Saturday, December 10, 2011

Winter Themed Books To Warm You Up During the 2011 Holiday Season

Well ... since there is only 15 days left until it's Christmas Day, I've decided that I would list the books that have Winter/Holiday themes (or the books that have Winter/Holidays in some form within it), which I've read in 2011 for you. This way you can think about reading them or buying them for yourself (or someone else) as the Holiday Season is now upon us!

The books below are listed in the order of which I read them this year. [Also, the ones that have no review are ones that I read either during my pregnancy or my maternity leave when I didn't feel like reviewing anything at that time but I promise you those are the star ratings that I gave them!] Enjoy ....
  • "Noble Blood" [The Gray Court Series, Book 2] by Dana Marie Bell: 4 out of 5 stars!! [Read more about this book HERE]
  • "Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor" by Lisa Kleypas: 4 out of 5 stars!! [Read more about this book HERE]
  • "Arctic Winds" [Alpine Woods Shifters Series, Book 1] by Sondrae Bennett: 4 out of 5 stars!! [Read more about this book HERE]
  • "Fireside" [Lakeshore Chronicles Series, Book 5] by Susan Wiggs: 4 out of 5 stars!! [Read more about this book HERE]
  • "Just Breathe" by Susan Wiggs: 4 out of 5 stars!! [Read more about this book HERE]
  • "Anchor" [a Northern Shifters novel] by Jorrie Spencer: 3 out of 5 stars! [Read more about this book HERE]
  • "The Mane Squeeze" [Pride Series, Book 4] by Shelly Laurenston: 4 out of 5 stars!! [Read more about this book HERE]
  • "Pitcher Perfect" by Devina Douglas: 3.5 out of 5 stars .... I loved this book but why it didn't get 5 stars was because I think Allie was too undecided about her relationship with Alex after the fallout between them happened. Otherwise it was a great book ... from the baseball antics to the minor character's story lines! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "Goals for a Sinner" by Lynn Shurr: THE BOOK ITSELF I'M GIVING IT - 3.5 out of 5 stars, BUT OVERALL FOR THE KINDLE EDITION - 2 out of 5 stars. The story was well written, thoughtful, and a true love story!!! I would recommend it for anyone wanting to read it in book form, BUT NOT KINDLE FORM!! In the kindle form I had to make-up sentences at the top of every page so at times it was a little hard to follow which wasn't fun at all. =0( [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "The Stillburrow Crush" by Linda Kage: 3 out of 5 stars! [Read more about this book HERE]
  • "Flat-Out Love" by Jessica Park: 4 out of 5 stars!! This was a novel about what a family does for those they love, and a girl who falls right into the middle of their lives who helps them in a way she never expects. What would you do to cope/survive something that looks hopeless to survive? What would you do to pull the ones you love back to what they once were? This is all from Julie’s POV so you don’t know what’s happening until she finds out, but in some ways it easy to guess at, just the reasoning behind what happened to the family is a little shocking. [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "Wanting Something More" [Stepp Sisters Trilogy, Book 3] by Kathy Love: 4 out of 5 stars!! This is a fun and sweet novel by a fellow Maineiac (someone born in/from Maine)! Marty and Nate are such a great couple!! I'm sooo happy that Nate had gotten attacked since before he sounded like a royal jerk!! =0P But anyways ....

    This is a story about two different people who are in the process of finding themselves again, and fall-in-love along the way. I really liked this new twist that the author takes with her main characters ... very creative. I couldn't stop reading till I got to the end!! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "Wolf Signs" [Granite Lake Wolves, Book 1] by Vivian Arend: 3 out of 5 stars. A great beginning for this fun and spicy series!! Keil is the definition of possessive alpha male in this story. While I loved reading about Keil & Robyn worked through their "communication issues," turning this story into one I've never read about before. I recommend this book and series for anyone who likes to read a werewolf (slightly erotic) romance. [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "Kelsey's Song" [The Wilder Books, Book 1] by Lanie Kincaid: 4.5 out of 5 stars! I've seen "Kelsey's Song" on my Amazon.com 'recommendations list' for a while now, and I am very happy I finally decided to read it!! This is a wonderful story about two people, JD & Kelsey, who are dealing with circumstances in their lives that they never planned and when they aren't sure how things could get any better they meet and teach each other just how to make their lives better for themselves!! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "Wish Upon A Star" by Sarah Morgan: For the full book I give it 2.75 out of 5 stars.

    "Christy" [Previously published as "The Christmas Marriage Rescue"]: 3 out of 5 stars. This was a cute and steamy story of a pair of stubborn and prideful people who are learning how to possibly save their marriage.

