Sandy M’s review of Holiday Wishes (Heartbreaker Day, Book 4.5) by Jill Shalvis
Contemporary Romance published by Avon Impulse 7 Nov 17
I’m so happy I was able to visit the characters of Heartbreaker Bay again so soon. I just read and reviewed Spencer’s and Colbie’s story, and it’s terrific to have the next one in hand, even if it is a novella. No matter length, Jill Shalvis knows how to pull a reader in and keep them turning pages. This is Sean’s story. Brother to Finn and trying to make up for his past behavior, he runs into the one woman he’s never forgotten and suddenly has more to make up for.
Sean is in charge of the the pre-wedding weekend for Finn and Pru, and he’s determined to do a bang-up job so he doesn’t let his brother down. Finn has always been there for him and now it’s time to return the brotherly love. Checking the wedding party into a B&B, Sean comes face to face with Lotti, the girl he lost his virtue to so many years before. Despite his feelings for her at the time, he didn’t know how to handle her feelings too, so he walked away.
Having her heart broken at such a young age has had a profound effect on Charlotte. She wants to commit but can’t, not trusting the men she dates. In fact, the most current one just dumped her, and, as luck would have it, Sean is a witness to her humiliation. But she’s on her way out after their wedding weekend is over – her first vacation in a very long time, and she can’t wait. Especially now that the man who she’s not been able to forget is on her turf.
But it’s wintertime and Christmas is coming fast. Mother Nature has decided to stir up a good storm, causing mud slides and road closures. Sean and his party can’t leave the inn for home, and Charlotte is also stranded, having to give up her two weeks off. Sean decides it’s time to win a second chance with Lotti. He has to convince her he’s not the young guy she knew before, and he’s certainly not the player he was for so long. He may be in for a rough road, though – Lotti is not only looking to visit a tropical climate, she also wants to experience it with a surfer. Any surfer will do.
Lotti has no way to combat Sean’s determination to show her how he’s changed, how his feelings haven’t changed, and what their future can hold. I so enjoyed them from the beginning, and I wish there could have been more of them. Their love is true and sweet, and second chances always make the best stories.
Grade: A
Summary:
It’s Christmastime again in Heartbreaker Bay!
When Sean O’Riley shows up at the Hartford Bed & Breakfast for his older brother’s bachelor weekend, he’s just hoping to make it through the weekend. What he’s not expecting is to come face to face with the woman he lost his virginity to a decade ago—a woman he’s never really forgotten.
The last time Lotti Hartford saw Sean, she told him she loved him while he said nothing. Now, ten years later, she’s just looking for a good time. For once, she wants to be the wild and free one, and Sean – the good time guy – is the perfect candidate.
But as the weekend continues, Sean realizes that after a lifetime of being the hook-up king, he’s ready to find happily-ever-after, and he wants it with Lotti. But will she open her heart to him again? As Christmas sweeps through the little B&B, he can only hope love and magic are in the air.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
