Month: December 2019

New Traditions for a Beloved Holiday by Tracey Garvis Graves | Author Guest Post (+Giveaway)

Posted December 20, 2019 by Jana in Giveaway, Guest Post / 13 Comments

I’m happy to welcome my friend, author Tracey Garvis-Graves to the blog today to share a special guest post about spending her last Christmas in her home before moving to a new one. Read more about her newest release, The Girl He Use to Know, and enter to win a signed copy!


New Traditions for a Beloved Holiday

As I’ve mentioned in my past Bookish Little Christmas posts, Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. A white Christmas is even more exciting, and because it’s already snowed twice in October, the odds are good that we’ll have a nice layer of fresh powder on the ground for the holidays this year. Whether or not we’ll have snow is the only unknown; all of our other traditions will remain the same. The baking! The decorating! The family gathered around the table for our annual surf-and-turf Christmas Eve dinner. But there is one thing that’s changing and it will add a bittersweet element because this is the last year we will celebrate Christmas in this house.

It seems like just yesterday that the kids were babies, and now our son is 20 and our daughter is 17. I guess it’s true what they say because I blinked once and then somehow, twenty years had gone by.

No one can deny that the nest is emptying. Our son has already moved into his first home, and in less than two years our daughter will be off to college. I have pined for an urban neighborhood ever since I wrote Heart-Shaped Hack and immersed myself in Minneapolis’s St. Anthony Main neighborhood. That was back in 2015 and at the time, I’d never actually contemplated leaving my suburban environment. The kids were still too young. It wasn’t time yet.

Fast forward almost five years, and the new urban empty-nest condo is under construction with a tentative move-in date of late August 2020. Next year, Christmas will be spent in a space that is half as big as what we’re used to. I find this both exciting and panic-inducing! How will I ever put out all of my decorations? The answer is that I won’t be able to. I will be forced to keep only what I love and want to take with me. From now until late August it’s going to be all Marie Kondo, all the time up in here. I’ve been applying those principles to my closets for the last couple of years, and I’m already on board. If an item no longer sparks joy, out it goes!

I did have a couple of non-negotiables when purchasing the new condo. For one, there had to be a dining space large enough for the new table that will seat all of us. I also wanted a kitchen big enough for us to cook together, the way we do every year on Christmas Eve. I’m happy to say that these items were checked off with ease. And next year, we’ll have the added bonus of a wonderful view of the downtown skyline when it’s all lit up. Maybe we’ll start a new tradition and go for a walk after dinner so we can enjoy the holiday lights.

Things definitely change when the birds start leaving the nest. A suburban home with its large backyard is no longer necessary. This two-story house with all of its stairs is more of a headache than anything. And, of course, there’s the lawn care in the summer and the snow that must be shoveled in the winter. Downtown Des Moines has so much more to offer for this stage of my life and I can’t wait to be part of an urban neighborhood. Next year, we will kick off a fresh cycle of new traditions and I find that very exciting.

But this year, things will go on as they have for the last fourteen years, and I will take great joy in sticking to the traditions we’ve been adhering to since the kids were six and two, respectively. Home is where the heart is and this year, I believe that more than ever.


The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves
Published by St. Martin’s Press on April 2, 2019
AmazonAdd to Goodreads

What if you had a second chance at first love?

Annika Rose likes being alone.
She feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way. She just can’t read people. She prefers the quiet solitude of books or playing chess to being around others. Apart from Jonathan. She liked being around him, but she hasn’t seen him for ten years. Until now that is. And she’s not sure he’ll want to see her again after what happened all those years ago.

Annika Rose likes being alone.
Except that, actually, she doesn’t like being alone at all.

 


About Tracey Garvis Graves

Tracey Garvis Graves is the New York TimesWall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. Her debut novel, On the Island, spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into thirty-one languages, and is in development with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film. She is also the author of Uncharted, Covet, Every Time I Think of You, Cherish, Heart-Shaped Hack, White-Hot Hack, and The Girl He Used to Know. She is hard at work on her next book.

