Holiday | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

THE BOOK CLUB HOTEL by Sarah Morgan

September 29, 2023

A Christmas Novel

From the publisher:

This Christmas, USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with another heartfelt exploration of change, the power of books to heal, and the enduring strength of female friendship. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Jennifer Weiner.

With its historic charm and picture-perfect library, the Maple Sugar Inn is considered the winter destination. As the holidays approach, the inn is fully booked with guests looking for their dream vacation. But widowed far too young, and exhausted from juggling the hotel with being a dedicated single mom, Hattie Coleman dreams only of making it through the festive season.

But when Erica, Claudia and Anna—lifelong friends who seem to have it all—check in for a girlfriends’ book club holiday, it changes everything. Their close friendship and shared love of books have carried them through life’s ups and downs. But Hattie can see they’re also packing some major emotional baggage, and nothing prepares her for how deeply her own story is about to become entwined in theirs.

In the span of a week over the most enchanting time of the year, can these four women come together to improve each other’s lives and make this the start of a whole new chapter?

Get lost in more holiday reads by Sarah Morgan:

Snowed In for Christmas

The Christmas Escape

One More for Christmas

A Wedding in December

The Christmas Sisters

https://amzn.to/3RE9O4b

Ericka, Anna, and Claudia met as college roommates, and now that they are pushing 40 – or just past it – and they are still the best of friends, even though they don’t see one another except for their annual hotel book club vacations. Claudia became a chef and lives in California, where her boyfriend of ten years has dumped her. While struggling through the breakup, she also loses her job. It’s just as well; the kitchen was a toxic environment, so bad that Claudia isn’t sure she even wants to cook anymore. Because of the breakup, the women postponed their summer book club meetup and pushed it to mid-December, right before the holidays.

Anna married her college sweetheart and they are still together, and very much in love. But Anna is in panic mode; her twins are graduating high school in the spring, and will be leaving for college. Empty nest syndrome has hit her hard, to the point where her husband asks if she wants another baby – it is possible, but is that what she really wants?

Erika is the uber-successful business woman in their group. She travels the world, and hasn’t had a serious relationship in, well, ever. She has a friend with benefits situation going on for many years, but is starting to wonder if he wants more…or if she does.

Instead of meeting up in a luxurious hotel in a city, Erika has booked them into a B&B in a picturesque small town in New England. The owner, Hattie, is a young widow with a precocious daughter. The B&B was her husband’s dream, and for the two years that he’s been gone, she has struggled to keep the place running. The head housekeeper is a terror, but she is mild in comparison to the award-winning chef running the kitchen. When the three friends check-in, everything changes – or soon will.

This is a story about friendship, family, and love. These characters came to life on the page and I loved how they fit into one another’s lives. Set in this beautiful inn in a small town that felt like a Hallmark Christmas movie come to life, only slightly more believable! This was my first Christmas book of the year, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Let the holiday reading begin!

9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE BOOK CLUB HOTEL by Sarah Morgan. Canary Street Press; Original edition (September 19, 2023). ISBN: 978-1335005120. 368p.

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JUST LIKE MAGIC by Sarah Hogle

December 16, 2022

From the publisher:

The holidays were never her thing, until she accidentally conjures the Holiday Spirit…before her very eyes.

Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury, flaunting a collection of designer purses and an enviable dream home in Hawaii. That was before she lost all her money. Long obsessed with her public image, Bettie boasts an extravagant lifestyle on social media. But the reality is Bettie is broke and squatting in Colorado, and her family has no idea.

Christmas, with its pressure to meet familial expectations, is looming when Bettie plays a vinyl record of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” backward and accidentally conjures up Hall, the Holiday Spirit, in the form of a charming and handsome (if offbeat) man. Once the shock wears off, Bettie knows she’s stumbled upon the greatest gift: a chance to make all her holiday wishes come true, plus a ready-made fiancé.

