Ash P Reads

An excellent collection of 6 stories from all of my favorite authors. The stories are set in Holly, North Carolina, where it is Christmas all year round. And of course for Christmas things get taken up a notch.

MELT FOR ME by Elisabeth Naughton - 5 out of 5 stars

Ella McKinley lost pretty much everything she had going for her on one stormy Christmas Eve. Now she is the modern day female version of the Grinch and would like to bypass Christmas altogether. She can’t wait to make enough money so that she can sell her pub Yueltide Spirits and leave Holly behind. Then Tate Kendrick rolls into town, seeking her out and hoping to reconnect. Fans of the Aegis series will recognize Tate Kendrick as the rock star who often hires the Aegis team. Suddenly things start going wrong; vandalism and break-ins have Ella wondering if Tate really wants to get back together or is he just back to take his revenge. Tate must have spent enough time with the Aegis guys because he does a pretty good job at being Ella’s bodyguard.


SWEET RAPTURE by Alexandra Ivy - 4 out of 5 stars

Looks like this is another offering from the Rapture Series. Meg Anderson has returned to her home in Holly, North Carolina after Dylan Cain breaks her heart in Las Vegas. Six months should be enough for her to get back on the road to recovery and mending her heart. Her new flower shop, Silver Bells and a new tenant will provide her with just enough distraction and the financial boost she needs to get her home back into shape. Only Dylan turns out to be her new tenant and maybe the only reason she is still alive because somebody is definitely creeping around her home in search of something.


THE SPY WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS by Cynthia Eden - 4 out of 5 stars

Jemma White is the sweet girl of Holly, North Carolina; figuratively and literally. She has been timid and gun-shy about relationships. Then Grayson Cole walks into her store, Holly Jolly Chocolatier and suddenly she feels safe enough to explore something more with him, even though he is a complete stranger. But a ghost from Grayson’s past follows him to Holly and Jemma finds herself facing off her own demons. Fast paced and full of thrills this short story will leave you a little breathless.


MERRY CHRISTMAS, BABY by Katie Reus - 4 out of 5 stars

This one was a fun story which had me giggling through most of it. Nora and her younger sister Sasha settled in Holly, NC after unexpectedly inheriting a bookstore, Books and Brew. She's been Sasha's legal guardian for a few years now, so romance has been on the back burner for a while. Former SEAL Jackson O’Connor was friend zoned ever since she came to town, but the sizzling attraction between has been there right from the start. When they decide to explore their feeling further, Jackson goes AWOL after the first date. Now he may just lose Nora as well as their friendship. So just when he’s attempting to rekindle their friendship, opportunity strikes in the form of multiple break-ins at her Books and Brew. He’s got his second chance to prove to her that his feelings are sincere and she is the only one for him.


SINFUL IN SNOW by Laura Wright - 5 out of 5 stars

10 years after that fateful night Gabriel Fox walks right into Christmas Carol's Shop and Crafts coming face to face with Carol Cardini, the girl who he thinks destroyed his life. Now he is back to destroy her dreams and take his revenge. He now has the resources and the means to ruin her, something that he has worked hard to achieve over the last 10 years. But he was not prepared for her… at all. Soon he finds that he must change his plans because Carol was never his enemy. In fact, she is the only one who can save him from the black void that has become his existence.


HOME ADVANTAGE by Skye Jordan - 5 out of 5 stars

Meier Grant now an NHL superstar, was always the invisible kid back in high school in his hometown of Holly, North Carolina. Invisible to his peers, his siblings, even his parents. Nobody saw who he was and what he was capable of becoming except maybe his high school coach. 10 years later, forced off the bench to recover from an injury, he finds himself back in Holly, and not so invisible anymore except to maybe Faith Nicholas, the most popular girl back in high school. Only she’s not the same girl he knew back then. Single and solitary, focused on trying to save her late father’s legacy, St. Nicholas Hardware. She doesn’t suck up to his celebrity status like everyone else. What follows is his hilarious pursuit of Faith and her equally hilarious brush-offs until he realizes that there is more to her than just her pretty face.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.