Publisher: Blink Publishing
Genre: Nonfiction
Source: Blink Publishing ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: From Elizabeth II to future King William, The Windsor Legacy offers a riveting exploration of the British monarchy’s resilience and influence over the past century, looking at its key players and conflicts, with a forward-looking examination of its future.

In an age where resilience is essential, The Windsor Legacy delivers an enthralling narrative of inspiration and royal intrigue. Penned by Robert Jobson, a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author and a front-line royal correspondent for over three decades, this extraordinary work will take listeners deep into the heart of royal history as well as through the secrets that plague it to this day.

From the abdication crisis, royal family entanglements, Cold War espionage, betrayal, and scandalous love affairs to more recent constitutional crises and the monarchy’s most closely guarded secrets and feuds. This riveting and stylish narrative, told through the key characters and clashes at the heart of the family, will be packed with exclusive revelations with a story as comprehensive as it is captivating.

Ope’s Opinion: If you are a royal follower, you will not find much new information in this book. But it was interesting to listen to anyway. It did talk about Charles becoming King and other current events in the family.

This was a good overview of the Windsors. There is a lot of history included in the book that explains how they got where they are today. Some of it may have a slight leaning towards one royal over the other, but most of the book seemed fact and not opinion.

Publisher: Alcove Press
Genre: Romance
Source: Alcove Press ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: A recently divorced single mom returns to her family’s fixer-upper beach house and finds romance amidst the heartbreak—and truths buried under generations of lies—in this summertime romance perfect for fans of The Beach House and Nora Goes Off Script.

When Dahlia Newberry escapes her terrible marriage and returns to Long Island’s North Fork to put her family’s beach house on the market, she discovers the property has fallen into disrepair, and she has no idea how she’ll get it from fixer to fabulous in a month’s time.

Things start to look up when she discovers her neighbor is Noah, a handsome reality TV star known for his Hamptons-set home renovation series. Noah turns out to be quite handy and pitches in to help Dahlia with the renovations and, as chemistry sparks between them, her self-discovery too. 

Meanwhile, Dahlia discovers a letter from her Aunt Lil, whose dying wish was for Dahlia to find a key that unlocks a mystery spanning three generations. Soon Dahlia is unearthing mysterious clues buried in the garden which threaten to upend everything she believes about her world.

The truth is supposed to set you free, but excavated secrets have a way of shattering an already fragile life—unless Dahlia can find a way to bloom into the woman she was always meant to be.

This debut novel by an accomplished home design influencer is perfect for fans of HGTV shows and steamy summer romances.

Ope’s Opinion: This read was just okay for me. I am not sure how much had to do with the story and how much had to do with the timing of the read. I read this during the holidays and there was so much else going on. I may read it again in the spring when it is due to be published.

The mystery drug on for me. Instead of looking forward to it being solved, I felt like it was dangled like a carrot. Somehow it didn’t work for me. I may be the only one that felt this.

I think I will look at what Jennifer O’Brien writes next.

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Genre: Romance
Source: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: For fans of Emma Lord and Abbi Glines, Jennifer Iacopelli’s swoony, romantic new novel follows elite ice dancer Adriana Russo as she finds herself drawn to both her old dance partner and her new one.

Adriana Russo is figure skating royalty.

With gold-medalist parents, and her older sister headed to the Olympics, all she wants is to live up to the family name and stand atop the ice dance podium at the Junior World Championships. But fame doesn’t always mean fortune, and their legendary skating rink is struggling under the weight of her dad’s lavish lifestyle. The only thing keeping it afloat is a deal to host the rest of the Junior Worlds team before they leave for France.

That means training on the same ice as her first crush, Freddie, the partner she left when her growth spurt outpaced his. For the past two years, he’s barely acknowledged her existence, and she can’t even blame him for it.

When the family’s finances take another unexpected hit, losing the rink seems inevitable until her partner, Brayden, suggests they let the world believe what many have suspected: that their intense chemistry isn’t contained to the ice. Fans and sponsors alike take the bait, but keeping up the charade is harder than she ever imagined. And training alongside Freddie makes it worse, especially when pretending with Brayden starts to feel very real.

As the biggest competition of her life draws closer and her family’s legacy hangs in the balance, Adriana is caught between her past and present, between the golden future she’s worked so hard for, and the one she gave up long ago.

Ope’s Opinion: This is a great story for anyone to read, but I would recommend this to a teen. The story is clean, realistic and fun. The characters are in real situations.

I was thinking while I was reading it, I would enjoy seeing it on tv. I was reading the ebook. Then I noticed the cover on Goodreads said Netflix series. I think I will try to find it and watch it.

I will now go look for more books by Jennifer Lacopelli.

