Publisher: Montlake
Genre: Romance
Source: Montlake ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: A story of a reluctant billionaire who takes on his father’s empire, its dark secrets, and a fiery assistant he can’t get out of his head.

When Chase Stone’s estranged father dies, leaving his multibillion-dollar business to his children, no one is more surprised than him. Growing up outside of the high-stakes world filled with human vultures, Chase and his sister, Alex, are less than enthusiastic about stepping into their father’s shoes. That is until they learn of a half brother they didn’t know existed, and must find to share their inheritance with.

Piper Maddox was the elder Mr. Stone’s übercapable assistant—abruptly fired two weeks before his death. She knows everything about Stone Enterprises and the man who built it. But Piper has no desire to work for another member of the Stone family. Even one as down to earth as Chase.

Desperately needing financial security, Piper agrees to return so long as kissing up to Chase and accepting unwanted advances were not part of her job description. A task that becomes a serious hurdle for both of them. Piper and Chase scramble to find the third Stone sibling before the media does, sharing secrets along the way. Secrets that can bring them together or tear them irrevocably apart.

Ope’s Opinion: This was such a good read. The pace was on the slower side because this is the first in a series. The characters are well developed, realistic and certain ones you are rooting for from the beginning.

Piper’s sass and Chases charm make for good banter and balance in their relationship. I love that Alex and Chase have such a good relationship. I will be interested to see if her love story comes in one of the next books.

As usual, I think there is too much detail on the steamy scenes, but there aren’t too many of them. Most of the story is about so much more than just the romance.

The end of the story was obviously leading into the next book.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Christian Fiction
Source: Thomas Nelson ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Opposites attract in this heartfelt rom-com about overcoming your past and embracing all that life has to offer.

Britt Branch has a successful My-tube channel where she teaches all kinds of art lessons. Obsessed with the 1970s, she has a style all her own and loves yacht rock. She also has a huge problem–severe social anxiety. She lives with her mom, and while she pays her own bills, she wonders if she’ll ever have the courage to move out. When her best friend announces she’s getting married, Britt thinks it’s time to make a change.

Gorgeous Hunter Pickett has always skated by on his model looks and applying very little effort to anything except sports, and even that was iffy at times. The third son of extremely wealthy and successful parents, he’s always been the black sheep of the family and has dealt with the issue by drinking and using drugs. When he lands in jail, he turns his life around. But by his third year of sobriety, he’s still dealing with aimlessness. When he catches Britt’s channel, he’s intrigued and ends up watching her videos even though he’s not interested in art . . . at first. He reaches out to her, and they eventually become friends and make a deal–if she gives him art lessons, he’ll help her with her social anxiety.

But neither of them is completely honest with the other. When all the secrets come out in the worst way possible, relationships must be rebuilt, and Britt has a decision to make–is she going to continue to hide from life, or is she going to finally start living?

Ope’s Opinion: This was a good, clean, Christian romance. There were actually several romances going on at the same time. The characters were a bit simple, but enjoyable. Each one of the characters had flaws. It made them more compassionate.

There was an event that brought everyone together ( no spoilers ) and brought out a lot of issues and misunderstandings. I kind of saw it coming, but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading.

I have read Kathleen Fuller and I will read her again. I listened to this one and the narrator had a soothing good voice.

All is quiet.
My favorite part of the holidays.

Take the time to enjoy the peace.

This YA book is at the top of my list this year.
It is so much more than a romance.

Kristy Woodson Harvery does it again!
She makes it on my favorite list each year.
She just knows how to write a story that captures my attention.

Dorothea Benton Frank wrote an amazing story.
I listened to this and it made me feel like I was there.

This is a book I just didn’t want to put down.

I hope your reading this year has been amazing.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Christmas
Source: St. Martin’s Press ( Netgalley )

Goodreads:  From Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating love and the warm, glittering charm of the holiday season.

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family,

And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?

