Reading Update: Page 1

 

Back to snow for me, so I'm celebrating🥴 with some soup. 

I've become more interested in space and fantasy romance novels lately, I'm really excited to start this new series with a woman bounty hunter and the man who is her sworn enemy. 

Enemies to lovers set in space! 😍

Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik purchase link

Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup recipe

I would season the chicken next time, too blah tasting for me

Review: Just a Little Married

Just a Little Married by Reese Ryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Third and the final book in the Moonlight Ridge series about three adopted brothers, Just a Little Married, brings back together Travis Holloway and Riley George. Riley was the rich girl who cruelly broke things off with Travis when they were teenagers, this lead to fights and heated tempers and the car accident all three brothers were in. The car accident and how the three brothers drifted apart because of it and are now forced to come together because of their adopted father's health issues, is threaded through all three books and I would suggest reading the first two in the series first so that you have an understanding of the family dynamics. Travis was the most injured from the accident, damaging his leg enough that he lost his college football scholarship and dreams of the NFL. Even though he is now a famous chef, he still carries some anger from that night and why when he first sees Riley again, he wants to keep his heart closed to her. 

“What do you want, Riley?” 

She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “A husband.” 

Readers have heard about Riley but this is the first time we meet her. We learn that she can't get her inheritance from her grandfather unless she is married and to a man of his own independent means. She wants the money to help out with two of her foundations and when she sees Travis in town and learns about his family's resort needing some help, goes to him with the plan of a fake marriage for one year. It's a second chance romance with marriage of convenience trope that brings some heat. 

Riley sighed, her heart still racing from the kiss that had set her entire body on fire and left her wanting much more from the man she'd asked to be her fake husband. 

While this was mainly set at the Moonlight Ridge, it felt the least connected to the series. The two other brothers and their wives pop in and out, along with their father Jameson who adopted all three of the boys when they were younger but for the vast majority of the time, the focus is on Riley and Travis. The first half had Travis pretty much not giving any leeway to Riley as he is still angry and hurt over how she told him he wasn't good enough for her when they were teenagers. It had a frosty feel with dormant volcano brewing underneath and at around the halfway point, Travis learns something about the night Riley broke-up with him and he starts to melt towards her. From the start Riley still has feelings for Travis but tries to hide them because of the hurt she knows she caused him. 

He cupped her cheek and offered a pained smile. “I'm sorry I believed the worst of you.” 

There was a little too much going on here for me, Travis' restaurant business, his documentary show, trying to save Moonlight Ridge and find the embezzler (continuing storyline from previous books), the fake marriage, Riley's fundraiser gala, and all the family dynamic issues. I wanted some it to be cut in favor of just having Riley and Travis together and working out their issues. There were too many time jumps, we don't get much of the Great Gatsby Gala (the cover picture is of the night) and we don't get to “see” any scenes from their honeymoon. At around the 75% mark, Travis' mother comes into the picture and a big bomb is dropped, way too late in the story for the resolution to not feel rushed. 

I enjoyed Riley and Travis' characters separately and together, the scene where Travis tells Riley's father to essentially f-off was a particular favorite and Riley putting herself out there for Travis had me cheering her on. There was a little too much going and weeks passed by/not shown when I simply wanted to see Riley and Travis together. The ending had a somewhat rushed and cobbled feel to it with bringing together the embezzlement story thread (book 2 made the villain obvious thankfully because there was pretty much no explanation of motivations here) and the fallout of the Travis mother bomb drop. However, I did enjoy seeing the last Holloway brother get his happily ever after and the steam between Riley and Travis.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

After weeks of -temps, it's 40 degrees here. I finally ventured out to snap a pic and feel some sunshine on my face 🌞 

No football now to distract from my reading and I'm heading back to Moonlight Ridge. Our third brother Travis (he's a chef 😍!) is about to have a second chance romance and a marriage of convenience. 

Just a Little Married by Reese Ryan purchase link

Grilled Chicken with Avocado Salsa recipe

Reading Update: 10%

 

Sawyer Thompson. I feel like that's all I need to say 😍 

A reissue of Head Over Heels and Lucky In Love from the Lucky Harbor series by Jill Shalvis. 

It's cold and blustery and I'm going to dig into this Enchilada casserole and heat up with the chemistry between Sawyer and Chloe. 

Happy Friday!

