Author: Jana

Item: Lost Girls
Rating: 0.5
Author: Jana

2017 Christmas Novels | New Release Book List

Posted December 1, 2017 by Jana in Book Spotlight, Bookish News / 3 Comments

Looking for something to read this holiday season? I’ve got you covered! Here’s a list of brand new Christmas novels that are out this year to help you get in the festive spirit. This list is broken up by age group, and then alphabetized. The links will take you to Goodreads to read more about each title. If I’ve missed any that you’re really excited about, let me know in the comments! And seriously, where are all the YA Christmas books? Pretty sure we’re lacking a little…

Adult:

A Chance This Christmas by Joanne Rock
A Christmas Affair by Jodi Thomas
A Christmas to Remember by Lisa Kleypas, et al.
A Cosy, Candlelit Christmas (An Unforgettable Christmas #2) by Tilly Tennant
An Ex for Christmas by Lauren Layne
A Lot Like Christmas: Stories by Connie Willis
A Hummingbird Christmas by Karen Foley
Approximately Yours (North Pole, Minnesota #3) by Julie Hammerle
At the Christmas Wedding by Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, and Maya Rodale
A Scottish Lord for Christmas by Lauren Smith (12/5)
A Season of Love: A Christmas Anthology by Carla Kelly
A Season of You by Emma Douglas
A Snow Country Christmas by Linda Lael Miller

A Very Cowboy Christmas (Smokin’ Hot Cowboys) by Kim Redford
A Very Merry Princess by Susan Mallery
A Vicarage Christmas by Kate Hewitt
Becoming Bella by Sarah Hegger
Chasing Christmas Eve (Heartbreaker Bay #4) by Jill Shalvis
Christmas at Hope Cottage by Lily Graham
Christmas at Mistletoe Cove by Holly Martin
Christmas At the Candied Apple Cafe by Katherine Garbera
Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer
Christmas In a Cowboy’s Arms by Leigh Greenwood
Christmas In Icicle Falls (Life In Icicle Falls #11) by Sheila Roberts
Christmas In Kilts by Various (anthology)
Christmas on the Little Cornish Isles by Phillipa Ashley

Christmas Promises at the Little Wedding Shop by Jane Linfoot
Christmastime Cowboy by Maisey Yates
Close to Heaven (Colorado High Country #5) by Pamela Clare
Coming Home to the Comfort Food Cafe by Debbie Johnson
Cowboy, It’s Cold Outside (Twilight, Texas #8) by Lori Wilde
Deck the Halls (Darling, VT #3.5) by Dolla Alward
His Mistletoe Wager by Virginia Heath
Hold Her Again by Shannon Stacey
Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase
Holiday Wishes (Heartbreaker Bay #4.5) by Jill Shalvis
Home for Christmas by Holly Chamberlin
Homicide for the Holidays (Viv and Charlie Mystery #2) by Cheryl Honigford
Hope for Christmas by Stacy Finz
Hope at Christmas by Nancy Naigle

Hot Winter Nights by Various (anthology)
How the Finch Stole Christmas! by Donna Andrews
Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Goose by Stephanie Laurens
Last Christmas In Paris: A Novel of World War I by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Long, Tall Cowboy Christmas by Carolyn Brown
Maybe This Christmas (Colorado Ice #3) by Jennifer Snow
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Carla Burgess
Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber
Miracle At Christmas by Debbie Mason (12/19)
Miss Christmas by Gigi Garrett
Moonlight Over Manhattan (From Manhattan With Love #6) by Sarah Morgan

Once Upon a Christms Eve by Elizabeth Hoyt (12/5)
One Day In December by Shari Low
Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz
Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
Slay Bells Ring by (Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mystery #7) by Karen Rose Smith
Snowbound With an Heiress by Jennifer Faye
Snowflakes, Iced Cakes, and Second Chances by Sue Watson
Sugar Pine Trail (Haven Point #7) by RaeAnne Thayne
Tangled Up In Tinsel by Candis Terry
The Beachside Christmas (Beachside Bay #3) by Karen Clarke
The Best Little Christmas Shop by Maxine Morrey
The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr

The Christmas Cowboy Hero by Donna Grant
The Christmas Room by Catherine Anderson
The Deal of a Lifetime by Frederik Backman
The Holiday Cruise by Victoria Cooke
The Inn at Blue Hollow Falls (Blue Hollow Falls #1.5) by Donna Kauffman
The Lady In Red by Kelly Bowen (12/5)
The Rancher’s Christmas Song (Cowboys of Cold Creek #16) by RaeAnne Thayne
We’ll Always Have Christmas by Jenny Hale
Winter Solstice by Erin Hilderbrand
With This Christmas Ring by Manda Collins
Wyoming Winter (Wyoming Men #7) by Diana Palmer

Which books are you excited to read this year?
Which ones have you already read and loved?

