Format: ebook
Published: January 1st, 2023
Age: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Goodreads
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Blogmas 2023: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13
Well, this one was a festive joy. With nowhere else to go after a recent breakup, Margot Murray accepts her client’s offer to spend Christmas with his family out in the country. Ben needs someone to pose as his girlfriend, to get his family off his back, and the two quickly become fast friends. Margot’s keen to fully escape the city and take a much-needed break, and there’s no chance of Margot falling for Ben, either, though the same can’t be said about his sister, Ellie.
This one definitely ranks among the top of my Christmas reads. It’s sweet, very festive, and full of Christmas cheer. Ellie is headstrong and realises very quickly that Margot is hiding something, and becomes determined to discover exactly what. The scenes between the pair of them are full of chemistry and they really bounce off each other, and I spent so much of the book mentally screaming just kiss!
When Margot reveals more about her past to Ellie, I found myself gripping my Kindle, hard. The book is overall pretty light, but there are wonderful parts that deal with toxic and abusive relationships, and throughout we see Margot really getting on the path to recovery from her own experiences. The book doesn’t shy away from the complexities of emotions and relationships, either, and it really does show characters who may not understand, but are willing to. It’s something I really liked, and it was wonderful to see Margot have the same thoughts and feelings many in similar relationships will have experienced, and it’s clear how much it’s impacted her, but she’s still supported by those around her.
It feels like sapphic festive romances are becoming that little bit more common year by year, and it’s really lovely to see. This one definitely deserves a place high on your Christmas TBR – it’s festive, fun, emotional at times, and overall a very satisfying read, leaving you with the kind of warm and fuzzies you want after a Christmas romance.
Thank you to Penguin for providing a copy of this book – views, as always, remain my own.
Unwrapping Words 