The Brands Who Came For Christmas by Maggie Shayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.*
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The Oklahoma All-Girl Brands is a six-book, small town, contemporary romance series with shades of HOPE FLOATS and YOU’VE GOT MAIL. Spin off of the bestselling Texas Brand Series.
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Sometimes the best laid plans fall apart.

Maya has been fighting all her life to become "respectable" in a small town with a fairly notorious family. Caleb has spent his life following in the family tradition of politics. In one evening of rebellious behavior for both of them plans... change. Maya and Caleb have come together in a chance meeting that will forever change the direction of their lives. But, before they can come together everything has to seemingly fall apart.
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This was a fairly quick, but enjoyable read. And, yes, there were a few tears. Anyone who enjoys Maggie's writing - and romance in general - will enjoy this story.

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Owlet by Emma Michaels
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
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Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie.
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This story has a unique take on the animal/human pairing - there is no actual shape-shifting involved. As a member of the Stryx, Iris was born with two souls - her human soul and an avian soul. Each type of avian soul has very specific characteristics tied to it such as strength, loyalty, or wisdom. When the two souls work together they can make one very strong and intelligent, but when they are at odds...

Raised by her father, Roger, and Diana, a woman she believes to be only her nurse, Iris also has severe asthma and a large portion of missing memories - including the fact that she is Stryx. When her father learns she has been having reoccurring dreams about an island and what looks like snow, but is in fact white feathers, her world as she knows it starts to crumble.

Roger sends Diana and Iris to the island, which is actually where Iris lived as a young girl, and she reunites with Falcon who helps her to learn about herself and her people; come to terms with the changes that have occurred; and gain the strength to overcome what lies ahead.
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I enjoyed this book. It is mild enough for young adults, but engaging enough for adults who enjoy paranormal literature. I plan to suggest it to my daughter who loves reading as much as I do, and loves owls even more.

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Otherworld Nights by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
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I am a new-comer to Kelley's Otherworld series. I've heard of it - and even have it in my (extremely large) TBR list - but, had not yet managed read any of it. After reading this compilation of short stories it has definitely moved up the list! I do think this would have been a faster read if I'd known the world prior to reading these stories.

I want to know more about Elena & Clay, and how she came to forgive him for taking the choice to change out of her hands. I'd like to know what has shaped their twins into the precocious little kids that they are. (I also can't wait to see how they turn into adults, but I don't think that's in the works as yet!) You get to spend Elena & Clay's honeymoon and a very special Christmas with them. You also meet several other members of their Pack, and get the background story on why Reese has the issues he does.

You meet Adam as a young boy who doesn't know why he has the powers he has, and then meet up with him again as an adult who is trying to come to terms with his relationship with Savannah, a witch who is trying to figure out what she wants out of life.

I also want to know how all of the characters came to know each other as they aren't all of one paranormal subset. (The overwhelming portion of this anthology is devoted to the werewolves, but there are also several short stories about half-demons.)

I don't want to give any spoilers so I will leave it at that.

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