Every Time a Bell Rings

A heart warming sweet second chance romance between Eden and Cole. Eden and Cole were an item eight years ago but Eden wanted more in life that what her parents had and she was afraid if she stayed with Cole, it would be. Neither Cole or Eden found their true happiness until meeting up again at the ski lodge. With a little Christmas magic, dogs and a little boy they are sure to find their HEA.

Loved this book, brought me right in and did not let go until the end. Great characters, including Eden’s son Quinn. This is the perfect Christmas romance that I highly recommend.

A sweet and clean second chance story

Every Time a Bell Rings by Barbara Ankrum was sweet and clean, but I just wasn’t impressed. I liked the main characters, the story and the magical element, I think what I didn’t like was the unnecessary length, the constant angst and the unsatisfying ending.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.

Lovely, whimsical second chance romance with an angelic twist. I wouldn’t actually call this book paranormal but there is a bit of spiritual influence. I enjoyed this book very much.

Eden left her hometown close to ten years ago. She not only left town, but the man who should have been her forever. Unfortunately, Eden wanted a financially secure future unlike her parents had. She worried that Cole was too much of a dreamer and left because of that, a financially secure future might not be in the cards. So, she left, made a lot of money in a job she liked but didn’t love. In addition, Eden is raising her best friend’s son. Because of that, Eden believes she made the right choice. Unfortunately, Eden will question her decisions once she runs into Cole while on a work-related vacation.

Cole is a business owner and financially secure, to Eden’s surprise. Another surprise is the fact that while spending time with Cole, Eden realizes her feelings for Cole are just as strong. Could she have made a mistake by leaving?

I won’t go into details about how Eden and Cole reconnect. This was a magical story and you should enjoy every minute of it as I did. I will add that there is some angst and a whole lot of Christmas influence.

This is my honest and unbiased review. Thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂

I received this arc in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story. It was so romantic. I liked the main characters, Cole and Eden a lot. It was clear they belonged together. This story starts with angels or angels in training Jo and Marguerite looking down on loved ones. Jo and her husband passed away leaving their only child, Quinn to be cared for by her best friend, Eden. Eden works for Westgate properties, a company that we learn, uses underhanded tactics to try to buy out struggling properties. She has just been proposed to by the owner’s son and she is thinking over her options. She is realizing that Quinn doesn’t like this guy, Wesley, and he doesn’t really want to be a dad. Eden and Quinn were sent on a work vacation by her boss to scope out a ski resort that is struggling. Quinn found a connection with Cole and she could tell how happy he was now at the resort.

Once there, at Four Winds Resort, Quinn goes to a ski lesson. It turns out it’s taught by the guy that Eden left behind 8 years earlier, Cole. She broke up with him because she didn’t think he had goals or ambitions that would be solid. Her parents were hippies and she didn’t have a stable life growing up. She didn’t want a repeat of this lifestyle. Eden isn’t aware that Cole is one of the owners and he doesn’t share this initially. He brings a bottle of wine and comes to her room to talk the first night as a way to catch up and see how they felt about each other now. Eden thinks he is just a ski instructor so she’s continuously surprised when other employees call him Mr. Hagan. The three of them spend time together with Cole showing them around the resort. Cole has an employee holiday party at his home that he invites Eden to. She realizes that he’s very wealthy and he admits to inventing a binding and making a lot of money so he could be an owner of the resort.

Marguerite was sent down to watch over Quinn, Eden and Cole. Jo is up above watching. She has some very interesting interactions with them. We learn Jo always wanted Cole and Eden to be together so they try to work a little magic throughout the story.

Cole has big plans to try to save the resort. He plans a big concert and tells Eden about it. Before she knew he owned the resort and was having problems she shared with Wesley about the concert and efforts being made to save the resort. Wesley shows up to try and strong arm Cole and his partner to sell the resort to his company. Cole refuses his offer.

Both Cole and Eden think about their past together and the love they gave up. She realizes things about Wesley and her job and Cole. Things come to a head and it’s not certain how things will end up. However, it is a terrific ending with lots of angst and romance. I am a big fan of Barbara’s books and this is another great one to add to her collection.

Every Time a Bell Rings by Barbara Ankrum is a second chance romance, my favorite kind of story. Single mother, Eden and young son go on a working Christmas vacation to a ski resort. I was so glad that this was not a secret baby story though the story did not reveal that at first. It was a bit of mystery near the beginning. The big secret though is Eden’s work or maybe it is who Marguerite’s Monopoly partner. Loved the clues given on the last mysterious Monopoly player.
Cole is a wonderful character who needed time to grown into the man he is today. Eden is hung up on wanting a stable successful life which really sucked all the fun and joy out of her life. A change is needed. The issue of business ethics or the lack of them becomes a critical part of this story. There is no doubt as to who is the bad guy. Even though I knew he wouldn’t get away with it, I still wanted to be there when he was stopped. A feel good Christmas romance with a hint of It’s a Wonderful Life.
An ARC of the book was given to me by Tule Publishing which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

Talk about a perfect Hallmark movie. This book is set up in such a way I could actually see the holiday movie playing out in my brain the whole time. Not that any of that is a bad thing. I, for one, love Hallmark Christmas movies.

