We meet Maisie as she arrives in Merry, Washington, to spend the Christmas holiday with her family at a tree farm belonging to a friend of her brother-in-law. She loves Christmas and is excited to have some quality time with her family. To her surprise, the tree farm owner’s brother, Nick, is a guy she had a one-night stand with six months ago. She thought the night was something special, but the next morning he was gone and she had not seen hide nor hair of him since. Well, other than when she googled him and discovered he was a star hockey player.
YOU MAKE IT FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS has so many elements that I love. Lots of humorous banter between the characters, so much that I literally was smiling through the entire book. Third-person POV alternating between Maisie and Nick, with lots of internal angst and monologuing. Maisie is still hurt – and humiliated – about her first-ever one-night stand, and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Nick ever since. And Nick hasn’t been able to get Maisie out of his mind either. Now that he has a second chance, he’s determined to prove to her how sorry he is for walking away. So while he doesn’t grovel, there is plenty of him doing whatever he can to convince her he’s sorry and win her over.
I love Christmas-themed stories, and this was full of Christmas spirit. What better setting than a tree farm at Christmas time? So many great moments, and a fun scavenger hunt that I would love to be a part of. There are a lot of supporting characters, with Maisie’s entire family at the tree farm, and Nick and his sister, who owns the farm, plus her adorable little boy. With a group that large there’s bound to be some clashes, provided here by Maisie’s mother, who nags her about getting a degree so she can get a real career. I loved how her brother and sister always had her back, standing up for Maisie and pointing out her accomplishments. And despite the issues between them, there’s never any doubt that Maisie and her mother love each other.
Nick, meanwhile, has a tight family connection with his sister and nephew, and he has a lot of regrets that he’s not around as often as he’d like to be. As much as I felt for Maisie and her feelings of inadequacy in the eyes of her mother, I was just a little removed from her problem, not having any relative in my life who has ever been less than supportive. Not that I didn’t feel I couldn’t relate to Maisie. She’s a very likable and fun character who I would love to be friends with. But Nick’s angst grabbed me a little more. Maybe because I’m drawn to a moody hero who pines for a woman he’s only spent one night with. After an injury sidelined him, one that’s taking longer to recover from than he anticipated, he’s developed anxiety. I have occasional anxiety attacks, though only in very stressful situations, and my symptoms aren’t quite the same as Nick’s when one hits, but I felt the author did a really good job portraying Nick’s anxiety attacks, and his frustration with them.
Nick and Maisie are both so wonderfully and realistically written. With the alternating points of view, the author takes us inside both their heads and we get good character studies for each of them. The supporting characters are also well-written, and Asher, Nick’s young nephew, is so cute while still feeling age-appropriate rather than precocious. And I loved the matter-of-fact way Maisie’s brother and his husband were written, with no hammering home the enlightenment of a same-sex couple, no antagonism or homophobia from anyone, but just as one more loving, happy couple.
YOU MAKE IT FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS was just fun from beginning to end!
All bets are off when a single-minded photographer and a professional hockey player are forced to spend a week together on his sister’s Christmas tree farm, perfect for fans of Jenny Holiday and Maggie Knox.
Maisie Smart has a don’t-look-back policy–not on the choice she made to be a photographer (despite her family’s wishes) and not on the one-night stand she had six months ago. Sleeping with someone she barely knew was out of character; sleeping with a professional hockey player who bolted the morning after is a whole new level of embarrassing. Getting invited to spend the week at Tickle Tree Farm with her family this Christmas is a sure way to fill her with holiday spirit. Until the universe throws a Grinch in her festive plans in the form of the one man she hoped to avoid.
Nick King is a mess. After a significant injury lands him on the bench for every game for the rest of the month, he has more time to dwell on the one night stand he can’t get out of his head. With time on his hands, his anxiety hovering, and the holidays around the corner, he figures visiting his sister and nephew at their Christmas tree farm will be a good way to lie low and sort himself out. He’s in for a surprise when it turns out Maisie is staying at his sister’s and his attraction for her hasn’t lessened one bit in the last six months. Apparently, neither has her anger at him for bailing. But Christmas is the time for second chances, and the forced proximity may help Nick and Maisie unwrap feelings neither of them can walk away from twice.
Audiobook Narrator- Patti Murin.
EXCERPT
Chapter One
SHE’D STOPPED BELIEVING IN Santa Claus by the age of seven, but Maisie Smart would absolutely never be too old for the magic of Christmas. If, however, she one day suffered a crisis of holiday spirit, she’d just get herself back to the adorably festive town she was currently driving through. Merry, Washington, just a couple of hours outside of her hometown of Seattle, was what every kid—and she—imagined the North Pole to be. Complete with elves.
