Not an Easy Holiday Read, But a Good One

I am new to this author, and of course, am new to this series. So I feel like I wasn’t quite prepared for all this book would be. The cover of it looks like any inviting and lovely Christmas romance. I thought the blurb was a little confusing, as I couldn’t quite figure out the timeline and some of what the author was hinting at. Let me just disabuse you of one notion to start with. If you’re expecting a light and fluffy Hallmark-style Christmas romance, this is not it. I know for me, sometimes, I want to read that light and frothy holiday romance. But if you are in the mood for a holiday romance that tackles more difficult subjects, like severe postpartum depression and traumatic brain injury, this book definitely delivers a compelling story with all the feels.

I will have to say that I had a hard time liking the hero and heroine at the start before I knew their full story. I couldn’t imagine a mother willingly leaving her family, as Luke suggested rather angrily several times. I also didn’t like that Luke at first was unwilling to engage with Elizabeth more than he had to. Even his sister was surprised that he didn’t try to find out the “why” and other details on their trip back to Idaho. I probably would have had more sympathy for Luke if I were familiar with the series. But once the couple got back to Haven Point, and the full story began to unfurl, it was amazing and I’m glad I stuck with it. Elizabeth has been through so much. And the children, my goodness! This story is about so much, including the themes of forgiveness of both self and other and the meaning of family and all that entails. There are definitely moments that will have you breaking out the tissues.

Short Look at the “Science” of Love

This, to me, seems a little short for the story that it wanted to tell. I am new to this author, and I believe this is a series. I haven’t, obviously, read any of the other books in it, and I wonder if the heroine, Avery, would have made more sense to me if I had read previous books. I don’t know, though. I’m definitely a fan of an intelligent heroine, but Avery seemed to the extreme, and therefore, not quite believable. Is it actually possible to earn two PhDs by such an early age? I did like that the hero and the heroine were both brainiacs, though. In that way, they seemed well suited. Hiding beneath the brainy exterior, the heroine was actually a kind and considerate person, as shown by the way she treated the goat and her good friend, Chey. I found her scientific approach to love to be amusing, especially contrasting with the way it actually played out for her. As I said above, I thought this felt too short, so both character and plot couldn’t really be explored as much as the characters and the story warranted. All in all, I still found it a charming romance.

All About the Trees and Romance in Scotland

What a charming and sweet little Christmas romance! The heroine, Leah, after seeing and hearing the evidence of her boyfriend boss’s betrayal, drunkenly buys a Christmas tree farm in Scotland sight unseen. In the cold light of day, she determines that she probably did so because her father always wished to return to his Scottish roots, and her mom loved Christmas. So even though it leaves her with just two thousand pounds in her bank account, she does in fact buy the farm and heads to Scotland. Unfortunately, it is not what she thinks. It is quite run down and in need of much repair, and of course, she has no idea how to run a Christmas tree farm. Luckily, helpful neighbor Noel, who is a pumpkin farmer, is willing to help her out.

I appreciated that this was not one of those instalove or instalust kind of books. When the couple first meets, he is not sure of her true intentions, and he truly loves the farm and wants it to prosper. When he realizes they are on the same page, things start to get more interesting as he helps her out. Their chemistry is slow burn but palpable. As contemporary British romantic and mystery literature often happens to be, this story has a meandering pace and is very character-driven, not plot-driven so much. There’s no heavy action going on here, just realistic interactions between characters. If you know and accept all, the story is fine. But if you are used to faster-paced stories, you might be disappointed. However, I did find it to be a sweet and charming romance. As a bonus, you get to learn a little about Christmas trees and tree farming as well!

Normally, I Love Wounded Hero Stories…

This book had all of the elements of a holiday tale that I would typically like: quirky small town, a busybody group of well-meaning older ladies, a wounded hero, and plenty of Christmas spirit. However, the book never really gelled for me. I didn’t get any sense of chemistry between the hero and the heroine, which is crucial for a romance of course. The heroine is a sweetheart, giving so much to her community at Christmas time because it truly matters to her. She’s also in the midst of opening up her aunt’s old home as a bed-and-breakfast. The hero is just passing through, though he came specifically to this small town because he wanted to thank the woman who made his Quilt of Valor (which is an actual organization) that did help him as he went through recovery after being injured in the military. But he ends up getting caught up in the heroine’s world because of a misunderstanding, but he decides to stay and pay back the woman who’d helped him through difficult times.

I am normally a sucker for wounded hero romance, but it just didn’t ring right for me in this particular book. Theoretically, the couple was fighting their attraction during the bulk of the book, but that didn’t seem realistic to me at all because I couldn’t really sense that attraction. Their interactions felt pretty low key because of all the other stuff that was going on in the book, like the renovations, trying to get Bodie in the Christmas spirit, and dealing with the Butterflies (that group of older women mentioned above). I liked the characters, but it just didn’t come together. On the plus side, it does have a quilting pattern from the Quilts of Valor Foundation and a yummy-sounding cinnamon swirl bread recipe.