Publisher: Canary Street Press
Genre: Christmas
Source: Purchased

Goodreads: The magic of Christmas—and a second shot at romance—is in the air in Shelter Springs this holiday season…

Amanda Taylor isn’t a fan of Christmas, but as the owner of a local soap shop, ignoring the holiday season isn’t an option. To forget the pain of Christmases past, Amanda focuses on making the season bright for her customers at the Shelter Springs Holiday Giving Market. But when her beloved grandmother, Birdie, starts dating the dashing new resident of the Shelter Inn retirement community, Amanda smells trouble. Fortunately, Rafe Arredondo, the grandson of Birdie’s charming suitor, is equally dubious of the match. Unfortunately, he’s just as fiery as his grandfather—and Amanda has zero interest in getting burned.

As a single father, paramedic and assistant fire chief, Rafe has more than enough on his plate. Sure, he and Amanda share a common goal in keeping their grandparents apart. Still, that doesn’t mean he should allow himself to feel as drawn to her as he does. Even if she is great with his young son. Even if she does help the burden of his own painful past feel a little lighter… But when their paths keep crossing at the holiday market, it starts to feel like fate, prompting them both to wonder if taking a chance on love might gift them everything they’ve been wishing for.

Ope’s Opinion: This was a 3.5 chairs read. It was a typical RaeAnne Thayne book. It had great, well developed characters, a little town setting and the kind of ending you want at the holidays. It was a wholesome romance – my favorite kind.

What kept it from being a four or five chair? – there was a lot repeating of information and feelings. Also, I liked the ending, but it was too fast – from no we are not going to be together to in love forever too quick.

I did love the cover and I felt like I was there.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Christmas
Source: I purchased

Goodreads: This Year, Christmas Comes Just in Time

As a first-year law associate, Sydney Batson knows she will be updating her resume by New Year’s if she loses her current court case. So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic.

The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. And as she starts to feel better, she leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter.

When Finn meets Sydney, he’s quite sure that she’s never needed help finding a date. Does Miss Callie have an ulterior motive, or is this just a mission driven by delusions? He’s willing to do whatever he can to help fulfill Callie’s Christmas wish. He just never expected to be a vital part of it.

Ope’s Opinion: The cover and title were so cute, I just couldn’t resist picking this one up. I have read and enjoy several of Terri Blackstock’s, so I thought this one would be similar – I was wrong on all fronts. This was the most depressing Christmas book I think I have ever read. It moved very slow for being such a short book.

Publisher: Cardinal
Genre: Fiction
Source: Cardinal ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: An irresistible modern fairy tale about a British princess who must decide between her duty to her family—or to her own heart.

It’s New Year’s Day in Tasmania, and the life Lexi Villiers has carefully built is working out she’s in the second year of her medical residency, she lives on a beautiful farm with her two best friends Finn and Jack, and she’s about to finally become more-than-friendly with Jack—when a helicopter abruptly lands.

Out steps her grandmother’s right-hand-man, with the tragic news that her father and older brother have been killed in a skiing accident. Lexi’s grandmother happens to be the Queen of England, and in addition to the shock and grief, Lexi must now accept the reality that she is suddenly next in line for the throne—a role she has publicly disavowed.

Returning to London as the heir apparent Princess Alexandrina, Lexi is greeted by a skeptical public not ready to forgive her defection, a grieving sister-in-law harboring an explosive secret, and a scheming uncle determined to claim the throne himself.

Her recent life—and Jack—grow ever more distant as she feels the tug of tradition, of love for her grandmother, and of obligation. When her grandmother grants her one year to decide, Lexi must chart her own will it be the one determined by an accident of birth, or by her own heart?

Ope’s Opinion: If you enjoy fictional royal stories, you will enjoy this one. It was a bit long for me. I felt like it was not an original story – I feel like they took real life royal circumstances and rewrote them. I did enjoy it, but didn’t love it.

Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Genre: Holiday
Source: LIbrary

Goodreads: Christmas Romance
Get cozy with this heartwarming holiday story! 

“[Thayne] engages the reader’s heart and emotions, inspiring hope and the belief that miracles are possible.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Return to Hope’s Crossing this Christmas in New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne’s latest heartwarming story of matchmaking at the holidays!

Sage McKnight is an ambitious young architect working at her father’s firm who takes on her most challenging client in Mason Tucker. The former pro baseball player is still healing from the physical and emotional scars after a plane crash left him a wheelchair-using single dad, and he’s determined not to let anyone breach his emotional defenses. Sage knows her work on Mason’s new home in Hope’s Crossing is her best work yet, and she won’t let her grumpy client prevent her from showcasing her work personally.

With Sage’s gift for taking broken things and making them better, the matchmaking talent of the quirky locals and a generous sprinkling of Christmas cheer, Mason doesn’t stand a chance against the power of this magical holiday season.

