Title: Tangled Up In Christmas
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Series: Texas Heat Series Book 2
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"Tangled Up In Christmas" by Lisa Renee Jones

My Rationalization:

This was a good Christmas well-written story of a second chance romance that dealt with Hannah and Roarke. We find that these two were once engaged until everything seemed to go up in smoke with a mess between their families. Hannah leaves her hometown of Sweetwater, Texas now returning after 5 years thinking Roarke had cheated on her, now she is back. Will Roarke be able to prove he was set up? How will these two be able to make things right between them by working together on a Christmas festival for their hometown? This will be a story full of a little bit of it all from 'secrets, anger, sadness, drama, romance, explosive chemistry, conflict with family lies, animals and enduring friendships with some remarkable characters' to give the reader quite an entertaining holiday read. To get it all you will have to pick up "Tangled Up In Christmas" to get all of the above questions answered. And in the end a HEA! Also, this author included a bonus read at the end 'Santa Baby' which was another good holiday read involving Caron & Baxter.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

5 Stars for this book by Lisa Renee Jones! It has all the goods; small town romance, cowboys and Christmas! Roarke and Hannah are wonderful to read about and who doesn't love a Christmas Festival!

3.75 stars--TANGLED UP IN CHRISTMAS is the second instalment in Lisa Renee Jones’ contemporary, adult TEXAS HEAT erotic, romance series. This is veterinarian Roarke Frost, and photographer Hannah’s story line. TANGLE UP IN CHRISTMAS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. We were first introduce to Roarke in book one The Truth About Cowboys.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Hannah and Roarke) TANGLED UP IN CHRISTMAS follows the second chance romance and relationship between twenty eight year old photographer Hannah, and thirty four year old veterinarian Roarke Frost. Roarke and Hannah had been best friends all of their lives but seven years earlier betrayal broke Hannah’s heart sending our heroine to Los Angeles, California. Engaged to be married to the man that she loves, Hannah is destroyed when a video surfaces betraying everything she ever loved about Roarke and the small town of Sweetwater, Texas. Fast forward to present day wherein Hannah heads home to Texas in an effort to restart her career, a career destroyed by jealousy and revenge. To Hannah’s surprise and misery, she will come face to face with her past, a past she has never stopped loving but a past she is unable to forgive or forget. Enter veterinarian Roarke Frost. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship and romance between Roarke and Hannah, and the potential fall-out when the truth is revealed.

Hannah ran from Sweetwater, Texas in an effort to forget about the man that she loved. Destroyed by betrayal, Hannah struggled to move on with her life, always comparing every man to the one that she lost. Roarke Frost never got the chance to defend himself, and in this, our hero struggled to move on from the past. A successful veterinarian on the horse circuit, Roarke pushed himself in an effort to forget about the woman that ran away.

The relationship between Hannah and Roarke is one of second chances: a rebuilding friendship and romance between two people destroyed by someone else’s vindictiveness, jealousy, greed and anger. The town of Sweetwater, Texas believed that Hannah and Roarke were always meant to be but only a few people knew what happened to destroy their life-long love affair. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters including Jason and Jessica (The Truth About Cowboys #1); Hannah’s business partner Linda Moore; Roarke’s grandmother Ruth; Jason’s grandmother Martha; Hannah’s parents; Mayor Luke Combs, as well as a number of veterinary interns.

TANGLED UP IN CHRISTMAS is a story of betrayal and vengeance; forgiveness and moving forward; second chances and love. The premise is sexy and inviting; the characters are flirty and sassy; the romance is spicy and seductive. The angst level is low; there is no suspense or threats from an outside source; the conflict resolution is tender and realistic. TANGLED UP IN CHRISTMAS is a delightful addition to the author’s TEXAS HEAT series.

There is also a surprise addition to the ARC-a copy of a previously released holiday novella SANTA BABY by Lisa Renee Jones



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Tangled up in Christmas was a delightful holiday romance. It had endearing characters and a well written storyline. I look forward to reading whatever this talented author writes next. I would definitely recommend this wonderful book.

Second chance romance set during the holiday season.

