Holiday Spice(Shaughnessy Brothers book 6) by Samantha Chase

Wow! Just WOW! Samantha Chase is an amazing author. One of the best ever. Samantha really can write. She writes with all her heart. Samantha puts all she has into her books. No stone left unturned. Samantha Chase has all the elements that make an amazing author. However I truly feel Samantha Chase went above and beyond her usual in Holiday Spice.

I found Holiday Spice to be the BEST ever book Samantha Chase has written and that is definitely saying something since every book is beyond amazing. Holiday Spice is different from all the others because this book has literally everything. You have love, love lost, tragedy, heartbreak, romance, drama, angst, healing and grief as well as some heart swoon worthy moments and a touch of humor. You get so much emotion in one book.

In Holiday Spice we finally read Darcy Shaughnessy's story. Let me just say you know nothing of Darcy til you read Holiday Spice. The few glimpses we get of Darcy in the other 5 Shaughnessy stories were nothing. You really learn all about Darcy in Holiday Spice. My heart truly ached for Darcy in the aspect of having lost her mom at such a young age and being raised by only men.

In Holiday Spice we meet Benjamin Tanner. Ben is a recluse. He lives away from everyone. He builds things with his hands that are breathtakingly beautiful. A few years earlier Ben suffered a tragedy that forever changed his world. Enter Darcy. Darcy is sent to help Ben with his book project. From the moment Darcy and Ben meet Sparks fly. You can see their chemistry. Darcy changes Ben's life completely. Just amazing.

Holiday Spice had my heart swooning and had me crying and even laughing a bit. Holiday Spice had all the elements and more that make a perfect read. Holiday Spice is the last book in the Shaughnessy Brother's series and I'm telling you it is the best. Samantha Chase out did herself here. Samantha stole my heart forever with Holiday Spice. I highly recommend Holiday Spice to every romance lover. The best book ever. I give it five stars and two thumbs up.

A little holiday magic to experience all year round. That's the best description for Holiday Spice. Every Shaughnessy has had their shining moment and taken a piece of my heart along the way, but Darcy sealed the deal. This time, Ms. Chase went for broke and laid claim to my heart in it's entirety. Darcy, the lone girl in a sea of men has grown into a lovely woman with a beautiful caring soul, but she still has wounds. Ben is a loner. He eats, breathes and sleeps woodcarving. When a cry for help leaves him stranded with an optimistic beauty, this lone wolf, may just find his soulmate. With an open heart and arms wide open, Ms. Chase ends her Shaughnessy series with a romance that has classic written all over it.

Series: The Shaughnessy Brothers, #3
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Published: July 5, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages

I was excited to see another Shaughnessy Brothers book come available and I am adoring that cover.  There is something about it that just makes me think of long summer days and flirting with that cute boy next door.

As I have mentioned in my reviews for the first two books in The Shaughnessy Brother's series, the author has once again thrown us a curve ball.  What do I mean by that?  Well, in the very first book, it was clear there was some not only massive chemistry between best friends Quinn and Anna, but Anna's been fighting a major crush most of her life.  So with this sweet teasing build up between the two characters, I figured we wouldn't get their happily ever after until the last book.  You know, keeping us in suspense throughout the entire series? That would be standard operating procedure for most authors.  But nope, here we are, mid-way through and *Bam*, we get their story. 

And what a story it was. Anna was such a strong character. Yes, she does try to change herself to please and attract Quinn, but she also makes some wonderful discoveries about herself in the process. Then, just as she is throwing in the towel and working towards trying to get over Quinn, he finally figures things out. Quinn turned out to be a much more complex character than he had appeared in the first two books. I really enjoyed their interactions and the dialogue was so clever.  I had a great time with this book and gave it 4 stars.

Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley provided me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Falling in love with your best friend? Easy.
Telling them how you really feel? Impossible.

Quinn Shaughnessy believes there's a lot more to life than romance, and he always thought his best friend Anna agreed. But now she's coming out of her shell and dating... and Quinn starts seeing her in a very different light.

Anna can tell Quinn anything, except the big secret she's been hiding for years-that she's fallen in love with him. Now Anna is determined to make a life for herself that doesn't include hopeless pining. But just as she's ready to move on, Quinn seems determined not to let go-and the way he's looking at her might be enough to finally change them from best friends to best everything.

    

Love Walks In

The Shaughnessy Brothers, #2

Samantha Chase

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Date of Publication: April 5th 2016
Number of pages: 384
Cover Artist: John Kicksee

Book #2 in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Samantha Chase's dazzling new series: The Shaughnessy Brothers are back

He lives by a schedule

Aubrey Burke is on the run from an about-to-be-disastrous mistake when resort owner Hugh Shaughnessy catches her climbing through his office window. Until Aubrey tumbled into his life, Hugh had relied on work and discipline to safeguard a heart damaged by family tragedy. Now his careful world will never be the same.

