Category: #blogmas

Happy #blogmas! Albeit a few months late! A #ChristmasReads book review | “Tales of a Paperboy” (A Christmas Story) by Andrew J. Mair

Posted Sunday, 9 February, 2025 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

#blogmas book review banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: In (2020), I was contacted by Andrew J. Mair to review his novel “Tales of a Paperboy” (A Christmas Story) and I was very grateful to receive his novel for review consideration at that time. I don’t completely remember the order of events which led me to push forward this review by four years – however, since (2020) and especially the last two years wherein my father entered the hospital and exited into long-term care – I would presume there were a lot of different reasons why I kept finding myself losing traction to read and review this lovely novel until now. I do regret it took me this long to pick up the book again but I am grateful I can finally put mind and heart into the story and share my reactions with my readers and followers alike whilst giving the author a chance to know how the story resonated with me.

I received a complimentary copy of “Tales of a Paperboy (A Christmas Story)” direct from the author Andrew J. Mair in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. 

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On the harder undertone of the novel “Tales of a Paperboy”:

I, believe one of the reasons I struggled to read this over the last four years was due to the nature of the story itself as it is about a young both of fourteen who is grieving the loss of his mother from Cancer. It was an aggressive form of the disease and she sadly, passed away during Christmas. It threw his entire family into a maelstrom of emotions and grief, and it took a long time for them to emerge out of that sorrow to where joy could be a part of their lives again.

Mair delves directly into that nexus of emotion when you’re on the fringes of losing a loved one whilst he counters the harder undertones of the story with flashbacks and sequences of insight which stem from the journals left behind by Daniel’s grandmother. As she had written a full account of what life was like during that time and how hard it was to process the hours as they were lived as much as it was hard to reconcile what had happened after Daniel’s Mom had died.

I usually shy away from reading stories about terminal illness because they are just emotionally wrecking to read. However, I do make a few exceptions to that rule – Tales of a Paperboy felt like such a strong story to read because it was about a young boy choosing to find his own path through his grief and to find out how courage can take you to a place in life you hadn’t expected to arrive. I was not disappointed but for those who are sensitive to stories involving terminal illness and Cancer, take caution with your readerly heart as this story might be a bit too hard for you to read. Just know – this is definitely Daniel’s story, but grief is a main factor of this timeline within his story.

There is the sense of abandonment Daniel feels for his father isn’t with him as he had to travel out of state for work. Daniel feels lost and alone and adrift, and you can understand why because his whole world has been upturnt. He’s lost his friends when we relocated, and his sense of purpose and direction has become a bit muddled in the process. This is a coming-of-age story about overcoming personal loss and finding yourself through your growing years.

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Sadly, I was on track to finish reading this novel during December, until my work hours overtook all my days off and I quite literally worked 13 out of the final 14 days of the year. Some years, you find yourself overly extended during the holidays with work and this year was definitely one of the heavier workloads I’ve managed to undertake! Last year was quite similar and I’m not entirely sure how I survived both holidays back-to-back! The only small bit of good news this year, I was able to sneak in time with my father whilst Mum and I watched quite a few Christmas films which lifted my spirits as much as watching Leeanne’s vlogs on Cocktail Hour at the Coop!

I will admit though, the heaviness of this story is very hard to read at the holidays – it might be better suited to a different time of year to read whilst embracing the elements of Christmas knitted into the story. Any story which touches on Cancer and Christmas is going to be an emotional read and FYI if you’re a sensitive reader to those topics like I am myself (ie. terminal illness, Cancer, etc) you’ll find yourself at times struggling to finish reading the story because you might be concerned about what the next pages will review. I hope my review will give a bit of keen insight into the story but also, as a guide to help other readers know if they can handle the content of it.

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Happy #blogmas! Albeit a few months late! A #ChristmasReads book review | “Tales of a Paperboy” (A Christmas Story) by Andrew J. MairTales of a Paperboy
Subtitle: A Christmas Story
by Andrew J. Mair
Source: Direct from Author

Following the death of his mother, fourteen-year-old Daniel Morgan moves from Texas to Utah to live with his grandma and new step-grandfather while his dad pursues a job out of state.

