The ever-popular Fool's Gold series returns with a newcomer
to town discovering just how much snow falls in the area.
Noelle has been living in Florida and LA so she's
unprepared for drifts, skids, slips and falls. As a friend
of Felicia who lives with Gideon, she shows up at their
house and meets a stranger, Gabriel, who is Gideon's
brother. He's also a doctor and luckily for Noelle, has
some experience in retrieving cars from snowbanks.
CHRISTMAS ON FOURTH STREET gives us another look at
friendly, bright Felicia, who tends to give a lecture
instead of a comment, and is thrilled with her engagement.
Gabriel doesn't tell her that he and Gideon have barely
spoken for a decade. Noelle is running a store which sells
Christmas decorations and gifts, toys and DVDs. Business is
brisk at Thanksgiving and her young staff keep taking off
to go skiing. Gabriel finds the lady, like the town,
restful but he'll be returning to work in military
hospitals soon. He can't fully relax. What's worse, their
drill sergeant father is coming to spend the holiday with
Gideon too. Is there a way to escape?
The names Gabriel and Gideon are very similar and easy to
confuse, especially as both of the men have military
experience. Gideon particularly was pressured into joining
by his father, and now is being pressured to stay in the
army for a full twenty years although he's finding it
extremely stressful. Gabriel had been in special forces.
While the constant emphasis on army personnel in this
series will please those readers in military families, it
does make for a degree of repetition from book to book.
When an avalanche occurs however they're good people to
have around.
If you enjoyed the easy-reading romance of the previous
books, this one has more of the same, and if you're new to
town, it may take a little time to settle in to the ongoing
soap-opera but you can easily follow the main characters.
There are small asides to hint at the author's other books
such as a shirt with Blackberry Island on it, and someone
touting the Fool's Gold Cookbook. A note at the start from
Susan Mallery mentions a scavenger hunt of these items,
which may interest some loyal readers. Enjoy the
Thanksgiving turkey, tree lighting and hot chocolate, it
won't be long before Christmas. And CHRISTMAS ON FOURTH
STREET seems like a good treat or gift for a lady reader in
the family.
There's nowhere better to spend the holidays than with New
York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery in the town of
Fool's Gold, where love is always waiting to be unwrapped…
Noelle Perkins just got a second chance at life, and she
intends to make the most of every minute. That's why she
ditched a frustrating legal career to open her own store in
Fool's Gold, California. The Christmas Attic celebrates
everything that's magical about her favorite season.
Business is booming, and as a bonus, gorgeous army doctor
Gabriel Boylan has offered to help out during the holiday
rush.
Gabriel's memories of Christmas past contain more sour
grapes than sugar plums, thanks to a drill sergeant father
who ran his home like a boot camp. Spending the holidays
with his family while he recuperates from injury sounds as
appetizing as last year's eggnog. Still, there are some
enjoyable distractions in town, including sunny, sexy
Noelle…and the red-hot mistletoe kisses they can't stop
sharing.
Gabriel didn't think he was made for happily-ever-afters.
But when fate hands you a love as sweet and surprising as
this, only a fool could refuse….