Season's greetings...
...and welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers!
It's time for POST TWO of the TWELVE DAYS OF BOOKMAS.
What IS Bookmas, you ask?
Great question!
Bookmas is similar to Christmas, except it brings tidings of great reads, holiday gifting suggestions, and just about all the bookish fun you can imagine from across the genre spectrum. It's all in one place at one time (sorta) and ready to help you get out from under the yuletide stress, and get back to enjoying the season...one page at a time.
Just why is it the "Twelve Posts" and not the twelve books? Simple...I have WAY TOO MANY titles for you to consider, peruse, and read all about to limit it to twelve titles. These posts are intended to highlight some great titles, give you ideas for your gifting this year, and help me clear up my "read-it-but-need-to-review-it" teetering stack. Triple focus...yes siree! So, ready or not, let's get this sled on the road as we unwrap today's featured titles....
The Royals, Volume 3
by
Teri Wilson
9781501160516
Pocket Star ebooks
Take one heartbroken cello player who has lost his way and his muse. Add one princess-who-would-be-queen forced to marry to secure the crown. Toss in a fair amount of absurd royal gifts (a live animal? Really?), dress fittings from you-know-where, and secrets hiding quite often in plain sight, yet never acknowledged. Oh...well, they WEREN'T at least, until now. Sometimes fate works in your favor...and at other times you have to force its hand to attain the future you deserve as well as desire.
If you have checked this series out yet, I HIGHLY suggest you do! Each installment features a female voice of the past (or present) from a larger than life story that just happens to be pulled from truth with a healthy addition of fiction to keep things rolling along. This time is no different and the characters are as endearing and swoon-worthy, if not more so. I love how the author keeps us on our toes, never quite knowing whether the happily-ever-after will be attained for the leads as one or apart. I love how a plethora of feelings is worked into the mix without smothering the story beneath it all. I love how while it IS about the romance, it's not JUST about the romance...allowing readers over several genres the ability to partake in the series without feelings completely out of their comfort zone.
In short, a great addition to the growing series and a definite recommendation for adult readers. If you like Contemporary Romance with sparks enough to light the royal ballroom, this one's for you.
Saddle Creek Sisters
by
Amy Manemann
This is a story about a romance that once was, an end to that same connection with a somewhat mutual parting (at least logically), and the realization that it should never have been disbanded in the first place. Why? The feelings, the sizzle, the undeniable sparks, flirty banter, and looks of longing that are exchanged at a rapid place the moment these two are once again in the same vicinity. Is it something that could last? Emotionally, that's a given...after all, it's still there after all these years, but geographically it presents a challenge....that is unless one party or the other is willing to give a little to gain A LOT.
I've enjoyed this author's work in the past and this time around is more of the same. The characters are likable, the situations relatable, and the heart's desires unable to be ignored without burning themselves out. If you're a Contemporary Romance fan who likes the steam without stepping into the flames, you should definitely check out this story, as well as the author's other works.
by
Jenny Gardiner
Much like the character's relationship, one moment I was beginning this story and the next I was finished. Short stories are a mixed bag and generally leave me wanting more, such is the case here. I wanted more detail to their past history (his reasons for leaving were beyond juvenile), more time to know them as they are now (there seemed to be SOMETHING redeemable there for both of them, and the connection -though buried deep- was obviously still viable), more space between the hookups (I'll just leave it at that)...and for me, less dirty talk. It's fine and dandy that the sparks fly when they're together, but I prefer a little more build up versus constant pyrotechnic show. Still, a good story for an afternoon quickie...read.
Hey, get your mind out of the gutter...
Special thanks to Melissa at Simon & Schuster, Brenda with author Amy Manemann, and author Jenny Gardiner for the copies for review. (THANKS!) For more information on these titles, the authors, or the publishers, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check back for the next BOOKMAS post for more bookish fun!
Happy holidays and happy reading!
