Kissing Under the Mistletoe by Suzanne Enoch; Amelia Grey; Anna Bennett

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I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ok so up front I’m a mood reader and I had to be in a Christmas mood to read a Christmas book and it’s been a tough year and I’m a busy mom of young kids so it took me forever to finish this book but I’m so glad I did.

First up Suzanne Enoch. If you’ve read her other books than many of the characters will be familiar to you and the warm wit and effortless charm we’ve come to expect from her presents a strong start for this collection of novellas. If you’re a Suzanne Enoch reader you’ll want to read this too.

Next up a new to me author Amelia Grey. 

I appreciated the unique set up of noble ladies earning their keep by running their home as a prestigious country inn and conversely the hero, a nobleman without tasks who finds that he wants meaningful work to do. These two learn about themselves as much as they learn about each other after meeting in the woods.

Finally new to me author Anna Bennett. Wow! This one was my favorite. We start off with immediate action. Jack and Eva… swoon. They’re both feisty, stubborn, witty, prickly but sweet and loyal. Basically Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy but with even more fun banter and way more making out and other stuff. The steam is palpable with this one. A must read!

5/5

​Jingle Bell Jam by Pamela Kelley Narrated by Leslie Howard

I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and Piping Plover Press in exchange for an honest review. 

At just over 3 hours this was a nice short holiday romance that had a somewhat Hallmark feel to it. Mostly in that it was a closed door romance taking place in a relatively small snowy mountain resort town just before Christmas. 

While I always appreciate a main character who doesn’t fit the common mold - I.e. our hero is overweight and out of shape and meets the heroine as his physical trainer following a back injury. I feel like an opportunity was missed to deal more fully with this concept though as a novela I can understand we’re on limited time here. 

Things I liked - 

The hero has 2 cats.

The jam in the title refers to literal strawberry jam etc. 

The hero has a loving family - parents/siblings.

The “villain” is somewhat redeemable.

Things I did not love -

The conclusion felt slightly rushed/quick/easy but again - novella. 

We open with a cooky old lady side character who talks to fairies. I can get behind cooky old people side characters in small towns but I need a little more back story to support their character development to make it feel less out of left feel. 

Narrator and sound quality were good.

Overall a solid sweet closed door Christmas romance novella. 

4.5/5

Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne Narrated by Joel Froomkin

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I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

Normally I try to review childrens books with my kiddos ages 5 and 8. However current scheduling was not conducive to get them on board with an audiobook of this length. I enjoyed it greatly though.

I had the original Disney Whinnie the Pooh on vhs that I watched repeatedly as a child and this exceptionally narrated audiobook really took me back to my childhood. It was simply delightful and utterly charming. The inflection and charisma of the narrator was just perfect. At about 2 hours and 30 minutes this would be just right for a long family car ride. 5/5

Shadows & Wolves: A Werewolf Romance Complete Collection Written by Mila Young Narrated by Krys Janae

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I received an audible code for this amazing box set in exchange for an honest review. Individually the books are:

Shadowlands Sector, One (A Shifter Paranormal Romance) 

Shadowlands Sector, Two.      And

Shadowlands Sector, Three: A Shifter Romance

The ebooks are available to read on kindle unlimited along with many other paranormal romance works by Mila Young but honestly go for the audiobook here because Krys Janaes narration is just perfection and at a total of just over 20 hours the complete set allows you to settle in for a nice long listen to hold your interest through weekly household chores or a long road trip or where ever you do your audiobook listening.

This is a post apocalyptic world with zombies and wolf shifters. We open on our heroine as a child to get important details from her back story that sets up her reactions/motivation.

The world building involves packs of wolf shifters who fortify their communities against the undead. The hierarchy involves the Alpha, Beta, Omega construct that will be familiar to shifter romance readers. Fated mates and knotting is involved with the overwhelming compulsion to solidify bonds between fated mates. However at no point is anything consummated against anyones will on page. However (trigger warning) there are references to rape or near rape. I read everything that does happen as consensual though. This is a high heat, high steam, open door, reverse harem with no cheating though the harem does develop organically, quickly and somewhat surprisingly to the players involved but no one’s bothered by the end result of sharing. If you prefer closed door this is definitely not a book for you.

