Loveland by Andrea Downing

Loveland delivers both an epic tale and a charming (and cute) love story. Andrea Downing breathed life into history, gifting us with more than a happily ever after story by incorporating both interesting facts and heartbreaking events.

Lady Alex is a whirlwind of spirit and life. Her journey was not an easy one, and that inner passion severed her well to survive each hit. I adored watching her live her life on the ranch and ached with her through her deepest struggles. Life with Lady Alex will never be boring.

Jesse Makepeace fell in love with Lady Alex as a child and it grew and morphed into something deeper and stronger and more adult as she grew from child to woman. He was a quiet, steady man, which was a good balance for loving a woman like Alex. Jesse has his moments where he shined and swept me off my feet. Then he had moments of male stubbornness that just made me wanna shake him. Haha.

I adored the family feel with all the cow punchers and how I was transported back in time and felt the story come to life around me.

If you're looking for an epic tale that will immerse you into the character's world and give you a hard earned happily ever after... Open this book and welcome in!

The Outlaw's Mail Order Bride by Linda Broday

Clay and Tally's story delivers an emotional, heart-rocking, and hard-won happily-ever-after!

From the first chapters, my heart twisted both good and bad with all their emotions!! So much pain and confusion accompanied by longing and desire from both of them just trying to figure out who they were, what they needed and wanted, how to get it, and how to let go. You experience Tally's intense struggle with figuring out how to trust Clay, a stranger who is now her husband. You can't help but be charmed by Clay's natural instincts to protect and provide for his new wife and daughter. My heart rejoiced with them as they finally were able to find and nurture a fragile trust-filled bond between them. Watching their connection continue to strengthen swept my heart into pitter-patters! Throw in a delightful little girl in Violet (seriously, you gotta love that little girl!), a beautifully loyal fur-baby in Bullet, and some beloved (cross over) characters, and you get some heartwarming smiles!

I loved the lessons taught in digging deeper beyond the surface of what you think you know in a person. Don't be so quick to judge or believe that there isn't some hidden story that can change how you perceive a person. You may be surprised to discover who all that statement applies to (including real life - not just in this book fiction-wise). Clay was one for me, because I think you first see him as a more gentle kinda guy and may wonder about the outlaw rough-and-tumble side of him—but hang on because when the poop hits the fan...... Clay is definitely someone you want at your back!

If you love stories with intense emotional connections, a splash of giggles, a handful of adventures, and a beautifully stirring love story, you need to dive into The Outlaw's Mail Order Bride.

Loose Ends by Kristen Ashley

Absolutely adored the short story with Joe and Vi -- the little peek into life "today" was perfect.

Deacon and Cassie's short story was the same way!

On my TBR list still is Stars Aligned.

Robyn: A Christmas Bride by Jacqui Nelson

Max and Robyn's Christmas love story delivers alot of sweet and charm.

From the first pages, you can feel Max and Robyn's love for each other - and for family. But you can also feel their struggle to figure out how exactly to express that love, and what's truly the best for the other. They truly are the perfect compliment to the other, loving the other as they come, not needing anything else. Watching them dance around the other, you can't help but cheer them on! And that moment when Max finally captures Robyn in his arms? *TOSSES CONFETTI*

Grandpa Gus and Robyn's brothers kept threatening to steal the show -- and I'm hoping from the sounds of things, we aren't going to be saying goodbye to this family quiet yet!! I loved getting to reconnect with Jack and Birdie as well.

This is a cute story that is a perfect little read for Christmas.

The Savior by Cristin Harber

Omgoodness y'all. Be prepared. The Savior will capture your heart, wring it empty of every little drop of emotion, then fill it to overflowing with breath-stealing goodness!

Liam and Chelsea's story start out with their world being shattered and learning how to keep living through intense grief. Their intense pain and struggle with healing from that loss mixed with conflict from work related situations that have some scary real-life-threatening consequences just seem like it's too much to deal with, and you find yourself holding your breath waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Liam rocked my world with how much he felt, how deeply he loved, how intensely and deliberately he lived life. Chelsea won me over with her compassion, realness, devotion, and her spirit. Together they find healing, trust, and a crazy fun and treasured love.