Roarke and Hannah have a history...bumpy and complicated. As with other second chance romance stories, both MC’s have a lot of mutual baggage...Hannah especially, it seems. Roarke is the confident shining star of the story while Hannah is struggling professionally and personally. Lots of small town antics. Fun bringing in certain family/friends to aid each in their own way.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Who doesn’t love a hot cowboy romance and a Christmas story wrapped up in one? This was a great second chance romance for Roarke and Hannah. The chemistry and the attraction between the couple was so good. The storyline was great and easy to follow. Their relationship ended thanks to a misunderstanding that was never cleared up and now that Hannah is back in town, Roarke is hoping to clear it up. He will do everything in his power to make her realize that she belongs in Sweetwater and with him. Will he succeed in convincing her to stay or is it too late for them both to get what they missed out on?

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Here's the scoop. Tangled Up in Christmas should have been right up my alley. Second chance love story, the holiday season, horses.

However, I seriously felt nothing, NOTHING between Hannah and Roarke for a large portion of the book. I didn't feel any chemisty or connection until Chapter 28, and it was killing me. I also didn't really care for Hannah until then either. Frankly, I don't know how I even held out that long and kept reading.

Once I felt that connection between them, Hannah and Roarke's story finally picked up, and I enjoyed the rest of the book. There was even a part that could've been made into a big old drama-fest, and it wasn't! That was perfect for me.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

What a great second chance love story that is full of family, forgiveness, romance, and so much more. This is Roarke and Hannah’s story. They grew up together and had a relationship which lead to being engaged. Hannah left the state broken hearted due to a misunderstanding and false information. Now she is back 7 years later, and she finds she is still drawn to him. Roarke wants another chance with Hannah also, and we find that they still have a lot of chemistry together. This was a great story that I recommend.

Roarke had been Hannah’s babysitter at one time having been six years older than her. Hannah and Roarke had been best friends all their lives. And fell in love and became engaged to marry. She had been the girl next store and knew Roarke better than anyone. Than Hannah got an email with a beautiful model hanging all over Roarke. Roarke had been a YouTube sensation as “ the Horse Wrangler”. Hannah couldn't forgive his cheating and called off the engagement and never let Roarke even try to explain. Than she ;left Sweetwater-their hometown- and went to LA seven years ago. She worked as a high fashion photographer. Than her boss got caught up in a scandal and she was blacklisted unfairly as well. Hannah moved back to texas and started an event planning business. Linda was a photographer from Dallas who became hannah’s business partner. When Linda got injured she took a job for Linda. Hannah goes to the event and meets up with an old friend Jason- who is Roarke’s best friend. Jason’s fiance wants Hannah to do the planning for the event they are launching. It is in Sweetwater. It is to be a Christmas festival. She would have to spend a lot of time with roarke as he was part of the committee. Roarke was now a veterinarian now. Hannah literally runs into Roiarke at the airport. Hannah tries to stay away from Roarke both physically and emotionally Hannah nor Roarke had ever got over each other.
I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy heartwarming second chance romance. I would have liked to see more of Hannah and Roarke working on their issues. There was a lot of back and forth in this book but in the end it was worth it. I loved the ending. I advise you to read the first book in this series for a smoother read. I loved how everyone in the town pitched in to help Hannah’s ideas happen. I cheered Roarke and Hannah on. I loved Roarke and hannah’s relationship and he could finally tell her the truth. Hannah and roarke definitely had great chemistry. I wish I could rate this 4..5. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it.

I love Lisa Renee Jones' writing and I very much liked this book. It isn't one of my favourites by her but I did enjoy the story and I do recommend this book.

Hannah and Roark were best friends and that friendship developed into love and she thought they would be together forever until she believed that he betrayed her. She left her hometown and created a new life for herself as a photographer in LA until it all came crashing down and she has returned home to regroup.

When everything went down Roark couldn’t believe that Hannah thought he would betray her like she accused but he knows that telling her what really happened would hurt her more than she had already been through so he decided to keep the secret until she came home. The chemistry and connection between them is stronger than ever and he is determined that they will finally have the life together they were destined to have even if that means exposing the past that people would like to remain buried.

This is a second chance at love story between two people who were always meant to be together. It is a story filled with family, friends and emotion as for them to finally have their second chance they must forgive and heal from the past.

Fantastic second chance love.
Roarke is on take charge kind of man. He has loved Hannah for a long time. Hannah is one smart sexy woman. She doesn’t want to admit to her self how she still feels about Roarke. Could not put this book down.

