Falling for the Wrong Guy by Tami Franklin

Love and Forgiveness in Holiday Junction

In this latest installment of the Holiday Junction series, the author is able to convey such realistic, humorous interplay between the characters. I’ve read some books lately where the humor just doesn’t work; it falls flat or tries too hard. I enjoyed the funny little moments between Joey and her mom and Joey and Braden. Children often do appear in romances where the characters are a bit older, but I absolutely love how sometimes Joey was actually the viewpoint character. I don’t think I’ve often seen romances do that, and it was very well done here. Joey was a fantastic character, and I love the way that she looked at the world, her approach to it, and how much she cared about her mother. Abby and Braden definitely have chemistry, even at first when they are clearly at odds. I like the way the author slowly revealed their backstory that showed how their somewhat turbulent relationship came to be.

As in all the other Holiday Junction books, the residents of the small town were deeply embroiled in the story between Abby and Braden. Gotta love those Matchmaking Mamas! It certainly adds an undercurrent of fun to this book in particular and the series in general. The way the characters came to understand one another and grow and evolve seemed natural, not forced in any way. One of the elements that I really liked in particular in this story was how Abby was dealing with her grief of losing her husband; it seems so real when she would have little conversations with his photo while she was trying to figure out things. This is definitely a story that delivered all the feels that you want in a romance. I enjoyed seeing a little bit more of Lena and Gage; their story is a particular favorite of mine from this series. The only thing I didn’t like about the story is that it didn’t end with the definite HEA. Yes, it seems like things are heading in that direction, but they’d barely gotten straightened around when the book ended. I like my HEAs! No matter; I still highly recommend this book and the series.