This is book 9 in the Haven Point series. Dani Has moved her 2 daughters to Haven Point after finishing veterinary school in Boston. She is running from publicity that her ex is in prison to protect the girls. She is taking over the practice of her former teacher and mentor and his son, Rubin, isn't sure why this big city girl is affecting his life so greatly. A nice Christmas romance. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A sweet romance if a young veterinarian who's mom to two girls and ex-wife of a notorious criminal and a deputy who doesn't know feisty moms are his type nor how empty his life is until Dani and her girls fill it.
He has a big heart and penchant for taming rebellious teens with his kind smile, fairness and honest eyes. She's more than twice shy.
This is a fun, family romance, one filled with patience, tradition and wonders of Christmas
* ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. I honestly enjoyed this one. It provided the hope and faith in mankind U needed.
# Netgalley
#season of wonder
# raenne thayne
#christmas romance

Another book in the Haven Point series and although each book centers around a different character like a lot of romance series do, I still suggest starting at the beginning of this series and letting the books build on themselves.

I loved the main characters of this book. Dani Capelli has moved with her two daughters to this small town to work in a veterinary office with the hopes of inheriting it when Dr. Morales decides to retire. At the same time Dr. Morales son, Ruben lives next door and may start invading their lives!

As with most romance books, the ending is not a surprise, but the fun of reading the story is finding out how they get there. Dani and Ruben were fantastic main characters. I loved that she had a full back story that informed how she was in the present and I loved how Ruben reacted to her past and helped her through it.

These books are just the right thing to curl up with as you are preparing for the holiday season. They are low commitment reads, short and sweet with a great storyline!

Dani Capelli has overcome so many obstacles in life in order to reach the point where she can move in order to start over. She carries secrets about her past and one person in particular who was part of her past.
Following a childhood in foster care (and the way in which she was delivered into foster care is brutal and heartbreaking) she manages to attend college and veterinary school, then get an internship in Haven Point. Following that she takes over the practice for the retiring vetinarian.
Dani’s next door neighbor is Ruben, a police officer with a large, boisterous family and gradually they absorb Dani, against her will, into their midst. Dani is afraid her past will turn everyone against her, even though it isn’t her past, but that of her ex/late husband that is tainted.
Dani has two daughters, one of whom is a rebellious 13 year old named Silver. When something terrible happens at school and Silver is caught up in something she can’t control it takes Dani and Ruben to solve the situation and rescue Silver from the peril she has landed in.
This is a sweet romance with a welcome HEA at the end, and plenty of love and happiness for an entire family. You will want to stick closely to the story all the way to the end.

A Season on Wonder is a sweet tale about Dani Capelli and how she struggles to find her place with her daughter in a new town.

Completely authentic, this warm and sweet romance will get you in the Christmas spirit.

Highly recommended.

Another wonderful holiday visit to Haven Point

I haven't read all the books in this series but I have read some of them and have enjoyed them all, including this one.

Dani Capelli and her two daughters have just moved to Haven Point, Idaho. She is working as an intern veterinarian, looking to take over the business in a year when the existing vet retires.

She had a hard life growing up, in foster homes, and wants this town to provide a good home for her daughters. She also has bad memories of the girls' father.

So she's not ready for romance but her new neighbor, Ruben Morales, sure likes what he sees in Dani and her family. Too bad he's a Deputy Sheriff PLUS her boss' son.

This was another winner by author Thayne - believable characters and a heartwarming story.

I received this book from Harlequin Books through Edelweiss and Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Dani, a single mom of two girls, moved to Haven Point after her veterinary school mentor invited her into his practice. Haven Point, a small idyllic town sounded exactly like the kind of wholesome town she wants her kids to grow up in. However, Dani holds herself back from getting close, worried that people might find out about her ex and then judge her family by his wrongs. Wrongs that got him killed. Dani re-thinks that decision when her teenage daughter, Silver, has trouble fitting in and gets into trouble. Realizing she may have made a mistake by not taking advantage of the kindness and friendship of the community, Dani reluctantly accepts the help of Deputy Ruben Morales. She’s reluctant because she’s been attracted to him since she first laid eyes on him and doesn’t want or need the complication of a romance with all she’s got going on.

