Author: Christi Barth

Sunday Spotlight: The Accidental Fiancé by Christi Barth

Posted February 21, 2021 by Holly in Features, Giveaways | 2 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Sunday Spotlight: The Accidental Fiancé by Christi BarthThe Accidental Fiancé by Christi Barth
Series: Love Lottery #1
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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Is it the chance of a lifetime or his biggest mistake?

When former hotel manager Alex Kirkland, his sister and their best friends pooled their money for an unusual lottery prize—a historic, dilapidated inn on the Maryland shore—as a last-ditch attempt to escape rotten circumstances, they never expected to win. But they’re all looking for a fresh start and a second chance, so Alex convinces everyone to move in and repair the building in time for the spring wedding season.

Sydney Darrow never planned to return to her hometown. But her family needs her and Sydney can endure anything for 90 days—including making sandwiches and serving coffee with a smile until she returns to her jet-setter career. When her grandma mistakes a handsome customer for the “fiancé” Sydney created when she thought her grandma was on death’s door, well...Sydney will do anything to keep her spirits up during treatment. She can persuade him to keep up the charade for a few months, right?

But when Alex agrees to play along, will they both fall for their own fiction?

Excerpt

Alex’s expression morphed into straight-up solemnity, like he’d slipped on a mask. “The four of us have no incoming income until we get this inn running. Damn straight I’m all about the bottom line.”

“I guess I can add practical to your list of traits.” Which she appreciated. It was the people who pretended not to care about money but pinched every penny in secret that were difficult. Hiding things—anything, big or small—never turned out well.

In a tone drier than Death Valley, Alex said, “That is just what every man longs to hear during a proposal. That practicality came in ahead of good looks and sex appeal.”

“I didn’t say that.” Did he truly not know that he smoldered with sex appeal? That he could be the man in a cologne/watch/champagne ad? It was actually endearing that he needed a bit of an ego stroke. “Alex, you’re suavely handsome. Your smiles are rare, and all the more potent because of it.”

Those icy eyes widened in…disbelief? Appreciation? Hard to tell. But then he dipped his chin. “Nice to hear. Was that so hard?”

“I didn’t realize you needed a bit of flirting to consider this favor. It seemed…forward to lead off with cataloging your physical traits.”

“Forward?” A huge belly laugh rolled out of him. It was warm and contagious, even though Sydney knew it was aimed at her. “You just proposed after a grand total of ten minutes of conversation, over two days.”

Men had a tendency to be so darned literal. “I’m not proposing for real. I’m asking for your help. You will, in no way, be obligated to follow through into a fake marriage.”

“Then where does the line get drawn?” Alex braced a hand on the back of the couch and leaned forward. He leaned in so close that his breath warmed her ear. “How interesting does this get?”

For a moment—okay, three—Sydney let herself enjoy the closeness. The heat pumping off him through the waffle-weave shirt onto her chest. The brush of his biceps against the back of her head. How their knees pressed together. It was all intimate and on the edge of…something. She just wasn’t sure what.

Love Lottery

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

Sunday Spotlight: February 2021

Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About Christi Barth

Christi Barth Author Photo

Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage.

A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes award-winning contemporary romance, including the Naked Men and Aisle Bound series. Christi can always be found whipping up gourmet meals (for fun, honest!) or with her nose in a book. She lives in Maryland with the best husband in the world.

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Guest Review: Check My Heart by Christi Barth

Posted January 2, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: Check My Heart by Christi BarthReviewer: Tracy
Check My Heart by Christi Barth
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: July 17th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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three-stars

The death of his little brother turned Kurt Lundquist’s world upside down. He channeled his grief into skating his heart out--and ultimately leading his hockey team to win the championship. Now, all he wants to do is throw a party with the Cup in his brother's honor. He’s got no clue where to start...until he runs into the gorgeous hospice nurse who took such great care of Jasper. She’s waaay off limits, but he’s desperate, and hires her to help him.

Lisette Broussard’s heart broke a little more every time a patient died. Losing the brave brother of a hockey star was the last straw. Learning a new specialty was supposed to change her life for the better, but it used up her savings. Then the slam dunk job with the New Orleans championship hockey team mysteriously disappears. So she jumps at Kurt’s offer of a job, no matter how temporary. No matter how...dangerous, given how much she’s always crushed on him. No matter how risky it is to fall for Kurt, since he’ll always associate her with the grief of losing his brother.

But the more time they spend together, the deeper they both fall. Kurt’s heart begins to thaw...and then heat. Lisette can’t resist him, and throws caution to the wind. She’ll take whatever time he gives her. Can they move beyond the pain of the past and focus on a future together?

Kurt Lundquist is a hockey player and a good one.  When he little brother dies of cancer it changes his life. He wins the Cup because his brother, Jasper, had wanted him to.  Now that he has he’s not sure he wants to continue to be a hockey player.  He is past 30 years old and he’s not sure his heart is in it any longer.  When he runs into Jasper’s hospice nurse while at the hockey facility and finds out she’s there for a job, he asks the team not to hire her.

