Smoochin' Under the Mistletoe by Madison Love

 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When the Heart of the Town Needs a Jump start

Lucy is the type of woman who spends her life pouring into everyone else’s cup, only to have her own diner—and livelihood—reduced to ashes just in time for the holidays. When the insurance company does what insurance companies do best (refuse to pay), Lucy is forced to face the heavy question of whether Baggersville is still home or just a memory.

It is a familiar crossroads: that moment of hardship where faith feels less like a comfort and more like a nudge toward the exit. While Lucy contemplates a new direction, the town scrambles to prove she belongs. The irony, of course, is that it takes a catastrophe for people to finally show the appreciation they should have been expressing all along.

The community’s effort to keep her is moving, and the collective grace shown by the residents is staggering. While the story hits every emotional beat you’d expect from a small-town Christmas, its strength lies in that community inspiration. It’s a warm reminder that while you can’t bank on insurance, you can—occasionally—bank on your neighbors.

Smoochin' the Reticent Rancher by Madison Love

 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Better Late Than Never, Though Late is an Understatement

Ace follows the standard Special Forces playbook: get injured, retreat into a cave of self-pity, and push away everyone who actually matters. After two years of ghosting his family and his fiance, he returns to find that Elise hasn’t spent her life paused in a vacuum.

As the local cosmetologist, Elise has more backbone than the man who ran away. She tries to bridge the gap, but Ace is too busy playing the martyr over a broken promise to notice she’s still standing there. Naturally, it takes the threat of another man’s interest to finally snap him out of his brooding. It's a classic case of not knowing what you have until someone else tries to claim it.

This story hits home personally, but it lacks the impact of the previous book. While the sentiment is true and Elise’s loyalty is the heart of the story, the execution feels a bit muted. It’s a solid entry, but Ace’s return to reality took a few chapters too many for my liking.

The Duke’s Bargain Bride by Alianna Brookes

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Thawing the Duke, But Drowning in the Sugar

There is nothing quite as satisfying as a Duke whose heart is a veritable frozen tundra, and this story delivers that icy tension with exquisite precision. The plot is sturdy, and the characters are sculpted with enough depth to make their social maneuverings feel genuinely high-stakes—a rarity in a season often crowded with paper-thin caricatures. Watching the "Ducal Frost" melt into a man of warmth and affection was a journey well worth the price of the carriage ride.

However, as the ton well knows, the only thing worse than a scandal is a bore. While the momentum built beautifully toward a clever conclusion, the climax was unfortunately smothered by an excess of dialogue and an inexcusably long epilogue.

It is a pity when a sharp narrative loses its edge to the modern trend of dragging out the "happily ever after" until it dissolves into saccharine. Had the author trusted the strength of the actual ending and closed the book a chapter earlier, this would have been an undisputed triumph. As it stands, it is a lovely dance that simply doesn't know when to leave the ballroom.