Rachel Porter is on top of the world. As the most
sought-after stylist in L.A. with a client list that
includes Alayna Panagakos, the current "It" girl in
Hollywood, Rachel has everything she could want -- fame, an
expensive car, a house on the beach, and a phone that's
always ringing, at least until the morning she catches her
boyfriend in bed with Alayna. Rachel exacts her revenge by
dressing Alayna in a horrid outfit for the star's birthday
party bash, and twenty-four hours later, Rachel has lost
everything -- her top client (and most of her lesser ones),
her expensive car, her house on the beach, and her
reputation. Quite simply, her life as she knew it is
over. So, she decides to return to her hometown of Kismet,
Michigan, for the holidays to give the whole humiliating
experience a chance to blow over.
Ex-NFL kicker star Reno Wright loves Kismet,
especially around the holidays. Holidays mean lights and
decorations, and the annual neighborhood display contest.
But this year, Reno is dealing with a few unexpected
glitches. For starters, his parents had a major fight the
day after Thanksgiving, and his dad has been sleeping on
his couch ever since. Then he agrees to pick up the
daughter of his neighbors, the Porters, at the airport, and
is startled to find a woman who doesn't consider his
superstardom something to fawn over. But the delectable
Rachel Porter is strictly out-of-bounds; Reno's best friend
Nate has announced Rachel Porter has been his dream girl
since high school, and he wants Reno to help set him up
with her. Now Reno's torn between the woman he wants and
loyalty to his best friend, a choice which only gets harder
when Nate keeps avoiding Rachel whenever Reno sets up a
chance for them to meet. Spending so much time with her
without Nate around is making her harder to resist,
especially when she begins to talk about the possibility of
not returning to L.A. after the holidays. What's an
honorable go-to guy like Reno supposed to do?
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS was entertaining, although I
found myself drawn more to the secondary characters than
Rachel and Reno, who both come off as a bit ego-centric.
Reno's friend Nate, however, is just adorable -- a man of
NFL proportions who likes to make fudge, has a sentimental
side the size of a football field, and has absolutely no
clue how to approach women. Then there's Reno's sister,
Angela, who has a crush on Nate but has never found a way
to tell him. Their blooming romance is incredibly
appealing, and steals the show from the main characters at
every turn. The town of Kismet is fun and filled with
holiday cheer, which makes HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS a good
choice for a cold winter's night.
Jet set stylist Rachel loves her job and her life. But the
good times come to a halt when Rachel learns that her best
client has been sleeping with her boyfriend--a perk that's
definitely not included in her services!
Impulsively,
Rachel gets her revenge--thanks to a hideous designer
mashup of an awards show ensemble--but her satisfaction
comes at too high a cost. Blackballed from the glamorous
life forever, she heads home to the last place she ever
thought she'd return, her snowy, tiny, totally
UNsophisticated Midwestern home town.
A short-term
Christmas fling might be just the thing to put the jingle
back in her bells, Rachel decides when she arrives...and
the local guy who's had a crush on her since high school
looks like an excellent candidate.