Timeless Romance Anthology: Blind Date Collection

Authors: Annette Lyon, Sarah M. Eden, Heather B. Moore, Victorian Lieske, Rachel Branton and Sariah Wilson

Genre: Historical & Contemporary Romance; Clean

I really enjoyed this collection. I has 3 contemporary romance and 3 Regency/historical novellas. All of them were super fun. I enjoyed reading from my tried and true favorites and the ones from new authors that I hadn’t read yet. Blind dates are a fun way to introduce the characters to each other.

“The Promise that Katy Did” by Annette Lyon, is a super fun and sweet. Katy is a sweet young woman who is an orphan, but takes care a sweet lady who has her best interests at heart. When she dies, Katy is on her own and must move and take a new job to take care of herself. In the mean time, she meets Mr. Balmer and then she has some choices to make and she only has 2 days to decide! Fun and sweet!

Sarah M. Eden, in “A Lady of Sense” never disappoints, and this one is no exception. This is a classic regency romance and is a great read. Eleanor is a sweet heroine and Peter is the best hero. Eleanor is misused by her parents and she must marry the man her father has chosen, except he is an old and lecherous man. She manages to persuade her father to let her have one more chance to find someone suitable and she does, but her fathers deeds make it impossible. Eleanor has to give up Peter, but he isn’t that easy to give up! This is classic regency and so fun!

In “A Second Chance” by Heather B. Moore, Viginia desperately needs a second chance because her first choice proved to be very bad. In an age where divorce is a scandle, Virginia must pick herself up and begin again. This is a fun and sweet romance set in turn of the century Chicago. Max is a very good hero and sets out to win Virginia and her son. Of course, misunderstandings ensue and the ride is fun and enjoyable. Sweet romance at its best

“Braelynn’s Blind Date” by Victorine E. Lieske is a sweet and enjoyable contemporary romance. The mixup for the blind date is super fun. And then when Braelynn ends up working for her botched blind date the fun and misunderstanding begin in earnest. This was my first book by Victorine and I loved it. She is a fun and interesting author. Things move along quickly and the romance is the best.

Rachel Branton’s “Bianca’s Hope” is a great read and fun romance. Bianca is on rough times and needs to figure out things. Her blind date turns out to be someone her heart won’t forget and she has to learn to see him with different eyes. Her pre-concieved ideas about him are certainly all wrong. I enjoyed this sweet romantic read and will read some more by Ms. Branton.

“Blind Spot” by Sariah Wilson is so fun. This is a novella set in the Monterra world invented by Sariah. It is great because Ria is so set on find a prince and ends up falling for her roommate’s brother, who is the bartender where she works. Ria goes on so many blind dates that go so wrong, it is kind of funny that she can’t see what is right in front of her! I love how the story turns out and how Ria figures out that she doesn’t need ot marry a ‘real’ prince in order to find ‘her’ prince.

Loved these stories! Such a fun way to spend the afternoon with a short novella. Sweet, clean and romantic. You will love them all!

King of the Friend Zone by Sheralyn Pratt

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Power of the Matchmaker Series

This was a fun, warm and interesting book. Esme is in love with her best friend Hunter, but doesn’t really know it or won’t admit it to herself. She becomes engaged to the ‘perfect’ guy and then the fun starts. Hunter is also in love with Esme, but he knows he is, but is afraid to approach her because he was rejected in hight school and he doesn’t believe that Esme loves him more than a friend. Esme must choose between the two men and although it doesn’t seem a hard choice, it is for her. I

I enjoyed the journey and saw lots of character growth and hard choices to be made along the way. I really enjoyed the side stories going on in this book and the values that were portrayed. There was also some great, sweet kissing scenes. This was a great book that showed that you can overcome great obstacles and come to know yourself and the one you truly love. I especially like the theme of forgiveness and learning to accept and give that. This was a really nice book to read, lots of fun, lots of love and a little bit of tears. As usual, Pearl was awesome in this book. I really love how each different author uses her differently, but she is always Pearl. The idea of the cookies was particularly sweet (pun intended). Read this book. You will love it.

Book Review: Between Heaven and Earth (Power of the Matchmaker) by Michele Paige Holmes

Description from Amazon:

From the Power of the Matchmaker series: BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

Cassandra Webb’s every waking minute is devoted to being a great mother and wife. She takes five-year-old Noah to the library each week, volunteers in his kindergarten class, and even coaches his soccer team. She makes sure her husband’s uniforms are always laundered—even though he hasn’t worn them the last six years—always has his game day snacks on hand, and meets him for date night every Friday—which consists of one sided conversations at his bedside and watching his favorite take out remain untouched. 

Pearl, a mysterious visitor at the care center, suggests that it is only Cassie’s love still tying Devon to Earth when he has been ready to move onto Heaven for quite some time. If Cassie will but open her eyes and heart, she will discover the path she should travel, one that will bring relief to Devon and much joy to her own life. But Cassie vowed never to give up on him. She never has and she can’t now, even after meeting hapless, single soccer-dad Matt.

https://www.amazon.com/Between-Heaven-Earth-Power-Matchmaker-ebook/dp/B01F9XBOYS/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

My Review: by Robyn "The Mom" Savage

Michele Paige Holmes is on my list of favorite authors and she shines in this Power of the Matchmaker book. “Between Heaven and Earth” is a touching romance between two people who need each other, but can’t or shouldn’t be romanctically involved. This was a very real book. I loved how both of them worked so hard to do the right thing. I especially loved the kids! All the characters in this book are real, flawed and perfect all at the same time! Pearl was priceless in this book. She imparted her wisdom flawlessly. She was a sweet addition to the story.

While this book deals with death and letting go, it also has a great message about moving on and the fact that you can love more than one person in a lifetime. Ms. Holmes does a wonderful job of portraying both loves in Cassie’s life. I found myself both cheering and crying throughout the book, sometimes at the same time! The messages in this book are timeless and I loved how each of the families interacted with each other and the in-laws and out-laws! I especially love, Matt’s mother! She was the best! This is one for the ages. You will laugh, cry, cheer, swoon and everything in-between! I truly enjoyed the relationships between Matt and Cassie and their boys. I knew I loved to read Michele Paige Holmes!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Content:

Sex: none. Some kissing. No inappropriate scenes. Great message about being faithful to marriage vows.

Violence: None

Be sure to read all the Power of the Matchmaker books!