I love a Christmas romance book, but this one was just not good.

From the beginning, this book didn't have much plot with two characters stranded due to snow in a cabin and they have each had unrequited feelings for each other for 6 years and the other doesn't know. With many chapters full of lustful thoughts, the minute they touch each other they got at it like rabbits and it just isn't entertaining. I like my romance books, whether they are Christmas or not, to have way more plot than this one.

This is a best friend's sister romance and a sports romance AND a trapped in a cabin romance. I couldn't ask for more. I really loved Adele and Jace as characters, and I would be excited to see the peripheral characters come back in their own stories. Great writing with a good flow. Easy to read.

I don't mind if the hero has had a lot of one night stands in the past. But in this case it was a plot point. The heroine couldn't believe that he was going to be faithful to her because she has had a cheating boyfriend and because the hero was a "ladies man". I'm not a fan of the "reformer playboy" trope so that's why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought.

I also didn't like that the heroine called him a manwhore, she was obsessed with his sexuality and I don't like when a character is judged by his/her sexuality. And she thought that one of his dates was a rink bunny. Don't hate on another woman because of a man, please.

I googled the term: A "hockey fan," usuaully female, who only likes the sport because they hope to/already slept with the players on a team, and generally knows nothing about it.

I felt like this was such a great read for me, especially as someone who really loves a good romance story! if you enjoy watching Hallmark movies, then you'll love this book. It's a romance, with some super steamy scenes! Great read!

Nothing like a cheating boyfriend to ruin Christmas. Plus, being in the spotlight because of said boyfriend. Getting out of town is the best idea. It's a typical story. Boy meets girl reluctant holiday romance. It's still a charming romcom that will make you smile. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read this one just before Christmas and really enjoyed the sexual chemistry of the main characters, and the winter backdrop. There's something about Christmas and winter that make you want to curl up next to someone, and this was a great book to give you all the romantic feels.

Though a bit of a cliche romance, I thought that the author did a great job telling the story. It just felt a bit overdone - the best friend's little sister... I wish there had been something more unique to their relationship and that the story was less predictable. Although, I'll admit, most romances are these days.

I wouldn't call it my favorite, but it was enjoyable.

This book was absolutely adorable and a perfect holiday read!
After a very public break-up, Adele just needs some time to herself away from everyone, most of all her family.
With her family cabin in mind, she heads up the mountain only to be snowed in with her brothers best friend.
Also the man she has been crushing on for forever. When stuck in a cabin with your crush and a broken heart who knows what will happen... read to find out..
I have found a new favorite author and can't wait to read more by her soon!

What a super sweet holiday romance!

I loved Adele and Jace and my most favorite type of romance is friends to lovers. The only twist with this one is that Jace is Adele's brothers best friend, and having an older brother myself....that's never a good thing!

I'm also a huge fan of hockey and I love when sports are thrown in the mix. Overall, this was just a really cozy romantic holiday read with a lot of angst and spice thrown into the mix ;)

I'm really excited to read more from this series though, as this was only book one!

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy for review.**

(Woops! Forgot to post this here for a while.... originally on Goodreads :) Great book!)

An Unexpected Christmas was an unexpected delight.... just kidding. :) The description and the synopsis nailed this one: it is a fun romantic Christmas story will all of the perfect ingredients to make a situation unforgettable and a couple irresistible. The best thing about this story is that while it seemed a bit like a Hallmark movie at times, it wasn't too cheesy and was just the right amount of cozy. Adele and Jace were great to fall in love with as characters and it warmed my heart to see them fall for each other in this book. My one slight non-spoilery thing is that in my mind I did not picture Adele at all like the front cover of the book. Jace is fine, but I'm 99% positive that the first time Adele is fully described she's wearing all black.

[[[[SPOILERS BELOW]]]]

PLOT:

I really appreciated how this story is introduced pretty much right away; there wasn't an awkward amount of trying to set up the characters' hopes and dreams for ages without giving the characters any depth and understanding for who they are. Long story short-- it was a cute Christmas book, and it was laid out and developed really well. The ending seemed a little bit forced when Adele felt like she needed to leave Jace, but it balanced out by the end. What was most interesting to me in the plot was the introduction to the other characters. Because we get to see Jace interact with the team a bit more at the end (especially with Adele's brother), I think that the series will continue to branch out into the stories of the other players. Overall, the plot was fairly expected in almost an overly cliche way, but at the end of the day the cuteness won me over.

CHARACTERS:

Adele- I really liked Adele! It took me a quick second to get used to her character and get to know her. But I really did after only a few chapters. The only thing that was slightly annoying (and I've kind of said this already) is when she leaves Jace because she thinks that he won't have that kind of relationship with her. I get that it's important to the plot of the story, so I say that it's annoying, but I also get it. Adele was such a cool character though. I don't think I've ever read a character with her career before, which was really interesting; her attitude was so independent, which was GREAT; and her habits were so casual they came off perfectly, which sealed the deal on me liking her character.

Jace- My largest concern coming into this book is that I wouldn't like Jace because I typically do not like plots or storylines about jocks or famous people. I get that it's a thing, but I still came into this book with that. DESPITE THAT, I ended up really liking Jace's character. He was so caring for Adele that it was hearbreaking when Adele wouldn't hear him out.

WRITING: I want to visit that cabin. It seems like the perfect place for any winter vacation. There was snow, there were great rooms, cozy atmosphere, and you can be there completely alone like a mini vacation. Granted, a lot of places could fit that bill, but the way this one is described seems amazing. The entire story was filled with a lot of great descriptions that I really think added to the holiday wintery atmosphere.

This book is perfect for the holiday season or maybe even just any cold season. It certainly will make you want to just snuggle up with someone and appreciate the things around you. What is even more exciting to me though is that it looks like this will become a series? I'm not sure if there is enough there to really follow Adele and Jace some more, but maybe it will follow other hockey players or maybe a sibling or something like that? I'm definitely curious though and I am really hoping that whatever it is will be another holiday/Christmas book.

I'm a HUGE fan of Shannon Richard, so pretty much anything she writes, I love.

An Unexpected Christmas is her first foray into self-publishing and I'm so happy to gush over how much I loved this book. Sometimes when an author has been "traditionally" published the voice can change... due to editing and other factors. The voices can be so different that I simply cannot read their self-pub books.

This is so not the case with Miss Richard. I have always loved how she combines small-town settings and families with super sexy time relationships.

Adele and Jace have been a long time coming for those of us that have been reading the Country Roads series. I loved the Christmas setting and the fact that they were basically trapped with each other and forced to confront their feelings for each other.

If you're looking for a Christmastime book to read with some smokin' hot sexy times, please, please, please pick up this book. If for some reason you haven't read the Country Roads series (one of my favorites) please do your self a favor and binge read that series before the end of the year!
You won't be sorry.

*Copy provided by author via Netgalley

This was just such a great Christmas read, it gave me all the warm and cuddly feelings required for a Christmas read.

I thought that these two were just amazing together, and the author did a great job of slowly building up the story so that it never felt rush or dragging. I have to say that for me that is essential to balance in a good book. Firstly there was Adele who is a great heroine as she is both vulnerable, but unbelievably strong, and she is a dog lover which always gets extra points in my books. Then there is Jace who as a male lead is just so caring and sweet, and even as he knows that there is a huge risk in developing this relationship, he is always so sweet when dealing with Adele. Like I said the book has just perfect pacing and overall is a great xmas read.

DNF
I had a hard time clicking with the characters and the romance. I'm a fan of sexy times in books, but there is such a thing as too much sex. I wanted to see the hero and heroine actually fall for each other.

I have been killing the Christmas books this year!  If you have read any of my other book reviews for Christmas books, you will be well aware of that fact that I read books set during the holiday season, during the holiday season.  For me, that starts pretty early.  I like to get a head start on all of my Christmas things in late October, maybe early November if I'm busy.  I have been known to start before Halloween sometimes out of spite for the lost Halloween holiday.

Once again, I received this book from NetGalley.  Thankful shout out to both NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity; I really enjoyed it!  

This story starts with Adele James.  Her holiday season is turned upside down by the news of her cheating boyfriend and the reaction of the press.  Trying to get away from everyone and her photos all over the internet, she decides to take a trip to her family's cabin in Tennessee to escape the holiday.  When she finally arrives there, family friend Jace Kilpatrick is already occupying the cabin.  In a perfect series of events, a huge winter storm follows Adele to the cabin guaranteeing that everyone has to stay.  Love ensues and it just happens that Adele and Jace may have deep feelings towards each other; what happens at the cabin stays at the cabin.  Once again, another nice story to read for the holidays with a good ending.