One Lucky Day by Jill Shalvis purchase link

Creamy Pepper Jack Chicken Enchiladas recipe

Review: A Kiss at Midnight

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.3 stars 

“I did it,” Gabriel said, conversationally. “I met the woman, the only woman for me. I met her, and now I’m going to meet my wife.” 

This month's TBRChallenge theme was Fairy Tale, last year I did a Beauty and the Beast because my tbr is full of that theme as it happens to be a personal favorite. I wanted to switch it up this year so I went with a Cinderella inspired. I got this book from a garage sale around 6 years ago and since I've read James before, I figured I would generally like it. 

“Why did Caesar bite Victoria, anyway? I never thought to ask.” 

“She was feeding him from her mouth.” 

“What?” 

“Holding a piece of meat between her lips and encouraging him to take it from her. Foolish business, coming between a dog and his meat.” 

Kate shuddered. “That is disgusting.” 

Look, it was a bit rough of a start between me and the heroine Kate, she was pretty vocal about not liking her step-sister's three little doggies. I'm an avowed crazy dog lady, who, maybe this is too much information, could hold a treat between my teeth and let my Rottweiler take it out of my mouth. I never got bite once and, obviously, don't find it as odd/disgusting as Kate. She also said this about the doggies: She disliked her stepsister’s pack of little dogs, affectionately, or not so affectionately, known to all as the rats. Granted, I'm not big on little Maltese dogs but calling them rats had me growing cold towards Kate even more. I graciously read on and decided to give the heroine time to improve her attitude. 

With that personal huffiness aside, the beginning of this was chaotic, we get the basic set-up of Kate's mother dying when she was in her early teens, her father remarrying two weeks later, and then her father dying pretty soon after to leave her with a step-mother and step-sister a couple years younger than her. Leaning into the Cinderella inspiration, the step-mother doesn't share any of the inheritance the father left her with Kate, gives it to her daughter Victoria as a dowry and does her best to bankrupt the estate. Kate gets moved to the attic and basically treated like a servant. Kate wants to leave to start her own life but feels guilty leaving the tenants to fend for themselves. What starts off this whole story is that Victoria's lip is infected from the dog bite and she was supposed to travel with her betrothed to meet his uncle, who just so happens to be a prince. They can't postpone the meeting because Victoria and the betrothed have been anticipating the wedding night for three months and Victoria is pregnant, they planned on getting married after meeting the prince, the betrothed's mother won't let them get married until the prince approves. For some reason that didn't quite make sense to me, Victoria's lip can't be seen in public so the mother concocts the plan that Kate will take her place and pretend to be Victoria. They sort of resemble each other because, GASP!, they are actually sisters, Kate's father was cheating on her SICK mother and after the SICK mother dies, marries his mistress. This plan really made no sense to me. 

Gabriel Albrecht-Frederick William von Aschenberg of Warl-Marburg-Baalsfeld 

Our prince, of the many fabulous names, has his own trials going on. His oldest brother is going through it back in the home country and has decided to lean in hard to the teachings of a religious zealot. Because of this, he has kicked out anyone not willing to become devout and Gabriel has taken the heathen relatives, friends, and workers with him to England. He feels guilty leaving them on their own, I guess. Personally, he's always wanted to be an archaeologist but the callings of duty. However, he's a poor prince and must marry a rich Russian princess, who is making her way to England, where if everything goes according to plan, they will become betrothed at the Ball. 

She turned around, mouth open. “You can’t go about trying to seduce young ladies!” she squeaked. “If I weren’t betrothed already, I would consider marrying you.” 

You can probably tell where this is going, but it wasn't quite as predictable as I thought it was going to be. Kate and Gabriel meet and have an instant attraction but by 30% Gabriel knows who Kate really is and why Victoria isn't there to meet him. We learn that Gabriel's majordomo is his illegitimate half-brother and along with how he feels responsible for everyone, connections are there for Kate and Gabriel to bond. The problem was that with the chaotic beginning, we don't really get to sit with characters, Kate and Gabriel especially together, and that ruined some emotional connection between them. 

“Oh damn,” he said, and there was a kind of hoarse hunger in his voice that spoke of truth, “I wish you were my Russian princess.” 

