Format: ebook
Published: September 2nd, 2024
Age: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Ever After Street is a special place, with fairy tale themed shops and a community looking out for each other. And just off Ever After is Christmas Ever After, where it’s Christmas year-round, and where Franca Andrews sells her nutcrackers. But with Christmas approaching, Franca knows she needs to pull out all the stops to keep her shop and remain in the street, especially as she’s been pitted against her arch-nemesis, Raff Dardenne. Dardenne Snow Globes have a reputation – Raff’s grandfather built his business by pairing couples using magical snow globes, but Franca knows it’s a con, and just wishes others would see it. Until she’s left in a predicament that means she can’t do much for herself, including creating her nutcrackers, and in steps Raff to save the day.
Something I really liked and I think Admans does really well at is that we’re not spoon-fed anything, and it quickly becomes apparent that despite the way Franca – our POV character – feels towards Raff, that the way she sees him is very different to the person he actually is. The way he’s introduced you almost expect something, I think, a lot of romance readers are used to – a gruff, arrogant MMC who turns out to have a heart of gold. Instead, we get this sweet, instantly loveable man who made a mistake and is now doing all he can to rectify it.
Franca is a fun FMC, too. It’s clear she’s someone who is struggling, and there’s signs of burn out when we meet her at the start of the novel. But the events that kick things off not only allow her to rest, but like the best Christmas book, allow her to rediscover that magical, Christmas spark.
The book is adorable, great for Christmas, and I fell head over heels for The Ever After Street, immediately picking up the first book in the series as soon as I finished this. I cannot wait to revisit!
Unwrapping Words 