Encouraged by his father, Daniel reluctantly starts his first job as a paperboy. Lonely and lost in an unfamiliar environment and with the holidays approaching, Daniel finds comfort and hope in the sound of local church bells.

Through his grandparents and the retired families living on his paper route, Daniel learns valuable lessons about responsibility and family. But will he find the spirit of Christmas he longs for?

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Christmas Story &/or Christmas Romance



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9798670394819

Published by Self Published

on 17th August, 2020

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 221

This novel is Self-Published

Converse via: #ChristmasReads, #ChristmasBooks

About Andrew J. Mair

Andrew Mair

Andrew J. Mair is a Texas-based, Utah born, personal blogger and writer of fiction. He participates in several podcasts as a social media manager and contributor, most notably, the Utah based show, in podcast form, The Cultural Hall. 

His first book, Tales of a Paperboy – A Christmas Story, was released on August 17, 2020.

Andrew writes several personal blogs, including one entirely dedicated to Christmas. During December for many years, Andrew posts every day from December 1st to Christmas Eve about a range of holiday topics ranging from Christmas Carols and Angels and Shepherds also Santa Claus.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #blogmas 2024
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Posted Sunday, 9 February, 2025 by jorielov in #blogmas, 21st Century, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Family Drama, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Modern Day, Small Towne Fiction, Small Towne USA

Happy #blogmas! A #RomanceTuesdays Book Review | “The Doctor’s Christmas Dilemma” by Danielle Thorne

Posted Tuesday, 17 December, 2024 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

#blogmas book review banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: In (2020) Ms Thorne contacted me about her first Love Inspired novel (“His Daughter’s Prayer”) of which I reviewed and hosted her during @SatBookChat. Fast forward to 2022 and I caught a notice about her review team which led me to asking her about joining the team. I was delighted to receive her second release with Love Inspired as I had fondly remembered the joy I had in reading her debut with the publisher. I was grateful I could join her review team knowing how much I love her writing instincts for telling Contemporary INSPY Romantic stories as much as the fact I love reading stories by this publisher for Romantic Suspense.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Doctor’s Christmas Dilemma” direct from the author Danielle Thorne in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. Per the badge at the end of this review, I am also a member of the author’s Review Team. All promo materials for this novel were provided by the author herself and are used with permission.

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On the joy of reading Love Inspired by Ms Thorne:

I truly loved how she developed the character of Ali – a woman who was self-determined to make it on her own terms and to develop a small farm that not only could sustain itself but have enough profit for its owner. I love that about having land where the land itself can produce what you need and even more which can be shared with your community. Farming in all varieties on the local level is where the future is because they have the tendency to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly with lower impacts on the natural environs around them. It was refreshing to see all of this explored and celebrated throughout my readings of The Beekeeper Next Door.

In this novel, I saw the growth of Thorne’s writing style as she interwove more of the faith-based antidotes and references into the storyline. She also found a better balance in how she told the story – by letting the characters take us on a fuller journey without resolving some aspects of that journey for us as readers. She wasn’t telling us but allowing us to see those moments of growth as her characters started to expand their hearts and minds in front of us. I even appreciated how she showed how they each had to process the passage of the past with the newer truths they uncovered in the present. Life is hard enough but overcoming loss (ie. death of a parent or a spouse, as this story focuses on both) is a personal journey of its own and not one that is easily navigable. It takes time and it takes patience, and it takes a lot of faith and prayer to overcome to where living doesn’t feel oppressively hard. Lose is part of all our lives but it is one of the harder moments to reconcile especially when it comes to our emotions and memories – and Thorne did a great job of showing that side of it too, as she focused on Ali and Heath’s path towards self-healing.

