REVIEW: Christmas Kisses by Allison May

Title: Christmas Kisses
Author: Alison May
Publisher: Choc Lit
Publication Date: November 2017
Genre: Chick-Lit
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: Three girls, three kisses, three gorgeous Christmas stories...

Holly hates Christmas with a passion and can't wait to escape it - but then the flight to her once-in-a-lifetime holiday destination is canceled...

Cora has had the year from hell, and faces a bleak Christmas working in Golding's department store - in the most unflattering reindeer costume imaginable...

Jessica is in denial after her husband's betrayal, and can't help but think back to when her life still seemed so full of hope and promise...

Three years from hell, three sets of broken dreams, three girls in desperate need of Christmas spirit. Is the perfect Christmas kiss all it takes?

Includes Holly's Christmas Kiss, Cora's Christmas Kiss and Jessica's Christmas Kiss.

My Thoughts: My first pick for Christmas themed reading of 2019 started out magnificently with Christmas Kisses by new to me author Alison May. Three individual stories focusing on a different character who have all lost the Christmas spirit. The main thing I enjoyed is that even though each story is individual, they are all connected and I really enjoyed all of them. I found the character’s engaging and their experiences intriguing and interesting and I had a difficult time putting the book down. Thinking back, I’ve tried to pick a favorite of the three, but it’s nearly impossible. I had empathy for each character and their situation and was invested in their situation from the beginning.

My Final Verdict: Readers looking for a wonderful story to bring out the Christmas cheer and the spirit of the holiday should definitely start here. Though this was my first read by Alison May and the publisher, I hope it won’t be my last.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Christmas Kisses from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich

Title: Hardcore Twenty-Four (Stephanie Plum #24)
Author: Janet Evanovich
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: November 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance / General Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon  | BN | Audible

Description: Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon, Simon Diggery, won’t let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Stephanie’s main qualification for babysitting an extremely large snake is that she owns a stun gun - whether that’s for use on the wandering serpent or the petrified neighbors remains to be seen.

Events take a dark turn when headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it’s just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church Stephanie knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer.

If all that’s not enough, Diesel’s back in town. The 6-foot-tall, blonde-haired hunk is a man who accepts no limits—that includes locked doors, closed windows and underwear. Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli isn’t pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie.

As usual Jersey’s favorite bounty hunter is stuck in the middle with more questions than answers. What’s the deal with Grandma Mazur’s latest online paramour? Who is behind the startling epidemic of mutilated corpses? And is the enigmatic Diesel’s sudden appearance a coincidence or the cause of recent deadly events?

My Thoughts: Just meh...this series is over done and beyond its prime. The characters have become stagnant, redundant and repetitive. The stories have become weak and are bordering on annoying. I used to feel entertained at how many cars Stephanie can go through in a book or how many times Grandma Mazur causes Stephanie's mother to take a swig from the whiskey bottle, but it's just getting too ridiculous to continue and I'm starting to get bored.

I think it's time for Stephanie to get her ass off the fence, choose Ranger or Joe (at this point I don't even care anymore) and do something with her life. I never thought I would agree with her mother, but maybe Stephanie needs to go get that job at the button factory and give up her bond enforcement gig.

This series has brought some very great moments of laughing so hard, tears were rolling down my face. I will always cherish those moments when Grandma Mazur pulls out her gun at the dinner table and murders the Sunday meal or when a severed penis is delivered to Stephanie. “It's a penis,' Grandma said. 'Stephanie got it in the mail. It's a pretty good one too.” and “Sliced off like a chicken neck and stuck with a hatpin. Reminded me of my husband.” Lula leaned forward so she could whisper. “You talking about size? Was your man’s part that big?” “Heck no,” Grandma said. “His part was that dead.” Good times.

My Final Verdict: Ms. Evanovich has my everlasting love and gratitude for that, but it's time to put this puppy to bed and move on to a new project.

REVIEW: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Title: Then She Was Gone
Author: Lisa Jewell
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: April 2018
Genre: Thriller / Suspense
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: THEN:

She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW:

It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.

Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?

Who still has secrets to hide?

