emileereadsbooks's reviews
1113 reviews

It's 1789 and Martha Ballard is writing herself into the page of history. Based on the real Martha Ballard is an experienced midwife. In her 30 years of helping women deliver babies, she has never lost a mother. But now her role of knowing the enter workings of Hallowell, Maine, is expanded to include investigating a murder after an attempted rapist she took testimony against shows up dead in the ice. 

Told over the course of one winter, this story follows Martha as she navigates the scandal, gossip, and prejudices in her close knit town to get to the truth. Her loyalties are tested and her family is involved, so what will it look like for justice to be served? 
____
I have seen this book described as a book about motherhood, old married love, and justice. And it is about all those things. But my takeaway from the theme of this book is that it's a book about power. Who holds it and how do you use power for your benefit or the benefit of others. 

On paper this is a book that is not necessarily in my wheelhouse. It has beautiful prose and at it's core is a book about this woman's everyday life. Yes she is involved in this rape trial, but it's not too far off her ordinary existence. But Ariel Lawhon fleshed about this story and infused it with character development and transportive atmospheric descriptions that I stayed up way past my bedtime enthralled with the people and happenings of this town.

I fully immersed myself in this story and I'm so glad I read this with my book club because there is so much to discuss in these pages. And the ending. You will definitely want to have someone to talk about that with! 

Because of the elements of old married love and having a firecracker female as a medical professional, this book gives me Outlander vibes. So if you are an Outlander fan, especially the later books, I think you will enjoy this one. 
_____
Content warning: language, murder, violence, birth stories (both positive and negative), graphic recollections of sexual assault, attempted abortion, pregnancy out of wedlock (and shaming for such).
_____
Thanks to Netgalley and Double Day Books for the gifted book. All opinions are my own)

Taylor is gearing up for a busy Christmas season. She has her cafe to run and she's in charge of Christmas Town, Creekville's top Christmas tradition. 

Levi is back in town after avoiding it and Taylor for the last four years. Good thing his job as a reporter gives him an excuse to spend his holidays in war zones. Because war zones are more favorable than facing the awkward aftermath of a mistletoe kiss with your best friend.

But now Taylor is the one avoiding him. But when the flu threatens to spoil Christmas and one little boy's belief in Santa, Levi volunteers to help Taylor save Christmas magic. Their rescue road trip is threatened by a blizzard and they have to overcome being snowed in a cabin surrounded by mistletoe laden trees. 

Will they both uncover their feelings they have stuffed down for years? Will Christmas be saved?
_____
Melanie Jacobson does it again. This story is doused in nostalgia and Christmas stereotypes and I was eating up every page. Give me all the holiday sweetness. I adore a friends to lovers story and the addition of these meddling families was the whipped cream on top. Plus Taylor's antics in avoiding Levi were so excellent. I was smiling throughout. 

This book does deal children missing their deployed father, but it is handled with grace and care.
_____
This is a closed door, kisses only rom com.
_____
Thank you to the author for the book to review. All opinions are my own. 

Noelle inherited her grandmother's house and the upkeep that comes with it. But she's a busy elementary school teacher on a budget so her list of repairs has been growing. Her friends decide t rent her an elf too help her out.

Liam is a contractor and handyman who had the brilliant idea to market himself as an elf at Christmas and it's drumming up quite a bit of business. 

When he knocks on Noelle's door he expects a grandma and she expects a crusty old man. But both are in for a surprise when she opens the door. 
_____
What a brilliant rom com concept! Renting an elf and having a large attractive man show up on your doorstep is quite the set up! I loved the chemistry between Noelle and Liam and how natural everything felt. Their story is so sweet and I was inspired to curl up in front of the fire with my sweetheart this Christmas too. 
_____
This is a closed door, kisses only rom com.

Thank you to the author for the book to review. All opinions are my own. 

Tess didn't foresee get arrival back in town being punctuated by getting trapped in bathroom in one of the oldest buildings in Charleston, but here she is. Thankfully the EMS guy Drew keeps her calm as she's waiting to be rescued. And when she is set free, what a sight for sore eyes he is!

Drew all the sudden has gotten a reply to the Santa letter he wrote as a kid. And he is enjoying corresponding with this woman who reminds him an awful lot of Tess, the woman he had now blown off twice, for good reason.

Will Christmas magic unite these two lonely hearts?
_____
The secret pen pal trope is hard to pull off, but I enjoyed every second of this holiday read. Tess and Drew are both contending with the world's their parents bequeathed them with, and the way they navigate that isn't heavy handed, but still gets to the heart of the issues. Plus the way they seem to be magnetized to each other was very fun to read.
_____
This is a closed door, kisses only rom com. 

Thank you to the author for the book to review. All opinions are my own. 

Grace heads into the Christmas season prepping for her sister's marriage to an English Lord. But circumstances drastically change and she finds herself marrying Lord Frederick and heading to England to settle into his estate. 

Lord Frederick married for money to save his estate, but a mystery is afoot threatening all that he holds dear, which is starting to include his new wife.

Can Frederick and Grace work together to save Havensbrook Hall from the ghosts of its past and the specters of its present? Will their marriage blossom from one of convenience to one of love?
_____
I had seen several people recommend this book, but honestly didn't pick it up until now because there cover is underwhelming. The contents are much too delightful for this average cover. 

