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jamice's review against another edition
3.0
This is was a pretty fast read and I enjoyed most of it. I loved the small town atmosphere and Laura made you really love the area. However, I feel like Laura’s decisions made me cringe a little too much. For me it was hard to see her cross the lines with her relationship with Spence when David was such a great guy too. I think I would have felt more okay if he was a jerk, but since he wasn’t it was uncomfortable. Overall though if you could get past that the storyline and writing is really good.
thebohobookblogger's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so cute! So many twists and turns, which is what I love is in any type of book. But romances, I feel never do it well & this one really did. I totally recommend.
ohheyper's review against another edition
3.0
Fans of Hallmark movies will love this sweet novel about a woman giving her beloved small town a much needed facelift. Character descriptions draw the reader in and it is the perfect book for a cozy winter night in. I’d be excited to read additional works by this author.
mtaylor124's review
3.0
Whew. This book was STEAMY! Definitely was not what I expected coming into a small town Christmas romance. And while Christmas and the festival played a role in the book, it was definitely much more about the characters and their relationships. The love triangle as Laura falls for both Spence and David was entertaining, Given I was looking for a sweet more plot and character development-driven romance, this book wasn't quite for me as a lot of it was really just focused on their sexual encounters, but definitely could be up your alley if you were looking for a steamy read set around the holidays!
gabrielle_ibarra's review
2.0
Spoiler
2.5 StarsI think this book cemented the fact that I just do not like love triangles. I also learned from reading this book that I really do not like cheating, especially when it's unnecessary to the plot and is tried to be justified.
I was really hoping that the author would be able to write a more balanced love triangle and that she would not fall into the trap of preferring one guy (or girl) over the other. While she constantly told us that the main character, Laura, was equally infatuated with both men, through Laura constantly thinking/telling us so, there is a clear bias for Spence. Laura basically has sex with David for like a few chapters and we spend most of the book seeing Spence and Laura together. This is despite the fact that Spence and Laura only technically see each other every Mondays and that, purportedly, David and Laura spend more time with each other. The author also falls into the trap of telling and not showing when it comes to David and Laura's relationship. We basically skip over the development of their relationship with almost no scenes with them actually being together and building a relationship.
As for the cheating, it could have been avoided. And I genuinely did not know how it affects the plot other than the fact that it reflects poorly on Laura's AND Spence's character. I find myself not trusting the characters to keep their promises to each other because I know they are capable of poor judgement, to put it lightly. Also when Laura attempted to justify being duplicitous, meaning having an emotional affair with Spence, even before they had sex, by saying that she did not want to hurt David by breaking up with him because he, like her, has very few people he loves. Does she not realise that by breaking her promise to be faithful to him she is doing exactly that. It was just such a piss poor excuse. And she was basically blatantly flirting with Spence and put herself in the position for feeling between them to develop to more than just friendship.
Nonetheless, I think the author is actually a really good romance author in the sense that I really enjoyed her writing style. I find that with most romance authors, I tend to get second hand embarrassment because of really cringy dialogue. There was some of that here, not to mention that some of the jokes were just not that funny, but the cringy dialogue was at the minimum.
Also Reilly can write a really good sex scene. I would put her almost on par with Talia Hibbert and Helen Hoang. And there were a lot of sweet moments between Spence and Laura that I also really enjoyed, besides the part when they finally boned.
joannasbookshelf's review
3.0
Holy steam! This book was definitely surprising. From the cover I thought it would be a cute little winter love story. In some ways, thats exactly what it was, but Laura, the main character was extremely indecisive. Laura owns a craft shop in a North Powell, a small town between two booming ski towns. When North Powell is failing to create the buzz the surrounding towns are creating she hires a marketing team to help bring her hometown back to life. She falls head over heels in love with one of the men in the marketing company, David. He seems perfect in every way but as she works more closely with Spence on the Charles Dickens festival she develops feelings for him as well. She's not sure exactly how to handle these new feelings. It was a cute book but there were some things that Laura did that I found really unbecoming of her character. I think we missed out on a little character development of David as well. Not my least favorite, but not my favorite romance book.
mylittlebookishuniverse's review
3.0
READ MY DANISH REVIEW ON: https://mylittlebookishuniverse.wordpress.com/2020/12/16/anmeldelse-why-i-held-your-hand/
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this book, because it was not like any other Hallmark movie. Here we had to wait and see who she would choose at the end. In many Hallmark movies we usually know from the start who the main character will end up with, because there is an obvious flaw with the guy she doesn't end up with. But in this movie he doesn't have a necessary flaw that makes her choose someone else.
Even thought it was a good book, and I liked the storyline, I just can't get over the unfaithfulness. It is something I do not tolerate, and therefore, it does have quite a big impact on my rating. I don't believe unfaithfulness should be romanticised, because it is not okay.
I was team Spence through out the book, but I couldn't put my finger on why I would choose Spence over David, so in some way I don understand the main character, but that still doesn't make cheating okay.
But other than that, I really did like the book, and would recommend it to people that needs a easy-read book to read when it is dark and cold outside.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this book, because it was not like any other Hallmark movie. Here we had to wait and see who she would choose at the end. In many Hallmark movies we usually know from the start who the main character will end up with, because there is an obvious flaw with the guy she doesn't end up with. But in this movie he doesn't have a necessary flaw that makes her choose someone else.
