A Christmas in Shady Springs by Sarah Anne Crouch

 

A Christmas in Shady Springs by Sarah Anne Crouch 
4 Stars 

Madeleine has her idea of a picture perfect wedding....but is there a such thing? Family disagreements, church politics and a sudden ice storm turn her plans upside down. AJ and Madeleine try to balance traditions...faith....and expectations in their upcoming wedding. Set in a small town in Arkansas, this book will remind you that sometimes your plans may go to the wayside but the Lord's plans are always better.

I thought this book was a good Christmas read to remind us that weddings don't always have to be perfect, that at the end of the day, through the chaos....all that matters is you are married to one another, in love and faith, as the Lord sees you through. We don't always need that picture perfect wedding. Just two hearts, celebrating one another and remembering God's ultimate plan for us.

I do think I needed to read books 1 & 2 in this series before jumping in, because book 1 was the back story of AJ And Madeleine, but I can always go back and do that. I liked Sarah's writing and look forward to more by her. Love the southern small town, as a small town southern girl myself. :) 

Thank you to the author for a copy of her book to read for review. All thoughts are my own.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8070810298
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4joj3BB
*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

The Spirit of Christmas by Cynthia Ruchti

 

The Spirit of Christmas by Cynthia Ruchti 
4 Stars 

I really enjoyed this Advent book by Cynthia! It was an insightful read that invites you to rediscover the Nativity story through the presence of the Holy Spirit. She shines a spotlight on the Spirit who was at work from creation through the unfolding of God's redemptive plan. This paired scripture, reflections, prayer etc., to guide you through the season. It stands out among devotionals, keeping the Holy Spirit at the front of the story. Would recommend. Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy, all thoughts are my own. 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7798838592
Amazon: https://amzn.to/49X5nup

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Christmas Under Threat by Maggie K. Black

Christmas Under Threat by Maggie K. Black
4 Stars 

This was a random pick up on Audio for me from the Library and I am glad I did! A one day Christmas listen that was action packed was just what I needed. We have, as usual with Love Inspired Suspense books, a fast paced, action packed, Christian romantic suspense. This one had light Christmas elements, so it could really be read anytime in the Winter I think. Patrick is a devoted single father whose life unravels when his young son, Tristan, is kidnapped. The twist? Patrick only recently discovered that Tristan's mother was actually a victim in a long-standing cold case serial killer investigation....meaning someone is deliberately targeting them during Christmas. Someone was pretending to be Tristan's mother and trying to lure him out. In comes Gemma, a private investigator who is determined to uncover the truth about Patrick's ex-wife's murder. They work together in an immediate fast paced story with people after them left and right. It's like a race against time with the kidnapping so you're dying to know what happened next. 

The romance was sweet, kisses only, light faith moments - overall one of my more favorite love inspired stories I would recommend for something quick.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8172528320
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4qsE7sJ

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

 

Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel

Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel
5 Stars

Olive and Miles! THE BEST. We have BANTER, Characters with DEPTH, Family Elements, Fake Dating, and an overall Cozy FULL Christmas Read! All time favorite Christmas story here y'all!

Finally getting around to writing this review. I am so glad I finally got to this one. So many of y'all said it was great and you GOT IT RIGHT!

I loved it!

We have Olive, a high school English teacher who just wants to get through the holidays without any awkward family setups....especially after she lost her father, she is just trying to get through Christmas without any extra stress of family matchmaking. In comes Miles, a co-worker who she said was her boyfriend...not thinking he would actually show up at the Vermont Christmas Lodge.....but YEP he's there and now they have to pretend to date...Miles isn't too upset about this though :)

This one had so much depth with the grief layer explored of Olive, working through her healing after losing her father. Miles is right there with her through everything. They get to know each other so well and the rest is history. He brough so much swoony moments to the story and you just grew to love them both together.

This felt like a hallmark movie with less "cheese" and more "depth". Lots of good Christmas activities here.

Overall, a new fav I am SO glad to have read!

Content: kisses only, 2 minor swear words (1 h, 1 d) and grief from past loss of father.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7051664208
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4i3t9qw

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.
 