The first half also introduces us to Kate's godmother, Henry. Kate didn't know about her and due to Henry loving Kate's father but him choosing an heiress over her and then Henry being barren and Kate's father not understanding her grief and thinking naming Henry godmother would make her feel better, they never connected over the years. But what is Cinderella without the godmother? Henry played her part well and helped to give love, life, and fashion advice to Kate. Around the midway point, Kate and Gabriel finally start to spend sometime together and while they have some nice conversations, this couple was really more about the teasing and foreplay. I do like how they didn't just jump to sex and some of the teasing seduction scenes were played out well but I kept wishing some of the side characters and their stories had been pushed to the side more so that we could have gotten to know Gabriel more and Kate and Gabriel as a couple could have shown me more of the mental emotional reasons they were falling/in love. They were really more of a bedroom couple. 

And then she knew what the emotion in his eyes was. It was despair, and rage—and love. Love. “Gabriel,” she said, with a little gasp. 

With his Russian princess arriving any day, Gabriel makes a bet with Kate that if he restores the reputation of a girl Kate has befriended, she must let him kiss her. They've kissed and fooled around at this point but both keep saying Kate can't give up her virginity to him. The night of the Ball, Gabriel organizes things to have Kate up in his turret room and they have a fairly steamy seduction sessions with Gabriel having to go downstairs to be with his Russian princess and then sneaking up to continue the seduction with Kate. It starts to feel like, Gabriel, my man, Stop. But we need that ending angst. At 80% they have sex and still think Gabriel will marry the princess and Kate will go with Henry to London to find a husband. Of course when Kate is leaving, she loses one of her “glass” slippers. 

His foot brushed something. He bent down. It was one of Kate’s glass slippers. It shimmered in his hand, as delicate and absurd as any bit of feminine nonsense he’d ever seen in his life. He said it aloud, because there was no reason to be silent. “I am—undone. She has undone me.” And his hand closed around the glass slipper. 

The next chapter jumps to 41 days have passed and Kate is depressed in London but of course, Gabriel shows up and does a romantic thing and happily ever after with an epilogue. The money problem gets solved with a book advance(??????) (have to remember back to Gabriel wanting to be an archaeologist) and Kate's dowry wasn't as stolen as she thought. This is definitely not a leave your family on pilgrimage to find this book and read it, but it had some nice moments. The step-sister not being evil/mean was a nice turn and Henry as the godmother was a treat but I never felt like Gabriel was a full character, would have loved more of him and his half-brother Wick, and Kate and Gabriel's relationship was more in the teasing seduction than feeling romantically complete. There were some odd/uncommon additives in this (a lion who maybe eats dogs who eat pickled food, all the secondary character probably/maybe not needed side-stories, and I can't let this go, a butler named Cherryderry) that made it feel chaotic and stole away from the romance of the main couple. You probably won't be bored because of the “what's that now??” quality but I can't say you'll be romanced either. 

(I know you all are wondering and yes, Kate sort of changed her mind about the doggies, at least one of them anyway and became a dog lady herself :)

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Review: A Deadly Affair

A Deadly Affair by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

 

“A Venus,” he said softly. “So he was struck down by Venus.” 

-The Love Detectives 

A Deadly Affair is a collection of short stories, around 20 pages each, that involve mystery and love. Some of Christie's beloved characters make their appearances, Poirot, Miss Marple, Pyne, and etc. It's impressive what Christie can do with such small word count and I found most the stories to be delightful mini mysteries. It works to introduce new readers to her work and please dedicated readers with little snippet visits to their favorite characters. The book ends with an excerpt from Christie's biography having her discuss the two men who asked her to marry them. The wit and charm she infuses into her stories clearly comes from her outlook on life with the ending line, “Really, what a benefactress I was to those two men.”. 

(Some of the titles have been changed from their original for this collection) 

King of Clubs 4 stars 

“[...] Zara's last words to Valerie were: 'Beware the king of clubs. Danger threatens you!' [...]” 

The first story starts us off with, perhaps, Christie's most known character, Poirot. With Hastings, they are solving a murder that involves family bonds, a fortune teller, and secret identities. I thought the mystery was strong and enjoyed all the clues. 

The Face of Helen 5 stars 

He felt a sudden strange sense of exultation, as though he were caught up and made part of a shimmering pattern of events. He was in this thing---whatever it was. He knew now what Mr. Quin had meant that evening at the Opera. There was a drama going on, and in it was a part, an important part for Mr. Satterthwaite. He must not fail to take his cue and speak his lines. 