Ruben’s had his eye on Dani since she first moved next door, but she’s been standoffish and prickly until Silver gets into trouble. As Ruben helps with Silver, the walls Dani had erected slowly start to crumble and they get close. Ruben helps Dani and her girls rediscover the magic of the holiday season, experiencing the joy of giving without expecting anything in return.

I loved Ruben and his family! They had so much patience and love. Dani and her girls certainly needed a lot of both! Season of Wonder was so sweet, and low on angst. A story that left me with warm fuzzy feels, perfect for the Winter Holiday season!

Title: Season of Wonder
Author: Raeanne Thayne
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5

Dani Capelli desperately needed a chance to start over, so she took the job as a veterinarian at a clinic in the small town of Haven Point. With her two daughters, she leaves behind New York and the secrets of her past life. She just wants to make a safe home with no trouble.

But her oldest daughter has other ideas, and soon the deputy sheriff is knocking at her door. Dani didn’t want trouble, but she never really imagined trouble being quite so good looking, either.

Ruben never thought he’d fall for a big-city girl, but he’s attracted to Dani and her daughters. He wants to show them his family traditions to prove that life in Haven Point is all they need. No matter what secrets Dani is hiding.

Season of Wonder is a standard small-town romance. The writing is solid, and the characters are believable and likable. This is the first novel I’ve read by this author, but I would read more.

Raeanne Thayne is an award-winning author. Season of Wonder is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.)

This is my first read for this author. Although the book is part of a series, it can easily be read as a stand alone. The book centers around a small Idaho town close to the Christmas holiday.

Dani and her two girls have moved across country for a new start. She works for her new neighbor's father. Life has not been great for Dani and she has walls a mile high in order to protect her family.

Rueben falls for Dani from the start. He just has to work on why she is so spooked. Great slow burn between these two. I kind of wish Dani would have at least told him her issues a little earlier in the book and we could have still watched Rueben break down her walls. Regardless, super sweet story. Spot on teenage angst with Silver and sweet Mia stole the show.

Great book to put you in the holiday spirit.

A veterinarian with a mysterious past runs from capital-T Trouble in New York City all the way to Haven Point, Idaho, where she falls in love with the handsome Deputy Sheriff. I have to confess that, well, you know how sometimes you procrastinate about things and you say “Oh, I have until the end of the month to read that” and then you’re like “Dude, you’ve enjoyed books in the Haven Point series before,” and then eventually you remind yourself “The end of the month, which is…tomorrow” and you still haven’t read the thing and your review is due soonest and you’re sure it’s a perfectly fine book, perfectly cromulent, but the only thing you really remember about the chapter or so you’ve read is that Deputy Sheriff Handsome has a dog, which automatically makes him Good People? Am I the only one that ever happens to?

…Eh. Probably. Anyway, the cover is beautiful. Read this book over a plate of Christmas cookies—the kind with sprinkles and icing and little silver balls—and then cut off the cover and frame it and hang it in your private reading nook, or maybe scan it and use it as a screen saver until spring.

This review appears in Romantic Intentions Quarterly #3 - October 2018

Every now and again, I am able to learn about new books through their publicists, which is always super awesome. Today's post is about a book by RaeAnne Thayne titled Season of Wonder. When I first learned about Season of Wonder, I didn't realize it was part of a series. I later learned that it was book #9 of the Haven Point series, providing a contemporary holiday romance set in the small town of Haven Point, Idaho. I haven't read any of the other books in this series, and I did feel that this book served as a standalone.

Daniela "Dani" Capelli hopes to find a second chance for herself and her two daughters Silver and Mia, when she finishes veterinary school an accepts a veterinarian job in a small Idaho town. She hopes to put the ugliness of Boston and her past there and settle into the small town of Haven Point. Her fear of having her past discovered keeps her distant with the local residents.

