Happy Saturday, everyone! We are down to the final three books from The Book Catalog. I’m excited to announce the three books that made a significant impact on my collection. Let’s get started!
#3: Love, Life, & Happiness Christmas
Love, Life, & Happiness Christmas is the seventh and final book in the series. It follows the crew as they celebrate Christmas at the Robinson's cabin. The story explores each couple's journey, allowing readers to catch up with them as they navigate various dilemmas. For instance, Shawn and Riana discuss the possibility of having more children while Shawn considers accepting a new position in his career. Meanwhile, Jayden confronts the fears from his past. Despite the challenges each character faces, the crew remains committed to coming together, overcoming their thoughts and fears, and bonding as a family.
This is why I appreciate this series so much: it focused heavily on family. A family doesn’t have to be made up of blood relatives; it can be built on love and support for one another. The characters in this series embody that idea. No matter what challenges a person faces, you can always count on everyone to have each other’s backs. This strong sense of camaraderie is why readers enjoyed the series so much. That’s also why I have created several spin-offs; I simply can’t let these characters go, and I plan to develop more stories featuring them in the future.
Here is an excerpt from the series, told from Jayden’s perspective, as the crew participates in a tree decoration ceremony.
I watched my loved ones having fun, which made me a little happy, too. I was still upset about what happened, but I’d put it to the side for now and enjoy the time I’m spending with my family. I still had a plan that I could hopefully pull off without anyone finding out.
Shawn glanced around at everyone and smiled. “Okay, I have a game for you all.”
“Oh Lord, I hate to see what this game is,” Cheryl said with a smile.
“It’s nothing bad, Cheryl. We have kids in the room.”
“What is it, baby?” Riana asked.
“Singing contest, men versus women; loser has to wrap the presents.”
“Wrap presents? I thought Santa’s elves did that,” Elis interjected with a confused expression.
Melanie and Marc laughed, and Shawn smiled wider. “They’re stuck doing other gifts right now.”
I’m not up for karaoke,” Kevin complained.
“Oh come on, it’ll be fun,” Carla insisted.
“Have you heard Dad sing? He sounds like cows mooing,” Cristina teased.
Kevin looked at her like she was crazy, and Shawn burst out laughing.
“Let me catch my breath,” Shawn tried to say but couldn’t stop laughing.
Kevin shook his head. “Not everyone can be like you, John Legend wannabe.”
Shawn smirked. “I’m going to take that as a compliment. Anyway, Melanie and Marc can be the judges, and we’ll pick the girls’ song.”
“Just like we’ll choose yours,” Riana said. She excitedly jumped up and went to her room. She came back carrying her karaoke machine.
“I knew we were going to have a lip sync battle, so I had to bring it.”
“Of course. You and that damn machine,” Cheryl teased with a smile.
“It’s one of the first gifts Shawn gave me, so of course it’s sentimental.”
“Fine, we’ll do it; but first, ornament time,” Carla said.
She went over to Mika, flipping through a wedding notebook.
“You know you all still need to plan my wedding,” she reminded us.
“Which we’ll do tomorrow. Tonight, we’re going to have fun,” Riana said.
“Ri, Cheryl, and I thought it would be a good idea to have ornaments made with everyone’s names in their favorite colors,” Carla told us as she opened up a box. She quickly showed us before putting the box back on the table. “We want to start a holiday tradition that will hopefully be the first of many.”
The three passed out ornaments for each person; Ri and Cheryl gave ornaments for Carolyn and Roland to Shawn and Marcus. We each went up to the tree and put their ornament up. When it was Britney's turn, Riana handed her an ornament with her parents’ initials, which made Brit a bit teary-eyed. This was her first Christmas away from them, so I knew she was a bit emotional. She might not show it, but I know her.
“Jay, come on up again,” Riana said.
I raised an eyebrow as she gave a tiny smile.
“I have quite a few for you to put up. Here’s one.” She handed me Zack’s in Italy’s team colors. I smiled, knowing that I won’t be playing with him for a while.
As I set his ornament underneath mine and Britney’s, I made a mental note to call him before the night was over.
“Here’s another one,” Cheryl said. I took a deep breath once I saw the name.
“Whose name is it?” my mom asked.
“Damien’s,” I whispered. To this day, I miss him and his wisecracks at Zack and me. Even with all the crap that went down with his brother, Tyree, he was still my best friend, and I’d always miss him.
“I miss you, bro,” I said, putting his ornament near mine and Zack’s.
“This one we can put up together,” Riana suggested.
I stared at my dad’s ornament in his favorite color, blue. His name was etched in gold letters. I looked at Riana, who was getting teary-eyed, as we each placed a finger around the hook. We placed it above ours and stood back to look at it.
“You know, he would have loved this,” I said.
