Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms by Claire Kingsley

From USA Today Bestselling author Claire Kingsley, the stand-alone small-town/romcom/romantic suspense/Christmas romance you didn’t know you needed.

Handsome, charismatic, and charming, Jensen Lakes is an enigma in a designer suit. But his playboy reputation is a persona—one of many—that he uses in his unique line of work.

A priceless heirloom goes missing right before the holidays, and Jensen is hired to find it. Tracking down the perpetrator will be simple. He’ll be in and out before Santa hits chimneys.

Natalie Thatcher needs a break. She’s a dedicated sister, aunt, and nurse, but her life is no Christmas carol. Between bills, mounting home repairs, and holiday shopping still to be done, most days she feels like a tangled strand of lights.

Jensen follows his quarry to Tilikum, and the Christmas-clad town throws him for a loop. As does Natalie. He enlists her aid—who better to help him navigate the local quirks than the captivating woman next door? Despite their chemistry and sizzling banter, love isn’t on his Christmas list. Or hers.

But as danger mounts, Jensen finds himself in an unexpected position—falling in love with his partner. And when her life is on the line, he’ll risk everything to keep her safe.

And get her home for Christmas.

Author’s Note: A handsome charmer falls hard for a sassy small-town girl. Adventure, witty banter, Christmas coziness, and a holiday happily ever after that will leave your heart full.

Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms can be read as a stand-alone romance.

Now available on Amazon with KU → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXBR5C96/

Audible duet audio → https://www.audible.com/pd/B0FXN128CK

and paperback → https://www.amazon.com/dp/1959809237/

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms really packed quite a punch, and it’s the kind of story that would make a great Christmas movie! We have British playboy Jensen — whose job it is to recover high-profile, expensive stolen artifacts — and ER nurse Natalie, who lives a quiet life and is scraping by just to make it day to day. These two characters could not be any more opposite, and I loved it!

The jewelry heist angle was not one I was expecting from Claire Kingsley; Jensen’s profession is markedly different from the heroes in CK’s other books, and I think it gave Sleigh Bells a unique edge. Jensen and Natalie brought something out in the other that was so unexpected, and they each showed real vulnerability with the other. Jensen opened Natalie’s eyes to a world she quite literally had no idea existed, giving her a rush of excitement she had never felt before and a desire to do something more than work the overnight shift at the Tilikum hospital. Meanwhile, Jensen’s feelings for Natalie completely took him by surprise, making him think about settling down for the first time ever. Narrators Shane East and CJ Bloom were fantastic with the way they brought this holiday caper and all of its craziness to life.

Having read the Dirty Martini Running Club years ago, I enjoyed Jensen’s phone calls with his sister, and I was so happy that the subplot with Natalie’s sister and the hot single dad from her kid’s school got wrapped up in a nice bow at the end, too!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Oathbreaker by Kat Mizera & Elise Faber

OATHBREAKER

Kat Mizera & Elise Faber

Release Date: October 27

She was never supposed to be mine.
Walking away was the only acceptable decision.


It was just one night. Two lonely souls finding solace in the one place we shouldn’t have—my bed.
I thought once would be enough, but leaving her is my biggest—maybe my only—regret.


Now, I’m back and seeing the results of that night is killing me.


I’ll make it up to her. I have to. Because I’ve never loved anyone else.


Because I’d rather die than break her heart a second time.


But when duty calls, I swore an oath to listen.


And I know…


There will be no coming back this time.

Grab Your Copy!

https://geni.us/OathbreakerEFKM

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Oathbreaker marks the end of the Gamebreakers series, and I was so excited at the end of #4 when I realized that not only was Colt actually alive, but he was the guy Briar had never gotten over, and little Frankie’s father!

This book hit a lot differently than the other ones. It is a wonderful second-chance romance, but it’s more intense in the way that Colt is back, having spent the past five years with his friends believing he was dead. There’s a delicate balance here as he tries to reclaim his life, reclaim the love he lost with Briar, who has since been raising their daughter on her own. And just as she begins dating for the first time since Frankie was born (poor West!), that’s when Colt reappears in her life, and totally upends it!

I really liked the struggle that both Briar and Colt went through in trying to reconcile their past with their present, and then navigating how to be together in the present. The authors did a great job with that, as well as how they scripted the reactions of the other guys when Colt resurfaced. Their belief that he was dead was out of his control, and all the guys had varying reactions that fit their personalities perfectly.

