Tag Archives: novella

A Conall Christmas – Review

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It’s Yuletide at Conall Castle.

 

Christmas is quickly approaching, and Adelle is determined to make this Christmas the best one Conall Castle has ever seen, but loneliness haunts her. Love for her daughter sent her into the past, but she’d not expected the isolation she would feel. A former socialite and serial dater, she finds that her current age seems much older in the seventeenth century than it did in the twenty-first. She resigns herself to the fact that she will remain single for the rest of her days. At least until an unexpected visitor arrives at the castle.

 

Hew Moray has spent the last twenty years all alone, only leaving his isolated home once a year to pay homage to the wife he lost long ago. When a winter storm causes him to seek shelter at the castle where his sister lives, he meets the first lass since his beloved Mae to make his heart flutter in his chest once again. Will he be able to release himself from his past grief to allow another love to enter his life? If he does, will his love be returned?

 

(Blurb from Goodreads)

 

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Hunt for Christmas by Tina DeSalvo – Review

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Traditions, mistletoe kisses and second chances… The Cajun Christmas on the Bayou Celebration is an annual event in the remote town of Fa La, Louisiana, nicknamed – Fa La La. It has supported generations of the families who live in the tiny, isolated bayou community. This year may be the last. Thanks to Hunter James who bought the neighboring island, they can no longer use his land for a major part of the celebration. The island is his home where he expects to find much needed peace and quiet. He doesn’t want Christmas lights, music and revelers on his land no matter what Fa La La’s beautiful advocate, Dr. Camille Comeaux, says as she tries to change his mind…and changes his heart.

 

Will Camille fight to steal Hunter’s peace so her family can have theirs?

 

(Blurb from Goodreads)

 

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A Lot of Pride and Some Prejudice Review

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Title:  A Lot of Pride and Some Prejudice

Author:  Petronela Ungureanu

Published:  2013 by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing, LLC

Genre:  Historical Romance, Novella

Purchase A Lot Of Pride And Some Prejudice from Amazon

 

 

Portia Thorpe grudgingly agrees to a marriage arranged by her father to Lord Salisbury.  He is much older than her and she has no interest in him; she just decides to do it for her father’s sake.  But Portia changes her mind when she meets Lord Salisbury’s brother, Phillip.  She feels an instant attraction to him and decides to back out of the marriage.  However, things don’t always go as planned as there is a sudden death in Portia’s family that turns all her plans around.

I was not expecting this book to be so wonderful.  The flow of the sentences was just smooth and refreshing.  I felt like I was thrown back in time.  It was such a nice change from the contemporary romances and other books I’ve been reading lately.

One major issue was the grammar and editing mistakes.  In one instance there were no quotes when someone was talking.  I counted at least three times when people ‘took a sit’ instead of ‘took a seat.’  And I really don’t know if this was done on purpose or not, but the beginning was one huge paragraph.

One other thing that irked me was how quickly Portia fell for Phillip Salisbury.  Her heart hurt a lot when she found out he was engaged.  It is the fact that she only met him the day before that bothered me about that.  Maybe if she had even spent a little more time with him it would have felt more justified.  Or maybe I’m just not a love at first sight type of girl?

Besides the grammar and love at first sight issues, the only thing that I wish was different was that it was a little longer!  It was a super-fast enjoyable read.  If someone could go back and re edit, I think that would make a world of difference.

All in all, I definitely recommend.  Keep an eye out for Petronela Ungureanu for she has a talent with words.

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

04

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from the author, in exchange for an honest review.*****     

***Thanks to Rachel from Parajunkee for the blinky stars!***

‘Twas the Night Before Mischief Review

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Title:  ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief

Author:  Nina Rowan

Published:  December 2013 by Forever Yours

Genre:  Novella, Historical Romance, Holiday

Click here to purchase ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief (A Daring Hearts Novella) from Amazon

 

I’m not usually into novellas unless it’s part of a series I follow.  But I picked up ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief after reading Reading With Analysis’s thoughts on it.  (Awesome site, check it out!)  Plus I hadn’t already read a Christmas book this year and I was feeling like I wanted to.

Penelope Darlington falls for the wrong guy, a rake with a bad reputation.  She runs off with him, only to be abandoned when his mother won’t let him marry her.  Staying at an inn with hardly any money left, Penelope isn’t sure what is going to happen next.  In walks Darius Hall, the earl’s son and also her childhood family friend.  Darius is to bring Penelope back home, per her father, but love will be found between the two along the way.

Darius was a bit too serious for me.  He was incredibly smart and a bit odd in his way of thinking.  He was awkward and couldn’t always project his thoughts the right way, causing friction between himself and Penelope.

Penelope was decent, nothing about her bothered me.  But then again, nothing about her really stood out to me either.

I did enjoy the story, but it just didn’t stick with me.  So if you’re looking for a quick read, it is a good book, just not great.

 

 

 

My Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.*****   

Close to You Review

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Title:  Close to You

Author:  Stacia Kane

Published:  October 2013 by St. Martin’s Press

Genre:  Novella, Urban Fantasy

Click here to buy Close to You from Amazon

 

 

I’m not usually a fan of novellas, or short stories, unless they are part of a series that I follow.  This one is.  It’s actually part 5.5 of Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts series.  So I really don’t think that this one is a stand-alone book.  I think the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I already knew the characters well before going into it.

So Chess and Terrible are at a junkyard trying to get some free car parts when they are approached by a creepy old woman who wants money for the parts.  Although she was never there before, they assume she’s a new inhabitant and decide to follow her to pay for the parts.  Big mistake.  It was a ploy and the woman wants to use them to resurrect her dead husband.

Stacia Kane cracks me up.  I love her style of writing, and her characters personalities.  Chess is a drug addict, but I’m always routing for her and like her none-the-less.  Here’s a little excerpt that I enjoyed.

Just as Chess figured, Vincent’s body – well, it wasn’t much of a body at that point, just a skeleton covered in scraps of fabric and scraps of things Chess didn’t want to think about – lay at Mrs. Hudson’s feet.  A pillow supported its skull.  Around it several items were arranged like afterlife tokens at a Viking funeral:  a wallet, a pair of worn tennis shoes, what looked like baseball cards, a pair of socks and some underwear.  Very personal, so very powerful.  One of the items was a hammer, which was awesome because what they really needed was for Vincent’s ghost to have a deadly bludgeoning tool within easy reach. (Location 395 of 555 on Kindle)

Awesome right?  So if you’re already a Stacia Kane fan, definitely pick it up.  And if you haven’t read anything by her yet, try the first book in the series, Unholy Ghosts.

 

My Rating:  4 ½ out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.*****