Dashing Through the Snow by Paige Rion

Dashing Through the Snow by Paige Rion

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary
In the vein of a Hallmark movie, this holiday novelette will warm your heart and put you in the Christmas spirit...

Now with 10 bonus awesome Murphy's Bakery recipes inside!

Wynn Murphy has been in love with Zane Anders since the day she laid eyes on him. But just when she begins to hope their casual relationship might turn into something more, a misunderstanding pushes her away.

At first sight, charming and handsome, ad executive, Zane Anders has been secretly infatuated with bake shop cutie, Wynn Murphy. This Christmas, he's determined to tell her.

Join Wynn and Zane in this delightful holiday novelette as Zane goes dashing through the snow in an effort to capture Wynn's heart.



My Review

Dashing Through the Snow was a cute Christmas time story, more of an ABC Christmas movie than Hallmark (trust me I know my Christmas movies and movie channels). I enjoyed the baking, holiday spirit, family, and friendship.

I love a good Christmas story, but this one didn't quite meet all of my expectations. It wasn't quite everything that I had been led to think it would be.

This book is very light with little depth. It's based on misunderstandings and lack of communication. I liked that Zane and Wynn had known each other for five years - their friendship with attraction was so cute! I would have liked a little more of an ending, though.

I was kind of surprised at the use of quite a few bad words and drinking. I wasn't expecting that, and it wasn't necessary. I know people say bad words sometimes, but it wasn't needed for this book. Other than that, it was pretty much clean, though.

Overall, this was a short, light Christmas story. It wasn't a favorite, but it was cute.

Also, I loved the cover! It just didn't really match up to the story, which was kind of disappointing because I thought it was really cute:(

I received this book in exchange of an honest review. This in no way affected my opinions, and all thoughts and opinions are solely my own.

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Gentleman of Her Dreams by Jen Turano

Gentleman of Her Dreams by Jen Turano

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary
When Miss Charlotte Wilson asks God for a husband, she decides He must want her to pursue Mr. Hamilton Beckett, the catch of the season. The only problem? She's never actually met Hamilton. Fortunately, one of her oldest and dearest friends, Mr. Henry St. James—who has returned to New York after a two-year absence—does know Hamilton. Much to Henry's chagrin, Charlotte immediately ropes him into helping her meet Hamilton. However, none of her plans to catch Hamilton's eye go as she expected, and she is even more confused when her old feelings for Henry begin to resurrect themselves. In the midst of the mayhem Charlotte always seems to cause, she wonders if the gentleman of her dreams might be an entirely different man than she thought.

This novella is a companion to A Change of Fortune, Jen Turano's full-length debut novel, available fall 2012.



My Review
Gentleman of Her Dreams was a great novella to have in the Woman of Distinction series. I really enjoyed Ms. Turano's writing style in the second and fourth book of that series and can't wait to read the first and third!

Charlotte really had a knack for scheming and getting herself into hilarious situations, and pulling Henry right along with her of course. I laughed out loud and smiled at their antics and banter. She totally misinterpreted what God was trying to tell her, and boy did it lead to many entertaining situations and much confusion! I've always had a soft spot for relationships that evolve from the best friend status, and this one was no exception. It was so obvious that they were meant for each other, yet they were both hiding it!

This novella fits right in at the beginning of the series, and it mentions many of the characters that later get their story told, so that was really fun since I've already read two of the later books.

Anyway, this is a fun short read. I foresee laughter and an aw or two in your future if you decide to read it!

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Bookish Relationships (#2) - Love Triangles

This is a new feature on Wonderous Reviews! While writing a Top Ten Tuesday post on what I like and dislike about relationships in books I realized that I wanted to write more about what makes me swoon and what breaks my heart in bookish relationships. These discussions will be randomly posted, and they will each have a specific topic such as best friends to relationship romance or love triangles. 

These are meant to be discussions so I want to know what you guys think too, so please comment and/or feel free to write your own post! This is meant to be fun and full of opinions and discussion (it's okay to disagree, just be polite)!

Love triangles are a very popular trend in books, especially YA books. A girl likes two guys, takes forever to decide which one she likes the most or to decide the one she should like the most, often changes her mind multiple times, goes back and forth, etc (of course that's just the extremely simple basics, though). Everyone seems to have a very strong opinion about love triangles and books, and some people are just completely over them and feel that if they ever lay eyes on another one it will be to soon!

