Left alone in the world after losing her parents, Cora Lee Schuster travels across the country to the newly-established town of Holiday, Oregon, to become a mail-order bride. She arrives in town to be greeted by her future father-in-law with her betrothed nowhere to be found. When it becomes obvious her reluctant groom-to-be has no intention of showing up at the family ranch where she’s staying, Cora Lee must decide if she’ll follow her head or heart.
Jace Coleman has loved trains since the first time he rode on one as a boy. Now, he spends his days as an engineer driving the Holiday Express line on a new engine named Hope. When a mail-order bride turns up at his father’s ranch to wed his brother, Jace has an idea his meddling father has tried his hand at matchmaking. The longer Cora Lee stays at the ranch, the harder Jace works to keep from falling for his brother’s intended bride.
Will Jace and Cora Lee discover the gift of hope? Find out in this sweet holiday romance full of memorable characters, warmth, and Christmas cheer.
On silent feet, Jace moved across the kitchen. A lamp on the table cast an amber glow around the room, illuminating his father as he snuck a piece of apple pie from beneath the towel where Mae had left it on the counter after supper.
“I thought I’d be able to catch you in here.” Jace spoke quietly as he stepped near his dad.
Grant spun around so fast, the slice of apple pie he’d just set on his plate slid to the edge and would have plopped to the floor if Jace hadn’t caught it. He nudged it back on the plate, licked the juice from his finger, then helped himself to a slice while his father glowered at him.
He filled two glasses with milk and set them on the table, then carried over his dish of pie before taking a seat next to his dad.
“What are you doing sneaking around at night?” Grant asked, waving his fork at him. “You could cause a body to have a fit of apoplexy or their heart to plumb stop with such tomfoolery.”
“I wasn’t the one digging into Aunt Mae’s pie.” Jace smirked at his dad. “Besides, we all know you can’t help yourself when it comes to apple pie or chocolate cake. As quick as you think everyone is asleep, you sneak into the kitchen and steal a piece or three.”
“I’ve never eaten three pieces,” Grant blustered, then lowered his voice. “But you did catch me. Mae probably knew I’d get up to snitch a slice, which is why she made an extra pie in the first place. What are you doing up? And don’t tell me it was a craving for pie.”
“It is good pie, Pops.” Jace licked the juice from his fork. “As for why I’m up, I want to hear the truth about why that poor girl is here, thinking Jude will marry her.”
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: Mate for the Howlidays Author: Jessica Coulter Smith Genre: Paranormal Christmas Romance
Dex and Dane couldn’t be more different. One is motorcycle boots, leather, and all things wild. The other is a cowboy hat wearing sweetheart who owns the local bar. And Kizzie is the lucky lady who gets to keep them both!
When she moved back to Wolf Hollow, she only wanted a fresh start. Not once did she ever imagine she’d up being mated to two wolves, and just in time for the holidays!
She smiled wistfully. “That it must be great to have someone love you so much they want to spend the rest of their lives with you. I’ve never had a relationship last past a few weeks. I can’t imagine finding someone who would want me around forever.”
He watched her silently for a moment before hooking an arm around her waist and hauling her up against his body. “Angel, anyone would be lucky to have a woman like you. We might have just met, but I can tell you have class and style, and you seem sweet.”
The champagne glass in her hand fell to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Suddenly, she couldn’t think of anything she wanted more than to taste his lips on hers. When his head lowered, she went up on tiptoe to meet him halfway. Their lips met, pressing together, then his moved against hers in a gentle caress. Her tongue swept over his lower lip and he opened, deepening the kiss. Her fingers toyed with the ends of his hair as his tongue slid along the length of hers. Kizzie felt lightheaded and clung to him tighter. She heard the clink of a bottle hitting the ground, then his hands caressed her waist, stroking up her back until one hand cupped the back of her head. She’d never felt so on fire before.