Pepper Basham writes with exuberance that leaps off the page. Grace is such a bubbly delight of a character. And while she maybe naive, she isn't dumb and I adore that her book smarts and charm serve her so well. 

I could easily imagine myself as Grace. If I had been raised in the same circumstances, I could have easily had the same verve that she does in her circumstances.

This is a closed door book but the couple is married so amorous situations are tastefully alluded to. That being said, if you aren't up for hearing a newlywed fawn over her new husband, this book isn't for you. 
_____
This is a closed door mystery and romance. 

 Jillian is a location scout for a small movie studio. She is headed to Sheet Cake, Texas to check it out. But for some reason the grumpy and gorgeous executive, Case, is coming with her. Which makes her nervous and kind of excited. When her car breaks down, it kicks off Case actually talking to her and them getting to know one another. Could Case not be the man she had him pegged as? Could their relationship be not strictly professional?

_____

I love a good forced proximity book! These two have a lot of layers to peel back, and I don't know how Emma St Clair does it, but in this short novella she give the character development room to breathe and progress. I loved how Case got better and better as the book went along. And of course there is the characteristic hilarious animal scene in an Emma book that had me snickering out loud.

A fun Christmas-y novella set in the world of Sheet Cake, but can be read as a stand alone.

_____

This is a closed door, kisses only rom com.

Thanks to the author for the free audiobook! All opinions are my own. 

Olive just wants a quiet Christmas in which she doesn't have to deal with her emotions. Being stuck fake dating her work nemesis at a Vermont Christmas Lodge with her family is NOT what she had in mind. 

She doesn't date coworkers and Miles gets under her skin in the worst way. Or maybe, it's not the worst. Because Miles sees her for who she is and she can't hide behind the sham of her emotional mask anymore. Maybe he's the key to dealing with her emotional baggage. 
_____
Hi, hello, where have I been that this is my first Cindy Steel book?! This is was EXCELLENT. The flirting and banter and chemistry were beyond compelling. I loved Olive and Miles and the hurdles they had to jump through to be get their HEA. They dealt with some heavy stuff but it was believable and woven in with the shenanigans so well. Top Christmas read of 2023 for me. 
_____
This is a closed door, kisses only rom com. 

 

Lottie Jones spent all of her college career planning her wedding while pursuing her Mrs. degree instead of the law degree she said she was pursuing. But when that doesn't work out, she graduates college and isn't sure what to do with herself. Until she finds the world of luxury southern wedding planning. She dives deep into the world of unlimited budgets, unfettered extravagance, and some interesting wedding visions; all while discovering she has quite the knack for this work. So when her boss announces he is opening a new office, she throws her hat in the ring. But that means planning her ex's wedding to an actual movie star. Things may just get a little too crazy for her to handle.

___

I thought this was such a fun jump into the world this luxury world of Southern weddings. Living in Dallas, I have been on the periphery of some of this wedding culture and it all rang so true to me. Lottie is a relatable character. Graduating college and not having a clear life direction is so common, but not talked about enough and I really appreciated how Lottie worked out her identity within these pages. 

Claire Sommers was a Dallas society girl, forced to flee town after the fallout of a very poor decision that left her with a marred reputation and a frozen trust fund. She tanked her career in wedding planning, but she is starting over in another niche of the wedding industry, the wedding magazine. And when her boss likes her idea for a docu-series on the outlandish Southern weddings they cover, she brings in wedding social media influencer Dominic to be her unwanted partner on the project. And as they cover some extravagant nuptials, they discover that maybe they make a good team after all. And Claire realizes she has to deal with her past to be able to live in the present
___
Claire and Dominic have such great chemistry and banter. And even though Claire is a hard to like character at times, her growth throughout this book have you rooting for her to become a person that you will like. And Dominic is perfection in a male lead. He is definite book boyfriend goals. The focus in this book is not the romance, but Claire's career and personal growth, and I enjoy that the plot left space for that.

Thanks to Libro.fm, Harper Audio, and Harper Muse Books for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House for the gifted book. All opinions are my own. 

Starr is headed home for the holidays, but it's not all candy canes and twinkle lights for her. She was laid off from her big NYC job and now as the youngest of 5 kids she's keeping that a secret to try and maintain the status quo. Especially since this holiday season includes her sister marrying her ex-boyfriend. 

Waylon shows up to his best friend's family Thanksgiving and is immediately enamored with his baby sister. Starr has grown up and he feels a magnetic tug towards her. That tug only gets stronger as she gets involved in trying to save his late mother's Christmas store with him. 

Waylon and Starr have to navigate their feelings for one another as they also figure out what are the next steps in their careers. Will they walk those next steps together or apart?
______
What a fast and fun novella. I always appreciate rom coms where the leads feel like they are having conversations that someone in a real life relationship would have and you can find that here. And Starr and Waylon navigate their relationship and three next steps in their careers they deal with big feelings, but they don't act like petulant children about them. 

I also appreciated that the faith elements in this one were front of mind while feeling organic. A fine line to walk in Christian fiction. 
_____
This is a closed door, kisses only romance.