Mini Reviews: A Bramble House Christmas by C.J. Carmichael and Snowbound at Christmas by Debbie Mason
My Review:Finn Knightly a.k.a. Finn Conrad wants to know why his recently deceased father left his nurse fifty thousand dollars after knowing her a mere six weeks. So he travels to Bramble House B&B in Marietta, Montana to find answers.
But Willa Knightly is not the conniving woman he expects to find. Before he knows it, Willa-and her six-year-old son Scout-are stealing his heart. And that’s before he finds out Scout’s secret and the real reason this Christmas is so important.
I've only read two of the books in this series (both holiday iterations) and I loved them both! Both books were fine to read standalone and both are making it on to my Christmas book list from which I read at least a few books every December! Last year, I read Snowbound in Montana and loved it! A Bramble House Christmas was even more magical -- set in the Bramble house B&B in the heart of Marietta. I loved the traditional Christmas activities (sledding, pond skating, strolling through down the main drag) and the coziness of the B&B. Usually I'm not a huge fan of books with babies and kids but this one was so well done!! Finn and Willa really got to know each other over the course of the book and everything felt right. All I can say is that I wish Marietta existed and that I could spend Christmas there!!
Mable shook her head at him. "My dear boy. Do you think chances for love and happiness come along all the time? Most people are lucky if it happens once. And if they are foolish enough to let the chance slip through their fingers, then they have only themselves to blame if they end up alone and bitter."
"You're preaching to the choir, Aunt Mable. I know I"ll never meet anyone else like Willa."
"Then what on earth are you doing standing here?"
My Review:Surviving the holidays will take a Christmas miracle...
Ex-cop Cat O'Connor is bored working for her sister, Chloe, as a personal assistant on the set of her soap opera. Until Chloe gets an opportunity to audition for the role of a lifetime and asks her identical twin to substitute for her on the soap with no one the wiser. It's a perfect switch—until Cat attracts the attention of the mysterious Mr. Tall, Dark, and Way-too-handsome leading man.
Grayson Alexander never thought being snowbound in the charming town of Christmas, Colorado, for the holiday would get so hot. But between working with sexy, tough Cat on set and keeping his real reason for being there under wraps, he's definitely feeling the heat. And if there's one thing they'll learn as they bring out the mistletoe, it's that in this town, true love is always in season...
Unfortunately, I didn't like this one as much as I like the Bramble series. I would be interested in reading other books in the series because of the potential for a Colorado Christmas setting (which was in this book although the set-up turned me off!). First, you have Grayson who pretend to be an actor and British royalty, and then you have Cat, who is pretending to be her twin sister, acting on soap opera. Nothing felt real because of all this pretending . . . and I was bored by the soap opera dramatics and antics. While I usually love romantic suspense, this one fell flat for me.
That first one sounds so warm and fuzzy in a good way!! Glad you enjoyed it!!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to give C.J another try. I read one of the books in the series, I found it OKAY.
ReplyDeleteSorry you didn't enjoy Mason book, I loved the first one, have not had a chance to read this one yet