Review: The Nightmare Before Kissmas

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting how the various holidays have their royalty (Kings, Queens, etc).  They are all in competition for the world's joy; well, some of them.  Nicholas (the eldest Claus), also known as Coal (it's a joke), is the not-so serious heir.  He gets into shenanigans; even when he doesn't mean too.  His mission is to make his brother (Kris) laugh.  They've struggled a bit since their mom left.  She didn't like being married to Santa.   

And now father dearest is up to something.  Coal must now marry the Princess of Easter, Iris.  She is also his best friend and Kris is (not so) secretly in love with her.  That union is challenged by Halloween.  Met Hex, Prince of Halloween and Coal's crush (they had a kiss a few years prior; Hex knew who Cola was, but Coal had no idea).  

I liked the idea of Holidays having their own royalty and the idea of joy (from the holiday celebrants) feeding them.   Nice plot with "Santa" being up to his own shenanigans.  I thought Coal started out very immature. Once he realized something was amiss, I liked his character better.  He got more mature and confident.  I liked the banter between Coal, Kris, and Isis.  I liked Hex and was super curious about him.  A chapter or 2 from his point of view would have been nice.  

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Review: Game Changer

Game Changer by Rachel Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't seen Heated Rivalry yet and I fully plan too.  Once I've read the book.  Since this is a series, I wanted to read the first book (since I've read somewhere that Scott and Kip make an appearance in the HBO/Crave series).  Must. Read. In. Order.

Scott Hunter is a damn good hockey player.  He is the team captain and was a bit of a childhood prodigy.  And he has a big secret.  

Kip is in his mid 20s and is a bit stuck in a rut.  He's got a bachelor's in history, but hasn't been able to find a job in his field.  So, he works in a food service job.  He also lives with his parents.  It is at his job he meets Scott.

They do have an instant attraction that eventually leads to a lot of sex (this book has A LOT of sex scenes).  They do fall for each other pretty fast.  I was okay with that.  The big hiccup is Scott is closeted and Kip has been out since he was 18.  Kip's timing with having the talk wasn't the best (the playoff dude).  But at the end of the day, it worked out.  The epilogue was nice.  Ilya Rozanov makes an appearance in this one too; the epilogue hints at his story.

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Review: The Twelve Dates of Christmas

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Kate gets signed up with a dating agency that promises to find someone to love before the Holidays.  And so the 12 dates start.  

The person she would end up with was obvious (it's a friends to lovers), so much of this was just unnecessary.  It's overly descriptive at times.  I was bored frankly.  

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Review: While It Was Snowing

While It Was Snowing by Julia London
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amy works in HR and has always wanted to be an artist (paint).  But motherhood and family obligations put that dream on hold.  See, Amy is a doormat for her family.  Her kids, Jonah (17) and Ethan (13) expect her to wait on them for everything, her 48 year old brother sleeps on her couch (quit his job and broke up with one of many girlfriends), her ex-husband not only cheated on her, but now wants her back, her parents visit her numerous times unannounced, and she is expected to drop everything to fix everyone else's problems.  

Harrison is a pro golfer coming back from injury (car accident).  He turns 50 soon and recovery is slow.  Plus, he doesn't know what he wants to do after golf.  He is an only child and his parents are always busy, so he rarely sees them.

When Amy's friend Julie offers her her family's lake home for 2 weeks, she jumps at the chance to have 2 weeks to herself to paint and paint some more.  There is a contest she wants to enter.  But Julie's sister Sam rented the house to Harrison, so Amy (and Harrison) get a surprise.  Since the house if a big one, they decide to share.                          

While I was prepared to not like the book when I started, because really, I hated her family.  But then, a crazy thing happened.  I got invested in Amy and Harrison's love story.  While the Bossy Posse ignores boundaries, they are a close-knit group of friends that love and support each other.  Her family does love and support her, but they (the adults anyway) realize they count on her too much.  And even better Amy, realizes she has been a doormat and makes changes.  And Harrison figures out what he really wants and is able to do things on his own terms. I had a hard time putting the book down.  

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Review: Merry Inkmas

Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Both Bailey and Cash has father issues.  Neither want to fall in love; Bailey feels love is a weapon and Cash worries he would become his father.  They first met when Cash comes to her cafe to order a coffee.  And repeats.  He offers her a job when she is fired for helping a homeless guy.  Cash is famous for his tattoos and owns his own tattoo parlor.

Nicely paced for a book on the shorter side (around 200 pages).  I thought they got to know each other and while their attraction was lusty at first, I could see them together.  Even better is this has an epilogue!

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Review: The Sword Dancer

The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wen Li Feng is on a mission to find out what happened to her parents.  She has been traveling with an acrobatic group and uses her skills as a sword dancer (she can also defend herself).  She gets linked to a theft of jade which sets thief catcher (think bounty hunter) Zheng Hao Han on her tail.  Something about her strikes him.  He catches her and she escapes.  Repeat.  

They gradually learn each other's stories and Han vows to help her, realizing that sometimes things aren't always black and white.  They also gradually fall for each other.  I liked that she is capable of saving herself. Great action.  She does find out what happened with her parents and that was satisfying in happy and sad ways.  

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Review: Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World

Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World by Jessica Valenti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good variety of personal stories and viewpoints dealing with sexual assault, harassment,  racism, etc.  Pretty heavy topics, but ones that effect many people.  At the end of the day, believe women.  The world would be so much better.  

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