While Dani loves her new job, 13-year old Silver is having difficulties adjusting to small town life. Coincidentally (or not), Deputy Sheriff Ruben Morales happens to live next-door to Dani and her daughters. Ruben is curious about Dani and while she seems to be very caring as a vet and is loving towards her animal patients and her daughters, she seems to be very standoffish toward him. Ruben goes out of his way to help Dani when Silver has issues, and Dani finds herself falling for Ruben.

Despite Dani's attempts at keeping Ruben at bay, he refuses to give up on Dani and includes all of the girls in his own family’s holiday traditions, which results in a life-changing Christmas in Haven Point for them all.

The characters in this story are very engaging - so realistic and believable - and the plot is well written. It's clear that Dani hasn't had an easy life and has overcome so much, but she just couldn't leave her past hurts and mistakes in the past. Not only does the author provide readers with a great romance, she manages to provide readers with a very authentic story of a teenager dealing with difficult issues that impact her whole family.

I was provided with a complimentary electronic advanced reader copy from Little Bird Publicity through Net Galley in exchange for my post. I was not required to post a positive review, but have chosen to do so because this book was great! Thank you!

~~Reviewed by Evelyn~~

SEASON OF WONDER by RaeAnne Thayne is the ninth visit to Haven Point, a wonderfully welcoming small town. On the shores of a picturesque lake, Haven Point is a destination resort town in the summer, but it is also a great place to visit during the holidays.

Single mom Dani Capelli and her two daughters moved to Haven Point after Dani was offered a veterinary internship with Dr Frank Morales who also offered her the chance to take over his practice after a year if the internship went well. After putting herself through vet school, Dani wanted to find a safe place for her family, a place where they could live in peace without constantly being reminded of the well-known criminal history of her ex-husband.

Deputy Ruben Morales, Frank’s son and Dani’s next door neighbor, is intrigued by Dani but he doesn’t understand why she seems so stand-off-ish. She doesn’t get involved in the town activities and her conversations are short and impersonal. He finds himself getting to know her better, however, when her daughter Silver is caught vandalizing some buildings and his boat. He is sure there is more to the story than Silver is telling them, and he is sure there is something her mom is hiding that won’t allow her to become involved with him. Can he break down the walls that Dani has put up? Is there any place better to do it than Haven Point at Christmas?

Dani is a well-written, complex character. As the result of a horrible childhood, she made some poor choices early in her adult life. She somehow finds the strength to put herself through vet school, but she can never completely let go of the ghosts of the past that continue to haunt her. Ruben is not without his own baggage either when it comes to relationships, but it has been easier for him because he has the support of family and friends that Dani hasn’t had.

Dani’s daughters, Silver and Mia, are also well written. Silver is a typical, moody 13 yr. old who in one moment is an adult with adult problems, and in the next moment, is still a kid who needs her mommy. Mia is a sweet 6 yr. old who just wants to be loved. So often children in romance novels are too perfect to be believable. Kudos to Ms. Thayne who has written kids who are very real and act like kids really act.

I thoroughly enjoyed this visit to Haven Point where the characters feel like they could be my neighbors and the town could be my town. I can’t wait until my next trip to visit, and I hope we’ll be able to catch up with Dani and Ruben.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.



Rating:

Truly enjoyed this story between Dani and Ruben.

Dani and her two daughters are new to Haven point and there is certainly an adjustment phase. Dani has worked very hard to get to where she is at and on top of it, she is a single mother. She doubts herself while working as a veterinarian and hoping that she has made the right decision in moving her family to this new town.

Ruben, the town Deputy is also going through an adjustment phase of his own after meeting Dani and her children. Dani is working in his father's clinic and notices that this family seem a bit distant. His father believes in her and thinks that she will be able to run the practice but Ruben is not so sure.

Haven Point is not where one goes for alone time....the people in this town are too friendly to allow this to happen. People are intrigued by the new arrivals. Why didn't Dani want to enjoy town activities and socialize? What was she hiding?

Will Ruben be able to break through Dani's wall and find peace? Will the children learn to enjoy and love Haven Point as much as the rest of the town do or will they, like Dani, continue to keep their feelings hidden?

