Review: Wish Upon a Star by Sarah Morgan

Format Read: e-ARC provided by NetGalley courtesy of the publisher

Series: -|-

Publisher: Mills & Boon

Genre: Romance

Release date:  October 7th 2011

Formats Available: e-Book, Paperback, kindle

Number of pages: 384 pages

Purchase information: Author Website, Goodreads, kindle

Book Blurb:

Love is in the air this Christmas!

Christy was hoping to skip Christmas this year. Her kids have other ideas – they’ve put their dad’s name at number one on their Christmas list. So it looks as if Christy will be hightailing it up to the Lake District to play happy families with her ex!

Snow-capped mountains and roaring log fires – Alessandro’s home is like walking into a Christmas card. Is it really safe for her to spend Christmas with her dreamy, funny – no! – entirely infuriating ex-hubby?

Miranda has completely the opposite problem. Being single and pregnant at Christmas was certainly not her wish come true. She doesn’t believe in miracles, but then resident hunk Jake sweeps her off her snow-covered shoes. Come Boxing Day dare she dream that Mr Sex-on-Legs might be for more than just Christmas?

‘A picturesque and charming tale’ Star magazine on Angels in the Snow.

My Thoughts:

The book shares two stories named after the principal female characters and are set in Lake District. The first one is Christy and she’s struggling with career, husband and kids. The second is Miranda who just moved to the neighborhood and now is having problems deciding which feelings to follow towards Jake.

Funny thing about the stories is that Jake is godfather of Christy kids, so he’s a support character on the first story and finally gets he’s happy ending on the second story, finding love with Miranda.

Christy has been struggling with a job she doesn’t like, a husband that’s always working, two kids, one is almost teenager and worst of all, and she’s only 32, a whole life ahead of her. So the book is around Christmas, the children decided to spend on daddy’s house, but the true, is that they’re meddling to get mommy and daddy together again.

Christy discovers that she can’t live in London, so during the holidays while helping on the hospital she decides to return and live in Lake District once again, and almost everyone tries to help her get back with Alessandro.

Loved this one, some moments was very fun, especially since the kids decided to “help”, but others had the right peace of feelings, love and understanding.

Miranda took me some time to really feel the book. Jake sounds since the first book, like a perfect guy who just wanted one thing from life, find the woman to live and raise kids together; he once was in love with Christy and since them no one, really made him feel in love, until he found Miranda almost dying in the snow on Christmas day. He took her home and fought really hard from the begging until the very end, for her to understand that his feelings were real.

Miranda has suffered a lot in her life and the book explains that really well, but she took a long time to follow her heart. It’s interesting, but in the books I always cheer for the guy to discovers his feelings and in this one I was cheering for the girl, not that I liked her, but I wanted a happy ending for Jake.

Rating:  

Challenges:

Review: Small Town Christmas by Jill Shalvis, Hope Ramsay and Katie Lane

Format Read: e-ARC provided by NetGalley courtesy of the publisher

Series: -|-

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Genre: Romance > Contemporary Romance

Release date:  November 1st 2011

Formats Available: e-Book, kindle, nook

Number of pages: 136

Purchase information: Jill Shalvis Website, Hope Ramsay Website, Katie Lane Website, Goodreads, nook

Book Blurb:

Three heartwarming holiday stories
to prove that love is the greatest gift of all

Kissing Santa Claus
NASCAR driver Logan Perrish returns to Lucky Harbor, Washington, with love in his heart and a ring in his pocket. But can Sandy Jansen forget the past and give him a second chance? Or will Logan be spending another Christmas alone?

I’ll Be Home for Christmas
After ignoring the advice of Miz Miriam Randall, local matchmaker, Annie Roberts expects another hum drum holiday in Last Chance, South Carolina. But when a stray cat arrives in the arms of Army sergeant Matt Jasper, a calico named Holly just may be the best matchmaker of all.

O Little Town of Bramble
All Ethan Miller wants for Christmas is to celebrate in Bramble, Texas, with family and friends. But when his childhood neighbor, Samantha Henderson, comes home for the holiday, Ethan realizes that the girl-next-door could be the girl of his dreams.

My Thoughts:

Kissing Santa Claus by Jill Shalvis

I haven’t read any books from Jill Shalvis so this short story was a very welcome good start. I have all her books and will try to read them during this winter, because I think her stories are made for a cold day with a hot cocoa, snuggled on the couch. Some romances are definily made for lazy days and from this read I diecovered that Jill books are the perfect fit for a fun and romantic reads.