But as some of Bettie’s wishes lose their charm, she finds herself thrown off-kilter by Hall’s sweet nature. Suddenly, grumpy Bettie is finding her heart merry and light. But the happier she gets, the shorter Hall’s time on earth grows. Can Bettie channel the Christmas spirit and learn to live with goodwill toward all men? Or will her selfish ways return as soon as the holidays are over?

One of PopSugar‘s Best Books of 2022
One of Country Living’s Best Christmas Romances 2022
One of PopSugar’s Best New Holiday Romances 2022
One of Buzzfeed’s Best Romance Novels 2022
https://amzn.to/3PxfYA4

If you can’t have a bit of magic at the holidays, when can you? Hall is some sort of spirit, the Holiday Spirit to be exact, come to earth in beautiful male human form to help Bettie get her holiday spirit back. She measures less than 2 on the holiday spirit scale, and he needs to get her back up towards 10 again. Unfortunately, I didn’t like Bettie so I didn’t really care if she had holiday spirit or not.

But don’t worry! Bettie learns to be a better person because of Hall, but I had to slog through almost half of the book before I started enjoying it. Honestly, the only reason I didn’t put it down was because Caitlin (a former reviewer here) recommended it. She also warned me it was slow going in the beginning, but because I read on a Kindle, and the Kindle provides stats as you go, it wasn’t until I had read 44% of the book that I started to like it. By the end, I understood why so many people are raving about it.

Bettie comes from a family of super successful people, starting with her grandmother, a retired movie star, and her namesake. Bettie is a social media influencer with millions of followers. She was also super successful until most of her money was blown by her crazy, out-of-control spending and the rest stolen by the people around her. She is pretty much flat broke, homeless, and feeling vindictive. She is squatting in a house where the owner had died several months earlier. She keeps waiting for someone to show up and kick her out, but her luck is holding.

When she accidentally spills something on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” record and plays it backwards, Hall appears, her Holiday Spirit guide, if you will. She can ask him for anything and if she adds the magic words, “make my wish come true” he has to do it. Within reason. Apparently, there is “legislation” regarding holiday spirits that involve all sorts of rules. Nonetheless, he helps her get revenge on some people, conjures her up her own home, and goes with her as her fiancé to her family home for Christmas. She is wearing Elizabeth Taylor’s engagement ring, since she wished for it.

As Bettie and Hall spend time together and she sees how is able to charm her entire family of self-centered miscreants, Bettie’s own behavior starts changing for the better. Actually, her whole family is changing because of Hall. Bettie is full of the holiday spirit by Christmas Eve, and sometime during the night Hall disappears. His work here is done – except there are so many more things he wants to try, human/Earth-type things, and he really misses Bettie, and she really misses him.

There is some magic involved in getting Bettie & Hall to their happy ending. I loved the second half of the book enough to recommend it. If you like some holiday magic in your romance, this is the book for you.

12/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

JUST LIKE MAGIC by Sarah Hogle. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (October 4, 2022). ISBN:‎ 978-0593539859. 368p.

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Spotlight Review: THE CHRISTMAS Wish by Lindsey Kelk

December 13, 2022

From the publisher:

Can a little Christmas magic mend a broken heart?

Newly single lawyer Gwen Baker is hoping that a family Christmas―countryside, a mountain of food and festive films―will salve the sting of her career hanging by a thread and her heart being trampled on. Because everyone else has their life sorted: even Dev, her boy-next-door crush, is now a tall, dark and handsome stranger with a fiancée. She can’t help wishing her future was clearer.

Then Gwen wakes up to discover it’s Christmas day all over again. Like Groundhog Day but with eggnog. And family arguments. On repeat.

As she figures out how to escape her own particular Christmas hell, Dev is the one bright spot. He might be all grown-up but underneath he’s just as kind and funny as she remembers.

Maybe, just maybe, her heart can be mended after all.

