Heather Gray

Popular Journalist & Single mom, Avery Weston, was furious! It was a few days before Christmas and her Christmastime with her son, Eli, was getting ruined! Mitchell was a tough, yet great boss, but what he was demanding was simply too much! He expected her to do a story in a Podunk town in the middle of Nowhere! She had no choice! At least her son could accompany her, along with a photographer.
The trip was a disaster from the start!
Enjoy the humorous, incredible adventures of the threesome on their trip to Nowhere!

The characters were so fun! The author has created delightful personalities in this delightful story, bound to brighten the reader's day! The scenes are painfully portrayed, giving the reader the feeling of being there. The Cover and Title are a perfect fit!

This is a Holiday story to delight YA and adults alike!… (mehr)

In the first of eight great stories we find MISTLETOE IN MONTANA by BELLE CALHOUNE. It is a cute story about Brianna who comes back home after a disastrous marriage. She finds out the ranch she grew up is being sold to an old boyfriend named Luke. I enjoyed the interaction between Brianna and her father. Is it possible to start a new life at the place you left behind? It has a great spirit of family and forgiveness. The interaction between Luke and Brianna was a bit predictable, but overall a nice feel good story .

MATCH MADE FOR CHRISTMAS by DEBRA LYNN COLLINS was very well written. Sierra has just been dumped via text message. What a horrible way to tell someone you want to break up with them. She is heartbroken , but keeps herself busy working at the boutique in the mall . Corbin is the security guard for the mall and has a secret crush on her. I loved the sneaky but thoughtful scheme Sierra's friends cooked up to find her a man for Christmas. Who is her secret admirer? Did her friend's scheme work? The story is filled with love, and friendship. I appreciate how the author showed the characters spending time praying and asking for guidance from God. It is a well written story that made me smile.

MERRY KISSES by VALERIE COMER is a story about Sonya that has always been raised to believe that Santa was a silly thing and the true meaning of Christmas was being lost among all the commercialism. She works at a toy store and is forbidden to say Merry Christmas to customers. I loved the beautiful story that shared the struggles that people have about celebrating Christmas a certain way. The author truly write a faith filled story that captures the heart of Christmas. Heath is a great character who has a heart filled with God's love. His faith was genuine and I loved how he used being Santa to reach out to children and make them feel loved and appreciated. The story will make you cry at times and give you hope at others. It is a story that explains the true meaning of Christmas by the beautiful words of an exceptional author.

UNWRAPPED by CHRISTINA CORYELL is a great story about Trina who decides to go to her roommates family home for Christmas. I enjoyed the traditions the author shared that made the holidays so special for the family. Charlie is a great character who is not afraid to share his faith and love for his family and church. Will Trina and Charlie find happiness? its a nice story with a great message of family and finding love when you don't expect it.

AN INFORMAL CHRISTMAS by HEATHER GRAY is set at a hospital where we see the two main characters dealing with sick children. Riley and Zach do not get along well , but soon that could change. The story is about two people who have a stressful job and try to learn to work together to help children that need them. The author has dynamic characters that make the story come to life.

OPERATION MISTLETOE by ELIZABETH MADDREY is a superb story of two people who have different views on Christmas. Tori is not a happy camper when her editor assigns her a story about Gabe. they were once acquainted in college and she secretly had a crush on him. She must now put her feelings aside and write about Gabe and his silly notion of of over the top celebration of Christmas. Will Tori change her mind about Christmas? will she discover the true meaning and find peace? the book is very inspiring and the message of the true meaning of Christmas and letting go of the past. I loved how the character's interacted and the patience that Gabe showed as he shared his faith and joy of Christmas. This is a book you don't want to miss.

A BOND FOR THE HOLIDAY'S by LEE TOBIN MCCLAIN is a little different type of Christmas story. It doesn't start off with a happy feel good theme. the book is centered around a family secret that is revealed. The family is devastated by the secret and has to deal with a deep rooted secret that will cause bitterness. i loved the story because it has a deep meaning of God's love and how that love changes even the bitter and unforgiving heart. It is very well written with a story that is riveting and gives us raw emotions. this is one story not to miss.

A (kinda) COUNTRY CHRISTMAS by KRISTA PHILLIPS is a fun and great story to read. How would you like to be raised by parents who played Mr. and Mrs. Claus? What if your parents also ran a Christmas shop every single day for three hundred sixty-five days? The story will bring a smile and a great feeling of the Christmas spirit in this enchanting story.
I received a copy of this book from The BookClub Network for an honest review… (mehr)

Larkspur, Idaho Territory - 1878

"He glanced down to see Lizzie standing there. She didn't say a word and kept her gaze focused straight ahead the entire time but she stayed right there by his side. Grady reached out a hand, and she placed hers, small and timid, into his large work-roughened one.

