Welcome to Making it Happen's stop on the Southern Born Books Christmas Tour! Check out these great holiday titles from Tule Publishing, my reviews, plus enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post!
Just in Time for Christmas Synopsis:
Nobody does Christmas like Miranda Hamilton, and now that she finally has her chance to chair Magnolia Bay's tree lighting and the cotillion, which benefits her late mother’s breast cancer foundation, this Christmas is shaping up to be the best ever. That is until her childhood nemesis Logan Mauldin buys his way on her committee and starts making plans of his own.
Logan Mauldin loves to get under Miranda's very sexy skin, and it's only fair. She's been getting under his since long before their first kiss at 13. Logan’s the last man interested in co-chairing a Christmas committee or participating in a sexy bachelor auction, but since that night he interrupted Miranda on a date and cornered her under the mistletoe, he can't stop thinking about her. Or vying for her attention and bugging the hell out of her.
Christmas cheer isn’t the only thing that heats up between the Miranda and Logan, but, thanks to a lie that is as much her fault as it is his, he loses the woman he’s loved since forever. Logan will need a Christmas miracle for Miranda to forgive him. A grand gesture to melt her heart and win her back just in time for Christmas.
Kim Boykin Bio:
Kim Boykin is a women's fiction author with a sassy Southern streak. She is the author of The Wisdom of Hair, Steal Me, Cowboy, and Palmetto Moon (Summer 2014.) While her heart is always in South Carolina, she lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, 3 dogs, and 126 rose bushes.
Author Links:
Website - Author Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Goodreads - Amazon
My Review
My Review
Ah, to have a man who has wanted you for so long...
Just in Time for Christmas is a wonderfully sweet holiday romance with a hint of spice. The writing is excellent, with a smooth flow to the story and a storyline with characters that will grab your attention and keep you tuned in.
Miranda is a good, strong woman who knows what she wants and is dedicated to her town and the annual holiday festivities. Logan is definitely a swoon-worthy male lead, sweet and sexy and totally focused on finally winning Miranda over. I know if I was her, I'd be falling all over myself if his attention was thrown my way!
Pammy's character...yeah, she's one of those women that you want to flick away like an annoying bug. But you know how those types of characters usually wind up ;-)
A very satisfying short holiday read, I give Just in Time for Christmas 4.5 stars!
The Trouble With Christmas Synopsis:
At 35-years-old, Cole Stanton is burned out. His high-paced, uber-successful career has left him yearning to start over. He finds Indigo Island, buys a restaurant and settles into an uncomplicated life. But Christmas is a mess. He has over-committed the small restaurant’s resources again, and is over his head. He finds himself longing for everything he has left behind, until a chance encounter with gorgeous Lily offers a spark of salvation to his business and, perhaps his life.
Beautiful pastry chef Lily Edmonds is thirty years old and heartbroken. It’s just before Christmas and she’s just been dumped by via telephone by her fiancee. Her best friend Avery Putnam invites her to Indigo Island, hoping to add joy back into Lily’s life. A chance encounter with the sexy owner of a local restaurant makes Lily feel an attraction she thought she’d never feel again, and offers her a business challenge to keep her mind focused on something other than her broken heart.
Cole Stanton and Lily Edmonds are both starting over. Will the joy of the holiday season bring them together or will the troubles with Christmas push them apart?
Kaira Rouda Bio:
Kaira Rouda is an award-winning and bestselling author of both fiction and nonfiction. Her books include: Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs; Here, Home, Hope; All the Difference; In the Mirror; and the short story, A Mother's Day. She lives in Southern California with her husband and four children and is at work on her next novel. Connect with her on Twitter, @KairaRouda, and on Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books. And of course, on Pinterest! For more about Kaira and her books, please visit her website KairaRouda.com.
Author Links:
Twitter - Facebook - Goodreads - Amazon
My Review
My Review
I found The Trouble With Christmas to be a fast, light holiday read. You have two lead characters who are both trying to restart their lives who find each other in serendipitous circumstances where they can both help each other to heal.
The story centered around Lily helping Cole to save the restaurant he bought into, and they worked very well together both in business and personally. I did feel that they fell for each other pretty fast, especially since Lily's fiancee had just dumped her.
Other than the overly fast development of their relationship, the story moves smoothly as there's really no major conflicts between Cole and Lily, and Lily's friends are totally supportive of her and Cole.
A nice, quick read and 3.5 stars for The Trouble With Christmas.
Holiday at Magnolia Bay Synopsis:
After a mission goes terribly wrong, ending in the death of a teammate, Navy Seal, Drew Lanham, is forced to take a leave from active-duty. Retreating to his godmother’s beach house in coastal Magnolia Bay, Drew plans to spend the three weeks R & R licking his wounds and catching some rays while the nightmares from his failed op fade. The last thing he wants to do is mingle with the locals. What he doesn’t count on is an early morning encounter with a goddess rising from the sea. His interest is piqued and his body put on alert when he finds out that same woman may or may not be after his godmother’s money.
