"Wedding at Sea" by Melissa Tagg

About this book:

  “Lilian doesn’t remember anything about her life before the day Maggie Muir found her on her front porch—a toddler, abandoned and alone. And maybe that’s okay. She has a beautiful life at Muir Farm, including an adopted family she adores and a successful career as a lawyer. But she also has a secret . . . one that raises just as many questions about her future as it does her unknown past.
    And, of course, it would be private investigator Wilder Monroe, her brother’s best friend and the bane of her existence, who sniffs out her secret before anyone else.
   Wilder has spent the past three years trying to close the one case his father couldn’t—the mystery of Maggie Muir’s long-lost granddaughter. But the decades-long search has become more tangled than ever. It’s become more personal, too. Not only are the Muirs the closest thing to family he has left, but if he can solve this mystery, maybe he'll keep himself from drowning in the one he can’t . . . the truth about his father’s death.
    In the midst of secrets and swirling questions, Maggie asks a favor of both Lilian and put aside their bickering and work together to plan her summer wedding. It’s a big ask, made all the more difficult when danger comes calling at Muir Farm. But if the two enemies can stand each other long enough to pull off the event of the year, they just might solve a mystery in the process.
    And the biggest discovery of all? That sometimes the one your heart longs for is the last person you ever would've expected.”


Series: Book #3 in the “Muir Harbor” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here! and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God, trusting Him, & living your calling; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Wilder hasn’t prayed much since his father passed away & struggles with trusting God since He could have prevented his father’s death; Wilder is mad at God for different loved ones’ deaths and when he says that he doesn’t know how he can trust God, Neil tells him to keep asking questions and that God isn’t going anywhere (*Spoiler* Shortly after that conversation, Wilder feels calmer and holds on to his Heavenly Father  *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of God, Jesus, trusting Him; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, chapels, church going, pastors, sermons/lessons, & a Sunday school class; A few mentions of a cross at churches/chapels; A mention of miracles; A mention of Christian goodwill; 
             *Note: The phrase “Lord” and “Oh Lord” is said at the beginning at a handful of sentences (could be taken as talking to the Lord or in vain); The phrase “for the love of all that was good and holy” is said; A mention of young boys breaking into a church to go hot tubbing in the baptistry; A mention of hell breaking loose; A mention of Mother Nature.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crap’, a ‘heck’, a ‘holy blazes’, an ‘oh my gosh’, a ‘suck’, a ‘ticked’, an uunfinished ‘what the—‘, two ‘blasted’s, two ‘darn it’s, two ‘what the heck’s, three ‘gosh’s, three ‘sheesh’s, three ‘shoot’s, four ‘darn’s, four ‘dumb’s, five ‘oh my word’s, ten forms of ‘idiot’, twelve forms of ‘stupid’; The phrase “no chance in—” is cut off; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Being held at gunpoint, being shot, pain, passing out, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Falling into the water (up to semi-detailed); Recalling an almost murder & seeing someone throw themselves off of a cliff (up to semi-detailed); Wilder drinks a bit of spiked punch (on purpose) & Lilian has a sip of champagne; Many mentions of the deaths of loved ones & grief (for a father, a lover, a daughter, for a wife); Many mentions of a car accident & deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths, gunshots, being held at gunpoint, passing out, injuries, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of an attempted murder (Book #2), someone throwing themself off a cliff, & that person being in a coma; Mentions of crimes, criminals, thieves, stealing, stolen items, break-ins, arrets, & prison; Mentions of a stalker; Mentions of a seventeen-year-old running away from home; Mentions of when Wilder got drunk and hungover after his father passed away, going to the liquor store for the first and only time, drinking, & alcohol; Mentions of spiked punch & Wilder drinking a bit (on purpose) before dumping it (to avoid the anniversary of a hard day); Mentions of divorces & husbands leaving their wives; A few mentions of a place crash & death; A few mentions of kidnappings; A few mentions of almost drowning; A few mentions of vandalism; A few mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A few mentions of hatred; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of an alcoholic; A couple mentions of gossip; A mention of a war; A mention of gambling; A mention of cigarettes; A mention of the death of an athlete’s dream; 
             *Note: Wilder was the one who found his father after he passed (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wilder has a hard time walking into the church his father’s funeral was at (comes across almost like PTSD) & recalls his father’s funeral and open coffin (up to semi-detailed); Lilian was left on Maggie’s porch as a toddler and has always wondered about her biological family, but has tried not to think about it; *Spoiler* Wilder feels guilt from his mother choosing to carry him instead of getting cancer treatments (she passed when his was a newborn); Wilder wonders if his father mixed up his medicine on purpose, which caused to his death and feels guilt for not being there (His father left him a letter which Wilder originally read as a goodbye letter, *Another Spoiler* but later rereads it and realizes that his father was just tired, not suicidal) *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of breast cancer, leukemia (including deaths from both), MS, symptoms, & MRIs; Mentions of car brands; Mentions of brand names (Nike, Levi’s, Tupperware, Mead Five Star notebooks, Slim Jims, Bagel Bites, Pepto-Bismol, & Coca-Cola); Mentions of social media & websites (Google, WebMD, Airbnb, & Facebook); Mentions of TV shows, movies, & celebrities (Matlock, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Alfred Hitchcock, Marilyn Monroe, Edith Head, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, & Elizabeth Taylor); A few mentions of fictional characters; A mention of acting like a zombie; 
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, a palm kiss, five cheek kisses, two chin/jaw kisses, a hair kiss, an almost (semi-detailed) kiss, three not-detailed kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two semi-detailed kisses, and two detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss/be kissed (up to semi-detailed); Recalling kisses, almost kisses, touches, & embraces (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Shivers, Smelling, & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Flirting, Blushes, & Winks; Noticing & Staring (up to semi-detailed); Lilian wakes up in Wilder’s bed with him (accidentally, all they do is cuddle while asleep, he’s shirtless and she checks to make sure she’s wearing clothes, Wilder teases her about doing things out of order and getting into bed with him, up to semi-detailed); Wilder pulls Lilian into his lap (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a married man having an under-age mistress & him leaving his wife for her (he says he loved the mistress and was obsessed and possessive towards her (not letting her leave his house and she felt trapped); Both the wife and mistress were pregnant around the same time); Mentions of children born out of wedlock or affairs & a mother keeping the father of her child a secret; Mentions of Lilian & Wilder being alone together on his houseboat & how people would talk if they saw; Mentions of kisses, kissing, & almost kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dating, & dates; A few mentions of flirting & blushes; A couple mentions of Wilder’s desire & yearning for Lilian; A mention of a newly married couple sleeping in and Wilder not wanting to continue that conversation about what they were doing (it’s corrected that they had breakfast in bed); A mention of a secret lover; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A few mentions of teasing mentions of a wedding night & the husband going to have a time with the button’s on his bride’s dress; A few mentions of a shirtless guy & his abs (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of curves & figures (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of a knocked-up cat; A couple mentions of a guy manhandling a girl; A couple teasing mentions that a couple would have cute babies; A mention of a figuring out a couple is having a honeymoon baby; A mention of hoping a guy is not wearing just a towel.
 