I have mixed feelings about love triangles. I often finding them quite annoying. but if done correctly love triangles can be really good in books. They can create meaning and intrigue the reader instead of drive them insane. But most of the time love triangles drive me insane. "Quit leading them on, and choose already, you know which one you are in love with, just work it out" - are my thoughts for most love triangles.

In most of the love triangles I have read, the center point of the triangle usually knows which adjacent point they are in love with, but something is keeping them apart. They don't think they're good enough, they don't want to hurt the other person, they are trying to convince themselves that they should love the other person instead, are afraid of getting hurt, or there is an misunderstanding. I can't stand those! They totally break my heart. If you know what person you are truly in love with, and they are the one for you, then work it out already for goodness sake!

But, occasionally there will be a book with an acceptable love triangle. The love triangle still drives me insane (all love triangles do), but I understand and see their confusion and point. There was something about it that grounded the story, something that was overall beautiful about it, and at the end as long as everything worked out the way I wanted it to, it was maybe, just maybe, swoonworthy
read.

Love isn't easy, but you do deserve to be with someone who makes you happy! As long as a book/series ends up with being with the person that is their the one, then I'm usually happy. Sometimes, though a love triangle will frustrate me to no end! Most of the time I'm okay, then I feel infuriated, then I'm okay, then I want to just throw the book, then all is happy ever after! If a love triangle is fantastic it will make me feel those things and I'll be fine with it being a love triangle, sometimes it makes me feel those things and I still don't like it. I guess it just depends on the characters, circumstances, and behaviors!

Here are books with love triangles that I Love

So, I knew and Kate knew who her true the one was, but there were circumstances that made the eventual love triangle acceptable. I knew who I wanted her to end up with, and the book drove me slightly insane until the end. I could feel her emotions so clearly! It was beautifully written, the message was great, and overall it really worked.

This is not your typical Beauty and the Beast story, and I was totally shocked, and a little disappointed at first when I finally found out what was going to happen. But, after finishing it, sitting on it, and pondering, it was beautiful and she did end up with her true the one, even though it wasn't who it at first appeared to be. (I hope that doesn't spoil anything)!

The Bound Heart can't even completely be considered as a love triangle. It's more of a triangle with a girl, a love interest, and an ex love interest that she doesn't love but thinks she should be with. This book was so well written and I really liked Meredith, Lowry, and the messages in this book. Her the one was such a wonderful man, so kind and patient!

Love triangles I have mixed feelings about
  
I have mixed feelings about the love triangle in The Selection series. Don't get me wrong, I love the series as a whole, but the love triangle had its good and bad moments for me. In The Selection (as in book 1) I thought that the triangle was very well played and I could understand her confusion and feelings. Then as time went by and by it was getting worse. There were quite a few times when I just wanted her to choose the one that I knew was her true the one already! I'm not a huge fan of drama most of the time, and at times that was exactly what it felt like - drama! I loved the end and the journey though!

   

I love this series so much! I do have to be honest though, and say that there were times when I hated the love triangle! I mean that one guy was so wonderful and Kelsey's the one the entire time, and she spent so much time trying to deny it! I mean, a little love triangle is okay, but I when I spend the whole time she's with the opposite guy wishing she was with her the one, it really is infuriating! I loved the first book and completely understood what she did at the end because in that circumstance I could imagine me doing the same thing. Then I loved the beginning of the second book and every moment she spent with her true the one, and the end was fantastic! (Honestly, I'm trying so hard not to spoil things here)!

More complicated than a love triangle

Now, if you get into a love square or even larger sided shapes, that is just ridiculous and unacceptable, and just NO! (If this picture is from a book, I haven't read it, so I'm not judging. I just wanted to use this pic)! That is just to much drama for me, and is pretty much never acceptable in the books I read.

This book sounded good when I went to read, but it just wasn't exactly my kind of book. There was a love square, I wasn't a fan and thought it was a bit much. The book was okay, just not for me.
Of course there are more love triangles I could go into, but these are it for now! So I'm not going to refuse to give a book a chance if it has a love triangle in it, but I might be a little more cautious about my decision. Sometimes I wonder if it would help if I had a way to discuss/vent my feelings about love triangles while I'm reading them!


Now it's your turn! Tell me your thoughts on love triangles. Do they make you tick or do you enjoy them? Which ones do you have a love or hate relationship with?

New Blog Design!

This is what I categorize my wandering whims under! My mind may be wanting to write about life, blogging, music, movies, or anything under the sun, and if it doesn't fit into one of my other features then, well, here it goes!


I have a new blog design!

