Hot Mess Christmas Express by Claire Hastings
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Two days before Christmas, pharmaceutical sales representative Sienna Sloan is filling in for her sick sister, the wedding planner for their family-owned inn on Georgia's Somerset Island, when she unexpectedly runs into pediatric plastic surgeon Caleb Winters. Sienna and Caleb had a one-night stand at a medical conference a few years earlier, but things between them ended badly and Sienna was never sure why. Since then, he's refused to see her whenever she's visited his office, though she's met with other doctors in the practice. Sienna decides to take the opportunity to figure out what went wrong between them and why Caleb has given her the cold shoulder for so long.
I think this story might have worked better for me if it were longer because there would have been more of a chance for character development. As it was, I really disliked Caleb and that pretty much ruined the story for me. He jumped to horrible conclusions about Sienna not once but twice, and then refused to even talk to her about what had happened. There didn't seem to be any justification for his behavior other than a single mention of "trust issues." If those had been explored, it might have helped explain why he reacted like he did. Without that, he just seemed like a giant jerk, and frankly, Sienna deserved better.
It also would have been interesting to learn more about Sienna's side business, which was her true passion. She only got into pharmaceutical sales because she needed health insurance while she tried to build her business. Based on her discussion with Caleb at the medical conference, I assume it was a graphic design company, but what were the specific problems she was having that was causing it to fail? Was Sienna still working on it and trying to find customers, or had her day job become too much of a time commitment since they'd last seen each other?
Overall, while there were some cute parts to the story, mainly related to the time Sienna and Caleb spent with her family, it's tough to recommend it. However, I remain a fan of the author's writing and would pick up more of her books in the future.
*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
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