But how do you fall in love with someone who can’t remember you from one day to the next?
https://amzn.to/3hb7YrK

Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies; we watch it every February! So I was happy and a tiny bit scared to read this Christmas version. What if I hated it?? But I am happy to say that I worried for nothing. I loved this book!

This is a very British romcom, full of quirky characters, foods I had to look up (Hobnob is a cookie, I learned,) and a wonderful family that celebrates Christmas together every year, despite the fights and feuds. Gwen is the youngest daughter and as such, has always felt competitive with her older sister, Cerys. Cerys is beautiful, a lawyer like their father. and married to a misogynistic man. Gwen is also a lawyer, working for one of the top law firms in London, making her father very proud. Except she hates her job, and after a client put his hands on her, she clocked him and ended up basically suspended for two weeks. Her boyfriend of a few years just dumped her after admitting to having an affair with his receptionist, so Gwen is struggling, to say the least.

Christmas is always hectic at home, but one crazy thing after another happens, and when Gwen wakes up the next day, she is shocked to find out it is Christmas day. Again. And it keeps happening. Gwen is convinced that one of the family made a Christmas wish on the sixpence her mother baked into the Christmas pudding, but no one is admitting to getting it. She decides the only way to get out of this time loop is to make sure everyone’s wishes come true.

The only bright spot in all of this is that in trying to find out their wishes, Gwen also learns a lot about her family. Plus all the craziness is laugh-out-loud funny. It also gives Gwen time to reconnect with Dev, the boy next door that she had a massive crush on all through high school. They lost touch and hadn’t seen one another in about ten years. Rumor has it that he’s engaged, so Gwen is determined to keep her distance and not be the other woman, but it’s not going to be easy.

This book is such a fun read that I don’t want to give anything away. If you are looking for a Christmas romance that will have you laughing and smiling all the way through it, then this is the book for you. It certainly was for me – I loved it!

12/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE CHRISTMAS Wish by Lindsey Kelk. HarperFiction (November 15, 2022). ISBN:‎ 978-0008544645. 352p.

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A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS by Brenda Novak

December 9, 2022

Silver Springs, Book 7

From the publisher:

Spend the holidays in Silver Springs, where the greatest gift of all is the love you never expected.

Up-and-coming TV anchor Emery Bliss can’t imagine anything more humiliating than the sex tape her ex revenge-posted online. That is, until it causes her to lose her job on top of her self-esteem. Seeking solace—and anonymity—in Silver Springs, Emery isn’t looking to get involved with another man any time soon. But when she’s thrown back into contact with Dallas Turner, she sees something that his many detractors have missed.

Being home for the holidays and his adoptive mother’s wedding isn’t where mountain climber Dallas feels most comfortable. Thanks to his troubled childhood, he’d rather be on a rock face alone than trying to connect with people. Emery, however, makes him want to overcome his past…somehow.

Both Emery and Dallas had been planning on a quiet, solitary Christmas, but the sparks between them are lighting a fire strong enough to last—possibly forever.
https://amzn.to/3W5sd9b

With this book, I think I am all caught up on this series, which is good, but also makes me sad. Hopefully, there will be more – I’m not ready to leave Silver Springs behind.

Emery’s co-anchor and boyfriend doesn’t react very well when she dumps him for being a controlling jerk. He has a secret sex tape with her that he releases online – revenge porn, especially difficult for someone in the public eye. Emery is devastated that he could do something like that to her, but he denies it. Instead, he blames his housemate. But he would have no reason to tape them (he’s gay) or leak the tape, but there’s really nothing to be done.

Then things go from bad to worse when she is fired from the TV station where she thought she would be launching her career. The boyfriend gets fired, too, but then rehired a short time later. Emery is livid and eventually hires a lawyer to sue the station for wrongful termination. Meanwhile, she goes home to Silver Springs for some solitude while she considers her next move.