Don't get me wrong, I really liked my old background - I thought it was pretty, and it was perfect for getting me started!

But, I really needed something new and refreshing, something I could really work with! I've been at blogging for just a little over a year, and wanted something at least slightly more professional looking, something a little more classy.

So, Saturday I kind of just randomly decided that I needed some nice social media icons, took about 3 hours to figure out which ones I wanted and get them set up, then one thing led to another. I really wanted a whole new design!

I thought, "hey if you're going to do this, just do it right and go all out!"

I knew that the colors I wanted my blog design to be were coral and mint green, because they are my favorite colors (along with purple, but I wanted coral and mint green), and just all around make me happy. Plus, they look really nice together in my opinion!

Then, I revisited Cutest Blog On The Block where I got my previous blog design, and started searching for coral and mint green. My new blog background is what I found, and even though it's not exactly the shades I wanted I hope it goes well enough with the rest of my blog design color scheme.

I honestly tried to create my own design, but I just couldn't seem to, so this will have to do for now.

I've recently been extremely interested in dividers, fancy frames, etc., that I really like. So, I started searching for some that I could use, but I had to pay for them. I continued searching, and finally figured out that you can find some to use when designing something in Google Drive, and that you can change the color really easily!

Enter all of my new feature, meme, Twitter, Google+, etc. images (Including my Twitter background, but I couldn't figure out how to add anything else to Bloglovin)! Maybe it would have looked nicer to stick with one design and just change the words, but I really liked all of these and wanted them all to look different - because each feature is unique and so I wouldn't get them confused - but still together. I did use the same coral color background with mostly the same 2 mint colors inside and the same Dancing Script font I used on my blog name and post titles, though.

Now I'll have
 

 
and


This revamping of my site and all of my social media is a huge change, but I really love the new color scheme, and the fact that I figured out how to make slightly nicer meme/feature images and social media icons!

P.S. I'm also thinking of adding a couple new randomly postable features, so, we'll see!


Any suggestions? 
I'd love to hear from you guys, and please be honest!
Let me know what you think! Do the colors go together okay? Is the divider to much? Are the different meme and feature pictures okay or to different? What words would you use to describe this new look? 
Also, please let me know if it takes my blog to long to load. It doesn't for me, but I would like to make sure it doesn't for you guys either!

Waiting on Wednesday - What Is Hidden by Lauren Skidmore

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we share a book that we are waiting for. This post is so fun because it helps us stay on the lookout for books!


What Is Hidden by Lauren Skidmore

Goodreads Summary
“The Chameleon is on the loose.” Despite the whispers that sprung up, the Speaker continued, “He’s stealing our masks and assuming the identities of the victims. It is our duty to warn you—do not trust the masks alone.”

In Venesia, your mask is your life. It is your face, your rank, and your identity. Without a mask, you are nothing.

Which makes the Chameleon the most dangerous criminal in the land.

When the Chameleon attacks the talented mask maker Evie, he not only strips away Evie’s mask, destroys her home, and kills her father, but he also brands her face with his own criminal mark that would incriminate her for his wrongdoings should it be discovered. Her only choice is to go into hiding—at the royal palace. But as she creates a new identity —and plans to exact revenge— Evie soon learns that masks hide more than just faces ...

Unmask the secrets that Venesia holds in this unique and romantic spin on the classic tale of Cinderella.

Why I'm Waiting
I'm always in search of a good fairytale retelling, and this one sounds quite intriguing and unique!

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Top Ten Books I'd Love To Read With My Book Club If I Had One

  Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we pick the top ten things for the topic of the week.  I really enjoy writing these posts, because I love lists, and this is a great way to look back at books I've read and toward the books I want to read!

Topic: Top Ten Books I'd Love To Read With My Christian Fiction Book Club If I Had One

Already Published
     
Discovering Sophie by Cindy Roland Anderson
Under A Georgia Moon by Cindy Roland Anderson
The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky
Surprised by Love by Julie Lessman
First World Problems by LeighAnn Kopans
Keeping Kate by Lauren Winder Farnsworth
There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

To Be Published in 2015
   
To Win Her Own by Tamera Alexander
A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade
After A Fashion by Jen Turano
From the Start by Melissa Tagg

What about you?

Blog Tour: Shifter's Heart by Desiree Williams

I want to say thank you to Desiree Williams for allowing me to be a part of Shifter's Heart blog tour! After falling in love with Heart Song, I've been waiting quite impatiently for this book, so I was extremely excited to read it! So, let's start this tour!

