HAPPY EVER AFTER IN CHRISTMAS by Debbie Mason: Review & Excerpt

Happy Ever After in Christmas by Debbie Mason
Series: Christmas Colorado #7
Published by Forever
Publication Date: June 28th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ Kobo

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

It’s beginning to look a lot like love . . .

 

As her thirtieth birthday approaches, Deputy Jill Flaherty decides it’s time to live a little. When she walks into Sawyer Anderson’s bar in her sexiest dress, she’s not thinking that he’s her brother’s best friend or about the many women he dated during his years as a pro hockey player. All she’s thinking is that it’s finally time to confess to her longtime crush how she truly feels.

 

Sawyer is done being a player on and off the ice. Yet no one in the small town of Christmas seems to believe he’s ready to settle down, not Jill, and certainly not Jack, who is determined to keep Sawyer from breaking his little sister’s heart. But as Sawyer and Jill’s relationship heats up, can he prove that he’s her happy ever after?

 

Review

Deputy Jill Flaherty has been in love with her brother’s best friend all her life, but he’s never seen her as more than his bestie’s younger sister. With everyone around them falling in love and the clock ticking against her, Jill thinks it’s time to reach out for her own happiness, even if it means putting herself out there with Sawyer.

Sawyer Anderson has successfully cultivated the persona of a playboy and no-one in Christmas expects anything else from him, but his best friend’s sister is off limits, not matter how hot she looks in a red dress. But when things change between them and he realizes that he feels more for her than friendship, can he convince her to give them a chance at happy ever after?

I’m always excited to pick up a new installment in this series because I know I’ll love it and doubly so because this is my favorite trope. Plus, it’s about time Jill got her own happy ending.  In fact, Jill was my favorite thing about this book. She’s loyal, hardworking, strong and independent, maybe a little too much, but her hard outer shell covers a sensitive and easily bruised inside. I can relate to her need to keep her personal life private, which is almost impossible in Christmas because everyone knows that there is no secret in Christmas.

Sawyer on the other hand I didn’t really like very much because of how indecisive he was about Jill and the other stuff he had going on, and it wasn’t until the end that he endeared himself to me with how he thoughtful and sweet he was.

Any story in this series is never complete without the people of Christmas, especially Nell and I loved the glimpses into her past that we got, but even more I loved the connection between her and Jill and how she was the only person that could reach Jill when she needed it. One thing about this story and the series is that Ms. Mason knows how to really tap into a reader’s feelings and you are sure to experience a range of emotions as you read.

HAPPY EVER AFTER IN CHRISTMAS is another fun and entertaining addition to the series and I hope that there is more to come.

 

 

Excerpt

Alicia Key’s “Girl on Fire” greeted them as Ty opened the door to the Penalty Box. Jill stood stock-still, momentarily frozen with nerves. Ty lightly shoved her inside. She didn’t need to look behind the long bar with its high-back black leather bar stools to know the man himself was there. She felt him, sensed his presence like she always did.

            The room was crowded. Not surprising since it was a Friday night. There was a hockey game playing on the screen behind the bar. Several couples were on the wood-planked dance floor while two busty blondes sat to the left of the juke box on a white bench enclosed by white-and-black-painted boards with an electronic clock affixed above. It was the penalty box for which the bar was named. Sawyer routinely put customers in there for causing trouble. Given the time on the clock, the women had obviously been given a major. She wondered if it was for excessive flirting with the owner.

            Jill scratched her neck. She shouldn’t be here. As though Ty sensed she was about to make a run for it, he grabbed her hand and started singing along with Alicia Keys. Jill couldn’t help it; she started to laugh. She sensed someone’s eyes upon her and glanced at the bar. Sawyer. was watching her while he mixed a drink. He cocked his head, a slow smile spreading across his face, deepening the dimple in his cheek, an appreciative gleam in his eyes. It was the first time he’d ever looked at her that way, and Jill’s heart almost jumped out of her chest.

            Sawyer Anderson was flirting with her. The long hours she’d spent being made over suddenly felt worth it. But when he looked away to slide the drink to a customer, she gave her head a slight shake. Of course he wasn’t flirting with her. She must have misinterpreted the look in . . . He glanced at her, nodding to the empty stool at the end of the bar. The heat that seconds ago had touched her cheeks spread.

            “Oh. My. God. He’s totally hitting on you. Hurry up, go sit at the bar before someone takes your place. I’ll be right there. I just want to text Diva and tell her the news. Go make me proud,” Ty said, giving her another light shove.

            Panicked, Jill grabbed his hand. “Text Chloe later. I need you with me.” Now that Sawyer appeared interested, she wasn’t sure what to do with him.

 

 

 

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