Promo: A Cupcake Christmas

If you are having post-Christmas blues, check out Beth's latest book, A Cupcake Christmas!

Title: A Cupcake Christmas
Series: Touchstone Series, #5
Author: Beth Barany
Publisher: Firewolf Books
Release Date: December 25, 2015
Pages: 150
Buy Links: Amazon | Kobo | iBooks

Blurb:

What if you risked losing your baking legacy by cooking up a love truly special? 

Florian MacMillian needs a final job to complete his baking resume—preferably a job where he’s unlikely to blow things up with his unruly magic—before returning to the North Pole and taking his rightful place as Master Baker to all the elves. 

Kate Delore desperatelyneeds help in her fast-growing cupcake business in downtown San Francisco. Florian is a perfect fit, so she brings him on as baker. For a short time, Florian is happily up to his elbows in batter, and Kate’s business is booming. 

But when things heat up between them, Florian wonders if he should risk his legacy to cook up something truly special. 

Fun Facts about Beth Barany

-Her stories always have some kind of magic.
-She can say Thank You in over 15 languages.
-She has earned two belts, so far, in Capoiera.
-Her favorite city is Paris, France.
-She writes YA Fantasy to empower teen girls to be the heroes of their own lives.
-For her day job, she helps other novelists write, publish, and market their books as a creativity coach.

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Review: A Kindled Winter

Title: A Kindled Winter
Author: Rachel L. Demeter
Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing, LLC
Release Date: November 1, 2015
Pages: 73
Buy Link: Amazon | Amazon UK

I received an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Blurb:

"Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas." - Dale Evans

A week before Christmas, Jeseca Reed sets off for Blue River, Oregon - her childhood home and a vault of tender memories. However, fate takes an unexpected turn when she's left stranded in the mountains' vast, untamed wilderness. Desperate and alone, she seeks shelter at a cottage and finds herself in the arms of a mysterious stranger.

Dr. David Drake was once a renowned cardiovascular surgeon. But a devastating tragedy has left him scarred both inside and out, unable to use his hands to operate again. For the past five years, his Blue River cottage has been his sole escape - a safe haven where he can shut out the world, bury himself in his grief, and reunite with his son's memory.

Together they are summer and winter. Fire and ice. And yet a poignant connection forms between them. Jeseca thaws David's heart with the first embers of a romance hot enough to melt snow. But before David and Jeseca can fully embrace each other, they must wade through darkness and confront the ghosts of their pasts ...

You know when you receive something you didn't ask for, your first instinct is to say no. But then, you stop and consider it, and eventually you accept it. That was my experience with this book. If you regularly read this blog, you know I don't accept books for review, but there was something about this book that called to me. I mean, it's about Christmas. Who doesn't want to read about love and Christmas?!

Anyway, from the very beginning of this book, there was a weird sensation that I experienced. When Jeseca started looking around the room she woke up in and she felt chills, I felt the exact same chills. It was so weird! That's a good indication that the author did a great job with writing this book.

Also, I love that the author incorporated anxiety in the book, but didn't use the actual word when Dr. Drake had an anxiety attack. Kudos number two for the author.

To be honest, when I started reading this, I was thinking of another book I previously read with a similar premise. I thought, "oh, this is going to be just like that book." A couple chapters in and I was proven completely wrong. This book had depth and character despite the short length.

I read it way into the night and I kept reading when I woke up the next day instead of running some errands. That's how good the book was.

I really admired Jeseca's personality. Despite the tragedy she experienced, she was carefree and open. She melted Dr. Drake's defenses and made her way into his home (literally and figuratively).

Dr. Drake: "Nope. No way. No dancing. Not today. Not ever."

Jeseca: "Oh, come on! Why not? It'll be fun!"

Dr: Drake: "Because I'm absolutely terrible at it."

Jeseca: "Believe me. There's no way you're any worse than I am."

"Do ... do you like it?" she asked, gesturing toward the room.

Do I like it? he thought, bemused. The Christmas music wafted from the hallway and swelled the walls as he struggled to form the proper words. His emotions were in a violent tangle, and he found it impossible to speak. He glanced down and examined Jeseca's elegant writing---and then the words finally emerged.

"Its...perfect."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was exactly how I felt about the book. Dr. Drake said it "perfectly." :)

Arianne

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Review: The Boss's Mistletoe Maneuver

Title: The Boss's Mistletoe Maneuvers
Author: Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
Publisher: Harlequin: Desire
Release Date: November 1, 2014
Pages: 196
Buy Link: Amazon

Blurb:

Seduction in a Santa Claus suit? 

When millionaire Chaz Monroe goes undercover at the ad agency he bought, he has to figure out why his star employee, Kim McKinley, won't work on the very important Christmas campaign. He'll go to any length to get answers from the beautiful go-getter--if he has to kiss them out of her, so be it.
 
Kim can't believe Chaz's nerve. So why is she always falling into his arms...and into his bed? Soon, this exasperating man unlocks her secrets just in time for a Christmas she'll never forget...and one he may never live down!

Kim and Chaz were instantly attracted to each other when they first met. I liked that Kim was not someone who would back down, especially not against someone who she believed "stole" the position that was promised to her.

"Are you sure you won't change your mind and invite me over if I say please and categorically deny being a stalker, providing references upon request?"

Chaz, on the other hand, had good intentions. I loved the moments when he tried to make an effort to bring Kim "to the other side"... The side that enjoyed Christmas and celebrated it.

"Semantics. I didn't send the tree. I brought it."

Other characters I enjoyed were the doorman and Kim's best friend, Brenda. They were such witty characters and provided great comedic dialogues.

I especially liked when Brenda would help Chaz, even before she knew his intentions. She was a great friend to Kim.

"I'm a man, and she was in pajamas."

Unlike most contemporary books I've read, I wasn't overly attached to the characters of this book. I did enjoy the sexual tension :)

Arianne

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