5*
In a very worthy follow-up to her debut novel, Birding with Benefits, Dubb takes her readers from birdwatching to beekeeping with the same heart, humor, and steam that gained her fans in the first place. In Honey Bee Mine, she introduces us to Penny and Zander, two thirty-somethings who knew each other peripherally as teens but are now actually connecting as adults who are carrying loads of baggage from absent parents. This small town romance includes the requisite festival (the Honey Festival) and a quirky cast of secondary characters including Zander’s ex- wife Mallory, best friend Quinn (a trans woman), Penny’s best friend RJ (an asexual man), her mother and grandmother, Zander’s son Winter, and the painful memories he has of his late grandfather whose bequest of a house brought Zander back to Sullivan’s Glen after nearly two decades.
Dubb avoids the third act break-up thanks to the maturity, vulnerability and honesty between Penny and Zander. Told in third person, the story is laden with eloquent prose and thoughtful, careful dialogue. Fans of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, Katherine Center, Kate Clayborn, and Christina Lauren will love this compelling, endearing romance. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
If you love the idea of spending Christmas in the UK as much as I do, reading this wonderful story is the next best thing to being there. I really enjoyed Langdon’s 2023 Christmas offering, Christmas with the Lords, so I was excited to read this one. Although there isn’t as much humor, it’s still another heartwarming romance between the lord of the manor and a Londoner who desperately needs the escape and joy that a celebration of the holiday in the English countryside can provide.
Fallon is a highly successful, workaholic event planner who’s burned out and in need of a restful vacation. Instead, she accompanies her self-absorbed, neglectful soap opera mother to her soon-to-be stepfather’s country estate for three weeks around Christmas. There she meets his gorgeous son, Alexander and precocious grandson, Theo, who are both dealing with their own issues. Rather than taking it easy, Fallon agrees to plan her mother’s engagement party and work with Alexander to help launch his artisanal gin business at the annual village Christmas Fayre. As the days pass, Fallon begins to fall for this father and son but doesn’t see a future since she doesn’t want children, believing she’ll be as bad a mother as hers was. However, the appealing beauty of the Yorkshire moors, the warmth of the quirky extended Knight family (including eccentric Aunt Constance and effervescent sister Coco), and her mother’s apologies and efforts to heal their relationship help ease her loneliness and make her question if the frenetic pace of London is sustainable or even desirable.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story which checks all the boxes for a cozy, clean Christmas romance. The only problem I had was Fallon’s negativity and hurtful decisions she made out of fear. All’s well that ends well, though, so I definitely recommend this charming holiday offering.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
On the way to her brother’s bachelor/bachelorette weekend at a resort a few hours north of Chicago, Charlotte Calhoun is pushed into a deep snowbank by a skidding 18-wheeler during a snowstorm. The last person she wants to rescue her is Hayden Porter, her brother’s best friend and her long-time crush who broke her heart three years before after she drunkenly kissed him and proclaimed her love. Yet, with mistletoe in abundance and being paired off to compete in crazy Christmas games, it is soon obvious that the attraction is not one-sided. As a single dad and busy college coach, Hayden is in no place for a relationship, but the sexual tension between the two is potent, and he’s tired of fighting his attraction. Now they just need to make sure her brother doesn’t find out because the Christmas-obsessed Calhoun family is too important to him to lose if things don’t work out between them.
Although it’s not technically a second chance romance, it plays out like one. For most of the book, Hayden is the perfect book boyfriend. However, I get really frustrated when guys put on the brakes, whether for legitimate reasons or not, without consulting their love interest. It’s insulting to the woman and implies a lack of trust when it’s really just their fears and insecurities winning out.
Other than the afore-mentioned frustration, I enjoyed this story with plenty of sexy banter, a smoking hot single dad, and a plethora of Christmas cheer. If you’re in the mood for a very steamy Christmas on steroids romance, check this one out.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Forever Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
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.
5*
What a refreshing change from the typical romance! Not only has Olivia Dade given us a fabulous couple of middle-aged protagonists in Rose and Martin, but Rose is also a plus-sized woman who Martin describes with positive, affirming words like gorgeous, statuesque, curvaceous, “regally tall”. Both of them are carrying a lot of baggage that makes getting to know each other challenging, but, despite their difficult childhoods and divorces, they become friends. A big reason is their respect for each other as dedicated teachers. Rose is determined to be cordial but cold to the new hire who has been assigned her favorite classes and is invading her classroom during her two planning periods to teach them. However, she hadn’t expected him to be so kind, sensitive, and respectful. In fact, Martin is nearly the perfect man: a loving father, champion of women and LGBTQ youth, a sexy nerd, and a phenomenal, caring teacher. His lesson on female Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut, taught while Rose was there to observe, encapsulates his qualities. “She just watched Martin – who knew full well she was observing him that particular period – walk his high school class through a well-considered discussion of gender, power, and the historical erasure of women and the marginalized. Heard him declare with quiet passion that their stories mattered. That, by inference, her story mattered. That she mattered.” It’s no wonder that he makes her feel safe and protected even if she is perfectly capable of fighting her own battles. But will she be able to let go of the past to have a future with Martin? An excellent contemporary romance that focuses on issues very pertinent today in a way that doesn’t seem patronizing or tokenish and which pays homage to hard-working, devoted teachers. Book one of Dade’s new There's Something About Marysburg series. Highly recommended!
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Hussies & Harpies Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