Sixth Annual A Bookish Little Christmas

Posted December 1, 2017 by Jana in Blog Event / 1 Comment

It’s that time of year again! A Bookish Little Christmas is my absolute favorite blog event, and I’m really excited to be hosting for the 6th year in a row. The next few weeks will be filled with Christmassy guest posts, book reviews, and other fun things as we count down the days until Christmas (I’ll be updating the schedule as posts go live). Some of my very favorite bookish people, including authors, book bloggers, and publicists, will be stopping by with amazing stories and other festive content. I really think that this will be my favorite Bookish Little Christmas to date, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you.

Celebrate #ChristmasWithJana: Instagram ✦ Twitter

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Lost Girls by Merrie Destefano | Mini Book Review

Posted November 30, 2017 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 1 Comment

Lost Girls by Merrie Destefano
Published by Entangled Teen on February 14, 2017
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 301
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
Add to Goodreads

Yesterday, Rachel went to sleep listening to Taylor Swift, curled up in her grammy’s quilt, worrying about geometry. Today, she woke up in a ditch, bloodied, bruised, and missing a year of her life.

She doesn’t recognize the person she’s become: she’s popular. She wears nothing but black.

Black to cover the blood.

And she can fight.

Tell no one.

She’s not the only girl to go missing within the last year…but she’s the only girl to come back. She desperately wants to unravel what happened to her, to try and recover the rest of the Lost Girls.

But the more she discovers, the more her memories return. And as much as her new life scares her, it calls to her. Seductively. The good girl gone bad, sex, drugs, and raves, and something darker…something she still craves—the rush of the fight, the thrill of the win—something she can’t resist, that might still get her killed…

The only rule is: There are no rules.

So… This book sounded good. It really did. But I HATED it. I was excited to find out where these “lost girls” went, but as soon as I did (which happens quickly) I was like, “well crap.”. Seriously. This is not good. I have so little to say about this book. It was uninteresting, dark, unbelievable, farfetched, and so slow. I have so little to say that normally I wouldn’t even write a review. But I felt like I needed to warn those who are at risk of being swindled by the book’s synopsis like I was. Major spoiler ahead, so proceed at your own risk.

The lost girls? They’re kidnapped and forced into a teen underground fighting ring. If they’re good, they move to platinum level where they are sold and rape is implied. They’re drugged and abused and it’s awful. The book has so much depressing content, with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

You’ve been warned. Run away. Run far away.

Top Ten Books on My Winter 2017-2018 TBR

Posted November 27, 2017 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 10 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at the other blog I write for, The Broke and the Bookish.

I don’t know about you, but I am REALLY excited for winter. We’ve had unseasonably warm weather where I live, and it doesn’t even feel like Christmas. I want snow and freezing temperatures so I can wear my cozy sweaters and curl up under my fuzzy blankets. I want fires! This time of the year I love reading two things: Christmas romances and fantasy. I’ve chosen 5 of each for today’s topic!

Snowbound with Mr. Wrong by Barbara White Daille
Once Upon a Christmas Eve by Elizabeth Hoyt
Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber
Kiss Me in New York by Catherine Rider
Maybe This Kiss by Jennifer Snow

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton
By A Charm and a Curse by Jamie Questell

Which books are you looking forward to reading this winter?
Anything on my list you think I need to push ahead of the others?

Snowflakes created by starline – www.freepik.com

Happy Thanksgiving 2017!

Posted November 23, 2017 by Jana in About Me, Personal / 1 Comment

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays (aside from Christmas which, if you know me at all, you know it’s my favorite time of the year). I love getting the family together and eating tons of yummy food. My family is very small, and it has gotten smaller over the last few years. My two grandpas, my uncle, my parents, and my little sister and I will gather around the table in a few hours to eat turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole (my favorite), corn soufflé, cranberry salad, rolls, and sparkling apple grape juice. I’ll be decorating the table in with a gold table cloth, black hurricane lanterns, fall foliage, glittery pumpkins, and a million tea light and pillar candles. One of my grandpas will probably fall asleep at the table, and the other will tell us stories of his time in WWII. We will be silly and laugh and the cat might try to take a flying leap onto the table and destroy it all, but she’ll chicken out and fall asleep on the heating vent instead. We’re all pretty private and don’t like to get emotional, so we will spend the day reflecting internally on the things we’re thankful for. This is what Thanksgiving is to me. I hope your day is filled with love, food, memories, and family.

Author: Jana

Adult:

Children/Middle Grade:

Picture Books:

Young Adult:

Which books are you excited to read this year? Which ones have you already read and loved?

Post Schedule

Which books are you looking forward to reading this winter? Anything on my list you think I need to push ahead of the others?

What is Thanksgiving to you? What’s your favorite thing on the menu tonight? What are you thankful for?

Which books are you excited to read this year?
Which ones have you already read and loved?

Which books are you looking forward to reading this winter?
Anything on my list you think I need to push ahead of the others?