With This Christmas Ring by Manda Collins

With This Chrismas Ring - 4 Stars

Synopsis

A wallflower determined to fulfill a dying promise, the rogue she jilted years ago, and an orphaned baby are all brought together amidst the magic of Christmas in this new novella from Manda Collins.
Miss Merry Parks makes a deathbed promise to a schoolfriend that her infant daughter will be taken to her absent father. There’s only one problem—to find the baby’s father, she’ll have to consult his cousin, Viscount Wrotham, the man she jilted five years ago. The man she couldn’t forget.
Alex Ponsonby, Viscount Wrotham, is stunned to find Merry Parks—looking more lovely than ever--on his doorstep with an infant in her arms. His shock soon turns to dismay when he learns his own cousin William is the man who abandoned his wife and child. As head of the family he’s duty bound to see right is done. But he can't let this opportunity pass. He’ll take Merry and the baby to his cousin, but he’ll woo her back in the process.

Merry agrees to travel with Alex and the baby to Wrotham Castle, where the entire Ponsonby family has gathered for Christmas, but her plans to see the baby settled then leave are ruined by a snowstorm. After five years apart, Alex and Merry will spend the week getting reacquainted. Perhaps it’s the spirit of the holiday, or the magic of the season, but there could be something else in the air this Yuletide…A Christmas Reunion.

Review

***ARC Review Received from St Martins Press & Netgalley***

Wow this made me cry right from the start. I loved this story and the plot was really good. Alex and Merry (good Xmas name), have a past. It's nice to see them trying to work out that past. A great historical romance that will get you in the mood for the holiday season.

Deck the Halls by Donna Alward

Deck the Halls by Donna Alward - 2.5 Stars

Synopsis

With shades of It’s a Wonderful Life, one man must face his past to find his future this Christmas.

In the last year, George's life has drastically changed. The formerly homeless veteran now has a job he likes, a family in the residents of Darling, VT, and for the first time in years, a home. But while his present is good, he's still haunted by the past, a past that appears shortly before Christmas when the older sister of his brother-in-arms hunts him down and finds him in Darling, working at the Ladybug Garden Center.

Amy’s looking for closure for her family after her brother's death in the Middle East, but the serious man she finds working in Vermont doesn’t resemble the soldier she remembers from years before. This man is hardened and yet somehow fragile, too, and in her desire to find out what really happened to her brother, she learns more about George than she ever expected.

With a little Christmas magic and the whole town supporting them, can these two bruised hearts make a future together?

Review

***ARC Received from St Martins Press & Netgalley***

This was a different read for me. I felt at times this book repeated itself. But overall I found this an okay quick read.

The Christmas Cowboy by Donna Grant

The Christmas Cowboy - 4 Stars


Synopsis

Tis the season for ex-Navy SEAL Clayton East to come home for the holidays―even if the mood at home is anything but festive. His father is ill. The East Ranch is in financial trouble. And now it’s on Clayton, the prodigal son, to make sure his family doesn’t lose everything.

Headstrong Abby Harper is like a mother to her younger brothers, who she’s helped raise since she was a teenager. Keeping them in line is no small task while she’s also working toward her college degree. And now that one of her brothers has been arrested for stealing cattle at the East Ranch, Abby is at her wit’s end. But there is a silver lining: Clayton East. He believes in second chances, and is willing to give one to her brother this Christmas. Letting beautiful Abby―and the inescapable longing in his heart―off the hook, however, is a whole ’nother story. Could it be that the woman of this local hero’s dreams has been back at home all along?

Review

***ARC Received by St Martins Press & Netgalley***

This was a cute contemporary read. I love both cowboys and seals so for me this was awesome. I loved the dynamic between Abby and Clayton. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good Christmas contemporary read.

The Highlander is All That by Sabrina York

The Highlander is all That - 4.5 Stars

Synopsis

Elizabeth St. Claire has always been hard to please. Dreaming solely of Highlander men her whole life, no prancing London Lord can stand a chance at winning her heart...

… But perhaps a Scotsman can.

Elizabeth watches intrigued as the Highlander of her dreams, a Scotsman named Hamish Robb, arrives to oversee her season at the behest of her cousin, the Duke of Caithness. Elizabeth doesn’t hide her feelings for the striking Scot. But Hamish, determined to obey his order to protect the St. Claire sisters, steadfastly rejects her every seducing lure.

Believing that the debutante Elizabeth deserves a better, wealthier man, Hamish continues to turn away from her affection, even though he doesn’t exactly want to. Can this Highlander Scot resist the tempting seductress’ attempts to win his heart?

