October 2023 | Book Nerds Across America

Monday, October 23, 2023

Book Review: Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

GOODREADS SUMMARY:

Megan is dreading going home for the holidays. She’s the village pariah, the she-devil who left local golden boy Isaac at the altar four years ago and ran away to the big city. She could really do without the drama. Particularly as he’s engaged again, and she’s just been dumped for the fourth time this year.

Christian’s fed up of being on his own every Christmas. He doesn’t mind being alone, but he hates his family’s sad eyes and soft tones as they sit around coupled up. Because he’s actually, totally, fine.

So when Megan literally bumps into Christian in a Dublin pub, they come up with a pact to see them through the holiday season. They’re going to be the very best fake dates for each other, ever.

Rules are drawn up, and a contract is signed on a wine-stained napkin. They will sit through each other’s family gatherings and be outrageously in love until freed from their annual obligations. After all, it’s only for a few weeks.

But with everyone home for the holidays, and two big families to deal with alongside old friends, old flames, and old feelings, things are bound to get messy. And when a snowed-in cabin and a little Christmas magic are added to the mix, anything could happen…

TEE'S REVIEW:

Joy to the book world!!! A new holiday romance is hitting the store shelves or on your Kindle, and it's a fake dating trope...one of my favorites!

In Snowed In by Catherine Walsh, main character Megan last saw Christian out side the church that she was running out of on her way to becoming a runaway bride. Fast forward five years and they run into each other- literally - at a bar. While talking they realize that they both are having to go home for the holidays, and are dreading it, so they devise a plan to go together as a fake couple.

I could end this quickly by telling you I am a very slow reader and tore through this in two days...so I loved it! It was so cute and heartwarming, just like a holiday romance should be.

I loved both Megan and Christian as characters, and when I read Megans POV I found myself always smiling, she was just so filled with positivity all the way through the book.

I also had no idea this was in a series of books, infact I didn't find out until after I read it, so no worries if like me, you haven't read Holiday Romance, you don't need to read it...but you certainly will want to.

The thing I REALLY liked about this book, well....besides it being set during the holidays, and the whole fake dating thing, and the snuggly cozy feeling of the entire book, was that Christian had his own POV. It is always refreshing to get the male side of a love story.

I am calling it now...Snowed In is my favorite holiday romance of 2023, so pick it up and lets talk!

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Book Review: Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

Goodreads Overview:

Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café.

It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.

As the truth about her past slowly becomes clear, Anna Kate will need to decide if this lone blackbird will finally be able to take her broken wings and fly.

Jacque's Review:

This book was selected by the Marysville Public Library for their Books on Tap book club. This is a fun little group that meets once a month at a local brewery.

Anna Kate's mother fled Wicklow, the town where she grew up, shortly after her boyfriend died in a car accident. She was pregnant at the time and did not want the father's family trying to take the baby from her after they accused her for his death. Anna Kate's mother always claimed it was a terrible accident, but she doesn't know what to believe.

When her grandmother passes away, Anna Kate must return to settle her estate. As part of her will, she must stay in Wicklow and run the Blackbird Cafe for a period of time if she wants to inherit any of the money. She has every intention of selling the property once the summer is up to pay for college and medical school, which was always her mother's dream for her. She tries not to establish ties in Wicklow, but that becomes next to impossible. The more she learns about her mother's family history, including the legend of the blackbirds and the cafe's famous pie, the more connected she feels to the town. She eventually meets her father's much younger sister and starts to learn more about his side of the family and his death.

This was a Hallmark type of story with a feel-good message. I never would have selected it on my own to read, but I really enjoyed the characters and the story. Anna Kate brings life to this town and is able to help so many people who have been struggling. In return, the town provides a family and a sense of belonging that she never had growing up.