Bite Me for Christmas by Megan Slayer

December 15, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Bite Me for Christmas by Megan Slayer
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Holiday, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Dicentra

Rachael isn’t good at magic, and she’s not versed in life, but this witch wants to lay her hands on the sexy vampire who’s come to her in her dreams. She wants just one thing for Christmas wish — her vampire.

Gavin wants the witch in his dreams, but he doesn’t believe he’s worthy of her. Part of him wants to devour her magic and save himself, but what if being saved doesn’t involve dying?

Anything is possible with a little Christmas magic.

Sometimes Santa works his Christmas magic and delivers more than what you ask for…

Rachel isn’t the best or the brightest witch, but she does her best. Her days are dull, but her nightly dreams are filled with the gorgeous vampire Gavin. When she decides to change things for herself, she puts her Christmas wish out into the universe and requests that Santa bring her vampire lover to her. Gavin, as a vampire, longs to be free of the constraints of his nature. He does have feelings for Rachel, but he doesn’t feel like he has anything to offer her. After Rachel’s Christmas wish ends up bringing the lovers together, will everything work out for them in the end?

There isn’t a lot of worldbuilding in this story, but I don’t think it was necessary. The story is set in a very recognizable version of our world. Additionally, the characters and their emotions were quite impactful – I was rooting for Rachel from the very first line of the story. I loved how Ms. Slayer balanced the erotic scenes with the emotional scenes. Gavin was super charming, and there were many moments where he caused me to swoon. Cue the heart eyes!

The ending of the book is by far one of my favorite parts of the story. Ms. Slayer tied everything up in a bow nicely! Overall, Bite Me for Christmas was a delightful paranormal/urban fantasy holiday short story. If a reader is in search of a quick, entertaining, and spicy read complete with happily ever after this book delivers.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Trading Christmas by Debbie Macomber

December 10, 2021 By 1 Comment


Trading Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Original Title: When Christmas Comes
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Holiday
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Trading Houses. Trading Towns.

Trading Christmas!

Emily Springer, widowed mother of one, decides to leave Leavenworth, Washington, to spend Christmas with her daughter in Boston.

Charles Brewster, history professor, curmudgeon and resident of Boston, wants to avoid Christmas altogether. He figures a prison town should be nice and quiet over the holidays—except he’s thinking of the wrong Leavenworth!

Through an internet site, Charles and Emily arrange to swap houses for the holiday. So Emily goes to Boston—and discovers that her daughter has gone to Florida. And Charles arrives in Leavenworth and discovers that it’s not the prison town—it’s Santa’s village! The place is full of Christmas trees, Christmas music and…elves.

Meanwhile, Emily’s friend Faith Kerrigan travels to Leavenworth to visit her and instead finds Charles, an avowed grinch. Then Charles’s brother, Ray, shows up at his home in Boston to discover that he isn’t there—but Emily is.

Through all the mix-ups and misunderstandings, amid the chaos and confusion, romance begins to emerge in unexpected ways. Because everything changes at Christmas!

This novel is a classic holiday rom-com and one I’m not surprised is actually a reissue. My mom gave me her 2004 copy called, When Christmas Comes, and when I was ready to write this review, I discovered that the publisher reissued it as Trading Christmas. I like the new title because it more accurately describes what a reader will find within its pages. Everyone wants to surprise their favorite person for the holiday but they themselves get the shocks of their lives when they swap houses. It’s like they turned their homes into what we now call Airbnbs. The results are both hilarious (Santa and his elves) and sweet.

This book follows two main ladies, very good friends, Emily and Faith. Then there are two die-hard bachelor brothers, Ray and Charles. Neither party knows what the other is doing. For various reasons they all decide to travel for the Christmas holiday. Some do it to visit the other, one does it to get away from all things Christmas, and another character travels as a favor to his mother. The third is a subplot about Emily’s daughter, Heather. Heather strikes out in independence but eventually has to face the results of her decision and its ramifications. Has Emily’s influence as a mother made a difference in her daughter’s life? Or will she throw it all away on her quest to be ‘adult’? Some of the topics are serious, but all of the intertwined story arcs are fascinating, uplifting, positive, healing, humorous or hysterical (cue the runaway lobster).