Dallas is a world-renowned mountain climber, taking risks that most people don’t. He has been climbing for years, but finally has a sponsor, so the money is pouring in now. He goes home for Christmas, to the New Horizons school that his mom runs. He was one of the troubled boys she adopted, and he feels honored to help her out by teaching the boys to climb.

When Dallas and Emery meet up, the chemistry is palpable, but she doesn’t know what her future will bring, and he is bound to be alone, climbing his mountains. They have a lot to conquer to find their happy ending, but in Novak’s hands, a happy ending is guaranteed. Another terrific holiday romance from one of my favorite authors!

Silver Springs series in order:

12/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS by Brenda Novak. MIRA; Original edition (October 13, 2020). ISBN:‎ 978-0778310129. 368p.

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KEEP ME WARM AT CHRISTMAS by Brenda Novak

December 9, 2022

Silver Springs, Book 10

From the publisher:

Maybe this Christmas can thaw his frozen heart—and heal hers.

Hollywood starlet Tia Beckett knows one moment can change your life. Her career had been on the fast track before a near-fatal accident left her with a debilitating facial scar. Certain her A-lister dreams are over, she agrees to house-sit at her producer’s secluded estate in Silver Springs. It’s the escape from the limelight Tia’s been craving, until she discovers she’s not the only houseguest for the holidays. And her handsome new roomie is impossible to ignore.

Artist Seth Turner has good reason to keep his distance. Losing his wife after only a few years of marriage has left a deep scar, even if he is still happy to spend a semester teaching art classes at the New Horizons Boys Ranch for troubled teens. Despite nursing her own wounds, Tia finds her curiosity piqued by enigmatic Seth, whom she recognizes as something of a kindred soul. Maybe spending Christmas together could be another game changer for both of them—this time, for good.
https://amzn.to/3Hlf2Nk

I love Brenda Novak and I love this series, and somehow I missed this book! If I haven’t read it, it’s new to me and I’m always happy to find a new book to love! In a way, I feel lucky that I missed this when it came out, because this season I get to read THREE Brenda Novak Christmas romances! I started with Christmas in Silver Springs, now this one, and up next, A California Christmas. Life is good!

Seth and Tia are two scarred individuals; both have emotional scars, but Tia’s stems from a horrific car accident that has left her with bad scarring on half her face. That would make anyone unhappy, but Tia is an actress who recently had her first big break, a starring role in a movie that is generating lots of Oscar buzz. But with her looks gone, she knows her career is over, almost before it started. She is being hounded by the paparazzi, all gunning for a picture of her damaged face, so when the producer of her film offers up his home in Silver Springs if she would agree to water the plants and take care of his bird, she jumps at the chance to hide. And off she goes.

Seth grew up with some serious issues, and that landed him at New Horizons, a school for troubled boys where the owner eventually adopts him. He becomes one of eight boys that she has adopted, all troubled, and she gives them the love and guidance that was lacking in their lives. Turns out Seth has a real talent for art, and his career takes off when he is a young man. He married the love of his life, but a few years later, she dies, leaving him bereft. It’s been a few years, but he is still married in his heart, certain he will never meet anyone else, and nor does he want to.

Tia and Seth recognize the trauma they each have faced and eventually form a tentative, somewhat friendly relationship. And then it becomes more. But can they both overcome their tragedies and find a future together? At Christmastime, anything is possible!

I loved these characters and it is always a joy to be back in Silver Springs. These books stand alone pretty well, but I think maybe start with the first one to get the backstory, then move on to any of the others. I have been jumping around and still have another one to go, but I have loved all of these books. If you like romances with some substance, then this series is perfect for you. It was for me.

Silver Springs series in order:

11/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

KEEP ME WARM AT CHRISTMAS by Brenda Novak. MIRA; Original edition (September 28, 2021). ISBN:‎ 978-0778311256. 416p.

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SINGLE AND READY TO JINGLE by Piper Rayne

December 2, 2022

From the publisher:

The girl who loves Christmas falls for the Grinch—it’s a Christmas miracle.

