Snowbound
at Christmas
Holiday Romance Antholgy
By: Jennifer Ryan, Maisey Yates & Lia Riley
Releasing November 15, 2016
Holiday Romance Antholgy
By: Jennifer Ryan, Maisey Yates & Lia Riley
Releasing November 15, 2016
Avon Impulse
When a snowstorm
pummels the western half of the country, three couples find once off-limits
love just in time for Christmas. An unforgettable holiday anthology from
bestselling authors Jennifer Ryan, Maisey Yates, and Lia Riley.
Close to Perfect: A
Montana Men Novella by Jennifer Ryan
At sixteen, Abigail gave Dex the
gift of a lifetime, but the cost of it was more than he ever knew. Now she’s
back in town with a secret that has been ten years in the making and this time
it’s Dex’s turn to make the ultimate sacrifice or risk losing her forever.
Snowed in at Copper
Ridge: A Copper Ridge Novella by Maisey Yates
Mia Landry has always had it bad for
brooding cowboy Devlin Grayson. Too bad he’s her best friend’s older brother.
But when they find themselves snowed in at Copper Ridge Lodge, Mia finally has
the chance to tell the man of her dreams exactly what she wants… him.
Hot Winter’s Night: A
Brightwater Novella by Lia Riley
While Brightwater is being covered
in snow, Goldie Flint is stuck in her flower shop. She never expected her hero
to be Kit Kane, the former love of her life. Kit knows that what he had with
Goldie isn’t just in the past and with the help of a little bet, an ornery
grandmother, and a lot of snow, he’s ready to show her that what he really
wants for Christmas is a second chance.
Snowbound at Christmas is a group of 3 beautiful, heartfelt stories,
which I absolutely loved! Hot Winter's Night by Lia Riley is Goldie (aka
Marigold) and Kits story and how they got over their past hurts and manage to
try again. Snowed in at Copper Ridge Lodge by Maisey Yates is Mia and Devlin
story, about taking risks and hopefulness. But the book that hit me right in
the heart was Close to Perfect by Jennifer Ryan, let me tell you about it.
When Dex Manning found himself in trouble with the cops, after a
ex-girlfriend lied about him, he was willing to accept the fall, in order to
protect Abigail Swain, the mayors daughter and someone that Dex was growing to
love. But Abigail wouldn't allow that, even if it means dire consequences from
her parents. But neither of them expected for Abigail to be sent away.
But 10 years later Abigail comes home, and changes Dexter life for
ever, when she brings their daughter with her! But Dex is over the moon to
spend with his daughter as well as re-establishing a relationship! Now if her could only keep
Abigail safe from the person who is trying to harm her!!
For me, Jennifer Ryan is an amazing romantic suspense author, and it
really shines through with Close to Perfect, and that is also what this book
is! It's close to perfect!! The only thing that could make it better, would be
it the book was longer!
As I said before, the writing and plot is amazing and I absolutely
LOVED the characters, Dex and Abigail are so sweet and do full of love! Despite
her parents determination to separate them permanently. But the real star of
the book is Kelly! Who is SO sassy and who wants Dex to love her so much, you
honestly can't help but love her too!
I give Close to Perfect 5 stars.
From
Jennifer Ryan Close to Perfect
Ten years ago…
Dex sat on the hard bench outside
the Sheriff’s office knowing he hadn’t done anything wrong, but shaking in his
Converse just the same after a deputy showed up at the high school batting cage,
cuffed him, and brought him down to the station. They charged him with stealing
a car, drinking and driving, and in a drunken stupor, ditching the car in
Crawford Pond.
The car had been pulled out of the
murky water, a case of beer in the back seat—mostly empty cans—along with his
baseball cap with the MVP pin the team awarded him last season.
How the hell did it get there?
Laurie walked out of her father’s
office and turned the butterflies in his stomach into hummingbirds.
Oh
God. I’m in deep shit.
He’d thought landing Laurie as his
girlfriend made him big shit. Hell, he was seventeen and she had a hot body he
wanted to get his hands on, even if she never let him past second base.
Then he met someone...different.
Interesting. Nice.
Abigail Swain was barely sixteen and
in the senior class. She was that smart. Really smart.
Paired together for a science class
project, he’d gotten to know her and wondered why he’d never really noticed
her. Small town, small school, still, she kept under the radar. Her parents
believed school was more important than friends. Instead of spending her free
time playing sports or hanging out at the diner downtown with other girls, she
spent every spare minute at church or studying.
Abigail might come off weird and
brainy, but really she was shy...quiet. And genuinely nice. A perfect target
for Laurie, who made it known she didn’t like him spending time with Abigail,
even for a class project.
Five days into working with Abigail
something inside him shifted while she explained the intricacies of
photosynthesis right off the top of her head. The way her eyes lit up. She
planted her chin in her palm and looked right at him. Open and filled with
kindness, she did something to his insides. He moved without thinking about it,
leaned across the coffee table in his living room, and tentatively pressed his
lips to hers in a soft kiss. He didn’t know why he had to do it until their
lips touched and the wonder and softening in her eyes undid him. To his
surprise, she kissed him back, and if he hadn’t been sitting on the floor
already, he’d have hit his knees.