-quoted from my book review of The Beekeeper Next Door

I have have been happily reading the stories by Ms Thorne for the last four years – as it all started when I read her Jane Austen inspired novel Josette. From there, I followed her into her publishing career at Love Inspired. Becoming a member of her Review Team has been an honour and a joy to see her personal growth as a writer but also, to tuck close into the lives of the characters’ she’s been bringing to life. I love the gentle storytelling styling of hers but also, the convicting characters who have such realistic lives who have relatable obstacles to work through and endearing romances to rally behind.

Each story is a bit of a treasure to read because of the heart and soul knitted into the framework of the stories themselves. For readers who already appreciate INSPY Fiction, they will be won over by Thorne’s style of narrative but also, the homespun small towne settings wherein you feel an immediate part of the local communities she’s built into her novels. I love the uplift of spirit reading her stories, too. The stories are inspiring and give your heart a lift of joy to read them.

For these reasons, I am a reader who is full of appreciation for having crossed her path and am happy I can continue to celebrate her stories and be a book cheerleader for her as we embark on a New Year of stories and characters throughout 2025.

Speaking of which, the new novel forthcoming next Spring, 2025 is about a baker! As mentioned during my last Sunday Post, baking is an art and skill of interest of my own! In fact, I’ve determined to make the New Year one of exploring baking more and of sorting out how to keep a sourdough starter inasmuch as I want to perfect baking bread and other homemade goodies with a keen interest in making them healthier and less sweet but not with an absence of sweet but using better ingredients than regular sugars, etc.

Thereby, I am most intrigued by reading a story set in or around a bakery – I was also keenly curious, is the baker the girl or the bloke? I oft wondered if anyone might make the baker the bloke rather than the girl as there are a lot of guys who love baking as much as girls’ too. Whichever route the story takes, I’m dearly intrigued and ready!

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Books by Danielle Thorne photo collage created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: jorielovesastory.com

The Doctor's Christmas Dilemma
Subtitle: Coming home is just the beginning...
by Danielle Thorne
Source: Author Review Team

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Sweet Romance, Contemporary Romance



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781335597014

Also by this author: Josette, His Daughter's Prayer

Published by Love INSPIRED

on 24th October, 2023

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Pages: 217

Published by: Love Inspired (@LoveInspiredBks)
an imprint of Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)
which is now an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing (@HarperCollins)

Note on Formats: Happily, Love Inspired novels have the same kind of flexibility as Harlequin Heartwarming wherein you can receive these print copies in Regular Print, Larger Print or True Large Print for those who are vision impaired and/or have low vision. I personally love the Larger Print editions for Harlequin Heartwarming, Love Inspired Contemporary Romance & Love Inspired Suspense as it is much kinder on eyes of a migraineur! Generally, I receive Larger Print copies of Love Inspired and/or Harlequin Heartwarming novels – however, I do on occasion receive Regular Print which I can’t read whilst in the throes of a migraine or shortly after one but when I’m migraine-free I can soak back inside them; hence why having different sized fonts available is a lovely gesture by the publisher for readers like me.

Converse via: #SweetRomance, #SweetRomanceReads or #SweetRomanceBooks

and #LoveInspiredBooks as well as #ChristFic, #ChristianFiction, #ContemporaryRomance,
#INSPYRomance or #ChristianFictionBooks on #bookstagram

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More Inspy Romantic stories by Danielle Throne:

His Daughter's Prayer by Danielle ThorneA Promise for His Daughter by Danielle ThorneA Home for the Twins by Danielle Thorne

Books by Danielle Thorne photo collage created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: jorielovesastory.comA Guardian Till Christmas by Danielle Throne

His Daughter’s Prayer (2020) | see also Review

Falling for the Coach (2022)

A Promise for His Daughter (2022) | see also Review
*This is the start of Kudzu Creek series

A Home for the Twins (2023) | see also Review
*The second story of Kudzu Creek series

The Doctor’s Christmas Dilemma (2023)
*The third story of Kudzu Creek series

The Beekeeper Next Door (2024) | see also Review
*This is the start of the Lagrasse series

A Guardian Until Christmas (NEW release: October, 2024)
*The second story of the Legrasse series

