BookLoverAmanda

  In The Manger by Max Lucado - 4 Stars A wonderful advent devotional - easily read in a day or two. Short devotions - inspirational - the true meaning of Christmas shared and encouragement provided. Each day ends with a short prayer that helps you focus of the Lord. He really makes you think in each day and while I would have liked them a bit longer, I feel like these were really encouraging short devotions for each day leading up to Christmas. I have a vlog where I read some of my favorite parts here:   https://youtu.be/t7QmJf_W1fY   Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7067382021 Amazon:  https://amzn.to/41Hqih3

  Twas the Knife Before Christmas by Jacqueline Frost - 4 Stars  (Book 2 in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series) What another great book in this series! I am working my way through this one and really enjoyed it y'all! Solid clean cozy mystery series with a smidge of romance. Here we continue to see Holly from book one "up to her jingle bells in holiday shenanigans" as the synopsis says. When a body turns up in a dumpster behind Caroline's Cupcakes, the store's owner is the main suspect. Holly helps out at the cupcake place so she is trying her luck at clearing Caroline's name. We see Sheriff Evan back with his budding romance with Holly too, which I love.  This one is full of holiday charm and Christmas cheer yall! Pick it up. Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6841531477 Amazon:  https://amzn.to/4grtZMd *Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

  Book Review: Hope for the Hero by Mandi Blake - 3 Stars This one is part of the Heroes of Freedom Ridge series. I have loved all of the Mandi Blake books I have read so far, but this one wasn't quite my fav. I just didn't connect to the couple as much and wished their enemies to lovers was a bit less of them fussin with each other for so long.  We have Tessa and Adam - Tessa wants to get a job at her brother's security company and when she gets the job, her and Adam are working together and he is so grumpy lol. His boss says he needs an assistant to help him since he works a lot but they do not get along whatsoever. They eventually come to care for one another but it just wasn't a fav. While I liked the faith portions with Adam as he tried to figure out his beliefs as he worked through the emotions of his mother passing away years ago and his Dad not being around, I wanted more from the romance itself. I also wish Tessa was a bit more compassionate about what Adam was...

  Guarded by the Hero - Mandi Blake 4 Stars  Cute, quick Christmas read from Mandi! We are in Freedom Ridge with Heath Mitchell, who served in the Marines but now spends time as the head of security for the Freedom Ridge Resort. He meets a friend of his sister and she becomes a client who needs protection as he is the bodyguard like figure. Claire has some things from the past that resurfaces and he has to help protect her. They grow close together and the rest is history. Enjoyed this one pretty well. As usual, Mandi has good faith elements and sweet clean romance. Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6926059884 Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3BzhfnQ *Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Cabin Crush by Kasey Stockton - 5 Stars  Another new favorite Christmas read y'all! I loved this one so much. We have friends to move, brother's best friend, forced proximity, cabin at Christmas time, family elements, all the things you want in a cute romance for Christmas! We see Rachael, who has had a crush on her brother's best friend Max forever. The story starts from their past experience kissing under the mistletoe when she she was humiliated at a christmas party. Cut to many years later and Max has always had a girlfriend since then...until now at the family cabin this Christmas. He tells Rachael his secret he needs to tell his family this season and there are a lot of flirty moments between them as they start to get closer in a way they never have before as just friends.... Read if you love: 🎄Friends to More 🎄Childhood Crush 🎄Brother's Best Friend 🎄Cozy Christmas Vibes 🎄Family Bonding 🎄Festive Traditions 🎄Sweet Romances 🎄Heartwarming Ending 🎄The Grinch ...

  Silent Night, Holy Night by Colleen Coble - 3 Stars All is Calm, All is Bright was more of a fav for me here but this one had two novellas for the Rock Harbor series. The first novella is Silent Night. Bree and her search and rescue dog Samson follow the trail of a troubling mystery into the snowy forests of Rock Harbor. We see her and her husband Kade preparing for Christmas guests when word arrives that a parachuter has disappeared in the North Woods, along Lake Superior's icy shore. Bree and Samson plunge into the search. I really didn't connect with the characters in this one and it did not feel like a mystery - it was more so their infertility journey and adoption discussions etc. Very odd novella for me I would rate this one 2 star. Didn't feel Christmas to me at all either unfortunately but I liked the second one more. The second novella is Holy Night. We see a phone call derail a Christmas wedding....Leia and Bane are looking forward to their Christmas wedding on ...

  All is Calm, All is Bright by Colleen Coble - 3.5 Stars rounded up to 4  I liked this overall but wish it was a bit more christmas-y.  The first one, All is Calm was probably my favorite and most engaging one. In that one, we have Brendan and Lauren. We are at Bluebird Ranch, a place Brendan always considered a little piece of heaven. They have a ranch that pairs children with horses, run by one of his old Marine friends. He is recovering from a job injury and is back at the ranch to spend Christmas healing. Lauren was a 17 year old foster kid when she was at Bluebird Ranch years ago and it was the safest place she knew. Now she is on the run from a murder investigation where she was a witness - she takes her horse (who was going to be put down falsely accused) and runs to the ranch where she feels safe. She meets Brendan and he is very suspicious of her actions and past. Romance blooms when they start working together and the rest is history. I liked this first one bec...