That kiss changed everything and put
a lot of things into perspective. Like he’d rather be with someone he liked and
enjoyed spending time with. He and Laurie had more fights than good times and
it wore thin. Quick. Despite Laurie’s many protests, he ended things with her
with a promise that he wouldn’t back out of taking her to the dance so she
wouldn’t be humiliated and have to go alone.
From that moment on, he secretly
spent more and more time with Abigail, though they kept their relationship
hidden. Something about the way her overprotective father hovered nearby when
they worked on their project at her house warned him that she’d get into deep
trouble if her parents knew about them. Abby never said so, but he got the
sense she feared her own dad.
As the mayor of their town, he had a
reputation for advocating strict morals. A lot of people outside their church
congregation found him judgmental. Including Dex.
He might not be valedictorian
material, but he made better than good grades, was the best pitcher and hitter
Crystal Creek High ever had, and he planned to take his team to the
championships this spring. He had baseball and college to look forward to over
the next couple of years and still Mayor Swain looked at him like he was
nothing but a thing.
His dad sat beside him, ready to do
battle, and nudged him with an elbow in his side. “Laurie’s here. She probably
told her father the two of you were at the dance all night, and you couldn’t
have stolen that car.” The hope in his father’s voice destroyed Dex.
I
am so screwed.
Laurie walked right past him,
smiling that sweet smile he and the other guys she’d caught in her web knew hid
her devious side. She was out for blood. Since her dad was the sheriff, he had
a feeling she was going to get it. Every last drop she thought she deserved
because he’d had the audacity to dump her
and ruined her plan to get back together at the dance.
The sheriff waved them into his
office. “Let’s go, Dex. You’ve got some explaining to do.”
“Listen, Sheriff, Dex had nothing to
do with the theft of that car, or how it ended up in the pond. Dex was at the
dance with Laurie last night.”
Dex wished he deserved his father’s
devotion and unwavering confidence. He wasn’t guilty of the charges, but he
wasn’t innocent either.
“Step into my office, Steve. We’ll
just see what Dex has to say about what really happened last night.”
His father turned and gave him one
of those dad looks, telling him without words that Dex had better have a good
explanation for not telling the whole truth this morning over breakfast about
how great the dance was last night.
Dex took a seat in front of the
Sheriff’s desk and refused to say anything. Not until the Sheriff gave up
whatever he thought he knew. Or rather, what Laurie wanted her father to
believe.
Dex stared up at his father,
standing with anger flashing in his eyes after the sheriff laid out the
evidence against Dex.
“Why didn’t you take Laurie home?”
his father asked.
“She didn’t want to leave with me,
said she’d get a friend to take her home, so I left.”
“And you can’t account for your time
after leaving the dance,” the sheriff pointed out, an angry I’ve-got-you gleam
in his eyes.
“I drove around in my truck for a while to cool down after the fight with Laurie.”
The sheriff snorted and rolled his
eyes. “I suggest you call a lawyer and come up with a better defense than the
bullshit you’re feeding your father.” The sheriff stood and waved them out of
the office.
Dex walked out behind his dad in a
daze. Even his father seemed at a loss for words. Dex wanted to explain what
really happened, but couldn’t give them the whole truth. If Abigail’s strict
parents found out he was seeing her behind their backs, she’d be in deep shit.
His father pulled out his cell and
dialed.
“Who are you calling?”
“A lawyer,” he snapped, then moved a
few steps away.
The sheriff stepped out of his
office ready to process Dex and lock him up.
His dad glared and bit out,
“Sheriff, you don’t have any proof he was in that car. I could drive a truck
through the holes in that story. It’s Dex’s word against Laurie’s.”
“His hat was found in the vehicle.
He claims he’s never been in the vehicle, nor does he know or associate with
Mr. Fowler. Laurie, along with her friend, saw him on their way home.” The
sheriff turned on Dex. “We’ll book you for DUI, grand theft auto, and
destruction of property. You’re looking at three years minimum.”
Abigail stepped through the door and
stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide with shock as the sheriff’s last
words sank into Dex’s head. He’d spend the next three years in jail. No
scholarship. No college education. No life as he’d planned it. This charge
would follow him the rest of his life.
He’d
lost everything.
Jennifer Ryan is the New York Times & USA
Today bestselling author of The Hunted Series and The McBrides Series. She
writes romantic suspense and contemporary small-town romances featuring strong
men and equally resilient women. Her stories are filled with love, family,
friendship, and the happily-ever-after we all hope to find.
Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she isn’t writing a book, she’s reading one. Her obsession with both is often revealed in the state of her home and in how late dinner is to the table. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper.
Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she isn’t writing a book, she’s reading one. Her obsession with both is often revealed in the state of her home and in how late dinner is to the table. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper.




New
York Times and USA Today
bestselling author MAISEY YATES lives in rural Oregon with her three
children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to
make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her
office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. Maisey
divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just
about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically
in her back yard. She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
After studying at the University
of Montana-Missoula, LIA RILEY scoured the world armed only with a
backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting
vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos
in Chile and swilling fourex with stationhands in Outback Australia among her
accomplishments.
Thank you for taking the time to review SNOWBOUND AT CHRISTMAS today!
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