I quite liked this one. I had read the previous one and I was excited to read about Roarke and Hannah. There were several things I enjoyed about this book: it's a second chance romance and while the circumstances that tore them apart in the first place are a little contrived, there was an undercurrent of real problems that both Roarke and Hannah tried to work through when they meet again. I liked that they acknowledge those issues and try to address them.
My only criticism would be that it felt too short and that in some cases I was told more than shown their feelings and actions. I would have liked a little more length in the novel that explored the back and forth between them as they met again. The resolution felt too rushed.

This was one of my most anticipated reads. After finishing Jason and Jessica's story, I've already marked Roarke's story in my head and on GoodReads.

This is a second-chance holiday romance between Roarke, aka the Horse Whisperer and Hannah. There's an age-gap thing but not too much.

I first met Roarke in The Truth About Cowboys book. He was Jason's best-friend... and even though he was only a secondary character, he was already fascinating... Hannah grew up with Jason and him in Sweetwater, Texas. They were neighbors... To be honest, I didn't like Hannah so much. She was being too indecisive mostly throughout the book, and it became frustrating. I don't know if this is just me but yes, she made me roll my eyes more than I could count on one hand.

Overall, I did enjoy the story. I'm a romantic sap after all. It's like reading a country hallmark christmas movie script.

Coming from this author, I just about jumped with excitement over this second chance romance with a heavy dose of small town secrets and scorching-hot passion.

A good man who helps animals, a woman torn over her past with him, and a town alive with Christmas festivals and kids camps. It's sweet and heart-warming, yet also intense with regrets, deeply buried secrets and wild, consuming intimacy that sets fire to bedsheets everywhere.

I found Hannah's circumstances very engaging. She's back from a big city with a heavy heart but still intent on achieving her dreams. Face to face with the man who betrayed her, the sparks and emotions roar a storm in every loaded scene they share. And the explosion of steamy times is phenomenal.

I was moved and enchanted by the whole thing of going back to one's roots with family and friends welcoming Hannah and her fresh, exciting ideas to organize the Christmas events for charity. It mixed well with this broken couple's feelings of raw need and unfinished business. Cookies, animals, the couple from the first book, all are strong elements that support the chemistry and angst between Hannah and Roarke.

I truly enjoyed how this second chance works in stages from rage to longing to trust and reconciliation. This couple exudes love. And the story is filled with joy and hope and understanding, along with family warmth, so it's a perfect match for Christmas. I also enjoyed Hannah's ideas for the social events and how everyone pitched in to help wi so much sense of community. Love for horses and boots, and sizzzling passion wrap it all up in one good ol' romance. I'd have loved it to be even longer.

But it comes with a surprise! Santa Baby is one hot treat that appeals to our secret fantasies of becoming the femme fatale that lures the seducer and conquers him for a night of wild passion.

The bookshop owner transforms herself from shy to emboldened and alluring thanks to a costume-themed gala and some magic feminine boldness. I loved it! It is sweet yet vibrant with sultry desire. And packs a whole plot of suspense, investigations, and trust issues all along with the sensual passion.

Caron fights her insecurities regarding this suave, handsome hottie, and it becomes a renaissance of her strong character and an empowering experience.

The plot grows with the suspense I mentioned. Her down-to-earth, cute personality contrasts beautifully with his strong, generous yet debonair ways. They slowly fall in love while they are harassed by doubts on her part and business troubles on his.

So big trust issues along with the law on their tails ensue, bringing intrigue and dishonesty that increases the tension in delightful ways.

It seemed impossible, but love conquers all and this romance feels warm and perfect in the end, with an extra helping of couples and some bookish paradise. A very worthy read.

Solid 4.5
This is the perfect second chance cowboy read about 2 people who were too young when they first got together but now have another shot at love if only they can get past the secrets and lies and be honest with each other. You can't help but love Hannah especially with how torn she is over Roarke and their past while you feel for Roarke once you find out what really happened when they were younger. The supporting characters just top off this great read and you get to enjoy heartbreak, surprises, worry bout secrets from the past,lots of laughs, great cookies and the hope that true love never goes away.

Another MUST READ from Lisa a Renee Jones.

