Category: Giveaway

Holly Cassidy’s Easy Holiday Party Games | Author Guest Post + Giveaway

Posted December 11, 2023 by Jana in Bookish Little Christmas, Giveaway, Guest Post / 0 Comments

Banner photo by freestocks on Unsplash 

I’m so pleased to welcome Holly Cassidy, author of The Christmas Wager, to the blog today to celebrate A Bookish Little Christmas with me! Holly is here to share some fun holiday-themed party games, and I love a good party game (anything Christmas-themed is a million times more fun). Read more about Holly and her new book below, and don’t forget to enter to win a copy of The Christmas Wager for yourself!


Who doesn’t love a good holiday party? Yummy food, great company, maybe a glass or two of mulled wine… But what if you want to change things up a little for your guests and make it even more of an event to remember?

In The Christmas Wager, Bella and Jesse enter the Maple Falls Holiday Games, an annual tradition of eccentric feats of strength and skills. While you may not have enough snow to play Dead, Dead Snowman (axe-throwing with bonus points for a clean decapitation) or space in your backyard to build an obstacle course like the Ultimate Maple Run, here are few ideas that require little preparation, and which are sure to bring festive cheer.

These team games can also be used for work holiday parties!

1. Munchable Movie Magic

Game preparation:

  • Bake (or buy) a rectangular slab of gingerbread for each team (recipe here but omit cutting the dough into stars, and adjust baking time accordingly).
  • Prepare equal amounts of edible baking decoration supplies such as ready-made icing, piping bags, jellybeans, chocolate chips, sprinkles, sugar pearls, and so forth for your teams.

How to play:

Task your teams with turning a slab of gingerbread into a scene from their favorite holiday movie. Award points based on how many teams guess the film correctly (the team that gets it right receives a point, as does the team whose movie scene was guessed correctly).

2. Human Singing Christmas Tree

Game preparation:

  • Fill a box with holiday decorations (tinsel, garland, baubles, etc.) for each team.

How to play:

Give your teams 20 minutes to transform one of their members into a human Christmas tree and task the teams with performing a Christmas song together once done. Award points based on the most creative tree and the best/funniest/most original song rendition.

3. Holiday Movie Pictionary

Game preparation:

  • Write the names of holiday movies (use this list for inspiration) on separate pieces of paper, fold them in half, and put them in a Santa hat.
  • Prepare paper and pencils for each team.

How to play:

  • Team members take turns pulling a movie from the Santa hat.
  • Without talking, making noises or gestures, or writing letters/numbers, the team member has 60 seconds to draw the movie they picked while their team tries to guess what it is.
  • If their team gets it right within the allotted time, they receive a point and take another turn pulling a movie from the Santa hat to draw.
  • If their team is wrong, the opposing teams take turns trying to name the movie. If a team guesses correctly, one of their members pulls a movie from the Santa hat to draw for their team.
  • If nobody guesses correctly, the turn to pick a movie passes to another team.

Note: Instead of drawing, you could play this game as charades where the team members act out / mime the holiday movie.

4. Holiday Scavenger Hunt

Game preparation:

  • Decide which areas of your venue are out of bounds.
  • Hide holiday ornaments around the approved areas of your venue.
  • Prepare a list of the holiday ornaments you’ve hidden.

How to play:

Task your teams with finding the hidden holiday ornaments and assign points based on how many they locate.

5. Pin the Nose On the Snowman

Game preparation:

  • Use the free template to print a snowman and make a separate nose using cardboard.
  • Hang the snowman on a wall (make sure it’s a wall where you don’t mind pin holes!) and put a pin through the nose.

How to play:

Task each blindfolded team member with pinning the nose on the snowman. Award points based on how close they are to putting the nose in the right spot.

6. Name That Song – Holiday Edition

Game preparation:

  • Prepare paper and pens/pencils for each team.
  • Access The Christmas Wager’s official playlist on Spotify.

How to play:

Play five seconds of each tune and have your guests write down the name of the song. Assign points based on correct guesses.

There are so many more games you can play, be they indoors or outdoors, especially if you live in a snowy area. With these tips, I hope you enjoy your best holiday party yet, and, most of all—have fun!

Holly Cassidy


The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons on September 26, 2023
Genres: Contemporary Romance — Christmas
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One rivalry. Eight days until Christmas. Let the holiday games begin.

When LA-based real estate developer Bella Ross arrives in the sleepy, mountain town of Maple Falls, she has one mission: to acquire the local failing Christmas shop, Always Noelle, securing the promotion of her dreams. Nothing can get in her way. Except the shop owner’s stubborn grandson, Jesse Harrison.

