8 brand-new Christmas Town novellas from some of your favorite Harlequin Heartwarming authors. Valentine’s Day—and Christmas Town—will never be the same! Christmas Town to the rescue! An abnormally cold and snowy winter wreaked havoc in Christmas Town. Pipes froze, snowy roofs caved in, and even the famed gazebo in the town square was blown over! But the hardest hit was the historic town library, … hardest hit was the historic town library, where pipes burst – flooding the main floor and destroying all the books and computers. While insurance helps, it won’t cover everything. Christmas Town’s solution?
Calling all bachelors!
The Knotty Elves decide a Valentine’s Day Bachelor Auction kills two birds with one stone – raising money to save the library while working their matchmaking magic. From a personal chef to the town’s snow plow operator, there’s one thing all these handsome, homespun heroes have in common: they’re about to find love, Christmas Town style.
Be sure to check out YOU BET YOUR VALENTINE by Anna J Stewart, the prequel novella that starts all the Valentine’s Day fun!
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I haven’t read all and will report back but ones I have read are awesome, funny,
Not too be missed.
Anna J. Stewart
Melinda Curtis
Claire McEwen
Beth Carpenter
Cari Lynn Webb
Liz Flaherty
It starts with a bachelor auction. A Tale of Two Rings is about old love and second chances. He is only there to get his grandmother’s ring back, right? She is only trying to help him out by bidding on him. Can they find love with each other again or is there too much hurt in the way?
In Romancing Her Valentine, she is desperate for a date to her exes gender reveal party with his new wife. She buys a bachelor so she can have a date and get ski lessons and love in return.
Eight Heartwarming Short Stories. Each of these novellas takes approximately an hour to read. Here are my reviews:
The Apple of My Eye 5* by Melinda Curtis – Steve has waited years for Abigail to be ready to date again. His plans to get closer to her through her daughter and her work interests seem to be working, until it all implodes! Lovely sweet story of a woman who made a mistake in her youth and has closed herself off ever since.
Romancing Her Valentine 4* by Cari Ly – Tessa needs a date to accompany her to her ex’s party and doesn’t realise when she bids on Ryan Reeves at Christmas Town’s bachelor auction, that she will have to learn to ski in order to get that date. A sweet tale that would have been perfect if there had been an epilogue.
Love Fixes Everything 5* by Claire McEwan – Single mom Carrie struggles with money issues but her friend and boss buying her a handyman at the Bachelor Auction catches at her pride. Gage wasn’t happy with his cousin volunteering him for the auction but when he sees Carrie’s home and all the things that need doing, he persuades her to let him do the jobs whilst teaching her how to do them herself. Close proximity to each other leads to feelings that may well prove permanent. Great little story.
A Tale of Two Rings 5* by Beth Carpenter – Alden and Mindy split up 2 years previously but neither has got over the other. One of the Knotty Elves and Alden’s grandmother come up with a plan to get them talking again, in the hope that this time things might be different. Another sweet story.
Knock Down my Heart 3* by Anna Adams -Two little girls scheme to get their mother a date for Valentines Day but Georgia is wary after her husband walked out on her and their babies and Sven has his work cut out for him in persuading her to take a chance on him. Spoilt by editing issues but I could have been sent an uncorrected proof.
Head Over Heels 3* by Leanne Bristow – Two teachers (who have previously had sporting careers) come together due to the Bachelors Auction. Karen needs help with her business plan to open a gymnastics studio but Daniel is not sure about her motives and is distrustful of her. Didn’t feel any romantic connection between these two, so my least favourite in this box set.
A Place to Hang her Heart 5* by Liz Flaherty – Much deeper than the other stories in this set. Christy and Rob drifted apart and eventually divorced, two years later they actually talk about their problems. They still care for each other, can they have a new beginning? Loved it!
Table for Six 5* by Anna J Stewart – Cora is a widow struggling with her grief, three young children, two jobs and a poorly mother-in-law. Cooking is not her forte and preparing regular healthy meals for her family is adding to the stress. At the bachelor auction her mother-in-law purchases the services of a personal chef in the hope that Cora can let love back into her life. A delightful story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of these books. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I have had the privilege of reading this box set. I really enjoyed the short novellas and always love a trip back to Christmas Town. The knotty elves are at it again, they are matchmaking and using the bachelor auction to do this. The bachelors aren’t actually auctioning themselves off but their services to raise money to repair the damage to the library from the busted pipes that ruined the books and did major damage to the library itself.
Love Fixes Everything by Claire McEwen –Chase talked his cousin Gage into offering his handyman services at the auction. Chase and his wife Scarlet knew that her employee Carrie has a lot of things at her house that needed repaired. Her husband left her with the children and she has been trying to make ends meet but just can’t get the repairs done herself. The only way she will let Gage help her the 4 Saturdays that she won at the auction is if he teaches her how to do the work so that she knows how to take care of things in the future.
