Once Upon a Winter's Heart by Melody Carlson
#1 Valentine's Day

Thirty-something Emma Burcelli quits her job with a marketing firm in Seattle and moves back to her small hometown in the Cascade mountains in Washington. Her Italian grandfather, Poppi, has just passed away so Emma plans on staying with her grandmother and helping the family business by working in Poppi's bookstore.

Poppi had been a true romantic, and he and Nona had a relationship that everyone would envy--true love that lasted the test of time. When Emma looks at her bad luck with romance, as well as her sister and parents all struggling with their marriages, she's a bit cynical when it comes time to decorate the store for Valentine's Day. That is until the man upstairs offers his help--and some inspiration to believe that romance is not dead.

This is what I would call a "cozy" romance. It is a sweet, short, mild read. Not overly exciting, fairly clichéd, reminiscent of a Hallmark movie. It could be considered heartwarming, but I felt it was a little awkward because "true love" was discovered in under two weeks. There was also an annoying (to me) overuse of people breaking out into renditions of "That's Amore" by Dean Martin. This is a book I could recommend to my elderly mom or a friend from church to read and enjoy without hiding the cover and/or blushing, which would normally be the case considering what I've been reading lately. haha ( )

Bubby says: My heart is all warm and fuzzy after reading Once Upon A Winter's Heart. I feel the need to play Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra music at loud volume and dance about my kitchen. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about this story. Delicious!
Sissy says: Okay. Bubby just put on the Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra Pandora mix. So here we go. Do you remember the movie Return To Me with Minnie Driver and David Duchovny? This story kinda has that background feel. It lifted me up and made me happy in the magical way that few books can. Some reviews I've read of this kind of book are very critical of the fact that they prefer their romance with lots of sex and/or heavy duty dark subject matter. Not us! There's a reason why our blog is called Bubble Bath Books, not Coffee House Existentialism Books. Or Steamy Sexbite Books. Seriously, Once Upon A Winter's Heart is EXACTLY what we love to read. Read full review at www.bubblebathbooks.net ( )

A Delightful Read!

This novella was a quick fun read. I enjoy romance in books and while this was not heavy in the romance department it was definitely a sweet and caring one.

Family plays an important part in this story. We read what happens in broken disappointed relationships. These relationships grew apart because of lack of communication.

While God is a factor in this family’s life, the author did not over do it. I loved that the importance of prayer was indicated throughout this story.

Poor Emma, her self-esteem has taken a beating. She has always felt that she never measured up to her beautiful sister Anne. After all, Anne has always gotten what she wants. I must add that Anne made that perfectly clear to Emma. Will Anne rob Emma of happiness or will Emma finally stand up to Anne?

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this novella and find out for yourselves the ins and outs of the Burcelli family! You will not be disappointed.

I have read other entertaining books by this author. Melody Carlson is an author you don’t want to miss! ( )