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Christmas Bells are Ringing - Tanya Stowe




Nestled into five beautiful acres just outside Hope Creek, Tennessee, Christmas Inn is an unforgettable place known for its joyful atmosphere and festive setting. Holiday decorations adorn each room. Trees glittering with ribbons and ornaments, gorgeous wreaths, velvet stockings and pine-scented candles brighten visitors’ stay at this vacation spot dedicated to Christmas all year, every year. The resort offers all the usual enticements plus one unique amenity…love. The little white chapel behind the inn, built by the Christmas family in the 1890s, boasts bell tower bells that toll when couples fall in love.
But Christmas Inn has fallen on hard times. The chapel bells haven’t rang for many years, and this Christmas may be the final celebration at the resort…unless love finds its way home.

Book One



Growing up, Ariana Christmas loved spending holidays at her family’s resort. Christmas Inn, imbued with love and the magic of Christmas all year ’round, made her feel like a princess in a fairy-tale castle. But Christmas Inn lost its glow and Ariana became a spoiled little rich girl. Fed up with her wild-child antics, her parents cut off her funds and send her to take care of her ailing aunt and upgrades at the inn.

Taylor Knox is no Prince Charming. He’s a hard working general contractor who took over the family business at a young age. Renovating Christmas Inn is his last project before he hands over the reins to his younger brother and goes in search of his lost youth. Ariana Christmas’s interference threatens to derail his carefully planned timetables. Taylor can refurbish the inn, but Ariana’s hopes of restoring the resort’s old glory seem farfetched. Still, the helpless, clueless, winsome beauty stirs something deep inside him. Is Ariana the sleeping beauty who will awaken the castle and the hero in Taylor? Or is she just another fanciful dream?

Amazon US   Amazon UK

Review:
This one sets the scene for this new series from the Hearts Haven authors.
Ariana has fond memories of Christmas Inn, but finds the present reality is nothing like what she remembered. Somehow she has to help restore the past with a touch of the future intertwined.
Another wonderful story in a hug from the pen of Ms. Stowe. Her descriptions transported me from a cold, damp England, to an even colder, damper southern US state caught in a snowstorm.

Character Interview.

Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself?
     My name is Ariana Christmas. I was born here in Hope Creek, Tennessee but I’ve lived all over the world…east and west coast and London and now I’m back I Hope Creek. I’m twenty-five year’s old. I love planning get-togethers, dancing and my family’s historic inn.

Tell us about where you live and why you choose to live there?
     I’ve chosen to live in Hope Creek again because I need to take care of my aunt Lizzie, but also because I want to help Christmas Inn be the beautiful place it used to be.

What is a quirk of your personality that most people wouldn't know?
I’m a homebody. I have the reputation of being a party girl but the thing I love most is a movie and popcorn at with the people love.


Name two things would you hate people to know about you?
I would hate them to know how far from my true path I drifted. But they know it anyway. My name is food for the gossip magazines. Everyone knows every little detail of life. I’d hate them to know how I left my dear aunt alone. I should have been here for her all these years.

Tell us about your special lady/bloke. What makes her/him special? 
Taylor is special because he’s so easy to get along with. He’s secure with himself and just generally kind so people just naturally let down their guard around him. He helped me to find the real me.

The first time you saw him, what did you think? Did you like him immediately, or did he have to grow on you?
The first time I saw him, I thought he was dreamy…I also thought I’d be able to flash my trademark smile and he’d be putty in my hands. I was wrong. It was the other way around.

What would he hate people to know about him?
Taylor would absolutely hate everyone to know what a softie he is, mainly because people take advantage of his good nature.

What is your favourite thing to eat and drink?
My favorite thing to drink is Starbucks and crème brulee.

If you had to fight, what would be your weapon of choice and why?
If I had to fight my weapon would be a baseball bat. It’s the only thing I could use.

Pepsi or coke
Neither Pepsi or Coke. I’ve been off soda for years.

tea or coffee
Tea and coffee.

elephant or tiger
Elephant. They are so sweet and wise.

roast dinner or burger and chips (fries for our US readers)
Burger and fries. Definitely.

classical music or pop
Pop music.

sunrise or sunset
    Sunrise and sunset. Anytime. Any place.
walk or run
Walk. I hate to run. But I can do a mean speed walk.

chocolate or crisps (chips for our US readers)
Chocolate

What would you like on your epitaph?

She was a good and faithful servant.

Comments

Delia Latham said…
Clare, thank you so much for featuring our books on your blog. You're always so sweet about these things! I enjoyed your review and the interview with Ariana.
Tanya Stowe said…
Thank you, Clare, for the great review. You do such a wonderful job. And thanks for featuring Ariana. She's a fun person!

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