Tag Archives: HM Movies and Mysteries Reviews

Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas

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Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing. If you like movies such as Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas then you should read Sugar and Spice. Sugar and Spice is an endearing, rich, wholesome Christmas book that you’ll never forget.

Sugar and Spice is about a friendship, which grows into love, between Mason and Sheila. It’s a Christmas novella full of love, regrets, and forgiveness. There’s also a bakery and plenty of delicious desserts wrapped within this amazing story. Can Mason and Sheila find the courage to overcome their hang-ups and learn to love again? Sugar and Spice has been an Amazon bestselling novel with several 5-star reviews! Purchase today and tell your friends by sharing this blog post!

Sugar and Spice is an endearing, rich, wholesome Christmas book that you’ll never forget.

Click the link at the end of this blog post to purchase.

Now, let’s discuss Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas.

This was such a sweet and endearing movie.

Jane is on her way to an event via bus. She’s held up by a snowstorm, and is forced to find a place to stay. While crossing a bridge, on her way to a place of lodging, she’s struck by a car. When she wakes up in the hospital – she doesn’t remember anything about her life, or who she is. She suffers from amnesia. She doesn’t have a purse, or ID, so, the staff can’t find out her name.

Her nurse, Paul, is sympathetic to her desire to attend a Christmas tree lighting. She discovers that she was on her way to the Christmas tree lighting when she was held up by the snowstorm. She figures if she goes to the lighting, then, maybe she’ll remember who she really is. Maybe she will see someone or something that would spark her memory. The event is several miles away – so they must take a long road trip to get there. Paul drives since the event is en route to his relatives’ house – where he’s going to be spending Christmas.

I liked the chemistry between Paul and Jane. They can’t act on their emotions because Paul doesn’t know if Jane might be married, and it’s implied she might have a child. As clues are discovered – such as Jane’s lost luggage – and Jane’s brief flashbacks of past events – her memory slowly evolves.

This is a Hallmark movie – so you know that things get rectified by the end! Of course, Jane is not married and is free to be with Paul.

Amnesia has been something that’s always interested me. The subject is strange, sad and fascinating at the same time. I wonder how this movie would have ended if Jane had NOT gotten her memory back? How do you move forward in life if you don’t know who you are? I’d imagine that in such a case, nowadays, it would be fairly easy to discover who somebody is by posting their picture on the news, letting people know that this person is seeking friends/relatives. But, even after finding their family and loved ones – what happens if your memory never returns? What if you have a husband and kids and you never remember who they are?

Could you rebuild your life after such an ordeal?

Do you, or anybody you know ever had amnesia? What was it like? Did it take long to regain memories?

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing. If you like movies such as Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas then you should read Sugar and Spice. Sugar and Spice is an endearing, rich, wholesome Christmas book that you’ll never forget.

Sugar and Spice is about a friendship, which grows into love, between Mason and Sheila. It’s a Christmas novella full of love, regrets, and forgiveness. There’s also a bakery and plenty of delicious desserts wrapped within this amazing story. Can Mason and Sheila find the courage to overcome their hang-ups and learn to love again? Sugar and Spice has been an Amazon bestselling novel with several 5-star reviews! Purchase today and tell your friends by sharing this blog post!

Sugar and Spice is an endearing, rich, wholesome Christmas book that you’ll never forget.

Click the link at the end of this blog post to purchase.

Thanks for listening and have an awesome day!

SUGAR AND SPICE – PURCHASE LINK

A Fabled Holiday

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keywords & hashtags: Christmas in July, #ChristmasinJuly, Christmas, #Christmas, #Hallmark, Hallmark, #CountdowntoChristmas, Countdown to Christmas #Christmasmovies #Christmasmovie Christmas movie, Christmas movies

This blog post was sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like warm, emotional Christmas stories like A Fabled Holiday then you must read Loving Luke by Cecelia Dowdy. Loving Luke is about a reunion between Luke and Kim, two childhood sweethearts. It’s a Christmas novel full of love, regrets, and second chances. There’s also a bakery and plenty of delicious desserts wrapped within this amazing story. Can Luke and Kim find the courage to overcome their hang-ups and learn to love again? Loving Luke has been an Amazon bestselling novel with several 5-star reviews! Purchase today by clicking on the link at the end! Tell your friends by sharing this blog post!

