A Billionaire for Christmas by Jo lyons

 

When talented chef Molly's best friend and business partner, Ava, passes away, she leaves Molly their beloved restaurant – and a wild, impossible bucket list to complete. But thanks to a legal mix-up, Molly's inheritance is at risk unless she ticks off every outrageous item before the Christmas Eve deadline: just twelve days away.

Determined to honour Ava's wishes and desperate to save her dream, Molly searches for a billionaire willing to share Champagne with her in a hot tub – one of the more extravagant challenges on the bucket list. She's in a luxurious ski resort in the French Alps, so it might just be doable. But then she meets Levi. A devastatingly handsome billionaire, yes, but infuriatingly resistant to getting involved!

As the snow falls and sparks fly, Molly is entangled in a series of increasingly embarrassing escapades. With time running out, can she pull off the impossible – and maybe even find love along the way?

Unfortunately, I did not like this book at all. Levi was insufferable, and Molly had no self-respect. I could not understand why she was wasting her time on him. Was the author expecting the reader to be equally as shallow as Molly and immediately swoon because he's a billionaire? To tick the box on her bucket list, she should have just picked another rich, random person, male or female, and got it over with.
There were a couple of scenes involving her cooking that I liked and were quite funny. The bucket list was certainly quite inspired, and it should have resulted in a really funny book. But it didn't. I couldn't wait for it to be over.

 The relationship went from ice-cold and going nowhere for ninety per cent of the book to the inevitable happy ending all the way at the very end.

 I finished this feeling very annoyed that I wasted my audio subscription on it instead of just reading the KU version.

There's Pumpkin About You by Athena Carstairs

 

One determined party planner + one grumpy pumpkin farmer = a fall to remember…

Given the chance to plan her bestie’s 30th birthday bash, Wren Southwick is determined to create an experience so big and so bold that the name of her party planning business spreads beyond the confines of her own small town.

The key to her plan? The Finch family’s Goldleaf Pumpkin Farm. It’s not just the perfect venue but also the perfect supply partner for the autumnal-themed bash Wren envisions. But to get what she wants – and needs – she’ll have to get gorgeous grouch August Finch on board.

The table is set, and the battle is about to begin … but who will fall first?

There's Pumpkin About You is a cute and cozy autumnal romance. The highlight of the story is the grumpy sunshine dynamics between the main characters Wren and August. 

The story centres around Wren's ambition to kickstart her party planning business by partnering with a reluctant August in renovating his barn as an event space.

I enjoyed their interactions and how she got under his skin by bringing him coffee every day.  The neurodivergent representation was a central theme in this book, and August's quirks made him quite endearing. I thought it strange how extremely rude the people in such a small town were to August and how ignorant they were about autism, as where I'm from, it would be the exact opposite.

There wasn't an awful lot of plot to the story, but the slow-burning romance was a nice read, and if another book followed with a story about one of  August's brothers, I would happily pick it up to read.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and enjoyed the narration.

Score to Settle (Oakwood ranch Book1 ) Bella North

 

Series

Oakwood Ranch

Release date

10-09-25

Language

English

Format

Unabridged Audiobook

Length

9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher

Hachette UK - Bookouture

Categories

Romance

About this listen

A totally unputdownable, sweet and steamy enemies-to-lovers small town romance

In high school, he broke her heart—now he’s the famous football player whose image she’s meant to clear. Game on.

NFL superstar Jake Sullivan’s playboy reputation is finally catching up with him. To keep his sponsors happy, he needs to wipe the slate clean—and fast. He’s never backed away from a challenge, so he’s confident he can charm the hotshot city journalist sent to write a glowing piece on him without revealing the real reason behind his behavior.

Harper Cassidy is determined to show the world the real Jake. The one who broke her teenage heart. Pulling up to his (admittedly idyllic) family ranch, Harper steels herself for his ridicule once he realizes who she is. But when his stormy dark eyes and stupidly handsome face give nothing away, her blood boils. He doesn’t even remember her! Her boss wants her feature to convince people he’s a good guy. Yeah, right.

They would both rather be anywhere else, but for the next five weeks they’re stuck with each other. So why does Harper’s heart flutter when Jake offers up his sweatshirt and their hands accidentally brush? Why can’t Jake resist taking Harper to places he’s never shown anyone? And stranger still: supposed playboy Jake hasn’t glanced at a single woman since Harper arrived in his spare room…

They both came into this game determined to win. But somewhere along the way, the rules have started to change…

An enemies-to-lovers forced proximity sports and cowboy romance, Score to Settle is perfect for fans of Stephanie Archer, Liz Tomforde and Elsie Silver. The first in the Oakwood Ranch series, it can also be listened to as a standalone.

Narrated in duet style.

TROPES:
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Sports romance
Grumpy sunshine
Slow burn
Workplace romance (sports star vs journalist)
Found family

©2025 Bella North (P)2025 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd  

                           

Score to Settle is an entertaining and highly addictive story right from the opening chapter. Harper and Jake went to the same high school, and now, as adults, Harper has been tasked with interviewing him for a sports magazine as he wants to restore his public image. The only problem is she hates him. I liked the banter between the pair and the inner monologues they each had about the other. I was hoping Harper would get over her issues about Jake from High School and grow up! It took a while, but she got there. The romance that blossomed between them was funny and sweet. The spicy scenes, I generally skip to the end of the chapter, as there were quite a few of them. 

The dual narration was done perfectly. I prefer for the main characters' voices to be performed by the same narrator throughout, no matter which one is narrating the chapter.

I loved that Harper had other writing aspirations, and her novel about vampires in Ancient Egypt is something I would totally read. Maybe the publisher could make that a bonus book when the series ends!

There was a good group of side characters who will make great main characters as the series progresses, and this will definitely compel me to read the next book in the series.

Cover Reveal- Arvia: Fangs of the Frost (Tales of Arvia Book 5) by D. H. Willison

 

            Cover Reveal for  Arvia: Fangs of the Frost 

(Tales of Arvia, Book 5) by D. H. Willison

 

Print length: 570 pages

Release date: October 14, 2025

Cover Artist: Betty Elgyn (instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betty_elgyn/)

As in Tales of Arvia 3 and 4, print copies have interior illustrations

Interior Artist: Si’yann (instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siyann_stuff/)

From the Blurb

Being sent on a quest to save an entire city and granted the city’s full resources is a grand honor. Unless that city is Xin, with no resources to speak of.

A magical secret from Xin’s past threatens the city’s future, and Darin must lead a rag-tag group to a frigid city at the end of the world to save it. Their dilapidated old trade schooner may be haunted, but it survived conversion into the world’s first harpy aircraft carrier. And more importantly, it was cheap.

Can a misfit crew of humans and monsters overcome creepy creatures, mysterious magical phenomena, and the whims of the Empress of the Ice? How does a couple get alone time on a ship, when one of them is the size of the ship? And will Darin and Rinloh finally put the naughty in nautical?

Join Arvia's most eclectic heroic duo for adventures on the high seas! Caution: may contain questionable relationship advice, gratuitous human + nonhuman cuddle sequences, and/or singing.

Arvia: Fangs of the Frost releases on the 14th of October.