Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
As soon as I started reading “Cupcakes and Crumbs” – I knew I had found a new author I was going to seriously enjoy getting to know further! At the time I received it for review on the blog tour this year, I simply ran out of the hours I needed to properly finish reading the story – however, I gave a bit of a preview of my (still) forthcoming fuller review wherein you can see what it is about Ms McClone’s writing style which appeals to me as much as it does as you read my notes on about the bits I had read!
I love when writers can give me an emotionally convicting read – the more you can feel the character’s emotions, the more centred I feel as a reader. There is something to be said for writers like McClone who understand this connection readers feel for characters and of how they organically write their stories to allow us to intuit more out of the story they’ve written simply by how they’ve approached anchouring us into the storyline. Which is why when I saw she was listed on the Clean Romances for Christmas blog tour – I knew I wanted to learn more about this Christmas Romance series she’s writing!
I have it in mind to finish “Cupcakes and Crumbs” before the ball drops in Times Square – as it is one of those stories I’ve pulled to attempt to finish before the closing of the year. I had hoped to have finished it closer to when I had first begun to read it – however, I wasn’t able to re-attach into it until now and I’ve decided to have it as one of my final reads for 2020. I felt truly moved by how she was writing the story and I’d like to finish the story before too much time slips past me further as I don’t want to lose the connection I had started to establish – both in the context of the character’s life and journey and in regards to McClone’s own voice for the craft.
Thereby it was rewarding to realise I have such a larger series awaiting me to read – with the Indigo Bay Christmas Romances! How delightful, indeed! Plus, just knowing there is a series set round Christmas and the romantic ways in which people find the persons they’ve meant to find is a refreshing switch as I love watching Christmas romances on tv – as previously disclosed this #blogmas and it would be keenly lovely to start reading a series set round the same premise!
This also marks my final showcase for the Clean Romances for Christmas extension of my #blogmas posts this year. I will be curating a finale post which I will be sharing on the 23rd as the finale part of the blog tour starts to get underway – however, I am so thankful I could close out my selections of #blogmas joy with Ms McClone!
Curiously – what kind of Christmas Romances are you attracted too? Do you prefer series or one-offs? Contemporaries or Historicals? Do you read the same author every year or do you try to switch it up and find new authors to read and add-in to your traditions of reading Christmas Romances every holiday season?
One beach cottage, two strangers, and a secret that could ruin everything…
Sheridan DeMarco would rather be anywhere than home for the holidays. Housesitting in South Carolina, far away from her new and chaotic blended family, sounds like the perfect way to spend Christmas. Until she arrives and realizes she isn’t as blissfully alone as she thought she would be…
Michael “Mikey” Patterson has a secret, one that requires him to stay out of sight until his attorney gives him the all clear. He finds the anonymity he needs in a small coastal town, but there’s a problem. Mikey isn’t the only one at the charming beach cottage, and the last thing he needs is a beautiful roommate named Sheridan who pushes all of his buttons.
All it takes is a sprig of mistletoe and one memorable kiss to make Sheridan and Mikey forget their plans to stay away from each other. But when his secret is revealed, can their newfound bond outlive the holiday season? Or will their happily ever after get tossed out with the discarded wrapping paper, ribbons, and tinsel?
Sweet Yuletide is the fourth book in the Indigo Bay Christmas Romance Series, but it and the other stories are standalone and can be read in any order.
Add to LibraryThing | ISBN: 978-1944777500
Indigo Bay Christmas Romances:
Sweet Tidings (book one)
Sweet Noel (book two)
Sweet Joymaker (book three)
Sweet Yuletide (book four)
Sweet Mistletoe (book five)
Sweet Carol (book six)
Converse via: #CleanRomanceForChristmas and/or #ContemporaryRomance
as well #SweetRomance and/or #CleanRomance or #CleanReads
Enjoy an Extract from
“Sweet Yuletide”:
The interior was more impressive now with the 360-degree view. Floor-to-ceiling windows along the far wall showed an overcast sky and the Atlantic Ocean. Hope mentioned the place was on the beach, but Sheridan hadn’t expected it to be backyard close. Halfway to the glass, she let go of her suitcase and left it behind. The wheels might damage the floor.
