Sarah Morgan (1) (1948–)

Would It Be Christmas Without Family Drama? This book has a LOT going on, and yes, it does in fact more blend the women's fiction and romance genres than play strictly by either one. (Though it *does* meet all of the "qualifications" for either even according to the strictest interpretations of the "rules" I am aware of, for those that care about such trivialities.) Your *basic* plot threads are these: married couple with problems working to reconcile, forced proximity romance, best friend show more issues between the two women in the aforementioned couples, long lost family/ traumatic secrets. Which in 350 ish pages is a LOT to work through, but Morgan does it well and never drags too much at any given point. The Lapland scenery is described beautifully (at least as I've seen the region on such shows as The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals on Netflix, this American has never been further North than New Hampshire), and the cold and isolation provide some amazing (and "traditionally" - for northerners) "Christmassy" vibes. This story is a bit more serious and complex than a usual Hallmark Christmas movie, and doesn't rely as heavily on "Christmas Magic", but instead serves as a more realistic take on a Christmas Romance - which is needed in the overly saturated market. Very much recommended. show less

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Moonlight Over Manhattan is a delightful read that is not without its dark and serious moments. Harriet is struggling with the consequences of mental abuse that have undermined her sense of self while Ethan believes himself incapable of real emotions after having to turn them off to manage the stress of trauma medicine.

Harriet’s brother and twin sister have protected her from both their father and life in general for too long, but with both of show more them falling in love, Harriet knows she needs to learn how to fend for herself. She goes about this in a way that is both strange and yet strangely courageous as she tackles things that intimidate her by attempting something she would not do each day until Christmas from online dating to wearing high heels.

It’s those two elements that land her in Ethan’s emergency room on a busy night in which she appears as a pool of calm, but then she’s gone. She makes enough of an impression to linger in Ethan’s mind.

It’s coincidence, though not as great as you might think with Fliss and Harriet’s-dog walking company dominating half of Manhattan, that she’s called in to help Ethan care for his sister’s dog when she has an emergency trip out of town.

This much you can gather from the book description. However, the description fails to capture a crisis-filled second meeting that leaves Harriet fiercely defending the needs of Madi (the dog) despite having all her fears of being unable to survive on her own thrown in her face.

Both Harriet and Ethan are decent people to start out with, but they grow on the page as they learn more about each other and themselves than many do in a lifetime. While they appear very different on the surface, both of them are observant, caring people who are not consciously aware of the difference they make. Madi helps in this by throwing the confident, controlled Ethan so far out of his element that he has to solicit Harriet’s expertise out of desperation.

I loved how Harriet pushes herself to become self-sufficient, and how that effort grows to include her true mate rather than having him fill the gap left by her siblings’ life changes. It speaks to the strength of Sarah Morgan’s characters that I thought I’d already read Daniel’s story (Harriet’s brother) when he appeared in this one because I know him so well from the previous book I’d read. The characters I met in this book are much the same. I wanted some closure with the instant friend Harriet meets in the very beginning, even though circumstances made it unlikely they would meet again, but Natalie was such a bright spot I hope she shows up something else.

This is not a clean read. There is on-screen sex though not with explicit detail, but it has that kind of feel, focusing more on the people, their lives, and overcoming the shadows they carry from the past. I felt like I was there with them for both the high points and the low ones.

There are quite a few chuckles; heartfelt moments for animal lovers; and deeper, wrenching times when both their pasts come up to haunt them and attempt to disrupt any chance they have of a true relationship. Ultimately, it’s as sweet a Christmas story as it can be with a complexity that makes it feel real.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. show less

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

One of the reasons I like reading romances is because of how they focus on problem solving. Characters may run away in the short term, but ultimately they have to knuckle down and do the hard work. People talk about the romancing and courting in these novels, but that’s not what’s important to me. Whether it’s a billionaire who never had to fight for anything or a single mom trying to do right by everyone but herself, or any number of other show more traditional romance plots, most romances look at what tears us apart, and what we need to do to pull together and stay that way. It’s never simple, and it could be internal and/or external forces opposing, but it’s always worth the effort.

Why is that important? Well, Holiday in the Hamptons might have an innocuous title, but it’s knee deep in the big problems. The book description barely hints at what’s going on, but you learn Felicity, or Fliss as she’s called, is a mental abuse survivor from the prologue (which you really should not skip over). Maybe half her side of the problems between her and Seth are a result of survival training in childhood. This is a second chances story, and both of them had to grow up a bit from their first whirlwind relationship and quick marriage with even quicker divorce. Fliss is not there at the beginning, but Seth has realized what he lost all those years ago and is willing to stick it out until she is ready. Even so, he doesn’t understand the depths of how this has affected her, or how much his own childhood is coloring his perceptions about what she’s doing and feeling.

I loved the many themes mixed into the story. The strongest were tied between perceptions versus reality, and how perfect is subjective and involves much more than looks.

The first theme opened up all sorts of amusing moments because Fliss is a twin, but the two of them have very different personalities. At the same time, underlying Fliss’s attempts to pretend to be her sister are complicated fears and deep-seated beliefs hammered into her through a lifetime of shielding her sister from harm. I can’t speak to Seth’s side without spoiling some stuff, but I’ll say at least that his feelings are based on more than just outward appearance, and always had been.

Seth being a veterinarian and Fliss working with dogs offers opportunities to open up, and many lessons in how to help someone suffering from PTSD. Usually PTSD stories are of soldiers, so I appreciated the look at how abuse victims are impacted even long after the abuse has stopped.

The delayed reveal of the details of their past relationship only annoyed me up to the point where we start to get Seth’s opinion. It becomes clear what happened then is both very tied to the present and part of what Fliss has to come to a new understanding about. This is also true of the time jumps and summaries throughout the story that allow it to take place over an extended period with enough time for Fliss to begin to heal realistically.

There were many wonderful supporting characters, including a romance author and a bunch of dogs, that were fully fleshed and not always supportive. There was one disappointing moment for me with a secondary character, but it was well within that person’s nature. I just hope she grows out of it. That disappointment is a big part of the theme of perfect being different for each person. No one else can recognize your perfect, so should not interfere when you’ve found it.

This is a complex story, and I could go on about it longer, but I’ll stop here with the following: Fliss and Seth are on a difficult journey. The characters, lead and supporting, are very real, and because of that, they can be frustrating. There are on-screen sex scenes, but both necessary to the plot and not described in significant detail. True to the romance promise, the book ends in a happily ever after, but it’s a hard road to get there with a lot to think about on the way. A strong tale well worth the read.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. show less

Hallmark Scottish Christmas. Let's be real here, this book is essentially a Hallmark Christmas movie set in Scotland. How you feel about the entire tale will likely be pretty close to how you feel about the sentence prior to this one in this review. There are three different romance tales at play here, between each of three siblings - Ross being the sacrificial lamb with a made up girlfriend to distract his parents from his sisters' issues but who becomes all too real, Alice with an all too show more real fiancee, and Clemmie with plans of her own... who then has her own story from there. Along the way we also get to see the conflict between Ross and his dad, both of them successful businessmen who love to talk about anything *other* than business with each other. Ultimately, Morgan weaves her magic and makes all of this work quite well - if pretty much exactly within the Hallmarkie mold. Still, this is yet another solid hit for Morgan, and exactly how good of a hit really depends on exactly what the reader themselves feel about this type of story - Morgan's bread and butter. I happened to think it worked quite well, and it is very much recommended. show less