A line of little kids, one behind the other, wearing candy cane–striped pinnies over their winter jackets and warm hats, waited at a crosswalk. The main street was lined with adorable storefronts showcasing elaborate holiday displays in every window. Maisie’s stomach growled at the same time a parking spot opened up, coincidentally, in front of a store called Karma. Conveniently, the store to the right of that one promised the best hot chocolate and cookies in Washington.
Cutting the ignition, she grabbed her purse then braced herself against the door, lifted the handle, and shoved. It got a little sticky in the cold weather but Junie, short for Juniper, wasn’t just her Jeep; it was her baby. She’d bought it, secondhand, with the first big check she’d received for her photography work on a film set.
It wasn’t until she closed the Jeep door that the holiday music registered. She didn’t see any speakers, which just made it more magical. Each of the dark lampposts boasted seasonal decorations that would light up when the sun went down. Bell, sleigh, mistletoe, candy cane, angel, repeat, as far as she could see down both sides of the street.
One week until Christmas and Maisie felt like those little kids waving at her as they marched by: full of hope and ready for the magic of the season.
She was spending Christmas with her family for the first time in several years. They were staying at an actual tree farm, and she’d just—like on her way out of town—signed a contract to be the artist in residence at the University of Washington from January to April with a possible extension. It was huge. Six months ago, she wasn’t even sure if she should or would apply. Despite being raised in a home that valued education above all else, it wasn’t Maisie’s strong suit, something she’d never been able to explain to her mom. Now, she was going to be sort-of staff at an accredited school.
Nerves simmered in her stomach the way they did whenever she thought about this new path. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, removed one glove with her teeth, and typed out a text to her bestie.
Maisie
This town is utterly adorable. I’m so excited.
Lexi
I looked it up online. Apparently in the summer, it’s “udderly” adorable thanks to the cow pageant. Send pictures.
Maisie sent a bunch of happy face and Christmas tree emojis then took a quick video. Her best friend, Lexi, was probably blissfully cocooned in her fiancé’s arms. A little pang poked her in the ribs. Longing. It was no secret that the holidays were sweeter when shared.
The phone rang almost immediately, Lexi’s face lit up the screen, and her friend started speaking before Maisie even had her phone all the way to her ear.
“Are you sure this place isn’t actually the North Pole? Have you seen Santa? Did you sit on his lap?”
Maisie laughed loud enough to draw a few curious stares. “There’ll be no lap sitting, thank you very much. I’m done believing wishes come true when you whisper what you want in a man’s ear.”
“One of these days you’re going to tell me who turned you against relationships. For yourself. Because you were all the way onboard for me being in one,” Lexi said.
An image of Nicholas King, well over six feet, dirty blond hair just a little long so it fell in his eyes, and the kind of muscles that made coherent words fall out of her brain, popped into her mind unbidden. Unwanted. Kind of like she’d felt when she woke up alone in a hotel room after the best night of her life.
“We were talking about sitting on Santa. Specifically, his lap. Which, when you really take a moment to dissect the tradition, is kind of creepy. ‘Here, strange man. Let my child sit on you.’”
Lexi’s laughter was soft and comforting. Maisie got the pleasure of hearing it a lot more often now that her friend had given herself over to falling in love. The real kind that lasted forever and maybe longer. The kind that eluded Maisie.
“Way to deflect and redirect. If photography doesn’t work out, you could always try being a lawyer.”
Wouldn’t that make her parents happy. “No thanks. Jacob already has that covered.” Her older brother was one of the most respected entertainment lawyers on the East Coast. Both her siblings had excelled in school and in life. They, unlike Maisie, were proud recipients of many scholarships, degrees, and educational accolades. On top of that, they were both settled in loving and committed relationships.
“You okay?” Lexi asked.
Maisie nodded, even though her friend couldn’t see her. “I’m great. I’m in Santa’s village, about to have hot chocolate and cookies before going to a tree farm chalet to spend a week reconnecting with my family. I’m going to go sledding, cut down a tree, and do every Christmasy thing this town has to offer.”
Her parents might not be into all of the activities, but she was fairly certain she could convince the rest of her family to take part. Growing up, Maisie had sometimes felt a bit like an outcast in her own family, so doing things she enjoyed on her own wasn’t new territory. The dreamer in a house of hardcore academics.
“You’re going to have a great time,” Lexi said. “Oh, Will just got home. Send me videos of the tree farm or FaceTime me later.”
“I will.” Maisie hung up, wondering, not for the first time, if she should have confided in her bestie rather than keeping her feelings wrapped tighter than a present.
But she didn’t want to be a rain cloud on Lexi’s rainbow. She and her fiancé, Will, had only just found each other. Maisie didn’t need to dish about a man who’d ghosted her. Even if the very detailed memory of him still haunted her six months later. It’s just the holidays. Theymake people more hopeful and nostalgic. Maisie was all about looking forward. Starting now.
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