This is a story of learning to trust again and giving yourself permission to believe in yourself and others. You never know who will come into your life and make you believe in these things again, you never know who will show you that it is okay to let go of the past and to start living in the present.

I hope you enjoy Season of Wonder as much as I did. RaeAnne always writes such wonderful stories and she certainly does not disappoint with this one!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for allowing me the chance to read such a wonderful heart-felt story!!

I am sorry that it took a bit for my review!! I have left reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

I love RaeAnne Thayne books. She also writes the most heart felt novels. Season of Wonder is no different. It was a sweet story about second chances, regardless of your past mistakes. Guaranteed to put readers in the holiday spirit.

Very heartwarming and sweet read! I will say the beginning of the book was a little slow to start for me but I still ended up loving the story after sticking with it.

I did not realize this was part of a series when I started it, but as I read it I believe it can be read as a stand alone as well as part of the series.

This story had very well developed characters, and I especially liked the family elements in the story. There were a few steamy kisses, but other than that this book is very sweet with a tiny bit of heat and tension between the love interests.

This is the first book I’ve read by RaeAnne Thayne, but it certainly won’t be the last!

If I’m judging this book by it’s cover, the first thing that goes through my mind is ‘pass’ mostly because it reminds me of something my grandma would read.

Most of Thayne’s books have a quaint cottage on the front and it just doesn’t scream romance to me. Over the last few years, I’ve tried to pick books based on what the summary says versus what the cover looks like.

That was how I found Thayne in the first place. When I was pitched my first Thayne book, the image of the book cover wouldn’t load. I enjoyed the summary and agreed to read it. Then I hoped on Goodreads and was like ‘ugh why did I decide to review a granny book?’

It was too late to back out so I went ahead and decided to soldier on…..to my surprise, the book wasn’t my grandma’s romance novel! It was like watching a Hallmark movie on steroids but in book form!

Now admittedly, I am not a regular Hallmark channel watcher but I do enjoy their holiday romances. So I was thrilled when I was offered the chance to return to Haven Point but at the holiday season!

Dani Capelli seized a chance to start over in a small town with her daughters. Now, facing her first Christmas in Haven Point, she wonders if leaving New York was a mistake. Dani loves working alongside veterinarian Dr. Morales, but her two children aren’t adjusting to small-town life. And then there’s Dr. Morales’s son, Ruben—Dani’s next-door neighbor. Gorgeous, muscled and dependable, the deputy sheriff is everything she secretly craves and can’t bear to risk loving…and losing.

Ruben never pictured himself falling for a big-city woman like Dani. But beneath her prickly facade, she’s caring and softhearted and she needs all the love and protection he can give. When Dani’s teenage daughter starts acting out, Ruben draws on family traditions to show the girls just how magical a Haven Point Christmas can be. But can he convince Dani that she’s found a home for the holidays—and forever—in his arms? (summary from Goodreads)

Most of the time, I save my holiday reading for November so I can have October reserved for all my favorite spooky reads. This book came out this week, so a little early for the wintery holiday reading that comes out mid Oct. Normally I would wait until the holiday season to read or review this one but I was excited to return to this town and familiar characters.

One of the things that I like best about Thayne’s books is that they could easily be read as standalone novels. Sure there are some cross over characters and plots but for the most part each book seems to be an independent romance. I think I would appreciate the series more if I had started from the beginning, but overall I found it unnecessary.

When I am reading a romance, 90% of the time I have to like the male love interest. If he has nothing to draw me in, offer as a romantic interest, or that I might value, then I usually struggle with the romance. In this book Ruben shined for me. He was honorable and I also liked that he was so understanding and willing to take on a ready made family so to speak. Single moms and dating are no joke and I think that it was admirable that Ruben was willing to take that on especially with Dani’s past etc.

I thought Dani was a little difficult to connect with at times. I realize why her character had to be a little standoffish, considering her past, however I was a little put off with her at times. I mean I didn’t hate her by any means, I just thought that I wasn’t as connected to her as I had hoped be.

The dialogue and plot were so realistic and believable. Thayne seems to know how to hit people in the feels and she does it so wonderfully that I don’t mind if some of the content is a little heavy.

What makes this novel though is the setting. I love the town of Haven Point and the Christmas magic really shines in this book! I love holiday romances, it just makes the season so much more cozy and magical. If you are gearing up for your holiday reading, I would strongly encourage you to add this book to your reading list!

Challenge/Book Summary:

Book: Season of Wonder (Haven Point #9) by RaeAnne Thayne

Kindle Edition, 384 pages
Published September 25th 2018 by HQN Books
ASIN B0787B26KT
Review copy provided by: Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own
Recommendation: 4 out of 5
Genre: contempo romance, romance, holiday romance, holiday reading
Memorable lines/quotes:

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

Thayne is quickly becoming one of my go to authors. I love the way she writes. Her stories are so sweet and heartfelt.

This is Dani and Ruben’s story. And they are really great together but the two daughters are my downfall. They are so sweet and real. I just wanted to bring Mia home with me. Silver took a bit but I finally enjoyed her too. But the older ones are always the harder ones to enjoy.

Great book to have ready on hand for your next read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Season of Wonder
RaeAnne Thayne

You can always count on RaeAnne Thayne to deliver a heartwarming holiday tale and Season of Wonder is another prime example. Mix charming, flawed characters, small town pleasantries and pettiness, a slow burning romance, adorable dogs and two needy kids and you’ll get a done to perfection Christmas story.
Dani trying to juggle being a single mom and her brand new Vet practice plus trying to hide a past she’s ashamed of in a nosey small town makes for an engaging page turning read. But the stand-outs in this seasonal story have to be Dani’s daughters 13 year old Silver, troubled but with a heart of gold and 6 year old Mia who’s simply adorable. Plus the four legged costars and the simmering attraction between Dani and the hunky deputy it’s a win win!
So if you’re looking for a sweet and spicy holiday read heavy on the sweet and light on the spicy put Season of Wonder on your wish list.
SUMMARY:
Dani Capelli fresh out of Vet School needed a fresh new beginning far away from her tragic past and when the Haven Point Idaho town Vet offered her an internship with the possibility of taking over his practice she couldn’t move herself and her two daughters fast enough. But not all is good in paradise, when her troubled teen strikes out by breaking the law she wonders if she should run again. Especially when a gorgeous small town cop that she has no business lusting after offers to help get her daughter back on the right track.
Haven Point deputy Ruben Morales always thought he’d be settled by now with 2.5 kids and a sweet agreeable wife. Trouble is his heart keeps pointing him in the direction of the recently transplanted prickly, standoffish new town Vet, the one that comes with two daughters and a past full of secrets. He’s all for breaking the ice but this ice queen has other ideas.

It still feels too early to be reading holiday books, but here we are. And as much as I shivered at the reminders about snow and cold, Season of Wonder is a lovely little story.

It also feels like Haven Point is just down the road from Robyn Carr’s Thunder Point – even though Thunder Point is on the coast of Oregon and Haven Point is in Idaho within a couple of hours of Boise.

Let’s call them sister cities. Or at least sister villages.

Both are small towns where most of the folks are friendly and welcoming of newcomers – and where a family in need of a fresh start has an excellent chance of finding one.

Also, although both series are billed as contemporary romances, and the books in them certainly do include a romance along with its requisite HEA, the real stories often seem to be more in the line of small-town feel good cozy stories. The romance feels like the cherry on the top of the sundae, with that sundae being the newcomers making a place for themselves in a welcoming community in spite of whatever heavy baggage brought them in the first place.

And that’s the story in Season of Wonder, which is a cute holiday story and also feels like a pretty good place to begin your visit to Haven Point if you aren’t already a fan of the series.

Dani Capelli is the new vet in town. She’s got a freshly minted vet degree from Boston, a gigantic pile of student loans and two young daughters. She’s come to Haven Point in the hopes that she can start over, and that her year of interning with retiring vet Frank Morales will enable her to buy his practice when her internship is up.

Both of them want to make this work. Dr. Morales has given her a small house, rent-free, during her internship. He really wants this to work and his wife really wants him to retire. If Dani and her little family like living in Haven Point and the residents of Haven Point end up liking her and thinking she’s a good vet, it could all work for everyone.

But Dani has a past that she wants to bury, along with her late ex-husband. Tommy DeLuca died in a hail of gunfire, robbing a bank and killing two cops, back in Dani’s hometown of Queens. She divorced Tommy years ago, and hadn’t heard from him in all that time.

Which doesn’t mean that when everyone in Haven Point finds out that her ex was a criminal and a cop killer that some people won’t tar her and her daughters with the brush of his crimes. After all, she married him and she had two children with him.

People will speculate that apples don’t fall too far from their parent trees. So when her 13-year-old daughter Silver is caught spray painting her next door neighbor’s boat, she fears that her secret will come out.

After all, her neighbor is a trained investigator – he’s a member of the Haven Point County police. And he’s the son of her boss – who is the one person in town who does know the truth.

When Ruben Morales is more than willing to let Silver clean up all THREE places she tagged in return for not putting her through the system, it gives Dani and Ruben a chance to get to know each other – and to see if the chemistry between them is worth exploring.

Even though Dani is dead certain that a criminal’s ex-wife is no fit partner for a cop. She’s sure he’ll agree, just as soon as he figures out the truth.

Escape Rating B: Season of Wonder is a short and sweet holiday story, just the perfect length to kick off the holiday romance season. (Even if it feels too early to talk about Xmas yet)

But speaking of feels, it feels like the parts of this story that get the most pages are the parts about Dani and her daughters adapting to living in Haven Point – with a bit too big of a heaping helping of Dani’s generally negative self-talk.

The girls, Silver and Mia, are 13 and 6 respectively. They are also day-and-night opposites. Some of that opposition is the age difference. Silver is entering her teenage years, she has all the moody defiance that marks that period of life AND she’s been taken away from her friends and familiar surroundings and stuck in what feels like the middle of nowhere after living in Queens and Boston. That she acts out is not a big surprise – but it is a big disappointment to her stressed-out mother.

Mia is 6 and still believes in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. She’s sweet, light and funny in equal turns. She still sees the best in everyone, and in spite of her initial shyness, is generally a joyful little girl.

It’s Silver who provides most of the drama in the story, as she’s first caught tagging, and is later accused of theft. And it’s the trail of trouble that follows her, not all of it her fault, that both pushes Dani and Ruben together AND pulls them apart.

I’ll admit that I didn’t completely buy the romance. It may be that the book is too short, and there just wasn’t enough time to really make the reader feel the tension between them. A lot went on in a relatively short number of pages. (The blurbs claim 320 but this was only 2800 kindle locs, which is way less than that.)

Dani’s self-talk is very negative, and that’s what causes much of the dramatic tension between her and Ruben. She’s sure she’s a screw-up and a failure, when she most definitely is not. (And not that we don’t all talk to ourselves like that sometimes.) She’s also dead certain that her ex-husband’s terrible crimes are going to follow her and her daughters for the rest of their lives – and there is at least one douchebag in town who espouses that view. But Ruben is also correct that most people, and anyone she might possibly want to associate with AT ALL, will recognize that anything that the jerk did six years after she left him is in no way her fault.

In conclusion, Haven Point is an absolutely lovely little town, especially during the holiday season, and always willing to take a stranger into their hearts. I enjoyed the story of Dani finding her way and her HEA in her new home, and I look forward to many future visits to Haven Point.

Dani Capelli and her two daughters, Silver and Mia, have recently moved to Haven Point from Boston and are having difficulty adjusting to their new lives. Deputy Sheriff Ruben Morales is her neighbor and the son of her mentor at the veterinary practice and wants to help this family fit into their new surroundings. Dani isn't confident of her choices in men and doesn't want to lean too heavily on Ruben, but it's getting harder and harder to refuse him.
This is a sweet romance and a wonderful holiday story of love and forgiveness. I love Haven Point at Christmas time!
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC; all opinions are my own.