While I was sad to say goodbye to the Gamebreaker family, I loved that preview for Kat Mizera & Elise Faber’s next collab, knowing that West will be rewarded with his own book after backing out gracefully so Briar and Colt could figure their stuff out!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Kat Mizera:

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Kat Mizera was born in Miami Beach with a healthy dose of Wanderlust. She’s lived from coast to coast, and everywhere in between, but home is wherever her family is. A devoted mom and wife to her wonderful and supportive husband (Kevin) and two amazing boys (Nick and Max), Kat loves to travel the globe with her adventurous, hockey loving family. Greece is at the top of that list. She hopes to one day retire there, spending her days writing books on the beach.

Kat is former freelance sports writer who now writes steamy hockey romance about her favorite fictional teams, the Las Vegas Sidewinders and the Lauderdale Knights. The library of novels she’s penned also include sexy contemporary stories about baseball stars, alpha sex club owners, bodyguards, rock stars, and royalty. Regardless of genre, her books about bad boys with hearts of gold will steal your breath, rock your world and melt your heart.

To find out about Kat Mizera’s upcoming releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter here

For more information on Kat Mizera and her books visit: https://katmizera.com/

Connect with Kat Mizera:

https://katmizera.com/pages/contact-kat

Meet Elise Faber:

USA TODAY bestselling author, Elise Faber, loves chocolate, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team—the Sharks!—are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise changes her hair color more often than some people change their socks, loves sparkly things, and is the mom to two exuberant boys. She lives in Northern California. 

To find out about Elise Faber’s  upcoming releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter here

For more information on Elise Faber and her books visit: https://www.elisefaber.com/

Connect with Elise Faber:

https://www.elisefaber.com/contact



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Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Holiday Unscripted by Natasha Madison

HOLIDAY UNSCRIPTED by Natasha Madison is AVAILABLE NOW

Blurb:

Elizabeth

My brother was getting married.

At Christmas no less.

The holiday I hated the most.

Let me list all the reasons why this will be the worst season yet:

One would be my luggage not arriving.

Two would be being told I had to find somewhere else to sleep since my room was occupied by family members.

Oh, and now I am forced to stay with my brother’s best friend.

The man who broke my heart seven years ago.

Nate

My best friend was getting married.

I was happy for him.

Until I had to offer his sister my spare bedroom.

It’d be fine, two weeks and she’d be out of my hair.

But the thing with Elizabeth was that she pushed every single button I have.

She gets under my skin in the best ways.

All we have to do is survive the wedding and the holiday.

Then she’ll be gone yet again.

Unless maybe, just maybe, my wish of having her comes true.

Buy Link:

https://books2read.com/NMUnscriptedHolidayKU

Available in KU

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Holiday Unscripted needs to be a Netflix movie! This story was so fun!

Elizabeth is a Christmas-hating doctor, living in Australia, who comes home to the US for her brother’s Christmas Eve wedding. But after a series of disasters on her travel day, Elizabeth finally gets home to discover that she can’t even stay at her parents’ house and has to stay with her brother’s best friend, Nate, aka the guy who broke her heart seven years ago. Nate isn’t happy about it either, since Elizabeth blew him off….

Ah, but there was a bit of miscommunication after Elizabeth and Nate spent one night together, and as it turns out, there is a very fine line between love and hate.

This story was so fun. I really loved seeing how Nate and Elizabeth went from enemies to lovers and how the sexual tension grew between them as she bunked at his house. There are so many steamy moments between them, and some absolute zingers because the banter between them is *fire*. The dual narration from Samantha Cook and Jason Clarke was perfection.

Holiday Unscripted is set in NM’s hockey universe — Elizabeth is the youngest child of Denise and Zach from Something So Unscripted — so we get all the chaos that we know and love from the extended family. Max and Matthew are always a hoot!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Natasha Madison:

When her nose isn’t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she’s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It’s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn’t listen to her…

Connect with Natasha Madison:

https://linktr.ee/natashamauthor

Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Stand Your Ground by Kandi Steiner


Stand Your Ground by Kandi Steiner is now live!

I wrote up the contract myself.
Legally binding. Crystal clear. No strings. No feelings.

Just sex — and two million dollars in exchange for my time and expertise.

Carter Fabri may be Tampa Bay’s newest rising star, but off the ice, he’s all Bambi eyes and inexperience. He’s a virgin in desperate need of lessons in dominance, seduction, and everything in between.

And I happen to be just the woman to teach him.

I don’t need his money.
But I do need what it can give me.