Riana wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled. “Yeah, he would have.”
#2: In Love With My Best Friend
This is the book that launched my writing career 11 years ago. The story revolves around two best friends who never acknowledged their feelings for each other until one of them got engaged. After a series of mishaps and a fake date, one of the friends decides it's time to confess her true feelings. But is it too late?
When I published In Love With My Best Friend, my initial goal was to release only this book and nothing more. I didn’t plan on publishing another book, but after receiving positive reviews from readers, I thought, "Why not write another one?" This led to A Chance At Love, and eventually, I created an entire series. Now, I can’t imagine not writing because I love what I do. I may not receive as much recognition as I would like, but that’s not what motivates me; it's not going to stop me from writing.
This story opened doors for me, encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone and write more. It inspired me to create other amazing characters, which is why this book holds such significance for me; it marked the beginning of something great in my writing journey.
Here's an excerpt from the story, written from Camille's point of view.
How did my life get so complicated? One minute, I, Camille Anderson, was living a pretty normal life in which nothing ever happened to me, and the next I’m practically being hauled away from the premier wedding venue in Houston, The Corinthian, by security because of my sudden outburst to the groom.
I should have known I was setting myself up for disaster, but I had to do it. I had to tell my best friend that I’d been in love with him since I was thirteen.
I really didn’t expect the scene to unfold the way it did, especially while Trevor was getting married, but I couldn’t hold my feelings in much longer. I felt he was making a terrible mistake, because he was marrying the wrong woman. He should have been marrying me.
I guess I should backtrack to when Trevor and I first met. It was seventeen years ago, when the Williams family first moved into the house next to ours. I was outside waiting for my friend Tia Simmons to come by when I first noticed Trevor. He was absolutely gorgeous as he stepped out of his family’s SUV. He had that “boy next door” look, with wavy black hair and smooth ivory skin. He looked over at me and gave me a huge grin, which I greatly returned.
After that day, not only did we become friends, but our parents became great friends as well. We always went by each other’s homes for dinner or for game night (until we were too old to appreciate hanging out with our parents on a Friday night).
We were practically inseparable during our high school years, and many of our friends thought we would eventually get married and have lots of kids. When anyone mentioned that to Trevor, he would shrug it off and say, “We’re just friends, and it will stay that way until the day we die.” Usually those words would tug at my heartstrings, but being the shy person I am, I never let my feelings show.
As we went to college, Trevor and I went into the same major, public relations. That was when he met Chelsea Parker, who was also my roommate. At first I liked Chelsea because she was basically a sweet person, but when she set her sights on Trevor, I quickly disliked her. Not because she took Trevor away from me, but because she became a different person.
If only I could go back to four weeks ago, or even seventeen years ago, I would be with the man I loved…
#1: Love Always
Love Always is the fifth book in the Love, Life, & Happiness series and the second installment focusing on Riana and Shawn as they prepare for parenthood. The couple has much to celebrate, with Shawn graduating from college and Riana completing her final year. Meanwhile, the rest of their friends are also getting ready to embark on new adventures after graduation.
Out of all the books I have written, this story resonates with me the most, primarily because of the meaningful connection between Riana and Shawn. When I wrote this story, I was essentially writing about my own experiences with my husband. It explores the journey of the couple preparing for parenthood—starting from the moment they found out they were expecting a child, to their initial reactions, especially Shawn's, which made me laugh. The narrative leads up to the actual birth, allowing readers to experience the entire nine-month journey with them, including how each character felt along the way.
The story captures moments such as their discussions about baby names and Riana not knowing if Shawn would show up to the ultrasound since he was at a job interview. These moments are significant and relatable, reflecting experiences I shared with my husband, including the baby name discussions and the birth itself. I found myself laughing while writing some scenes and even cried during the birth scene, as it closely mirrored my own experience when our son was born (though I didn’t go into labor during class; I was in my last year of college at the time).
These moments are meaningful to me, and I hope I was able to convey that to my readers.
This was not only Shawn and Riana’s story; it also marked the end of their crew, as everyone graduated from Shaw and was about to enter the real world. This conclusion signified the end of that part of the series, as everyone's lives were changing and heading in different directions. While that is a common aspect of real life, no matter what happens, if you share a bond as significant as the one this group of friends has, that connection will never be broken.
I have received numerous compliments from readers about this series, which is why it holds such significance for me and what it represents. I’m proud to have written this series, and I am certain that I will revisit these characters again next year.
That concludes the top 20 books from The Book Catalog . I hope you enjoyed this journey with me. Do you agree with the choices? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
As we approach December, get ready for my annual 12 Days of Christmas event in my Facebook reading group. Stay tuned for more details about the event and the annual giveaway!
I hope you all enjoy your weekend. Until then, happy reading! :-)
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