Kay Springsteen wrote a beautiful Regency romance set at Christmas. The Toymaker was wonderfully written, I loved that this book started in modern day with a mother and her two children stopping at a shop where a crate of old toys was discovered. They bought the entire box and a doll. While continuing on their way to the mall some papers were discovered in the box. The papers were dated to 200 years before!
This is where the story begins. Ivy is expected to marry. Her parents the Duke and Duchess of Wythorpe have been parading suitors before her for awhile now. Her younger sister is already happily married, the Duke and Duchess believe it is time for their eldest daughter to get married. Ivy does not care for any of the men that her parents introduce her to, she wants to find love. Ivy is a sweet girl who does what she can to help out the families that live on the land her family owns, families that she truly cares about. She meets Phillip Green at the dressmakers' shop; Ivy's grandmother (who can no longer see) wanted a man's thought on the color of dress Ivy is to wear to the infamous Kringle Ball, where Ivy's parents are intending for her to finally find a match. Phillip picks the color that Ivy was shaking her head no at. He thought the color would suit her better.
When they next meet it is because he rescues her and her friend. Ivy discovers then that Phillip is a toymaker and plans to search out an apprentice from one of the families that works for her parents. Ivy finds his riding glove and keeps it.
Meanwhile Ivy's parents are trying to introduce her to the Duke of Greenbriar (Ivy does not know that the old Duke passed away and left his title and inheritance to his nephew). She is appalled that they would be so desperate to marry her off that they would choose an old man. She never wants to meet him.
Phillip never wanted to be a Duke, he loves making toys. When his uncle passed away all that he owned fell to Phillip. He kept right on making toys and giving them to children. He finds that he wants to know more about Ivy. Once he discovers that she is the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Wythorpe he had already been introduced to her as a toymaker. He has also discovered that she wants nothing to do with the Duke of Greenbriar. This leaves him to deceive her so that he can spend time with her.
As the two begin to fall in love will the deceit that has been laid out rip them apart before their relationship can ever blossom?
You can pick up this sweet and CLEAN romance at Amazon or at Barnes and Noble.
Happy Reading!!!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Laughed and cringed through Curing the Uncommon Man-Cold
I sat down to read Curing the Uncommon Man-cold a few days after Christmas. I had been reading pretty much nothing but Christmas books and wanted to read something a bit different. I certainly found what I was searching for when I came across this "screwball comedy" I actually laughed which caused my children to want to know what I was reading.
Amanda is crazy busy at work, the next two weeks are sort of do or die for her at the office and at this exact same time is when her boyfriend Jason comes down with a man-cold. She tells him that he can't stay with her but he insists and moves himself in without permission. Amanda turns to her friend Christine for help.
Christine comes up with the Scare Cure to cure Jason man-colds forever. Christine establishes a blog (no good can come from that right?) so that other women can learn from their experiment on Jason. She figures that she is not only helping her friend Amanda but helping all of womankind by giving them the Scare Cure so that they will no longer have to drop EVERYTHING the second their man comes down with the sniffles.
Jason is completely oblivious to the fact that Amanda does not want him there, he just wants someone to baby him through his cold. The things that he endures!! The girls take away the cable, sugary foods, well pretty much all food since all they left him with was health food that he refused to eat.
At first I thought Jason deserves this, he was told to not stay there, then it was repeated more than once. Pretty soon, I started pulling for Jason though. By the end of the book I was a huge Jason fan, even though I thought he was kind of a jerk at the beginning of the book.
You are going to have to pick up Curing the Uncommon Man-Cold at Amazon in order to find out why I ended up rooting for Jason. J. L. Salter did a wonderful job with this book. I look forward to checking out more books of his in the future.
Happy Reading!!
Amanda is crazy busy at work, the next two weeks are sort of do or die for her at the office and at this exact same time is when her boyfriend Jason comes down with a man-cold. She tells him that he can't stay with her but he insists and moves himself in without permission. Amanda turns to her friend Christine for help.
Christine comes up with the Scare Cure to cure Jason man-colds forever. Christine establishes a blog (no good can come from that right?) so that other women can learn from their experiment on Jason. She figures that she is not only helping her friend Amanda but helping all of womankind by giving them the Scare Cure so that they will no longer have to drop EVERYTHING the second their man comes down with the sniffles.