I’m thirty-two, cut off from my family, and one bill away from drowning in student debt. The fantasy I’ve built around my lifestyle is getting harder to maintain. This pay day would secure the lifestyle I’ve worked too hard to let slip through my fingers and finally give me the chance to save for something I’ve always wanted — something I’ve never told anyone about.

So, I take Carter on as my student. I lay out every rule, every boundary, every carefully controlled term of our arrangement.
What I don’t plan for is how quickly he’d catch on — or how much I’d enjoy letting him take the reins.

This was supposed to be a lesson in power.
But somewhere along the way, I stopped being the one in charge.

I thought I could keep my heart out of it.
I thought I’d accounted for every risk.
But some consequences you can’t predict — no matter how carefully you draft the terms.
Download today or read for FREE with #kindleunlimited!
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3Ti6lYF
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/PBCxP
Amazon Model Paperback: http://bit.ly/491ADYH
Barnes & Noble Model Paperback: https://bit.ly/4nhJIjS
Amazon Special Edition Paperback: http://bit.ly/4hclkyk
Barnes & Noble Special Edition Paperback: https://bit.ly/3KPjoQu
Listen to the Kings of Ice series in audio!https://bit.ly/3QZWiX1
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/45iSWXz

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Stand Your Ground is the latest book in Kandi Steiner’s Kings of the Ice series. I thought popsicles were hot with Will and Chloe, but they have nothing on the sexy love lessons between jokester Cartera and Domme Livia in this book!

Carter has always had a bit of a crush on Livia, the team dentist, but she’s always written him off as a harmless flirt. Now, virgin Carter is looking for some help in the bedroom, and hopes that Domme Liv can be the one to help him get over the mental block he has when it comes to dealing with the ladies. This story ends up being so much more than spicy love lessons, however.

Both Carter and Livia have some emotional baggage. By giving himself over to her, Carter discovers how to build himself up again, restore his self-esteem, which was crushed by a previous coach and left him constantly second-guessing himself. Meanwhile, Livia has some trauma of her own, thus the reason why she likes to take control in the bedroom. But somehow, during her “lessons” with Carter, she learned how to trust and rely on him to take care of her in a way she had never before. KS wrote two beautiful characters and their vulnerability with one another was endearing. Both Carter and Liv grew so much from the start of this story to the end, and their opposite personalities balanced each other out.

I love this group of friends and how they show up for one another. The way the guys stepped up to help Carter woo Liv and make a grand gesture was so cute, and I was so happy that Liv had the support of her girlfriends after learning what she’d gone through with her parents.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Uncategorized

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Found Forever by Whitley Cox

🎧New Audiobook Alert! 🎧

📚FOUND FOREVER by Whitley Cox

🎤Dual narration by Sean Masters & Andi Eloise

She’s looking for Mr. Fun Right Now, but he’s looking for Mrs. Forever.

After leaving her job as a dancer on cruise ships, Joanna Fernsby was sure that the fast-paced world of luxury real estate was her dream career. Wrong. Television definitely over-hyped things. It’s demanding, dog-eat-dog and not at all what she signed up for.

So when her best friend Mieka asks Joanna to fill in for her at her dance studio while she goes on her honeymoon, Joanna agrees. This will also give her a chance to get to know the mysterious Decker McKnight better after a steamy, but also confusing, moment on the haystacks with him at the wedding.

Decker is tired of his nomad life. He hasn’t unpacked his apartment in the six years he’s paid rent there. He also can’t take his eyes off the bubbly Joanna as she rips up the dance floor at the wedding, and is quick to offer his help on the ranch while the newlyweds are on their honeymoon. Especially when he finds out Joanna is sticking around.

However, Decker wants to take it slow with Joanna and see where things go, which causes the dancing Brit all kinds of frustration since she just wants a good shag.

Will Joanna get what she wants? Or will it take Decker offering her the promise of a real future where she can dance again, for her to see that he’s more than just a good shag—he’s a fantastic forever?

Listen on YouTube, get it from the author’s shop, or download from your favorite retailer!

https://books2read.com/found-forever-WCSS

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Found Forever is a quick, bingeable story, narrated by Sean Masters and Andi Eloise. I think the entire audiobook is just over two hours, so I was easily able to listen to it in a day while I did work around the house. I thought that Masters and Eloise did a great job of bringing the sizzling chemistry between these characters to life.