If fans of holiday romances have not had a chance to read Trading Christmas, and you have a couple of hours to enjoy some free time, please do give this novel a try. It has everything from snowball fights, sledding, and yummy baked goods, and runs the gamut of emotions; annoyance, astonishment, surprise, happiness, silliness and cute ‘awww’ moments. Then there are begrudging curmudgeons being dragged into the holiday spirit. To see the way the brothers respond to the influence of Emily and Faith is truly delightful, and definitely fun. The guys’ mother is a touch of genius – talk about a drama queen – in the best sense of the term. Even her dog has an attitude. LOL

I’m so very glad I had a chance to read this novel. The romances within are sweet verging on sensual. The progression of their romances are a gradual thing as they share experiences, memories, past hurts and pains until hope for the future starts to grow. The most romantic scenes hold the promise of what could be between them and when it takes root, explodes into passionate kisses and a reawakening of joy and happiness about the Christmas holiday, and life itself. It’s a wonderful mixture that works.

Trading Christmas is worth reading at any time of year, but especially so when Christmas lights and music are actually occurring around the reader. Talk about getting into the season. If you need a jumpstart, then this book just might do the trick.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Snow Bride by Debbie Macomber

December 8, 2021 By 1 Comment


The Snow Bride by Debbie Macomber
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Holiday
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Practical Jenna Campbell has done something impractical. She’s met a man on the Internet and now, a month before Christmas, she’s going to Alaska to marry him. Dalton Gray seems to be everything she wants in a husband—sensitive, gallant, romantic…

On the flight to Fairbanks, she has the misfortune to sit beside Reid Jamison, who obviously isn’t sensitive, gallant or romantic. However, he’s not impressed with her plan to marry Dalton, a man he detests (for good reason, as Jenna later finds out). So Reid takes it upon himself to change her destination—and her marriage plans.

Which is why Jenna ends up at Reid’s cabin in tiny Snowbound, Alaska. It’s currently a one-woman town (and the other woman’s out of town). That leaves Reid, a bunch of eccentric old men, a few grizzly bears—and Jenna. Kidnapped! And then there’s a blizzard. The two of them alone, stranded in Snowbound…

Maybe she’ll be a Christmas bride, after all!

This novel is a delight to read; full of warmth and hope, filled with funny secondary characters that create a feeling of community, and an enjoyable journey to romance.

The Snow Bride was a pleasant surprise. I received the book from my mom at Thanksgiving, and although I’ve read books by Ms. Macomber before, I somehow missed this one. I’m glad I had a chance to give this story a whirl. From the moment I sat down to read, I was hooked by the first chapter. Two and half hours later, practically midnight, I came to the ending and the happily ever after. This novel was a breeze to read because it kept me engaged throughout. Jenna and Reid were a pleasure to meet.

The hero and heroine have sparks fly between them from the get-go. They weren’t the right kind at the beginning – two rocks crashing together to make lots of possible fire-starters – narrow-eyed irritation and miffed annoyance. That was fun. Reid then makes a command decision that sets the ball rolling with unexpected consequences. Of course, that’s what a good romance story is for – pit the main characters against an out-of-control situation and see where the chips fall. I have a few favorite parts while they were snowbound in Snowbound – cribbage and the music and dancing scenes.

I think the most enjoyable moments came from their not understanding themselves, and the actions that led to. A reader knows it’s jealousy, which can only happen if they care and have real feelings for the other. It took another ‘love’ interest to bring everything to a head. That part, I knew was coming and yet Ms. Macomber handled it differently than most. Another reason why I liked this story. It easily could have turned into a cookie-cutter type trope except for the little details the author threw in and made it adorably perfect.

I smiled a lot while reading. I nodded many times when a character made insightful observations or suggestions and giggled quite a bit when it came to Jenna’s mom, Chloe. Again, Chloe’s character could have been done many different ways based on her … track record, and yet, the author once again side-stepped any negative drama that seems to dog that particular trope and instead furthered the positive, uplifting and romantic theme of the romance. Like I said at the beginning, this was a truly charming and enjoyable journey to romance. One I can recommend especially during the Christmas holiday because that is around the time when the HEA wraps up. If you think it’s going to be traditional, you haven’t met Palmer and Addy. Those two side characters cracked me up.