Cole and Eden definitely have a connection. Add to that the instant repertoire between Eden’s son, Quinn, and Cole and it’s a recipe for a beautifully sweet Christmas story. But I must say, it took me a bit to warm up to Eden. Which is usually the case for me when a character is very career and money oriented. Of course, she has her reasons, but that doesn’t mean I agree with her reasons.

While I found this story simple and pleasant, I am not looking at those words as detriments. It was an extremely enjoyable read for this time of year. The perfect story to sneak in chapters between holiday baking and wrapping gifts.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

Every Time a Bell Rings by Barbara Ankrum
Once upon a time, he was everything to her, except for one thing: her future
Christmas sparkles from every bough and window at the cozy Four Winds Ski Resort, where single mother Eden Kendall and her eight-year-old son are spending the holiday. A surprise marriage proposal from her boss’s son wasn’t on her Christmas list, but it’s the perfect excuse to get away and weigh her options. She never imagined her son’s ski instructor/Santa impersonator would be the gorgeous, charismatic dreamer she left behind years ago, the one who still owns a piece of her heart.
Cole Hagan has never stopped loving Eden and he’s spent the last eight years proving her wrong on every count about his potential. While he fights to save the resort that he helped to build by organizing a holiday concert, he decides it’s about time that Eden puts aside her list-making pragmatism so that she and her skeptical son can experience the true magic of Christmas.
Can a not-so-perfect angel help this unlikely pair get a second chance at happily ever after?
This Eden Kendall and her eight-year-old son Quinn and Cole Hagan’s story.
Juggling her phone against her ear in the elevator down to the Four Winds Resort lobby, Eden Kendall pulled her seven-year-old son’s bright green Minecraft scarf from her bag and wrapped it around his neck. Quinn squirmed at her unwanted fussing, consumed with the screen of his tablet and the game he’d been playing since they’d arrived in the High Sierras. And much too often, as a rule, before that. Alone in the elevator with her son, Eden jammed her finger repeatedly against the lobby button. As if that would make the thing go faster.
“No, we’re running behind. We just got here,” Eden said into the phone, already feeling out of breath. “The airport was a nightmare. Traffic was crazy coming up the mountain. I guess everyone is heading to the snow for Christmas. What little snow there is.” She whispered to her son to put on his mittens. If he heard he
Nicole Jessup, her best friend and cohort at Wildwood Acquisitions, personal assistant to Wildwood’s president and CEO, John Russell, answered, “So . . . I’ll tell Monica to tell Wesley you’re right on schedule?”
As he pulled off the beard and hat, staring at her like he’d just seen a ghost, he looked just how she felt. “Eden?”
He said her name as one might if she’d accidentally walked into the wrong room or got caught snagging a bagel from the meeting tray early, or . . . or even the way Wesley had the other night after he’d proposed.
Every Time a Bell Rings by Barbara Ankrum is a 4 star book.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Barbara’s Books with Tule:
A Cowboy to Remember
Big Marietta Fair
The Canadays of Montana
Choose Me, Cowboy
The 77th Copper Mountain Rodeo
The Canadays of Montana
The Christmas Wish
The Canadays of Montana
A Cowboy to Keep
The Canadays of Montana
Once a Hero
Band of Brothers
Unexpected Hero
Band of Brothers
Unsung Hero
Band of Brothers
Every Time a Bell Rings

Do you believe in Magic.

Jo and Aaron have been killed in a car accident and they had no other family to take care of their little boy. Jo had made a provision in her will that her best friend Eden would take care of little Quinn as if her were hers if something happened to Jo, never expecting to have to raise him. Now she is raising him on her own and feels so out of place.

She works for a large organization that takes over failing or companies that are in trouble of going under and will buy them out. Eden was sent to a resort in the mountains and she enrolls Quinn into ski lessons. She already knows how to ski but she hasn’t been skiing in over 8 years. As luck would have it Cole was Quinn’s instructor and she left Cole 8 years ago because he was a dreamer and she was afraid that they would be hurting for money if they stayed together.

A really cute book that makes you realize that we all have plans for our own lives and sometimes we let the best things in our lives go because we are striving for bigger and better things. A must read for the holidays.

This is the cutest story about a second chance love, filled with dilemmas, re-emerging feelings and love, and the chance to recapture and hold a love that once was.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.