Monday, December 16, 2013

HOLIDAY REVIEWS: CROSS COUNTRY CHRISTMAS and A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER

Cross Country Christmas - The 12 NA's of Christmas (A Woodfalls Girls)Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: A.T. Publishing
Publication Date: 11/1/13
Format: Paperback
Pages: 162
Source: Author/no obligation to reveiw
Rating: 3.5 stars

***Cross Country Christmas is proud to be a part of The 12 NA's of Christmas ***
12 New Adult Novellas. 12 Best Selling Authors. November 2013.

With the holiday season upon her, Jamie Foster is once again stressed about making her yearly visit back home to Woodfalls, still single. Fate intervenes in the form of Grant Johnson, a boy she grew up with, who catches the same flight while returning home from a business trip.

When a malfunction sends their plane crashing down on the runway upon takeoff, Jamie and Grant decide to rent a car and make the nine-hundred-mile drive home together. Ironically for them, anything that can go wrong does as they face one hysterical hurdle after another.

Christmas may finally bring Jamie the gift of love she has always wanted if she and Grant can manage to overcome a few obstacles along the way. Ho-ho-ho!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18107073-cross-country-christmas---the-12-na-s-of-christmas
 
 
Cross Country Christmas was a fun Christmas novella, full of disastrous traveling adventures, the reuniting of two old friends, and a sweet, slow-building romance.
 
It's been a while since I've read a book of King's, I'd forgotten how humorous and snarky her heroines can be. Jamie was no exception, and I loved how flustered and aggravated she was when she ran into Grant after years away from Woodfalls. Grant is the guy Jamie has been hung up on for, well, forever, but had lost her chance. Grant was a real sweetie, and I loved how his calm and dry humor balanced against Jamie. Grant is definitely a guy who's been sold short in Jamie's mind, and it was fun to see her get to know him all over again and realize how great he is.
 
Cross Country Christmas was a very sweet and very funny holiday novella.
 
 
Favorite Quote:
 
  Despite my bug phobia, it didn't escape my notice that Grant was wearing nothing but boxer briefs that left little to the imagination. It was at that moment that I remembered I had neglected to put on pajamas before I fell asleep. My eyes met Grant's as he came to two obvious conclusions at once. One--I wasn't being attacked by some mass murderer, and two--I was standing in the middle of the room stark naked with the exception of my Care Bears socks.
 
 
About the author
Tiffany KingUSA Today Bestselling author Tiffany King is a lifelong reading fanatic who is now living her dream as a writer, weaving Young Adult and New Adult romance tales for others to enjoy. She has a loving husband and two wonderful kids. (Five, if you count her three spoiled cats). Her addictions include: Her iphone and ipad, chocolate, Diet Coke, chocolate, Harry Potter, chocolate, zombies and her favorite TV shows. Want to know what they are? Just ask.



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A Christmas to Remember (Chaos, #2.5; Last Chance, #5.5)Series: Chaos #2.5
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Forever Yours
Publication Date: 12/5/13
Format: Kindle
Source: Purchase
Rating: 4.5  stars


Curl up with this heartwarming Christmas collection!

Jill Shalvis, Dream a Little Dream: Melissa has kept every man at a safe distance-especially firefighter Ian, a sexy friend with sexy benefits. But Ian secretly longs for more. Luckily, 'tis the season for giving love a chance . . .

Kristen Ashley, Every Year: Holidays don't come easy for Shy and his brother, Landon. But with the magic of Christmas, along with a little help from Tabby and her family, the Cage brothers are about to get the gift of a lifetime . . .

Hope Ramsay, Silent Night: Down on her luck and evicted from her apartment, single mother Maryanne hopes to start over in Last Chance. When the snow begins to fall, it looks like her baby might literally spend Christmas Eve in a manger. And Maryanne might celebrate the holiday with a handsome stranger.

Molly Cannon, Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas: Lincoln is a bachelor who's set in his ways-until a professional organizer dressed up as Mrs. Claus changes his life, one tip at a time. . . 
Marilyn Pappano, A Family for Christmas: War widow Ilena doesn't mind spending Christmas alone. But when a new doctor blows into town with the winter wind, will she get her secret Christmas wish?

Plus: Excerpts from upcoming novels!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17899995-a-christmas-to-remember?from_search=true



This review only includes Every Year, by Kristen Ashley 
Kristen Ashley, Every Year: Holidays don't come easy for Shy and his brother, Landon. But with the magic of Christmas, along with a little help from Tabby and her family, the Cage brothers are about to get the gift of a lifetime . . .
 I bought A Christmas to Remember for one reason only, Kristen Ashley. Though, I'm sure the other stories are great and do intend to read them at some point. But seriously, there was no way I was missing out on a Chaos Christmas story.

If you've read Own the Wind, you will recognize just how meaningful the title Every Year is. It's a promise from Shy to Tabby - one his father gave to his mother. But it is also a promise from Tabby to Shy, as well as his brother Landon. A promise that brought tears to my eyes more times than should be possible in such a short story.

