She’s loved him all her life… but will he be there when she needs him the most?

Disheartened and adrift after being written out of a hit TV show, actor Aidan Flaherty returns to his family’s historic winery, where he’s invested some of the fortunes he’s made. As the holidays approach, Aidan becomes intrigued with the old showboat that’s dry-docked just east of town… and even more intrigued with the daughter of his former mentor, who now owns it. He decides to buy the boat and restore it to its former glory.

Single mom Holly Santos is back in River’s Edge after her divorce and she is over men in general and actors in particular. If she could only get rid of her father’s old showboat, a source of fascination for her son, Mateo. She never expects her old crush to walk into her tea shop or the fireworks that happen every time they’re in the same room.

Can Aidan convince her that he is determined to restore their shared heritage on the showboat and that he’s home to stay?

Titles in the Four Irish Brothers Winery series include —  A Small Town Christmas – Meant To Be – Christmas With You – The Baby Contract –

 

Title:  Christmas With You
Series:  Four Irish Brothers Winery #3
Author:  Nan Reinhardt
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  November 21, 2019
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

I have been captured by not only the small town of River’s Edge but by its residents as well, particularly four charming brothers who seem to always have something going on in their lives, since that very first story.  CHRISTMAS WITH YOU brings us Aidan’s story, and what an adventure this one turned out to be.  And, I’ll confess that I’ve always had a bit of a book crush on Aidan myself since his first appearance in this series.

Life happens, plans change, or your character gets killed off on a popular TV series and then you have to figure out what comes next.  For Aidan, that means returning home to his family, his small hometown to regroup.  The one thing Aidan probably didn’t expect to find back in River’s Edge was love waiting for him in the form of one funny, charming, full of mistrust woman and her son who is beginning that slide into the teen years.  A new purpose, a new love, it all awaits him but he’s going to have to work for all of that before fantasy can become reality and it’s not going to be easy – but loving a complicated woman rarely is.

I found Holly and Aidan’s romance to be realistic, believable and full of moments that had me chuckling or a bit misty-eyed depending on the moment.  I understood Holly’s reluctance to get involved with Aidan but in order to find her own happiness, she’s going to have to let the past or the actions of someone else in her past, fade away and take a risk on the man in front of her now.  Mateo (although I’m sure he’d not like this description) is adorable in that between two worlds kind of way.  He still has the innocence of childhood, but that is rapidly moving into the teen years full of questions that he doesn’t always have the answers for.  Holly, Mateo, and Aidan make a believable ready-made family along with his boisterous brothers and their ladies could all be a dream come true – but first must come trust, and that’s something Holly needs to learn how to do again.

I loved every moment back in this world, and would not hesitate one second in recommending CHRISTMAS WITH YOU to any reader who loves a good, well-plotted romance, characters who are believable, issues to be dealt with but aren’t insurmountable, and old book friends popping up in the current brother’s story.  I had a blast, and now comes the wait for the next brother to fall.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Tule Publishing. That does not change what I think of this story.  It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Available for the Kindle