Winning Over the Baker (*forthcoming: April, 2025)

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About Danielle Thorne

Danielle Thorne

Danielle Thorne writes from south of Atlanta, Georgia. She is the author of over fifteen historical and contemporary sweet romances. A graduate of BYU-Idaho, she has also published young adult non-fiction and worn an editor's cap. Her new release is a 2020 historical series set in the United States and follows the period of the American Revolution. Her first book with Harlequin's Love Inspired line will be out this summer.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #blogmas 2024
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Posted Tuesday, 17 December, 2024 by jorielov in #blogmas, #RomanceTuesdays, 21st Century, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Family Drama, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Modern Day, Motherhood | Parenthood, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Single Fathers, Small Towne Fiction, Small Towne USA, Southeastern USA

A #Blogmas Retrospective | On all the lovely #ChristmasRomances I’ve showcased this December!

Posted Wednesday, 23 December, 2020 by jorielov 3 Comments

#blogmas badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

You might be dearly curious about my #blogmas rollout this year – as I admit, I originally had ideas of a more *predictaable hour* of revelation for these lovelies! My blog apparently has had a more unique approach to how these spotlighted posts with featured extracts arrived into my blog’s archive and for that, I hope you’ve at least enjoyed them once they blinked onto your feeds via email and/or WP Reader!

→ And, for those of you who are hitting the like button to alert me of your presence on my blog – bless you!! I cherish those clicks as I do not always receive notes under my posts. It is lovely to see a wink and a nod from my regular readers,.. likewise I hope to be doing more of that kind of activity myself in the New Year.

I presume most of you are enjoying my posts by those sources as much as being routed here on Jorie Loves A Story courtesy of my updates in the twitterverse! As this is what I’ve been surmising throughout December as I watch which way my blog posts are being clicked upon out in the wider scheme of the net. I find those stats a bit interesting to gain a small insight into how people find my blog – especially during my Decembers wherein I turn a bit more showcasey in what I present rather than full-on reviews filtering through the month.

Though to be frank, my reviews have been a bit delayed this year from alighting as I’ve had readerly fatigue for most of 2020 and almost complete readerly burnt out for the rest of it. It wasn’t even any one specific moment though I know it began in the hours waning out of 2019 & into 2020 – as the close of the former year into the new one last New Year’s week was a muddling nightmare for world events (ie. wildfires, wildlife loss, earthquakes and other disasters and all of *that!* predated the pandemic,..) which was soul wrecking in of its own right. Ergo, my yearly reads were built on a shaky start to 2020.

As the months stacked onto each other, I found myself withdrawing from reading – from my backlogue of reviews and from the blog tour reads I desired to be focusing on most. Not to mention how clogged I am in non-completed reads for @SatBookChat featured guests! :O It is quite shocking and I have had to deal with that guilt as well though part of me gives me credit for hosting the chats & organising the discussions for those authors without cancelling the chats themselves. Save one or two due to health and/or a no show for an author whom I still hope to reschedule in Winter 2021.

With all of *that!* weighing on a girl’s mind, I happily dove into an abridged schedule for the #FantasyForChristmas blog tour whilst trying to keep on schedule for the showcases I wanted to feature for the secondary blog tour this December which is the Sweet Romance for Christmas. During which I concluded my abridged foray into #SciFiMonth is going to remain shelved and blogged right where it was the first week of December. Again, readerly fatigue is real. I’ll update about those final reads for #SciFiMonth in a forthcoming yearly recap post lateron this December right before 2021 winks into starsight.

These final showcases for Prism Book Tours tucking me into featuring lovely #newtomeauthors alongside newly discovered authors has been a delight of joy as it gave me a further chance to blog some Christmassy themed journalling – you’ll have to backtrack through the Fantasy & Romance blog tours to see everything in all its glory this year – as each post was left with a different mind map of thoughts which spilt into the top anchour of those featured posts in both events! Some were more Christmas minded than others, some were happily referencing IRL binge watches of tv series or Christmas films and others, were notes from yours truly about the story, the author or what I hoped to reveal in connection to the featured book of the hour. In essence, I tried to remain mindful of the spirit of #blogmas whilst hosting both tours back to back on Jorie Loves A Story.