As always, Kristen Ashley delivers laughter among the tears. The tiny Allens, Rider and Cutter are mini badasses at the ages of six and four. Tack is as sage and awesome as ever. Landon Parker has been pulled into the Allen fold, and Rush is a full-fledged badass I can't wait to know better. And the women, Tyra and Tabby are treasured and loved. They are the perfect counterparts to their men.

Every Year was another beautiful story from the unbeatable Kristen Ashley.
 
 
Favorite Quotes:

  "Why're you sad, Tabby?" he whispered.
  "I'm not, honey," I whispered back.
  He pushed closer to both Shy and me, his face now confused.
  "But you're cryin'," he told me.
  I curved an arm around my baby bro and explained, "Sometimes, something so beautiful happens, you can't process it and it builds up inside so big, you can't do anything but cry."
  "I hope that never happens to me," he replied.
  "And I hope it happens to you all the time," I returned.  
 

About Kristen Ashley
Kristen AshleyKristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA. She nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn't taken her first breath!).

Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana but has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.

Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multi-generational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland and existed amongst the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).

Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.

And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.


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29 comments:

  1. Aww these books sound perfect for picking up over Christmas, I always enjoy reading something short and sweet and these books sound perfect! Thanks for putting them on my radar Andrea! :)

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  2. I bought Cross County Christmas but I haven't read it yet. Soon. I read all of the stories in A Christmas to Remember. Every Year was my least favorite though. I think it was mostly because I didn't know the characters and it didn't come across as having any meaning without knowing the back story.

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    1. Yes, you really need to know the characters and their history to appreciate how special the holiday is for Shy and Landon.

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  3. LOL Andrea! I bought A Christmas to Remember for the SAME reason. As soon as I saw Kristen Ashley my 1-Click finger automatically went in motion. I didn't even know what the story was going to be about. Then, I read it was a Chaos story and nearly flipped out. I'll be reading it this weekend when I'm on my holiday break. I can't wait!!

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  4. SwEET AND funny sounds great, esp right in time for holidays

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  5. My only Christmas read is JStone's Crystal Lake book and though I love her and the series, it's a little too heavy for my taste. I should probably check this out, I don't want to be torn up and all emotional, the weather in my neck of the woods is doing that already. I need a cheery escape

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    1. JStone's book is very heavy, but I absolutely loved it.

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  6. Everyone seems to be really enjoying the 12 NA's of Christmas... hopefully I can squeeze a few in before Christmas! I'm glad you enjoyed the Kristen Ashley Christmas story as well! Great reviews!

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  7. I have yet to read a Christmas story or any of these novellas. I've been seeing them everywhere though. Definitely puts you more in the Christmas mood :)

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  8. So fun to see these christmasy books reviewed. I'm glad that you enjoyed both. I think I have Tiffany's Miss Me Not (is that one of her titles?) Also, I have heard so many great things about her books that I can't help but want to read some of them soon:) Snarky heroines are always a plus in my book!

    "Kristen Ashley delivers laughter among the tears." You cute little KA nut! Seriously :D I have never in my entire life seen such a hardcore KA fan as you and I'm so happy that this book delivered to you. I have heard the names, but don't really know any of these characters, but I'd like to get to know them. Lovely reviews, Andrea!

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    1. You've given me the best compliment ever. KA is my hero! lol

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  9. Oh I want Cross Country Christmas! Snarky heroine + dry humor from hero = must read for me!

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  10. Yeah, I probably wouldn't notice any bugs if a hot guy was sitting around in his boxer briefs either. :P The 12 NAs of Christmas sounds like a fun event! It's always great when authors/publishers get creative like that.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  11. I won a Christmas to Remember, but it will have to wait until next year..LOL I am hoping to snag a few of the holiday NA books too when they go on sale.

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    2. There are some great stories in the 12 NAs of Christmas.

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  12. I love how Tiffany King uses humor in her stories! I LOVED Shy and Tabby's story, and cried in that one too! It was such a beautiful, and heartfelt series, and was my absolute favorite in the anthology! Thanks for introducing me to Kristen Ashley!!!

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  13. Great reviews, Andrea. As I've said, I don't read many holiday-themed stories. But reading your reviews has really made me want to! ;) You know I'm planning on reading KA ALL because of you! So I loved that you said you bought the anthology solely because she was in it. I'm glad the story was all you wanted it to be. I've not yet read Tiffany King either but I love snark, so I'll definitely check out her books sometime. But NOT before I read some KA! LOL

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  14. I haven't read Tiffany King's novella, but I am about to start A Christmas to Remember. Great reviews. I'm really looking forward to Jill Shalvis' story.

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  15. Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed both of these! I admit I saw the second compilation and I wanted to read it because of Kristen Ashley- because I know how much you adore her!!! LOL!

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  16. Fun. I have a few more Christmas ones I want to get to. I enjoyed Cross Country Christmas.

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  17. Cross Country Christmas sounds like one I would really enjoy! A road trip, holiday and romance sounds like a total win!

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  18. These sound really great!! I won a signed copy of Cross Country Christmas and it's been staring at me from my computer desk. It sounds like a perfect holiday read!!

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  19. Glad you enjoyed these. I just bought my second RC book and I'm dying to get a chance to start it. You have me hooked!

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