Don’t miss Christmas at the Shelter Inn , New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne’s latest charming story about two sisters coming together and finding hope one magical Christmas, years after tragedy and loss tore their family apart.

Ope’s Opinion: This is such a good book to listen to while getting ready for the holidays. The characters are enjoyable and the story line is great. I could see in the houses that Sage was renovating – the descriptions were written perfectly.

Of course the ending is what you expect and want from a holiday romance.

Publisher: HaperAudio
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Library

Goodreads: ’Tis the season! The Crown meets When Harry Met Sally and Bridget Jones’s Diary, in the latest heartwarming historical novel from Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, bestselling authors of Meet Me in Monaco and Three Words for Goodbye.

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue in the tradition of her late father and grandfather’s beloved Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must move with the times, and the Queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change. 

As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, two old friends—Jack Devereux and Olive Carter—find themselves reunited for the festivities. A single mother, typist at the BBC, and aspiring reporter, Olive leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, despite self-doubts. When a chance encounter with the Queen presents an exciting opportunity, Olive begins to believe her luck might change. 

Jack, a grief-stricken widowed chef originally from New Orleans, accepts a last-minute chance to cook in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. When he bumps into a long-lost friend, an old spark is reignited.

Despite personal and professional heartache, Jack and Olive’s paths continue to cross over the following five Christmas seasons and they find themselves growing ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret. 

Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen’s first televised Christmas speech, Olive decides to reveal the shocking truth of her secret, which threatens to tear her and Jack apart forever. Unless Christmas has one last gift to deliver… 

Ope’s Opinion: If you only have time to listen to or read one holiday book this year, this should be the one to choose. It is a wonderful romance with characters that you will root for from the beginning to the end. It is written from a few points of view – this makes it even more interesting and moves the story along at a very nice pace.

At the end, are some authors notes about their research – this should not be missed. They are informative and actually add to the story. I highly recommend this one.

Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Genre: Christmas
Source: Harlequin Audio

Goodreads: ‘Tis the season for a little white lie…

Christmas has always been single mom Holly Goodwin Moore’s favorite time of year. The twinkly lights on the tree, the cookies in the oven, the snow on the ground. But she’s just not feeling it this year. The wedding in her ex’s family is almost here, her daughter, Lydia, is bursting at the seams to be a flower girl…and Holly couldn’t be dreading it more. She told a little white lie about having a new boyfriend as her plus-one, hoping to save face. She needs a date for the wedding…and she needs it now.

Ryan Caldwell wants to be free this holiday season. So even he isn’t sure how he landed in Shelter Springs, looking after his niece, Audrey, with his estranged father down the road. But when he meets Holly, she makes him want to belong for the very first time. So they make a deal: he’ll be her date if she’ll help him give Audrey a true Christmas to remember while her mom is away.

Ope’s Opinion: This a very hallmarkish story told as only RaeAnne Thayne can tell a story. The characters are relatable, the story could be real and the setting is a place you would like to live.

This would be perfect to be picked up to get into the holiday spirit. If you have time to curl up with your favorite hot drink by the fireplace, read this book.

Publisher: St. Martin Griffin
Genre: Christmas
Source: St. Martin Griffin

Goodreads: All bets are off when a single-minded photographer and a professional hockey player are forced to spend a week together on his sister’s Christmas tree farm, perfect for fans of Jenny Holiday and Maggie Knox.

Maisie Smart has a don’t-look-back policy–not on the choice she made to be a photographer (despite her family’s wishes) and not on the one-night stand she had six months ago. Sleeping with someone she barely knew was out of character; sleeping with a professional hockey player who bolted the morning after is a whole new level of embarrassing. Getting invited to spend the week at Tickle Tree Farm with her family this Christmas is a sure way to fill her with holiday spirit. Until the universe throws a Grinch in her festive plans in the form of the one man she hoped to avoid.

Nick King is a mess. After a significant injury lands him on the bench for every game for the rest of the month, he has more time to dwell on the one night stand he can’t get out of his head. With time on his hands, his anxiety hovering, and the holidays around the corner, he figures visiting his sister and nephew at their Christmas tree farm will be a good way to lie low and sort himself out. He’s in for a surprise when it turns out Maisie is staying at his sister’s and his attraction for her hasn’t lessened one bit in the last six months. Apparently, neither has her anger at him for bailing. But Christmas is the time for second chances, and the forced proximity may help Nick and Maisie unwrap feelings neither of them can walk away from twice.

Ope’s Opinion: The beginning of this book was very repetitive. The first night Maisie and Nick spent together was told over and over. It was referred to in several conversation. When I read further into the story it improved.

I loved that Maisie had her own interest and her own goals in life independent of Nick or her family. I liked that Nick made his decisions about his hockey future on his own.

The ending was sort of hallmarkish. I did not like how quickly Maisie and her mom turned around their relationship. That part did not feel realistic.