When straitlaced Cassidy Trevor and freewheeling Matt Wolfe are volunteered to co-chair St. Caroline’s first ever Winter Festival, no one expects sparks to fly. Some opposites are just too opposite to attract …Cassidy is the backbone of her family’s quilt shop, the one everyone relies on, the person who makes the trains run on time. But she’s harboring a secret no one is going to like—she’s … is going to like—she’s making plans to leave St. Caroline …
Matt Wolfe has spent his entire life living down to everyone’s expectations. As a member of a firefighting family, he’s also seen too many people lose everything in a heartbeat. He knows it’s easier to let go of things if you never let yourself really want them in the first place …
… or are they?
For Cassidy, a short fling is perfect. There’s no chance of love ’em and leave ’em Matt Wolfe tying her down. It’s ideal for Matt, too. Cassidy’s plans to leave town mean no messy breakup and no disappointment when expectations aren’t fulfilled.
Then the unthinkable happens …
The one person who supports Cassidy’s dream to leave St. Caroline becomes the one person she can’t bear the thought of leaving. And for the first time in his life, Matt is discovering expectations he wants to live up to … his own.
Can their secret relationship survive in a town where there are no secrets?
The St. Caroline Series
Come to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and the 300-year-old town of St. Caroline, Maryland. Meet the Trevor family—Michelle, Dan, Becca, Charlotte, Natalie, Cassidy and Lauren—and their popular quilt shop, Quilt Therapy. Across town, the men of the Wolfe family have been the backbone of the St. Caroline fire department for generations—and Tim, Jack, Matt and Oliver are continuing the tradition.
The St. Caroline Series features emotional stories with relatable characters you’ll fall in love with, true-to-life problems and triumphs, and sweetly sexy romance that leads to a happy ever after.
Book 1: Summer Again
Book 2: Hearts on Fire
Book 3: Two of Hearts
Book 4: This Reminds Me of Us
more
A wonderful romance! Love the main characters and their families. Lots going on but with large families that’s to be expected. I really enjoyed the way the author let us into Matt’s handling of ADHD. It was very interesting and very realistic. Will definitely be adding this author to my list of favorites.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.
Cassidy and Matt are so different that it’s seems impossible for them to even work together. But when they have to organise the Winter Festival they discover a chemistry between them. But can they risk putting their families in an awkward situation if they have a relationship? Will they find happiness and a future together? A very intense and emotional story. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.
Engaging story line ,enjoyable as stand alone but entices to read the previous books……don’t sell yourself short story…..ongoing story line of one brother begs Ms. Gabriel to conclude the saga, love it.
I loved this story book, the story was well written and the characters were well developed.
There are some steamy scenes in the book.
As this book is part of a series, there are glimpses of other family relationships.
This is the first book I have read from this author. There will definitely be more
I recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book 3 in the St. Caroline Series is a very well-written emotional story that have characters that are pulled in many directions. These characters get unintentionally emotionally used by their families and their feelings are not taken into account. You fell their emotions and you want to know them more. This is the first book I read in the series, but I will go back to read the first 2 books and any other written by this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cassidy and Matt are complete opposites but have to work together to get the Winter Festival planned. They’ve known each other since their families are friends and her sister and his brother are marring each other. There’s definite chemistry between them and as they spend time together, their feelings for each other begin to grow. Their families don’t want them in a relationship but the heart wants what the heart wants. Will they go against their families wishes and have a HEA? A wonderful love story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a great read with an awesome storyline that has well developed and engaging characters that have lots of chemistry. The smooth flow of the storyline makes for a good reading time.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The third book in the St. Caroline Series this is the first book by this Author that I have read, I now want to read the rest of this series. This is Cassidy Trevor and Matt Wolfe’s story and the way parents and family will try to keep people apart if they think you are not good enough. I enjoyed reading their story. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cassidy and Matt had me captivated from the very beginning! The good character and storyline development kept me totally engaged throughout the entire book!
Julia Gabriel has written a heartfelt 5-star book about the relationship between Cassidy and Matt and the things they have to go through to have a relationship. Matt and Cassidy have known each other for a while since their families are friends. Matt has been asked to take his brother’s place as a co-chair for the winter festival along with Cassidy. They spend time together and as they are getting the festival plans sorted out their feelings grow for one another. They both know that their families don’t want them to have a relationship because of her sister and his brother are getting married. Cassidy’s mother tells her to stay away from Matt and to not mess up things for her sister. Cassidy and Matt start a friend with benefits relationship. After a while, Cassidy breaks it off with Matt since she knows it is not going anywhere with her leaving when she gets accepted to a college.
Can Cassidy get over her feelings for Matt and move on with her life, or will she just settle?
Will Matt let Cassidy go, or will he go after her and forget what the families wan?
This book was a wonderful read that tells of the things the main characters Cassidy and Matt have to go through in order to have a relationship.
