Falling for my best friend’s brother while pretending we’re engaged to save our hometown at Christmas—what could go wrong?
There’s no place like home for the holidays … especially for Lesley Carver. Life in the big city just wasn’t her jam and now she’s back in Hickory Falls, working at the family diner and helping her mom after she took a tumble. Lesley longs to build a life here, working at the cafe, selling her handmade ornaments and … er, apparently reviving her high school crush on her best friend’s older brother. Only one problem, her mom wants her to leave Hickory Falls far behind.
Jamal Gainey is beyond busy keeping the family farm afloat. But when the mayor ropes him into pretending to date his little sister’s best friend to help make the town into a Christmas destination, he finds he doesn’t want to say no. Plus oops, a reporter has already dubbed them “Mr. and Mrs. Christmas” and the story may have gone a teensy bit viral on social media.
As the story draws tourists from far and wide, bringing much needed life back to Hickory Falls, the ruse starts to feel all too real. “Mr. and Mrs. Christmas” takes on a life of its own even as Jamal and Lesley start to realize their relationship isn’t just a Christmas miracle for the town, but the miracle they both need.
My Review:
The tagline says it all: falling for best friend’s brother, fake relationship for the noblest of causes and it’s Christmas! Perfect balance of humour and angst — the way they get roped into the fake engagement is so funny! And the small town vibe makes for a cozy setting. Pretty much Christmas romance perfection in my book.
Loved Lesley and Jamal’s friendship and the way it morphed into something so much more. They’re like deer caught in the headlights in the beginning but gradually become comfortable with the charade…maybe a little too comfortable? Bwahahaha! Swoonalicious all the way to the end!
A solid cast of secondary characters add extra dimension to the story. And all the Christmas-y details made for a very festive read. Honestly, one of my favourite holiday reads this year — and I’ve read a lot of Christmas books since September! ‘Mr and Mrs Christmas’ is the kind of story I’ll happily revisit in the future.
Ahem. Excuse me if I gloat a little but y’all have your Kindle Unlimited deals and now I have this audible original which, as far as I can tell, isn’t available in either print or ebook format. Plus, it’s available free if you have an audible membership (even though it’s a new release.) It seems a strange concept, to offer a free book in only one format but there must be a marketing strategy in there somewhere. I’m just thrilled I made the discovery and got to listen to this amazing story. The dual narration is excellent. Marcella Cox and Ian Hackney did a fabulous job of bringing these characters to life.
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