-Lilian Muir, age 30
-Wilder Monroe
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                           Set in 2019 (Epilogue in 2023)
                                                        396 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve been so excited to read Lil and Wilder’s story since they first appeared in “Autumn by the Sea”. I’ve been eagerly anticipating this book for months and I’ve read it now. I’m honestly quite sad that this series is over now. I’ll still hope that Mariana (Lilian’s assistant) will get her own story because I feel like she deserves her own story (just please not a second chance romance!), but for now, this series is done. 

Here’s the thing about this trilogy: it’s not just all roses and sunshine and cute romance—I mean, it has those squee-worthy parts, yes, but there’s also a depth within the books because of what the characters have gone through that make them feel so real and also the mystery that’s carried on through all three books which adds in some suspenseful moments at times. 

I think that’s the thing that’s made this series stand out to me: the almost life-like characters with their struggles. If you told me there was a Muir family in Maine with Maggie, Neil, Liliana, and Indie that this series is based on, I wouldn’t doubt it—that’s how realistic it felt. I felt like I was reading about real people and that even though this book ended (with that perfect epilogue, by the way), it feels like they’re still around just living their own lives, Sydney and Neil being adorable, Indie and Philip being literally the cutest, Lil and Wilder driving the other crazy, and Maggie sharing wisdom. I love that feeling. It makes my heart happy—and yes, partially because that means the author could revisit those characters again at any time (hint hint 😉). 

The one thing I didn’t like in this story was that past events and secrets were kept by the main characters, teasing and taunting the reader with hints about them, but not giving us all the details about everything until the very end. Which I know this trilogy technically has a mystery, but I don’t like being left out of the loop, so those parts kind of bothered me a lot with our main couple and their secrets. Sure, sure, keep secrets from the other, I don’t really care since you’re not a couple yet, but tell me—the reader! I want to know! (Me? Nosy? Yes.)

