Spend the holidays in Silver Springs, where the greatest gift of all is the love you never expected.Up-and-coming TV anchor Emery Bliss can’t imagine anything more humiliating than the sex tape her ex revenge-posted online. That is, until it causes her to lose her job on top of her self-esteem. Seeking solace—and anonymity—in Silver Springs, Emery isn’t looking to get involved with another man … involved with another man any time soon. But when she’s thrown back into contact with Dallas Turner, she sees something that his many detractors have missed.
Being home for the holidays and his adoptive mother’s wedding isn’t where mountain climber Dallas feels most comfortable. Thanks to his troubled childhood, he’d rather be on a rock face alone than trying to connect with people. Emery, however, makes him want to overcome his past…somehow.
Both Emery and Dallas had been planning on a quiet, solitary Christmas, but the sparks between them are lighting a fire strong enough to last—possibly forever.
Don’t miss Brenda Novak’s latest book, When I Found You!
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Welcome back to Silver Springs! Aiyana believes in giving people a second chance or space to figure out what they want to do next in their lives. Emery Bliss is at a crossroads. She was the good girl, never getting into trouble. Always on the right path. That is till a co-worker tries to destroy her. Dallas is home for his mom’s wedding. All her adopted sons are going to be home for the wedding and Christmas for the first time in years. From the moment he sees her, his protective instincts take over. He wants to protect her against everything but knows he can’t. He feels to damaged to give her more than friendship. They are two hurt souls who found the time to be in a bubble before it breaks. She fell in love but he can’t. It isn’t till a heart wrenching scene on the mountain top, a talk with a father figure, that he comes out of the fog. He has chosen the HEA.
Good book that takes place at the New Horizons ranch in Silver Springs. Aiyanna started the ranch many years before to help at-risk young men. Some of those boys she adopted, and they have grown into fine adults. Aiyanna is about to marry her long-time love, and her adoptive sons have returned to Silver Springs for the celebration. One of those men is Dallas Turner.
Dallas witnessed his father murder his mother and sister when he was a boy. After years in the foster system, he ended up at New Horizons. Even after all these years, Dallas bears a tremendous amount of guilt, feeling that he should have saved them. He prefers to spend his time on his solo mountain climbing career, where he can hide from his memories, than around people he has to talk to. The last person he expects to encounter when he comes home for his mother’s wedding is his high school crush, Emery.
Emery left Silver Springs after college and moved to LA, where she became a television news anchor. Her career was going well until her secret relationship with her co-anchor ended. When she wouldn’t get back with him, Ethan posted a revenge-porn video on the internet, causing an end to her career and a hit to her self-esteem. Sinking under the weight of despair and depression, Emery ends up at New Horizons, staying with her mom’s friend, Aiyanna. Silver Springs is the perfect place for her to lick her wounds and decide what to do about her future. The last thing she wants is to get involved with another man.
I liked the development of the relationship between Emery and Dallas. His protective instincts are aroused when he hears what happened to Emery. I loved that he immediately believed her story and that he wanted to do something about it. It was sweet to see how Dallas made a point of helping Emery overcome her embarrassment and fear of appearing in public. Though there were sparks between them from the first, they tried to stick to being friends. Neither felt they were in a place for more than that. Emery questions her judgment when it comes to men after being so wrong about Ethan. Dallas is too haunted by his past to believe that he can give Emery the stability she needs. I loved the support Dallas gave Emery as she made decisions about her future. There were some fun scenes where that support was a bit more involved than I expected. The more time they spent together, the stronger their attraction grew until they couldn’t help but give in to it. As they grew closer, I liked seeing Emery chip away at Dallas’s walls and help him work through his guilt, but there are still obstacles that face them. An unexpected visitor from his past brought back his pain but also helped him confront it. I liked the effect it had on him and his hopes for a future with Emery. I liked his big moment at the end, and the epilogue was terrific.
This book started out as a romance, so I wasn’t expecting much. But I should have known better – after all, it is a Brenda Novak story. When I realized there was a mystery involved in the story, my interest was piqued. I was much more interested in the mystery than the romance.
The story was inspiring as Emery and Dallas both had tragic things happen in their lives, but they navigate their way through it and come out better in the end. I loved Cal, Aiyana, and all the troubled boys Aiyana adopted.
I was not aware that the book was part of a series. But I did not feel I missed anything by not reading the earlier books. Overall, I really enjoyed this story.
A California Christmas by Brenda Novak
Silver Springs #7
Coming into this series on book seven was not a problem. I wasn’t sure who everyone was, but it didn’t matter in the telling of the story of Emery and Dallas. I settled in easily and enjoyed it thoroughly!
