Review: Holiday Star by Melissa Dymond*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: Holiday Star
Author: Melissa Dymond
Genre: Holiday Romance

Trigger warnings:  Death Of A Parent, Alcoholism, Car Accident

Rating: ★★★★

One doctor. One movie star. One house. One month until Christmas. What could go wrong?

Dr. Gwen Wright is having a not-so-merry Christmas. For the month of December, she’s alone, house-sitting for her mother and new stepfather.

Her surgically precise world gets a plot twist when Caleb Lawson—world-famous movie star on the run from the paparazzi and his secrets—crash lands in her kitchen.

Besides being a Hollywood heartthrob, Caleb is also her stepdad’s nephew. He thinks he has as much right to stay in the house as she does, but as far as Gwen’s concerned, she’s the landlord and he’s the squatter.

The more they are forced to share the small space, the more Gwen is drawn to the moody celebrity. Sure, sometimes he can be a Grinch, but when Caleb finally touches Gwen, it makes her jingle bells ring.

But the future looms like a foggy Christmas Eve. With no red-nosed reindeer to guide them, can Gwen and Caleb overcome their differences? After all, she’s ordinary, and he’s… a star.

Holiday Star is a forced proximity celebrity romance set at Christmas from author Melissa Dymond. It was an easy page-turning heartwarming read which I just sank into. It reminds me of a grown-up version of the early 2010s Disney movie Starstruck which provided a lovely bit of nostalgia for me as someone who was in my early teens when it came out.

Caleb is a totally swoon-worthy MMC. I’m not surprised he swept Gwen off her feet because he did the same to me. Gwen and Caleb had undeniable chemistry which was really well written and there was witty banter between the two of them. The spicy scenes were well-written and HOT. The build up to their relationship was also well-written and it was a joy to slowly see them start to fall for each other as Gwen gets to know Caleb and see the man behind the celebrity persona. Gwen was a wonderful protagonist who was so likeable and we love a woman in STEM! We also have some fantastic supporting characters and I particularly loved Alvina, Gwen’s friend.

Holiday Star has been published in two variations: one spicy open-door version and one clean closed-door version. I read the spicy edition which contains graphic sex scenes and explicit language but the clean version contains only kissing and no explicit language. I love Melissa Dymond’s commitment to making her books accessible to all readers in this way and personally think we should see more of this in the world of romance novels so that every reader is comfortable.

The book does also tackle some difficult subjects very well. We have good mental health representation through Gwen’s experience of panic attacks. There is also a good portrayal of Caleb’s alcoholism and the treatment he receives.

My one potential criticism is how much of the novel takes place after the festive period as, for a book marketed as a holiday read, I just needed a bit more Christmas spirit. Whilst the first half of the novel is set around the holidays and we have a brief closing chapter set at Christmas the following year, the majority of the second half of the book is set outside of the festive months. Whilst I recognise the importance the non-holiday chapters played within the progression of the story, it would have been nicer for the second set of Christmas scenes to have been that bit longer so we could pack more festive magic into the book and really sandwich the novel with holiday scenes.

Holiday Star is a heartwarming, fun modern romance which is the perfect easy festive read for fans of celebrity romance novels or the forced proximity trope. 

Review: One Sweet Holiday by Lucy Day*

 *I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: One Sweet Holiday
Author: Lucy Day
Genre: Holiday Romance

Trigger warnings:  Death of a Family Member, Emotional Abuse

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (Closed Door) 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…unless you’re me.

Hold the hayrides, keep your cocoa, and don’t put me within a country mile of mistletoe. This year, Christmas means chaos. My sister’s getting married and I—Gwen Griffin, perfectionist extraordinaire—will make sure her wedding is flawless. That includes doing the impossible: finding myself a wedding date. But in my tiny hometown of Jasmine Falls, South Carolina, I’ll have better luck winning the lottery.

I may be awesome at running my cafe, but I’m terrible at men. And after my last epic breakup, everyone in town knows it. That’s why I need a plus-one—even a fake one—so that when my sister gets married, everyone’s attention is on her, where it belongs.

