I love these stories and the Shaughnessy family. This story however is not about an overbearing brother but rather the youngest Shaughnessy a sister Darcy. Darcy has a beautiful heart which shines brightly even when she encounters grumpy loner Ben.
Sweet lighthearted beautiful story

This is the #6 in the series, after the stories of the brothers, now we get the youngest sister's story. Darcy never knew her mother, as she died when she was very young, and that has haunted her all her life. Her sister-in-law sends her to a reclusive artist in Washington state to help him organize his book. Ben has demons of his own, losing both parents so close to Christmas he no longer celebrates it and isolates himself from his two brothers. Between the two of them there are plenty of angst as well as sparks, and once the story got going I enjoyed it very much. It started a little slow for me, simply because I did not like Darcy's character. She seemed judgmental, and a little self-centered for my taste. The ending also seemed rushed, considering they met in October and then to propose by New Years seems fast. Just saying. Besides these minor issues though, I highly recommend this book and author. The book can stand alone.

Absolutely loved it!!!
Samantha Chase is not a new author to me, but this is my first look at the Shaughnessy "brothers" series. I'm so glad that I started with this one. Darcy & Ben both have so many issues related to their parents that it truly almost takes a "smack upside the head" for them to realize it. They each see each other's problems but think their own are "just the way they are". They almost give up on everything before they finally realize they truly can grieve, miss someone dearly, and still move on to have their own HEA.

Ohhh boy. I have been waiting for Darcy’s story for a long time now! Impatiently of course. ;)

Darcy and Ben are the epitome of opposites. And I LOVED that about them. Ben wants nothing more than to be left alone, and he has good reasons for that. Watching him connect with Darcy, and seeing how she was able to pull him completely out of his comfort zone, was sooo fun to read.

Loved this book from start to finish and would highly recommend!!

This was a great mix of holiday and spice! I loved the setting of Ben's country cabin in the snowy woods, and both the two main characters and the many others felt well written and likeable.

The side characters all felt like they had backstories - which they do, since this is #6 in a series, but the way it was written made it work perfectly as a stand alone too - I'm actually kind of keen to check out the other books in the series!

I gave this three stars plus a tiny bit of extra Christmassy sparkle

I had difficulty with this book because I didn't understand the plot point and conflict between the heroine and the hero. I can usually suspend belief and try to keep an open mind. This is a well written book. The author is clearly talented at crafting story, but the character development was tough for me because the Prologue shows a child with "mommy" issues being raised by a home full of men, so I felt she shouldn't have a problem connecting with the hero because she can relate to a man. Additionally, this pseudo attraction to the boss, but jealousy over his alleged crush over a secondary character seamed underdeveloped. The conflict failed, in my opinion. I couldn't place their story in the tropes I'm used to reading (Boss/Assistant, Relative's Bestfriend/sister, It seemed to throw the kitchen sink in. If she's there to work for him and there is an attraction, I needed to read more about that. I felt like I'd missed several days and scenes between them that would develop the attraction. There was just a dinner, then a second of work, then she's leaving.
There was a lot of banter that didn't move the story forward--music interests, cooking recipes, etc. I needed more self reflection about why they couldn't entertain a relationship with anyone, much less each other. And communication about their feelings would have helped me believe the chemistry.
The pacing was much slower than I'm used to. Despite this being a book in a series, I didn't think I needed to read the other books. Yet, when mentioning Darcy's brother's music, it would have helped to know if he was a country music singer or just a fan. It's important to give a quick summation of previous plots in the other books. Otherwise, this book did read like a standalone.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Darci Shaugnessy is not only the baby of the family but she is the only sister. I just love her character, her determination, her love of baking, how she is always trying new things, and the way she interacts with all her brothers.
Ben Tanner is an artist, who makes beautiful things out of wood. He lives in the Mountains by himself, and is ok with being alone, until the beautiful Darci shows up and turns his world upside down.
I loved the way his Cabin, workshop and creations are described it's almost as if I can see them, and that just adds to the whole story. I love the dynamics between Darci and Ben and how they do not seem to start out on the right foot. This book made me laugh, had me smiling, and even made me cry. I think this may have been the sexiest out of all the Shaughnessy stories. I have truly come to love all of the Shaughnessy's. This was a wonderful book and amazing series!

I did not like this book at all. The heroine was completely immature. I feel like I yelled USE YOUR WORDS so much. I actually gave up on this book, and then decided that to rate it fairly I needed to keep reading it, and THEN it kept getting worse. So... no. Not a fan.

