There is a certain type of cliché about being stuck in a house together. Especially during a snow storm. Especially when one of those people isn’t technically supposed to be there.
It’s the kind of set up that can basically promise only one thing: a fluffy romance with a good amount of fluff . And of course, a good amount of Trevor trying to be sneaky and even more time of Emma being on to him. (And man does Donna Kauffman deliver on both of those accounts!)
From the moment these two meet each other, sparks are flying. As a matter of fact, at times I was surprised Trevor actually needed matches to get the fire on. After all, they are frozen in with nothing to do but feed a pair of dogs occasionally. Is it clear yet, where this is going?
If you’re looking for a well-developed romance with a lot of psychological depth, this probably isn’t the book for you. However, if you’re in need of a good doses of romance, deep attraction, witty banter and just the right amount of Christmas cosy? Then this is just the book for you!

I received a free eARC through Netgalley.
This novella was originally published as part of an anthology. This is book one of three in the Hamilton series.
Emma Lafferty is planning to spend Christmas alone taking care of Lionel Hamilton’s two dogs and parrot, hoping this will be a good boon for her recently created pet sitting business. What she hadn’t planned on was Trevor Hamilton, Lionel’s great-nephew showing up.
Trevor is hoping to take advantage of his great uncle’s absence for the holiday and seek out answers. What he hadn’t planned on was Emma presence. Neither planned on being housebound together during a storm. Or sharing a mutual attraction.
Given that it is a novella, the relationship progresses at rapid speed. Emma doesn’t trust Trevor’s motives and Trevor’s not sure he can trust Emma with his secrets. Yet neither can deny the instant attraction. The characters (including the animals!) are likable and there are humorous moments. This was a cute story with a little mystery thrown in, which continues in the next two books of the Hamilton series.

In this wonderful romantic short we are introduced to Emma, who was hired to watch the pets of a billionaire business man. Emma changed her life around eight months ago and went from a steady job at Hamilton industries to starting her own pet sitting business. She is looking forward to this new job, hoping it will open doors to working with other wealthy pet owners. While exploring the large house and animals that she will be looking after for the next twelve days she runs into what she thinks is an intruder but ends up being the nephew of the wealthy owner. She isn't sure what to make of Trevor and wonders what brings him to his Uncles home while he is away. With a storm raging outside the two are thrown together whether they like it or not. Follow along as they circle each other in an age old ritual, will they each find what they are looking for or will they let love pass them by.

Unleashed is the first book in the Hamilton Christmas novella contemporary romance series. Each of the 3 books contains their own set of main characters but we do meet up again with characters in past books so each can be read as a standalone or a combined set. A sweet touching romance that leaves me wanting to come back and read more of this authors books. Emotions run high in this frolicking fun snowed in story!
Pub Date 25 Sep 2018
Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley. I was provided with a complimentary copy and all opinions are my own.

I adored this romantic Christmas novella; two people who gave into an unusually passionate pull between two strangers during a holiday ice storm.

This short holiday novella will get you in the holiday spirit. It's part of 3 holiday novellas about the Hamilton Christmas series. When Emma, who is a pet sitter, goes to the Hamilton mansion to take care of the elder Hamilton pets, she runs into his great nephew. Great story.

This is a quickie romance. Loved the African Grey and the dogs. Fun setting. Fantastic house. The intimate scenes were not too detailed. The ending was frustrating. Wanted the family secret revealed, even if there wasn't one. Otherwise it was a nice conclusion.

Loved this short novella! It was so cute and I loved the animals in this one. The parrot is a riot!
A sweet short story that will put you into the holiday spirit. It is not really focused on the holiday itself, it is focused on a growing relationship that blossoms fast between Emma and Trevor when they are stuck together during an ice storm. It is attraction at first sight and chemistry overload!

I can't wait to read the next Hamilton novella! What family mystery is going to be unraveled next?

