The Text Before Christmas by Marika Ray and Delancey StewartMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Pamela Cunningham, owner of the Cunning Ham winery and widowed mother of grown sons Boston, Lincoln, Dalton, and Dillon, has been dating Jacques, Cunning Ham's charming French winemaker, for several months now, but they've been taking things so slowly that they haven't even kissed yet. Even so, Jacques thought they were happy together, so he's surprised to receive a text informing him that his work visa has only been renewed for 2 months instead of 2 years. He believes it's intentional - Pam's way of ending things between them - when in fact technology-illiterate Pam made a mistake while filling out the renewal forms online. Heartbroken but unwilling to embarrass himself or Pam by asking her about it, Jacques vows to make their last weeks together special before returning home to France for the holidays. Meanwhile, Pam is struggling to figure out how to persuade Jacques to take the next step in their relationship. Can these two work through their differences before it's too late?
I've loved Pam since the beginning of the series, plus I'm a big fan of romances featuring mature protagonists, so I was thrilled when I found out that she'd be getting a story of her own. She and Jacques were super cute together, and it was impossible not to root for them to find a way to be together. Early on, I was slightly annoyed that Jacques wouldn't just ask Pam what had happened with his visa. After all, they'd known each other for 2 years and been dating for months; did he really think that she was the type of person to end things with him so abruptly, without even a conversation? That wasn't her style at all. Once I got past that, however, I adored the rest of the story. I particularly appreciated that Jacques's reaction was to try and make the time they had left special rather than pushing her away because he was hurt. I also liked that the story didn't go in exactly the direction I expected when Pam found out about his visa's expiration.
Overall, I loved "The Text Before Christmas" and highly recommend it for all fans of holiday romance and romantic comedy. Based on the setup in this story's epilogue, I can't wait to find out what's to come in the next series set in Solano Creek!
*Review copy provided by the authors. All opinions expressed are my own.
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