What started as a dumpster fire of a blind date turns into a deal.

In truth, it probably didn’t help that I showed up dressed like an elf but that’s a story for another time. Our start was rocky at best which is why it’s so frustrating that I can’t stop thinking about his sexy British accent. Or the way his chest and arms fill out his suit. Or his perfect hair with that single streak of grey at the front.

Santa likes lists and so do I, so here’s all the reasons why Andrew and I aren’t right for each other:

He’s my brother’s best friend
He’s the biggest grump I’ve ever met.
He hates Christmas.

That last one is big for a girl like me who thinks that the entire month of December should be a national holiday. So, when he calls for my help in planning his firm’s holiday party, I can’t pass up the opportunity to grow my small business. Bonus, we make a deal, and he agrees to attend three holiday events with me so I can make him fall in love with Christmas. As if I’d pass up an opportunity to make a Grinch’s heart grow three times its size.

It isn’t long until I discover Andrew has a very real reason to hate Christmas and I start to see him in a different light. That’s when the Christmas miracle begins.

https://amzn.to/3gIEEbQ

I love Piper Rayne books and this was a really fun read. The meet-cute is Christmas-appropriate; Andrew and Kenzie met on a dating app and arranged to have dinner together. To Andrew’s horror, the crazy woman in the elf costume, replete with bells on her elf shoes, is his date. Kenzie is an events planner, and her previous engagement ran late. She had the option of going home to change and being super late or showing up in her costume. She picked the latter.

Things get even more complicated very quickly when they realize that Kenzie is Andrew’s best friend’s little sister, who he calls Mac. short for MacKenzie. Kenzie’s brother and Andrew met in law school, but Kenzie’s never met him before. Andrew is pretty sure his buddy isn’t going to be thrilled that he is dating his kid sister, but since he is anti-Christmas (for good reason, it turns out) there is no way he is going to date the elf once this dinner is over.

Andrew is up for partner in his law firm, and the competition is one ass-kissing lawyer. When the senior partner’s trophy wife can’t find a party planner to meet her standards for the firm’s Christmas party, Andrew recommends Kenzie. It’s short notice and the woman is a bit nutso, but Kenzie agrees to do it but only if she can take Andrew on three holiday-themed outings. She is determined to get the Scrooge out of him.

Enemies to lovers is always a fun device, and Piper Rayne are masters at it. This book has it all – it’s laugh out loud funny, heartwrenching on occasion, has some real heat in the bedroom, brings the holiday cheer, and of course, the requisite happy ending. I loved it.

11/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

SINGLE AND READY TO JINGLE by Piper Rayne. Piper Rayne Inc. (November 13, 2022). ISBN: 979-8887140902. 250p.

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CHRISTMAS CHAOS by Kelly Kay & Evie Alexander

November 25, 2022

Two steamy romantic comedies for the holidays!

Evie and Kelly’s Holiday Disasters, Book 3

From the publisher:

One Christmas, two couples, utter chaos. These laugh-out-loud novellas are hotter than chestnuts roasting on an open fire!

No Way in a Manger – by Evie Alexander

Rory’s seen battle, conquered the wiles of the Scottish Highlands, and won Zoe’s heart. But now he faces his biggest challenge of all, Christmas at the castle and a heavily pregnant wife who wants everything to be perfect. The holidays should be relaxing, and having a baby’s easy, right? But with wayward in-laws, an out-of-control cow and mad Santa getting in the way, nothing is going to plan…

No Crib and No Bed – by Kelly Kay

Tabi Aganos has put her belief in miracles behind her and redirected her life to focus on her husband, Bax, the winery they’ve built, and fixing up her beloved old farmhouse. They have everything in place for the perfect Holiday, until one hot night sends their plans crashing through the floor. But when family and friends pitch in to help, and Santa brings some unexpectedly magical gifts, their Christmas turns from chaos into joy.