The Snow Bride is the perfect book to relax and unwind with because the drama is light, the happiness factor is high and the romance is fun and satisfying. A definite recommendation.

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Kisses and Lemon Snowflake Cookies by N. Jade Gray

December 6, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Kisses and Lemon Snowflake Cookies by N. Jade Gray
Christmas Cookies
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Holiday
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Fireman Dustin Keith didn’t realize women would be coming out of the woodwork after he posed for the local fundraiser calendar. But the one who catches his eye is a baker with trust issues. Can he scale the wall she’s built around her heart, or is fate destined to extinguish the flames of desire before they engulf his heart?

Lauren Badini came to Cedar Bend to lend a helping hand at her aunt’s bakery, not fall for Mr. July. The image on the calendar she received last Christmas fueled her fantasies, but the in-person version is too hot to handle. But if life after her ex has taught her anything, it’s okay to look…but don’t touch.

Perfection is overrated.

This novella had an excellent sense of humour. By far my favorite funny moment in it happened in the first scene after Lauren accidentally burned a tray of gingerbread men. I couldn’t stop giggling at what happened next, although I really should leave any further details up to other readers to discover for themselves. It gave me a good feeling about finding out what would happen to the characters next.

I would have liked to see more character development in the storyline, especially when it came to Dustin and Lauren. The audience learned basic facts about their occupations, but I didn’t see much personal growth in either of them. It would also be tricky for me to describe their personalities in any specific detail. I sure would have liked to have more information about that as well.

Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that explored Dustin’s close-knit group of friends. They were a wonderful source of emotional support not only for him but also for one another. Their antics also contributed to the humorous moments in this tale as well. I loved the fact that they were such a funny and supportive group.

The two main characters both struggled with their communication skills. It was a little tiring for me as a reader to see them go through the cycle of seeing or hearing something they disapproved of and then immediately reacting to it in a negative manner without checking to see if their assumptions about those interactions were actually accurate. This was one of the biggest areas where I thought Lauren and Dustin could have both shown personal growth. I would have understood if it had happened a couple of times, but it popped up so often that it was a little bit too much for my tastes.

There was a twist in one of the final scenes involving something that happened to Dustin while he was at work that made me smile. I didn’t see it coming in advance, but it fit in with the plot quite well. It was lovely to be surprised by that moment and then wait quietly to see how everything would be resolved. This was the best portion of the story in my opinion.

I’d recommend Kisses and Lemon Snowflake Cookies to anyone who loves firefighters.

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The Christmas Promise by Donna VanLiere

December 6, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Christmas Promise by Donna VanLiere
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Holiday, Mainstream Fiction
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Each Christmas we are given a promise from heaven. And each year on earth we make promises to each other. This is a story about how a promise from one person to another shows us the true meaning of faith, remembrance, and love.

Seven years ago Gloria endured a family tragedy that almost shook her faith entirely. Each Christmas she places a card in an envelope on her tree, restating a promise she made to her husband before he died. Now, having moved from her small town and all the painful memories it held, she is building a life by caring for people in need. Whether it’s a young mother who can’t pay her electric bill or a family who needs some extra food, Gloria always finds a way.

Miriam is a thorn in Gloria’s side. Miriam is a constantly critical, disapproving neighbor who looks with suspicion at all the good things Gloria does. When a twist of fate makes them roommates instead of neighbors, it’s the ultimate test of patience and faith.

Chaz has a good job as head of security at Wilson’s Department Store, but each night he returns home to an empty apartment. He longs for a wife and family of his own but realizes that the life choices he’s made have alienated him. He befriends a young boy whose mother has fallen on hard times, giving him a chance to have a life he thought impossible.

In The Christmas Promise, the lives of these characters collide and we learn that even as we move ahead, the past is never far behind. And when we are forgiven much, we love much. In this warmly humorous and deeply poignant story, we are reminded that the Christmas Promise is the promise of second chances.