Filled with family ties, both rekindled and new, and sparkling with Christmas magic, Bright Lights, Big Christmas delivers everything Mary Kay Andrews fans adore, all tied up in a hilarious, romantic gem of a novel.

Ope’s Opinion: This story was great from beginning to the end. It was a clean, wonderful romance that happened so naturally. There were several side characters that added so much to the story. 

It was such a good read for the crazy busy days leading up to Christmas. It felt cozy and easy to read each time I was in need to a quiet moment. 

Mary Kay Andrews is really good at giving me the Christmas feeling. 

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Christmas
Source: Thomas Nelson ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Like walking onto the set of your favorite Hallmark Christmas movie, Mistletoe Season invites readers to fall in love alongside three couples, featuring old flames, opposites attract, and even a royal romance.

Say No to Mistletoe by Sheila Roberts

Mistletoe is Hailey Fairchild’s kryptonite. Every time she’s kissed someone under the mistletoe it’s led to love disaster. Not a good thing for a romance writer! When she was a gawky high school girl, her hunky neighbor, Carwyn Davies, star of the basketball team (and her dreams), kissed her under the mistletoe on a dare. But the kiss wasn’t a dream come true. It was a mortifying moment she’s never forgotten, and now she’s about to go home for the holidays, unengaged and . . . determined to say no to mistletoe. Especially if Carwyn is anywhere around.

Return to Mistletoe by Kathleen Fuller

Emmy Banks has always loved Christmas. How could she not when she lives in Mistletoe, Missouri? Kieran O’Neill has spent years abroad, renovating an old Irish castle, but returns to Mistletoe for his mother’s seventieth birthday. He reconnects with Emmy, his sister’s close friend, and spends time with her in her charming antique shop. When the weather turns colder, things start to warm up between Emmy and Kieran. But can Emmy risk her heart when she knows he’ll never stay in Mistletoe and she’ll never leave?

The Mistletoe Prince by Pepper Basham

Prince Arran St. Clare has lost his freedom and fairytale life in exchange for a three-month “punishment” in the small town of Ransom, North Carolina. To prove he is ready for the royal life for which he was born, Arran must engage in the Christmas charity fundraiser, The Mistletoe Wish. But when kindness, authenticity, and hard work prove more appreciated in Appalachia than a royal pedigree, Arran must face the mirror and find out who he is beyond the crown. Add a beautiful and intelligent woman who doesn’t recognize her own worth, some mistletoe, and a little Christmas magic, and it all might be enough to help the rebel-prince understand what truly matters most.

Ope’s Opinion: I listened to this book. I didn’t really enjoy the Scottish accent. It felt fake to me. The last short story felt monotone and at a slow choppy pace. I do in general like short stories during the busy the holiday season.

The third story was my favorite in spite of the narrators voice. I also enjoyed the clean romances each of them wrote about.

Publisher: Griffin
Genre: Christmas
Source: Griffin ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Anita Hughes’s Christmas at the Lake is a heartwarming holiday romance set in a charming Christmas village on the shores Lake Tahoe.

On Christmas Eve, just hours before their wedding, Rebecca Huntley is left at the altar by Ben Cole, her college sweetheart and fellow co-founder of the hugely successful dating app, Dealbreakers. He’s fallen in love with the app’s head of legal, and they are going to leave for three weeks in St. Bart’s.

Rebecca is shocked but a small part of her isn’t surprised. Dealbreakers matches potential couples by the things they hated, instead of what they had in common. Lately, she and Ben seem to have less and less in common. He craves the trappings of success, while Rebecca enjoys simple things.

Rebecca decides to go on their honeymoon to the cozy Christmas Cove Inn in the charming small town of Christmas Cove on the shores of Lake Tahoe. There, Rebecca runs into an old college friend, Zach Mason, who had always had a crush on Rebecca. Through a misunderstanding, Zach believes Rebecca is married to Ben, and Rebecca believes Zach is in a relationship with a sophisticated older woman, when really, he is a waiter at the hotel.

