Being stood up on Christmas Eve is bad enough, but now Valerie’s furnace is broken, too. Good thing that sexy repairman is available to raise the temperature dramatically…
At first, it did take me a little bit to get into this story. Mostly because I didn’t quite understand how the couple in this could go from zero to lust in pretty much no time at all. Particularly when there is pretty much no talking, and very little emotional discussion throughout this story. And then, at the completion of this story, I understood why it goes that quickly, and it becomes a beautifully and wonderfully romantic tale.
I love that this story has a whole happily ever after / perfect couple feel to it at the end. Plus, there is a heck of a lot of lust throughout this story. I love how Donovan is able to make you feel a little naughty whilst reading this, whilst also being very vague. It just lends everything to the imagination, which makes it all that more enjoyable and happier.
I can’t really rant and rave about how much I enjoyed this story without giving away the twist at the end. So, suffice it to say, that this was a great and amazing novella. One that didn’t necessarily make me think all that much about Christmas. But did certainly make me think about what makes a perfect relationship.
Aimee was 13 when her mother preyed to an angel to save her life. Now, an adult, that same angel may have returned to her life, as a man. One who very much wants to save her yet again.
Whilst I liked this novella, it most certainly wasn’t my favourite one. It took a little while to truly get into the storyline, and even the style of writing. I do enjoy Kantra’s works, and will buy more of this series, but I’m also not head over heels in love with her work like some of the other romance authors I have filling my shelves.
I like that the angel that saves the young girl is ultimately the angel that she chooses to spend the rest of her life with. There was something incredibly sweet about that whole fate feeling, and the idea that Amy had to grow up before she could fully be committed to her angel lover. There is also her cousin, who, although she’s kind of ignorant and a little selfish, most definitely loves Amy. It gives the whole story a festive feeling full of love and affection. Or at least, that’s how I read it.
This was a really lovely and wonderful Christmas story. It’s hopeful and full of love. With just the right amount of drama and mayhem thrown in to stop you from getting bored. One I’ll read again, but not as quickly as some other stories I’ve read.
Title: The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl: Adventures in Life and Love in the Heart of Dixie Author: Jaime Primak Sullivan Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Family, Humour, Memoirs Dates read: 19th – 20th December 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Touchstone Year: 2016 5th sentence, 74th page: I didn’t have the life energy to waste on games.
Jersey-bred, tough-as-nails Hollywood publicist Jaime Primak Sullivan has been crossing the line all her life. She isn’t afraid to say what everyone is thinking when it comes to love, sex, friendship, and many other topics that are all too often sugarcoated in well-mannered company. But when a meet-cute scene right out of a Nora Ephron movie upends her life, Jaime soon finds herself an unlikely transplant in an upscale suburb of Birmingham, Alabama – a reluctant “knish out of water” smack-dab in the Deep South, starting a life with her new husband, the perfect southern gentleman.
Jaime enters the heart of Dixie with her fists up, but eventually learns she must let her guard down. As she struggles to adapt to her new world, she befriends a group of southern belles, and the very women she thought her Jersey personality was most likely to shock and repel become her most surprising allies. Jaime soon discovers that while southern belles may have a secret code of behaviour northern girls don’t always understand, when it comes down to helping a fellow woman, no one is more thoughtful, more generous, and kinder than a belle.
In The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl, Jaime shares her hard-won lessons on southern etiquette, deep-fried foods, college football, the peculiar methods of southern dating – and all the unexpected homework a girl receives when she crosses the line… and decides to stay.
This was one of those memoirs that is completely, totally and utterly considered to be “laugh out loud”. I giggled and chortled my way through this book in total and utter joy. This is one of those stories that I will pick up again and again. There is something light and joyous about the whole storyline that really got to me and made me imagine every single moment Sullivandescribes with perfect vividity.
The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl is a fairly typical fish-out-of-water story. The fact that it’s all true just makes it all that much more intriguing. I mean, many fish-out-of-water stories are based in fact, but this story has that extra ring of truth to it. Plus, you can just picture this big-haired, lough-mouthed jersey girl just blundering her way through the south. There is just a great sense of reality to this story.
I felt like this story was really written in two parts. And was pretty much two love stories. The first was Sullivan’s love story to her husband. I found the story of his courting and their relationship to be fascinating. I loved the slow-going, beautiful relationship that they shared. And the way that they are both able to negotiate their past hurts to finally come up with a new reality that leaves them both happy and feeling… well, complete, to as much of a degree as that ever happens.
The second love story though, is my favourite. It is about Sullivan’s belles. Her gorgeous girlfriends who have helped her negotiate the morals, intricacies and social norms of the belles. Although Michael was a great story, I loved the girlfriends even more. It’s an acknowledgement of the power of women and the ways in which we need them in our lives. It’s a bit of a love ballad to the south as well, but mostly it’s to the importance and power of having good women on your side.
Title: This Is Going to Hurt Author: Adam Kay Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Humour, Medical, Memoirs Dates read: 18th – 19th December 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Picador Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: Today crossed the line from everyday patient idiocy to me checking around the room for hidden cameras.
