surprised me. I don't know about you folks but sometimes erotica can be very much an endeavour of style over substance but this one, I'm happy to say proved me wrong.

I really liked the set up of this book. Single mom, adorable kid, curmudgeon of a father and a cowboy with a darkside who LOVES kids. It's not all that often that I can jump this far into a series and not really feel like I'm missing a hell of a lot and I appreciated the author doing this so while this one does have characters that I know have their own books before and after this one, it can totally be read on it's own.

While this one is billed as an erotic romance, there was a surprising amount of character development and I found that I really got a sense for the town and the people in it despite the heavy emphasis on the romance between tough as nails Ginger and Kane. I loved getting to know the other characters and their little quirks and as much as I loved Ginger and Kane, Ginger's son Hayden really made the story come together. He was adorable! I'm glad he played such a big role in the story and how he was written. I also loved how he was able to act as a bridge not just between Ginger and Kane but between Kane, and Ginger's elderly wheelchair bound dad, Dash.

Ginger and Kane made a great couple. She was really likable. I loved how strong and independent she was and how big of a heart she had but I do wish she'd given in to Kane a lot sooner than before her wee accident that lead to them getting together. She was smart and witty and was the perfect match for Kane who could be very dominant. I enjoyed seeing their relationship progress and how they clashed at times.Kane was a really good hero of the story, his sweetness helped balance out the darker side to his personality and I thought he had a great sense of humour plus he was a cowboy. Need I say more? The heat between these too was great and liked that the the author didn't over do the sex scenes and made them spicy but not completely raunchy. The way these two found each other at the end of the book was just right and I really liked how their romance wrapped up.

This is a series and author that I will absolutely be picking up again and can't wait to do so, I'd recommend this one to fans of romance with the heat factor off the charts with a penchant for cowboys and lots of laughs and my only regret is that I didn't give this author a try before now.

Really Liked It!

★★★★

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[Review]* Bring Me Home for Christmas (Virgin River #14) by Robyn Carr

Summary:

 Welcome back to VIRGIN RIVER with the books that started it all… 

This year, Becca Timm knows the number one item on her Christmas wish list—getting over Denny Cutler. Three years ago Denny broke her heart before heading off to war. It's time she got over her silly college relationship and moved on. 

So she takes matters into her own hands and heads up to Virgin River, the rugged little mountain town that Denny calls home, as an uninvited guest on her brother's men-only hunting weekend. But when an accident turns her impromptu visit into an extended stay, Becca finds herself stranded in Virgin River. With Denny. In very close quarters. 

As the power of Christmas envelops the little town, Becca discovers that the boy she once loved has become a strong and confident man. And the most delicious Christmas present she can imagine. 

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 336 (Mass Market Paperback)

Available Formats: Print/E-book/E-audiobook/Audiobook (CD)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: October 27th 2015 by Mira (first published July 12th 2011)

There really isn't anything like returning to Virgin River after a long break in reading the series. I know that Robyn Carr has her Thunderpoint series now but I've been slowly reading this series in an effort to put off the inevitable. I just love the warmth that these books exude and I always feel like I'm settling in with old friends when I read the series.

This one, is probably my favourite out of the Christmas novels in the series up until this point. Maybe it's because I'd been away from the series for a long time or maybe it was just that Carr added a little more Christmas magic to it. Who knows, all I know is that I loved it and it put me in the holiday spirit right away. Mind you, at the time that I read the book it was mid August (I was a little early). But I loved it nonetheless.

This one featured one of my favourite themes- second chance romance and with two characters that I loved right from the start. Becca and Denny were just awesome together. They were a little younger than the last few couples in the book but I think that just made it even more important for them to reconnect because they could pick up right where they left off basically.

I thought Becca was a hoot as she basically forced herself into her brother's bachelor weekend to get closure from Denny who broke off there relationship a few years before. Instead it seemed like one thing got in her way after another and a broken ankle, some yelling and a little drama later from her and Denny she got the complete opposite of closure and ended up realizing she never stopped loving him. I really liked Becca, I thought her stubborn attitude was great. She may have been tiny but she was definitely not a wallflower or a pushover which was refreshing. She also had a great sense of humour and a big heart that definitely came through not only when she was with Denny, but when she was dealing with the people of Virgin River especially the children.

It was great to see Denny again. He'd been a side character in a couple of the previous Virgin River and we got to know him a little in those but it was nice to see him really shine as the main character in this romance. He knew he'd made a mistake in leaving Becca before and I was happy he wasn't hardheaded about coming around to that. He was so sweet and caring. He's one of those guys who would give you the shirt off his back literally if it meant that he could help. He was just so easy going I couldn't help but love him.

While their romance was a bit quick, due to Becca being trapped in Virgin River over the holidays it didn't feel rushed and I think it's because the usually band of merry characters from the series were in the story too. It was great to see Jack, Mel, Paige and Preacher again as well as some of the other minor characters and I loved the message that this book had about helping your community no matter what during the holidays everyone deserves to be warm and fed.

This was a cute, warm holiday read and one that really brightened up my day as it only took me the afternoon to read it, The romance between the two characters and the characters themselves felt genuinely authentic and filled me with Christmas cheer.

This is one that I would recommend to fans of the Virgin River series and to newcomers as well. If you really want a book that will make you feel cozy this is it especially if you love when two people get a second chance with each other.

LOVED IT!

★★★★★

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