Author: Jana Aston (Page 1 of 2)

Synopsis:

My name is Carter Sheppard and I actually like Christmas and my Christmas-themed hometown of Reindeer Falls. In fact, when I learn I have to return home in order to collect an inheritance—my uncle’s dog—it puts life into perspective for me.

Sure, playing professional baseball is great. But it won’t last forever and every player needs a long-term game plan.

And I just found mine. Wrapped up in the feisty, bespectacled package of the town librarian.

Unfortunately, she thinks I’m a player in all aspects of the word, but I’ve got a plan to win her over. Starting with a fake engagement…

Warning: Christmas in Reindeer Falls is more naughty than nice. These stories are over-the-top festive with merrily-ever-afters guaranteed. Novella length for quick holiday binge reading. Enjoy!

Review:

The Bachelor on the Shelf was a sexy, heartwarming Christmas tale!  This was my favorite book about the Sheppard brothers!  With the fake dating trope and Christmas magic in the air, this novella was such a huge win!

It can’t be possible for him to be a good guy. He has groupies, for fuck’s sake. Shepphoes. He’s just trying to fix his ‘naked ass on the internet’ scandal.
Right?

Carter Sheppard was a professional baseball player and was back in town.  One of his brothers’ inherited their late Uncle’s house, the other inherited his land, and then Carter inherited his dog Rudy lol.  Rudy had been spending time at the next door neighbor’s house, Lexi.  She had fallen in love with Rudy and didn’t want to give him back.  So when Carter proposed a fake engagement, to help his public image, and in return Lexi got to keep the dog, she couldn’t say no!

All of his sexy smiles and his lustful glances looking me up and down are just his usual tools of the trade. I’m a librarian, he’s a ballplayer. I know this story, and it won’t end up well for me.

Lexi was best friends with Maggie and Sutton from the previous two books, and Lexi was my favorite by far!  She was Reindeer Falls head librarian and loved books passionately.  I loved that she was down to earth, sweet and had the biggest heart ever!  This story was told from her point of view and I loved her thoughts.  Some of them were quite hilarious and cracked me up at times.  But when it came to Carter, she knew she had to be careful.  Yes Carter was gorgeous, but the man had a player’s heart and would only break Lexi’s heart.

“You know, we are engaged,” he says, voice low. “So, if you wanted to kiss me hello, you’d be welcome to.”

 Carter had lived the ultimate bachelor’s life.  Fans flocked to him and he could have any pick of women.  He was talented, seductive, beautiful and definitely sure of himself.  But I loved how Carter was so much more than meets the eye.  And as he slowly started to show all of his sides to Lexi, I fell for him ever harder.  Carter was the ultimate book boyfriend!

His lips meet mine like the first snowflake fluttering down in a storm. Light, unexpected. And then like an unexpected blizzard, we go from zero to a hundred in a heartbeat.

Lexi and Carter together were a ton of fun and steamy too.  With fake dates to help his image and to sell their fake engagement, each moment led to them touching.  And those times spent together created feelings that shouldn’t exist.  Right?!  Because they were only playing a part.  What Lexi felt for Carter surely couldn’t be real.  For a novella, this pulled off the fake dating trope perfectly and I was completely hooked!

He’s looking at me the way people in the library look when they’ve found their favorite book. And as the horses tug us along the tree-lined path, Carter’s hand reaches for mine.
And I take it.
Which is definitely crazy.
Even crazier, I don’t think this date will be ending with just a kiss.

If you’re looking for a quick, Christmas fix, I can’t recommend The Bachelor on the Shelf enough!  Technically you could easily read this as a standalone, but I am glad I had read the previous books in this series.  Even if Lexi’s besties were over the top.  And for those that love happily ever afters, there was an epilogue that was set a year later and I loved it!  We got to see what Lexi and Carter, Sutton and Jake and also Maggie and Ryan were up to!  I closed this book happy and smiling.  I loved being back in Reindeer Falls!

Synopsis:

My name is Jake Sheppard and I’m ambivalent about Christmas and the Christmas-themed town I grew up in. But when I find out my late uncle left me an old barn and acres of land, the decision to return home to build my dream golf course is an easy one.

Imagine my surprise when I arrive and find out I have a squatter.

An incredibly sexy squatter, with wavy blonde hair, green eyes, a free spirit… and a herd of goats.

Sutton hates my guts. Apparently evicting a non-paying non-tenant and her goats weeks before Christmas is grounds for war.

Except Sutton’s version of war includes flinging her clothing at me and, as it turns out, I might be in way over my head with this girl…

Warning: Christmas in Reindeer Falls is more naughty than nice. These stories are over-the-top festive with merrily-ever-afters guaranteed. Novella length for quick holiday binge reading. Enjoy!

Review:

With eccentric characters, lovable goats and Christmas in the air, One Night with a Nutcracker was a little crazy and a lot festive!  If you’re looking for a quick Christmas story that is sexy and also has some quirky characters, then you definitely need this book in your life!

Jake Sheppard might be my mortal enemy, but he’s also the hottest example of male perfection I’ve seen in Reindeer Falls in years. And right now, he’s naked in my shower.