Tracey loves to interact with her readers and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Darla’s Holiday Party Planning Guide by Sara Richardson | Author Guest Post (+Giveaway)

Posted December 19, 2019 by Jana in Giveaway, Guest Post / 4 Comments

I’m happy to welcome Sara Richardson to the blog today to share Darla’s holiday party planning guide! Darla is the heroine in Sara’s recent Christmas release, A Cowboy for Christmas, and she loves to throw a good party! Read more about the book and enter to win it (and the other books in the Rocky Mountain Riders series) below!


Darla’s Holiday Party Planning Guide

Hi everyone, and welcome to my party planning blog! Since I’m known as the social diva in Topaz Falls (an official title), I’ve gotten a ton of requests to outline my party planning secrets in order to host a successful holiday shindig this Christmas season. I’ve hosted every kind of party, from a Great Gatsby themed birthday party to a last-minute meet the fake future in-laws party (long story, you’ll have to read the book!), and now I’ve sharing all my secrets for how to plan a fun, stress-free event, no matter what your theme or your budget.

Invitations
Fist, invitations set the tone for any event! Are you keeping it casual? Go with a simple text or email. If you want to jazz things up with a special theme or a fancier evening, you can custom design an invitation to fit your event online. These days most people actually don’t want more paper. Of course, if you happen to live in Topaz Falls, you can simply tell Ginny Eckles you’re having a party and she’ll get the word out for you.

Ambiance and Décor
The wonderful thing about having a party during the holidays is that you don’t have to do much in the way of decorating. Hopefully you’ve already put up a few Christmas decorations. At the wine bar I own, I always keep it simple but elegant with fresh greenery, some white lights to provide the mood lighting, and pops of color in big red velvet bows and oversized ornaments hanging from the ceiling. And if you need a little bling, there’s always silver or gold tinsel. Just make sure you keep it away from open flames!

Drinks
Yes, we’re covering the drinks before we’re covering the food, and that’s not just because I own a wine bar! In my humble opinion, the drinks are one of the most important elements of a successful party, especially during the holidays. While you can go simple with the decorations, this is an area you don’t want to skimp on! Nothing kills a festive vibe like bad wine. I always select the wines for a party first, and then take great care in pairing them with the food. I’ll have to write another post on that later (or maybe a book). Of course, for those friends and family who aren’t wine drinkers, or for anyone underage, it’s important to have some other options. I always include a few local beers in my offerings, as well as fruit-infused water and different types of soda. If children are coming to the party, I highly recommend a hot chocolate bar—I promise the kids will love you forever.

Food
After you’ve selected your drink menu, it’s time to plan the food. If you know me at all, you know I always start with dessert. There is no better treat than good-quality chocolate. I make my own chocolate truffles from scratch and specifically formulate them to pair with certain wines. (If you’re interested in ordering a few boxes, feel free to contact me.) Other than dessert, I highly recommend keeping the food offering simple and customizable, with appetizers like a charcuterie board, allowing people to select different meats, cheeses, crackers, nuts and fruits. Limiting food to appetizers keeps everyone mingling, and it also means less preparation and clean up.

Entertainment
If you live in Topaz Falls, the cowboys provide all the entertainment you need. Trust me, ladies! Inviting a few cowboys to your party can really liven things up…just don’t expect them to wear anything except their jeans and boots. If you’re not lucky enough to have a town full of cowboys, you can always hire some. Kidding! You don’t have to have shirtless cowboys there in order to have a successful party. (Though I highly recommend it. ) Aside from cowboys, music is the most important aspect of entertainment at any party. That’s why I recommend you make some time to create a playlist that helps to build a progression through the party. Starting with more mellow songs at the beginning is always good as people are mingling and getting to know each other. Then you want to move more into the lively songs that are better for dancing. What’s a party without dancing, am I right? Personally, I recommend going with a country western playlist that includes a few holiday hits in with a couple of line dancing classics. Nothing gets a party going like the Boot Scootin’ Boogie!

I hope you all find these ideas helpful as you prepare for you Christmas parties! I would love to hear your ideas too! Leave a comment with a party-planning idea or bit of party planning advice and you’ll be entered into our giveaway!


A Cowboy for Christmas by Sara Richardson
Series: Rocky Mountain Riders #6
Published by Forever on October 26, 2019
AmazonAdd to Goodreads 

Come home to Topaz Falls, Colorado, where the best way to spend Christmas is in the arms of a cowboy!