The guy next door is perfect for the job. Gorgeous and charming, Logan Fyfe is only here for a few weeks. He’s also a hot Scottish bazillionaire who’s totally out of my league—so my risk of falling into a relationship with him? Less than zero.

Pretending to date Logan is the perfect plan—until it isn’t. Beneath his devilish smirk and delicious brogue is a big-hearted man who makes me feel the one thing I never believed to be true—that I’m enough, just the way I am.

With the wedding approaching, there’s nothing fake about my feelings anymore. When he slips his arm around my waist and whispers into my ear? Yeah, I’m a goner.

We may be worlds apart, but I’m done pretending. It’s time to get real…even if it means risking my heart. 

One Sweet Holiday is a new cute small-town festive romance novel from author Lucy Day. It’s the latest instalment in her Jasmine Falls Love Stories series but each book can be read as a standalone and has a guaranteed happily ever after. This was my first festive read of 2023 and boy has it got me in the Christmas spirit!

Our story is told through a dual POV and this worked so well in the story. I loved seeing instant attraction experienced by both Gwen and Logan and explored in their respective chapters. I also loved the banter between the two of them. The forced proximity was explored in a different way to the typical bed/room/house sharing that you might typically see through Logan moving next door to Gwen and this really made the story feel more realistic.

One of the things that I think sets One Sweet Holiday apart from other romance novels is the fact that the characters aren’t who you might typically see in this genre. Both protagonists are in their 30s and this makes their relationship feel so much more mature. On top of this, Gwen was the curvy queen that I’ve always wanted in a festive romance protagonist. I loved that the book celebrated body positivity by acknowledging her size and it being one of the things that attracted Logan to her. The way Logan talked about her curves and meeting her for the first time just made me melt.

If you are after male romantic interest who is the definition of swoon-worthy and will make you fall in love with him instantly, look no further than Logan Fyfe. He is a complete gentleman who is so respectful of Gwen and it was amazing to read. At one point in the story I worried that the miscommunication trope I have a vengeance against would rear it’s ugly head but Logan being the mature man he was any chance of this was eliminated immediately. I loved how supportive Logan was of Gwen, he had an absolute heart of gold.

The book also provided an unexpected but really interesting commentary on mental wellbeing and avoiding burnout which is so relevant to so many adult readers. The bakery setting added a really different angle to the story and we love a female entrepreneur who gives off total girl boss vibes! The family drama for both characters was also really interesting and it was great to be able to see how they tackle it as couple who are still in the early stages of a relationship.

One of the things that did take away from this being a 5* read for me was that the ending felt rushed. I felt that Gwen and Logan were owed a little more depth to their happy ending so this was a shame. I would like to be able to return to their story, ideally in a sequel but even just briefly as passing minor characters in a later book set in Jasmine Falls just to check in with them and see where they’ve ended up.

I will also say that the fake dating trope felt misplaced within this story. There was instant attraction and a blossoming relationship so having them fake dating for the sake of appeasing Gwen’s mother, who (potential spoiler alert) wasn’t appeased by it anyway, felt like an unnecessary way to add in an additional trope. I think the story was enough on it’s own as a small-town forced-proximity instant-attraction story. It’s also interesting that the book is marketed as an opposites-attract story when I found that Gwen and Logan were actually pretty similar apart from being from different countries. But this is more of an issue with the marketing rather than the story itself so it hasn’t impacted on the star rating for me.

This is a closed-door romance and whilst I fully respect that and recognise that not everyone wants spice in their romance novels, I do wish we’d been given a little bit more and had even just the indication that sex had taken place. Instead, it was very much completely glossed over aside from some passionate kissing and this felt unrealistic.

These things aside, I still absolutely loved the story and it was the perfect Hallmark-movie style romance to get me in the festive spirit. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants an easy christmassy read, packed full of sweet moments, witty banter and relatable characters.

One Sweet Holiday will be published on 6th November 2023.

Review: The Midwife Of Berlin by Anna Stuart*

 *I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: The Midwife of Berlin
Author: Anna Stuart
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  War, Antisemitism, Rape, Suicide, Guns, Domestic Violence, Forced Adoption/Women Forced To Give Up Their Children

Rating: ★★★★★

Auschwitz, 1943: I stroke my beautiful baby’s hair. It’s a miracle it’s blonde because it will keep her alive, it will keep her safe. Soon they will come and take Pippa out of Auschwitz-Birkenau – and out of my arms. But while there’s life, there’s hope I might find my daughter again…

An incredible story of one woman’s courage and determination to reunite her family in the aftermath of surviving Auschwitz.

1945, Berlin: Ester Pasternak walked out of the gates of Auschwitz barely alive. She survived against devastating odds, but her heartbreaking journey is only just beginning. In the camp, Ester gave birth to a tiny fair-haired infant, only for her precious baby to be snatched from her and taken to a German family. Now the war is over, Ester longs to find her little girl.

But Europe is in chaos, Jewish families have been torn apart and everyone is desperately searching for their loved ones. In every orphanage and hospital she visits, Ester searches the faces of tear-stained toddlers; each mop of blonde hair and pair of blue eyes she sees sets her heart racing…

But as the months and the years tick by, the possibility of finding her daughter shrinks smaller and smaller. And Ester starts to wonder if little Pippa is even safe, or whether the miracle that saved her has now put her in even more danger?

Will Ester ever be able to find the child whose tattoo matches her own? Or is she already too late…

The Midwife Of Berlin is the latest powerful page-turning novel from historical fiction author Anna Stuart. It’s a heartbreaking story primarily set in 1961 Berlin, the year the Berlin Wall was constructed, with occasional flashbacks to Auschwitz in 1943 and Berlin in 1950. Anna Stuart’s engaging writing style made the setting come alive on the page and I was utterly hooked from prologue to epilogue.  

I did start reading the book without realising it was the sequel to The Midwife of Auschwitz, a book which has been on my TBR list for a while. But I was surprised with how well easy the story was to follow despite this, and this is credit to Anna Stuart’s incredible writing ability, so I continued reading and I would say that the book does largely work as a standalone story. It has made me excited to read The Midwife of Auschwitz though to gain a more in-depth understanding of Ester’s wartime story.

Something which stood out from even the early chapters of The Midwife of Berlin was how clearly meticulously researched the history was and how history was just seamlessly woven into the story. With every historical fiction novel I read I start a list of interesting historical events and ideas featured in the story which I would like to research and educate myself further on. And there was so much packed into this one book that my list became quite extensive. Alongside the primary focus on Holocaust-survivors trying to reunite with the children who had been taken from them and adopted into Nazi Germany, the books provided an interesting insight into life on either side of the wall. Through Olivia’s story we get an insight into the decades-long athlete doping programme that existed in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and it was fascinating to read this from the perspective of one of the athletes themselves. Another really interesting aspect of the story was the exploration of East German/socialist attitudes to sex and relationships being more relaxed than in traditional Western relationships.

I really appreciated the choice of when to set the story as it meant that we were able to explore life in both East and West Berlin before the construction of the wall, on the day it went up, in the months and years following the construction and also in the aftermath of the fall of the wall. Typically fiction books I’ve read surrounding the Berlin Wall have been set at some point during the 28 years the wall stood so to get the full breadth of the wall’s history from a single story was fantastic. The history-geek in me particularly loved the use of dates are the beginning of each chapter which allowed us to track the build up to the construction of the Berlin Wall.

The Midwife of Berlin has an ensemble of wonderful characters who were all written with such depth to their characters. Olivia and Kirsten were both fantastically written realistic teenagers and it was fantastic to see their character development throughout the novel from naïve teenagers to mature self-aware young women. Their romantic relationships with their respective partners were also wonderfully written and I also loved the strong sibling bond between Olivia and her brother Uli that withstands the revelations in the story. Although the majority of the characters are fictional, we also had a powerful portrayal of the heroic actions of Dieter Wohlfahrt, a real person who worked with other students to get people out of East Berlin.

This is a hard-hitting story with potentially triggering content including rape and women forced to give their children up for adoption. I have provided a full list of content warnings at the beginning of this review. Although these topics are hard-hitting, I found them all to be explored in powerful ways which did justice to the real European women who experienced these horrific acts in the 1940s and the lifelong trauma they experienced as a result.  

Overall, The Midwife Of Berlin is a really powerful piece of historical fiction and has been one of my standout historical fiction books of 2023. It is a story I will truly never forget and one I’ve been recommending to anyone who will listen. 

Review: The Girl From The Resistance by Imogen Matthews*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: The Girl From The Resistance
Author: Imogen Matthews
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  War, Antisemitism, Guns, Parent Alcoholism

Rating: ★★★

1941, Nazi-occupied Holland. Trudi can hear the muffled sobs of two heartbroken little girls as they peer wide-eyed from their hiding place behind the bookcase. Rosy and Louisa’s parents have been dragged away by soldiers. Now Trudi is the only one who can keep them safe…

When Nazis break down the front door of eighteen-year-old Trudi’s home and seize the Jewish couple hiding in her attic, she’s devastated, and is suddenly solely responsible for their two innocent children. The whispered rumours about the resistance are her only hope. A man called Frans and his cousin Piet risk their lives every day, helping scared and abandoned Jewish children escape into the countryside. Under the cover of night she races to beg for their help.

When the girls are offered a safe house, Trudi is relieved. But with soldiers on every corner of the cobbled streets, getting there will be extremely dangerous… she must dress up in a German nurse’s uniform and convince anyone who asks that she is transporting two children to hospital.

Trudi will have to give up everything to protect Rosy and Louisa. She will have to lie to her friends and family, and learn to fire a weapon that could take someone’s life. The only consolation is Piet’s dark eyes and handsome face as he stands beside her helping to plan her next steps.

But Trudi suspects someone close to her told the Nazis about the hiding place in the attic, and they’ll stop at nothing to make sure the girls do not escape…

The Girl From The Resistance is the first instalment of the new ‘The Dutch Girls’ series from author Imogen Matthews. It is an inspiring story about the bravery of the Dutch resistance putting their lives at risk to help others escape Nazi persecution.

The narrative follows Trudi as she joins the resistance and starts to complete a range of different jobs for them. Some of the chapters were slower paced as Trudi takes on some of the more day-to-day resistance work such as messenger work but I enjoyed this aspect as it showcased how important even the more mundane and less risky tasks were to contributing to the resistance efforts. The second half of the novel is more fast-paced and action-packed and had me on the edge of my seat. The story flowed well overall and it was an easy read, easy to finish in just a single sitting.

I was excited to see that this was the start of a new series and would be interested to see if the books would be standalone stories or if we’d see a return to the stories of Trudi or one of the other characters featured in The Girl From The Resistance. I’d be particularly keen to return to Rosy and Louisa’s story as they were fantastic characters.

I did struggle to warm to Trudi as a protagonist which was a shame. Her naivety and willingness to divulge the secrets of her resistance work to people she had only just met and didn’t know if she could trust was frustrating to say the least. We did see good character development from her however as she completed more work for the resistance and grew in confidence and maturity.

My overall feeling is that the story would have been stronger if everything had been explored in more depth. We’re introduced to many characters but find out very little about them. For example, Piet, who plays a large role in the plot, is introduced and it’s clear that Trudi has an initial attraction to him but we’re not given any context as to why as we learn very little about him.

Overall, The Girl From The Resistance is an enjoyable and easy to read historical fiction novel and the start of a potentially exciting new series. The Dutch resistance is a fascinating aspect of World War Two history and I look forward to seeing where Imogen Matthews takes the rest of her series.

