Book Seven in the Return to Christmas Falls series
Seven fabulous authors bring you this holiday romance series about a group of special friends returning to their hometown at the request of their high school mentor. Each book is a standalone, but read them all to fully enjoy the journey of these remarkable women and their emotional reunion with their mentor, an incredible woman who changes their lives and helps save a small town community forever.
Seven fabulous authors bring you this holiday romance series about a group of special friends returning to their hometown at the request of their high school mentor. Each book is a standalone, but read them all to fully enjoy the journey of these remarkable women and their emotional reunion with their mentor, an incredible woman who changes their lives and helps save a small town community forever.
My rating: 3 stars / I liked it
Olivia Mackey spent her whole life hearing how she was destined for bigger and better places than Christmas Falls, Tennessee. A regular on the beauty queen scene from a very young age, she learned from her stage mom, that appearances mean everything. Having spent the years after high school traveling the world and failing at the dream everyone told her she should have, she's back home and wondering what she's to do next.
Nothing is where she left it. Friends have scattered, her mentor is ill, and Olivia is fumbling her way through a big life in a small town.
Tim Avondale and his young daughter showed up in Christmas Falls one evening looking for a fresh start. Buying the Sleepy Hound Bookstore seemed the perfect opportunity. Life had gone so wrong and now here in this quiet town he could keep anything bad from happening to his daughter again.
When the two cross paths Olivia and Tim find an instant connection. A tug toward each other they don't want to ignore. The problem is, in the process they are being tugged away from all the things they thought were important in their lives. He can't hide out from real life forever. She is more than just what people see on the surface. But when they're forced to decide will they choose to be better together or safer apart?
My Review
This one was so-so for me. A pleasant story, but I never felt a connection to the characters or the connection Tim and Olivia had. I felt like there wasn't enough leading up to their romance, especially with their boss/employee relationship. Olivia is trying to reinvent herself since giving up on modeling and acting, and there is a lot of humble pie being served up in Christmas Falls. Her mom comes off as quite the villain, so the dynamics there aren't very complicated. Tim's daughter is the bright spot in the story, as well as the setting of the small town bookstore and Olivia bringing it back to life. I was happy to see all the friends from each book reuniting, and a resolution for both Miss Anna Cate and the community center. Overall, a fun series of contemporary romance!
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
The rest of the books in the Return to Christmas Falls series
The rest of the books in the Return to Christmas Falls series
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