Decker and Joanna had first met at the wedding of mutual friends, where they shared a sexy moment. Now that the newlyweds are on their honeymoon, Joanna is looking after her friend’s dance studio and Decker offers to help out on the ranch, hoping to get to know Joanna better. While she’s looking for a quick hookup, he’s at a point in his life where he’s tired of being a nomad and wants to settle down, get to know a woman, and make a connection. He’s looking for Forever and she’s looking for Right Now…. is it a recipe for disaster, or will Decker give Joanna everything she didn’t know she wanted?

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Chasing Love by Piper Rayne

CHASING LOVE by PIPER RAYNE is AVAILABLE NOW in Print & Audio

It was over between Bennett Owens and me—until I had no place to go but back to Willowbrook.

Seven years ago, he walked away, and I built a new life for myself, swearing never to look back. But when my husband is arrested, that life collapses, leaving my daughter and me with nothing but a three-month plan to return to the small ranch town before disappearing again.

Bennett’s a single dad now. Our girls become inseparable on sight, making it impossible to keep him at arm’s length. Especially when I end up working alongside him, where every glance chips away at the walls I’ve built.

The years apart haven’t dulled the pull between us. Bennett remains protective and patient, determined to prove that we deserve a second chance. But he has no idea about the secret I’ve kept since the day he left.

Because once he learns the truth, he may never forgive me. And like it or not, we’ll be bound together forever—by the daughter he never knew was his.

CHASING LOVE is now live in Kindle Unlimited! Or grab it in duet audio or print!

Start reading –> https://books2read.com/C-L

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Chasing Love is a heartfelt second-chance romance between childhood sweethearts Bennett and Delaney.

Delaney’s world crumbles when her husband is arrested for running a high-profile drug trafficking ring, and she’s forced to move back home to Willowbrook with her young daughter to piece her life back together. But being back home means running into her first love, Bennett, who has been raising his daughter, Wren, all alone since his wife died in childbirth. As it turns out, there’s a reason Bennett never moved on in the seven years since his wife died, and it’s not because he was grieving her…

Bennett and Delaney’s story is told in the present day, but through a series of letters she writes to her incarcerated husband Sean (whom she is divorcing), we learn that she and Bennett briefly reunited seven years ago when they worked at the same company. But when presented with a must-choose situation, Bennett left Delaney behind. That moment changed both of their lives forever, and it’s something he’s regretted ever since. It also led her to keep their child from him all these years.

I find that the secret-child trope can be a tricky one; if I don’t buy the character’s justification for hiding a child from the father, then it’s more or less over for me. I am happy to say that I understood Delaney’s reasons for keeping Leia from Bennett, and I was really glad that it didn’t take him until the very end to forgive her. Sure, he was upset and hurt, and rightfully so. But after a hilltop chat with his mom (I love those, BTW), he got over himself and realized that the endgame was more important than the mistakes they’d both made. How Bennett and Delaney navigated their third chance, which now included their daughters, was just as important a part of this story as the reconciliation. The authors also did a great job with Bennett’s daughter, Wren, and how she struggled with the new family unit after the excitement of her best friend being her sister wore off.

Definitely don’t miss the bonus epilogue that PR has on their website, because it wraps up the whole story in a lovely little bow with some perspective from Sean.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Secret Haven by Catherine Cowles

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐔𝐒𝐀 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞!

The first time I met Kyler Blackwood, he was a bruised and battered boy with fire in his eyes and nowhere safe to land.

Since the first time he kissed me, he was my best-kept secret, my quiet rebellion, my haven in the storm.

But fate forced us apart, making us pretend to be strangers because it hurt too much to be anything else.

Years later, time hasn’t dulled what we felt, has never erased the way we fit. And when Kye’s past collides with my present, everything shifts.

It’s a choice neither of us expected.

A bond that never really broke.

A line we were never meant to cross.

We tell ourselves it’s only temporary, that the arrangement is just a means to an end. But with each passing day, the lie feels more like the truth. And with each stolen touch, Kye feels more like mine. Because some things were never meant to be pretend.

And some dangers are closer than we ever imagined…

𝗲𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 ➝ https://geni.us/ScrtHvnAmzn

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 ➝ https://geni.us/ScrtHvnAudio

𝗗𝗲𝗹𝘂𝘅𝗲 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ➝ https://geni.us/ScrtHvnPaperback

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Secret Haven is the final book in Catherine Cowles’ Sparrow Falls series, and it was absolutely EVERYTHING I was hoping for from the moment I figured out that Fallon and Kyler were going to be a couple. She definitely saved the best for last, and this book was full of so much longing, pain, and devotion in a simmering slow-burn, second-chance, always-been-you marriage of convenience, romantic suspense story that was spectacular. Five stars, no notes.

There are so many little things and so many big things that made Fallon and Kye. Readers of this series have known about their unique bond all along, and now that we have their full story and see how much deeper their relationship went, beyond being foster siblings… I just don’t even have the words to describe it. This story was the most it’s-always-been-you of always-been-you stories.

For years, Fallon and Kyler have been each other’s safe haven, even beyond the bond that their larger family knew that they had. Once they become husband and wife, to help him get custody of his three younger sisters, their bond just intensifies, and all the boundaries they had in place come crashing down. Stella Hunter and Connor Crais narrated this audiobook, and they perfectly capture the range of emotions these two characters experience during their journey.

CC brilliantly tied Kye’s past into the present, gave us three new girls to fall in love with, and lots of special moments with the Colson family. I am sad to say goodbye to this series, but I am really looking forward to her next series with Dex!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Older Brother by Ginger Scott

🥀𝑵𝑬𝑾 𝑹𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑬 🥀

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑶𝑳𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝑩𝑹𝑶𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹 by USA Today bestselling author Ginger Scott is now LIVE! 

𝐎𝐍𝐄-𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘! 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃! ➡️ https://geni.us/TheOlderBrother

What to expect: 

✔️ Slight age gap – 18 and 24

✔️ Ex-boyfriend’s older brother

✔️ Brother rivalry

✔️ Found family

✔️ Angst and jealousy

✔️ A little bit dark

BLURB:

Rowan Anderson was always my fantasy, until suddenly . . . he was intimately real.

My relationship with the Anderson boys would always be doomed by complications.

They were rich, and their father…was my mother’s boss. Her hard work for them paid for my private school education, yet we barely got by.

Caleb, the youngest brother, was my first everything.

But it was Rowan, the older brother, who I saw first.

Last.

Always.

It was one slip in judgement, one night of giving in to temptation, and suddenly I was buried in the Anderson family’s bitterness, secrets and lies. The more I learned, the more I fell. And soon, I was in too deep.

Getting hurt is inevitable, but when Rowan looks at me, I just don’t care.

The question is, does he see Saylor Kelly, his little brother’s ex, or does he see the woman I’m becoming? Or maybe this is all just pretend.

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240856095-the-older-brother

Find more books by Ginger Scott here: www.littlemisswrite.com

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

There’s a lot of family drama packed into The Older Brother! I was expecting a forbidden age-gap romance and a messy situation with Saylor moving on from Caleb, who dumps her right before they graduate high school, to his older brother, Rowan. And while this book had all of that mess, there’s also a tangled web of lies and secrets that Rowan and Saylor get pulled into and are forced to reconcile. Neither of their families are ever the same again!

I loved the contrast betwee uptight Caleb and bad boy Rowan — who turned out not to be a very bad boy at all! The guy is loyal to a fault, and I loved how deeply he cared for his mom, Saylor, and even his brother despite all their differences. Both Saylor and Rowan showed some real vulnerability with each other, and I loved those tender scenes between them.

Well done, Ginger Scott! I’d love to see Saylor’s bestie, Cami, find her guy in the future!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Uncategorized

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal by Meghan Quinn

🎄🎄 MERRY QUINN-MAS 🎄🎄

🎁🎁 Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal is NOW LIVE!! 🎁🎁

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn comes a brand new holiday rom-com with all the humor and heat her fans adore.

Nothing says I love you like trespassing, public humiliation, and a town-wide Christmas spectacle to win your crush back.

Atlas “Max” Maxheimer did not sign up for this. One minute, he’s anxiously trying to keep his family’s Christmas tree farm from imploding. The next? He’s passed out in the snow after getting clocked by a suspiciously strong bottle of soda.

Enter Betty: new in town, full of holiday cheer, and helping her uncle open a rival tree farm next door. Max is convinced she’s out to destroy everything Evergreen Farm stands for. Betty thinks Max might be one sleigh short of a winter parade.

Cue the holiday chaos.

Between blizzards, blown reputations, wildly misguided romantic plots, and one stolen ornament with a seriously tragic backstory, this small-town war turns into something far messier―and much more delicious―than either of them expected.

Tropes:

Holiday hijinks

Small-town laughs

Rivals to lovers

Start reading or listening today: https://mybook.to/MCYFA

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

We go back to the Christmas-loving town of Kringle in Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal. After being Cole’s sidekick in the first book, Atlas “Max” Maxheimer now gets his own chance at love in this Home Alone-inspired, rivals-to-lovers romance that was sweet, spicy, and HILARIOUS.

