Because it’s a romance, and because of course Hannah has a child and Christmas takes another dimension when there are children involved and of course Caroline loves children. Caroline’s inner grinch will resist valiantly but to no avail. Christmas and the holidays in general are not as prominent in this story as they are in other holiday romances, as it takes place over a longer time period, yet Caroline’s distaste of them – not Halloween though – hovers in the background at all times.

It’s like an enemies-to-lovers trope between them and Christmas and the anticipation of them falling in love with Christmas is a lot of fun to watch (metaphorically). It simmers for a loooong time, real slow-burn, until fireworks finally – finally! – are let loose.Īnd I just love Christmas stories in which at least one of the main characters doesn’t like Christmas. The chemistry between Caroline and Hannah is believable from the start, it’s big and beautiful, just as well-written as with Charlotte and Sutton in Cass’s debut novel. And honestly, it is, but in an exquisite way. Therefore to have it as the subject of a book should be painful. Then Hannah hires her to be her divorce lawyer and everything changes.įalling in love with a straight woman – or a woman who believes she’s straight – is one of the most common and terrifying experience a lesbian can face. Furthermore, Hannah is straight and married to Caroline’s former nemesis.

So when one Christmas Eve she comes across Hannah Dalton, one of the most gorgeous women she’s ever met, she doesn’t expect anything special to come out of it. She has good reason to, since all her girlfriends seem to believe the holidays are the perfect time to break up with her. Sure, there’s some Christmas stuff but it’s way too long to qualify as a novella and that in itself is an early Christmas present.Ĭaroline Parker hates Christmas. If you’re like me, you’ll be delighted to know that what was supposed to be a Christmas novella isn’t.

When you least expect it by haley cass