A great holiday story that was originally published as part of the To All a Good Night anthology. It's the first of three holiday novellas in the Hamilton Christmas series being individually released this season. In this one we meet Emma Lafferty and Trevor Hamilton. Emma is animal sitting for Trevors uncle and she expected to have the mansion to herself. Trevor came to the mansion because he knew his uncle was away and Trevor wanted free run of the mansion. He wasn't expecting the animal sitter to be there already. Then they are stuck together with a blizzard raging outside. One thing leads to another and well...they end up having a very merry good time!

I highly recommend this one.

I enjoyed this story. Emma had a corporate job because she hated it and became a pet sitter. She took a job over Christmas to a very rich older gentleman. After she got there, someone else was in the house and it was a little unnerving at first. She was there for the pets and didn't really trust his first reason on why he was there. A brutal storm hits and they lose power. As they get to know each other, the secrets start to come out. They get to know each other and the attraction grows.
This was a shorter story than usual for Donna, but I enjoyed it very much. It's worth reading and I look forward to finding more about these characters. I got this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Fed up with the corporate world, Emma Lafferty jumps at the chance to take care of the house and pets of a billionaire CEO. Having just started her pet and house- sitting business, Emma needs the money, and the billionaire is paying her quite well. What she des not expect to find is the billionaire’s sexy great-nephew, Trevor Hamilton, who is using the time his great-uncle is out of the net to search the house for documents pertaining to his birth and Hamilton legacy. At first, Emma is leery of Trevor, but things soon heat up between them, as Trevor continues his search during a fierce ice storm that knocks out the electricity and thus heat to the old, huge mansion. Things get pretty hot between the pair. However, Emma pictures Trevor as a player, not ready to settle down, especially not with a poor, beginning entrepreneur like her. Still, you never know.

This is a short but fast-moving novella. I enjoyed reading about Emma’s and Trevor’s budding romance as well as, and, especially about the two dogs and bird Emma was pet-sitting during her stay. I just wish there had been more of them in the book. This is a great short that can be read in one sitting, passing a cozy afternoon on a rocker or in a chair. The ending was pretty obvious from the start, but it still made for good reading. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

A fun and quick novella set during Christmas time. Emma is hired to dog-sit for two dogs and a gray parrot over the two week span during Christmas. Expecting an empty house she is surprised to find Trevor, the hunky great nephew of the owner. Trapped together because of an ice storm, and later a power outage, the sparks begin to fly. Although a novella, I felt like it was complete. Highly enjoyed this one, and had a hard time putting it down. Highly recommend this book and author.

Emma gets a job pet sitting and house sitting only to find that the owners nephew is there as well. A holiday novella.

Emma has been hired to pet sit over the holidays for a wealthy CEO. Trevor is the great nephew of Lionel Hamilton, the wealthy CEO. He's hoping to find out if he really is a member of the Hamilton clan. Sparks fly between the two when power is lost. Emma thinks that Trevor is a rich playboy, who is way out of her league. Trevor is looking for an honest woman, who will care about him and not his name or money. This book was hard to put down, I enjoyed how everything reading about the couple. Christmas is my favorite time of year, a time for love miracles and Christmas magic.

This was a sweet and funny story with a bit of heat to warm up the winter chill. Emma has been hired to watch over the pets and house of billionaire Lionel Hamilton. It's just the boost her fledgling pet sitter business needs. She walked away from her perfectly good, but extremely boring accounting job, but it's a slow process to build up her clientele. I enjoyed Emma's running commentary to herself as she drove through the ice storm, then once she arrived at the house. I loved her happiness at being with the animals. The dogs were adorable and the parrot was a hoot! But Emma got quite a shock when she discovered that she wasn't alone in the house.

Trevor got quite a shock too. He knew his uncle and the staff were gone but didn't know that there was going to be someone staying at the house. He had hoped to have the place to himself to find what he was looking for and get out, with no one the wiser.