Now for the actual plot - 

We’re escaping/fighting zombies and rogue wolves. Our heroine is acclimating from solo to pack life. Our hero’s are dealing with betrayal from within the pack. And at one point some of the characters from Lost Wolf cross paths with these characters but having read or not read that book first should not impact your enjoyment or understanding. 

Overall this is an epic adventure where our main characters struggle not only literally but philosophically to come to terms with who they are, who they have been and who they can be and that relying on one’s loved ones for help can make us all stronger. 

5/5 Great Series!

City Kitties by Rizwan Asad

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I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The illustrations were cute and captivating. The story could have been spread out further onto more pages. The rhyming was pretty good - my kids always enjoy books with rhyming. As a parent I try not to be too censoring but the older cat states that on her many travels and adventures she’s “had many flings”. Now the English language is a complicated one and words like “fling” can have many different and varied definitions. While there is a legit definition that could be interpreted as a temporary wild jaunt etc. This definition is more nuanced than I believe the average person will be aware of existing. Were I to have read this with my kids which I didn’t only because the digital formatting for this particular book was not conducive to holding their attention they would have asked me what this word means and I would have given them all the definitions as I often do with unfamiliar words. Then they may have trotted off and used this phrasing - “had a fling” at their childcare location which is primarily staffed by college girls in the afternoons and that phrasing would have been interpreted as had a temporary sexual relationship as is the the most common interpretation of that phrasing of the word fling and then I would have been called by the director and it would been a whole thing. 

In general we love books about cats because we have a cat. The Illustrations were great and the rhyming was pretty solid which is always popular but I probably won’t be reading this one to my kids any time soon. 

3/5

The Introvert's Guide to Blind Dating by Emma Hart Narrated by Savannah Peachwood & Tim Paige

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I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in a trilogy “The Introverts Guide To…” Online Dating is the first book and Speed Dating is the second: both of which I also listened to and loved.

While this is a trilogy - the trilogy is a spin off from 2 previous series following a group of friends. The One Night Stand Next Door/The Girl Next Door. The Bookworms Guide to Dating/Faking It/Flirting. While it’s not completely necessary to have read these books previously I can see where it would make the pay off more enjoyable. This being the last single friend in the group the epilogue does include bits about the other couples.

Some back story is indicated but I did not feel like I was missing much. I don’t even think it’s really essential to have read the previous books to enjoy this one. So this one can be read as a standalone in my opinion but you may not care as much about the epilogue.

This was a shorter audiobook coming in at 4 hours 19 min - something you can easily listen to all in one day which is sometimes just what you need. 

This was a great cast of characters again especially the side jaunts to visit the wacky grandparents in the nursing home and their chickens. The older generations antics have continued as the B plot throughout the series.

Heroine is a small town bakery owner/baker who wants to franchise. Hero is a romance author writing a book about a bakery romance but knows nothing about baking. I was about 38% in when I had to text a friend who is a bakery owner/baker to tell her to check it out! 

I love the alternating male - female narration. The narrators were phenomenal and sound quality could not have been better. 

This was a fun, short, small town, contemporary rom com with much less steam than its predecessors. Closed door in fact but still fun. 5/5

Knit 2 Socks in 1 Discover the Easy Magic of Turning One Long Sock into a Pair! Choose from 21 Original Designs, in All Sizes by Safiyyah Talley

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I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been knitting for about 15 years but have never found the courage to attempt socks. This looks like the perfect book to start with. There are so many pictures, diagrams, visual labels and thorough explanations. In many knitting books you just get a picture of the finished project and the instructions for the pattern. Here we get a thorough explanation of a variety of elements relevant to the knitting process. For example differences between yarns and what they’re called and what they mean. 

This looks like an absolutely fantastic book to set me on a new journey to knit socks. 5/5