Unleashed by Donna Kauffman

This is the first book in the Hamilton Christmas trilogy of novellas, all of which I binged during a long weekend! This was such a fun story and kicked off a really enjoyable series! Can I please have Emma's job of pet-sitting and living in a luxurious mansion in the mountains? And then Trevor shows up and they get snowed in together and oh my gosh, this is the trope I live for! Forced proximity is one of my favorites!! I don't even care that this story was essentially insta-love due to the short length, I bought into it right away. I loved the dogs and the silly parrot, and I really enjoyed the epilogue. This is the perfect Christmas romance, although I could have gone for a little more Christmas! So fun.

Another wonderful novella by Donna Kauffman. I love all of Donna's books but this is one of my favorites. Her character development is spot on and really resonates with me. I've said before I want to visit the places she writes about because they are so full of depth and truly makes you feel like you are there - I feel invested in her story.

This is a great book to read in the winter. It is about a pet sitter named Emma who has agreed to take care of two dogs and a bird at the Hamilton house. The trip there was very difficult given the winter weather. Once she arrives there, she is surprised that there is another person in the house when it was supposed to be just her. Trevor is a member of the Hamilton family and is in search of a family secret and he knows he will find the answers in the house. Sparks fly instantly between Trevor and Emma. This is book one of three in the Hamilton series.

This the first novella in the Hamilton Christmas series by Donna Kauffman. It is a short, sweet, insta-romance story set at Christmas. Emma Lafferty is working for billionaire Lionel Hamilton. She has been hired to look after his pets at his getaway home while he is out of the country. What she is not expecting is for a snowstorm to cause a power outage and for his handsome great-nephew to show up to find some kind of evidence of family secrets while Lionel was out of town. Emma is a great character, very serious about her job, but also a bit insecure about herself and her future. Trevor is just trying to find his own place in the world as well as a woman who is smart, challenging and not after him for his name or money. This is a novella, so there is not a lot of time for character development, but Emma and Trevor don't mind that. I enjoyed this story and now want to read the next two in the trilogy to find out more about the Hamilton family.

This novella is an excellent example of why I like to read Donna Kauffman. I rarely give novellas 5 stars because they rarely feel like full stories to me, but this one did deliver the character development that I love while telling the story of two strangers who get snowed in together.
I loved Emma so much. She knows exactly who she is. She is full of integrity and self-effacing humor. She is not afraid to work hard or to trust her gut. I want to be her best friend and be an imperfect human with her.
Trevor hasn't quite locked down who he is yet. He has some questions that need to be answered before he gets everything settled in his mind. He is completely blindsided by Emma. However, he allows her insights to help him find his way forward. That helps the reader feel that, even though this happens really quickly, these two are going to be an excellent couple.
I also loved the humor in this novella. Humor is one of the biggest reasons I read DK's books, and Emma and Trevor both cracked me up. I highlighted so many lines that made me laugh.
I definitely recommend this one if you are looking for a short holiday read with humor and depth.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

In need of a little pick me up with a holiday theme? This novella may be just what you need to read!

Emma Lafferty meets Trevor Hamilton amidst a blizzard. With no power and zero visibility, they make the best of their situation while watching the lovable pets of Trevor’s billionaire uncle.

Emma has opened a pet care business and she couldn’t down this job even with it being over the holidays. Trevor knows his uncle is away for the holidays and sneaks into his house to try to uncover a family secret not knowing that a pet sitter has been hired.

I really liked these characters. The novella-length suits this situation as readers get to know the characters as they get to know each other. I loved the pets, especially the parrot but the dogs were great too. The best thing for me was that Emma was a strong, independent woman. She asked questions and expected answers. Even with her attraction to Trevor, she was never a damsel in distress.

The setting was ideal. A huge mansion with plenty of rooms to get lost in. While the snowstorm made it hard for the dogs to do their business I bet it was beautiful. Losing power was handled with fireplaces and candles which plays right into the romantic theme.

I was intrigued by the important family mystery Trevor was trying to reveal. Mysteries are just my thing. While Trevor’s sleuthing brought some funny moments to the story I was a little disappointed with the way his investigation wrapped up.

This is my first experience with this author and it definitely won’t be my last.

Unleashed is a fast-paced romantic romp. Heartwarming and entertaining. A great romance to escape into on a wintry afternoon.

Emma Lafferty found the corporate world to be depressing and decided to take a chance and do something she loves, starting her own pet care business. When Emma is hired to pet-sit in a billionaire’s mansion over the Christmas holiday she couldn’t pass the opportunity by hoping for future business references.

When Emma arrives at the mansion she immediately takes care of the pets before she begins to explore the mansion. As Emma explores she runs into Trevor Hamilton, the CEO’s sexy great-nephew. Trevor had been using his uncle’s absence to search out family documents and never expected to fall for the pet sitter.

This is the first of 3 novellas in the Hamilton Christmas series.

Unleashed is a short, but very good story written by Donna Kauffman. It was previously published in the To All a Good Night anthology, but now is just the first novella in a series of short stories. The stories are connected and it's better if you read them in order, so pick this baby up ASAP. It's a light, Christmas-y story that's perfect for a cold afternoon. It has romance, pets and the discovery of some family secrets that will change a lot of things in many people's lives. The book also has a positive vibe and in some ways it was unexpected. I would certainly recommend it.

