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!?
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
Hearts of Big Sky series:
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!
Converse via: #HarlequinHeartwarming + #ContemporaryRomance
as well #WesternRomance and/or #CowboyRomance