Review: The Girl Who Escaped by Angela Petch*

 *I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: The Girl Who Escaped
Author: Angela Petch
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  War, Antisemitism, Guns, Suicide, Torture, Murder

Rating: ★★★★

Italy, 1940. The girl sobs and rages as her father tells her the terrible news. “Italy is entering the war alongside Germany. Jews are to be arrested and sent to camps. We have to be ready.”

As fascists march across the cobbled piazzas and past the towered buildings of her beloved home city, twenty-year-old Devora’s worst fears come true. Along with her Jewish parents and twin little brothers they are torn away from everything they love and sent to an internment camp huddled in the mountains. Her father promises this war will not last long…

When they are offered a miraculous chance of escape by her childhood friend Luigi, who risks everything to smuggle vital information into the camp, the family clambers under barbed wire and races for the border. But Devora is forced to make a devastating choice between saving a stranger’s life and joining her parents. As shots fire in the moonless night, the family is separated.

Haunted by the question of whether they are dead or alive, all Devora can do for their future is throw herself into helping Luigi in the Italian resistenza in the fight for liberty. But posing as a maid for a German commander to gather secret intelligence, Devora is sure she sees her friend one night, in a Nazi uniform…

Is Devora in more danger than ever? And will her family ever be reunited – or will the war tear them apart?

The Girl Who Escaped is the latest captivating historical fiction novel from author Angela Petch. It is an emotional roller-coaster of a story which takes the reader through a journey from truly heartbreaking moments to more heartwarming moments and I was hooked from the very first page.

I have to applaud Angela Petch for how well she has clearly researched this story. It meant that the history just seeped through the page. I particularly enjoyed the use of Italian phrases where appropriate throughout the narrative as this really supported the story to feel authentic to the setting.

We have a really strong courageous female protagonist in Devora. Her character growth throughout the progression of the story, based on her wartime experiences, was extremely well written. I also found the exploration of Devora’s questioning of her faith to be a really interesting aspect of the story. We are also given a few chapters from her childhood friend Enrico’s perspective and, whilst it did add an interesting angle to the story, I found him to be a thoroughly unlikeable character which made Devora’s infatuation with him very hard to understand. On the other side of the likeability scale was another childhood friend Luigi who was a wonderfully written character I fell in love with almost instantly. I loved the chapters exploring his story and found them to compliment the chapters focusing on Devora’s story well. The resistance work Luigi did through his government job registering births and deaths and falsifying records to protect people was absolutely fascinating so it made it amazing to read that this character was inspired by the grandfather of the author’s husband and his courageous actions as a partisan during the war.  I would have liked to have seen a little more exploration of Sabrina’s character and experiences. The prologue sets up the story about the four teenagers and whilst we learn lots about Devora, Luigi and Enrico, we see very little from Sabrina and I do think this was a shame as the choices she made during the German occupation could have added an interesting angle to the story if explored in further depth.

The narrative also features a large collection of characters in minor supporting roles, such as those living in the internment camp with Devora, the partisans and other Italians supporting the resistance effort. Angela Petch has a magical and rare ability to craft these supporting characters in a way which gives such depth to their characters and makes them come alive on the page, even those who play minor roles in the overall plot.

Two supporting characters whose story was particularly interesting was Anna Maria and the German soldier she befriends. Whilst avoiding spoilers, I would have liked their story to have been explored in a little more depth.

The Girl Who Escaped pays wonderful homage to the Italians who were so courageous during the Second World War, saving the lives of so many Jewish Italians. As noted in the Author’s Note, approximately 80% of Jews in Italy survived the war whereas 80% of Jews in the rest of occupied Europe were murdered. Despite being an avid World War Two historical fiction reader with a real passion for wartime history, this was something I previously wasn’t aware of and it was truly fascinating.

Overall, The Girl Who Escaped is a really powerful piece of historical fiction which I would highly recommend for fans of historical fiction set during the Second World War. This was my first time reading anything by Angela Petch but it was an incredible introduction to her work and I can’t wait to read more from her.