Following the death of his parents six months earlier, high school PE teacher and football coach Shane Elliott was granted guardianship of his 6-year-old sister, Sophie. The transition hasn't been easy for either of them, but believing that a fresh start might help, Shane and Sophie moved into a new home next door to Sarah Daniels, manager of her family's Christmas Emporium. Friendly Sarah tried to welcome them to the neighborhood with
a plate of cookies, but grumpy Shane rejected her overtures of friendship. A few months later, when Shane
brings Sophie to visit Santa (aka Sarah's dad) at the town Christmas
Fest sponsored by her family's store, Sarah can't help being moved by the little girl's heartbreaking request. She decides to do whatever it
takes to make this Christmas special for Sophie, no matter what Sophie's grumpy older brother might have to say about it.
Shane and Sophie's relationship definitely got off to a rocky start, and a lot of that was because Shane couldn't seem to make up his mind about what he wanted from her. Sarah was very patient with his need to put Sophie first as well as deal with his own feelings of grief and loss, but I was really proud of her for calling him out on his mixed signals. I was slightly less proud of her for settling for a friends with benefits arrangement when a relationship was obviously what she wanted, but given everything else that Shane was dealing with, I'm not sure their relationship could have developed any other way. I don't think Shane even would have considered the possibility that he could fit a romantic relationship into his life if Sarah hadn't been so persistent about inserting herself into his and Sophie's lives.
My favorite part of this book was the way in which Sophie's reaction to the loss of her parents was depicted, which seemed very realistic to me. So often in books where an older sibling is left to raise a younger one, it seems like the younger sibling adjusts to everything perfectly right away. In this case, Sophie had tantrums, acted out at school, and needed to see a therapist for help with understanding and processing the tragedy. Despite all of that, she was a sweet kid, and I loved her relationship with Sarah, which blossomed in large part because she just wanted someone to braid her hair.
Overall, I loved this funny, sweet, and heartwarming story and highly recommend it for all fans of holiday romance and romantic comedy. I hope the author will consider writing a sequel featuring Sarah's best friend Olivia and brother Ty! There seemed to be something between them at the end...
*Review copy provided by the author/publisher via Grey's Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "A Very Grumpy Christmas"
My neighbor is a Grinch.
Since I run the Christmas Emporium and sometimes moonlight as an elf, that's kind of a problem for me.
No surprise, though. When I brought over cookies to welcome him to the neighborhood this summer, he slammed the door in my face.
Until he brings his kid to visit Santa one of the days I'm working as an elf, and I realize there are key parts of their story I'm missing ...
- The little girl is his much younger sister, not his daughter.
- He's her guardian since their parents died in a tragic accident.
Despite his glares and grumpiness, I discover the soft underbelly of the beast. Will this Grinch's heart grow three sizes as well? And if it does, will it have room for me?
A Very Grumpy Christmas is a standalone, small town, neighbors to lovers romance featuring a grumpy single dad and the sunshiny neighbor who's determined to make his Christmas better. Full of heat and heart with an HEA guaranteed!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments make my day! While I do not expect everyone to agree with my point of view, please note that I reserve the right to delete any nasty or uncharitable messages, as well as spam. Open discussion is welcome and appreciated, but personal attacks are not. Thanks for understanding and have a nice day. :-)