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Did you have a favorite fairy tale as a child? If so, which story was your favorite?

This movie was highly unusual. Talia and Anderson were friends as children. After Talia’s dad dies, she moves away. Both of them keep in touch for a while – Talia sends Anderson fairy-tale-like stories and Anderson enjoys reading them. Years later, they reconnect when Talia moves back into town and is now a bookstore owner.

Due to unusual circumstances, both of them end up at a place called The Gingerbread Inn for Christmas. The Gingerbread Inn is a mythical-like town that doesn’t show up on the map. Both Anderson and Talia have hardships in which they are trying to overcome. Anderson doesn’t know if he’s strong enough to continue practicing medicine. If one of his patients dies, is he at fault? Was there something he could’ve done to save his patient? He beats himself up over this. I felt bad for him. I felt as if he was taking blame for circumstances that were beyond this control.

Meanwhile Talia wants to become an author, but, doesn’t know if she’s good enough to write fairy tales. Is she destined to continue to be a bookstore owner, selling the work of others, giving up on her own dream?

There were other guests at the inn who were working through problems. One man was grieving over his deceased wife. Two other guests happened to be a couple contemplating divorce.

All of the guests are struggling with something and they happen to come to The Gingerbread Inn via a mysterious link to a Christmas fairy tale that they read as children. The town is called Wunderland and during the movie, the characters participate in a lot of yuletide events, such as dressing as elves, and walking down a path, ringing a Christmas bell along the way.

It appears that Hallmark is changing the tone for some of this year’s Christmas movies. Instead of the movie focusing on one couple, it might focus on several couples. I believe that making some of the movies with multiple characters/couples is refreshing.

Did you have a favorite fairy tale as a child? If so, which story was your favorite?

This blog post was sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like warm, emotional Christmas stories like A Fabled Holiday then you must read Loving Luke by Cecelia Dowdy. Loving Luke is about a reunion between Luke and Kim, two childhood sweethearts. It’s a Christmas novel full of love, regrets, and second chances. There’s also a bakery and plenty of delicious desserts wrapped within this amazing story. Can Luke and Kim find the courage to overcome their hang-ups and learn to love again? Loving Luke has been an Amazon bestselling novel with several 5-star reviews! Purchase today by clicking on the link at the end! Tell your friends by sharing this blog post!

Subscribe to this blog by leaving a reply and selecting “Notify me of new posts by email.”

LOVING LUKE

Just in Time For Christmas

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This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like sweet, emotional Christmas love stories such as Just in Time for Christmas then you must read Loving Luke by Cecelia Dowdy. Loving Luke is about a reunion between Luke and Kim, two childhood sweethearts. It’s a Christmas novel full of love, regrets, and second chances. There’s also a bakery and plenty of delicious desserts wrapped within this amazing story. Can Luke and Kim find the courage to overcome their hang-ups and learn to love again? Loving Luke is on Amazon – purchase today and tell your friends by sharing this blog post!

Just in Time for Christmas

Have you ever made a big, life-changing decision and then later regretted it? Did you wish that you’d made a different choice?

When Lindsay’s childhood friend, Jason, asks her to marry him, she’s initially ecstatic. However, a phone call from a university creates a roadmap to her changing plans. She’s been made an offer to publish her book, and to possibly teach at a high-ranking university. She’s excited about this news! However, when she shares her plans with Jason, she’s forced to choose: marry him, or accept the university’s offer. Her book publication deal would require her to move far away. Jason has a bakery – he loves his business and doesn’t want to be forced to relocate.

Lindsay is filled with a plethora of emotions after Jason’s proposal. Should she turn down the book deal, or, should she marry her childhood sweetheart? Her world changes when a stranger older man arrives at a deserted park and offers her a carriage ride. This carriage ride takes her into the future!