Oh, I’m sad this trilogy is done. But it was such a good series and such a good ending, I can’t be upset. All I can do is happily sigh. 😌

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new 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 Author for this honest review.

"A Seaside Wonder" by Melissa Tagg

About this book:

  “In one evening, Indi's world falls apart. Enter the shy professor her family mistakes for her fiancé...make that ex-fiancé.
    Professor Philip West never wanted to return to Maine . . . or his grandfather’s miserable old house. But after his mother’s death, he’s now the guardian of a teenage half sister he barely knows—one who doesn’t want anything to do with him. He longs to help her heal, but he’s exhausted and numb, desperate for relief of his own. Maybe that’s why he’s so easily distracted when he happens upon the little shop with a name on its storefront window that sounds familiar, a hint of a mystery nudging him inside.
    More than a decade has passed since Indi Muir made the heartbreaking decision she’s never recovered from—though she’s certainly tried. She has a full life running her shop and creating the artsy pieces that fill its shelves. If she can just stay busy, she’ll keep her hurt and regret at bay. But when her ex-fiancé returns to Muir Harbor, he brings news that shatters her carefully built walls. Things only get worse when lurking danger comes calling at her childhood home.
    The one bright spot amid Indi’s turmoil is the shy stranger who wandered into her shop months ago and his moody but lovable sister. As she confronts her past and the mysterious threat facing her family, she’s intent on helping Philip win over his sister. He just might win over Indi, too, if they can overcome old secrets and wounds, outrun rising peril . . . and take a chance on love.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Muir Harbor” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, prayers, & faiths; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Going to a chapel; A quote from St. Augustine is said; On one Sunday, Indi thinks that she really would rather hide away in her workshop than go to church; Indi feels like God doesn’t see her or answer her prayers anymore, but recalls a time that God answered her prayers when she was a child; Indi & Holland have a discussion about God answering prayers & wondering if He’s just saying ‘no’ (a conclusion to their hurt is not really said at this point, but discussed later separately with other people); Indi was angry at God for asking her to do a hard decision that left her in a hole in her heart *Spoiler* At the end, Indi thinks that maybe God isn’t making the hole in her heart disappear, but is restoring her *End of Spoiler*; At one point, Philip wonders why he isn’t hearing God’s voice on a topic; Mentions of God & faiths; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, services, a sermon, & a pastor; Mentions of miracles; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of a Bible; A couple mentions of a Nativity scene; A couple mentions of someone believing that something wasn’t a coincidence but from the Divine; A couple mentions of blessings; A mention of someone having a come-to-Jesus experience; A mention of someone not knowing another from Adam; 
             *Note: A mention of Indi saying that she has too many ghosts; A mention of someone looking like they saw a ghost; A mention of feeling bewitched by a town; A mention of a teen saying that goats have demon eyes. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘crap’, a ‘geez’, a ‘holy buckets’, a ‘holy crap’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘sure as blazes’, a ‘where in blazes’, two ‘blasted’s, two forms of ‘darn’, two ‘for Pete’s sake’s, two ‘oh my gosh’s, two ‘oh my word’s, three ‘holy cow’s, three ‘heck’s, three forms of ‘idiot’, three ‘sheesh’s, three ‘what the heck’s, five ‘gosh’s, six ‘shoot’s, seven ‘dumb’s, and eleven forms of ‘stupid’; A mention of Philip thinking of a name for someone that he doesn’t usually say out loud; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Eavesdropping; Being held at gunpoint, Being threatened, Being choked, Fighting, Pain, & Injuries (up to semi-detailed); A close car crash, almost hitting a deer, & landing in a ditch (the people and deer are fine, up to semi-detailed); Philip has a panic attack (semi-detailed); Grieving the loss of family members & what could have been (both Indi, Philip, and side characters); Philip’s mother left him at his grandfather’s house after his father’s death and he’s felt unwanted since then (& struggles with resentment towards her for it); Indi drinks champagne at a wedding; Many mentions of deaths & grieving (a fiancé, fathers, a mother, daughters); Mentions of a car crash, death(s), & a missing toddler (Book #1 covers more about this); Mentions of fights, fighting, injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & passing out (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of criminals, crimes, intruders, break-ins, stealing, vandalism, arrests, an accidental theft, trespassing, & someone being pushed down the stairs (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a recovering alcoholic & drinking; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of divorces & how a father hasn’t been in contact with his daughter for twelve years; A few mentions of a man flinging himself off a cliff & being in a coma afterwards; A few mentions of the Vietnam war & a death; A few mentions of a bar; Mentions of a teen into the high school party scene and drinking; A few mentions of teenagers breaking into a rec center; A couple mentions of a train accident & death (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of a close car crash; A couple mentions of Lil being left on Maggie’s doorstep when she was a toddler; A couple mentions of a woman living her life drinking and depressed; A couple mentions of champagne at a wedding; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of someone doing a noble thing and not stepping off of a cliff (meaning literally or metaphorical is not said); A mention of jail; A mention of con-artists; A mention of pipe tobacco; A mention of needing to pee; 
             *Note: Mentions of HGTV & Hallmark; Mentions of brand names & items (Jell-O, Peanut M&Ms, Reddi-wip, 7-Up, Levi’s, iPad, iPhone, Keurig, Tupperware, & Band-Aid); Mentions of websites (Google, Uber, Airbnb, & Spark Notes); Mentions of TV shows, movies, & characters (Jeopardy, Star Wars, Gandalf the Grey, Willy Wonka, Clark-Kent, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Batman, & Robin); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of the Narnia books; A mention of Disney. 
 
