THE MATCHMAKER'S MISTLETOE MISSION

New York Times bestselling author Jaci Burton celebrates the gift of love and the holiday season with a snowy Christmas wedding at the Bellini family vineyard.

Stranded at the Red Moss Vineyard a week before her best friend's wedding, LA native and professional matchmaker Alice Weatherford is not pleased with her first trip to Oklahoma, or the epic snowstorm forcing her to stay. So much for Christmas cheer. What she needs is a project, something to distract her...and, oh, has she found one in neighboring rancher Clay Henry. Gorgeous, charming, and unlike any other man she's ever met, finding the right woman for Clay should be easy....

Having grown up with the Bellini sisters, it's no hardship for Clay to ride out the storm at their cozy family vineyard, especially since that means spending time with their savvy and smart houseguest. But despite Alice’s best efforts, he's not the least bit interested in her matchmaking....

Alice is the only woman Clay wants. Now he just has to convince the matchmaker herself to give love a chance.

Release Date: October 15, 2019

Penguin Group InterMix

Contemporary Romance

Boots and Bouquets #0.5

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

The Matchmaker's Mistletoe Mission is the start of the new Boots and Bouquets series from Jaci Burton. This is a novella-length story and is super fast-paced.

When Alice is snowed in at the Red Moss Vineyard before her best friend's wedding, she knows she will go crazy without anything to do. After meeting sexy cowboy neighbor Clay Henry, she sets her sights on putting her matchmaking skills to work for find him the perfect mate. The fact that Clay has already set his sights on Alice only made this story even more fun.

I loved the banter and chemistry from the beginning between Clay and Alice and loved seeing the fall so quickly the more time they spent together. Yes there was a bit of insta-love in this story, and it completely worked for me. I already want to read more stories that will take place at Red Moss Vineyard. Ms. Burton completely charmed me with The Matchmaker's Mistletoe Mission.

Rating: 4 Stars (B)

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DOWN BY CONTACT (THE BARONS #2)

Two rival football players begin a game with higher stakes than the Super Bowl in this steamy romance from the author of Illegal Contact.

Simeon Boudreaux, the New York Barons’ golden-armed quarterback, is blessed with irresistible New Orleans charm and a face to melt your mama’s heart. He’s universally adored by fans and the media. Coming out as gay in solidarity with his teammate hasn’t harmed his reputation in the least—except for some social media taunting from rival linebacker Adrián Bravo.

Though they were once teammates, Adrián views Simeon as a traitor and the number-one name on the New Jersey Predators’ shit list. When animosity between the two NFL players reaches a boiling point on the field, culminating in a dirty fist fight, they’re both benched for six games and sentenced to joint community service teaching sullen, Brooklyn teens how to play ball.

At first, they can barely stand to be in the same room, but running the camp forces them to shape up. With no choice but to work together, Simeon realizes Adrián is more than his alpha-jerk persona, and Adrián begins to question why he’s always had such strong feelings for the gorgeous QB…

Release Date: January 16, 2018

InterMix

The Barons #2

Sports Contemporary Romance-M/M Romance

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

Illegal Contact was the first book I'd read by Santino Hassell, and I loved it. I couldn't wait to read Down by Contact as soon as it hit my kindle. 

Adrián and Simeon have been at odds since Simeon left the New Jersey Predators team for the New York Barons. When all hell breaks loose between them at a preseason game, they are forced to work together on a joint community service project teaching football to a group of kids at a community center. 

I have to admit right up front that I had a very hard time with Adrián and what he said through much of the book. He spewed so much hatred that I honestly had trouble getting into the book in the beginning. I really didn't see a way for Hassell to redeem Adrián at all. On the other hand, I absolutely adored Simeon and really wanted him to find a man to fall in love with and make him happy. I figured out pretty quickly Adrián was gay or at least bi and that was part of the reason he made such an ass of himself when it came to Simeon. It still took me over half of the book to start to like him.

I did love how well both men connected with the kids they were working with at the community center. Yes Simeon seemed to connect better with most of the kids, but Adrián started to really enjoy working with the kids and making connections the longer they worked with the kids. I think seeing Adrián with the kids is what helped start to turn my feeling around for him. Honestly his snarkiness never really goes away, but I quickly learned it was a bit of a defense mechanism for him. 

While it did take me a bit longer to buy Adrián and Simeon as a couple, I will say the sex between them was smoking hot! I did love how they really couldn't keep their hands off each other. I also love that both Simeon and Adrián really wanted to protect the other from anything coming out about them before Adrián was ready. I will say I didn't agree with how Simeon tried to protect their secret, but got his reason for doing it at the time. I also loved seeing both men go big in their declaration for each other. OMG I think that was honestly when I fell in love with Adrián. 

I absolutely loved Santino Hassell's voice and his in-your-face story telling in Down by Contact. While I only found Santino Hassell's books recently, I have to say he has become an auto-buy author for me rather quickly. I highly recommend his books.

Rating: 4 Stars (B)

PHANTOM KISS (CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRE #12.5)

In this all-new novella from the New York Times bestselling author of Midnight Marked, Merit, Ethan, and the rest of Cadogan House crew discover that not all undead creatures are kindred spirits…

Vampires generally aren’t afraid of things that go bump in the night, but Merit and Ethan are extra jumpy after a recent attack by a dark sorcerer. So when they learn that someone is messing with graves in Chicago’s cemeteries, stealing skulls and snatching souls, they fear that their powerful foe might be back for even more magical vengeance.

But after a specter begins haunting Cadogan House—and targeting vampires—they realize that their being taunted by an altogether different sort of monster. A ghoulish villain straight out of the Windy City’s urban legends is on the prowl—and he won’t stop until he’s killed again...

