As Meatloaf would sing "....cause 2 out of 3 ain't bad." 

1. The Hand-Me-Down Bride by Elizabeth Lane - 1 star

    The first story was not well-executed. These characters sucked and the insta-love trope was so "insta" I got whiplash. Arabella comes to Montana to marry her fiancé Charles (they were engaged before he left Boston to settle in Montana and he provided the train ticket for her to come out). Charles slept with Sally, a dim-bulb of a seductress, and got her pregnant. Sally's brother Stewart found out after she started showing and made her marry Charles at gunpoint. Stewart takes an instant liking to Arabella, even though he wants her to leave in order to keep Sally's marriage to Charles from unraveling; after several damsel-in-distress situations that had Stewart rescuing Arabella, they were in love and married within one week.

Yeah, that would be a big nope on me believing either couple's HEA. This anthology is not off to a good start.

2. The Bride Wore Britches by Kate Welsh - 4 stars

    A longer and more fleshed-out story than the first one. Dylan and Rhiannon's story was more realistic and sweet without being too heavy-handed or insta-love. The side characters rounded out the story very well. A very worthy HEA. Since the story is part of a longer series, the mystery isn't solved in the story.

3. Something Borrowed, Something True by Lisa Plumley - 2.5 stars

    This was okay. Very fluffy and more physically affectionate than the two previous stories. A mail-order bride trope with a twist that made the trope feel fresh despite the insta-love. There wasn't much conflict and the HEA went on a little too long, but I rooted for Nellie and Everett. The side characters were the highlight of the story though.

A balanced mix of non-fiction and romance for reading in April. Most of my reading will be off my physical TBR bookshelf, so I hope to start making a noticeable dent in the TBR pile and get these books donated to a good home afterward.

1. We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese by Elizabeth M. Norman (Library Love)

2. With Every Letter (Wings of the Nightingale #1) by Sarah Sundin (Pop Sugar prompt - book of letters)

3. A Suitor for Jenny (A Rocky Creek Romance #2)  by Margaret Brownley (Pop Sugar prompt - Title with character's name)

4. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (Pop Sugar prompt - a book by someone I admire)

5. The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin

6. A Promise by Daylight by Alison DeLaine

7. Weddings Under a Western Sky by Various Authors (Pop Sugar - a book with multiple authors)

8. Whispered Promises by Nora Roberts

9. Three Fearful Days by Malcolm E. Barker

10. Touching the Clouds (Alaskan Skies #1) by Bonnie Leon (Pop Sugar - first book in series)

11. In the Midst of Life by Jennifer Worth (Pop Sugar - Interesting woman)

12. Lowcountry Book Club (Liz Talbot #5) by Susan M. Boyer

13. Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones (Library Love)

Series: Kismet Christmas (Book 4)

In Kismet, Michigan, Christmas is special: big fluffy snowflakes, sleigh bells, carolers singing. It’s a picture-perfect holiday -- you just have to choose who’s in the frame…

Jason Hamilton is on thin ice with the board of his toy company. The young CEO may be a kid at heart, but his party boy reputation requires damage control. So Jason’s off to Kismet to inspect a model store, stay on Santa’s Nice list, and stick to business -- no goofing around. Which is too bad, because the store manager, Danielle Sharpe, is the definition of what makes Naughty fun…

Danielle is thrilled to show off her thriving little toy store -- especially if it’s her ticket out of Kismet. The single mom is tired of manufacturing cheer solo while her ex-husband has all the fun. But if she’d known Jason was this hot, she wouldn’t have offered to host him. With Jason in her house, Danielle is getting warmer than spiked cider. She’s supposed to impress him with her expertise, not daydream about catching him under the mistletoe. Now whatever she does, she can’t get swept up in the magic…

Good story about a man who has a little growing up to do and a woman who needs a little more fun in her life. Jason is the CEO of a toy company that he turned into national chain from its beginnings as a single store. But he really doesn't like the business side of things and tends to take long, party filled vacations. His most recent vacation put him in the center of some really bad publicity, leading his board of directors to give him an ultimatum: Clean up your image or you're out. So he's headed off on a tour of the midwest stores, starting with the one in Kismet. He's supposed to generate good publicity and behave himself, starting with the elderly store manager.

Danielle took over as store manager six months earlier. She's a divorced mother of three, determined to win a promotion that will take her out of Kismet and away from her cheating ex and his new airheaded wife. She has her own methods of making the store work, most of which involve completely ignoring the corporate guidebook. She knows they will get her in a boatload of trouble if they're discovered, but she's confident in her ability to keep the boss distracted. 