Throw in some spec ops missions, shocking revelations, frustrating word games, and a quirky cute lesson in romance and you have a high-charged action adventure along with a captivating love story. Oh, and you can't forget the Titan-esque moments that make you secretly giddy.

Hidden within the pages of this story are several nuggets of truth and tough love and grace. They translate perfectly from the story into the reader's head, settling there and showing the beauty behind the life lessons, and hopefully sinking deep to acceptance.

I was shaken by how viscerally I reacted to this story, soaking up all the emotions and feeling like I was living their journey with them. Words have a power to them, and if allowed, can embed and overflow -- which The Savior did for me.

So, basically -- get this book, buckle in, remember to breathe, turn the page and hang on for an intense ride. You won't regret it.

The Wishing Tree by Cheryl Pierson

Oh boy! This story gave me all the warm fuzzy feel goods of a Hallmark Christmas movie!! Maria and Pete lit up the pages with their sweet and their sparks. Add in a charming little boy and your heart can't help but melt!

We meet Pete at a tough moment in his life, facing judgment and fear due to war injuries visible on his face. But along comes Maria, with her soft, open, and loving heart, shocking him with how much she sees past the outward scars and nestles into his heart quickly. I loved watching how, with Maria and Miguel, Pete was able to believe in himself again, and see he was still all strong protector. We also see a hint of him grasping ahold of more than one dream he thought he had lost.

Maria absolutely captured my heart, and I connected very quickly to her and Miguel. I felt her struggle and fears, and her relief that she found a man she could trust in her and her son's life. She desperately needed someone to be by her side, have her back, and someone who could jump in danger's way and make her feel safe. Her sweet and abundance of love just poured off the pages.

Miguel - his heart held such beautiful child like love and faith. His belief that there was something special going on that Christmas brought treasured moments to life. If only more kids (and adults) had such innocent beauty in them!

With a splash of danger, a dash of spice, and a whole lot of heart-warming beauty, The Wishing Tree is the perfect little Christmas story to snuggle up with.

White Christmas by Cheryl Pierson

A little bit of spicy and alot a bit of sweet mix up nicely in this insta-love Christmas short story.

From the moment Derek and Carlie meet in the hospital, they have a special connection. Carlie needs to learn that she's worth loving and Derek need to learn that life's worth living. Their connection sparks off some much needed healing and delivers a quick hea, thanks too to some matchmaking sneakiness from Carlie's uncle.

This story makes for a quick and easy spicy Christmas read.

Sir Conrad and the Christmas Treasure by Lindsay Townsend

What do you get when you mix a resourceful, smart, and determined peasant girl with a good-hearted but tough knight? Sparks and insta-attraction that quickly ignite into something beautiful and sweet and worth fighting for!

Maggie is desperate to find her brother and is ingenious in finding help when she accepts she can't do it on her own. Her drive, passion and smarts in working through both her desire to find her brother and her desire to pursue a relationship with Conrad captures your emotions. Her skills in protecting others in her own way melts your heart and her worries about herself connects you closer to her.

Sir Conrad captures your attention with his honor, chivalry, and wisdom. But then he turns around and steals your heart with his protectiveness of Maggie - and in more ways that you think to expect. Sometimes that care had some rough edges -which just made me love him all the more! I adored falling in love with him along with Maggie and didn't want to let go when the last page was turned.

I appreciated how we got to see these two together from almost the first page. I was charmed watching their insta-attraction grow into a forever bond. We get to see things from both their perspectives and be in each of their heads, which I think added so much more, because... after all... there's intrigue and danger and games at play within the ranks of nobility!

I was delighted to experience this Christmas story and get yet another wonderful taste of medieval story telling by a new-to-me author. This longer novella delivers on the feels you'd expect from a longer length story, making it a wonderful holiday read!