More Than I Bargained For by Jessica Leigh Johnson

Book Review: More Than I Bargained For by Jessica Leigh Johnson 

5 Stars

✝️💛MORE THAN I BARGAINED FOR REVIEW❤️✝️ A Christian Christmas Rom-Com❤️ by Jessica Leigh Johnson  

Y’all this was ADORABLE. It has everything you want during the holiday season. 

❤️Christian Faith

💚Black Friday Shopping Chaos 

❤️Sweet Kiddos

💚Family Moments 

❤️The Real Meaning of Christmas

💚Giving Back to Children 

❤️A Sweet Kisses Only Clean Romance 

💚A Single Dad trying to figure out Christmas 

This book centered around a single Dad, Daniel, on the hunt for the hottest toy for his little girl, trying to figure out how to shop for her after his wife passed a couple of years ago. He runs into our main girl, Anna, who is also on the hunt for the same toy…this is when they meet, and they keep running into each other …leaving their stories to unfold along the way. 

I loved it so much! Highly recommend. Thank you to the author  for a copy of her book to read and review. It was a delight! They really help others in need here and remember the true reason for Christmas.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4q0oIjE

Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan

The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan
4.5 Stars rounding up to 5 

I read this book with my friend Melissa and we both really enjoyed it. It was a surprising read with lots of depth and heartache but also hope. This is one that deals a lot with a toxic mother - daughter relationship, so please be aware before diving in, but I did like the ending with how everything was wrapped up. It was done in a realistic way.

We follow Imogen, who keeps her non-existent personal private life...well, not just private, but made up. With her tragic relationship with his mother, who wants nothing to do with her, she pretends like she has it all together to her co-workers, when deep down she is drowning in work and her lies....when things go wrong at work, her boss makes her take a month off from work and rest. This is when peace and truth become a reality for Imogen....the side character perspectives really take off at chapter 13 and we see the truth behind these characters and we follow what the future holds for Imogen along the way...

This is a secular, Christmas read and I really enjoyed the story. She knows how to write and pull you in where you NEED to know all the things. Oh, and she meets Miles, a great guy, along the way and we see so much beauty in the ashes in their relationship and he helps her in her healing with the toxic relationship she has with her mother and the family revelations that have happened. Oh and the DOGGGG Ralph added SO much to the book. She gets her sweet pup.

I can't say too much but I just loved this book. I am definitely going to check out more of Sarah's books. It was real, raw and open. Unexpected favorite.

*Content: 2 swearwords, bats**** & I think da*n. Closed door romance, you know they have slept together but no real details about their romance bits. Toxic relationship shown between mother and daughter, specifically chapter 8 was a tough read with them.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8114494128

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3YI1EtQ

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.
 

Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee

 Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee
5 Stars

Another favorite book of 2025

Wow. A story of enduring grace. A love letter to the Smoky Mountains. A beautiful, heart-tugging exploration of adoption, sacrifice and what family really means.

We have a dual timeline story - 1943 and 1973.

1943: We follow Bertie Jenkins and her sisters living in life in their family cabin. Bertie is a local midwife. Songbird, a pregnant and injured teen fleeing from her abusive father, stumbles onto their land. The sisters take her in and a heartbreaking story unfolds that changes their lives forever.

1943: 30 years later, famous country singer Walker Wylie discovers he was adopted after his step-father passes away. He goes on a search to find his birth mother, to find the midwife who delivered him - Bertie Jenkins - hoping to uncover the truth. He meets a midwife, Reese, also adopted, who helps him along the way.

This was just a beautiful story - faith filled...a tear jerker...but beautiful. I cried several times but the Lord is all over this book.

While this book deals with heavy topics such as miscarriage, adoption, abusive father, details surrounding birth from the midwife...it is handled beautifully and all point back to Jesus.

Highly recommend!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8106864027
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4oAQAtr
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/9781496472441_appalachian-song

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.
 

Liar's Winter by Cindy K. Sproles

 

Liar's Winter by Cindy K. Sproles 

5 Stars 
Another favorite book of 2025

I met Cindy at a local bookstore in Tennessee a couple of years ago and purchased most of her books that day. It's been a long time coming for me to finally read one of her books and I am SO glad I did! She was so kind and I loved Liar's Winter so much!