Shifter’s Heart – Heart Song Trilogy Book 2 Blurb

As the flames of Varkadon spread, war rips through the Shifter Territory…

With the Aldonnian kingdom celebrating the news of her brother’s soul bonding, Laelynn seizes every opportunity to drive herself to the brink of exhaustion. If her body is worn, then her brain would be too tired to dream. Laelynn knew the men who’d captured her were gone from this world, but that didn’t stop the haunting images from plaguing her mind. Not even the pesky thorn-in-her-side Shifter Prince could keep the dreams at bay. Though Dustan’s commentary through their mental bond had kept a lingering smile on her lips, despite the battles that rage within her.

Yet when Dustan distances himself Laelynn questions the connection between them. Those fears rise when her own talents begin to morph and grow into the unexpected. Torn between love and faith, Laelynn strives to find the purpose behind the evolving gifts. What she discovers is far more than she ever imagined.

As tragedy befalls the Shifter Territory and brother battles against brother, Laelynn knows what must be done. Face her demons and triumph, or she’ll never claim the song of her heart.

Book Links

Goodreads, Amazon; iBooks; Barnes & Nobel; Smashwords

Author Bio

Desiree Williams is a dreamer by day and chocoholic by night. She lives in the beautiful state of Kentucky with her husband and daughter, where she juggles life as a wannabe supermom. Desiree is a lover of food and avoider of dirty dishes. She delights in making people laugh and strives to bring hope and love with her wherever she goes.

You can find out more about Desiree and her books at www.desireewilliamsbooks.blogspot.com

Author Links

Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Newsletter

My Review
I had extremely high expectations for Shifter's Heart after reading Heart Song last year, and it feels so good to say that Shifter's Heart exceeded those expectations! I loved every minute I spent continuing the story of Alanna, Jerric, Laelynn, and Dustan!

The setting was, once again, richly and vibrantly imaginable. The description making it like a brilliantly filmed movie in my head, but better because I was able to see into the characters minds and feel their emotions!

Speaking of the characters...

I was overjoyed to spend more time with Alanna and Jerric and see more of Laelynn and Dustan! It was like seeing old friends that I hadn't seen in over a year! I really enjoyed the entertaining interactions between these two couples - trust me, there were some laugh out loud moments! The multiple perspectives were done perfectly, flowing seamlessly from character to character.

The four main characters were also very relatable. Even though they are extremely gifted, they have to work hard and still have doubts. Their strength, caring natures, and leadership were inspiring and shown on every page. I loved watching their inner growth and making intriguing discoveries along with them! 

Which brings me to the brilliant plot! I loved the gifts that they have and how they use them, and figuring things out right along with them. There were so many discoveries, but I'm not telling you about any of them!

There was plenty of action mixed in with lots of amazingly witty banter, dialogue, and swoonworthy romance! I mean, Jerric and Dustan? Trust me - those are two male character full of swoonworthiness (and in one book - talk about a two for one)! The relationships are built on pure, true love and I really enjoyed the whole aspect of being each other's heart song -  awww! I hope I find mine someday! I loved how they talked through their problems and were there to support each other, they were truly each others best friend (but more). I think we should see more of that in YA instead all of the unnecessary drama, insta love, and love triangles that seem to dominate YA. 

This book is full of fantastic themes that are written into the actions and words of the characters. Love, joy, strength, hope, and peace among the most prominent! There were multiple occasions when I felt compelled to highlight sections or sentences to read again (I've been doing that more often lately, just so you know). 

Did I have any problems with this book? Well, there is a major cliff hanger, but it's okay because I have hope! But I really hope the third book comes out soon - I mean it should be illegal to have to wait an extreme amount of time before reading the next book!

I can't even begin to tell you how utterly captivating this series is! It's so fantastic you just need to read it for yourself! Oh, and make sure you read book one Heart Song first, because it's also amazing and that way you can get the fully fantastical effect! 

Can not wait for Heart of the Guardian to come out!

I revieved a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. This in no way affected my review, all thoughts and opinions are solely my own.

Fangirling over, for now! I know that was a lot of exclamation marks, but sometimes a girl has just got to go there! 

Giveaway

A giveaway of a beautiful Origami Owl Bracelet; $10 Amazon GC; $10 iTunes GC. The winner will be selected randomly via Rafflecopter and announced on Desiree Williams site, Facebook, and Twitter on Feb. 7 at around 10am EST.

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Also, I'm hosting a giveaway of Heart Song this month so if you haven't already read it you need to enter that too!
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