Even thought it was a good book, and I liked the storyline, I just can't get over the unfaithfulness. It is something I do not tolerate, and therefore, it does have quite a big impact on my rating. I don't believe unfaithfulness should be romanticised, because it is not okay.
I was team Spence through out the book, but I couldn't put my finger on why I would choose Spence over David, so in some way I don understand the main character, but that still doesn't make cheating okay.
But other than that, I really did like the book, and would recommend it to people that needs a easy-read book to read when it is dark and cold outside.
randi_reads's review
4.0
This is an enjoyable small town romance between one woman and two men. Laura loves her town, but it can't compete against the neighboring towns that have more to offer. That's where David and Spencer (and James) come in. They work for a marketing firm who is going to help the town of North Powell.
Laura meets David in the opening scene and it is just about the most memorable meet ever! Pretty funny. They soon start dating (secretly) and fall in love. David is a good guy. Cute, smart, and funny. They fall in love. But, while they are in secret (since she is his agency's client), Laura has been working closely with Spencer every week on the marketing campaign. She begins to feel things for him, too. What to do?
I felt for Laura in this book. She is a genuinely nice woman who has met her soulmate while dating a man she loves. She's in a dilemma and doesn't want to hurt either man. I was worried about the conclusion of this story, but it ended up working for me. I really love how the title of the book is worked into the end.
Warning: The cover on this book is not accurate. This is not a cutesy, holiday read. It is not a closed door romance, either. In fact, this is a very open door and spicy romance. (lots of steam,)
Thank you to NetGalley, Get Red PR, and the author for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.
Laura meets David in the opening scene and it is just about the most memorable meet ever! Pretty funny. They soon start dating (secretly) and fall in love. David is a good guy. Cute, smart, and funny. They fall in love. But, while they are in secret (since she is his agency's client), Laura has been working closely with Spencer every week on the marketing campaign. She begins to feel things for him, too. What to do?
I felt for Laura in this book. She is a genuinely nice woman who has met her soulmate while dating a man she loves. She's in a dilemma and doesn't want to hurt either man. I was worried about the conclusion of this story, but it ended up working for me. I really love how the title of the book is worked into the end.
Warning: The cover on this book is not accurate. This is not a cutesy, holiday read. It is not a closed door romance, either. In fact, this is a very open door and spicy romance. (lots of steam,)
Thank you to NetGalley, Get Red PR, and the author for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.
okayinmybook's review
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Rhapsodic Press for my e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: Laura lives in the small town of North Powell and loves it’s small town charm. Unfortunately, North Powell is having a hard time competing with nearby tourist towns that are capitalizing off of their hot springs and resorts. In an effort to re-ignite her town’s economy, Laura hires KPS Marketing to come in and help with some new ideas. As luck would have it, a member of the marketing team David happens to be handsome and Laura quickly falls for him. The problem? They have to keep the relationship 100% quiet until the project is over. Second problem? While Laura is falling into a steamy romance with David, she also begins to develop an attraction to another member of the team, Spence. Laura works closely with on the town’s 1st annual Dickens Festival and a side project of restoring the historic Powell House that Laura is invested in saving. With her heart torn in two directions, which man will she choose a future with? And who will she have to hurt in this process.
My Thoughts: My first piece of feedback is personal to my tastes and not a reflection of the book. This book is definitely 100% open door romance and a higher steam level than I usually prefer in books. I did enjoy the book while allowing myself to skim some of the steamy scenes. Skimming those scenes did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. I do think folks that like high steam books would enjoy the sexy scenes.
I did think this was a cute love story and like that that the steamy scenes were balanced with a romantic holiday story. I also loved how funny this book was and found myself laughing out loud at several points. I also really liked the story line of boosting the economy of a small town with a very cute festival– a Dickens festival that I would absolutely want to visit myself.
For fans of: Romantic holiday stories, meeting at work romance trope, stories with love triangles, small town stories.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: Laura lives in the small town of North Powell and loves it’s small town charm. Unfortunately, North Powell is having a hard time competing with nearby tourist towns that are capitalizing off of their hot springs and resorts. In an effort to re-ignite her town’s economy, Laura hires KPS Marketing to come in and help with some new ideas. As luck would have it, a member of the marketing team David happens to be handsome and Laura quickly falls for him. The problem? They have to keep the relationship 100% quiet until the project is over. Second problem? While Laura is falling into a steamy romance with David, she also begins to develop an attraction to another member of the team, Spence. Laura works closely with on the town’s 1st annual Dickens Festival and a side project of restoring the historic Powell House that Laura is invested in saving. With her heart torn in two directions, which man will she choose a future with? And who will she have to hurt in this process.
My Thoughts: My first piece of feedback is personal to my tastes and not a reflection of the book. This book is definitely 100% open door romance and a higher steam level than I usually prefer in books. I did enjoy the book while allowing myself to skim some of the steamy scenes. Skimming those scenes did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. I do think folks that like high steam books would enjoy the sexy scenes.
I did think this was a cute love story and like that that the steamy scenes were balanced with a romantic holiday story. I also loved how funny this book was and found myself laughing out loud at several points. I also really liked the story line of boosting the economy of a small town with a very cute festival– a Dickens festival that I would absolutely want to visit myself.
For fans of: Romantic holiday stories, meeting at work romance trope, stories with love triangles, small town stories.