A Billionaire for Christmas by Janice Maynard

USA TODAY bestselling author Janice Maynard takes readers to a holiday hideaway in her new Billionaires and Babies book.

All business, all the time, is billionaire Leo Cavallo's motto. So two months of forced relaxation is certainly not the CEO's idea of a Christmas bonus. Then he meets his neighbor, the irresistible Phoebe Kemper, and a storm forces them to become roommates. Suddenly, the holidays are looking a whole lot brighter.

But beautiful Phoebe isn't living alone. She's babysitting her infant nephew. Somehow, playing temporary family is surprisingly appealing. But what will Leo choose when it's time to go home?
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Holiday serials tends to have a couple things going for them: a for sure happy ending and plenty of Christmas cheer while you get there. A Billionaire for Christmas is a bit different in that while you definitely get a satisfying happy ending, getting there things get a little dark.

Leo shows up at Phoebe's mountain cabin mostly involuntarily; he doesn't want a holiday away, health scare or no health scare, and no matter how picturesque things appear he'd just like to get back to business. Phoebe on the other hand has deliberately chosen to separate herself from the rest of society. She was burned - and burned hard - by a previous dedication to the bottom line and when Leo shows up and talks himself into a room in her home she's not sure what to do. Together both of them find ways to heal from their pasts, though I felt like Phoebe's reaction to Leo's health scare was a bit over the top. There's a lie of omission and then there's not talking about something because they don't want to talk about it - sometimes that's not personal. 

All in all a good read and a nice addition to anyone's holiday roundup.

Overall Feeling - B+

Series - None

Mini Me: Santa Reads Romance by Dara Joy

A romance writer decides to take some time to seclude herself in a cabin, so she can finish up her latest masterpiece. But when a publisher dressed as Santa Claus ends up arriving during a snowstorm, she experiences something that she has only experienced through the characters in her novels.
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As a quickie introduction to the kinds of novels that Joy writes I would say Santa Reads Romance is ok but I don't think it's my favorite. It's a heartwarming Christmas novel and some suspension of belief is required - which I don't usually have trouble with but maybe I did this time because my tree is no longer around to fill my heart with Christmas joy?

Hmm.... could be, but I digress. After driving through Maine trying to track down his erstwhile author, publisher C. Hunter Douglass hits Santa Claus with his car and somehow gets conned into delivering his presents instead. And of course gets snowed in with author May because, well, why not? She's a little extra (though I did think it was hilarious that having romance books on hand was more important to her than food) and doesn't take any crap; when Hunter shows up unexpectedly she definitely isn't interested in playing damsel in distress. 

All in all it's an ok little story that I'm glad I picked up for free - I like the books I have at home more, lol. 

*Read as part of the 2013 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge

it's like you read my MIND

Thank you Urban Outfitters. You understand me :)

UO Mug, $10

An Outlaw's Christmas by Linda Lael Miller *ARC Review*

With his wild heart, Sawyer McKettrick isn't ready to settle down on the Triple M family ranch in Arizona. So he heads to Blue River, Texas, to seek a job as marshal. But in a blinding snowstorm he's injured—and collapses into the arms of a prim and proper lady in calico.

The shirtless, bandaged stranger recuperating in teacher Piper St. James's room behind the schoolhouse says he's a McKettrick, but he looks like an outlaw. As they wait out the storm, the handsome loner has Piper remembering long-ago dreams of marriage and motherhood. But for how long is Sawyer willing to call Blue River home?

As the gray skies clear, Piper's one holiday wish just might bring two lonely hearts together forever.

~~

Not only have I not read a Linda Lael Miller in a while, I can't remember the last time I picked up a Western that I enjoyed as much as this. Yes, as a Christmas story you know you're in for a heartwarming tale with a great HEA, but the characters in this particular McKettrick installment were quirky, fun, and interesting the entire way through. 

Piper wasn't just an uptight schoolmarm - she has feelings and worries and in spite of all of those she ventures out to do what she can for Sawyer. Once he's actually awake and she's faced with the reality of a real live man living in her room at the schoolhouse...well then things get a little more complicated. She doesn't know what to do; she's nervous about having him there, attracted to him and his forthright attitude, but held back by the repercussions she knows will come about by having him recover there. It's a conundrum I tell you :).

Sawyer doesn't make it any easier just by being himself. He's a 'modern' man in this historical town, understanding that women are smart capable people - and appreciative that Piper doesn't take any crap. Their back and forths were my favorite part of the whole story because each of them were so clearly taken with the other but didn't know what to do about it. When Sawyer finally proposes marriage to salvage Piper's reputation (which should be a spoiler people - Christmas romance) nothing is rushed into. He's very respectful of her inexperience and wants her to enjoy the sexy times as much as he knows he will, lol. The supporting characters from the town and Piper & Sawyer's relatives enhanced the story and definitely played a roll in my overall enjoyment - they each serve a purpose in helping the hero and heroine grow but didn't overreach or become an unnecessary barrier to their HEA. 