Both refuse to budge, until an unlikely wager is struck: Bella and Jesse will compete in the Maple Falls Holiday Games, an annual tradition of eccentric feats of strength and skills. Winner decides the selling price. They’ll give each other a run for their money, but as the competition heats up, Bella and Jesse’s icy feelings toward each other begin to thaw. It’ll take a Christmas miracle for them to admit there’s a spark, but what if it’s just another game?

Holly Cassidy is the pen name for internationally bestselling author Hannah Mary McKinnon. Her suspense novels include The Revenge ListThe Neighbors, Her Secret Son, Sister Dear, You Will Remember Me, and Never Coming Home. McKinnon was born in England, grew up in Switzerland, and now lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and three sons. The Christmas Wager was her first novel writing as Holly Cassidy.

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Signed Copy of Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle + Hughes & Co. Greeting Cards Giveaway (USA)

Posted December 2, 2022 by Jana in Book Spotlight, Giveaway / 7 Comments

Today I’m featuring one of the most whimsical Christmas books I’ve ever read! I’ll read anything Sarah writes, and Just Like Magic is so sweet and pure and stars the man whose picture is in the dictionary under the words “sunshine”, “festive”, and “wholesome”. I love Hall (short for holiday, naturally) and Bettie so much, and I’m so excited to offer up a signed copy of this festive, pepperminty hug of a book to one of my readers!

Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle
Published by Putnam on October 4, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Romance — Christmas
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From the author of Twice Shy comes a sprightly Christmas novel, a rollicking romp through the absurdity of family holidays and the hope of new love.

Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury, flaunting a ridiculous collection of designer shoes and a stealthy addiction to CBD oils. That is, until her parents snipped her purse strings. Long obsessed with her public image, Bettie boasts an extravagant lifestyle on social media. But the reality is: Bettie is broke and squatting in Colorado, and her family has no idea.

Christmas, with its pressure to meet familial expectations, is looming when a drunk Bettie plays a vinyl record of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” backwards and accidentally conjures Hall, an unexpectedly charming Holiday Spirit in the form of a man. Once the shock wears off, Bettie knows she’s stumbled upon the greatest gift: a chance to make all her holiday wishes come true, plus a ready-made fiancé.

But as the wiles of magic lose their charm, Bettie finds herself set off-kilter by Hall’s sweet gestures. Suddenly, Bettie is finding her heart merry and light. But the happier she gets, the shorter Hall’s time on earth grows. Can Bettie channel the Christmas spirit and learn to live with goodwill toward all men? Or will her selfish ways come back as soon as the holidays are over?

With this book comes a set of Hughes & Co. Greeting Cards that Sarah Hogle has designed in honor of Bettie! I’ve seen some of these cards, and they’re amazing. I’m so jealous of whoever wins the set! Here’s what Sarah has to say about these cards: “In Just Like Magic, Bettie Hughes rediscovers an old hobby from her youth: designing niche greeting cards that nobody would ever ask for or expect to receive. Bettie enjoys pairing innocuous covers with weird sentiments inside, for the sheer pleasure of bewildering people and making them say, “But why??” I’ve brought a few fictional Hughes & Co. cards to life; this giveaway includes four greeting cards, one postcard, and one invitation.”

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A Letter to the Fixer Upper I Used to Be by Lauren Forsythe | Author Guest Post (+Giveaway)

Posted August 25, 2022 by Jana in Giveaway, Guest Post / 1 Comment

I’m so excited to have Lauren Forsythe, author of The Fixer Upper, on the blog today! The Fixer Upper is Lauren’s debut, and is a romantic comedy about an underground service that does the emotional labor for women whose partners need some help. Our heroine, Aly, runs this service and gains a client whose boyfriend is none other than Aly’s childhood best friend. And, of course, Aly’s client thinks he needs some changing when Aly has always thought he’s already as perfect as can be.

Lauren is here to share a letter she’s written to her past fixer upper self, which ties so nicely into her new book! I think it’s such a lovely letter, and perhaps you might be able to see yourself (past or present) in it. I know I did. Read more about The Fixer Upper and enter to win a copy below!


A Letter to the Fixer Upper I Used to Be
by Lauren Forsythe

I see you, at twenty two, hiding in the bathroom of the shitty studio you never wanted to rent in the first place. You’re sitting on the closed lid of the toilet seat, laptop on your lap, stuffing your earphones further into your ears because you can’t bear the bass anymore.

You don’t want to tell your boyfriend that mixing his dubstep out loud in the tiny space you two share is making you insane. Because you’re supportive that he makes music. You don’t want to tell him that you’re resentful of moving into this crap heap because he didn’t want to live at home and commute into London for the course you’re both studying. Because you understand he gets depressed at home.

