Will a whirlwind winter romance result in a forever love?
After a Christmas Eve catastrophe that left her heart encased in ice, Sierra Goodwin detests anything to do with winter and the holiday season. To take her mind off her troubles, her best friend talks her into a weekend spa getaway to a town she’s never heard of. Her bestie’s boyfriend tags along like a bumpy third wheel, and things go from bad to worse when they arrive in town to find a winter fest in full swing. Then Sierra runs into a handsome stranger, a man everyone calls Mr. Snowman, and discovers her heart might not be a frozen fortress after all.
Kylan Snow loves his life, his Christmas tree farm, and the town of Pinehill where he was raised. There’s nothing he enjoys more than a beautiful winter afternoon spent outside in the crisp, fresh air, or time spent with friends and family. When he unexpectedly encounters a dimple-cheeked woman in need of a little hope, he has no idea one weekend with her with completely alter his world.
Will their winter wishes for a forever sweetheart come true? Find out in this sweet romance brimming with laughter, snowmen, small-town charm, and love.
Sierra forced a smile, grabbed Jenn’s hand, and headed toward the door. “I’m starving. I think a big breakfast is in order. We’ll work it all off shopping.”
“Now you’re talking.” Jenn grinned as she grabbed her wallet and room key, and then the two of them stepped into the hall.
They both stopped at the sight of a man wearing a top hat and black tuxedo jacket with tails carrying a potted Christmas tree as he stepped off the elevator. He held a large gold gift bag decorated with white snowflakes in his other hand. When he looked at them, Sierra sucked in a gasp of surprise. The handsome guy looked exactly like the cowboy she’d met last night.
“Sierra?” he asked, his smile broadening as he walked over to them. “And Jenn. Hey! Fancy meeting you girls here.”
Jenn remained mute as she looked from Ky to Sierra, as though she struggled to make sense of their acquaintance.
Sierra wondered how Ky knew her friend’s name but couldn’t keep from grinning at him. “Good morning, Ky. What are you doing dressed like that, carrying a Christmas tree?”
“It’s a service I provide mostly during the holidays, but it extends through this weekend. I grow Christmas trees. Some hotel guests like to have a Christmas tree in their room, so I deliver them for a fee. They can choose between a live one in a custom-crafted wine barrel planter or a fresh-cut tree in one of my specialty stands. I provide lights and ornaments. They have options of elegant, whimsical, or traditional decorations.”
“That’s really neat,” Sierra said, thinking Kylan Snow looked even better in the broad light of day than he had last night. The tails and top hat sure didn’t hurt any either. He really was a handsome man, one with a warm smile and gray eyes that twinkled with mirth and life. “Might I assume you are making a delivery that veers on the elegant side?”
“Yep. For a traditional tree, I dress like a lumberjack, complete with a red and black buffalo plaid shirt. Whimsical, I put on elf shoes and a hat with pointy ears.”
“No way. That’s the one I’d choose just to see you wear that, Ky,” Jenn said, acting as though she and Ky were old friends. How was that possible when they’d only arrived in town last night?
USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes sweet romances rich with relatable characters, small town settings that feel like home, humor, and hope.
Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”
When this farm girl isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller. She also experiments with recipes, snaps photos of her adorable nephew, and caters to the whims of a cranky cat named Drooley.
Title: The Casandra Curse Author: Hope Bolinger Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
STRANGER THINGS X CURSED PRINCESS CLUB
Charity’s acts of kindness always end in disaster, but when one clown costume too many lands her in the Vice Principal’s office, she receives a mysterious note from a group called “The Cassandra Coalition,” asking her if she wants to be rid of the curse that seems to follow her.
The teens of the coalition claim to be cursed by a mirror world connected with their hometown known as Delphos. To make things worse, Delphos appears to be invading their world and turning people into zombies—either that, or someone switched all the coffee to decaf.
When one of their members goes missing, they’ll try to track her down, close the portal to their world, and find a way to end their curse, before the curse ends them.
Can I adopt this feisty unicorn of a grandma, please?
“That’s awful,” Io agreed as her grandmother placed the triangle on a half-done quilt and scooted back her chair. “It’s not even snowing that hard.”
Grandma grunted as she rose and reached for her cardigan draped on the chair. She threw it over her shoulders. Paused. “Io, dear, do you know what the opposite of love is?”
Io rubbed her bare fingertips on a navy triangle of fabric. She froze. No doubt, she’d had a hard time adjusting to the ‘no touching rule’. Charity thought back to their kitchen hug.
“That’s easy, Grandma. The opposite of love is hate.”
“No.”
Grandma raised a finger and jabbed it toward the ceiling. The white popcorn pattern had a few water stains that formed indiscernible shapes.
“The opposite of love isn’t hate. It’s apathy.” She squinted at Io and then the other two. “Not caring, indifference, whatever you want to call it. It makes you tired, lethargic, unaware of the pain of others. It can take a kind old woman and keep her at home, instead of helping to make a blanket for a family without a home.”
Remnants of the Big Sad surged back into Charity. Apathy, the word had a horrible touch of the familiar.
Is that what happened to me when Dad left?
Hadn’t the Big Sad clutched her back at the park? How the gray atmosphere had forced her eyelids near-shut and calves to trudge forward.
If she remembered right, the Big Sad acted fast and without mercy. What if the same thing was happening with the curse? Let’s hope Cassandra gets us another clue, and fast.
Hope Bolinger is literary agent, freelance author and editor, YA novelist, and obsessed with anything to do with theater.
Books include The Quiet and the Storm (Taylor University Press), Blaze (IlluminateYA), Den (IlluminateYA), Dear Hero (INtense Publications), and Dear Henchman (INtense Publications). She’s also contributed to books that were published by Broadstreet Publishing and New Hope.
When she isn’t busy adding to her 600+ bylines, or showing up in her town square dressed as Red Riding Hood, she loves to connect with readers. Find her at hopebolinger.com or connect with her @hopebolinger
