Ho! Ho! Ho! Readathon Update

 

 

So today is the last day of the readathon and I don't believe I'll get anything else finished.  Since I managed to read 5 holiday themed books, I'm doubling up a bit on the reviews so I can get them all logged. I had a nice time doing some relaxing reading while off and will probably continue with some Christmas-themed stories throughout December.

TITLE: Faking Christmas

AUTHOR: Kerry Winfrey

PUBLISHER: Berkley

PUBLISHING DATE: September 26, 2023

PAGES: 286   

SOURCE: Digital ARC

FROM GOODREADS: Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She is most definitely not an owner of a farm...but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly's farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she's happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired. 

And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm's big holiday dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm's Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she's basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process. 

Laurel and Holly come up with a plan--all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But when Laurel shows up at the farm, an unwelcome guest is there: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly's wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel's husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages...

MY THOUGHTS: This was a quick and cute holiday read. It has some of my favorite tropes such as fake dating and twins swapping places.  Holly lied to her boss when she was hired and convinced him she actually owned a farm which made her a perfect fit for an Ohio lifestyle magazine.  However, after the boss, Gilbert, has a bitter breakup, he invites himself to her place for Christmas Eve Eve dinner (yep, apparently that's a thing) so everyone joins in to help Holly maintain her ruse - including her arch-nemesis Max who she has despised since her sister married Max's best friend. Things get more complicated when a snowstorm hits and everyone is stranded at the farm.  Along the way, Holly and Max try to work through their differences and may learn they don't really hate each other after all.  

This book was a lot of fun and the fact that it was set in my neighboring state of Ohio was an added extra for me.  I liked all of the characters and enjoyed the snarky banter and sexual tension between Holly and Max.  There were also some cute goats.  Definitely one to consider if you like Christmas reads.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS