Double Review: Married by Midnight and Christmas at Cranberry Cottage by Talli Roland

Married by Midnight by Talli Roland
Series: Standalone
Published: November 14th, 2014
Publisher: Notting Hill Press
44 pages (eARC)
Genre: Women’s fiction
Acquired this book: From the author in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
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Christmas is coming . . . and so is the biggest day of Kate’s life.

While choosing a vintage dress for her Christmas Eve wedding, Kate finds a cryptic note pinned to the inside of a 1930s gown. As doubts about her own ceremony loom, Kate is determined to track down the dress’ owner and determine what became of her – and the marriage.

Will Kate find the answers she’s seeking to propel her down the aisle, or will her discovery prompt her to call off the wedding for good?

Note: I read Married by Midnight in November of 2014 and while I posted my review on GoodReads, I forgot to post it here for some reason. I figured better late than never!

Whenever I see that Talli Roland has released a new Christmas novella, I get excited, because I know I’m in for a treat. Married by Midnight was no exception.

The stars have aligned, the fates have spoken, the horoscopes have decried it, so Kate is getting married this Christmas. Who cares if the man of her dreams isn’t all that dreamy and he spends more time watching the game than paying attention to her? One thing that is worthy of her daydreams is the vintage wedding dress she finds. But when she finds a note pinned inside the dress, she becomes more interested in unravelling the mystery surrounding its owner than in continuing to plan her own quickly approaching wedding.

As with all of Talli’s books, Married by Midnight is wonderfully unique. I loved the premise of the book, and how everything came together. Kate is a funny, spunky character, and her mother and sister made great side characters.

I loved the overall message of this book about following your heart, doing what’s right for you, and continuing to believe in love, even when things don’t work out exactly how you planned. For such a short story, it packed a punch.

Married by Midnight is cute, sweet, funny, and romantic. Another winner from Talli Roland!

Christmas at Cranberry Cottage by Talli Roland
Series: Standalone
Published: October 7th, 2015
Publisher: Notting Hill Press
29 pages (eARC)
Genre: Women’s fiction
Acquired this book: From the author in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
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With a whirlwind lifestyle travelling the world, the one thing Jess Millward relies on is Christmas with her gran in cosy Cranberry Cottage. When her grandmother reveals the house is directly in the path of a new high-speed railway, Jess is determined to fight. Can Jess save the cottage from demolition, or will she have no home to come to this Christmas?   
 

Something I’ve come to look forward to every winter: Talli Roland’s Christmas stories. I’ve read and enjoyed all of them, so I was glad to see Talli had another one out this year!

Jess desperately wants to save Cranberry Cottage, her grandmother’s home, and the only home she’s known since her parents died. In the short course of this story, we see how passionate, impulsive, determined, and stubborn Jess is. She wants what she thinks is best for her grandma, and she’s single-minded in her desire to keep their home. As with all of Talli’s Christmas stories, there’s a moral that reminds you about the importance of family, home, and the holiday season.

If you’re looking for a quick read to boost your holiday spirit, be sure to check out Christmas at Cranberry Cottage!

3.5 stars

Have you read Married by Midnight or Christmas at Cranberry Cottage? What did you think? If you haven't read them, do you plan to? Have you read any of Talli's other books? What are some of your favourite Christmas stories? Let's talk here or on Twitter!

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Christmas Quickies: 3 Holiday Novella Reviews

Mistletoe in Manhattan by Talli Roland

Published: November 3rd, 2012

Publisher: Notting Hill Press

83 pages (ebook)

Genre: Women’s fiction

Acquired this book: Bought

Warning: May contain spoilers

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As Little Missington's first Christmas baby in fifty years and the daughter of 'Christmas When You Like It' party-planners, Holly West has been surrounded by the holiday spirit since birth. Trouble is, she's not exactly filled with festive cheer. In fact, Holly can't wait to ditch the tinsel and Santa suits for champagne and celebs, and become a party-planner to the stars.

When British film star Dean Layton hires her parents' company to throw his holiday bash in Manhattan, Holly jumps at the chance to help, confident she can handle a little Christmas in exchange for access to Dean's exclusive world.

But New York and Dean's over-the-top demands are more than Holly bargained for. Can Holly deck the halls and make it a party to be proud of, or will this Christmas be one she'll never forget . . . even if she wants to?

*****

 

Feeling a bit stuck working for her parents’ year-round Christmas party planning business, Holly has visions of grandeur when she’s hired to put on a big traditional English Christmas party for a British celebrity in New York City. This is her chance to get out of her small town, out of her elf costume, and make a name for herself.

While short, this charming novella packed a lot of fun between its digital pages. The story was simple and sweet, but the message behind it encompassed the true spirit of Christmas. I loved the little hint of romance, the obstacles Holly faced, and the lessons she learned. It was funny, touching, and overall a feel-good kind of story.

