Sunday, November 16, 2014

Christmas Honeymoon / Alicia Street


Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Sweet Romance/ Contemporary Romance/ Christmas

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Alicia Street is a Daphne Award winning author writing in collaboration with her husband, Roy, as well as on solo projects. She spent many years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher. A compulsive reader of every genre, she also loves watching old black-and-white movies and inventing new recipes for soups.”

Find out more about Alicia Street by visiting her website or friending her on Facebook.

Description:

“Serena always loved Christmas, but her favorite holiday season only brings on heartache after her groom-to-be runs off with another woman only a week before her December wedding. Giving back the wedding gifts and enduring the humiliating gossip in her small town proves to be too much for the quiet librarian who'd been the brunt of nerd jokes in high school, and Serena leaves town--only to return a year later determined to take back her life, her pride, and her joy in Christmas.

Damien has his own reasons for hating Christmas. No sweet and silly stuff for this handsome Scrooge, who hurls himself into extreme sports, almost daring nature to break through his hard shell. So why does he find his icy heart melting when confronted with the timid librarian whose sweet smile haunts his dreams?”

Appraisal:

I needed something short and sweet after my last suspenseful read so I picked up this novella, Christmas Honeymoon. I liked Serena right away and couldn’t wait to read more about her story. She was personable and didn’t shy away from Damien’s Grinchy attitude about Christmas, but challenged him on it. Damien was an interesting character that developed great depth as the story went on. He became my favorite character in the book. I love that he wasn’t quite sure what attracted him to Serena at first. However, it became clear they both had qualities that the other needed to learn from each other.

This story was an enjoyable journey as Serena learns she has the courage to face her fears as Damien points out how she has been courageous in other aspects of her life. Serena returns the favor by giving him new memories for the Christmas season that has always been full of painful memories from the past. This doesn’t eliminate the pain but allows him to move forward and make new memories to focus on in the future. Serena and Damien complimented each other well and I enjoyed my time with them.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant editing or formatting errors.

Rating: **** Four stars

3 comments:

?wazithinkin said...

This story is also available in Ten Christmas Brides bundle.
http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Christmas-Brides-Ruth-Cardello-ebook/dp/B00O3NFR2Q/

Alicia Street said...

Thank you so much for this beautifully written and insightful review!

?wazithinkin said...

You're welcome, Ms. Street. Thanks for dropping in and commenting.