Well...it wasn't bad. OTOH, it wasn't really good either. Two flings and a coworker who came across as sexually harassing when you get down to it.

The first tale...dingbat heroine manages to miss the train because she's too busy shopping at a gift shop to notice the whistle. Of course, dumb kid running the gift shop has the sensitivity of a brick. She's saved essentially by the artist who carved the items she was admiring. And...I have to ask, was she looking for paint goobers and stuff? The train had left 30 minutes prior when the kid approached her to ask her to leave. I can't imagine staring at a display that long, and apparently she was there far longer since she had the time in the first place. H/h went into it with the idea of a fling, and well, fortunately I guess, they let it morph at its own pace.

The second - h had a history of bad decisions and had made a concerted effort to clean up her life. If that meant buttoning up and covering up, so be it. H had all the appearance of being another bad decision and well, in typical oblivious bad decision-appearing male fashion, pressured her, contrived to be around her, etc. She made a few bad decisions there in that she had sex, several times, *in the office* with him. She finally decided she needed to get away, at which point he shows up to drive her to the airport. She should have kept quiet and just called a taxi. Of course, she never explained herself to him that I recall, and he was too obsessed with getting in her pants to actually talk to her.

Third - I was mostly ok with it until the H started getting pushy about the relationship. The h is currently unemployed and managing a friend's parents B&B as a favor (and well, she needs the money). In Alaska. A 2 week job. She knows it. He knows it. He presses for a relationship and well...she backs off. In the end, she's ready to leave, he's upset, she gets a call asking her to stay longer and...he finds this all convenient and is unhappy. Ummm...ok bright boy, what exactly do you propose she do with all her spare time? Yeah...those last few pages, I wanted to hit him with a clue-by-four.

Come to think of it, two of the heroes in this needed that clue-by-four. Even if a relationship is a possibility, IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU (mutter)

All I Ever Wanted (The Heartthrob Series...

Grady  said no to offering Arabella the job of choreographer for the reunion concert . Oliver, Jesse, and Jimmy- all Grady’s brothers- protested. They were doing the Heartbreak reunion in honor of their late mom. But Arabella had walked out on Grady and wouldn’t believe he was innocent of cheating and wouldn’t take Grady’s calls but that was twelve years ago. Grady said he would do anything to help find a cure for Lupus. Including a cheesy boy band reunion. The brothers had been in a boy band called Heartbeat many years earlier. Arabella now had a business called Hip, Hop, and Health and seemed to be doing well so Grady thought. When the brothers had ended the boy band Heartbeat they moved home to Sea Breeze, Florida as their mom’s health had gotten worse and she had hidden a lot while they had done their world tour. Grady had been the biggest target of the Paparazzi back when Heartbeat was still together as he was the oldest and the front man of Heartbeat. Jimmy was the quiet voice of reason and had held everything together. It had been a wild four year ride for the brothers. Jimmy was a songwriter now and happiest when he and his guitar were on his balcony. Arabella had been the only one to ever break Grady’s heart he had never gotten over her. Grady nor his brothers were into lasting relationships at this time of their lives nor had they been other than Grady with Arabella. After the boys lost their dad in a fatal car crash and losing their mom to a horrible disease that attacked her body they knew how much it hurt to lose someone you love. Whoever came up with the notion losing love was better than never having loved was certifiable crazy as far as the brothers were concerned. Arabella’s dance studio was in financial trouble and she would do anything she had to as long as she kept her business going. Oliver had called Arabella a week after the brothers had been trying to get the moves the brothers had done as teenagers right. It had been thirteen years ago when Grady had broken Arabella’s heart. Arabella had expanded to fast with her dance studio and if she didn’t want to bring Maxine and all her horrible ideas for change into her business she really didn’t have a choice but to take the job offered to her by Oliver. Besides the three months by the ocean with free accommodations in a beautiful home. But Arabella knew confronting Grady would be hard. Arabella wanted to turn around and go back to LA but she needed the money this job would pay her for her business.

I loved this story and I especially loved the ending. A very sweet second chance romance. This had a great plot and pace. I loved the relationship between the brothers. I also loved the relationship between Arabella and the brothers. This was just a great fast read and I couldn’t find anything to complain about which was great. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this story and I highly recommend.  

http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2016/12/review-marry-me-on-main-street-by-luann.html

Marry Me on Main Street is a super cute romance that’s sure to get you in the holiday spirit. LuAnn McLane’s eleventh Cricket Creek novel is a fast-paced, cheerful addition to the series and it’s a book that’s perfect to curl up with when you’re in the mood for something uplifting.

