Bite-Sized Reviews :: Erynn Mangum Edition

Erynn Mangum has long been a favorite author of mine. Her books never fail to make me laugh! She's self-published several novellas that I'd been meaning to read for a few years now and finally over the Christmas holidays I did. Yay! So I thought I'd just group them together and shower you with Erynn Mangum fabulousness! Great idea, right? :) Let's get to it!

My Revised Christmas List
Love stories where the two people have an awesome friendship first have always been a favorite of mine. So watching Chloe and Landon's friendship turn into something more is just adorable! I loved how, with just a few short pages to tell their story, Ms. Mangum convinced me of their long-standing friendship and just how much these two understood each other. The reader can tell they're made for each other, but it takes the two of them a bit longer to realize it. Which makes for a short and sweet story with much cuteness and fun! :)

Return to Chocolate
I loved this story! I loved Jane the best. Mostly because I could relate to her. Moving back home after being away for several years is not easy. At all! But sometimes the hard things are the necessary things. Of course, my move may have been a lot easier if I'd had a chocolate shop to come home to like she does. Mmmmm. The descriptions of the chocolate in this story just made me crave it! :) And Sam. Oh how I loved Sam! His immediate sweetness to Jane, his understanding of her and how she feels about her family, his care once he knows who her family is, just his overall niceness. Their chemistry is wonderful! This is a sweet bit of cute that I will be rereading again and again.

Merry and Bright
Ms. Mangum really does excel at the friendship-turned-romance stories! Like a lot of her other protagonists, Joe and Kelly have an awesome rapport. They just get each other! Even Kelly's family can see it. Poor Kelly, on the other hand, requires a bit of time with Joe, with no distractions, before she can see what's right in front of her face. But that's the beauty of this story, we get to watch as proximity, due to a snow storm, causes feelings to erupt in all the sweetest of ways. I loved Kelly and Joe together, and with Kelly's family as their not so subtle matchmakers, their love story is meant to be! Definitely recommend!

Identical Differences
Just as sweet as her others! I admit it takes a bit to understand Alexia and her reasons for hating Justin. Especially when he's so nice to her when we meet him. But once I knew her story, I could see where things from our childhood can shape our opinions as adults, even if said opinions are wrong. And Alexia does come to realize how wrong she is thankfully. Because Justin is adorable! Watching these two together made me wish this story was full length because we only get a small glimpse of their beginning and I'd love to read more of their journey. :) My one small complaint is Rachel, Alexia's twin. She was a bit of a bridezilla at times and even though she and Alexia are great sisters, she still frustrated me a bit. I suppose I wished for a little more of an acknowledgement from her about too much focus on herself. But that's a very minor thing and overall I really enjoyed this book.