Review: Naughty but Nice - Donna Kauffman

ʼTis the season for sweet surprises . . .

Businessman Griffin’s never believed in luck . . . until sassy-sweet small-town baker Melody turns his world around. Except there’s a catch: There’s no way he’ll be able to build his empire and hold on to her. This new love could destroy all his dreams—or make this Christmas better than he ever imagined possible . . .

Originally in the The Naughty List anthology

Hamilton Christmas Series:
Unleashed
Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells
Naughty but Nice

Visit Donna Kauffman's website for more information.

Review:
Naughty but Nice is a novella by Donna Kauffman that was previously published in the The Naughty List anthology and has now been rereleased as an ebook as part of the Hamilton Christmas series in time for the holidays.

Melody gave up a stressful career and big city life and hasn't looked back once since she became a baker in a small town. She loves the more relaxed pace of life in her small but charming town so is absolutely horrified when she finds out a developer wants to give the place an upgrade to put it on the map. The last thing she wants is to see an influx of tourists destroy the friendly atmosphere she moved here for so she is determined to work alongside other small business owners to stop the development from going ahead.

Griffin is struggling to deal with the revelation that he had a whole other family that he never new about and the fact that he is the heir to the Hamilton fortune. Unfortunately things aren't all what they appear in Hamilton Industries and unless he manages to turn things around Melody's town is going to be in serious financial trouble. He knows exactly what he needs to do to make things happen and he has a track record of getting it right but first he needs to get Melody and the other locals to accept his plans and help him implement them.

This story is more of an enemies to lovers trope. Melody is determined to stop Griffin from making the changes the town needs but she doesn't understand the motives behind his choices. The attraction between them is instant and since this is a novella the romance moves at a quick pace between them but it was still a fun story and it was nice to see the conclusion to questions about the Hamilton family that were raised in the first book in the series, Unleashed. Overall I've really enjoyed this series, it got me in the mood for the holidays and was a perfect December treat.

Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells - Donna Kauffman

The best holiday gifts aren’t always under the tree . . .

Holly hates the yuletide season more than ever since she received her very early inheritance: her mother’s Christmas novelty store. Now she has to put her life on hold to deal with the shop, while her parents settle into their busy sunny Florida retirement. But Holly’s childhood pal, Sean, is determined to warm her up—to Christmas and to him. When they uncover a diary concealing secrets involving both their families, this could be the Christmas that changes their lives forever . . .

Originally part of the Kissing Santa Claus anthology.

Hamilton Christmas Series:
Unleashed
Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells
Naughty but Nice

Visit Donna Kauffman's website for more information.

Review:
Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells is a novella by Donna Kauffman that was previously published in the Kissing Santa Claus anthology and has now been rereleased as an ebook as part of the Hamilton Christmas series in time for the holidays.

Born on Christmas Eve to parents who are obsessed with the holidays and who run their own Christmas novelty store Holly grew up hating the season and couldn't get away from her hometown fast enough. Now suddenly her parents have decided to retire early and have given her her inheritance early so she finds herself the owner of a Christmas store and no real idea what to do with it. She's taken two weeks leave from work and plans to dismantle the shop as quickly as possible so she can return to her life. That was before her childhood friend and crush Sean walks back into her life though and now she finds herself considering other possibilities.

As much as I enjoyed the first story in this series (Unleashed) I did feel that the romance was a little rushed so the friends to lovers / second chance romance theme of this story worked much better for me in that regard. Holly and Sean grew up together so although they had never been more than friends there is a long history between them and that made their romance feel less rushed and more believable. They make a really sweet couple and I appreciated that Sean didn't put pressure on Holly to make huge decisions without taking the time to think things through. He wanted her to take a chance on them as a couple but he also understood that she couldn't make any promises when her whole life was in another country.

This whole series has had a nice festive feel to it and stories they've been really quick and fun December reads.

Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Unleashed - Donna Kauffman

A raging winter storm and a holiday spent pet-sitting reveals there’s more than one kind of animal in the house . . .

When Emma Lafferty is hired by a billionaire CEO to watch his pets over the holidays, she expects to enjoy a quiet Christmas in opulent surroundings. What she doesn’t expect is to spend the week trapped in the mansion with Trevor Hamilton, the CEO’s sexy great-nephew—and heir—whose motives are as shady as his desire is crystal clear . . .

Originally in the To All a Good Night anthology

Hamilton Christmas Series:
Unleashed
Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells
Naughty but Nice

Visit Donna Kauffman's website for more information.

Review:
Unleashed is a novella by Donna Kauffman that was previously published in the To All a Good Night anthology and has now been rereleased as an ebook as part of the Hamilton Christmas series in time for the holidays. I've not read anything by this author before but I love Christmas stories at this time of year so I couldn't resist giving this one a try.

Emma is a pet sitter who has been hired to look after a billionaire's pets over the holidays, she didn't really want to spend Christmas alone but the money is too good to resist and she's hoping a recommendation for doing a good job could bring an influx of wealthy clients to her new pet care business. She's supposed to be the only one in the mansion so it comes as quite a shock when her client's nephew turns up & thanks to a storm they end up stuck there together.

Since this is a novella events happen very quickly and the relationship between Emma and Trevor develops at warp speed, in fact I think the entire story happens within 24 hours with a short epilogue set about a year later, but I can forgive that in a sweet Christmas read. The characters were fun, there was a nice amount of banter and they had good chemistry. The addition of the animals Emma was looking after was cute and the story left a smile on my face which is all I ask for from a quick holiday read. I'm looking forward to reading the next one!

Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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