Author: Kasey Stockton

Cabin Crush by Kasey Stockton | Book Review

Posted December 15, 2023 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 1 Comment

Cabin Crush by Kasey Stockton | Book ReviewCabin Crush by Kasey Stockton
Series: Gift-Wrapped Romance
Published by Golden Owl Press on October 27, 2023
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Holiday - Christmas, Romance
Pages: 198
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Add to Goodreads
Buy on Amazon

This Christmas, all she wants is him.

Rachael
I’ve had a crush on my brother’s best friend my entire life. Once, in high school, I even got a taste of what it would be like to be with him thanks to some well-placed incredible and humiliating. We always spend Christmas with Max’s family at our cabin, and every year I have to suffer through a blissful week with him in a completely platonic way. His steady stream of girlfriends have made him off limits . . . until now.

It’s Christmas.

We’re at the cabin together.

And Max Dawson is single.

Max
I’ve never looked forward to Christmas less in my entire life. My parents’ holiday will be ruined after I tell them my news, and to make matters worse, I blabbed to Rachael on the drive out to the cabin. Now she has to keep my secret until I’m ready to share with my family.

Which is probably why she’s acting so weird. Watching me. Touching me. Flirting. It would be terrible if I wasn’t enjoying it so much. But her brother has made it clear she’s off limits. And besides, I kissed Rachael once, and we all know how that ended.

So we definitely shouldn’t do it again.

Right?

There’s just something about a trope-filled Christmas romance, and Cabin Crush has a bunch of them! You’ve got brother’s best friend, childhood friends/grew up together, mutual pining (yet they both think their love is unrequited), forced proximity, and friends to lovers. I love all these tropes, and am honestly so happy to not see an enemies to lovers for once because that’s my least favorite and appears to be everywhere right now, across all genres. Anyway, this was cute! Even though some young teen drama happened that made things a little awkward for the two of them, Rachael and Max have a really sweet friendship. They’ve been pining away for one another for years, and that makes it even cuter.

I love a dual point of view, which you’ll get with this story. It’s so fun getting into the heads of the main characters, and it made me really like both of them. I really enjoyed the family cabin all decked out in Grinch-themed decorations. This cabin sounds like a very cozy and comforting place to be, minus the lack of heating in some of the rooms. I loved the two families, particularly the dads who were both super lovable and funny. I really enjoyed the coziness of the story. The families spend their time at the cabin watching Hallmark and other Christmas movies, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows around the fire, baking and decorating cookies, doing puzzles, chatting on the couch, eating lots of yummy food, hiking, caroling, sledding, and more. There were some deeper, more difficult conversations to be had surrounding loss and grief, and I felt those were handled with reverence and added depth to the story. The romance itself was a little on the cheesier end of cheesy, even for a Christmas romance, but that’s ok! It made me smile. All in all, Cabin Crush is a very fun closed-door romance with a lot of Christmas cheer and characters you’ll love. I’m excited to read some of the other standalones in this series!

Cotswolds Holiday by Kasey Stockton | Book Review

Posted December 6, 2023 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 1 Comment

Cotswolds Holiday by Kasey Stockton | Book ReviewCotswolds Holiday by Kasey Stockton
Series: Christmas Escape
Also in this series: Faking Christmas
Published by Self on November 30, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Holiday - Christmas
Pages: 347
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add to Goodreads
Buy on Amazon

Some people face their problems head-on, other people run . . .

When my ex-boyfriend sends me his wedding invitation eight months after breaking up with me, and the bride expects me to be in the wedding party, it's time for my tried-and-tested party trick: disappearing.

And nowhere is better to escape to than the cozy English Cotswolds in the middle of December.

Everything goes according to plan until I arrive in the Cotswolds. Snow is more slippery than I expected, my room is nothing like the listing described, and my pub owner landlord—well, he steps directly from my lumberjack fantasies and into my heart.

The only problem? I can't fall for an Englishman who lives on the other side of the world from me. Not even one who has Dr Pepper on tap and kisses like it's an Olympic sport. It's much harder to run across the pond, and all good things must come to an end . . . but what if I can't say goodbye?

Part of the Christmas Escape series, Cotswolds Holiday is a clean Christmas romance where an American girl runs off to England and tries not to fall in love.

Cotswolds Holiday is another book in the series of closed-door Christmas standalone novels called Christmas Escape. I had so much fun reading several of these books last Christmas, and this was one of them! I just didn’t have room in my schedule to post my review, so I delayed it for a year to post now! While not my favorite in this series, I had fun reading it. Luna is a YouTube yoga instructor (ugh), and escapes to the English countryside to get out of having to attend her ex’s wedding. Rhys is amazing. He owns the quaint, cozy little pub that Luna rents a room in for her stay in the Cotswolds. He’s quiet and thoughtful and subtly flirty

There’s a lot of drama surrounding exes, and that did wear me out a little. Luna’s ex-boyfriend is still contacting her, trying to get her to attend their wedding for the sake of his fiance. This entire storyline actually really irked me, and ends up a little manipulative in my mind. Nobody whose ex-boyfriend breaks up with you and then jumps into marrying your best friend within just a few months should have to put up with being made to feel guilty for being upset about it and not wanting to be there to watch. The magic of Christmas just wouldn’t fix that for me, but I digress. Then there’s also drama with Rhys’s ex, another yoga instructor (ugh), and I didn’t like that storyline either. Blergh. Then there was this other storyline with Luna trying to form a partnership with this popular yoga clothing line (ugh), and the people she’s trying to work with suck a lot. The romance was fine, if not a bit dramatic at times. Luna likes to run away from her problems, hence the drama.

What won me over on this book was Rhys and his pub. And Christmas. I loved this pub, and how it was all decorated for the holidays. It sounds so cozy and the regulars there all know each other. There’s a knitting group that meets there, and a book club. The people are all so nice. The pub has a bit of a mascot in this cute dog who hangs out and has adopted everyone. Rhys and his cousin run the place, and I loved the cousin. She was a more interesting and likable character than Luna, in my opinion. Rhys’s cooking sounds delicious. I loved the scenery of the Cotswolds and I even enjoyed their silly rivalry with a neighboring town. I love the little Christmas festival. So all in all, it was a fun read that I made some allowances for because it’s Christmas and I loved the setting. And I want Rhys.