I love a good holiday read; there's just something a little special about them. There is always a little extra magic, a little miracle work that just makes them a little sweeter. Holiday Spice from Samantha Chase definitely brought the holiday spirit for me.

I really liked Darcy. I completely understood her drive. She's best when she's busy, when she can avoid thinking and dwelling on herself. So instead she focuses on everyone and anything else at times. I get that; it's her coping mechanism. My heart ached for Darcy and what she went through but I really loved getting to see her grow here.

Ben. Oh Ben. Who doesn't love an emotionally guarded introvert? He's hot, sweet underneath it all AND works with his hands? No brainer-sign me up for this guy! I loved seeing him try to handle his feelings for Darcy and balance his sense of self with that.

These two have chemistry, there's no denying it. Neither of them are expecting each other, neither of them want to want the other-which just made this fun. However, aside from their heat they both carry some pretty intense emotional baggage. Seeing them expose their inner scars and hurts was so sad but seeing them help each other heal? Well that was beautiful.

This book really worked as a holiday story. In fact, I don't know that Darcy and Ben would have worked without this setting. The extra bit of magic was there in this story for sure. This is technically the last book in a series but can absolutely be enjoyed as a standalone. I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

I have my reviews posted on amazon and goodreads for this book!! Loved it!!

He was the perfectly flawed man.

Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase is the sixth installment in the author’s Shaughnessy Brothers series. It can be enjoyed as a standalone even though the series features a family whose members appear throughout the books. It’s a fun, sexy read despite being frustrating at times. This is the long-awaited story of Darcy, the youngest and sole female in the Shaughnessy brood, and Benjamin Tanner, an artist and a loner. She lives in North Carolina. He lives high in the mountains in Washington State.

The story opens with a prologue illustrating a sad memory of Darcy’s when she was six-years-old and had made a heartbreaking Christmas wish for a Mom that Santa didn’t fill. While Darcy was surrounded by her father, brothers, neighbors and friends, she had never known her Mom and the pain of her loss was palpable.

The story then picks up in the present day where Darcy is grown up with no love prospects and looking for a job. Darcy accepts a temporary assignment helping Ben, a friend of her sister-in-law’s, create a book about his one-of-a kind art carvings. Since Ben lost his parents two weeks before Christmas six years ago, he had stopped celebrating the holiday and had essentially become a hermit focusing on his art and raising his two younger brothers. His brothers have since moved on, but not Ben, who still lives reclusively. Prepare for fireworks when the two prickly, set-in-their- ways main characters share a strong chemistry and, at times, over-the-top bullheadedness.

My heart went out to Darcy at her lifelong sense of loss. However, I confess that the heroine’s lack of maturity seemed too much and grated on me. Darcy ran hot and cold with no in-between and, when things got tough, she would take flight. I found it easier to relate to serious Ben who had immersed himself in his work concentrating on putting food on the table for his brothers and then educating them, without the support of other family. On their way to a HEA, there was a lot of emotional pain, angst, tantrums and family meddling. The two were so pigheaded that sometimes I didn’t care for either, but I definitely sympathized with Ben more. That all said, there’s plenty of love and humor in this tale too. I found Ben’s art to be fascinating and Darcy’s talent for organization to be awesome. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the breathtakingly gorgeous, but treacherous, snowy scenery which the author describes so vividly that I felt it as well as saw it in my mind’s eye. The two get snowed in at his home courtesy of Mother Nature and spend some quality time together which fast forwards their connection. Together the two rocked it… if they could just learn to meet half-way.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from Holiday Spice:

“Are you telling me there is something better out there than icing in a can? Because I’m finding it hard to believe. That’s been my dirty little secret for years.”
In a move he didn’t see coming, she chuckled and then shifted to straddle him until they were chest to chest. “That’s your dirty little secret?” She shook her head. “We’re going to have to work on that.”
---

Right now, all he wanted --- almost more than his next breath --- was to have Darcy in his bed.
Under him.
---

“I like order and knowing everything has its place.”
“It does have its place. It’s just not there yet.”

This series has been a wonderful immersive experience. While I experienced many exasperating moments of wanting to shake some sense into Ben and Darcy, their story was infused with the magic of the Christmas season with plenty of redeeming shining moments. The ending was perfect and the book served as the quintessential wrap-up for the series. The epilogue was so wonderful that I confess to shedding some happy tears as I literally inhaled it. For fans of the series, Holiday Spice should not to be missed. I would recommend the entire Shaughnessy Brothers series to anyone who enjoys family-oriented romances.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I love the concept of being snowed in with someone and a budding relationship growing from such close contact. Darcy and Ben are complete opposites, but they both have a love of art. Ben is a wood carver/sculpter and Darcy is trying to discover her career. Darcy is sent to help Ben with his book focusing on his art and gets snowed in.
Samantha Chase did a great job on this book and the others in this series.

Loved Darcy's story!! She deserved a good man and Ben was that! Even though he was a grumpy recluse! Darcy and the Shaughnessy's helped him see what a family should be like and it was a sweet story!

Thank you Samantha Chase for writing Darcy and Ben's story - perfect blend of romance and humor. Being snowed in has a new appeal.

Around this time I’m always on the lookout for holiday reads and I tend to try new-to-me authors in the process. That’s what happened with Samantha Chase in this case. I’ve never read her before and the pretty cover and holiday theme made me do it. It didn’t hurt that this is about a recluse hero, always a favorite of mine.

The setup for this story was almost the perfect holiday read. The grumpy hero and the bubbly heroine get snowed in at his home and get to spend some quality time together which fast forwards their connection. The holidays are hard on him because of his family past and she’s the opposite, loving everything about Christmas and spending time with her family. They were a good match!

I definitely like the hero more than the heroine. She has her own issues to work through and maybe this is where not reading this series in order would’ve helped me because she got on my nerves a bit when she constantly needed to have her family on top of her. I was more on Ben’s side on a lot of the issues they had about that, but maybe that’s just me. The heroine is definitely so different from myself that I just wanted to throttle her quite a few times.

But as much as I enjoyed the setting, the hero and the plot in this book, there was never a deep connection between this story and myself. While sweet and a fast read, I had no trouble putting this one down. And I think, overall, it’s not left me rushing to pick up the next Samantha Chase book just yet. However, it was still an enjoyable read with plenty of seasonal charm so if that’s what you’re in the mood for then this one will get you ready to pack your bags and find your own snowed in cabin to visit.

A perfect holiday feel good. Ben was a loner avoiding his past when along comes Darcy who was trying to make a future by using her past. Together they were hot and apart they were a hot mess. A bossy, strong headed girl (seriously 5 brothers, how could she be anything else?) meets a grumpy introvert and there is frustration, hate and love all at the same time. It is a curvy road as their separate family dynamics unfold showing how each became who they were and they learn to break their molds to become who they want to be. Although this is a stand-alone, the glimpses of the rest of the Shaughnessy clan will make you want to read their stories too.

4.5 Stars!

Darcy’s story! Oh how I couldn’t wait to read this one! Darcy, the only girl in a 6-male household, was destined to have a crazy story.

Ben needs help writing his book so he calls up his friend Savannah to help. Well Savannah isn’t available so she calls her sister in law Darcy to help.

Darcy is amazing at organizing. And she’s glad to help this handsome friend of Savannah’s while she tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

A sweet story that keeps you rooting for Ben and Darcy!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I put off reading Holiday Spice because I just didn't want this series to end. Somehow I knew that Darcy's story was going to be EPIC and it definitely did not disappoint. The opening of the book had me in tears. So just know that going in.

We had met Ben before briefly in Riley and Savannah's book and I was thrilled to see him back. Ben is an artist who has an equally heartbreaking backstory but the perfect match for our spitfire Darcy. These two were fun and sexy together. I loved the banter between them and Darcy's feisty attitude compared to Ben's laid-back - yet bring it on air.

And remember how I said that the prologue had me in tears? Well, the epilogue had me ugly crying some more. I highly recommend this series and book. Even though there are 6 books in the series, they can each be read as standalone - but you will definitely want to read all six and meet Darcy's 5 brothers too!

Ben needs help with a project and he asks for help but he gets more than he bargains more. Darcy is looking for a job that she loves and this is just one to fill in until she finds that. She didn't plan on falling in love with the place or with her boss.

Ben isn't used to people being in his space, he isn't used to being truly happy. Can these two open up about why the way they are about the holidays and maybe be what each other needs in their lives? Will they be able to let go of past hurts and build new memories?

This is a great book just in time for the holidays, it'll definitely put you in the mood for Christmas. Loved the writing style and alternating pov's.