After having to close her retail store, Betty is down on her luck when her uncle Dwight gives her the opportunity to help him create a new business on a parcel of farmland that he’s owned for years. But the business Dwight wants to open will put the Maxheimers’ tree farm out of business. Nobody in his family believes Max when he gets wind of this, so he sets out to save his family’s farm — and ends up falling hard for Betty along the way.

These characters were so in sync. It’s a wild, messy, chaotic journey, but I loved going along for the ride as Max and Betty fell in love, especially with his Grand Gesture to win her back that involved most of Kringle. There’s a great subplot with the hate that Dwight has for Atlas — and it involves a Christmas tree ornament with a tragic backstory. As much as I laughed throughout this book, the history behind Dwight’s ornament made me shed a tear.

As amazing as this book was, it was even better listening to the audio as I went back and forth between the two versions. Teddy Hamilton and Samantha Brentmoor were phenomenal as Atlas and Betty, with Vanessa Edwin and JF Harding back again as Storee and Cole, additional characters voiced by Robert Hatchet, and Shane East returning as the hilarious narrator. (And yes, we finally find out who the narrator is! Can he get his own book?)

I wish I could have a conversation with Meghan Quinn about where she comes up with some of her scenarios. I really think Atlas and Betty’s use of popcorn tops Cole and Storee’s candy cane escapade. IYKYK. Definitely put this book on your holiday reading list!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Learn The Play by Kaylee Ryan

 
 
Title: Learn the Play
Series: Nashville Rampage #3
Author: Kaylee Ryan
Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance
Tropes: Coach’s Daughter/Forbidden
One Night Stand/Surprise Pregnancy
Release Date: October 14, 2025
 

 

BLURB

 

NYT and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylee Ryan brings you a new standalone series surrounding the Nashville Rampage football team. Learn the Play is a coach’s daughter, forbidden, one-night stand, surprise-pregnancy romance.

 

 
Bellamy
 
I watched my parents’ marriage crumble when my father chose football over family. His love for the game destroyed us. It’s why I loathe it. It’s also why I don’t trust easily.
 
So when I meet a handsome stranger at a hotel bar, we trade nothing but first names. I’m miles from home and I’ll never see him again.
 
Until I do. At a family event with my dad, he’s there—my mystery man from weeks ago. Only now, I know who he is: a football player on my father’s team. Which means I need to forget him… and his tight end.
 
Reid
 
The night I meet the dark-haired beauty at the bar, everything changes. We talk, laugh, and our connection is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. The next morning, she’s gone, leaving me with only her name.
 
I think I’ve lost her, until she walks into my stadium, standing right beside my coach. Fate hands me a second chance, and I’m not letting it slip.
 
To her, I’m just another football player. But I’ll prove to her that I’m not her father… I’m my own man. And my dream girl, she was meant to be mine.
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
PURCHASE LINKS
 
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
 
Free in Kindle Unlimited
 
 
 

 

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

In this latest book from Kaylee Ryan’s Nashville Rampage series, Reid has a one-night stand with a sexy stranger at a hotel… and several weeks later, Bellamy shows up at a team event because it turns out that she is his coach’s daughter. Add on the tropes of he falls first, forbidden romance, a heroine who doesn’t want to date athletes, a golden retriever hero, and a surprise pregnancy, and this story was a joy to read.

Learn The Play is a low-angst read, and was a much-needed escape. Once Bellamy discovered who her sexy stranger really was, she had her walls firmly in place. Reid really had his work cut out for him, but he was such a swoony hero. This book also has a secondary storyline with the fractured relationship between Bellamy and her dad, and I enjoyed seeing them repair that and find a way to move forward. I have really been enjoying this series, the found family, and the support system between all the guys, and I liked how Bellamy was adopted into the friend group.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
ALSO AVAILABLE
 

 

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
 
Free in Kindle Unlimited
 
 

 

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
 
Free in Kindle Unlimited
 
 
 

 

 
 
COMING SOON
 
 
Releasing December 16
 
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
 
Only available at the following
retailers for a limited time
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
AUTHOR BIO

 

 

 

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylee Ryan has been crowned the Queen of Swoon by her readers. With nearly fifty romance books under her belt, she’s known for penning happily ever afters with heart. When she’s not writing, you can find her with a book in her hand or hanging out with her family where she resides in her home state of Ohio.
 

 

AUTHOR LINKS