Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey

 

4*

Laurel Grant has always struggled to find her passion and her place in the world. She also has an unfortunate habit of engaging in workplace romances which invariably go bad, the most recent of which left her homeless and jobless. So when her best friend suggests she apply for a social media position at Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio magazine and website, she gives it a shot and is offered the job. The only hitch? Her new boss Gilbert, who she’s at no risk of falling for, thinks she’s a successful farmer thanks to the Meadow Rise Farm Instagram account she moderates for her twin sister Holly and her husband Darius. Fearful that the job offer will be rescinded if she sets him straight, she keeps up the ruse by writing a monthly column highlighting her life on the farm as a fabulous cook, custom furniture maker, and goat tender. So when Gilbert invites himself for their traditional Christmas Eve Eve dinner, she conspires with Holly to switch places, complete with playing Mom to her niece and nephew. How hard could it be to pull off?

Turns out it’s a lot harder than Laurel thinks when her nemesis, Max Beckett, shows up at Holly’s invitation to play her husband. When a blizzard turns an evening’s dinner into a weekend gathering, it’ll take a Christmas miracle to pull it off, especially since she’s hated Max ever since Holly’s wedding when she overheard him trying to convince Darius to call it off. Is it possible that she’s misjudged the grumpy, Christmas-hating killjoy who’s doing his best to help her fool her boss since she has no clue how to cook or milk a goat or why she suddenly finds herself fighting an attraction?

This sweet slow-burn, enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, fake relationship Christmas romance is the perfect recipe for a holiday treat. Combining plot elements from the classic movie Christmas in Connecticut with The Parent Trap, blended together with favorite Christmas songs and movies, Winfrey offers up a great escape for readers looking for a heaping helping of holiday cheer. 

I received an ARC from Berkley Books through NetGalley for an honest review. Opinions are strictly my own.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

 

4*

Bright Lights, Big Christmas is a cute, Hallmark-worthy, sweet romance with a cast of characters that runs the gamut from a precocious little boy and curmudgeonly, eccentric old man to a burly, Southern mountain man, a wide swath of quirky NYC denizens, and the adorable, kind couple at the center of it all.

At its heart, this is the story of chosen family in a quaint West Village neighborhood that annually welcomes the Tolliver family when they set up their Christmas tree stand. Since patriarch Jock has suffered a heart attack, recently-unemployed art director Kerry is roped into taking her father’s place with her older brother Murphy. What starts out as begrudging acceptance turns into a life-changing experience as she befriends 5-year-old Austin and starts to fall for his kind and handsome dad Patrick. While not interacting with customers, she’s busy rediscovering her creative side by fashioning elaborate wreaths and illustrating a story imagined by Austin. Aiding in the process is the mysterious Heinz who appears daily to offer constructive criticism of her drawings and add his own artistic touches. As weeks pass, Kerry begins to feel more and more like she may have found a place she belongs. Will she be brave enough to open her heart and trust in her art?

Although most of the action centers around the corner Christmas tree lot and the rundown, vintage camper she and Murphy use as their temporary housing, it’s Heinz’s story that really grabbed my attention. When he falls ill and fails to show up for a few days, Kerry searches the neighborhood trying to find this man who is either homeless or just really good at hiding. When he is found, the story that unfolds is heartbreaking, fascinating and ultimately redemptive. It’s a capsule in time that, in my opinion, overshadows the central love story.

If you’re looking for a Christmas romance that warms your heart and leaves you yearning to be warmly embraced by family, both by blood and by choice, consider this novel. You won’t be disappointed.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Wish by Lena Gibson

 

5*

Blending elements of romance, magical realism, mystery and science fiction, Gibson has crafted a unique story that grabs your attention right from the start and never lets go. 

Autistic-coded Elizabeth Bergstrom has suffered from selective mutism for 2 years following the death of her abusive ex-husband in a car accident she survived. She met him shortly after her ex-boyfriend Brandon broke up with her and married him on the rebound. As the story opens, we meet Brandon’s brother Christopher who works with her at the Portland Museum of Natural History where he takes pleasure in charmingly goading her, in the hopes he’ll get her to talk. Soon after, she learns that Brandon died many years before and wishes for a do-over. Be careful what you wish for because she wakes up five years in the past. Almost immediately, Elizabeth begins to see past events from a different perspective, but she also has to decide what actions she’ll take to rewrite her future. Surprisingly, she’s still mute, but when she reconnects with Christopher to try to save Brandon, she learns that he can read her thoughts and believes that she’s from the future, making the entire process easier. 

There’s never a dull moment in this story, from the ex-husband who is so much worse than she ever knew to her sister who acts as if Elizabeth is incapable of rational thought because she can’t speak (and makes selfish, damaging decisions as a result). The reason behind Brandon’s coma reads like a combination of science fiction and a bloody, psychological thriller, but there’s also a beautiful romance and a few dashes of magical realism with an invisible cloak, time travel, and mind-reading. Gibson also sensitively tackles grief, guilt, scientific ethics, ableism, and domestic violence without these heavy topics weighing down or stalling the narrative.

If you’re looking for a complex story that will keep you riveted and at the edge of your seat, pick this one up. This would be an excellent choice for a book club given how much fodder there is for discussion. I only wish that a major publisher was behind this book because it deserves a wider audience. Highly recommended.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are strictly my own.