Rating: 
Summary: Finish this series!
Review: I love this author and buy every book she publishes but she's in a rut with this "Bethlehem series". Enough already! Pappano is a a master with character development and I look forward to some fresh plots and new blood.
Rating: 
Summary: I want more!
Review: I've read every Bethleham book since Pappano took us for our first visit to this wonderful town, and I'm always anxious for the next. In a world where children are killing children and loving your neighbor is a forgotten tenet, it's a been a pleasure to get to know this charming town and its friendly citizens via Pappano's imagination. Bethleham is better than a modern-day Mayberry, and I look forward to many more books in which I get first hand look at angels, realistic characters and love.
Rating:
Summary: Great Twist on an old Topic!
Review: Once again, I have to that the AMAZON.COM recommendation crew for picking me another winner. I loved this book! It was sharp, witty and surprisingly touching. In 'First Kiss', the twist is that it's the man who wants to settle down and marry, and the woman who's looking for nothing more than a thrilling affair. Of course, we the readers , know that every good love story needs a little kick-in-the-pants from fate or perhaps something more along the lines of...divine intervention. By the first quarter of the book I was in love with Tom myself, and couldn't figure out what was taking Holly so long to go completely head over heels for this gorgeous hunk. Even the secondary characters here were enjoyable and pleasant, and Holly's confession of love actually brought a tear to my eye. I'll be on the lookout for other books by Ms. Pappano. 'First Kiss' is joining my collection of books I will definately read again.
Rating: 
Summary: Breaks Convention Plus Very Good
Review: One wouldn't think that it would be a genre making move to write about a heroine who is not a virgin. However, the romance genre remains unwilling generally to use other kinds of heroines even with its contemporary romance novels. Thus, author Pappano really bucked that convention by writing about a heroine with a colorful and significant sexual history, who is 37 years old. That neither she nor the hero want children is groundbreaking as well. Essentially, the novel is about two experienced people who fight about whether they can reinvent themselves into a sedate married couple. He thinks they can; she thinks they can't. The heroine's immediate family members are also characters and help us understand how she came to her way of thinking about relationships, especially marriages, not being workable. It's a very good novel, well written but not particularly gripping. It was easy enough for me to put it down and pick it up a day later without any sense of urgency. Ultimately, it just didn't tug on my emotional heartstrings enough. It typically takes that emotional reaction for me to put a novel on my own personal list of five star books.
Rating:
Summary: Breaks Convention Plus Very Good
Review: One wouldn't think that it would be a genre making move to write about a heroine who is not a virgin. However, the romance genre remains unwilling generally to use other kinds of heroines even with its contemporary romance novels. Thus, author Pappano really bucked that convention by writing about a heroine with a colorful and significant sexual history, who is 37 years old. That neither she nor the hero want children is groundbreaking as well. Essentially, the novel is about two experienced people who fight about whether they can reinvent themselves into a sedate married couple. He thinks they can; she thinks they can't. The heroine's immediate family members are also characters and help us understand how she came to her way of thinking about relationships, especially marriages, not being workable. It's a very good novel, well written but not particularly gripping. It was easy enough for me to put it down and pick it up a day later without any sense of urgency. Ultimately, it just didn't tug on my emotional heartstrings enough. It typically takes that emotional reaction for me to put a novel on my own personal list of five star books.
Rating:
Summary: A Winner!
Review: This is the second of Pappano's "Bethlehem" novels I have read. I ordered it after reading "Some Enchanted Season", and I was not disappointed. She paints a picture of an ideal town, and creates characters that are so real, you feel as if you know them; in fact, you will want to know more about them and read all of the "Bethlehem" stories. She tugs your heartstrings with these emotional stories...this one about four abandoned children and the single man who agrees to become their foster father. Both children and parent are in need of healing and they prove to be the perfect medicine for each other. Plus, a sweet romance is blended into the story...altogether it makes this a "can't put down" novel. You will truly enjoy reading this, and the other "Bethlehem" stories by Ms. Pappano.
Rating:
Summary: A warm inspiring tale
Review: Tom Flynn canged his life at sixteen following the death of his mother. Tom never knew his father and realized if he was to make it in life he had to depend on himself. Over the next twenty-four years, Tom modified his list, but never lost sight as to why he developed them in the first place. Now he has achieved all his goals including earning fifty million dollars except one, getting married. However, when he looked at his sacred list, he noticed an additional goal of falling in love that he cannot remember adding on as an objective. In Tom's mind that is impossible, but he is honor bound to achieve anything on his sacred list.In Bethlehem, New York, Holly McBride owns and manages the McBride Inn. She has no time for marriage or love especially after witnessing first hand the destruction of her parents' relationship. However, Holly and Tom begin to reconsider the meaning of love as the magic of Bethlehem nudges them towards one another. FIRST KISS is the latest Marilyn Pappano Bethlehem contemporary romance and like its predecessors, this is a warm, inspiring tale. The lead characters are a charming duo struggling with childhood ghosts that still haunt them. With the help of the townsfolk, a pinch of magic, and love, they still struggle to forge a future together. Ms. Pappano always provides an encouraging romantic story. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: At last -- Tom and Holly's story!
Review: When innkeeper Holly McBride was introduced in my first Bethlehem book, SEASON FOR MIRACLES, she quickly became a favorite with readers. They began asking for her story, and waited patiently while I brought together a few of Bethlehem's other citizens first. But now it's Holly's turn, and try as she might to deny it, Tom Flynn is her man. On his fortieth birthday, Tom decides it's time to get married, and Holly, he's convinced, will be the perfect wife. But she's looking for fun, not love -- for a fling, not a wedding ring. Tom's never been one to back away from a challenge. But it'll take more than single-minded determination to succeed this time. Fortunately, this is Bethlehem . . . where everyone gets a little help from above. "Pappano is a gifted storyteller who never misses her mark when creating a well blended storyline with compelling characters and her unique style of writing, which together combine to make top-notch best-selling romances. FIRST KISS is a remarkable tale of second chances and love that stays in the mind of readers long after the book has been cast aside. A keeper!" -- Connie Stamych, New Age Bookshelf "I loved this story!" -- Lynne Dillon, Old Book Barn Gazette ". . . a warmhearted and compassionate story . . ." -- Romantic Times
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