Wednesday, July 2, 2014

"Here to Stay" by Melissa Tagg



{{This is an updated review. Originally posted July 4th, 2014, it was updated on April 18th, 2020 to the Official Rating System.}}


About this book:

  “Blake Hunziker has played nomad for five years and landed in his fair share of trouble too. But now he's finally returning to his hometown--the Lake Michigan tourist town of Whisper Shore. Counting on a not-so-warm welcome, he's surprised at not only a positive reception but also a job offer. Determined to settle down and prove himself responsible, he agrees to the catch that comes with the job offer--coordinating the annual Christmas festival--even though he has no idea how he'll pull it off.
   Autumn Kingsley, inn owner and experienced organizer of the Christmas festival, has always dreamed of traveling the world. Now she has a job opportunity in Paris and a surprise potential investor coming to town who just might take on her family's inn and finally leave her free to go. The only problem is that she has just two weeks to whip the inn into shape.
   Their families have a long history of not getting along, but when Blake comes to Autumn for help with the festival, she actually agrees...in exchange for his help with the repairs to her inn. They may have struck a simple deal, but complications are quick to pile on when the guy who's had enough of running away and the woman who can't wait to leave join forces.



Series: Book #2 in the “Where Love Begins” series. {Book #1, “Made to Last”’s review Here!}




Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned, read, & discussed; Prayers, Thanking God, & Blessings over food; Talks about God & trusting Him; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Autumn wonders if God has forgotten about her but realizes things by the end of the book; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of a Bible; Mentions of churches & church going; Mentions of Christmas & a Nativity set; A few mentions of faiths; A few mentions of miracles; A mention of a Bible study;
             *Note: A mention of a pet from the fiery pits of you-know-where; A mention of a superstition.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crummy’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘sheesh’, two ‘drat’s, nine forms of ‘idiot’, and ten ‘stupid’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Fighting, Injuries, Pain & Blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Blake (prior to the story) pretended to be a TV show host’s husband and the truth came out when she fell in love with someone else; Many mentions of an accident & a death (and wondering if the person wanted to die, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of someone nearly drowning; Mentions of fighting, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of fires; Mentions of drugs, prescription-drugs, someone being addicted, & being high; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of divorces/separations & leaving a spouse; A few mentions of a war & execution; A few mentions of (kidding about) spiking the punch; A couple mentions of burglars; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of lying; A mention of cigarettes;
             *Note: Mentions of car brands; Mentions of singers & songs; Mentions of actors/actresses, TV shows, movies, books, & fictional characters; A few mentions of clothing brands; A few mentions of social media; A mention of magazines (GQ).


Sexual Content- A cheek kiss, a nose kiss, two forehead kisses, two almost kisses, a not-detailed kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Remembering kisses & almost kisses (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, & Hand Holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing, Nearness, & Smelling (including muscles, barely-above-not-detailed); a ‘babe’; Many mentions of dates, dating, crushes, boyfriends, girlfriends, breakups, & exes; Mentions of kisses, kissing, & almost kisses; Mentions of flirting; A few mentions of a make-out spot; A mention of men being sexy when doing laundry; A mention of catcalling & whistling; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A couple mentions of Blake’s wet shirt & muscles; A mention of (not) dancing in your skivvies with a guy; A mention of being the butt of jokes.

-Autumn Kingsley, age 28
-Blake Hunziker, age 29
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        361 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

While this book started off slow (to me) at first, I quickly enjoyed Autumn and Blake’s banter and seeing their friendship (to relationship) grow. This book was more than just a contemporary book or a book good for Hallmark movie fans, it had a lot of depth to it from both Autumn and Blake. I personally would have preferred a little less noticing/touches, but it’s still a really cute read. :)


See y'all on Friday with another review!


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Bethany House) for this review.

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