When the beloved Farm Café in Topaz Falls burns to the ground, widow Darla Michaels comes up with the perfect plan to help her friends rebuild — a Cowboy Christmas Festival complete with a sexy bachelor auction and a benefit rodeo. But to pull it off, she has to pretend to be engaged to Ty Forrester, the irresistible bull rider who keeps testing her keep-things-casual policy.

A fake fiancée wasn’t on Ty’s Christmas list this year, but it’s the only way to get his family to visit over the holidays so his NFL-star brother can draw more tourists to the festival. The engagement wouldn’t be such a problem if Ty wasn’t starting to have real feelings for Darla. Knowing he can’t go on pretending, Ty prepares to tell his family the truth–but then he and Darla discover a precious little Christmas surprise that just might help them embrace a whole new life together.


About Sara Richardson

Contemporary romance author Sara Richardson has been a communications manager, copy writer, magazine editor, and whitewater rafting guide. The day after graduating with a master’s degree in journalism, Sara realized she was too empathetic to be a journalist and starting writing her first novel instead. A lifelong fascination with true love quickly led her to the romance genre.

Her Heart of the Rockies series was published by Grand Central Forever in 2015. In 2016, her debut novel, No Better Man, was nominated for a RITA in the best first book category. Sara is passionate about writing stories that inspire people to believe in love and always enjoys connecting with readers. Learn more at www.sararichardson.com.

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Top Ten Books On My Winter 2019-2020 To-Read List

Posted December 16, 2019 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 32 Comments

I love doing these seasonal TBRs because they help me when I’m struggling with which book I should read next! I don’t ALWAYS stick to them, and I rarely read everything on my list since I’m such a mood reader, but it’s fun anyway and helps me remember all the books I’m excited to read!

Whiteout by Adriana Anders

This sounds like a really exciting romantic suspense!

Angel Smith is ready to leave Antarctica for a second chance at life. But on what was meant to be her final day, the research station is attacked. Hunted and scared, she and glaciologist Ford Cooper barely make it out with their lives…only to realize that in a place this remote, there’s nowhere left to run.

Isolated in the middle of a long, frozen winter with a madman at their heels, they must fight to survive in the most inhospitable—and beautiful—place on earth. But the outside world depends on what Ford and Angel know and, as their pursuers close in and their new partnership burns bright and hot, they will stop at nothing to make it out of the cold alive.

 

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I’ve heard such amazing things about this book, and
it sounds like just the thing for me right now!

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world–a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues–a bee, a key, and a sword–that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.

What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians–it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction.

Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose–in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

 

A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee

I love a great rom-com!

Korean-American author Jayci Lee delights with this delicious and light-hearted romantic comedy that readers will devour and ask for more.

Bake a chance on love.

Aubrey Choi loves living in her small town nestled in the foothills of California, running her highly successful bakery away from the watch of her strict Korean parents. When a cake mix-up and a harsh review threaten all of her hard work and her livelihood, she never thought the jaded food critic would turn out to be her one-night stand. And she sure as hell never thought she’d see her gorgeous Korean unicorn again. But when Landon Kim waltzes into her bakery trying to clean up the mess he had a huge hand in making, Aubrey is torn between throwing and hearing him out.

When she hears his plan to help save her business, Aubrey knows that spending three weeks in California wine country working with Landon is a sure recipe for disaster. Her head is telling her to take the chance to save her bakery while her heart—and her hormones—are at war on whether to give him a second chance. And it just so happens that Landon’s meddling friends want them to spend those three weeks as close as possible…by sharing a villa.

When things start heating up, both in and out of the kitchen, Aubrey will have to make a choice—to stick it out or risk her heart.

 

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

This rom-com has one of the most unique-sounding
premises I’ve seen lately, and it sounds like so much fun!

When your nemesis also happens to be your fiancé, happily ever after becomes a lot more complicated in this wickedly funny, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy debut.

Naomi Westfield has the perfect fiancé: Nicholas Rose holds doors open for her, remembers her restaurant orders, and comes from the kind of upstanding society family any bride would love to be a part of. They never fight. They’re preparing for their lavish wedding that’s three months away. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him.

Naomi wants out, but there’s a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.