Sometimes it’s nice to try something unknown, and this story by Donna VanLiere, a new-to-me author, was one of those books that took me by surprise because I ended up liking it. By and large, I’m a romance reader so I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. It has romantic elements and of a fashion, it does have an emotional and satisfying happy ever after. It’s not the type I’m used to but for this novel, it was perfect. It was happy, it was poignant, it left me with the ‘feel goods’ and the writing was well done if a bit unusual. It was unusual because the point of view switched from first person, which followed the story of the main female lead, Gloria, also called Miss Glory, and the third person point of view from some of the secondary characters. I don’t remember if I’ve ever come upon a story written quite this way. In The Christmas Promise, it worked.

Because the author wrote the chapters and storylines of a few of the characters like the weaving of a tapestry, everything spirals down to a point. I found that style of storytelling quite challenging. Not because it was confusing, it impressed me more than anything else. Everyone’s lives seemed to touch another’s in one way or another. It brought a sense of unity to the community. Gloria seems to be the person who spearheads charitable works for anyone and everyone she comes across who is experiencing hardship in one way or the other. I think that is where the ‘Christian Fiction’ label can apply. It wasn’t on the level of inspirational, but the guiding principle of taking care of a neighbor in need falls under the purview of corporal works of mercy. That’s where all the important secondary characters are found. Mary-am, Spaz, Donovan, Carla, Erin and quite a few others are not only helped by Gloria but she eventually is helped by them. The blessings she receives in doing for others far outweigh anything she could have imagined at the start of the story.

On an aside, I am compelled to mention that the synopsis or blurb for The Christmas Promise is actually different depending on if you look up the title as a print or as an audiobook. I prefer the print version’s blurb but combined, it gives a potential reader a clearer idea of what the novel is about. It mentions humor and I didn’t have any laugh out loud moments while reading. A few ‘Awws’ and ‘that’s so sweet’ when it came to the interactions between Spaz and Donovan, a few smiles with Miriam’s crabby antics, but the big emotional pull and downright tear jerker is between Gloria and one of the secondary characters. If a reader enjoys stories that are strong in the ‘feels’ area, then this book is going to bring about those happy sappy tears so make sure you have a tissue handy, just in case.

On the whole, The Christmas Promise is a powerful story of faith, friendship, redemption, true Christmas spirit and love of family and neighbor. It’s incredibly well-written and the pace is constant. I usually prefer light fluffy stories but I’m glad I took a chance on something a bit more solid. It reminded me of what the holiday’s focus should be. Not material things, but people. Not only family, but friends and sometimes friends of friends. Even though this story has a Christmas theme, I personally feel this story can be read at any time of year. It’s a timeless message. If you haven’t read this story yet, or heard of this author, please give her a try. I’m glad I did.

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Swiss Mistletoe and Macarons by Amey Zeigler

December 1, 2021 By 3 Comments


Swiss Mistletoe and Macarons by Amey Zeigler
Christmas Cookies
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Holiday
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Baking enthusiast Livi Hanson never misses Jean-Marc’s online videos. Hoping to save money for pastry school, she agrees to nanny over Christmas break in Switzerland for generous overtime pay.

To expand his audience, pastry chef and internet star Jean-Marc Dobrinsky scores a contract for a network TV slot with one caveat: he needs an attractive co-host who equals him in the kitchen.

When she’s invited to bake with Jean-Marc, Livi must prove she has the culinary chops, and Jean-Marc must put aside his pride. Can they rise to the challenge, or will it flop?

Change can be frightening, but it can also be the best thing to ever happen to someone.

Livi’s character development was delightful. When I first met her, she was the sort of person who would bend over backwards to help others regardless of how difficult it made her own life. Her generosity and compassion were admirable, but I yearned for her to learn how to set appropriate boundaries and take better care of her own needs, too. It was wonderful to see how she grew and changed throughout this novella.

Some of the most memorable scenes in my opinion were the ones that showed the characters making the best of disappointing circumstances. For example, Livi found ways to celebrate her favorite Christmas traditions in an unfamiliar country where it wasn’t always possible to recreate everything exactly how she’d like. Sometimes she had to make substitutions or even try new things altogether. Having such a sensible approach to the holiday season goes a long way in making it special even if one can’t celebrate with the people they miss or eat exactly the same foods they would normally enjoy.