As she stood at the window with a sense of awe, her breath left a patch of fog on the glass. Christmas lights and garland were strung along the deck. An unexpected sight with the beach grass, giving a touch of color to the sand below. Gentle waves rolled in. A couple with their dog walked along the beach.
“I’m not in Berry Lake anymore.”
And that was A-okay. She would be—
Something crashed. A grunt followed.
The hair on the back of Sheridan’s neck stood straight, and she whirled around.
A tall, bearded, shirtless man with wide shoulders and a broad chest rubbed his knee. He stared at her suitcase on the floor.
She gasped.
His gaze jerked to hers. Eyes widening, he straightened.
Icy fear flowed through her veins. Headlines about a murdered tourist in a charming beach house flashed through her mind. Her mom would blame herself for not stopping Sheridan from flying to South Carolina. Face it, nothing like this ever happened in Berry Lake. A break-in while people were on vacation or a broken car window when someone left valuables in plain view, but there hadn’t been a murder in years.
Well, if she was going to die, she wanted to know who the killer was. She might be able to spell out the name in her blood before she lost consciousness. “Who are you?”
He didn’t flinch. His eyebrows drew together. “Who are you?”
Sheridan searched for something to use as a weapon. A dining room chair was too heavy, and there was no centerpiece on the table. Her backpack hung off one shoulder. If she hit him with that, it might stun him long enough to escape, but her keys, ID, and phone were inside. All things she needed.
So, she balled her fist and raised her chin to add an inch to her height. He still towered over her, which meant he was six-two or three and muscled like an athlete. No way would she be able to take him, but she’d go down fighting.
Sheridan swallowed around the lump of fear lodged in her throat. “I asked first.”
A beat passed and then another.
She held her ground.
“I’m Michael Patterson. My sister Marley is engaged to Von.” His posture was ramrod straight. “Your turn.”
Okay, this guy knew Hope’s brother’s name, so he might not be a psychopathic murderer.
Michael crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m waiting.”
“Sheridan DeMarco. I’m house-sitting for Hope.”
“Von asked me to house-sit.”
That made no sense. “Hope gave me a key.”
“Von gave one to me.”
Stalemate.
Excerpted from Sweet Yuletide by Melissa McClone.
Copyright © Melissa McClone. Published by Cardinal Press, LLC.
I love it. I love how they both believe they are in the right place at the right time and how technically speaking, THEY ARE. I mean, who would have suspected two persons would be given the key to the same house to house sit at the same time by two different people who thought they were in charge of setting this up!? I would love to know the next few scenes – of how they hash out what needs to be done ‘next’ and of course, which of them calls you know whom first and find out the details about how a goof this large could have been done!! Not to mention – I think Sheridan could use some wine to relax after the receiving the fright of her life!
What warms the story a bit is the synopsis – of how they both needed to be elsewhere this year for Christmas and for their own reasons, they needed to be without company and yet, what happens when fate lends a hand in keeping you where you should be even if its not where you expected to be!? Ooh, I LOVE stories like these and it will be jolly good to see what develops and continues to unfold once I get a copy of it. Eek. Hallo, 2021 I can’t wait to meet your stories like this one here!
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
Click through via the badge to find out what else awaits you!
Each day, a new author is showcased – I selected the authors I wanted to feature ahead of time –
therefore, return to see which of the authors I am focusing on throughout the 12 days!
NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Sweet Yuletide”, the author’s photo (for Melissa McClone) and biography, the extract from “Sweet Yuletide”, the series collage for Indigo Bay Christmas Romances, the book photo for “Sweet Yuletide” as well as the blog tour banner and The Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #blogmas 2020 banner & badge and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.
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