Quote-Tastic And Review of A Little Christmas Jingle by Michele Dunaway

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks 
Series: Man of the Month #1
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 7, 2014 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | Barnes & Noble | 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads ~

Women, men, stray dogs—everyone's looking for love this holiday season. Sometimes all it takes is a LITTLE CHRISTMAS JINGLE to get into the spirit. . . 

Kat Saunders doesn't believe in miracles—though she sure could use one. She's devoted to her veterinarian business, and all she wants for Christmas is for her practice to include a no-kill shelter. But amidst all the holiday hoopla she forgot about getting the required permits...and time is running out. Just when Kat fears her dream career is DOA, a to-die-for handsome detective shows up at the vet with a desperate puppy. Could it be that Jack Donovan—otherwise known as Mr. December on the Sexy Public Servants Charity Calendar—is the answer to her prayers? He agrees to help Kat with her legal needs, and she will do whatever it takes to express her appreciation. But could this Man of the Month also end up being Kat's true love for all days? A kiss beneath the mistletoe may be all it takes to find out.

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I have another kissing scene this week; they've been catching my attention when I read. Maybe it's the cold weather where I am? :D

Her mouth parted to his feather-light ministrations, the light pressure more erotically tantalizing than a deep, sensual kiss. His delicate kisses skirted the edges of what each wanted, providing delicious hints of what could be, what might happen next should each choose to take the next step, choose to make fake dating truly real.

Her fingers wove into his hair, memorizing the silky texture. She longed to know more, so she slid her tongue along his roughened top lip before he pared and allowed her inside. He tasted of pizza, chocolate, and the promise of more.

Soft, came the thought, as most kisses she'd experienced had been hard and fast-as if they were on a race to the finish line. A prelude to sex. A foreplay necessity.

Kissing Jack was an impressive stand-alone act all by itself. The main event. Its own highlight. 

 

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Bea's Thoughts:

Oh, this was a sweet, cute story with happy endings all around. It was a little sappy at times and it had some annoying misunderstandings but I really enjoyed this story. The animal factor definitely helped. :) I'm a sucker for stories with animals in them and we have several.

Kat is a veterinarian with her own business and also runs a rescue shelter. Her neighbors aren't happy about the latter and keep filing complaints. Jack is a police officer in charge of the police department's animal cruelty task force. He takes that work seriously. The two first meet at a Christmas party fund raiser that he's required to attend. He recently posed for a Sexy Public Servants calendar and he's hiding in a corner at the party, trying to avoid attention, and worse, groupies. He meets an alluring woman who later disappears on him. They meet again when he rescues a dog who was set on fire and Kat's vet office is closest.

Kat and Jack are fun together. They understand each other, they challenge each other, they both love animals, and have devoted their lives to animals. Jack's mother keeps trying to fix him up and Kat needs legal help for her shelter. They agree to pretend to be involved and go on dates together. Of course, his family, who are quirky and interesting, love her and Kat feels bad about deceiving them. Then she thinks that Jack has deceived her about his motivations concerning her rescue shelter. The misunderstanding! The horror! The drama! Yes, Dunaway goes there, but she doesn't drag out it too long.

There's a second misunderstanding concerning Jack's reluctance to get involved for real and that could have easily been resolved but instead we get a break up, Jack groveling, and a heck of a reconciliation. His efforts to win her back were over the top but sweet as could be and heart-warming. Frankly, I think Kat could have done some groveling of her own, she's the one who pulled away and didn't give Jack a chance to clarify his feelings for her. But, Dunaway has a nice flair for drama and Jack goes all out to win Kat back. He, with help from his family, knew exactly how to appeal to Kat; he got her, truly understood her. It was romantic.

I loved the animal aspect and Jingle, the dog who was burnt, gets a happy ending. Dunaway weaves in details about animal abuse and rescue without hitting us over the head. It's an important aspect of the story, not just window dressing, and I actually learned something which is always a bonus.

If you want a sweet, heart-warming story with quirky characters and a blend of sweet and gritty that gives you hope, "A Little Christmas Jingle" is just what you need.