The Lady Never

Friday, 2 December 2022

Festive Review Catch Up! Merry 'n' Bright, Winter Nights and Cupcakes

Yep, I'm still catching up with reviews... It kinda happens when you don't really post any for over a year but I deliberately saved these ones to share during the festive period.

Twinkly lights, snow, cake, gifts and falling in love... Festive reads are delightful.

Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber

Merry Smith is pretty busy these days. She’s taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book boss at the consulting firm where she temps. Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man. Without her knowledge, Merry’s well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her—minus her photo—and the matches start rolling in. Initially, Merry is incredulous, but she reluctantly decides to give it a whirl.

Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and an unmistakably kind soul. Their online exchanges become the brightest part of her day. But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects—or desires. Still, sometimes hearts can see what our eyes cannot. In this satisfying seasonal tale, unanticipated love is only a click away.

Merry and Bright was a wonderfully sweet festive read! I loved watching Merry and Jayson get to know each other both irl and online. The book was low drama and low heat but full of festive feels!

It isn't too long, nor is it too short, and I found it perfect for curling up under a blanket and escaping reality for a few evenings...

Falling For Christmas by Kate Hewitt

Glamorous city girl Hannah Ford wasn’t thinking when she walked out of a Christmas party and drove three hundred miles into a snowstorm; she just needed to escape. Thankfully local carpenter Sam Taylor comes to her rescue, and the unlikely pair are forced to spend a snowed-in Christmas together.

All Sam planned for Christmas was to get drunk alone. The holiday has always been something to be endured, until Hannah tumbles into his life, making it magical. Now Hannah and Sam have a chance to have a Christmas together… and make it the best one either of them have ever had.

But can one night out of reality turn into something that’s lasting and real?

Audiobook: 3hrs 37min - Narrator: Summer Roberts

This is a snowed in holiday novella that's good for passing some time but it wasn't all that memorable.

The characters were likable enough but the spark between them was lacking. The story was low heat, they both had a load of baggage, and it didn't hit all the festive happy buttons I'd have wanted... But it had a happy ending that made me smile! All in all, I don't think I'd read any more in this series but it was enjoyable enough to amuse.

Eight Winter Nights by Liz Maverick

Last year, Rachel Bacharach met the man of her dreams at a Hanukkah party — and then her outgoing best friend Tamara swooped in and “called” Oz Caplan for herself. It’s a typical outcome for the dependable, bookish Rachel, who is never able to extinguish the spark she immediately felt for Oz. But being secretly in love with her best friend’s boyfriend all year hasn’t been easy.

As this year’s party approaches, Oz and Tamara break up. It’s a worst-case scenario when Oz asks Rachel to help him write Tamara love letters to win her back in time for their Hanukkah anniversary. Rachel’s been writing love letters to Oz in her journals for a year; she knows all the words he would need. But will Rachel be able to hide her true feelings from Oz any longer? And might this year’s party finally be Rachel’s chance to trust her heart and put everything on the line for love?

Audiobook: 2hrs 55min - Narrators: Eva Kaminsky and Jason Clarke

I listened to this one on audio and really enjoyed it! The narrators brought the story to life and at just under 3hrs listening time it was perfect for consuming in a single evening.

The story itself was fun... A classic case of unrequited love that isn't really unrequited. Add a meddling friend and an injury to the equation and you have a forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, tale that will make you smile.

I loved that the story is set over the eight days of Hanukkah and how it flips back and forth between the past and the present. It brought the characters to life and added some depth to the tale which is hard in a novella length story.

My only complaint is that I hated that Oz had dated Tamara (aka the meddling best friend) and was still, in theory, hung up on Tamara/getting over their break up at the start of the book. I hated how Rachel stepped aside that day in the past and let the man of her dreams go because she felt like she couldn't compete with her best friend. I feel like Oz should have noticed that Rachel was his person without screwing her bf for a year! Anyhoo... I guess my personal gripe isn't the point. The point is that I still really enjoyed the story despite really having a major gripe over elements so I recommend folks give it a listen!

Christmas At Carly's Cupcakes by Jessica Redland

Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes is a cosy heartwarming tale of friendship, family, putting the past behind, and embracing the future.

It’s Christmas in Whitsborough Bay. With fairy lights connecting the shops and cafés on either side of the cobbles, Castle Street seems magical. And in such a magical place, surely Christmas wishes can come true.

Carly Travis, owner of Carly’s Cupcakes, has two Christmas wishes this year. Her first is for her younger sister, Bethany, to focus on the positives in her life, including her Christmas wedding, instead of writing herself off as a failure. Bethany's attempts at cake-decorating aren't going to win any awards, but she’s certainly great with customers. Carly’s second wish is for her best friend, Liam, to come home for Christmas.

When Liam calls to say he’s been granted leave from the army, Carly makes a third Christmas wish. It’s the one she’s made every year since she was a teenager and, if she’s really brave, could this be the year when it finally comes true?