I would recommend this book to anyone.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The two mostly unlikely fall in love with each other, but it takes moving away from their hometown to ever realize the depths of their love. Very good romance with many tender moments and their families along with the stresses that are put on them.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Matt Wolfe is a player. Cassidy Trevor is the family good girl/worker. His brother and her sister are getting married, his sister in law is in the hospital in a coma, his mother just died, and her mother says she can’t date him. Sounds like the perfect time to start a relationship, right?
After being thrown together to organize a town winter festival they embark on a friends with benefits agreement because she’s planning to leave for graduate school in the summer but hasn’t told her family of her plans.
Matt has ADHD and the author does an excellent job explaining how Matt deals with it on a daily basis and how ADHD affects his daily life and decision making. It was very interesting.
The road to happily ever after is full of potholes for Cassidy and Matt, but the author’s storytelling ability will keep you interested (I think). Very enjoyable with some heartbreaking moments.
The second book in this series, it is of benefit to have read Hearts on Fire as this story is a follow-on. Matt Wolfe fell into firefighting because that is what his family did. Despite having come from a loving family, no one has any real expectations for Matt other than that he is player and doesn’t take life seriously. However, Matt’s feelings and sensibilities run deep and he is tired of having to dumb down to the lowest level of expectations. Cassidy, on the other hand, has a good business brain and has always been the “low maintenance” family member. In not wanting to create waves, her needs are overlooked and she earns her mother’s disapproval at the budding friendship between herself and Matt, just in case she rocks the family boat. When Matt suggests the friends with benefits contract, it seems like a win-win situation. That is until feelings start to get in the way. The story is fairly slow moving and the attraction between Matt and Cassidy builds up to a point where they can no longer ignore what is happening between them. I love both Matt and Cassidy’s characters. Even though Matt has the reputation of a rogue to uphold, he is a caring and sensitive person and he helps Cassidy to deal with some of her deep issues. His belief in her spurs her on and allows her to take opportunities when they come. Cassidy comes to realise that the rumours about Matt aren’t all true and that there is caring person under the bravado. Although there are some steamy scenes, they are dealt with sensitively. Family expectations are also brought to the fore and make one realise that when parents place their own expectations on their children, they can do more harm than good. The story is emotional and somewhat sad but has a happy conclusion. Despite the fact that this book is part of a series and characters from the previous book appear in this one too, it is nevertheless a standalone. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
I haven’t read the other books in this series but it wasn’t necessary. The book is well written and the story can stand alone. I found it a sweet story with funny, romantic, and frustrating parts to it. I would read it again! I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.
Compelling characters and interesting premise. The plot was a bit problematic/puzzling for me.
Loved the book, the story was well written and the characters were intriguing. Once I started I could not get enough, from the start till the end I was engrossed I was even on the edge of my seat with twists and turns, lust and passion, strength, happiness with a happily ever after. Do yourself a favor and buy the book you want be disappointed.
Thank you for allowing me to review your book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Matt and Cassidy both avoid love and commitment like the plague. They soon develop a “friends with benefits” relationship and they can’t help themselves when it evolves into so much more. The backdrop of the rapidly approaching Christmas season adds to the mix.
Read this series in order. Little confused went back and started with the first book.
This was my first book by Julia Gabriel. Although I found the premise of the book interesting, the story did not live up to my expectations. I did not find the main characters engaging or believable and (in my opinion) their was zero chemistry between the two. The story lacked flow and consistency. Unfortunately not the book for me.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
3 1/2 stars
Cassidy Trevor has spent several years denying her dreams of travel and graduate school in order to stay and help manage her family’s quilting shop.
Matt Wolfe followed in his father’s footsteps and became a St. Caroline firefighter, although he struggles to manage his job with his ADHD.
Cassidy and Matt have known each other for most of their lives since their parents have been long-time friends. Matt has harbored a secret flame for Cassidy for years, but since both of them were told to avoid any sort of a romantic relationship by their families, he has hidden it. When Cassidy and Matt are volunteered by families to chair the St. Caroline town Christmas event, they quickly discover a mutual interest in each other. They decide to embark upon a “friends-with-benefits” relationship, and although they are determined to keep it casual, their relationship quickly become complicated. Can Matt prove his love to Cassidy before it’s too late?
I enjoyed the small-town feel of this story. I thought that parts of the story moved a bit too slowly, and I didn’t like the way the families kept butting into their lives and telling them what to do (especially Cassidy’s mother). The story suffers from a lack of pacing, and there is a bit of a choppy feel to the plot. A few of the events in the latter part of the story seemed to pop in out of nowhere, and felt too contrived. I wanted a bit more to the ending, (since it seemed to take so long to get there), but the story just kind of ends. Not a bad story, but I think it could have been edited a bit more.
I received a review copy of this book from eBook Discovery and I voluntarily decided to leave an honest review.