My favorite of the collection that has Mr. Satterthwaite (and the reader) putting clues together to try and stop a murder. It's full of jealousy and intrigue. 

Death On the Nile 2 stars 

“I want to know whether or not my husband is poisoning me.” 

With no connection to Christie's novel of the same title, this has Mr. Parker Pyne trying to suss out intents, motivations, and actions. This was my least favorite as it had too many characters for the shorter page count and moved too fast for the reader to sit and enjoy. 

Death by Drowning 4 stars 

“Sir Henry---this girl---Rose Emmott. She did not drown herself---she was murdered...And I know who murdered her.” 

This time it's Miss Marple knowing who did the murder but not having the evidence, which is left to Sir Henry Cithering, a retired Commissioner of Scotland Yard. The reader doesn't know who Miss Marple suspects but has fun watching (reading) Sir Henry workout the hows and whys of who Miss Marple told him. 

The Double Clue 4 stars 

“My rubies, Monsieur Poirot, and the emerald necklace said to have belonged to Catherine de' Medici. Oh, the emerald necklace!” 

A collector has a tea party with some friends, only to find out that someone has stolen an emerald necklace. This was a good little mystery but what really stood out was the character of the Russian Countess Vera Rossakoff and her chemistry with Poirot. I really hope Christie had them meeting and going head-to-head again in another work. 

Finessing the King 3 stars 

“And what about its being necessary to finesse the King?” 

“Well, that's what I thought we'd find out.” 

This had the married couple of Tommy and Tuppence Blunt of the International Detective Agency, Blunt's Brilliant Detectives following Tuppence's suspension and curiosity and winding up solving a murder. This one, again, had jealousy and murder and an ending that will shock. 

Fruitful Sunday 2 stars 

“The price of a virtuous woman is far above rubies.” 

Probably the least fun, lacking the most charm of the collection with a more cynical vibe. This follows a couple on a date, a story of stolen rubies, and a test of virtue. 

Wasp's Nest 4.5 stars 

At last, he said: “But I have heard of no murder.” 

“No,” said Poirot, “you would not have heard of it.” 

“Who has been murdered?” 

“As yet,” said Hercule Poirot, “nobody.” 

A story of twists and turns, jilted loves, and death sentences. Poirot shows once again how far ahead of the game he is as readers, and would be murderers, play catch up. 

The Case of the Caretaker 3 stars 

“But why a puzzle?” asked Miss Marple. 

Doctor Haydock grinned. “Because the interpretation is up to you. I want to see if you're as clever as you always make out.” 

Our beloved Miss Marple has a touch of depression while getting over the flu and her doctor decides to give her a murder mystery to read and try to work out. This was a fun one because readers get all the information as Miss Marple and can try to work out the mystery for themselves and see if they come up with the same answers as Miss Marple. 

The Man in the Mist 2.5 stars 

For the curtain of mist in front of them suddenly parted in the most artificial manner, and there, not twenty feet away, a gigantic policeman suddenly appeared, as though materialised out of the fog. 

Tuppence and Tommy are back to remind readers that clues abound and no detail is too insignificant. This had more of a trailed off ending that didn't feel as complete as the others. 

The Case of the Rich Woman 3 stars 

“[...] “It will be difficult, but I believe there is a chance of success. I think it's possible I can give you back what you have lost---your interest in life.” 

A rich woman with a case of ennui, Mr. Parker Pyne playing the part of therapist, and possible soul switching. This short story is in a different vein of the mysteries, no murder, but still has the reader working to catch up with the questions and answers. 

Magnolia Blossom 3.3 stars 

After the first, they had not even dared look at each other. Well, that was that, the end. 

The most melancholy of the group, with the time period setting of the stock markets crashes and love, betrayal, honor, and no one winning. 

The Love Detectives 3 stars 

“No,” he cried. “No, I should have known better! There is no chance where you are concerned, Mr. Quin. It was not an accident that we all met tonight at the crossroads.” 

The last short story reunites Mr. Satterthwaite and Christie's, seemingly, instrument of fate, Mr. Harley Quin. Here we have two confessions of murder and loves tangled weave. It was a good callback to a previous short story and lovely way to wrap-up the collection.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Who doesn't like a little deadly mystery with their romance? 

❤🔪❤ 

I had to pair this Agatha Christie with a hidden heart chocolate loaf 😋 

Happy almost Friday!

