A Cross-Country Christmas

Random Retro Read

Lauren Richmond isn’t a fan of Christmas.

Which is why she rarely makes the trip home to the Midwest for the holidays. After all, she has plenty to keep her busy—namely, her duties as a set decorator on a TV sitcom.

But this December, Lauren’s brother and his wife are expecting a baby, so her brother arranges a ride home for her with his good friend, Will.

Unfortunately for Lauren, she’s been trying to forget college baseball coach and childhood crush Will Sinclair for more than ten years.

Now, thanks to her fear of flying, she’s stuck in a car with him from California to Illinois.

She’s circumspect and organized. He’s flirty and spontaneous.

She’s convinced that people don’t change. He’s trying to prove to her (and himself) that he has.

On this cross-country road trip, they’ll both discover that history doesn’t exactly repeat itself. . . but like any good Christmas carol, it does have a second verse.

My Review:

published in 2021

“Because he’s a recipe for disaster. A literal recipe. Two cups of charm, three ounces of inappropriate flirting, and a dash of dimples make for a very, very broken heart.” (p 89)

Ah, Will, you are most definitely book boyfriend material and I am sorry it took Lauren so long to realize that but it sure was fun watching her fight all that charisma!

Love the way their romance develops on one very memorable road trip. An enemies to more trope where both hero and heroine are wrestling with their pasts. Will is trying to see himself as good enough after overcoming his erstwhile youth while, unbeknownst to him, Lauren was a casualty of that past. Two people couldn’t be more opposite and the banterish clashes were so much fun to read! Walsh knows how to write entertaining dialogue!

Their journey is full of interesting detours courtesy of Will’s unexplained whims. We get the sense that there is a method to his madness and his spontaneous side trips are driving Lauren crazy. She’s so rigidly organized — dare I say, uptight – and has a whole Grinchy thing going on. Love the way Will handles her prickliness and his determination to de-Grinch her!

So, lots of memorable rom/com moments but also some surprising emotional ones. In fact, I burst into tears at one point! Sniffle. I love it when a book makes me laugh and cry and then leaves me blissfully bibliophiled forever after.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

US – paperback or ebook

Canada – paperback, ebook or audible — winner’s choice

International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Cross-Country Christmas,  leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday November 22 2025

22 thoughts on “A Cross-Country Christmas”

  1. Very much enjoyed reading your review, which makes me want to dive into Lauren and Will’s story. I had to laugh because in some ways their unlikely pairing made me think about hubby and me when we first met.

    Thank you so much for the wonderful chance to win a copy of A CROSS-COUNTRY CHRISTMAS!

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  4. Thanks for your review, I really like the storyline of this book and with Christmas approaching it would be a great read for me.

    cenyatwoathotmaildotcom

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