Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

 GOODREADS SUMMARY:

A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.

In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, she enters a contest with instafamous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, she might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on the application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only … there is no boyfriend.

Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just came home for some hot chocolate, and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process.

REVIEW:

Stella Bloom has a struggling Christmas tree farm that she is trying to save by entering a contest. She wants her farm to appear romantic so she enlists Luka Peters, her long-time best friend to pose as her long-time boyfriend and business partner.

I really enjoyed Stella and Luca, both were enjoyable to read about and so darn cute together. Stella's long-time ( I feel like I am using this word ALOT ) crush on Luca, makes some cute and funny reading.

The story is a bit of a slow-burn romance, mostly because neither Stella nor Luca seems to think the other isn't capable of actually liking the other, along with the fact that each of them might be a bit worried about how this will affect their friendship.

But OH BOY is there chemistry between these two. I guess each had years of it building that tension up. The author gives us some pretty steamy " fake " makeout sessions, that might make some of you blush.

I also really enjoyed the secondary characters of Layla and Beckett, especially Beckett with his grumpiness. Since Lovelight Farms is the first in a new series, I am hoping Borison will focus the next book on the two of them, they definitely have an interesting story.

Seriously, Lovelight Farms is cute, funny, heartwarming, and sexy, so if you are a fan of Christmas Romances this one will have you smiling.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday
Published by Penguin on October 13, 2020
Format: Paperback (368 pages) • Source: Purchased
Goodreads • Amazon • Barnes & Noble

'Tis the season for finding romance in this hilarious and uplifting holiday read 

When it comes to relationships, thirty-four-year-old Kate Turner is ready to say "Bah, humbug." The sleepy town of Blexford, England, isn't exactly brimming with prospects, and anyway, Kate's found fulfillment in her career as a designer, and in her delicious side job baking for her old friend Matt's neighborhood café. But then her best friend signs her up for a dating agency that promises to help singles find love before the holidays. Twenty-three days until Christmas. Twelve dates with twelve different men. The odds must finally be in her favor . . . right? 

Yet with each new date more disastrous than the one before--and the whole town keeping tabs on her misadventures--Kate must remind herself that sometimes love, like mistletoe, shows up where it's least expected. And maybe, just maybe, it's been right under her nose all along. . .

This was one of my most anticipated reads for the holiday season and it didn’t disappoint! I loved the idea of following Kate on her twelve dates, set up through the 12 Dates of Christmas program. A local agency developed a matchmaking program where the people would go on twelve predetermined dates with matched partners and see how they get along. They were all seasonal and often festive with holiday themes. Lots of the dates showed some promise and plenty more were major busts, so it was funny to see how they all shook out or what activities the couple would go with.

It was pretty obvious where the story was going from the beginning, which was okay by me. I like a predictable holiday romance. It did take me a little while to warm up to the winning love interest though; he was a bit annoying and it felt like he took advantage of her a little bit in the first half of the book (her kindness or friendship, I mean). I won’t say anymore!

As I’ll discuss more below, her snow-covered English village was adorable. I could relate to her feelings of wanting to be in the big city (London) for a while but happily returning home to help her father out. She debated if it was the right move but truly loved being there. It makes me want to travel to England as soon as I’m able to get out of the country haha. She had strong friendships with Matt and Laura, plus the townsfolk who always seemed to know what was going on in her life. Definitely understood that too!

Kate was a nice character to read about. She had some classic moments where I wanted to shake her and tell the characters to just COMMUNICATE. Classic romance novel lack of communication!

Window Shopping - Tessa Bailey

 Window Shopping – Tessa Bailey

Genre: Christmas RomCom
Four-Stars
You’ll enjoy it if you like holiday romcoms that have the unreasonable aspects of Hallmark movies.

Window Shopping was my first Christmas read of the year and it did not disappoint. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. It may have even fast-tracked me to reading the other Tessa Bailey books that I have, Tools of Engagement, It Happened One Summer, and Fix Her Up. I read it in one sitting as it came out to around 230 pages. It’s not terribly long and if you’re trying to reach your Goodreads goal by the end of the year, may come in handy.

This book was like a cheesy Christmas movie in a lot of ways. You love it, it doesn’t take long to read, certain aspects don’t get tied up in the end, and plot points aren’t reality. Yet, you don’t read it for any of those reasons and you still love it.

I rated it four stars because as much as I enjoyed it and laughed along, I wish it had explored some plot points a bit further and been a tad more realistic. However, that was the beauty of this book as well. I really want to dive into so much more, but I won’t be able to without spoiling it. Check the content warnings though before recommending this to your friends or family.

I can’t wait to read more Tessa Bailey books and continue my December reads. I’m currently reading The Twelve Dates of Christmas, but finding it a bit hard to get invested in. I’m hoping to change that this weekend!

Let me know if you’ve read Window Shopping. I’d be curious to know what you think as well!

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Noughts and Crosses Synopsis: Callum is a Nought – an inferior white citizen in a society controlled by the black Crosses. Sephy is a Cross – and the daughter of one of the most powerful, ruthless men in the country. In their hostile, violent world, Noughts and Crosses simply don’t mix. But when Sephy and Callum’s childhood friendship grows into passionate love, they’re determined to find a way to be together.

Noughts and Crosses Review: 

I absolutely adored this book when I was a teenager, and the reread as an adult didn’t disappoint. It was one of the first books I read that reduced me to tears and while it didn’t have quite the same effect the second time around (I’m assuming this is because I knew what was going to happen), it still generated all the feels. 

All of these books are written from multiple points of view, and cover quite a lot of ground in terms of their time frame. Malorie Blackman doesn’t spend a long time intricately describing things so much as emotions, and this works really well. As a reader, we fill in the blanks and the true essence of the story doesn’t get lost in translation. I think everyone will be able to relate to this story in one way or another, and that’s what makes it so powerful.

While Noughts and Crosses is centered on segregation between two races, throughout history and still today, there are multiple forms of segregation, discrimination, and prejudice that parallels the themes of this book – the idea of star-crossed lovers from two sides of the divide who face an immense struggle in their efforts to be together. Malorie Blackman isn’t afraid to confront the controversial issues head-on and tackle them in an honest yet beautiful way. This book is guaranteed to make you think, really think, about society, social norms, and the kind of people we have in power. A fantastic read and the last few pages are guaranteed to make the biggest Ice Queen’s heartbreak.

Quotables

“That’s why I started crying. That’s why I couldn’t stop. For all the things we might have had and all the things we were never going to have.”

Rating

5/5