Evie and Kelly’s Holiday Disasters are a series of hot and hilarious romantic comedies with interconnected characters, focusing on one holiday and one trope at a time. No cheating, no cliff-hangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after (HEA).

https://amzn.to/3UZnmGl

Novellas are not usually my favorite, but I love this series! Maybe because the characters are all interrelated. Not family-related, but rather a group of strangers who get stuck in an airport for hours, and get drunk (most of them) together. They live all over the world and stay in touch via text

These novellas are a very fast read (are you stuck in an airport? Guarantee this book will raise your spirits!) And they are both laugh-out-loud funny, but more importantly, completely heartwarming.

“No Way in a Manger” is set in the Scottish Highlands. Rory, one of the men who was in the airport but didn’t drink, is home with the love of his life, and she is pregnant. Very pregnant. There are family issues, of course, and nothing goes according to plan, but there are lots of laughs along the way to their happy ending.

The second story, “No Crib and No Bed” was my favorite if I had to pick one, probably because I related a bit more to the infertility issues. This story is set in California wine country where Tabi runs a winery with her family. She has been trying to get pregnant for quite a while, but nothing is sticking. They even lost the two young boys there were fostering. In a story that is reminiscent of the familiar Christmas story with no room at the inn for the very pregnant mother-to-be, this couple is also having housing issues. The only thing Tabi can truly count on is her husband, Bax. But it turns out the universe has other plans for them, and I was so happy with their ending.

I felt more emotionally invested in Tabi & Bax’s story, but both stories were really funny and sweet and sexy, all the good stuff. Highly recommend!

I’m sorry to say that this is the last of the three-book series. Both authors have other series they write on their own, but I am definitely going to miss these characters and all their crazy shenanigans. On the other hand, I am delighted that this series is available on Kindle Unlimited – if someone you love is a Kindle reader, a subscription to Kindle Unlimited makes a fantastic gift! (Especially if you are also a Kindle reader.)

Kindle Unlimited Gifting Information:
If you purchase the Kindle + Kindle Unlimited membership as a gift, both you and the gift recipient will receive the free Kindle Unlimited offer. Your membership will begin once your order has been successfully placed. Upon your gift recipient registering their Kindle they will receive an email with instructions on how to redeem their free Kindle Unlimited. After the free trial period, the Kindle Unlimited membership will auto-renew for $9.99 per month. Cancel anytime.

11/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

CHRISTMAS CHAOS by Kelly Kay & Evie Alexander. Emlin Press (November 14, 2022). ISBN: 978-1914473135. 244p.

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CHRISTMAS IN SILVER SPRINGS by Brenda Novak

November 18, 2022

Silver Springs, Book 6

From the publisher:

Come home to Silver Springs for the holidays, where broken hearts learn to love again…together.

So much for forever. When Harper Devlin’s rock star husband ditches her on his way to the top, she takes her two daughters to her sister’s place in Silver Springs for the holidays, hoping family can heal her broken heart. But comfort comes in unexpected places when she crosses paths with local Tobias Richardson.

The moment Tobias spots Harper, he recognizes a sadness he knows all too well. After spending thirteen years in prison paying for his regretful past, Tobias is ready to make amends, and maybe helping Harper is the way to do it. But offering her a shoulder to cry on ignites a powerful attraction and a desire neither saw coming.

Fearing her reaction, Tobias doesn’t reveal his checkered past. He’s falling hard, and if Harper finds out, he’ll lose her for good, especially because her famous ex is now trying to win her back. Secrets have a way of coming out, but maybe this Christmas will bring Tobias the forgiveness—and the love—he deserves.
https://amzn.to/3gcjse2

I love Brenda Novak and I love this series, and somehow I missed this book! I’ve read the first five, and number eight, but somehow skipped six, seven, & nine but will catch up quickly. I searched my Kindle for Christmas books and was shocked to find this one. Not sure why, I have so many books on there that it’s easy for some to slip through the cracks. I’m working on getting more organized but it’s definitely a process. But hey, if I haven’t read it, it’s new to me and I’m always happy to find a new book to love!