I loved how this movie shows how life would’ve been like if Lindsay accepts the university’s offer and turns down Jason’s proposal. After the carriage ride, Lindsay discovers in a few years’ time that she’s a famous author and Jason is engaged to someone else! What’s weird about this is that she doesn’t remember the chain of events that lead to her national stardom! After traveling into the future, the last memory she has is the night that she takes the carriage ride. It’s almost as if a few years of living have been erased from her mind, kind of like amnesia.

I think this movie shows that when we make big, life-changing decisions, that we need to stop and think about what we are doing. Lindsay obviously loved Jason, so, they should’ve talked about alternatives to making their relationship work. Of course, since this is a Hallmark movie, you know that they work out everything in the end, and live happily ever after.

On a personal note, I can relate to Lindsay’s desire to be a famous published author. I’m a romance writer, and when I see my books on the shelves of places like Barnes and Noble, Target, and Walmart, I get a buzz! It’s wonderful for an author to have her work to be admired by those all around the world. I just wish that I’d been able to make my writing business as financially lucrative as Lindsay’s! It’s always been my dream to make a full-time salary for my writing, but, alas, that’s not happened. I still daydream about that, though.

So, have you seen Just in Time for Christmas? Did you like it?

Have you ever made a big, life-changing decision and then later regretted it? Did you wish that you’d made a different choice?

This blog post was sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like sweet, emotional Christmas love stories such as Just in Time for Christmas then you must read Loving Luke by Cecelia Dowdy. Loving Luke is about a reunion between Luke and Kim, two childhood sweethearts. It’s a Christmas novel full of love, regrets, and second chances. There’s also a bakery and plenty of delicious desserts wrapped within this amazing story. Can Luke and Kim find the courage to overcome their hang-ups and learn to love again? Loving Luke is on Amazon – purchase today and tell your friends by sharing this blog post!

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LOVING LUKE

Color My World With Love

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Color my World with Love – PODCAST

 

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like sweet, emotional love stories such as Color My World with Love then you must read Raspberry Kisses by Cecelia Dowdy. Raspberry Kisses is about Rhea, a widow and former pastor’s wife. Her world changes when she meets Martin Lane at a singles retreat. She vowed to never fall in love with another pastor. Can both of these lovebirds find the courage to overcome their hangups and learn to love again? Raspberry Kisses is on Amazon – purchase today and tell your friends by sharing this blog post!

Color My World With Love was such a sweet, inspiring movie. Emma is floored when she discovers that her daugher, Kendall, who suffers from Downs Syndrome, is dating. She’s doubly shocked when she finds out that Kendall becomes engaged to Brad (who also has Downs Syndrome).

Emma’s reaction was realistic. Nic, Brad’s guardian, tries to reason with Emma. Emma has a hard time letting go – she doesn’t think Kendall should marry. Kendall has a lot to do – she’s a painter – and she now has to plan for a wedding. Kendall wants her dad to come to the wedding. Her dad has never been a part of her life and I enjoyed seeing Emma confront Kendall’s wayward father – tried to reason with him – and convince him to come to the wedding.

This movie showed how those with disabilities strive to live their lives the best that they can.

As an aside – I did some research about the actress who played Kendall (Lily D. Moore). I discovered that she’s a student at Clemson. Clemson has a program entitled Clemson Life. The program teaches students with Downs Syndrome life skills. The students learn these skills while living on a college campus. I’d never heard of such a program before and I was glad that I found out about it. I love learning new things.

Color My World With Love reminded me of Life Goes On – a 90’s series that featured a Downs Syndrome main character named Corky. This used to be one of my favorite shows. Ironically, one of the actresses from Life Goes On, Kellie Martin, is also a Hallmark actress. Kellie played the role of Becca on this show.

I had an aunt with Downs Syndrome. When I was a kid, she used to come and spend the entire summer with us. She was so much fun! I remember her knitting and crocheting all the time. We’d stay up late at night watching TV and talking. Those were some good times. She passed away years ago and I still miss her.

