Blame It on the Mistletoe by Nicole Michaels

Title: Blame It on the Mistletoe
Author: Nicole Michaels
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: October 14th 2014

Summary from Goodreads:

Sometimes all it takes is a leap of faith for Christmas to work its own magic in BLAME IT ON THE MISTLETOE

’Tis the season for small-town Missouri boutique owner Brooke Abbott to get crafty. Much as she adores making art for art’s sake—decorating windows, designing ornaments, crafting the perfect present for under the tree—this Christmas she needs the gift of good customers. Lots of them. Sweet Opal Studios will go under if she can’t do some serious business before the New Year…and she has no time to lose. What Brooke needs is an honest-to-goodness miracle. Instead, she finds a burglar lurking in the back room of her shop. And here she thought the holidays couldn’t get any worse!
Or maybe things just got a lot better. Turns out the burglar is none other than Alex Coleman—local bad boy slash legendary heartthrob, childhood best friend to Brooke’s older brother, and…future landlord? That is the question. He’s come home for the holidays to see his grandmother, make peace with his distant mother, and settle his grandfather’s estate, an estate that includes the building that houses Sweet Opal. What he never expected was to bump into a grown-up Brooke, whose spirit, charm, and irresistible good looks give him pause. Should he go back to Oregon as planned, or give small-town life a chance? The only thing Alex knows for sure is that before he walks out that door, he’s going to get Brooke beneath the mistletoe, where anything can happen…

Review

I adored this wintry novella!  Blame it on the Mistletoe had just the right amount of romance, character development and engaging plot line.

Brooke and Alex had fantastic chemistry that complimented their different pasts.  In such a shorter story I was not expecting the character development to be as expansive as it is.  Both Brooke and Alex had different but life shaping/changing pasts that the readers slowly learns about throughout. This made the characters more real and brought me into the story.  The secondary relationship were also a strong point in the book.  The steamier scenes kept the pages turning and beautifully balanced out the heavier tones.

Aside from the character development, the plot line is engaging, it does take a backseat to the romance and characters.  It was cute, a bit cliche and predictable but incredibly enjoyable.  If you want to curl up with a warm drink ( or a tasty glass of win) and a blanket, I highly recommend this steamy read.

Keeping Her by Cora Carmack

Title: Keeping Her
Series: Losing It #1.5
Author: Cora Carmack
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date:August 13th 2013
Pages: ebook, 176 pages
Source: Library

Summary from Goodreads:
Garrick Taylor and Bliss Edwards managed to find their happily-ever-after despite a rather . . . ahem . . . complicated start. By comparison, meeting the parents should be an absolute breeze, right?

But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law-to-be, more than one (mostly) minor mishap, and the realization that perhaps they aren't quite as ready for their future as they thought.

As it turns out, the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it.

Review

Thank goodness Cora Carmack wrote this novella; I needed more Garrick and Bliss!  Keeping Her is a cute, sweet glimpse into their happily-ever-after; warming your heart, leaving you grinning and feeling complete when you get to that final page. 

While this book would be generally considered a novella do not let that sway you from reading it, it felt more like a really short book :) Keeping Her is a perfect example of a novella done right; it adds to the story line and has character development without being redundant or without focus and purpose.  The romance/relationship between the two is a bit more serious yet still full of awkward and cute moments.

'That kid better watch it.  I'm totally a Slytherin.' I shook my head smiling.  

'Love, I'm going to need you to pull back on the crazy a bit.'

'You're right.  Realistically, I'm a Ravenclaw.'

Bliss continues to be unique and quirky, all while facing her soon-to-be in-laws for the first time!  The situation is of course a sticky and tense one.  Carmack captured the feelings and emotions between the couple and the parents; the real stress and tension was offset by their love for each other making it a great read!

"When I saw her name on the caller ID, it was like seeing the Dark Mark hovering above my apartment."

"My odds were looking about as good as a main character in Game of Thrones."

