Julia Monroe Begins Again and Again and Again

Julia Monroe Begins Again is a cute novel about second starts, second chances, and new beginnings.  If I were to sit and count the times Julia started over with something or other, I'd still be counting even though I finished the book last week.  

Julia has had to start life over after her husband died ten years prior.  She had to go to work to raise her sons, maintain her home, and keep body and soul together.  Now there is a new wrinkle in her new beginnings--an old flame has shown up at her church and wants to reclaim their relationship.  Julia is gun-shy where Samuel is concerned.  There's too much history, too much brokenness, and too much chemistry/electricity between them.  Also, there are her sons to think about.  

There are laugh-out-loud moments in this book and some angsty moments, but overall, this is a fun book to read,  It is my first by Rebekah Millet, but I hope it won't be my last. She puts some new wrinkles in the Romance Novel Formula, which makes this a refreshing read.  She also brings in the culture of New Orleans in a way that gives the reader a sense of belonging.  And I wish I could have one of Kate's Beignets.  

Four Strong Stars

Bethany House provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

On Moonberry Lake

Cora has inherited a broken down house that was once a bed and breakfast.  The kicker is that she has to live in this house  for one year and  fix it up.  Once the year is completed, she will own the house out-right and all expenses will be reimbursed. She remembers the house well as she spent quite a bit of her young years living there, but something happened that estranged her mother from her grandmother.  

With a cast of characters filling out the story in this book, Cora learns what she needed to know about her mother and her mother's family.  Each character seems to hold a piece of the puzzle Cora is trying to put together that makes up the tapestry of her life.  

Holly Varni has taken some hidden circumstances and built a cohesive novel that grabs the reader's attention from the very first page.  She has written about small town America, where each small town has its own colorful people.  Every character in the book is a welcome addition to a well-rounded friend group.  

On Moonberry Lake is a great read for a couple of lazy afternoons. It is engaging, compelling, surprising, and altogether interesting.  I give it five stars, two thumbs up, and a restored B&B on a peaceful lake. 

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

 

The Paris Housekeeper

 This is actually a story of three women facing difficulties in World War II, and the friendship that the three of them forged through the hardest of times.  Vivian was a resident of the Ritz Hotel in Paris until the Germans took it over.  Rachel and Camille were housekeepers in the hotel.  Vivian often asked for Camille's assistance and tipped well. As the Germans infiltrated Paris, Rachel got singled out as the Jew on the staff and eventually had to go into hiding because the Jews were going to be rounded up and sent to a death camp.  

A German officer who has moved into the suite where Vivian once resided and then is promoted and given a house closer to his  work.  He takes Vivian as his mistress/hostess and Vivian recommends Camille to be his housekeeper at three times her normal wages.  

Camille finds a tunnel under the house where there is a couple of cots set up and she hides Rachel and her mother until new papers can be acquired for them to escape France and to move into Spain. It all comes to a head when the German officer finds the forged papers and realizes that the two Jewish women had been hiding in his house for months.  

I didn't find this book as compelling as the other book by Renee Ryan that I have read.  The plot moved very slowly and the characters weren't as engaging.  Many of the characters seemed two dimensional to me and lacked depth.  Those who like World War II fiction may like this and this may have been just the mood I was in when I read the book. So I will give it three stars. 

Harlequin Romance provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

A Royal Christmas

Melody Carlson's books are sweet, light, and often humorous.  Sometimes she adds a bit of mystery to keep the reader engaged.  

So imagine you are a barista working your way through law school and you get a letter telling you that your father, who is a king in a very small European country is on his death bed.  Now, imagine that you didn't even know you HAD a father, much less one who is considered royalty, albeit in a country of 15,000 people.  How do you handle this piece of mail that is requesting a visit from you before your father passes away?  First of all, determine whether the letter is a scam, then choose your path accordingly. 

Adelaide Katelyn had just that series of events happen to her. In the midst of meeting her father and becoming accustomed to palace life, Adelaide finds her stepmother less than welcoming.  This is almost a Snow White kind of story minus the poison apple.  

