Blue Christmas

Snow Valley Forbidden Kisses #3

by Lucy McConnell

***This book is also available as part of the Amazon #1 Best Selling Romance, Christmas in Snow Valley***
As head of Snow Valley hospital’s fundraising effort, Paisley Hackett barely has time to organize the craft show, cookie decorating party, and the annual Christmas Ball. What she doesn’t have time for is falling in love with Clay Jett, the incredibly handsome bass player who sweeps into town. She’s been burned by a tourist romance before and, with everything going on, Paisley will have to work overtime to protect her heart from Clay and his swoon-worthy ballads.

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Contemporary, Holiday, Clean Romance, Christian, Novella

137 pages, ebook

First published September 29, 2014

About the author

Please hit the follow button. I'd love to keep in touch!

Lucy McConnell loves romance, chocolate, Christmas, horses, music, crochet, and fun!

She believes that romance books should:

Keep you up past your bedtime.

Make you laugh out loud.

Have happy endings.

With that in mind, she's written over 200 novels full of fun and flirty characters who navigate the turbulent waters of romance with open hearts and creativity.

If you enjoy closed-door romance, follow her on Goodreads.♥️

Reviews

[Heidi Robbins (Heidi Reads...) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story, I liked Clay more than Paisley and would have liked to see some of the story from his POV.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paisley is a very organized and efficient woman. She's the one who organizes a lot of the events for Snow Valley's Christmas festival, all in the name of raising money for the hospital. When her older brother's former band-mate comes back to town, Paisley is tempted to brush him off like her brother always warned her to do. But Clay seems to have shed his bad-boy image. When he enlists her help in getting a loan for a recording studio, Paisley finds that she just can't resist his good looks and charm. Not wanting to get hurt by a temporary romance, she does whatever she can to shield her heart.

Paisley is such a fun character with a strong sense of commitment and family loyalty. I love the relationship she has with her brother and his family and the way she is so dedicated to making this Christmas a success. Clay is endearing and he's taken the long road to finding what he truly wants out of life. In his own way, he's very devoted to the important things in life.

I really enjoyed watching their interactions. I loved the way their characters were woven into an already established setting. I love Snow Valley and wish that I could visit this magical place.

Content: kissing. Clean!

*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one quite a bit! I liked Paisley and Clay, they had great chemistry. My favorite parts were when they were together. I thought they had a sweet romance. It was fun spending a little more time in Snow Valley. A great end to the collection.

Content: Clean

Nominated for a 2014 Swoony Award.

[Kathy Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story. Full review to come.

[June Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This holiday novella is filled with wit and good humor. The author does a great job of filling us in on Paisley's and Clay's history from their teen years in Snow Valley. When Clay returns to Snow Valley to help his father years later, the pair get reacquainted.

Many humorous moments are provided by Paisley's four-year-old nephew, Peake. I thought the anecdotes about Peake were hilarious. The by-play between Clay and Paisley is also light and enjoyable--at times. At other times things get quite serious, just as they should when a romance is blossoming. Paisley and Clay both have to overcome some negativity from their pasts as individuals before they can move forward in their current relationship.

The author's ability to paint a picture with words is excellent. Her description of the decorations, refreshment tables, and live music at Snow Valley's annual Christmas Ball made me feel as if I were right there smelling the cupcakes, watching the glittery decorations shimmering in the lights, and hearing the Iron Styx play rock 'n roll Christmas tunes. I also liked her use of colorful vintage clothing worn by the main characters at the dance because I love anything vintage.

The ending of the story is filled with clean and simple romance. (Sigh . . . Isn't love grand?) If you're looking for a fun, quick-read this holiday season, 'Blue Christmas' will definitely hit the mark!

The author sent me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation for reviewing this book.

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[Melody Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something Missing in This One. Did Not Care For It!

