Book Review – Mr. Winterbourne’s Christmas

26 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest

Tags

Book Review, Joanna Chambers, Mr. Winterbourne's Christmas, Winterbourne series

Heart, heat, Christmas festivities, and two men who finally find someone they can belong to, all combine for a fabulous holiday read!

*****

Mr. Winterbourne’s Christmas

Winterbourne Series Volume #2

by Joanna Chambers

Length: 30,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Natasha Snow

Blurb:

Lysander Winterbourne has been living happily at Edgeley Park for the last eighteen months. By day he is Adam Freeman’s estate manager, by night, his lover…but Adam never speaks of his feelings and Lysander has no idea whether their relationship is any more than a convenient arrangement for Adam.

When the two men are invited to Winterbourne Abbey for a family Christmas, matters quickly come to a head. Snowed in at the Abbey with a house full of guests, Lysander has to face up to shocking revelations, long-held secrets and a choice he never expected to have to make…

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | KOBO | Barnes & Noble

Volume #1 – Introducing Mr. Winterbourne – CURRENTLY FREE
Amazon US | Amazon UK

*****

Review:

While Mr. Winterbourne’s Christmas can technically stand on its own I really thing you need to read Intoducing Mr. Winterbourne to really enjoy the relationship between Lysander and Adam. It’s a novella but so it is a short read but makes up for it in content.

Lysander has his eyes opened to the elitist attitudes of his friends and family when he’s roped into taking Adam around town for a few days. As he’s taking a closer look at the people he’s known for years, he’s also getting a chance to get to know Adam better. Adam is also seeing below Lysander’s polished surface and finding someone he wants to get to know even better. If they can only trust each other …

The relationship between the two may have developed quickly – the entire story is one day – but it is well-written and believable. The connection between the two is portrayed very well, as is the fear of sharing their true selves. But while IMW is well-written, it is a little open-ended and leaves the reader with a few questions that are answered in MWC.

Mr. Winterbourne’s Christmas picks up a year and a half after IMW and I kinda wish we’d gotten to see those months. Chambers does a good job of conveying their connection, as well as their uncertainty of where the future is going and why they are hesitant to talk to each other about it. While Christmas with Lysander’s family doesn’t really do much to further deepen their relationship, it creates that moment of truth that main two need in order to settle in completely to their relationship. It also introduces other characters (& couples up a few of them) and lays the ground work for possible future stories.

While both MWC & IMW are sexy, they are just as much about the emotions between them. These two complement each other well, with Adam being staid & reserved and Lysander more playful & charming. But they also live in a world where they have to fear discovery and punishment, which I feel like Chambers kept in mind well as they struggled to find their way. With a satisfactory resolution here, I’m intrigued to see what Chambers has in mind next!

*****

Author Info:

Joanna Chambers always wanted to write. She spent over 20 years staring at blank sheets of paper and despairing of ever writing a single word. In between staring at blank sheets of paper, she studied law, met her husband and had two children. Whilst nursing her first child, she rediscovered her love of romance and found her muse. Joanna lives in Scotland with her family and finds time to write by eschewing sleep and popular culture.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

*****

Giveaway:

Backlist Ebook from Joanna Chambers

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3e0e9a43496/

*****

November 19 – Boulevard des Passions, My Fiction Nook, OMGReads

November 21 – Diverse Reader

November 23 – Mirrigold

November 26 – Romantic Reads & Such, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews

November 28 – Drops Of Ink, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, We Three Queens

November 30 – Kimmers Erotic Book Banter, Lillian Francis, BooksLaidBareBoys

Book Review – Tribute Act

22 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Book Review, Joanna Chambers, Tribute Act

Tribute Act

A Porthkennack Contemporary novel

by Joanna Chambers

Nathan Bridges hadn’t intended to settle down in his hometown of Porthkennack—he just ended up staying after saving the family business from ruin. The truth is, Nathan can’t stop himself from stepping in when problems arise. He’s a fixer, the man everyone turns to. But even fixers can’t solve everything.

When Nathan’s sister needs an organ transplant, it’s his stepbrother, Mack, who the family turns to as Rosie’s only potential living donor. Nathan’s curiosity about the stepbrother he’s never met turns to shock when he realises that Mack is his latest—and hottest ever—one-night stand.

Nathan and Mack agree to forget their single night together, but that’s easier said than done. When Mack moves in to Nathan’s place to recuperate after surgery, it’s not just the sexual tension between them that keeps growing. Against all the odds, and despite Mack’s wariness of intimacy, the two men grow close enough that Nathan begins to wonder what it would take to mend the rift that’s kept Mack and his father estranged for over a decade . . . and whether Mack might consider staying with Nathan in Porthkennack for good.

I just had a terrible time putting this book down – I felt so much for both Nathan and Mack. While Nathan had a good childhood, with a loving mother and father and later a supportive stepfather, his stepbrother wasn’t so lucky. But he turned out pretty good anyway because he’s willing to step up for a half-sister that he doesn’t know when she needs a liver and he’s a match. That doesn’t mean he’s forgiven his dad for his past … which makes things just all sorts of awkward. Especially with Nathan and Mack’s recent past.

Nathan is a fixer by nature and he’s pretty much given up his life to help run the family business. A night out to blow off some steam leads him to his only one-night-stand. And his inability to fix his sister puts him face-to-face with the same guy. In addition to be a fixer, Nathan is also pretty much a relationship only guy so having Mack around gives him a chance to get to know him better. And as his feelings grown and he finds out more about Mack’s past all he wants to do is make things right. Which means that Mack has to come to terms with what happened with his dad all those years ago.

Everything is from Nathan’s POV so we only get glimpses into what Mack is feeling but it’s enough to know how conflicted he is to be back. There’s so much family drama mixed in with the couple’s deepening relationship that they are going to have to work at it if they want to have a future. But that’s the ultimate question – does Mack have feelings for Nathan? Is he willing to give up his nomad ways and settle down? Can he find it in himself to talk to his dad and put the past behind him? It’s a lot but if they are willing to try it could lead to something amazing for them both.