As Christmas week unfolds, will the two learn the truth about each other and then be open for a second chance at love? Or will they begin the new year with broken hearts?

People are complicated. Everyone has positive attributes as well as faults – but none are dealbreakers when you’re really in love.

Ope’s Opinion: This was an entertaining read. It actually had three romances in one story. The main story was a contemporary romance, the other two were in the past. It was enjoyable to see how the three came together.

In this book, things were repeated – you were there when something happened, then a character would tell someone else and the whole thing was repeated. This happened over and over again.

I loved the setting and the description of the snow falling on the lake and little town. All of that made me feel like getting in the holiday spirit.

Publisher: Miranda Liasson, LLC
Genre: Christmas
Source: Miranda Liasson, LLC ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: She invented Mr. Right…just in time for the holidays.

Every tangled web starts with one tiny white lie. The kind you spin when you’re desperate.

One day I, Mia D’Angelo, third-year pediatric resident, was telling my mom that I’d finally met the perfect guy. Gushing about how amazing he was. And how happy I was.

It was all true. Until my “perfect guy” turned out to be my co-worker and my only competitor for a spot in the best practice in town…and then suddenly I was dumped…again. But I kept going with the stories, to get her through a very tough time.

My mom’s health crisis ended, and just when I thought things had settled down, my family wanted to meet my wonderful boyfriend for Christmas.

So I asked (okay, begged) just about every male I knew under forty, except for Dr. Braxton Hughes.

Don’t get me wrong. I could always count on him in a pinch. At work, that is.

Brax is an amazing pediatrician, but he would never fit the bill as a boyfriend. Maybe in looks. And charm. And his big heart. The problem is that he’s the biggest commitment-phobe this side of the Mississippi.

He’s the kind of guy I would definitely never take home for Christmas. There’d be no kissin’ under the mistletoe, no canoodling under the tree—because my heart could not survive falling for him again.

My car is packed and I’m down to no one, when magically, there he is, duffle in hand, melt-me smile on his face.

Oh, joy.

Keeping it professional is going to be a whole lot harder than I thought. Especially when he charms my parents, my whole family, and even my dog.

And Dr. Wrong…well, he’s suddenly looking awfully right.

Ope’s Opinion: This is exactly what I needed to get into the holiday spirit. It was a very Hallmark kind of story with characters you want to be happy together. I really liked that there was not too angst and only a little too many steamy scenes. The steamy scenes were not too detailed.

Each of the main characters had careers. Each of them also had some things in their past they needed to work through. It was good to see them bring out the best in each other.

Of course it ended the way you wanted it to. There was an epilogue that allowed you to see where they are now.

Publisher: Revell
Genre: Christmas
Source: Revell ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Whitney Garrett is preparing to enter culinary school in the spring, but first she has to sell enough homemade pies at the local Christmas markets to pay her tuition. When her oven breaks, Whitney asks Marie Sloan, proprietor of the Red Door Inn, if she can use the inn’s kitchen to keep up with her orders. Marie agrees, with a Whitney has to watch the three Sloan children and cook breakfasts for the Red Door in return.

The inn is busy with holiday guests–including Aretha Franklin Sloan’s perpetually single nephew Daniel and Ruby, a businesswoman in town to purchase Aretha’s antiques store. Intent on making a Christmas match for the two, Aretha enlists Whitney’s help in her schemes. But the deeper Whitney gets, the more she realizes that Ruby is definitely not the right woman for Daniel–and the more she thinks that she just might be his perfect match.

Cuddle up for some warm holiday cheer as New York Times bestselling author Liz Johnson explores the unforeseen consequences of meddling with mistletoe when love is on the line.

Ope’s Opinion: This such a good holiday story. It would make a very good Hallmark movie that everyone could enjoy. The characters are fun to read about and the setting is where you want to be for Christmas.

Liz Johnson knows how to write Christian fiction.