I loved the first meeting between Danielle and Jason. He spent awhile just wandering the town and getting a feel for it before showing up at the store. It was so much fun to see him jump in and start working the floor like a regular employee. He has great charm and personality and soon has customers eating out of his hand. Even when a group of protesters arrive, he defuses to situation so completely that Danielle isn't quite sure what she just witnessed. When they finally meet and Jason discovers who she is, he's a little bummed. He's really attracted to her, but he shouldn't do anything about it. I really liked how Danielle tries to make Jason see that just apologizing wouldn't be so bad, but he is determined to stand his ground. Danielle thinks she's been promised a promotion if she can bring Jason into line, so she's done some string pulling on her end to make sure Jason is just where she wants him. 

I really enjoyed the buildup of their relationship. The chemistry between them is strong and things build up between them thanks to little touches and unexpected emotional connections. It was fun to see Jason have fun with Danielle's two boys, especially since he's almost as big a kid as they are. Her daughter is a harder sell, and she gives Jason a hard time throughout the book. It was sweet to see the way he really wanted them to like him. 

There's trouble on the horizon though, as the head of the board of directors is determined to oust Jason from the company and doesn't care how he does it. We see him using Danielle's desire for a promotion to get her to report on Jason's "progress". Danielle feels guilty about the secrets she's keeping from Jason, especially as they grow closer and she realizes that she's falling for him. Meanwhile, Jason discovers that the video he sent to Chip to show him how he's changed has become a social media PR campaign. He's furious, and worried about what she'll say when she finds out. He doesn't want to tell her because he's afraid that it will end the relationship that he's finding increasingly important to him.

I liked Jason a lot. He's a fun loving guy who really has a big heart. He loves his family and is very protective of their privacy. He doesn't publicize how poor they had been and how he got his start in the toy business. I also enjoyed the protectiveness that came out when he saw how her ex was treating her. His pretend relationship with her, to help her shut down her ex's attitude, turned real very fast. It was really sweet to see all the things he did with her and the kids, and the effect it ultimately had on him.

I also like Danielle. She had obviously been the adult in her marriage and it has made things awkward with her ex and his wife. I really understood her frustration with having to be the bad guy with her kids when it came to the things her ex did. Having Jason doing things for her, both big and small, was something so different that she couldn't help but fall for him. I loved the way that showing him around Kismet at Christmas made her realize that she really didn't want to move away after all.

When Chip came to Kismet and started manipulating both Jason and Danielle, the resulting drama was pretty intense. Both Jason and Danielle felt like they had been betrayed, and neither wanted to listen to the other explain what had happened. I enjoyed seeing each of them get life, love and relationships explained to them. I especially loved the appearance of Mr. Moosby himself in Kismet, the reason he was there, and how much he obviously cared about Jason. The solution that they came up with that worked for everyone was fantastic. The Christmas morning scene was sweet and romantic.

As Thanksgiving Week begins in America, it is a time of great eating.

Before we all get tired of cooking, here are some wonderful Romances featuring recpies or the writing of cookbooks.

My lists are never in any particular order. Enjoy!

1. The Chocolate Rose by Laura Florand

Her father's worst enemy...
Top chef Gabriel Delange never forgave his old nemesis Pierre Manon for all the other chef had cost him.

One stolen rose...
And he most certainly couldn't stand the sight of his own most famous dessert, the legendary Rose, claimed as Pierre's own on the cover of his new cookbook.

A beast's substitute victim...
But even Gabriel could hardly go through with a lawsuit when he learned the older chef had just had a stroke.  Especially not when Pierre had one very cute daughter willing to be Gabriel's victim instead.

A fascinated beauty...
As a child, Jolie Manon had seen her family torn apart by her top chef father's obsession with his work.As a food writer, she might be fascinated with a chef's work, but she knew how to guard her heart.  She would never allow another chef into her life.  
Unless he blackmailed her into it...

2. A Recipe for Romance  by Lenora Worth

• Contributing authors Lenora Worth, Debra Ullrick, Janet Tronstad, Carolyne Aarsen, Dana Corbit, Lyn Cote, Debby Giusti, Winnie Griggs, Arlene James, Deb Kastner, Renee Ryan, Danica Favorite,Gail Gaymer Martin, Jill Kemerer, Jolene Navarro, Marta Perry, Terri Reed, Sherri Shackelford, Cami Tang, Missy Tippens, Pamela Tracy, and Cheryl Wyatt present an anthology of sweet and inspirational short stories and tasty recipes. 
  