This was an interesting premise. Tobias is a recently released felon, so not your typical hero by any means. And he was guilty, so no easy way out of that. When he meets Harper, he falls pretty hard, but is afraid he will lose her if she finds out about his felonious past. When her ex comes to town to try and win her back, everything is exposed.

These are interesting characters with great back stories and real problems. I love how they come together and even with all the hurdles thrust in their way, they still manage to find their happily ever after. This was a lovely, warm, wonderful Christmas romance and I loved it. Now I’m on the hunt for books 7 & 9, and luckily for me, they are both Christmas romances!

Silver Springs series in order:

11/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

CHRISTMAS IN SILVER SPRINGS by Brenda Novak. MIRA; Original edition (October 29, 2019). ISBN:‎ 978-0778308126. 432p.

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THE REWIND by Allison Winn Scotch

November 11, 2022

From the publisher:

One of Amazon’s Best Romances of November!

Two exes wake up together with wedding bands on their fingers—and no idea how they got there. They have just one New Year’s Eve at the end of 1999 to figure it out in this big-hearted and nostalgic rom-com from New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch.

When college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up before graduation, they vowed to never speak to each other again. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they find themselves back on their snowy, picturesque New England campus together for the first time for the wedding of mutual friends. Frankie’s on the rise as a music manager for the hottest bands of the late ’90s, and Ezra’s ready to propose to his girlfriend after the wedding. Everything is going to plan—they just have to avoid the chasm of emotions brought up when they inevitably come face to face.

But when they wake up in bed next to each other the following morning with Ezra’s grandmother’s diamond on Frankie’s finger, they have zero memory of how they got there—or about any of the events that transpired the night before. Now Frankie and Ezra have to put aside old grievances in order to figure out what happened, what didn’t happen…and to ask themselves the most troubling question of all: what if they both got it wrong the first time around?

Publishers Weekly wrote, “…this emotional outing delivers both laughs and poignancy. Fans of Emily Giffin, Katherine Center, and Christina Lauren should check this out.”

Library Journal said, “Nineties nostalgia is alive and well in this moving story of a lost first love and second chances. Readers will enjoy piecing together both the story of the forgotten night and the reasons behind the relationship’s disastrous first ending…the collegiate atmosphere and New Year’s Eve setting make this a cozy, romantic read from Scotch.”

The New York Post listed it in their “Required Reading” feature.
https://amzn.to/3NWHndY

This was a fast, fun read, albeit a slightly confusing one! The morning-after-marriage, when a couple wakes up married to one another but doesn’t remember how it happened is a popular trope in romance. Scotch gives it a nice twist- this couple isn’t sure they are married, and it’s set during New Year’s of the millennial. Remember Y2K?!

Frankie hasn’t really kept up with her college friends. Her career as a music manager has taken off and she’s been traveling the globe with her successful artists. But when she is asked to stand up for her freshman college roommate who really got her through that first year, she can’t say no. She just plans to avoid her ex at all costs.

Ezra and Frankie were best friends before they became lovers, and the breakup was a really bad one. Ezra has a serious girlfriend now – so serious he gave up poker for her, despite the fact he invented a poker app that has made him wealthy beyond measure. He is planning on proposing on this momentous New Year’s Eve, but the best-laid plans go awry when Frankie and Ezra meet up. They haven’t seen one another for ten years, so when they wake up in the single bed in Ezra’s old college dorm room, wearing wedding rings and a few clothes, neither is sure what happened or how they got there. This leads to a series of crazy adventures as they try and figure it all out.

There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and some serious ones as well, and eventually they figure most of it out, including why the new girlfriend shouldn’t be the fiancée. Sometimes your first love is the right love. This was light-hearted fun and thoroughly enjoyable romance.