Marine biologist, Jenna Huntley, has been searching her whole life for a place to call home and Magnolia Bay is that place. Unfortunately, she’s underutilizing her education giving tours at the town’s turtle rescue center. With the help of an octogenarian patroness, she maps out a proposal to develop a turtle hatchery on-site. Everything is going as planned until the older woman’s godson arrives. Suddenly, nothing is as it seems and Jenna’s future is hanging in the balance, with a sexy warrior pulling all the strings. Her natural tendency is to help the damaged hero, but she’s sworn off letting military men in her life ever again.
Will Drew and Jenna be able to put their pasts behind them and learn to trust their hearts long enough to enjoy their Holiday at Magnolia Bay?
Tracy Solheim Bio:
Tracy Solheim is the international bestselling author of the Out of Bound Series for Penguin. Her books feature members of the fictitious Baltimore Blaze football team and the women who love them. In a previous life, Tracy wrote best sellers for Congress and was a freelance journalist for regional and national magazines. She’s a military brat who now makes her home in Johns Creek, Georgia, with her husband, their two children, a pesky Labrador retriever puppy and a horse named after her first novel. Her fifth book for Berkley, Back To Before, will be released in January. She also has a digital holiday novella for Tule Publishing's Southern Born Books coming October 20. See what she’s up to at www.tracysolheim.com. Or on facebook at Tracy Solheim Books and Twitter at TracyKSolheim.
Author Links:
Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Goodreads - Amazon
My Review
My Review
I've got two words for you for Holiday at Magnolia Bay-simply delightful! This tale of Jenna and Drew was heartwarming, sweet and sexy. The writing flowed well, making this a quick and easy read that captured my attention from start to finish.
Both lead characters were written to endear them to the reader, and make you truly care how they will end up...and root for everything to work out for the two of them. And the supporting characters really helped add to the allure of the story (I'd really like to hear Drew's brother Jack's story!), especially Aunt Evie-she's fantastic!
While most of the story takes place earlier in the year closer to the end of summer, the last part is where the holidays come into play, and it makes for a nice wrap up to the story. The portions of the storyline detailing the sea turtles were so great to read about and actually moved me to look up more information about these wonderful creatures when I was done reading :-)
A recommended read from me, I give Holiday at Magnolia Bay 4.5 stars!
A Very Married Christmas Synopsis:
Cookbook author Marley Chambers can’t think of a more festive way to spend Christmas than at a friend’s holiday wedding in her hometown of Magnolia Bay. If only her soon-to-be ex-husband, all-star pitcher, Beckett “Beck” Chambers wasn’t bringing his new girlfriend—and if only he wasn’t still the sexiest man to ever walk out onto the mound…
Beck never wanted the chaotic life of a sport star—especially not at the cost of his marriage to the only woman he’s ever truly loved. But his career is a runaway train—and he’s afraid it’s too late to hit the brakes.
But when a mix-up leaves Beck and Marley stranded together for Christmas Eve on the barrier island where Beck proposed years before, old memories burn bright—and sparks fly hotter than a bonfire on the beach.
Could the magic of the season bring the gift of a second chance, just in time for Christmas?
Erika Marks Bio:
Erika Marks is a women's fiction writer and the author of LITTLE GALE GUMBO, THE MERMAID COLLECTOR, THE GUEST HOUSE and IT COMES IN WAVES (July, 2014). On the long and winding road to becoming published, she worked many different jobs, including carpenter, cake decorator, art director, and illustrator. But if pressed, she might say it was her brief tenure with a match-making service in Los Angeles after college that set her on the path to writing love stories (not that there isn't romance in frosting or power tools!) A native New Englander, she now makes her home in Charlotte, NC, with her husband, a native New Orleanian who has taught her to make a wicked gumbo, and their two little mermaids. For more on Erika’s books, visit her website at http://www.erikamarksauthor.com
Buy Link: Amazon
Author Links:
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon
My Review
My Review
When I first started reading this book, my first thoughts regarding Beck had me putting him in the "don't like" column. But as the events unfolded, I began to think "now THAT'S where he is supposed to be". I was not a fan of his girlfriend at all...but of course she's not written to be a character to like.
Marley's character was very likable and as I read, I was hoping she would wind up with a happy ending (preferably one that involved Beck). Her friend Gina was a fun secondary character, and I loved the part she played in getting Marley and Beck where she thought they should be.
The story moved quickly, but read smoothly making for an enjoyable short holiday read, and worth a solid 4 star rating. A great addition to the Magnolia Bay-centered stories!
GIVEAWAY!
$50 Visa Gift Card and a tote bag of books
$50 Visa Gift Card and a tote bag of books
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