This story is set during the christmas and is very sweet. Lucky Harbor sounds like a place where everyone knows each other life. Sandy Jansen is the town clerk and she had a fling for about a week five months earlier with NASCAR race Logan Perrish, but she never forgot him and the fellings he’s brought to her heart.

I loved how Logan decided to follow his heart and try by any means to get Sandy in his life permanetely, and Sandy is such a nice girl to she get her fellings get the best of her and they struggle a little but Logan is determineded, so very nice to follow how they find a way to stay together.

I’ll be home for Christmas by Hope Ramsay

Matt Jasper has left the army and now is trying to deliver a last guy from his best friend in the army to the grandmother, but things are not so easy and start to have a hard time finding her. And now is where the story really picks up. Matt tries to find the grandmother and deliver the present, and his last source is the town church, where he finds a stray cat, and a very beatiful woman.

Annie Roberts is fighting her fellings on this christmas. Her mother died few months before and she’s trying to change her life and start new, after so many years taking care of her mother. So when this lost soldier enters the church, she decides to help him and the cat.

Another story set on a little town during Christmas eve, but this didn’t get the same apeal as the first, I don’t know if it the fact that they suddenly became in love with each other or the end. It leaft me hangin’. I was expecting at least some kiss from the characters, I didn’t feal the love or even the passion. I couldn’t really connect with this story.

O Little Town of Bramble by Katie Lane

Third and last story on this anthology is set on Bramble, Texas. Sweet and handsome farmer Ethan, has never been good with women, but Sam is his best friend and they’ve been apart for years since she’s gonne to college.

Sam returns to town for a few christmas days and Ethan knows this is his last chance to charm Sam and make her stay for good.

This was a short and fun story and I quite enjoy, the city is all crazy about christmas and the nativity scene has made them a little crazy. Sam and Ethan is sweet and very romantic love, loved the wway the author made them be together to resolve their problems. I could really feal inside this crazy little town.

Rating:  

Challenges:

Review: Mistletoe Wishes by Carole Mortimer, Jane Porter and Catherine George

Format Read: e-ARC provided by NetGalley courtesy of the publisher

Series: -|-

Publisher: Harlequin

Genre: Holiday > Christmas > Romance

Release date:  October 4th 2011

Formats Available: e-Book, Hardcover, kindle, nook

Number of pages: 320 pages

Purchase information: Jane Porter Website, Goodreads, kindle, nook

Book Blurb:

The Billionaire’s Christmas Gift by Carole Mortimer

Nick Steele’s heart is closed to everyone but his daughter. He will do anything to make this Christmas special for his little girl, though sharing the holidays with her impossibly attractive teacher wasn’t at all what he had planned. But the lovely and vibrant Ms. Beth Morgan soon has Nick rethinking his own wish list. Might there be room for one more special lady in his life?

One Christmas Night in Venice by Jane Porter

Five years ago a car accident killed her husband and unborn child—or so Diane Mayer had thought. Then she sees Dominic Coducci alive and well before her eyes, looking as shocked as she! Dom is determined to put his family back together, whatever it takes. But Diane needs to be sure about her husband’s feelings before she can share his bed again.

Snowbound with the Millionaire by Catherine George

Georgia had no intention of spending her Christmas marooned with a sexy millionaire. She wanted to be alone, to lick her wounds and nurse her broken heart. But Chance—her gorgeous rescuer—was making it difficult for Georgia to concentrate on her misery! Though a snowstorm raged outside the mansion, inside things were quickly heating up….

 My Thoughts:

The Billionaire’s Christmas Gift by Carole Mortimer

Beth has problems with her relationships since an accident took away her husband and both her parents and now three years later she’s dealing with intense fellings toward Nick, a parent off one little student of her. Nick is a widower just like Beth the only diference is that he never get to know what means to love someone. So when he discovers stranges thoughts and fellings is a bit harder for him to understand what he feels really means.

I though the story was a little too fast but since this is a Christmas anthology I can accept that and knowing they had their happy ending makes everything even better. Loved Bekka she’s been through a lot and is still a sweet girl with a loving heart, and the adoptive animals was very fun.

One Christmas night in Venice

The book started very sad, bought of them suffered for years thinking the other was death. While Diane was left alone in New York, Domenico had the help of his family. They were in a car accident and their injuries were deatly. Domenico was very rich Italian Count and his family had problems accepting his marriage with a poor American, but they fought and started a family together. I loved the story and how the decided to give another chance for their relationship and accepted better this one because they had a past together so it was easy for me to understand their need to be together after three days.

