Hometown Holiday Reunion (Oaks Crossing #3) by Mia Ross ~ Review

Title: Hometown Holiday Reunion (Oaks Crossing #3)

Author: Mia Ross
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Inspirational
Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4
Heat Rating: 1
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Falling for the Girl Next Door

Returning home to take care of his ailing mother, Cam Stewart reunites with his best friend's little sister. And while Erin Kinley is still a firecracker, she's grown from an annoying tagalong to a beautiful woman and devoted foster mom. She and Cam still drive each other crazy…until Erin turns to Cam for comfort during a stressful adoption process. Cam's fractured family had him convinced he'd never be a dad, but suddenly he's considering two things he never thought he would: having a family and staying in Oaks Crossing. Could Erin and her son be everything he's longed for?

Another great story from Mia Ross - she is the ultimate queen of Contemporary Inspirational Romance. Returning to Oaks Crossing to visit the girl of the Kinley family, Erin is setting off on her own to set up a new pet shot in town. When she goes to see the space she might be buying she's surprised to find out it's owned by Cam (he's equally surprised). They haven't really seen much of each other since they tormented each other in school.

But life has changed both of them, although it does take them a little bit of time to realize this, but old impressions can be hard to change. Gradually, their lives begin to intertwine more and more. The best thing about Mia Ross's romances, is that I could see them happening to anyone, anywhere. The couples come together so naturally that that you just sit back and enjoy a very pleasurable ride.

Now, things aren't all sun and roses. Every relationship will have its bumps, misunderstandings, and differences. Those are all present as Cam and Erin discover their new feelings for each other and learn their way with each other.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo 

Oaks Crossing

Her Small Town Cowboy #1

Rescued by the Farmer #2

Rescued by the Farmer by Mia Ross

Title: Rescued by the Farmer (Oaks Crossing #2)
Author: Mia Ross
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Inspirational
Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired
Release Date: June 21, 2016
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4
Heat Rating: 1
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Searching for a safe haven in the Kentucky hills, city girl Bekah Holloway encounters the unexpected—a handsome country boy who offers her help. Drew Kinley gives her a job working with wounded animals, but on the run from an abusive boyfriend, Bekah needs more than employment. She needs a hero. Instinct tells Drew he's the perfect man for the skittish beauty. But he's spent a lifetime saving his family farm and now it's his turn to see the world outside of Oaks Crossing. As Bekah finds her forever home, will Drew leave…or stay and embrace a future together?

I love Mia Ross's inspirational small town series. They match couples up beautifully, and I really get to see their relationship bloom and grow into something more. The Kinley family and the town of Oaks Crossing star in her newest series, and I've already fallen in love with all of them.

In Rescue by the Farmer, she hits a soft spot for me with animal rescue. And she does it right. She shows the struggle the small rescue facility faces with finding the right personnel, funding, and pormotions to keep the place running. It seems like a gift from God when Bekah lands in their world.

But Bekah is a rescue case in her own way. Running from a past (that I wish we had seen a little more details on), she finds herself welcomed and sheltered by the Kinley family and the small town around her. But she's afraid that she'll be forced to move on and have to give it all up - everything she cares about - all over again.

This may sound like quite the dramatic story, but it's much more simple. This is just the backdrop to two people falling in love, learning to trust again, and finding their own path into the future. Another winner from Mia Ross.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

Oaks Crossing

Her Small Town Cowboy #1

Her Small-Town Cowboy by Mia Ross ~ Review

Title: Her Small-Town Cowboy (Oaks Crossing #1)

Author: Mia Ross
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Inspirational Romance
Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired
Release Date: December 15, 2015
Source: Self-Purchased
Rating: 3
Heat Rating: 1
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Lily St. George dreams of marriage and a family of her own. But as a temporary kindergarten teacher, she can't get too attached to anyone in Oaks Crossing. When a student brings in her single father for show-and-tell, Lily is drawn to charming cowboy Mike Kinley. Working overtime to save his struggling horse farm, Mike claims to have no room in his life for love. But when they team up to start a riding school for children at his ranch, Lily knows she'll have to help Mike see their partnership is meant to be permanent.

Mia Ross is the queen of small town inspirational romances for me. I love her characters and her places. Her Small-Town Cowboy definitely delivered on the fun characters, but it fell just a tad short on the small town itself. Lily and Mike meet in a very unexpected way. It had me chuckling to see them interact for the first time - and what they both thought was the only time.

Both are surpised to find each other again when she begins to substitute teach for his daughter. His daugher was such a charmer. She was everything I could have wanted from her character. The perfect little mix of mischievousness and sweetheart. And she's determined to keep Lily in her life somehow.

Now this isn't a case of a little girl getting two people to fall in love. What I liked best was that she was just one of the forces pulling Lily and Mike together. There were so many more, and was mixed very well. But....yes, the dreaded but....the town just didn't shine in a way that I've come to expect from Mia Ross. The other people in the town were fun, especially the school kids, but I wanted to see more of the places and sights.

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iBooks

Finding His Way Home by Mia Ross - Review

Title: Finding His Way Home (Barrett's Mill #3)
Author: Mia Ross
Source: Self-Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Inspirational
Length: Novel
Release Date: February 17. 2015
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 1

Prodigal son Scott Barrett is back home in Barrett's Mill with plans to atone for his
past mistakes and restore his future. But the quiet Virginia village feels like a different place since his return. The old cottage and chapel are crying out for repair--much like Scott himself. Luckily, sensitive artist Jenna Reed offers to help. Jenna sees Scott without judgment, though she reveals little about her own troubled past. As they work together to renovate the chapel, Scott begins to earn her trust, and soon he's envisioning life with the beautiful Jenna. Can the love of a good woman finally make him whole?

Mia Ross is my go to for sweet romances with some amazing characters and lots of emotion. She wraps up her Barrett's Mill series with a wonderful pair that you just fall in love with. I'd liked Jenna from the moment I met her in a previous book. She is the epitome of the wandering artist without a care in the world. Her carefree spirit was contagious, but she was still grounded enough to appreciate the community around her.

Scott has a record in his past, quite literally. He's on parole and being stuck in his small home town where everyone knows everything is very difficult. He finds there are two groups of people - those that want to give him a chance to prove himself, and those that judge him and want nothing to do with him. As he isolates himself at his grandfather's "homestead", using his time to fix the place up, Jenna was exactly what he needed in his life.

Watching the two of them bring out parts in each other that no one realizes were even there was so much fun. While there is a hint at religion here and there - do not let that scare you away from this series or from Mia Ross. There's no hitting you over the head with a bible in this one, just a sweet romance in a small town.

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

 More Posts About Mia Ross

Jasmyn's review of Blue Ridge Reunion (Barrett's Mill #1)

Jasmyn's review of Sugar Plum Season (Barrett's Mill #2)

Jasmyn's review of Rocky Coast Romance (Holiday Harbor #1)
Jasmyn's review of Jingle Bell Romance (Holiday Harbor #2)
Jasmyn's review of Seaside Romance (Holiday Harbor #3)

Review: Jingle Bell Romance (Holiday Harbor #2) by Mia Ross

Title: Jingle Bell Romance (Holiday Harbor #2)
Author: Mia Ross
Source: Self-Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Inspirational, Christmas
Release Date: November 19, 2013
Length: Novel
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 1

INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE

Book 2-Holiday Harbor: Where love is just around the bend...

Julia Stanton loves Christmas--almost as much as she loves the home she's made in Holiday Harbor. So when her beloved pastor's prodigal son returns for a brief visit, she hatches a plan to keep Nick McHenry in town. Growing up as an ambassador's daughter, she's charmed countless dignitaries and surely she can get the brooding bachelor to see how much joy there is in a family-filled holiday. Julia never expects to feel the spark of something more for Nick. But it will take more than attraction to turn this handsome scrooge into her hometown hero.

Book One: Rocky Coast Romance - Review
Book Three: Seaside Romance - Review 

Holiday Harbor is an amazing small town.  It's everything people expect from one - close friends and nosy neighbors, a tight knit community that never forgets - whether it was a good thing you did or a bad.  Unfortunately for the pastor's long lost son, Nick McHenry, a lot of it is bad.  But Julia is new, she wasn't there for his history and she just may be one of the first ones to give him a chance.

The Holiday Harbor series is a clean romance, what many would consider inspirational.  The other two books in the series have Christian overtone, but this book was very much a Christian romance.  Perhaps it's because the pastor's family is a main role in the story.  God was a much larger presence in this book than in the others, and my personal preference is for him to a bit more discreet in these type of books.

I did love seeing Julia Stanton's history of how she ended up in Holiday Harbor.  She is such a sweet and intelligent person, it's hard to imagine anyone not loving her from the second they met.  Nich was just enough bad boy without being a really "bad boy" to set her personality off just right.

The think I like most about this series is how the story concentrates so much on their relationship.  As clean romances we don't get more than a few chaste kisses and some hand holding, so there is a lot going on emotionally.  And it's not only between our two main characters, you can see it in everyone around them as well - slight changes in behavior and attitude as the story progresses.  It's my favorite thing about this series - watching the entire town grow and change.

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

ARC Review: Sugar Plum Season (Barrett's Mill #2)

Title: Sugar Plum Season (Barrett's Mill #2)
Author: Mia Ross
Source: GoodReads
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas, Inspirational Romance,
Length: Novel
Release Date: November 18, 2014

Rating - 3
Sexual - 1

INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE

Book 2-Barrett's Mill: In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a family legacy leads to love.

Amy Morgan is determined not to let her injury affect her love for dance. Moving to the tiny town of Barrett's Mill, she takes over her aunt's dance studio and begins to organize a children's Christmas ballet recital. She just needs a little help from handsome lumberjack Jason Barrett. Charming and an all-around good guy, Jason volunteers to build the stage sets. Working together with the pretty ballerina forges a connection he never expected. But is Amy really ready to leave the limelight behind? It'll take a few dancing candy canes--and a whole lot of faith--to bring them together in joy and love.

We briefly meet Amy and Jason in book one of Barrett's Mill, but we don't learn very much about them.  Jason is the brother to the new owner of the mill and has been instrumental in its new found resurrection and success.  He is a good hearted, hard working, down to earth type of man that thinks he has life figured out.  And for the most part he does.  He stays pretty steady throughout the story in a very good way, with only small changes and developments to his character.

Amy on the other hand, has a lot going on in her life and she tends to dwell on it a bit much.  Her past accident is a central focus and one of the primary conflicts in the story, but Amy as a character just seemed to wallow in her grief over it a little too much.  At one point in time a side character even mentions this, and I was so glad they did.  This conversation jump started Amy's change and I adored her every step of the way - just not her beginning self.

The story is a slow moving and relaxing one - the kind I love to enjoy once in awhile, especially around Christmas time.  There is a hint of drama here and there, but again, it seems that Amy is the one to continue to bring it up and make a big deal of it.  The rest of the town is so much more laid back that her attitude really stood out.  In the end I loved who she was and was happy with her decisions.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble 

More Posts About Mia Ross

Review by Jasmyn: Blue Ridge Reunion (Barrett's Mill #1)

Review by Jasmyn: Seaside Romance

Review by Jasmyn: Rocky Coast Romance

Review: Blue Ridge Reunion (Barrett's Mill #1) by Mia Ross

Title: Blue Ridge Reunion (Barrett's Mill #1)
Author: Mia Ross
Source: Self-Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Inspirational
Length: Novel
Release Date: July 15, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 1

Book 1-Barrett's Mill: In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a family legacy leads
to love.

Chelsea Barnes never expected to see her high school rival, golden boy Paul Barrett, again. But when Paul applies for a loan to renovate his family's historic mill, it's Chelsea who the bank sends to her tiny hometown to assess the property—and Paul. It's her chance to prove herself to her boss, and Chelsea won't let Paul stand in her way. Paul would do anything to restore the mill for his ailing grandfather. Even allow the lovely Chelsea to help. Together, they just might build something beautiful…a happily-ever-after.

 I love Mia Ross's writing style.  It just makes the whole story sound so very real.  Her characters seem like someone I could walk down the street and run into on any given day.  Chelsea and Paul were bitter rivals to see who could be number one in high school and now that they are thrown together again, their rivalry may be renewed.  They have very different ways of approaching problems and finding solutions.   Listening to them bicker was very amusing and you could tell the whole town expected it of them.

But once they move beyond the bickering stage and realize that they each have a skill set, that while very different from each other, works very well together.  Soon they become closer than they ever have before, but parts of their past and their dreams may stand in the way of them having a future together.

The city of Barrett's Mill was almost a character unto itself - with each citizen playing a vital role in its overall personality.  I love when a place takes on such a presence in a story.  I loved all the people and how they seemed to be working together towards goals even if they didn't realize it.

Mia Ross has a great way of writing inspirational romance.  It is very subtle and if you aren't paying attention you may miss it and consider them just a clean romance.  I think that this is the best way to show the mysterious ways faith can impact a person's life.

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

More Reviews for Mia Ross
Jasmyn's Review of Rock Coast Romance (Holiday Harbor #1)
Jasmyn's Review of Seaside Romance (Holiday Harbor #3)

Review: Seaside Romance by Mia Ross

Title: Seaside Romance (Holiday Harbor #3)

Author: Mia Ross
Source: FirstReads
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Inspirational
Length: Novel
Release Date: February 18, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 1

INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE

Book 3-Holiday Harbor: Where love is just around the bend...

Running away from her troubled city life, Lauren Foster never thought she'd find herself in small-town Maine. But Holiday Harbor is everything she's looking for. The townspeople are welcoming, her job at her friend's toy store is going well and, most important, she's safe. Meeting contractor Ben Thomas soon changes all that. With his good looks, easygoing nature and kind heart, he's turning her peaceful new life upside down. She's quickly falling for the local hero, but when her past catches up to her present, is she willing to face her fears for the future she's always dreamed of?

Book One Review:  Rocky Coast Romance

They say that once you visit Holiday Harbor you never want to leave.  Well, I can say that I might leave, but I will definitely want to come back.  This series has been the perfect vacation book for me (not in the sense that I'm on vacation).  When I need a break from the booding males, the flirty females, and all the super hot sex scenes - this series is becoming my break.  (Book two is a christmas one so I'll probably read that closer to the holiday).

This book in the series was ever so slightly more preachy than the first, but it's still very subtle and not hitting you over the head with a bible.  Lauren is a little fragile when she shows up in the small village looking for a place to find herself and figure out a new path in life.  Ben is the perfect "good boy" to make make her feel comfortable and relax again for the first time in a long time.

Their relationship unfolds over a length of time very naturally - I think that is one of the things I like best about this series so far.  It's real life.  They have a handful of communication break downs.  They both have some baggage to deal with, but when you get down to it, it's two nice people falling in love.  It's just the type of story you need sometimes.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Goodreads - Amazon

Review: Rocky Coast Romance by Mia Ross

Title: Rocky Coast Romance
Author: Mia Ross
Source: FirstReads
Genre: Clean Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 23, 2013
Reviewer: Jasmyn

INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE

Book 1-Holiday Harbor: Where love is just around the bend...

Journalist Bree Farrell heads to the village of Holiday Harbor to salvage her career. And walks straight into the arms of handsome young mayor Cooper Landry. Cooper's fighting to keep his sleepy Maine community from the clutches of big-city developers. And Bree knows it's a major scoop. But the longer she's in town, the more she's won over by the quirky townsfolk-and the charming Cooper. Will Bree ever follow her heart instead of a story and make Holiday Harbor her permanent byline?

Rocky Coast Romance is a clean romance.  There is no sex, but there is a lot of story and there is plenty of romance.  Bree comes to Holiday Harbor as her last chance.  Her last chance at her journalism career after thoroughly blowing it on a previous assignment.  Her last chance at independence, and her last chance at love (even if she doesn't realize it at first).  Writing a bit of a fluff piece about the small ocean side fishing community to help boost tourism, she discovers that there is more to the story of the struggling town that she thought at first.

At the center of it all is the Mayor, Cooper Landry.  Cooper is hoping Bree's article will boost tourism for the small community so they don't decline any more than they already have.  There is a big time land developer waiting in the wings for the town to flounder so he can come in and buy it up for cheap.  Cooper has been hurt in the past by women, so he is determined not to let Bree effect him, but he finds that more difficult that he thought it would be.

Cooper and Bree bond over the small town's history and culture and she falls in love with the small town before she knows it, but it takes a bit longer for them both to realize just how perfect they are for each other.  With a little bit of conflict thrown in to keep things really interesting, this was a great romance story.

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble