Guess What October Is?! Swoon Fest!!

What is Swoon Fest you may ask?! Well you see I belong to this awesome book club on Goodreads called Happily Ever After Book Club. Each month we pick a book that we read and discuss. For the month of October we decided that instead of reading just one book that we would dedicate the month to one author and read as many of their books as we can. We all took a vote and the name Swoon Fest was born! :)

My amazing friend Kathy will be hosting this event on her blog, Bookworm Nation. This year the author that we are honoring is Marcia Lynn McClure. And let me tell you I am super excited! There will be a few giveaways, character castings, trivias, quotes and some really yummy recipes! Anyone who is interested is more than welcome to join us! 

I have made my list of books I want to read again. No clue if I'll be able to read them all but I am definitely going to try! Here are the ones I have chosen: 

A Better Reason To Fall In Love

A Crimson Frost

Sweet Cherry Ray

The Heavenly Surrender

Daydreams

Divine Deception

The Time Of Aspen Falls

Sudden Storms

The Rogue Knight

The Pirate Ruse

The Chimney Sweep Charm

One Classic Latin Lover, Please
Tide of the Mermaid Tears

Kissing Cousins

*UPDATE* I realized there was no way I was going to read all the books on my original list so it has been shortened. Crossing my fingers I'll be able to get through the rest of these! But again... not sure if that's going to happen!! Haha.

Can't wait for tomorrow when our First Annual Swoon Fest will begin!! Hope to see some of you there!!

I Belong With You by Shannon Guymon

Synopsis:

Kit Kendall moved to Fircrest with her sisters, Layla and Jane in the hopes of starting over. Baking bread instead of painting is quite the transition but she's never been happier in her life. Too bad life has a habit of throwing her curve balls and Rob Downing, the owner of the Iron Skillet might just be too much to handle. She's not sure whether or not she should catch him or throw in her mitt. Especially when Hunter shows up and decides she's the woman for him. As Kit tries to figure out what her heart has been telling her all along, the bakery comes under attack from a saboteur intent on ruining Belinda's Bakery. With Layla and Michael's wedding only weeks away, they're determined to find the culprit because no one's getting in the way of this happy ending.

My Review: 5 Stars

I love I Belong With You! It is definitely one of my favorites!

Kit has not had the best luck when it comes to men. She has dated guys who are shallow and only see her as eye candy and a trophy. She has never given her heart away to anyone and has definitely never been in love. She holds back and it all seems to stem from her dead beat father.

When Kit first moves to Fircrest she meets Rob. There is instant chemistry and she thinks that it could lead somewhere. But Rob has been burned by beautiful women in the past and pretty much ignores Kit. He thinks that all beautiful women are bad and not good for relationships.

Kit is about to throw in the towel and just give up on men when Michael sets her up on a blind date. When she first meets Hunter she is furious with Michael. Hunter is late, acts cocky, constantly talks about himself and doesn't even attempt to get to know her. But while on their date she gets a glimpse of his insecurities and realizes that who Hunter is on the outside does NOT match who he truly is on the inside. And she decides that it's time to take a chance on love.

Enter back in Rob. Holy cow! What in the world happened to him from the first book till now?! He is just crazy! He doesn't know how to take no for an answer and has to get mommy involved to help him with Kit. Really?! *sigh* The man seriously needed a Gibbs slap and really needed to be put in his place! The man has A LOT of growing up to do before he can enter into any kind of relationship!

And I just have to say that I absolutely LOVED Hunter! He was AMAZING! Talk about a real man! He understands Kit, he gets her, he sees her, he wants to protect her and make her happy. He treats her exactly how she should be treated... like a queen. While the odds are against them, they just fit and are perfect for each other! I love them! :)

On top of having to deal with an amazing man and a jerk, Kit is attacked and ends up in the hospital with a concussion. And someone is still out to sabotage the bakery. Are the bad reviews and the attack on Kit done by the same person or are we dealing with 2 separate attacks?

While all this is going on you get to see Michael and Layla's continued relationship and prepare for their wedding. You also get to see a little more of Jane and what she's going through. Everything is being set up for book 3. Can't wait to read Jane's story! :)

And my casting choices...

You Belong With Me by Shannon Guymon

Synopsis:

Layla Kendall is the oldest of three sisters. She's a burned out social worker one step away from a major depression and she needs a fresh start. When she and her sisters Kit and Jane inherit their grandmother's bakery, she doesn't know if she can trust her good fortune or not. Life has taught her that happiness is just an illusion. But the chance to be with her sisters and get away from the heart ache and pain she's faced day in and day out is a chance she's going to take. The fact that they don't know anything about running a bakery won't stop them. With Layla's new life, come new connections and friendships including Michael Bender, a single dad and someone who wouldn't mind getting to know Layla better. She doesn't trust men and she doesn't want to change her mind but Michael's little girl Stella grabs her by the heart and won't let go. When Layla and her sisters realize that there are people who want to see them fail, it will take a lot of heart and courage to keep going. Layla will have to let go of the past in order to grab onto the future if she'll ever find the love she needs.

My Review: 5 Stars

You Belong With Me was the very first Shannon Guymon book I ever read and I absolutely LOVED it!!

The Love and Dessert Trilogy is about 3 sister who have inherited their grandmother's bakery. They were all living in different places but all needed a fresh start in life. They had their doubts at first but being together and doing something new that they loved brought them even closer than they were before.

Here we have Layla's story. Layla is the oldest and has seen her share of tragedy being a Social Worker. She has lost all faith in men and does not trust any of them. She has had a particularly hard year and was in desperate need of this change.

The first week in Fircrest she meets Michael, a single dad who works in real estate. When she first lays eyes on him she looked right through him as if he wasn't even there! Enter in Stella, Michael's cute little angel daughter, and Layla is seriously a goner! Of course she tries to fight it and when she finally comes to accept that she's falling for Michael, be becomes a bonehead! Stella's mother comes back into the picture trying to win Michael back and the idiot decides to give it another try even though she DESERTED him and his daughter years ago and he was already in love with Layla. But thankfully Michael came to his senses and realized that the person he belongs with is Layla. The hard part?! Trying to win her back after he broke her heart! And boy did she make him work for it! Hehe. I loved it!!

So yes... everything ends up working out for them but that doesn't mean that everything is all hearts and rainbows for the sisters! Enter in the sleezeball Alex Foster and the sister's dead beat dad, Landon Kendell, and you have all kinds of drama happen! Alex wants to buy the bakery and tear it down to build a strip mall (he also has his eye on poor Jane!), the girls refuse to sell, dead beat dad says it should be his and that they owe him, add in a little sabotage and oy vey! Talk about a headache for those poor girls!! What ends up happening?! You're just going to have to read it and find out!! ;)

We also get to meet other characters in the series like Tate (love him) and Rob (possible love interest?!). And the best part?! You get to hear about all the yummy desserts that the sisters make in the bakery!! I would LOVE to have some of those recipes!! They sound AMAZING!! The Love and Dessert Trilogy not only hooked me on Shannon's books but they hooked me on food fiction as well!! Love me some romance with a little.. okay... a lot of sweets!! Mmmm mmmm!!

You Belong With Me is a fun read that I absolutely LOVE and will definitely be read over and over again!! :)

And I made a little change to my casting... had to add Stella into the mix!! ;)