I highly recommend reading Losing It and following it up with Keeping Her! They are relate-able, believable and just fun books  I cannot wait to start Faking it :)

MINI-REVIEW- Brooke (Under the Never Sky #2.5) by Veronica Rossi

Title: Brooke
Series: Under the Never Sky #2.5
Author: Veronica Rossi
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: November 26th 2013
Pages: Kindle 82 Pages
Source: Bought

Summary from Goodreads:
Set just before the events of Into the Still Blue, the conclusion to Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky trilogy, this breathtaking novella is a satisfying stand-alone for new readers as well as an exciting glimpse at favorite characters from the trilogy. Pulsing with romance and danger, Brooke will leave readers desperate for the conclusion to this epic and unforgettable saga.

The only fight she can't win is the one for Perry's heart. Following the stunning climax in Through the Ever Night, the Tides have been forced to seek shelter from the Aether storms in a dismal, secluded cave. But Brooke's memories of the cave go back much further, to when she and Perry used to come here together. That was before Perry fell in love with Aria and before Vale's dealings with the Dwellers altered the course of the Tides forever.

Now, with her sister back from a haunting year in captivity and Aria lying unconscious in the sick bay, Brooke struggles to put the pieces of her life back together. Without Perry, who is she? And what is her role in this frightening new world? As these questions swirl about her, an old threat to the Tides resurfaces, and Brooke is forced to put the lives of her people before her own. But in taking this step outside of herself, Brooke may finally discover what she truly wants.

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• The new perspective.  I really enjoyed hearing the story through Brooke's point of view
• I liked how Brooke evolved and changed through the story.  She had such honest and harsh feelings made me hate her and like her at the same time.  
• The story was well developed for a novella.  Of course I wanted more but I did actually feel like the novella added to the series. 

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• Nothing :)  It was a great short story
• I do wish I had read a recap though.  There is no summary, the story jumps right in. 

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I cannot wait for Into the Still Blue!  If you want to read a story from Brooke's perspective and jump back into the Aria and Perry's world then I highly recommend!

MINI-REVIEWS #92 & #93: Skylark (Skylark #1) By Meagan Spooner & The Prince (Selection #0.5) by Kiera Cass

Title: Skylark
Series: Skylark #1
Author: Meagan Spooner
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Release Date: August 1st 2012
Pages: Hardcover, 344 pages
Source: Audiobook from the library

Summary from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret—but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

While I did enjoy Skylark, it just felt a bit slow at times. I felt myself having to really focus or else I would lose interest. I can’t decide if it was the  audio book narration, which was dry and not the best or if it was just the story in general. Skylark is far from a cookie cutter predictable dystopian story. It has actually been one of the better dystopian worlds I have read lately.  The whole idea of having energy created from magic  was something I found fresh and unique.

The story has twists throughout the whole plot  with a slow building romance (no insta-love!). Overall I would give Skylark 3 stars, it was missing some pizzazz but the world building in the magical dystopia was well done and worth the read. I plan to read the sequel but I might stay away from the audio version of Shadowlark.

If you read/listened to  Skylark, what did you think?  

Title:The Prince
Series: The Selection #0.5
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 5th 2013
Pages: ebook, 64 pages
Source:Library

Summary from Goodreads:
Before thirty-five girls were chosen to compete in the Selection...

Before Aspen broke America's heart...

There was another girl in Prince Maxon's life...

Don't miss this thrilling 128-page original novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling novel The Selection. Also features a teaser to The Elite, Kiera Cass's hotly anticipated sequel to The Selection.

“She was looking at our fingers and not into my eyes, and thank goodness for that. If she were, she’d have seen how absolutely floored I was the first time I finally, truly saw her. The clouds moved at just the right moment, full lighting her face by the moon. As if it weren't enough that she was willing to stand up to me and clearly unafraid to be herself, she was dazzlingly beautiful.”

The Prince was a nice addition to the story.  It was a different perspective to actually hear Prince Maxon's thoughts on love and the selection process.   It was cute, I definitely swooned some when he described his first meeting with America.  Even though I enjoyed it, I did not find it necessary to enjoy the series. Simply put, it was a nice filler story.