Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Marlene @ReadingReality and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, be they physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
This seemed like a great feature to jump onboard with to help me avoid my interminably long monthly posts of all that I’ve bought (and NOT read). So here goes!
This is just me popping in as I clearly couldn’t stay away! I had a great bookish week with several Christmas freebies, some great bargains and a Christmas treat to myself (as of all the others weren’t). I dropped in to The Works ostensibly to look at children’s games but it seemed a shame to leave all those books unloved so … This weeks damage only £8.55
(NB This post features Affiliate links from which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases)
eBooks
Hide-Away Heart by Melanie Harlow (78p)
All I wanted was a break–two weeks off from being Pixie Hart, country music sensation, and fourteen days of peace, privacy, and solitude as plain old Kelly Jo Sullivan.
But thanks to some overzealous paparazzi, my family refuses to let me go anywhere alone, and I’m stuck sharing this tiny cabin with a tall, dark, and bearded bodyguard.
And guess what? There’s only one bed.
Well, he can couch it.
Xander Buckley might be hotter than a stolen blow torch, and I get that he’s a former Navy SEAL and all, but the man gives new meaning to the words overbearing, overprotective, bossy alpha male. I can’t even post a photo on social media without him warning me it’s not safe, or take a morning jog without him following behind.
But he’s made it clear that what he says goes, and if I don’t like it, I can kiss my vacation goodbye.
Instead, I end up kissing him.
I don’t even know how it happened–one minute we were at each other’s throats, the next we were at each other’s mercy. What’s even more shocking is how good we are together. He understands my need for freedom, and I understand his need for control.
But emotional trust doesn’t come easily to me. And we’re on two completely different paths.
Without question, I’d put my life in his hands.
Just don’t ask me to give him my heart.
Christmas and Other Inconveniences by Tracy Broemmer (was free now £3.15)
Jessica Bradshaw needs a date for her friend’s big city wedding. With her safe dates all busy on that fateful weekend, she’s running out of time.
Everyone in Holly Creek, New York, knows about the crazy bet Chelsea Calhoun’s bridesmaids and Rex Buchanan’s groomsmen made, including Hayes Kelley, Jessica’s boss. Hayes is happy to offer up single men in Holly Creek for her consideration, but he has no interest in being her wedding date—mainly because he has no interest in weddings.
Still, as her boss and friend, Hayes knows showing up at the wedding without a date will goose Jessica’s anxiety through the steeple of that big city church. How can he not give in and offer to be her date just to get her through what could be a horribly nerve-wracking weekend for her?
Jessica’s doubtful at first. Hayes Kelley at a wedding? And yet, the idea grows on her. He might be grumpy and set in his ways, but after working with him for the past ten years, she knows him well, and his presence at the wedding would be a comfort to her. They might even have fun together.
But what happens when the two of them willingly cross the line of friendship and find themselves in foreign territory? Will the wedding of the century end ten years of friendship for Jessica and Hayes? Or will they admit there just might be more to their relationship?
Escape for Christmas by Phillipa Ashley (99p)
Sophie used to adore everything about Christmas. Hot chocolate and velvet bows, fairy lights and mince pies.
Until the December her fiancé jilted her.
Since then, Sophie opened Sunnyside Hotel, a quaint guesthouse nestled deep in the Cumbrian countryside.
And, though it might be winter at Sunnyside, it’s never Christmas.
Marketing her hotel to those who wish to avoid the festivities, Sophie is busy preparing for a season full of joy and laughter, but without the tinsel and mistletoe.
Yet, as she finds herself growing closer to her gorgeous neighbour, Brody, her heart begins to melt.
Will this Christmas bring the touch of magic Sophie needs to give love another chance?
Lawson by Samantha Whiskey (78p)
I’ve just been drafted onto the one NHL franchise that never should’ve been: the Bangor Badgers.
The team is on the cusp of failure and the only thing lower than their number of wins last season is their ticket sales. But thanks to me, that’s all about to change. Nothing will stand in my way of turning us into a winning team…
Until a stranger who gives me the hottest kiss of my life turns out to be my new skate coach.
Blakely Wren is gorgeous, funny, and brilliant on the ice. Her figure skating days have made her a perfect asset for the Badgers, and her take-no-prisoners attitude has me signing up for more lessons than necessary.
Things heat up between us the more time we spend on the ice, and soon it’s not just the Stanley Cup I want to win this season—it’s her heart.
Only problem?
