Holiday House Call
Calling It #3.5
Jen Doyle
Dr. Karen Carmichael prides herself on being capable, optimistic and always in control. But even neurosurgeons have breaking points, especially as the holidays approach. When Karen finds herself on the side of the road, explaining to a cop that her less-than-stellar driving was due to stress and tears rather than too much booze, it's humiliating. When that cop turns out to be a one-night stand from her past, it's icing on the bad-day cake.
Officer John "Tuck" Tucker didn't expect to see Karen again after their night together. The circumstances may not be ideal, but convincing this beautiful, stubborn woman to get to know him with his clothes on is more fun than he could have imagined.
Karen swore she'd never fall for someone who risks his life for his job. She sees enough heartbreak at work without inviting it into her personal life, and she has no interest in becoming involved in the small town Tuck calls home. But despite valiant efforts to keep her walls up, her affection for Tuck is growing into something much stronger. With a life built around work alone looking less appealing by the day, Karen will have to take a leap of faith—and trust that Tuck will leap with her.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xYshMc
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/HHC_BN
Kobo: http://bit.ly/HHC_Kobo
Also available at iBooks.
3.5 Stars
Holiday House Call is a Novella in the Calling it series. It's a fast paced, small town, second chance romance featuring Karen and Tuck. This story revolves around a one night stand reappearing in your life, and then discovering their lives are intertwined in multiple ways.
Karen Carmichael is a neurosurgeon, she's stubborn, and struggles to deal with her emotions, and has a tendency to lock everything down tight. She doesn't form many lasting relationships, which is really a form of self preservation.
John 'Tuck' Tucker is the Chief of Police, he's sweet, honest, patient, kind, caring and above all persistent. He's the opposite to Karen in the fact that he is very giving of his time, energy and fund to the community he lives in.
The chemistry between this pair is undeniable, they are both complex and wounded characters who are haunted by their childhoods.
I enjoyed this short and sexy, engaging and entertaining read, but think I would have gotten more out of it if I had read the previous titles in the series, at times I felt kind of lost as I didn't know the back stories or details that went with the names throughout the book. I really enjoyed Jen Doyle's writing style, and look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
A big believer in happily ever afters, Jen Doyle decided it was high time she started creating some. Jen is a member of the Romance Writers of America, as well as a member of the New England Chapter, New Jersey Romance Writers and Music City Romance Writer chapters of RWA. She is represented by Sarah E. Younger of the Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
She has an M.S. in Library and Information Science and, in addition to her work as a librarian, has worked as a conference and events planner as well as a Communications and Enrollment administrator in both preschool and higher education environments (although some might say that there is very little difference between the two; Jen has no comment regarding whether she is one of the "some").
Her first book, CALLING IT, was published by Carina Press in April 2016. It was the winner of The Beacon, the Finish the Damn Book, and the Melody of Love 2014 contests in the Contemporary Romance category, and was also the Contemporary Romance winner as well as the Grand Prize Winner of the 2014 Gateway to the Best contest. Book #2, CALLED UP, will be published on August 29, 2016.