    "Miranda" [Previously published as "The Midwife's Christmas Miracle"]: 2.5 out of 5 stars. This was a sweet story of a fiercely independent woman and a very determined man who need each other more then either first realizes. [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "Maybe My Baby" [Baby Times Three Series, Book 2] by Victoria Pade: 3 out of 5 stars ... this is a cute story about a guy and a girl, each hurt from their past relationships by similar situations, who try to do their jobs but when they are in such proximity to each other 24/7 for a week straight anything can happen ... and it does!! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "The Naughty List" by Jodi Redford: 4 out of 5 stars, this story is HOT, Sexy, and Sweet just in time for this holiday season to keep us warm!! The sex scenes in this story are wonderfully written in a way I've never read before and it will definitely rev up your blood pressure!! To top that off I really enjoyed the relationship between Bram, Lacey, & Ry ... it was very sweet and because they've known each other for so long, I enjoyed reading the comrade feel that they all shared for each other. [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "Only Us: A Fool’s Gold Holiday" [Fools Gold Series, E-novella 2] by Susan Mallery: 2.5 out of 5 stars. Ever since Cameron was mentioned in Only Yours I was curious if he was going to have a story of his own, and this book is it! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "Small Town Christmas" by Jill Shalvis, Hope Ramsay, & Katie Lane: For the full book I give it 3.83 out of 5 stars. All of the stories are really sweet.

    "Kissing Santa Claus" [A Lucky Harbor Novella] by Jill Shalvis: 3 out of 5 stars. It's a sweet story of love, Christmas wishes, and a Santa suit.

    "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Hope Ramsay: 4 out of 5 stars!! This story has the holiday spirit shining though it from beginning to end!

    "O Little Town of Bramble" [A Deep in the Heart of Texas Novella] by Katie Lane: 4.5 out of 5 stars, two best friends finding out what they really mean to each other after being years apart!! I couldn't get enough of Ethan and Sam, they were just sooo sweet!! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "North of Need" [Hearts of the Anemoi Series, Book 1] by Laura Kaye: 3.5 out of 5 stars! After just reading a few chapters of North of Need it reminded me of the movie Jack Frost, even though this book has a different story line, I think it was the whole snowman-coming-to-life thing that made me think it. Anyway ...

    This is a wonderful book!! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "A Vampire for Christmas" by Laurie London, Michele Hauf, Caridad Piñeiro, & Alexis Morgan: For the full book I give it 2.88 out of 5 stars.

    "Enchanted By Blood" [Sweetblood Series, Novella 2] by Laurie London: 3 out of 5 stars, it's a charming story about two people who are undeniably drawn together but because of old laws should ultimately stay apart. I liked the way the story flowed and was intrigued by the characters.

    "Monsters Don't Do Christmas" [A Part of the Beautiful Creatures World] by Michele Hauf: 2.5 out of 5 stars ... it was a cute story with sweet characters but it didn't intrigue me as much as it could have. Which is really to bad since I was really hoping to like this one more then I did.

    "When Herald Angels Sing" by Caridad Piñeiro: 2.5 out of 5 stars. This story definitely takes a different spin on the Christmas Carol story, by doing so I find this story very clever.

    "All I Want For Christmas" by Alexis Morgan: 3.5 out of 5 stars!!! This was a fun and entertaining story, centered around the mystery of what is going on within Eagan's case, Della's motley crew of friends/diners, and the steamy relationship that evolves between Della & Eagan!! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "My Captor, My Love" by Leah Matheny: 4 out of 5 stars, this story is a wonderful and unique take as a contemporary romance, that deals with Native American's kidnapping women for their village based in the twenty-first century. I really liked how the plot is mostly from Dani's perspective and then at the point when you really might hate Honon you get his point-of-view, pretty much redeeming himself in my book. [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "One Perfect Night" by Rachael Johns: 4 out of 5 stars, this novel is thoughtful, sweet, spicy, and poignant!! I loved how the story was written--by not dragging out scenes, filling in the character background when needed, and everything wrapping up nicely! Plus, the characters were great!! Peppa is a sweetheart. Cameron has his own demons but deep down he takes care of everyone he knows. [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]
  • "The Demon Lover" [Fairwick Chronicles, Book 1] by Juliet Dark (aka Carol Goodman): 3.5 out of 5 stars! Even though this novel has some spicy romance to it, it is mostly a dark mystery revolving around the town of Fairwick, its occupants, Callie's past and what her new roles are within the town. At the beginning of this novel it started out a little slow for me, so I wasn't sure if I would really appreciate it or not. However, not long after the beginning all of the twists and additional storylines come into play leaving you as curious as to what will happen next!! [Read more of Jess' Review for this book HERE]



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1 comment :

  1. Thanks Jess! Loved your site and review. I'll have to check out some of your holiday picks.

    ReplyDelete

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