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like sweet, emotional love stories such as Color My World with Love then you must read Raspberry Kisses. Raspberry Kisses is about Rhea, a widow and former pastor’s wife. Her world changes when she meets Martin Lane at a singles retreat. She vowed to never fall in love with another pastor. Can both of these lovebirds find the courage to overcome their hangups and learn to love again? Raspberry Kisses is on Amazon – purchase today and tell your friends by sharing this blog post! To purchase Raspberry Kisses, simply click the link at the bottom of this post.

If you like to talk about Hallmark Movies then subscribe to CECELIA DOWDY’S Hallmark Movie Blog!. The Subscribe button is also at the bottom.

RASPBERRY KISSES

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Shades of Chocolate is 99¢ for a Limited Time!

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Hallmark Movies and Mysteries fans MUST READ Shades of Chocolate by Cecelia Dowdy! It’s on sale for 99¢ for a LIMITED TIME! Spread the word by sharing this link with all of your friends! GRAB YOUR COPY BEFORE THE PRICE GOES UP! Leave a sweet review on Amazon if you enjoyed the book!

Our Christmas Journey

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Our Christmas Journey Podcast

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you enjoy movies such as Our Christmas Journey then you should try Rocky Road Dreams by CECELIA DOWDY. Rocky Road Dreams is about a lawyer named Kyle Baxter. Kyle is on a month-long Christmas hiatus from his job. He rents a house on the Outer Banks for his extended vacation. Melanie Richards, his childhood friend, lives across the street. When they were kids, Melanie had a crush on Kyle’s identical twin brother Keith. Kyle never thought he stood a chance with Melanie since she was smitten with his brother. Keith is now married and both Kyle and Melanie are single.

Will Melanie give him a chance?

Kyle’s mom died when he was three and he barely remembers her. He’s determined to find out more about his mom. As Melanie and Kyle reconnect during the holiday season they take a long road trip during a snowstorm so that Kyle can find answers to his questions about his mother. The road trip is also something that Melanie must do so that she can save her business. See ceceliadowdy.com/books or click on the link at the end of this blog post to purchase Rocky Road Dreams. Rocky Road Dreams is available on Amazon.

Our Christmas Journey was a bit different than other Hallmark movies. The reason being that they had a major character with a disability. Off the top of my head, the only other Hallmark movie that I can recall that featured a character with a disability was Hats Off to Christmas.

Our Christmas Journey is about a family who is going away for the holidays. Their trip is not for pleasure. Marcus is a boy teenaged boy with autism. His father, Rick, wants to enroll Marcus in a special program. In order to be considered for the program, the family must bring Marcus to the special-program site so that he can be observed over the weekend. Lena, Marcus’s mother, is surprised that she must drop her son off and have no contact with him for a few days.

During their stay at a nearby house Lena reconnects with Rick. Rick is her ex-husband. Their old feelings return. I like that they both bonded over their son. Rick wants his son to be a part of this program because he believes it will help him. Marcus is not verbal and he sometimes uses sign language to communicate with his family.

One scene that resonated with me was when Mia, Marcus’s sister, has a heart-to-heart talk with her mother, Lena. She mentioned that she always felt that Marcus came first in their lives – and she always had to play second fiddle to her brother – and it hurt. She sacrificed an important event – an event that meant a lot to her – in order to go out of town for the weekend. She said that she wished that her parents paid her more attention. She understood that Marcus had special needs, but, she felt that her needs were pushed aside as if she didn’t matter.

Lena is hurt that Mia feels this way. She apologizes for her past actions.

I’ve often heard that when a family has a child with a disability, the other child/children often feel slighted. They feel that the special-needs child gets all of the attention while their needs are not considered. I can imagine it being hard to give equal attention to all of your children when one child requires special care and attention. Just seeing that scene made me stop and think.