Even without background from the rest of the McKettrick books this is a great feel-good stand alone and I highly recommend it. 

Overall Feeling - B+

Series - ...14) The McKettrick Legend 15) A Lawman's Christmas 16) An Outlaw's Christmas

**Title requested from NetGalley**

Mini Me: The Bite Before Christmas by Heidi Betts

In Heidi Betts’s collection of holiday novellas, vampires turn to Angelina Bertolli—vampire matchmaker extraordinaire—to help them find that special someone to curl up with under the mistletoe…

“All I Vant For Christmas”
Connor loves trimming the Christmas tree, baking gingerbread cookies, and hanging the mistletoe. But his vampire siblings won’t help. His friend Angelina sends party planner Jillian to the rescue. But when Jillian, who’s mortal, discovers she’s decking the halls for a family of vampires, will she run—or will Connor have a beautiful woman to share the holidays with?

“A Vampire in Her Stocking”
When Vivian learns that her secret crush Nick is terminally ill, she’s heartbroken. Confiding in Angelina, Vivian refuses to turn Nick into a vampire. Deciding to play Santa, Angelina changes Nick and leaves him wrapped in a red bow on Vivian’s doorstep…

“It’s A Wonderful Bite”
Although Angelina is happy with her boyfriend Sergio, she’s ready for a commitment. After drinking eggnog and watching It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve, Angelina falls into a dream where she is mortal and Sergio isn’t interested in her. Talk about the nightmare before Christmas! But Santa must have checked his list twice because this Christmas Angelina’s wishes are coming true…
~~

I picked this up for free on my Nook and I have to say I'm really glad I didn't put any money down on this because it's only getting an 'eh' rating for me. None of the stories were horrible but they weren't great either, each suffering (I think) from lack of pages. The stories just went by too quickly so not only did I feel like sometimes relationships and HEA's were too fast (ala "All I Vant for Christmas") some of them just seemed completely implausible ("A Vampire in Her Stocking").

I recognize that this is a Christmas anthology and it's suppose to be filled with glitter and gumdrops, but this is just not my favorite. I could be out of the loop due to lack of world familiarity, as I don't know if Betts has a whole series featuring this background or characters, but this wasn't the best holiday anthology I've ever read. I'd say check it out from the library.

Buying that special gift for a book lover

It was walking into work today that made me think of this one - along with the conversations I had with my house guest last night: how do you buy a gift for someone that loves to read? It's an unexpectedly hard question once you start thinking about it. What books do they want? What books do they already have? If they follow a particular series, are they waiting for that one book to complete their set or is the whole thing a hodgepodge they're still trying to fill? Once all the questions start coming to mind it almost seems easier to scrap the whole thing and just get your friend a hat. But don't fret! I am here to tell you that it's a lot easier to buy for a book lover than it seems at first glance. All you have to remember are two simple things:

1) Don't be ashamed of buying a gift card! This is a VERY important lesson to remember! I don't care what people say about 'surprises' or proving that you really 'know' them - a book lover will love a gift card! Who doesn't love the option of buying everything they want, from now until some point in the future when they finally use up the card? Unless of course they're people like me, who have their book list planned out 6 months in advance and can use up a gift card in one trip. But even then, don't think I don't enjoy it! I have a tendency to buy a lot of the books I want, I budget for them in fact, and I think I would be making a pretty good guess to say that other book lovers do the same thing. So unless you live with them, and can search through their bookshelves to find out what they're missing (or if you have ESP, which if you do, A+ for the win! Want to give my mind a try?), it's really just better to go with the gift card. Yes it's not big and spiffy and wrapped with a bow (unless you do that box within a box trick, which unless you're experienced I wouldn't recommend), but they'll love it just as if it was.

2) Forgo the element of surprise and just ask what he/she wants. I have to say that nobody likes to hear this option but it's been the one to give me the most personal satisfaction. Say that someone is waiting to start a series of books, one that's been going on for a while now so it has a lot of backlisted titles - it's hard to just jump into that. BUT if you were to ask them if there was a particular book or books they really wanted, this gives them the chance to step forward and say 'I would love if you could get me this..." If surprises are a really big thing for you, then ask for a list of books that they want. This allows you to pick and choose as you go, thus avoiding a situation where they'll know exactly what they're opening Christmas day.

Ok guys, those are my two big tips for the holidays. Sounds simple, right? It would probably surprise you how many people stress themselves out worrying what to get for that special someone in their life. Well these two seemingly simple things will make your life easier! But what about you? What do you do when you're not sure what to get someone for Christmas or their birthday?