  A sampling of the stories you’ll find inside: 
• A young woman who uses Potato Salad to prove she’s still in love with her long-lost miner beau, 
• A new stepdad who builds Chopped Tree Casserole to bond with his stepson, 
• An Amish mother who finds a way to reconnect with her husband over her Chicken Potpie, 
• A bank teller who brings Tomato Basil Soup and new hope for a relationship to her coworker. 
• And many more

3.  Heartburn by Nora Ephron Well, not a romance but an amazing read

Seven months into her pregnancy, Rachel Samstat discovers that her husband, Mark, is in love with another woman. The fact that the other woman has "a neck as long as an arm and a nose as long as a thumb and you should see her legs" is no consolation. Food sometimes is, though, since Rachel writes cookbooks for a living. And in between trying to win Mark back and loudly wishing him dead, Ephron's irrepressible heroine offers some of her favorite recipes. Heartburn is a sinfully delicious novel, as soul-satisfying as mashed potatoes and as airy as a perfect soufflé.

4. The Bride Raffle by Lisa Plumley

Famous home-keeping expert Daisy Walsh is overwhelmed by the warm welcome she receives in Morrow Creek, and then she realizes she's the star prize in the town raffle! She can bet the lucky winner's not expecting a pregnant woman who needs a place to stay.

Single father Owen Cooper suspects he's been set up because his daughter is thrilled to have a woman around the house. He could get used to the smell of home baking tempting his taste buds, but the sight of Daisy's stockings is one temptation too far!

5. Hell Yeah! Box Set With Bonus Cookbook by Sable Hunter

Cowboy Heat (Hell Yeah!: Book 1)

Aron McCoy has sworn off women -
except for sex. When Libby Fontaine
arrives at Aron's Tebow Ranch, she is determined to cram a lifetime of living into a few short months. The doctor has told her that she can't count on her remission from leukemia being a permanent
one. Their attraction to one another is instantaneous and overwhelming. But when Aron finds out thatLibby is innocent - he backs off. He has nothing to offer a girl who deserves white lace and promises. Then Aron catches Libby pleasuring herself in his stock tank and hears her cry out his name - and the heat is on. Cowboy heat.

Hot on Her Trail (Hell Yeah!: Book 2)

Jacob McCoy wishes for a wife and a family. Tis the Season for miracles when a young woman shows up on his doorstep: homeless, in danger and expecting a child - Jacob's child. Their
relationship is complicated by the fact that, A - they've never met before and B - she's a virgin. Jessieis determined not to be a burden to the McCoy family. As far as she's concerned, she is just passing through. Jacob has a different opinion - he wants Jessie in his life, in his bed and in his heart.

BONUS: Sable Does It in the Kitchen Cookbook

All the great recipes mentioned throughout the Hell Yeah! Series are not gathered in one place. This cookbook contains Sable's Favorite Recipes along with a few of her friends as well. Excerpts from her books are spread throughout the book to give you an added glimpse.

6. Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran

ore than a year has passed since Marjan, Bahar, and Layla, the beautiful Iranian Aminpour sisters, sought refuge in the quaint Irish town of Ballinacroagh. Opening the beguiling Babylon Café, they charmed the locals with their warm hearts and delectable Persian cuisine, bringing a saffron-scented spice to the once-sleepy village. 

But when a young woman with a dark secret literally washes up on Clew Bay Beach, the sisters’ world is once again turned upside down. With pale skin and webbed hands, the girl is otherworldly, but her wounds tell a more earthly (and graver) story–one that sends the strict Catholic town into an uproar. The Aminpours rally around the newcomer, but each sister must also contend with her own transformation–Marjan tests her feelings for love with a dashing writer, Bahar takes on a new spiritual commitment with the help of Father Mahoney, and Layla matures into a young woman when she and her boyfriend, Malachy, step up their hot and heavy relationship. 

Filled with mouthwatering recipes and enchanting details of life in Ireland, Rosewater and Soda Bread is infused with a lyrical warmth that radiates from the Aminpour family and their big-hearted Italian landlady, Estelle, to the whole of Ballinacroagh–and the world beyond.

7. The Skye Trilogy by Shannon Barczak

Willa McCormack is a feisty bakery owner from Yuma, Arizona. She has wonderful parents, great friends, and a career she loves. Her life changes one night when her parents come home terrified and they have to reveal their secrets to her. 
Secrets that will change Willa's life forever. 

Willa must now leave everything she has ever known and embark on a dangerous journey to the Isle of Skye. A place where she will learn that fairytales and nightmares are real. A place where she will discover not only what she really is but who she is destined to be. 

Come explore the world of Gypsies, Faeries, and Vampires with an unlikely heroine, who above all else, is determined to stay true to herself. 