A romance with a strong element of family drama. The strong character ending was perfect for the novel, not just the happy ending, but a realization at the end that lots of things in the end don't matter.

This is book 1 in the Hamilton Christmas Novella series and as expected, it's a shorter Christmas story. Emma is hired by an eccentric billionaire to house sit and take care of his pets while he is traveling. When his nephew Trevor shows up the two are stuck in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard. Cute feel good story that starts the saga of the Hamilton family. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A cute and very entertaining romantic novella about a zany pet sitting woman and a surprise guest who spend a winter ice storm snuggled up in a wealthy man’s mansion taking care of two dogs and learning about each other. It’s a tale sure to wag your tail! I read a complimentary copy of this book provided by Kensington Books through NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.

Fun Holiday Romance/Mystery - The Gallagher Family Saga Begins

Although this is can be read as a standalone story, pieces of a larger puzzle are given that are put together in the next two novellas. Originally published as part of a Christmastime anthology, Trevor and Emma’s initial meeting is delightful. This is a fun holiday romance with a dash of mystery thrown into the mix. Loved the quirky bird Cicero.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Emma takes a house/pet sitting job from a finicky millionaire and figures she hit gold. She gets to stay in a fabulous mansion with some cool dogs over the holiday, and get paid for it? Great! But her employee's nephew comes by for a surprise visit, just in time for both of them to get trapped in an ice storm with the power out. And Trevor has a secret reason for visiting his uncle's house when he did.

I loved the set up of this; it hits all of the high points of a great, contrived tropey romance in the best way possible. But once it was all set up, it was actually extremely dull? Most of the page time was given to long winded discussions of extremely mundane logistics. Like, several pages on who's going to carry bags inside and how to move Trevor's car into the garage. It was really weird and stilted? Their flirting was okay, when it showed up in between the weirdly convoluted discussions of "searching for candles."

The only thing that kept me reading was Trevor's mystery (he's looking for information he suspects his uncle is hiding) and...well, without giving away too many spoilers, that ending was MASSIVELY disappointing. Like, I got actively mad at the book when I reached the end. Textbook anticlimax, frankly.

Unleashed is a novella by Donna Kauffman that was previously published in the To All a Good Night anthology and has now been rereleased as an ebook as part of the Hamilton Christmas series in time for the holidays. I've not read anything by this author before but I love Christmas stories at this time of year so I couldn't resist giving this one a try.

Emma is a pet sitter who has been hired to look after a billionaire's pets over the holidays, she didn't really want to spend Christmas alone but the money is too good to resist and she's hoping a recommendation for doing a good job could bring an influx of wealthy clients to her new pet care business. She's supposed to be the only one in the mansion so it comes as quite a shock when her client's nephew turns up & thanks to a storm they end up stuck there together.

Since this is a novella events happen very quickly and the relationship between Emma and Trevor develops at warp speed, in fact I think the entire story happens within 24 hours with a short epilogue set about a year later, but I can forgive that in a sweet Christmas read. The characters were fun, there was a nice amount of banter and they had good chemistry. The addition of the animals Emma was looking after was cute and the story left a smile on my face which is all I ask for from a quick holiday read. I'm looking forward to reading the next one!

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

This is a cute Christmas novella of a bit over 100 pages. And the beginning of a series of holiday novellas that she has released this season. Also it was originally in an anthology.

The story moves very fast especially since it is a short story. There are a couple of things that I hope are answered in the upcoming additional novellas because it seemed to leave some information out but maybe the other stories will fill the holes.

Kauffman is always a worthy read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I am really loving her books this year!! When they come out I keep buying for me and my book buddies!!

I'm conflicted on this story. I love the romance portion of this story about two strangers trapped together in an ice storm who are drawn together. I don't, however, love the mystery portion of the book. I realize that it is the first of a three-part series of novellas that will I assume resolve in the final story, but I kind of don't care and at the same time am annoyed that it is left unresolved at the end of this book. I don't generally like cliffhangers, so that may why I have an issue here. I plan to read the novella because I expect to find another great romance and hopefully get drawn more into the mystery as well.

I enjoyed reading Griffin and Melody’s story in Naughty but Nice by Donna Kauffman, novella three in her Hamilton Christmas series. Thomas “Griffin” Gallagher, the recent heir to the Hamilton Industries fortune, has plans to revitalize the town of Hamilton. Baker Melody Duncastle thinks Hamilton is perfect the way it is and does not need any changes. She is not willing to let his brogue convince her otherwise; yet she can’t deny the attraction she has to him. Maybe Griffin isn’t such the bad guy she envisioned him to be. Overall, I enjoyed seeing Griffin and Melody’s relationship progress and overcome their past before they could have a future together. Naughty but Nice was a cute conclusion to the Hamilton Christmas series.

Ms. Kauffman wrote an emotional, and moving story filled with sexual chemistry, wonderful dialogue, and endearing characters that is not to be missed. I highly recommend this book to other.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

A short, sweet holiday romance. If you're a fan of Hallmark Christmas movies, this is the book for you.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Nice and cozy read for this holiday season.
Emma, our main character, has landed a big contract to pet-sit for a wealthy client for the holidays in his remote Mansion.
With instructions, and the huge responsibility to care for the magnificent house and his beloved pets, the least that could past through her mind is to find a handsome relative in the house, with a hidden agenda.