Review: "Paulo & Noella and the Two Turtle Doves" by Ellie Hall

Paulo & Noella and the Two Turtle Doves by Ellie Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Freelance journalist Noella is engaged in her favorite form of stress relief - trying on wedding dresses - when retired boxer turned boxing coach Paulo Costa sneaks into her dressing room to hide from an overzealous fan. There's an immediate connection and they go on their first date that same day. A few months later, they're in New Orleans for a fight and impulsively decide to elope. Unfortunately, after the fighter Paulo's coaching loses, he panics and blames his relationship with Noella for making him lose focus. He pushes her away, and their marriage is over before it's even begun. They don't even get the chance to share the news with family and friends.

A few weeks later, Noella is struggling to find her Christmas spirit as she confronts the prospect of spending the holidays alone. Her friends and family are all headed out of town, leaving her behind. Her parents decide to surprise her with a plane ticket to Montana, where her grandparents' old cabin in the small town of Hawk Ridge Hollow awaits. At first, she's unsure about making the trip, but when she finds a mysterious, yet high-paying freelance job advertised in Hawk Ridge Hollow, she can't afford to turn it down.

Meanwhile, Paulo has suddenly and unexpectedly become the guardian of 5-year-old Madison and 3-year-old Cameron, and it's not going well. He packs up the kids and takes them to Hawk Ridge Hollow for the holidays, hoping for some help from his family. They've no sooner driven into town when they run into Noella at his family's new pizza and pie shop. She helps him when the kids inadvertently cause chaos, though she makes it clear that she's still angry at him for the way things ended between them. Paulo realizes that he needs a nanny, and Noella is the perfect candidate. If spending time with her and the kids gives him a chance to try and win her back, so much the better...

I've been excited to read the mysterious Paulo's story since the beginning of this series, and it was totally worth the wait. He and Noella were so cute together and they were both great with the kids. I appreciated how genuinely remorseful Paulo was about the way he ended things with Noella, especially because he knew he hurt her. He did a really good job of showing her that he had changed and would never choose work over her (and the kids) again.

Overall, I loved this funny, sweet, and heartwarming story and highly recommend it for all sweet contemporary romance and romantic comedy fans. I've truly enjoyed every book in this series and can't wait to find out what's to come in the final installment.

*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.

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