But with the countdown looming to the wedding that may or may not come to pass, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they’re finally being themselves–and having fun with the last person they expect: each other.

 

The Return by Rachel Harrison

I’ve really been enjoying mysteries and thrillers lately, and this sounds amazingly creepy!

An edgy and haunting debut novel about a group of friends who reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance.

Julie is missing, and the missing don’t often return. But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones that her best friend is out there, and that one day she’ll come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.

 

The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren

My favorite books are frequently by this amazing author duo!

Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.

James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.

Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…

From the “hilariously zany and heartfelt” (Booklist) Christina Lauren comes a romantic comedy that proves if it’s broke, you might as well fix it.

 

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

I’ve heard really awesome things about this one, and Renaissance Faire!!

All’s faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author, Jen DeLuca.

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon’s family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn’t have time for Emily’s lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she’s in her revealing wench’s costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they’re portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can’t seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon, or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

 

Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters

Reenacting meet-cutes from classic romantic comedy movies. Say. No. More.

In this charming, feel-good debut novel, a cynical assistant at a screenwriting agency must reenact the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedy movies in order to help her #1 client get his scriptwriting mojo back–but can a real-life meet-cute be in store for someone who doesn’t believe in happily ever after?

After seven years as an assistant, 29-year-old Evie Summers is ready to finally get the promotion she deserves. But now the TV and film agency she’s been running behind the scenes is in trouble, and Evie will lose her job unless she can convince the agency’s biggest and most arrogant client, Ezra Chester, to finish writing the script for a Hollywood romantic comedy.

The catch? Ezra is suffering from writer’s block–and he’ll only put pen to paper if singleton Evie can prove to him that you can fall in love like they do in the movies. With the future of the agency in jeopardy, Evie embarks on a mission to meet a man the way Sally met Harry or Hugh Grant met Julia Roberts.

But in the course of testing out the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedies IRL, not only will Evie encounter one humiliating situation after another, but she’ll have to confront the romantic past that soured her on love. In a novel as hilarious as it is heartwarming, debut author Rachel Winters proves that sometimes real life is better than the movies–and that the best kind of meet-cutes happen when you least expect them.

 

My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh

Fauxmances always get me, and the fact that it’s also a historical makes it a million times better!

In the first book in Eva Leigh’s new Union of the Rakes series, a bluestocking hires a faux suitor to help her land an ideal husband only to be blindsided by real desire…

Lady Grace Wyatt is content as a wallflower, focusing on scientific pursuits rather than the complications of society matches. But when a handsome, celebrated naturalist returns from abroad, Grace wishes, for once, to be noticed. Her solution: to “build” the perfect man, who will court her publicly and help her catch his eye. Grace’s colleague, anthropologist Sebastian Holloway, is just the blank slate she requires.

In exchange for funding his passage on an expedition leaving London in a few months, Sebastian allows Grace to transform him from a bespectacled, bookish academic into a dashing—albeit fake—rake. Between secret lessons on how to be a rogue and exaggerated public flirtations, Grace’s feelings for Sebastian grow from friendship into undeniable, inconvenient, real attraction. If only she hadn’t hired him to help her marry someone else…

Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he’s faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future—and his heart.

 

Twice In a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

Ditto to the above. I’m seriously behind on my reading!!

Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.

During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.

With Christina Lauren’s signature “beautifully written and remarkably compelling” (Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author) prose and perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, Twice in a Blue Moon is an unforgettable and moving novel of young love and second chances.

Have you read any of these, or are you planning to?


Jennifer’s Bookish Etsy Gift List | Guest Post

Posted December 15, 2019 by Jana in Guest Post / 3 Comments

Today I’m welcoming Jennifer from YA Book Nerd to the blog to share with us her bookish Etsy gift list! I love great bookish merch, and Jennifer has some great recommendations!


Looking for something to get a Book Nerd for the Holidays? I have a few ideas from some of my favorite ETSY shops.

