Oh, Christmas Night
By Jane Porter
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Publisher: Tule Publishing
standalone
Number of pages: 252
Kindle Edition
Source: ARC from publisher
Contemporary Romance/Holidays M/F
Rating: PG
Read 10/23/19 to 10/26/19
Brilliant, but overworked California accountant, Rachel Mills, inherits an old bookstore in Marietta, Montana, just as she’s been passed over for a huge promotion. The smart thing to do would be to buckle down and keep on working. But for the first time in her life, she goes with impulsive and books a flight to Montana to inspect the bookstore, and hopefully have her first white Christmas ever.
Texan lawyer and entrepreneur, Atticus Bowen, has found the perfect location for his next restaurant—the two-story, turn-of-the-century brick building on Marietta’s Main Street. All he has to do is convince the new owner to sell Paradise Books to him. After all, used bookstores aren’t practical or viable businesses, and he’s making Rachel Mills a very generous offer. But instead of jumping on his offer, Rachel decides she’s going to open the bookstore doors for December and ‘explore her options.’
The last thing Rachel expected was to fall in love with the old bookstore, or charming Marietta. She never expected sparks to fly with handsome, arrogant Atticus Bowen, either. Smart, practical Rachel realizes she just might be falling in love with the sexy, opinionated Texan lawyer — something that could prove to be neither smart, nor practical….or the best decision of her life.
I was offered this ARC from the publisher and couldn’t say yes fast enough. Jane Porter is a new-to-me author, but Christmas and bookstores are a huge selling point with me. I’m glad I took this ARC, I enjoyed the story and I’m sure I’ll read more of this author’s work. And though I did like the story, there was something missing.
Seeing Rachel open up to having friends, and even more, through this story was beautiful. That part of the book was written with such a keen eye and really made me feel for teenage Rachel and want to help adult Rachel reach her full potential in all things, not just business.
On the other hand, though I really enjoyed the character of Atticus, I didn’t feel I really got to know him. I also had the feeling he is possibly a crossover character from this author’s other stories since he seemed to have a deep connection to Marietta and some of the residents. So, it’s quite possible long time readers of this author didn’t get those same feelings about Atticus as I did.
While Atticus and Rachel fell in love pretty quickly, it wasn’t what I would expect from insta-love. This, to me, comes down to a case of being told and not shown. I very much believe this couple could be perfect for one another. But I don’t feel I was shown that enough throughout the story. Sure, they had a connection to a certain extent. Yet I didn’t feel it much beyond friendship with what I was given.
Oddly enough, there were definitely times in this story I got tears in my eyes. Most of that had to do with Rachel facing her past and not to do with her budding relationship with Atticus.
Like I said, I’m sure I’ll seek out more from this author. I enjoyed so much about this story. It just didn’t wow me.
3 stars
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
All In Good Time 