ONE CHRISTMAS EVE by Shannon Stacey: Review & Excerpt

Posted December 17, 2019 in Excerpts, Reviews, Spotlights / 2 Comments

ONE CHRISTMAS EVE by Shannon Stacey: Review & ExcerptOne Christmas Eve by Shannon Stacey
Series: Cedar Street #2
Published by Carina Press
Publication Date: November 11th 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 118
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon  B&N  Kobo  Apple

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

New York Times bestselling author Shannon Stacey returns with a warm and cozy opposites-attract Christmas story.

Zoe Randall is busy living her life as she damn well pleases. She’s back in her favorite town, her divorce in her rearview mirror, and living out her childhood dream of running a bookstore with her cousin. She has no interest in the uptight nerd who opened his boring-ass business next to her shop…until he complains about one of her sexy window displays.

Then it’s game on.

Preston Wheeler knows he takes life a little too seriously. But when the saucy bookseller next door starts pushing his buttons, he can feel that changing. Beautiful, vivacious Zoe challenges him in all the best ways, and soon he’s pushing her buttons right back: teasing and flirting all the way through the holiday season.

As Preston loosens up and Zoe is treated to the man behind the suit (particularly his forearms), she realizes she’s more interested than she cares to admit. And Preston comes to see the beauty—the absolute delight—in adding Zoe’s bright splashes of color to his once very black-and-white existence.

 

Review

This is how an opposites attract romance is done! Zoe and Preston were a really enjoyable couple to read about for so many reasons including, their initial dislike for each other was not overdone, they were very honest with themselves and each other about their feelings and the drama was very minimal. 

One other thing: I loved that the characters’ lived experiences had made them very upfront about what they would and would not tolerate in a relationship and they did not hesitate to express that.

It’s amazing that this is the very first book by Ms. Stacey that I have read and I look forward to reading more from her.

 

 

Excerpt

“I have to go back to Boston for a few days and finalize a few things, so I won’t be around. You know, in case you wonder why the office is closed next week.” He was rewarded with what might have been a glimmer of disappointment in her expression, but it cleared so quickly, it was possible he’d imagined it.

“I hear you’re coming to Thanksgiving dinner at Granddad’s,” she said.

“I was invited.” He gave a little shrug. “And it was more like he told me to come when I said I wouldn’t be joining my family for the holiday.”

“That’s kind of how he is.”

“But I didn’t want to commit to accepting until I got a chance to talk to you. If you think it would be weird for me to be there, I won’t go.”

Her lips tilted into a slight smile. “And will you post pictures on Instagram of your bowl of ramen soup you’re eating all alone?”

He laughed. “Ramen soup? You don’t think I can do any better than that?”

“I’m sure you can, but you don’t have to. Of course you’re welcome at Thanksgiving dinner.”

“You’re sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” He couldn’t really bring up the sexual tension simmering between them without introducing the possibility it was all in his head, so he didn’t really want to spell it out for her. “Just checking. I don’t want to intrude on family time.”

She opened her door, but before sliding into her seat, she looked at him. “It’s not intruding. So…have fun in Boston, I guess. And if I don’t see you before Thanksgiving, I’ll see you at Granddad’s?”

“Sounds good.” He really wanted to kiss her goodnight, but he figured if she was thinking the same thing, she wouldn’t have put her car door between them. “I’ll see you there.”

Thanksgiving felt like forever away, and as he watched her drive away, he knew he’d be thinking about her the entire time, even though it didn’t make any sense. Wanting her so badly didn’t make sense. Not being able to keep her out of his thoughts didn’t make any sense.

He couldn’t make sense of his attraction to Zoe Randall, but he could feel himself nearing the point he didn’t care anymore.

To hell with sense.

 

About Shannon Stacey

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shannon Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her favorite activities are writing romance and really random tweets when she’s not riding her ATV. She loves mud, books, football & watching way too much TV.

 

 


Sign up for my Newsletter

2 responses to “ONE CHRISTMAS EVE by Shannon Stacey: Review & Excerpt

  1. Sara Strand

    AAHH!! I want this one! I love fast holiday reads anyways, but this is one of my favorite tropes, too! Thank you for being on this tour. Sara @ TLC Book Tours

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.