My Thoughts: Very dark and disturbing story about a woman’s search for her fifteen year old daughter who vanished without a trace ten years ago. By pure chance she meets a man who sweeps her off her feet and she meets his nine year old daughter who is the spitting image of her missing daughter.

This story switches between the past and the present of Laurel’s life. The time before her daughter went missing and ten years later after Laurel’s marriage and life are torn apart and she is trying to pick up the pieces and move on. We also get a front row seat into the perspective of the person responsible for Ellie’s disappearance, which I found equally riveting, repulsive and horrifying. Finding out who was responsible wasn’t what disturbed me the most. Finding out the why it happened and events resulting from that moment depict a character so warped and dangerous and with no redeeming qualities that I could discern.

I liked this author’s voice and her ability to weave a story with so many twists and turns that keeps the reader anticipating what happens next. The characters also have many layers and just when you think you know them well enough to figure out their next move, they surprise you. The psychotic lunatic responsible for Ellie’s disappearance is such a character. As Ellie must have felt confusion and shock, trying to understand why this is happening to her, so does the reader at the various displays of alternating concern for Ellie coupled with anger and bitter hatred.

My Final Verdict: Fans of thrillers and mysteries will enjoy this story. I also recommend this book to readers who enjoy complex characters who are not so easy to figure out and intricately woven storylines that will surprise and shock the reader. I also recommend the audio-book version of this book as the emotions and voices make the story richer.

REVIEW: Suddenly Sorceress by Erica Lucke Dean

Title: Suddenly Sorceress (Ivie McKie #1)
Author: Erica Lucke Dean
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: December 2013
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: PMS can be a real witch.

Ivie McKie isn’t your run-of-the-mill kindergarten teacher. After an encounter with a horny goat, followed by a confrontation with her lying, cheating fiancé, Ivie is shocked when the big jerk suddenly transforms into a skunk—the black and white furry variety.

Enlisting the help of her shopaholic friend Chloe and sexy club magician Jackson Blake, Ivie is forced to play a literal game of cat and mouse as she races against the clock to change her ex back before she's arrested for his murder.

With every new spell comes a fresh wave of sexual desire, drawing Jack further into Ivie’s troubles—her panties, the car, the kitchen, and assorted seedy bathrooms along the way.

Ivie soon discovers what every witch worth her spell book knows: There’s nothing worse than a bad case of Post Magical Syndrome.

My Thoughts: The timing for Suddenly Sorceress by new to me author Erica Lucke Dean couldn’t have been more perfect. With Halloween right around the corner, this book caught my attention at an opportune time. It’s a great story to kick off a series about a sorceress who doesn’t know she is a witch until her jerk of an ex-fiancé demands the ring back so he can give it to another woman. Not really sure how it happened but when Ivie comes back to her senses, Matt the Rat is now a skunk…literally.

Now, Ivie is racing around trying to figure out how to change Matt back before the police come knocking. Along the way, she changes him into a snake and a few breeds of dog. There may have been a rat in there somewhere too. I had a hard time keeping it all straight but since he was a creep, I didn’t spend a lot of time worrying about his condition. It seemed that Matt had full awareness of what was happening to him and I really liked that, though he doesn’t show one iota of remorse for the crappy way he has treated Ivie. Personally, she should have left him as a skunk and had Animal Control come and pick him up. He doesn’t deserve to walk upright on two legs.

I really enjoyed this story and the shenanigans Ivie and her BFF get into wrangling help from two magicians. I especially enjoyed the Ivie’s relationship with Jackson. All I will say is that he is not all he appears to be. This story ends on a high note for both Ivie and her BFF (kudos to Chloe for her brilliant Halloween costume idea) and leaves a major segue into the next book.

My Final Verdict: A very good choice for readers wanting a Halloween theme story that will hold their attention with the zany storyline that gave me many laugh out loud moments. Fans of paranormal romance will enjoy the backstory of how Ivie got her powers and the effects using magic has on her.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Suddenly Sorceress from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: One Day In December by Josie Silver

Title: One Day in December
Author: Josie Silver
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: October 2018
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic... and then her bus drives away.

Certain they're fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn't find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they "reunite" at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It's Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.

