Ivy Macpherson grew up in a family famous for the most embarrassing Christmas tradition of all—fruitcake—so she’s become a bit of a Grinch. Her body may be headed to Dogwood Mountain, North Carolina, to celebrate the holidays with family, but her mind is on moving up the ladder at the online lifestyle brand Scoop.
When Ivy’s chance encounter with an A-list actor reveals he’s headed to her hometown, she knows that scoop is the key to her big break. Earning a promotion should be a piece of cake—but chasing her story puts her face-to-face with the sinfully handsome Rand Cooper, her main high school competition and perennial thorn in her side.
Rand always had a thing for Ivy, but she’s a tough nut to crack. Family and friends hope their flirtation will grow into something more. But will Ivy’s focus on the job of her dreams cost her the man who could help her build a real future?
Titles in the Dogwood Mountain series include – The Christmas Scoop –
Title: The Christmas Scoop
Series: Dogwood Mountain #1
Author: Mimi Wells
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: November 19, 2019
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 4.5 stars
THE CHRISTMAS SCOOP begins the Dogwood Mountain series with a fun, sometimes ironic tale of one very stubborn woman determined to advance her career, no matter the cost, and one equally stubborn man ready to make a move on something more with a woman who he’s equally attracted to and frustrated by. Meet Ivy and Rand, a couple who may go about romance in their own unique way but who also would be so perfect together once life’s priorities get straightened out.
I had a blast watching Ivy go off on wild goose hunts as she’s trying to track down the biggest scoop of her career. To be frank, my opinion of people who take on her particular career isn’t very high, to say the least. The invasion of privacy that some journalists will go to in order to get that “big story” in spite of the damage possibly done to those “in” the story has always grated on me. So, it took me a bit of time to warm up to Ivy, and to be fair, she didn’t make that easy with her personality or her need to see Rand as the bad guy. Now, Rand, I adored from the start. He’s in a hard place trying to safeguard a secret while getting the woman he’s cared about since their school years to really see him as a person she could build a future with.
If you love a Romance with lively characters, a change of perspective, frienemies to lovers, with some Christmas magic sprinkled about then you’ll want to pick up THE CHRISTMAS SCOOP right now. I enjoyed watching Rand and Ivy work through the things that were standing in the way of their happiness – and maybe there is more than one happily ever after ending to this story. I could see this story as a Hallmark Christmas Movie one day, yeah, it’s that good.
*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