I am sorry to say that this book was not even okay for me. I'm in the minority here but it just did nothing for me and made little sense. It is never good when I don't like one of the protagonists and I didn't care for the hero until about 75% through and then I still wasn't real thrilled with him. I would almost label him a trouble-maker in the first half of the book. IMO he did not set a good example for room full of children. The pacing was too slow and it just never seemed to get to the point...any point. The heroine as well as this reader was confused, not having a clue what the hero actually felt for her. He shared very little with the heroine and made no declarations about how he felt about her and I didn't feel happy when it was over. Yes, there was a HEA but it was certainly missing something. I don't know how to explain this but it just felt like there was a lot of small, unimportant, dull, diluted things going on with none being very important or moving the story forward and they were all mushed together to make a story. For me, there was nothing that stood out. No big moment or moments that made you sigh. I struggled to get through it. I'm sorry that I cannot recommend it and I certainly won't reread it like I did some of the other in this series.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Blue Christmas by Lucy McConnell. Paisley has been burned before and when Clay comes to the tree lighting, she is immediately smitten, and tries to talk herself out of liking him. Clay left suddenly when they were younger and no one had heard from him since. Paisley didn't want to have her heart broken again from someone who wasn't staying in Snow Valley.

I was instantly brought into this fun story by Lucy. Paisley was so funny! Her inner voice had me smiling and, at times, laughing out loud. Lucy had some fun and playful dialog between characters. The author does a great job of adding humor along with the romantic tension between Paisley and Clay. Very enjoyable novella with great characters and the perfect amount of romantic tension and fun.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was sort of boring. The h is really hung up on how she was hurt in the past and lets it dictate her life in the now. Good looking H, an old acquaintance, comes back into her life and challenges her to take more chances. To be honest, reading the entire story, as short as it was, in the h's pov was pretty boring. This story needed more character development, more of a plot, just more. It's a short, so I wasn't expecting much, but I will have forgotten this story by tomorrow. I like this author's writing style, though, and I love how clean this story was. It was really sweet, just not memorable. I look forward to reading more by this author, just full length stories from now on. :)

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paisley is organized and loves to plan events, and she does a great job at it. Clay is a talented musician and a dreamer. And Amber is Paisley's awesome sister-in-law who has great clothes, and even better advice. I loved her idea of the "yes" day for Paisley - it was fun watching Paisley leave her comfort zone. It was also fun watching her learn to trust again and realize that she didn't have to be like Clay to be happy with him.

Content: Very Clean
Source: Amazon.com (part of the Christmas in Snow Valley anthology)

[Debra K · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a more detailed review, please check out my review below:

Debra's Book Cafe


Debs :-)

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet ending to this AMAZING Christmas in Snow Valley series! Paisley has found a friend from the past...but will he stay past Christmas and can her heart take if if he doesn't? There is so much FUN in reading about the different activities Snow Valley has to offer. CUTE twist to the ending! LOVED this one!

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a lot of fun! A great addition to the Christmas in Snow Valley anthology! Very sweet, quick read! I loved Clay and Paisley, their relationship, and all of the stories different characters. Cute read.

[Sandra Hartzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a free copy of this book, but this is my voluntary and honest opinion. Paisley is in charge of Snow Valley Hospital’s fundraising events and wants to make sure the holiday events are a success. When her older brother’s best friend, Clay returns to town for the holidays, she discovers he looks nothing like he did when he was in her brother’s band, but she also sees she still has feelings for him. She has been burned, so isn’t interested in starting something with him, but he has other ideas. A touching story about love, trust, and communication.

[Karen Brasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her Rock Star’s ForBiden Kiss

This is a wonderful Christmas story. Paisley had grown up as the little sister of her brother’s band. Her brother had warned her away from them when she was a teenager. Clay had left to persue his dreams and make it in the music business. Now he is home but is he home to stay? Clay had a crush on Paisley when they were younger. Now he is home, he would love to see if she felt the same as he did. She just doesn’t want to give him the time of day. Not to mention she has become a bit of a recluse. Will they be able to get together?

[Rebekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite

I couldn't quite connect with this story. The main female character made me a little crazy. She seemed like a yo-yo, up and down, up and down. And then snap she made up her mind and everything was perfect. I like Lucy McConnell a lot and I love the setting of these books. This one just wasn't a favorite.

Content: Clean
Language: Clean
Religious: some reference to prayer but not really religious.

Happy reading!!

[PATRICIA M KARCHER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Christmas miracle!!!

Wow, wow, and wow!!! Loved this one a great big much!!! Christmas was delivered early. There wasn't a thing I would change. I loved every word, described to a tee. You have to read this one if you believe in finding love!!!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Paisley. And I thought the "Say Yes!" challenge was a fun idea. I can't remember if I've read Lucy McConnell before, but Id read her other books!

