Tuesday 8 November 2016

Blog Tour & Review - Mistletoe on 34th Street by Lisa Dickenson





Published 3rd November 2016

Full of romance and festive magic, Mistletoe on 34th Street is the funniest and most charming love story you will read this Christmas!

Olivia has never experienced a snow-covered, ‘traditional’ Christmas before. Having grown up in a family that chose winter sun over decking the halls, she’s not sure what all the fuss is about. So when she and her colleagues are stranded in New York after a work trip, Olivia is perfectly happy spending the holiday season in the Big Apple.

Jon, Olivia’s friend, on the other hand is desperate to get home in time for his big family get-together. Nevertheless, determined to make the best out of the situation, he sets out to show Olivia how enchanting Christmas in New York can be. And when handsome New Yorker Elijah is added to the mix, could the magic of the season finally be working its charm on Olivia? As 25 December draws closer, Olivia suddenly finds herself with a decision to make: who does she really want to kiss under the mistletoe this Christmas?
Links

Goodreads
Amazon UK
Waterstones


Review

*** Disclaimer - I was given a copy of this book by  Little Brown Book Group, in return for an honest review ***

Finally, I have been waiting weeks to post this review. It is finally November and I can indulge, get cosy under a blanket with a mug of hot chocolate and absorb myself in Christmas themed books. This being my first of the year and having read it over Halloween, I had been worried I might not get fully into the Christmas spirit. I need not have worried it did and some. By the way how pretty is the cover? It caught my attention straight away when I received an email about this book.

The author has a talent for drawing you in, making you feel like you know the characters and is extremely good at describing the world around Olivia our main character, in particular, New York. All the characters have varied personalities and they are relatable in their own ways which helped me get past a slightly slow start (which for me is my only real criticism of this book). The story is full of romance, humor and everything that makes Christmas... well Christmas. I laughed out loud at so many parts, I am pretty sure my husband thought I had finally lost my marbles. 


The Author's writing style is fun, lighthearted and ( as someone who has not read anything not in the third person style in a long while) refreshing. Olivia's mind is perfect for telling this story and a pleasure to be 'inside' she is so quirky and her inner monologue is quite often so funny you cannot help but fall in love with her yourself. As we follow her struggle of understanding Christmas from a traditional point of view and her struggles with work, love, being stranded in New York, crossed wires and learning that the past is just that the past. She is surrounded by a variety of entertaining individuals, each bringing their own little thing to the story. Some of which are just perfect and favourites in the book for me. Such as Olivia's dad, Kim (her appearances are just gold) and Abigail. Another thing I found a really nice touch about this book was the well-placed pop culture references. I loved them! Especially regarding a certain favourite childhood toy of mine, I actually think that might be my favourite scene throughout the whole of the book.

As lighthearted, festive and funny as this book is it caught me upside the head with one hell of a wallop of emotion and although not where it may have been attended or where people would think I was a gibbering teary mess. If a book can make me cry, laugh out loud and festive then that is definitely a book worthy of a read.

There is very little to criticize about this book. I found the start slow and for, me it took a while to get hooked. I also had trouble with some of the words used / phrasing, this is in no way the author's fault but my own.

If you are feeling grinchy this year or having trouble deciding on your first or latest festive read for the year, pick up a copy, grab your blanket, your festive pj's or jumper, your favourite winter tipple and settle down to enjoy.

My Rating : 


Author Bio


Lisa Dickenson is the pseudonym for BeyoncĂ©. OK, FINE, THAT'S NOT TRUE. Lisa lives by the Devon seaside, stuffing cream teas in the gobs of anyone who comes to visit, and writing stuff down that she hopes is funny.  Her first novel was the copyright-infringing Sweet Valley Twins: The Twins Holiday Horror, which she wrote in primary school and gave up on after five pages. Twenty-ish years later Lisa went on to be a *real author* and wrote the Novelicious Debut of the Year, The Twelve Dates of Christmas. In summer 2016 out popped You Had Me at Merlot. She’s now keeping her fingers crossed that everyone will like her third paperback, Mistletoe on 34th Street, and that New York City gives her a free apartment near Central Park as a ‘well done’.  

Stalk Lisa at the links below:


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Tuesday 1 November 2016

Release Blitz: Heating Up the Holidays (various authors) & Giveaway




Title: Heating Up the Holidays
Authors: Various
Genre: Steamy Contemporary Romance
Release Date: November 1, 2016


The ultimate collection of sexy Christmas romances! 

Let seven of today’s hottest contemporary romance authors help keep you warm this holiday season. Each story is a standalone and contains a heartwarming Christmas romance with enough heat to get you through even the coldest winter night.

Available for a limited time, this collection will disappear not long after Santa puts his sleigh away for the season. Grab it while you can!






Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS





Here’s a peek at what you’ll find in
Heating Up the Holidays:


Please Have Snow by Amy Lamont

All curvaceous bartender Lily Barton wants for Christmas is a home to call her own. For Will Canter, the rugged, bad boy drummer of Sliding Violet, home is wherever the music—and the band’s tour bus—takes him. Can love, and a little holiday magic, give them both exactly what they want?

Contact Amy

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / NEWSLETTER



Sugar Plum Seduction by Regina Kyle

It’s Gunnar Rhodes’ first Christmas without his wife, and all he wants is to make it special for his seven-year-old daughter, even if that means letting her perform in the pretty new ballet teacher’s production of The Nutcracker. With Norah Pruitt’s professional dance career—and her engagement—cut short by a tragic accident, she’s determined to make her dance studio a success. Can the spirit of the season heal their wounds and help them find a second chance at love?

Contact Regina

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK

 

Ringing in the New by Nola Cross

When city girl Annie Grant comes to the little town of Everfield to help temporarily at her uncle’s business, she’s completely out of her element. And her attraction to attorney Rick Longstory only makes matters more confusing. Gradually the charming community draws her in. Now she must choose: Will she go back to the city and her high-powered career, or open her heart to a new way of life and the possibility of true love?

Contact Nola

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK




Christmas Eve by Kaylie Newell

Eve and Patrick thought their romance was long gone. It only takes a snowstorm and a sizzling night in a haunted house to resurrect the passion that was there all along.

Contact Kaylie

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK




A Holiday Prospect by Nina Bancroft

Tessa Blake loves her challenging new job as director of HR for a drilling company in rural North Dakota. But her sexy and driven new boss, Matthew Linden “Lind” Pearce, doubts Tessa’s ability to keep his workers safe in the field. When the two are forced to share cramped accommodations at the rig in the days before Christmas, both are compelled to confront their feelings for the other. Will this holiday bring these two a brighter prospect?

Contact Nina

FACEBOOK



Operation: Christmas by Megan Ryder

When Ryan Holliday finds out his long-time crush, Paige Taylor, hates Christmas, he does the only thing he can. Seduces her over Christmas trees, cookies and shopping. But when the season is over, will their romance end or will they find a way to make it forever?

Contact Megan



Sizzling in Snowflakes by Elisabeth Mayer

When homesick study abroad student, Kate Sullivan, can’t go home for Christmas, she settles for the next best thing: a holiday getaway with her roommates to the French Alps. She hopes four days on the slopes will keep her mind off missing her family and all their holiday traditions. The unexpected, late night arrival of four men she’d never met before was definitely not in her plans; neither was falling head over heels for one of them.

Contact Elisabeth


Giveaway