TW: emotional abuse, violence (It's not super graphic, but I wanted to make people aware that there are characters in this book who have suffered abuse and trauma and it's kind of an important part of the story.)

I ended up picking this book up sort of on a whim. It, along with the other two books in the series, had been sitting on my shelf for the past several months. The other day, I picked up this book just out of a yearning for an easy, light adult romance. I didn't even realize it was set at Christmas (maybe I should have, considering the title, but it's actually the first in a series, and that's all I was really paying attention to at the time) so picking it up on December 5th felt kind of like fate.

I ended up really enjoying this book. I usually like my romances to be a little steamier than this one was, but there was something about the way the author approached the relationship between Eden and Beau that I really liked. I could see this being a tv movie, and I mean that as someone who is total trash for Christmas movies.

There are several different tropes employed in this book. Woman and her child on the run, abusive ex-husband, car breaks down in a small town, local good guy (usually a cop) comes to the rescue...it wasn't exactly the most unique or original setup. Even so, I'm a sucker for those kind of stories, as long as they're told well, and I liked the writing in this book.

One thing I didn't realize is that this was going to be a very chaste romance book. Like I said, I tend to enjoy the steamy romances. This book (and I'm assuming her other books) did not contain anything more than kissing. That being said, I really felt the spark between Eden and Beau and really liked the foundation and build up of their relationship.

Also, the characters are obviously Christian. God and church and prayer are present throughout the book. However, it wasn't done in a way that felt preachy at all. It is just who these characters are. As someone who isn't overly religious, I didn't feel like it was heavy-handed at all.

This book was a quick read for me. It's just over 300 pages, and I flew right through it.

All in all, I liked this book and I'm glad I finally read a holiday story this year that I enjoyed.