Snowbound with the millionaire

Third and final book, and so far my favorite, is a quick love story. Georgia is having a not so great year and she decided to spend Christmas all alone in a cabin her parents rented a while back, but there’s also a snow avalanche and the sexy neighbor came to her rescue.

The book has a good pace and things are set during 4 days, and since both are in love with each other, they just need to find some way to really get along and discover their feelings. I liked this one and fealt really angry sometimes with a character but that’s the fun part.

Rating:  

Challenges:

New challenges!

What books count towards the SRC?
Any second YA or MG book published by an author in 2012 counts – it can be the second in a series, a new series, or a standalone. The only requirement is that it is the SECOND book the author has published in the YA or MG realm (and it must publish in 2012 in your home country)! I have started a Goodreads list HERE – as you can see, there are probably many many books on that list you are planning on reading already

What are the guidelines of the challenge?
Your challenge is to read 10 sophomore YA/MG novels in 2012. To officially participate, you need a Goodreads account or blog where you post reviews in English.

For More Information visit Chick Loves Lit and join! 

To View Some Sophomore Novels:  HERE

  

Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2012 – Dec 31, 2012.
2. As we would like to see quality reviews linked up to our monthly wrap-ups, only bloggers can enter. Sorry about that!
3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that’s been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2011 and earlier! NO ARCs and 2012 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2012 TBR PILE Reading Challenge (You need to include the info + host list + challenge button. You can also grab the button code and add it to your sidebar!)
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2012, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
8. At the end of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it’s unique theme, a mini-challenge, agiveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. It’s open to INTERNATIONALS. For participating in the mini-challenge you’ll get +1 entry in the giveaway.
9. If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice – we will be checking 😉 
10. December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you’ll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway – 12 books, 12 winners, INTERNATIONAL. 
11. You don’t have to follow all the hosts to join the challenge, but you do have to follow all of us to be entered in giveaways!   <

Levels:

1-10 – A Firm Handshake

11-20 – A Friendly Hug

21-30 – A Sweet Kiss

31-40 – Love At First Sight

41-50 – Married With Children

Hosts:

Evie from Bookish – @SeoEvie

Nicole from All I Ever Read – @Nicoleabouttown

Bonnie from Hands and Home –  @HandsHomeBlog

Donna from Book Passion For Life – @BookPforLife

Caitlin from WatchYA Reading – @caitlingss

Rie from Mission To Read – @missiontoread

Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea – @alouetteuette 

Christa from Hooked On Books – @ChristasBooks

Jenna from Fans Of Fiction –  @fansoffiction

Angel from Mermaids Vision –  @mermaidvisions

<

Schedule:<

January – Donna (Theme: Let It Snow + Book Cover Challenge)

February – Nicole (Theme: Un-requited Love/Love Gone Wrong + Advice Column Challenge)

March – Rie (Theme: Green or Pinched + Green Cover Challenge)

April –  Bonnie (Theme: Easter + Mini Challenge)

May – Christa (Theme: MayDay – Disaster Books! + Cover Disaster Challenge)

June – Jenna ( Theme: Camping + Sentence Challenge)

July – Rie (Theme: International Day + Cover Comparison Challenge)

August – Angel (Theme: Summer Memories + Send Your Fav Character On Vacation Challenge)

September – Nicole (Theme: Life Changing Books + Mini Challenge)

October – Caitlin (Theme: Thanksgiving Theme + Share-A-Book Challenge)

November – Vicky (Theme: Spooky Halloween + Book Puzzle Challenge)

December – Evie (Theme: Xmas Bliss + Book Bachelor Challenge)

 

 Challenge Rules:

1. The BLI Holiday Reading Challenge will start on November 10 and will end on December 31.

2. You can read as many holiday themed books for the challenge as you wish, pick your level:

Santa’s Helper: read 1-3 holiday themed books – this is the level I’m aiming for! 🙂
Serial Mistletoe-er: read 4-6 holiday themed books
Candy Cane-aholic: read 7 or more holiday themed books

3. The books you read for this challenge must all be holiday related books. The holiday doesn’t matter, it can be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc. and the story can have any connection to the holiday (for example set around Christmastime, or having Santa or an elf as a character, the cover being festive, etc.).

4. The format, length or genre of the books do not matter, they can be ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks, and short stories and novellas do count as well. It’s okay for the book to overlap with other challenges. The only thing is that they can’t be children’s books, but YA novels are good.  Re-reads are also fine.