 
Sexual Content- a chin kiss, five cheek kisses, a forehead kiss, a almost (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed) kiss, a not-detailed kiss, five barely-above-not-detailed kisses, two border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses, three semi-detailed kisses, a detailed kiss, and a very detailed kiss (including being pulled into his lap); Remembering a kiss (semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, dating, & exes; A few mentions of a father’s “little sidepiece” (a woman after his divorce); A few mentions of crushes; A few mentions of flirting; A mention of a newly married wife saying she can be very persuasive to her husband in a suggestive tone; A mention of a couple being caught canoodling; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: *Spoiler* In between her senior year of high school and freshman year of college, Indi got pregnant (with her boyfriend at the time, only details on it was that they had gotten more serious than either of them had been ready for and that she knew that when she slept with him that it was happening too fast but didn’t think about the consequences); He proposed and they were going to figure things out, but Indi called off the engagement and gave the baby up for adoption believing that it was the best thing for the baby, that God wanted her to do it (even though it hurt so much), that she was sacred to be a single mom, and that her and the father weren’t destined to be high school sweethearts; The father of the child resents Indi for this choice and says a couple harsh things, but apologizes later, knowing that he was still too into the party scene and that he willing signed the adoption papers; This is a huge part of the story and Indi trying not to thinking about her daughter, but then also wanting to have a relationship with her; It was an open adoption, though Indi hasn’t been in contact with the family, thinking that it’s better for everyone if she isn’t a part of their lives; Indi says that she wishes someone would have encouraged her that she could have been a good mother, but everyone said that she’d done something good and noble; In the epilogue, Indie gets to meet her daughter for the first time *End of Spoiler*; A handful of mentions of a married couple struggling to get pregnant & their prior miscarriages (*Spoiler* They are expecting triplets by the end of the book; a couple mentions of the husband badly wanting to fix it and the wife saying that “he fixed it, all right” and the wife expecting another miscarriage so she didn’t want to tell her husband *End of Spoiler*); A few mentions of some adoptees not wanting to find their biological parents (like Indi being not curious about them at all) and those who want to know about them; A couple mentions of the Santa at the mall kissing the top of kids’ heads being sketchy.
 
-Indiana Joy “Indi” Muir, age 28
-Philip West, age 34
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                         Set in 2018-2019 (Prologue in 1969)
                                                        396 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I can’t say too much because of spoilers, but adoption & biological families were a huge part of that story and since that’s such a near and dear topic to my heart, I loved how the author highlighted how broken and yet how beautiful adoption can be. Those parts really made this story to me—and while it might sound corny, I truly mean it—touched my heart. The faith content wrapped into those elements were so raw and real, but so honestly written. 

On a lighter note, I’m not sure what it is about awkward, giraffe-like male leads that I enjoy reading about so much, but Philip matches that description to a ‘T’. I literally laughed at loud at times with him and Indi, they were so cute together and I loved that they were able to talk about deeper, personal topics and react well to the other’s past and feelings. It felt like a healthy relationship, even if a few parts were too kissy for my tastes.

I’m very eager to read the third and final book in this series once it releases next year. I was excited to read Indi’s story after the first book and now I’m even more curious about Lil’s story. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new 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 for this honest review.