97-hour weeks. Life and death decisions. A constant tsunami of bodily fluids. And the hospital parking meter earns more than you.
Welcome to the life of a junior doctor.
Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know – and more than a few things you didn’t – about life on and off the hospital ward.
This story had me laughing out loud. And giggling. And reading a lot of parts of this story out to my partner. Much to his chagrin… he doesn’t like anything medical or any hint of blood, so telling him all about it just didn’t go down well. But I had to share. Because there is wit, humour and awesomeness right throughout this novel.
I’ve seen this novel in my suggested readings again and again. But it wasn’t until the Black Friday sales that I finally decided that I may as well buy it. Quite possibly one of the better decisions that I’ve made. This story introduced me not only to the world of medicine but reminded me how humour can help you to deal with some of the crappier things in life.
This year has been a horrifying year, and part of that for me was deciding to give up a career path that I have been working towards for years. The fact that Kay gives up his career path six years into the career made me feel a heck of a lot better about my own decisions. Particularly when I read the final passages of this book. It is completely understandable why Kay decided to choose a new path. And, although tragic, gave hope for the new life that he decided to build.
Surprisingly, this novel did actually hurt. That final diary entry just tore at my heart. And the fact that it’s all true, and I have a few girlfriends who are currently pregnant… yeah, it most definitely “hurt”. Although it also made me laugh and smile. So it was also a brilliant, fun journey.
When sexy paediatrician Matthew Carlton plays Santa, pulling Faith Roberts on his lap, he has no idea what’s on her Christmas wish list…or how much he’ll enjoy fulfilling every bit of it…
I absolutely adored this novella. It was all about letting go and accepting your feelings. And lust. There was also lots and lots of lust. Which I feel like it kind of important in a contemporary romance story if I’m being honest.
I’ve never really thought of Santa as an attractive or sexy character. After all, he’s… well, Santa. But, in this story… he somehow gains a bit of sex appeal and gorgeousness that I just wasn’t expecting. I’m still not sure that I would proposition Santa like the lead woman in this story does, but I most certainly found the idea fun and entertaining.
All in all, I really, really enjoyed this novella. A bit like One Wilde Weekend, I found this fun, engaging and very, very cute. Also a little lustful and sinful. Which, honestly, is what I love in a good contemporary romance.
Title: Her Secret Agent Author: Paige Tyler Series: X-Ops #0.5 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense, Shapeshifters Dates read: 16th – 17th December 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Novella Publisher: Paige Tyler Year: 2014 5th sentence, 74th page: If he’d been able to set his feet and get his weight into the blow, the impact would have put Igor down for a long time.
John Loughlin, the Director of the Department of Covert Ops, is in New York City on a recruiting mission. He’s been tracking and evaluating one shifter in particular for some time. Cree Forest is a clever fox shifter—and very foxy. Cree is a translator for the UN and John is keen to recruit her brilliant mind and persuasive skills to join the DCO.
But Cree isn’t what she seems. Just as John has been watching her, Cree has been spying on him. She is working with a rogue shifter and John is getting too close—professionally and personally! On opposite sides professionally, can they trust each other with their hearts?
This was a great introductory novella to a series that I’m pretty much positive I’m going to love. It’s got a great premise, one that I recognise from other authors, and one that I tend to love. After all, shapeshifters who work in law enforcement of some kind always seem to work very well in my happy little brain. The fact that this story features a fox shapeshifter… well, that’s just far more enjoyable.
Her Secret Agent perfectly sets up the politics, battles and tales that are going to take over the series. I’m already completely drawn into this world, and I can’t wait to sink even further into it. Which means that I have a whole new series that I need to add to my shelves.
Not only do I love all of the backstory that is featured throughout this story. But it’s also wonderfully lustful. And just a little bit sweet. Exactly the kind of novella that I tend to fall stupid in love with and makes me go a bit nuts with buying books… now just to exercise some selfcare…
Title: Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas Author: Adam Kay Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Christmas, Humour, Medical, Memoirs Dates read: 17th December 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Picador Year: 2019 5th sentence, 74th page: ‘As you know, this is standard policy’ is HR’s default line – as if being routinely malevolent is somehow better than dishing out acts of spite on an ad-hoc basis.
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat… but 1.4 million NHS staff are heading off to work. In this perfect present for anyone who has ever set foot in a hospital, Adam Kay delves back into his diaries for a hilarious, horrifying and sometimes heartbreaking peek behind the blue curtain.
Twas the Night Before Christmas is a love letter to all those who spend their festive season on the front line, removing babies and baubles from the various places they get stuck, at the most wonderful time of the year.
