Harlequin Holiday Blog Tour

HARLEQUIN HOLIDAY BLOG TOUR 

Christmas from the Heart by Sheila Roberts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: September 2019
 
Olivia "Livi" Berg lives in a small town near Seattle, Washington. Her sole purpose is to raise money for her non-profit, Christmas from the Heart and help as many people as she can in her small town. When she goes to one of their benefactors for a donation for the upcoming year, she is met with resistance. How in the world are they going to be able to help everyone that they helped before without this company's help? Guy Hightower is the benefactor who is not giving to Christmas from the Heart this year. His company has not been doing well since the death of this father and he is determined to turn that around, which means having to make some hard decisions. But when his car breaks down outside of Livi Berg's town, he will find out what Christmas from the Heart is all about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It's the time of year when we all like to cozy up under a warm blanket and watch Hallmark and Lifetime movies. I can see this book being on one of those stations.

Livi Berg despises Guy Hightower even before she has met him. How dare he call her a leech when all she is trying to do is provide for the people of her small community. Guy Hightower doesn't know Livi Berg at all, but can't believe she can't take no for an answer. But when he finally meets her, he can't believe how he was ever able to say no to her in the first place.

I usually do not read a lot of holiday themed books, I also do not watch those movies I talked about earlier, but I'm trying to change things up a bit. So this holiday season, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and reading three holiday novels. I'll let you know which I like the best when it is all said and done.




Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: September 2019

Seven years ago, Elizabeth Sinclair Hamilton walked away from her family, and wasn't heard from again, until now. Her husband, Luke, never gave up hope that she was still alive, but now he is angry that she hasn't returned to her family and even more angry because the new district attorney is ready to press charges against him for her death. Determined to clear his name, he brings Elizabeth home to prove to the entire town, he did nothing to hurt his wife. But once she is back in town and he finds out what really happened to her, the anger starts to melt away. Will Luke and Elizabeth be able to rebuild the life they once had or is it lost forever?

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Usually, I'm not the kind of girl who reads Christmas stories. This one grabbed me right from the very start and wouldn't let me go until the very end. At first I thought this was going to be a romance novel, and it did have to deal with love, but more of love of family and all the things this season is about.

What would you do if one day your significant other just seemed to vanish from the face of the earth? Would you move on with your life after a while or would you never give up the search for them? The truth behind Elizabeth's story is hard to believe and I wonder if the author knows someone with a similar story. Trying to decide how the family dynamic is supposed to look after so long is something the Hamilton family will try to overcome this holiday season. Will Elizabeth be able to regain the trust of her family? Will her kids still want her in their life after her avoidance for so long?

This is a great family novel, I think many people will enjoy.


Christmas in Silver Springs by Brenda Novak
My rating: TBD
Published: October 2019

Tobias Richardson has only been out of jail for five months, but he is determined to stay on the straight and narrow while living in Silver Springs. 

Harper Devlin has just ended her marriage to Axel Devlin, whose music career has just taken off.  She is in Silver Springs with her sister for the holidays in order to make sense of the new life she has.

The moment Tobias sees Harper, he can see the hurt in her eyes, but he needs to stay away from her because he is not the right guy for her.  Harper, isn't sure if she'll be able to move on without Axel in her life, but will meeting Tobias change all of that?

I've made it about half way through the book and I'm loving it.  I'm not sure what is going to happen between Harper and Tobias, but I can't wait to find out.



Thank you to Harlequin for the opportunity to read this Holiday novels and for participating in this Blog Tour.  See below for more about these authors and how to purchase each book.


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Author Bio for Sheila Roberts:

Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. Her novels have been published in
several languages. Her book, Angel Lane, was an Amazon Top Ten Romance pick for 2009.
Her holiday perennial, On Strike for Christmas, was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie
Network and her novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas, was made into a movie for Hallmark . You
can visit Sheila on Twitter and Facebook or at her website http://www.sheilasplace.com

Author Bio for RaeAnne Thanye:

New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne finds inspiration in the

beautiful northern Utah mountains where she lives with her family. Her books have won

numerous honors, including six RITA Award nominations from Romance Writers of America and

Career Achievement and Romance Pioneer awards from RT Book Reviews. She loves to hear

from readers and can be reached through her website at www.raeannethayne.com

Author Bio for Brenda Novak:

Brenda Novak, a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, has penned over sixty novels. She is a six-time nominee for the RITA Award and has won the National Reader's Choice, the Bookseller's Best, the Bookbuyer's Best, and many other awards. She also runs Brenda Novak for the Cure, a charity to raise money for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she's raised $2.5 million. For more about Brenda, please visit www.brendanovak.com

Click the book covers below to learn more or to purchase the books:

Review: Dating Princeton Charming by Frankie Love & C.M. Seabrook

Dating Princeton Charming by Frankie Love & C.M. Seabrook
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Published: Jan. 31, 2019

Dating Princeton Charming continues with the story of Charlie and Spencer. It is now Christmas break and Charlie has gone home to be with her family. Her mom isn't doing too well and even though she has lost her job, she knows she is where she needs to be. When Spencer shows up at her door, she is not only shocked, but also very excited to see him. Things are great with the just the two of them together, but will they be able to maintain this happiness once they are back on campus?

Thank you to Frankie Love and C.M. Seabrook for the opportunity to read and review this book.

For me, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did the first one, Kissing Princeton Charming. I still can't wait to see where this series is going to go.

When the scholarship girl gets with the man on campus who has a building named after his family, there seems to be nothing but chaos. From threatening notes, to bricks being thrown, and fights between just about everyone, life shouldn't be this hectic. It would be so much easier on everyone if Charlie and Spencer weren't together, but since they've had a taste of each other, they can't let the other go. Will their relationship be able to last with such a difference between the two, or will they have to let each other go?

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Review: The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr

The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Robyn and Sydney are similar in many ways. They are both successful in their careers. Robyn is a music teacher and Sydney is a lawyer. They both have boyfriends that are very attractive. They also both don't want to take the boyfriends home with them for the holidays. For Robyn, her family is tired of seeing her with artsy men who have no future. For Sydney, she is tired of her father monopolizing the holiday with shop talk. The holidays are supposed to be fun, not judgmental and hostile. So, even though they've just met, Sydney comes up with brilliant idea, swap boyfriends for the holiday. It's just a few days, what's the harm? When Robyn finds out Sydney is dating her childhood crush, will she be able to hold it together? And how will her family handle this? Is this swap really such a good idea?

Thank you to Meredith Schorr, NetGalley, and Henery Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

First of all, I'm not sure this is something I would have ever been able to do. To trade boyfriends at all, but with someone I don't even know. I'm not sure it would work out for me. It's been a while since I've read a book quite like this. It was cute and quirky and I can easily see this being made into a movie.

Robyn's Story
For Robyn, whenever she brings home a guy who is good to her, she has fun with, and is artsy like her parents, they let her know that he is not the right guy for her. She needs a guy with a steady job someone with a 401K and a savings account. Robyn and her boyfriend Perry have been together for almost a year, and they have a lot of fun together. But is he really, "The One"?
Bringing home Will is going to shock the hell out of her family. He was her childhood crush and now he's pretending to be her boyfriend. Will she be able to keep up the farce over the few days they spend with her family or will the secret be revealed before it's even started?

Sydney's Story
Sydney has to bring home a date for Christmas. If not her parents will try to set her up with some hideous guy she would never be interested in, but would be good for business. And she doesn't want to bring home Will. Will is a lawyer just like Sydney, and like Sydney's father. If she brings him home, all her father will do the entire time is try to recruit him to their law firm, and Sydney doesn't want to subject him to that. She also likes keeping her personal life to herself.
When Sydney brings Perry to the family dinner, she is surprised at how well her family likes him. This was not how she had planned this to go. And then when Perry deviates from her script, it makes things even worse. Will they be able to make it through the holiday without killing each other.

This book was a funny, romantic read that had me routing for one character to the end. This is the first book I have read by Meredith Schorr, but it won't be my last. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Author Q&A--Three is my favorite number so I asked the author three questions:

Me:  Where is your favorite place to write?

Meredith: My favorite place to write is a coffee shop called The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.  There used to be one right next to my apartment building and I wrote four books there.  It closed last year and I'm currently "dating" other cafes to find the right fit.

Me: What is your favorite book of all time?
Meredith: Omg, I don't know how to choose! So many! In my genre, I'll go with Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Cruise, and The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins. Too hard to choose just one.

Me: Which character do you most identify with, Robyn or Sydney?
Meredith: I would say I'm not as sweet as Robyn and not as aggressive as Sydney.  I'm more sensitive to the feelings of others and less bold than Sydney, but I have my aggressive, bitchy moments more than Robyn.  A little of both.

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