Mini-view: Hard to Handle (Love in the Balance #2) - Jessica Lemmon*

ONCE BURNED Sadie Howard never dates a guy more than once-but Fate has other plans for her when it comes to Aiden Downey, the one that got away. Aiden loved her, left her, and broke her heart. Yet suddenly she's bumping into him at every turn, driven to distraction by his wicked grin and rock-hard body. Now she can't resist finishing what they started-as long as she doesn't let herself fall in love...

TWICE AS TEMPTING Aiden Downey threw away the best thing he ever had when he let Sadie go, and now he's determined to win back the woman he's always wanted. Sadie agrees to let him into her life-and her bed-as long as there are no strings attached. But Aiden's not about to make the same mistake again. Can he convince her to take a second chance on a once-in-a-lifetime love?

Although the second in the series this is my first Jessica Lemmon novel, like many series though, Hard to Handle is perfectly enjoyable as a standalone book.

Mini-view: The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris - Jenny Colgan

As dawn breaks over the Pont Neuf, and the cobbled alleyways of Paris come to life, Anna Trent is already awake and at work; mixing and stirring the finest, smoothest, richest chocolate; made entirely by hand, it is sold to the grandes dames of Paris.

It's a huge shift from the chocolate factory she worked in at home in the north of England. But when an accident changed everything, Anna was thrown back in touch with her French teacher, Claire, who offered her the chance of a lifetime - to work in Paris with her former sweetheart, Thierry, a master chocolatier.

With old wounds about to be uncovered and healed, Anna is set to discover more about real chocolate - and herself - than she ever dreamed.

Ok, so it's not necessarily a Christmas book but what's more indulgent and festive than chocolate? Exactly. I actually read The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris way back in October and if you follow me on twitter (cough, cough) you'll know that I came in prepared...

Review: Christmas at Claridge's - Karen Swan

‘This was where her dreams drifted to if she didn’t blot her nights out with drink; this was where her thoughts settled if she didn’t fill her days with chat. She remembered this tiny, remote foreign village on a molecular level and the sight of it soaked into her like water into sand, because this was where her old life had ended and her new one had begun. 

Portobello – home to the world-famous street market, Notting Hill Carnival and Clem Alderton. She’s the queen of the scene, the girl everyone wants to be or be with. But beneath the morning-after makeup, Clem is keeping a secret, and when she goes too far one reckless night she endangers everything – her home, her job and even her adored brother’s love. 

Portofino – a place of wild beauty and old-school glamour, and where a neglected villa has been bought by a handsome stranger. He wants Clem to restore it for him and it seems like the answer to all her problems – except that Clem has been there once before and vowed, for her own protection, never to return . . .

You know, it's been a long time since I've liked a book so much that I wanted to savour it and not sit there and gobble it up all in one sitting. You might have guessed that Christmas at Claridge's is a book that I loved, to the point that I started to worry a little bit when I saw I only had a hundred pages left (gasp!).

Review: A Weekend with Mr. Darcy (Austen Addicts #1) - Victoria Connelly

Of course she's obsessed with Jane Austen... Surrounded by appalling exes and fawning students, the only thing keeping professor Katherine Roberts sane is Jane Austen and her personal secret love for racy Regency romance novels. She thinks the Jane Austen Addicts conference in the English countryside is the perfect opportunity to escape her chaotic life and finally relax... But then she encounters a devilishly handsome man at the conference who seems determined to sweep her off her feet. Is he more fiction than fact? Or could he be the hero she didn't know she was looking for?

Although I don't profess to be Austen's biggest fan I like her as much as the next person, what I don't like is being beaten around the head with her. 

Review: A Christmas to Remember - Jill Shalvis, Kristen Ashley, Hope Ramsay, Molly Cannon & Marilyn Pappano*

Curl up with this heartwarming Christmas collection! 

Jill Shalvis, Dream a Little Dream: Melissa has kept every man at a safe distance-especially firefighter Ian, a sexy friend with sexy benefits. But Ian secretly longs for more. Luckily, 'tis the season for giving love a chance . . .

Kristen Ashley, Every Year: Holidays don't come easy for Shy and his brother, Landon. But with the magic of Christmas, along with a little help from Tabby and her family, the Cage brothers are about to get the gift of a lifetime . . .

Hope Ramsay, Silent Night: Down on her luck and evicted from her apartment, single mother Maryanne hopes to start over in Last Chance. When the snow begins to fall, it looks like her baby might literally spend Christmas Eve in a manger. And Maryanne might celebrate the holiday with a handsome stranger.

Molly Cannon, Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas: Lincoln is a bachelor who's set in his ways-until a professional organizer dressed up as Mrs. Claus changes his life, one tip at a time. . .

Marilyn Pappano, A Family for Christmas: War widow Ilena doesn't mind spending Christmas alone. But when a new doctor blows into town with the winter wind, will she get her secret Christmas wish?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Is anyone else excited? What better way to ease ourselves into the season with a wonderful collection of Christmas short stories?

Miniview: Searching for Someday - Jennifer Probst*

Kate has given up on love—at least for herself. She is both blessed and cursed with the ability to sense a romantic connection between two people—a gift that her family passed down for generations. When Kate launches her own matchmaking company, Kinnection, with her two best friends in a cozy New York town, she has to put aside her own romantic disasters to make her business a success.

But when a furious man stalks into her office and accuses her business of being a scam, Kate is given the ultimate challenge to prove herself. Slade puts himself in her hands and asks Kate to find him love. Enraged at his arrogance but stubbornly eager to prove herself, Kate agrees, dedicating herself to the journey of finding him love...only to find herself falling for him along the way

The first in Jennifer Probst's new series is something a bit different for me, I don't normally go in for these paranormal style romance novels but you've got to try something new every now again, right?

Book Week Scotland

It's Book Week in Scotland which means that there are a lot of fun things to do out and about around the country, but for those of you who don't live in Scotland there are fun things to do online too! Yes, I am talking about book quizzes.

I love a good book quiz, and a good bit of procrastination, so when the 'Who in Fiction Are You?' quiz popped up on my Facebook newsfeed I knew I had to give it a go. I love a good, fun personality quiz and I always dither over the answers but this time I fired right through and got a fairly interesting result. Intrigued?