This was most definitely the type of Christmas book that I needed this year – I haven’t really felt in the Christmas spirit and I liked that this one wasn’t all about joy and light. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of humour and spark to this novel that doesn’t make it glum and humbuggy. But it’s also a much more realistic, and less painful look into the Christmas season and what it really means…
I probably should have read This is Going to Hurt before Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas, but I am absolutely enamored with the tone and style of Kay’s writing. So, immediately after finishing this, I did actually pick up his first book. It’s hard to write about such a serious topic with a bit of lighthearted humour and tone. Particularly when you’re focusing in on the time of year when everyone else is busy trying to shove that good cheer down your throat…
If you’re not really in the Christmas spirit, or just want a good laugh. I can most definitely suggest this as a good, light read. Not only will it have you smiling and laughing, but it will also make you really appreciate the people who are on the front lines year-round. Those who put aside their own lives to the benefit of our own.
Officer Parker Ross hates Christmas; Lily Donaldson lives for it. She’s determined to introduce him to the pleasures of the season, and he’s looking forward to being deliciously converted…
I’m not generally a huge fan of stories which feature that gooshy love at first sight kind of thing. Even though it’s something that I’ve experienced, I still struggle to really connect to it. I tend to prefer the stories which are friends to lovers or enemies to lovers, or some such. After all, these relationships are based upon a solid foundation. Yet, Foster is able to still have that kind of feeling in this story without frustrating me. Without making me feel like it’s a bit bleugh. White Knight Christmas may not specifically be a love at first sight kind of story, but it’s certainly got that hopeful feel to it.
I loved the whole trope of Grinch falls in love with woman who is completely what Christmas is all about. Giving, love and cheer. This year I’m probably more Grinch than anything, but this definitely made my cold little heart grow a few sizes when I read it. There is just something wonderfully joyful and festive about this kind of storyline. One that had me smiling long after I turned that final page.
White Knight Christmas is a very fun, light and easy read. It is a great way to get back into the Christmas spirit and highlights how love is a wonderful thing. I found it a little far fetched that love could make a cop forget all of his cynicism, but it was such a great idea. I would most definitely read this novella again next Christmas.
What Booker Dean wants for Christmas isn’t under the tree, it’s right next door. Frances Kennedy is everything Booker desires…and the gift he has planned for her involves a lot of delicious unwrapping…
There is something about the Dean Brothers that is kind of fun. So having Booker fall in love with the girl next door (literally) and cementing the deal over Christmas… it made me weirdly happy and content. I’ve struggled to get into the Christmas spirit this year, and for some reason, this novella was absolutely perfect to hit that feeling.
One of my favourite romance tropes is the whole friends to lovers one. After all, the individual generally knows what they are getting themselves in for when they start to become involved with a friend. I know that I certainly did. I also love that this all happened at Christmas. Plus, there is the whole way in which Booker ends his last relationship, which just had me laughing out loud.
I absolutely adored this novella. It was fun, light and full of hope. Just what I needed to finish out this somewhat crappy year…
Title: The Bad Mothers’ Book Club Author: Keris Stainton Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Chic lit, Contemporary, Family, Humour Dates read: 15th – 16th December 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Trapeze Year: 2019 5th sentence, 74th page: ‘Good job I had my head torch.’
Since moving to the seaside after her husband’s career change, Emma Chance’s life consists of the following: long walks on the beach (with the dog), early nights (with the kids) and Netflix (no chill).
Bored and lonely, when Emma is cordially invited to the exclusive school-mums’ book club, hosted by Head of PTA and footballer’s wife, Jools Jackson, she thinks her luck may finally be about to change. She soon realises she may have made a grave mistake when she realises it’s all about books, and less about wine and gossip – but it’s always better to stick things out, isn’t it?
Or not.
After a few months and a few awkward moments involving a red wine on white carpet accident and a swear-word incident involving Jools’s daughter, Emma is ungraciously kicked out of the book club. Exhausted, she decides it’s about time she fights back against the shame and humiliation. Enlisting the help of some similar-thinking mums, Emma sets up her own book club – no cleaners, polite conversation or reading required: this is the Bad Mothers’ Book Club.
A frank, irreverent and laugh-out-loud read for grown-ups.
I absolutely adored this novel. Far more than I had anticipated to be honest. After all, I thought it was just an average chic lit novel. Instead, it was incredibly hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable. And, as someone who has a few friends with babies on the way… I can imagine this form of motherhood all too well.
I love that this novel deals with motherhood in a very humorous and light manner. It didn’t try and pass motherhood off as something that suddenly turns people into saints. In fact, most of the anecdotes featured women who were in way over their heads and just trying to make sure the kid survives. I can guarantee that if I ever become a mother… this is what I’m going to be like. No angelic, in control adventures for me.
Emma is exactly the kind of heroine that I needed. I was in a bit of a reading slump when I picked up The Bad Mothers’ Book Club and really just needed something that was cheerful and a little chaotic. Which is exactly what Emma is. She’s constantly positive and completely chaotic throughout this entire story. I love how she seems to bumble from one social faux pas to another. Completely derailing herself along the way.
This is a great story about family and motherhood. About being a fish out of water and finding a place to belong. It’s humorous and light, with enough sass throughout to keep me grinning like an idiot. I will definitely be adding some more Stainton books to my wish list after this seriously enjoyable read…
Earth and Skye 