A great novella that I think you will enjoy. Alot of romance and a great story in such a short novella.
The Apple of my Eye by Melinda Curtis –Abigal met the man of her dreams in high school but when she got pregnant with Lizzie he left her. She thinks the town looked down on her because of this so now she doesn’t want to date for fear things won’t turn out well and they will look down on her and Lizzie again. But Lizzie and Knotty Elves have other thoughts on their mind. So LIzzie decides to spend 100 smackerels on Steve, who happens to be her coach so they could get together.
It seems Steve knows the right things to say and do and maybe Lizzie’s wish may come true.
A great novella that I really enjoyed.
Knock down my heart by Anna Adams –Sven is relatively new in town and he has a snow plowing business. He goes to Georgia’s house and is plowing her driveway when he sees two cute little faces peering out the window and runs into her carport tearing it down. The girls were staring out the window because he looked like one of their cartoon characters. He reminded them of a Prince.
With the help of their babysitter they write a letter to the bachelor auction committee asking for Sven to take their Mom out to dinner for Valentines Day and they want him to help them build a snowman.
Loved this cute story, short and sweet and loved the girls.
A Tale of Two Rings by Beth Carpenter — Alden and Mindy were engaged several years ago and Alden broke it off with her because he thought she deserved better than the life he could offer her. Now his Nonna wants him to come back to the auction and meet up with Mindy and get the ring he gave her back. Alden will do anything Nonna wants him to do and he wants to see Mindy again. He hasn’t stopped thinking about her since he broke it off.
If you believe in magic and that a bunch of Knotty Elves make great matchmakers than you will enjoy this story as much as I did.
Head over Heels by LeAnne Bristow — Karen wants to do a gymnastics center for troubled teens. She has talked to several people who have told her to put a business plan together. However, she has a problem with numbers an can not do a business plan. At the auction she bids on Daniel and he is offering business services such as taxes and she gets him to do
a business plan for her. A quick story that will make you fall in love. I really enjoyed the book.
Romancing her Valentine by Carie Lynn Webb —Tessa is at the bachelor auction to win a date for her ex-husband and his new wife’s gender reveal party. What she doesn’t realize is that she is getting Ryan and she has to agree to taking ski lessons from him and helping him win a bet from his friends and then he will take her to the party.
What he doesn’t realize when he makes the bet is that Tessa does not like to step out of her comfort zone but what Tessa realizes as she gets to know Ryan that she is no where near her comfort zone with him but she is enjoying it.
This box set definitely put me in the mood for Valentine’s Day. Celebrating in Christmas Town is always magical and this time is no exception. These stories are filled with romance and love. I enjoyed The Apple of My Eye by Melinda Curtis. The romance between Abigail Lincoln and Steve Haepner is sweet and heartwarming. I love how family and friends helped nudge Abigail to think of Steve as a romantic partner. I hoped that she would let go of her past and open her heart to possibilities. Thank goodness HEA ruled. In Romancing Her Valentine Cari Lynn Webb has Tessa Collier buying a date at the Bachelor Auction so she can attend a gender reveal party given by her Ex and his new bride. First of all I couldn’t believe anyone would invite their former spouse to that type of party. Tessa has kept herself busy to hide her pain. She’s a successful CEO, but she knows that she’s failed those she loves. When she wins a bachelor, it’s Ryan Reeves. He’s a champion skier and her prize is ski lessons. I had to laugh when I found that Tessa wasn’t athletic. Now the fun begin! Ryan is such a good person. These to strike a bargain so they both win. I liked that Ryan and Tessa have a special spark when they’re together. If only they would give romance a chance. Their story is so sweet and touching. I was entranced by this couple. I wanted them together forever. All the stories are special and much better for the waistline then a box of chocolates.
I received a copy of these stories which I voluntarily read and reviewed. My comments are my honest opinion.
Those fun loving, Knotty Elves are up to no good being clandestine matchmakers again in this collection of fun, romantic stories by some great authors. All of the stories take place in Christmas Town
Love Fixes Everything had such warm characters with Gage and Carrie. It is a sweet and romantic tale of Gage Flanagan, an Alaskan fisherman who has returned to Christmas Town to help his cousin Chase. Chase ended up setting him up in a bachelor auction to be a handyman for four weekends.
I liked Carrie, who is raising two kids on her own after her husband left. Her house needs a lot of work and Gage is just the guy to help out. I liked this story because while Gage i helping Carrie she is helping him to fix his heart and let him know he is not like his dad.
Romancing the Valentine
The Knotty Elves helped to get Tessa Collier and Ryan Reeves to realize they were good together and could conquer anything. I liked how Ryan pulled Tessa out of her comfort zone to help her find her true self and not what someone told her she was. It was nice to see she had a better life after her ex and that it was going to be fun filled and adventurous too.
