A Little Bit of Holiday Magic - Melissa McClone (HR #4400 - Nov 2013)

Series: Hood Hamlet (Book 5)

A new family…for Christmas?

All widow Grace Wilcox wants is a fresh start for her and her young son, Liam. When her truck spins off the icy road, her rescuer turns out to be the hottest firefighter in Hood Hamlet, and even wary Grace can't say no to his offer of help!

Bill Paulson has stuck to his no-dating rule so far this Christmas, but having Grace in his home is testing his chivalrous side to the limit! Her little boy is melting his heart, even asking for a new daddy from Santa….

But Grace has already loved and lost one hero. Can she really let herself get close to another?

Very good book with some intense emotions.  Grace left Georgia to move to Oregon, looking for a new life for herself and her son.  The memories of her husband, killed in the war, were too strong back there.  When her truck spins out during a snow storm she ends up on Bill's doorstep.  Bill is a ladies' man who doesn't do relationships, especially during Christmas time.  Something about Grace and Liam compels him to offer them a place to stay while her truck gets repaired.  Spending time with them changes him in ways he never expected.

I really liked Grace.  With her husband's frequent deployments she was the one left to do everything at home.  She often felt that his job was more important to him than their family.  After his death the memories were so painful that she packed up her son to move across country.  When she wrecked on the way through Oregon during a snowstorm she only had herself to depend on.  Her caution when she ended up at Bill's house was understandable.  She was surprised by her son's quick acceptance of Bill which went a long way toward reducing her fears.  I loved seeing her start to relax in his company and get to know him.  The attraction that she initially felt for him began to change the more time she spent with him.  She knew that he wasn't a long term kind of guy, but seeing him with her son made her heart melt even more.  Because of his job as a firefighter and in search and rescue she also feared losing her heart to another man with a dangerous job.  Her fears made it very hard for her to think of a future with Bill.  I loved the way that her fears were relieved - such a cool thing to happen.  It reminded me of the end of Miracle on 34th Street!

Bill is a man with a fear of commitment.  His father has a job that takes him all over the world and Bill has always felt somewhat resentful of the fact he was never around.  This makes him  determined that he will not get involved in anything permanent until he's ready to actually settle down.  When Grace and Liam show up on his doorstep after their accident, first his rescuer instincts kick in.  Once he's sure that they're okay he really starts to notice Grace and her beauty.  While it's logical to keep them at his house that night he doesn't understand his compulsion to keep them there as long as he can.  I loved seeing him with Grace's son Liam.  He has an immediate connection with the little boy and I loved how sweet they were together.  His attraction to Grace has him tied up in knots because what he feels for her is different than anything he's felt for another woman.  He gets really nervous when he find her creeping into his thoughts at odd times and pictures her as a permanent part of his life.  This says it best:  "with Grace, he'd found something more, someone who not only understood and accepted him, but also made him want to be a better man."  I loved his epiphany on Christmas Day and how he went about making his dream come true.

Winning Back His Wife - Melissa McClone (HR #4370 - Mar 2013)

Series: Hood Hamlet (Book 4)

Her first love...

When Sarah Purcell ends up in hospital, she's shocked to find the dreamy doc by her bedside is her soon-to-be ex-husband, Cullen Grey! Sarah's reluctantly released into Cullen's care, but he's as emotionally distant as ever, and her old insecurities bubble over. Surely the new life he's forged for himself in Hood Hamlet proves he can live without her?

Their second chance?

Caring for his wife 24/7, this time Cullen won't bury his feelings. As the tremors of their old attraction erupt, he has one thing on his mind: it's time to bring his wife back by his side-where she belongs.

Good book.  Cullen and Sarah had married after knowing each other only two days.  It took less than a year for their differences to pull them apart and when Sarah suggested divorce Cullen couldn't run fast enough.  When she is injured doing her job as a vulcanologist she is released into his care since she has no one else.  I liked both Cullen and Sarah though I wanted to shake them a few times.

Cullen and his twin brother had been pretty wild as teens.  When his brother got into drugs, Cullen tried everything he could to help his brother but nothing worked.  When Blaine died of an overdose Cullen swore he would never allow himself to be so out of control as that.  This carried over into everything in his live.  Marrying Sarah so impulsively was out of character and it worried him to the point where he started to pull away from her.  When she asked for the divorce he took it as a sign and left.  When he moved from Seattle to Hood Hamlet he felt more in control with Sarah out of his life.  Bringing her there to recover created unwanted cracks in his walls.  Over the days she was there he began to realize that he felt better when she was there than he had when she was not.  When they actually talked about their lives and their pasts he started to see that he hadn't exactly been fair to her.  I liked the way that he introduced her to his friends and started including her in things they could do together.  I loved when he got hit with the realization that they belonged together and how he was determined to act on it.

Sarah was stunned to find Cullen by her hospital bed.  She couldn't believe he was there and that he stayed the entire week she was there, helping her with her recovery.  Every day she was sure he would be packing up to go back home.  When she found out she wouldn't be able to go home alone to finish her recovery Cullen offered to have her come home with him.  This made her very nervous as she felt she had already come to depend on him too much.  She had always been very independent and self reliant because she had never been exposed to a lasting love.  Both her parents had remarried several times, and her previous romantic relationship had ended when her fiance left her on their wedding day.  As a result, she didn't trust anyone to stick around, and when Cullen left so quickly the year before she wasn't surprised.  As the days in Hood Hamlet went on she started making friends and dreaming of the possibility of a future, but afraid to hope.

I loved the way they both realized that they had made mistakes and that if they wanted a future together they were going to have to work at it.  I also enjoyed seeing the other people of Hood Hamlet and the rescue teams and am looking forward to the next one.