Emery Bliss has had a horrible situation descend on her…revenge porn on the internet that won’t go away has cost her not only public scrutiny and castigation on the internet but also has seen her fired from the job she loved as a news anchor. Tail tucked between her legs she ran to hide in Silver Springs with a friend of her mother’s. In addition to the chaos in her personal life why not throw in parents in the midst of an acrimonious divorce and a grandmother facing senility and she is a wee bit beyond woebegone.
So, who does she meet in the first few pages of the book? Dallas Turner, home for the holidays to help his mother get ready for her wedding. His mother and brothers, all adopted sons of Aiyana, are intriguing characters I wish I had met in book one and followed through the series BUT…perhaps in the future I will catch up with them. Anyway, the story was delicious and delightful and filled with ups and downs and problems to sort out and solve. Love wasn’t a given but it was definitely hoped for.
What I liked:
* Emery: a professional woman on her way up, battered on the internet, struggling to cope, in need of a good friend and a safe place to stay. I liked her.
* Dallas: a professional mountain climber, carrying a heavy load from childhood, a good friend-brother-son-man, he has a lot to give, needs to learn to open up and to move forward. I liked him.
* Aiyana: a strong woman with a backstory that no doubt was told in the past…intriguing woman and wonderful mother to young men that cold have been lost without her.
* The way the person who posted the intimate tape online was exposed and made accountable
* The way that Emery and Dallas slowly came together
* The brothers
* Cal, Aiyana’s fiancé
* The woman who hired Emery for a short time
* That the perpetrator of the revenge porn post was eventually dealt with
What I did not like:
* The double standard related to tape that went online
* The person that put the video up online
* Knowing that this sort of thing happens in real life
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author/in this series? Definitely
Thank you to Harper Collins – Harlequin-Mira for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
A happy occasion brings the family back together again! What better way to reconnect with Aiyana and her Silver Springs brood than watching her happily ever after commence over her Christmas wedding to Cal. With book seven in the series Brenda Novak delights with the perfect amount of love, happiness and angst to keep her reader riveted throughout.
Dallas Turner is returning home from his mountain climbing adventures to be with his family for the holidays and his mom’s wedding celebrations. He didn’t expect to reconnect with his high school crush the minute he steps in the door.
Emery Bliss grew up in Silver Springs and though she struck out in the big city of LA in her TV personality career, it’s home she needs when the world starts falling apart around her.
I highly recommend this book and the entire series to anyone who enjoys a tight-knit family who always has each other’s back as they slowly find their happily ever after.
I love all of Brenda’s books and this one is no exception! What’s better than Christmas in Silver Springs with all the rowdy and and loving characters that live there? It always amazes me how Brenda can get you so involved in her books that you forget how much time you have been there. Thank you for taking us back to visit Silver Springs in time for Christmas.
A California Christmas (Silver Springs #7) was another great read by Brenda Novak. Emery is an up-and-coming tv anchor who never thought her ex would post her sex tape online. Then it caused her to lose her job. She goes to Silver Springs to seek solace. She comes in contact again with Dallas Turner while he is home for the holidays and his adoptive mom’s wedding. They both just wanted a quite holiday, when their pasts won’t allow that. I really enjoyed reading the sparks between Emery and Dallas. I can’t wait to read more by Brenda Novak.
Emery Bliss’ life has quickly turned upside down. When her ex, Ethan, posted a sex video of the two of them online, not only does she lose her dignity, she also loses her job as a TV anchor. Upset and humiliated, Emery heads back to her old hometown of Silver Springs, CA to stay with her mom’s friend, Aiyana Turner. While Emery is there she runs into Dallas Turner, one of Aiyana’s adopted sons who is in town for his mom’s wedding. Dallas climbs mountains for a living because it’s a way for him to escape his past.
While there is instant attraction between Emery and Dallas, the last thing she needs is another man in her life. But of course, the more time Dallas and Emery spend together, the hotter the flames are getting until they both give in to their attraction. Emery is ready to jump into something serious with Dallas, but because of things from his past he cannot commit.
When Emery’s life is threatened, Dallas is even more conflicted than ever for his feeling for her. Dallas is going to have to confront his past before he can ever have something special with Emery and when the past if finally thrown at him, it will take a lot of soul searching for Dallas to figure out that what he really wants the most out of life is Emery.
I really enjoyed this story. I just love this series and all of Aiyana’s troubled adopted sons….it is fun watching them find love. I really liked Emery. She was strong willed and sweet. She has so much negative things going on in her life but she never gave up. I also just adored Dallas. You couldn’t help but feel for him because of his past. I just wanted to reach out and give him a hug. Overall they made for a wonderful couple and I really enjoyed their love story.