Award-winning author Jessica Coulter Smith has been in love with the written word since she was a child writing her first stories in crayon. If Jessica isn’t writing, then she’s like reading. Her favorite books are romances, but she also enjoys the occasional mystery or general fiction book. Romance is an integral part of her world and she firmly believes that love will find you at the right time, even if Mr. Right is literally out of this world.
You can also follow her blog, Books + Coffee = Happiness, to learn about new releases and discover new authors! http://bookscoffeehappiness.com
Title: Heart of Gold Author: Quinn Coleridge Genre: Contemporary Romance
Workaholic attorney Simon Phillips negotiates multi-million dollar deals in the tech world, but he’s secretly falling apart. With an ulcer, insomnia, and a growing dependence on alcohol, Simon conceals his dark side from the other partners at his firm, until the day he wakes up on a bathroom floor in his good Tom Ford suit, smelling of Jose Cuervo. Simon barely remembers his intoxicated rant from the night before, but it lands him with a forced leave of absence and two months of community service.
After choosing to perform his service at an obscure nonprofit medical clinic, Simon meets Dr. Kate Spencer. A dedicated physician and widow at twenty-eight, Kate knows how painful love can be, and she doesn’t trust workaholic lawyers. Especially ones with cool blue eyes and a history of breaking hearts.
Yet a rocky friendship develops between these two world-weary souls, and when dangers from Kate’s past emerge, somehow Simon is the one standing at her side.
Can love help them heal? Or will they miss their chance at happiness?
His thought pattern shut down when they made eye contact. He forgot everything. Anxiety. His job. How to breathe.
She stood in the sad, run-down office, exuding vitality and strength. Her face reminded Simon of a fine painting, one filled with sunlight and smooth, pleasing lines. And pale gold everywhere, on skin, lashes, and hair.
Mermaid eyes, Simon thought. Sea-green.
Beth coughed loudly. “I don’t think we’ve seen you around here before, have we?”
“No. No, you haven’t. I’m Simon,” he replied, tearing his attention away from the other woman.
“Well, hello. My name’s Beth.” She gestured toward the golden goddess. “And this is Dr. Kate Spencer.”
Kate took a step toward Simon. “Why are you here?”
He definitely felt a chill in her tone. Is she frowning at me? And what’s with the attitude? Simon decided to give her another chance and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Spencer.”
Looking as if his hand was infected with any number of contagions, Kate folded her arms. “We’ve met before. Quite a few times.”
Met before? She had to be mistaken. He would have remembered her. “Forgive me but when was this?”
Beth gave Kate a gentle elbow to the ribs. “Why are you being so rude?”
“It’s okay,” Simon replied. “She’s fine.”
He glanced at Beth and then returned his attention to Kate. If the doctor was ice before, now she burned. Her eyes nearly glowed with a fiery greenish-blue light, like a medieval heretic facing her corrupt accusers. Kate had a temper and it was fully directed at Simon. For some perverse reason this made him want to smile.
Instead, he pointed out the obvious. “I get the feeling you don’t like me much, doctor.”
“That’s a safe assumption.”
Beth began to apologize but Simon ignored her. He knew how to handle angry women. Usually they were girlfriends, who moaned about his schedule or lack of commitment, not strangers. “Why is that, exactly?”
Mermaid eyes glittering, Kate said, “This is the fifth time our paths have crossed. Each meeting worse than the one before, I might add. And you still don’t remember me.”
Call him a jackass, a playboy, or a bastard, but casting aspersions against Simon’s mind was an insult of the highest order. He bristled at the mere notion of his forgetting anyone he’d met once, let alone five times.
Quinn Coleridge grew up in the Pacific Northwest where she learned to love rain storms and reading by a crackling fire. She wrote often in a variety of genres, studied literature as an adult, and created a humor column for a small town paper. Since moving to the desert with her husband and kids, Quinn doesn’t use her fireplace much these days, but she still loves books.