I loved seeing how the romantic storyline unfolded, especially since Jean-Marc had such a strong and opinionated personality. His biggest strengths were often Livi’s biggest weaknesses and vice versa. This led to a few personality clashes between them in the beginning, but I could see each side of their conflicts so well that I couldn’t pick between them. Both of these characters made good points, and it was evident from the beginning that they could learn a lot from each other.

Swiss Mistletoe and Macarons was an immensely satisfying Christmas romance novel that I can’t recommend highly enough.

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Little Red Sleigh by Erin Guendelsberger

November 16, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Little Red Sleigh by Erin Guendelsberger
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Holiday, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The Little Red Sleigh has one big dream―to one day become Santa’s big red sleigh! But all her life, she’s been told she’s too small, she’s too young, she can’t fly, and she certainly can’t meet Santa. Well, this Christmas, with the help of some friends, she’s determined to do the impossible. Little Red Sleigh is a heartwarming children’s Christmas book you’ll want to read again and again. Full of winter joy and Christmas magic, this Christmas book for kids will remind you that no dream is out of reach if you believe.

Some Christmas wishes require a lot of hard work to come true.

As soon as I met Little Red Sleigh, I immediately liked her spunky and optimistic personality. She knew exactly what she wanted out of life, and she wasn’t afraid to chase her dreams no matter what she had to do. Her perseverance was impressive. What a wonderful role model she was for kids and adults alike!

I would have preferred to see more time spent on world building. Sleds and trucks seem to be living creatures in this world, but the narrator didn’t dig too deeply into why some inanimate objects are like this and how they grow and change over their lifetimes. This was such an important part of the plot that I would have loved to learn more about it. The storyline was fun as it was written, but I still walked away from it with some unanswered questions about how it all worked that would have propelled this tale into five star territory.

With that being said, I loved the messages about taking small steps towards a goal and never giving up no matter what happens. It’s so much easier to gradually learn new skills or make little changes in behavior than it is to try to do everything at once. This is equally true for young children, so it was delightful to see the process of achieving big dreams being broken down into such age-appropriate language for little ones.

Little Red Sleigh was a heartwarming and encouraging Christmas read.

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Cookie Collision by Darlene Deluca

November 4, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Cookie Collision by Darlene Deluca
Christmas Cookies
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Holiday
Rating: 3 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Before she can let up and enjoy some holiday cheer, real estate agent Alana Drake has work to do. With Christmas moving in fast, she has clients to meet with, houses to show, and cookies to bake. Every open house deserves her special touch—homemade and hand-decorated sugar cookies for a warm welcome. And she needs several dozen for upcoming holiday events and open houses.

But a poorly timed stop at the grocery store could upend more than her bag of groceries.

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When all she wanted was to bake some cookies…

Even the unluckiest accident can have a silver lining.

Some of the most interesting scenes in my opinion were the ones that showed how Alana juggled everything that was going on in her life. She had a rewarding career, a fun hobby, and a loving circle of friends and relatives to keep up with. I always enjoy reading about characters in romance novels who have already built happy and well-rounded lives for themselves long before they meet someone special. Alana definitely fits the bill here!

I would have liked to see more attention paid to a subplot involving conflict between Alana and another realtor. There was so much time spent building tension between them early on in the storyline that I was caught off-guard by how quickly the author tied everything up later on. The resolution made that early foreshadowing feel overdone to me. It would have been helpful if their mutual grudge had either not been given so much attention in the beginning or if they’d had more opportunities to address the problem later on.

The chemistry between Alana and Justin was perfect. I loved their lighthearted banter and how it revealed the many similarities they shared. They were both kind and loving people who often expressed their feelings for the people they cared about through the food they made for them. Many of their hobbies were compatible with each other as well which can also be a good sign when looking for a long term partner. The more I learned about both of them, the stronger I hoped they’d live happily ever after together.

Cookie Collision was a sweet and heartwarming read.

