Myrna Mackenzie

Darcy Parrish gets a temporary job as a chef for handsome Patrick Judson. Darcy has a spinal injury and has to use a wheelchair. She is living at Able House (an assisted living facility) in which Patrick is the chief benefactor. He has been caring for his three younger sisters since their parents’ death. He has also inherited his parents’ wealth and is trying to do good with it. Patrick is finding himself attracted to pretty and independent Darcy. With his sisters all grown up, he is able to go out in the world and do things he has always wanted to do. But he is finding it hard to leave Darcy. I really enjoyed this romance. Patrick was a great hero, he was so thoughtful and caring. Darcy was a good and interesting heroine. She really wanted to be a policewoman but had to give up her dream after her accident.

A sweet, feel-good romance by Myrna Mackenzie.… (más)

Started out decent but then devolved into rainbows and unicorns. This was an example of pretty pedestrian writing. I mean stuff happened and none of it was actually bad, (except the ending, that was pretty bad.) For example I never got a clear picture of the secondary characters. In fact except for Lon they were all interchangeable. And Lon was not really a believable character. He hated the hero for 20 years then suddenly the heroine shows him the error of his ways? Too pat. There were other problems but there's really no point in calling them out. Totally meh.… (más)

A very enjoyable Christmas anthology featuring the following three stories.

On the Secretary's Christmas List by Carole Mortimer (4 stars) – Romance between famous photographer Jackson and his assistant Bree. They’ve had a great working relationship for a year, but now Jackson is beginning to notice Bree as more than an assistant when he starts seeing other men showing an interest in her and his jealously kicks in. A really cute Christmas romance that also features cute puppy, Beau, who is a Christmas present to Jackson’s son.

The Soldier, the Puppy and Me by Myrna Mackenzie (5 stars) – Reluctant war hero Trey is back in his hometown as a favor to a relative to be the Grand Marshall in the town’s Christmas Festival. Next door neighbor Ella, who he has a shaky past with from their younger days, is in charge of the festival so there is no avoiding of the two meeting up again. Good thing that puppy Fizz (who Ella is fostering for Christmas) is around to get these two together. This was my favorite of the stories. Fizz stole the show with every scene he was in. The matchmaking pup was simply adorable and just too cute for words. A definite winner.

The Patter of Paws at Christmas by Nikki Logan (4 stars) – Romance between Gabe and Ingrid who both work at an Australian zoo and are currently monitoring African wild dogs. Although this story took place at Christmastime there was very little Christmas here. And the puppies in the story were rarely seen, since they were hidden for the most part in one of the dens that Gabe and Ingrid were monitoring. Despite that, this story still kept my interest for its uniqueness and I learned about something I was not familiar with before.… (más)

Anna Nowell has had a job as a house sitter for the past two years at 'Morning View Manor', the Lake Geneva mansion that belongs to her wealthy and absentee employer/owner Donovan Barrett. She loves this job because she gets to live here rent-free. She likes to pretend she's lady of the manor (since she came from poverty). Anna's dream is to raise enough money so she can adopt a child. (Due to an accident long ago she can't have a baby). But Anna has just been told the owner is coming home so she will have to start looking for another job, which she doesn't want...she loves this one at the manor.

Donovan Barrett arrives at the manor. He was a renowned physician and has become a recluse since the death of his four-year-old son, Ben, who died eighteen months ago. He just wants to be left alone and doesn't want anyone around in the house, especially nice and sweet Anna. But Anna doesn't want to leave and she tries to make herself indispensable. Eventually Donovan hires her as his housekeeper, knowing she needs the money. They start to get to know each other a little better. Anna is somewhat ordinary looking, not like the women that Donovan is usually mixing with. But Donovan finds her very attractive...

This was such a sweet, funny, and heartwarming read. I really liked the main couple. Anna was kind and considerate, she got Donovan to come out of his shell and to start interacting with kids and people more. I also liked Donovan. I felt bad for him, losing his son.

I really enjoyed this book. A lovely read!… (más)