#TBRChallenge 2025: How to Rescue a Family

The Book: How to Rescue a Family by Teri Wilson

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Special Edition #2675, 2019, Book 2 in multi-author continuity series, Out of print, available in digital

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I had an autographed print copy in my TBR, which means I picked this up at an RWA conference. 

The Review: Reading the author's note in this book I learned this was Teri Wilson's first book writing in a multi-author continuity series, and I'm sad to say it showed. Wilson has written some fine category romances and this could have been one of them - but instead it languished in "OK but with pacing problems" territory for me.  I still zipped through it in one sitting, but it wasn't a terribly memorable read for me, and trying to dredge up thoughts one day after finishing the last page is proving to be a challenge.

Amanda Sylvester grew up in small town Spring Forest, North Carolina and now runs the family restaurant. She has dreams of branching out into higher end catering for events like weddings but her parents have proven resistant to the idea, wanting the restaurant to remain the way her grandmother ran it. This is enough for anyone, but lately Amanda has gotten distracted by a handsome new man in town, Ryan Carter, who is now running the local newspaper.  Ryan comes into the restaurant a lot for take-out and she soon learns he was once a hotshot reporter for The Washington Post and is a single father.

Ryan left his fast-paced life in D.C. after his wife died in a car accident. Since her death, their young son, Dillion, has stopped speaking. Now a single father needing to change his workaholic ways, Ryan relocates them to Spring Forest, but a tornado that ripped through town in the first book of the series has further rattled Dillion.  Ryan is desperate to help his son and decides to take Amanda's advice - maybe visiting the local animal rescue to play with the animals will bring him out of his shell.  Next thing he knows, he's adopting a dog and Amanda is teaching him in the ways of pet ownership.

The official back cover blurb says that Ryan proposes to Amanda, which doesn't happen.  What does happen?  Not much.  The local animal rescue was severely damaged by the tornado, Amanda finds out the sisters who run the place don't have insurance, Amanda decides to host a fundraising barbeque, she helps Ryan and Dillion adopt a dog, Ryan and Amanda are attracted to each other.  Really, that's about it until the final few chapters when Ryan's in-laws show up, decide to fight for custody of Dillion (a suit with no real teeth to it - but whatever...) and AMANDA proposes to Ryan, because having a fiancée will make Ryan look that much more stable. It's tacked on, rushed conflict for like 3 chapters to get our couple to say their I-love-yous and ride off into the sunset.  The problem being I'm not sure they do love each other outside of Ryan being grateful to Amanda for coming up with the dog idea because it gets his son to talk again.

This story could work but the pacing is all off. The first 3/4s of it are tied up in small town shenanigans and continuity series stuff. In order for the romance to work I needed Amanda and Ryan to be in each others' pockets a lot more, and for the conflict in the final 3 chapters to happen a heck of lot sooner.  There's no urgency here, which is a problem with category romance when you have a finite word count you're working with.

Is this a terrible read? No. It's just flat, and pretty boring. It's another in a long line of cutesy, non-descript small town romances. If you can't get enough of these and you also love cute animal companions in your romances? Sure. Otherwise, this one is strictly lather, rinse, repeat.

Final Grade = C

#TBRChallenge 2024: A Trio of Christmas Novellas

The final TBR Challenge of 2024 snuck up on me to the point that it was Sunday morning before I remembered my own deadline. Not a good look for the hostess. The other fly in the ointment? I haven't been reading - much of anything. This is an affliction I've struggled with all year but December, always being busy, has just exacerbated it. So I did what I always do when I'm caught with my TBR Challenge pants down - I did a deep dive into my Kindle, found three short stories that fit the bill, and read them back-to-back-to-back.

