these buzzy December books will make you feel as warm and fuzzy as a mug of hot chocolate.
Steele by Sawyer Bennett
A second chance may be just what James Steele needs…
I might be one of the older players on the Arizona Vengeance, but I like to think that also makes me one of the wisest. Or at least I used to.
Turns out, I’ve been a bit selfish. I’ve been married to hockey and my team for years, which hasn’t left much time for my actual wife, Ella. Now I’m juggling a separation I never wanted, the pressure of being a single dad to our teenage daughter, and the career I sacrificed it all for.
While my game on the ice might be on fire, the game in my personal life is clearly lacking, as evidenced by the fact I just saw my wife on a date with another man. If I have any hope of saving the family I love, I need to re-prioritize, and fast. So it’s time for me to get back to fundamentals, just like I did when I learned how to play hockey. I’ve never backed down from a challenge, and romancing my wife is a challenge I am very much looking forward to.
Time to put on my game face, because I’m in it to win it.
This is an interesting plot as our hero James Steele is doing everything he can to win BACK his wife. It illustrates that relationships take work and nurturing. Seeing an already established couple work to get back to their HEA was heartwarming. James pulled out all the stops. Not only does he have to win his wife back, but his teenage daughter as well. This a great holiday read that provides many, many sweet loving moments. This is a standalone novel in the Arizona Vengeance series that can be read alone.
How to Catch Queen by Alyssa Cole
An arranged marriage leads to unexpected desire, in the first book of Alyssa Cole’s
Runaway Royals series…
When Shanti Mohapi weds the king of Njaza, her dream of becoming a queen finally comes true. But it’s nothing like she imagined. Shanti and her husband may share an immediate and powerful attraction, but her subjects see her as an outsider, and everything she was taught about being the perfect wife goes disastrously wrong.
A king must rule with an iron fist, and newly crowned King Sanyu was born perfectly fitted for the gauntlet, even if he wishes he weren’t. He agrees to take a wife as is required of him, though he doesn’t expect to actually fall in love. Even more vexing? His beguiling new queen seems to have the answers to his country’s problems—except no one will listen to her.
By day, they lead separate lives. By night, she wears the crown, and he bows to her demands in matters of politics and passion. When turmoil erupts in their kingdom and their marriage, Shanti goes on the run, and Sanyu must learn whether he has what it takes both to lead his people and to catch his queen.
This is a marriage of convenience story mixed with some Royal issues. Sanyu was forced to take a wife and he had no idea what that was going to entail. Shanti has many ideas to help the kingdom and she is not going to stop until someone listens. Even if the King thinks little of her, Shanti is a heroine made of strong stuff and will not back down until he sees reason. With so much sexual tension in the air, it’s of little surprise that this marriage of convenience becomes much much more.
Loverboy by Sarina Bowen
Secrets, desires, and exquisite pie. It’s all in a day’s work at The Company.
Growing up, I was the rough guy from the wrong neighborhood who couldn’t catch a break. Posy was the pampered girl I tried to impress. But I managed to steal only a single kiss before I had to skip town.
Now I’m back, and the tables are turned. Posy runs a struggling pie shop. I’m the VP of a secretive billion dollar security company.
Not that I can tell her.
There’s a murderer on the loose in New York, and he seems to spend a lot of time at Posy’s shop. I can’t let on that I’m here to bring him down before he can harm a hair on her pretty head.
Going undercover as Posy’s new barista wasn’t my idea. I don’t even drink coffee. But now I have to call her “boss,” and do everything the curvy perfectionist asks of me. I’d forgotten how much we infuriate each other, and that she somehow fills me with both irritation and desire in the same breath.
There’s nobody more skilled at stealth ops than me. I can bring this killer down. Right after I take a cold shower. And just as soon as I figure out how to make a skinny peppermint latte with milk poured in the shape of a kitten…
This is the second standalone in the series and it is quickly becoming my favorite of Bowen’s. This series has multiple threads going through the plot. Of course, the romance is at the forefront however, the other mysteries that were floating around in Loverboy were so intriguing! I loved the chemistry between the two MC’s Posy and Gunner. They were previous frenemies with a whole lot of tension. Cut to many years down the line and they’re reunited under tense circumstances. As the story unfolds, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it all plays out while also LOLing with Gunnar’s antics.
Dream Chaser by Kristen Ashley
Ryn Jansen has no interest in taking a risk on Boone Sadler. Thanks to a long list of men who’ve done nothing but let her down, Ryn vows to stay far away from the caring, protective commando. And when Boone confronts Ryn with evidence that her loved ones are conning her, Ryn is less than thrilled — with her family and Boone. But even as Boone proves he’s the kind of guy to meet her every need, she doesn’t trust him to stay when life gets hard . . .
Boone Sadler’s never been one to back down from a challenge. He’s determined to show the funny, sexy Ryn that the irresistible connection between them is worth exploring. But caring for Ryn’s heart and body becomes a matter of life and death when Ryn’s beloved niece and nephew are put in danger and dirty cops begin gunning for Ryn. Soon Boone realizes their romance is in danger of more than heartbreak — and to have any future together, they’ll have to put their trust in each other.
In the second in the Dream Team series, we finally get Ryn and Boone’s story. Ryn is a dancer at Smithie’s and is saving up money to cash her secondary project of flipping homes. However, life keeps getting in the way and by that I mean her family. While these stories have an overarching theme of trying to figure out why the girls keep getting caught in all sorts of crime family issues. Thus Boone and Ryn finally get their chance at love. Ryn hasn’t had the best male experiences in her lifetime and when met with all the alphaness that is Boone, she froze. As Boone and Ryn develop their hot chemistry, they realize they follow the same type of lifestyle, including the Dom and Sub life. This delves into very erotic moments and adds another layer to their story. I loved going back to the Dream team and even seeing some of the Rock Chicks. This series is like coming home and I can’t wait to see who is next.
What book are you finishing this year with?