So you don’t say anything. You make plans and you pay for meals and you pretend you’re not exhausted getting up at four am to work at Starbucks, and going to bed at midnight after working on your coursework.

But I can tell you, little fixer, you’re not going to fix that one. And one day you’re going to realise never having an argument in a four year relationship doesn’t mean you’re good communicators – it means you’re a pushover. One day, as mad as it seems, you’re not going to feel obligated to do things for people, or to keep quiet just to make sure people love you.

I see you, later in that year when you’ve decided you’re going to finish your course and go to Australia. Well, what about me, what do I do? He asks, and you say whatever you want! You try to pretend it’s not a clear breakup, that you’re not gently waiting until the course is finished and you’ve both moved out, to be as polite and cause as little trouble as possible.

You’re both on a writing course, and your boyfriend decides to write a script about a man whose girlfriend goes to Australia. He writes it on bright yellow post it notes, and pastes them all over the walls of your box studio. You wake up to neon yellow and capital letters, accusing you of running away, telling the story of a fictional deserter, somehow trying to punish you.

Some days you close your eyes on the bed and put your arm out to the wall, and feel the post it notes beneath your fingertips, somehow caving in on you. Here’s your story, reduced to a bunch of paper in the flat you never wanted, with the boy you’ve stopped loving.

And yet you don’t leave.

He’d have to find somewhere else to live. He’d struggle to afford it. He doesn’t have many friends in the city. You give yourself excuses because it would be mean of you to leave. He needs you. You’re responsible.

But you’re a fixer. So you view flats for him because he’s too busy, and you find him a new place to live to assuage your guilt. You go home and pretend you’re still a couple. You wait for him to say the obvious.

For a while, you’ll do this again. There will be men, friends and lovers, who want your input on their novel, or your editing eyes on their CV. Who will want you to show up to their gig with adoring eyes, or go shopping for their suit for their sister’s wedding.

But – and here’s the important one – you will say no. It’ll happen without you noticing at first. But you’ll go to Australia and travel alone. You’ll put your loves and your life first, and when you meet someone who is opposite to you in almost every way, and you start to fall back into the pattern, you’ll notice it.

He fixes you too. You will arrange the holidays, but he will teach you to snowboard. You’ll deal with the English but he’ll work out the maths. You’ll tell him he can start his own business, and he’ll encourage you to write a novel.
And you do.

You write a novel about being a fixer. About giving every part of yourself to someone else, and it being taken as standard. And you’ll jokingly write about living in that room of yellow post it notes, and you’ll laugh. Because it’s not you anymore.

You will defend your loves with a fierceness, your writing time, your self care, your quiet moments. You’ll argue, but in a way that lets you learn how to ask for what you need. And whilst you are still a fixer, ready to jump into help with a box of plasters, a toolbox or a batch of cookies…you don’t always need to. Because he can fix it too.


The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons on August 2, 2022
Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
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In this funny and sharp romantic comedy, a woman with a knack for turning her boyfriends’ lives around starts a professional service to help wrangle men, only to be unexpectedly matched with an old flame.

Ever since she can remember, Aly has been fixing everything around her: her parents’ marriage, her colleagues’ work problems, and her friends’ love lives. After a chance meeting with an ex who has gone from a living in his parents’ basement to a married project manager in three years, she realizes she’s been fixing her boyfriends, too…

So, Aly decides to put her talents to good use and, alongside two work friends, sets up The Fixer Upper, an exclusive, underground service for women who are tired of unpaid emotional labor. Using little tricks and tips, Aly and her friends get the men to do the work themselves – to get out of the job they hate, sign up for that growth seminar, to do more parenting. Before long, a high-profile Instagram star hires them to fix-up her app developer boyfriend. There’s just one catch – he’s also Aly’s childhood best friend and first love. As Aly tackles her biggest “fixer upper” yet, she’ll have to come to terms with their complicated history and figure out how much to change someone she’d always thought was perfect as he is…

Lauren Forsythe lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and son, and a cat that gets more spoilt by the day. She works in marketing, studied English and Creative Writing at the UEA, and spends too much time trying to work out how she can retroactively add pockets to every piece of clothing she owns. She is the author of The Fixer Upper and Dealbreakers.

Banner Photo by Kate Macate on Unsplash 

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Enemies-To-Lovers is Getting Old, Said No One Ever by Amy Lea | Author Guest Post (+ Giveaway)

Posted May 11, 2022 by Jana in Giveaway, Guest Post / 13 Comments

I’m excited to welcome Amy Lea, author of Set on You, to the blog today! Set on You is officially out in the world as of yesterday, and I thought it would be fun to invite Amy to talk to us a little more about her book! She’s written up such a fun post on her favorite romance trope, and I think you’re going to really enjoy it. A special thanks goes out to Spark Point Studio, who is sponsoring a giveaway of Set on You for one of my readers! Read more about the book and enter to win below!


