Christmas on Candy Cane Lane by Sheila Roberts ~ Life in Icicle Falls #8 ~ REVIEW

Christmas on Candy Cane Lane
Life in Icicle Falls #8
  by Sheila Roberts

---

BLURB:

Everyone’s getting ready for Christmas in Icicle Falls, especially on Candy Cane Lane, where holiday decorating is taken very seriously. Tilda Morrison, town cop, is looking forward to celebrating Christmas in her first house…until she discovers that she’s expected to “keep up” with the neighbors, including Maddy Donaldson, the inspiration behind the whole extravaganza. But this year, someone’s destroying Maddie’s precious candy canes! Thank goodness for the cop in their neighborhood. 

Tilda already has her hands full trying to sort out her love life and fix up her fixer-upper. Oh, and won’t it be fun to have the family over for Christmas dinner? Not really… Then there’s her neighbor, Ivy Bohn. As a newly single mom, Ivy can sum up the holiday in two words: Bah, humbug. But she’s determined to give her kids a perfect Christmas. 

Despite family disasters, irritating ex-husbands and kitchen catastrophes, these three women are going to find out that Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Publisher: Mira (Harlequin)
Pages: 400
Genre: Women’s Fiction / Romance

Amazon Buy Link

---

Author Info:


Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. She’s happily married and has three children. She’s been writing since 1989, but she did lots of things before settling in to her writing career, including owning a singing telegram company and playing in a band. Her band days are over, but she still enjoys writing songs. Sheila’s books are best sellers and often appear as Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. Her novel “Angel Lane” was named one of Amazon’s top ten romances in 2009. Her novel “On Strike for Christmas” was a Lifetime Network movie and her novel “The Nine Lives of Christmas” is now a Hallmark movie, scheduled to air November 8th.

When she’s not speaking to women’s groups or at conferences or hanging out with her girlfriends she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate.

Visit Sheila Roberts Website | Facebook | Twitter | Blog

---

Review:

Christmas on Candy Cane Lane contains two of my very favorite things a Christmas story in a small town. I have enjoyed each and every visit I have had to Icicle Falls. Sheila Roberts has created a wonderful small town with unique stores, fun holiday festivities, and great characters that quickly became new friends. 

 Tilda Morrison is a police officer in the small town of Icicle Falls. This lady is strong, independent, loves her job and has that soft side hidden under the rough and tough exterior.  She doesn't think she wants anything to do with Devon Black even though he takes advantage of every opportunity that he can find to flirt with her.  

Devon Black has that bad boy image of being a playboy who tends to get into trouble a lot. However under that bad boy image just might be a gentleman with a heart of gold that is just way too go to pass over.  I really enjoyed watching this guy do his best to try to win over Tilda and maybe her heart too.

Maddy Donaldson is the Queen of Candy Cane Lady. Seriously this lady could give Mrs. Claus a run for her money in the Christmas cheer department. She wants everyone to have the best Christmas possible and to enjoy the festive neighborhood. However, her family is feeling a little left behind with all the Christmas Cheer. Ms. Roberts has done a great job of writing this family's story. She hits on some very real issues with teenage children and what the wrong influences can lead to. 

Ivy Bohn is spending her first Christmas with her two young children after her resent divorce. Poor Ivy has her hands full with two little kids that miss their Daddy and really just don't under where Daddy has gone. She also runs the family business the Christmas Haus.  Ivy is full of emotions and some are conflicting emotions. At first I would have gladly helped Ivy slap her husband for leaving her but he kind of grew on me as the story progressed. I won't tell you what happened. I'll let you read this great Christmas story to find out for yourself. 

With all the different personalities, problems in their lives, and totally different situations the ladies of Christmas Cane Lane have all come together in this great story to share their lives with us this Christmas. I for one loved visiting Candy Cane Lane and I can't wait for my next visit to Icicle Falls. 

I have found that each book in the Life in Icicle Falls series easily stands on it own. If you have read any of the previous books you might find a friend or two to catch up with. If this is your first visit to Icicle Falls you won't feel like you are missing any information that would decrease your pleasure of the story. Each visit to Icicle Falls is unique and doesn't leave you hanging. It may leave you anxious for your next visit though, I know it always does me. 

Sheila Roberts has done a fabulous job with these characters. I experienced bouts of joy, moments of sadness, and a few over anxious moments for a few of them. Overall I would highly recommend this story to small town romance fans that also LOVE Christmas stories like me.

I can't wait to see what Sheila Roberts has in store for us lucky readers for the next story in Icicle Falls. I will be anxious to see what she comes up with next. I know it will be great.

I was given the opportunity to read this great story so that I may share my thoughts with you. As always it has been my great pleasure to share my thoughts with you on Christmas on Candy Cane Lane. 

You may find my reviews on more of Sheila Roberts work here. 

Amazon Buy Link

---

Tour Schedule: 

Monday, November 2

Interview at PUYB Virtual Book Club

Tuesday, November 3

First Chapter Reveal at My Bookish Pleasures

Wednesday, November 4

Book Review at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Thursday, November 5

Book Review at A Chick Who Reads

Friday, November 6

Book Featured at What Is That Book About

Monday, November 9

Book Review at Reviews by Crystal

Tuesday, November 10

Book Review at Reading Reality

Wednesday, November 11

Book Review at Book by Book

Thursday, November 12

Book Review at A Simple Life, Really?!

Book Featured at Lisa’s Louisiana Home

Monday, November 16

Book Review at Laurie Here – Contemporary Fiction and More

Tuesday, November 17

Book Review at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Wednesday, November 18

Book Featured at CBY Book Club

Thursday, November 19

Book Review at 3 Partners in Shopping

Book Review at Moonlight Rendezvous

Monday, November 23

Book Review at Buzzing About Books

Tuesday, November 24

Book Review at Reviews From the Heart

Wednesday, November 25

Interview at Lori’s Reading Corner

The Cottage on Juniper Ridge by Sheila Roberts ~ Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour ~ Giveaway ~ Review

The Cottage on Juniper Ridge

by Sheila Roberts

Sheila will be awarding a $25 B & N gift card and an eCopy of The Cottage on Juniper Ridge to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Please be sure to leave a comment below along with your email address so you may be contacted if you are the lucky winner. To increase your chances of winning please visit the other tour stops. You may find those locations here.... http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/01/virtual-book-tour-cottage-on-juniper.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:


Can a book change your life? Yes, when it's Simplicity, Muriel Sterling's guide to plain living. In fact, it inspires Jen Heath to leave her stressful, overcommitted life in Seattle and move to Icicle Falls, where she rents a lovely little cottage on Juniper Ridge. And where she can enjoy simple pleasures—like joining the local book club—and complicated ones, like falling in love with her sexy landlord, Garrett Armstrong.

Her sister Toni is ready for a change, too. She has a teenage daughter who's constantly texting her friends, a husband who's more involved with his computer than he is with her, and a son who's consumed by video games. Toni wants her family to grow closer—to return to a simpler way of life.

Other women in town, like Stacy Thomas, are also inspired to unload their excess stuff and some of the extra responsibilities they've taken on.

But as they all discover, sometimes life simply happens. It doesn't always happen simply!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:

She and Bill Will chatted for a few minutes, mostly about him and how he was saving up to buy a place of his own. “Except I only got about a thousand in the bank,” he said with a shake of the head. “I need to find me a rich woman. Got any money, Jen?” he added with a smile.

“Yeah. Tons. Can’t you tell?”

“Aw, well. There’s more to life than money, right?” He set down his mug. “Let’s get started. I’m itchin’ to try out that machinery.”

She’d already marked off the area where she wanted the garden. “I figure I’ll put it over there,” she said, pointing to a sunny corner of the yard she’d marked off with string and some small yard stakes. 

“Okay,” he said with a nod.

She watched, feeling a tingle of excitement, as he let down the tailgate of his truck and pulled out the tiller. Home-grown lettuce and spinach and peas and carrots. This was going to be great.

Bill Will took the tiller over to the future home of Veggie Central, started it, and began to churn up the earth. She should plant sunflowers, too, she thought watching him.

She was so into her garden daydream that it took a minute for her to realize that the tilling had stopped. “I think we got a problem,” Bill Will called.

Had he hit a rock? She hurried over to where he was squatting in front of clumps of grass and sandy soil, examining what looked like some sort of network of pipes. “What’s that?” she asked. Whatever it was, something was wrong with it, she thought, looking at the water gurgling from several that had been severed.

He pushed back his hat and scratched his head. “Well, I’m no expert on stuff like this but if I had to guess I’d say that’s your drain field.”

“Drain field?”

“You know, your septic system. I think we just tore something up.”

A sick feeling landed in the pit of her stomach. “Can you fix it?”

He looked at the mess in front of him and shook his head. “If you need a horse broke or a fence mended I’m your man. This, well, you better call your landlord.”

The sick feeling swelled. “Oh,” Jen said weakly.

Bill Will straightened up. “Sorry to ruin your day Jen, but I don’t think we better till any more until you know where all your drain field is. You don’t want to do any more damage.”

She’d just done more damage ... to her tenant-landlord relationship. Oh, boy.

“You’d better call Armstrong right away,” Bill Will advised.

She could hardly wait. 

Her trepidation must have shown on her face because Bill Will threw an arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. “It’ll be okay. He’s a good guy. He’ll understand.”

Jen wasn’t so sure.

After finishing his shift at the fire station Garrett had gotten his groceries, stopped by his folks, and called his sister in Yakima. That checked everything off his to-do list. Timmy was with his mother – so far so good there – and the rest of the day was now all his. 

How to spend it? He could do some work on his place, go for a hike, camp out for a while at Bavarian Brews with his laptop and surf the Net. The possibilities were endless.

His cell phone rang. Oh God, please don’t let it be Ashley. 

It wasn’t. But seeing who was calling left him just as rattled as if it had been. An image of a short redhead with freckles danced before his eyes. Jen Heath, a.k.a. Lucy Ricardo the Second. What did she want? 

“Hello,” he said cautiously. Every time Jen called it meant trouble for him. Heck, just looking at her was trouble. Because he liked what he saw. And he couldn’t afford to, not if he wanted to stay sane. 

“Um, Garrett?”

Something in her tone of voice told him he was going to be sorry he’d taken her call. He answered warily. “Hi Jen. What’s up?”

“Well, I have a small problem.”


Great. Just great. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sheila Roberts is married and has three children. She lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. Her novels have appeared in Readers Digest Condensed books and have been published in several languages. Her holiday perennial, On Strike for Christmas, was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network and her her novel The Nine Lives of Christmas has been optioned for film. When she’s not writing songs, hanging out with her girlfriends or trying to beat her husband at tennis, she can be found writing about those things dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate.

Readers can find me on:

http://www.sheilasplace.com

Facebook: Author Sheila Roberts

Twitter:_Sheila_Roberts

Buy link for Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FBZKZIG/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B00FBZKZIG&link_code=as3&tag=revibycrys-20

Buy link for B & N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cottage-on-juniper-ridge-sheila-roberts/1116240410?ean=9780778314547

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review: 


I was so excited when I received the opportunity to read and review this book as part of this blog tour. I have read other books in the 

Life in Icicle Falls series and really enjoyed them. The Cottage on Juniper Ridge was just as an enjoyable read as the rest of the series.

I loved the concept that everyone is trying to simplify their life after reading a book by Muriel Sterling. Jen Heath  is so darn busy trying to make a living that she is not living her life. She's tried of always working and not enjoying life. She makes a big change and moves from the city to the small town of Icicle Falls. She meets up with the ladies from the book club that have also read Muriel Sterling's book. They end up inviting Jen to their group and including her in the ring of friendship, which I found to be really sweet and one of the things I always enjoy about the small town series. 

Jen's landlord is the very handsome but some what cranky, Garrett Armstrong. There is certainly a connection between these two but Garrett fights his attraction to Jen. I really enjoyed watching these two get to know each other and their little humorous exchanges along the way. At times they rubbed each other the wrong way which caused some tension but I found humorous at times. 

As some of you know one of the things I love about series books is catching up with friends I have read about in previous books. Shelia Roberts has once again done a good job of catching up us up with some old friends from her previous books in this series. 

Over all I really enjoyed this story. I must say that it gave me a few points to think about and I think other readers will find the same thing. Not only is there a strong point to make about life in general, there is some nice romance, strong friendship relationships, and just a really nice story. If you have read the books in this series I think you will enjoy this one. If you have not read the previous books in the series I don't think you would have a hard time reading this as a stand alone book. 

I know I always enjoy Sheila Robert's books and I will be looking forward to what ever she has in store for us next.

I was given the opportunity to read and review this book as part of this blog too. As always it has been my pleasure to share my thoughts with you on The Cottage on Juniper Ridge.