* Reviewing A TALE OF TWO RINGS by Beth Carpenter and A PLACE T HANG HER HEART by Liz Flaherty *
In A TALE OF TWO RINGS, Beth Carpenter brings us a sweet reunion story when a Valentine Bachelor Auction brings Mindy’s former fiance Aiden back to town at the request of his Nonna. He has a secret agenda to recoup the family heirloom engagement ring he had given her as well.
Since it’s novella length, there’s not a lot of time for character building and interaction, but the story felt sweet and complete at the end.
In A PLACE TO HANG HER HEART, Liz Flaherty delivers the heartfelt story of Christy’s ex-husband Rob visiting her in Christmas Town as a favor to volunteer for the Valentine Bachelor Auction. Neither of them went into it thinking they were going to reconnect, but time spent together reminded them of all the good times they shared before the empty house after their kids were grown invited a hurdle they weren’t able to jump over.
Really enjoyed their story!
So far, I’ve read two of the stories in this collection. Just so everyone who reads this knows: I will be using the word “love” and its derivatives a lot in my review of Table For Six. I loved all the characters in this story – the kids were adorable and they adorably misbehaved! Cora and Giovanni were living with devastating hurts (from their pasts) and they were also a bit haunted by the losses they had to endure.
If you have read any of the other Christmas Town stories (no worries, this is a standalone but you would recognize some of the characters), we once again meet the Knotty Elves – a group of geriatric matchmakers, and truth be told, mischief makers – with Letty leading the way in this story. Cora is her daughter in law (she was married to Letty’s son Bruce) and she just adores her but wants to see Cora happy once again, as she was when married to Bruce. Letty also thinks of Cora as an Energizer Bunny – always on the go with work, the children, and keeping everyone’s lives organized and happy. And Giovanni…le sigh. I fell in love. Trust that you will, too.
It’s a wonderful read, “seeing” not only the relationship build between Cora and Giovanni but the beginnings of a wonderfully warm, loving family as well. Quick read for me and I loved, loved, loved it!
In Knock Down My Heart by Anna Adams, we are off to the bachelor auction that is benefiting the library after some devasting events. Georgia Bardill is a single mom to two young daughters: Lily, 5 and Bessie, 3. She is a server at The Twelve Nights restaurant and her boss is also helping with the bachelor auction, having Georgia work the event.
Sven Dante, a handyman in Christmas Town, was clearing Georgia’s driveway when he accidentally destroyed her carport. Cute story as to how it actually happened but you’ll have to read the book in order to find out. Let’s just say mischief ensues and these two learn that together, they can accomplish anything.
I always love returning to Christmas Town! This visit was extra fun because of the Valentine’s Day Bachelor Auction, especially with the Knotty Elves playing matchmaker.
Table for Six by Anna J. Stewart
Giovanni was perfect for Cora and he was so adorable with kids. I loved their story, and the Knotty Elves were hilarious!
Love Fixes Everything by Claire McEwen
I loved Gage & Carrie and, of course, the Knotty Elves were up to their shenanigans again. Great story!
I’m really enjoying this box set and look forward to reading the rest of the novellas.
The Apple Of My Eye – Melinda Curtis
Who knew what you could buy with smackerels and where can I try these sexy apples!
This was the perfect read to make you want to laugh, sigh and slap your forehead while telling Abigail that her daughter Lizzie is one smart girl and she needs to listen to her. Coach Steve is the perfect guy especially for Abigail and although sneaky, I thought he had a good plan although touch and go at times. Abigail is so worthy of love of seeing the struggle she goes through in her mind makes you want to wrap her up in a big hug and all of this makes one heart warming story.
A Tale Of Two Rings – Beth Carpenter
The perfect second chance love story and Nona is one crafty lady!
You fall for both Alden and Mindy quickly and when you learn why the originally broke up you want to shake Alden, but he has a chance at redemption as well as really learning about what he wants in life. Mindy thinks she is over Alden but we all know better and you can see why she fell for him and vice versa. This one deserves to be read with some chocolate cookies as it has a few ups and downs so better to eat the cookies than chew on your lip.
Love Fixes Everything – Claire McEwen
I loved how both Carrie and Gage tried to fight their attraction and look for reasons not to look to anything in the future, Gage being all gruff and un-talkative who has wallowed in solitude for far to long and Carrie who doesn’t like to ask for help and would rather suffer in silence. They are the perfect even if unwilling match which leads to loads of laughter, frustration and learning about the good things you can have in life, oh and of course lets not forget the knotty elves and their chauffeur Scarlett!
Table for Six – Anna J Stewart
I want to win my very own Giovanni, not only is he hawt, a gifted chef but also a kind and considerate man who is working out where next. While Cora is juggling jobs, 3 children and running a house hold while running on empty, luckily for Cora she has her amazing mother-in-law Letty looking out for her whether she likes it or not! This is a sweet sad yet happy and heartwarming read about two people scared to open themselves up to love again, a mother-in-law you dream of and yeah I am going to say it Oliver was kind of my favorite kid