4.5 stars
Another lovely holiday tale from Brenda Novak. Silver Springs is such a wonderful place for the holiday. It’s full of acceptance and hope and love, even if it doesn’t always feel that way for the characters.
Nobody judges Dallas’ past more harshly than Dallas himself. He has risen above his upbringing and has become a very confident person when it comes to his adult life and his passion of climbing. Yet, bring him back home to Silver Springs, where he ended up as a child after a traumatic childhood event and hopping from foster home to foster home, and he reverts back to that child who is unsure of his worth. He would never admit those feelings, but those who love him see them clearly.
Emery was also quite a confident person, until a vindictive ex stripped away any sense of security she ever had. Not only has her romantic and professional life started falling apart, so has her personal life. Her dad has unexpectedly left her mom and is being unreasonable, leaving her with a lot of pressure and stress since she’s a loving and concerned daughter.
Put Emery and Dallas together and they are so good for one another. Dallas helps Emery find her confidence and remember who she is on the inside. Emery gives Dallas a place to feel safe to express emotions he never even lets his adopted mom, Aiyana, see. But they’re both so concerned about making sure the other finds their happiness, they forget about finding their own.
This is a very emotional story, especially when it comes to Dallas and his past. His story made me weep while Emery’s story made me furious. Not at her, but at all those around her. Her boss, her ex, her dad, her “fans”.
As much as I adored this story and this couple, I think my favorite parts had to do with Dallas and his brothers. They didn’t let him hide from his own feelings. They are all so supportive, as nobody can quite understand what they’ve all been through the way they can understand each other. I cannot wait for the younger boys to grow up and get their HEAs, and I really hope to see Seth get another HEA.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
This was a superb addition to the Brenda Novak Silver Springs series! With many of my favorite characters poised to take part in the story of Dallas and Emery, I was mesmerized by the way the story was intricately woven around the town and people of Silver Springs. Emery is a wounded young woman who is invited to stay at the ranch with Aiyana while she finds her bearings again. There, she meets Aiyana’s sons, most importantly Dallas. Emery has some healing to do, but so does Dallas and it takes the whole novel before the two of them figure out how to go about it. I particularly enjoyed the details about Aiyana’s wedding to Cal and how helpful her sons were determined to be. Family working together and supporting each other was a main theme of the book. Another theme was forgiveness and just letting things go so you can move on with your life. I was outraged at how Emery had lost her job through no fault of her own, but I also liked how she ended up handling the whole situation. I also enjoyed seeing Susan and her bakery in the story this time as she was one of my favorite characters previously. For her to play a role in Emery’s decision to forgive was like icing on the cake. This book can be read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend that you read the series so that you are familiar with all of the characters and the many positive vibes from living in a small town like Silver Springs.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
It was nice being back in Silver Springs. This book is all about second chances for both Dallas and Emery. Aiyana is of course fiercely protective of her family and during this book and time Dallas more than anyone. Emery needs to get over a terrible humiliation so she decides to spend time hiding out at Aiyana’s house. The friendship between Dallas and Emery moves into something more but it takes a chance encounter for Dallas to actually embrace what he is feeling. We get a wedding and all the Christmas feels with this book. You can read this book as a stand alone or part of the series both ways will be equally enjoyable. So get in the Christmas spirit and open this book up.
*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily giving my honest opinion*
This book is part of the Silver Springs series. We find Emery hiding out in Silver Springs after a sex video is posted on the internet. She meets Dallas and soon sparks flies.
I thought the story was good. I am surprised at how fast Emery fell into Dallas’s bed, considering everything she has gone through.
I liked the book enough to read more in this series
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy
Favorite Quote:
Attitudes are as catchy as the flu.
My Review:
This holiday romance featured multiple storylines which were all equally engaging and well-nuanced with family drama, wedding prep for an older couple, career crossroads, a revenge-porn sex-tape scandal, a new budding relationship that was meant to be a non-romance, and new beginnings. Ms. Novak’s small-town characters were immensely likable, realistically flawed, and held my interest. The story threads were busy and eventful yet relatively easy to follow, even for someone like me who is not familiar with the series or read the previous installments, although now I am feeling the pull to do so as I am quite curious about several of the characters.
Great story to get you into the Christmas spirit! 5 stars for this one!
We meet Emery, up and coming tv anchor, that is until her ex boyfriend releases a video of the two of them, in a private moment. Emery needs to get away from the spotlight, so when an opportunity to escape to Silver Springs comes up, she takes it.
Dallas is taking a break from mountain climbing to return to Silver Springs for his adoptive moms wedding, the last person he expects to find there is Emery. He feels protective of her with all she’s gone through and tries to get her out of the house for a break.
Follow their story as it unfolds, and enjoy some Christmas spirit!