For those of you who were (or still are) in final preps for Christmas and Christmas weekend – this recapturing of the posts themselves will give you a keen overview of the stories I most desire to read throughout 2021 as much as a snapshot of why these stories caught my readerly eye this #blogmas 2020! You can easily click-over to my posts and/or you can happily search for these authors and their stories on your ownsome if one (or more hopefully!) winks its nod of curiosity into your own readerly heart.

And, without further adieu, let’s see which stories on this lovely romantic tour gave me a boost of bookish joy to host during the Sweet Romance for Christmas blog tour of 2020:

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Posted Wednesday, 23 December, 2020 by jorielov in #blogmas, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Prism Book Tours

#Blogmas | feat. #HarlequinHeartwarming | “Christmas on the Ranch” (Hearts of Big Sky, Book Two) by Julianna Morris

Posted Wednesday, 23 December, 2020 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

#blogmas badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

As you know, I love a wicked good Harlequin Heartwarming novel – as this has seriously become one of my top favourite imprints by a publisher and the second one I love from Harlequin – Love Inspired Suspense being the second one! When it comes to Harlequin Heartwarming, I have to credit Tressa who runs Prism Book Tours who inspired me to ‘take a chance’ on Heartwarming and it became a wicked sweet match for me as a reader! Most of the Heartwarming authors I am discovering come from hosting blog tours and/or review tours with Prism during the course of the year and it has been this way since 2017. Though uniquely I had forgotten I read and reviewed my first Heartwarming novel in 2014 – which was within the first year of being a book blogger! I’ve always felt it was Tressa who nudged me into reading Heartwarming – and in many regards, that’s still true – because with her nudge to read more Heartwarming, I am unsure if I would have remembered the imprint!

I clearly have a longer history with Heartwarming than I tend to realise – more uniquely, the first novel I read was by Karen Rock – of whom has written my one of my favourite Western Cowboy Romance series (the Rocky Mountain Cowboys) and yet, my first experience with Heartwarming was with a different novel altogether as there were no cowboys in sight!

The main reason I think I overlook the first Heartwarming novel I read is because at the time I read it, I was still quite new to understanding the imprints at Harlequin and still sorting out which of Harlequin’s novels might interest me to start reading. I know Love Inspired was in my life prior to Heartwarming and that might be another reason I overlooked the imprint as well – thereby, I still stand by my previous declarations that without Tressa I might have missed out on reading all these dearly lovely stories and series! Plus, I would have missed hosting the #BlackwellSisters focused chat with all 5x of the lovely authors in November, 2020 as well!

I am truly thankful I crossed paths with Ms Morris on Twitter during one of the #SweetChristmasChat’s hosted by Vivian Conroy – as Ms Conroy was putting authors & readers together to chat Christmas and to help celebrate the season together this year. I missed a few of the chats, and even came a bit late to one of the ones I enjoyed the most. However, Ms Conroy loves hosting chats as much as I do – she has a unique way of using themes for her chats whereas I strictly host @SatBookChat quite consistently. The main chat she hosts during the year is #HistFicChat which unites the Historical Fiction world of authors & stories with those of us who love devouring the genre!

When it comes to Christmas Romances and serial fiction – I am an avid reader of both – as I like series which have a Christmas story within their sequencing of stories as much as I love reading Christmas stories in general. Knowing how much my heart swoons in glee whenever I find a Western Rom or a Cowboy centred story – this latest release by Morris held my eye at “Hallo!”

