Title: Christmas at Evergreen Inn
Series: Jewell Cove #3.5
Author: Donna Alward
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published: October 13, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:
When a December Nor’easter roars up the eastern seaboard, Jewell Cove cop Todd Ricker spends his day off being a Good Samaritan to stranded holiday travelers. But when the roads close and Todd can’t make his way home, he discovers that the Evergreen Inn is full up. Until another Good Samaritan opens her doors and offers him a place to stay…
Lainey Price is not looking forward to Christmas, but just because she’s not filled with the holiday spirit doesn’t mean she’s going to turn Todd out into the stormy night. Even if it means offering the handsome police officer the couch in her tiny cottage. But when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the two are snowed in for a wintry evening by the fire. With Christmas only a few days away, can Todd convince Lainey to open her heart to the season…and love?
Read on for my thoughts on Christmas at Evergreen Inn. No true spoilers, promise.
Christmas was a difficult time for Lainey. There had been a time when she loved every single moment of this blessed and magical season. She’d gone so far as to plan a Christmas wedding to combine her personal memories with the season. The wedding never happened, cancelled just days before Christmas. Now this season is a reminder of what never was, of how love could turn on you at a moment and leave you alone and yes, bitter. But since Lainey’s business meant that she was surrounded by the joy and excitement of this holiday she’d learned to pretend a happiness that she never felt. If this season wasn’t one of the most profitable ones she would have been happy to hibernate through the winter months.
Todd firmly believes in his job to protect and serve – and if that means that his day off is spent helping out travelers caught in the snowstorm, so be it. It’s Christmas after all and no one wants to be stuck out in the weather and far from their destination. Yet that is exactly what will happen to Todd this wintery storm night. Unable to make it back home safely, Todd is ironically turned away from the fully booked Evergreen Inn. Thanks to the kindness of Lainey, he’s at least got a spot on the couch of her tiny cabin for the night… and maybe a future that’s magical as well.
Christmas at Evergreen Inn is a sweet, charming holiday romance between two people who know of each other, but come together with no real past – aside from the memories they bring with them. Sometimes memories, especially bad ones are the most difficult things to fight when one person sees the possibilities of a lasting love and the other only has reminders of what can be lost, again. Todd and Lainey have that special spark, now he just has to convince her that love is always worth a second try, that the gain is worth the risks with the right person.
I enjoyed this Christmas novella very much. Even though it is part of an ongoing series, I don’t feel you have to have followed Jewell Cove to enjoy this romance… of course, it’s better if you have but not totally necessary. The romance is charming and believable, the secondary characters always delightful. This is one that will warm up that special Christmas reading spot for you this year and many years to come.
*I received an e-ARC of Christmas at Evergreen Inn from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*
Available for the Kindle