Review

***ARC Review Received from St Martins Press & Netgalley***

How much would you risk for the one you love? This is the question on the mind of Hamish. He wishes to marry Elizabeth, but he feels she needs to be with someone better than him. This made me love Hamish as all he wanted was to make her happy and secure. Elizabeth, on the other hand, has other ideas, she does not care whats best for her she wants her Scottish Highlander no matter what the consequences are. I loved this, it's everything I could want in a historical romance book. 

The Bride Who Got Lucky by Janna MacGregor

The Bride Who Got Lucky - 4 Stars

Synopsis

He would do anything to protect her. Even marry her…

The son of a cold-hearted duke, Nicholas St. Mauer isn’t one to involve himself in society…or open his own heart to anyone. But driven by honor, the reclusive Earl of Somerton feels obliged to keep a watchful eye on Lady Emma Cavensham. She possesses a penchant for passions unbecoming a woman that finds Nick in constant peril of losing his well-structured solitude. She even dared kiss Nick once―an utterly unladylike, and delightful, lapse…

Emma can’t deny the appeal of the earl’s attention, and occasional affection, but she has no need for a man. There are worse fates than spinsterhood, as Emma knows too well. She still mourns the loss of her dear friend Lena, and is determined to prove Lena’s husband responsible for her death before he lures another innocent woman into a brutal marriage. But as Emma pursues her prey, a compromising moment upends all her plans. Now, with gossip swirling and her reputation in tatters, Nick may be the only man brave enough to join in Emma’s cause. . .and fight for her heart.

Review 

*** ARC Received from St Martins Press & Netgalley***

The cute romance that starts of an almost love to hate. Emma wants to be a spinster and not be tied down by the ropes of an arranged marriage. When Emma needs someone in her dire moment of need its Nicholas that comes to her rescue. This is a great novel for anyone who loves a good historical romance novel with a determined heroine and a brooding hero.

The Scandalous Flirt by Olivia Drake

The Scandalous Flirt (Cinderella Sisterhood #6) - 4 Stars

Synopsis

Aurora Paxton was once the belle of the ball, the most sought-after debutante of the season―until a scandalous mistake ruined her. Shunned by her family, Rory was banished to the country to live in disgrace. Now she’s been summoned back to London by her stepmother, who is being blackmailed by the least likely person Rory can imagine: Lucas Vale, Marquess of Dashell.

Lucas is someone Rory’s known for years―a man as devastatingly handsome as he is coldly disapproving of her. What in the world could he want from her or her family? Rory intends to find out as soon as she comes face to face with her old foe. What she never expects, however, is that the icy aristocrat has a soft spot for her―and a secret plan to redeem her status. Could it be that Lucas has been in love with Rory all along. . .and has finally found a way to win her heart?

Review

***ARC Review Received from St Martins Press & Netgalley***

This was a fun fairytale retelling. For me, the only downfall was that the mains lead is Aurora or better known through the book as Rory. This put me off a little, but that is just personal taste. Despite this, this was enjoyable and I would recommend others. The book was quick, fun and romantic read and would be would be enjoyed by all those who love historical romance novels.

The Scot Beds his Wife by Kerrigan Byrne

The Scot Beds his Wife - 4 Stars

Synopsis

They’re rebels, scoundrels, and blackguards—dark, dashing men on the wrong side of the law. But for the women who love them, a hint of danger only makes the heart beat faster.

Gavin St. James, Earl of Thorne, is a notorious Highlander and an unrelenting Lothario who uses his slightly menacing charm to get what he wants—including too many women married to other men. But now, Gavin wants to put his shady past behind him...more or less. When a fiery lass who is the heiress to the land he wishes to possess drops into his lap, he sees a perfectly delicious opportunity...

A marriage most convenient

Samantha Masters has come back to Scotland, in a pair of trousers, and with a whole world of dangerous secrets from her time spent in the Wild West trailing behind her. Her only hope of protection is to marry—and to do so quickly. Gavin is only too willing to provide that service for someone he finds so disturbingly irresistible. But even as danger approaches, what begins as a scandalous proposition slowly turns into an all-consuming passion. And Gavin discovers that he will do whatever is necessary to keep the woman he has claimed as his own...

Review

***ARC Review Received from St Martins Press & Netgalley***

This was a fun book to read. I love highlanders and brooding highlander who know what they want. Gavin has always wanted Samantha and when she falls in to his lap he wants her. This was a fun book that fun to read. The two main characters are enjoyable to read about and their journey was exciting to follow. This author knows how to do historic romance well.