She lives for the moment

Hugh's approach to life and love is the opposite of Aubrey's, but she soon finds herself falling hard for the handsome hotel mogul. There's a darker reason behind her "live for today" attitude than Hugh could possibly know, but for the first time Aubrey dares to hope this man's love might make it worth taking a chance on the future.

Interview: 

How has your writing career changed in the past year?
Hmm…in the last year I’ve gotten way more disciplined I think. I’m actually having to deal with deadlines and doing multiple rounds of edits – which I didn’t really do too much when I first started.

From where have your recently drawn writing inspiration?
I know this is going to sound strange but…HGTV! Honestly, I love that channel and almost all of the shows on it, and have gotten inspiration from some upcoming stories from couples and people who were featured on some of my favorite shows. And I also got some decorating ideas too!

Which of the four seasons best suits your personality and why?
Fall, definitely. I love the colors of the leaves as they change and the cooler weather – but not too cool! It’s inspiring to be outside and seeing all the changes. I am one of those people who is just in awe of nature – although I’m not an outdoorsy person. But when I see something beautiful in the scenery, it just makes me feel good.

Describe your perfect day.
No alarm going off. That is a biggie. I’d get up and be able to set the pace for my day – so I can be a little lazy if I wanted to. I’d have time with my friends and have lunch and get pedicures together. Come home and write – or read – and then have a relaxing dinner with my husband and kids. I’m really a homebody so while none of it is exciting, to me it’s perfect.

Which five characters from novels would you have dinner with?
From my own or others? Hmm…okay. We’ll go with characters from other authors. For starters, I would love to have dinner with the ladies from Nora Roberts’ bridal quartet series. LOVE those girls – their complexities and humor and just to observe their friendship would be amazing. We’ll count them as one, though (otherwise I’d feel like I was cheating!).

Next would be the matriarch of Bella Andre’s Sullivans – Mary. Since the Shaughnessy’s lost their mom and it’s up to patriarch Ian, I would love to get her perspective on raising a large family alone.

Anna Jones from Kristen Callihan’s “The Hook Up”. Love. That. Book. Anna was this amazingly strong heroine who knew how to stand up for herself and just seemed like a total kickass friend!

Valentine Jones from Kate Perry’s “Tamed by You”. She was so stinking sweet and funny and even though she was terrible at match-making, she kept at it. I would love to hang out with her and find out more about the family’s business and about life in Laurel Heights.

And finally, I’d go back to another series of Nora Roberts’. I loved her MacKade brothers and I’d love to have dinner with the four lucky ladies who are now happily married to those sexy men! And if those same, sexy men happened to join us? All the better!

Review: 
I was super thrilled to see the next Shaughnessy Brothers book coming out. I had a good time with the first one (a solid 3 star read), and couldn't wait to see which brother was on deck next.  I didn't remember Hugh from the first book, and that was fine. After all, there are 6 siblings, and we don't want to or need, to learn everything about all of them in that first book. Getting to know each one a bit at a time makes the journey both more memorable and more fun.

The Shaughnessy's life changed the day they lost their mother, Lillian. Hugh is the second oldest and carries a terrible guilt, that he should have been the one running the errand, except he had been grounded.  It changed him almost overnight from the wild rebel child to planner and scheduler. If it's Thursday night, spaghetti is what is on the menu. His days are ruthless organized and calculated with an almost ruthless deliberateness to minimize any risk taking.

But he finds out quickly that no plan is fool proof when he first gets his first introduction to Aubrey. She is sneaking into his office, through the window, to get back the bright pink suitcase Hugh had stashed there after finding it in the middle of his resort grounds.  Aubrey had thrown in out the window of her room and had been in the process of following it out when Hugh picked it up and walked off with it.  Aubrey had just changed her mind about getting a quickie wedding to a guy she barely knew and was trying to pull off a Runaway Bride. Hugh feels for her and helps her to hide from her ex-fiance. Imagine Hugh's surprise, when he goes looking for his meeting with a new wine distributor, and finds Aubrey has charmed him so completely he is willing to partner with Hugh, but only with Aubrey handling the details. All Hugh's plans, figures and carefully practiced presentation are now entirely useless. I actually though Hugh's head was going to explode, lol.

Hugh and Aubrey were a delightful couple. They truly complemented each other in all the ways that a true partner can. Plus, we got to spend a bit more time with Aiden and Zoe, Quinn and Anna, Ian, Riley, Owen, and Darcy, during Ian's birthday. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised when the opportunity for a cliched move was twisted into something new and entirely more interesting. I am coming to really love the Shaughnessy clan and gave this book 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebook Casablanca for the opportunity to read and review the book.

Trailer: 

Giveaway: 

Author Bio:

Samantha Chase, a creative writing teacher, released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Since then, she has published seventeen more titles and has become a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She lives with her husband of twenty-four years and their two sons in North Carolina. http://www.chasing-romance.com/

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