ONE CHRISTMAS EVE (CEDAR STREET #2)

They couldn’t be more different. Or more perfect for each other.

New York Times bestselling author Shannon Stacey returns with a warm and cozy opposites-attract Christmas story.

Zoe Randall is busy living her life as she damn well pleases. She’s back in her favorite town, her divorce in her rearview mirror, and living out her childhood dream of running a bookstore with her cousin. She has no interest in the uptight nerd who opened his boring-ass business next to her shop…until he complains about one of her sexy window displays.

Then it’s game on.

Preston Wheeler knows he takes life a little too seriously. But when the saucy bookseller next door starts pushing his buttons, he can feel that changing. Beautiful, vivacious Zoe challenges him in all the best ways, and soon he’s pushing her buttons right back: teasing and flirting all the way through the holiday season.

As Preston loosens up and Zoe is treated to the man behind the suit (particularly his forearms), she realizes she’s more interested than she cares to admit. And Preston comes to see the beauty—the absolute delight—in adding Zoe’s bright splashes of color to his once very black-and-white existence. 

Release Date: November 11, 2019

Carina Press

Cedar Street #2

Contemporary Romance

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

One Christmas Eve is the second book in the Cedar Street series from Shannon Stacey. Ms. Stacey became an auto-read author for me with her very first Kowalski story, and I love her new series every bit as much.

Zoe Randall and her cousin Carly run the local bookstore and it is Zoe's job to do the window displays. When Preston Wheeler opens up his business next door, he and Zoe start off on the wrong foot when he complains about her sexy Halloween display. Let me just say I loved this fast-paced opposites-attract Christmas novella. Added bonus for me was it taking place in a small town. For some reason, I love the small town setting in stories centered around a family. 

Preston and Zoe both have stuff in their pasts that could have been a deal breaker for them becoming anything more than business neighbors. I loved they each strived to move past what had occurred in their respective past to have full and happy lives. I loved that Zoe found a way to initially communicate through the super sexy books she would recommend to readers at their store, and shared those books with Preston to open up communication lines. As a lover of books, this spoke to me as such an ingenious idea for two people who seemed to be such polar opposites. I loved seeing them fall in love so quickly, and the pacing of the story totally worked for me. This is the perfect story for anyone who loves a novella-length contemporary romance. 

Rating: 4 Stars (B+)

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ONE SUMMER WEEKEND (CEDAR STREET #1)

Noah Stafford loves his life—his happy, single life. So what if he made up a fake girlfriend to stop his boss’s matchmaking? He kept things close to the truth—Carly really does have long, sexy legs and a killer sense of humor. She just happens to be his best friend. His wicked awesome and completely platonic best friend.

But now his boss is having a destination wedding, and Noah is expected to attend…with Carly, his girlfriend.

Carly Randall has no interest in living out a rom-com plot. But Noah is her best friend, so she agrees to help. Still, once they arrive on Cape Cod, she can’t explain the sudden butterflies she feels when he looks at her that way. Or why she doesn’t mind when Noah’s hands stray a little south of her back.

What happens on the Cape stays on the Cape.

Except not really, not at all, and once their sexy faux-cation is over, Noah and Carly return to a reality where everything’s changed. Going for it would mean risking their friendship…but forgetting how good they were together just isn’t an option.

Release Date: August 5, 2019

Carina Press

Cedar Street #1

Contemporary romance

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

One Summer Weekend is the first story in the new Cedar Street series from Shannon Stacey.  I love a friends-to-lovers troupe like crazy so One Summer Weekend is like book crack to me.

Noah and Carly have been best friends pretty much since they each can remember. In the words of so many characters from Grey's Anatomy, they are each other's person. However, Noah now needs Carly to pose as his pretend girlfriend for his boss's destination wedding, as Noah has told him they have been dating for 6 months. 

I loved both Noah and Carly and found them each to be smart and funny. I loved they had been best friends forever, but could totally tell they would both fall fast and hard once they moved beyond friendship. As this was a novella length story, the pacing was pretty fast for them to move from friends only to lovers, yet it worked for me. I could feel the love they felt for one another from the beginning, even when they each felt it was only friendship. They had great chemistry and it really burned hotter the more time they were at Cape Cod...their idea of what happens at the Cape stays at the Cape had me cracking up laughing and feeling all the happy sighs the more they were together.

One Summer Weekend was a fast, fun, and easy read. It is a novella length story, so everything moves pretty fast, and it works well. I loved the characters and seeing them move from friends to lovers. I can't wait to hopefully see more of these characters in future books in this series. Shannon Stacey has been an auto-buy author for me since I read her very first book and One Summer Weekend only made me want more stories from her.

Rating: 4 Stars (B+)