Release Date: January 17, 2017

Chicagoland Vampires #12.5

InterMix Penguin Group

Paranormal Romance

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza’s Review:

I adore the Chicagoland Vampire series and was super excited to get Phantom Kiss to tide me over until Blade Bound is released in April. Chloe Neill once again delivered an engaging story that pulled me in from the very first page.

I love seeing where each installment in the series takes Merit and Ethan. I loved at the beginning of Phantom Kiss they were going to a couple's wedding shower at Merit's parents home. Merit's mother really does try hard to stay in her daughter's life and I love that she is just as enamored by Ethan as most everyone else. 

Merit and Ethan seem to always be the ones in charge of protecting Chicago. Of course when Annabelle calls about the disturbance of the grave in the cemetery, Merit and Ethan not only are the ones to show up, but they are instrumental in getting the disturbance solved. I love that we got to spend time with pretty much the whole crew of favorite characters as they battled the ghoul who is now haunting Cadogen House. While Annabelle is a recent addition to the crew, I've come to love her character every bit as much as other characters.

Phantom Kiss is a novella length book, so it was a super fast read for me. Partly because it was a novella, but mostly because I couldn't put the book down once I started reading. Phantom Kiss was a fun and fast-paced story and only made me more excited for the release of Blade Bound.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (B+)

RUINED (BARNES BROTHERS #4)

As one of the Barnes brothers, Sebastien has always felt blessed. Not only does he have an amazing family, but he’s become a Hollywood golden boy who has everything he’s ever wanted—with one exception. He’s had a thing for Marin since he was a kid, but when he finally summons the courage to ask her out, she turns him down. Marin is ready to settle down, she wants commitment and stability, and Sebastien is still too much of a playboy, caught up in the wild life of the spotlight.

Still reeling from the rejection, Sebastien’s luck runs out later that night when he saves a girl from an assault. The shining knight role fits him just fine, but his armor—and his perfect life—become tarnished when the near-deadly attack lands him in the hospital. Physically scarred, he gives up acting and retreats from everybody.

If anyone can pull Sebastien back from the abyss, it’s Marin. But first she has to convince him that beauty is not only skin deep...

Release Date: July 19, 2016

Penguin Group InterMix

Contemporary Romance

Barnes Brothers #4

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza’s Review:

Shiloh Walker delivers another wonderful and emotional story in the Barnes Brothers series with Ruined. Sebastien has always been Hollywood's golden boy. I honestly have to say that when his life was turned upside down after the attack, I expected better from him. I didn't expect him to hide out from all his family and totally cut himself off from just about everyone he'd ever worked with. Of course, Marin was the only person he still saw, though he was generally in a drunken haze most of the time. I loved that Marin never gave up on Sebastien, and continued to visit him when he would really see anyone else.

Shiloh Walker writes such awesome emotionally scarred heroes. Sebastien had the physical scar from his attack, but it was his emotional scars that kept him from moving on with his life for such a long time. Marin pushing him to see his family is the reason he started to come back to the land of the living. Of course the biggest way she helps him out, he doesn't even completely remember because of his last drunken binge. I hated that Sebastien finally had his night with Marin, and their chemistry was off the charts hot, and yet he had no memory other than super hot dreams.

I wasn't a huge fan of the miscommunication between Sebastien and Marin after the drunken night together. I loved that Marin helped get Sebastien back to work again, but hated they had lost much of their closeness due to miscommunication and Marin keeping secrets form Sebastien. I totally understood her putting distance between them right after their night together, but not as time passed. Honestly this was my only problem with the story.

Ruined was a wonderful addition to the Barnes Brothers series. I loved getting to spend time with the characters from the other books. I loved Marin and Sebastien as a couple and felt like all they had gone through would help them to be a stronger couple.

4 Stars (B)

ONE LITTLE THING (MAGNOLIA BEACH #1.5)

The USA Today bestselling author of Something to Prove presents a charming novella set in the small Alabama waterfront town of Magnolia Beach, where new love is challenged by long-buried secrets...

Even though her family moved away in disgrace after her father’s affair, Sophie Cooper knows that her childhood home in Magnolia Beach is the right place to open her bed and breakfast on the water—especially if it means she can watch the handsome local walk his dog on the beach every morning...

Quinn Haslett’s greatest regret has always been exposing the affair between Sophie Cooper’s father and their high school physics teacher—not that she ever knew who spilled the beans. When he sees Sophie again, the guilt comes rushing back, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to see if the sparks flying between them could lead to something more.

But with such a big secret lying in wait, it’s only a matter of time before their newly ignited relationship goes up in smoke... 

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Magnolia Beach #1.5

Penguin Group Intermix

Review copy provided by publisher

I'm a big fan of Kimberly Lang and was excited to get a chance to read One Little Thing early. I love the town of Magnolia Beach, as it reminds me of my very own hometown. I love romances that take place in small towns, and Kimberly Lang did a great job with Magnolia Beach.

Sophie Cooper has returned to her hometown to open a B&B years after leaving town with her family. I loved that she named the B&B "The Old Palmer Place", as in a small town no matter who owns a house currently, it will always be known by the original owners. I have to give Sophie props for coming home, even after so many years. Small town scandals are never forgotten. Sophie is such a strong character; I knew she could weather any storm that came her way.

I love that Quinn Haslett was a geek when he was in high school and how is the buff guy Sophie has been watching play with his dog each morning. There is just something about the geeky guy from high school turning into a hot guy that I love so much. Add in the instant chemistry between Quinn and Sophie when they meet again, and I was hooked.

I found One Little Thing to be both a sweet and sexy romance. As it is a novella length story, it was a very fast and enjoyable read for me. I can't wait to visit Magnolia Beach again soon.