Snow Kissed: A Heartwarming Contemporary Romance of Small Town Holidays and Single Parent Love
"RaeAnne Thayne will capture your heart with her beautiful, touching stories." --Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Virgin River series
'Tis the season for a little white lie...
Christmas has always been single mom Holly Goodwin Moore's favorite time of year. The twinkly lights on the tree, the cookies in the oven, the snow on the ground. But she's just not feeling it this year. The wedding in her ex's family is almost here, her daughter, Lydia, is bursting at the seams to be a flower girl...and Holly couldn't be dreading it more. She told a little white lie about having a new boyfriend as her plus-one, hoping to save face. She needs a date for the wedding...and she needs it now.
Ryan Caldwell wants to be free this holiday season. So even he isn't sure how he landed in Shelter Springs, looking after his niece, Audrey, with his estranged father down the road. But when he meets Holly, she makes him want to belong for the very first time. So they make a deal: he'll be her date if she'll help him give Audrey a true Christmas to remember while her mom is away.
This holiday season, escape to Shelter Springs for a heartwarming story of unexpected romance, festive charm, and the joy of finding love where you least expect it. Perfect for fans of Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery.
For more heartwarming reads by RaeAnne Thayne, be sure to check out:
- The Lost Book Of First Loves
- The December Market
- 15 Summers Later
- Christmas at the Shelter Inn
- The Café at Beach End
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Community Reviews
One of my favorite kinds of stories this time of year are the holiday stories whether they are spooky and scary Halloween stories or the sappy Hallmarkesque type of holiday stories. This one definitely falls into the latter camp and was a delightful story.
The book summary introduces single mom, Holly, and her neurodivergent daughter, Lydia, who are a tight little family unit since ex-hubby, Troy, abandoned them two years earlier because of the stress of raising a Downs child. Troy then quickly married his mistress and has a whole new life with her and their two neurotypical kids and rarely sees ever sees or talks to Lydia, who, by the way, seems like a sweet and rather observant child.
There is also Ryan, a San Diego based naval helicopter pilot, who was injured in a helicopter accident and was assigned to a desk while he healed and recuperated. This makes it a little easier for Ryan to take some time off to time off to look after his teenage niece, Audrey, while his sister, Kim, checks into rehab for her drug and alcohol addiction. As fate would have it, Audrey is Lydia’s babysitter while Holly works, so of course, this is how Holly and Ryan meet and when the attraction instantly develops.
Like most Hallmarkesque holiday stories, the MC’s are thrown together in a boatload of ways and scenarios and the rest is history. There were the requisite adorable moments between Ryan and Holly and Lydia. There was also a pretty scary scene straight from a parent’s worst nightmare that really suspenseful. All in all, a nice little holiday story.
The character development for Holly, Ryan, along with one or two other characters was well done. The pacing and storyline were steady and entertaining and on par for this type of genre. The same can be said for the writing too. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.9 that I will be rounding up to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing and Harlequin Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #HarlequinTradePublishing #HarlequinAudio #SnowKissed
The book summary introduces single mom, Holly, and her neurodivergent daughter, Lydia, who are a tight little family unit since ex-hubby, Troy, abandoned them two years earlier because of the stress of raising a Downs child. Troy then quickly married his mistress and has a whole new life with her and their two neurotypical kids and rarely sees ever sees or talks to Lydia, who, by the way, seems like a sweet and rather observant child.
There is also Ryan, a San Diego based naval helicopter pilot, who was injured in a helicopter accident and was assigned to a desk while he healed and recuperated. This makes it a little easier for Ryan to take some time off to time off to look after his teenage niece, Audrey, while his sister, Kim, checks into rehab for her drug and alcohol addiction. As fate would have it, Audrey is Lydia’s babysitter while Holly works, so of course, this is how Holly and Ryan meet and when the attraction instantly develops.
Like most Hallmarkesque holiday stories, the MC’s are thrown together in a boatload of ways and scenarios and the rest is history. There were the requisite adorable moments between Ryan and Holly and Lydia. There was also a pretty scary scene straight from a parent’s worst nightmare that really suspenseful. All in all, a nice little holiday story.
The character development for Holly, Ryan, along with one or two other characters was well done. The pacing and storyline were steady and entertaining and on par for this type of genre. The same can be said for the writing too. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.9 that I will be rounding up to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing and Harlequin Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #HarlequinTradePublishing #HarlequinAudio #SnowKissed
RaeAnne Thayne has quickly become one of my favorite non-spicy romance authors. She creates characters with depth and room to grow, plus they have relationships and community outside of the their romantic interest. Ryan is a swoony yet straightforward FMC who has a playful side. Holly is as caring, driven, and protective as any mom of a special needs daughter would be.
The fake-dating, slow-burn, opposites-attract tropes are in full swing with Snow Kissed. Even though there is no graphic or detailed sexual content on the page, the author still delivers on the pining and body-melting results of the first kiss and each one after. I also commend Thayne for balancing the cute and cozy vibe with sensitive topics like substance abuse, rehab, special needs parenting, infidelity, and miscarriage.
Whether you need a book for the holiday season or are looking for a sweet closed-door romcom, Snow Kissed is the one for you.
More book reviews at https://cantinabookclub.com/reviews
The fake-dating, slow-burn, opposites-attract tropes are in full swing with Snow Kissed. Even though there is no graphic or detailed sexual content on the page, the author still delivers on the pining and body-melting results of the first kiss and each one after. I also commend Thayne for balancing the cute and cozy vibe with sensitive topics like substance abuse, rehab, special needs parenting, infidelity, and miscarriage.
Whether you need a book for the holiday season or are looking for a sweet closed-door romcom, Snow Kissed is the one for you.
More book reviews at https://cantinabookclub.com/reviews