"Autumn by the Sea" by Melissa Tagg

About this book:

  “Abandoned as a toddler, Sydney Rose has spent years wondering who she really is, homesick for a life she's never lived. When a private investigator crashes into her world, she finds herself heading to a tiny seaside town in Maine to meet a woman named Maggie, who's searching for the granddaughter she lost decades ago.
   If not for Maggie, Neil MacKean might still be back in Scotland, bereft and alone. Instead, he has a full life in Muir Harbor with an adopted family he loves and a blueberry farm to run. But the farm is struggling and strange occurrences have him concerned. Worse, Maggie's once again caught up in the past, convinced she's finally found her long-lost granddaughter.
   Worried for Maggie, Neil is suspicious of the city girl who shows up at the farm. But there's something about Sydney that tugs on him, drawing out secrets he never meant to share. While Neil grapples with the future of the farm, Sydney wrestles with a past that's messier than ever. Together, they're pulled into a mystery complete with a centuries-old legend, unexpected danger . . . and a love as deep and wild as the sea.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Muir Harbor” series. 


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God, Hope, & Him giving us dreams; 'H's are capital when referring to God & Hope; Sydney thinks “Oh God, what am I doing?” and wonders if that was a prayer and if so, it was her first in a long time; Sydney wonders if God led her to Maine and thinks that maybe He hadn’t forgotten her after all; Neil thinks of tending to the land as an act of worship to the One who’d create it; Mentions of God & Hope; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of church going; A few mentions of faiths; A couple mentions of a parable from the Bible; A mention of blessings; 
             *Note: Mentions of ghost stories (though those telling and remembering the stories know there was never a ghost); A few mentions of luck & lucky stars; A mention of a devil-may-care attitude from a man. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blast you’, a ‘drat you’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘for Pete’s sake’, a ‘good night’, a ‘holy cow’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘shut up’, two forms of ‘darn’, two ‘heck’s, two forms of ‘oh my word’, two ‘why the heck’s, three forms of ‘dang’, three ‘idiot’s, four ‘blasted’s, four ‘shoot’s, and five forms of ‘stupid’; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Sydney drinks a bit of a spiked punch when very sad (not done in her POV and Neil thinks that she hasn’t had more than a sip or two and stops her from drinking any more of it); Walking in on a robbery, being threatened, & fighting in self-defense (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the Vietnam War & the death of Maggie’s fiancé; Mentions of a car accident, death, & a missing child (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of someone fainting & emergency surgery (near death, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of criminals, crimes, jails, & arrests; Mentions of burglars/robbers, a break-in, & trying to steal something; Mentions of loan sharks, threats, injuries, & blood (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a possible stalker; Mentions of trespassers & teens pranking others; Mentions of teens partying, drinking alcohol, using hard drugs, getting high, & an addiction (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a spiked punch at a town’s market (Sydney is told not to try it unless she has the constitution of a sailor); Mentions of pubs; A few mentions of a foster teen leaving his foster family after making a deal with them that they could keep the government checks if he could leave without them reporting him; A few mentions of an accidental theft & the person’s guilt; A few mentions of a con-artist & their scam; A few mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of divorces; A couple mentions of a possible kidnapping; A couple mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of smoking; A couple mentions of dung; A mention of a plane accident & deaths; A mention of a bar brawl; A mention of betting (that Neil isn’t a betting man); A mention of gossip;

             *Note: When Sydney met her biological mother, it was not a joyful reunion & Sydney is still hurt by words that were said; Neil wasn’t legally adopted by Maggie and his heart is still bruised from the hurt of it; Mentions of car brands; Mentions of social media sites (Google, Airbnb, Instagram, Facebook, & YouTube); A few mentions of brand names (Diet Coke, Pop-Tarts, & Keurig); A few mentions of TV shows & movies (Dateline, Leave It to Beaver, Columbo, & Mission: Impossible); A couple mentions of Marilyn Monroe; A mention of HGTV.
 