First up is Letters at Christmas by Amber Lin that our Evil Overlords at The 'Zon tell me I downloaded (undoubtedly) as a freebie back in 2014. Gently born Sidony has had three Seasons, but her heart wasn't in it. Her heart was already spoken for, to her brother's BFF, Captain Hale Martin. These two crazy kids were madly in love and carrying on in secret, but Hale, with limited prospects, knows he needs to change his fortunes if he wants to ask for Sidony's hand. He enters into the shipping business and tells Sidony he's setting sail for one year, she'll have her one Season, and then they'll reunite. And of course he'll write her constantly! That was three years ago, and Hale has sent word that he's coming home and will be spending the holidays with Sidony and her brother. Gone two years longer than expected and oh yeah, there were no letters. Zero. None. Zilch. Boyfriend just straight up ghosted her. Of course she's still in love with him but she's also really angry - and naturally in waltzes Hale determined to win her back.

I stuck with this story because the writing is just that good. It's polished with well-done tension and character development. Unfortunately, the plot doesn't do these two any favors.  It's basically "I loved you, I'm really mad at you, I don't know if I can forgive you, oopsie doodle now we're having sex." Speaking of the sex, there's a lot of it.  Which is fine if you're looking for a steamy read, but given the short word count I wanted more time spent on the emotional heft of these two finding their way back together and the heroine's anger, and forgiveness, towards the hero.

What's even more unfortunate? This author seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth. Her website is down and according to Goodreads she hasn't published anything in 10 years - which is a shame because the writing is certainly more than good enough here to make me pick up another one of her stories.

Final Grade = B-

I downloaded A Merry Royal Layover by Teri Wilson via Amazon back in 2021, but it no longer seems to be available - well, anywhere. Maybe it will become available again some day? Maybe as a freebie via the author's website or newsletter? But until then, sorry folks - if this sounds good you're out of luck unless you already have it in your TBR.

Cindy's fiancé broke her heart on Christmas Eve and since then the holiday season has been rough thanks to well-meaning family. So this year she's decided to travel to Tiny Made-Up Country in Europe That Only Exists on Romancelandia Maps to volunteer at an animal shelter - Cindy being a veterinarian. She arrives at Heathrow Airport in London only to discover inclement weather has delayed and cancelled all flights. Luckily her father pulls some strings and gets her access to a posh airport lounge and that is where she has a meet cute with none other than Prince Tristan, from Tiny Made-Up Country in Europe That Only Exists on Romancelandia Maps. Prince Tristan is on his way home after volunteering at a sloth sanctuary because of course and naturally these two tap-dance around each other by not acknowledging he's a frickin' Prince.

This is a sweet, just-kisses bon-bon of a holiday read, the stranded/layover premise is great and Wilson certainly has the romantic comedy chops to pull it off.  Unfortunately the story itself leans hard into the movie of Love Actually. The whole story basically hinges on it and Lord help you if you haven't seen the movie and/or you hate it. But if you're fan? It'll probably work better for you. For me, personally, it was all a little too cutesy-wootsy for my tastes.

Final Grade = C

I have no idea how A Countess for Christmas by Anthea Lawson came to be in my TBR, but it was the caboose bringing up the rear in my holiday read-a-thon. Miss Cecilia Fairfax is not looking forward to the holidays. She's now in charge of running the household, her mother having passed and the family just coming out of mourning. Her father is in declining health and her oldest brother's family is about to descend on them - which includes her sour sister-in-law and her barely housebroken nephews. Then she gets word that her younger brother, Marcus, has been injured in an accident, rendering him temporarily blind, while visiting Liam Barrett, the Earl of Tarrick. What follows is Cecilia and Liam exchanging a series of delightful letters to exchange news of Marcus' recuperation. Seriously, the letters are the very best part of this story.

Anyway, Marcus recovers enough to head home and to show his gratitude he invites Liam to join him. Does he tell his sister he's bringing home a houseguest? You have to ask? Of course he doesn't. 

This is when the story starts to falter for me. There's just not enough of Liam and Cecilia together on page and developing a relationship to get me to buy into the happy ending. There's a potentially great emotional scene where Liam comes across a wrung-out Cecilia having a cry in a linen closet but it doesn't go far enough. Then there's some tacked on bits involving a ghost haunting the house and an added twist of suspense when Cecilia gets locked in the cellar - leading to Marcus rescuing her, proposing marriage, and then The End. Look, I realize people married back in the day not knowing much about each other, but this was the very definition of hasty. The delightful letters in the beginning were not enough to sell me on the romance. There was just too much left unanswered for me.  Great beginning leading to an ho-hum at the finish line.  But have I mentioned the letters in the beginning are great?!