Whenever someone asks me what my favorite romance trope is, my first response is always: I LOVE THEM ALL. *grabby hands* Generally speaking, making decisions isn’t my strong suit. Trust, my husband is traumatized from years of asking me which restaurant I want to eat at. But if someone were to threaten to push me off a cliff or ban me from buying books for all of eternity, I’d cave and shout ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS.

My first traditionally published book, SET ON YOU is enemies-to-lovers. Why? Frankly, it’s my favorite to write. In fact, I have a difficult time NOT writing enemies to lovers. So far, I’ve only written one book that wasn’t enemies-to-lovers. While I love that secret book with all my heart, the entire time I was writing it, I craved the angst that comes with the hatred and the venomous insults.

Hating someone feels disturbingly similar to being in love with them.
– Lucy Hutton, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Why, may you ask? For me, it all comes down to a couple key, irresistible ingredients:

Banter

Some witty verbal sparring with an underlying layer of simmering, sexual tension is my catnip, particularly when it’s rooted in comedy (it can’t be too mean). I live for the scenes where characters viciously roast each other on spits, mostly because you learn a lot about a person when they’re heated. It allows the reader greater insight into who the character is, what drives them, their potential flaws, and what they may need to overcome by the end of the book.

In SET ON YOU, Crystal and Scott banter back and forth at the gym on numerous occasions. This banter illustrates a number of key things about Crystal in the opening chapters. In particular, we learn how passionate and dedicated she is to her job and her clients. We also get the hint that she may not be the uber-confident girl she presents herself to be. Through the banter, we also learn a little bit about Scott’s flirty, cocky, yet secret-softie personality, as well as his close relationship with his family.

Slow Burn Tension

Everyone has preferences when it comes to pacing in romance, but I’m personally partial to a slow burn. The push and pull before the payoff is electric and so worth the hundreds of pages to get there. Oftentimes, there’s something that brings the two enemies together in proximity initially. In SET ON YOU, Crystal and Scott share a gym where they both workout regularly. In addition, they also find out their grandparents are engaged. This familial aspect does two things – it forces proximity and it also raises the stakes when it comes to the risk of getting romantically involved.

Either way, the slow burn is the prime opportunity for the transition from hate to love. This section is often riddled with tiny hints of budding attraction, whether it’s physical or emotional. Sometimes it’s in a brief moment of understanding, a lingering gaze, a scorching accidental touch, or a common enemy/obstacle.

It’s especially wonderful when one or both characters are plagued with denial and internal strife over their conflicting feelings. The moment when they finally realize or admit the truth to themselves is so rewarding (extra claps for the sassy best friend or the wise elderly character who often knocks some sense into them).

Eruption

The first kiss or the first steamy scene is usually unexpected, yet wildly satisfying. My favorite is when there’s a slight roughness and lingering tension that comes through the physical act, reminding us of that fire that is fueling the passion. Oftentimes, these scenes aid in building that emotional bond between the characters, because they are finally allowing each other to see their vulnerable, naked (literally) selves.

First impressions aren’t always correct

One of the best things about enemies-to-lovers is that moment when the characters realize that they misjudged each other. That the other person is more than meets the eye. Character growth is often beautifully illustrated when they finally develop empathy and understanding for each other. Side note, my catnip is also when one or both parties secretly pine for the other, masking it in hate. ;)

The perfect match

More often than not, the two characters are not much different from one another than they may seem. In SET ON YOU, Crystal and Scott come to find that their initial dislike for each other is rooted in similarities, despite a reluctance to admit it. They wind up having a lot in common, including that they’re both uber-competitive and family-oriented.

Conversely, in other books, it’s also heartwarming when two polar opposite characters complete each other in complementary ways. Joining together with their differences can often make them an unstoppable power couple. This trope allows for endless character growth, which is often so satisfying for readers.

In all the romance books I’ve read (and I’ve read hundreds), I’ve yet to come across two enemies-to-lovers books that don’t put their own unique twists on the trope. There are endless ways to turn it upside down, sideways, and back without it feeling tired and overdone, which is why this dynamic trope has become such a timeless reader favorite.


Set On You by Amy Lea
Published by Berkley Books on May 10, 2022
Genres: Adult Fiction — Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
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A gym nemesis pushes a fitness influencer to the max in Amy Lea’s steamy debut romantic comedy.

Curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen built her career shattering gym stereotypes and mostly ignoring the trolls. After her recent breakup, she has little stamina left for men, instead finding solace in the gym – her place of power and positivity.

Enter firefighter Scott Ritchie, the smug new gym patron who routinely steals her favorite squat rack. Sparks fly as these ultra-competitive foes battle for gym domination. But after a series of escalating jabs, the last thing they expect is to run into each other at their grandparents’ engagement party.

In the lead up to their grandparents’ wedding, Crystal discovers there’s a soft heart under Scott’s muscled exterior. Bonding over family, fitness, and cheesy pick-up lines, she just might have found her swolemate. But when a photo of them goes viral, savage internet trolls put their budding relationship to the ultimate test of strength.

About Amy Lea

Amy Lea is a Canadian bureaucrat by day and contemporary romance author by night (and weekends). She writes laugh out loud romantic comedies featuring strong heroines, witty banter, mid-2000s pop culture references, and happily ever afters.

When Amy is not writing, she can be found fan-girling over other romance books on Instagram (@amyleabooks), eating potato chips with reckless abandon, and snuggling with her husband and goldendoodle.

Her debut romantic comedy SET ON YOU is forthcoming from Berkley Romance at Penguin Random House in May 2022.

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Floral post header photo by Darren Nunis on Unsplash

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2021 Resolutions for Readers by Melinda Curtis | Author Guest Post (+Giveaway)

Posted December 13, 2020 by Jana in Bookish Little Christmas, Giveaway, Guest Post / 3 Comments

I’m happy to welcome Melinda Curtis, author of A Very Merry Match, to the blog today to share her 2021 resolutions for readers! Who can relate to these??


2021 Resolutions for Readers by Melinda Curtis

I will do other things than read on weekends. Like watch movies and TV shows made from books, such as:

  • Bridgerton (Netflix) based on the Julia Quinn Bridgerton series
  • Virgin River (Netflix) based on the Robyn Carr Virgin River series
  • Love in Harmony Valley (Up TV) based on the book Dandelion Wishes

I will show up extra early for appointments in January. And finish reading all the holiday books I didn’t get to or may have missed, like…

  • Season of Joy by Annie Rains
  • A Very Merry Match by Melinda Curtis
  • A Christmas to Remember by Jenny Hale

I will trim off excess books weighing down my bookshelf. Of course, I’ll do a book exchange with a friend, sharing books I enjoyed and putting books she enjoyed on my TBR. (TBR piles don’t weigh down bookshelves if they aren’t mine.)

Suggested trades:

  • Can’t Hurry Love by Melinda Curtis for Starting Over at Blueberry Creek by Annie Rains
  • Second Chance on Cypress Lane by Reese Ryan for A Very Merry Match by Melinda Curtis
  • The Happily Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez for Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson

I will be adventurous and expand on the types of books I love to read. One of the things I enjoy about small town romance is the sense of community, which you can also get in other romances, such as medical romances, sports romances, or a “community” of sisters/girl friends.

  • The Single Dad’s Holiday Wish by Susan Carlisle (medical)
  • Just a Boyfriend by Sariah Wilson (football)
  • The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon (girl friends)

A Very Merry Match by Melinda Curtis
Series: Sunshine Valley #2
Published by Forever on September 29, 2020
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This holiday season, kindergarten teacher Mary Margaret Sneed never imagined she’d be unwrapping…herself. But a burlesque side gig is the young widow’s only hope of paying off her late husband’s substantial debt. With her reputation and career on the line, she performs in disguise, under the stage name Foxy Roxy. But her secret identity is threatened when Roxy’s biggest fan turns out to be Mary Margaret’s biggest crush — the handsome-as-sin mayor of Preston!

Newly divorced single dad Kevin Hadley is prepping to make the jump from mayor to state assemblyman. He knows he should be settling down with someone quiet and practical, someone like Mary Margaret Sneed. The last thing Kevin needs right now is a steamy scandal. But he just can’t stop thinking about Foxy Roxy…and if Preston’s matchmaking Widows Club has their way this Christmas, Kevin won’t have to…

About Melinda Curtis

Prior to writing romance, award-winning, USA Today Bestseller Melinda Curtis was a junior manager for a Fortune 500 company, which meant when she flew on the private jet she was relegated to the jump seat—otherwise known as the potty. After grabbing her pen (and a parachute) she made the jump to full-time writer. Between writing sweet romance and sweet romantic comedy, Melinda finds time to bond with her husband over home remodeling projects. She recently came to grips with the fact that she’s an empty nester and a grandma, concepts easier to grasp than jet-setting on a potty.

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