Holiday With a Twist by Shannon Stacey 
Holiday Novella
Released: November 21, 2016
Carina Press

Reviewed by Mandi

When Leigh hears that her parents are going to sell the home she grew up in, she gets guilted into going home for three weeks over Christmas to help her parents organize and start to pack. Taking three weeks vacation time isn’t hard because she just quit her job…..and broke up with her fiance. Knowing her sister has a baby and is getting divorced, and this sister is living with her parents currently, she doesn’t want to stress anyone out. So she decides not to tell anyone she is unemployed and no longer with her finance. Instead she wants a drink when she arrives at her parents – and heads to the local pub.

This pub is owned by a man named Croy who went to school with Leigh many years ago. Croy and Leigh’s best friend dated, but in college they broke up. Croy blamed Leigh for this break-up and there was some bad blood between them. But now many years have passed and Leigh is hoping Croy doesn’t hold a grudge. Hooray for us – he doesn’t. He makes Leigh a drink and asks her to tell him all her troubles. See unloads on him and drinks too many. She also may tell him how much she likes kissing.

“I really, really like kissing. I mean orgasms can be a do-it-yourself project if it comes down to that, but there’s no substitute for being kissed until you can’t breathe and you can’t think straight, but you still stretch up on your tiptoes because you’ll never stoop wanting more.”

When he didn’t say anything, Leigh looked up from her almost-empty glass to find Croy staring at her mouth with so much intensity she would have wondered if she had food on her llips if she’d actually eaten anything.

“Do you know what I mean?” she prompted, and then she felt a sizzle of attraction when he met her gaze with that same intensity. His eyes were so dark they were almost black. “Do you like to kiss, Croy?”

As these two hang out over Christmas, they fall for each other – but will Leigh leave and go back to her life away from her hometown??

First let me say this book ends at the 84% mark and man do I hate when books do that to me!!! And honestly, this couple could have used another 15% to really cement their HEA. I enjoyed this book – but give me 100% completion!

I’ll stop complaining now because I have a lot of positive things to say about this book. I really enjoyed both Leigh and Croy. Leigh doesn’t want to tell her over-stressed parents the truth about her failed relationship and job and I kind of have to agree with her. With a sister and baby living at home – there is grumpiness and stress as her parents get ready to sell their house and it came off very realistic. While this has that holiday charm, there are also bad tempers and fussy babies and it made it feel more like what a real house full of people is like rather than the fairy tale of cookies and smiles 24/7.

Croy is a sweetheart who works with his family at the pub. He has his own family to deal with, and they were a fun inclusion in the book.Their romance is easy and sexy and worked for me well.

The kissing in this book:

“All of our lives growing up together,” he said, still close enough to her neck so she felt his breath along w’ith those words, “and I never once thought about kissing you. Then you walked into my bar after years away and kissing you is all I can think about.”

If you want something cute and sexy, and that ends a little early *wink* check this one out.

Grade: B

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