She’s completely off-limits and has a toxic past that’s made her wary of all things relationship. She’s hiding something too, and her secret is big enough to put both our jobs on the line.
And in the end, I’ll have to choose—the girl of my dreams or the career I’ve worked my entire life for.
Replay by Amy Daws (was free now £4.13)
Not all players deserve a second chance… no matter how hot their first chance was.
Football club lawyer, Santino Rossi is known in the locker room as the two-month chump. For years he’s been on a mission to find someone he can share his basil plant with and cure him of his former playboy ways.
Tilly Logan is a fiery, Scottish lass who didn’t bat an eye five years ago when a smoldering Italian pulled her into a nightclub bathroom. He was dark, dangerous, and exactly the good time Tilly was looking for—even if he worked for her over-protective brother’s team.
But a lot has changed and when Tilly returns to London five years later only to find herself trapped in an elevator with the smoldering Italian, it isn’t a happy reunion. Especially because her brother blames Santino for her high tailing it back to Scotland in the first place.
Tilly doesn’t want a replay of past mistakes and reconnecting with Santino is playing with fire.
But if they keep their relationship a secret, it could be worth the burn.
Christmas at the Marshmallow Cafe by CP Ward (free)
A heartwarming and feel-good Christmas romantic comedy from CP Ward, author of I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas.
When downtrodden checkout assistant Bonnie Green receives a letter from a mysterious uncle, she can hardly believe her eyes. Gifted a hundred-year lease on a famous cafe situated in the middle of a mythical theme park, Bonnie sets off with her best friend Debbie on an adventure to a hidden valley in the Lake District where they will find new friendship, love, and happiness, all set against the magic of Christmas … and more marshmallows than they can possibly eat….
Christmas at the Marshmallow Cafe is perfect fireside reading for chilly winter evenings, from CP Ward, whose other works include Autumn in Sycamore Park and Summer at Blue Sands Cove.
Happy After All by Maisey Yates (free with Amazon First Reads otherwise £2.99)
When a romance author meets a mysterious stranger, love is the last thing she expects to find in a funny and heartfelt novel about second chances by a New York Times bestselling author.
A city girl leaves her life behind in LA to start over in a small town…
It’s a cliché, but it’s also Amelia Taylor’s life. And her new life as a romance novelist and motelier is going great—until Nathan Hart checks in.
Of course he’s disastrously handsome, thoroughly disagreeable, and seems to be set against Amelia on sight. Of course there’s smoldering tension between them that can’t be ignored. They’d make the perfect enemies to lovers story. It’s one of Amelia’s favorite tropes.
But the man in room 32 seems genuinely broken, and it’s going to take more than romance tropes and wishful thinking to get past his wounds. As a tentative friendship grows into a deeper connection, Amelia and Nathan both realize that facing each other’s painful secrets takes courage. Do they dare take the risk and hope it ends happily after all?
Meet Me On the Bridge by Sarah J Harris (free bonus book with Amazon First Reads otherwise 99p)
Can true love ever survive across time?
Everyone says falling in love is supposed to be easy. But what happens when you meet the perfect man…in your dreams?
Especially when you find out he was real and died one year ago – on the bridge you had agreed to meet on for your first date. Wouldn’t you try to go back in time and change the course of destiny to create your very own happy-ever-after?
But the path to true love is never without complications, and meddling with the past can have unexpected consequences…
The must-read time travel romance for fans of Maybe in Another Life, Sliding Doors, and About Time.
Christmas in the Little Irish Village by Michelle Vernal (free)
Welcome to the little Irish village where Christmas celebrations are in full swing! Twinkling lights, cosy fires and big mugs of hot chocolate are in abundance as Shannon Kelly returns home to the Shamrock Inn. Will this be the year she finds the man of her dreams or is she destined to be forever unlucky in love?
Thirty-four-year-old Shannon is heartbroken following an unexpected break up. Seasonal joy is the last thing on her mind, as she wonders if she’ll ever find the kind of long-lasting love she’s always dreamed of. Even the comforting distractions of her big Irish family can’t cheer her up. Then things get even worse when Shannon slips over on the ice and finds herself red-faced in the arms of a gorgeous American man…
Despite the embarrassing encounter, Shannon can’t help wondering who the handsome stranger is. She soon finds out when James Cabot takes a room at the Shamrock Inn. Their second meeting is equally disastrous when she gives James the tour – without realising her skirt is tucked into her knickers! Shannon isn’t sure how she’s going to survive living under the same roof when she has such a talent for making a complete eejit of herself, and resolves to avoid their new guest at all costs.