Jason is completely oblivious to the fact that Amanda does not want him there, he just wants someone to baby him through his cold. The things that he endures!! The girls take away the cable, sugary foods, well pretty much all food since all they left him with was health food that he refused to eat.
At first I thought Jason deserves this, he was told to not stay there, then it was repeated more than once. Pretty soon, I started pulling for Jason though. By the end of the book I was a huge Jason fan, even though I thought he was kind of a jerk at the beginning of the book.
You are going to have to pick up Curing the Uncommon Man-Cold at Amazon in order to find out why I ended up rooting for Jason. J. L. Salter did a wonderful job with this book. I look forward to checking out more books of his in the future.
Happy Reading!!
Friday, December 13, 2013
A Trip to Nowhere
I took some time for myself, I stopped reading and started dealing with my own book. When I got the book Nowhere for Christmas by Heather Gray I decided that it would be the first book I would read since it is so close to Christmas. This book was amazing!
Heather Gray writes some of the best faith based books I have read. I love that God is a huge part of the lives of her characters. I also enjoy the realism of her characters. I truly felt like I got to know Avery, Eli and Gavin while they were on their road trip.
Avery is a journalist who just happens to be a single mother who is very devoted to her son. She has done her best to raise him with humor, to be both mom and dad to him and to always be there for him. When she is told that she has to go to Nowhere, Oklahoma on assignment AND she has to be there ON Christmas she is concerned that her teenage son, Eli will be disappointed about not being able to go on the ski trip that was planned. On top of having to cancel their plans, she is told that they will be travelling with a photographer whom she has never met. Avery is such a great character. I enjoyed her sense of humor and her banter with her son. They have a great relationship, she is always trying to protect him. Not only because she loves him but also because his father never wanted a thing to do with him; it is hard for a mother to see her child have to deal with that growing up.
Gavin is the mysterious photojournalist who simply disappeared from his career for awhile before coming to work for the newspaper. This is the kind of guy that I think anyone could develop a crush on. He is a true gentleman. This is the first Christmas where he would have been alone until he was told to go to Nowhere with Avery and Eli.
The road trip had me laughing. How many disasters can happen on one road trip? First, they get a junker of a rental car, food poisoning, a flat tire, and the list goes on. All through the many disasters of this trip the three main characters grow closer to each other. The people they meet along the way are incredibly well developed even though they are in the story for brief appearances.
This book has now gone to be on my Christmas reading list. I will enjoy it again next Christmas season, if not before then. Pick up a copy today at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. You will not be disappointed. Heather Gray writes incredible books that make you want to read everything else she has written.
I hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season. Happy Reading!!
Heather Gray writes some of the best faith based books I have read. I love that God is a huge part of the lives of her characters. I also enjoy the realism of her characters. I truly felt like I got to know Avery, Eli and Gavin while they were on their road trip.
Avery is a journalist who just happens to be a single mother who is very devoted to her son. She has done her best to raise him with humor, to be both mom and dad to him and to always be there for him. When she is told that she has to go to Nowhere, Oklahoma on assignment AND she has to be there ON Christmas she is concerned that her teenage son, Eli will be disappointed about not being able to go on the ski trip that was planned. On top of having to cancel their plans, she is told that they will be travelling with a photographer whom she has never met. Avery is such a great character. I enjoyed her sense of humor and her banter with her son. They have a great relationship, she is always trying to protect him. Not only because she loves him but also because his father never wanted a thing to do with him; it is hard for a mother to see her child have to deal with that growing up.
Gavin is the mysterious photojournalist who simply disappeared from his career for awhile before coming to work for the newspaper. This is the kind of guy that I think anyone could develop a crush on. He is a true gentleman. This is the first Christmas where he would have been alone until he was told to go to Nowhere with Avery and Eli.
The road trip had me laughing. How many disasters can happen on one road trip? First, they get a junker of a rental car, food poisoning, a flat tire, and the list goes on. All through the many disasters of this trip the three main characters grow closer to each other. The people they meet along the way are incredibly well developed even though they are in the story for brief appearances.
This book has now gone to be on my Christmas reading list. I will enjoy it again next Christmas season, if not before then. Pick up a copy today at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. You will not be disappointed. Heather Gray writes incredible books that make you want to read everything else she has written.
I hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season. Happy Reading!!
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