  Who Are You Following? Sadie Robertson Huff - 4 Stars This book was a timely and thought-provoking one that explores faith and social media in today’s digital age. Sadie challenges readers to evaluate their relationship with social media and redirect their focus toward following Jesus wholeheartedly. Sadie explained much of her own personal experiences related to social media, faith, relationships, work etc. She went through different pressures we experience, pitfalls and offered advice and spiritual wisdom for navigating a world obsessed with likes, followers and perfection. It was relatable and honest for me personally, especially as somewhat of a bookish influencer online. This was packed with scriptures and practical tips for shifting focus away from worldly influences and toward God. Such a great reminder to stop looking to social media for validation and to instead find purpose and identity in Christ. Would recommend as a quick audiobook since she narrates it.  Goodrea...

  A Year of Flowers by Suzanne Woods Fisher - 4 Novellas  3 Stars Overall This is a novella collection of 4 different novellas - three former friends have found success in the floral industry - but have not found true happiness and love. Out of these 4 novellas, I feel like these would have been best as a full story of friends together instead of novellas. Each novella leading up to the end was ended very abruptly, probably intentionally so the ending novella made sense where it tied everything together, but it felt very disjointed to me. I liked her writing and faith content in the novellas in general, but didn't really connect to the character's because of the shortness of each possibly. The stories connect 3 friends who worked at a flower shop as teens. They went their separate ways and these novellas show how they come back together in the end. You see some romance stories with each throughout the story too.  I did love the flower details in each story, learned quite ...

  Home for Christmas by Courtney Cole - 5 Stars Home for Christmas is an absolutely delightful read and has earned a special spot among my favorite holiday reads. his heartwarming story has everything I love—family, romance, and even a touch of time travel! I could easily imagine this becoming a Christmas movie. We are in Alaska during the Christmas season and we see our main character of Piper navigating the grief she feels from the loss of her Grandmother and trying to understand the legacy she left behind. When a mysterious event sends Piper back in time to 1944, she’s given the rare chance to experience life through her grandmother’s eyes—a simpler, slower-paced time when people cherished the things that truly mattered. She is in the original home her ancestors built and starts to enjoy the joy of getting to know her grandmother in a whole new way. Piper goes on a journey and finds the real meaning of love, home and how a family legacy can connect one another forever. The blend...

  The Twelve Holidates by Emma St. Clair - 4 Stars (Love Cliches Series #3.5 but can be read as a Standalone) WELL THAT WAS ADORABLE!! I am already loving the Christmas reads you guys! Emma just always does such a great job with her characters and romance storylines! In this one, we have a friends to lovers story that was chef's kiss!  You have banter, 12 dates between best friends to more and a swoony MMC! Pacing was great for a novella too! We follow Taylor who from the first introduction catches her boyfriend Chad cheating on her. She is so upset and her best friend Weston jumps in to save the day by working through the 12 Dates list she had planned for her and Chad. Weston hopes the dates will help him confess how much he has always loved her and Taylor isn't sure how she feels or how Weston feels just yet....but the dates give much needed closeness between them with lots of laughs and emotions along the way.  SUPER CUTE. Highly recommend! Goodreads Review:  http...

  Christmas Tree Connection by Elle Rush   A Short Story in the Christmas Kisses and Cookie Crumbs Series - 4 Stars  Y'all this was absolutely adorable. Set in 1970s, Adelaide and Victor work together to turn a season holiday tree farm gig into a holiday romance happy ending! We follow Victor Klassen who is opening his North Pole Evergreen tree lot and needs to get an edge over his competition so the cutest bank teller in town, Adelaide North, has beautiful stained glass ornaments so he asks her for help and the story goes on from here. I love that this was set in the 70s because it gave such a unique twist on a classic Christmas and reminders of slowing down and spending time as families together. The romance was sweet and just a wholesome short story to read in one sitting at Christmas time. This is part of 12 clean romance short stories during the Christmas Season on Kindle Unlimited so this is one I read through my KU subscription. Hoping I can get to more but wh...

  Cornered Novella Collection - Lynette Eason, Lynn H. Blackburn and Natalie Walters - 4 Stars Y'all I really think Romantic Suspense books are PERFECT in Novella format! I loved this one. After reading Targeted and now Cornered, I think this author trio should definitely continue these! They are fun, short reads with just the right amount of suspense and romance I prefer! Highly recommend to my Romantic Suspense fans! 5/5 The first novella is In The Dark by Lynette Eason. This features accountant Steph Cross who is cleaning out her co-workers desk after her shocking and unexpected death. It seems like an accident, but when she finds a cryptic note in her desk that looks like she was investigating something, it looks like her death was no accident at all. Detective Tate Cooper comes in and is determined to help her figure everything out before someone else gets hurt. Steph has quickly become someone important to him and he will do anything to help keep her safe. This is tied to her...