What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.

My Thoughts: Imagine it…you’re living your life, today being another day just like every other day, and fate kicks you right in the gut when you see “the one” through the window of the bus on which you are riding home. Your eyes meet and you know, you feel the jolt, and then the bus drives away before that person can get on board. This is exactly what happens to Laurie one snowy December day on her way home from work. She is the type of woman who doesn’t really subscribe to romance and is mostly convinced that true love is a plot device used to sell movie tickets. Call me a romantic sap but this book nailed it on all levels. From the moment Laurie first sees Jack through the bus window, the following year she is trolling bus stops and cafés in the hope of finding him to ultimately crossing paths with him when he is being introduced to her as her best friend’s new boyfriend, the author does a brilliant job of drawing the reader into every emotion and thought Laurie is feeling.

Laurie can’t stop living her life and she would never dream of hurting her best friend to tell her that Jack is “the one” she has been searching for all this time. This story focuses instead on the beautiful friendship Laurie and Jack develop over ten years. Though it’s heartbreaking at times, it’s all too realistic as they each to pretend not to feel what they feel.

I adored Laurie and Jack and though I normally get frustrated at the “missed opportunity” plot device. However, the author wrote this one so beautifully that I couldn’t be frustrated as I really liked Laurie’s best friend, Sarah, too. When a story touches the heart as this one did and there are no villains, I cheer for everyone to get their happily ever after and I am avidly rooting for them. These are people just like us; good people who deserve better than what fate has thrown at them. I loved seeing how Laurie and Jack remained good people who didn’t just think of themselves.

Though this story spans ten years, yes you read that right, TEN YEARS, it doesn’t feel like it because the story flows so smoothly that it seems everything happens in the blink of an eye. The one and ONLY downside to this story is that it takes TEN YEARS for resolution and closure, but like Laurie and Jack, I was all in to see this through. My sappy heart couldn’t get enough of this charming, witty and heartwarming story.

My Final Verdict: Fans with a sappy heart like mine will adore this story, but readers with less sap who are drawn to charming characters, witty dialogue and an interesting storyline will enjoy this as well.

REVIEW: Fairytale Beginnings by Holly Martin

Title: Fairytale Beginnings
Author: Holly Martin
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: July 2015
Genre: Chick-Lit
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: Love is an open door…except when it keeps slamming in your face.

Hopeless romantic Milly Rose has had her fair share of heartbreak. Obsessed with all things Disney, she refuses to give up on finding her Prince Charming – he’s out there somewhere, isn’t he?

When Milly is given a job to investigate the origins of an historical building in the village of Clovers Rest, she’s not sure what to expect. What she discovers takes her breath away - a beautiful real life Cinderella castle, complete with turrets, a magnificent drawbridge AND a very handsome owner…Cameron Heartstone.

As Milly and Cameron begin to unearth the secrets of Clover Castle, they can’t ignore the intense chemistry building between them. But they’ve both been hurt badly before. Can they take a big leap of faith and find their own happily-ever-after?

My Thoughts: Fairytale Beginnings by new to me author Holly Martin was a cute story about a girl who finds her happily ever after in the most unexpected way. Milly is an unusual character; very likable and easy to relate to but she initially comes across to me as immature. She’s obsessed with all things Disney, wears sparkly pink everything and appears to be in over her head with her job assignment. I found Cameron to be very likable and easy to relate to as well but didn’t think he and Milly had an instant chemistry. I honestly struggled with this book because the story seemed to meander without really going anywhere.

Happily things picked up as Milly and Cameron began spending more time together, exploring the castle and grounds and researching the history. The introduction of a ghost, meeting the odd villagers and the arrival of Cruella deVil’s little sister, Olivia reignited my interest. This book took much longer to read than I would have liked, but once it started to pick up, I was locked in with anticipation of what would happen next. Unsolved mysteries, secret passageways leading to God knows where, lost treasure and a beautiful castle that draws the reader in with a subtle magical bippity boppity boo and before I knew it, I was enjoying the story.

Readers who look for a happily ever after in the stories they read will enjoy this offering, once they get past the slow beginning.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Fairytale Beginnings from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.