Book Review: Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber

Author: Debbie Macomber
Series: N/A
Audience: Over 18
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: October 3rd 2017
My Rating: 3.5 Cups
Source: Won in a giveaway
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Merry Knight is pretty busy these days. She’s taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book boss at the consulting firm where she temps. Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man. Without her knowledge, Merry’s well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her—minus her photo—and the matches start rolling in. Initially, Merry is incredulous, but she reluctantly decides to give it a whirl.

Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and an unmistakably kind soul. Their online exchanges become the brightest part of her day. But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects—or desires. Still, sometimes hearts can see what our eyes cannot. In this satisfying seasonal tale, unanticipated love is only a click away.

*Disclaimer: I won an ARC of this book in a giveaway hosted by the author. I'm writing my review voluntarily, and my opinions and rating are not influenced by having won this book.

I've been meaning for years to try out one of Debbie Macomber's books, so I was very excited when I won an ARC two years ago. I wasn't really sure what the book was about, except that it was set around Christmas, and I love books set around that holiday. There is a good reason for why I held off on reading it for so long after reading the blurb though. One of my favorite movies growing up was You've Got Mail, which is a 90s romcom that I watched many many times over the years. This meant that I had very high expectations for this book, so I had to manage them a bit before picking up this book.

I'm very glad I waited to read this book, because it turned out to be a very enjoyable read, one I probably wouldn't have appreciated had I not managed my expectations.

2019 Bookending Winter Day 3: Blanket, Tea, Read!

Bookending Winter is  a wonderful month-long event created by Clo @ Cuppa Clo and Sam @ Fictionally Sam where each day has a different prompt for the participants to talk about.

It's day 3 of the Bookending Winter event!! Laurie @ Laurie's Bookshelf is hosting today and her prompt of the day is Book, Tea, Read!" or the books that get you in the winter/Christmas mood. People, I have a TON on books that get me in the mood for Christmas Don't forget to check out Laurie's post here. Without further ado, let's get started!

2019 Bookending Winter Day 2: Reflection Time

Bookending Winter is  a wonderful month-long event created by Clo @ Cuppa Clo and Sam @ Fictionally Sam where each day has a different prompt for the participants to talk about.

It's day 2 of the Bookending Winter event and today's host, Laurie @ Laurie's Bookshelf has a very interesting prompt. As she says, December is the perfect time to look back over how the year went, if we managed to hit the goals we set out for ourselves in January, and also set goals for the new year. Don't forget to check out Laurie's post here. Without further ado, let's get started!

Blogmas Day 1: November Wrap-Up

It's December already. Can you guys believe it? Because I cannot wrap my head around the fact that there's only 31 days left of 2019. It seems like 2019 flew by me, and it took me completely by surprise. I'm going to do Blogmas this year (and unlike last year, this time I'll do the full month, I promise). I thought I'd start with a proper month wrap-up, because this has been one of my best reading months of the year, with over 20 books read. Let's dive right into it, shall we?

2019 Bookending Winter Day 1: Ways A Villain Could Ruin the Holiday Season

It's December 1st and that means it's time for Bookending Winter!! In case you don't know what Bookending Winter is, let me enlighten you. It's a wonderful month-long event created by Clo @ Cuppa Clo and Sam @ Fictionally Sam where each day has a different prompt for the participants to talk about. Basically awesomeness all around! And there's hosts, so you can not only do some blog hopping, but also discover new bloggers while you're at it, and since we're an amazing community, we need to all be friends and be merry. 'Tis the season, people!!!

The first host of this year's event is Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts and her prompt is Ways  A Villain Could Ruin the Holiday Season. Let me tell you, these villains have tremendous power to destroy all nice things, including the Holiday Season. Let me tell you how they could ruin mine.

Audiobook Review: Kulti by Mariana Zapata

Author: Mariana Zapata
Series: N/A
Narrator: Callie Dalton
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Length: 16 hours and 13 minutes
Release Date: July 28th 2015 (first published March 20th 2015)
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: Audible
Blurb (from Goodreads):

“Trust me, I’ve wanted to punch you in the face a time or five.”

When the man you worshipped as a kid becomes your coach, it’s supposed to be the greatest thing in the world. Keywords: supposed to.

It didn't take a week for 27-year-old Sal Casillas to wonder what she'd seen in the international soccer icon - why she'd ever had his posters on her wall or ever envisioned marrying him and having super-playing soccer babies.


Sal had long ago gotten over the worst non-break-up in the history of imaginary relationships with a man who hadn't known she'd existed. So she isn't prepared for this version of Reiner Kulti who shows up to her team's season: a quiet, reclusive shadow of the explosive, passionate man he'd once been.

I've been meaning to read Mariana Zapata for a while now. In fact, she's the author that finally convinced me to try out the Audible Escape subscription I now love so much. Because I didn't know where to start, since I've heard a lot of good stuff about her books, I pestered my dear friend Sam from Fictionally Sam to point me in the right direction and Kulti was the second book on her list I think. Since it was also the first book that I noticed by her on AE, I decided to go with it. And let me tell you, it was glorious.