 
Sexual Content- Three cheek kisses, a head kiss, three almost (two barely-above-not-detailed and one semi-detailed) kisses, two not-detailed kisses, three barely-above-not-detailed kisses, four semi-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; Remembering an almost kiss & kisses (up to semi-detailed); Staring at someone’s lips; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); An awkward first meeting between Sydney & Neil of her walking into the bathroom that he’s currently showering in (including mentions of his clothes on the floor, the masculine scent of his soap, and him getting out wearing only a towel, all barely-above-not-detailed. More embarrassing for Sydney than any romantic noticing); Sydney was born out-of-wedlock; Mentions of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, sleeping with someone, summer flings, & parents’ reactions (including Maggie not wanting to flippantly talk about who her daughter was or wasn’t intimate with, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of Sydney & Neil’s first meeting & him wearing only a towel (not-detailed); Mentions of kisses, kissing, & almost kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a guy insinuating that Neil and Sydney are possibly legally uncle and niece (even though it’s not true) & shouldn’t be interested in each other in a romantic way; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating; Mentions of blushes; A few mentions of thinking a man is a creeper & other guys who have ogled Sydney at her workplace before; A few mentions of desire for someone; A couple mentions of someone insinuating that someone else is having a fling; A mention of flirting; A mention of a man saying he can’t have children; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A couple mentions of a pregnant mother forgoing cancer treatments to be able to deliver the baby safely (noted as a possible trigger); A mention of kneeing a man in the groin (thinking he’s a stalker); A mention of a man being the spitting image of his sire.
 
-Sydney Rose
-Neil MacKean, age 34
                                P.O.V. switches between them & letters from Maggie
                                            Set in 2018
                                                        356 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Can possible be triggering or healing for adoptees or those in foster care.} 

I was craving a sweet romantic contemporary book and decided on this one when I was it might have the found family trope—which it did. It also had it’s sweet moments and albeit a bit kissy towards the end for my taste, I really loved the heart of this story—family and the longing to know about your family. Both Sydney and Neil were such great characters and it was overall really sweet, but also very interesting in the blueberry farming parts and the mystery of finding out more about Sydney’s roots. I was very invested into her story and wanting the best/a happy ending for her! 

I also really liked the few parts of the texting conversations and the letters/diary entries, it added a charm to the story. I would have preferred more faith content shown and discussed as what was there was very light, but I did really enjoy this novel and will pick up the next book in the series when it releases. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new 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.

 

"One Enchanted Eve" by Melissa Tagg

About this book:

  “A delightful Christmas romance about finding the perfect recipe for love.

   After years of mistakes and regret, Colin Renwycke finally has a plan: Hone his baking talent at the Denver Culinary Institute and embark on a new career as a pastry chef. If he's lucky, he might even manage to earn back his family's respect. But despite his skills in the kitchen, Colin's a mess in the classroom and his ongoing disasters are proving too much for his prickly instructor. If he loses his spot at the school, he's out of backup plans.

   Culinary school instructor Rylan Jefferson has the chance to reclaim her dream of running her own bakery. But she only has until Christmas Eve to come up with the perfect recipe to impress an eccentric investor. She has no time for holiday parties or family plans . . . and especially not for the unruly student baker who couldn't follow a recipe if his life depended on it.

   But Colin has the one ingredient Rylan needs most—talent. Lots of it. And when he makes a proposal that just might solve both their problems, Rylan can't say no—even if it does mean traveling all the way to Iowa. It just might be that the snow-covered plains and a charming small town full of postcard Christmas cheer are exactly what her hungry heart needs . . . along with a man who is much more than he seems.”

 

 

Series: #2 in the “Enchanted Christmas” series. Review of the first novella, Here!

Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Colin says he hasn’t thought about God in a long time, but tries praying; Set during Christmas & mentions of those in the Bible & a live nativity; Mentions of God; Mentions of churches & church going; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of thanking God.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘darn’, a ‘gosh’, a ‘heck’, a form of ‘shut up’, a ‘sissy’, a form of ‘wimp’, three forms of ‘stupid’, five ‘idiot’s; Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Fighting & Hitting (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths & wars; Mentions of killing someone (not seriously); Mentions of fights, fighting, & blood, & injuries; Mentions of jail & bailing someone out; Mentions of an alcoholic, addictions, pills, & rehab; Mentions of parties, alcohol, drinking, a drunk, & frat boys; Mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of overdoses; A couple mentions of stealing; A mention of a burglar;

             *Note: Mentions of cooking alcohol.

 

 

Sexual Content- A head kiss, three cheek kisses, an almost kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and four semi-detailed kisses; Remembering kisses (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand Holding, & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Noticing & Smelling (including a bit of noticing a man’s muscles, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses, an almost kiss, & kissing; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends, & girlfriends; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of blushes; A few mentions of married couples kissing; A mention of a pregnant high schooler; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: A couple mentions of a guy taking advantage of a girl.

 

-Rylan Jefferson, age 34

-Colin Renwyche, age 31

                                P.O.V. switches between them

                                                        134 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This was a another cute Christmas read from this author! It was a bit kissy at times for the length of this novella, but there was also a lot of humor that made me laugh while reading. :)

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new 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.