e-Audio, 08:46:48
Narrated by: Tony Roberts & Charlie L. Wood
Release Date: September 24, 2024
Published by: Recorded Books, Inc (Kensington)
Read from: October 22-23, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby (I got this one right before the download day via Netgalley. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Cancer, Death, Grief
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Adult, Holidaze, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Books about Books, Realistic Fiction, Dual POV, Sparkly Cover, Own Voices, Stand-aloneA prominent romance author has a slump in her love life and book sales, but a chance encounter with a hot firefighter helps her reignite her muse in this swoony holiday romance, perfect for book romantics.
Saira Wright is a prominent Black romance author who has been signed to the most prestigious publisher of African American works, Brownstone Literature. Her career has been successful for the past five years. However, she’s in a slump, and so are her sales and reviews. The romance she has been known for seems to be zapped out of her stories . . . and her love life.
Eager to get Saira back on top of the charts, her publisher has given her an ultimatum—write a chart-topping holiday romance or be dropped from the publishing house. There’s only one Saira strongly opposes penning holiday books. To her, they are cliché and off-brand, but with her career on the line, she’s forced to give it a shot. To capture the spirit of the holidays, she books a vacation in the most “Christmassy” town she can find.
Sharing the other side of her rented duplex is the owner, Dorian Black, a volunteer firefighter, and the town’s little league football coach. He’s also “Mr. December” in the firefighter’s annual fundraising calendar . . . and every woman’s dream. Years ago, Dorian was happily married to the love of his life until cancer took her away from him. Still coping with the loss, a romantic relationship is the furthest thing from his mind. However, when he encounters his new tenant for the holiday, sparks fly and a fire is ignited that not even he can extinguish.
As the two navigate through various encounters, holiday festivities, and a snowstorm, will the magic of Christmas help them rediscover a long-awaited connection?
*MY THOUGHTS*
I don’t know what I was thinking at not reading this immediately. I said I wanted to wait until Halloween was over, but after seeing so many people talking about it, and then when it got randomly cold where I live, I knew I couldn’t wait anymore.
Y’all know I’m a sucker for a Christmas romance. And even more so when I see that its diverse in some way. (Because let’s be honest, they’re always better) And this one has Black main characters. AND THEN its a Christmas romance about a Black romance novelist! Y’all also know how I am with books about books. So basically, this had everything in it for it to become my favorite book lol And there was enough Christmas in it so I was happy with that too. (I hate when I’m reading a Christmas story and there’s not really a Christmasy feel to it. )
Ok so the characters in this were my favorite part. I think about Sarita and what she was going through with her family a lot. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through to not have her mom there or family there over a holiday. I get that she was going there to write, but I just felt so sad for her. And Dorian was just… idk how to explain it? If you don’t know, firefighters are the ONLY men in a uniform I like to read about. (Ok so EMTs count too lmao) So basically when I heard that’s what the MC did AND he was a calendar fire fighter?! He went on the book boyfriend list immediately lol But I think what I liked most about him was the amount of layers he had. He had so much depth. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see any growth in him tho until the very end. Like it started when he let her in, but then completely stalled. It felt more like lust than something turning into love. If that makes sense. But I get it. There needed to be an ending conflict. That’s the only reason I wasn’t super annoyed.
The little town that there in was my other favorite part. I have a bad habit of letting the setting itself take me away. (No pun intended) If the descriptions and the imagery is there, I will fall head over heels for the story. And that’s exactly what happened here. Here in Texas it was like 85 degrees when I read this, but I still snuggled under a blanket to read this. I loved that the author described the way the cold was bone chilling to someone from Florida, because as someone from Texas, that’s exactly how I would think it felt. And the way she described feeling a little more warm because of the boozy hot chocolate? And the way she was able to describe all the Christmasy things they did, like the bonfire and the thing at the station and the parade? Ugh it was all good!
The romance itself was cute. Like I said I did want him to come to that conclusion a bit earlier because it was not fair to keep stringing her along like that. It was obvious that things were happening between them. She was ready to put her whole life on hold where he wasn’t. Even I was worried he wasn’t ready to settle down. However, they were organic and it actually felt real. Even the love story between her and her fans lol I just know that’s how authors feel sometimes. They love us but need their own time. Just like moms. And for that, I can’t fault them. But that’s what I mean. Literally everything felt real in this one.
This was such a cute book! Definitely a perfect way to kick off this year’s holiday season. Out of the three that were released at the same time, this is my favorite. Very clear example of why holiday reads are some of my favorites and will always be!
Overall, I give this