A Deadly Affair by Agatha Christie purchase link

Chocolate Valentine Surprise Cake recipe

I thought this would be a fun, easy thing to make and it was! but box mixes just don't have the umph of from scratch. Looked pretty, though :)

Review: The Rebel and the Rake

The Rebel and the Rake by Emily Sullivan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

With the help of her bestfriend Lady Georgiana Arlington, Miss Sylvia Sparrow has secured the position of lady's companion with Georgiana's aunt by marriage. Georgiana doesn't know all of Sylvia's secrets and when Sylvia is blackmailed, she lives in fear that her past actions could come to light and hurt not only her but Georgiana. 

The Honorable Rafe Davies has been playing the role of rake for the last couple years, which has worked to keep people from looking too closely to what his true actions are but he's lately been feeling the strain of no-one knowing who he truly is. When his older half-brother sends him to Castle Blackwood to doing a little spying for the current owner, John Wardale, Rafe knows he's not being given the full story but thinks the means will justify the ends. 

Some secrets she needed to keep safe. 

The Rebel and the Rake is second in the League of Scoundrels series and I had no problem jumping into the series here; there was only a brief mention of the hero from the first. The beginning 10-15% of this had me very excited as Rafe started to remind me of the hero from Bridal Favors by Connie Brockway, along with the general tone. In public, Rafe acts the never-do-well younger son of an Earl but he really works as a spy for the Crown. He's currently at Castle Blackwood to root out a blackmailer for the owner John as a favor to his older brother. We get a little bit of backstory on Rafe being shunned by his half-siblings because they didn't feel their father mourned their mother enough before he married Rafe's mother, an actress, no less. The situation and what John and his brother are telling him isn't quite adding up to Rafe but there's alluding that he's going along with it because he craves validation from his older half-brother. I tried to go along with that but throughout most the story, it made it feel more like Rafe may have the title of spy but none of the supporting thinking/characteristics of one (his friend Captain Harris did more work and felt more like a spy/detective than Rafe). 

The trouble was he hadn't been acting like the Honorable Rafe Davies, shallow yet charismatic bon vivant. Just himself. And for a moment she had seen it. 

Seen him. 

While I liked the very beginning set-up of this one, I could see other readers getting a little bored with the slower set-up, secondary characters get more buildups and the start of Rafe and Sylvia's (I just have to say I love that name, Sylvia Sparrow) relationship was all about the subtle heat in the glances. I loved it, Sylvia's shy flushing as awareness grows and it all was giving me those building blocks, development, that make romances fulfilling for me but I do agree it could have been snappier. However, around 30-60% the whole plot of Rafe being a spy, working for Wardale, and Sylvia being blackmailed seems to get mostly forgotten and all that set-up, especially the Rafe at odds with Sylvia tension, never comes to fruition. They share a kiss around 30% and Sylvia reveals a majority of her secrets to Rafe at the halfway point but there wasn't any continuing growth in their romance to move beyond insta for me and the story started to drag for me. 

“I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.” He let out a surprised laugh and pulled a hand through his hair, disturbing the usually perfect strands. 

Rafe didn't turn out to be quite what I was looking for, he spent most of the story in existential crisis that no one truly knew him because of the nature of his job. Sylvia had great interesting components to her character, ones that gave a feeling to the Victorian time period this was set in but besides being listed out, we never really get a feel for her and I ended up feeling like any character could have been dropped into her role, instead of feeling like the story was coming from Sylvia. I had the same problem with their first sexual scene, it felt like the author had the scene in their mind and was just waiting to plop it somewhere, as opposed as feeling like the story/characters naturally lead it to that moment. I lost a lot of the emotion because of feeling this way, along with the insta never getting those development relationship blocks I like. There was a later sex scene that I thought had some nice heat to it but I was still missing the emotional connection along with physical. 

Rafe took her hand by the wrist, brought it to his mouth, then gently kissed her fingertips. All while never breaking his gaze. 

Around 70-80% the spying and blackmail plot gets wrapped up and Sylvia kind of has an almost berating speech towards Rafe that felt pretty harsh (it has to do with the seemingly disconnect of their ideals) but even at that point, even though I thought it came off harsh, I went along with it because, even in the way later half, it didn't feel like they really knew each other at this point. It was almost an affirmation to their instalust and how when Sylvia found out who Rafe was, she didn't like him, which at this point of the story, I'm looking for more closeness between my couple. This, of course, ends in a HEA but, for me personally, it felt more like a happily for now, especially when Rafe's declaration involved the line “Let me show you who I can be.” It's just a personal preference that I want that development to be done and worked at in the story. 