I was glad to see the African-American characters and the special-needs child. Hallmark has really stepped up to the plate regarding diversity over the last four years. Our Christmas Journey is a nice, gentle feel-good Hallmark movie which I highly recommend. 

Holly Robinson Peete was probably chosen for this role since she has a son who is autistic. You can see more about her, and her family’s personal life on Meet the Peetes, a reality show. I believe it was originally aired on Hallmark Channel. Currently, you can see it on Amazon Prime or Discovery +.

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you enjoy movies such as Our Christmas Journey then you should try Rocky Road Dreams by CECELIA DOWDY. Rocky Road Dreams is about a lawyer named Kyle Baxter. Kyle is on a month-long Christmas hiatus from his job. He rents a house on the Outer Banks for his extended vacation. Melanie Richards, his childhood friend, lives across the street. When they were kids, Melanie had a crush on Kyle’s identical twin brother Keith. Kyle never thought he stood a chance with Melanie since she was smitten with his brother. Keith is now married and both Kyle and Melanie are single.

Will Melanie give him a chance?

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Kyle’s mom died when he was three and he barely remembers her. He’s determined to find out more about his mom. As Melanie and Kyle reconnect during the holiday season they take a long road trip during a snowstorm so that Kyle can find answers to his questions about his mother. The road trip is also something that Melanie must do so that she can save her business. See ceceliadowdy.com/books or click on the link at the end of this blog post to purchase Rocky Road Dreams. Rocky Road Dreams is available on Amazon.

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ROCKY ROAD DREAMS BOOK LINK

Rocky Road Dreams – Christmas Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Fans Will Love This

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All Hallmark Fans MUST read ROCKY ROAD DREAMS by Cecelia Dowdy! Christmas, romance and mystery all rolled into one incredible story! Download your copy from Amazon! Tell a friend by sharing this blog post!

Every Time A Bell Rings

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This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing, LLC. If you like movies such as Every Time A Bell Rings, then you MUST READ Rocky Road Dreams by CECELIA DOWDY at ceceliadowdy.com/books. Rocky Road Dreams is about Kyle, an identical twin who lost his mother when he was three. As an adult, Kyle learns his mother was adopted. Kyle has always felt part of his life was missing – since his mom died when he was young. Should he find his maternal grandmother? What will happen if/when he finds her? Will she accept him, or will she refuse to make him a part of her life? The book link for Rocky Road Dreams is also at the end of this blog post.

Do you know anybody who was adopted?

Every Time A Bell Rings is about three estranged adopted sisters. When the three sisters were children they would get on their bikes and do scavenger hunts orchestrated by their dad. As adults the siblings are not as close as they used to be. Their father is now deceased. His dying wish was for the three of them to come back together for one last scavenger hunt. The hunt leads to a bell which they will ring when they find it.

Charlotte, Emily and Nora are the names of the sisters. Charlotte has found her birth mother. She hesitates to tell her mom and her sisters about connecting with her birth mom because she believes they will not approve. Instead, she confides in Liam. Liam is a childhood friend and he remembers when the sisters used to go on scavenger hunts when they were kids. Liam understands Charlotte’s hesitation. She pushes Liam away – not sure if she’s ready to have romance in her life.

Emily is married. She struggles with telling her husband that she is not ready to start a family. Her husband wants them to have a baby. It’s frustrating for Emily since she wants to further her career and having a family right now might prevent her from doing that.

Nora is currently jobless. Her business flopped and now she’s back at home with her mom. She’s assisting her mother with the woodshop – which is the family business.

The sisters bond as they fulfill their dad’s wish and go on one last scavenger hunt.

I totally understood Charlotte’s desire to find her birth mother. I’d imagine, if I were adopted, I’d want to find my birth mother. I’d be plagued with how she looked – did I look just like her? I’d wonder if she had other children and if I had siblings and other relatives. I’d want to connect with these people. But attempting to connect with a birth parent is a risk – what if the birth parent wants to have no contact with the child that they gave up for adoption?