Enamel Pins

There are so many of these. Here are a few:

Well Read from the Word for Word Factory
Get Lit from the ADaesthetic
Treat Yo Shelf from the infiniteANDdarling

Candles

I Live In Fictional Worlds candle from SnuggleFuel
Anne of Green Gables candle from Rose & Adder
Stars Hollow candle from In the Wick of Time

Jewelry

Glasses necklace from The Locket Library
Bookstack earrings from Coryographies
Book Locket from my shop: YA Book Nerd

Pencils and Notebooks

Booknerd Pencils from IceyDesigns – she also makes tons of other fun bookish items
Sarah J Maas quote notebook from BookishStuff
You’re Just as Sane as I am (Harry Potter inspired notebook) from ColorfulGeekness

Artwork

Holly Nichols Illustrations has several bookish prints
Letterwright has Jane Austen book stacks and other bookish prints
Hermoine print from Art of Nathanna Erica

Totes/Bags

Miss Bohemia has this lovely Pemberley Tote plus lots of other bookish goodies.
Bookish coin purse/wallet from The Purple Hedgehog
We lose Ourselves in Books. We Find Ourselves there too! bag from Dreamyandco

 

Jennifer runs the blog YA Book Nerd. She’s a Children’s and Young Adult Librarian in a small town in Connecticut. She loves reading and all things bookish. When she’s not reading or talking about books, she love baking, crafting, reading twitter (@yabooknerd), watching the Celtics, and snuggling with her two dogs. She has an  Etsy shop with some bookish inspired items.

Which item is your favorite??
Do you have any recommendations for places to buy bookish items?


Mine Under the Mistletoe by Kat Latham | Mini Book Review

Posted December 13, 2019 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 4 Comments

Mine Under the Mistletoe by Kat Latham | Mini Book ReviewMine Under the Mistletoe by Kat Latham
Published by Carina Press on December 5, 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Holiday - Christmas, Romance
Pages: 77
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
Add to Goodreads
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Thanks to a transatlantic house swap, California girl Ashley Turner is finally going to fulfill her lifelong dream of a proper English Christmas. Her holiday plans did not include a sexy stranger climbing into her borrowed bed in the middle of the night. But in the light of day, Ashley can't help but wonder if Santa has delivered early...

Game designer Oliver Stansfeld can't wait to leave dreary London—and all its difficult holiday memories—for sunny San Diego. But a freak ice storm and a grounded plane have forced him back to his already-occupied flat. To make up for the mix-up, the least he can do is show his pretty houseguest where to get the perfect Christmas tree before he leaves.

The more time they spend together, the more their attraction grows, and soon Ashley is tempting Oliver to give in to the spirit of the season and snuggle up for the rest of the winter. As the ice melts and flights start taking off again, he must choose between giving in to the past or risking his heart on a chance at love.

Doesn’t this book sound a little like The Holiday? That is one glorious movie and my favorite movie ever, so I was super excited when I found out that this book is about a transatlantic house swap! Even better, a man and a woman are swapping. And even BETTER, the airport gets shut down and she makes it to his London home… but he does not make it to her California home. SO… they have to both stay at his house. I mean, come on. How could you not want to read about this? It sounds super romantic, not to mention an accident waiting to happen! House swapping sounds like one of the coolest adventures ever, but I think I’d be a nervous wreck having a stranger living in my house. Anyways…

Ashley and Oliver are both looking for something. Growing up in poverty, Ashley has never had a real Christmas. And Oliver is looking for a way to survive the pain Christmas brings him. Neither of them were entirely happy to discover they would be sharing a home until Oliver could fly out to California, but they decide to make the best of it after an awkward encounter when Oliver enters his dark room and falls into bed… right on top of Ashley. Oops! She smacks him in his happy place, and he falls to the ground, naked and in pain. And that’s how their love story begins.

Oliver feels for Ashley and her strong desire for a beautiful Christmas, so he takes her shopping for a tree, takes care of her when she slips and falls on the ice, watches her decorate her tree, and enjoys her peppermint hot chocolate. I love the tension and the romance that grows from the bud of friendship. They confide in one another and share their stories, bonding over their sad memories and hope for a better future. I don’t like sad books at all, so I was happy to discover that the book did not feel sad for me. I just felt hope for them and excitement over the possibilities of their love story.

I really enjoyed this sweet, quick Christmas read and would recommend it to people who love The Holiday! While I think that movie is better, this book will make you smile and remind you that the most important part of Christmas is having someone special to share it with.