The romance was too insta and along with some spy plot aspects, a bit of development was missing for me. There was a scene between Sylvia and Georgiana, Sylvia discounting the personal reasons Georgiana might have made in her decision to marry and Georgiana getting frustrated with Sylvia not making the choice to protect herself, that leapt off the pages for me because of the emotion and layers behind it and it made me want even more scenes of Sylvia and Georgiana together. Captain Harris, and Georgiana obviously have a past together and the restrained emotion between the two look to be the stars of the next in the series.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Finally have my reading mojo back after a month! 💃 

What better time to start this story with a spy and bluestocking. I'm thinking some hidden corridors and secret kisses... 🕵‍♂️💋👩‍🏫 

Happy start of the week!

The Rebel and the Rake by Emily Sullivan purchase link

Spicy Cauliflower Burgers recipe

I more than double the spicy and the chipotle mayo and magic green sauce are almost a must. Still, pretty tasty to even meat-eaters :)

Review: No Ordinary Christmas

No Ordinary Christmas by Belle Calhoune
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Coming back home during the most festive time of the year had been a choice, one he hoped would bring him closure, not just with his relationship with Troy and his father's death, but with Lucy, the woman who still owned a large piece of his heart. 

It's been eight and a half years since Dante West left Mistletoe, Maine to pursue an acting career. He now stars in Hollywood action movies and earned the nickname “Inferno” but all his fame and fortune seems to have come at the cost of family and romantic relationships. After a very close call with a stunt gone wrong, Dante decides to head back home and try to repair those relationships. 

They had planned to leave Mistletoe together and he'd left without her. 

Lucy Marshall is one of the few people not excited that Dante West is returning home to film one of his movies. They were childhood bestfriends who became more and planned on leaving town together but when Dante skipped town without telling her and not trying to contact her for months, Lucy's heart was shattered. She's now a head librarian and doing well for herself but still nursing a broken heart. When she finds out that Dante's movie is a love story and it's their love story, she begins to see that maybe Dante wasn't as unaffected by their sudden breakup as she thought he was. 

In making this movie, he was going to be wearing his heart on his sleeve about the woman who'd stolen his heart back when he was a teenager. 

Starting off the Mistletoe, Maine series, No Ordinary Christmas is going to hit that sweet spot for fans of small town romances and readers who enjoy a festive holiday atmosphere. This does have some of the first in a series syndrome with a good amount of characters introduced who are practically begging for their own future HEAs. All the secondary characters do fill out their roles in creating the world (the small town) and I enjoyed them but they still stole some time away from the main couple's romance. However, one of my favorite things about this story was the sisters relationships between our heroine Lucy and her older sister Stella and younger sister Tess; their love and friendship is a definite highlight and I wanted scenes of them all together. 

This is a second chance romance with Dante coming back home to set things right with not only his family but Lucy. You'll be in Lucy's corner with how Dante just left town without a word to her and then soften a bit when we get more of Dante's story and how circumstances were for him back then. It was around 40% when Dante explains those circumstances to Lucy and she begins to forgive him and I thought that was great timing, book percentage wise, as they could now spend the back-half of the book coming together again. I was a little confused and disappointed when instead, the story still had Lucy stuck with focusing on how Dante left without a word, I thought that 40% scene had resolved that. It made the second half lose so much momentum for me and I felt like the story stalled with characters not doing much. 

Maybe, just maybe, this time around they would get things right. 

There was a late (86%) Big Misunderstanding that came off more forced to me and for a moment, it seemed like neither Lucy or Dante were going to do anything to resolve it but it was obviously there to give Dante the opportunity to give the big romantic gesture. I liked these two separately but their romance came off more bland to me as Lucy bemoaned most of the time and Dante wasn't out there working too hard to romance her; I really did end up getting more joy out of the sisters' relationship. If you want to pick this up for holiday vibes it definitely has that with Dante having to be Santa at one point, mistletoe, a Christmas tree farm, and more. There were a good number of secondary characters with heartache, so if you like the small town of Mistletoe, you'll easily have the opportunity to visit again.

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