This Matter of Marriage by Debbie Macomber

 

This Matter of Marriage by Debbie Macomber

Goodreads Summery:

The alarm on Hallie's biological clock is buzzing. She's hitting the big three-O and there's no prospect of marriage, no man in sight. Hallie, an organized, goal-setting kind of person, gives herself a year to meet Mr. Knight...In Shining Armor. But all her dates are disasters. (There's the cheapskate and the sex fiend and...well, never mind.)

Too bad she can't just fall for her good-looking neighbor Steve Marris--who's definitely not her type. Anyway, Steve's busy trying to win back his ex-wife, Mary Lynn, who's busy getting married--but not to Steve. Life would be so much simpler if he could fall for someone else. Like...Hallie. They're friends, though--and sometimes friends become lovers. Sometimes friends become more.

This was a fun read. The main character is Hallie and she is about to turn 30 and is still single. She wants the husband and kids so she starts to seriously start to date. She goes on a few disaster dates which in turn leads her to meet her new next door neighbor Steve. He soon becomes her good friend and confidant. Everyone around them see’s they are falling in love but them. It really was a good read. There is a small side story of Hallie’s best friend Donnalee finding love as well.

Steamy scale is a 2. There is no sex but its implied a few times.  

The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Goodread’s Synopsis:
What would make your Christmas perfect? For Cassie Beaumont, it's meeting her perfect match. Cassie, at thirty-three, wants a husband and kids, and so far, nothing's worked. Not blind dates, not the Internet and certainly not leaving love to chance.
What's left? A professional matchmaker. He's Simon Dodson, and he's very choosy about the clients he takes on. Cassie finds Simon a difficult, acerbic know-it-all, and she's astonished when he accepts her as a client.
Claiming he has her perfect mate in mind, Simon assigns her three tasks to complete before she meets him. Three tasks that are all about Christmas: being a charity bell ringer, dressing up as Santa's elf at a children's party and preparing a traditional turkey dinner for her neighbors (whom she happens to dislike). Despite a number of comical mishaps, Cassie does it all and she's finally ready to meet her match. But just like the perfect Christmas gift, he turns out to be a wonderful surprise!
 
This is the first book I have read by Debbie Macomber. The first thing I will say was it was a short book almost a short story. Also this book was only told through the eyes of the female love interest Cassie. I kept getting frustrated because I wanted to know what Simon was thinking. Because the book was so short I never felt like I got to know the characters very well. I did enjoy the plot though. It was fun to read as the climax of the book took place and I enjoyed the side romance of Cassie’s brother and Cassie’s friend but again it was just so short.  If your looking for a quick read this is a great choice. I am looking forward to reading more of her books.
I give this book a rating of 3.5 stars   

I just felt it was over to quick and the book could have been so much more.
On the steamy scale(1-5) I give it a 1. There was kissing and that was it.