Betsy St. Amant – Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner

About This Book

ISBN-13:9780593602560

Publication date:09/16/2025

Pages:352

Holly Sinclair has hated Christmas for as long as she can remember. Who names their Christmas baby Holly in the first place? She was teased mercilessly growing up. Holly Berry, Holli-days, Holly Jolly . . . not to mention the fact that her birthday is often totally overlooked amidst the season.

To make matters worse, instead of getting the promotion she was expecting, Holly’s been downsized—which is just fancy holiday talk for fired. Now Holly has to go home single, unemployed, turning thirty, and only a tinsel strand of faith. Bah, humbug.

Holly’s big brother, Ryan, has dragged his best friend, known holiday-hater Nick Kinsley, home with him. But when Holly discovers that Nick’s here to be her pity date, she decides the best revenge is to play along . . . and Christmas like she’s never Christmas’d before. Commence Operation: Naughty List. The fact that she’s attracted to Nick is totally not the point. She’ll teach him a lesson, one ho ho ho at a time.

The holiday grows more complicated when Holly and Ryan find out their parents asked all the siblings to come home for Christmas this year, but refuse to say why. The rest of the Sinclair siblings descend, each with their own sleigh full of secrets. Rumors spread as everyone tries to guess the reason for their parents’ demand—and Nick turns out to have a secret of his own. Will this be a Christmas to forget? Or will Holly and Nick discover there is so much more? (Synopsis from Barnes and Noble)

My Thoughts

Run, don’t walk to get this hilarious romp with the Sinclair family as they celebrate Christmas, or at least try to. Holly Sinclair is a Christmas baby but not a fan of the holiday, especially since it always overshadowed her Christmas birthday. Her brother Ryan has a friend named Nick who is not a fan of Christmas either. Ryan invites Nick to spend Christmas with his family and act as kind of a pseudo-boyfriend for Holly. Once they get together at the farm, the merry antics begin and the non-stop laughs, too. Holly and Nick concoct plans that they call “operations” to fool the rest of the family members. First, Holly pretends to adore the holiday, then she enlists Nick to help her pretend they are really falling in love with each other. Each plan is more outrageous than the previous one and even more entertaining. I loved the way the characters had me cheering for their outlandish plans to work and for everyone to be fooled. I thoroughly enjoyed the brilliant dialogue between Holly and Nick as their warm-hearted and flirty romance was not just entertaining but also an engaging story that made me laugh aloud at their antics. I especially enjoyed the ugly Christmas sweaters they created together and the Frosty hijinks. This book was pure fun from beginning to end, with multiple layers of drama within the family and everyone having a secret that is eventually and humorously revealed. The characters are appealing and relatable, the plot was skillfully woven with charm and a refreshingly light tone to all of the shenanigans going on. I enjoyed meeting the Sinclair family and at the end of the book, I was sad to see the last page turn. This feel-good story is cleverly written and is perfect to read at any time, not to mention a great gift for the Christmas grinch in your life.
I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Christian Fiction, Rated G and note that I would give more than five stars if I could. This book is hilarious!

About the Author

Betsy St. Amant Haddox is the author of over twenty romance novels and novellas. She resides in north Louisiana with her hubby, two daughters, an impressive stash of coffee mugs, and one furry Schnauzer-toddler. Betsy has a B.A. in Communications and a deep-rooted passion for seeing women restored to truth. When she’s not composing her next book or trying to prove unicorns are real, Betsy can be found somewhere in the vicinity of an iced coffee. She writes frequently for www.ibelieve.com, a devotional site for women. Author’s website for more information about her books: https://betsystamant.com

Purchase Links

With much gratitude to Penguin Random House and the author for providing the ARC for me to read and review. I cannot adequately express how this book lifted my sagging spirits and provided pure and wonderful laugh-aloud moments. So, thank you!

This is a brilliantly written contemporary romance with likable characters and a constant undercurrent of humor. Rory Perez inherits a food truck from her aunt, but she has no clue how to actually cook Mexican food. Nevertheless, she tries to make it a success for the sake of Grady and Nicole, the real chef and her best friend. Having the money she needs to keep the food truck running is Rory’s priority, so she is more than a little incensed when one of the town’s wealthiest residents asks for cooking lessons and then becomes her rival in the cooking contest. Jude Worthington is a lawyer but wants to be a cook and own his own food truck. There are some really funny scenes between these two as Rory who is clueless tries to teach Jude how to cook. The text messages between the two are priceless and chuckle-worthy. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this story of two stubborn people who have to find themselves before they can find each other. With themes of self-acceptance, forgiveness and trust, this is a book not to be missed by those who enjoy clean contemporary romance, with a dash of cilantro, a few tears and a whole lot of smiles.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell via Netgalley since I am a member of the Revell Reads Blogger Tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”