If you’re looking for a fast and sweet holiday read, or if you’re running around like a mad person getting ready for Christmas and need a little reminder about what the holidays are really about, I’d definitely recommend this book.

 

 

Naughty or Nice? by Stephanie Bond

This story was published as a standalone, but I read it in the the Under the Mistletoe collection

Published: November 1st, 2008

Publisher: Harlequin

250 pages (hardcover)

Genre: Women’s fiction

Acquired this book: Bought

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Eric Quinn Stanton has never let pleasure interfere with business--until now. His practice is to arrive early and incognito at a job, to see firsthand what's working, and what's not. But he can't seem to see past Cindy's beautiful green eyes or her other generous assets. And he can't stop himself from testing the general manager's skills--on the job, and in the bedroom. But what will she think when she learns his true identity?

*****

Cindy is the general manager of the Chandelier House, a hotel in San Francisco. The hotel is known for being a bit strange and quirky - they host a lot of trade shows, specialty groups, and conventions (think Trekkies), and right before Christmas, the hotel comes under review by the company that bought it. Cindy has to scramble around trying to get ready for the reviewer, who she’s afraid will show up early and go incognito. Basically everything that can go wrong does, both in her personal and professional life.

The whole story is delightfully quirky. All the problems Cindy has to deal with at the hotel, the problems she accidentally causes herself, and the people she has to deal with, made for a lot of really humourous scenes. The story was funny, cute, and sexy, with a cast of eccentric characters that pulled me in and made me hope everything would turn out for the best. It has a little something for everyone, and it makes for a great, quick Christmassy read.

 

Christmas Kisses by HM Ward

Published: November 26th, 2012

Publisher: Laree Bailey Press

100 pages (ebook)

Genre: New adult romance

Acquired this book: Bought

Warning: May contain spoilers

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How hard is it to NOT have sex with him? Lust has melted Holly Connelly’s brain and it’s all Ryan Darcy’s fault. He’s been ruthlessly flirting with her for the past three years. Ryan’s a sex god complete with sinful body, endless wit, and an orgasm-inducing smile. One sultry look from him will make her panties jump off her body. His endless string of one-night stands has Holly thinking she’ll be just another conquest. Since she actually has feelings for the guy, it makes it that much harder to put off his advances. When they get trapped together by a snowstorm, it’s all she can do to resist him. If Holly says yes, she’ll probably regret it. If she says no, she’ll always wonder what if.

***** 

I’ve been on a Christmas story kick lately, so when I saw this one recommended on a friend’s blog, I was intrigued. My first thought: I think marketing it as a Christmas story was a bit misleading. It took place over Christmas break, but actually had nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas. Most of the story happened before Christmas, then Christmas was mentioned in passing and that was it. Since I was looking forward to a Christmassy tale, I felt kind of cheated - it was basically erotic romance masquerading as a holiday story.

The build-up and sexual tension were done fairly well. I didn’t get much of a sense of either character’s personality since the only real descriptions were how hot they were and how much they wanted each other. The whole story was really repetitive - the first third of the story was basically made up of Holly saying what Ryan did to her heart, and what Holly did to the rest of Ryan. The sex scenes were super hot, but again, repetitive. 

There were a few sweet, funny moments between Holly and Ryan that I really enjoyed. Once the sexual tension was out of the way, I liked how they interacted with each other and connected with each other. It was nice that they had shared history and were familiar and semi-comfortable with each other, even though I didn’t feel them connect on an emotional level, so much as a lust-filled one.

If you’re looking for a cute, sexy, quick read, this might be it. If, like me, you’re looking for an actual Christmas story, I'd look elsewhere. But, for 99 cents, what do you have to lose?

Have you read any of these Christmas novellas? Do you have any recommendations you'd like to share for Christmassy books or novellas?

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In My Mailbox Week 9

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.  The idea is to share books you've acquired during the week, whether you've won them, bought them, picked them up at the library, received them for review, whatever.  It's a great way to bring attention to books and authors and share the love!

 

Please pardon my awkwardness in this video…I was having one of those days where I was uncomfortable in my own skin and I think it shows lol…plus, I’ve mentioned it before, but I do not have a lisp, it’s the stupid super-sensitive audio on my camera that makes it sound like I do. *sigh*

 

 

Books mentioned:

 

Review books:

Cloyne Court by Dodie Katague

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

Won:

Watching Willow Watts by Talli Roland - thank you Prospera Publishing

Library:

Norway to Hide by Maddy Hunter

Hearts at Stake (also known as My Love Lies Bleeding) by Alyxandra Harvey

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts

What did you get in your mailbox this week?