Lisette loved being a hospice nurse but found that she just couldn’t do it any longer.  She got so attached to her patients and of course, inevitably, they died.  In the end it was too emotional and she decided to quit her job and get re-certified as a physical therapist.  She desperately needs a job and thought she was a shoe-in at the hockey facility but they didn’t hire her.  When Kurt shows up at her apartment telling her that he needs her help planning a party for his day with the Cup to honor Jasper.  Lisette needs a job and she’d do anything for Jasper or his memory so she agrees.

Kurt knows that it’s a bad idea to get involved with Lisette as she’s always remind him of Jasper but he falls in love with her anyway.  Once she finds out that he blocked her job, however, he’s not sure she’ll stay with him.

This was a cute story.  Jasper’s portion of the story was incredibly sad, and Barth did a great job of writing his memory.  Every time that she mentioned him I got a little teary-eyed. Lisette and Kurt’s love story was good, but imho, a little repetitive.  It was mostly them getting together and then worrying that Jasper would always be between them in some way which it never seemed to do.  I understood their fears but after a while it got old I was kind of over it.

In the end it was a cute story.  I do wish there was a bit more hockey in the hockey story but maybe that’s just me.

Rating: 3/3.5 out of 5

three-stars

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Review: The Opposite of Right by Christi Barth

Posted December 30, 2015 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: The Opposite of Right by Christi BarthReviewer: Holly
The Opposite of RightSeries: Bad Decisions #1

Publication Date: November 13, 2015
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Kylie Stafford has spent her whole life doing exactly what's expected. The right major, the right sorority, the right guys, just like her mother and her sister before her. But when everything falls apart for her, Kylie wonders if doing everything right has been utterly wrong. There's only one way to find out! She decides to try making all the wrong choices for three months. Hit on a tattoo-covered rock musician? Check. Go back to his dressing room for a hot hook-up against the wall? Gulp. Drop everything to be a roadie for him to binge on more of the best sex of her life? Maybe. Start falling for him despite her better judgment? Figure out why doing everything that seems wrong feels so darn right?

The premise of this book reminded me somewhat of Meeting Trouble by Emme Rollins, a novella I read last year because it was a free download. I’m happy to report this story worked much better for me.

Kylie is a good girl who has spent her life making decisions based on what others thought were best for her. Now she’s a college graduate with no prospects, since the coveted internship she thought she’d landed fell through. She attends a concert with her best friend and accidentally makes out with the lead singer of the band….then gets roped into being their goodie girl (the one who sells the band’s merchandise) for the evening. She does such a good job of it, they offer her the position until their regular girl recovers from emergency surgery. Good girl Kylie would have said no and gone back home to nurse her depression. But what has being a good girl ever gotten her? So she decides to embrace being a bad girl for awhile, and agrees.

Cam Watson is trying to get his band back on track after a pretty awful year. He made some questionable decisions (that involved a girl), which led to tension between the bandmates and disappointed fans. This tour is their chance to prove their serious about their music and to gain back the following they lost with their last flop. The last thing he needs is to jeopardize that with a girl, but he can’t stay away from Kylie. She’s smart, fun and understands music in a way few people do. But she’s already causing more trouble with his band and making it hard for him to concentrate. He wants her now…and maybe for always.

I thought Kylie would come across as whiny and immature, but I actually really enjoyed her. Instead of seeming careless or flighty, her decision to walk on the wild side showed an inner strength and really allowed her to find herself. She wasn’t reckless, but rather exploring her personal boundaries and deciding what ..and who.. she wanted in the future. I thought her career choice was really interesting and it played well with her position in the band.  I did become a bit frustrated by her refusal to commit to things with Cam, but considering her precarious position in her real life, I understood it.

Cam was a pretty stand-up guy. He made some mistakes that cost him the trust of his fellow bandmates, but he was the first to own up to his behavior. He was doing his best to get things back on track. I liked how committed he was to the band. His slow progression from wanting a quick tumble with Kylie to being all in was really sweet.

This is a novella, so the length worked against the story a bit. I would have liked more background information on all the band members, including the main characters. It ended abruptly. I would have liked to see more with them after their issues were resolved. I can only assume they’ll have a full length book at some point, or be featured as strong secondary characters in the later books.

Though this was short, I really enjoyed the story. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series.

3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars

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Lightning Review: A Fine Romance by Christi Barth

Posted January 14, 2014 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Lightning Review: A Fine Romance by Christi BarthReviewer: Holly
A Fine Romance by Christi Barth
Series: Aisle Bound Trilogy #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: March 11th 2013
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 367
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Book two of Aisle Bound

They say you form your first impression of someone within thirty seconds of meeting them. Or, in Mira Parrish's case, within thirty minutes of not meeting them, when said person is supposed to pick you up from the airport and never shows. This is not a perfect start to her new life. Her friend Ivy is depending on her to run a new romance store, and Mira can't afford to let her down.