Especially perhaps even moreso because the lead character wants to be a wildlife photographer – which is something I can personally relate to as I’m a self-taught nature and wildlife photographer IRL – being out in natural habitats and finding a way to capture what I am finding is truly a gift of joy. Being so close to the natural world and respecting their habitats and their right of way to live and be free is also a blessing because I never want to intrude on their lives but rather capture a moment of their life from a reasonable distance wherein we’re both respectfully safe from each other. There is a stillness within you as a photographer as you go to take a photo of a wild animal – you almost get caught inside the moment of living that connection to the animal before you realise you need to focus on the shot at hand. I love it personally – the creativeness of it and of the direct connections you feel within the natural world itself as you photograph what you observe.

I must admit, the fact this is a second chance romance sealed the fate I need to seek out these stories in the New Year because more than other types of Romances, I have a personal penchant for ‘second chances, new beginnings and the start of something new’ kind of stories!! I believe its because of all the hope which lives in the pages of the budding new romance and the joy in knowing people have found the ones they’re meant to be with after a long journey towards finding them whilst caught up in the art of living their lives.

I wanted to offer to showcase this series during my #blogmas showcases this year as I had such a wicked fun time during the chat when I had the chance to interact with Ms Morris. I wanted her series to receive a bit of a boost of blogger love this Christmas as much as celebrating the fact I found a new voice within Heartwarming to read in the New Year. I hope you’ve been enjoying my focused features this #blogmas – for both Romances and Fantasy – as it truly has been a lot of fun assembling the posts and trying to insert a bit of IRL Christmassy tidbits to go along with them!

Curiously – If you’re a reader of Harlequin Heartwarming OR any of the lovely imprints from Harlequin Books – what do you love most about the stories of Romance Harlequin is publishing? What drew you into one of their imprints and what has kept you hooked into reading more!?

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Christmas on the Ranch by Julianna Morris

Can the warmth of Christmas melt his frozen heart?

Alaina Wright is finally following her dream of becoming a wildlife photographer. And Gideon Carmichael’s Montana ranch on the edge of Yellowstone is the perfect home base. After losing the love of her life two years earlier, Alaina isn’t looking for romance. But there’s something about the gruff, wounded rancher that makes her wonder…could they both get a second chance at happily-ever-after this Christmas?

Add to LibraryThing | ISBN: 978-1-335-89000-9

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Hearts of Big Sky series:

Twins for the Rodeo Star by Julianna MorrisChristmas at the Ranch by Julianna Morris

Twins for the Rodeo Star (book one)

From rodeo star to daddy…twice over!

Every cowboy makes mistakes, and champion bull rider Josh McKeon is no exception. But gorgeous Montana rancher Kelly Beaumont isn’t quite ready to forgive Josh for breaking her heart. Especially when she’s been hiding a secret—he’s the father of her twin boys! Now this rodeo star has one last chance to convince Kelly that they belong together…as a family. Only this time, he’s not letting go…

Christmas on the Ranch (book two)

The Man from Montana(book three)
← forthcoming release, JUNE 2021!

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Converse via: #HarlequinHeartwarming + #ContemporaryRomance
as well #WesternRomance and/or #CowboyRomance

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Posted Wednesday, 23 December, 2020 by jorielov in #blogmas, Book Spotlight, Romance Fiction

#Blogmas | feat. #CleanRomanceForChristmas showcases | “Sweet Yuletide” (Indigo Bay Christmas Romances, Book Four) by Melissa McClone

Posted Monday, 21 December, 2020 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

#blogmas badge created by Jorie in Canva.

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?

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Melissa McClone's book photo provided by Prism Book Tours and is used with permission.

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

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Indigo Bay Christmas Romances:

Indigo Bay Christmas Romances series by Melissa McClone collage provided by Prism Book Tours and is used with permission.

Sweet Tidings (book one)

Sweet Noel (book two)

Sweet Joymaker (book three)

Sweet Yuletide (book four)

Sweet Mistletoe (book five)

Sweet Carol (book six)

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Converse via: #CleanRomanceForChristmas and/or #ContemporaryRomance
as well #SweetRomance and/or #CleanRomance or #CleanReads

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Posted Monday, 21 December, 2020 by jorielov in #blogmas, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight, Indie Author, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction