Author: kimberlyfayebaker

Vanessa Mazur knows she’s doing the right thing. She shouldn’t feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.

But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she’s beyond shocked.

For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn’t find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He’s asking for the unthinkable.

What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?

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Despite my passion for reading and how many books I read in a year, it takes a VERY special book to keep me up late and/or get me up early. The Wall of Winnipeg and Me did BOTH — so you can say this one was VERY VERY special. Honestly, I can’t tell you the last time a book did that. It was totally worth missing out on some sleep to be able to binge the hell out of this book. I regret nothing. I’m not sure what I can say about this book that hasn’t been said a thousand times already, but I can’t NOT review it.

You know how they say “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”? That could be the subtitle of The Wall of Winnipeg and Me. When Vanessa quit her job as Aiden’s assistant, to pursue her dream of owning her own business — and, quite frankly, to NOT have to deal with his crap anymore, it didn’t take Aiden long to realize he couldn’t live without her. Or, more specifically, that he didn’t want to.

Vanessa and Aiden, y’all. They were something special. I can’t tell you just how much I loved them. They gave me ALL THE FEELS. This wasn’t your typical romance and that’s what I loved the most about it. If you love a good, S L O W burn, then look no further. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, but I also didn’t want to rush the story because it — and the words — were just so freaking good. These two though. They were such wonderfully complex characters, especially Aiden. Yes, I have a new book boyfriend. I love me a good grumpy guy — even if he took it to an extreme sometimes — but it was what was underneath that grumpy exterior that made him so special. And Vanessa? She wasn’t one to put up with Aiden’s crap. (Well, after she quit the job anyhow.) I love a heroine with a backbone. She was spunky. Her inner dialogue was a treat. (As was everything about this book, honestly.)

Slow burn romances aren’t *always* my favorite, but that’s because more often than not I feel like they aren’t done all that well. Well, Mariana gives GREAT slow burn romance. There might not have been all that much kissing in the book, but it didn’t even matter to me. (And that says A LOT because I LOVE kissing books.) The real treat here was falling into Vanessa’s world and falling for Aiden right along with her. It was such a treat to get to know both of them. But when the sexy times happened? *fans self* Hotness for days.

It might only be the first half of January, but I can already tell you one book that will be on my “best of 2017” list. It was totally perfect and exactly what I needed when I read it. If I could give it more than five stars, I totally would. I’m adding The Wall of Winnipeg and Me to my “must reread a thousand times” list, because that’s exactly what I want to do. *happy sigh*

Favorite Quotes

What no one tells you is that the road to accomplishing your goals isn’t a straight line; it looks more like a corn maze. You stopped, you went, you backed up, and took a few wrong turns along the way, but the important thing you had to remember was that there was an exit. Somewhere.

When life gives you lemons, you get to choose what you make out of them; it doesn’t always have to be lemonade. 

“I don’t want someone new. I want you.” 

“You’re not my friend; you’ve never tried to be my friend. You haven’t once given a shit about me until you needed something, and now for some strange reason, you’re making it seem like you can’t live without me. And we both know that’s bullshit.”

Life was all about choices. You chose what to make out of what you had. And I wasn’t going to let it make me its bitch.

His forehead tipped forward, and before I could react, before he said another word to me, he leaned forward, forward, forward and pressed his mouth just to the side of my mouth. A peck. A shot better than tequila, make up of friendship and affection and organic sugar.”

“I’m starting to understand that you can always make time for the things that matter.”

One-night stands are supposed to be with someone convenient, or wickedly persuasive, or regrettable. They aren’t supposed to be with someone like him.

But after a crazy Vegas weekend celebrating her college graduation—and terrified of the future path she knows is a cop-out—Mia Holland makes the wildest decision of her life: follow Ansel Guillaume—her sweet, filthy fling—to France for the summer and just…play.

When feelings begin to develop behind the provocative roles they take on, and their temporary masquerade adventures begin to feel real, Mia will have to decide if she belongs in the life she left because it was all wrong, or in the strange new one that seems worlds away.

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Sweet Filthy Boy is definitely one of my biggest surprises of the year so far. If you ask me again in a month and a half at the end of the year, it’ll probably still be near the top of the surprises list. I tried to read Beautiful Bastard a few months ago, but it just wasn’t for me. Not every book/author is, so I was ready to write these fine ladies off into the “not my thing” category. A friend raved about how much she loved Sweet Filthy Boy and, after reading the blurb, I decided to give it a shot. I started the audiobook one morning on the way to work, listened to it for an hour or so during the workday and promptly drove to the bookstore to buy a paperback copy so I could finish it NOT in audiobook format and add it to my favorites shelves. That’s how much I loved everything about this story. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can say about it that hasn’t been said 1,000 times before – and more eloquently than I ever will – but I can’t get this story out of my head. I hope writing a review will help. 🙂

Mia’s post-graduation trip to Vegas with her friends wasn’t supposed to end with her getting married to a gorgeous French stranger, but that’s exactly what happened.  The morning after, she has some decisions to make: get an annulment, lose Ansel, this man she has an attachment to, and go on with her plan, or take a risk and go to France with him for the summer. She might not remember everything about their night together, but she remembers how it felt to be with him and the chemistry they shared. She takes a chance and to everyone’s surprise, decides to join him in France. As they struggle to get to know each other and find their way back to the couple they were the night they decided to get married, I was completely hooked and totally emotional.

“I want to love all of my life as much as I love this night.”

There were so many things I loved about this book. The words are just beautiful. I’m officially obsessed with the quote above. It’s gorgeous and totally embodies the book. The quote is part of one of my favorite things about this book: Mia’s letter to herself. She didn’t remember all of their night together, but the letter she wrote made everything clear. Mia has a difficult time expressing herself, but it isn’t nearly as bad when she’s writing. We never see more of she and Ansel’s first night together than their first meeting and some flashbacks, but the letter tells us the depth of the connection they shared.

Mia was a wonderful character. I loved the relationship between her and her friends. The banter and the humor grabbed me from the start. Ansel is officially my new book boyfriend. As you may have guessed from the title, he’s sweet and dirty. Which is an amazing combination. I loved how upfront he was with his feelings. He’s not perfect. He’s a workaholic and he was keeping something pretty big from Mia, but I can forgive him for that. Mia and Ansel’s relationship might have had an unconventional start, but that didn’t make what they shared less real. I just loved these two. I loved watching them navigate this thing between them. I loved reading about how Mia found herself in France and was finally able to admit what she really wanted out of life.

I just can’t say enough about this book. It was seriously sexy. Like, off the charts on the hot-meter. The characters were easy to relate to and fall in love with. Sweet Filthy Boy is a good bit longer than the books I normally read, but it could have been twice the size and I still would have devoured it. I couldn’t get enough of these two characters. I’m so excited about this series, too. I really enjoyed the secondary characters and look forward to reading their books, as well. I’ll be diving into Dirty Rowdy Thing very soon.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

While I’d typically prefer to tackle my holiday reads once my Christmas tree is up and the weather has turned colder, I just couldn’t wait any longer for In a Holidaze. I’m glad I didn’t hold off any longer, to be honest. This book gave me all the magic I so desperately needed right now. It was a light and fun read, but it also packed a bit of an emotional punch. (At least for me.) There were tears, but that really shouldn’t surprise anyone that much because I am an emotional reader. 

Friends-first romances are my jam. The relationships take time to evolve. There’s often some amount of unrequited (or, is it?!) love and loads of longing. I can’t get enough. Sure, I often want to force the characters into a closet and make them confront their feelings, but I still freaking love it. (Side note: there are some delightful closet scenes in this book, too.) I couldn’t NOT love Maelyn and Andrew. They gave me all the heart eyes, even when things weren’t smooth and that one time in the story where I legit wanted to scream. But all’s well that ends well, right? 

If I had to describe In a Holidaze in three words, they would be delightful, magical and swoony. It’s the Christmasy romance novel version of what would happen if you mixed the movies Groundhog Day and The Family Stone (but without the cancer storyline). I straight-up read it in one sitting. That’s something that doesn’t happen very often anymore. 2020 has taken a toll on my reading focus, but it didn’t hinder me a bit here. I loved being able to escape into the snowy (and dreamy!) Park City setting and this wonderful, quirky family.

Favorite Quotes

I want to capture this moment. I want to put it in a snow globe and be able to see it just like this, forever.

“You’ve never been for me, Maisie. I never knew you were an option.”

“It never occurred to me that you might be mine.”