Review: Room at the Inn for Christmas by Mary Connealy/Do You Hear What I Hear? by Margaret Brownley/Silent Night, Star-Lit Night by Ruth Logan Herne



Welcome to Heywood, Oregon where three lost women find healing, hope and love under the bright light of the town's old Star Inn this Christmas season.




Amanda Star’s father always wanted her to come into the family business, and run the majestic old Star Inn with him but she had bigger plans. She’s a high-powered executive in the multi-national Halston hotel chain. One more promotion—which she expects to get by Christmas—will make her the youngest vice president in Halston history and she’s got her sights set on the CEO job.

Then she inherits the Star Inn. With no time to be away from her job, she impatiently rushes home to list the beautiful old bed and breakfast for sale. Now that she’s here she’s swamped with sweet memories and keen regret. Her father has made the inn a safe haven where weary travelers can get away from their hectic lives, and Amanda, working 10-hour days and living on coffee and antacids, desperately needs that safe haven.

As Amanda struggles against the lure of home, she also is reunited with an old classmate: Anthony Carter, a handyman with a guarded heart. Hurt before by a woman who saw his contentment and pleasure in building and living on his own land as a lack of ambition, Cart reluctantly finds himself drawn to a woman who wants so much more than a man with callused hands and sawdust in his hair. A woman who came home for Christmas and badly needs to stay. With the help of Angel Rafferty, the front desk clerk and a lifelong friend of Amanda’s parents, can Cart help Amanda realize the hospitality industry is far more than spreadsheets and bottom lines in time for Christmas?






This isn't a bad story. I liked the idea of it very much but I have to say I wasn't always a fan of Amanda's. In fact I felt like I really didn't get to know the characters enough.

I didn't mind the second chance romance but felt the story was complete, like the author jump from here to there. 

It's okay, but not great! I think it would have been much better if the author had more pages to work with. 



Two bad things happened to Sally Cartwright that week. Three if she counted the pink slip received at the Home and Family magazine's annual Christmas party. But nothing was worse than plowing into a snowbank and being stuck in a town she swore never to see again. A town she once called home. Now she must spend the long cold night in the car or follow the bright shining star through the woods to the old Star Inn. She chooses the inn and that's where her troubles really begin...

Lumber mill owner, Rick Talbot, is in no mood for Christmas cheer. Having recently buried his father, he's still trying to sort out the financial mess left behind. Unless Rick comes up with a miracle, the mill run by the family for generations is about to shut down for good. That would put a lot of men out of work and impact the future of the town. If things weren't bad enough he's now stuck at the old Star Inn waiting for the road back to his cabin to reopen. His luck takes another turn for the worse when he suddenly comes face to face with the past he'd sooner forget. For unless he's seeing things, the only woman he's ever loved is standing in front of the inn's blazing fire trying to get warm. How is it possible that one chance meeting could stir up so many old memories?

Both Rick and Sally regret what happened between them, but his family lumberyard clashes with her tree-hugging ways and neither is willing to try again. It will take the storm of the century, one stage-struck young boy, a certain meddling "angel"--and even a cranky cat--to convince them that in matters of the heart, sometimes the second time around is best.






I really enjoyed the small-town feel of Do You Hear What I Hear? You really found the holiday cheer in this one. I enjoyed it better then the first book in the series. 

I liked both Sally & Rick. This is another second chance romance, and I found that they worked well together. 

I was able to get a better view or idea of the town in this book so I started to enjoy the trilogy better. It's a fuller story.




Jed Taylor knows how to cowboy up on the range, and on the sales’ floor of his family’s rapidly growing western and ranch store in Central Washington, which is exactly where he would normally be a week before Christmas… but when he heard Mia O’Loughlin was planning a trip north, pregnant and alone, Jed’s promise to her late husband kicked in. More Grinch than grace, he boarded a plane and headed to the coast, determined that his best friend’s widow wouldn’t make the long trek alone.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this, widowed, pregnant and all alone on the West Coast.

E.R. nurse and Red Cross emergency responder Mia O’Loughlin had always taken life in full stride, but losing her deployed husband the week before she realized they were expecting their first child knocked her off-kilter. With Christmas and her due date approaching, all she can see is getting back home to Kittitas County for the birth of her child… their child… and seeing her failing Grandpa Joe one last time. Determined to do it on her own, she reluctantly allows Jed to accompany her, mostly because the gruff cowboy showed up and won’t take no for an answer.

But when a blizzard grinds their progress to a stop in Northern Oregon, the light from an old inn beckons them into a town hunkered down to ride out the unexpected storm. With the help of the inn’s wise and wonderful “angel,” Mia realizes the old white church has been turned into a shelter. She insists on leaving the inn to help those forced out of their homes and off the highway. As she and Jed improvise to provide comfort to others, they begin to see that facing this once-dreaded Christmas together could be the very best way of all.






This is my favorite of the three. I really enjoyed the writing and the characters. 

Silent Night, Star-Lit Night is about promises and new beginnings. You won't be able to help wanting Mia and her baby to have all that they deserve. This is a sweet, charming story. 



I enjoyed all the stories, some more then others. What was the best part is "angel". After reading each story you'll really believe in second chance romances. Each story is wonderfully priced for the holidays and are well worth the cost. 

If you've read any of the stories or any of the authors I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for visiting and happy reading! 



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