Bonus: ‘The Rewind’ Adaptation Set at Netflix

11/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE REWIND by Allison Winn Scotch. Berkley (November 1, 2022). ISBN:‎ 978-0593546536. 368p.

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1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Contemporary, Holiday | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

ALASKA FOR CHRISTMAS by Jennifer Snow

November 4, 2022

A Wild Coast Novel, Book 2

From the publisher:

Can a hometown Christmas bring together these two polar opposites?

After traveling to all corners of the globe, Isla Wakefield has returned home to celebrate Christmas with her adoptive family. The gorgeous Alaskan wilderness is the perfect place to recharge before moving on to her next adventure—whatever that may be. Too bad that being home means once more butting heads with Chief Petty Officer Aaron Segura, Port Serenity’s resident buzzkill.

Isla’s fearless spirit has always infuriated Aaron—but fascinated him, too. Having lost his sister years ago, he’s never understood how some people can live so recklessly. But after a terrifying ice-climbing accident leaves Isla with amnesia, she and Aaron both see each other in a brand-new light. Forgetting the pain of her past makes Isla fearless in a completely different way. She’s not afraid to show Aaron exactly how she feels, yet he can’t help but wonder…will this temporary change of mind lead to a permanent change of heart?

Bonus Novella

In Love in the Forecast, meteorologist Monica Mallard signs up for Port Serenity’s annual navigation contest as a distraction from recent heartbreak. But when she’s paired with silver fox Captain Keith Beaumont, Monica finds the second chance she never could have predicted.
https://amzn.to/3Uf0C4p

Amnesia! I don’t think I’ve read a book that uses amnesia in years and years, if ever. I seem to recall more TV/movies that use it. I certainly find it fascinating, especially the different degrees. Isla has muscle memory that helps with some physical stuff, but she has no memories of people, her family, anyone really. So when Aaron rescues her after a bad fall, she doesn’t know who he is or that she finds him incredibly boring – now she just thinks he’s very good-looking and brave. Unfortunately, she also doesn’t remember the pilot who drove the helicopter to her rescue, despite having gone out with him for a few months. He wants her back and his best friend/co-worker is seriously in the way, causing even more strife.

Aaron always found Isla incredibly wild, and cannot understand how or why she is such a dare devil. His sister died in an accident, and his parents haven’t recovered. In fact, they moved to Florida from Alaska and are heavily involved in grief groups. It’s their way of coping, but Aaron feels abandoned. They haven’t celebrated Christmas since his sister’s death, but as he spends time with Isla and they grow closer, he can’t help but give in to her Christmas spirit. They’ve always had an attraction to one another, but have been at odds since they were children. Now that Isla is so unguarded, they are falling in love and Aaron is afraid that once her memory comes back, she will be furious and leave him.

I love books set in Alaska, maybe because I live in south Florida and it’s different in every possible way. I grew up in New York so I’ve experienced winter and snow and ice, but not to the levels of Alaska for sure. And I’ve never missed winter, not one day of it. My husband thinks its hilarious that visiting Alaska is on my bucket list as (everyone who knows me) knows that I am always cold; when it drops below 70, I pull out the Uggs! I have a collection of fingerless gloves that I wear at work where I have no control over the air conditioning, and I have more boots and scarves than probably any Floridian would dream of. But I don’t want to go during winter – summer would be more than cold enough for me so it remains on my bucket list!

This was a good romance with enough suspense – will she get her memory back? will she be pissed at Aaron? to keep the pages turning, making this a one night read for me. A little heat, a lot of sweet, and Christmas fun all combine perfectly in this terrific story. Now I have to go find the first book in this series, Sweet Home Alaska; luckily, my library has it! And just an aside; is the author’s last name really Snow???

11/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ALASKA FOR CHRISTMAS by Jennifer Snow. HQN; Original edition (October 25, 2022). ISBN:‎ 978-1335448637. 368p.