As a Tennessee girl, specifically growing up in East Tennessee, I heard so much about the Appalachian Mountain stories and the history of its people. Cindy has a gift for capturing the grit and grace of mountain life. It is a story of secrets, identity and the heavy burden of shame in a mark our main character Lochiel has on her face. She has the "mark of the devil" as they call it, something to be afraid of. She was raised in isolation with everyone thinking she is cursed.

Her entire life she has been hated and felt less than over this mark. Tragedy strikes and she flees for her life. She is rescued by a peddler and shown the first glimpse of love she has ever known. She starts to learn all about her past and her family, but the danger continues to come after her every turn she makes.

This book was real, raw, gritty....but also filled with the hope of the Lord. While it deals with darker themes such as superstition, family abuse, deception, death, loss of a loved one, grief, etc., it is a grace filled book that has hope within the heartbreak.

It's also deeply atmospheric in the Appalachian setting (I LOVE these settings y'all) - Cindy brings you RIGHT in. 

This book made me cry but also had me filled with hope.

Another favorite book of 2025! Can't wait to read more by Cindy!

📚Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8106862970
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4p8x4VM

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.
 

Solo for the Season by Martha Keyes

 

Solo for the Season by Martha Keyes
5 Stars
SO CUTEEEE

THIS WAS SOOOO ADORABLE. What can I even say?! READ IT! 

➡️⬅️ Forced Proximity
😂 Childhood Teasing → Adult Tension
💘 Former Crush
🏔️ Snowy Mountain Setting
🌲 Small-Town Romance
❤️‍🔥Somewhat Enemies to Friends to Lovers
❄️Snowed In Trope

I love the snowed in trope and a handyman sooooo this was right up my alley. We have Wes, the once-teasing childhood classmate Maggie remembers all too well and the guy who somehow manages to be the handyman fixing up all the cabin issues :) Maggie goes on a solo cabin trip and they get to know each other better as he keeps coming around helping with cabin maintenance and other issues. 

I loved their communication together, the banter, the laughs, the sweetness....the christmas feels - SO CUTE.

Highly recommend as a kisses only, clean, closed door - rom-com for the Christmas season! 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8084740685

Amazon: https://amzn.to/44MJ8UA

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Christmas At Tolliver's Bookshop by Elle Christopher

 

Christmas at Tolliver's Bookshop by Elle Christopher
4.5 Stars  - rounding up to 5

Y'all, this was seriously the most adorable little Christmas read! So cozy and cute! It had the snowed in trope, and at a BOOKSTORE at that, which I LOVED! It's set in the south, Georgia - also a bonus for this southern Tennessee girl!

It has small town charm, lots of good book and bookstore details, no spice or language - and a lot of chemistry between our couple within only 60 some odd pages!

I read this on Kindle Unlimited and it was such a cute quick read. 

We follow Lila and James, who meet while she is working at the bookstore and they have a very instant connection. I love it wasn't all based on attraction but it was based on common interests, like poetry, reading, helping others during the holidays, etc. 

Overall, this is a great quick read to pick up while sitting in front of your tree, drinking coffee, or hot cocoa - and a soft blanket. I loved it!

Content: kisses only, clean romance, no language, 1 mention of "the universe", clean, secular fiction

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8120541124
Amazon: https://amzn.to/48Usgh6

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Murder at Donwell Abbey by Vanessa Kelley

 

Murder at Donwell Abbey by Vanessa Kelly
4 Stars
Book 2 in the Emma Knightley Mystery Series

Read this series if you enjoy:
✨ Regency settings
✨ Jane Austen continuations done right
✨ Cozy mysteries with heart and humor
✨ Smart, observant heroines
✨ Mysteries centered on family secrets 

This was another delight to read after Murder in Highbury! Perfect for Austen fans and cozy mystery lovers. The author always captures the wit and spark of Jane Austen in these books while keeping you invested in the whodunit storyline. 

Emma and her husband George host a holiday celebration at the Hartfield estate but things get wild when her father announces him and Mrs. Bates are engaged to be married! Emma's lady's maid Prudence Parr is found dead and Emma's instincts tell her something more happened here....once again, her and Mr. Knightley have to figure out what happened....

Overall, I just really enjoy my time in this series. I haven't read Emma myself, but it makes me want to next year!

Highly recommend.

Content: mentions of death, murder, generally clean with maybe 1 swear word but more so a natural word used during that time. I have no concerns with content overall.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7837036983
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4rA7hYx

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.