While the story is sweet and probably more relatable to me than others that I have read, one thing that I really disliked was the plethora of sex scenes throughout.  After about the first 1/3 of the book, there is just so much sex.  It's not that I 100% dislike it --it adds to the story--its just that I ended up skipping over and skim-reading a lot of the book because after the first couple of scenes, it gets really repetitive and boring.  Every scene, unless something significant happens, does not majorly change or alter the plot.  I get why it is there -- it is a romance novel!  Just a fair warning though, there is a lot in this book.

I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads mainly because of the amount of book that I skipped or quickly skim-read.  I enjoyed the characters, especially Adele and Jace together.  They were really cute and once they got past their weird awkwardness, the two complemented each other well.  The writing was nicely done and the dialogue between the characters was well-written.  This book is part of the "Taking the Shot" series.  Goodreads does not list other books in this series yet, so I assume that they are being written.  By the title of the series, I assume that it would follow Jace, or Adele's brothers since they are in sports.  An Unexpected Christmas was published on December 4th, 2018, so I absolutely started reading it just after it came out.  I highly recommend it if you are looking for a sweet, but subtlely steamy holiday read!

This book is the perfect feel good holiday read. You know how the story is going to end up, but enjoy the ride! I enjoy these heartfelt books during the holidays and this one was extremely well written.

For the first book in a new series, this story has set the bar up pretty high for the stories to come. I have no doubt though that Ms Richard will keep the momentum going with Felicity and Sean’s story.

Jace and Adele’s six year in the making road to their HEA was an emotional ride from the onset of the story. There wasn’t one moment that I didn’t feel invested in how they were going to get to that happy ending with the self imposed roadblocks they each placed in the way. All in all, this was quite a romantic and satisfying story, leaving a happiness feeling after the last chapter.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

After her boyfriend is caught cheating and it's plastered all over social media, the idea of going home for the holidays is the last thing Adele James wants. She sneaks away to the family cabin without telling anyone, which is why she ends up being snowed in with long-time friend of the family, Jace Kilpatrick (not to mention the guy she's had a crush on for years).
I enjoyed this holiday romance immensely! It definitely got me in the Christmas spirit and I especially loved all the antics with Adele's dog, Katie! I highly recommend this one!

The best description of this book I can come up with is “steamy Hallmark” – it’s cozy and comfy holiday goodness, with lots of sex. It’s also ridiculously tropetastic – there’s “best-friend’s-little-sister” plus “snowbound” plus a dash of “Christmas-elf-wannabe-must-teach-Scrooge-how-to-enjoy-the-holidays.” In other words, it ticked a whole bunch of my boxes!

“But continuing to keep him oblivious was going to be that much harder now…with just the two of them…alone together…in a two-thousand square foot cabin that now felt like the size of a shoe box.
Perfect, just perfect.”


Adele is not in the Christmas spirit this year – she’s just broken up with her actor boyfriend after he cheated on her. The only way to escape the paparazzi – and her family’s relentless Christmas cheer – seems to be holing up in her family’s cabin in Tennessee. When she arrives there with a storm on her heels, however, it’s to find her brother’s best friend and fellow hockey teammate, Jace, already there. She’s had a crush on him for the past six years, and the last thing she needs is to spend Christmas snowed in with him avoiding her attraction to him while nursing her broken heart. Jace, for his part, isn’t in a great mood, either, as the hockey league is still in the middle of months-long contract negotiations, with no end in sight. But, somehow, it’s hard for either of them to stay un-merry around each other, and as the holiday spirit grows, so does their attraction to each other. But Jace has a reputation as a ladies’ man, and the last thing Adele needs is another broken heart. Will the new year ring in a new relationship or just another heartbreak?

“This feeling of contentment with her was becoming stronger and stronger. He was so unaccustomed to it that it was starting to get almost overwhelming. But overwhelming or not, it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t want it to end.
He wanted more nights like this. More nights with them cooking dinner together, more nights with them eating pie on the sofa, more nights with her in his arms watching cheesy romantic comedies. More nights of anything. More nights of everything.”


