The December Market (Shelter Springs #2) by RaeAnne Thayne

 

3*

I’ve read many of RaeAnne Thayne’s books, so I knew to expect a heartwarming, clean romance with nothing more spicy than some lingering kisses. After reading her 2023 Christmas book, Christmas at the Shelter Inn, I also had the backstory for Amanda Taylor, this book’s female protagonist whose brother Griffin was that book’s male protagonist. So, I guess knowing about the tragic events that led to both of their trauma and hesitancy to trust in love made this book’s rehashing of it rather boring, to be honest. I’ve never been a big fan of the trope where one or both of a couple resist falling in love because they feel unworthy or guilty for something that they had no part in. In Amanda’s case, her late alcoholic father caused their small Idaho community immeasurable pain, and she’s taken on the guilt for it although she was just a child when it happened. She also lost someone she loved as a teen and spent the following 13 years fearful of letting love in again despite the fact she had always dreamt of being a mother with a loving husband. So, what does she do when the handsome firefighter & paramedic Rafe Arredondo provokes feelings that she seems powerless to resist?

Overall, I just couldn’t get into this story. It’s mostly set in a Christmas Market where not much happens and is an instalove type of romance that happens over a 3-week period in which Amanda is hiding from Rafe as much as possible, and, when in his presence, is throwing out incredibly mixed signals. I really felt badly for the poor guy. If you’re looking for a low stake, small town Hallmark type story, you should find this one satisfying. I just felt like I’d heard it all before.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Canary Street Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne

 

5*

Spoiler warning

 

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I’ve read many of RaeAnne Thayne’s books, and this is the best one yet due to its emotional complexity and harrowing tale of survival. Ava and Madi are sisters who, as teens, lost their mother in a car accident and, subsequently, their father to obsession and conspiracy theories. After he moved them to a prepper, survivalist compound in Idaho, their lives took a terrorizing turn, eventually forcing them to flee for their lives. Fast forward fifteen years, and Ava has written a best-selling memoir that throws both their lives into turmoil. Can Madi ever forgive Ava for exposing their startling history to public scrutiny, which forces her to revisit the horror daily, or will Ava lose both the sister and husband she loves?

 

Although the sister’s story is the central focus, the beautiful friends-to-lovers romance between Madi and Luke and the enduring, but fractured love between Ava and her husband Cullen are beautifully written as integral examples of how these two sisters lived through the worst experience and became strong, successful (on their own terms), kind and loving young women. Animal lovers will enjoy the frequent scenes involving Madi’s rescue animal sanctuary. If you’re looking for a heartwarming, clean romance with complex family relationships and survival against all odds, I highly recommend 15 Summers Later.

Trigger warnings: death, miscarriage, rape (off page), abuse, traumatic brain injury

 

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Canary Street Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Tangled Up in You (Meant to Be #4) by Christina Lauren

 

5*
(release date: 6/25/24)

Contemporary, creative retelling of Disney’s Rapunzel movie, Tangled.

In Tangled Up in You, the writing duo Christina Lauren spins a backstory of how Rapunzel (Ren) ended up isolated from society for years until the fateful meeting with Flynn (Fitz). I love Ren’s wide-eyed innocence and inherent goodness and how bad boy Fitz, despite his desperate need to protect himself and trust no one, can’t help but want to be a better man for her. The use of a road trip with forced proximity in a variety of hotel rooms is a great plot device, giving the couple plenty of time to get to know each other through endless days of driving with stops at famous tourist traps along the way. (The biker bar scene is especially endearing.) Yes, Ren is seeing a world she only knew from books after her sheltered childhood, but Fitz is also viewing everything through a new lens, and it is actually Ren who is rescuing him.

I haven’t read any of the other books in the Meant to Be series, but I’m so glad Disney placed this story in Christina Lauren’s very capable hands. They have shown their readers that, although fairy tales are just make-believe, it is possible to have a happily-ever-after following heartbreak. Every great story has its roots in reality, and I love the characters and story they created to bring Rapunzel characters to life. Highly recommended clean romance for both teens and adults who need reminding that happy endings can exist.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Hyperion Avenue through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Christmas at The Shelter Inn by RaeAnne Thayne

 

4*

RaeAnne Thayne can always be depended on to bring us sweet, emotional, heart-warming stories. This year’s Christmas at the Shelter Inn, set near the fictional Lake Haven, ID featured in so many of her stories, is a friends-to-lovers, small town romance between Natalie, a digital nomad who writes travel stories, and Griffin, a family doctor who was her brother’s best friend and her long-time crush. When she comes home to help her pregnant sister who is on bed rest, it’s the first time since leaving for college following the deaths of both her mother and brother that she’s spent any measurable time there. She ran from the crushing grief and painful memories, and despite her growing feelings for Griffin and her love for her sister and adorable nieces, she’s ready to run away once her nephew is born rather than risk falling in love and being left behind again. Griffin also has ghosts and regrets from his past that he manages to compartmentalize so that he can be a great doctor and grandson to Birdie. It will take a Christmas miracle for them to shed the restraints from past trauma so that they can acknowledge what’s obvious to everyone else in their orbit.

 

Readers looking for a clean Christmas romance with all the charm and warmth of a close community will find it in this story. Add in a fun group of senior residents at the Shelter Inn and two precocious, darling little girls and it hits all the marks. Be warned that there are triggers: fatal accidents, cancer, miscarriage, and abandonment. However, Thayne writes with sensitivity and balance so that they don’t weigh down the story. Recommended.

 

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Canary Street Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

 

Summer at Lake Haven by RaeAnne Thayne

 

4*

Ian Summerhill, future Earl of Amherst and biologist/Oxford professor, rents the house next door to Samantha Fremont, local clothing boutique owner and budding wedding gown designer. Ian and his children Amelia and Thomas are in Haven Point for his sister Gemma’s wedding and so he can research a local breed of salmon. As a family, they’re working through the children’s grief over their mother’s (his ex-wife’s) death. Sam is also grieving her mother’s recent death and her conflicted feelings about their difficult relationship which has left her with feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. Sam is designing Gemma’s wedding gown and has recently adopted a dog who surprisingly has puppies. When she asks the kids to watch the puppies while she’s at work, the bond between all of them begins to grow and strengthen. As loving feelings between Ian and Sam become too great to deny, will they be able to put aside their insecurities and roadblocks to build a joyful life together?

In this 11th book in her Haven Point series, Thayne continues to lure her readers into this beautiful, caring community along the shores of the fictional Lake Haven, Idaho. As we’ve seen in previous books, everyone has faced personal struggles or tragedies, but opening themselves to love allows them to be vulnerable and share life’s burdens. You can’t go wrong with this lovely series.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from HQN (Harlequin) through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.