WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING ON SUNDAY?

Hey Tasty Readers...For those of you who don't know, this Sunday, Dec 9th at 8pm (CT) is the premier of Christmas with Holly, the Hallmark movie based on Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor written by the amazing, Lisa Kleypas.

 

 

 

Here is a little sneak peak...

 

 



 

 

I am SOOOO excited for the movie and have my DVR set to record...How about you?

 

So set your alarm for 8pm on Sunday night, get the Hot Chocolate ready and snuggle up for a Hallmark Movie that will have you falling in love!

 

 





 



(I am one of "Lisa's Divas" - a group of select fans who share info & content related to Lisa's novels and get sneak peeks & chances to win swag in return.)

A Tasty Reader Reviews

With tomorrow being the official release day for Rainshadow Road, the second novel in the Friday Harbor Series by Lisa Kleypas, I am posting one last review from one of the Wonderful Women who received Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor from A Tasty Read. 

Lisa Kleypas is one of my favorite authors and I have read every one of her books. This is such a sweet story and much better than expected.. It's not long, I read it in one day. Three brothers are introduced but this book focus on one, Mark. He is single and raising his sister's six year old daughter when he meets the young widow who owns a local toy store. There is a spark of attraction between them but Mark already has a girlfriend waiting in the wings for a marriage proposal. He wants to grant his niece's Christmas wish for a new mom. Who will he choose?

The story moves at a good pace and I was a little bit bummed out it was over so quick. I can't wait to read the next book in the series

.

Cindy Kanavy

It seems the Friday Harbor Series not only started out great, but will continue to delight readers with its hint of magic and beautiful, descriptive words by Lisa Kleypas.  I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks about Rainshadow Road.  I hope you all love it as much as I did!!

TOMORROW, A TASTY READ WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF THE COPY OF RAINSHADOW ROAD.  SO IF YOU HAVE NOT ENTERED YET, CLICK HERE  



TASTY READER'S REVIEW

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
Friday Harbor #1
Lisa Kleypas
Published Oct 26, 2010
211 Pages
St. Martin's Press
Source: Gifted by Lisa's Diva's
Reviewed by: Rach & Jennifer



As one of Lisa's Divas, I was given FIVE copies of this wonderful  book to distribute, in order to help promote the Upcoming Release of, Rainshadow Road, On February 28th, 2012, which is the second book in the Friday Harbor Series. 

I have been  fortunate enough to meet some FANTASTIC ladies through Facebook and asked each one of them to write me a review of Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor after they received their copy.  So THANK YOU to my fabulous friends, and fellow Tasty Readers, for saying such great things about the book, and I am so glad that you're all excited for the Upcoming release of Sam's book, Rainshadow Road!! 

And Don't worry ladies....Alex will have his moment in the spotlight soon enough!!

~ Lisa, A Tasty Read



I am thrilled that this book was recommended to me.

What a wonderful story (is it okay to call a story sweet, because that is exactly what it was)!!  How can a person not fall in love with the story line and the characters??

 Maggie, a widow is trying to move on with her life but is still grieving the loss of her husband to cancer. Mark, a bachelor becomes the guardian to his little niece Holly after Mark's sister dies in an accident. Holly has stopped talking since loosing her mother & nothing her uncles try works to get the precious little girl to talk again. Then one day Mark takes Holly to a toy shop(owned by Maggie)and with the "magic" of Fairies & Maggie, Holly starts to talk again. This story is about the romance between a confirmed bachelor who learns how to love & be loved and a widow who thinks she has nothing left to "give" after watching her husband's illness take over.
Holly is the most precious little girl that you find yourself cheering for all of them to have a "happy ever after"

I would highly recommend this story for anyone who is looking for a "feel good" story. In my opinion, you will not be disappointed

~ Rach T.

Disclaimer: My first Lisa Kleypas read.

That being said, I loved it. I didn’t quite know what to expect from Kleypas, but what I got was humor, holiday joy, and a bit teary-eyed at moments.

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor is a shorter read than I’m used to, but it was short and sweet. So chemistry comes fast, and pinnacles quick. I was a little stunned when it was over already, but Kleypas tidied up the ending nicely, and I was still left satisfied.

Maggie Conroy is an adorable heroine, and is both realistic and relatable in her struggles to accept love after, *spoiler alert* becoming a young widow.

Mark Nolan. Although I wasn’t super duper attracted to him, I found his relationship with Maggie to be endearing, even though the beginning of their relationship had a rocky start. *Spoiler alert* Rocky start meaning another woman. That was kind of a turn-off for me. I don’t like men that feel they have to be with someone all the time, and just hold onto them until something better comes along…  But I must say, Kleypas did a wonderful job at keeping Nolan likable, and I did root for him and Maggie. They didn’t have explosive, hot chemistry to me, but I think that just makes the book more pleasing for a wider audience.

Being from the area, I have to say I was disappointed there wasn’t more homage paid to the area. I get off on long descriptions though, and I know some people hate those. Kleypas keeps it short and sweet. Not over the top, which is a good thing. I guess I’m just home sick, and I wanted more in the area of Evergreen State glorification.

Last words: I am recommending this book to my mom and my aunt, both love books with a good emotional pull, books that lack over-the-top descriptions. Chemistry between all of the characters was great. Tame read for those that that aren’t ready for bdsm scenes. No bondage or crazy sex play in this holiday novel ;) Kleypas keeps it cute and classy in Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor.

Lisa Kleypas gained another fan, and I’m dying to read one of her historicals. Oh, and if there’s a follow up to this book, I’m there. Sexy brother Sam has a vineyard with my name on it… I wouldn’t mind cheering up melancholy stud Alex either… Bring it on, Kleypas!