With Liam coming home, the shop having its best year yet, and a wedding to look forward to, it’s shaping up to be the best Christmas ever for Carly. But for Bethany, things are starting to unravel …

Audiobook: 5hrs 57min - Narrator: Emma Swan

This wasn't a festive romance so much as a women's fiction, family drama, set at Christmas with the added bonus of two long-term best friends finally getting together after loving each other forever but being too terrified to lose each other if they admitted it.

I loved the snow, the cupcakes, the wonderful festive feel of this book... I enjoyed the romance elements... Carly and Liam were made for each other and I was furious with them for not pulling their head out their asses much earlier but relieve and so happy when they finally did!

The family drama with Carly's younger sister Bethany got a little much but I was happy with how it played out and Bethany's future husband was a gem so that was an unexpected cherry on top of a pretty good listen.

The narrator did a good job of bringing the characters to life and making each distinct so kudos.

The Love Hypothesis (Ali Hazelwood) and Well Matched (Jen DeLuca)!

Yes, yes, I know... The Love Hypothesis has been everywhere for over a year now and I'm just getting around to reviewing it... Fear not though! I read it the day it released. I'm just writing some catch up reviews since I've been awol and all... The same with Well Matched! Read it last year, reviewing it today.

This late-to-the-party review approach is definitely going to continue being my MO for a while but anyway... Moving on. 😊

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

There are not enough words in the English language for me to describe how much I loved this book!

I read it in one of the darkest phases of severe depression last summer (a miracle in itself seeing as I hadn't had the ability to read anything in months) and it made me laugh. It made me smile. I couldn't stop reading it. I read it cover to cover and then immediately wanted to start reading it again. I wanted to magic myself between the pages and follow Adam and Olive around as they lived their lives like a little stalker because I loved them and didn't want to let them go.

I geeked out over it being a romance between STEM characters.

I fangirled over the Adam Driver vibes that Adam gave me (and yes, I know Adam is actually modeled on Adam Driver) .

I cringed at the ridiculous situations Olive found herself in with Adam and I alternated between cheering Olive on and squirming in my seat during that chapter (IYKYK)... Man, I wish there were more of those chapters. Maybe just more chapters in general as I didn't want the book to end!

It was pretty much all my favourite things smooshed into novel form.

I hate all the booktok hype... I hate that my paperback copy (yes, I own it in multiple formats) has "the TikTok sensation" written on the bloody cover but in the case of this book... The hype is worth it. I join the hype train!

All should read The Love Hypothesis as it fabulously joyful and gives you all the feelings!

Well Matched by Jen DeLuca

Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she's decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell.

Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire, he wears to the local Renaissance Faire -- a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she'll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more "serious" career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what's real and what's been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship.

As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch's family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch's girlfriend again... something that doesn't feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they've just been putting on an act. But when there's the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans -- and open her heart -- for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.

I love escaping to the Ren-Faire with Jen DeLuca and was very excited to get my hands on Well Matched as Mitch, that wonderful beefcake of a PE teacher with a heart of gold, won me over in the very first book of the series and it wasn't hard to work out that with April was where he was going to end up! I was so ready to see him settle down and for April to finally get hers... But the book just didn't quite manage to meet my expectations.

Mitch was lovelier than ever. We really got to know him for more than the carefree ladies' man in this book and he was just perfect.

But April... April was April. She'd been hurt, yes, but her pig-headed refusal to contemplate a change to the plans she'd been making in the face of something wonderful was absolutely infuriating. Her inability to trust that Mitch could be her person... Her fixation on the age gap. So many things irritated me about how she went about the entire relationship with Mitch, and how she treated him, that it took the shine off what could have been a fabulous read.

Now, that sounds all very negative but the simple fact is that I still enjoyed the book. The characters, the setting, the chemistry, the banter - they were all great. Yes, I was irritated by how things went sometimes and by April's choices but that's life! People are sometimes irritating and irrational. The story still worked out well and left me smiling. I still recommend it. I still consider it a four-star read. It just isn't a favourite, you know? And that is absolutely fine.

Review Catch Up! Mystery, escapism, hockey and romance!

It's no secret that I've been, more or less, awol from book blogging for about 18 months... I had my battles to fight and one of the things I fought hard for was to read and enjoy books again! And even though I'm not reading at the rate I used to read, I am reading again and it's grand.

However, I've not been writing reviews for anything... In fact, the last review I published on the blog was for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo back in November 2021! 😱

So I have some catching up to do... I'm not going to review everything I've read over 2021/2022 but I'm going to share what I thought on some of them in batches like this in the hope that the short, snappy, format of the "reviews" help me to get back into the swing of sharing my thoughts on books!

🟊

Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Presented by James Patterson's new children's imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion...