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The Gingerbread Lodge by Vicky Burkholder

November 3, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Gingerbread Lodge by Vicky Burkholder
Christmas Cookies
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary, Holiday
Rating: 4 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Gisele Reid returns to the Gingerbread Lodge to help her aunt, but without paying guests, she’s afraid the lodge will have to be sold. An event she vows to stop. When an old friend shows up, she is astonished to find Max has turned into a man who makes her knees and heart tremble.

Max Oakley, a developer, has a client interested in buying land around the lodge. He has fond memories of the resort, as well as the girl who left him behind. When he runs into Gisele again, she’s even more beautiful than ever. A woman who could make him forget everything—even his job.

Plumbing problems, electrical outages, and the return of Gisele’s family throw a wrench into Max’s plans to woo Gisele. But when the truth comes out, she believes he’s betrayed her trust, and it will take a Christmas miracle to make everything right again.

It’s never too late to start over again.

One of my favorite things about this novella was how it included the paranormal elements of the storyline. They were hinted at here and there without ever becoming the focal point of the plot. This was the perfect approach to the topic given how logical Gisele and Max were in their daily lives. A touch of something otherworldly was all that was needed to give this tale a little Christmas magic.

I would have liked to see a bit more attention paid to the ending, especially when it came to conflict resolution. Some of the subplots were resolved much more quickly and easily than I expected them to be based on the amount of attention they’d received in earlier scenes as well as the length of time the characters had mentioned being bothered by them. As happy as I was to see how everything turned out, it would have been helpful to see more examples of the work the characters needed to put into those issues in order to fix them for good.

Gisele and Max’s relationship was delightful. Not only did they have wonderful chemistry, their shared history explained so many about why they each behaved the way they did and why neither of them had found anyone to settle down with yet. I also liked the fact that the author gave these two characters such a slow-burning romance. Stretching out the placements of those scenes made me anticipate the next romantic moment between them as the plot moved forward.

This is part of a series, but it works perfectly well as a standalone work.

The Gingerbread Lodge was a cheerful Christmas story that I’d recommend to anyone who is counting down the days until December finally arrives.

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Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles by Maria Imbalzano

November 2, 2021 By 3 Comments


Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles by Maria Imbalzano
Christmas Cookies
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Holiday
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Competitive, work-obsessed Bella Simonetti has just been fired from her high-paying job at a Manhattan law firm. At an all-time low, she returns home and helps her parents at their small-town gift shop, but the business is failing and may not make it past the Christmas holidays.

Successful landscape architect Dean Jackson is like a son to Bella’s parents. But he’s a persistent annoyance to her—he seems to have forgotten his unforgivable blunder thirteen years earlier.

When Bella transforms her parents’ gift shop into a cookie cottage, Dean’s generosity and magnetic smile are hard to resist, and those feelings of unrequited adolescent love come rushing back. But can Bella let go of the past and accept Dean for the man he is today?

Christmas is a season of hope, forgiveness, and turning over a fresh leaf. All of these things are just a tad easier to accomplish when there are homemade Christmas cookies available, too.

Bella’s parents, Clive and Barb, were a hoot. They were in a stage of life when change was difficult for them and they often struggled to see Bella as a fellow adult instead of their child. This led to some pretty funny moments, especially when she genuinely happened to know more about a certain topic than they did or tried to give them much-needed advice about how to save their struggling shop. My favorite scenes were the ones that included them bantering with their daughter. If the author ever decides to write a sequel, I’d be thrilled to see more of that!

It would have been nice to have a little more time spent developing the subplot about Bella’s struggle to find new work after being fired. This was such an important part of her life that I was surprised it wasn’t mentioned more. She was clearly an intelligent and resourceful character. I would have loved to dig more deeply into why she made the career decisions she did. With that being said, this is a minor criticism of a novella I otherwise had a wonderful time reading.

The romantic storyline was handled beautifully. I enjoyed getting to know Bella and Dean’s backstories, especially when it came to why she was still angry with him so many years after his blunder. Their shared history gave them plenty of reasons to interact with each other despite her grudge.

Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles was a heartwarming holiday read.

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