Some of the supporting characters make the story so much richer, especially Anton. But, I felt that the novella was incomplete.  The problem with novellas is that there is limited space to fully develop the narrative.  That is the only criticism I have for the novella.  It is a quick read and quite engaging.  

Four Strong Stars. 

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own

 

The Longdale Legacy

I enjoy almost anything Carrie Turansky writes.  I got sucked into this book without warning and found it utterly captivating.  It is written in dual time with parallel love stories and parallel heart-breaks occurring one hundred years apart.  

1912--Charlotte Harper's father has died while speaking and in going through his things, Charlotte finds that he wasn't the father she thought he was and became quite distrustful of men in general.  When her mother has to sell the family home to settle her father's debts, Charlotte, her mother, and her  little sister, Alice, move to the Keswick district of England.  Charlotte's mother is hoping to reconcile with her father at Longdale Manor, but he all but closed the door in her face until he needed her help.  

2012--Gwen Morris has made a huge blunder in her grandfather's art and antiques appraisal business.  He sends her to Keswick to Longdale Manor to appraise and sort antiques and art that the owner wants to sell. During the time she spends at Longdale, the owner shares with her a journal she found that was written by Charlotte.  The more Gwen reads the more she wants to know about Charlotte.  At the same time, she wants to find out about her father and meet him, if possible. While hunting for her father, she comes across her grandmother who lives at the farm where Charlotte ended up, and she finds out that Charlotte is in her family tree.  

Both Charlotte and Gwen find love in unexpected places and when they both were not looking for it. Both of their stories are so satisfying in the end, in spite of the hardships they go through getting there. This is definitely a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a love story worth telling to your children. 

Bethany House Publishers provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.

 

You Make It Feel Like Christmas

 

I have read several books by Toni Shiloh.  She writes about real characters with real world problems and brings reasonable solutions to the issues.  

In her newest offering, she has a plethora of characters who each fill a role in this story.  She has a self-centered narcissist, a victim of the sister's machinations, stalwart brothers who protect their sisters from the world at large; then there are the parents who push their children to fit into molds the children didn't choose for themselves.  

Angel is marrying Starr's ex-boyfriend.  The night he met Angel, he broke up with Starr and went directly to Angel's hotel room to ask her out.  

Starr is going home for Thanksgiving partially because she lost her job and partially because Angel wants her there to help with wedding preparations.  When their brother, Gabe, introduces Starr to his best friend, things begin to look up for Starr's holidays.  Starr helps Waylon revitalize his mother's Christmas shop so that it begins bringing in a profit.  Waylon's gentleness attracts Starr and she begins to realize that while she has helped Waylon with his dream, she hasn't been living her own dream.  

I love Toni Shiloh's books.  She has a way of putting her words together that draw the readers in and keeps them hooked until they finish the book.  Four Strong Stars

Bethany House Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

All's Fair in Love and Christmas

This book is a quick read, hard to put down, and thoroughly enjoyable.  Most of the characters are quite likable (except Frank, but every book needs a Frank for all the readers to "hate"), but the best ones in this book are the main girl and main dude, who happen to be rivals in their boss's competition for the yearly promotion.  

Jeremy wants the promotion and commensurate pay raise because his  teenage niblings are going to be needing cars, college funds, clothes, shoes, and groceries.  Mackenzie's mom is in a memory care center and the costs are going up.  Mackenzie needs the raise just as much as Jeremy does.  Since the competition revolves around Christmas, Jeremy begins by pulling out all his  stops and making pomander oranges for each member of the staff, but his next few efforts are less than stellar.  Mackenzie's efforts are a bit more understated and subtle, but shows she knows her coworkers well and does all she can to recreate some of their best memories.  

Sarah Monzon has written a completely entertaining book that will be a cozy read for the Christmas season, especially with a cup of hot cocoa in hand. The ending of the book is quite a surprise and quite satisfying. And I LOVE happy endings. Four Strong Stars. 

Bethany House provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.