Published by Dell on October 7,2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
Could a fake relationship with your ex over Christmas in Scotland be the perfect opportunity for revenge—or a second chance at love? One woman is about to find out in this charming holiday romance from the author of Always, in December and A Winter Wish.
Melanie has not had a good year. Things are definitely not going as planned in her work life, her best friend has moved to the other side of the world, and her favorite bagel shop is closing down. But the real reason this year has been awful is because Finn, the man who she was sure was the love of her life, dumped her. In front of everyone. At his sister’s engagement party.
So when Finn shows up at her doorstep two weeks before Christmas asking if she’ll help him, her first instinct is to slam the door in his face—or punch him. But he has a proposal for her.
Finn wants Melanie to spend the week of Christmas with him. He has to face the holiday at a vacation cottage in the Scottish Highlands with his two perfect siblings who are happily paired off with their perfect partners. His mother is obsessed with the idea of a perfect Christmas—and to try and help, Finn may have told his mother he and Mel are dating again. All she has to do is come with him and pretend they’re back together.
Melanie may hate Finn, but she loves his mom. And with her own parents on a trip, it looks like the only way to spend the holiday with someone she cares about is to suffer through being around the person she despises most.
So Melanie agrees—on one condition. At the end of the week, Finn will allow Mel to publicly dump him—in front of his family—so she can get her dignity back and he can experience the same humiliation she felt.
As they embark on seven days with Finn's family, Mel tells herself it's only a week. She just has to pretend to still be in love with him. Until she starts to lose track of which feelings are fake, and which are for real...
Six months ago, Melanie was blindsided when Finn broke up with her. Then he turned up on her doorstep asking her to pretend they reconciled and join him and his family for Christmas. Melanie was reluctant, but saw this as an opportunity for the closure she never got. Would she be able to say goodbye again?
I am a solid Emily Stone fan and have shed a plethora of tears reading her books. This one was different. There were no sad tears this time. Second chance romances are my favorite, so I was excited to see if there was still something between Melanie and Finn.
First and foremost, the holiday setting was wonderful! I loved taking a trip to the Cairngorms where the family participated in lots of fun holiday activities. Cozy cottages, Christmas tidings, and family chaos combined perfectly to set our couple on their way back to each other. All that holiday cheer and togetherness was bound to remind them of how much they meant to one another, right?
The structure of the story was interesting as well. The story unfolded via dual timelines. The present timeline was from Melanie's point of view and the past timeline was told from Finn's point of view. It made sense that the events leading to their breakup were from Finn's POV since he was the one that ended the relationship, but it also revealed how deeply he loved Melanie along with his worries regarding his effect on her life. I adored learning how they met and fell in love, and yes, my heart ached for Melanie when Finn let her go.
It was actually wonderful seeing them slowly build a bridge back to each other. I will admit, I struggled with Finn's reasons for doing what he did, but at the same time, I kind of understood them too. I think I was mad because they had something really special, and perhaps a conversation could have prevented what happened.
This was a beautiful story of family, love, second chances, and following your heart. I appreciated both Finn and Melanie's personal journeys and was so pleased with where it led them. I am glad that I got to kick off my holiday reading season with this couple and cheered them on their way to their HEA.
Published by The Dial Press on September 30, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Enchanted Realism, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
When a young woman is bequeathed a shuttered dance hall, she begins to dream of its heyday—and learns to see her present-day entanglements in a new light.
Jules is stunned when eccentric and glamorous retiree Kitty St. Clair passes away and leaves her a dilapidated dance hall in their quaint lakeside community.
That is until Reeve, a charming, successful developer, returns to town, looking for the new owner of the dance hall, intent on turning it into luxury vacation condos. Suddenly Jules has a way to make her lifelong dream of going to medical school a reality. But selling the dance hall will only add to the steadily rising real estate prices, making it harder for the residents of her tiny vacation town to live there, not to mention Reeve also happens to be the man who Jules shared a magical night with two summers ago—and never heard from again.
Reeve wants a second chance with Jules and is determined to earn back her trust. But can she let herself fall for him again? Does he want her, or a guaranteed sale?
Jules wishes she could talk to Kitty, who always seemed to have the best advice, so she turns to the diary she left her. But as Jules falls asleep reading, she wakes up in the world of the diary, fifty years ago, accompanying a young Kitty to the dance hall in all its glory. Her dream visits to Kitty’s past begin to parallel the questions plaguing her in her own world. Will Kitty’s past hold the keys to unlocking Jules’s future?
Jules was saddened by the death of Kitty St. Clair, one of the retirement home residents, but was shocked to learn that she was named in Kitty's will. The mystery of this inheritance and Kitty's diary sent Jules on a personal journey, with Kitty guiding her along the way to a bright future.
This story had two parts. One part of this story was a personal journey where Jules was given some opportunities and had to decide if she would pursue them. It was also a second chance romance, and once again, Jules had to decided if she should let Reeve back into her life.
Jules had dreams of becoming a doctor, but unfortunately, that dream slipped through her fingers due to lack of funds and credit issues. This inheritance could help put her on her path to becoming a doctor, but Jules was apprehensive about making so many changes in her life. She was hesitant to take chances, and then she discovered Kitty's diary. She found herself immersed in Kitty's world where Kitty was faced with some big choices. This was an interesting way to help Jules work through her struggles. Jules learned from Kitty's choices and made some big choices of her own. I think Robb did a nice job incorporating Kitty's past by keeping the episodes brief and not allowing them to takeover the whole story. That is usually why this structure fails for me, but it didn't fail here.
Jules and Reeve had met at a party one night where they connected on a deep level. Sparks flew but Reeve was gone the next day, never to be heard from again. Typical summer boy...or was he? Fast forward two years, and Reeve was back in town and excited to see Jules. Jules was wary of him as he had broken her heart, but Reeve worked hard to gain back her trust, and there were reasons for his radio silence. I liked them as a couple even if I had my doubts about Reeve from time to time. It was great that he also gained the courage to make some big life changes as he supported and encouraged Jules.
One part of this tale that I loved was Jules' job at the retirement home. I have a thing for senior characters and love seeing them in stories. It's a shame we didn't get to spend much time with Kitty before her death, but there were many other wonderful characters who inhabited the retirement home. In fact, the whole town was pretty charming and packed with people who were wonderful to Jules.
Overall, I had a lovely time watching Reeve and Jules fall in love as Jules discovered many things about herself and mustered the courage to made big decisions about her future.
*ARCS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER
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