Christmas in Rose Bend

3.5/5 - This story was sooooo close to having everything that I wanted. Christmas definitely played as the main character. There were activities such as a tree lighting ceremony, Santa race, Christmas tree decorating contest, etc. I ate all of that up. However, Nessa (FMC) was such a Debbie Downer that she soured the enjoyment of the story. I understand she was going through a huge amount of grief from losing loved ones, but it put a bad taste in my mouth. However, Wolf (MMC) was my type of guy. He was a man's man! He was instantly attracted to Nessa and made sure she knew that. This was a slow burn which I was actually here for.

Christmas Romance With A Touch Of Preachy Politics. This is mostly a Hallmarkie Christmas Romance that would mostly fit right in with a typical Hallmark Christmas Movie. So for fans of that kind of story, you're going to love this one. That noted, it does have a moment or two of getting particularly preachy about the author's politics here - enough that when reading through that section (an extended one early and a few other comments here and there) there was debate within my head about a star deduction. But ultimately even the preachiness was more spice than actual substance here - kind of a cilantro. Some will LOVE it. Others will HATE it. No matter which side you're on here, know that it truly doesn't form the actual meat of the tale here, and the rest of the tale really is a solid story of the type described above. This is marketed as Book 2 in a series, and honestly with the various backstories provided it almost seems like it could be even deeper than that - and yet the story here still works as a standalone by itself. Ultimately a solid Christmas Romance, and very much recommended.