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Three Reasons You Should Read This Sweet Contemporary Romance:
The historical ranch in Rescuing Harmony Ranch by Jennie Marts is a beautiful setting, and has some great romantic moments.
The chemistry between Joss and Mack leaps off the page, and you can feel their long history in every interaction.
A cast of amazing side characters will bring the town to life, and their uniqueness only adds to the story of Joss and Mack, bringing it even more to life.
A bearded blacksmith and a marketing exec join forces…and sparks fly.
When Jocelyn’s grandmother calls her asking for help, she drops everything and heads back home to Harmony Creek, Colorado. Her grandmother runs a living history museum: a ranch and homestead where volunteers wear clothing from the early 1900s and demonstrate how things were done in the old West, from making soap to shearing sheep. The place is in financial trouble, and it needs the revenue from the annual festival to survive.
There’s just one thing that makes this a little awkward: Mack, who’s divorced, and who’s now the caretaker and blacksmith at the homestead. Jocelyn and Mack have their own shared history, which includes both stolen kisses and teenage rivalry.
Even as the past and present collide, they have to save Harmony Ranch. Matchmaking grannies, a meddling mutt, and a flood of fun festival activities might just be enough to overcome their differences and forge two broken hearts back together.
This heartwarming romance includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Turkey Sliders with Mac and Cheese.
Rescuing Harmony Ranch by Jennie Marts was a really sweet and fun second-chance romance. Joss and Mack were high school sweethearts, in love and perfect for each other, before Joss’ mom moved them both to the city – far away. When Joss returns to help her grandmother at the ranch, she finds Mack, a lot taller and lot more bearded, working on the ranch, and history floods back.
Their second romance was a slow build up. They both had some harsh feelings about the past to overcome, but their love for each other wouldn’t let that stand in the way. Along the way, they get to know each other again, and they remember what brought them together in the first place.
Harmony Ranch could be a character on its own. As a historical reenactment location, it lives in the past – before electricity and running water. Jennie Marts has a great way with setting a scene, I wish I could go to the pond, or have a picnic in the yard there. The characters surrounding her were larger than life and had some personalities that jumped off the page, but while they were incredible and memorable, they never outshone our couple. They do make me want to go back to visit and see what the town is up to though.
I hope Hallmark revisits this area. It was full of love, life, and charm.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
Title: An American in Paris Author: Siobhan Curham Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
As Nazi troops occupy the City of Lights, American journalist Florence is determined to do everything she can to save her adopted home and the man she loves.
Florence had arrived in Paris in 1937 and on a beautiful summer’s day, met and fell in love with Otto, a Jewish artist from Austria, who had fled persecution in his homeland. But as swastikas are draped along the city’s wide boulevards, everything Otto was running from seems to have caught up with him.
Both Florence and Otto begin lending their talents to the Resistance, working to sabotage the Germans right under their noses. Florence’s society columns that, before the war were filled with tales of glamorous Parisian parties, now document life under occupation and hide coded messages for those fighting outside France for freedom. While Otto risks arrest in order to pin up the anti-Nazi posters he designs by candlelight in their tiny apartment.
But with every passing day, things become more dangerous for Otto to remain in Paris. If Florence risks everything by accepting a secret mission, can she ensure his survival so that they can be reunited once the war is over?
Sage, an online influencer, has just ruined her so-called career. And while she’ll miss the money, she doesn’t really seem to care much. Well, the death threats and horrible comments on her social media are welcome to stop at any time.
But there’s a bright side to the debacle in a message from an American that says he may be connected to her past – and he has proof. So Sage takes off to discover her history, and along the way may just find out what she needs to know about herself as well.
Told in a dual POV between Sage (present-day) and Florence (WWII before and during the occupation of Paris), present an interesting story woven together by great love and great tragedy. The story of Frances and Otto is full of excitement, love, loss, and finding out what you are really capable of.
Frances’ and Otto’s story really seemed to take over the book. I think it would have been nice to see a little more from Sage in the present day. But we mostly just stop by to see how she is doing once in a while. The tragic romance of Florence and Otto is more than enough to make the book shine though. At times it just seemed like Sage was there because the author wanted this to be dual POV, and she didn’t really know what to do with her.
Florence led an extremely interesting and eventful life in Paris. Starting as a dance and ending up as an agent of the Britsh in France. Her journey from a fun-loving gal to a highly-skilled operative was all in the search for Otto their love. It was really amazing to see how strong their feelings were. And their dedication to each other was beautiful.
I don’t think I’ll ever look at a tree outside a window without crying and thinking of this couple. And if you read An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham, I don’t think you will be able to either.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person’s darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude…until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world’s most infamous vampire…
He’s the Prince of Night…
Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don’t call him Dracula. Vlad’s ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.
Vampires are real, and one just happens to be a little person in an acrobatic act for the circus. His partner is Leila, an unusual woman, but completely human. She can read people when she touches them and has the power of electricity in her touch. While her electrical ability sounds really cool, it means she can’t touch anyone without potentially killing them (hence the vampire acrobatic partner – he won’t die). But it’s the reading of people that gets her noticed.
A kidnapping, a rescue, some threats, and a long trip overseas finds her in the amazingly extravagant home of Vlad Tepesh – yes, THE Vlad Tepesh. He is determined to use Leila to find whoever is out to hunt him down, and also prevent them from using her to do the same to him. But first, they need to figure out who the bad guy is.
Vlad is a mercurial sort of vampire. He hides his heart from the world and refuses to let himself love anyone. But Leila intrigues him, and he soon finds that it might just be worth it to open himself up again. Leila challenges him on multiple emotional levels and never backs down from him – something that is usually a very dangerous thing to do.
Leila, and her friend Marty, made Once Burned for me. They are all the friendship goals in the world, and he better not die or I will be really upset. Vlad was fun, but also a bit of the vampire cliche – tall, dark, handsome, brooding, moody, violent. It didn’t seem like anything really new.
I’m excited to read the next book in the Night Prince series. I think there’s a lot of adventure and romance in store for Vlad and Leila, and I can’t wait to see how the battle plays out.
