A review by joreadsromance
Christmas with the Marine by Candace Havens

4.0

Take him home for Christmas
4 stars

Who doesn’t love a man in uniform? Especially at Christmas. That’s just what Ainsley gets in this story set at Christmas - a sort of opposites attract tale. Ben is a big softie Marine from a poor background while Ainsley is a successful business woman from one of the richest families in America. But they mesh well together and I liked their chemistry, banter and interactions with each other. Both were likeable characters and Ainsley was written especially well since sometimes rich heroines have to work extra hard for me to like them.

Fun supporting characters, too. I suspect that some of the other Marines have either had their stories told previously or will do in the future. A word of warning about the British best friend - generally alright but there are a couple of instances of her taking a ‘British’ word and dropping it randomly into a sentence. A bit cringe if I’m honest.

The sex scenes were enjoyable, too. Not too many to overwhelm the story and warm rather than blazing hot. They bordered on sweet rather than down-and-dirty sexy. Again - nothing wrong with that.

While this was a pleasant read - good characters, interesting situations and well written - it didn’t quite dazzle me or keep me hooked so that I couldn’t bear to stop reading. It was quite clear from the outset what the source of conflict was going to be so you’re just really waiting for when it was going to happen rather than wondering what might happen. That’s not necessarily a bad thing - it just gives a story that’s a little more sedate. Again, warm but not blazing hot.

With that said, this is still a good story with good characters in a Christmas setting. I would recommend it to fans of Blaze, Christmas and the Uniformly Hot! mini-series. 4 stars.