AUTHOR: Alison Cochrun GENRE: NA Queer Romance PAGES: 368 RELEASED: 1 November 2022 SYNOPSIS: One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money. Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real. This book was kindly sent to me by Netgally in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. It really is a small world when you become fake engaged to the brother of the woman you fell in love with in one day last Christmas...
Last Christmas, Ellie Oliver had it all – she had recently moved to Portland for her dream animation job, and although her mother had once again abandoned her for Christmas, things took a very positive turn during a meet-cute at a bookstore on Christmas Eve with a woman she fell in love with in just one day. Now, with Christmas around the corner once again, things couldn’t be more different – she lost her dream job, is working in a cafe for a boss who’s a bit of an ass, her bank account is about to hit the red, she’s on the verge of losing her apartment, and her heart is still broken from the events of last Christmas. As her life begins to crumble around her, Andrew, the owner of the cafe’s building, offers her a lifeline – they can become fake engaged in order for him to secure his inheritance from his grandfather, and she’ll be given a cut of the money which will help her live more than comfortably. The plan is simple enough until Ellie is invited to spend Christmas with Andrew and his family at their cabin in the mountains, only to learn that the woman who broke her heart a year ago is actually her fake fiancé’s sister Jack. Now Ellie is torn between keeping up the ruse in order to help Andrew secure the inheritance and get her cut, and following her heart to rekindle things with Jack and get her happily ever after. I absolutely ADORED Alison’s debut The Charm Offensive, and have been hanging out for her next release ever since – I didn’t even care what the book was going to be about, I just wanted it in my life! And just like with her debut, Alison delivered a stellar queer romance that had me hooked from the first page and not wanting the story to come to an end. I’m a sucker for the fake relationship AND fiancé’s sibling tropes, so I love that Alison combined these with a twist for Ellie and Jack’s story. One of the aspects I really enjoyed with Alison’s storytelling here was her use of flashbacks to the day that Ellie and Jack spent together the previous Christmas, slowly fleshing out their back story while we followed Ellie’s current life a year later in the lead-up to seeing Jack again. It was such a great way to build up to them meeting again, while also gradually giving us their back story instead of just info-dumping when they did see each other again. Ellie and Jack’s relationship was a super cute one, from their original meet-cute on Christmas Eve to reconnecting a year later and finally having a conversation about the events of the previous Christmas morning. As they finally reconnected, there was sexual tension galore, culminating in a swoony axe scene after they’re snowed-in at a neighbouring cabin. That’s right, we’ve got the snowed-in trope here as well! On top of the main romance, there was also a bit of a sizzling side romance, as well as a really fun family dynamic as everyone got involved with various Christmas traditions. There’s holiday cheer, a bit of angst, and feels galore, which is pretty on-par for most people’s Christmases, let’s be honest. It’s time to make the holidays gay with this super sweet queer romance that will have you moving to Portland to have your own meet-cute at a bookstore on Christmas Eve! Alison has knocked it out of the park with her first two books, so I cannot wait to see what she’s cooking up for a third novel! |
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