When the Heart Brings You Home - Robin Maderich

When the Heart Brings You Home
Robin Maderich
Publication date: November 1st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance

When the Heart Brings You Home, A Connor Falls Christmas Collection, is a heartwarming collection of three holiday novellas, all set in the small town of Connor Falls, Pennsylvania during the Christmas season, and each a story of family and love with a touch of romance.

Winter Light – a troubled little girl brings the Christmas Spirit back to her struggling single father and the woman he once kissed many years ago.

Light the Heart Home – two sisters with secrets reunite at Christmas, prodding old wounds and finding healing love.

Home for the Holidays – all Susan Hardwick wants is to find her way back home.

Comfort. Joy. Romance. Welcome to Connor Falls.

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Author Bio:

First published by Warner Books’ Popular Library, Robin Maderich has written numerous romance novels, from historical to contemporary paranormal, as Robin Maderich, Celia Ashley and Alyssa Deane. Ms. Maderich resides in Pennsylvania, the locale and inspiration for many of her stories. She is an avid fan of historical fact and fiction, as well as the infinite realm of possibilities.

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My Review

When the heart brings you home is actually three stories in one book. The novella's are just the right length to draw you into the romance and world of the people that populate them. I say romance, but I'm not entirely sure that they are all romances, at least in the traditional sense. Perhaps love story would be a better description. Although there is a romantic love element in each, there's also plenty of love between family members. It would be very fair to say that When the Heart Brings You Home is all about relationships and where you belong in the world.
I enjoyed all of these stories. I usually prefer my romance on the slightly hotter side and these are all strictly PG (actually they're probably U to be honest) but they are all quite sweet, enjoyable and satisfying. A great read with a nice Christmassy feel to them.

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Rescue Me - N.J. Walters

Rescue Me by N. J. Walters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good quick read. It really is quite a short little novella, so I managed to read it almost in one sitting. The only real problem with it, is that as it's so short, it leaves you wanting a bit more.
The main characters were lovers when they were teenagers, but after Frank discovered that he was not who he thought he was, he ran away. Worrying that he might be a danger to Martha and his family, he has not seen them in 18 years. By chance, he rescues her from a burning building and it soon becomes clear that their love has not diminished over the years.
I liked the romance between the two main characters and I'm always a fan of second time around romances. There wasn't a great deal of room for much exploration of the other parts of the story and I felt that there was quite a lot left unanswered by the end of it.
Ideally, I would have liked to have seen Frank get some answers about who and what he was and what the implications for the future. I'd also have liked some explanation as to why the initial fire was started. (We learn who, but not why.)
For a quick read, this was enjoyable and it wouldn't put me off reading other books by the same author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Break me - Tracy Wolff

Break Me by Tracy Wolff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes, what I really want is an in-depth, rambling story that I can get lost in for days. At other times I want a quick read that satisfies and gets to the point. Break Me certainly falls into the latter category. This book is part of a series from Carina press, written by different authors, these short tales are designed to be a bite-sized romance that you can consume in a couple of hours. But that doesn't mean that there's nothing here.
Being a shorter story, this one certainly gets straight to the point. Our Heroine, Destiny, doesn't hold back when she knows what she wants. We're barely past introductions before she's getting exactly what she wants from journalist Heath, and believe me, it isn't being the subject of the interview that he's actually there for.
I really enjoyed this quick read. When you're in the mood for a bit of a romantic fix, with a side serving of some hot passion, then this will certainly hit the spot.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Quinn's Resolution - Katie O'Sullivan

After Hurricane Nina: Quinn's Resolution: by Katie O'Sullivan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a short stand-alone novella, which is part of a series where the other books are related, but you don't have to read them all. Rather than containing characters that appear in each book, the idea here is that an event leads to the storyline for each one. In this case, it is a cyclone which has an impact on the various heroes of the stories. Quinn's Resolution tells the story of an up and coming rock star; Quinn MacDonald. He doesn't actually experience the cyclone himself, having had to return to the US for a family funeral. His band members are caught in the natural disaster and much of this storyline focuses on him dealing with the aftermath of this.
I liked the fact that the story wasn't directly about someone who was involved in the storm but rather focused on how it might impact those who were involved less directly or left behind. It was also interesting to see how the record company dealt with Quinn after everything had changed.
I liked him and Phoebe as a couple and there was plenty of chemistry to their romance. This was a good quick read. If there was anything that leads to it getting a slightly lower star score than it might otherwise have had, then it was that it was a bit short. I don't mind novellas, but things seemed to jump forward once or twice in this. It didn't really matter, but it did mean that we didn't see the development or growth of a character or relationship that would have resulted in a longer book.
Overall this was a good read. I'd be interested to read others in the series to see how they dealt with the cyclone and its effects.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own


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I'll Always Love You - Ella Quinn

I'll Always Love You by Ella Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I saw a book by Ella Quinn up for request on Netgalley, I couldn't resist requesting it. I have to admit that so far I've only read one other, but getting more in the series has been high on my list of books to read. This is a novella, rather than a full-length novel, but it fits into The Worthington's series. You don't need to have read the other books in the series to enjoy this one.
I really liked the idea behind this story. Earl Elliot is keen to find a wife. He seems to only notice women might be of interest when it's to late and they've already met and fallen in love with someone else. He's concerned that he might not recognise the woman who he should marry until it's too late. He has also been asked to keep an eye on his friend, the Duke of Rothwell's younger sister.
Lucinda is having her first season in London. She's keen to find a husband, but not necessarily the one that her mother has chosen for her. Instead, she finds herself interested in her brother's friend Earl Elliot.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I really liked the way that Lucinda quickly decided that she was interested in Elliot, but it took him a while longer to realise that she might be the one. This was really quite a sweet story and I really enjoyed it. It may have only been a novella, but it was still satisfying and I'm still keen to read other books in the series.


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Tempted by a Rogue - Lauren Smith

I'm taking part in the Spread Some Indy Love Blog Hop, 2016 with B00k r3vi3ws, and I thought that this year I'd take a look at Tempted by a Rogue by Lauren Smith.

You may already know that I'm a bit of a fan of Lauren Smith's books, so when she released Tempted by a Rogue, a regency romance novella, I was very keen to read it. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of novellas, I prefer a longer length novel so that I can really get my teeth into it, but that wasn't going to stop me reading this.

Tempted by a Rogue

Gemma Haverford has been waiting for her sweetheart, James Randolph to return from his life at sea and marry her for many years. She has written to him since he left as a teenager and now, finally he is set to return and become her husband. There is a slight problem though, the man who she has been writing to isn't James at all, but his friend Jasper Holland.

On their return, James has found out that Jasper and Gemma have been writing to one another and arranges for Jasper to compromise Gemma before they are reunited properly. This way he can free himself from their supposed engagement and will be free to marry who he chooses.

I did find the beginning of the story a little bit overly complicated, if Jasper had simply come clean right at the beginning, then he, Gemma and James would have all got what they wanted without the confusing mess that was created, but then of course there would have been no story.

Of course, things do work out in the end, and I liked the flashes of humour that were woven into the story line. I think that it's a bit of a stretch that a lady like Gemma would really behave in the way that she does, even when faced with as fine a specimen of manhood as Jasper, but who cares really, stories like this are escapism and Tempted by a Rogue is a great way to escape and loose yourself. I really do love Lauren Smith's writing and am very much looking forward to reading some of the other books she has in the pipeline. My only real complaint with this one, was that it just wasn't long enough and ended far too soon.

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