But when Shannon discovers James is in Ireland because he’s claiming to be the long-lost grandson of her elderly neighbour, Maeve Doolin, she is immediately suspicious. Shannon has known kind Maeve since she was a little girl and feels protective of her, so she’s determined to find out the truth. Even if it means spending more time with James…
The two of them end up getting closer than she’d bargained for when they take a tour of Emerald Bay and end up snowed in together. But just as James begins to make Shannon’s heart melt with his cheeky grin and awful carol singing, a shocking secret threatens to shatter the growing romance between them.
Can Shannon trust James? And will she get the happily-ever-after she’s been hoping for this Christmas?
Forget me Twice by Carina Taylor (free)
Have you ever brought your ex-husband home and pretended to still be married?
Yeah, me either.When my local hospital calls to say “I’m sorry to tell you this, but your husband has been in an accident” I try to explain the basics to them.
- I am not married—anymore. (Archie Dunmore is a thing of the past.)
- If there’s a husband in the hospital, it’s not mine.
Except Archie is back, and he’s been in an accident. One that has left him with amnesia. Yup. He believes we’re still happily married. Oh joy.
Too bad for me, the doctor believes it would be best for Archie to remember things on his own. He needs familiar surroundings to heal.
No big shocks.
No emotional trauma.
Which means I can’t tell him the truth.
Archie bursts back into my life with all the warmth and joy of a freshly married man, confident that I’m the love of his life, and determined to fix the rift between us.
Except how do I tell him that he walked out on me?
Especially when Archie is desperately trying to remember what I’ve worked so hard to forget.
What’s a girl to do with an amnesiac ex-husband at her breakfast table?
A Very Merry Mistake by Lyra Parish (free)
A sexy cinnamon-roll lumberjack offers me a ride into town, a stay at his cozy cabin, and eventually his bed. All things I can’t refuse.
After several flirty glances and heated mistletoe kisses, we create rules: no strings attached and no falling in love. Agreeing to the impossible might be my biggest mistake yet.
I visited the small town for one reason only: to prove a point to my father.
Now I’ve got a fake boyfriend.
A secret to keep hidden.
And a choice to make that will determine more than just my future.
Paperbacks
Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle (The Works 3 for £6)
Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury . . . before she lost all her money. Long obsessed with her public image, Bettie boasts an extravagant lifestyle on social media but in reality she’s broke and her family has no idea.
Christmas, with all its pressure to meet familial expectations, is looming when Bettie plays a vinyl record of ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ backward and accidentally conjures up Hall, the Holiday Spirit, in the form of a charming and handsome man. Once the shock wears off, Bettie knows she’s stumbled upon the greatest gift: a chance to make all her holiday wishes come true, plus a ready-made fiancé.
But as some of Bettie’s wishes lose their charm, she finds herself thrown off-kilter by Hall’s sweet nature. Suddenly, grumpy Bettie is finding her heart merry and light. But the happier she gets, the shorter Hall’s time on earth grows. Can Bettie channel the Christmas spirit and learn to live with goodwill toward all men? Or will her selfish ways return as soon as the holidays are over?
The Thirty Before Thirty List by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid (The Works 3 for £6)
She spends her days at the same job she’s been at for years, her evenings watching Bollywood movies with her parents and her Saturday nights eating out at the same restaurant with her childhood best friend.
When Maya meets Noah on the Underground, for twenty glorious minutes her life becomes exciting. Until he jumps off the train, accidentally leaving behind a notebook containing a list of thirty things he wants to do before he turns thirty.
Crushed by the abrupt ending to what could have been her happily ever after, Maya challenges herself to work through the items on his list, secretly hoping that whilst climbing out of her rut and (quite literally) climbing mountains, she may find Noah as well as herself. Instead, she meets Zakariya; an annoying suitor brought to her by her parents via a dodgy marriage CV.
But how can a flawed, real life person ever compare to the man in the notebook?
Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks (The Works 3 for £6)
NOAH AND KATE WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER.
Married with two gorgeous sons, it looked like they’d got their happy ever after.
But marriage isn’t easy. And one day, Kate left, taking their two boys with her.
These days, Noah is a weekend dad – and it breaks his heart. He misses the chaotic mealtimes, the bedtime stories, the early mornings and the late homework.
Suddenly, he decides enough is enough – he has to win his family back. Starting with Kate.
The only problem?
IN SIX WEEKS’ TIME, KATE IS GETTING MARRIED TO SOMEONE ELSE . . .
Happy Reading!!