Adele and Jace – plus Adele’s dalmation Katie – are so good for each other. After his mother died, Jace didn’t really celebrate the holidays – that is, until he got sucked into Adele’s family’s orbit when he joined the same hockey team as her brother. Adele has felt a bit left out of her family lately. Everyone else is happily married, while she hasn’t had a serious relationship, besides that mess with the cheating actor, in a long time. Initially, Jace helps Adele deal with the mass of feelings she has around her breakup, and then as she gets back into the Christmas spirit, she introduces him to new holiday traditions, like building snowmen and making a homemade gingerbread house. There’s lots of fun Christmas content like decorating the tree, kissing under the mistletoe, making snowmen, baking pies, cooking delicious holiday dinners, baking a gingerbread house, and watching Die Hard, of course. Once their relationship becomes physical, they agree to go follow “Vegas rules” – that is, what happens at the cabin, stays at the cabin. They already trust each other – they have known each other for six years after all – so they’re pretty much already friends and familiar with a lot about each other. I think that’s one of my main criticisms about the book. While it’s certainly fun to vicariously participate in all of their holiday fun, there’s really not much in terms of conflict until the big “black moment” so it was quite slow. Plus, since Jace is in the middle of a lockout, there’s actually very little in the way of hockey content, which isn’t necessarily a negative but wasn’t what I was expecting.

“Her bah humbug demeanor was now replaced with genuine holiday cheer. Or was that the post-orgasmic glow? She didn’t know, nor did she really care.”


Overall, if you’re OK with the fact that it’s pretty much going to be holiday fun and sex, I think you’ll enjoy this book!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An Unexpected Christmas begins the Take The Shot series by Shannon Richard. If you’ve read the Country Roads series it’s possible that you’ve run into the James family before… if not that’s fine, but it is an excellent series you may want to check out for yourself. I just happen to enjoy catching little snippets of connections between series or characters, and the fact that Adele has been crushing on her brother’s friend, Jace, for years is a sweet touch to the beginning of this new series.

Adele made the mistake of getting romantically involved with a lying, cheating former co-worker. It might not have been quite so bad if Troy wasn’t a famous bad boy actor with a reputation of a playboy or that his cheating hadn’t made tabloid headline news. Now all that Adele wants is to get away from cameras, family and spend her time off before her next project totally alone, except for her dog. She headed to a remote cabin of a friend’s family and was ready to shut out the world. But circumstances had different plans as it seems that cabin already had an occupant – her brother’s friend, Jace. And wasn’t this an unwelcome fine mess to land in. Alone was one thing, alone with the man she was more than half in love with for years was just another case of fate not liking her too much lately. But maybe fate had other plans for them both, and being snowed in was just the beginning of a future neither had planned on but was turning out to be perfect for them.

I enjoyed my time in An Unexpected Christmas. The chemistry between Adele and Jace sizzled, they are a very believable couple with temptation right in front of them. You’ll discover some priceless laugh out loud moments, and some tender ones as well. It’s a quick read but one full of Christmas magic, two people who work well together and a chance at an everlasting love… if they are willing to take that risk. I’d recommend this one to any Romance reader who enjoys holiday touches, believable characters and the excitement of starting a new series.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Adele’s favorite time of the year was Christmas or it had been. Adele’s lack of Christmas spirit was due to Troy Slater. Hollywood’s heartthrob and butt hole. They had met on the set of Ponce. Adele was the head costume designer. Troy was playing the guest role for the season. Troy had flirted heavily with Adele the first five months they were shooting. Usually Adele didn’t get involved with men she worked with. She couldn’t break the rule for Troy. Mainly because if the relationship went sour she didn’t want an uncomfortable working environment. He might be there just for the season but the set of the show had become like home to Adele. She wasn’t messing with one of her safe places. Plus Troy was a playboy according to the tabloids. Except for three months he’d been chasing her. Than the day they had wrapped for the season he laid a kiss on Adele that made her knees weak. Than he said they didn’t work together now would she date him now? Troy dazzled Adele . Made her think there was a chance for something lasting and true. But she’d been wrong, it had been a mirage for four months. Or maybe the flashing cameras constantly flashing wherever they went had blinded her. As troy was one of Hollywood’s bad boys. She had been in Scotland on the set of the current movie she was working on when she she found out Troy was cheating on her and she had found by tabloid pictures. When she got off a twelve hour plane ride she found several notifications on her phone and several were from troy but she listened to the first one from Troy and it said “ Adele, I can explain” than she ended the voicemail . she didn’t want to hear anything he had to say and shut off her phone. She decided to regroup at her best friend's place in Atlanta- felicity. Felicity es one of the stars from Ponce and also the lead actress of the movie in Scotland. She was going to spend Christmas with Troy and her family but her current mood showed she shouldn’t be with her happy family. Adele never wanted to see troy again. She just wanted to be alone. Adele decided to go to the family cabin in Nashville. Adele had her dog Katie with her. Katie went wherever Adele went. When she got to the cabin her brother’s best friend Jace was already there. He was the last person she wanted to be stuck with. He was the man she had crushed for the last six years. Jace and his father weren’t close and his career ended any chance of reconcile. He was was a famous heart surgeon. Jace’s mom had passed away when he was eight. He wasn’t big on the holidays. Jace was four years old when his mother had him signed up to play on his first hockey team. Over the years jade had heard over and over again that playing hockey was just a waste of time and money. The only reason he got to continue playing hockey was it kept him occupied and out of the way. Jace was successful but in his father’s eyes he was a failure. Jace had been signed to the Jacksonville Stampede than he and Logan became best friends. Logan was Adele's older brother. Than Jace isn't playing hockey no one is. It had already been a three month lockout and negotiations looked to be going nowhere fast for the NHL. So with his frustration Jace decided to spend this holiday season alone. Besides when he was Adele’s family at Thanksgiving he was the odd man out her brothers were both married now she had been with troy so he knew he would be spending holidays more alone now. So Jace had asked Logan if he could borrow the cabin. But he was starting to go a little stir crazy. Adele told Jace she would be leaving the next morning but Jace said she wouldn’t be going anywhere for awhile as there was a bad snow storm brewing and they were supposed to get up up three feet of snow in the next couple of days. Adele knew Jace only looked at her as Logan’s younger sister. He was a playboy anyway she had seen women parade in and out of his life and bedroom. Jace didn’t do commitment. Every since Adele had known Jace none of his flings had ever been longer than a month. A couple days in after coming inside Katey stole Jace’s boot and ran to Adele’s room, Jace ran after her to get it to find Adele naked in her room with just a scrap of red lace on her. Jace couldn’t get her naked out of his mind. But Jace couldn’t afford to lose her and her family they were to important to him. Adele was horribly embarrassed and didn’t think that was ever going away. But as time goes on Adele and Jace become lovers.
I really enjoyed this book. I like that Jace and Adele were close friends before they became lovers. But it was supposed to be like Vegas what happened at the cabin stayed at the cabin and when they left they were to go back to the friends they had been before the cabin. I also liked the plot and the pace. It took me one day to read this. I really liked how the knew each other so well and how they could do things for the other because of this knowledge. I felt bad that not only did Adele hurt but so did Jace when he left the cabin. But I did love the ending. I also loved the part where Jace talked of his mom with his obvious love for her. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it. I wish I could rate this 4.5.

An unexpected Christmas is a great title for this book. It fits perfectly. Adele wants the dream when it comes to romance. She doesn’t date people she works with and likes to take things slow. She’s a costume designer on the set of a period drama, Ponce. She loves her job. Troy has been chasing Adele for a while and when his part on the show comes to an end she decides to give him a chance. 4 months later it’s the biggest mistake of her life. He’s a celebrity and everyone wants to know his business and his indiscretions are all over the news. Adele wants to escape her very public break-up. Her family own a cabin and she decides to hideaway. Unknown to her there is a mystery guest and the weather is taking a turn for the worst. Jace is Adele’s brothers best friend. He’s a hockey player and a ladies man. Adele has had a crush on him for 6 years. Now the pair will have to spend Christmas together snowed in. It’s heated and turns into more than a crush.



I’m on a Christmas reading bender at the moment and I just can’t get enough. Adele is a special lady and deep down she only wants one man. Luckily Jace is ready to settle down and already feels like part of the family.



4 stars out of 5. *I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.