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

This book seems to be rabidly popular but, I'm not going to lie, I was underwhelmed.

I love history and I really love the history of medicine and medical science so there were elements of this book that were right up my street! When you combine them with an unconventional girl, a flirty boy who supports her instead of trying to tame her, and an interesting plot line I should have loved it but the pacing was awful! Sometimes gripping, sometimes so slow I was tempted to DNF... Add to it that I guessed who the Ripper was long before the end and it was firmly in meh territory.

I may be tempted to continue reading the next book - and see if the series improves - but only because I got the four books in an ebook boxset... Bonus in that it was on sale! I definitely wouldn't continue the series otherwise.

The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters by Jaimie Admans

Escape to beautiful France this summer with this uplifting romantic comedy.

Where dreams come true…?
Wendy Clayton stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. Instead, she has a ‘nice’ life. Nice job. Nice flat. Absolutely no men. Until her life is turned upside-down when her elderly neighbour, Eulalie, passes away and leaves her the Château of Happily Ever Afters!
But there’s a catch: she must share the sprawling French castle with Eulalie’s long-lost nephew, Julian. And no matter how gorgeous he is, or how easily she finds herself falling head over heels, Wendy needs to find a way to get rid of him…

Because surely happily ever afters don’t happen in real life?

This book provided a wonderful escape from reality alongside a lovely slow burn romance.

Elements annoyed me - mainly Wendy's distrust of Julian... I didn't blame her at first - heck I was distrustful too! - but as time wore on her distrust felt so wedged in and forced it really grated on my nerves... But apart from that the book really was a treat. It was warm and hopeful and made me want to run away to an old Chateau, eat pastries, and not come back to reality.

Always Only You by Chloe Liese

Get ready for an emotional ride filled with laughter, longing, and a sweet slow-burn in this sports romance about love’s power not in spite of difference, but because of it.

Ren

The moment I met her, I knew Frankie Zeferino was someone worth waiting for. Deadpan delivery, secret heart of gold, and a rare one-dimpled smile that makes my knees weak, Frankie has been forbidden since the day she and I became coworkers, meaning waiting has been the name of my game—besides, hockey, that is.

I’m a player on the team, she’s on staff, and as long as we work together, dating is off-limits. But patience has always been my virtue. Frankie won’t be here forever—she’s headed for bigger, better things. I just hope that when she leaves the team and I tell her how I feel, she won’t want to leave me behind, too.

Frankie

I’ve had a problem at work since the day Ren Bergman joined the team: a six foot three hunk of happy with a sunshine smile. I’m a grumbly grump and his ridiculously good nature drives me nuts, but even I can’t entirely ignore that hot tamale of a ginger with icy eyes, the perfect playoff beard, and a body built for sin that he’s annoyingly modest about.

Before I got wise, I would have tripped over myself to get a guy like Ren, but with my diagnosis, I’ve learned what I am to most people in my life—a problem, not a person. Now, opening my heart to anyone, no matter how sweet, is the last thing I’m prepared to do.

Always Only You is an opposites-attract, forbidden love sports romance about a nerdy, late-blooming hockey star, and his tough cookie coworker who keeps both her soft side and her autism diagnosis to herself. Complete with a meddling secretary, tantric yoga torture, and a scorching slow burn, this standalone is the second in a series of novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.

This was a wonderful grumpy/sunshine romance against a backdrop of ice-hockey... I don't know what else I could have wanted! Ren Bergman is an absolute cinnamon roll hunk of a book boyfriend and I loved him. Frankie was harder to like as I found her a little abrasive but I liked the realism portrayed by the author in relation to her autism and mobility issues, I loved her with Ren (all the banter!), and I liked the Bergman clan. The story was easy to inhale over a long cosy reading session and left me happy and smiling so it's two enthusiastic thumbs up from me!

Bull by Deborah Bladon

My jerk of a boss is getting married today.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that the bride-to-be is me.
Graham Locke is cocky, condescending, and looks sinfully sexy wrapped in a thousand dollar suit.
He’s also a nightmare to work for.
When he sends me a text message asking me to meet him because he’s getting married, I laugh out loud.
Who would marry him?
It turns out I do. I literally marry my boss.
It’s not for love. I can’t say it’s entirely for money, but that does factor into my decision to become Mrs. Locke for ninety days.
Three months will fly by, right?
Wrong.
Within twenty four hours, I’m counting the seconds until I can go back to being Trina Shaw.
I persevere because I’m not one to give up even though I seriously consider it.
It doesn’t take long before I discover that my husband isn’t the man I thought he was.
The secrets he keeps hidden close to his heart may end up breaking mine.

Bull was a pretty standard Billionaire-type romance... Super rich guy, not rich girl, marriage of convenience that becomes more... Misunderstandings and alpha growling abound... It fits safely in the mold and didn't wow me in the slightest but it was enjoyable enough to read and passed the time quite nicely.