Isn't It Romantic?

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Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey
Published by Berkley on September 26, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays--complete with a fake husband and kids--in this delightful, cozy rom-com by Kerry Winfrey.

Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She is most definitely not an owner of a farm...but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly's farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she's happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired.

And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm's big holiday dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm's Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she's basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process.

Laurel and Holly come up with a plan--all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But when Laurel shows up at the farm, an unwelcome guest is there: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly's wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel's husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages...

When applying for her current position at Buckeye State of Mind, Laurel showed off the social media posts created for her sister's farm. When her boss assumed it was her farm, Laurel saw no reason to correct him. Fast forward and her boss invites himself to Christmas Eve Eve dinner. Laurel is forced to live the lie she has been perpetuating and become the Martha Stewart of Ohio. What could go wrong?

I know I say this every time I finish a Kerry Winfrey book, but this was so much fun! I was a bit scared because enemies-to-lovers does not always work for me. It seems I was worried for no reason because I adored everything about this story.

Holiday books are special favorites of mine, and I especially enjoyed being out on the farm for Christmas. Holly and Laurel, twins who share a Christmas birthday, were absolute yuletide fanatics. I am not that over the top, but their love for the season was contagious. The traditions, the music, the food, and plethora of decorations had me feeling festive, and you know what they say about a little Christmas.

As expected, Laurel's attempt to fill her sister's shoes resulted in a lot of hijinks and amusing situations. It was never going to be an easy task for Laurel, but things get even stickier when Max showed up to pose as her husband. Laurel was not a fan of "Can't Relax Max", and she had her reasons, but there was something between them that I really wanted them to explore. There were these moments when you could tell that Max liked Laurel a LOT more than she thought. The big thing was that he liked her exactly the way she was - flaws, quirks, and all. He really saw her, and that's just one of those romance things that I will never tire of. I know I want to be loved for who I am and not who I could be. 

Overall, I simply had a wonderful Christmastime with this crew as they stumbled through this charade which led to such incredible and genuine things for everyone involved. Once again, Kerry Winfrey put a huge smile on my face and left me filled with warmth and joy.

*ARC PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER

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The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley
Published by MIRA on August 1, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

All of the fun, none of the heartache…as long as they stick to the agreement.

The proposition is simple: if ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott, are still single by the time they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together…as friends with benefits. Maybe it’s the wine, but in the moment, Claire figures the pact is a safe-enough deal, considering she hasn’t had much luck in love and he’s in no rush to settle down. Like, at all. Besides, there’s no way she could ever really fall for Graham and his thrill-seeking ways. Not after what happened to her father…

Just as things begin to heat up way before the proposed deadline, Graham’s injured in a serious rock-climbing accident—and he needs Claire’s help to heal. She’ll do whatever it takes to nurse him back to health…even if it means moving into Graham’s bed and putting up with his little dog who hates her. But with this no-strings arrangement taking a complicated turn, keeping “for now” from turning into “forever” isn’t as easy as they’d planned.

The Roommate Pact solidified my love for Allison Ashley books. I absolutely adored Would You Rather, and what did Ashley do? She gifted me with another stupendous friends-to-lovers story, and what made it even better for me was that this was return to the Would You Rather world.

I must confess, I was either smiling my face off or shedding happy tears as I read this book. The banter was top notch, and both Claire and Graham had the sort of wit that I enjoy. They had such an amazing rapport, and it was a grand treat getting to watch them slowly fall in love. They could deny it all they wanted, but the signs were there, and they were obvious.

But, alas, the road to the HEA was riddled with potholes called their baggage. I was so proud to see both Graham and Claire opening up to each other and unpacking some of those past woes, but they still had hills to climb. I must say, it was a rather fun and emotionally satisfying journey.

Some highlights

• The emails!! I won't say anymore about this, but I think it was one of my favorite things in the story
• The feud between Clair and Graham's dog, Gertrude. This was so much fun and so precious at the same time. I loved seeing what would happen next.
• Men and feelings, the bromance. This is something I thought Ashley did so well in the last book, and she continued to bring so much warmth to Graham and Noah's relationship
• Friends-to-Lovers is one of my all-time favorite tropes, but I also revel in those stories where one character nurses the other back to health. Graham broke his leg, and Claire stepped in to help with his recovery. This was where the relationship took off.

Overall, I loved every minute of this book. It was fun, emotional, and touching. It was beautiful watching Claire and Graham fall in love, but even better was how this set them on a healing journey where they tackled the scars of their pasts together. I was so happy when I finished this book that I went and bought two other books by Ashley. People who know me know this a big deal as I buy so few books, but it's worth it, if I can feel more of this.

Do you have any holiday traditions?
Let us know in the comments!