Isle of Night

Several months have passed since Willa McCormack, a bakery owner from Yuma, AZ, was told she was a powerful Gypsy-Fae princess and journeyed to the Isle of Skye. As she tries to open her new business and get ready for the Fae’s arrival to the Isle, new dangers lurk at every turn. 

While she tries to uncover clues about a dangerous enemy and find the weapons that can kill him, she also has to deal with her intense feelings for her Guardian, Mathias, a vampire of light. 

Join Willa, an unlikely smart ass heroine, as she navigates this magical world and tries to save her new home from being plunged into eternal darkness. 


Isle of Dawn

Willa has left the Isle of Skye and is now in Fairlia with Patcoena to absorb the King’s power. Two unexpected guides join them as they make their way across all the realms so that she can finally fulfill her destiny to become the Fae Sanctity. 

Her journey takes her to places she never thought was imaginable and the deeper she delves into the depths, the further she moves away from the person she used to be. 
Can she ever make her way back to Mathias and everyone that she loves or will the final battle be her last? 

Bonus book, Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook! 
The Skye Trilogy Cookbook! 
Scrumptious Skye Confection contains over 60 recipes all from Willa's point of view! 

8. The First Love Cookie Club by Lori Wilde

"On Christmas Eve, if you sleep with kismet cookies under your pillow and dream of your one true love, he will be your destiny."

The townsfolk of Twilight, Texas, believe the legend, but not Sarah Collier—not since she was a pudgy teenager, running down the church aisle on Christmas Day in a jingle bell sweater and reindeer antlers, trying to stop Travis Walker from marrying someone else. She may be grown-up, slimmed-down, bestselling children's book author "Sadie Cool"now, but Sarah will never forget that day. And she'll never fall foolishly in love again!

But when a letter from a sick fan brings Sarah back to Twilight, she's shocked to discover that Travis is the little girl's father—unattached and hotter than ever. His smile still makes her melt, but Sarah knows that ship has sailed. Travis, however, might have different ideas.

9.  Huddle with Me Tonight by Farrah Rochon

All Paige Turner wants is to be taken seriously as a journalist. The entertainment columnist and blogger extraordinaire gets more notoriety than she planned when her scathing review of NFL superstar Torrian Smallwood's memoir sparks an online confrontation. But that's nothing compared to the sensual heat that tackles her when she meets the heart-stoppingly sexy athlete face-to-face…. 

Torrian can't let Paige derail his dream of a new career as a restaurateur. Even if the sassy, sultry writer is making America's favorite wide receiver yearn to be on the receiving end of her desire. And with a reality TV cook-off propelling them into the spotlight, Torrian can no longer hide his passionate secret goal—to build a future with the woman who's making an end run around his heart…. 

10. How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal

Professional baker Ramona Gallagher is a master of an art that has sustained her through the most turbulent times, including a baby at fifteen and an endless family feud. But now Ramona’s bakery threatens to crumble around her. Literally. She’s one water-heater disaster away from losing her grandmother’s rambling Victorian and everything she’s worked so hard to build.

When Ramona’s soldier son-in-law is wounded in Afghanistan, her daughter, Sophia, races overseas to be at his side, leaving Ramona as the only suitable guardian for Sophia’s thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, Katie. Heartbroken, Katie feels that she’s being dumped again—this time on the doorstep of a woman out of practice with mothering.

Ramona relies upon a special set of tools—patience, persistence, and the reliability of a good recipe—when rebellious Katie arrives. And as she relives her own history of difficult choices, Ramona shares her love of baking with the troubled girl. Slowly, Katie begins to find self-acceptance and a place to call home. And when a man from her past returns to offer a second chance at love, Ramona discovers that even the best recipe tastes better when you add time, care, and a few secret ingredients of your own.

Do you have a rec? Let me know!

Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads list: Cookbook Romance. 

November is the month I gather my unread Harlequin category romances and try to get as many read as possible. Here we go with round one:

1. Small Town Fireman (Gordon Falls #6) by Allie Pleiter (inspirational contemporary)

2. A Lady Dares by Bronwyn Scott (historical romance)

3. The Real Mr. Right (Jersey Boys #1) by Karen Templeton (contemporary)

4. The Soldier's Secrets by Naomi Rawlings (inspirational historical)

5. Falling for the Enemy by Naomi Rawlings (inspirational historical)

6. Weddings Under a Western Sky (Anthology) by various authors (historical)

7. Once Upon a Thanksgiving (Anthology) by various authors (inspirational historical)

8. The Glassblower by Laurie Alice Eakes (inspirational historical)

9. The Carpenter's Inheritance by Laurie Alice Eakes (inspirational historical)

10. The Newcomer by Laurie Alice Eakes (inspirational historical)