The Kissing Season in Aussie Readers

Nov 18, 2013 Brenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-authors, net-galley, romance, read-on-kindle, 2013-release, arc, own-read, christmas, novella

Hannah Elliot had just returned from a whirlwind marriage and annulment to an almost complete stranger in Las Vegas. Home to her family in Wildwood Point in sunny Western Australia and the condemnation she was sure would follow. The fact that she was also pregnant meant that piece of news was not for public knowledge 鈥� she hesitated to tell her family as she knew what would happen.

Christmas was just around the corner, and in the lead-up she was filling in her hours at the family furniture empori ...more

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Oct 26, 2013 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, arc-are, netgalley-reviews

The Kissing Season, a short and sweet romance novella by Rachel Johns, is an enjoyable distraction during the busyness of the holiday season.

Hannah Elliot has returned home to Wildwood Point after an ill-advised adventure in Las Vegas. Facing her family's disappointment with her impulsive marriage, and the annulment that followed barely a week later, is difficult enough, so admitting she is going to be a single mother is impossible. Yet Hannah is determined to keep her baby, vowing to make more ...more

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Oct 29, 2013 Lauredhel rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian-women-writers-challenge, romance, australian, western-australia, netgalley, aww2013

This is a sweet, uncomplicated romantic holiday novella. It centres on Hannah, a woman who is a few weeks out of a whirlwind Vegas marriage to a stranger, who left the moment she found out she was pregnant. She comes home to her family in the beautiful Southwest of Western Australia, determined to raise her child alone and forgo romantic flings for the foreseeable future. Matteo throws a spanner in the works when he turns up to her family shop to buy a houseful of furniture. The events in the sh ...more

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Dec 01, 2013 Sheree rated it liked it

Shelves: reviews, read-in-2013, own, romance, aussie-author, novella

3.5 stars

My first Christmassy read for the holiday season! After enjoying Man Drought & Outback Dreams, I'm totally on board as a Rachael Johns' fan. The Kissing Season is a sweet romance with a lovely splash of Australian family Christmas tradition.

No question about it Hannah & Matteo are hot together, I wasn't a fan of their first meeting; (I'm not a prude, at all, but my first thought was ... ewww who does that??) I felt like it was included to push the plot forward when it really didn't need ...more

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Dec 23, 2013 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, australian, aww2013, kindle-version, netgalley, novella

Hannah is the black sheep of the Elliot family. While her three brothers are all settled with stable partners and hard at work in the family furniture making business, Hannah has spent the past few years travelling overseas both for adventure and as a way to avoid the fact that she doesn鈥檛 know what she wants to do with her life.

It was no surprise to anyone that Hannah impulsively married a man she barely knew in Las Vegas and it seems that everyone was even less surprised when it didn鈥檛 work ou Hannah is the black sheep of the Elliot family. While her three brothers are all settled with stable partners and hard at work in the family furniture making business, Hannah has spent the past few years travelling overseas both for adventure and as a way to avoid the fact that she doesn鈥檛 know what she wants to do with her life.

It was no surprise to anyone that Hannah impulsively married a man she barely knew in Las Vegas and it seems that everyone was even less surprised when it didn鈥檛 work out. With the marriage annulled, Hannah has returned to Australia and the town where she grew up to work in the furniture store helping out until she figures out what she wants to do with her life. However what her family don鈥檛 know is that Hannah is also pregnant. She hasn鈥檛 told anyone, not since the only person she did tell, the baby鈥檚 father, turned his back on her and filed for the annulment.

When Matteo Della-Bosca strides into the family store looking to furnish the house he鈥檚 just bought, sparks fly between him and Hannah. But Hannah is trying to be good 鈥� after all if ever there was a time to start being responsible, surely it鈥檚 now. She鈥檚 going to be a mother soon and she needs to put her child first. And Matt makes no secret of the fact that while he wouldn鈥檛 mind going to bed with Hannah, he鈥檚 not really the commitment type. Hannah is torn 鈥� she really wants Matt and what鈥檚 the harm in a little fling before she has to settle down and embrace responsibility? However, she鈥檚 not sure that she鈥檒l be able to keep her distance, especially when Matt is so generous and wonderful. But he鈥檚 made it clear he鈥檚 here for a good time, not a long time鈥�.although Hannah might be able to make him see that the long time can be just as fun.

The Kissing Season is a fun novella from rural romance Queen Rachael Johns for the holiday season that is mostly sweet but with just a little bit of spice thrown in for good measure. Hannah has spent the last little while travelling all over the world, something that culminated in an unwise rushed marriage in Las Vegas. The marriage didn鈥檛 work out and Hannah returned home to face the consequences with her family, keeping her own little secret as well. Torn between a desire to have one last fling with a good looking man and embracing her new found life stage, Hannah is kind of treading water. She鈥檚 working in the family furniture business, filling in for someone, she鈥檚 staying with her parents, she鈥檚 not sure how she鈥檚 going to go forward with her life and what she鈥檚 going to do. By contrast, Matt is very focused. He mostly lives in Melbourne but his mother is a local in the town and he has returned home to spend some time with her at Christmas. Matt is successful and spends a large portion of the year travelling around Australia and abroad so he鈥檚 never been looking for something long term. He enjoys flings and casual relationships and it鈥檚 clear that from the time he meets Hannah, he wouldn鈥檛 mind a bit of her Christmas cheer. But then he finds out Hannah鈥檚 secret and things slowly begin to change鈥� for both of them.

It鈥檚 a novella so the story unfolds quite swiftly, especially in the beginning but with each interaction, Matt and Hannah question what they really want just that little bit more. I liked the way that Matt was so supportive of Hannah after she blurted out her secret during what has to be a very inconvenient moment! He had made it clear that he was only after some fun so he could鈥檝e turned and ran but he also saw that she didn鈥檛 really have much in the way of support and that she was really dreading confiding in her family, who she believed were already upset with the failed marriage. Matt offers Hannah a friendly ear and shoulder and also it makes him question things he鈥檚 always thought about himself. Due to his upbringing, he had certain beliefs but once he finds himself actually possibly right in the middle of a situation he always wanted to avoid he begins to realise that he may have been hasty in his thoughts and it doesn鈥檛 have to always go the way that he experienced growing up.

The Kissing Season is a quick read, perfect for summer days at the beach or by the pool in between dips! ...more

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Jan 09, 2014 Helen rated it it was amazing

This is such a great story I loved it and you will not want to put it down a great setting In Western Australia a hot Aussie Christmas love at first sight and one very hot romantic hero in Matteo and Hannah a strong heroine who has got herself in a few scapes over the years. I loved their journey to a HEA this one had me smiling and with tears in my eyes :)

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