I also understood Emily’s desire to put her business first. She has a start-up company and I know first hand how hard it can be to start a new business. She wants to be sure her business is up and running before she starts a family and that makes perfect sense. She just needs to convince her husband that waiting to start a family is the best plan for her right now.

Nora is embarrassed because her business flopped. I think she feels like a failure since she had to move back home and she’s now living with her mom. It can be embarrassing when one starts a business and it fails. She learns to focus on new beginnings, which was good.

I enjoyed this Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Christmas film.

So, are you adopted? Do you know anybody who was adopted?

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing, LLC. If you like movies such as Every Time A Bell Rings, then you MUST READ Rocky Road Dreams by CECELIA DOWDY at ceceliadowdy.com/books. Rocky Road Dreams is about Kyle, an identical twin who lost his mother when he was three. As an adult, Kyle learns his mother was adopted. Kyle has always felt part of his life was missing – since his mom died when he was young. Should he find his maternal grandmother? What will happen if/when he finds her? Will she accept him, or will she refuse to make him a part of her life? The book link for Rocky Road Dreams is also at the end of this blog post.

ROCKY ROAD DREAMS BOOK LINK

Angels and Ornaments

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This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing, LLC. If you like movies such as Angels and Ornaments, then you MUST READ The Bakery Romance Series by Cecelia Dowdy at ceceliadowdy.com/books. The Bakery Romance Series is a heartwarming Amazon bestselling romance series. The book link is also at the end of this blog post.

Have you ever seen an angel?

Corrine works in a music store with her good friend Dave. Dave is the owner of the music store. Dave has a crush on Corrine but has never acted on it. A Help Wanted sign is placed in the window and Harold, a mysterious man, is hired as a new employee of the music store.

Harold tries to orchestrate the romance between Corrine and Dave. He tells Dave that he must show Corrine his romantic side. Harold also instructs Dave to dress in better clothing and to compliment Corrine. Harold believes if Dave does these things, then Corrine will fall in love with him.

Corrine has a wonderful singing voice. She is dealing with Tim, her cheating ex-boyfriend. Tim’s a jerk and she shouldn’t consider giving him another chance. But she considers giving him a chance when he reconnects with her.  Harold stresses that Tim will hurt her again and that she should not give him a second chance.

Corrine is skeptical about Harold. Who is he? She can’t find any information about him on the internet.

Corrine is mesmerized about the lovestory between her deceased grandparents. Her grandfather was deployed and during his absence, he wrote a song for Corrine’s grandmother. He sent her the sheet music, piece by piece. The last piece of music was received by Corrine’s grandmother on Christmas Eve. Corrine is later granted the wonderful opportunity to sing her grandfather’s Christmas song solo at a community center fundraiser.

It’s later determined that Harold is actually Corrine’s grandfather – returning as an ‘angel’. Harold is reunited with his wife, in death, after his angelic assignment is over.

The plot for Angels and Ornaments was similar to the Hallmark movie Five More Minutes. The elements that are in both movies are:

  1. The Help Wanted sign to hire someone for the business.
  2. The angel who shows up as the new hire.
  3. The angel is actually a deceased grandparent.
  4. The angel guides the characters in the movie and assists them in solving their problems.

You may see my views about angels being portrayed as deceased friends or family members by listening to my post about Five More Minutes.  

I thought Angels and Ornaments was a good movie. I didn’t think that the chemistry between Corrine and Dave was very strong. I didn’t pick up on Dave having a crush on Corrine until Harold came along and said something about it. Maybe the chemistry wasn’t strong because Dave worked hard to hide his feelings since he didn’t want to lose Corrine as a friend.

So, have you ever seen an angel? If the answer is ‘yes’ then leave a comment and tell me more about it.

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing, LLC. If you like movies such as Angels and Ornaments, then you MUST READ The Bakery Romance Series by Cecelia Dowdy at ceceliadowdy.com/books. The Bakery Romance Series is a heartwarming Amazon bestselling romance series. The book link is also at the end of this blog post.

THE BAKERY ROMANCE SERIES BOOK LINK