Review of One Christmas Wish by Sarah Richardson

Brief Summary:

It is the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas! However, christmas is one of many things that Julia Noble is celebrating this year. Her brother is marrying his best friend and love of his life and she will be heading on to the next stage of her life after the wedding. She hopes that once she is out of reach of her over protecting brother and her mother trying to marry her off she will be able to start living her life.  That is until her high school crush Isaac Nash rolls back in to town. Will she be able to stay friends with him or will all her feelings come rushing back?

Isaac Nash is back home to attend the wedding of his best friend Ben. One person he did not think that he would run into was Ben's little sister Julia. However, Julia is not little anymore. She is drop dead gorgeous woman. Isaac is not determined now to not only grab her attention well he is here but also her heart. But will he be able to get over the fact that the accident that happened so long ago he might have indirectly part of? Can he convince her that she will not be a nuisance to him but rather a gift?

My Review:

I received this book from Netgally and the publisher in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This is the second book that I have read of Sarah Richardson's and so far this is my favorite book. Sarah does a great job of developing the characters and making them very realistic. She was able to also do a great job of setting the scene as well. I really felt that I knew the characters back story and understood their actions.

In addition, what really connected me to this book over the other one was how deep she went with Julia's story. She did a great job of describing how a person who has to be confined to a wheel chair feels.

Lastly, my favorite part of this book was how she showed how their romance developed from when they were little kids to adults. She showed how it started out as friendship and developed into something more.

Review of Every Little Kiss by Kim Amos

Brief Summary:

Career driven finance extradionare Casey Tanner moved to the small town of White Pines in hope of growing her relationship with her sister Audrey and to enjoy life. So when gorgeous firefighter Abe Cameron gets stuck in an elevator with her at her new job she finds that he might be the perfect man to take on her small specific to do list that has a deadline of Christmas. Will she be able to keep their relationship platonic or will she open her heart up again and risk getting hurt again?

Abe Cameron is your average home town boy firefighter who could have any women in the small town of White pines that he wants. However, Casey Tanner he soon realizes is more than just good looks. So when she propositions him to help her complete her to do list he graciously excepts. Can Abe keep their relationship adventurous and loose or will he start falling for Casey?

My Review:

I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This is the first book that I have read in both the White Pines series as well as by this author Kim Amos. After the cover grabbed my attention I dove right into the book not sure what I would find. I found that she did a great job of developing the main characters as well as setting the scene. As a reader I found that in addition to having the developed characters she did a great job of setting the scene as well. She really made you feel like you grew up alongside Casey Tanner and that you were going through the same difficulties that she was going through in life.

Another aspect of the story that Kim threw in there was the story of Carter who was one of the Robot Lit students. It was something totally different then the main story but it allowed the material to be a little more deep than just a contemporary romance that is out there. In addition, it added a deeper emotional aspect to the characters that you might have not seen if it was just a contemporary romance.

If there was an aspect that I would change about the story after completing it would be to see their relationship develop a little more between Casey and Abe. At times in the beginning as a reader you felt like she rushed the relationship. However, after you get half way through the story you are able to see their connecton more and their relationship grow.

I think this was a great first book to read in the White Pines series and I am definitely interested in reading more by the author. I am interested to see where she goes with some of the supporting character roles.

Review of A Bad Boy for Christmas by Jessica Lemmon

Brief Summary

Connor McClain has been through war, pain and loss in the 4 years he served in Afghanistan so all he wants now is peace and solace in the small town of Evergreen Cove. However, fate has other plans when beautiful Faith Garrett walks back into his life. Afraid to get close to someone and fall for them and then leave he opts in for a no strings attached deal with Faith. Will Connor be able to keep his heart and head separate or will he let his heart lead the way.

Faith Garrett has been told since she was young that her family is cursed and she will never find love. However, she did not believe any of the old wives tales until ex-fiance leaves her high and dry. In hopes of having a relaxing holiday and peace in quiet she decides to lean on her friend Sophie and her job. But when Connor rolls into her life all bets of a relaxing christmas are out the door. Will Faith be able to keep her heart closed off or will love be able to conquer all.

My Review:

I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This is the second book that I have read of Jessica's and thought it was a great addition to her Second Chance series. Jessica does a great job of developing the characters so that you understand their background and understand their actions that they make. In addition, I thought she did a great job of setting the scene. She did a great job of developing the town in the previous two books and incorporating the past characters and events into this one.

In addition to the characters and setting I think that Jessica had a great story line she incorporated both romance, family and drama. Something that really stuck out to me that I think will make me remember this story is the relationship that she had Connor have with his past co-worker that he served in Afghanistan with. I think that this was a story line that needs to be heard by the world and she did a great job of writing it.

When looking at things that I think that could have possibly changed or did not like I guess would be that I felt that at times the book went overboard on the sex scenes. Don't get me wrong i think that all books have their place for them but to me I think it at times was too much. It sometimes took away from the good storyline.

All in all this was a great book and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. If you enjoy romance, drama and fiction then this a book that you should check out.

Review of The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

Brief Summary:

Frankie Presto from the day he was born was never an ordinary person. He was born in a burning church and abandoned months later by a woman who many assumed was his mother. Nearly eight years later he boarded a ship at the request of his pa and teacher in hopes of finding a better life in America. 

However, with only the clothes on his back and his only possession a guitar & six string he soon finds out that things for him will continue to be tough. As the story continues you follow Frankie through his music career in 40's, 50's and 60's. Frankie finds fame and stardom but also sadness as he finds that his music might be a gift but also a burden. 

My Review:

I received this book courtesy of the TLC Fall Book Tour. I have been a fan of Mitch Albom's books in the past but have not read one recently. I found that Mitch did a great job developing both the main character in the books as well as the supporting characters. In addition, he did a good job of always setting the scenes in the book from the burning church where Frankie was born to the Woodstock Music festival. An interesting part of the book that I had not seen before was how Mitch had the narrator be "Music". I thought this was an interesting take and was not sure how I would like it. However, after getting into a couple chapters of the book it made sense.

If there was any aspect of the book that I did not like it was the way it jumped between years. I think it made for a difficulty at times of following along. I think if the story was more chronological it would have been easier to follow and would have taken me less time to read.

All in all I found this book to be a very interesting read and kept me reading until the very last chapter. I would definitely recommend this read to people who enjoy reading about music and also history as it has both aspects in it.