I’m genuinely looking forward to reading in December. Recently, reading has become somewhat of a chore as I have actual deadlines I need to finish books by at the moment. However, the rush to get everything ready for December does mean I should start being ahead of myself with reviews. Well, I hope it will. Last year I made the mistake of trying to fit all my December and January reads into January – I won’t be doing that again.
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
It’s rare that I actually read a Christmas-themed book in December as I spend so much time preparing for my ‘12 books of Christmas’ series. This also means I don’t read and review festive books outside of that series as I tend to only use ARCs for it. However, I think it’s perfectly fine for me to review a Christmassy book after Christmas, I make the rules after all.
I did want to read and review this during November as it felt like a great book to kick off my festive content, but I ran out of time. A few of the festive ARCs really kicked my butt and they took a lot longer to get through than expected. However, I’m excited to check this out. It has two of my favourite things in it: fake dating and Christmas. I hope it’s as great as people say it is – my expectations are pretty high.
Synopsis: A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.
In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, Stella enters a contest with Instagram-famous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, Stella might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on her application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only…there is no boyfriend.
Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just stopped by for some hot chocolate and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process. But fake dating his best friend might be the best Christmas present he’s ever received.
Snowed In by Catherine Walsh
I read the first book in this ‘series’ as part of 2022’s 12 books of Christmas and I loved it. I can’t actually remember if Christian was in the first book or not, but this has fake dating at Christmas which is one of the best times to do this trope. I’m so excited to read this. I’ve planned to review it after Christmas but before new year as that time still feels appropriate to be posting festive content.
Synopsis: Megan is dreading going home for the holidays. She’s the village pariah, the she-devil who left local golden boy Isaac at the altar four years ago and ran away to the big city. She could really do without the drama. Particularly as he’s engaged again, and she’s just been dumped for the fourth time this year.
Christian’s fed up of being on his own every Christmas. He doesn’t mind being alone , but he hates his family’s sad eyes and soft tones as they sit around coupled up. Because he’s actually, totally, fine.
So when Megan literally bumps into Christian in a Dublin pub, they come up with a pact to see them through the holiday season. They’re going to be the very best fake dates for each other, ever .
Rules are drawn up, a contract is signed on a wine-stained napkin. They will sit through each other’s family gatherings and be outrageously in love until freed from their annual obligations. After all, it’s only for a few weeks.
But with everyone home for the holidays, two big families to deal with alongside old friends, old flames and old feelings, things are bound to get messy. And when a snowed-in cabin and a little Christmas magic are added to the mix, anything could happen…
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