Sam Lyons should probably apologize. But every time he sees Mira—which is often, since his family owns the bakery next to her shop—he can't resist antagonizing her. There's something about the sexy, straitlaced woman that drives him crazy. He can't get involved, though. He has too much baggage to be any good in a serious relationship.
Despite his teasing attitude, Mira finds Sam too sweet to resist. (His hot body may be a factor.) But if there's going to be anything permanent between them, they'll need to let go of their pasts and look to the future…
99,000 words

 

I really enjoy books where the hero and heroine are enemies before they’re friends. That was the case here and it played out well. Mira’s bad opinion of Sam is formed before she even meets him, when he leaves her stranded at the airport her first day in town. From there they antagonize each other as often as possible. But there’s undeniable attraction between them. If only Sam was willing to put as much effort into a relationship with a woman who isn’t his mother…and if Mira would let that woman be her.

This is a sweet story. I thought both Sam and Mira held themselves back too much at times, but I can’t deny I enjoyed the getting-to-know you. What really made the story stand out was the cast of secondary characters. The residents of the small town, Sam’s mother, Mira’s best friend…it all came together to create an enjoyable atmosphere for love.

Overall I enjoyed the main characters as well as the secondary. The close-knit group really brought the story together.

3.5 out of 5

This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

three-half-stars

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Review: Planning for Love by Christi Barth

Posted August 28, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Planning for Love by Christi BarthReviewer: Rowena
Planning for Love (Aisle Bound, #1) by Christi Barth
Series: Aisle Bound #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: August 1st 2012
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 226
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three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Hopeless romantic Ivy Rhodes and anti-Cupid Bennett Westcottrequest the pleasure of your company for their disaster of a courtship.

Wedding planner Ivy Rhodes is the best in the business, and she's not about to let a personal problem stop her from getting ahead. So when she's asked to star in the reality TV show Planning for Love, it doesn't matter that the show's videographer happens to be a recent—and heartbreaking—one-night stand.

Bennett Westcott admits he didn't handle his encounter with Ivy very well. But looking at her beautiful smile—and great body—through a camera lens every day? He can't be faulted for suggesting they have some no-strings fun.

The more time they spend together, the more Ben realizes Ivy isn't the wedding-crazed bridezilla he'd imagined. But if he doesn't trust himself to make a relationship last, how can he convince Ivy to give him another chance?

I saw this book around blog land and was curious about it and then when Ames told me that she enjoyed it, I knew I was going to give this one a go. Being a romantic myself, I’m all about the romance. I understood Ivy’s outlook on life because it’s the same one that I’d like to keep for myself. Am I as passionate as Ivy is with that outlook? No, not at all but I do come from a family of good marriages and so of course, I want that for myself. While there were things that I connected to with Ivy, there were some things that I didn’t care for either.

Ivy runs a small wedding planning company with her best friend Daphne. Daphne does more of the floral arrangements and things of that nature but Ivy runs the business side. She’s the face of the company. She’s the one at the weddings that is taking care of every little thing under the sun. She’s drying tears, fixing dresses and cutting the drunks off so that nothing spoils the big day of her clients. She’s damn near perfect and when she meets Bennett Wescott, he wants her in his bed…and gets her.

Ben left Ivy after their night of passion with no plans to return to her, even though he really did like her. He doesn’t do relationships and his family is cursed so anything beyond what they shared that night wasn’t going to happen. They’re total opposites. Ivy is a hopeless romantic with a big wedding in her future while Ben is doing everything he can to avoid a relationship that lasts longer than dinner and a movie, so when they’re thrown back into each others orbit, neither of them are very happy.

What I liked about Ivy is that she was a straight shooter. She dealt with the here and now, didn’t let anything fester and if she was wrong, she apologized. What I didn’t like about her was her juvenile plan to get Ben to fall in love with her. While it wasn’t particularly done badly, I’m still not a fan of games between potential couples and her plan for Ben came off as a game. At least to me it did and I wasn’t a fan.

Then there was Ben. Ben who didn’t do attachments and who was upfront about all of this with everyone. I liked him and there were times when he got on my nerves but I never hated him. I thought his family curse was a bit of a cop out and I was really bothered by the fact that so many different people had to have a talk with him about what he was losing before he realized it for himself. I guess, I would have appreciated Ben’s declaration of love at the end had he come to the realization by himself and not with the help of so many people.

But even with all of those things that bothered me, this was still an enjoyable read and I’m still planning on reading the other books in the series. I’m kind of curious to see who’s story will be next and who Daphne will end up with. I’m also curious about Mira, Ivy’s friend who will be running the new store. I’d like to see more of her in future stories so while this book isn’t my favorite, I still enjoyed it enough that I want more from the others in the story. If you’re in the mood for something light and fluffy, I think this will fit the bill.

Grade: 3 out of 5

This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

three-stars

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