The development of the relationship between Emma and Trevor is very fast. There were sparks between them from the moment they met, but there was also a real connection. It was fun to see Trevor try to talk his way around why he was there, and Emma not fall for it. There were some pretty funny scenes as he tried, and I loved the moment in the library as he finally realized he'd have to come clean. I felt for him as he explained it all to her, and loved the way that she understood how important it was to him. The attraction between them also grows quickly, and it doesn't take long for them to stoke their own flames. Trevor is fascinated and enthralled by Emma, who isn't the least bit impressed by or interested in his bottom line, something he isn't used to. Emma has a little trouble believing that rich and sexy Trevor is interested in more than just a quick fling, but is eventually convinced.

My only disappointment is that the answers Trevor was looking for were left hanging. I did get the feeling that they will come up again in the next book, so I will definitely be on the lookout for it.

My first Donna Kauffman book. A short sweet love at first sight story.
Emma is dog sitting in a huge mansion in the mountains during ghe holiday season and she didn’t expect any company.
Trevor hears his uncle has gone away and left the mansion empty so he thought he would do some hunting for a family secret. He didn’t expect Emma.
A new ght without power turns into a night of passion and a future.
Very short but a good love story which could lead into a grest series

Unleashed by Donna Kauffman is the first novella length contemporary romance in the Hamilton Christmas series. This story was originally published in the To All a Good Night anthology but is being republished as part of it’s own Christmas collection. Each book in the series can be read as standalone stories with each featuring a different set of main characters.

Emma Lafferty found the corporate world to be a downer and decided to take a chance and do something she loved 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 sexy housesitter.

Obviously being novella length there isn’t a lot of time for depth to this quickie romance read so expect some insta-love folks. However, for those that don’t mind a fast paced moving relationship on occasion like myself the characters in the story are quite likable and along with some humorous moments along the way the story is really enjoyable. Looking forward to seeing what the next book in the series brings.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Emma Lafferty is a pet sitter and she is hired to watch the pets of the billionaire Lionel Hamilton while he is out of the country over the Christmas holidays. Emma finally makes it to Lionel's mansion after driving through an ice storm in the dark! Emma gets into the house, feeds and walks the dogs and then feeds the parrot. Just as she is about to go wandering around the dark house, a very deep male voice catches her off guard. Turns out the voice belongs to Trevor Hamilton, Lionel's great-nephew—and heir. She wasn't told anyone would be there and she suddenly gets very suspicious.

Trevor does have a reason to be there sneaking around. He needs to find out answers from his past. When it is obvious that Trevor can't leave because of the storm, him and Emma call a some what truce. It doesn't help that they are both wildly attracted to the other.

It takes a great leap of faith, and a little holiday magic for these two to come together. This was a fun, flirty Christmas novella that was fun to read!

Unleashed is a great romance novella. Great plot, characters,setting and writing. I highly recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital arc. This is my unbiased review.

Most folks spend the Christmas holidays with family. Emma Lafferty is trying to get her pet-sitting business off the ground. So, Emma is spending her holiday at the remote mountain estate of a wealthy CEO who’s going away for the holidays and needs a sitter for his two dogs and his parrot. Once Emma makes her way to the estate in the snowstorm and offloads her belongings, the first order of business is to take the pooches for their “business walk”.

Trevor Hamilton knows his grandfather is away for the holidays and that suits him just fine. He doesn’t want to be disturbed while he searches the estate for the information he’s been wanting for years. It must be in the office library and, once he’s got his hands on it, he’ll be making tracks in the snow away from there and getting on with his holiday.

Emma and her charges are back in the house and suddenly a man appears on the stairs! He’s got the upper hand when it comes to figuring out what Emma’s doing at the estate. But before Emma can puzzle out why Trevor is really there, the power goes out, the snowstorm has become a raging blizzard and the two of them are stranded with the animals for the duration.

Will this go down as a holiday fiasco or will it turn out to be a happy holiday after all?