Month: February 2021

Book Talk Tuesday: CAN’T BUY ME LOVE

Published on by Live Vi-Carrie-ously

Welcome back to Deep Haven! I’m so happy to be here again!

CAN’T BUY ME LOVE is the second entry in the Deep Haven Collection from Sunrise Publishing. I reviewed the first book, STILL THE ONE, in January, and have been waiting not-so-patiently for CAN’T BUY ME LOVE. It will be released March 16, but lucky me, I got an advance copy!

CAN’T BUY ME LOVE is an updated fairy tale, a Cinderella retelling, set in Deep Haven, on the shores of Lake Superior, in northern Minnesota.

Ella Bradley moved to Deep Haven looking for a fresh start. She’s a housecleaner, soap maker, small business owner, and budding entrepreneur. She just needs to get her foot in the door with the Vassos hotel chain to make her pitch. She doesn’t expect to meet the playboy son of the founder. And he doesn’t mean to lie about who he is. Not exactly.

I loved it and highly recommend it!

CAN’T BUY ME LOVE has everything I love about the Deep Haven series. A town that treats everyone like family. (Well, except for Ella’s landlord, that is.) A gentle romance that grows organically. Chocolate chip cookies. A spiritual growth arc.

The only sad thing now is waiting for book 3, CRAZY FOR YOU, out in May.

I received a free copy of CAN’T BUY ME LOVE from the publisher. This did not induce me to review the book, favorably or not.

Book Talk Tuesday: RESCUING HARMONY RANCH

Published on by Live Vi-Carrie-ously

This was a fun book from Hallmark Publishing and included the elements I’ve come to expect in a Hallmark book: a spunky heroine, a hunky hero, a good reason to keep them apart, but a fun time watching them fall in love and figure out a way to be together anyway.

Jocelyn and Mack were childhood sweethearts in Colorado, until her mother moved her to New York City. Their love story ended, although neither forgot the other. It’s been a decade, and when Jocelyn’s grandmother needs her help, Jocelyn drops everything to fly back to the ranch. After finding out the ranch is in trouble, Joss and Mack are forced to work together to save it. And they find out they still have feelings for each other. But how can they make a relationship work when her life is in New York and his in Colorado?

I enjoyed this entry in the Country and Cowboys series from Hallmark Publishing. I’ve read at least one other in the series, too. This was well written, and Jocelyn and Mack are both strong characters. There’s one cliched plot element I saw from the beginning and wished hadn’t been used, but I guess the author and her brainstorming team couldn’t find a way to keep the couple apart without using it.

Overall, I liked this one a lot and I recommend it!

I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher, but it did not induce me to review it, favorably or not.

Book Talk Tuesday: THE VINEYARD AT PAINTED MOON

Published on by Live Vi-Carrie-ously

I love Susan Mallery’s romance fiction, but I really, really love her women’s fiction. THE VINEYARD AT PAINTED MOON is her latest release and it’s wonderful. It’s full of all the things I love about Mallery’s books: warmth, family, friendship, love, and humor. And as the title implies, this one includes wine!

I read it an about a day and a half, I enjoyed it so much.

Mackenzie is a gifted winemaker, so it’s a good thing she married into a family with a winery and vineyards. The only thing she’s ever wanted is to belong to this family she loves so much. So it nearly breaks her heart when she and her husband realize their marriage is over. Mackenzie has to decide if that means she needs to also leave her job and home. Her sister-in-law is her best friend. Her mother-in-law employs her. Just how much is she willing to lose, along with her marriage?

This is set in Eastern Washington, a land growing in popularity for wine grape growing. A character from Mallery’s SISTERS BY CHOICE makes an appearance early in the story, and returns later on.

I enjoyed this one a lot. The characters feel like women I’d be friends with. Except for one who is truly evil, but I won’t spoil the story.

I highly recommend THE VINEYARD AT PAINTED MOON, and I suggest reading it with a glass of Syrah.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, but it did not induce me to review it, favorably or not. That was my choice.