Gigi and the boys had already raced ahead. By the time Lizzie and Grady reached the front door, everyone else was seated and waiting for them. Holding the door open for Lizzie, he gently squeezed her hand. He felt the lightest return pressure before she let go of him and went to her seat. His heart constricted. Maybe he'd imagined the whole thing. Smiling to himself, he decided she couldn't have squeezed his hand. She'd been to busy reaching right inside his chest to squeeze his heart."

I love historical fiction and this book is a great example of why I love it so much. Things were much simpler in 1878. Neighbor helped neighbor, families stuck together and God was often at the center of it all. In the case of Mary Fitzgerald and her brothers and sisters, they had fallen away from God after their mother died because of the abuse and mistreatment of their father. Mary was the oldest at seventeen and she always took the beatings that were meant for her siblings in order to protect them. She was like a mother hen protecting her flock and I admired her strength and determination. But she also had a great mistrust of God and people. She felt her family had been abandoned by God and wanted nothing to do with him. It was so great to see her relationship with God change and evolve into something tangible.

Grady Carlisle, on the other hand, had been a believer his whole life and the only thing holding him back from a relationship with Mary was her unbelief. Grady was such a great hero for the story. He was only twenty-one but he had the heart of someone much older. He had a heart for giving and protecting those he cared about. I loved the way he interacted with Mary's brothers and sisters, teaching them how to farm and improve things around their homestead. He had a sweet tooth for Mary's homemade pies, too, especially strawberry.

There were so many characters I loved in this book, Grady, the Wilkes, the reverend, Mr. Livingston. But the Fitzgerald family has to be my all-time favorite family in any book I have ever read. Little Gigi and her crocodile tears, Lizzie and her timid spirit and huge heart, Clive and his strong desire to be a man and protect his family, Bobby who was determined to make something of himself despite their circumstances and Mary with her strength and determination. I really hope there might be future books about the other members of the Fitzgerald clan. For me, this book had all of the aspects of a great novel. It made me laugh as well as cry. It had a great plot and the right amount of spiritual overtones. The scene where Lizzie talks to the reverend about being saved was one of the most touching scenes I have ever read. It talked about abuse, a subject that's not often covered in historical romances, and I thought that was a great addition to the storyline. It was a real "coming to Jesus" story, a story of restoration, as the entire family had lost their way but eventually their relationship with God was repaired. I knew I would love this book as soon as I read the first page because it drew me into the story and held me and I could barely put it down. The first chapter of a book is critical for a reader and this one was excellent. I also loved the tender scene where Grady returned to Larkspur and saw Mary for the first time. The relationship between Grady and Mary progressed slowly throughout the book but that scene was so beautiful and left me smiling from ear to ear, the entire book left me smiling. This is my second book by Heather Gray and I have been very pleased with both. If you haven't read any of her books I recommend you give them a try and I suggest starting with this book because I know from my own reading experience that it is excellent. I highly recommend it to anyone that likes historical romance!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author for my honest review. The opinions expressed are mine alone. I received no monetary compensation for this review.… (mehr)

Grace and Thomas had been best friends since they were young. He was someone she could always turn to. So when she asked her father if she could have a Season and he said some very hurtful things, it was Thomas who gave her comfort. But when Lady Appleton found them in an embrace there was nothing to do but get married of ruin her reputation. But could she make him understand that it was a complete accident and she hadn't contrived to trap him into marriage or would he forever believe her capable of such an act?

Thomas had always loved Grace's spirit and outspokenness. Ever since childhood he had enjoyed spending time with her. Having inherited his father's estate and title as duke at a young age, women were constantly trying to trap him into marriage. When he was discovered comforting Grace and forced into marriage he assumed she had tricked him like so many others had tried and he was furious with her. But on their way to his castle in Northumberland, Thomas' conscience began plaguing him and he knew he had been treating Grace unfairly. Was his conscience also trying to tell him he loved her? Could they have a marriage in more than name only?

This was a short novella at only 113 pages but a very delightful story. I loved Grace's sharp wit and unconventional ways but I truly wanted to shake Thomas in the beginning. I warmed up to him quickly, though. Thomas' valet and friend, Rupert, was a delight especially once he loosened up. The story was believable and the characters were endearing. The attention to detail was was great also. Bottom line, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if you love novellas set in England you will love it. Definitely recommended.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Astraea Press for my honest review. The opinions stated are mine and mine alone and I received no monetary compensation.… (mehr)