[A. Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute Christmas read. Very heartfelt and warm, loved reading this at night as it rained outside. Perfect story for the season.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Christmas romance

This story will keep your chestnuts roasting throughout the entire read. It's an easy, fun read about letting go and inviting love in!

[Rebekah]

This book is also released as " Her Rock Star's Forbidden Kiss"

[Heather Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one, but I wasn't wild about Clay at first. I didn't like his do anything attitude without owning up to the consequences (the frosting incident, for instance). He came off as being really selfish and self-centered in that he did whatever he wanted without regard for others hard work or desires.
I also didn't like that he made Paisley evaluate her life like she was a negative person. I didn't think there was anything wrong with her. He did grow on me from the carnival on. It was a fun story line for the most part. I liked that it was clean. I haven't decided whether or not I would read it again.

[Katrina]

This book needed more interaction between the main characters. I felt like I only got to read half of a book, which considering how short it was that’s pretty accurate. I wish it was longer because I felt it had potential to be a great story.

[Kathryn Svendsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blue Christmas is one of those romance novels that starts off totally with the guy as eye candy. Fortunately, we find out that they have a history and he’s not just another good looking heart-breaker.

The author was able to bring growth to her characters, and to help her readers to care for them and their life stories. It was fun to read the small mentions of some of the characters from the other books in the Christmas in Snow Valley Box Set.

I liked the twists and turns that played with Paisley’s heart and I’m sure most of us that have been in love can relate to them in some way or other. The story was very plausible.

I did notice some glaring errors in this book however. Several times the main character Paisley was referred to as Presley. There were also a few run-on sentences and missing punctuation. I deleted a star for these errors in editing as they can confuse readers.

Overall the story was a delightful light and fun read. I hope we all remember for a lifetime the lesson she learned in this book. I gave Blue Christmas 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion is not required. All thoughts are my own.

This review was published on my blog Shelf Full of Books http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogs...

[Kendra Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little Christmas romance. The story was clean and uplifting all the way through. I really enjoyed it and I'd read it again next year, probably. I gave it three stars for being a good, lighthearted novel. There wasn't anything showstoppingly fabulous about it, but it was fun. I'd compare it to eating a frosted sugar cookie - a fun treat.

If you enjoy clean romance novels and you're looking for something with a holiday theme, this is definitely a good choice for you.

[vvb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story to end this Christmas collection. It included a few characters from the previously read novellas which was a treat.

Holiday events in town are backdrops for different parts of the story including a carnival and Christmas Ball.

The fun twist with this story is the element of music and small rock band musicians.

The romance was a sweet one that is based on friendship from the past.

Overall, I liked reading this set of novellas. I got a sense of Snow Valley and the holiday festivities that occur there. It seems like a nice warm and fuzzy kind of town to visit someday.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was darling. Believable and fun! I loved that the main character was named Paisley. Long lost love, new beginnings, finding those things that make us better people. Another cute, fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Paisley's older brother Sawyer was in a band growing up and she was the dedicated sound board gal. He told her 'no dating the band members' but now that she's grown up and Clay, the bass guitarist, is back in town, things are different. She's an organized planner, he's more of a live-life-to-the-fullest in a spontaneous sort of way. Can they communicate and learn to be happy together? ;)

[B. D. Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable clean romance read. Although part of the Christmas in Snow Valley series it works well as a stand-alone offering. Most reviewers gave this novella five stars, but I did not feel this offering quite met my standard for a five star story. It was too predictable and the only drama was totally manufactured. As a reader I could see early on that Clay had come home to stay. It was only Paisley’s assumption that he would leave that created any tension. So, the best I could do is award three stars for an average kind of story as it did not hold up to the high five star standard typically offered by Ms. McConnell.

[Cindy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blue Christmas is the perfect Christmas romance. Paisley and Clay are so cute, and I loved seeing them fall in love. This book will definitely get you in the mood for Christmas, and make you wish you had your own bass guitar player to sweep you off your feet.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute book. Great way to end the Christmas in Snow Valley series. Fun holiday read.

Moral Note: Can't recall anything.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 2.5. Normally, I do not buy novellas because I prefer full length stories and perhaps that is part of what is at work here. However, I just couldn't fully buy into this relationship. They hadn't know one another that well before and this was more insta-love than anything.