Danny is one of my favorite Cricket Creek heroes. He’s so kind, generous, patient, and warm-hearted that you wish he were real so you could snap him up. Danny’s biggest flaw is that he’s almost too giving, sacrificing his dream of woodworking in order to run his parents’ business and help his siblings run their own. Lately it’s been starting to wear on him and he feels like he doesn’t have his life together. For me, Danny’s internal struggle – whether to stay the course and not rock the boat or to go for his dreams – was the highlight of the book. It was relatable, interesting, and had me invested in the story from beginning to end. As for Susan, she’s a likeable heroine who is a little shy, somewhat insecure, and a bit slapstick klutzy. Susan didn’t grab my attention the way some other Cricket Creek heroines have, which was a pity because when I like a hero as much as I liked Danny, I want to be equally intrigued by their heroine. That’s not to say the romance was bad – far from it. After the first third of the book, Danny and Susan have a fast-paced, sweet romance. The only drama that comes in is manufactured by Susan, and it did make me want to shake her a couple of times. Given that Danny is the kind of hero who wears his feelings openly, Susan’s fears and avoidance tactics didn’t feel organic. Still, while I had a couple of issues, their romance is charming and lively for the most part, and by the end of the book the two of them had me grinning.

As with all of the Cricket Creek stories I’ve read, there’s a secondary romance, this one involving Susan’s friend and employee, Betsy, and the handsome former-lawyer-turned-deli-owner, John. Betsy and John’s romance was lovely and understated, but sometimes felt a bit too similar to the main love story. Both of them had interesting potential backstories that – had they been better fleshed out – would have made them shine and stand apart from the younger couple.

Marry Me on Main Street is a story of facing your fears and taking a chance on love. And what better, safer place can there be to do so than in Cricket Creek? The idyllic small Kentucky town is a character in and of itself in this series and it’s always a delight. If the town and its residents sometimes come off as too good to be true, then that’s okay. Once in a while it’s nice to take a break from the real world and enjoy something sweet, and Marry Me on Main Street fits the bill perfectly.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

In her small shop on Main Street, Susan Quincy sells handmade gifts and repurposed items. But she can’t part with the beautiful rocking chair she bought at an estate sale when its maker turns out to be Danny Mayfield.

Even years later, Susan still cringes over how her handsome, popular high school crush only asked her to prom out of pity—or so she thinks...
 
Danny doesn’t know why Susan has avoided him for years, especially after the electric kiss they shared the night of prom.

So when he learns that she wants him to craft more rocking chairs to sell at her shop, Danny can’t resist the chance to work on his passion and charm shy, beautiful Susan again—and this time, make it last.

Cricket Creek continues to be a favorite slow soft hearted sweet heart town kind of read for me. Which is sort of perfect around the holidays because you can curl up with your mug of coffee and disappear in a blanket and the Creek for awhile in complete comfort.

Cricket Creek kind of reminds me of a General Hospital small town everyone is connected, lots of love possibilities, everyone has ties to the town and its history and you always land with small time drama in the past that finds its way into the present where we find Susan and Danny.

I loved everything about both of them and I loved them together.I loved the smiles, I loved the sweetness, I loved the whole pull you in and make a home feeling Creek gives me.

I loved this book, it totally won my heart.

Side note: I loved the cover art on this book. Looks like a Thomas Kinkade painting. Beautiful.

Heartbroken handyman Avery Dean can’t get away from his ex—who just happens to be the maid of honor in his sister’s upcoming wedding. As the best man, Avery has to grin and bear his sister’s misguided attempts to get them back together, until the perfect excuse presents itself in a pretty out-of-towner.
 
With her time in Cricket Creek, Kentucky, coming to an end, hair stylist Sophia Gordon can’t deny the town’s charms, or her attraction to Avery Dean. That’s why she finds herself saying yes to dinner, and then, a wedding date.
 
Sophia agrees to be Avery’s pretend girlfriend until the big day is over, but when their make-believe fling shows signs of real passion, Sophia starts to wonder if staying in Cricket Creek could make all her wishes come true.

My Review:

Cricket Creek kind of reminds  me of Macombers series. You follow the characters of the town and each of them has a story and as a reader you get to explore the town and their lives and how they all kind of mingle or take place on their own but each of them is fairly different despite using the predictable formulas these kind of stories follow. I like the characters and I like getting to be in the world that the author creates.

My Rating:

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Disclaimer:
Krissys Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

Source:
Received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley Publishing.

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