It is a great read for the holidays, especially if you want to curl up with your kindle and a warm blanket, maybe with a cup of hot tea, and get caught up in story full of romance and suspense. The protagonists are engaging characters, it's easy to like them. Thanks for the copy!

I love Christmas books. I will read them anytime and all the time if I could. They are such feel good books and you always finish with a smile.

This book was no different. What made it even better is that it is a second chance at love book with a lot of suspense thrown into the mix. Apparently this is part of a trilogy, but I read it as a stand alone, so don't worry that you will be lost. With or without the others in the series, this is a great read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

After ten years, Marie Leonard is back in Jenkins Cove determined to discover why her father's been murdered...But she'll have to deal with skepticism by the local chief of police, the man who broke her heard ten years ago, and a killer determined to silence her forever.


Though this one also had some paranormal elements, it was a much more straightforward romantic suspense story than its predecessor.

Unfortunately, the suspense aspect was the only thing I enjoyed about this one, even though the villain's motive left much to be desired.
The characters were bland (the hero was a self-pitying fool and I simply couldn't stand his moaning toward the end), and the romance tepid.

4.5☆
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Return to Jenkins Cove
Ghosts
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading more from Ann Voss Peterson.

Secrets, ghosts and love not forgotten with Brandon and Marie back in Jenkin's Cove. Good second addition to this series . Looking forward to the last book.

Ebook from netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

A great second installment in the series, continuing the perfect mix of thrilling mystery and romance. A must read any time of the year!

This book got me hooked quite fast. The mystery and the romance was well written and I think, personal opinion here, that Brandon was adorable.

Not as good as the first one, something was missing and it was not easy to connect to the characters.
Some characters from the first instalment are in this book but this is a standalone novel.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Season Publishing

The second book in the trilogy of a creepy Christmas by three different authors. This is the story of Sophie and Brandon. Sophie comes back to clean up her father's rooms after he was murdered, and Brandon, her old lover, is there feeling guilty over the death of his wife 6 months earlier. Obviously the two murders were connected, and so the detective work begins. Still not sure why Isabella and Shelley are still hired, nor why the Chief of police, Hammer, is still there. They really need to clean house of the dead weight. Just saying. The time frame got a little fuzzy too, and in comparison to the other two books a more detailed idea of the dates would be a big help. Other than that, I highly recommend this book and series, and suggest you read them in order to get the most of the storyline.

I wanted to love this but couldn't connect to characters or story.

Marie has returned to Jenkins Cove under the worst of circumstances, her father’s death. Although Marie believes his death was no accident for he never would have been even close to the water considering his fears. He was murdered for unknown reasons – but she is determined to find out who and why. And if she has to converse with those beyond the grave to get to the truth… so be it. Returning home will also bring her face to face with the man she once loved, still loves if she’s honest with herself. He chose another and Marie left town. Now a widower Brandon has answers that Marie needs on so many things, convincing him to give her honest answers may just open up wounds that should be left alone. Two people who still love each other – will they take the risk of offering their love again?

Christmas Awakening is an interesting story that falls more on the romantic side of the scale rather than the paranormal or suspense side. There are secrets at Drake House and Marie’s determination to find out who killed her father will bring many of those secrets out into the open… where some people do not want them to be. I enjoyed this story. While it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, given the first story in this series, it still was engaging with interesting twists and turns.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

ARC - I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
Brandon has been in love w/ Marie, but he let her go.
Marie has been in love w/ Brandon, but she married someone else.
Now they had a second chance, will they take it?
Loved the storytelling + the characters!

3 1/2 Star Review.....

While Christmas Awakening is the second of the series, it is not necessarily a continuation, but many previous characters do make an appearance throughout the book.

Unlike book one, this story doesn’t provide the same level of suspense, and the romance is a little too sweet for my taste, but overall it’s a good, fast read and I’m sure many will enjoy this tale.