What a wonder Christmas story of getting a second chance. Hannah and Roarke were engaged but accusations came between them.
Hannah has moved back to Texas after loading her job in LA. She left because she was broken hearted about her fiancé’s “cheating”. After a sex scandal ruins the career of her boss, Hannah finds herself moving back to Texas. Hannah has so many mixed emotions when it comes to her ex fiancé Roarke. At times she seemed like an emotional train wreck. She has never gotten over him and compared any other man to him. She was hound and insecure about herself when she left him years ago. Those insecurity are brought back to the surface whoever she is near him.
Roarke knee things that Hannah did not. No matter how much he loved her, he couldn’t tell her the details surrounding a feud between families. Like Hannah, he has never gotten over her and is a ball of raw emotions whenever she’s around.
As the saying goes “The truth will set you free” is what happens when Hannah learns the truth of her past. Time doesn’t heal all wounds because neither Hannah or Roarke were able to be happy with other people. This is a great holiday read that has you rooting for these two to get their acts together and be whole again. I received an advance copy from Entangled Publishing vía NetGalley in exchange for an honest re Jew. All opinions are mine and were not up influenced by the author,

Lisa Renee Jones knows how to weave magic with her keyboard, creating a beautifully written story, that elicit intense emotions in this reader. I loved this swoon-worthy, charming, tender, heartwarming and wonderful story. Unable to put this down, until this story was over.

Six years ago Hannah fled, leaving her best friend and fiancé Roarke behind, after she received a video of him with another woman. Now she has returned to Texas, after losing her dream job, when her famous boss is caught up in the “Me-Too” movement. Right in to the arms of her ex. Or at least it seems to be fates way of stepping in, since he seems to be everywhere she is. But when she is given a golden opportunity by his best friend, Jason Jenks, to help her new party planning business get off the ground with a Charity event in Sweetwater her hometown she is all in.

History says Roarke Frost is all wrong for Hannah. But his kisses tell a different story. One of pure heat, passion, warmth, tenderness, and love. There is a desperate quality to him, a possessive need that is raw and real. Hannah can’t deny it or him. And Roarke is going to fight for Hannah. #Swoon-worthy. Because there are things she doesn’t know. Warning! The characters in this series are endearing, fun loving, and will capture your heart! Don’t miss It!!

Tangled up in Christmas is a lovely holiday offering by Lisa Renee Jones. Hannah’s boss and photography mentor has been caught up in the “me, too” movement. The fallout has closed the business and blacklisted Hannah, sending her home to Dallas. College roommate and friend Linda has a thriving photography business and has offered to help Hannah with her new event planning venture, including sharing office space. When Linda takes a serious fall resulting in a leg break, Hannah fills in for her at a Texas Rangers event. Hannah never expected to come face to face with her past. First, the person who was like a big brother growing up, Rangers pitcher Jason Jenks, and then the person who broke her heart, veterinarian and Horse Wrangler Roarke Frost.

Upon connecting with Jason and his fiancée Jessica, Hannah and Jessica click and when they learn that Hannah is starting an event planning business they immediately engage her to plan a Christmas festival in Sweetwater to help kick off the kids camp Jason and Roarke are opening and infuse new business in the small town. This event would potentially boost her business in a multitude of ways, but returning to Sweetwater and working with Roarke is a daunting proposition.

In a story fraught with emotion, secrets, and backstory, Lisa Renee Jones has spun a powerful tale that will enthrall the reader from the opening paragraph to the last sentence. I did enjoy this novel and I do recommend it!

so enjoyed this visit to Sweetwater Texas! I immediately was invested in Roarke and Hannah being reunited because I loved them both instantly. While he might seem gruff, Roarke has a heart of gold, as we see by his “Horse Whisperer” status and all he does in his veterinary practice. And he has loved Hannah for years, despite their breakup and false accusations.
Hannah is at a crossroads and not sure she should or can be back home in Sweetwater. While she thinks she’s over Roarke, the minute she lays eyes in him, she knows she’s been fooling herself.
I love the way Roarke is so protective of Hannah, but he can’t shield her from the truth any longer. I’m sure some readers will think their reunion was too fast, but I for one was glad their wasn’t any long, drawn out drama involved...well, more drama than what happened to them six years ago!
No visit to Sweetwater would be complete without Martha and Ruth, as well as the couple from book 1, Jessica and Jason (who I liked much better in this book!)
4.5 very enthusiastic stars!