Author: Kaira Rouda
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group
Published: November 10th 2014
Format: eARC | Pages: 108
Genre; Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source InkSlinger PR
★★★ (3/5) Stars!
At 35-years-old, Cole Stanton is burned out. His high-paced, uber-successful career has left him yearning to start over. He finds Indigo Island, buys a restaurant and settles into an uncomplicated life. But Christmas is a mess. He has over-committed the small restaurant’s resources again, and is over his head. He finds himself longing for everything he has left behind, until a chance encounter with gorgeous Lily offers a spark of salvation to his business and, perhaps his life.
Beautiful pastry chef Lily Edmonds is thirty years old and heartbroken. It’s just before Christmas and she’s just been dumped by via telephone by her fiancee. Her best friend Avery Putnam invites her to Indigo Island, hoping to add joy back into Lily’s life. A chance encounter with the sexy owner of a local restaurant makes Lily feel an attraction she thought she’d never feel again, and offers her a business challenge to keep her mind focused on something other than her broken heart.
Cole Stanton and Lily Edmonds are both starting over. Will the joy of the holiday season bring them together or will the troubles with Christmas push them apart?
My Review:
I received a copy of this book from InkSlinger PR, for a blog tour, in exchange for an honest review. In no way did this sway either my review or my rating!
I was instantly attracted to both the title and the summary for this book. It started off really strong and had me instantly curious and excited to get to know these characters. The trouble with some novellas though is having to squeeze so much into such a small space. Sometimes it works but others, especially when you're telling someone's love story who have no prior knowledge of each other at the start of the book, you dip into the whole insta-love problem.
In The Trouble with Christmas I definitely felt that sort of rushed falling into forever vibe. Which was sad for me because everything was great up until about an hour after Lily and Cole meet. Lily was so sad and nursing a 2 week old broken heart after five years with the guy and I just felt so awful for her. I was loving how her best friend Avery and Avery's entire family were there and supportive of her. To them she is part of their family and it was heartwarming and left me with a smile and filled me with hope.
The way that Lily and Cole meet was just the cutest and sweetest thing ever. I was falling into full on swoon mode! But it lost something after that moment. That's when everything started to jolt forward at warp speed. Cole confessing secret shame of his past within hours of meeting her and other situations and bits of dialogue that didn't exactly feel natural or smooth. I understand feeling an instant connection to someone and an attraction, this though went beyond that into instant trust and "we just met but let me tell you about the things from my past that I'm embarrassed about."
So while, yes, I was a bit bothered by the pacing, there were still things that I couldn't help but like about this book. There was still always and underlying sweetness and cuteness to Lily and Cole's story. It would have been perfect as a full length novel, that much I could tell for sure. I truly was sucked in and excited from the opening chapters. The bottom line is if you aren't bothered by insta-love you will probably really enjoy this book and if not this one probably won't be for you.
I was instantly attracted to both the title and the summary for this book. It started off really strong and had me instantly curious and excited to get to know these characters. The trouble with some novellas though is having to squeeze so much into such a small space. Sometimes it works but others, especially when you're telling someone's love story who have no prior knowledge of each other at the start of the book, you dip into the whole insta-love problem.
In The Trouble with Christmas I definitely felt that sort of rushed falling into forever vibe. Which was sad for me because everything was great up until about an hour after Lily and Cole meet. Lily was so sad and nursing a 2 week old broken heart after five years with the guy and I just felt so awful for her. I was loving how her best friend Avery and Avery's entire family were there and supportive of her. To them she is part of their family and it was heartwarming and left me with a smile and filled me with hope.
The way that Lily and Cole meet was just the cutest and sweetest thing ever. I was falling into full on swoon mode! But it lost something after that moment. That's when everything started to jolt forward at warp speed. Cole confessing secret shame of his past within hours of meeting her and other situations and bits of dialogue that didn't exactly feel natural or smooth. I understand feeling an instant connection to someone and an attraction, this though went beyond that into instant trust and "we just met but let me tell you about the things from my past that I'm embarrassed about."
So while, yes, I was a bit bothered by the pacing, there were still things that I couldn't help but like about this book. There was still always and underlying sweetness and cuteness to Lily and Cole's story. It would have been perfect as a full length novel, that much I could tell for sure. I truly was sucked in and excited from the opening chapters. The bottom line is if you aren't bothered by insta-love you will probably really enjoy this book and if not this one probably won't be for you.
Giveaway:
About the author:
Kaira Rouda is an award-winning and bestselling author of both fiction and nonfiction. Her books include: Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs; Here, Home, Hope; All the Difference; In the Mirror; and the short story, A Mother's Day. She lives in Southern California with her husband and four children and is at work on her next novel. Connect with her on Twitter, @KairaRouda, and on Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books. And of course, on Pinterest! For more about Kaira and her books, please visit her website KairaRouda.com.
My reviews for the other books in this series here:
by Tracy Solheim
by Kim Boykin
by Erika Marks
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