Sutton was squatting on someone else’s land with a barn, that she deemed abandoned, and ran her goat business.  Oh my Santa, now I get why Maggie from Elves with Benefits and Sutton were friends.  They were both nutty as a fruitcake lol!  But low and behold the now owner of the land stopped by, Jake Sheppard.  And when he informed Sutton what his plans were for the property, and that she had a week to vacate, it set off their enemy to lovers romance with a bang!

How is it plausible or even legal for him to kiss like that?
It’s ridiculous.
Yet here I am. Living in a snow globe of sexy times with Jake freaking Sheppard.

Sutton definitely had a hippy vibe, loved her goats as though they were her children and was sometimes a spacey friend, even though she loved her friends deeply.   I wasn’t the hugest fan of Sutton.  But by the end of the book, it was like Sutton was sprinkled with Santa’s magic, because I ended up liking her.  And then there was Jake, who I loved!  Jake was sexy and easily captured my attention.  He stood out in the best of ways.  Jake was definitely my favorite in this book!

Is he just enjoying all the Christmas vacation sex? Or does he actually care?
It’s going to take a Christmas miracle for me to figure it out.

Jake and Sutton had the most wonderful chemistry with a strong enemy’s vibe.  But the more time they spent around one another, it didn’t matter how much they didn’t want to like the other, they couldn’t not touch.  Or kiss.  Or do more.  The passion between them was oh so hot and I ended their story ready to dive into the next book!  One Night with a Nutcracker was an entertaining enemy to lovers Christmas story that was filled with craziness and a whole lot of fun!

And look, I don’t speak goat, but I’m pretty sure we’re about to live HAAAAAAppily ever after.
And maybe Christmas wasn’t my favorite holiday before.
But with the snow coming down around us and the bells on Sharon’s collar jingling, I have to admit, anything is possible.

 Spoiler alert….book 6 is definitely my favorite out of the Sheppard brothers’ stories 4-6.

Synopsis:

My name is Ryan Sheppard and I don’t care about Christmas. I’m only returning to my over-the-top Christmas-themed hometown to sell the house I inherited from my late uncle so I can get back to the city and the promotion I’m chasing at work.

Unfortunately, there’s a flaw in my plan.

Because according to the town Christmas cop, there’s a moratorium on selling houses during December. She says it’s bad for the aesthetic. She’s also slapping an alarming number of tickets on my front door. For being in violation of holiday décor. And I swear on Rudolph himself, one is for ‘unsportsmanlike Christmassing.’

To top it all off, this Christmas cop looks like a red-headed elf.

A sexy red-headed elf…

Warning: Christmas in Reindeer Falls is more naughty than nice. These stories are over-the-top festive with merrily-ever-afters guaranteed. Novella length for quick holiday binge reading. Enjoy!

Review:

Elves with Benefits was over the top fun and had tons of holiday cheer!  With lots of Christmasy vibes, friendship, sexy moments and scenes that were laugh out loud funny, this book was definitely binge worthy.  I read this novella in one sitting!

He scans the ticket labeled ‘decoration violation.’ “This cannot be real. There’s a cartoon elf on these tickets.”
I grin, glad he noticed. I made the tickets myself.

The story was told in Maggie’s voice and oh my goodness was that women unique.  Her job for starters was the town’s holiday enforcement officer.  She actually wrote people tickets for not having their house or business decorated with all the Christmas cheer.  And she took her job very seriously.   Maggie was obsessed with reading Christmas books with her bestie’s all year long.  And she loved Christmas with her whole heart and soul.  She was a little crazy, a little intense but she somehow won me over by the end of this book.

He puts a hand into his pocket to fumble for his wallet. Unfortunately, this draws my attention to the sweatpants again. And I definitely don’t think that’s a candy cane I’m seeing.

The moment Ryan stepped on the pages, I fell for this story.  And started laughing too.  You see, Ryan inherited a house from his late uncle, and he just wanted to sell it and leave.  His life was in the city, where he was up for a huge promotion.  He didn’t have time for his childhood Christmas hometown.  Yet Maggie refused to not let Ryan decorate his house.  The more time she spent around Ryan, the more she felt that pull towards him.  And it seemed like Ryan couldn’t ignore Maggie either, even if I didn’t always see what Ryan saw in Maggie lol.

I laugh, and it’s a real laugh. A hopeful laugh. Because the Scrooge of Reindeer Falls himself is inviting me into his house on Candy Cane Lane to make me hot cocoa and watch a Christmas movie.

Maggie was the ultimate Christmas cheer elf and Ryan was definitely the Grinch.  They were polar opposites who had the most fabulous banter!  It was a mix of sexy and hilarious and was sooo addictive!  I loved the push and pull between them.  And their steamy moments were *fans face*!  While you don’t need to read any of the previous books in this series, the first and third book in this series are still my top favorites.  Elves With Benefits was a quick, fun, quirky Christmasy read that was definitely entertaining!

“Just remember to wrap those packages before shoving them down the chimney.”