~Jennifer S.


** Have any of my other Tasty Reader read Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor??  Tell me what you thought??  Would love to hear from ALL OF YOU!!  Leave me a comment!!

Friday Harbor Review and Giveaway

As one of "Lisa's Divas", A Tasty Read is helping to promote the Release of Rainshadow Road on February 28th, by getting fellow reader's excited about the Friday Harbor Series.

So, A Tasty Read will be doing a GIVEAWAY of Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor to TWO lucky winners. The ONLY catch is that when you are finished with the book, you need to send me a review of the book to be posted on A Tasty Read Blog.  I want to get the word out there about this AMAZING New Series by Lisa Kleypas....and I need your help to do it!!

To enter the Giveaway....Just leave a comment telling me about your Favorite book by Lisa Kleypas. If you have never read anything by Lisa (which I won't believe), tell me that too!! I'll be picking TWO names tomorrow!! GOOD LUCK!!  (Please leave an email address with your comment)


A Tasty Reader Reviews

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
Lisa Kleypas
Released Oct 26, 2010
211 Pages
St. Martin's Press
Reviewer: Amy L.








In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Washington native who currently lives in one of the cities on Puget Sound with a deep maritime history dating back to the 1900s and the word “harbor” in the name. I’m so nuts about where I’m from that I have visible tattoos identifying my love for my home. I am so proud of where I’m from, I’ve been known to buy books on purpose with the hope of reading words like “latte”, “overcast”, and “salmon”. The Twilight series…fuggetaboutit. I’m on it like stink on poo.

So, a book with “Friday Harbor” in the title set my little Evergreen State heart all aflutter. I went into it with a lot of grace and an unfairly open mind. That being said, I’m not sold on Maggie Conroy and Mark Nolan. Mark Nolan is an artisan coffee roast master on San Juan Island. His sister, a single parent of a six-year-old girlie named Molly, is killed.  Mark becomes the child’s guardian. He decides to raise Molly amongst the mellow slice of heaven that is Friday Harbor. Molly is so shocked by the sudden loss of her only parent that she is rendered mute.

Fast forward six months. Mark finds himself in a quaint toy store with his niece. Molly becomes enthralled by the whimsy of the store and the talk of fairies and magic from store owner Maggie Conroy. With curly red hair and chocolate brown eyes and an air of sadness, Maggie seems to be a character crafted straight from the “River Dance” school of Irish appreciation. Anyhoo, Maggie’s brand of magic and belief resonate with the Sweet Molly Nolan and she is quickly talking again.

Mark Nolan, the militant realist, quickly appreciates stomping on all elements of the fantastic is generally not conducive to successfully parenting six-year-olds. He is drawn in by Maggie’s enthusiasm for children in particular and life in general. He flirts and twinkles at Maggie like eye winks are going out of style. He lays it on thick and the grieving Maggie does not know how to appropriately respond to his attention.

Not all is smooth sailing, however, because Mark is seeing someone in Seattle, a perfectly nice ice queen named Shelby. (Seriously, the crafting of this character was incredibly unappealing. Remember Brian Keith’s girlfriend from the original Parent Trap? Shelby totally reminded me of her. Beautiful and vapid on the outside. Ice cold on the inside.) Mark, using his powers of reason, feels like Shelby is a perfectly reasonable choice of partner, because, heck, they work so well on paper. Meanwhile, he’s dilly dallying with Maggie, because he honestly is more attracted to her. But she’s not the appropriate choice on paper. (I don’t understand his logic. Maggie speaks his de facto daughter’s language; as a parent, that would make someone incredibly attractive. Hey, that’s just me.)

Maggie is wounded by her own past and is hesitant to make herself vulnerable. As a widow, she’s conflicted by her attraction to another man and troubled that she could be attracted to a man like Mark, who is so different from her dead husband. But like all red-blooded American women, is drawn to the tall, dark, and handsome. Mark’s reputation for naughty teenage behavior only enhances this mystique.

I have a fundamental issue taking the leap with Lisa Kleypas. To buy into any author’s fiction, one must believe in the world they’ve crafted. Here’s the thing. Lisa Kleypas wrote about a real place. But the snap, crackle, and pop of a successful romantic pairing is not there -that certain je ne sais quoi that makes the reader root for the couple. I really tried, mostly because I care so much about their setting, but I just found Maggie and Mark desperately forgettable.

Mark is kind of an eel, slipping from one lady to the next without the courtesy of a backward glance. And let’s not forget that he was seeing one woman “exclusively”; this exclusivity was apparently only limited to the Seattle Metro area. (BOO! HISS!) Maggie is more sympathetic, but can read as simpering, immature, and whiny. She nursed a terminally ill husband for a year-and-a-half. This lady should have balls of brass and the organizational skills of a field general.

It all comes down to not caring enough about the characters to have grace for their faults. And, why don’t we care about these characters…because they are crafted in such a superficial, boring, and illogical manner that the reader can’t take the leap of faith with the author. Kinda ironic for a book with the motif of “magic” scattered throughout.

Mark’s brother, Sam Nolan, a vintner who is co-parenting Molly with Mark, is possibly the saving grace of this book. He’s light, funny, and in spite of being an accessory character, is more fleshed out than the protagonists. I am pleased to know that his story will be the subject of the next installment of the Friday Harbor series, Rainshadow Road, due out February 28, 2012. Which I will probably read, because it has “rainshadow” in the title.

A Tasty Reader


Amy Lineaweaver is a mother, wife, and speech-language pathologist who is a recently moved home to the Pacific Northwest. When not responding to the beck and call of motherhood and wifedom, she is an obsessive reader of romantic fiction. She loves a clean house, a dirty mind, and a filthy mouth.