Final Grade = C+

And there you have it, the final TBR Challenge of 2024.  I want to thank everyone who participated and followed along this year - and hey, let's to it again in 2025.

Review: The Bachelor's Baby Surprise

Evangeline Holly has just found out that her long-time boyfriend, Jeremy, has been knockin' boots with his sous chef behind her back.  Since she's the wine director at the same restaurant, she hastily hands in her resignation and proceeds to hit a wine bar where she gets rip-roaring drunk on pinot grigio (as you do).  What she didn't quite plan on is waking up in her Village apartment next to the most hunkilicous guy she's ever laid eyes on.  How hunky?  Well, some rag just named him the City's most eligible bachelor.

Ryan Wilde saw Evangeline "Eve" Holly across the room at that wine bar, holding court, opening bottles and was sunk.  He thought their one night stand was pretty memorable.  She, however, has called it a disaster and can't hustle him out the door fast enough.  It's been a few weeks and he's trying to figure out a way to see her again without looking like a creeper when lo and behold, who should come to the Bennington Hotel (which he's part owner of) to apply for their sommelier job?  None other than Eve.

Evangeline isn't a sommelier...yet.  She still needs to take the test.  But she needs the job and as horrified as she is to realize that her one night stand is going to be her new boss, when he and his cousin offer her the job - well, she can't really say no.  High end restaurants want official sommeliers - not a girl from upstate New York who grew up at the family winery before Mom took off and Dad lost the vineyard. 

Word on the street is that Michelin is in town, visiting restaurants and handing out (hopefully) coveted Michelin stars.  Ryan and cousin Jeremy know that getting awarded a star (or stars) is going to put the Bennington 8 restaurant on the map.  And for that they need a sommelier, but who they get is Evangeline Holly with her looming one night stand and the eventual discovered consequences.

The Bachelor Baby's Baby Surprise is the second Special Edition I've read in as many weeks and I don't know who is making back cover copy decisions over there but...yeah.  The baby on the cover, the reveal of Evangeline's pregnancy on the back cover copy - none of that plays out in the book until we're at 50%.  Fifty. Percent.  Look, I get that the definition of spoiler is fluid but FIFTY. PERCENT.  Newsflash: that's a spoiler.  Sigh.  Anyway.

The writing and story itself is rather delightful.  Even as someone who is typically not a fan of One Night Of Passion And Oopsie-Doodle Heroine Is Preggo.  Wilson has a very romantic comedy style to her writing.  Her voice practically screams Something Meg Ryan Would Star In the Movie Version Of.  Teri Wilson has been writing (and writing and writing and writing...if her backlist is any indication) and I've never read her before and what the heck have I been doing?  Obviously making poor life choices.

But is this perfect?  Well, no.  It's one of those books where the heroine jumps to conclusions about the hero even though if she stopped to logically think through things she'd realize she was wrong.  She assumes he's a playboy because of the Most Eligible Bachelor "thing" and a bunch of would-be groupies hanging out in the hotel lobby.  Whereas everything about Ryan's actions and personality suggest anything but.  But she's been burned recently so it's somewhat understandable.  Ryan, of course, was "done wrong" by a former girlfriend who tried to pass off somebody else's baby as his.  There's also the small matter that while he was raised by a loving aunt and uncle, he's still got some baggage leftover from his parents, who essentially abandoned him to their care.  Sometimes their respective baggage had them making snap judgments that drove me a little nutty.

As part of a series, this stands alone very well even though Wilde as a surname needs to be outlawed in Romancelandia.  This book is light, charming, fun and there's even two adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (both elderly: one blind, one deaf) to add to the whole Rom/Com feel to this.  It's not the kind of book that had me clutching it to my breast, sighing and swooning romantically - but it's delightful from start to finish and I wanted these two crazy kids to get their happy ending. 

Final Grade = B+